Drop the turtles, you fiend

Drop the turtles:

Today was an abnormal night for Kizmaru as it was clearled of the mist. He didn't expect to find himself buried under the sand, waiting for poachers to come and attempt to poach turtles and their turtle eggs. These weren't your average turtles but large turtles that were roughly the size of rhinoceros with a unique shell and color that were quite rare, especially their shells and hide. They are also extremely endangered, on the verge of going extinct. They are one of Kirigakure's biggest tourist attractions since they could only be seen doing their mating rituals at certain of the year at evening and this happened to be one of their evenings. Him and a small group of shinobi were currently in hiding since they had received word there might be poachers skulking about and certain uncommon animal numbers have started to dwindle. Kizmaru wouldn't abide by this because if the turtles had gone extinct or they stopped showing up on beaches because they deemed it unsafe, it would cut into quite a bit of Kirigakure's profits from its tourism gains. While buried beneath the sand, Kizmaru had been in his Jounin attire in order to disguise himself as a normal shinobi. 

He didn't think something like this was serious enough to be roaming about as the Mizukage but serious enough to do something about it himself. Currently, he was wearing his yellow button down shirt with his Jounin vest above it, navy blue pants and ninja tabi. He had his weapon pouch with his consumables just above his hips and his blade on his back. Lying on his stomach underneath some sand, he continued to wait in hopes he would be able to catch the wrong doers in the act so he could pass judgement right then and there. He hoped his team would have taken different vantage points in order to cover more ground this way as his vision was a bit limited due to the sand.

W.C: 330

Night crested above the island. The moon glimmered above the sea, sky spattered with countless stars... or something like that. Momochi wasn't much of a poet, but if she was, she was at least eighty percent convinced she'd find some form of inspiration in the surrounding scenery. In truth, she was here on a mission- there were reports on a gang of poachers who had been making their way across the islands, trapping and killing various rare fauna to sell for ryo. Of course, one of the most prominent examples of native wildlife were some of the massive sea turtles that dotted the beaches. They were gargantuan in size, even as babies- and their shell patterns and eggs were highly valuable.

Not to mention they were critically endangered.

She had thought she spotted Kizmaru- the jounin she had trained taijutsu with a few weeks earlier at the behest of the Mizukage- on her way to the beach, and should he indeed have been there she had been within his line of sight as well. Currently, she was standing in the water. The sand dropped off quickly, enabling her to stand in a depth of a little over one meter while still being relatively close to the shoreline. She was strong enough that she could stay put in the mildly chilly water without being dragged by the tides- but to ensure that she wouldn't move at an essential moment, she was using the surface walking technique on the wet sand below.

Additionally, she was transformed- nothing too big or strenuous, but in the darkness, she was nearly indistinguishable from the waves themselves. Her skin, hair, and eyes had taken on a blueish black coloring- the clothes were a bit tricker, but especially to people who had no ninja training it would be nary impossible to see her without closer investigation. Nonetheless, she was crouched as low as she could go while still keeping her nose above the water.

Mostly, she admitted, it'd be hilarious to see their reactions (should they show up) if she revealed herself- a crazy woman with an axe jumping out of the ocean was a highly unusual sight to put it mildly. Nonetheless, she waited patiently. The poachers needed to show up while convinced that nobody was here. That might encourage them to spill things they otherwise wouldn't- as well as get them to drop their guard.

Still, she waited silently, content to be waiting in the presence of who she assumed was Kizmaru. She wasn't sure what to think about him yet, but he seemed agreeable- his sneers seemed to be more replacements for smiles than an outright attempt to belittle. Either way it didn't matter to her, really. He had helped her with taijutsu, enabling her to pick it up mostly on her own after his tutoring, and that was enough in her book to earn him a tentative Official Momochi Seal of Approval (tm). A soft exhale left her nostrils, barely interacting with the water before her at all.

Hopefully, something'd happen soon.

[WC: 509]
[Total WC: 509]

Yosei disliked clear nights in Kiri. Yes the sky was beautiful, star speckled and unclouded as it was, but he always found himself longing for the mist that cloaked every storefront and obfuscated the horizon. There was simply no atmosphere to empty, clear-skied nights like this one. He was nestled between blades of long grass on a little mound that overlooked the beach, well positioned to provide backup from the rear should it be needed, or to halt any poachers should his comrades force them to flee in this direction. He was shrouded in a dark green cloak to aid his camouflage along with the dense grass.

