Shadows of the Hidden Leaf

The Mission Details:

Himari's Stats:

Today's an especially important day for the young kunoichi, Hyūga Himari. She's received a mission from the administration facility to complete a high-rank mission. An A-level mission, to be exact. The mission details are as follows: to perform a reconnaissance on the gang to update Konoha's information on them and to remove any leaders she finds. At the very least, she should snuff out four from their ranks to stifle any major, future growths that may disrupt normal village operations. Sounds simple enough on paper, until she's told more that gang members tend to travel in groups of four, all of unknown degrees of skill, but it'd be wise to assume, considering the scope of the mission's difficulty and rank, that they're not to be trifled with.

Normally, she would request the aid of either Okisho or Tenshi to assist her on part of the mission to increase the success rate, but couldn't get into contact with either one of them. Likely either busy with assignments of their own or indulging themselves at the advanced training facility. Whichever the case, she's not entirely alone on the operation. She recently formed a contract with another slug from the Shikkotsu Forest with a sizeable arsenal of auxiliary and combative techniques to assist her in tense situations that may require her to be in battle for extended periods of time. Since the contract's formation, they haven't spent much time together and today's work seems like a good opportunity for herself and Satsuki to acquaint each other with how they fare as a team.

Currently, the sun's brilliant radiance blesses them with the view of the village, shunning away the shadows that would otherwise loom and reign over it. Over by the village park, Himari dressed herself a little differently today. Instead of the usual qipao and fishnets she often wears, she presently dons a simple light-blue kimono shirt and hakama combo, the sleeves donning a floral design interwoven with the fabric's soft, black texture. Additionally, a pair of sandals accompany her feet, rather than her typical ninja shoes. In both hands, from a distance where any onlookers give her passing glances, appears to be reading a novel. A rather thick one, at that. But upon closer inspection, the title thus reads, Human Body, The Ultimate Machine. It reads more akin to a bibliology than a novel, but it grants her two opportunities: to appear as unsuspecting as possible while she reads beneath the shade of the trees around her on the bench she sits. And to inconspicuously check her surroundings for any strange behaviors.

Her plan is to spend the entire day until past sunset to gather as much intelligence on her quarries as possible before night approaches. By then, she'd have a general idea of where she'll need to station herself before the shakedown. Until then, she periodically changes where she seats herself, taking full advantage of her Byakugan's 100-meter vision to pinpoint any possible suspects while she seemingly wastes the hours away reading her book. But she's not the only one on the lookout for their perpetrators. Katsuki, one of her slug companions, rests underneath one of the sleeves of Himari's kimono and acts as a close-range covert sonar and message relayer to Satsuki, her newest slug companion yet. Satsuki takes to the high ground and briefly flickers at high speeds between vantage points around the area. Using Himari as her anchor, Satsuki effectively covers the kunoichi's blindspots 100-200 meters that her eyes cannot see. While they're not surrounded by conversation, they have their ways of communication should the need arise to shift tactics or if either one of them finds what they're looking for.

As the afternoon sways along the village, the minutes quickly transition into hours. The sunlight's unforgiving gaze grows less and less intense as the sky takes on a deeper, yet warm blue. The sun's already making its descent from its zenith in the sky, gradually replacing its earlier, more gentle demeanor with the shroud of a passive, red fireball. Not a lot of leads have come in yet, but Himari manages to catalog several profiles of what she believes to be members of the gang. All it'll take now is just waiting for them to group up, and she'll tail them shortly afterward. If all goes according to plan, it'll be a simple C-Rank affair.

A little after 4, Himari picks up a rather conspicuous group of four individuals who seem to infrequently come and go in the same pair of pairs whenever they pass her by. Dressed in casual wear, two males, and two females with a few visible piercings and tattoos adorning their skin, make their way through the park and towards one of the more remote sections of Konoha. One male, in particular, sports a large tattoo of a tiger covering the entirety of his back, visible to Himari, even with his shirt on. Quickly closing her book and deactivating her kekkei genkai, Himari springs into action. Subtly trailing them from behind without arousing any sort of suspicion, careful in monitoring their movements while maintaining a  distance of least 15-20 meters.

