[Hōzuki Keneō]

Truth be told, Ken knew next to nothing about these elemental zones or what they were about. All he really knew about was that he was under orders to move deeper into a specific area, though therein lay the issue at hand. For some reason or another, a barrier had been erected that kept any and all from pressing further inland, halting the advance for all of the shinobi that had gathered. Some had tried pushing through or taking it down, but to no avail, for the barrier still stood firm while posing as a massive middle finger to every single ninja that was held back by it. But that was why small teams had been formed with the singular task of bring down the barrier after a likely point of origin had been found by a sensory unit.

The Kirigakure shinobi honestly had no idea who the people he had been signed up with were, though it did not matter. A mission was a mission, and missions were meant to be seen through to the end, otherwise other people might end up paying the price for it. Since he honestly had no idea whether the barrier was meant to keep them out or just stall people for some far more nefarious purpose, it would be by far their best option to bring it down as quickly as possible. Decked out fully with his kunai, senbon and his sword, he honestly doubt that he'd get to use the majority of them for a task such as this one. Their goal was, after all, not exactly on dry land, but somewhere underneath their feet.

According to the mission parameters, the team would need to venture down into the water and reach a submerged cavern. Within, they should have no trouble finding whatever or whoever it was that was providing power to this barrier. And while he could not speak for the others, in his case, doing something under water was entirely up his alley due to his clan's Hijutsu. He would be able to slip through the water and get to the cavern in no time whatsoever without any kind of fancy gear or anything along those lines. Though he wouldn't be able to take any of them with him, he'd be able to propel them forward at best, though he wouldn't be able to help them breathe down there. So with a bit of luck, they'd get down there before they drowned. For now though, introductions seemed in order.

"Hello. I don't know either of you, but i'm Keneō. Are you two ready to get to work?"

SPOILER: Click to show

One of the most important tasks for the shinobi forces is to make it deeper into the elemental zones to discover the origin of the chakra. However, halfway through the water zone, a large water barrier has formed, making the terrain impassible. The chakra signature of this barrier has been traced to an underwater cave. The task of the scouts in this mission is to dive into the cave and destroy the source of the barrier before resurfacing. After clearing this path, the team should retreat to avoid spending too much time in the elemental zone. Along with environmental dangers, shinobi may also be attacked by sea life who have been corrupted by Suiton.

[Futago Yua]

How helping out some random nation she’d never really heard of was the job of a gate guard was anyone’s guess, yet here Yua was. Something about a meteor, dangerous chakra zones, and exploration to allow further progress. It all sounded outside of her expertise, but the fact that lifeforms were being corrupted by the energy left behind did raise her interest as a medic. Too bad first half of the mission was underwater, and the second part in a cave. Sure there were underwater plants that she might be able pick up along the way, but there was probably nothing but weird corrupted animals down in the cave.

Yua joined those she was to work with on the edge of the water and immediately started stretching. Right now movement was her specialty so swimming down into the water, and in turn the cave, should be easy enough. But that was assuming they didn’t end up being waylaid by creatures on the way. "Nice to meet ’cha, Keneō. I’m Futago Yua. It sounds to me like we should be able ta make it down there unassisted but I’d like to remind everyone to take it slowly. Water pressure can screw with ya’ if you swim too fast, and I don’t have a technique to help with that.”

Yua glanced curiously at the boy, noting his youth and hoping that wasn’t about to cause any issues, only to remind herself that she was pretty old for a genin. Considering the number of young teens she’d seen around since getting here, it felt like her and a number of the genin in Kusagakure were on the older side of the spectrum. The purpled haired girl entertained the thought of trying to take charge for a moment but dismissed the idea, after all, at this stage in their careers they were supposed to be somewhat self-sufficient and capable shinobi.

"If you two don’t mind me askin’, do we have any way to light up the space down there? Unless whatever we’re lookin’ for down there is glowin’ something fierce, we’re probably not gonna have anything to light our way.” She asked curiously when she was done stretching. Earlier she’d left behind her weights at the base-camp setup the higher ups were using to coordinate but had kept the rest of her gear, not wanting to mess with her ability to swim but the thought of how they’d make their way in the dark, underwater cavern had only now crossed her mind.