Creeping around on this beach reminded him of the last time he was here. During his Academy days, some students liked to use the turtles as a challenge. Whoever could sneak up on one, without being seen and causing it to retreat into it's shell, would win and claim the coveted turtle crown - an altogether shoddy bit of arts and craft made by one of his peers. To prove you had done it, you just had to mark the turtle with a little paint on the top of it's head. 

Unlike tonight, that evening had been particularly foggy, to the point where it was nearly opaque. Yosei wasn't invited by the others, naturally, never really making the effort to overcome his off-putting personality by attempting to connect with them. He had tagged along to watch, however, out of curiosity. The mist being so thick, the other students got completely lost in it and didn't succeed in hiding from anyone but each other. Yosei liked working under such conditions and managed to mark seven turtles. It was one of the first acts as a shinobi he'd felt truly proud of, but he didn't win the turtle crown because of the technicality that he hadn't been invited. The other students took extra care to exclude him from then on. 

It was strange to look back on a time when successfuly sneaking up to a turtle was a challenge. Here he was now, on a mission at the same beach, but this time as a Genin alongside true Shinobi who were his betters rather than fumbling beginners. Momochi, a more experienced Genin whom he was getting somewhat used to working with was around here somewhere. Though he didn't know very much about this Kizmaru character, he was ranked as a Jounin, so there was no competition there. This time, Yosei wasn't ahead of the class anymore, and so he would have to work hard in order to not get lost in the mist.

Of course, that's only if anyone shows up. As the clear night wore on, he was beginning to have his doubts.

[WC: 458]

Keita stared at one of the rare sights in the village hidden in the mist, which was a clear sky. The infinite void of the stars was a bit more daunting than the usual fog and cloud coverage that made the mist village have that name sake, and so it often left certain people uncomfortable. These nights seemed to be a direct opposite of the fluffy clouds that seemed close enough to touch if one could go high enough, but the infinite blackness of space was something not a lot of people were used to. Keita, however, found these nights fascinating, as it allowed him to have a peek at the deeper mysteries of the universe, and for this reason, he had spent quite a bit of money procuring a telescope from the nearby inventors in the Rain country, and so he was stargazing at the moment. Peering at these distant celestial bodies filled Keita's mind with wondrous thoughts of what could be out there, much as philosophers and explorers before his time realized the earth was a spherical object instead of a flat plane. Keita was writing the kanji for void right now, gazing at the vastness of space every so often as he did so, as to try and capture the grandeur and alien like nature of the unknown. He felt he had done a good job of it, as the character seemed like it was dripping, and bottomless. He mixed the deep black color himself from charcoal and squid ink, making it the darkest shade he had ever made for this particular calligraphy session. Just as he finished, he got a delivery by the local anbu. It seemed to be a normal sensation at this point, that the anbu would visit him and say that a mission needed to be carried out. Keita almost wondered if it was because of the jounin title that he had for himself now, that he had become someone that was relied on was actually a good thing, although it interrupted him more often than not. 

Still, Keita looked at the letter that was pushed into his hands, and on it there was a mission scroll. After perusing the mission scrolls contents, Keita was a bit angry. One of the things he loved most in this world was the animals, and they were in danger at the moment. Although he was a bit of a fan of turtle soup the one time that he had it, it was not good that there was illegal poaching going on in the area, and Keita suited up quickly. At this point, he had a belt that carried all of his ninja supplies, so he quickly threw that on as well as his jounin jacket, and headed out. He was given his specific roll through the mission scroll, and it mentioned that he was going to work with other people, those people most likely already taking positions near the poachers. Keita was traveling on roof tops, the click clack of his sandalwood sandals as it were making the noise as he jumped from each building on his way to the shore. Apparently the poachers were going to take advantage of the mating season of the turtles to snatch some of them, and the team would not allow that to happen. Keita found the sand bar that the mating ritual was going to take place at, and he even saw some turtles getting ready, and traveling through the sand. Keita mad it just in time to see some figures, but as he looked further in his field of vision, he quickly jumped into a nearby bramble, not caring that he had gotten a bit poked by the barbs, as these people did not look like shinobi, and seemed to be eyeing the area suspiciously. Keita would sit and wait to act for now, while looking for his other members in the mean time.
=========
WC: 656

