Leaves In the Snow

Making a mid-thread claim to claim rewards in time of the event conclusion. (WC and ryo will be claimed together with my exit post.)

1,500 Winter Equinox Tickets / 1x Full Dice (d10)
2,000 Winter Equinox Tickets / 1x Crescent Dice (d6)
2,500 Winter Equinox Tickets / 1x Blank Dice (d4)
2,500 Winter Equinox Tickets / 1x Blank Dice (d4)

Iscarot Ushitora wrote:1,500 Winter Equinox Tickets / 1x Full Dice (d10)
2,000 Winter Equinox Tickets
2,500 Winter Equinox Tickets
2,500 Winter Equinox Tickets

Making my mid thread claim as well to make it in time

Mid-Thread claim Approved for Iscarot!

Jecht wrote:Making a mid-thread claim to claim rewards in time of the event conclusion. (WC and ryo will be claimed together with my exit post.)

1,500 Winter Equinox Tickets / 1x Full Dice (d10)
2,000 Winter Equinox Tickets / 1x Crescent Dice (d6)
2,500 Winter Equinox Tickets / 1x Blank Dice (d4)
2,500 Winter Equinox Tickets / 1x Blank Dice (d4)

Mid-Thread claim Approved for Jecht!

Tensions escalated rather quickly, shown by the immediate stances of defense from both the Ushitora that stood before him. Jecht readied himself, taking a stance that read to the Sharingan of the Demon that this man was indeed a practitioner of Taijutsu - it reminded him of Raian, a Jugo brother of his that was very much devilish as he was skilled in taijutsu. However, even he couldn’t land a blow on the demon. He tried and failed. Lost a summoning in the process. The other one itched to draw his blade, fear slowly ebbed up his throat to the corner of his mouth suffocating him gradually as he laid eyes and tried to process what he was seeing. The demon, covered in blood that was not his own, smiling ever so eerily at them both. This was interesting.

These two were ready to go. Clearly they felt the gap in their powers compared to him. It did not matter if it was just these two, or an entire clan of them they wouldn’t be ready to dance with the terrible one. He licked his lips as he took note of the Bukijutsu practitioner drawing his blade and pointing it at him. A declared act of battle. The glove removed. They both had heart. This much was evident to him. His head tilted to the side and his expression gradually shifted to a more stern one.

The thoughts of cruelty flooded his mind, the screams of pride and helplessness filled his ears as he thought about what he would do to them thoroughly. He would start with Jecht, should he wanted to with a flick of his will he could send that one flying 50 meters in the opposite direction without even budging. Simultaneously causing him to crash into any obstruction in his way to pile on the damage. He would then shift his attention to Iscarot, someone who clearly was making eye contact, this was solidified as he wasn’t actively looking anywhere else. He would be catch in a trance where he thought things were normal, playing as is. But in reality he would be seconds lagged behind which was more than enough time for a shinobi to act. His flesh would be penetrated by total of 6 black rods that would block his chakra to a certain degree as long as they were within. Delivery excruciating pain to him.

…but these were just mere thoughts. The voice of Goto reached him, Aokidanze slightly abiding his head to face him from his approaching point. The jest was amusing.

“It would seem that you’re right. I almost eliminated these two. Their appearances are quite bold at first glance. If I didn’t check myself you and I would have had to go this alone.”

His response carried an air of little jest. He was quite serious in his words. But, it was good to see that the sight of Goto was enough to ground their actions. For if they did attempt to strike Aokidanza would not have hesitated to kill both of them and thought nothing of it.

His eyes found Jecht, he was quite knowledgeable about the demon. Even if he looked quite ridiculous in this particular environment. The demon could see the chakra flow king through him, keeping him warm. That was skill. It’s probably best not to underestimate someone that resourceful. As with the other who seem to have excellent control over his blade. Of course nowhere near Ooetsu’s caliber…not yet.

They both seem to be quite concerned with the whereabouts of Ishimaru, former Hokage.