[Nohime Yoshiko]

Yoshiko had come from one of the other elemental areas, she'd be putting in double time to assure the land of hot springs was assisted. It'd likely look good on any nation to help out as much as possible. She felt as her villages semi-second in command, she be upfront in the thick of this odd danger. As a Nohime she was the perfect person to look into abnormalities of chakra too.

She'd be tasked with a couple eager genin from Kusagakure and Kirigakure. Her nationalism didn't mean she couldn't be kosher with those of a more rival origin. Granted she'd helped shinobi from both villages in her past, her mother came from Kusagakure after all. So a part of her had to feel some sense of familiarity to them.

Yoshiko would be gathering herself from the past mission, as well as attempting to pitch her sensory out further. To get a better feel of what troubles would be ahead. She'd made sure to pick up some key supplies, rebreathers and oxygen cartridges for them, as well as head lamps. "It's a pleasure to work with the upcoming shinobi of two different villages. I'm Nohime Yoshiko, don't worry I came prepared." She'd state opening the bag and dropping it between the three of them.

She'd open her dress from under her chest plate, revealing she was wearing a one piece swimsuit underneath. It was the Iwagakure red and had her clan logo on the back. Her smile bright as she felt prepared and truly ready for the opposition. To her this would be an easy mission, so there was nothing but intrigue at what challenges laid ahead of them. Around her right hip were two headbands both with the Iwagakure symbol one looking significantly more worn. She'd retrieve herself a head lamp and rebreather from the bag she'd brought extra.

Words. -- Tags. Hōzuki Keneō Futago Yua Notes. Notes go here wheee and you can get as long or as short as you want because it doesn't matter. And do you wanna know why that is? Is it because you think this scrolls? Well you'd be right. It does scroll. Pat yourself on the back my good man. You are smart. Smart little man.

Template by Kuroya of THQ & GS.

[Hōzuki Keneō]

Taking in all of the things that he was being told, Ken imagined that most of those here would be able to work things out for themselves. That said, there was no reason as to why they wouldn't be able to help one another out a bit when possible. It was brought up that a cavern under water might be incredibly dark unless it was somehow lit by something, which was a pretty astute observation that he personally had not even considered. Weird, seeing as how he always considered just about everything into the finer details, even the most unimportant and silly factors that would more than likely have no bearing on whatever it was that he was doing.

But their defacto leader seemed to come prepared with rebreathers and lights. It was to be expected of the higher ranking shinobi that had more experience being out in the field and undertaking missions. That, and Ken honestly did not have need for the majority of the tools provided since traversing the water and requiring breath down there was not exactly something he would need to concern himself with due to his clan's hijutsu.

"Once we get into the water, I can propel you to where we need to be pretty quickly, though you should use that rebreather either way. Just in case it ends up being further than expected."

With that, he stepped into the nearby waters and applied the clan's hidden technique, liquifying his entire body and more or less merging with his surroundings. Once they would all get down into the water, he would be able to apply his adjusted physique in a way that would allow him to propel everyone down to the cavern as quickly as possible so that they would be able to lift the barrier that was currently still in place. Allowing himself to materialize down to his waist, Ken made it abundantly clear that he was ready and willing to get this show on the road as quickly as possible.

"Whenever you're ready."

[Futago Yua]

"Oh damn, you can just get these things?” Yua was impressed, checking out the gear Yoshiko was able to offer. The technology that was available to the various shinobi of the world was impressive, though a lot of it she had no idea how to use. The purple haired genin picked up a headlamp and rebreather, the first of which she awkwardly put on before staring blankly at the second for a moment. "Uh, how do I do this?”

Assuming Yoshiko was able to help her out Yua would soon have a properly equipped rebreather on her face, or just shrug and move on. She was confident she could get down in a single breath if the wildlife let her after all. Listening to what Keneō had to say the Kusagakure genin nodded. "Whatever technique ya’ have to help would be appreciated” she replied cheerily, before watching him step into the chakra-infused water melt into it.