From Satsuki's perspective, the slug closes the distance between herself and the duo until she can establish a telepathic link to Katsuki. Then after receiving the report, Katsuki relays the details, word-for-word, to her summoner that there are, in fact, four individuals, but seems to be a mismatched quad. Two males and two females with a myriad of distinguishable ink decorating their physiques. Perhaps a loose group, rather than a cohesive, organized gang? Nevertheless, Himari continues her pursuit while Satsuki reports whatever else she sees before she returns.

As Himari and Katsuki tail the misfit retinue, Satsuki eventually returns with a news update: she details that the female walking, alongside the tiger-tattooed male, has a detailed butterfly wing-shaped tattoo across the majority of her back, leading to the front and ending around her stomach and chest, and a singular stud piercing her nose. Following the butterfly-tattooed woman, is a rather inexperienced one, from the looks of it. Seems barely eighteen with a simple dragon sleeve going down her right arm. Finally, bringing up the rear end are the remaining two males. A far more streetwise, wildcard-esque individual, boasting a trio of studs on their nose, a hoop earring dangling from their left ear, and a tribal, serpentine snake sprawled from their ankles and up their right leg.

After Satsuki's exposition, Himari reflects on the information. The butterfly-tattooed woman appears to be the more veteran of the bunch, whereas the dragon sleeve is the least likely to put up a fight. The snake and earrings male appears to be the cocky, self-assured type. But Himari can't be so sure, given that the male she's been watching appears more composed, yet far more disciplined and strategic. Going by the information she's been provided, the kunoichi hypothesizes that the tiger-tattoo individual may very well be the gang leader, or at least, one of them. Spotting a nearby bench, she veers away and seats herself down once more. That's one recognizable leader down and three more to go. Now all Himari has to do, is wait until sunset, ideally, and trail them to their hideout. From there, it's a simple, stealth takedown.

As time continues to elapse, the heavens continue its chromatic transformation. The blue, vast canvas painted throughout the midday transitions into a dark, cool violet. Stars faintly twinkle in the cosmos, reminiscent of a fine glitter spilled across the sky. There's still a bit more information the Hyūga kunoichi would like to verify before she begins her shakedown. Namely, checking to see if these four are indeed, leaders of the gang. For all Himari knows, they may very well be an independent, small-scale quartet with similar ink patterns and piercings, and nothing more. Nightfall soon approaches Konoha, granting the young kunoichi the cloak of the shadows. At last, it's finally time.

Taking to the rooftops, the Hyūga, assisted by Katsuki and Satsuki, follow the gang for about 30 minutes or so. Eventually arriving at a rather abandoned, dilapidated apartment complex. Himari opts for a stakeout position atop a building adjacent to the gang's own and takes to a darkened corner of the structure to further conceal her presence. Katsuki and Satsuki serve as her secondary and tertiary lines of vision, on her right and left shoulders, respectively. As the night grows ever darker, the Hyūga tracks the quartet's movements, carefully monitoring where they travel and what floor they enter. After some time has passed, however, Himari's struck with an unexpected revelation: the quartet she's been tracking are not, in fact, leaders of the gang Himari's targeting. Rather, they're simply members themselves. Going as far as noting their schedules and rotations through the building. Visible by her Byakugan are the silhouettes of individuals occupying the apartments inside. Approximately, at least thirty to forty or so members are located on the second and third floors.

Upon confirmation that the quartet Himari's been tracking aren't her key leaders, the kunoichi realizes that this assignment is far more involved and extensive than she initially anticipated. At the very least she completed the first half of the assignment, that is, by doing a reconnaissance around the village to get a pinpoint location of the local gang's hideout. Himari then retires for the night before she returns to the administration facility the following morning to update staff on her progress. As fortune would have it, the hideout matches the intel they received from previous reconnaissance by other shinobi who helped track them down, which helps narrow their scope as to who, specifically, Himari will next need to dispatch to stifle their progress.

One of the forensic shinobi responsible for identifying the four leaders gives the following descriptions for her quarries:

Leader #1 is a man named Kazuma. Early 30's, tan-skinned, long, raven-black hair styled into a pompadour with a signature white tiger tattoo running along his back. Possesses a tendency to carry brass knuckles on him, usually, in his right pocket. Likely a specialist in Bukijutsu.

Leader #2 is a woman known as Tsubaki. Late 20's, pale-skinned, violet-blue ombre hair stylized into a bob-cut with butterfly wings spanning across her upper and lower torso. She's been known to be elusive due to her specialty in Genjutsu.

