Event What Could Go Wrong?

[Sand Council]

The group was finally splitting up, choosing to cover two branches of adventure, and lessening their overall strength, instead of staying together. Would this prove to be an act of folly or a beneficial call? Time would tell for the group.

Upon entering the hallway, young Shenlong would attempt to decipher the carvings. Unfortunately, the language would not be decipherable, but that was merely because a written language wasn't being used. Instead, the markings would be more like pictures. Luckily, Shenlong, in part to his family's lineage and potentially due to his own isolation being brought about by his claims of being a mythical creature reborn, would actually notice the drawings, after some time spent studying them, matching a book his family had. He would realize that these markings were used by humanity back during the days of enslavement at the hands of the Ancients. The pictures upon the wall would seemingly show a lot of different occurrences of humanity at the time, their plight at the hands of Ancients, depicted as large creatures upon the wall. There would be a human, as the group would venture down the wall that seemed to be drawn bigger, and then given markings around his head as if some aura or light was projecting from him. Eventually, they would come to the markings showing this human, leading smaller figures, to battle against the Ancients. This would give some credence, to those who paid attention in history class, of at least the latest this hallway could have been forged. But the question as to why this hallway was forged, still would not be known. But maybe if they continued down the path there would be more history to explore?

Uziuke's Shadow servant would eventually stop coming upon its first sighting of something "off". Upon the ground would be a decaying, severed human arm... yet it wouldn't match the apparent age of the hallway itself. So while calling it "fresh" wouldn't feel right, it definitely had been left within the path recently. The point of separation would not be a clean-cut, would not have signs of burning, and would look more like it had been violently ripped from the body via force. Without Uziuke's searchlight, or any other light produced by the team, it would be completely pitch black within the hallway, yet even at its brightest, there would not be anything other than a straight shot before them before the darkness would once more conceal their path. How much further would they have to travel to encounter something, whether that be a creature or a divergence in this hallway? It would be hard to discern at this time.

Would Yuno keep his little shadow minions search across the surface or would he redirect them to the hallways to join Uziuke's shadow servant?

For Ringo and his group, Tengoku would not be able to help with the hallway, as his training and defeating of beasts probably kept him above ground for the most part. That said, if he had covered enough of the terrain, in the center of the sprawling area known as Godsfall he probably came across a large fissure, a scar created the night the Daimyo and the forces of Sunan battled. Maybe the potential candidate for the Heavenly Guard noticed and/or fought strange creatures in that area that would have matched the description of The Swarm? Sadly, he would have never fought any strange blue fur creatures, but maybe he would be able, as a creature covered in fur himself, remark on how strange it would be for such a creature like that to be living out in this part of the desert. It wouldn't really seem the most accomodating for that, right?

Ultimately, the group led by Raizo would come upon the furry bodies on the surface if they kept moving. If they explored closer, they would notice that the creatures, while much bulkier than Tengoku, would look very similar to the summons. The creatures would be covered in claw and bite marks, with large chunks of their flesh missing or limbs removed. While Moriko had mentioned seeing something much larger, it would be clear that whatever killed these strange creatures wasn't large, but would appear to be a mob of frenzied smaller creatures. As for what the blue creatures were, well those who had been to Sora, which would eliminate most from Suna as Sora was the protected jewel of the previous Daimyo, may have heard of these creatures who were rarely seen but roamed the lush lands that only seemed to appear within the confines of the region of Sora;

the Asura Ape of Sora.

Spoiler: Asura Ape

Height: 8 to 10 feet (2.4-3 meters)
Weight: Up to 800 pounds (360 kilograms)
Appearance: Bluish to White fur, four arms with the two midsection arms being comparatively smaller
Habitat: Lush lands of Sora
Attitude: Smart creatures that keep to themselves and stay away from humans. When provoked, these massive creatures could easily become a terror for any Jounin to deal with, so please leave them alone.
Threat Level: B Rank for a single Asura Ape.

(I will add to our Flora/Fauna guide later)

After inspecting the creatures for a bit, the ground around the party would begin to shake as seemingly a small tremor would roll through the area. Out in the distance, however, a muffled roar could be heard. The wandering eye of Moriko would notice a lot more movement further out, but the shifting sands seemed to be traveling away from the group. Would they give chase?

---

OOC:
Let's have some fun
@Shenlong @Ringo @Mugen Kei @Uziuke @Goki @Jintou @Egawa Yuno @Tsurara Moriko

 

[Mugen Kei]

"Kei, you will be trading places with Moriko."

​

A moment of silence (metaphorically at least, like an F in the chat if you will; seeing as Lord Raizo would, of course, keep speaking) and a few hard blinks would pass externally, giving no indication to the fact that the boy known as Mugen Kei was beginning to internally combust. Removed from the Kazekage's team before the teams had even truly formed… followed with an apology to Ringo. 'It's my karma for making fun of Muu, isn't it?' That was easier to consider than what Kei felt to be the truth, and latching onto that thought he broke out of his daze to flash a signature smile and a thumbs up to Ringo, Jintou and Goki.

"Don't have too much fun without… me…"

His cheery tone trailed off into a contemplative hum, as he looked between the trio and finally his amber eyes came to mirror Goki's. A thought too simple, too risky, too delinquent… but could it work? She'd wanted to see the ruins, he wanted to be in Raizo's group, and they did look so similar. It couldn't take that much chakra to keep the illusion up, and it wasn't like either of them were serving as scouts for their group. What if they just… went for it? What was the worst that could happen? Of course, being the optimist that he is, the idea of an enraged Kazekage's wrath directed at him didn't enter his young mind.

As their groups prepared to move toward the assignments and Lord Raizo turned to face the horizon that held Moriko's discovery, Kei took his former classmate's hand and pulled her a little distance from the group.

"Goki, can I--"

His tongue still formulating the best way to explain the idea, dialogue yet unspoken filled his mind:

"Kei is ready for duty."
"Kei likes this ape, but thinks he speaks so funny."
"Kei used too much chakra from the transformation jutsu, he's tired now."

It was a doomed plan afore it started, and Kei had to accept this. With a sigh, he gave Goki's hand that he was still holding a firm shake.

"--just ask you to make sure you take good care of my cousin for me?"

In an effort to escape further questioning of his awkward pause and otherwise 'off' behavior, he quickly moved to the boys. Giving Ringo a firm pat on the back, he then looked to Jintou for a long moment. Kei couldn't help but think that perhaps fate favored the young Oba boy, as brightly as she seemed to shine on him. It seemed almost unfair. "Ringo, here." Kei chimed, turning and cutting off the uncomfortable feelings brewing in his gut. With a swift motion he would pull the sandboard from his back and extend it out for his cousin to take. "It's light, made for this kind of thing so it shouldn’t slow you down. I know its not really your thing, but I doubt I'll need it down there, and who knows… maybe it'll come in handy." Whether Ringo accepted or not, he'd finally be off to rejoin his new team in the ruins below.

---

"Shadows, very cool. So is that like, a kekkei genkei or something?"

Attempting to break the awkward silence as Shenlong dutifully investigated the architecture and the images on the walls, Kei looked to Yuno. "My dad and uncle can do a little with shadows, but our clan mostly deals with light so its not really expected for us to be able to harness that ability. I've always thought it was one of the coolest types of ninjutsu though. Would you be down to show me a little about it sometime?" Feeling the weight of his uselessness, Kei would vacillate between chatting with anyone who would and taking in what he could of the murals around them, twirling a kunai on his finger all the while.

As their team progressed further into the belly of the beast, so to speak, Kei couldn't help but notice the oppressive darkness of the path before them even with the aide of Uziuke's jutsu. In light of the older shinobi's discovery as well, Kei was given enough pause to even consider the Jyuujikan before thankfully realizing the rashness of something like that after the events at the cemetary. A quick rifling through his pouch would reveal a lighter in one hand, useful for frigid desert nights when flint was scarce, and a signal flare in the other. It was the best he had.

"Not sure if this would be helpful at all, Uziuke-san. The flare's got a decent range on it, though. Might be helpful to see what's further ahead…?" Or set the place on fire. Or shoot a sandworm in the eye. Something would happen, that's for sure.

 

[Goki]

Disappointment exists in infinite flavors and degrees. She is one generous, unstingy. This particular flavor tasted as pound cake; in no way undelicious—yet not the chocolate flavor originally requested. An enthusiastic drawing of the cakebox cover to discover this unfortunate truth—only after having already reached home, too afar from the confectionery to return it; such paralleled its degree.
An uninhibited pout encapsulated this. Though, still incapable of expressing its complete magnitude; fittingly—but icing upon the cake.

