The Sudden Flood (Kirigakure Observation Topic)

Spoiler:

Lightning flared.

Thunder crashed.

The wind tore through the trees, threatening to rip the frail leaves from the trembling branches. All around them, nature bent to the storm of the Bloody Mist. Altar marched near the front of the army, a figurehead of one battalion, so to speak. The young ANBU continued in silence, his mind flush of all but what was to come. The bloodshed that may occur. The many lives that could be taken. The lucky beast inside him threatened to roar to life as the Mizukage's display of power erupted from his body, the shape of Gyuki quickly giving way to a beast of the ocean. The Leviathan. The titan of the sea.

Luckily, the boy kept the beast under wraps. Flaring his own display would be unnecessary, giving away that there were more powerful beasts here than just one. And, to be quite honest, it would ruin the moment.

The boy marched quietly along with Xyxer and the armies of the mist, before halting with the signal from the arm of the kage. The quiet drone of the march was lost among the raging storm, and the kage motioned that the shinobi should continue where the atypical army left off. So, they continued their march through the trees. As they approached the village, the storm grew more fierce, the trees around them cracking and groaning as smaller limbs shattered from their perches. About fifty meters from the gates, Xyxer motioned once more. The boy would stop in place, standing firm against the howling wind. The cloak of his ANBU armor shrouded him, the hood concealing half the mask of the mighty bear.

They had arrived.

Xyxer began walking once more, yet Altar dared not take another step. Bloodshed was not a necessity. This was not a fight...yet. Here, the shinobi of the Bloody Mist would lie in wait, for word of successful negotiation, or the signal to attack.

As Kirigakure’s ninja set to work landing the ship, Aryll watched others leap from the ship and into the waters, anchoring the ship and heading ashore. Grinning, she did the same, leaping from the boat and landing in the shallows, and while others used the water walking technique, Aryll merely sunk a few feet, Thane’s chassis still easily clearing the sea. The resulting splash drenched a few unlucky ninja, but not a word of complaint was uttered. They had more important things to do, and the surrounding storm had already drenched the lot of them. As they reached the shore, Aryll tried to stay as close to Xyxer as she could without drawing attention to it. She wanted to see what her friend was thinking, to hear his plans.

She tried to speak to him a few times, but whether she was drowned out by the storm or ignored entirely, he didn’t seem to hear her. She followed close behind, leading at the front in much the same way Altar did, Thane’s massive form looming over the crowd and staring intimidatingly outwards, the huge sword he carried held in his top right hand. Across Thane’s chassis, the symbol of the Hyuuga had been painted at the front hatch, the only thing separating Aryll from the outside.

Aryll, the current leader of the Hyuuga clan, felt it most appropriate that she should wear the symbol of her clan to its birthplace, and crush any that would oppose Kirigakure, Hyuuga or not. She waited patiently now, Thane’s form still and unmoving, chakra threads coming from Aryll on the inside, her byakugan allowing her to peer through the solid steel that protected her.

Kozurou would also hop off the boat, still maintaining his silence as the forces of the hidden Mist rolled toward Konohagakure. Ahead of them was the leader, of course. Leading from the back simply wasn't Xyxer's style, just as Kozurou had expected. Oh well. He stuck around in the wake of Thane, mixing in with the armies until the forward force began to move away from them, at which point he stepped forward as well, stopping with Aryll and the rest about 50 meters away from where Xyxer was. Seeing the leviathan rise up was inspiring, kind of. It didn't really help with his comprehension of martial arts, but it definitely gave him a sort of chill up his spine. 

The wind that whipped around them felt like nothing to his conditioned body. Looking at the leaf village, he felt disappointed. It seemed... peaceful. He was sure that there were elites within its walls, and hoped that he'd fight them to the death. If they had nothing... well, what really was the point of this whole invasion? He gritted his teeth, his ambitious grin turning into an angry grimace. If they let him down, he'd never forgive them. Either way, he'd let Xyxer do his thing. He had faith that his leader would be able to turn this into something entertaining.

EDIT: Note, I'm not tied to the goddamn mast anymore.

