The Beauty, the Beast and the War-drobe

Salzem's wolven face curled into an ugly smirk as he heard Kira's declaration drag through his mind, her sinister growl amusing him somewhat... He knew that should be the last thing he should be feeling right now but he just couldn't help it... Anything she'd say to him right now would bring a warm smile to his lips fore she was his happiness...

Regardless though, Salzem blocked out any more potential incoming telepathic messages, needed to focus on their fight at hand, namely some shmuck that stood before both he and Queen at his side, his power impressive to be sure... Granted, he hadn't done anything yet, but all his senses registered this man as a force to not take lightly...

The lycan withdrew a strange twisted blade known as the one-winged angel from where it rested on his back (speed 145), holding it to his side as he stared down the man cautiously. He figured some kind of dramatic opening dialogue was in order, something to really set the stage for the battle that's to be taking place here today but whatever-divine-being-you-prefer curse him if he was one for tradition.

The lycanthrope did glance at his partner though, his lips scrunched up in a growl though words somehow whispered forth, quiet enough to escape the opposing ninja's ears.

"Plans, Queen...? Do we rush him or what...?"

AP: 1002

-10 Packleader upkeep (carrying over from Xyxer's topic)

Kozurou would end up about fifteen meters to the left of the beastman, when he noticed that something was up. Wow... this guy was pretty fast. It'd be good to NOT get close while he didn't have his stellar chakra up and running. If this guy came at him directly, though, he'd be in trouble. Most likely, he'd only have seconds to respond if the beastman ran directly at him, which wasn't enough time. Hmm... Even more importantly, since when did Konohagakure have this kind of fighter? Was he the result of some kind of bizarre experiment, or was it a natural heritage? Needless to say, Kozurou's interest was piqued. The guy looked strong, so naturally, his obsession with fighting took over. He wanted this guy to bat him around a bit. This invasion would be useless if he didn't get injured. 

"You there, beastman..." He'd call out to Salzem (though he didn't know the beastman's name yet, this being only a notation to save time and redundancy), "... stop right there. I'll be your opponent." He knew that with his current power level, he didn't make much of an opponent, but... well, he had some tricks of his own. Since the other two (clearly senior) ninja were standing there, not doing much, he might as well try and get an opponent of his own. 

As he spoke, he'd stretch forth his right hand, palm facing forward in greeting, but also as a gesture to tell the beastman to stop whatever he was doing and give his attention to the "invader" at hand, since Altar was clearly dealing with issues of his own. All around them, the rain still poured, and soldiers clashed, providing them a clearing of about 40 meters, of which Salzem was standing at the center.

As he spoke, he would also reach into his weapon pouch and seize a kunai, and would have it out of the pouch in a forward grip (around the non-sharp part, of course). To be fair, it was a deadlier weapon if it was blunt, but that was a story for another day. 

The expression on his face was a sort of angry, confident happiness. Anger that these leaf nin would refuse the benevolent offer of his kage. Confident, because though he was weak, he was still a Kiri operative, and that put him above the rest of this rabble. Happy... because he finally had someone strong to fight. 

As is customary, all actions are performed at max speed. Any actions interrupting his speaking or his movements would probably result in his changing his actions to respond, depending on the situation. 

[WC 439
AP is still at 350
Claiming post timer exemption as per Xyxer's topic]

Salzem's wolven ears perked up as a new voice off to his right called him out with the title of "beast-man", his full body turning to face whoever DARED to refer to him in such an... ugly manner. To his surprise, it was some short, tan twit with a thin, nearly skinny body and dark skin, an expression on his face mixed with so many emotions, one would think he had some kind of multiple personality disorder or something.

"Dead-man..." The werewolf retorted with a guttural snarl, bearing his fangs to the cocky little guttersnipe. Apparently, so bold was he, this ninja declared that he would, in fact, be fighting the lycan, pulling out a small Kunai at a modest pace, holding it up defensively. The ninja stood about 15 meters away, Queen seemingly have disappeared from the battlefield along with their initial target. The sounds of war and battle-cries rang out from 40 meters around, the clashing of metal the cries of war and anguish... It seemed the only ones that were relatively quite were them... Surely that wasn't going to last. His eyes widened though as he took a closer look... This guy was nothing but a kid... He could see the youth in his face, his eyes somewhat though most of that was gone thanks to his ninja training... He was forced to fight a child...