For Goki, there would be no ancient hallways . . .

Nevertheless, in optimism, at least discoveries still appeared promised. Blue things hadn’t sounded too bad a substitute. Especially large, blue things. And especially large, dead, blue things. Of these properties, ‘dead’ sounded the most appealing. But not too dead—this was reminded by the discovered bone Pantou’d toppled over and grown ill from; probably because dead things were known to harbor unhealthy bacteria, and he’d not enough water from his canteen to spare for handcleaning.
Yes, it should be a certain degree of dead. The sort still possessing vestiges of, in fact, being or having been alive—yet still very much dead. This aroused a wonder.... Had such a state truly existed? How could something be quite dead, yet still rather alive coexistently?

. . . Ah, now her little head was beginning to hurt again.

Taken aside by the second redhead, whilst his words hadn’t been difficult to comprehend, the emotions accompanying felt unmatching; like a frantic attempt at shoving a square piece into a puzzle requesting a triangular shape. An arched brow denoted this observation, with lips beginning to formulate words—that was, until he’d been off as abruptly as she’d been grabbed to make the request.
All that managed to reach was . . .

“Goki”—And—“Promises,” to fleeting locks of red.... Everyone felt so anxious today.

What followed would be what most might describe as borderline invasion of personal space. For, not much sooner after his cousin’s departure, would Ringo discover the second redhead standing within unusually close proximity—golden irises monitoring him rather discomfortably, reminiscent of how a fox’s eyes might a rabbit’s every movement amidst a hunt. And where he’d move, Goki would respond—as if staying within some unseen ring surrounding the boy. Whether by inquiry or time passed, some explanation would eventually arrive.

“Goki has been tasked to take good care of you. She doesn’t really know what good care is, and doesn’t have any food, but thinks Kei will be very sad if the Ringo is hurt. So Goki must make sure the Ringo isn’t hurt.” A self-affirming headnod followed, along with a salute. Concerning Ringo’s summon, no details had been stated. So if it somehow met the same fate as its other monkey friends, Goki guessed Kei probably wouldn’t be so sad - This monkey wasn’t his cousin after all.

***​

Now she’d understand the significance of this Second: “Second in command,” Further tasked with a headset and owner selection, the Hybrid would turn here and there, reexamining her teammates.

Eyes first settled upon the Pantou—bigger ears, but: Too ill.
Then Ringo; possessing larger ears also, yet: Must be taken care of...
Then Moriko: .... They don’t look much different. In fact, she reckoned they might have even been the same size.

Should any have been paying attention, it wouldn’t take much to notice the girl positioning about amidst trek, craning here and there to individually search for and study each teammate’s hearing organs. The assignment proved difficult, for she’d been under assumption each headset tended to be constructed in a way to accommodate most ear sizes the same.
“Goki identifies no one with better suited ears,” she’d determine, looking back to the Kazekage, nestling the piece into her own. “She would have chosen the Pantou, but he is too ill.”

Arrival would reveal a sight most gruesome. Blood and mangled flesh strewn across the sands like lunch gone awry—absolutely beautiful. Enthusiastic, she’d venture from one mass of dismembered flesh to the next; stooping over, peering, sniffing, plucking fur—gathering as much as her little brain could process.

. . . Not a bad substitute indeed.

Suddenly, earth below feet trembled, followed by a muffled roar in the distance. Forthwith, the Genin’s head swung towards its source. Hands slapped together for a single clap, eager, afore attention shifted to the team’s literal eyes.
“Moriko of the Floating Eye,” called a moniker unscripted, “Goki very much wishes to know what you see... Will Ringo’s monkey be torn to little meatslices too?”

 

[Tsurara Moriko]

Moriko wasn't the only one who'd found something; apparently falling down a hole had merited a genuine discovery beyond just bones. Some kind of ancient hallway?

Which was interesting, and the scholar in her kind of wanted a look, but the surface route sounded more promising when it came to the 'killing things' angle. And she was kind of far from that side of things anyway, being closer to the front of where the group was arrayed out. The distance of the eye wasn't limited or anything, but it seemed like a good idea to go the way you were looking. In general.

The other girl there wanted to explore the pit, for...interesting reasons. Moriko didn't bother with the skeptical look; even if she'd actually thrown one her goggles would have muted the impact, and there was no point in taking issue with strangeness. As long as the people were actually helpful, and in her helping in fishing people out of holes Goki had already proved more useful than several others.

Ringo also sounded useful now, mind--or at least, his small furry friend might prove it, and did.

Because. The monkey had a point. What were large furry things doing out in the desert this far? Yes, things like coyotes lived out there--but they only really came out at night, when it was cooler. These things might or might not have been out there at night originally, but...

And she wasn't the only one who realized that they should maybe be gathering information safely. The boy with the bird mask (still awesome) had some kind of shadow summon.

She wasn't offended, mind; not like she remembered his name either. Or saw it worth bothering over.

"We probably shouldn't split up too much in case of danger," she said, sounding detached as ever. It could be attributed to focusing on the eye she still had zooming off toward the movement, except she was always Like That."We don't know exactly the strength of what we're dealing with."

The load in the cape was at least trying to be useful in a non-combat capacity, but looked a little zoned out. Kei guarding him seemed like a good move, assuming that whatever was out there wasn't something that could blow right through a student.

Probably...probably not or they wouldn't be out there. Right?

Sandworms? Moriko perked up a bit; it was unlikely they'd get to kill an old sandworm or do anything other than run even if they found one, but just seeing one--just knowing they still existed!--that would certainly be something.

Well. A small dead one didn't prove that, but maybe...?

And fortunately someone more experienced was looking after the pair that had headed down the hallway. Moriko hummed to herself before turning her attention back outward, toward the eye.

Only to be slightly jarred by the Kazekage's shout of excitement. Blinking, she turned the bulk of her attention to him warily, though still maintaining a good third or so via the eye.

She tuned her own headset to the given channel (couldn't hurt, just in case) and then stopped altogether.

She was being switched onto the Kazekage's team for her scouting? A curved smile slid onto her face, just briefly before vanishing.

Bad luck for Kei getting split off, but he had already started down the hallway of his own volition. Moriko proceeded to join her new group, keeping the eye high enough in the air to get a good look at things without being vulnerable to non-ranged attacks.

"Right," she said, because there was nothing else to say, and indicated the direction she had sent the eye; it was still in a roughly straight line out further that way, so she didn't have to actually use her terrible sense of direction. "This way."

The path was definitely a bit rockier this way, and she was still fairly small, but clambering over the rocks up the path to the dead blue-furred creatures and the whatever-it-was further out wasn't overly difficult with all the training she'd given herself.

The creatures themselves, when inspected up close, had definitely been...gnawed on. She peered at them in fascination; it seemed recent enough the bodies hadn't started dessicating in the desert air--meaning whatever did this, which might have been what they were there for, wasn't all that far away.

It was also very possible the small swarm of things that had killed the blue furry creatures had eaten them alive. It even looked a bit like it; nature didn't care about whether you were still moving and breathing when it tore into you, after all. That was another interesting thought, but she wasn't about to touch the bodies. There might be some kind of contagion, toxin, or poison and it didn't seem wise to touch dead things if you didn't have the right training to be safe from that.

"The something large is moving further out," she said. "I don't know exactly what it is? Is that what just roared? It's a very similar colour to the sand...I'm not certain if it has anything at all to do with the little creatures that must have killed these ones." She did not bother nudging the bodies with her toe; everyone knew what she meant.

On the other hand, maybe Goki did have the right training? Either way, Moriko was watching for things further out and it wasn't really her job at the moment to go around plucking fur unless told otherwise. Given that someone who seemed reasonably competent was on that bit, she definitely had no reason to take it up herself.

Which made it a little startling to be directly addressed, by name yet.

"My eye is looking ahead, but I don't see anything that could have been what killed these animals," she said, mostly to Goki but the group would like to hear it too, most likely. "Nothing small and numerous enough. Yet. I suppose it's possible they blend in too, but then I'd still see movement." The eye didn't have perfect vision, of course, but a small pack of bitey things would be easy to pick up.

Swarms of things were so very rarely stealthy, after all.