Mors followed suit with the rest as he hopped down from the ship anchoring itself, using his water walking technique, doing the super landing that was oh so mainstream in such a situation. He’d follow the party into the foreign lands of the fire country, the storm following them, telling them they were in favor here. It was a beautiful thing the lust for what was to come, the driven determination and intimidation the war party exuded. It was one to strike fear into the hearts of all to cross them, the actual army trailing somewhat behind the shinobi, who were all being led by the Mizukage. No one more fitting of the force he controlled and that bent to his whims.

They walked in an almost eerily uniformity, as they closed on the village, they were graced with a display for all to fear. The mighty Leviathan showed it’s head warning the village they had visitors. To make their presence known, which trumped the war drums of the tribes Mors once knew. It’s was a spectacular sight to see and be a part of, before they continued on their way. First Xyxer had signaled the army to stop where they were, and have the shinobi follow him the rest of the way.  Mors would continue following his monstrous leader and the other shinobi that were there, until they were signaled to stop and watch. Mors stood with the rest scanning all around, waiting for the slightest hint of activity. Ready for what was to come, his vigilance stayed at it’s as he watched his leader, walk towards the village alone, a true testament to his power and faith in himself. For he was their embodiment of Kirigakure and Kiri him.

Fenrir's eyes would pop open as the ship he was on stopped.  Evidently, they had reached their destination.  His fruit had yet to rot, so up the stairs he went, a green apple in one hand and a red one in the other.  Approaching the edge of the boat, Fenrir's eyes would begin to blink the light away, clearing his vision to see the other Shinobi jumping from their boats, and he would soon follow.  Rather than actually jumping off the ship, Fenrir would walk down the side using the surface walking technique, then walk to shore, continuing to use the technique.  It seemed everyone was ready to march on the village, including Fenrir, so off he went with them.

Upon reaching the vicinity of Leaf Village, Fenrir just so happened to notice the giant monster forming at the head of the army.  Xyxer certainly was scary, and the leviathan helped to show this to all who saw.  Holy shit, look at the size of that thing!  Fenrir would quickly silence Red with a shush that no one around him understood.  For some reason, while the others seemed to be bolstered by the appearance of the creature, Fenrir felt nothing but chills looking at it.  It felt like something bad was going to happen soon, but he wasn't sure what.  Shaking off the feeling, Fenrir put on his usual psycho-smile and prepared for some jolly good cooperation against Konoha.

The skies were calming, and the intense march had come to a halt with the ANBU commanders signaling the stop led by Altar Shinkou, another among the vast amount of Darkness users who counted themselves members of the Village hidden in the Mist.  Though one young boy refused to stop, bloodthirsty and hungry for battle he pushed his way through the crowd moving forward bypassing the ANBU and all, the great beasts he used to ride into battle long since back within his body.  He stood 5 meters to the front with his Sharingan active flickering trying to decipher as much as he could counting the numbers of enemy Shinobi gauging their chakra potency sizing up all of Konohagakure No Sato, sensing no real threats.  Yazu cared little for the orders likely being thrown at him, the blood lust was too great, it controlled him.  He refused to be in the back line, the white haired EGF user licked his lips from beneath his mask, salivating at the chance to tear wide the gates and tear through their defenses, to revel in the screams of the innocents and soldiers on that side as they scorched in his flames and lightning.  Anyone who looked upon him would see the shaking of anticipation was nearly too great to be controlled, his threads flickered wildly from beneath the armor, fists clenching and unclenching.  Should the rallying cry to battle be called he would carry several of the Mist ninja in on the back of his remaining thread beasts but he would ride his fire heart, and scorch the Leaf filth from the back of his phoenix.

The boy yearned for scattered bodies and a bloody battlefield, he noted the crows circling in drones, and if the boy had his way my how they would feast.  Death and Perdition would reign on them from the sky and there would be no survivors...
-1 Sharingan

All was well as the army stopped.

Of course, until one young child decided his place was at the front of the armies, past the ANBU and perhaps even past the kage himself. Like a child cutting in the lunch line. And if a child cuts in the lunch line, they receive a punishment. In less stern establishments, perhaps a slap on the wrist or a verbal warning.

This, however, was not a less stern establishment.

