An Unexpected Encounter

Salzem reached out a massive fist for the new kid, Sakaiza, could bump with his own. Salzem was still focused on Ryu, trying to figure a way to get the jump on him. He seemed prepared for a counter attack, ready to toss himself out of the way if anything dangerous came his way. With the current speed difference between him and Ryu, there wasn't much of a chance he was going to get off a physical blow, not without neutering it a little bit at least. Salzem's fingers twitched a little bit, eager to tear Ryu open just as he had a moment ago. Well.... maybe a little less. He didn't have the healing factor that Salzem had and that made him a tad more fragile. Ah, he also didn't have Salzem's pheromones, those which cripple a person for moving fast within them. Handy indeed these two things are, but Salzem wouldn't stand much of a chance without them. With the healing factor in place, Salzem had become a tad too cocky in combat. He relied on it a bit too much. Were he human back when that wind blade cut him, Salzem wouldn't have been able to do much of anything other than lay there and bleed out until Ryu came to fix his mistake.

Salzem's eyes flicked down to Sakaizaka, then at Ryu, then back at him again. It seemed they knew each other more than Salzem but that was okay. His rivalry with Ryu only really extended to physical, not mental. Whatever he knew about this kid wasn't really his business.

"So... You doubt me, huh?" Salzem's eyes flashed at his rival and as they did, his hands burst into flames as well as his mouth turning into a snarl. Salzem glared at the kid for an instant before Body-Flickering only a few feet behind him and slamming his foot into the back of his head in a surprise straight kick (Speed 215 strength 40), likely sending him spinning end over end into the sands. As Ryu pulled himself back together, Salzem would sneer at him somewhat darkly.

"Now we're even." He growled, ready for his rival's retort. He knew Sakaiza was still around and it would be best if he moved out of the way or else he'd be caught in the middle of it.

“Two years ago, that is a pretty long time. Are you a chuunin?” Ryu said while still keeping a firm lock onto Salzem’s position and demeanor. The ninja shuffled his hand together. “Well… I can take a hit. If that’s what you mean.” The genin stated as Salzem reached them and said that Sakaiza had been lying. I kind of knew, that he was. Even though I’ve never seen this guy there was always a tell if someone were from another village. It was in the way people carried themselves, people from all over had different styles of movement and unless you really focused you couldn’t hide where you were from.
Salzem’s attack was pretty obvious as he kept shifting his eyes about and looking between the two. I bet he is going to body flicker and then… Just as predicted the wolf increased his speed and crashed a foot into Ryu sending him flying backwards, the wolf didn’t kick hard enough to break bones, but a bruise would definitely begin to form in a minute. Holding his side and standing he looked at the wolf. “Now that’s a hello in the sand village!” Ryu yelled as he looked over to where the wolf and other sand ninja were standing.
 

“No I don’t doubt you, I think your good.” He responded after yelling his greeting success. Then Salzem said they were even, which caused a smile to form. “Yeah, for now. What do we do after we attack each other again though?” He said while walking over and patting sand off of his clothes. Standing before the other genin Ryu looked at him. “Want to join the one vs. one vs. one? It will be fun I swear.” Using his chakra sensory he looked over the two’s chakra presence. Okay, this guy’s chakra presence is average. Maybe he uses taijutsu.


WC: 310 

Sakaiza bumped the fist of Sal as he extended his out to him in turn. Then Ryu had asked Sakaiza a question that struck a chord with him, "Am I a chuunin?" he repeated rather quietly as he began to ponder the progress he had made since graduating the academy. "I haven't even taken the Chuunin exams yet and just found myself assigned to a Genin team here in Sunagakure." he let out feeling rather defeated. 


"Where has all my time gone in the last two years? I know I had been completing missions with Evander and getting stronger in the process, but they were nothing but E and D rank missions. I haven't even had a real challenge to test and hone my abilities. Only recently have I faced my first, tough spar and that was against Togirama, another Hyuuga. I've been learning jutsu after jutsu but I have yet to prove to the elders that I am worthy of advancing..." he thought to himself, still feeling defeated. He brushed it off as he felt a change in the dynamics around him, indicating a type of tension. 