 

[Shenlong]

"Ah. . ."

The hallway before him was extremely dark and not for the first time Shenlong cursed his human eyes for their lacking eyesight in the absence of a source of light but rather than dwell upon that fact with such an item of interest before him, he fished beneath the light fabric of his shirt and retrieved a small glimmering red stone that hung like a pendant from a long chain around his neck. With a soft pulse of his chakra, the pendant began to softly hum and cast forth a shallow, red-tinged light which cast an odd shadow against some of the figures and carvings but certainly made it easier to see.

"Early humans of the Wind Country, t'would seem." He surmised, gingerly running his hand along the bottom of one of the intricate carvings with all the care that he could muster. He recognized the similarities between the pictographs carved into the wall of the hallway and a number of books that he'd read on the study of early civilization in Wind Country. "Such finds as these are considered quite rare by authorities on the matter, as I understand it."

He slowly continued down the hall, holding the pendant up from time to time as he observed the carvings with a great deal of interest. From time to time he would stop and tilt his head in thought, the words bubbling forth from his lips not to anyone in particular but to himself as much as anyone else present whether they were listening to him or not.

"You can see. . . here and . . . here depictions of human-kind's antagonistic relationship with the spirit-folk."

He spoke with an invested interest but a clearly academic tone as he described the conflict between ancient-kin and humanity. For him, they were interesting stories printed in ink on a page for him to consume and add to his knowledge of the times but little more than that. Finally, Shenlong came to a stop before a larger carving which depicted a human as the others but with much more size and detail giving the implication of importance to the carver.

"The increased detail and size of the carving itself implies a significance to this figure here. Humanity's first king, I presume. It goes on to depict the following conflict between your peoples. This does much to support the supposition that this place is the cradle where the age of man in Wind Country was birthed."

 

[Jintou]

Ese ne Tekrema
(The Teeth and the Tounge)

⬖ “I would do anything for my tribe.” ⬗​

A perilous decision was facing Jintou as he was directed by Goki to her rump, on which she landed squarely in that pit collapse. The forementioned peril was a matter of practicality versus taboo, as anything concerning butt stuff typically fell into the latter category. This was all his fault, or so he commiserated as the off-beat Goki looked at him expectantly. In Jintou’s mind, there were bells of alarm. She wanted him to heal a tender place so soft and round. Wanting to test out his mystical palm required Jintou to place a firm grip on Goki’s butt. Thus far in life, he had never touched someone else’s butt, at least not deliberately, and the idea sounded stressful on his innocent heart. He hardly stopped to consider if it would be soft and squishy like a pillow, or if Goki could crack an egg between those ham hocks. Then there came the idea of how to approach the grasp. His Father’s brother, the Pathfinder (whose name was Antoku the Brave) had a famous technique when it came to touching his Mother Emiko’s, big, round, farmer’s daughter fed red beans and rice booty. Before you think it’s something weird it isn't: she is his second Mother out of three, so it’s not anything taboo. Antoku the Brave had large hands; leathery digits, with an abnormal musculature and tone that could make a sickle look like a barber’s razor. When Antoku the Brave took you by the hand you simply knew you were caught. Whenever Juon (Jintou’s Birth Mother) prepared dinner, it was often Antoku the Brave who would snap the necks of the ill-fated hens to be in their meal. The ease that he could snuff out life with those powerful hands demanded respect. On those hot summer nights, Emiko wore thin dresses to better combat the heat, floral prints, and almost sheer thinness. Antoku would grab at her with passion, cupping just above the back of her thigh where the shape of her rear was most accentuated. A lusty affirmation between lovers. It was a strange memory reminding Jintou of home as he looked down at his own hand, and back at Goki, who seemed to have already left the moment behind. His hand could never be compared to Antoku, neither his might nor his easy, confident masculinity. Jintou’s palms were slender and smooth-skinned, and his fingers were slim with healthy nails. Those were not hands prepared for a gripping proclamation, and so he wisely let the moment pass after Uziuke’s timely intervention.


To not be a liability to his tribe: that was the mantra driving Jintou through much of his time at the shinobi academy. But just as he had come to realize when his classmates answered the call for their mission, Jintou was truly finding a greater purpose in those whose who stood by his side. Amidst the reconnaissance report from Moriko, Jintou quietly deviated to the rear of their pack. There, he sifted through another pocket on his enchanted jack and fished out a frightening-looking seed pod. It was a mauve-colored sack with thorny barbs perfect for latching on to travelers. Winding out from the body of the pod was two hook-shaped tendrils, dry and lifeless. All the meanwhile he made occasional glances at Goki, watching curiously to see whether she developed a limp, and finding purpose: to be of use to her and the others. So he took that seed pod and placed it within a small knot below the crook of his wooden bident. As he strode over the sand Jintou dipped the head of his bident low to the earth and focused. With a free hand, he made a few sealing symbols, incorporating his own chakra as an influence to the might of natural energy around him. His bident began to quiver as if it came to life, and from it new plantlife grew with rapidity. It was a plant with purple flowers that were long and shaped like curling quills. Nestled amongst the fetching colors were small barbed fruit, the reason behind his sudden botany. Eagerly, the budding young sage stripped the plant growth from his ivory pareidolia stave and hurried towards Goki and Kei, who were having an awkward exchange after some proclamation Jintou didn’t notice.

He quietly looked at the odd pair, overtaken by curiosity at how strangers could have so much in common. Once he found a moment to squeeze in, Jintou presented the first of three strange fruit to Goki. “Hey, I remembered your bump earlier… Sorry for the wait, but I have something to help the pain and swelling go down. “For you” he finished, holding out one of the dreadfully unappealing-looking fruit things. “It’s called a devil’s claw; it’s enhanced by my jutsu and will heal you up, but you still need to peel the shell off first… Then pop it in your mouth— but don’t chew on it, that’ll make it worse. You have to swallow it whole.”

A moment later in their impromptu white elephant gift exchange, Ringo was given Kei’s sandboard and Jintou wasn’t letting him go without a few parting words. “Hey, it could be dangerous down there and I won’t be there to shove stuff down your throat so you’re gonna have to do it yourself, but I want you to take this.” He presented Kei the second of three devil’s claw pods, placing it into his hand and curling it closed with his own. “I was going to give you two in case you needed to give one on someone else” his attention cut over to Shenlong briefly and then back to Kei, “but then who’ll have one to feed you if you go down?” Jintou asked the question and paused with a look of consternation. “See you soon, yea?”

Last but not least, Jintou moved next to perhaps the most distant and quiet member of their entourage, the mighty dragon in his humble human form, Shenlong. The Dragon was a bit busy at the moment, yet Jintou pressed forth, knowing he shouldn’t dawdle with Raizo’s entourage ready to split off. “Hey there,” he said, awkwardly tapping at the ice with some tool he probably damaged in previous attempts with Moriko. “Before you go down that hall, I’d like you to take this with you… for you or one of the others should they need it. “It’s a fruit imbued with healing chakra and stuff, but it tastes kinda bitter.” Feeling the urge to hurry after the others, Jintou simply neglected to explain further and dashed off after Ringo, Goki, Moriko, and Lord Raizo.

- Jintou used Sage Art: Spring’s Divergent Blossoming to create 1d5 Devil's Claw Enhanced Fruit: (rolled 3).
-- Fruits were given to Goki, Kei, and Shenlong.
- Jintou used Mystical Hand (R2) on Goki via Devil's Claw fruit (on the condition that she eats it).

 

[Egawa Yuno]

Yuno turned away from the group as the Kazekage complimented him, attempting to hide his embarrassment and appreciation. Luckily nobody could see his flushed face underneath the mask. He composed himself just in time to realize that headsets were being tossed toward him. He fumbled with them for a bit before fully catching them. He attempted to put one on, since he was second in command after all, but it proved too difficult to fit over his mask. Even if it did it, the sound and his voice would both be muffled.

He was a tad bit preoccupied until he heard the Kazekage continue to speak, giving the man his absolute attention. His heart dropped when Moriko was chosen to join the Kage's team over him. It hurt more than it should have, honestly, like jealousy but worse. Was it because Moriko found the blue creatures first? 'I'm so dumb.' He squeezed the headset, but calmed himself before he broke it in front of everyone. He cursed his earlier inaction, his lack of initiative that caused him to miss out of this opportunity. But he mustn't show his disappointment, that unwanted attention would cause more problems for him. He simply nodded and moved toward his team.