As the boy passed Altar on his left side at a surprisingly leisurely pace, the young ANBU would use his left hand to grab one of his ANBU blades, sheathed on his back at waist level, in an icepick grip, drawing it and slicing through the tendons in the back of the left knee of the poor child in one fluid motion, at 125 speed. After that motion, the young ANBU would draw the blade upwards and back across the back of the boy, following THAT motion by stabbing him through a non-vital area of the midriff, wrenching and twisting the blade before pulling it back out, every motion occurring at 125 speed.. Of course, the boy would have no indication this was coming, as the sheathe of the blade was made of a highly durable leather rather than metal.

If the attacks connected, Altar would step forward with his left foot and spin leftwards to face the boy, grabbing the child's throat with his right hand. The young ANBU would say nothing, not wanting to give his identity away. Instead, he would lift and toss the child over and into the crowd, the army clearing way for where the boy may land.

Dirty deed done, the young ANBU would sheathe his blade and turn back around, the march continuing. If the slice didn't connect, well...let's just say that a much harsher punishment awaited the boy the longer he drew it out.

The storm was raging on and had taken it's toll on some of the crew, so it took some time for all of the ships to make landfall, unfortunately for Jinzu his ship was one of the last to do so. As it hit the shore he was first off, marching to join the rest of the army and fall in line with the ranks. He thought he coordination of it all was magnificent, a well oiled machine, covered in the spray of the sea, battered by the rain and wind, and still churning away in such synchronicity that it was almost unnoticeable how the rank moved and subsumed those late to the party. With a good distance between the bulk of Kiri's forces and the leader that was Xyxer, it was interesting to see that instead of an all out attack they were trying to deploy diplomatic attempts, though Jinzu was sure that many of the bloody mist wanted to take apart their enemies.

He'd fall in line just in time to see the emergence of the leviathan, the show of raw power made Jinzu's heart skip a beat, and it used most of his focus to not back away a step and break line. It would be a lie to not fear a tinge of fear at the strength of their Mizukage, to be able to unveil his power over his beast so openly was a feat of confidence in one's ability that was admirable. It also bolstered his own confidence in the ability of his village, this war, if called that, was surely one sided with such individuals among the ranks and leading, though Jinzu knew that pure strength alone was not a factor that insured victory.

He stood in line with the ranks, but not everyone was so subservient, one individual, shaking with what could only be assumed was pure bloodlust, continued out among the ranks. He attempted to make his way in front of the crowd of Kiri shinobi, presumably to get a better look at the field and the enemy. But it seemed that the anbu heading the army was not allowing his soldiers to get rowdy as quick action started between the two.

Aryll stood obediently, watching every move of the Mizukage. She watched as a figure claiming to be the Hokage approached, and conversed with Xyxer, refusing to make eye contact. She saw some loser park himself over 100 meters away, far from the action. What a coward. She was tempted to charge him down and chop him into bits, but she kept her composure. To step out of line would be to displease Xyxer, as one such Shinobi discovered when he attempted to bypass the ANBU. A Shinobi wearing the mask of the bear intercepted him, either being stopped somehow or beating the living shit out of him and tossing him back into the crowd. Aryll would scoff at this inside the chassis of Thane, her eyes turning towards the boy in a glare. What a fool.

With her enhanced vision, she could make out what was being said, at least partially. She caught one of the Konohagakure Shinobi asking why Kumogakure was here, and suppressed a giggle. Was there something wrong with these shinobi? Perhaps he missed the masses of Kirigakure banners, flying high and proud. Regardless, Aryll watched intently, Thane's form a giant, standing out on the horizon of shinobi.

The one that Mors could only suspect was the Hokage from appearances, swore fealty to the Mizukage. Bending her knee and bowing to him, what was said was lost on Mors, and reading lips took too much concentration. But, it was easy to tell who the shot caller was. Mors watched without waver as the few events unfolded. One from their line seemed to have stepped out of place, and apparently needed correction, from one in a bear’s mask. That was not his story to care about though so what happened next he did not know. Xyxer and the supposed Hokage moved back to their respective lines. Across the way at the gates, it seemed something over there was happening, Mors could not see much but he could make out a few different figures moving around. Mors waited for the next order, just watching his surroundings