And that's when it happened, "So you doubt me huh?" Sakaiza's eyes widened as he knew that was more than likely going to be the beginning of Sal's assault. Simultaneously, they began to strain, shift to a pearl white color and the veins upon his temples popped. Watching the movement of Sal shifting from his present location to right behind Ryu, Sakaiza took a quick jump back(1 meter behind) to avoid being caught in the attack. Sal then delivered a swift kick to Ryu sending him flying backwards. "So fast..." he quietly said to himself, for even with Sakaiza's Byakugan activated, this attack moved so quickly that it was nearly impossible for him to see it in its entirety. As soon as he could note that Sal was almost finished his attack, Sakaiza quickly made the bird hand seal, forming an air bullet in his palm. Almost instantly he released the bullet towards Sal followed by 3 more, each of which were almost 3 inches in diameter(25 Power, 25 Speed). They were not all in a straight line of attack as Sakaiza figured that he would be able to quickly manuever around them. Instead, he made sure that each bullet had a different target. The first being the torso of Sal, the second was 2 feet from the left of Sal in case he moved to his left to dodge the first. The third was four feet from the right of the second bullet's trajectory and the final was guided down the same path as the first. "He should only be roughly 2 meters from me, so for him to dodge all 4 bullets would be impossible." he thought to himself. He slightly underestimated Sal, for he assumed that if he himself would be unable to dodge all the bullets, that Sal would be unable as well. However, Sal was more than likely on a different caliber of ability of Sakaiza, yet Sakaiza did not fully grasp this idea. 

As he released his attack, he assumed a gentle fist stance and refocused his attention upon Ryu who just finished recovering and inviting Sakaiza to the spar. "Seems I jumped the gun a bit," he called out back to Ryu. Now with distance created between all three, Sakaiza's eyes were now quickly flickered, switching between Ryu and Sal to see what the two shinobi would do next before beginning his next attack. 

(WC: 576)

[AP -> 170 - 1(Byakugan) - 23(Air Bullets) = 156]

Salzem, although perfectly capable, didn't even bother to dodge the air bullets as their speed and power left much to be desired. They slammed into his arm and side, barely leaving a bruise before those were swiftly healed due to his lycanthropy healing factor. It seemed the Hyuuga kid was really not on their level, not fit to even participate in their fight. Salzem had half a mind to let him in on this information, but Ryu was easily the biggest threat here and had to focus on him. It seemed that every time a fight broke out between Salzem and a few other people, those people tended to gang up on him. Humorous, at some times, outrageously irritating at others. Such was one of those irritating times. Although the Hyuuga's attacks couldn't really do any damage to him, they were a minor annoyance. And that annoyance caused distraction. Salzem threw an arm at the Sakaiza, a flaming backhand with speed of 100 and a strength of 30, likely sending him spiraling into the sand. He intended to knock him out with that strike, leaving the "big-boys" to work. With that done, Salzem merely crossed his arms and waited for Ryu to come at him. he didn't want to be much of an aggressor today. Maybe that was just his laziness talking.

It seemed that Sakaiza got into the spirit of things quickly as he sent air bullets after Salzem. The wolf didn't seem amused though as he brushed them off and set his focus to Ryu. "Whoa, why me?" He asked as he made the clone jutsu this time making two clones. Two of the Ryu's went for the Salzem one was the original and the other just a clone.

"Ready for that new jutsu?" The original asked his clone as the real Ryu backed off, while the other ran forward at speed 125. Making three seals the clone tried to make a cyclone, but only a burst of swirling wind erupted from the kids mouth. He looked puzzled by the attempt and quickly switched into a move known well to Salzem, the rasengan. The sphere came in at speed 125, and power 40. At the beginning of a spar Ryu liked to take things slow and evaluate his opponent's moves.

The second clone ran to Sakaiza and in a flash appeared before him. "Hmm, so you use wind? Me too, I can teach you some stuff as we fight, if you want or you can teach me." He took on a fighting stance as he waited for the boy to do something.

