Heading out

Akashi's cloak billowed in the wind created by his running, eager to get out into the country. Duties with the clan had died down lately, less citizens were deciding to become shinobi. This had severely cut down their military might, reducing their numbers to just one. There were several elder shinobi who had gone into retirement, but they were never anything terribly impressive. Along with his clan duties his duties from the village were significantly reduced, no missions suitable for a Jounin such as himself. So now he was taking it upon himself to stray the leaf out into the wind that the world seemed to be generating. Something was coming, other villages aren't moving much but that didn't mean they weren't preparing. If the world were to break into war, Konoha should reach out to other countries in an attempt for form alliances. Now this was no diplomatic mission that he had set out on, but making friends elsewhere in the world could never hurt. He had been cooped up in Konoha for far too long and was in long need of a holiday. However he hoped to find a sparring partner or someone to train with, didn’t want to get rusty now.

He had decided to travel to Tsuchi no Kuni and see if he couldn’t meet some shinobi to befriend and chill with. With no war in any land this was the opportune time to travel, a true excitement to Akashi. Iwagakure and Konohagakure had faced many wars against each other, it was time for a new start. Akashi envisioned this cooperation through . It’s been awhile since I’ve left the village on non-mission specific details, this should be fun! The clans being held down by the Uzumaki elders, I’m doubtful that much will happen. Setting off on a very positive note, Akashi dashed out through the gates towards the north-west.

The gates were far behind Akashi now, dirt kicking up as he made his way to the bandits encampment. This driveling scum were in for quite the surprise with his mission. It saddened him to learn a squad of Chunnin were defeated by them, displaying their obvious skill. They were no match for one such as himself but would provide a nice warm up before arriving in Iwagakure.

His only instructions for dealing with the bandits was to take them out. A more stealthy approach would be a wise course of action to take here. It was one that he didn’t often take but it seemed to be some good practice for what might be attempted in Iwagakure. A mission to steal the villages secret jutsu, not an easy task, was quite the surprise. This mission seemed more suitable for a specialized ANBU unit to undertake, not him. I suppose I should check to see if its even remotely possible.

When he got to the camp he would need to scout the area, but sure all the bandits were accounted for. Once everyone was market he would observe patrols and mannerisms of the group. Best case scenario; only a couple guards and a bunch of sleeping targets. When the lot was dead he would scan the camp for the young shinobi to retrieve their corpses. The seal provided by the Hokage would need to be used to call him to help deal with the bodies.

Having devised an acceptable plan he continued on with renewed vigor. Keeping a steady pace the sun began to dip into the sky, bringing out the moon. The Uzumaki ran through a heavily wooded area, which he quickly scanned with his sensing ability. "Nothing so far, must be getting close I hope.”  A fire could be seen from a distance, Akashi had finally found the bandits camp.

Darkness enveloped the land by the time Akashi had reached the source of the fire. Sensing his opponents’ chakra he slowed down and started checking for any looking scouts or possible traps. Fluidly working through the foliage growing around the campsite he found six bandits in all. Two had slumped over against trees with the other four situated passed out on little sleeping bags around a little shack. This must be the base of operations this little group has been working out of recently; I wonder where the Chunnin bodies are... Akashi gazed at the shed, noticing that there was a lock placed on the door. He could just barely make the lock out through the dark, but it was clear to him that there was something of value to the thugs within their preciously guarded shed. I hope the MIA shinobi aren’t in there that would be most dishonorable of these wicked men. I’m willing to bet there’s some form of loot locked away there though, although they’re not the best guards of whatever's in there.

A source of chakra fluttered in the shack, some animal that Akashi had originally considered to be a small rodent like critter. The animal has displaying a higher level of chakra then wild animals typically do. After further analyzing the charka signature he also noticed that this creature was also capable of using Suiton chakra, an incredibly surprising find in the hands of these lowly bandits. The creature must have sensed his approach as it was now moving around in its cage making considerable noise. This woke up the bandits who lazily banged on the locked door with their weapons in an attempt to quite the startled animal. This merely agitated the creature further, causing it to spew chakra infused water at the door, which seeped down the cracks into the bandits bedding. Enraged, the men unlocked the door and readied their weapons preparing their weapons in an aggressive stance. Shit, looks like these fools are even dumber then they look. I need to get in there and help out that captured animal, could make for a helpful ally. Rushing forward through the brush, Akashi quickly and quietly made his way to the unknowing bandits.