“Ishimaru had something of importance to tend to and he couldn’t manage that while being tethered to the seat of the Hokage without causing unnecessary conflict and backlash onto the village. He spoke of a day that he would lean on me to step up in his place and when that day came I will know. It’s been some time sense his departure. Seeing as neither of you two know of this tells me that either you two do not pay very much attention to your hierarchy, or he didn’t do much in-village work to pique the interest of his sudden lack of presence. Either way you have me and Goto. That should be enough to keep the village safe and more than enough to groom you and the others into the right direction. I will be blunt with you two, I am not as tender as Ishimaru was. I’m the exact opposite in nature to him. But you can be assured that I can keep the village you all love safe…with you’re help. But that does not come without expectation. I will not coddle you, I will not bend to you. You will earn your place in this village and you will earn your stripes. I’ve witnessed two many villages lead by either children or narcissists and sometimes both that lack the true power to call themselves a leader of a nation.”

He would allow those words to sink in. As his attention moved to the village meters before them. The storm was heavy, if he didn’t know any better he would have presumed it to be the workings of a Yuki. But the snow possess no chakra, only natural. However from the off distance he notice a silhouette of someone emerging from the depths of the village towards them.

“We will speak on the matter of Ishimaru later, as for now we have a welcoming visitor.”

He would say. The person approachIng them would soon be revealed as a woman, and elderly woman. Bundled up to stay warm. She would wave to them as she attempted to let them know that she came in peace. The Demon would maintain his unamused expression as he traced her moves with his eyes until she was now standing only a few meters before them. In his clutches was a framed photo. It was odd, but the Demon couldn’t help but feel that this was one of those search party missions. Another reason to hate the god of holiday events.

WC: 1,015
TWC: 2,043

While confusion and surprise occupied the minds of the two Ogre looking individuals the silver haired Senju looked around, laying his pearly eyes on their surroundings. "Quite bland". Those two words had barely even escaped his lips before he changed the area to his liking, countless trees and other wooden structures shaping the earth and ground around them. "Much better" he would let out a relieving sigh, placing both arms behind his back. Standing there, Goto maintained the calm demeanor he was known for, the strange circumstances not affecting him in the slightest, even when the tensions were slowly rising. 

Allowing everyone's thoughts to gather, the young Deputy took a seat on one of the wooden structures nearby, making himself comfortable on the piece that closely resembled a chair of some sorts. "Fine work if I say so myself". However, that was enough admiring his own creations, other more urgent matters currently required his attention. It appeared both Ogre looking men had somewhat of an idea who he was, a sign or indication that Goto's work in the village hadn't gone unnoticed. A nice change of pace he would think, as it were usual the silver locks of hair that made him stand out from the rest.

With one leg over the other, arms crossed together, Goto listened as Aoki spoke. "Sounds like I saved two lives then". Savior of savages, quite the nice ring to it. That being said, both men - one taking a fighting stance, the other unsheathing his sword - appeared to have a couple of questions, rightfully so. Although the Hokage tried his best to explain, the art of language wasn't exactly his forte. "You're using too many words, you've lost them by now". Some people simply weren't able to pay attention for a longer span of time, sometimes it was best to keep things short and simple.

That being said, the silver haired deemed it wise to comfort Jecht and Iscarot. "Cease your worrying, nothing happened to Ishimaru". Even though nothing would change by filling them in on the previous Hokage's status, the least it could do was put the duo at ease. "He saw an opportunity to deal a heavy blow to our once oppressors and deemed the moment right to act" the Senju explained his friend's current whereabouts, leaving out a couple of details for the time being. As of now they were still waiting on an update regarding said opportune moment, but no news usually meant good news.

Now that the figurative air had been cleared he would stand up from his sitting position and remove any potential earth or dirt from his clothes before joining the others at their location. In the meanwhile Goto could sense the presence of a fifth individual, one that belonged to an older looking woman carrying a picture with her. "Something tells me she's looking for help". The elderly lady seemed harmless, the only thing he could feel coming from her was a sense of regret, as if she was missing something or someone. In a way everyone in Winter Wonderland was lost. 