As his eyes flickered between the two men, Sakaiza noted that Sal did not even attempt to dodge the attack. He just tanked it. This slightly displeased Sakaiza, for he felt as if he had not been taken seriously. However it simply proved that his assumption was true: these guys were on a completely different level than him. Each air bullet struck Sal in the intended spots, one of each of his arms and due to his body shift, two to his side. What happened next was truly alarming and what caused Sakaiza's eyes to stay fixated upon Sal. Once the bullets crashed into him, he had only a bruise which was expected from a shinobi of Sal's caliber, but he instantly began to recover as the bruises slowly dissipated shortly after they were formed. "How...what is he?" Sakaiza thought as his eyes, still widened and focused on Sal detected movement on the man. It seemed as if although his attack was simply throwing pebbles at a wolf, the wolf was annoyed enough to return with an attack. As he stood roughly two meters away with his eyes concentrating on Sal, they saw Sal begin to move. Only, he was moving slower than the speed of his initial attack upon Ryu. "He's not even giving me all he's got." Sakaiza said while quickly moving his arms up in a defensive manner to block the incoming blow. His arms had barely made it up in time, which significantly alleviated the potential damage dealt from that blow, however he was not immune to the attack. Sal's superior strength sent Sakaiza flying back about a meter as he fell to his back into a pile of sand. He laid there for a second feeling the pain and analyzing the intensity of the blow which wasn't even Sal's all put into it. "Maybe it's best for my sake if he doesn't give it his all....but I won't give up!" he struggled to let out while he slowly made his way back to his feet. 

As Sakaiza recovered from the blow, he heard the sound of swift footsteps approaching him. He quickly lifted his head in the direction of the steps and adjusted his stance accordingly. His knees bent, right leg forward, left behind and hands resting in the ram handseal center to his chest. His eyes were now directed at Ryu, who stood before him in a fighting stance prompting him to fight him and the two could learn each other's wind release jutsus in the process. Sakaiza then eyed the rest of the battlefield, particularly seeing what appeared to be Ryu charging Sal off in the distance. "You're not the real Ryu" he smirked, "but even though you're not I'm sure you're still more than a match for me. But yes, let's fight and maybe I'll be able to hop in the real match once we are finished." 

Upon finishing his statement Sakaiza, who was standing in his slight gentle fist stance quickly transition his hands from the ram to the snake and then to the tiger. Once this was done, two clones appeared directly in front of Sakaiza. They stood aligned so that from the clone of Ryu's line of sight would not be able to determine the relative position of the real Sakaiza from just looking at them. Sakaiza standing in the back was not finished yet. Neither clone would move just yet, only creating a diversion quick enough for Sakaiza to conduct his next handseal pattern. It was a boar then a ram which generated the recurve bow in the left hand of the real Sakaiza who stood at the end of the line. Once the bow was formed, the clones then rushed Ryu(30 speed). Each running forward until. He swiped his right hand up quickly formulating a wind arrow, aligned it with the frame and the clone's body then pulled the drawstring all the way back. Simultaneously, the clones would now be a little more than a meter in front of Ryu still aligned in position. The leading one leaped up and intended to jump over Ryu to land behind him, but could easily be hit and destroyed. While the second slid down, also intending to end up behind Ryu, but through sliding between his legs. As the clones separated and created an opening for Sakaiza's shot, he aimed the bow's drawn arrow at the torso of Ryu's clone, then released the arrow, sending it flying(Speed of 9). As Sakaiza prepared for his next attack, he would wait for Ryu's next move before swiping again at the air with his right hand and loading the newly made arrow.

(AP: 156 - 1 Byakugan - 5 Clone - 5 Arrow - 10 Bow = 135; Health: 20 - 3 = 17)

(WC: 779)

Salzem rolled his eyes, bemused Ryu was using such a familiar attack against him again. 'Twas something Ryu always used. A Rasengan. One of the signatures to the legend of Naruto Uzumaki being thrown about like nothing. The great white wolf took a step backwards, (speed 150) allowing the the spiral chakra sphere to swing just wide of it's intended target. Following up on that, Salzem would throw a burning hook at Ryu's face as he flew past, hoping his momentum and Ryu's would work in Salzem's advantage. If Ryu managed to Dodge his attack, Salzem would leap back, Hoping to put some space between him and his friend. He'd fall on all fours, growling, his voice low and vicious. His inner monster was definately enjoying himself, especially with the potential of a double threat going on here. His humanity on the other hand, was anxious, scared that something, anything would go wrong. He didn't feel that this was unjustified, rather that he felt that it was a distraction.

In any case, Salzem move slowly, circling his friend, waiting for his next attack. Going on the offensive now might be a good idea, but he's waiting for an opportunity to unleash his "special attack." Something that would seal his victory.