Slithering through the lush foliage, Akashi slipped his fingers over his left forearm. As he drew his finger up from the skin a round metallic surface protruded out of the skin, a thin wet film unraveling itself from its unsealed surface. So fast moved his hand that it would seem to the untrained eye as though a kunai appeared from thin air in the dark, eager to meet its victim. Akashi was no more patient then his newly drawn weapon, honing in on the bandit closest to the now opened shack door.

Lightly knocking the un-expecting bandits off balance the crimson haired shinobi had no trouble to reaching the front of the pack with great speed and ease. The cold metal pierced through the back of his targeted bandit, the large kunai easily making its way into his heart. A few gushed of blood spelled this ones end, which Akashi thrust into the air around him with a whip of his blade. The fresh blood from their quickly downed partner seemed to still something inside the bandits, however it certainly wasn't fear. These bandits knew of the shinobi and their stealthy ways but they were marauders; strong sell swords that got the job done. As the bandits went in to strike the exposed shinobi, they forgot about one important detail, the door to the shack was still open.

A torrent of bubbly water erupted where the shinobi had just stood, now kneeling down to avoid the incoming water stream. In that short moment before the bandits attacked he saw in the shack what the bandits had worked so hard to capture. It was a magnificent hawk chained to the floor. Dropping to his knees and slicing the blade, he set the bird free in hopes that it would aid him in his fight. It seemed he had guessed well, as the bird spew its powerful chakra water at the bandits, beating its wings and clawing at them.

In the mayhem Akashi quickly dealt with the remaining bandits while the hawk helped him. In the confusion he heard the low blast of a horn, which he knew couldn’t have been good. Kneading his chakra, he prepared himself for the worst to come.

The battle was over as soon as it had started, six new corpses lay on the ground before the shinobi and large hawk. The two looked at each other, silently thanking one another for being there. Sounds like more are coming, you ready for another fight? You were pretty handy back there, would make for a nice partner. You’re a Suiton user aren’t you? I could sense you as I approached; you seemed to notice my presence. Perhaps we’re more alike then I thought. The bird peered at him, eyelids tightening up as he sized the man up. We’ve more in common than you realize Uzumaki. You’re Raiton chakra will be a nice pair to my Suiton; this next battle shall hopefully go smoother. I’ll fight with you again, beak, claw and Ninjutsu. Akashi was surprised to hear all this through his mind, as well as the mention of his clan name. The bird must have some form of history with the clan, I'll have to as about that a different time. He had never heard of any bird that could talk through their mind. Quite the curious creature he had happened upon here, one that seemed to take a liking to him.

Focusing on his sensory ability Akashi located the incoming forces and assessed their strength. It seemed a platoon of soldiers was headed their way and by the sound of their war horn they weren’t friendly. Sounds like these bandits were in some deep trouble must be another band of mercenaries they owed something too. I’d have to guess one of the local samurai gangs, must petty criminals find themselves in trouble with them at some point or another.

Ok, I’ll create a shadow clone and engage the group from two points, throwing kunai and shuriken from a distance to slow them down and hold their attention. You fly in from the side and sweep down low to spray them with your Suiton jutsu. I’ll combine that with my Raiton jutsu to hopefully take out the group, if not decommission a few. We then run in and clean up the rest. Looking up he saw the hawk nod in acknowledgement and fly off, ready to take his/ her part in the plan. Forming the clone seal he ran off in two different directions, readying kunai and shuriken in each hand.

The identical shinobi shot off in opposite directions, making sure to keep their presence hidden from the incoming group for as long as possible. The two made their way into the trees to maintain the element of surprise, hoping that the men would stop once they got to the bandits campsite. Once Akashi and his clone were situated on either side of the site they stopped in the trees, waiting for an opening to strike. A band of marching samurai came into view through the leaves, only they were not alone. Another group of fast moving samurai made their way to the camp from the opposite side, ensuring the bandits had no where to escape. The samurai were quite surprised to find the six corpses lying in the dirt, to which the responded with a meticulous search of the area. The quicker and more elite looking group scanned the trees and was amazingly able to spot Akashi and his clone. One member of the faster group, who had a small flag fastened to his back, fired a arrow at his clone, making a loud screeching sound as it zoomed towards its target. These served as a locator to the other samurai, those of which who had bows soon began showering the area with black tipped arrows.