"Wha- hay! I didn’t think the place was that bad!” she cried our in fright, taking a couple of steps back from the water. It had never crossed poor Yua’s mind that such a technique might exist, and the sudden visuals of a person just turning into water like that in the context of the situation they were in was terrifying. When the boy once again spoke from within the water she calmed down a bit, tentatively approaching the edge and cautiously dipping her foot in a bit, fully prepared to pull back if it too would turn to water.

"Damn, warn a girl would ya’?” she grumbled lightly before climbing her way in, ready to get moving as soon as they were all set. This was not the calmest of introductions to teaming up with other village’s shinobi.

[Nohime Yoshiko]

"Wouldn't be much of a jounin if I didn't prepare off my mission briefing." More than a jounin the Nohime was her villages jounin hanchou, she was her clan leader, but that information didn't benefit this situation. Clearly giving the others an idea of her skill range and technically the expected level of authority. She felt no need to exert that her though, these weren't her shinobi. They're just her assistance for this mission, if she treated them well maybe they'd remember the quality of her village.

"Yeah, you just put this part in your mouth and breath through it like you'd normally breath." She'd explain the simpleness of the device. Then demonstrated exactly how to place it in the mouth, exaggerating her mouth movements to make everything more visible. She'd worked with every age and rank of shinobi, so she'd grown accustom to going above and beyond. The surprise of this rank not knowing that and the simple necessity of academy students being new to it all.

After explaining the rebreather she'd even help adjust the strap of the head lamp for the kusagakure shinobi as well. "We won't be able to talk underwater, so I'm going to create a sentry cube. I'm a sensor shinobi so I'll be able to sense any of these animals effected by the chakra coming. If I do I'll move my sentry cube in their direction." After explaining this rather nonchalantly Yoshiko would put on her headlamp and rebreather. Her hands coming together as what'd seem like a shape of pure light would start to just exist. It's shape was a bit obtuse at first, but as the technique was finished it'd be a perfect cube. It's sides were bright but see through, at it's center was a core of bright chakra.

Her hand holding one seal for concentration, as she'd walk into the water her glowing cube going in ahead of her. She'd try her best not to laugh at the Futago's reaction to the Hozuki's strange technique. Such an ability was certainly abnormal, but she had a technique to merge into rock and she'd been allies long enough with Kirigakure to heard rumors of the ability.

Words. -- Tags. Hōzuki Keneō Futago Yua Notes. Notes go here wheee and you can get as long or as short as you want because it doesn't matter. And do you wanna know why that is? Is it because you think this scrolls? Well you'd be right. It does scroll. Pat yourself on the back my good man. You are smart. Smart little man.

Template by Kuroya of THQ & GS.

[Hōzuki Keneō]

Putting the humor aside from watching one of the members of his team get startled as he broke himself down into a mass of water and allowed himself to stay that way, the only thing he honestly did there was wait for the others to get ready. Unlike him, they couldn't breathe under water, and if they weren't solid swimmers, he wasn't fast enough at propelling them under water, or in the worst case scenario, got attacked by something predatory and dangerous, they would be in a lot of trouble. Not him though, the average animal couldn't even touch him if he didn't allow them too, though getting this mission finished by himself was likely going to be highly annoying and difficult.

By the time everyone had managed to drag themselves to the waterside and began to submerge, he would use his manifested upper body and arms to hold on to both of the two women while using his liquified lower end to rapidly propel them throughout the dark waters. Using the light of his two compatriots in order to guide his sight as much as possible, he saw that there were some fish in the waters, but that they quickly darted away as they got closer to them. With Yoshiko maintaining a sensory barrier in order to sense any actual threats that approached them, Ken didn't know what exactly he should be looking out for as he personally did not understand what exactly they were facing, nor who or what their enemy was.

Right now, his goal was quite simple: To get them all to the cavern as swiftly as possible so that the others would be able to do their thing and get rid of whatever it was that kept the barrier operational. Believing the end to be in sight, Ken began to pick up the pace, drawing the entire team towards the supposed cavern as swiftly as he could take them.

[Futago Yua]

With the rebreather firmly attached and some nice, clear instructions on how they were to communicate on their way down Yua was feeling quite confident about the mission. What she did not feel confident about was how they were travelling. Swimming was a nice, comfortable activity, assuming you weren’t doing it in a life or death situation. Instead, this sensation of being tugged along by something else she consciously knew was a person, but feeling and seeing only water, was unnerving. The girl tried to keep swimming like normal, in an attempt to make it feel less odd, but she was constantly aware of it.

