The Final Countdown (Niento, Kaito, Yusuke)

The Sakura Warrior:

A Festival of Fire and Steel:

As Guren and the gang rushed back to the village, he somewhat found himself debating on the importance of the task at hand. Sure the group had been transported to this strange village, not on their own accord, but so far it didn't really seem to hit home for them. Of course the map led to the puppet, whose toxic poison and massive chakra core were both disturbing; but maybe that had been an isolated incident. He quickly shook his head, dispelling this thought. For had the threat of this puppet been low, then the symbol of its core wouldn't match the celebrated logos through the village so eerily. Yes, from the jump Guren had a bad feeling about this place. This dimension. Every other time he had ended up in a situation like this, the setting spelled trouble. Still though, he kept his composure and his wits about him. Also referencing the past, he's only ever successfully escaped these places once he had fully complied with all of the tasks expected of him in these worlds. So most likely, this situation would result in a comparable outcome. 

Now nearing the village, Guren could make out its details. Something seemed even more off than before. The happy go lucky gate guard was no longer there, and it seemed as if the village had been completely laxed on its previous rule. What was the point of that? And upon further observation, the lights glowing from the city's interior did not maintain their celebratory vibe. Instead, they seemed characteristic of death and destruction. What were once bright lights were now horror filled shades of deeply disturbed colors. And the village's celebration could not be heard from outside the walls anymore. Instead it was quiet. The silence spoke louder than the celebration though, speaking volumes on what was really going on in the city. 

Right outside the village walls, a spectral barrier would erect and present itself, deterring the group of shinobi from advancing any further. It was akin to a invisible gate, completely indestructible by conventional means. Puzzled, Guren stopped in his tracks and did not take another step forward.

"I've got a bad feeling about this..." he began to say but was immediately interrupted by a high pitch screech, strong enough to make the four shinobi's ears ring. Guren's immediately reaction would have been to keel over and clinch his ears, yet his gut instinct told him to dash backwards. And by doing so, he narrowly escaped an explosion of small radius which would occur all along the perimeter of the spectral wall. Having successfully dodged the attempt, he quickly flashed his eyes towards his three comrades. Within the thick smog, he had still been able to make out their figures and they all appeared unharmed. Perfect. Interestingly enough though, Guren could also visually detect a fourth. But the peculiar thing about this figure was that he emitted no chakra presence. Nevertheless his blood flow could still be discerned with the Ketsuryugan, and unless his comrades had some way of sensing him too, he would be shrouded.

"He's here!" Guren exclaimed while leaping backwards again and forming the quick seals for a blood clone. Within seconds, the blood from his fingertips would ooze out and take the place he had formerly been at. And instantly, that clone would be slashed in half by a blade of immense sharpness. Again, a narrow escape for the kazekage. Yet as the clone was slashed, it's blood would splatter and instantly soak the arm of the pursuant. With quick thinking and another series of handseals, the blood splatter upon the arm of the man would rapidly heat up to the point of no turn. The blood permeated the man's skin and began to seep within him. Infection complete. It was a premature decision, but Guren needed to act fast in order to give the group a quick advantage and to alleviate the thick smog in the area.

"Disperse!" Guren exclaimed once more as he completed the final handseal and his blood within the body of the attacker immediately weaponized. Hopefully the three men would follow Guren's instruction, as the opposing shinobi's hand which bore the seal would immediately explode into a wide range of blood. The shockwave from the explosion was enough to clear the smoke, and when the air settled the man would be standing within the center of the quarter of shinobi with only a single hand. The other dripped his blood from it, showing signs of exposed bone and muscle fibers. Disgusting. And though Guren wished the infection could have exploded faster, it was enough to provide the men an opportunity for a counterattack.

But before that could commence, the man spoke. And the more the air thinned out, the more his appearance became recognizable as the gate guard who handed out festival tickets at the village's entrance. "You're too late. My plan is already underway. In mere moments, this village, this....dimension we're within, will all be blown to smithereens. And because of my superiors space time jutsu, so will yours!"

Upon conclusion of his sentence, the man would teleport 20 meters up into the air so that he hovered over the four shinobi. And simultaneously, 3 sets of hands would expel out from the ground underneath each shinobi, seeking to grab ahold of their ankles. "More puppetry?" Guren thought to himself as his ankles felt the sensation of encroaching fingertips. And up above, the former gate guard would be harnessing a massive sphere of chakra within the palm of his hand. In seconds it would grow from 5 centimeters in diameter to a whopping 10 meters in diameter. And in the blink of an eye this mysterious man would fire it downward upon the close standing and potentially binding shinobi.