His clone was immediately destroyed by the arrow, luckily the original had his kunai still equipped and was able to fend off the incoming arrows, mere child splay to someone of his skill with shinobi tools. Thrusting his kunai into his holster he leaped down from the tree, simultaneously forming the hand seals required to perform a Raiton jutsu.

Raiton Release: Electromagnetic Murder!

A web of lightning bolts shot out from his hands, showering down upon the ill prepared samurai. As soon as Akashi began to weave hand signs the elite group quickly got out of the Raiton jutsu’s range, revealing there knowledge of the shinobi arts. As the bolts of lightning descended upon the lesser group a downpour of water came from above the trees, the source of which Akashi could sense was the hawk he had set free. The brilliant move combined with the Raiton chakra and eliminated the first group entirely. Now only the elite group remained, consisting of about

A sickening smoke rose from the now dead warriors that parted as the elite group of samurai walked past their fallen comrades. The brilliant display of teamwork from the shinobi and hawk created no reaction from this well trained group. They cautiously approached the two, watching their every move to try and pick up on any unseen jutsu.

As the samurai crept closer to the shinobi the golden hawk flew down through the trees and landed next to Akashi, keeping a close watch on their foes before them. The smoke dissipated into the air as a one of the samurai dashed towards Akashi, fluidly drawing their weapon from its sheath on their back. The other samurai held their position as their comrade rushed the enemy, all holding their weapons in a readied stance. Akashi parried the incoming blow with his kunai in hand, quickly performing a head count on the remaining enemies in the area. He was interrupted by the continued assault of the well trained warrior he now faced, preparing himself for when the other samurai would join the battle. Sparks flew from the weapons of the two armed combatants until the samurai tripped on some unstable footing allowing Akashi to strike a lethal blow to the samurais unguarded neck. Seeing their fellow soldier downed so quickly by Akashi seemed to trigger something in the samurai and they all came at him at once.

Ten in total huh? Well this ought to be a bit tricky, I could use some help here buddy. They must have been watching their comrade to analyze my fighting style and jutsu, their not the average samurai thugs here.

I’ll try to help out, but with their long ranged weapons I’m not sure how helpful I’d really be. I’ll try to wait for an opening to strike to help, thats the most I can do now with my current chakra levels.

Drawing his sword from its seal on the cloth by his forearm he prepared to engage the remaining ten enemies, making sure to show as little of his jutsus as possible.

The samurai advanced on the shinobi with a tenacity far greater than he had experienced in a long time. In fact it had not been since the great nations were at war with one another and bloodshed ran rampant almost everywhere. Those moments of pure fury, fighting with groups of determined and cold shinobi to the death. If one's comrades died right before their eyes they had to keep their attention on the enemy, for one moment's hesitation meant the difference between life and death. That same determination burned in the men and women before him, obviously hardened warriors who had seen plenty of years on the battlefield.

And shinobi for that matter, they definitely well aware of how to deal with shinobi. I can’t let any of those before who’ve see my jutsu live. This may be peaceful times, but no good can come from letting those who do you harm that know your weaknesses. Come my feathery friend, let us dance with these seasoned warriors. Hyyyaaa!

Time seemed to slow as Akashi took in the overwhelming ten enemies that now surrounded him. Each one of them held a traditional samurai katana, obviously all masters in this art form. I’ll be cut to ribbons if I take them all with just arms. Some more complex and lethal jutsu will have to be used here, thankfully Raiton is such an offensive element.