He watched as Mugen Kei spoke to his former group, and could tell it wasn't a happy goodbye. Yuno assumed, with their last name, that they were siblings, and it made him think about his own sibling. Yuno knew his brother would be elated to be separated from his bird masked freak of a brother, so watching the sad exchange made him slightly jealous, but he couldn't let such emotion get in the way of this mission.

He hopped down the ruin and immediately realized that this might be the better of the two missions. Underneath the ground in these ruins meant that Yuno could remove some layers, out of the sun's rays meant he would scald his skin. As he moved down toward Shenlong's location he removed his cloak and gloves,and it already felt 10 degrees cooler. While unzipping his jacket the red hair of Kei appeared and began to speak with him. This was unprecedented, people don't normally just start speaking to him unless its to ask about the mask, the fact that he's overdressed, or to tell him to stop rambling.

"Ah, no, at least I don't think so. The shadows have always been my friends and one day they just kinda came alive to help me." Leaving out the part where the shadows severed his older brother's hand when he tried to kill Yuno as a child, that wasn't information needed. He finished taking off the jacket, shoving all these layers into a backpack that seemed to be nearly overfilled. "I can try and show you but I'm not a great teacher." He looked at the headset that he still hasn't given out and moved it toward Kei.

"The mask muffles sound and and my voice, its probably better if someone else were to wear the headset." He wanted Kei to feel more part of the team since they were just taken away from their previous one. "And I'm sorry the Kage switched you away from your brother. Not that I don't want to work with t he rest of the team, but who wouldn't want to be closer to the Kazekage. He's so strong, brave, attractive, a great leader and I was hoping I could impress him but I guess Moriko impressed him first." He offered a slight smile, that was of course hidden behind the mask. He once again re-summoned the same shades he did previously to run down the other corridors that the group wasn't traveling, hoping they would find something still living down, or at least something to bring back.

Upon reaching Shenlong he listened to the younger boy's explanation of the mural. "I'm surprised this place wasn't found before, though Lord Kazekage did say people didn't like coming to Godsfall." He began moving along the walls. In his mother's books theres always a secret passage near important depictions, much like the mural. He was certain he'd find something if he traced the walls with his hand, or a trap, one of the two.

Actions:​

---

• Re-used [Living Shadows - Shadow Ninjutsu] to scout out the rest of the ruins.
• Tracing the wall to see if there is anything hidden, like a protruding stone that can be pushed in or removed.

 

[Uziuke]

Uzi looked to Kei, listening to his suggestion. He looked down the hall, it seemed to stretch on forever. His Searchlight couldn't stretch as far as the flare could, and it could give the group a quick glimpse of what was ahead. He figured letting off a flare would only aid them in their situation. "Go ahead and shoot it off. If anything, it might give us a clue as to how far this tunnel goes."

Looking to Yuno, Uzi would nod upon seeing the headsets. Uzi would pull out the headset that he kept on himself. "It's ok if you split the headsets among yourselves. I have my own already." Uzi placed his headset upon his head. "Make sure to tune in to the correct frequency when using those headsets."

Uzi kept the Searchlight on, using the lighting so the group could see the images on the walls. He was surprised to hear Shenlong give a bit of explanation of what was going on. "So these tunnels go that far back huh? If so, this probably explains a bit of what Raizo spoke of earlier." The history of Suna was fascinating. He felt that having the opportunity to learn of such things came only once in a lifetime. The fact that he came from another land kept his curiosity at it's peak while reviewing the walls.

Uzi's clone coming back to the group made him divert his attention away from the wall. The clone kneeled, holding up what looked like..."An arm?" Uziuke reached out and looked at the arm, wondering who it belonged to. It didn't look as though it dated back to the wars. He wondered what could rip off a human's arm. Uzi waved at his clone, giving a head nod, it dispersed, ending the jutsu he used. "Something is in here with us, and it isn't necessarily human. Radio in to Raizo that we may engage in combat down here." He looked to his three, wondering if any wanted to flee from the situation. "If any of you want to head back, now would be the time to do so, otherwise, we'll keep moving on." A test of their will perhaps? He gave them one last opportunity to leave the tunnels. He knew he had a solid bunch, they'd made it this far without complaining about the circumstances. He doubted they would turn back.

Uzi would inspect the arm for clues, keeping the lighting for everyone to see the immediate area with his Searchlight.

Uzi studies the arm for any clues ( Bite marks, unique cuts, scratches, burns ) on what took place.

Equipment
~ Equipped Headset from own personal equipment. Changed to the correct frequency.

Maintaining
~ Uses Snapshot - Mastered 1/3[/url] to record the images on the wall.
~ Maintaining Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan
~ Searchlight - Master Rank (( Used as lighting for vision to investigate the tunnel ))

Ending Maintenance
Shadow Servant - Mastered (( Ending Maintenance. ))

 

[Ringo]

After Tengoku explained how abnormal it was for creatures with fur to be out in these parts, their leader excitedly showered the group in praise. "Uh, thanks, Lord Raizo," responded the student as he sheepishly chuckled. The Kazekage's positive vibes were contagious; even Tengoku, who did not even know the man, felt pumped by his high-spirited words. Ringo listened intently as their proud leader listed new directions. The squads were now officially set to split-up, but there was a key difference in these new formations. Kei, whom was originally assigned to be on their team, was swapped with Moriko. It was a bummer to press forward on this side quest without his cousin, but the young Mugen appreciated the opportunity to work alongside his blue-haired peer more. Other than her Crystal Eye jutsu and her obvious knowledge in the shinobi arts, Ringo was curious to see what other type of abilities the Tsurara girl possessed. Maybe he'd learn an important thing or two from her that would be useful to his own growth?

Before his group set out further into Godsfall to investigate the furry creatures ahead, Ringo was approached by his cousin. The red-headed boy delivered a gesture that surprised Ringo; he offered him his sandboard. "Kei, are you sure?" he asked as he reluctantly reached out for it. It was shocking to the boy because he knew how much his cousin's board meant to him. Growing up, both Kei and his sibling, Muu, loved to race down the streets of Sunagakure on their boards. They had always tried to convince Ringo to join them, but the youngest Mugen had always rejected their play in favor of baking in the kitchen. In recent times, Kei was finally successful in teaching him how to at least balance on a board, but he still hadn't mastered the art. Regardless, this was a big deal and Ringo knew better than to reject his offer. "Gotcha, Kei, thanks for that," he replied as he placed the sandboard on his back and under his staff. "Be safe, cuz! I hope you find something cool in there." The boy held out his fist for a bump as he shone a bright smile. He wasn't sure how Kei felt about the switcharoo, but he was confident that his cousin would thrive in any team he was placed in.

His team, comprised of Raizo, Goki, Jintou, Moriko, and Tengoku, began their journey deeper into the desert. It wasn't too long into their trek that Ringo caught sense that he was being closely watched. Slightly tilting his head backward, he noticed Goki's golden eyes less than a half-a-foot away from his own. He jumped a bit. "Oh, hey!" the startled boy shouted as he turned toward the red-headed Genin. The girl then explained why she was insistent on hovering over him. This was Kei's request? The thought warmed Ringo up as he lightly blushed. "Gee, Kei is a softie, isn't he?" It was in that moment, too, that he noted Goki's apparent quirkiness. "That's very kind of you, Goki, no food is needed at all. You're definitely doing a great job," he asserted with a warm grin. "You and Kei are pretty close, aren't you? My cousin's lucky to have a friend like you."

Meanwhile, as the boy conversed with his senior, a small, gold-cladded monkey stared intently at the red-headed girl that towered above him. She was majestic... beautiful. The dubbed 'crimson hairless monkey' was a sight that Tengoku never beheld and her visual pleasantness made him feel tingly inside. "Tengoku... hi..." he interjected into the youths' exchange. "Tengoku say hi to goddess, er, Goki." Ringo averted a curious glance at his young summon. Why was the small ape so flustered? But alas, it did not stop there as the tiny future Heavenly Guardsman carried with him a torn heart. You see, Goki was stunning, but another beaut stood before him that rivaled her appeal. She was the 'azure hairless monkey'. Her Crystal Eye that hovered before them was impressive, but, to Tengoku, she sparkled more brightly than any diamond or mineral. He moved toward the heiress of the Tsurara clan with figurative hearts in his eyes. "Tengoku... hi..." he greeted with an awkward boldness. "Tengoku say hi to enchantress, er, Moriko." The monkey almost floated in his enthrallment. This marked the beginning of Tengoku's self-proclaimed love triangle arc.