In a moment's notice, the immediate air around Guren's body became dyed with a scarlet red aura as blood rapidly expelled from his body then compressed itself along his figure forming a dense layer all around him. So dense that the hands which attempted to bind him in place were unable to effectively grab ahold of his ankles. And now having enhanced himself, Guren would act fast to displace the incoming sphere to protect his teammates. His hands would rush through a group of seals, and within a meter of the hovering attacker a juiced up black hole would form. It would begin to suck in the former gate guard, and its sheer power was enough to divert the incoming sphere off its initial path of trajectory and instead pull it towards the black hole. In response, the man would give up on the devouring sphere, and would teleport downward to his original position then lunge at Guren again. Guren would raise one of his arms to shield himself and like a porcupine, expel a number of serrated and sharpened blood wires directly into the incoming man. The result? A skewered gate guard, hacking up blood. Too damaged to continue the fight, the man gave up. And so the spectral lackeys which attempted to bind the shinobi would all disperse.

"I told you...*hack*...you're too late. This fireworks in this festival are too grand to be derailed...you can't even...*hack*...run..." and he died right there, skewered on Guren's blood threads. Retracting them back into his body, the man's lifeless body would fall to the ground. And the spectral wall around the village would fail too. "We've gotta act fast. Let's get in there, find those fireworks, and end this once and for all." Guren commanded. At this point he cared not who took the lead, as the immediate threat was dispelled. Now it was time for the group to function as a team and clean up the threats from the city.

With haste he'd haul ass from their current location and head straight to the city square, which evidently split into four paths. Each path provided a clear view of its own grand stage. Well lit and large, these stages would be impossible to miss. But given the time the group didn't have, it was likely that they needed to split up. "We each need to choose a path and handle the threats down it. Kaito and Yusuke, you've both proven yourself, but I will send a clone of myself with each of you should you need it. It will act free willingly and back you up when needed. Niento, I hope you understand but I can only split my chakra reserves so much. Besides, someone of your caliber should easily be able to handle whatever's in store." As Guren summarized the plan, he'd form two blood clones to accompany Kaito and Yusuke. Unless there were any other reservations, Guren would then dart down the pathway of his choosing.

Now sprinting down the path at full speed, he could more clearly make out what was occurring on these stages. One massive explosive equipped with pouches bearing the symbol that the puppet had. Poison. It had to be. There was no other way. So not only were there explosives, but they were also fueled with some type of toxic additive. And unknowing to Guren, they were also infused with space time chakra, capable of making these bombs span across numerous dimensions. Oh joy. What a danger. And even better? The symbols were glowing, indicating that they were lit. So the team had even less time that he had calculated. Proceeding with caution, Guren would attempt to disarm the bombs in the most effective way that he could. The first issue: the poison. And as he neared the stage, he'd rifle through handseals and emit a large wave of nourishing and pure chakra. The mystical palm aura, which was anti - destructive by nature. And as its presence touched the pouches equipped to the rig of explosives, it immediately cleansed the poison within it. Expecting this, Guren knew he had to now deal with the elite guards in charged of defending the explosives. Human sacrifices they were, but perhaps they had been brainwashed by the gate guard who orchestrated this whole scheme. And the mystical palm aura would confirm this. When contacting the guard's, their hostile nature immediately quelled and they looked around in sheer confusing. Luckily they had been afflicted with a mind altering poison, and so Guren's restorative aura would remove this detrimental effect from them.

"Thank you! Thank You!" they exclaimed as they made eye contact with the approaching Guren. In shock, they'd look upon the bombs on stage and begin to shudder. Their original roles were of guardians of the Eastertide Fairgrounds and the villages they resided in. But corruption and affliction would taint their purpose, and force them to serve the gate guard. Now cleansed of their curse, they were more than willingly to help save their realm.

"There's no time, we need to diffuse this bomb!" he'd roar. The guards would nod in agreement. Fortunately, their memories were still intact. And they had remembered the exact instructions necessary to arm the bomb. Meaning they knew exactly how to disarm it too. Alongside Guren, the group would disarm the bomb through the use of a series of basic fuinjutsu, and subsequently the lit symbol would dissolve. One down, three to go. Guren would go on to explain the situation to the other guards, and in an instance all would rush to the rest of the bombs. But when they'd arrive at the village square, Yusuke, Kaito, and Niento would all be arriving too. The timing of it worked out perfectly, and the dimension had been saved. 

"Great work team...Let's hope we remember this when we get back. You're all deserving of some type of commendation. And you, Niento...I hope our paths cross again. Thank you."