Still lying in wait under the sand, he waited for the the moment he assumed the poachers would be nearby by now since the turtles had began to do their mating ritual. Listening carefully, he could hear some movement that he knew didn't belong to the team he came with since they were told to be as stealthy as possible. Poking head from the sand a bit for better vision, Kizmaru looked around the area as far as his neck would let him. There in the distance, was a group of five would be poachers armed with nets, harpoon guns and various deplorable mechanics.  Even though they had the gear for hunting, or in this case poaching, he still couldn't jump out and just accuse them. No, he'd have to catch them in the act in order to seal the deal. Waiting for the right time, Kizmaru had performed the hand signs of Tiger, Snake, Rat and Snake. These were the hand signs needed to perform water wall and defend the turtles in a last ditch effort but he left out the tiger seal since he wasn't ready to cast it just yet. It might interrupt them from doing their ritual but at least they wouldn't be harmed. 

Watching the figures closely, he saw two of them ready their guns while the other three circled around the turtles in order to catch them with their nets. As soon as they got into whatever position they had decided on, they had fired their harpoon guns in an attempt to wound the majestic turtles and capture them with ease. That's when Kizmaru made the tiger seal in order to complete the technique, making a wall of seawater from the beach in order to shield the turtles from the harpoons launched in their destination. Now was the time to go forth and apprehend the poachers. With that, Kizmaru leapt from the sand yelling the orders, "GO! GO! GO! APPREHEND THEM!!! LET NONE ESCAPE CAPTURE THEM OR TERMINATE THEM, EITHER WAY ITS THE PENALTY FOR HUNTING KIRIGAKURE'S LIVELIHOOD BY THE LAWS OF THE HIDDEN MIST VILLAGE!!!!" After issuing the command, Kizmaru unsheathed his blade as well before running at the two with harpoon guns. He figured they'd be easier to take out after having fire their gun and had to reload.

W.C: 387

After thankfully having narrowly avoided the seawater wall, she sprung forward at Kizmaru's command, palming her halberd as she dropped the transformation technique. Her raw speed was enough to match most ninja, and was more than enough to catch an already surprised poacher off guard. She rammed into his side as hard as she could, feeling bones creak and then splinter under the sheer force of her strength. She swung the hook of the axe into another poacher's shoulder, pulling him backwards and then onto the ground. Their screams were annoying at this volume and close proximity, but nonetheless she kept her face calm. Pupilless blue eyes glanced around. These poachers were close to each other, enabling her to take them both out at once, but the others were much more spread out than this pair- her mission compatriots would likely have to handle them on their own now that she had lost the element of surprise. She stomped fiercely onto the bodies lying prone on the sand, shattering their kneecaps and ankles to prevent them from walking out. A bit of blood had spattered on her cheek, but she largely ignored it.

"I've got two!" she called out loudly, voice ringing in the darkness. "They're not going anywhere. Kill the rest?" Momochi asked. She had enough thrown weaponry in her various pockets to supply a small militia, but she didn't want to accidentally hit any comrades- especially since she didn't know where they were or what they looked like.

WC: 250
Total WC: 759

Yosei watched as Kizmaru sprang into action, quickly erecting a water wall to protect the turtles. Good, no need to worry about their wellbeing for the moment. He watched for a second longer to see what the others would do and how the poachers would react. It only took that long for Momochi to burst out of the sea like a vengeful spirit and quickly incapacitate two of the five. The poachers seemed entirely unprepared for such an ambush, but nonetheless they reacted fast, no doubt used to violence. As the three remaining three held their arms tight to their chest and looked around for where the next attack was coming from, Yosei assesed them. They carried themselves in such a way that betrayed their rough backgrounds, and so he determined that they wouldn't think twice about killing if they had the chance.

Yosei leapt from his hiding place, casting aside the green cloak he had been using for camouflage, and quickly formed seals in mid-air for the Mizu Senbon technique. Half a dozen needles formed from the fading wall of water that Kizmaru had summoned, shooting out towards the part of the beach that lead to an uphill path. Yosei aimed carefully, using the Jutsu as a warning shot to stop the poachers who were beginning to run in that direction. Two of them saw the hail of long, sharp blue spears and skidded on the sand, adjusting their course, but a third dashed right through. He made for the hills, keeping his head low as he did.

"This one is mine, I won't let him escape!" Yosei called out. "The rest will be up to you two!"

