Giant Sharks VS Lightning Whales With Swords

Mission Details:

Sharks and disappearances never boded well together. Mostly because — well, in most parts of the world, it was unnatural. Sharks generally preferred deeper parts of the water, preying on fish and octopi. They were savvy enough to know that being beached would be lethal to them; encountering humans, even more so. There was nothing in a normal shark's nature that dictated for them to attack in any circumstance other than starvation or territorial defense.

Hence, unnatural. Hence, the reports of the shark also being 35 feet large and preying on people near the shore. Hence the need for shinobi interference.

The rest of the shark hunting group had already dispersed, off to different parts of the beach to find their overgrown fish. Baruga, simply disdainful of the fact that she had to waste some vacation time on a loathsome bonehead, turned with an icy glare at her assigned partner.

The teams were improvised out of people with no particularly bad blood who could agree to a temporary truce between villages. As it turned out, she drew the short stick and had one team member instead of the usual two or three others. The teammate she got; from Sunagakure, apparently; seemed... well. Competent, but mildly disturbed, was her first impression. Nevertheless, she'd be relying on the former trait.

"Like the others, we'll be standing on the water as per usual fare and circling a perimeter, dropping some fish blood along the water. This should attract the shark's attention."

She turned her nose up at him.

"Judging by the look of you, you seem suited to close-quarters combat... I'm a long-range combatant with protective summons, so it's best we play to our strengths. If the shark attacks me, I'll summon my whales to fend it off while you take it by surprise. If it attacks you, then head towards me while I attack it."

Her accent was prim, posh, and proper all around. She seemed like the type of person to be used to giving orders: because she was.

"Now then, unless you've got questions, let's kill this bloody fish so I can get to sunbathing and you can go... make sand castles with your mates. Yeah?"

---

WC: 366

The prior mentioned competent, yet disturbed Genin hadn't really expected to be dealing with any danger on the beach, but he- or rather, she? Was definitely prepared for it. Honestly, they found it really hard to figure out how they felt about their own identity at the given moment, since they were still acting a bit masculine, despite the clothing they wore. Just to deal with that, he'll just stick with 'he' for now. Tall, charming and carrying a katana by their hip, the blonde haired vampire man was walking around in their two piece women's swimsuit, consisting of a mostly white skirt, with a hint of blue and stars dotting the exterior, and a frilly blue and white top with pink ribbons that showed off a lot of skin on either side, but not enough to cause any offense to anyone around him. They were at a beach, after all, and it wasn't like he had actual boobs right now. So as unorthodox as his choice of clothing would be for the average guy, it fits well with his generously androgynous form, yet showed off that he worked out enough to have the muscle definition of an acrobat, rather than that of a bodybuilder or martial artist. As he walked, enjoying the brisk ocean breeze whiffing past his fluffy blonde hair, his bright hazel eyes spotted a peculiar woman he'd never met before, with equally gorgeous features to his own, with the opportunity to apparently join her on a shark hunting quest. According to her, a thirty-five foot behemoth was roaming the waves, and it was the job of the many shinobi having a vacation here to slay it. He would normally complain, but admittedly, he was feeling a bit thirsty. Blood from a naughty shark might do for now, he reckons.

Context now having been dealt, that is when he's led down to the shore by none other than Baruga Ryoinsatsu, a Genin just like him, although notably he could tell she was more experienced simply by the way she carries herself. Really, he was happy to be helping, even if his appointed leader isn't exactly acting the nicest. It's easy to tell she's rather annoyed by having to fight during their days off, so he decided he'd be a little more serious than he usually is and follow along, as to make it as easy as possible on her. No reason to make enemies with foreigners, especially that of the Hidden Cloud Village. Being known for their Lightning Style, and generally being built physical combatants, even a long ranged centered person from there had to be full of surprises. When his own skills are brought up to question, he can't help but be amused at the way she talked, all prim and proper like a tidal princess. Enough of that, and he couldn't help the huge grin he got on his face when she cursed, and started to giggle at the insinuation that he was making sand castles... which, well, he did kind of want to, but that wasn't on his agenda yet. "Wow, she must be really popular back home," he thinks, before brushing the bangs out of his eyes and taking a glance at their surroundings.