"Shoulda just stayed home, kid..." The werewolf growled, his fur standing up on end as if to emphasize off his rage. "I have to fight children... They send their kids to die..." These words he grumbled to himself tightening his grip on his one-winged angel.

At speeds of 72, Salzem rushed the genin (momentum rules, damn them XD), closing the 15 meters between them extremely fast. The moment he got within 10 meters, a bluish glow forming around his massive frame. With a growl, the monster's speed seemed to greatly increase, closing the remaining distance at speeds of 102, his arm extended to the side, but not up by the neck where one would expect... Salzem's arm was down low, around where the midget-kid's stomach might be, intended to blow out his guts with a fatal lariate... At least he wouldn't feel it... (Speed 102, Strength 105)

AP: 832
-(all that AP from the previous topic)
-30 for Lariate
-10 Packleader form upkeep

"Dead-man"? Well, how convenient. There were people like Kozurou out there who wanted immortality, who ran away from death as quickly as possible. But Kozurou was strange in that he always imagined himself as running alongside death. At this stage in his youth, he still (oddly enough) lacked the discipline to drive himself at his utmost. But with the constant threat and reminder of death present in his mind, he could really push himself. One day, he would die or ascend to immortality, but until then, it was safe to assume the former. Especially against such a magnificent combatant such as this.

Still, it was a pity that the beast-man was out to kill him. Kozurou's mood worsened slightly as the dreams of trading combat pointers vanished into the void. Well... he was being cruel, so it's not like Kozurou could be blamed for being merciless. Then again… if he expended a bit of chakra, he could try and gain something from this after all, despite the werewolf’s sour attitude. So… a fight they would have, then.

Human beings cannot create anything from nothing. They are always holding onto something. They are not, after all, gods.

In the moment before the lariat struck, Kozurou’s body would flare up like a brilliant white star, the bleached aura containing traces of black. Anyone with half decent chakra vision there would see that there was also a bizarre sort of chakra shell made up of similar energy surrounding his body, protecting him. Kozurou braced against the impact, preventing it from knocking him back. After all, he was now stronger than the beastman, if only for a limited time. As the wolf crashed into him, Kozurou’s stance would lower a bit, his left foot shifting slightly forward as his right arm (the one not holding the kunai) would move, the hand clenching into a reverse fist (back of the hand facing downwards) that slammed into the beastman’s upper abdominal cavity, targeting his diaphragm (at 170 speed and power, attack ignores 10 health).


“Indeed, I am but a child, the weakest among us. Yet even I am able to achieve something like this. Splendid, is it not?” Kozurou would speak (the dialogue, of course, being independent of his other actions) as the black elements of his aura faded away. Naturally, the Mystic Soul Star technique wasn’t the only thing that was making his blood boil. This guy was… strong. Achieving that kind of strength took Kozurou quite a bit of training to achieve. How long had this guy worked for his power? What kind of tribulations had he endured? If only there was more time…   


[-160 for Mystic Soul Star + Barrier (at 70 health)
-10 for Stellar Transformations (Meteor)
-30 for Sucker Punch, scaled then halved to +30/+30
150 AP remaining]

Salzem's eyes widened as his forearm slammed right into the kid's guts and he did not move... In fact, he seemed hardly disturbed in the least by the attack and was already preparing a counter-move of his own! Quickly, before the kid could even throw his punch (since he let the lariate hit first before preparing his own making the distance between them minute), the lycan's muscles bulged and expanded grossly before throwing a punch so powerful, it created a shockwave that was at least several meters in diameter that sent the air screaming in fear away from them as they bashed into his face.  (Speed 205, strength 135, Shockwave Power 100). If he attempted that punch still, The lycan would step to the right, Kozurou's punch going wide by at least a meter before being met with another punch (Speed 205, Strength 135, Shockwave Power 100) Striking the side of his temple.