Akashi then took a tremendous leap into the air, straight up from where he had been standing. In while in the air he sealed his weapons back into their cloth location on his arms, hands changing into hand seals. His chakra responded to the formula it received, electrical snaps began to hop all over his hands. Dragon! As the last hand seal was formed the chakra followed the instructions he had crafted with his hands. The tiny electrical snaps on his hands grew into large bolts as they zapped out of the hot air around his hands. The bright blue streams came upon their targets... and blast of in different directions once they connected. They moved on as if nothing had happened, shuffling something in their hands onto their backs. It seemed to be some small and thin shield that was slung over their chests. On the front of the shield there was a black material that seemed to have a shine to it, yet didn’t look like metal. Whatever it was it was capable of deflecting Raiton jutsu, with the help of some of their chakra to enhance it.

Damn them, seems they have some black and shiny material on some shield or part of their armor. I noticed a strange chakra fluctuation one the attack neared them, must be some jutsu of theirs. To think they’d know to counter my Raiton chakra with what looked to be rubber on their damn shields. They’ve definitely fought many shinobi before, this is just beginning here.

As Akashi’s body reached the peak of his jump he started back down to the ground again, towards the dangerous samurai. Grabbing a branch he swung up into the trees, hoping to gain the advantage in the unbalancing footing. The samurai stayed on the ground and tracked him, making sure not to lose sight. This is where my victory lies, up here where I have the advantage. Looks like these guys aren’t very good when not dealing with targets on the ground. Must be pretty unfamiliar terrain. I’ll use that to my advantage! Spinning around a tree Akashi formed his hands into the clone seal and a duplicate poofed next to him. The copy pressed off against the tree, so to the following samurai it would appear that there were two Akashi’s going different directions now. They split forces to follow the two shinobi, five going both left and right to pursue the crafty enemy.

I’ll need your help now feathered friend. I need you to help distract the group following the original me, I’ll be bringing them around to face their comrades. My clone will have something prepared for them. I’ll I need you to do is fly in low into the trees and hold their attention. I’ll throw kunai and shuriken to keep their weapons busy, hopefully that’ll make it safer for you.

Alright, I’ll join in the fight. I don’t have much energy but I can help with your plan. You’re quite the strategist aren’t we?

His clone leapt around the trees, keeping his group plenty busy. They were beginning to fan out however, something seemed fishy. Suddenly his clone couldn’t sense one of them, they must have ran away or something. This can’t be any good, gotta keep my guard up. A rustle above the trees knocked some leaves down into the clones face, blocking his view temporarily. As he opened his eyes again he got a full view of one of the samurai zooming towards him from a tree branch. Luckily Akashi had the upper hand and ground and he easily dodged the lunge. Going behind the samurai he pushed off from another tree quickly and shot towards the off balanced warrior. A whirlwind of chakra began to twirl in his hand, forming into the fully formed Rasengan. The orb plunged into the man's lower left back, armor and flesh flying out of the dangerous chakra jutsu. The man howled in pain, crashing down to the ground below, his comrades closely following. I have to be more careful, one more accident like that and I’ll mess up the plan.

As his clone was busy with the other group Akashi had to focus on his task. Alright, so I need to cause a double distraction with my ranged shinobi tools and my hawk friend. Then I need to bring the group to where my clone is where we’ll both zap em with our Raiton jutsu combined with the hawks Suiton. Even if their shields protect them the water will ensure all areas of them are affected.

Grabbing ten shinobi tools Akashi threw three at the enemy, spacing it out between the five. As the weapons closed in a yellow blur crashed through the trees. A talon sliced across the cheek of one samurai drawing the first blood of the battle. Continuing to throw the weapons the hawk swooped down and clawed at them, holding their attention at the canopy of the forest. They had no idea they’d already turned around already.

The two shinobi closed in on each other, the only two amongst the groups who knew it. With Akashi’s sensing ability such strategies were mere child's play, the group was as good as done. The duplicates glanced by each other, already preparing their raiton jutsu to release it upon the enemy. Just as electricity began to bubble out of his palms a shower of water burst out from the top of the trees, drenching the samurai instantly. They were confused as to what caused this momentary rainfall, until they saw the same thing in front of both groups. A leaping shinobi, grinning with his palms faced outward, bolts of power growing slowly out of his hands. Just as it had at the beginning of the battle, time seemed to slow. The electrical streaks twitched towards their ill prepared targets whom had already accepted their fates.