"Tone aside, I say you have great battle sense, 'leader'. So, I really like the sound of your plan. I'll make sure that big lug doesn't land a fin on you, and you'll snipe it while I'm in the line of fire, right? Sounds like a win-win for me. Though, do you mind if we just sunbathe together after? As forward as that might sound, I've been meaning to get a tan, I'm a little pale... and it's not every day I get to meet a kunoichi from the esteemed village of Kumogakure. I bet you have many feats of expertise to share with me. Trust me, I love hearing about how wonderful someone thinks they are." That last bit is said with a mischievous grin and wink, though most wouldn't be able to tell if he was being sarcastic or serious. Instead of harping on that, however, he starts to apply droplets of fish blood along the bank of water like directed of him, but he keeps a steady hand on the hilt of his blade, wanting to make sure he was prepared to move in and slice whatever needs to be put down, as to not harm his new teammate. Might as well make Sunagakure look awesome instead of pathetic, and maybe win a bit of time with a sassy woman such as Baruga. He kind of doubts that last part, though.

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WC: 416

Rizuke would get a message shortly before bed, “Head to Mikadzuki Beach in the morning around 8 am, you’ll be hunting a shark that’s responsible for a string of disappearances.” Came from headquarters, this was going to be the hardest mission Rizuke has done to date. In fact, it would be his first A-ranked mission. He wouldn’t let it bother him as he would need a goodnight’s sleep to face off against a shark.
Rizuke would get out of bed in a stupor, he had been summoned to Mikadzuki Beach to hunt a shark. They wanted him, an Uchiha with no Sharingan or much jutsu to speak of to go out and hunt a shark, he was hopeful that his squad would be able to actually fight the thing or everyone was probably going to die. He got his goodnight sleep, now it was time for him to have a panic attack, he didn’t think he’d be fighting a shark this early in his career, but he would throw on a brave face and head to Mikadzuki Beach. Rizuke would throw on something light, if a shark is going to attack him, he might as well be as quick as he could be, or at least eaten and dead in one bite, painless, right? He would wear his Uchiha clan short-sleeve button-up and only have the bottom three buttons fed through their holes. He would wear his headband
Rizuke arrived at Mikadzuki Beach with quickness, he was to be grouped up with someone, but he wasn’t sure who he’d been partnered with, the mission only stated where and what, not who, so Rizuke would wait around for a few minutes, but he was a little late so maybe they were already on the water. Rizuke would look at the massive in his hand and it would read he was to head to the spot on the beach indicated on his map. When he got there, he saw three other people already there. One was his Raikage, and two were not. Well, he wasn’t about to make himself look like a fool in front of his Raikage. He would approach and make himself useful. “Good morning.” Rizuke would say with a wave.

WC: 371

She'd sighed and at least appreciated the fact that the genderfluid ninja was, at minimum, cooperating (were they genderfluid? — she hadn't even asked for their pronouns, she was mostly assuming by observation). Of course, it came with a caveat, but being beholden to someone else while soaking up the sun wasn't the worst thing, in terms of garnering somebody's assistance. She could definitely think of worse.

Uncertain of what to make of his desire to learn about her, Baruga kept a level tone and addressed him as professionally as she could muster.

"Very well, once we're done, then. And I'll share some stories, but don't get too excited about it. I'm afraid my particular set of skills is partial to delegation and bureaucracy rather than brilliant tales of daring adventure — oh, shit."

The last part was muttered under her breath, but it was clearly visible in how shaken up Baruga was, as she saw the man approaching them.

The only thing worse than an impromptu job was an impromptu visit from your superior officer to accompany it. Even the most responsible model salaryman would balk at their manager suddenly showing up for a visit. Baruga was no different, except the world of shinobi valued blood over paper, and the man approaching would be more equivalent to her CEO rather than some middleman HR officer. "Dictator" didn't even begin to describe it.

Baruga straightened her posture, raised her chin, and snapped into place like the trained soldier she was. Dignity and honor were suddenly brazen on her bikini-covered chest, and she bent over in a low, formal bow to the Raikage. Her voice brooked no hesitation nor uncertainty.