When the farewells were concluded, a blue aura of chakra would surround each of the four shinobi and begin to accelerate in its swirling motion. Once it reach its peak velocity, all four men would be teleported back to where they had originally been transported from. And finally, the distress had been put to an end.

"I hope I don't have to do that again..."


WC = 2029

- Exit -

Claiming Mission Rewards: 14000 Ryo, 70 AP, 1 Sakura Lottery Ticket
25% Max Stat Discount:
- 1112.5 Words towards Ketsuryugan Genjutsu Mastery (2062.5/2062.5). Rest trained here
- Rest towards Damage Reduction Shield A Rank (916.5/2062.5)

As the four returned to the village, rather as they made their way back he pondered on what had transpired so far. The map. The puppet. It was all too elaborately put together to be a mere coincidence for anyone. Then again it could have just been a fluke that they were given the scroll that contained the location. The named continued to replay inside of his mind, the final words of the puppet that chimed "Sakura Warrior". It was nothing he had heard of before, but if this was the master of the puppet where had he been in this encounter? Watching them to see what they would do or planning his final act? The remains of the cigarette would fall loose from his lips as he ran a hand through his coal locks and looked forward," It seems as if whatever this Sakura Warrior is planning was contingent on us not being in the village or far enough to not be of any consequence. If so...we might be walking into a trap so be on your guard just in case," he'd leave them to debate on if what he had said was correct or not but for now he would remain in silence as they traveled back to the village. As the group penetrated the tree line and made their way to the village the group had been halted by the words of Guren whom Niento would reply rather off-handedly remark," If I told you so had a face this would be it. Tread care-," and as if on cue the sharp sound would begin to penetrate the very area they had been standing in. Such an annoying sound that would bring down even the most veteran of Shinobi, Niento found himself buckling a bit but as the sound gave way and Guren's warning came to fruition, Niento would find himself kicking off the ground and backwards to prevent himself from being caught within the radius of the explosion.

As the plume of smoke enveloped his sight, he would wave his left hand to fan the smoke away to no avail but at least he was alive. So something was trying to prevent them from getting back to the village then. He didn't have time to speak or ask if everyone was okay due to Guren being attacked by something that Niento could not see due to the smoke. His best bet was to distance himself and remove himself from the smoke only to look to a one-armed gentleman screaming about the end of the world. Quaint how he would be floating above, no doubt the result of a teleportation or space-time technique to which Niento would sigh," Bad time for me not being able to utilize those techniques anymore but what can you do," he would no doubt rue that dilemma but not before he felt the ground quiver. Moving his right foot naught but a couple of inches back to prevent himself from being grabbed. As the hand reached up, Niento would reach down and grab it by the waist, pulling it up and out of the ground before chucking it at the floating assailant," Its not nice to play grabby hands without consent you freak!," the hand would be launched upwards towards its owner. Fortunately for him, Guren would have no issues in displacing the next oncoming attack. It was not without a final warning from the now dying male as his eyes laid toward the village. The immediate threat was dealt with but now they faced...an even worse threat. Great. The shinobi would begin to step forward as he looked back to the others as Guren spoke and he was still moving forward," I think after this they get the gist. Let's just hurry up before this dimension and our own are ended...Did I ever mention I hated complicated situations?," annoyed at the fact that eh was now in a save the world situation, he would break into a full sprint that would lead him and the others into the village proper.

He didn't know how much time they all had but as they whipped through the village, the sudden change in decorum bothered Niento. Such a jovial place had been twisted and demolished into such a dystopic landscape that he...felt some sort of responsibility to fix it now. What this place once was could have been something his...no he couldn't think about that right now. Finally they would be in the midst of the center where four paths had laid bare before them. Guren had taken the time to make up a quick plan and splitting his chakra in order to protect his students. A firm smile slowly crept upon his face as he reached into the same pocket to pull out what seemed to be his last cigarette of the pack and placed it into his math," Fret not. I guess its my time to shine. I'll meet you all back here but make sure you're two cubs make it out in one piece," as he spoke the very ground would begin to shake and shudder as a visible aura would begin to take over his form. Hazy at first it would begin to be visible as his body faded from view due to his speed down the fourth path. It wasn't the best stealth move, but as he barreled down the path he tore up parts of the path and area. The guards at the back of the route would no doubt see him coming but he did not care. There had been three that he could see but in between them was the bomb. A smirk appeared on his face as he slid into a stop and was consumed by a black smoke. He could identify it as poison that to most would be fatal, but overtime he had developed his body to shirk off detrimental effects like this. With one swift movement he would bring his left leg up with enough force to create an updraft that would cause the smoke to lift upward into the air.