Leader #3 is a woman going by the moniker of Maki. Early 20's, bronze-toned, navy-black, spiky-styled hair, and possesses a dragon sleeve going down her right arm. Specializes in Taijutsu.

Finally, Leader #4 going by the nickname, Kami, is a streetwise, slightly older male, appearing to be in his late 30's, 40's, dressed in studs and hoop earrings, and a serpentine snake trailing from their ankles and extending to his right leg. Has a natural gravity toward Space-Time and Fuinjutsu techniques.

"You sure you're still up for this?" The forensic shinobi asks. "I don't mean any disrespect but, you are going up against some pretty dangerous individuals. And by your lonesome, at that. Are you certain there isn't anyone you know who's available to assist you during this operation?"

Himari crosses her arms and contemplates the shinobi's words. It would've been a lot easier to undertake the mission with one other squadmate or two to help shoulder some of the burden, but she also has Katsuki and Satsuki should she need assistance during the throwdown. Additionally, Himari's confident enough in her combat ability and knowledge of medical ninjutsu should she need to treat any superficial, or grave injuries. After weighing her options, the kunoichi responds:

"Thank you for your concern, but I'll be alright on my own. Katsuki and Satsuki are plenty enough assistants to assist me tonight."

The forensic shinobi accepts Himari's answer and finalizes the details of the four targets into a missive to carry on her person. She takes it readily and seals the missive into her sealing bands for later. With all loose ends addressed, Himari bids the forensic shinobi adieu and departs from the administration facility, dusk settling across the village. By now, it'll be roughly around 6 in the evening, or so. Plenty of time to make final preparations, too.

Some time later...

Come the following evening, late into the night, Himari crouches atop one of the building structures. Several veins on either side of her head near the outer edges of her eyes convex and flex and her pupils become more distinct with renewed clarity and a 360-degree field of vision up to 100 meters from her position. She's beginning to get comfortable with using her kekkei genkai and the feeling of its flow, although not toward complete mastery of maintaining it for long, only up to several minutes at best. But soon enough, she'll master it to extend the duration period. Nevertheless, her eyes dart about the area surrounding her, occasionally honing her sense through her Byakugan to narrow her focus on a particular spot of the village for any suspicious activities or abnormalities.

On her left shoulder, rests her newest companion to her summoning roster. A 15-by-30 centimeter slug predominantly white in color with three blue streaks that run vertically down the middle and side of its body from its head and taper off at its tail. Her optical tentacles have a slight tint of gray to them and it also has two sensory tentacles on either side of its mouth. Although she keeps quiet so as to not disturb her summoner, she remains attentive for any sounds or vibrations her body picks up. Aside from the usual late-night villagers heading home or taking a shortcut to reach their destinations, not much has come to pass for the last few hours of the night. It's almost 2 a.m., which means if the intel on the gang was correct, they'd be around to meet with another one of their colleagues somewhere within the next few minutes.

"Hey, guys. I'm going to move closer, I think we've found our lead." Himari informs the slug and slowly rises.

"Of course, Lady Himari. I will remain ever vigilant."

She takes a quick glance in every direction to ensure that no one's around before leaping onto the roof of the neighboring structure. A moment later, a tall, broad-shouldered man with dark hair walks up to a bench located in the nearby park, and takes a seat, lighting a cigarette. Using her Byakugan once more and hones her focus on him, quickly deducing from the markings on his skin, chakra circulatory system, and the flow and build of his body, he's definitely one of the key figures the higher-ups described.

"Katsuki. Satsuki. Do either of you feel anything?" She whispers.

"Yes, Lady Himari. You should check 10 meters south-southwest of his position. There appears to be someone hiding there." Satsuki advises and Himari immediately complies, rotating her head in the given direction, narrows her Byakugan's scope to a 30-meter radius, and spots another man of similar build, age, and stature, who's taken a hiding position behind a tree.

"Good eye. Stay on him. Let me know if any more show up." She praises her slug and shifts her attention back to the man seated on the bench.

"My Lady, another approaches directly south, approximately 15 meters from us." Katsuki appends.