The further down they got the darker the surrounding water became and Yua eventually felt the need to turn on her own light. Every now and then she’d turn to observe the strange construct Yoshiko had created, not wanting to miss out on warnings but curious enough about the underwater world to keep glancing at everything else they passed by. The more the group swam the more the purple haired girl realised that she was mistaken about her earlier assumption – wherever they were going was certainly not in a single breath’s distance from the surface. Either her earlier information was wrong, or they’d somehow overshot their destination considerably. Hopefully they’d find the cavern before long.

[Nohime Yoshiko]

Similar to the Kusagakure shinobi, Yoshiko would be paddling her legs to assist their movement. She'd keep one hand focused on the sentry cube and her other steadily pinging out her chakra. Radar practically as they'd travel through the water, she'd finally pick up a distant chakra signature. She'd not want to startle the team, as it'd not seem to be moving to them at first. Perhaps it had no way to sense their disturbance in the water.

It's movements were unclear at first, but it'd suddenly seem to be heading their way. Still at the range of her sensory it wasn't an immediate threat. Instead she'd reach up to her head lamp and turn it on, her one hand concentrated on the sentry cube would suddenly send it somewhat way out. She'd ping her chakra from it's core, which would cause a slight shimmer of light. Illuminating enough light to make an odd sea floor dwelling creature barely visible. It was an octopus, though it's look more like a blob at their range.

Despite pinging this creature, the jounin would quickly swirl the and which turned on her head lamp, as she'd point it and her finger towards the underwater cave for them to enter. It'd surely be easier to fight the creature from in there, it might not even be able to join them in cave.

Words. -- Tags. Hōzuki Keneō Futago Yua Notes. Notes go here wheee and you can get as long or as short as you want because it doesn't matter. And do you wanna know why that is? Is it because you think this scrolls? Well you'd be right. It does scroll. Pat yourself on the back my good man. You are smart. Smart little man.

Template by Kuroya of THQ & GS.

[Hōzuki Keneō]

Moving through the dark waters, it was good that the two women were paddling their feet in order to grant them extra forward momentum, or rather propulsion. In his watery form, he could drag himself through the water incredibly quickly, though that amount of speed was obviously limited to the amount of chakra he possessed and the amount of people he was 'carrying'. Given the fact that he was but a Genin, and a relatively fresh one at that, the speed at which they were moving right now was more or less the best that he could do. But it would have to do, as it was clearly better than having no propulsion or control at all, at least in his mind.

Though it was impossible for them to communicate down below, Ken could tell that the Iwakagakure Jounin was trying to show them something with the light show, which illuminated some kind of creature down below. At first, he wasn't able to make heads or tails out of it, though the fact that she had marked it for all to see likely meant that it was a perceived threat. She possessed sensory capabilities after all, so if she had picked up on it, it seemed likely that it was going to become an issue for them. And while they were in the water, it was likely that this creature would not make it easy for them. When push came to shove, Ken possessed water-based ninjutsu and his clan's techniques to fall back on. That, and he could breathe under water without any ninja tools.

For the sake of the mission, as well as the two kunoichi, it was by far the best possible idea to make a sprint towards the cavern. And so, while keeping an eye on the threat that had noticed them by now, Ken put every bit of aquatic speed he had in him to rush them towards the entrance of the cavern. As soon as he could get them all in there, he would give the kunoichi the time to get to dry land while he remained liquified. Due to his current physical makeup, or rather the lack thereof, the large octopus that had followed them in could neither see him nor hurt him. For him, this worked out just fine as it would allow him to maneuver around to the point where he could find a weak spot to attack. He just hoped neither of the two women would end up throwing any lightning ninjutsu in his direction.

[Futago Yua]

The movement of the construct locked Yua’s attention onto the distant blob. From here she had no idea what it was but the thing had clearly alerted the Iwagakure jounin’s attention. Which likely meant was corrupted by the unusual chakra in the surrounding area. For half a second the young woman contemplated swimming in that direction to check it out, but Yoshiko indicated more and shone her own light towards what was clearly an underwater cave opening that was most likely their end destination.