The guards had took the chance to try and attack the Kiri shinobi which would be their undoing. With one hand he would perform four seals in quick succession before thrusting both hands out and grabbing the two guards nearest to him. They would begin to buckle and fall to the ground because of the increased gravity pushed upon their body. Though they struggled they would be unable to move," Sorry but this is the best I could do. If I were to hit you in this state you would undoubtedly explode from the force so take this instead. The last guard however chose to brandish their sword at him. The smirk returned as Niento took a stance and waved for him to come at him. Taking the taunt, the soldier would rush forward in an attempt to slice at the Kiri shinobi but would find that his sword would not strike true. In an instant, Niento would parry the blade by striking at the wrist of the male with enough force to cause him to stagger and then from there he would push them back with enough force to crash into a nearby wall and knock themselves out. With that out of the way, Niento would deactivate his eight gates technique and take in a deep breath," Shit...that still has an effect like that...okay now to deal with this bomb," he would exclaim as he moved to deal with it. A bomb with a fuse...that was also probably booby trapped with space time energy...great. He would swiftly cut the stem of the wire and then let that be that. With any luck that would end the tyranny of this bomb. He really wished he had still been able to use his space-time techniques because he could just banish the bomb and be done with it, but this worked as well. As he was about to walk away he could see out of the corner of his eye a symbol would light up on the face of the bomb.

A very inaudible "Fuck" would escape his lips as he walked back over to it and began to figure out what to do. In that moment he would hear someone stirring behind him and turn to deal with it, only for it to be the guards waking up. Dazed and confused they would begin to question what had been going on and he would interrupt them quickly," If you have time to wonder about your life then you have time to help me stop this bomb," the two (because one was still very much knocked the hell out) would begin to use what they had remembered to diffuse the bomb and avoid the crisis. Giving one large sigh of relief he would begin to head back to the village square where the others would hopefully be as well. Stepping into the square he would probably be second or third as he lit his last cigarette and popped a few of his joints," That is something I hope to never do again...I liked the festival for what it was worth, but next time whoever sets this up needs better security but hey. Good job team," Niento was tired..strained even, but that was more to do with the fact that he had just opened the sixth of the Eight Gates in one go. He was definitely going to take a long soak after this and let his body relax, but now he could rejoice in a good job. Guren's last bit caused him to smile and give a small thumbs up," If i'm ever in Suna i'll be sure to look you up. Just make sure you can hold your liquor alright?," it was a small chuckle, but even he could feel the pull of a foreign chakra pulling him back home. All it took was one blink before he had felt himself back in the confines of his own home and soon after he would fall flat onto the couch and chuckle," So the world outside is still very much interesting huh...Maybe I should travel again," though the thought about that would definitely have to come at a later date. A few plumes of smoke would escape from his lips as he continued to smoke the cigarette that he lit just before being teleported back and though back to the situation he had been through. He remembered the names of the three he had met, still not sure on who or rather what Guren was to those two, but if he found himself in Suna it was nice to have made a good first impression.

[Exit]
TWC: 1791
Claiming Mission Rewards: 14000 Ryo, 70 AP, 1 Sakura Lottery Ticket
Putting 25 words to finishing wc for Wabisuke
1125 Words toward learning Bebisuke
641 WC towards Enna

The young Sarutobi was satisfied with how he and Kaito had handled the puppet. He was certain he made a good impression on the Kage of his village. This of course would never hurt, but it also aligned with his goals of establishing his clan in the village he would need an in with the Kazekage, and showing off your abilities as a shinobi to man one on one and doing well? What more could an upstart ask for? Unfortunately now wasn’t the time to be happy with what he had achieved. The boy needed to be on his A game for something was afoot. The puppets' last words before it was destroyed were “Sakura Samurai”. That meant nothing to him. Nothing at all. As he and the rest of the Shinobi raced towards the village , that he noticed was surrounded by some kind of strange barrier, Yusuke tried to put it all together and he was becoming more serious by the moment. Nothing was adding up and they all knew it. Niento had raised that they were likely walking into a trap  Why did that bard even have that map? And why give it away even if we helped him… Yusuke thought out loud as each of them seemed to be realizing that this was just an elaborate ploy to remove them from the village. It was starting to stink, Yusuke picked up the pace making sure to not slow down his fellow shinobi. 

Suddenly a sharp sound rang out that pounded Yusuke’s ears and a thick smoke shrouded his vision. There was not much that the boy could do but push his hands against his ears and attempt to shut out the noise. He tried no avail; the sound rebounded through his head over and over. He was distracted. Then an explosion pushed him off his feet and backwards into the air. Luckily for Yusuke he was far enough away that he didn’t get hurt he was even able to recover and get to his feet. He looked around to see what had become of the others and was glad to see that each of them had survived the ordeal. But the action was still coming. 