The Uzumaki clan leader’s hair turned light pink in the flash of his jutsu connecting with its path. Smoldering soldiers fell to the lush green ground, forever tainting this aware with the scar of battle.

Smoke wisped at the ground where Akashi’s clone had stood moments before. The battle was over and such things were a waste of concentration to uphold. The rescued hawk came down to its rescuer and spoke.

Uzumaki I must thank you for your service. I would have been sold to some rich bastard very soon if it weren’t for you. I am in your dept. I am a summoning animal and would like to offer you our contract. The scroll is in the cabin, along with those you seek. If you so wish then bring the scroll to me then we may commence the signing.

Pushing past the vegetation on the ground the red haired shinobi made his way back to the bandits original camp. Within the shed lie the missing chunnin, stripped of everything and rotting. This is a horrible act, even for loley bandits. Akashi felt a wave of well being knowing he’d killed the ones responsible of such a misdeed. Grabbing the scroll Akashi made his way back to the hawk how stood just as he had before.

I would be honored to sign a contract with your people. Unrolling the scroll in front of the hawk Akashi kneeled down and signed the paper with his chakra created ink. Being so skilled in Fuuinjutsu had its perks, such as no longer requiring the barbaric act of biting one's thumb for blood ink. With the chakra signature set in place, the hawk grabbed the now rolled up scroll and flapped away.

If ever you may need me you can summon me. I’ll be an aid to you in your times of need.

Akashi then focused on finishing the mission at hand, pressing his hand on the spot the Hokage had place the Hiraishin seal on and leaked his chakra into it to try and talk with his leader. Hello Nakago, can you hear me? I’ve found the missing Chunnin bodies. I’m afraid it’s a bit of a nasty situation would you like to come see it?

((*cough* Try putting chakra into it, or throwing it to the floor. Right now, you're just talking to a piece of metal...))

(Haha, tootally thought I used chakra with it, whoops. There, all fixed)

A flash of golden light lit up the area for a brief second, a small surge of chakra produced as a man suddenly was there when before there was nothing. He stood tall and proud, adorned in red and white robes, a hat upon his brow detailing to the world just who this man was-

The Hokage of Konoha.

His single eye took in the scenery around him, easily taking in the dead bodies within the open shed, and the destruction outside. He took in the slightly haggard from of his top Jounin- Akashi Uzumaki. In his slightly curt tone of business, the man now in what is dubbed at "Hokage-Mode" ordered, "Report." He fully intended for the man to obey him, and needed to say no more. Everything was covered by that one word. If he was injured, the Hokage would heal him as well.

With a sudden flash of yellow, the Jounin's leader appeared before him. The Hokage seemed to take everything in mere moments after arriving at the battle torn environment. With the authority only held by those in the kage position, the man uttered a single word, “Report.” This was official village business after all, two friendly soldier had been murdered here and it wasn’t pretty. “The mission to eliminate the dangerous bandits is successfully complete. I was able to find their bodies, however they are fairly abused. They’re stripped and rotting in this shed over here, along with their cloths in the corner. The bandits also had something else in the shed, a hawk summoning they had captured. The bird freaked out when I arrived and I was able to use the confusion to my advantage and took them out. If it wasn’t for that guy I’d be in a lot worse shape. Seems these bandits were in it bad with some local samurai, two squads came down here looking for thek. It was just my luck they decided to pop up then, had to go through all of them. One of the squads was very interesting though, drew the fight out quite a bit.”

Akashi wavered a bit, leaning on a nearby tree for support. “Man, those bastards really had me going. I had to use way more chakra than normal, these were some serious guys. Anyways, this particular group among the samurai were extremely knowledgeable in the dealing with shinobi. It’s as if they were specifically trained to fight us, or have fought enough shinobi to know how to approach us differently. This may just be some isolated incident, but these special samurai cannot be underestimated. These men have definitely killed those of Jounin rank before, I could tell by trading blows.”

Listening intently, the Hokage finally nodded his head when Akashi was done. So there were samurai in the Land of Fire, eh? Strong enough to give his top jounin a run for his money. Anyone else likely would have died. This... Was not good. Nakago wondered just what else was going on. He'd send a team on it later, to figure out exactly what was going on. But for now, there was business to do.