The lightheartedness of the moment soon faded with the sight of dismembered, blue creatures. They were apes like Tengoku, but seemed a different subspecies. Ringo's stomach churned at what he saw as the stench of death prompted his gag reflex. Tengoku, on the other hand, solemnly knelt by the creatures and appeared to offer them a silent prayer. In respect of these creatures' passings and his summon's reaction to them, the brown-haired student did his best to shake off his ill-feeling. It was then, too, that Moriko warned the group that some creature was on the move as the ground shook below them. Was it the swarm? The reptile-beast that they had previously fought off?

"Tengoku suggest we prepare for battle. Wounds fresh. Predator close and we are next prey." The miniature monkey drew out his staff as his summoner mirrored the same. Both he and Ringo kept their senses sharpened as they listened and watched for any potential enemies while also awaiting the Kazekage's charge.

Spoiler

[OOC:
-Ringo and Tengoku enter battle stances
-They both are attempting to perceive and listen for any approaching enemies
-They're also awaiting and ready to respond to Raizo's direction]

 

[Raizo]

He would smirk as he would listen to Goki give her insight to him on the distribution of the headset. She seemed to take some time to process it, so it was clear, or at least he chose to believe, that she actually put time and consideration into it all.

"Good job, Goki. First assignment as the lead Genin for a squad; check." His words would come with his big smile and a thumbs up.

"Whatever you used to determine where that headset ended up, whether it was the process of elimination via assessment, by random chance, or by simply trusting your own intuition, continue to tap into that. Finding ways to make a snap decision, no matter the scale, in a mission will prove to be the deciding factor in the success in a mission."

Listening to Tengoku attempt to talk to the female members of the party was rather cute. "Ringo, how long have you and Tengoku been partners?"

He would wait and listen for a response as his eyes would shift back to Jintou and Moriko. It wasn't lost on him that it seemed that breaking up some of the kids had more of an impact than he was expecting. Granted, he wasn't aware of their interconnected relationships prior to this. Making a mental note, he would try and make it up to Kei in the future. Make it up to any of the young'ns in Uzi's team that wished to go on an adventure with him.

"I meant what I said earlier, you kids truly are amazing..." his words would start to drift off as they came upon the fallen creatures embedded in the sands.

"Huh... so the people of Sora have tales of blue apes. They called them Asura Apes, I noticed Suna's Flora and Fauna guide didn't include them, I just assumed because y'all didn't really travel to Sora..." because the previous Daimyo wanted to kill you all "Honestly, you all seem to be missing a couple of things--"

A call would ring into his ears of someone, Kei, wanting to know if their group could engage in combat. A smirk would return.

"Kei, how are you! I hope you are doing well.... also, and this goes for my group as well; you are permitted to use whatever force necessary to survive. We came looking for Unbent, but no matter what creature you encounter, if you deem it necessary to fight, then fight."

With that, he would turn back to his own group. "These creatures hideaway in the lush greenery of Sora, there is literally no reason for them to be here. The only way they could be here is being brought here... but why in the world would someone transport them out into the middle of this vast desert? Were they in transport and then attacked? The attack marks lineup with Unbent... what a weird thing to stumble upon."

The roar would rip through as the sands would quake slightly. The kids were doing the same, as he entered into a fighting stance.

"I'm not sure of all your skills yet, so this isn't me being disparaging in any way. Allow me to be the primary aggressor, young'ns. You all, watch whatever happens in the first few seconds, when you either see a point of attack that you can take advantage of, do so. Those of you who specialize in support, stay in constant communication, yell out anything you notice, perceive or think while assessing the field." He would pause for a moment as chakra began to flood into his arms, causing a surge of energy to burn down his arms and reach his fists, in the wake of this energy his skin would appear blackened and hardened.

"Lastly, if I ever give the command to "retreat", I expect you all to obey it without a second thought. If I give that command, I will not be traveling with you, Goki will take leadership of the team. Goki, bring them back to the entrance of the underground hallway and use the headset to rejoin Uzi's group. I will ensure that you all have time to flee and then will join you." Probably...

With that, they would now be prepared for whatever was out there...

mft-706

 

[Sand Council]

Uziuke's Group: Yuno, Kei, Shenlong, Uzi

The travelers of the passage would continue onward. The absolute darkness, now behind and in front of them thanks to their progression and the limited range of their lighting, would keep them from running headlong. The users within this group potentially had powers that could help them continue to keep "sight" within the void, but the concern of overuse of chakra would always be a potential hindrance. The fact Uziuke's clone had returned with a severed arm would probably only further cause the group to proceed with caution. The dangers of traveling underground, however, were that moving too slowly could potentially be to their demise as well. Soon, the passing of time would become rather blurred. Even before confronting whatever served the arm, the group would have to contend with the innate dangers this passageway possessed in and of itself.

If Kei fired their signal flare down the hallway, it would travel a rather far distance down the path before them. In its travels, it would briefly illuminate small sections of what lied ahead, but more importantly, would be just enough light to show the full width of the hallway. This was important because...nothing else would be noticed within the path ahead. No obstructions, further evidence of a body, living or dead, outside of blood but that would be rather hard to notice in this small window. Without the fear of any living, or dead, thing standing before them, would that give the group a moment of relief to increase their speed?

The flare would finally slam into something before dropping to the ground. As the group continued forward, the symbols would remain on the wall, still depicting the challenges of humanity, the tyranny of Ancients, and the feats of Primus. Approaching the flare, they would see what the item had hit and would be confronted with their first challenge since entering the underground; the wall seemed to be part of the true passageway, just a bend leading the hallway off to the left. If they peered out into the darkness of this side of the hallway, they would see more of the same in terms of carvings and structure. To the right of the flare, there was another pathway. This one seemed to have been created by busting through the hallway and carving out a new path. This way also had carvings on the wall, but they would look different. They were not as polished, were actually carved into the wall in a much more crude manner, and seemed to be depicting some new images that would not look familiar to the trained eye of Shenlong.

So would the group go left, down a path of familiarity? Or would they go right, down a path that seemed to be a new addition? Or would this small group decide to divide even further... they did have two people with headsets...?

---

Raizo's Group: Goki, Moriko, Jintou, Ringo, Raizo

Raizo and his group of young shinobi would be upon the hasty burial of several Asura Ape. It wasn't actually fair to call it a burial, whatever had killed the beasts just left them lying upon the ground. The reason some were partially buried would simply be the nature of the desert when the wind would roll through, coating them in the sand.

It was rational for the group to go into a defensive mode. Because they weren't alone. Sure, there was the loud creature-like noise that had echoed through the area and Moriko having spotted something moving through the sand, but there was also one more thing. It wouldn't take too long for the group to realize it, in fact, Raizo would potentially be the first to notice it, but standing in front of the Kazekage, as if having appeared out of thin air, would be... a human? It would be hard to fully discern just what had appeared.

The Kazekage stood at 6'1" (~185cm) but the thing before him would be casting a shadow down upon the Kage. The person...the thing...whatever it was would be standing roughly 9' (~274cm). The eyes of this new guest would glare down at the group before it, while the mouth would open and let loose the following message;

"Me....me babies...me babies.... where.... me...... babies?!"

The man.... thing....whatever would not be aggressive but its tone would be panicked or confused, while also sounding just off. What or who was this thing?

Also, if Moriko doesn't turn their full attention to their guest, then from their wandering eye they would notice the movement of whatever was out there would stop for the time being. Was it connected to the guest?

Would the group confront or communicate? And what 'babies' did it refer to? The Asura Apes? Something else? Did it matter?!

Spoiler: The Guest

Spoiler: Asura Ape

Height: 8 to 10 feet (2.4-3 meters)
Weight: Up to 800 pounds (360 kilograms)
Appearance: Bluish to White fur, four arms with the two midsection arms being comparatively smaller
Habitat: Lush lands of Sora
Attitude: Smart creatures that keep to themselves and stay away from humans. When provoked, these massive creatures could easily become a terror for any Jounin to deal with, so please leave them alone.
Threat Level: B Rank for a single Asura Ape.