Guren had informed them that there was an enemy in a frantic and panicked way. This was definitely not the nice sakura festival he remembered. This had become a battle field. Yusuke kept his eyes peeled but in the shrouded smoke he couldn’t determine much of anything. Is it over there.. Oorrrr, OVER THERE. Once Yusuke had located the target he had already been infected with Guren’s blood. 

Guren gave a warning that Yusuke knew well from the academy. It was often that shinobi had to deal with area of effect attacks that had been placed of fired far to close to home. The best way to keep a mission going was to simply scatter to the wind and hope the damage was minimal. Of course the real solution was to make sure that there wasn’t such an explosion nearby in the first place, but that didn’t apply here. No it was the Kazekage’s jutsu that would be doing the exploding not some enemy attack. Yusuke heeded the kage’s warning and body flickered 30 meters away from the target to be sure he would make it in time. The explosion was very powerful for something Guren had cooked up in mere moments. Yusuke couldn’t help but wonder if one it would be him escorting and leading a group of shinobi through a perilous mission. He could dream of that path, but now was not the time.

The shockwave from the explosion was enough to clear the smoke, and when the air settled the man would be standing within the center of the quarter of shinobi with only a single hand. The other dripped his blood from it, showing signs of exposed bone and muscle fibers. Gross Yusuke thought he might vomit from seeing such viscera. He held it in though. He would not want to embarrass himself in front of the kage anymore than he already had. Plus Kaito had done plenty of barfing for the whole group. There was more fighting to do as injured as the man was he still fly somehow.

Yusuke was ready for anything so when the puppet hands sprouted from the ground he leap and, after a few quick hand signs sent a barrage of hair needles into the hands all around the four shinobi pinning them down to the ground. But the hands were not the only thing that would try to harm the shinobi. A large orb of chakra was hurtling towards him. Yusuke didn’t know what to do; only a limited number of the grasping hands had been dispersed or disabled he wasn't going to outrun this attack. The boy threw a kunai in defiance of death, but luckily Guren had a plan: his black hole looking jutsu averted catastrophe and took down the enemy. 


The old gate guard who had complimented his origami was nothing like he remembered. He was twisted and ghoulish now as was the once jovial fairgrounds. Where there were once beautiful art words were ripped and haunting paper. The happy go lucky people were replaced with moaning and malignant looking monsters. The cart's activities and laughing towns folk? All gone. It was all replaced with misery, dread, death, and decay. When the one patron saint of sakura land said it was too late for this dimension Yusuke almost believed him. He was about to resign to a simple escape, but when the man said that their dimension and many others were also doomed. Yusuke couldn’t let his parents or those friendly and hard working Sunanites be destroyed by some interdimensional boogie man. We gotta take care of this!

They all knew what needed to be done and dispersed. Yusuke ran as fast as his legs could carry him avoiding the villagers and roaming guards with speed and acrobatics befitting a monkey. He eventually found one of the more elaborate pop up stands. It had been the favored food local, or so he had heard, of the sakura festival. He often saw the villagers running around with candied apples and funnel cake, and mochi. They were all from this delightful cart with a detailed pink kawaii duck mascot outside of the storefront, and adorned on the top of the establishment. Now it was a horror show surrounded by a few not so noble looking guardsman. Yusuke wasn’t the greatest at sensing chakra, but even he could tell that something was up with the guards of this cart. They seemed strong. Much stronger than anything he had faced. Fortunately the Kaze kage had offered a clone that went into combat with him. They turned to him and attacked him without warning. Two were armed with spears and the last with a katana. The scene devolved into a free for all. He had evaded by moving backwards, and did his best to be a back line support and the guren clone. With a few well placed shuriken he had saved the guren clone once or twice. The gurn clones blood based Jutsu were being evaded but they were keeping them back. Yusuke was able to be of use, but he was also feeling the time crunch. He needed to find his bomb and fast, but then his worry faded. He heard the gentle [pssssstttt of the fireworks fuse. He knew it would be on top of the food cart. 