Hopefully they'll take me at my word that there are only two others on my side, and Keita sensei will have an easier time surprising them, Yosei thought as his feet pounded the sandy floor beneath them in pursuit of the poacher. As they ran, Yosei carefully pulled three senbon out of his weapons pouch but before he could prepare a good shot, the Poacher suddenly spun on his heel and aimed, taking two shots at Yosei. Not liking his chances, the young Genin darted to the side, towards cover. Using Wind Release to silence his footsteps, he followed the poacher who had fled to small bank of trees atop the hill that overlooked the beach. Yosei darted from cover to cover, though the barks were thin and the foliage was light, so he had a hard time staying hidden. He stayed in his quarry's blind spot and dashed to a vantage point, knowing his jutsu would keep his movement quiet enough to fool this amateur. Skidding to a halt once he had a good spot, Yosei seized the narrow window of opportunity he had.

The poacher quickly looked around, trying to keep an eye on every place that an attack could come from. He had only made a break for it in this direction so he could give his fellows some cover while they fought those crazy shinobi. He hadn't expected a third to pop out and corner him. He hadn't noticed that the small copse of trees around him had grown thicker, almost resembling a jungle at this point and blocking out the moonlit beach and it's clear skies. Once it occurred to him, he took an alarmed step back and felt his foot sink. In an instant, his whole body was being pulled down by a pit of quicksand. Struggling, he realized that he couldn't move at all.

"Hey I give up! Okay?" He yelled, tossing his weapon down. "Just let me out of this!"

Yosei appeared, seemingly from nowhere, and stared at his captive with dead eyes through an expressionless mask. There was an incomparable feeling of accomplishment in watching someone struggle helplessly in your genjutsu. As his fingers lightly trembled the senbon clutched between them knocked off of each other, making gentle music. He hadn't yet taken many lives, at least for a shinobi of the mist. Something in him was responding to the opportunity to take another. At first, by his shaking hand, he thought it was nerves. But no, there was a rush that was taking him over. This was excitement.

"It's a shame you won't come quietly." He said as he raised the three needles with steadied hands. "You've left me no choice."

"Wh-What are you talking about? Are you crazy? I said that I'd -"

The poacher's final words got caught on the needles in his throat, as if they had formed a cage inside it. He slumped to the sandy soil beneath him, overcome by the eerie stillness of death. Yosei removed his mask and felt moonlight caress his face through the canopy of leaves. He allowed himself to revel in the sensation for a second before darting back towards the beach to offer his allies any further support they might need.

[WC: 822]
[TWC: 1280]

[Exit.]

[Claims:
4100 Ryo x 2 = 8200 Ryo
10 AP x 2 = 20 AP
1280 words x 2 = 2560 words
2500 words to train Soap Bubble Ninjutsu to A-rank.]

Keita stayed in the bushes, watching, as suddenly his comrades went into action, and immediately started handling the poachers that were getting ready to capture or kill the turtles. Keita enjoyed wild life so much, that when he saw the harpoon guns especially, he got a bit angry. His team sprung up and managed to subdue or take out three of the five of the poachers, and it seemed that they caused enough of a distraction to where Keita would have a very easy time cleaning them up. Keita would make sure to thank his team later, but currently he would have to take out at least one of the poachers, but since he was in a foul mood, he decided that he would take them out in a fairly painful way, and this would be killing them, not just subduing them, which was easily possible at his level. Keita was hiding behind some bushes still, but suddenly walked out, but because the commotion that was happening at the oppposite end of the area that they were at, it seemed that the two poachers that were close to him had not noticed it yet, and were instead readying their various weapons and implements to take on his team, which were currently subduing the fugitives. Keita, without any words to be said, manifested a pair of chakra chains behind his back, coming from the chakra points there, and immediately swung them towards the poachers. These chakra chains would be outfitted with a pointed, spear like tip that would allow him to stab through things, and the spear immediately stabbed through their chests, right below their hearts, before lifting them up into the air slightly.