Salzem would deliver 3 more punches, one to his cheek, one to his gut, and the last one to his chest all of the same stats, each blow ripping away at the ground beneath the trees around and anyone else unfortunate enough to get in the way of the vacuum strike. Once his punches were delivered or had been dodged in some way, ripping up the ground is such a way that it spread dust spread every which way, creating a minor smoke-screen between them that would give the leaf ninja time to back off or so he hoped. Salzem would take a great number of steps back, putting some distance between them, at least 10 meters should this boy allow such a thing (speed 72 for retreat), taking a deep breath and causing a faint yellow aura to explode all around him as he let it go, his sanguine eyes taking on a nearly completely white hue as he stood ready for a second assault. If the kid continues to speak mentioning how utterly incredible it was that he was able to participate in a war such as this (how Sal took his words), Salzem would grunt and shake his head.

"Its sad... Like you mist ninja are sad... You live under a tyrant willingly. You're drunk and high off blood. The only pride you might have is in your ability to kill."

AP: 747
-20 for Seven Heavens (C rank)
-55 Evening Elephant
-10 Lycan upkeep

Salzem’s body went head on with a black haired, thinner Kirigakure shinobi, neither seeming to give way initially. The blonde haired Jounin and operative of Kiri were not in the general area of the two shinobi currently fighting anymore, having apparently gone farther away to give each pair ample fighting space. It was then that the young Kiri man enveloped himself in a blinding white light, his power surging across him as he was able to deflect Salzem’s lariat. With her Byakugan having still been activated, she noted he had a similar chakra wrap around him like a shell around a snail, protecting him from attacks.

It was then Hikari reached the ten meter mark, her blood chilling as the man landed a jab at Sal’s left lung. She had expected the lycan to be unharmed, his sturdy body able to take anything she had ever thrown his way.

Yet she was sorely mistaken.

Salzem’s limp body fell to the ground with a hard thump, the damage taken to his lungs overriding his system, sending his body into shock. She was roughly seven meters away, watching in horror as he roughly kicked the unconscious shinobi onto his back and proceeded to break the tender bones in his human form, Sal having reverted back to normal when he fell unconscious. Her hands grew sweaty and her eyes widened as he used a kunai in his left hand to tear the broken limbs from his body, bloody rapidly oozing out of his opened wounds. Hikari wanted to fight him, or stop him from doing such atrocious and savage things to her brother, but if Salzem could not defeat this man, what hope did she have of overcoming him? Hikari was a newborn baby compared to Salzem, and the only thing she was actually good at was healing people.

She tried to calm her nerves down as she continued running towards Salzem, deactivating her Byakugan when she reached within five meters of his fallen body (with the man on the other side of Salzem’s body). If nothing interrupted these actions, nor the continued actions of the Kiri shinobi, the man would begin to rummage through Salzem’s belongings, pocketing anything he had carried with him such as his oddly shaped swords she had never actually seen him use before and any ryo he brought with him.

If everything went smoothly, Hikari would slow her pace to a halt when she reached Salzem, her eyes looking up at the rather tall man from her petite stature, her clothes clinging to her curvaceous body and a few strands of her snowy hair glued to her cheeks.  She raised her hands in a sign of submission as she was not here to fight him, and wanted him to know that as soon as possible.

While she raised her hands, she began to speak, her voice soft against the thundering rain, “I mean you no trouble sir as I am but a lowly medic by the name of Hikari.” She never lost eye contact as she spoke, unless of course he tried to kill her or something like that, but that would be dealt with if it happened. “I am only here to heal this unconscious young man’s wounds, if you’ll allow me such an honor.”

If the Kiri man gave her any kind of gesture to show he allowed her to do such a thing, she would kneel down beside her brother’s fallen form as her eyes downcasted to analyze his status. She fought the emotions wanting to leak out of her, unable to show weakness in the man’s eyes, otherwise he would swiftly murder her and Salzem would bleed out before any other kind of aid would be able to reach him. She made the ox and tiger hand signs, her hands enveloping in the warming blue hue of medical chakra.

She would then place her hands on his knees (her right on his farther knee and her left hand on the knee closest to her), her chakra mixing with his tissue to quicken his body’s own natural healing process, which would take a couple of minutes, as his wounds were gravely serious. Hikari kept her guard up as she continued healing Salzem, prepared to dodge any attacks aimed at her (or throw her body in the way of any attacks aimed at Sal0 if she needed to do such a thing.