(I will add to our Flora/Fauna guide later)

---

OOC:
Choices! Chances! That Guy! Those Paths! Have fun

 

[Jintou]

The sight of the slain Ashura Apes laying in the sand was seared into the memory of those shinobi cadets; something more permanent than mere neurons firing in pink brain matter. Jintou would likely never forget the gore of blue fur matted with viscera and sticky sand that coated them like panko crumbs. If the sight of it all wasn’t unforgettable, surely, the odor of bloating ape corpses under the harsh desert sun provided a scent of decay that traveled an untold distance. Perhaps more moving than the shame in the loss of life was the mystery of how it came to be. Wandering amongst their sunny summer crew, Jintou waded carefully around the carnage but went close enough to inspect the scene. Flexing nostrils revealed his insight as he dared to examine the desert’s telling cycles of life and death. “I don’t... think they’ve been here long” he surmised by the scent of fresh death. He even realized that vultures had not passed over the remains yet, and this was a smorgasbord for the scavengers.

But as that pointed shape of a goliath crested a hilltop, Jintou was perhaps among the last of the companions to spot the coming of something strange. He was busy being perplexed by the strength and trajectory it must have taken for one of the ape’s intestines to have unfurled its entire length in the sand. Morbidly, he recounted a gruesome factoid from his aforementioned med-nin field manual: it would take two-hundred and eleven point two human intestines to span a mile. The stain of blood in the sand on his trail stole his attention as his peers began to slow and the estranged being spoke— somehow, the fact that it could speak only made it more frightening. There was a sudden blackness of blinking shielding his eyes as Jintou collided with a frail form ahead of him. Sweaty linen, and the blood of crimes gone unpunished dampened Jintou as he pushed off of her back awkwardly. There was a strand of her pale, silky hair stuck to his face like glue as he peeled himself back, spitting and flailing as if he had stepped into a spiderweb. However, he hardly finished the melodramatic response before his eyes opened and caught both his classmate and the being on the hill in the same line of sight. His sight focused on Moriko Tsurara and he felt the return of a swelling sensation behind his eyes. It was a shocking pain and an itchy sensation as if his eyes had turned to stone in their sockets. It was happening again… Infinity.

Akoben
(The War Horn)
⬖ "I watched as your blood ran today, tomorrow, and never."⬗​

The vision came suddenly through the pain and manifested with another pain far more severe. He was trembling and his sight was a blur, coming into focus on his own hand, wet with blood and gripping his other wrist, handless and leaking in a fatal wound. Jintou’s orientation was laying sideways and struggling to focus, feeling the cold embrace of death. This was a vision, or so he had come to expect, and yet it certainly felt all too real. He tried to focus through the trauma, gritting bloodied teeth and scanning about to take in what he could in the brevity before his demise. He heard the faint sound of a scream echoing far away; the carnage was live. However, straight ahead was where he witnessed Moriko, trembling with acute hypothermia in the summer sun, maimed by a great force, and failing to control her strong affinity for ice amidst death throes. So he was going to die, and so was Moriko… an imminent possibility of dying like those apes.

Only a split second had passed as Jintou blinked back to the present, awkward collision with his classmate. “One,” he said, accidentally deferring to the same yet different Moriko from his past; before he saw her die. “Get back, One… Moriko, please. Do it, or else you are going to die.” Jintou furrowed his brow and managed a deep, husky tone, and yet he was pleading with his would-be friend with a dire seriousness. While he doubted that Moriko would show the courage to jump out first in battle when she wouldn't budge when Kei was asphyxiated in class, Jintou knew the odds were high that his vision might still manifest. That snippet of her impending doom would join the line of events that day to forever leave a mark on the work of art that was Jintou, the Third Sun.


— Jintou enters Synchronized Multipresence Chakra Style.

 

[Uziuke]

Uzi looked down each path, both equally interesting to him. "The path to the left seems like it's part of the path we were just traveling." He moved his Searchlight to the path on the right. "This path on the other hand, doesn't look as safe. I believe someone or something created this path by tearing into the walls, I could be wrong though.' Afterwards Uzi turned to the members of his team. "I'm going to let you guys decide the path that we take. Keep in mind, whatever decisions we make, we work as a team from here on out. Your second in command, Yuno, so he will lead the team.

I'm letting you guys lead the mission to prepare you for Genin and Chuunin hood. When I was a Genin, I handled most missions on my own. I didn't have a solid team, so I had to learn everything as I went along. Preparing you for those harder types of missions now, will make you concrete shinobi later. When faced with those situations, you'll have the experience and wisdom to overcome. Keep in mind that you are not alone when facing decisions during this exploration. You have your teammates." Stopping there, Uzi remembered the different personalities that he met along his shinobi journeys. Some were dedicated enough to their work to where they would sacrifice a teammate to complete a mission. Others would sacrifice the mission to help their teammates, just as he did oh so long ago.

He would keep watch of the young Sunan Shinobi, only giving his input when they asked for it, or if he felt that needed a bit of guidance. "Whatever way we go, be sure to leave some kind of mark, so if we get lost, or if there isn't another way out, we can follow the marks we've made to come back to the entrance of this cave." After this, Uzi became quiet once more. He shined his Searchlight this way and that, keeping an eye out for danger as his team made their decision.

---
MFT: +300

Letting the team decide on what path to take.

Equipment
~ Equipped Headset from own personal equipment.

Maintaining
~ Uses Snapshot - Mastered 1/3 to record the images on the wall.
~ Maintaining Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan
~ Searchlight - Master Rank (( Used as lighting for vision to investigate the tunnel ))

 

[Goki]

There exist no shortage of unusual foods in this world, and every individual’s faced at least one encounter most distasteful in their lifetime; whether by uninformed bite, or forced consumption at dinner by mother in hopes of growing tall and strong. One upbrought in poverty, Goki furthermore hadn’t been offered much choice in life to become what would be referred to as ‘picky’. Despite all this, however—what the Pantou offered hadn’t been anything remotely close to delicacy. The girl made a face as some of the ‘fruit’s juices escaped unintendedly, its flavor traumatizing her taste buds—Evermore would it haunt memory.
Amidst composure regathering, two viewpoints presented themselves following the Kazekage’s instructions for retreat: On one end, fleeing seldom, if ever, proved for cheerful cause. On another, however—such a call may’ve just provided opportunity for ancient hallway exploration . . . A thought most self-serving—but not unrealistic.

Golden irises found themselves staring down curiously, granting attention to a presence seeking to directly introduce itself; which, under normal circumstances, shouldn’t have even been capable of speech, really—The girl was nigh certain those others buried in sand sure hadn’t.
“Goki says hello to the talking, baby monkey of gold,” she’d casually respond, as if third-person exchanges between individuals were absolute commonplace. “But she thinks he shouldn’t stay much longer—or he’ll be torn to little pieces like his friends too.” Advisal which seemed to ring wiser the further events unfolded. For, no sooner had Goki nodded in acknowledgment to Moriko’s report than would her head turn to witness a . . . thing—towering afore their village leader. Forthwith, the Hybrid considered whether this served as clear evidence she required glasses; as how she’d failed to notice the absolutely noticeable and tall in all her investigation was beyond her.
Verily, she may’ve approached to smell it; had she not considered it possibly rude to perform such an act upon something so confused and strange without inquiring permission first. Its emotions resonated felt very much similar to those exhibited by the Kei, Pantou, and birdboy throughout this journey: Familiar worry and anxiety.
Now, between this something’s manifestation and the Pantou’s offered fruit, Goki’s mind worked to determine which appeared most undesirous . . . Definitely the ‘fruit’—This ’something’, at least, hadn’t appeared requiring consumption.

“Mr. Fingerhead Man,” eventually addressed the voice some distance away, with utmost sincerity, in tones most grave. “Goki guesses Kazekage-sama must be very smart, but doesn’t think he knows where your babies are. She saw the finger matching your head earlier, but this finger was very dead, and your head is not.”

 

[Tsurara Moriko]

Bread seemed like a future medic, if Moriko was any judge, by the way he seemed to have appointed himself as such and also his initial performance in their class. Medics were valuable support, so that wasn't a bad thing. Actually, in an unknown situation like this that could be a real advantage. A wide array of skils could only help. Even with the Kazekage around. Albeit if they ran into trouble despite that...

It was in some ways disappointing that her support role here was as a scout, but that was what it was, and it was still quite important. She had facility with the Crystal Eye jutsu, true, but her preferred role was typically a ranged attacker--well, saying that, there were instances where she certainly hadn't been at range.