To get to it though he had to get through the guard. Yusuke knew that Fire style was not going to be an option. With even a slight miscalculation, he could set the bomb ablaze. He evaded a few thrust as he thought up a solution. Yusuke really had to push his mental and physical speed to be able to weave the right signs while under fire, but he had done it with the help of the guren clone as a distraction. He resorted to his most focused non fire attack. The same hair maneuver he used against the puppet but this time each long wire of hair bit and coiled around a single target. The guards had charged in while Yusuke weaved his signs and moved themselves into the optimal range. Yusuke had made sure to time it well, but they had probably underestimated the strength of a child-like entity. When Yusuke made himself look vulnerable his jutsu struck. With each of the enemy combatants bound they were all easy pickings for the Guren clone which helped him he defused the bomb the only way he could think of he cut the fuse very carefully with a kunai. Yusuke did his best to not shake while he made the cut and it had paid off. His bomb was safe. After that was confirmed the Guren clone dispersed alerting Guren to the success. 

Phew… Yusuke was sure that he had probably had the most trouble. He had run a long way and he was lucky the enemy underestimated him and that his jutsu was not very predictable. Otherwise he would have failed. He didn’t have time to baby sit the guards so he crippled them with his lion’s mane and ran back towards the city center. 

He was the last to almost the last to arrive and deliver his thumbs up completely out of breath. The others seemed much more chill when they arrived so he had assumed that it had gone well. He had gotten some praise from the Kazekage and even was promised an accolade. Thank you Lord Kazekage..hhuuuuhh He was so out of breath that he could barely offer any reply. I’ll sit down for a while Yusuke laid down knowing that his family and village was safe, and that they had all done a great job.

---

WC:1,650 
EXIT

Claiming 
16 stat points 5 towards vigor and 11 towards speed
1650 towards great flame annihilation A rank [1650/2750]
 
Mission rewards: 14k ryo, 70AP, and 1 lottery ticket

Kaito followed the lead of Guren, Niento, and Yusuke, as they rushed from the Otakuku Forest and through the streets to the village gate. It was there that he, Guren, and Sebastian had met the estranged gatekeeper earlier that evening. While the man did come off as a bit odd, why would he task the puppet him and Yusuke had destroyed with poisoning the forest?

'What in the hell is going on?' Kaito thought, trying to wrap his head around things. Wasn't this a place of festivities? A place meant to celebrate the coming of spring and life? Kaito tsked, realizing that not only himself, but perhaps also his comrades, had been made fools of.

'Maybe its time you gave into your dark impulses again, eh?'

Kaito recognized the voice that rang inside his head...

It was the other him that resided deep within his psyche; the other him that was subconsciously created when he saw his best friend die at the hands of missing ninja during his time at the academy... The other him that had killed the very same missing ninja years later when the man had come to collect the bounty on Arantima's head...

'Long time no see, Other Me.' Kaito thought to himself. 'But I don't think I'll have a need for you at this time.'

'Why the hell not!?' The voice erupted back at Kaito, making the boy's head pulse. 'This asshole has played you like a fiddle! Don't you wanna rip him to shreds like you did that other prick?' Kaito pondered for a moment before replying.

'Fine...' He let out a light sigh. 'Only on the condition that it comes down to a life or death situation.' The voice chuckled menacingly.

'I promise that you won't be disappointed.' It replied chillingly. 'The bloodshed will bathe you... Make you become a man! A true Sunagakure shinobi! I'll see you soon...'

As Kaito came back to his senses after allowing his body to run on autopilot as he talked to the other voice within himself, he realized that the group were now surrounding the guard station. It was empty except for a dim light that flickered on and off rapidly from the celling.

"Damn. We missed him." Kaito said, allowing himself to give into his anger a bit. He looked around, trying to see if the man was standing anywhere nearby, but all he could see was the once vibrant village that now stood ominously. It seemed completely different from what Kaito had been transported too a few hours prior. Trying to feel outwards with his sensory abilities, Kaito couldn't feel a human source of chakra. Rather, he felt an entire area of chakra. It was invisible to the naked eye, but it was there no doubt.

'A barrier, perhaps?' He asked himself as Guren would voice his feelings about all of this as well, to which Kaito could only nod in agreement.

"Me too, Lord Kazekage."

Suddenly, a loud screeching sound erupted, ringing harshly in the Inuzuka's ears. It cut off Niento's warning to tread carefully, and the two older shinobi would fallback quickly. Kaito would follow suit and he could only thank the gods that he did as an explosion erupted around them, filling the air around them with a plum of thick black smoke. Knowing that he himself was afe, Kaito reached out with his chakra again. He felt around him the chakra signatures of Guren, Niento, and Yusuke, so they all must've been safe from the explosion itself. What Kaito didn't feel however, was the chakra signature of the gate keeper that had been behind everything. He too was there, but Kaito didn't know this until Guren shouted it out.