"I hate trash like you. Just know that your bodies will be used to fertilize the rest of the land. Maybe this can be your apologies to the turtles." Keita said in a fairly matter of fact tone, before throwing their now lifeless bodies to his sides, into some of the greenery and shrubbery that was growing next to the sands. He then walked out a little further, into the open where he saw that the people that went on this mission were done with handling their particular poachers, and Keita walked towards them. "Good job everyone, you were very quick and efficient, and you even gave me a free opening. I look forward to seeing you becoming stronger." The last bit was directed towards the genin, obviously, as he had spotted his good friend Kizmaru, and he already knew he was here with all that shouting he did to announce to the criminals that they were there. It was fine though, these people did not even appear to be shinobi in their own right, and he wondered what gave them the gall to actually go through with such a poaching idea on hidden mist village property, when they knew that even most genin could take a few of them out. Keita might have to use this as a chance to investigate. Such blatant bravery bordering on the edge of insanity needed to be looked in to, because Keita was sure that these common thugs would not want to risk that much  unless they were being controlled or lead by someone. This was the bloody mist after all, there was no way that one would have a good end when doing something of this nature inside of the territory. "Good job again everyone! Perhaps I'll treat you to some barbecue later, if you aren't busy?" Keita wore his normally warm smile as he offered to pay for the next meal of his comrades.
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Exit
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WC: 606
Total WC: 1262 x2 event bonus = 2524 words
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Claiming 10ap from mission
Claiming 50 ap from WC
Claiming 8000 ryo from mission and event bonus
Claiming 1000 ryo from jounin rank and event
Using 1500 words to un-train 15 Speed
Using 1000 words to train 10 Chakra

As he began his charge towards the poachers in front of him, he had halted himself abruptly as one of his teammates had took the imitative in dispatching them quickly. Giving a snort, Kizmaru looked around the area to see what else was taking place after he began his charge. It seems like the people here today were a reliable bunch that didn't need any assistance at all. Instead, Kizmaru would just sheath his blade and wait for the his team to be done with the rest of the mongrels that may or may not be lurking around. This was pretty nice all things considered. After the carnage was completed, Kizmaru walked around to confirm the number of bodies out on the field. Five, five in total. Well, he did tell them the penalty for pouching the nation's natural treasure was death. He might have over exaggerated a bit but the job was done nonetheless. What's done is done and Kizmaru decided they had all done a fine job. Turning back around, Kizmaru made sure to check if the turtles were unharmed. They seem as if they were fine although they had been startled and began to return to the sea.

Well so much for the mating rituals and the creation of revenue, he means new life. Giving a sigh that the turtles will probably be too frightened to perform their rituals on the mainland, all he could do now was wait for them until they changed their minds later. He congratulated his team on a job well done before laughing it up a bit with Keita and his crazy ideas. He then bid them farewell before leaving the beach mostly satisfied. He would go back to the Kage's estate to pick up his fee for a job well done.

[Exit.]

W.C: 300
T.W.C: 1,017 [x2 Event = 2,034]

Loot Claims
Claiming 5,500(x2 Event = 11,000 Ryo), and 10 AP

Stat Claims
Claiming 3 speed for Ram
Claiming 17 Vigor for Ram

Ability Claims
Using 1,875 words into A-Rank Blistering Web

As the poachers were cleared out, arrested, or whatever her teammates did, Momochi elected to stay behind to further watch after the turtles. She was tired, and, well... They were pretty good company if she did say so herself. They just kinda sat there and looked up with cute, dopey expressions no matter what she complained to them about. For whatever reason, they were never frightened- perhaps they recognized her Kirigakure no Sato headband, or perhaps they just recognized her chakra signature as vaguely familiar. Another possibility was they were genuinely too dumb to comprehend friend from foe unless said foe was actively trying to kill them. They didn't have too many natural predators, after all. Most of their population decline was due to habitat encroachment and poachers- both of which were relatively new phenomena.

Nevertheless, Momochi stayed out late, humming to herself softly as the turtles slowly inched back into the dark waters. They couldn't do much more tonight, as the moon had already started to dip beneath the horizon, but their mating season would last for another few weeks. She hoped they'd find another day that worked for them. After the last few minutes of doing absolutely nothing productive, she stood to her feet and began to make her way home. Each foot found purchase in the sand, both due to her training and due to her surface walking technique currently being active. Once she finally opened the doors and slid into her bed, she let herself fall into a dreamless sleep.

[WC: 254]
[Total WC: 1,013]

(Exit)

Claims:
4,100 ryo x 2 = 8,200
10 ap x 2 = 20
10 stats x 2 = 20
and... 2,026 words towards https://www.narutoroleplaygame.com/t45404-v7-sugar-rush#354968