“Yeah, you caught me I’m not the real one.” With clones the real one is always in the back. He looked over to his doppelgangers and figured out who was the real one in an instant. They both went forward at the same time, but the one who withdrew backwards is the real one. After that Sakaiza made a few clones, the intangible kind it seemed then they moved around. He tried to make it so that the clone wouldn’t know which was the real one, but it was obvious. “When it comes to clones it is always the one in the back and besides normal clones don’t use weapons that would hurt.” He said shoving his hand through the chest of one of the clones while catching the arrow. He tossed the arrow at the other clone expecting it would just go through.

He then moved towards the bow wielder at incredible speeds and with a sweep of the leg tried to knock him over. (speed 135, power 15) “That move was the sand whirlwind.” He said still ignoring the clones that were made. There was one other way to determine if the clones were real chakra sensory, the clone technique made clones without chakra signatures. He wouldn’t give the piece of information up yet though.


The wolf jumping back gave the clone enough time to move out of the way of the burning hand, while the original just watched both of his clone’s work. “Hey, Salzem I’m going to try that majestic fire destruction jutsu. Make sure to dodge I’m launching it at full power if I can.” He signaled to his clone fighting Sakaiza. “Make sure you keep him over there.” Ryu’s clone moved back towards the original, before he could make hand signs and let out a jet of fire into the wolves’ direction. The flames shot forth at speed 80, power 80. Blanketing the area with a large flame that covered the ground for twenty meters. 

WC: 331

Sakaiza watching Ryu careful noted how he just completely disregarded the clones he made caught the arrow that Sakaiza shot towards him. He then made a comment about the clones, pointing out the obvious, that the clones were always in the front of user. As Ryu finished his statement, Sakaiza's eyes widened for he realized how futile his attack attempt was. Ryu already had realized that Sakaiza had been standing behind his clones. As Ryu dashed towards him what seemed to be like instantaneously, he dropped his recurve bow which simply dissipated as soon as it made contact with the ground. As soon as the bow touched the ground, Ryu was already sweeping Sakaiza's legs, all too quick for him to react. 

As he fell backwards, he extended his arms up and behind his head. As they went behind his head, his hands gripped the floor. Pushing off of his hands and shifting his body weight to be carried by the momentum of his moving arms and the fall, he caught his fall and back somersaulted a meter away from Ryu. When he would rise from the roll, out of frustration he let out a grunt and immediately charged Ryu (20 speed) and leaped into the air. As he did, he pinpointed a tenketsu point along Ryu's dominant arm and thrust his palm towards it (37 Speed, 19 Strength) . If he could land this attack on the shinobi, he would be able to begin his assault upon him. This was a risky attack, but he knew that Ryu far outclassed him, so perhaps the last thing he expected was a direct, frontal attack. 

(AP = 135 - 1 Byakugan - 5 Palm Bottom = 129)

(WC: 274)

Salzem cocked his head to the side as Ryu warned him about some attack he was throwing "full force." Some flame attack... As the great wolf was trying to figure this out, a great flaming wave arced across the sand towards him, the intensity being felt even before it reached contact range. While Ryu's clone kept Sakaiza out of the way of the flames, Salzem did not simply dodge. He counter attacked. At the speeds he was now moving (185) T'was easy to cross the distance of the flames' radius to a safe distance 3 mdters way. He easily could move double whatever it could push out. That wasn't all. He didn't dodge and leave it at that. He had to unleash his special attack now. The flames on Salzem's hands went out but, in it's place, a deep sanguine aura began to rise up from his twisted form. It curdled and sputtered around him, almost like a sickening flame encompassing his body. His fur began to stick up from his skin and his eyes began to glow an even darker red. It had been a long time since he had to use this attack. He couldn't say it felt good. It felt... angry, for this attack drew on his darkness. Fears, anger, hate, jealousy, spite. It all was coagulated into this mass of chakra spewing from him. And it gave him power. Temporary, perhaps, but power none the less.

He gritted his teeth and charged Ryu on all fours, covering the distance in an instant (speed 205). In a flash, he was in Ryu's face, towering over him with a fist cocked back and thrown at the kid's stomach, the sanguine aura's twisted and perverted make up possibly making its way into Ryu's psyche as well (Speed 205 Strength 55). A second later, the ground behind him would explode upwards, as if its reaction was delayed or unable to keep up with the wolf's new speed. Should Ryu be hit by this attack, he'd be on the ground, gasping, choking, trying to get his air back from the sheer impact for 1 post. He'd be immobilized, unable to attack, hardly able to breath, barely able to speak. The wolven part of him felt ALIVE with power. That felt great. He hated how he bled ancient wounds to attain this force however.