Looking closely at his Jounin, he noticed the man was not hurt. That was good, he supposed. Just tired. But the jounin could recover on the road. He still had his missions to Iwa to do. It was with that in mind that Nakago coughed once to clear his throat and get the attention of the Jounin. He calculated the time spent here, and realized that he could, in fact, do this.

"Jounin Uzumaki Akashi, I, the 16th Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato, hereby congratulate you on your successful completion of the S-rank mission, with the objective of destroying the bandits, recovering the bodies of MIA Chuunin Squad Sigma-B, and discovering vital information to the defense of your nation. Upon completion of your other missions and subsequent return to Konoha, for this mission, you will receive a sum of 600,000 yen. Well done. Now, seal up the bodies, hand them over to me for proper burial." His eye softened and he placed his right hand on his shoulder, "I'm proud of you, Akashi. You've done Konoha and your clan well."


((One for post by you, and that'll be 16 posts total for the mission. I'm planning on making it an S-rank completion, though. So it'll be you, then me, you, me, then you. Maybe put another samurai into the next post or something. A samurai of extraordinary power.))

((Awesome :DSounds good to me, let it begin!))

The Uzumaki leader sank down to one knee, humbling himself before his Hokage as he commended him on the successful mission. “...successful completion of the S rank mission...” Hmm? I suppose there was a definite extra effort I was forced to put forward during the mission. Those samurai were really tough, brought me back fighting in the last war. I suppose I did do pretty well, didn’t get sliced by those elite samurai. “Arigato Hokage-sama, nothing I couldn’t handle. I’ll get to sealing the bodies right away.”

Getting up from this kneel Akashi walked over to the dead bodies and pulled out a small scroll to put them in. Leaking the smallest amount of chakra into his right index finger, the Uzumaki drew out the necessary formula to seal the two corpses away. His chakra turned into a black ink that appeared over the bare torso of the deceased Chunnin. Akashi thought back to his Chunnin days, during the series of wars throughout his shinobi career. For such young and promising shinobi this was truly a terrible event. Three soldier had been lost, which is a fairly significant military loss. While tensions weren’t high between the major shinobi villages, any number of things could set it all off again. Once the seals were placed on the two Chunnin, Akashi slammed his hands down onto the scroll. A swirl of seals spread out from his palms and rushed towards the bodies. With a transparent swirl the bodies zipped into the scroll.

Tying the scroll Akashi walked over to his kage, ready for the next leg of his journey. “Hokage-sama, I have have a request I’d like to...” Akashi stopped mid-sentence, disturbed but what he has just sensed. An immense chakra was making its way here and it was arriving soon. It was a singular chakra source, moving with far more speed than he thought possible for something so large. “Hokage-sama!" Akashi yelled looking directly towards the threat, "Incoming enemy force, he’ll be here soon!” Tossing the scroll into his pouch he flashed his right hand over his left forearm, drawing his large kunai from the seal inscribed on the cloth bound to him. Jumping back from the incoming enemy Akashi saw them enter through the trees. A giant of a man loomed before them, standing no less than four meters tall. This monstrous figure carried with it a giant katana, reaching up to 5 meters tall and tied to its back. A noise came from the samurai, echoing out of the man’s intricate mask. The giant arms moved in a flurry of motion towards its sword drawing it while transitioning into a diagonal slice. The quickness of the attack surprised Akashi and caught him off guard. A chain suddenly burst out of Akashi’s chest, giving off a golden hue. Hooking around a tree it pulled him to safety, barely avoiding the lethal strike. Jumping off the side of a tree the leaf Jounin flew to the ground, trying to think of how they could take this beast of a man down.

Just as the large samurai came barrelling into the room, and Akashi managed to get out of harms way, Nakago had unleashed a ninjutsu at point blank range right into the samurai's face. It wasn't a complicated or difficult ninjutsu, being fire style: grand fireball jutsu only, but it would have burned the man alive regardless. Nakago was that good.