"Raikage-sama. Baruga of the Lightning Daimyo's Dynasty, registered Genin 43045, reporting."

Her eyes flickered over to Rizuke, who — and this infuriated Baruga to her very core — had simply opted to approach with a wave and all the nonchalance of a fucking sheep in pasture. Bastard that he was, did he know who he was in the presence of? Forget her, this was — ahem —

"I was not made aware of your participation, Raikage-sama, nor of anyone else's of the Kumogakure contingency. My apologies. I will defer to your judgment for this operation."

Because who in the world would have the gall to make their own plans when their highest ranking superior officer was here? Not Baruga. She knew her damn place.

---

WC: 397
TWC: 763

His mission partner's acceptance of his 'terms', as the stoic and serious woman probably put it in her head, brought a genuine smile to his face, and he was quite ready to get their fun done and over with. To think this woman was so agreeable to his suggestion did surprise him to a degree, but he wasn't going to question it, instead giddy at the thought of having some sort of 'girl talk' with her, and maybe getting a better idea of how rich people act, as according to her, that was her chosen realm of mastery. That'd be a lot more useful to him than she might think, seeing as his alter ego's call of duty was very closely associated with dealing with bureaucrats and aristocrats, funnily enough paralleled by the lowest of the low. The common denominator? Both were greedy fucks. His train of thought is brought to a screeching halt when he hears her presumably curse under her breath, however, and he tilts his head in confusion, before turning around to face what she's going on about. "What's wrong, partner- ... oh. Oh my."

That's when he saw the myth, the legend, the mountain of muscle, the lion of the mountains, and an absolute monster of a cutie, the Raikage of Kumogakure. For a moment, he finds himself enraptured by how much of an absolute unit this guy was, and he really wanted to walk over and touch their figure for himself, with the texture of heavy scarring calling his name. Feeling like he's ogling too much, he realizes what's going on and shakes his head, overhearing that this man was, indeed, the Raikage himself, and that his ally in question is apparently named Baruga Ryoinsatsu. "Huh... she really is a princess, then, he ponders, stroking his chin fondly, before then cracking a toothy smile at the both of them, followed up by the last challenger of attention for today... a teenager who's only response to this course of events is 'Good morning'. Seems he was a Kumo nin, too, and he wasn't even dressed for the beach, unlike him and the other two. What a strange turn of events. Instead of only two, this was a four person party! How delightfully convenient. Now he has to look confident and competent in front of a literal world leader. That's what he'll do.

"... Well, alright, this is turning out to be even better than I'd hoped," he muses, before taking a much simpler bow to Noboru than his acquaintance, with all the elegance of a beautiful dancer, such as he is. "Since we're trading names off, why don't I follow up? You all can call me Blades. You can decide whether or not that is my real name, or just a code name, because at this point it might as well be both as far as anyone else is concerned. It's quite the pleasure to be meeting the Raikage... and I must say, you look like you could snap me like a twig, sir~" he teases, before turning his attention to all three of them, chuckling and holding his arms behind his back, his chest puffed out slightly. He may be a little nervous, but he wouldn't dare show it, using all the confidence he has to maintain an air of comfortability for his ragtag group of shark hunters. "I do believe that Baruga's suggestion to follow your lead is right, Lord Raikage. But, if I may be so bold, she did suggest a cunning plan already, and I find it proper to let you know what were doing before you two made it here," he exclaims, motioning towards Rizuke as well, so he doesn't feel left out. "She's a long range combatant, and I get up close and personal with my sword, so she was going to have me make sure the shark we may be fighting doesn't get to close to her. Meanwhile, she'd be picking him off from afar, while I help her line up the shots. You seem like the brawling type, Lord Raikage, so I feel like you'd be tagging alongside me... not sure about you though," again, directed towards the Uchiha in the party. "What do you think? I think 'Princess Baruga' is pretty smart, but your wisdom oughta mix the whole ordeal up a little, too," he proclaims, giggling at his royal remark. He crosses his arms, the androgynous individual waiting for anyone to respond.