Besides, there ought to be plenty of things to attack. Whatever had gone for these blue-furred apes, for one.

The monkey-creature (summon?) with Ringo addressed her, but she wasn't paying attention. Instead her brow was furrowed as she kept an eye out--literally, one of crystal--in the distance. She really wanted to see what that was. Was it what they were hunting? Or something else? She couldn't quite parse it, and the only thing even vaguely familiar from her reading was...no, that was impossible. They were extinct. Weren't they?

Besides, even then, it wasn't what had killed anything. If somehow it was actually a real living sandworm, then not only would chasing it down be stupid, it would be pointless; there would be no bodies left from anything it killed. It wasn't what they were after. A curiosity. But what a curiosity!

Asura apes. That was what the blue-furred creatures were called. No, she hadn't really heard of those; her family was a shinobi clan through and through, so any ties with Sora were...well, nonexistant.

Her attention snapped almost fully back to the Kazekage at one point. Specifically, the point where he said 'use whatever force necessary.' A brief, sharp smile, her mouth crooked up at one side, slashed across her face at that before reverting to her usual blank neutrality.

We can kill things.

No wonder her relatives all went into this trade. Permission to kill things.

The apes didn't belong there. They didn't look suited for the area, true, but it was good to have that known instead of guessed.

A roar. Loud. The earth shaking.

Things to kill. She already had her bow out.

With a seemingly careless flick of one hand that might have displayed her Yuki heritage to anyone not already aware of it, a dancing thin layer of ice swirled around her. A defense, for now. It would dissipate if she attacked, but until and unless she did, that would make it dangerous to cut close to her. Meaning she could obtain a range advantage.

Not yet nocking any arrows she drew. Her alternative modes of attack were slower, and she most assuredly wanted blood if there was any in the offing.

(A crack of ribs under her feet, the splintering of bone under her hands, blood and flesh crunched under her foot. Almost. Almost time.)

It was almost absently she kept the eye up, devoting a bare fraction of attention to it. A leap back, or forward? Where was the sound coming from and which way should she be firing?

The thing she was watching stopped moving. Could she see it better? The fraction of her attention out there strained the eye, trying to see now it had stopped moving what its bulk really made up. Maybe it wasn't what she had thought?

But that was something to mention later, because there was a thing now.

Something impacted through her ice curtain but not hostile, just the medic. Moriko knew better than to whirl and take her attention away from the fight even if he might have nearly been smacked by her ice curtain. A short, sharp burning sensation had run over the back of her neck, impossible to miss even if she hadn't been knocked a half-step forward.

(Haphephobia. Clinical fear of being touched. Inside combat, not an issue. Outside? Apparently an ally briefly tripping into you invoked it even when you were ready for combat. Annoying. Not unexpected.)

It was also enough to briefly disrupt her bloodlust, particularly since nothing to actually shoot that she ought attack had yet manifested. Strafing the newcomer seemed...unwise, unless someone else attacked first. Ranged support wasn't what called the attack, after all.

What in the world?

It wasn't concern or the fear Moriko was wholly incapable of that made her step back, but the conviction in Bread's voice. Whatever reason he had for saying that, he meant it, and there was no point in taking risks. Particularly since she wasn't in any way a frontline fighter.

"I believe we are going to talk about that later," she said blandly as she retreated, finding a good shooting position further back. Her eye technically didn't have a maximum range, so she fortunately didn't have to pull it back at all. "I would like to know about it as I dislike mysteries until they're solved."

Goki had decided to attempt to talk to the...thing. If the thing itself had been the danger, or Bread spoken only out of fear, then Goki would have been the one to warn. Was it something else tied to the thing she was watching?

"The large sand-coloured thing far out that I have been watching has ceased movement," she reported to the others. "I don't know what, if anything, it's connected to. All I can tell is it's much larger than a normal living thing. Though I'm fairly certain it's a single thing, and not a swarm."

Were they going to be avoiding combat with this giant thumb-headed creature? She kept her arrows at the ready and swirling ice curtain around her, just in case they weren't.


((Bow is already drawn. Used Whirlwind Spin [Mastered] with Yuki passive Flash Freeze and then drew three arrows.))

 

[Ringo]

“I’ve known Tengoku for about a month now or so, I think” replied the student in response to the Kazekage’s query. Glancing over at his monkey summon, he flashed a bright smile and chuckled. “I’d say that Tengoku considers us more rivals than partners. I’m super appreciative of him, though. I’ve learned a lot from him and his master from the monkey realm in such a short time.” With a twinkle of curiosity in his eye, which was only further emphasized by his youth, the boy bounced a question back at his superior. “Do you have a contract summon, Lord Raizo?” He automatically envisioned their village’s leader mounted on a huge, frightening animal of sorts. Ringo heard tales that some summons were the size of buildings, so he wouldn’t have been too surprised if Raizo befriended one of these legendary beasts.

Forwarding back to present time, it was awesome to hear some history about what exactly these apes were and where they originated from. However, their fate was unfortunate. The boy couldn’t imagine the type of anguish these apes felt at their last moments and he for sure did not want to picture who or what could have caused such bloodshed. Tengoku, in reply to the warning given by the crimson hairless monkey whom he now loved, puffed out his chest. “Goki no worry about Tengoku. Tengoku small, but stronger than he look. Tengoku will protect Goki always.” It was in this moment, too, that Ringo started to catch on. Did his summon have a small crush on Kei’s shinobi friend?

His musings were interrupted by the quake and their transition into a battle formation. The Kazekage himself prepared himself for combat as he showcased an incredible ability. “Oooo!” thought both Ringo and Tengoku simultaneously. Nodding their heads, the duo heeded their leader’s words and readied themselves to follow his orders. It was in that moment, too, that their squadron was approached by a tall, odd-looking being. While the entity wasn’t the easiest on eyes, it didn’t seem too threatening as of yet. It wailed in repetition about its ‘babies’. Ringo felt a blood rush down from his head as the hairs on his skin stood. Why did this creature’s words and tone remind him of a recent danger he, Kei, Jintou, and Kazu had encountered? “Is this a Jurei?!”

The boy stood wary. He and his monkey friend were on the defensive, but they also attempted to look non-threatening to this new presence. Regardless of what it was or wanted, Ringo’s instincts warned him that it was best not to set it off and cautiously observe how Raizo reacted to it. Goki brazenly approached the creature and spoke to it plainly. Hopefully, her mention of the word ‘dead’ wouldn’t upset it further as it did look worried. Speaking of concern…

Ringo turned his head back and, with widened eyes, noticed a panicked Jintou pleading with a battle-ready Moriko. What was going on? Moriko then informed the group that something was moving along the sands not too far off from them. A lot was going on at once, but, again, the young Mugen felt his position was just to wait on Lord Raizo’s call before choosing to act. However, due to Ringo and Tengoku’s prior experiences in combat, they both instinctively prepared to defend and support their team if the going went rough.

Spoiler

Actions:

• Ringo prepares Barrier (Energy Barrier) to put between himself/friends vs any threatening creature.
• Tengoku prepares himself to protect Goki and Moriko if need be with his staff (what… the heart wants what the heart wants)

 

[Egawa Yuno]

Yuno watched as the flare lit the path up, listening to Shenlong explain the markings on the wall. Yuno paid attention in class, at least somewhat, to know of the existence of ancients and hybrids and their role in Sunagakure's history, but but the details that the walls showed eluded him. He continued to move his hand along the walls, certain that he would uncover some hidden passageway. At least, thats what usually happens in the books his mother writes. Maybe he shouldn't be taking his adventuring advice from fictional books. He placed the headset in Kei's hand, whether he agreed or not, as the mask would make it ineffective to keep.

As they made it to their first problem, Yuno could once again feel the weight of responsibility on himself. He was used to the darkness, basically raised in it, so his ability to see in absolute darkness exceeded that of most, and he could obviously tell the difference between the two routes. The safe way was obviously going to the left, it was the way most similar to the rest of these ruins. Of course, something could still remain at the end of the hallway, but the right was by far more interesting. And also possibly more dangerous than the left. But the Kazekage wanted the group to have fun, and the right seemed far more fun.