And as if on cue, another shows up, coming from Himari's nine o'clock, sporting the same attire as the other two, although with a smaller frame, and approaches the first man, seated on the bench, standing beside him. They begin conversing with one another, but she's too far away to make out exactly what they're saying, but she has Katsuki and Satsuki cover their movements to alert her if either one of them plans to pull something out of their pockets or under their clothes. Another figure, almost identical to the other two, arrives at six o'clock from her position but doesn't approach the others, instead, he lingers a fair distance away and constantly looks around the park's perimeter. Himari assumes him to be the lookout of the group.

Lastly, at two o'clock, the fourth and final key figure of the mission shows up and joins the two on the bench, continuing the conversation with one another. Now's probably the best time to strike now, since they're all within a short distance of each other, she only needs a way to separate them without having them defend each other's backs. Judging from the relative distance each of the gang members are, any one of the options present a high likelihood of at least one of the others noticing. She rifles through her ninja pouch for any she could use to draw their attention and finds nothing of reasonable that wouldn't result in them ganging up on her. The situation begins to look quite dire until she hatches an alternative plan.

First, she opts to select between the man in hiding 10 meters south-southwest and the man on the lookout who stands behind her around the park's perimeter. Considering that both men's visions are facing toward a perpendicular angle, the wisest choice would be to strike the lookout, and then knock out the man in hiding. She relays her short-term plan to Satsuki for any input she may have to offer.

"Lady Himari, I have an idea that could help divert their attention to split them further. This may be a bit reckless, however. Are you certain you're willing to risk it?" Satsuki suggests and to be honest, she's intrigued by her slug's proposal, curious to find out what she has in mind.

"Let's hear it. What've you got, Satsuki?" She replies.

"I can release a large amount of my natural mucus into the air and coat the surrounding area within a 15-meter radius unto the men who sit by the bench. That should incapacitate their movement and entangle their limbs, that should hopefully distract them long enough to isolate them. Then, I'll intermittently change positions far enough from you that they may be more likely to track my position than yours. And if you're concerned over my ability to travel distances, worry not. I have that covered for occasions such as these."

Himari contemplates the suggestion. It'd certainly buy her time to dispatch the two men before she engages with the final three, but the primary concern lies in how long Satsuki can remain as a decoy until Himari herself enters. Thinking quickly, she decides to place her faith in Satsuki's plan and her capabilities.

"Pardon me Satsuki," Katsuki intervenes. "But, Lady Himari, wouldn't utilizing Satsuki as a decoy put her at potential harm should they discover her and retaliate? Is that wise to execute the aforementioned plan, My Lady?"

"They won't be able to catch her Katsuki, well, as ironic as that might sound. Not to mention, she'll have plenty of time to escape before they can track her movements. Right, Satsuki?"

"Correct, Lady Himari," Satsuki answers. "I will ensure that I won't be captured and remain at a safe enough distance that they won't have the opportunity to even lay a finger on me."

Himari believes Satsuki's more than capable and places her trust in her slug. Katsuki doesn't object further and accepts her summoner's decision, albeit, still concerned for Satsuki's safety.

"Alright, Satsuki. Give me a few seconds to position myself near the lookout. Then, we can start on your signal. Katsuki, you'll watch my back, okay?"

"At your behest, My Lady. Godspeed to you, Satsuki."

"And you also, Katsuki."

Himari performs the "Ram" hand seal, distorting her visage before suddenly disappearing and retreating into the shadows of the night before reappearing behind the man on the lookout 15 meters away. The range should be enough to knock him out without rousing any suspicion. Himari takes a deep breath, activates her Byakugan, and shortly afterward sends out a pulse of tenketsu chakra—in a semi-spherical which appears as a softly blurred shape to the naked eye, outward which then travels up the entire 15 meters from where she stands toward the lookout man. By the time the technique makes contact with him, his body suddenly stiffens, his muscles tense up, and his joints become rigid.

This is it!

The coloration in Himari's eyes transfigures from a white to a light-blue color, performs the "Ram" hand seal once again, and, at a blinding speed, appears behind the man in hiding. When he notices something appears in front of him before he has the time to alert the others, less so even react, Katsuki's tentacles bob and weave and spit forward a six-inch and one-centimeter wide needle of water in a straight line from her mouth at the man's face, briefly stunning him in bewilderment of the events yet to unfold. Then following up on the auxiliary attack, Himari delivers a series of three, individual palm strikes at his torso before ending it with a fourth, focused palm strike. The damage to his tenketsu seems to be enough to momentarily incapacitate him.