But alas, instead of being burned alive by Nakago's lightning fast jutsu reflexes, the fireball... Did nothing at all? The man, his masked face covering everything but his glowing red eyes released his massive sword from his back and shoved it through the Hokage's chest before Nakago could even get over his shock at the man being immune to ninjutsu.

Grabbing the sword, Nakago forced it further into his body, and, with all the chakra he could use, punched the man in the face. The punch, however, while making him fly away in pain, was only what a normal punch would be. Still, the man would be feeling it. Then, Nakago pulled the sword from out f his stomach, and tossed it aside. His hands glowed green after a single hand sign, and Nakago healed himself, the injury vanishing quickly. Being stabbed through the stomach means nothing when you're one of the world's best medical ninja.

Glaring at the samurai, who held out his hand and his sword somehow teleported into his hand is a flash of green energy, Nakago yelled out to his companion, "Be careful! He is seemingly immune to ALL chakra! Ninjutsu and my chakra enhanced strength did nothing to him."

After the initial slice of the samurai the Hokage fired a Katon jutsu nearly point blank. There’s the offensive move we need here, now we just need to come in closer and them ‘em down! The samurai didn’t stop moving and thrust his sword with incredible speed straight through his Hokage’s chest. Blood splattered from the fatal wound, but the body kept moving and pulled itself closer to the giant warrior. A loud smack echoed through the trees as the Konoha Leader punched the samurai off balance. Ripping the blade from his pierced torso he activated some healing jutsu. His wounds mended themselves immediately, closing up the hole in his chest. Wow, that’s some insane jutsu there. Guess that’s what it takes to be kage level, can’t imagine it’s too light on the chakra cost though.

Akashi quickly looked at his arm, remembering the time the Hiraishin seal Nakago had placed there. With his photographic memory he instantly recounted the design of the seal, it’s ingenious formula fully displayed.



In a split second the Uzumaki shot his hand to his held Kunai. Slamming his fist onto the handle he poured his chakra into the image of that seal, meaning to fully replicate it on the Kunai. He immediately poured his chakra into the newly made seal, trying to elicit a reaction from his leader. “Nakago!” Akashi then threw the Kunai towards the still unbalanced samurai, hoping to end this here and now.

Did Akashi just? Yup, he did. The genius of the Uzumaki studied, understood and replicated the seal for the Hiraishin jutsu, then threw it so Nakago could use it. Grinning weakly a bit, as getting stabbed in the belly IS a terrible ordeal, Nakag staggered, before flashing behind the brute of an enemy. Flashing, Nakago, who lacked any bladed weapon of his own, flung the enemy at Akashi, yelling "Finish him!"

For his trouble, the Hokage took a slashing wound to the chest, and was unable to dodge it to set up the finishing blow. He hoped Akashi could kill him as he landed on his back, once again activating the mystical palm jutsu to heal himself. After that, he lay there, taking a deep breath as he was sure Akashi could finish the enemy.His hand wrapped around the kunai Akashi had thrown and he lifted it up, admiring the steel blade. "A shame I can't throw weapons myself..." he muttered quietly.

JUTSU USED
A-rank Mystical Palm -50% chakra.
D-rank Hiraishin Flash -50% chakra.
Chakra used total: 1 A-rank and 1 D-rank total.

With a burst of yellow light erupting where Nakago’s body had rested moments ago, the Hokage teleported instantaneously directly at the samurai’s body and grabbed at the huge chest. Tossing the armored warrior towards the exhausted Uzumaki, Nakago yelled out, “Finish him!”

This simple order was all the red haired shinobi needed to hear. Time seemed to slow down as Akashi accessed his chakra, reaching for the special valve linked to the sea of chakra granted to him by his heritage. A sudden wave of chakra splashed over his depleted reserves, giving him the strength to make his final move. As the giant of a man flew towards him the Jounin’s hands moved in a flurry forming the clone seal. A duplicate of the Uzumaki stood next to the original, whom was already jumping into the air as part of his plan. The clone lifted its arms up to support the weight of the original, pushing up as the Akashi pushed off and was sent flying into the air. After the original was sent into the air the clone dashed towards the samurai with a newfound speed. In a swirling motion he performed the Konoha Taijutsu move that resembled the elegant movements of a falling leaf. Leaf Strong Whirlwind! Sweeping into two consecutive 360s the clone kicked upward, sending the heavy samurai completely into the air.