(All actions done at max speed of 110. Also I will be using the +25 chakra boost option for my Amol Selseila.

Mystical Palm’s power: 100

AP: 937 -1 Byakugan -40 Mystical Palm = 896)

As Kozurou had already tuned his chakra sensory, he would have already noted the presence of the foreign chakra, and turned to face it as he stood. So, it was a medic, huh? He noted the distraught girl as he downed a military rations pill that had formerly belonged to the beastman. Interesting that it was a transformation, and not permanent. So, the kid hadn’t sacrificed his humanity to gain power. A small flower of respect blossomed for the boy in Kozurou’s heart, but he didn’t let it show. After all, they had been adversaries.


For this girl, though Kozurou felt nothing. She seemed to be an enemy medic, and that immediately put Kozurou on edge. She couldn’t be allowed to move from this spot. If she made it to the others, they’d have a tough time in their fights as well. Tch, goddammit. Rather than moving on and meeting more powerful enemies, he was stuck here puppy-guarding a legless beastman and a woman. Well, it was all for the village, he supposed.


As she spoke, giving her name as “Hikari”, he’d offer her an icy (but not cruel) stare. Well, he should probably keep the beastman from dying if he was going to fight him again some day, so he’d probably allow this woman to heal him. Annoying, but until he, too, learned the prerequisite medical jutsu, he’d have to delegate it to others.


He’d speak to her in an equally icy tone.


“You have a kunai. Sever your own hamstrings and kneel while you aid him. I will not allow you to leave this area afterwards, so you will remain kneeling.” As a side thought, talking to one of these people could provide him an insight on how NOT to train as a shinobi. Well, if she was planning some kind of attack, she was definitely being smart about it. Perhaps she was merely posing as a medical nin, and had already put him in a genjutsu. Well, either way, he to MAKE her show her hand.


Kozurou continued.


“Attempt any kind of attack or any manner of aid to your other allies, and I WILL kill you.” With that, he’d nod slightly in assent, allowing her to perform her duties. Of course, as he had just stated, if she did anything out of the ordinary, his actions would respond accordingly, in all likelihood. The pure white aura and the barrier would remain around him as the stellar chakra in his system surged higher and higher. He’d have to find a better outlet for this stuff eventually, but until then, he could use it as a defense against attacks that the barrier couldn’t block.


Since he had allowed her to heal him, if she performed the actions that he commanded her to, he would watch as she performed a couple of handseals and began the process. So, to sum up: She was a medical ninja, and though her chakra seemed quite large, she didn’t want to fight him. She also had some kind of doujutsu… he’d have to ask around back at the village if he wanted more information, but he memorized what he had seen.


Should everything go uninterrupted, he would speak to her again.

“Why did they stand?” Was his simple question.  


[+100 from rations pill,
-40 from MSS
170 AP remaining
2 MSS charges]

The young kunoichi was met with a cold stare as she arrived, to be expected as she was an enemy shinobi to the man. He could easily kill her without hearing her requests if he had the desire to do so. Yet it seemed he had other plans in mind, as his stony voice broke through the silence with a simple demand. He wanted her to cut her own hamstrings, immobilizing the Hyuuga to her kneeling spot. He also forbade her from aiding any of the other Konoha shinobi, although she knew her jutsu couldn’t reach them if she tried, and she wouldn’t dare put Salzem’s life on the line. If she was to be able to help her comrades, she had to plan everything out, and survive this encounter.

Hikari waited for the man to finish his orders as she kept eye contact with him, her mind already made up on what she would do. As he nodded his head in consent for her to follow his instructions, she withdrew a kunai from the ninja pouch on her left thigh, gripping the shiny metallic object in her left hand tightly. It was the first time she had ever used her ninja tools in battle, and ironically it would be her own blood to taint the kunai. Like an obedient puppy she swiftly slashed a thin, but deep enough to reach the top of her hamstring muscles, cut at the back of her thighs, where her hamstrings were located, holding in her yelp of pain as her blood ran down her torn tights and the kunai fell from her grasp to the ground. Her legs buckled underneath her as the muscles were cut just enough to injure her hamstrings, and she was forced into a kneeling position by her own actions.