Himari, curling her thumb and index into her inversely pursed lips, lets out a loud whistle. That's Satsuki's cue to let loose! This catches the four leaders' attention to the noise toward the tree which hid Katsuki and Himari's persons. Then, the newbie slug's tentacles bob and weave before unleashing a conic, torrential wave of acid over the four gang leaders. While initially caught off guard and try their best to shield themselves from the corrosive substance, it's to no avail as the mucus coats their bodies, and entangles their limbs. Afterward, Satsuki's body flickers and disappears into the night before reappearing in the foliage inside one of the nearby trees. Her tentacles bob and weave again as a thick mist that hampers anyone's view range to only see up to three meters out.

"Let's wrap this up, Katsuki!" Himari murmurs and Katsuki readily complies.

Himari assumes a runner's stance and runs a good five meters forward before she leaps 15 meters into the air, with her dominant foot high up and her left leg straight down, and brings her foot down in an arc upon them. Consequently, the physical force from the oncoming kick creates a sizeable crater and subsequent shockwave. Thankfully, there are no residential homes nearby to absorb the impact force of the blow, but the property damages might be a whole other story.

With their ability to utilize their weapons and their fine motor skills disrupted to improperly execute hand seals, Himari and her duo slug compatriots seize the opportunity to dispatch them until...

"Wait," Himari gasps. "Where... did their bodies go?" Her bewilderment takes hold of her when the shapes of what she once believed to be the four gang leaders dissolve almost too quickly beneath the acid. As though they deflated like party balloons. She peers around her immediate vicinity with her enhanced vision and finds the four of them standing in each cardinal direction relative to her.

"Thought I smelled something rotten lurking around here when I arrived," Maki quips. "Guess Konoha sent in one of their rats to sniff us out and kill us, huh. Well, too bad, sweetheart. If you're looking for a fight, then you'll get one!"

Maki reaches into her flak jacket's upper chest pocket, takes a kunai in her left hand, and a smoke bomb in her right, and throws both simultaneously toward Himari. Upon detonation, Himari's immediately engulfed by the incoming smokescreen. Kazuma quickly approaches and closes the distance to engage the young Genin, performing a series of hand seals before a puff of off-white smoke briefly envelopes and disperses, revealing a bulky and crude-looking hammer and takes flight into the air before arcing his swing to strike at the Genin overhead. However, thanks to her enhanced vision, Himari notices this series of actions and deftly leaps away from the strike, but not outside the range of the smokescreen.

Tsubaki remains beside Maki throughout all this while Kami performs a series of hand seals and opens a portal behind him and it exits inside the smoke screen. Then, after performing another series of hand seals,  creates a clone a couple of meters away from him. The original fires a fireball and propels it from the entry portal and out the exit. Simultaneously, the clone performs another set of hand seals, and lightning enwraps his body, surges down his arm, and waits before he, at blinding speeds, charges at the Genin with his bare fist reared back, intending to strike her with a powerful, full-powered punch.

Luckily for Himari, Katsuki provides her summoner warning in advance of the portal's existence, and Himari, with the adrenaline pumping, reacts accordingly to the oncoming fireball and dodges away from the blast. Unfortunately, Kazuma wasn't so lucky but was able to channel slice the fireball in half before it could cause severe damage.

"Watch where you're bloody firing that thing, you almost incinerated me, you lout!" Kazuma scolds his associate.

"Learn to dodge then, mate," Kami rebukes.

Upon exiting the smokescreen, Himari's greeted with yet another morbid showcasing: a lightning-induced punch that's got her name written all over it. Acting quickly, she pivots her body further to avoid the strike and it barely grazes the size of her face as foreign, electrical impulses wrack her nerves. This causes her to stumble backward and land flat on her back. Tsubaki then follows up with a series of hand seals of her own, creating four clones, two to her east and west, and the remaining two to her north and south, respectively. Himari attempts to rise, but the residual, electrical impulses manage to debilitate her temporarily. Katsuki, sensing Himari's inability to move, and knowing full well that Satsuki won't be able to intervene without drawing the gang leaders' attention to her, performs her auxiliary technique and spits six, 1.5-centimeter diameter needles toward Tsubaki's incoming clones.