'Cripes!' He thought to himself as he hurriedly formed the Dog -> Bird -> Hare -> Monkey -> Horse -> Ox -> and Rat hand signs. 'You don't want us to sense your presence normally? Two can play that game asshole! Dustless Bewildering Cover!' Kaito would immediately begin to fade into nothingness, his chakra signature and physical body erasing into pure nothingness as the technique began utilizing the water vapor from the air around him to bend the light in the area to give the illusion that he was no longer there. This technique, the Dustless Bewildering Cover, was perhaps the most powerful technique in the entirety of the boy's arsenal. It was an S-Rank jutsu that would allow the user to completely wipe away their presence, save for any emotional detection, but Kaito had other techniques for that and things such as his scent. With the use of this powerful technique, however, it would appear as though Kaito himself ceased to exist in the first place, and it would make it perfect for infiltration or psyching out his enemies.

As Kaito was now undetectable via normal means, even to his comrades, he was ready to go on the hunt. Guren, however, told the mission group to disperse. Kaito did so, and yet another explosion would occur within the smoke, making it disperse and the battlefield recognizable once again. The gatekeeper would speak, stating that his plan to erase this realm of existence was well underway. He also mentioned that he would destroy the group's own dimension as well, making Kaito ponder for a moment.

'We aren't even in our own dimension anymore?' He thought, trying to comprehend what in the actual hell brought him to this other world. Was it a seriously powerful space/time technique like the gatekeeper said, or was it something more so... otherworldly?

Kaito didn't have long to think about it though as the man would jump a whopping twenty meters into the air above them, forming a sphere of chakra in his hands as four sets of arms erupted from the ground from which he last left the scent of his chakra a few meters in front of him. Looking around, he could see that Guren, Niento, and Yusuke were also dealing with their own sets of puppet arms grabbing at them. Kaito would then turn his gaze back to the man above them, capable that the other three would be able to deal with the puppets on their own accord. On the other hand, the gatekeeper released the sphere of chakra and it hurdled down towards the four of them. Kaito began to form the hand signs for his own 'Imitation Black Hole' technique, but Guren would beat him in that regard. The kazekage would make his own black hole, which was strong enough to gravtivate the gatekeeper's own sphere within it, before he dealt with the keeper himself in quick fashion. Kaito couldn't help but be impressed as the man would die in the Kazekage's blood threads and the barrier that had been erected around the village would crumble.

'So this is the power that Lord Kazekage yields...' He thought to himself as he dispersed his jutsu, allowing himself to be seen and his presence known again to his comrades.

He would follow Guren again back into the village, where they would need to step in and stop the fireworks show, which had been slated to go off at midnight to celebrate the first official day of spring, from happening at all. The mission group would stick together until coming to a split in the road at the village's center. There were four paths, and Guren would tell them all that they needed to split up. He would send a clone of himself with both Kaito and Yusuke, which Kaito accepted with no opposition.

"I'll take the left path, My Lord." He said with a bow. "I wish you all luck." He would look at Yusuke, his eyes narrow. "You better make it back alive, Yusuke. I'm not done helping you become a splendid shinobi just yet." He would smile at his friend before breaking out of formation and heading down the left fork with the Kazekage's clone via the use of his 'Body Flicker Technique". He would travel down the road as far as he could before coming to a grandstand where a huge array of fireworks were stationed, all set on a timer to go off within five minutes. Kaito looked around, trying to think of the best course of action, but he quickly took notice as three figures encircled him and the Kazekage's clone.

"Stand back, Kaito" The clone would say as the blood threads began to erupt from his body, but Kaito interjected by throwing his left arm out in front of the clone.

"Sorry to be disorderly, My Lord, but I myself have nothing in my arsenal that can disarm these fireworks in time." Kaito would take a step forward. "I do, however, have more than enough to make quick work of these goons. Plus, I believe that your threads may just be the key to stopping those fireworks from going off." Kaito would smack his left fist into his open right palm, making his hair and eye colors change to a deep black color thanks to his "emotions on your sleeve" technique. He would also tap into his proficiency in the use of "Display Of Power", making his Chakra shake the very earth below his feet and take the disgusting shape of a black wolf with red, glaring eyes behind him. The chakra wolf would snap its muzzle open and shut as though it was ready to devour anything and everything in its path. Kaito too would close his eyes, looking deep within himself where he saw a mental representation of the other him standing with its arms crossed and a menacing smirk upon its face.

'Looks like its your time to shine...' Kaito thought. The figure grinned ominously, walking up to the mental representation of the real Kaito and placing its hand upon his shoulder.

'You won't be dissapointed, Kai...'