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WC: 416
TWC: 906

After getting berated by Baruga about not addressing the Raikage in a professional manner, Rizuke would internally freak out for a moment, it was mostly soothed by the Raikage’s greeting, he would inquire about Rizuke’s name, “My name is Uchiha Rizuke, Sir.” Rizuke would say after clearing his throat a little bit and not being able to control his voice. Rizuke had heard stories about the Raikage taking people’s hands, a genin’s hands, for annoying him. Rizuke would shudder at this revelation, Rizuke would do everything in his power to not get his hands taken.  Rizuke both feared and worshiped this man, he wanted power much like this brute. In all terms of the word, Noboru-sama was Rizuke’s idol. Rizuke would hear the plan laid out by Baruga-san and would agree as well. With a nod of his head until he heard his Kage ask what he could do for them, his group, and the Raikage.
 
When the Raikage asks a question, you’d better come up with an answer quickly. The Raikage had just asked Rizuke what he could provide the group. What could he provide for the group? “Well, sir, I don’t have much in the wheelhouse yet, I will soon though. I will do whatever you require of me.” He would say looking at each of his teammates in their eye. Rizuke’s had a fear of sharks, but his fear of failure in front of his peers and superiors would drive him to do things he was scared of, even if that meant being bait for a thirty-five-foot shark. He hoped it wouldn’t come to that, but what else could he do?
 
Rizuke would look at his team and would realize he was easiest the youngest person in the group, lets’ see, we had the Raikage wearing his black swimmers and an orange button-up shirt with palm trees and sunsets pictured on it, as the wind would pick up Rizuke would notice scars and a physique most men would kill to have. Rizuke didn’t know much about the Raikage or why he wore an eyepatch, but Rizuke would find it rude to stare at anyone let alone his hero for too long. The stories in the academy, were he sacrificed his eye to defeat an army of over one-hundred thousand shinobi. Rizuke never put much stock into it, but up close it made the Raikage look that much more intimidating.
 
Next, he would look at a shinobi in a two-piece. This shinobi didn’t look familiar, but Rizuke wasn’t the social type. Rizuke couldn’t quite figure out if the shinobi was trying to look like a woman because he liked their style, or if he was transgender, genderfluid? Either way, it didn’t matter to Rizuke one way or the other he was just glad to have a team of gifted shinobi and kunoichi, Rizuke would ask after the mission, but didn’t want to get caught up in formalities that he may be looking too much into.
 
Next was Baruga, if she wasn’t so terrifying, Rizuke would probably find her the most attractive kunoichi he’s seen. Her black and blue hair matched her blue make-up it was the greatest aesthetic Rizuke could ever think of seeing. She looked powerful too, like someone he wouldn’t want to have to fight period, she was absolutely terrifying to Rizuke. Rizuke would have to look away from the kunoichi so as to not get caught staring with his mouth ajar. His eyes would find a place somewhere in the water to keep himself from stealing glances. He was there on a mission; he would keep it professional.  “What would you have me do?” Rizuke would ask after a pause and would do whatever was asked of him.


WC: 623
TWC:  994

Baruga went at ease when the Raikage commanded it, her stance loosening as she silently sighed. She didn't particularly like being subservient to someone else — in fact, it very much chafed at her pride — but it was necessary.

After everyone was done introducing themselves, Baruga looks at the greenhorn genin and squints. Well, she'd prepared a certain something just in case her team was having trouble actually luring the shark, but this seems like a worthwhile situation. She replies to Uchiha Rizuke tersely.

"As unfortunate as it is, you're going to have to be the bait. I trust your mastery of the Academy's basic ninjutsu should be enough to retreat from a dumb aquatic beast. If not, then Kumogakure will remember you fondly."

She unfurls a scroll and unseals what looks to be a raw steak, still bloody and juicy, likely taken from one of the many barbeque stations on the summer vacation spot. She throws the steak at Rizuke, expecting him to catch it.

"Walk on the water about two dozen meters from there and hold that in the water. The rest of us will get in position, close range combatants nearer to him, while I'll be further away. Once the shark comes, you run away while the rest of us kill it."

Of course, strategically speaking, it'd be smarter to have the Raikage hold the meat and kill the thing with his bare hands while the rest of them are on standby. But then, she'd be demanding the Raikage to do her dirty work, and how backwards was that?