She knew she probably looked foolish in his eyes, allowing herself to become prey for the slaughter, but if this is what it took to heal Salzem, she would do it a thousand times over. Her legs throbbed as the open wounds rubbed against her calves, and if she weren’t careful she could bleed to death just as Salzem could have, but that would take quite some time to accomplish if all the cards played out right. Yet her pupilless eyes portrayed no emotion or sense of her pain as she quickly set to work using her Mystical Palm technique on Salzem, performing the ox and tiger hand signs and focusing her chakra to her palms until they glowed a light blue color. Then she would move her hands to his knees, mixing her chakra with his tissue to quicken his natural healing process, allowing for his broken flesh to be healed within minutes and all of the nerves to be repaired, if nothing was interrupted that is.

As she was healing her brother, the man spoke up to her, causing her head to flick up in attention as she strained to make eye contact with him as he towered above her. She did not want to be rude while he spoke to her by looking away from him, and since she did not need to keep looking at Salzem’s broken body to heal him, she could allow herself to face him while they conversed. His question caught her off guard, as he had asked her the one thing she herself wanted to know.

In a gentle tone she began to answer his question as best she could, slowly breathing to keep her voice calm and steady as she fought the excruciating pain threatening her composure, “I asked myself that question at first too... It seemed like a horrendous idea to fight your army, we are surely outnumbered and outranked.” She carefully chose her words, not wanting to offend either party as she explained her thoughts on what happened, “However, Konohagakure is most known for one thing...The Will of Fire. The ideology of this village is what kept them from kneeling, wanting to loyally protect their home and family till death instead of giving in so easily to the first army that came knocking at our door. That fire within all their hearts, as cliche as that may sound to you, is why they could not cowardly kneel down and surrender, even if it would have saved a lot more lives...”

Hikari prepared herself to be met with laughing or snorting at her words, for she did not expect him to understand their reasons when she herself barely understood them at the beginning. She also hoped she hadn’t rambled too long, boring the man to her death.

(Mystical Palm at max speed and power of 100)
(AP: 896 still because the Mystical Palms didn’t go through last post, but is attempting this post)

The girl's word would be met with a slight scoff from Kozurou, but not for the reasons she believed. 

"No need to be so polite with me, girl. Like I told your comrade here, I'm the weakest among the Kiri nin present today." He'd move his left hand, swiftly returning the kunai he was holding to its pouch. But it was as he said. He wouldn't be of much aid, especially since he was so inexperienced relative to his comrades. Even Aryll was doing better, a thought that made him just a little jealous. With that mobile armor of hers, she could take on a variety of opponents without spending as much energy as he did. 

"Either way, your Will of Fire seems to be more of a liability than anything else. I suppose I'm not one to talk, since fighting powerful opponents... excites me. However, dying for some 'elan' is a strange notion to me." The stellar chakra would reach its limit within him, and he clenched his right fist as the power surged higher. His chakra control still wasn't quite where it needed to be, but for now, it was enough. More than enough, that is. Well, either way, he maintained his surveillance of the girl and of the surrounding area, keeping his chakra senses focused for anyone trying to surprise him. Wouldn't it be funny if the girl was merely a distraction to keep him occupied? Well, anyone with enough sense should know that if they bothered to attack him, the girl would be in danger. 

After all, he had yet to reveal the true power of his technique. 

"We in the mist are simply loyal. I suppose if we were given the same choice, we would also have fought to the death, if only to make things easier for our kage. A ninja as weak as I cannot be allowed to be a burden for others." He raised an eyebrow. Their kage had immediately knelt on Xyxer's command, which meant that he knew he was weaker and couldn't put up a fight. That gave him a pleasant reference frame to work off of. Well, maybe the lower ranked Konoha ninja were stronger than he and the genin, but it made no difference either way. If even he could win his fight, then Konoha was doomed.

Back to the girl, though, Kozurou decided to change the topic. 

"This beastman, did you know him?" The fact that she had come to him first was a slight indicator of that, though it could entirely be coincidence. 

[-40 for MSS
3 charges of MSS, capped
130 AP remaining]