The Dark Kaito, now in full control of the boy, shot its host's eyes open, reavealing nothing but black. He looked back at the clone.

"I'll take care of these assholes." It said, its voice much deeper and colder than the real Kaito's. Knowing that all of the clone's memories would go flooding back to the real Guren after its dispersement in a short while, the Dark Kaito wanted the Kazekage to know that the young Inuzuka had this powerful monstrosity residing within himself.

The clone would nod before taking a step backwards and jumping up into the air and out of the way. The figure behind Kaito would try to act in stopping the clone from exiting the battle, but the Dark Kaito was just too quick for it. It would sidestep backwards at Kaito's top speed, driving a kunai directly into the goon's jugular. The good gagged, blood sputtering out of the fatal wound in their neck as they fell to the ground. He hadnt even the time to draw the katana from the sheath on his back, something that Kaito would do as the good fell to the ground helplessly.

"One down..." He laughed, spinning the katana around playfully in his right hand. He would turn to face the other two attackers, grinning manically. "WHO'S NEXT, HUH!?"

The goon to Kaito's left would throw a handful of five shuriken his way, which Dark Kaito easily defected with the katana he now wielded. Dark Kaito would then sidestep to his left, swinging the sword in such a way that the blade would decapitate the assailant. The goon's lifeless body would fall to the ground at Kaito's feet as their head flew through the air and into the arms of the last remaining attacker. Dark Kaito would make quick work of him as well, driving the katana right through the man's heart. The Dark Kaito would laugh as the man fell forward to the ground. As the katana was still driven deep into his heart and piercing out of his back, the fall would drive the remainder of the blade through his body until it rested precariously upon the hilt.

"I told you I would make short work of these pricks, Kazekage." Dark Kaito said to the clone, who was now finishing up with deactivating the timer set up to the fireworks. The clone would just look at the boy before nodding and dispersing, leaving a pool of blood where it once stood. Dark Kaito would relieve all control of Kaito's body, holding true to the pact that it had made with the real him months prior that it would only come out should it have permission to and only to kill for the real Kaito. It would close its eyes, dispersing the "Display Of Power" and "Emotions On Your Sleeve" and returning Kaito to his original state.

'All yours again, Kaito. Don't wait so long before calling me into the fray again. You left me in there for months!'

'I'll see what I can do... Thank you.'

Kaito opened up his eyes slowly, knowing full well what had happened as he was able to see what the other him had done on his behalf. He could hardly keep the puke that welled up in his gut to keep from spewing out of his mouth. The young boy wasnt used to any of this, and this encounter would now bring his body count from one to four.

'I've really got to get used to this type of thing, especially if Lord Kazekage thinks I have what it takes to become a Chunin.'

With that, Kaito would begin running back to the village center, where Guren, Niento, and Yusuke were just arriving as well. He would lock eyes with Yusuke and smile sincerely. He was glad that his friend had survived and that the two of them could continue towards becoming well respected shinobi within Sunagakure's ranks. He would then look at Niento, who characteristally had a cigarette in his mouth. Kaito chuckled lightly as he laughed, thanking the older shinobi for his assistance. He would then look squarely at Guren, feeling a bit akward as the Kazekage would now be able to see the darkness that lied deep within the boy's heart.

"My Lord, I'm sorry for what your clone saw out of me... I'm sure you know what it is I'm refering to, but I would like to discuss this in more detail when we train together..." He would bow as low as he could, cementing the respect that he held for Guren even more so now that he, a lowly genin, had been able to work side-by-side with the Kazekage and show to the man his worth. Suddenly, a plume of light would surround the four gentlemen, the same basking of light that had sucked them all into this other world only a few hours beforehand. Kaito accepted that it was now time to go back home, and he prayed that none of this had been a sort of fever dream caused by the fact that he had fallen asleep atop one of the sandy skyscrapers of Sunagakure, exposed to rather cold elements of night. "It was a please to work with all of you..."

The world around Kaito would fade to black as he closed his eyes, allowing himself to go back home...

[EXIT]

{WC - 2,535}
(Total WC - 2,535}

Claims:
- Claiming all mission rewards (14,000 Ryo, 70 AP, & 1 Sakura Lottery Ticket).
- Applying 748 WC towards mastering "Dustless Bewildering Cover" - 3,750 / 3,750 WC (25% discount per Max Stats WC Discount - previously trained to 3,002 WC on my stat page and "I Speak For The Trees").
- Applying the remaining 1,787 WC towards claiming 2 S-Rank summons from "The Wolves Of Death Gorge" - 1,787 / 6,000 WC Total (25% discount per Max Stats WC Discount).