With a nod of affirmation, Yua adjusted her direction there instead, swimming a little harder so that they could get out of the water and, assuming the blob creature in the distance was a fish or something, protect them from danger or at least give them the footing needed to defend themselves better. When the group finally made it into the cave, the two women pulled themselves out of the water, the purple haired genin panned her lamp around the space they were in. It reminded her of another cave she’d once had to explore but looked very different. All the walls were dripping with moisture, and when she carefully took off her rebreather and stashed it away her nose was filled with stale, old air. The chamber they were in seemed to go deep, way further than the light on her head could illuminate, and somewhere in it was the source of all the water that seemed to be blocking every village’s way deeper into the zone.

"As much as I’d like ta sit here n’ see if our watery friend will come let me investigate what bein’ corrupted by chakra does to its body, I think we better move. Not too sure how much air is in here for us to use and I’d rather not find out.” She suggested, glancing back towards the entrance when she realised Keneō hadn’t joined them on solid land, even as not-so-solid water. Hopefully a quick, in-and-out job would keep them all safe.

[Nohime Yoshiko]

Upon reaching the cave Yoshiko would push herself out the water as quickly as possible. Something about the cave was messing with her sensory, it was to her a clear indicator they're in the right location. Though it'd also cause her connection to her sensory cube to end and it to go away. She'd immediately reconcentrate to just chakra sensory.

Almost like adjusting to a sudden change of light, her sensory would sort of recalibrate to the inside of the cave. She'd be able to sense a rough distance of their target, but more importantly the certainty it was ahead in this cave. "Something has quite the chakra signature ahead, but it doesn't seem to be moving. I think we've got our target." Yoshiko would scan the surroundings to assure it's safety, before she'd begin walking forward. Yua would share the sentiment of them moving, while the mist shinobi remained a pseudo trap door to the cave.

"I can make us an airhole if needed, but I think we'll be fine without. It's probably only a hundred and fifty meters away from what I'm sensing..." Yoshiko would try to reassure the Futago, but considering their other teammate seemed to be 'waiting' or they'd somehow lost him. The Nohime couldn't help wondering if they should split up, she wasn't sure how an octopus fighting a puddle would function. So pushing forward she'd just let these other nations shinobi exercise their best judgment. She felt pretty confident she'd be able to double back if need be and beat calamari.

The corrupted sea creature would likely reach the entrance right when they'd reach the source of the barrier. Granted a hasty pace was taken, it'd upon arriving not be able to notice the Hozuki. Though Keneo would absolutely be able to near immediately sense a sort of disturbance with the sea monster. It had a thin clear layer over it that seemed like water, but was so corrupted by the creatures chakra he couldn't effect it. The animal itself seemed almost like it was water logged. Making it's already jelly like exterior more stretchy and obviously the animal was much larger than it's typical counter part.

Words. -- Tags. Hōzuki Keneō Futago Yua Notes. Notes go here wheee and you can get as long or as short as you want because it doesn't matter. And do you wanna know why that is? Is it because you think this scrolls? Well you'd be right. It does scroll. Pat yourself on the back my good man. You are smart. Smart little man.

Template by Kuroya of THQ & GS.

[Hōzuki Keneō]

Listening to what their current team leader said, Ken wondered what exactly might be putting out enough chakra to keep a barrier of this magnitude operational in a place such as this. Whoever or whatever made it was clearly quite bright, not to mention just highly intelligent and skilled at barrier ninjutsu. In little to no time at all, the large octopus came after them, effectively blocking off the one means of getting out the way they came. This was undoubtedly going to prove problematic, though he was confident that with a Jounin on their side, some overgrown calamari wasn't going to get the better of them. But one thing was for sure, now that he had seen the sheer scale and magnitude of the creature, he alone wouldn't be able to beat it.

His whole deal right now was subterfuge and deception, to fight people one on one and take them down like a proper shinobi would. He did not possess any actual offensive techniques large enough to take on a creature like this oddly shaped squid. As such, he reconstituted himself where the two members of his team were, listening to what the plan going forward was going to be.