As the samurai reached the peak of its launch a figure darted down into the stomach of the flung man. Akashi held his previously concealed sword straight downwards, piercing straight through armor flesh and bone. A loud crack reverberated throughout the wooded area, as his sword poked out through the spine. Shattered vertebrae chunks flew to the ground and the samurais eyes suddenly went into the back of his skull. The samurai was dead before the two reached the ground, the clone vanishing as soon as they did. Getting up from the corpse Akashi pulled out a rolled tobacco cigarette and lighter from his left vest pocket. Lighting the cigarette he took a strong inhale, lasting several seconds. Expelling the smoke Akashi could feel his body loosen up, muscles releasing from their flexed state and chakra done kneading. He could still feel the affects of the extra chakra in his system, but knew all too well the side affects later. His chakra would temporary shrink in a small relapse for depending on this extra chakra. "Here’s the scroll containing the Chunnins’ bodies, they’re not in great shape but should be recognizable. Hokage-sama I have a request if you might hear it. I was wondering if there were any Hyuga available to assist me on my mission. I could really use a pair of Byakugan to help find the hidden scrolls at Iwagakure. I have a plan to obtain what information I can, I need to simply locate them first.”

After a moment, Nakago finally stood up. Glancing over at the body, he saw the samurai was dead. What a monstrous ability he had... To be completely immune to chakra. Nakago was worried at what this could mean. He was worried about some sort of plot by the Samurai. Still... He had better worry over this later.

Right now, he had to talk to his jounin. After taking the scrolls, he drew a deal on his arm with his blood that he bled earlier. Then, he sealed the scrolls into his arm and watched the blood dry. They'd be fine there for now.

Then, Akashi wanted a Hyuuga's help. Frowning, Nakago shook his head and articulated his reply. "The only Active Duty Ninja of the Hyuuga Clan available right now is Ren Hyuuga. But he's just a chuunin, and not a very good one. He was having trouble with a gennin of all things from Suna, I think. So yea, you won't have any back-up on this mission. If things REALLY go south, and you're forced to fight off the entirety of Iwa, I'll flash in, grab you and the scrolls you find, and flash out. " He frowns, thinking, Think of it as a test of your skills."

So apparently there was a Ren Hyuga who was too lacking to be of any assistance to the senior shinobi. “Well, if he’s not any use to me then I shouldn’t bother with dead weight. You should try to check up on him, give the kid some pointers. I’m sure even a member of the prestigious Hyuga clan would be humbled to learn something from you. That is if you have time in your busy schedule, I’ll certainly be seeking him out when I return. A skilled Hyuga could be the difference between failure and success in any number of military situations. Might even take him as an disciple if I feel he's up to it, could be fun to train a young Hyuga. Any who, I’ll be off now. Thanks for your help against this last samurai here, it was strange he was all alone. Must have been sent to investigate his missing comrades. I’ll be surprised if these are the last of these strange samurai we’ve seen today.”

Akashi headed on towards Iwagakure now, the real reason for this whole journey was just beginning.

Train him, huh? Nakago stood there thoughtfully, thinking about that. It was time he took a student of his own, after all. Waving good bye to Akashi, Nakago stood around, looking around. He wondered if it'd be a good idea in the end. Hmm... Walking around the camp, Nakago viewed all the dead bodies. There were quite a few, after all. Frowning, he took stock of his chakra. He'd used his ces once already, Flashed 2x already, made 4 seals... 2 S-rank jutsu, half a A-rank jutsu and 2 D-rank jutsu... He had a little over half his chakra. So he could make about 10 B-rank jutsu and flash home before he needed to replenish his chakra. Nodding, Nakago went to the corpses strewn around, and using the dead soul jutsu, he raised 4 dead bodies with B-rank chakra each in them, and put the rest of his chakra into them, making them have two B-rank chakra amounts in them total. Nodding at them, they knew what to do, and the reanimated bodies leaped away, but not before he handed one of them the kunai with the hiraishin tag carved on it in chakra. He had just enough chakra to vanish in a flash of yellow light.

[exit]