(WC: 516, TWC: 1178)

It would seem that there was validity to Aokidanza’s claim to Hokage with the assistance of Lord Goto’s word. Lord Aokidanza explained the situation more in depth of the going on with Lord Ishimaru though it seemed more like a rant on his own stance on leadership and what to expect going forward which wasn’t a negative but it didn’t really tell anyone what was going on. Lord Goto’s explanation on what Lord Ishimaru was simple and to the point and told Jecht that they had gone to deal with Kirigakure as that had been a village with a deep history with Konohagakure as Konohagakure had once been a vassal under the village hidden in the mist and it had been a cruel and oppressive ruling.

So the dots had been connected though it did seem that people saw the Ushitora as brain dead muscleheads. Which was insulting in the most lazy of ways, what was the point of demeaning your subordinates if you just gave a speech on how they had to earn their stripes with one of the two having done just that so far with the other not far behind them. Jecht didn’t need to be coddled but he certainly didn’t understand being so openly insulted by those in charge, had he done something to warrant the ire of his two leaders it would make much more sense but from what he had just been told by Lord Aokidanza himself he had been doing exactly what he needed to show his worth. After all why promote someone you find lacking in the mental facilities, could just keep them as the lowest rank and simply use them as fodder.

Regardless, he wasn’t surprised by the negativity shown by a former Missing Ninja and he didn’t have interaction with Lord Goto to understand his personality and probably never would. Jecht never saw himself rising to any high position that would cause that kind of “outside of work” socialization. Accepting what has changed as fact it was simply time to complete whatever task they were transported here to accomplish. Lord Goto made some wooden area with his own ability and a woman approached them speaking about a missing husband possibly lost or in danger due to the increasingly worse blizzard seeming to approach. “I see we have our goal now, The quicker this is taken care of the quicker we can return back to the village.” Jecht mentioned as he quizzed the woman on any last known details of her husband, his looks, mannerisms, what he had been doing, where he was suppose to be and the likes to get a better idea on where to begin the search. Jecht wasn’t worried about completing the task if Lord Aokidanza and Lord Goto were in the group but it didn’t mean he could slack off, not that he would want to anyways when it comes to the search of a person lost in this frigid environment.

Once he gathered the needed information from the woman and waited for the others to ask anything they needed or wanted to ask, Jecht would begin the search as needed. He simply wished he had trained more in the Sensory capability to sense chakra signatures a bit easier but he had to make due with more natural tracking and searching. What he missed or couldn’t pick up he would rely on Iscarot, Lord Aokidanza and Lord Goto to make up for his lacking.

WC: 578
TWC: 2276

Everything had slowly been coming into perspective. His stance lightened as he looked between both Goto and Aoki for a moment, solidifying the chain of command once more and easing himself of any tension that might have been lingering. He did not know much on the current Aoki only his dealings in the Bingo book yet if someone like Goto who had been a native of the village trusted him then this mean things were in order. His left hand would return to resting on the pommel of his blade in a neutral position as the reasoning for Ishimaru's disappearance was shared with them. A blow to their oppressor...The only oppressor that he could remember from the past had been Kiri and if that was the case the cycle would be either continued or broken anew. Either way if Lord Ishimaru thought this was a good idea then he would support it as best he could at the current moment. Iscarot was on the precipice of actually responding when an elderly woman walked up to them and began to detail how they needed the quartets help. Typical for this place. He'd listen alongside Ject to see what the woman needed and once a apt description of what she had needed and walked off. He understood what had been going on to some extent as he had to deal with a similar incident but now that he had been doing this with a different group that also brought a new set of skills and challenges. Crossing his arms he would look to the others to see what they wanted to do about this," So we have a missing persons, a few bandits stealing and someone named Saint Nick needs help. How would you all like to handle these? Given the climate here the person may not exactly stand much of a chance out there, but at your discretion Lord Hokage we can tackle the others first."

325 WC
TWC: 2,346

(Exit)

(TWC: 1178)
Claims, using 25% max stat discount:
- 224 to finish Smothering Binding Technique (previously trained here and here)
- 750/750 Wood Locking Wall
- 204 towards Water Prison Technique