"If there's no questions, let's get in position."

---

One way or another, the shark comes, and it's about the size of one of her whale summons. Its teeth were the size of children, its mouth the size of a carriage. Blood stains the border between its skin and its gums. It's terrifying, indeed.

Baruga keeps a level head and starts making hand seals once she gets a visual on it, before slamming her hands onto the water she's standing on.

"Summoning: Rising Summon Pillar!"

The tail end of the shark is caught in an explosion of water — before suddenly, the shark finds that it struggles to move.

A giant blue whale with an island for a face bites down savagely on the shark's tail. Baruga smirks. Mitsunari may be a zen gardener by trade, but his strength was second to none.

---

WC: 392
TWC: 1155

Baruga used Summoning: Rising Summon Pillar (A-Rank) — 40/1502 AP used.
Mitsunari used Fatal Chomp (A-Rank) — 30/50 AP used.

"So, in summation, we have... an uptight, but competent and dashing princess, a huge wall of mountainy muscles, and a guy that's about as fresh to the scene as he can get. Alright, yeah, this'll be interesting, he thinks to himself quietly, listening to what everyone has to say. The only one who responded to his comments was the prior mentioned mountain man, who he has gathered is named Noboru, but that wouldn't stop him from fanning himself at the brash retort thrown back at him. He'd probably let him break him like a twig... though that'd probably hurt, so maybe not. Wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead at the thought, he gathers himself and looms on as he sees the green Rizuke basically get bullied by Baruga into becoming bait for the shark. He really couldn't help but fantasize over the raw, bloody scent of the steak she pulls out from the nearby barbeques, having to hide a tiny bit of drool from the sight of the thick red liquid dripping onto the sand below. To all the gods, he hoped that he'd be able to feast on shark blood before the day was over. That'd tide him over, if nothing else... or maybe the new Genin would perish. "Nah, lets actually help him."

Before they actually go about the mission plan, Blades stepped on over to the unfortunate chosen bait man, and gave him a look over, before chuckling and crossing his arms. "Rizuke, right? I feel like Baruga was at least right about one thing; you do have the perfect technique to escape without putting yourself directly in harms way. If I had to guess... she's probably talking about the Substitution Jutsu. That's what I'd do in your shoes, anyway. Oh, and if you want the scent to be easier to track, make sure you don't dunk the steak in the water. Drip feed the blood that's leaking out of it into the waves, and send it on its way. Trust me, if there is an honest to gods shark out there, they'll come running... well, they don't have feet, but you get what I mean~ Good luck. I got your back." Winking to end the conversation off, he walks away to let the budding Uchiha do his best, but he makes sure not to be too far away from the action. His hand is on the hilt of his sword, and he's positioned in a way that he can dash straight for the beast when it pops out of the water, in little more than a moment's notice.

However the scenario is handled, the shark rears its ugly face. It's covered head to tail in various scars, likely from previous men and women alike who attempted to take the crafty beast down. Now was his time to close the distance, and work together with Noboru to keep it at a distance. While he's making his mad dash towards the shoreline, he notices a gigantic whale nearly the same size as their target poof in from behind, and snag its lower body with a crushing vice grip via the jaw. It's an amazing sight to see, and he's most definitely impressed by Baruga's handiwork, having remembered her summons of choice were whales. For a second, he wonders what he might sign a contract with one day, but he immediately shakes away that thought when he's closer, a thin layer of chakra lacing his sandaled feet so he can race across the water. Finally, when he's close enough, he veers to the right of the crazed shark, with only enough room to properly blast out his katana in a quick, wide swipe after drawing it with blinding speed, cutting into its tough scales by infusing his own weapon with a minor amount of his spiritual energy. It wasn't anything like what the Flying Swallow could do, but he needed to conserve his power until he can figure out what everyone else is doing. At the very least, his strike was aimed towards the big fish's fin, and if successful, it's likely to cleave it right off, which would make mobility even more difficult for them. When the blood flies towards him, he lets his tongue out to quickly catch a droplet, smirking at his achievement, and circling from behind to watch and see what the Raikage had in store for them, so he can follow up afterwards.

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