Having a monster of a time (IO)

Now that they were fully prepared, cart and all the materials they needed, the three of them could officially set out for the Tachibana Wildlife Reserve. Akaboshi would wait for the two others to hop inside the cart before he'd go ahead and start pushing. Immediately after Masashi jumped in, the red haired Uzumaki performed the technique that allowed him to transform into a wooden chest filled with treasure and other valuables. Perhaps his fellow Chuunin figured it would be a good idea to lure whatever was out there with what seemed to be gold and whatnot. Akaboshi agreed with the strategy, that is if they were really dealing with a creature interested in those kind of things.

The redhead continued to push the cart, an hour had passed and still nothing out of the ordinary had happened, making him wonder if what they were told was actually true and them being out there wasn't simply a waste of time. It was only after another 30 minutes or so that they were able to pick up some sound from the surrounding area. Immediately upon hearing the noise Akaboshi stopped pushing the cart as he made it come to a halt. Simultaenously and at the exact same time, the chest, or Masashi in disguise warned them to prepare themselves, which is exactly what he did

Getting a clear view of what was about to show itself, the red haired Uzumaki stepped back a couple of meters away from the cart. About half a minute later, a large panther appeared out of the trees. It wasn't a cute little cat, no the animal surely had to be around ten meters long and looked able to slice through the three of them as if they were a piece of paper. HIs moves would be slow, taking little steps, trying not to anger the panther even more. Even the slightest unexpected movement could cause the animal to attack and pounce on them, which was something Akaboshi liked to avoid if possible. For now their visitor hadn't act just yet, meaning he wouldn't either. He would simply ready himself for what was to come. 

(WC: 359, TWC: 1196)

(OOC: Skipped Keina with her permission as she already has the minimum WC requirements for the mission)

Masashi leapt out of the cart and Made a quick series of hand seals, creating a chakra scalpel. It would be more effective than the kunai in his pouch, and he’d rather not use up the clay he’d made so far.  He wasn't really paying attention to what the other two were doing, simply rushed in to deal with the panther before it could do any serious damage. They were at least on par in terms of speed, so Masashi wasn’t really at a disadvantage here. If he could get one or two solid shots in on its limbs, the fight would be over fairly quickly. He didn’t want to kill the panther; it was just an animal after all, though he would if there was no alternative.

The panther leapt at the Uzumaki Chuunin, claws extended, Masashi dodged underneath it and went to reach out and touch the tendons of its forepaw, to sever them and cripple the limb, but the cat almost seemed to know what he was doing and spread its front paws out and away, to keep them out of his reach, while bringing its back paws up to rake him from behind. Masashi had to lunge to one side to avoid the attack but managed to clip one of the back legs with his chakra scalpel, hitting the muscle but not enough to seriously hurt it. The panther landed and spun around to attack a second time. Masashi had to time his move carefully and waited for the beast to almost be on top of him, he then dodged around the front claws and spun in a circle quickly, hitting both hind legs as the panther passed. Luckily for him, he’d managed to incapacitate those limbs, which drastically reduced the beast’s mobility. With a pained yowl, the panther collapsed to the ground, the fight taken completely out of it.

It looked like a change had come over it at that point, confirming Masashi’s suspicion. Masashi breathed out a small cloud of his knockout gas that covered the front half of the injured beast, rendering it unconscious. Masashi would then walk over to it and deactivate his chakra scalpel and started healing the damage he’d done to the panther. “The panther was being controlled by something. It was acting too smart while I was fighting it,” he said by way of explanation. “I don’t think it will be bothering anyone else at this point.” When he’d completed healing the panther’s wounds he would take the food they grabbed, leave it by the creature for when it awoke, then went back to the cart. “Alright Akaboshi, you hop in, I’ll give you guys a lift back to the village.”

[EXIT]

WC: 452
TWC: 1976

Claiming:

Mission Rewards
4250 Ryo (4000 base, 250 Chuunin bonus)

Thread rewards:
-38 AP
-250 WC towards Nekobe (250/250)
-250 WC towards Kitsune (250/250)
-500 WC towards Yuji (500/500)
-500 WC towards Tama(500/500)
-476 WC towards Lord Sho (476/2500)

Approved for Masashi's exit and mission claims!

As quick as the panther appeared, as equally fast was it defeated. Akaboshi witnessed the spectacle playing out right before his eyes. In front of him, the animal and Masashi, his fellow red haired Uzumaki, battling each other. A couple of swift movements paired with the usage of his chakra scalpel and that was all it took for the Chuunin to take care of the panther. Akaboshi listened as his partner mentioned something about the animal being controlled by something and it being the reason of it acting so strange and attacking people out of nowhere. He figured it to be a plausible explanation, one they had to check once back in the village. Hopping back in the cart the Uzumaki would begin to think about what just happened.

Once they arrived in Hoshigakure again, Akaboshi said his goodbyes to Masashi and Keina as he had to start writing a report on everything that happened during their mission. 

(Exit)

(TWC: 1925 (783 + 1142 August event))
Claims:
- 1925 towards Kanade (2633 trained here)
- Mission rewards (4250 ryo: 4000 + 250 Chuunin bonus)
- 38 AP, max stat discount

Approved