Unfortunately he was hoping that Uziuke would have made the choice instead, but the older man made sense. If Yuno wanted to become a chuunin he would need to get used to leading, in fact some of these students may even end up under his charge. Or they would get chuunin before him if he proved incompetent. He looked at Kei and Shenlong, both younger than him, both seemingly less experienced, but Shenlong seemed smarter than him, and Kei was more outgoing and confident. Would they object to his decision? Maybe, but as Yuno looked at the inquisitive eyes of Shenlong, he dropped his maintain on the clones, for they didn't seem to be much else other than a drain on his reserves.

"If it is a question of whether we set forth the polished path, or that of crude make, then the obvious choice should be right. Though left would probably probably give us some more information on the ancients and history that may have yet to be discovered, I feel the left could hold something potentially dangerous that probably should be dealt with. We could always split, but a two two group seems dangerous in the unknown." He began inching hisway toward the left side, not leaving the group but making it quite obvious he really wanted to go down the right.

----------------------------------------
Actions: Dropping maintain on Living Shadows.​

 

[Mugen Kei]

Simple obedience was a trait oft cultivated and demanded within shinobi forces. The ability to follow through on orders from a superior at a moment's notice could mean the difference between life and death for your team, and the failure or success of the mission. Now, if you asked his instructors, 'obedient' would likely not be the first word that came to mind to describe Mugen Kei. Fortunately enough for him, neither would 'disobedient'; rather, you'd probably hear something like 'hyperactive' or 'inattentive' or 'mildly obnoxious'. Of course, this was not a classroom, and the excitement of the situation was palpable enough for the young recruits without Kei feeling the need to manufacture it, and so his obedience to Uziuke's instructions both would be rather unremarkable to anyone that wasn't Enomoto-sensei. The flare proved helpful to accelerate their journey, and the call to Raizo proved a substantial boost to Kei's mood.

"Lord Kazekage says we're good to engage, Uziuke-san."
'And he recognized my voice; he remembered my name.'

As their group moved toward where the flare lay, r, Kei gave Yuno a pat on the shoulder. "About what you said earlier, I wouldn't worry too much about Ryuzaki-sama not noticing or being impressed. I'm pretty sure he took note. Besides, Moriko's a little..." Pausing to find the right word to describe his classmate, they would come to the dead-end before he could find a diplomatic way to put it, flashing a smile to mask the lack of tact in his choice. "...different."

Coming to the crossroads, Kei marveled at the destruction in the hallway that would likely break Shenlong's academic heart, at least until he caught sight of the older carvings inside. Though he got up-close and personal with the rubble to the right, peering around it to try to get a better look ahead like a child looking over the counter of a candy shop, he was, in fact, listening to Uziuke and Yuno's deliberations. "Lord Kazekage did say the goal was to locate the unbent... I don't know much about them, but a spooky cave seems like the right setting... unless this is where they came from and now they're traipsing around the rest of the hall... but I guess the right would still inform us to where they came from... assuming that's what caused this..." His lack of knowledge prevented him from being able to be as decisive as usual, but he supported his group leader by following him into the tunnel to the right. Looking up at the carvings on the walls, red sparks from the flare behind casting uneven shadows on the wall carvings as if they were coming to life, the redhead would soon drift further ahead of the group than he realized or intended before the darkness served its warning to wait for the others. "Does that sound right, Shenlong?"

-Kunai already equipped (unarmed w/ handseals), prepared to Block if necessary.

 

[Raizo]

Everything was fine... until it wasn't.

He wasn't sure who in his life had said that or maybe if he just heard it in passing. However it was he came to know of such an utterance, it always bothered him. Of course, everything is fine until it is no longer fine, why even need to state such a thing? That said, maybe it was a lack of awareness of what the sentiment was trying to convey. It shouldn't have been taken as literal and more so should have been taken as such; things can suddenly change.

It was at this point he became painfully aware of when things suddenly turned. Standing before him, seemingly materializing out of nowhere, was a strange and tall creature. Or was it human?

There is no way that is human...

His fists were already ready, the chakra had hardened his skin into a weapon, but when the thing began to speak, he suddenly found himself hesitating.

Creatures don't talk... right?

Now his brain was trying to process the correct thing to do with this new information. The thing, whatever it was, was physically imposing, so that made it a threat to the children. It was asking about babies, so that meant this might have been a concerned parent. That, if nothing else, only increased their potential threat level as parents fighting for children have been known to exceed their own limitations. Yet, if it was looking for a child, didn't that make it sentient. Would he feel good about attacking something or someone who was just looking for their baby?

It was then that Goki gave her assessment to the thing. He would smile, his brain would be focused once more. He knew the mentioning of the baby being dead, even if that thing from before wasn't this thing's baby. Just the mere insinuation that their child was dead, even without proof, would cause any logical parent to fall into either emotional collapse or uncontrolled rage. He wouldn't take the chance.

Thank you--

"Goki--"

You helped clear my mind--

"--pull the group back. Find an opening, coordinate an attack. I will draw its focus!"

In the midst of uttering this, his right fist would snap back and then rocket forward. The blackened hand would start to glow a bright yellow, that would fade into an orange until finally a burning hot red. His chakra began to pump even harder into the focal point of his fist, compounding and accumulating a large quantity of his Holy Chakra. This punch would, the firing of his Holy Weapon would hit like a canon if it made contact (Falcon Punch).

Even if this was a misunderstanding, he hoped he could tire the thing out without killing it, or at least making sure it wasn't necessary for anything to die today. He trusted Goki to compose the group, even with all of the moving personalities, as his eyes tunneled in on the thing before him.

 

[Sand Council]

Uziuke's Group: Yuno, Kei, Shenlong, Uzi
Please continue here: https://ninpocho.com/threads/into-the-unknown-linked-to-wcgw.65439/

As they would depart down the right side, down a path of the unknown, the sound of scraping metal would slowly begin to fill the path they had not stayed upon. Suddenly, the scraping would stop as figure would pause.

"Oh... alone again..." and the figure would begin to whistle a very melodic tune.

---

Raizo's Group: Goki, Moriko, Jintou, Ringo, Raizo

The Guest's golden and inhuman-looking eyes would take in all of the individuals before it. They all seemed to move differently. One bumped into another, then that one put distant between then moving the furthest away from the rest of the group. A hairy one and a less hairy one readied themselves, while a fire-haired one talked to it. The words it heard; babies, dead.

It let out a grown, one mixed with the pain of loss and an animalist howl of warning. It wouldn't stay in this state long, as the one before it, with blackened arms, began to send its fist flying right for it. The Guest's body would begin to suddenly vibrate, not shake like a normal human, but every inch of it began to vibrate, causing a bizarre hum to fill the air. As the Kazekage's punch reached it... it would find itself colliding with nothing. Before all of them, even if for some it would be difficult to capture the full speed, the Guest would suddenly slide down, or sink down, into the ground.

In its wake, there would be a small sinkhole that would quickly fill up with the surrounding sand. The Guest had entered the ground. Was it a shinobi technique? Was it even capable of shinobi techniques? How could something seemingly that large and that presumably heavy enter into the ground... feet first???

Fate sometimes was cruel. Was it a coincidence, was it luck, was it the reaction to someone seeing a world that they hadn't been meant to see? These questions might be left lingering in the ether, as the Guest would suddenly appear once more, this time upon the one who had gotten back, heeding the call of her group member who was begging her to move, or simply based on her own assessment of the situation, Moriko. The Guest would send its massive paw swiping down at the female who would need to either block or react swiftly, otherwise, while different, she would be on her way to meet the grim fate that one within the group had seen. Would the swirling chill around her be enough to avoid this fate, or did she have more at her disposal?

The remaining group would need to spring to action or watch on in despair.

"ME.... BABIES...."

Spoiler: The Guest

Spoiler: Asura Ape

Height: 8 to 10 feet (2.4-3 meters)
Weight: Up to 800 pounds (360 kilograms)
Appearance: Bluish to White fur, four arms with the two midsection arms being comparatively smaller
Habitat: Lush lands of Sora
Attitude: Smart creatures that keep to themselves and stay away from humans. When provoked, these massive creatures could easily become a terror for any Jounin to deal with, so please leave them alone.
Threat Level: B Rank for a single Asura Ape.

---

OOC:
Raizo Team: Please include a spoiler with your secondaries calculated, please keep track of your HP and CP consumption/usage, and please list out the attacks you used and anything that would impact your actions. Trying to keep this a manageable BMOD experience while also giving you all a chance to be part of the modding experience (selfishly to make it easier on me, positively because it's always good to be aware of how the system works).

Uzi Team: Pick your path, travelers