"I agree. I'm also fairly interested in seeing what has happened to that poor creature, though the mission should take priority. I doubt we'd be able to actually help it..."

In a way, it seemed like the octopus had taken on properties that were quite similar to his own as a Hozuki, though it seemed to pose a certain detrimental effect all the same. For whatever reason, it was incapable of truly lifting its mass out of the water if they were to head on deeper into the cavern, which seemed to imply that if they could stay out of its reach, they would not exactly be in a whole lot of trouble. Regardless, they would need to at some point get past it again, unless someone could create another escape through the rock ceiling in order to head back to the surface that way. For now however, he was content with just pointing out the obvious and moving on.

"For whatever reason, it seems to not be able to follow us, so as long as we remain out of its tentacly reach, i'm sure we'll be able to leave it here for later."

[Futago Yua]

Yua was relieved to hear her teammates talking sense. If they left the poor, weird animal to its fate for now they might be able to grab a sample on their way back. The fact that Yoshiko was in a position to create an air bubble in a pinch was the cherry on top. "Well, fingers crossed we won’t need it.” The purple haired girl replied cheerily, her head on a swivel for danger even with the clear directions from their more experienced leader.

Yua didn’t want to dash ahead of Yoshiko as they moved deeper in but part of her was impatient to get on with it. "Ya’ don’t think we could get all watery like that?” She mused out loud as they moved through the cave, half worried but mostly curious. "I wanted to grab a sample to throw at one of those more science-y medical shinobi back at the camp, but this has me thinkin’ its more necessary than not.”

Despite her words Yua kept with the team for now, if Keneō was right about the creature being stuck in the water, which she assumed to be the case considering it was a sea creature, it was either going to be there when they got back, or waiting for them outside. Either way it’d give the group a chance to grab samples if they were so inclined. As the group continued deeper into the cavern the Kusagakure’s attention was all over the place, trying to get as much of their surroundings pinged with light as possible. "I’m not seein’ much of anythin’ in here Yoshiko. What exactly are we lookin’ for anyway?”

[Nohime Yoshiko]

Yoshiko would look back to the Hozuki as he'd join them in the cave. She'd not be too worried about his sudden change of mind, perhaps he'd expected them to plan traps. Though there'd instead be a declaration that the strange sea creature was unable to join them in this cavern. Her sensory was a bit ajar from entering, but she felt the chakra enhanced monster was farther away than that.

"If you're sure about that..." She'd state in a somewhat suspect tone, but she'd follow it with a bit of a smirk. This being true or not didn't effect her mindset on the mission. They'd proceed forward into this underwater cavern to find the source of the barrier. There wasn't too much to be seen, as few creatures liked this stale air and had a means to get into this cave. Those creatures closest and under the water liked to remain in the water.

So after about hundred meters of speed walking through the cave, there'd be a sudden new source of light. At first it was very dim and a blueish hue. Though as they'd get closer to the source it'd become almost blinding, a crystal glowing light blue stuck through the roof of the cavern. It was pulsing chakra and feeding it upward into the water. Bits of water dripping down the sides of the crystal, as it seemed to be lodged into the sealing falling through the water. Likely a fragment of the meteor.

"This is what we're looking to find." Yoshiko would reply, as she'd look up at the giant crystal mass. Her sensory was practically overwhelmed, so she'd immediately scoot around the crystal. Taking a position on the other side of it, so she could see her teammates and the path they'd come from. Her half expecting a tentacle to shoot out and attack them, but her intuition told her they'd have plenty of time if it wasn't going to enter at all. However if it needed the water, destroying this crystal would almost certainly cause the cave to flood. There was a splitting path behind her, so there was a possibility one route lead to ground level above the ground. Though exploring and finding out neither route would just be wasted air and then they'd really have to rely on the rebreathers.

Words. -- Tags. Hōzuki Keneō Futago Yua Notes. Notes go here wheee and you can get as long or as short as you want because it doesn't matter. And do you wanna know why that is? Is it because you think this scrolls? Well you'd be right. It does scroll. Pat yourself on the back my good man. You are smart. Smart little man.

Template by Kuroya of THQ & GS.