Tsubaki notices the approaching aquatic senbon heading toward one of her clones and reacts accordingly, dodging the liquid as it spills harmlessly on the soft earth as all four clones rush toward Himari's direction in a pincer maneuver. Satsuki, watching all of this unfold decides to tip the scales to Her Lady's favor. Bobbing and weaving her tentacles, the air around everyone grows dense, first, quickly becoming a fog before a thick mist envelopes them. Everyone except Himari—due to the unique properties of her Byakugan—and Katsuki—with respect to her unique sensory capabilities—are effectively blinded with their vision restricted to seeing no further than three meters around them. This buys Himari the time to recover and rise to her feet.

"Bloody hell! It's too damp, I can't see a bleeding thing! Hey, Maki, Tsubaki, Kami, where are ya guys? Anybody there?" Kazuma shouts.

"Stay put, you idiot! We're trying to find her, and you're giving away our position. Keep quiet and don't move, and if you have to, shout out if you see her," Maki orders and Kazuma complies.

"What about Kami and Tsubaki, Maki? What should I do if I spot 'em?"

"Don't hit 'em, you daft fool. Do I have to spell everything out for ya? Now shut up and stay put, for crying out loud!"

But that wasn't the end of it yet, to further disorientate them from finding her summoner, Satsuki bobs and weaves, conjuring a plethora of bubbles in a 20-meter radius that rises and lazily floats about the area. Himari, with her vision unimpeded by the mist, opts to use this disorientation to her advantage. She raises her dominant foot, with her knee leveling her hips, before forcefully slamming it down on the ground, causing a violent tremor within a 15-meter radius. This catches Kazuma and Tsubaki's clones unawares as the tremors travel through their body, feeling a sudden weakness sap from them.

"Damn it!" Kazuma curses under his breath.

"Kazuma, are you alright?" Maki inquires.

"No, I bloody well ain't, damn it. My legs are suddenly weak and I can't feel 'em. Must've been her work!" He replies.

"Looks like she's targeting you two. Tsubaki, throw a bunch of kunai out in every direction, that should flush her out!"

Himari's presently engaging in a taijutsu match against Tsubaki's clones until Katsuki warns her summoner of the incoming barrage. Himari evades and dodges the projectiles to the best of her abilities. She manages to evade the majority of them, but unfortunately, one manages to scrape the size of her lower abdomen and Himari reflexively grasps the open wound with her right hand.

"Lady Himari, are you okay? Should I administer first aid?" Katsuki asks, worriedly.

"Right away, please." She slowly removes her hand from the wound. Thankfully, it's not too deep, but should be addressed nonetheless. Katsuki tentacles move and a soft, green light surrounds the wound, gradually stitching and closing the wound. Meanwhile, Himari scans her immediate vicinity with her Byakughan and locates Kami's real body. Katsuki finishes tending to Himari's wound just as the healing process concludes and Himari vanishes in a flicker.

"Thank you, Katsuki."

"You're welcome, My Lady. Please, be more careful."

"Don't worry, I will."

Himari performs the "Ram" hand seal and flickers out of existence before she flickers back into existence directly behind Kami. Assuming her Gentle Fist stance, she delivers a 32-palm strike against his tenketsu. The onslaught catches him off guard and feels his chakra drain from his person before Himari finishes it off with another focused palm strike, knocking the wind out of him as he falls flat on the ground. Satsuki, on the other hand, wastes no time. While Himari makes quick work, Satsuki's body flickers from the trees toward Maki and Tsubaki, far enough that they can't physically see her within range, but close enough to maintain distance with her bubbles. Her tentacles then bob and weave, as several, fist-sized bubbles move toward them.

Tsubaki is the first to see their approach. "Maki, watch out! Bubbles!"

Both leap away from their current position to evade their oncoming trajectory, but Satsuki anticipates their movements and has her bubbles change their course and head toward their persons. Every bubble that they manage to successfully evade, in the same direction, two more appear. Eventually, more and more of them appear around them, and Maki resorts to using her explosive tags to neutralize them, while Tsubaki relies on her throwing kunai to pop them. Before either of them could pull off their actions, two pairs of smaller bubbles descend from above them and encompass their hands. They then try to shake them off and even strike them together to pop them, but to no avail.

"How the hell do we get these things off us?" Maki yells.

"I... don't know! Just keep hitting them against something, anything!" Tsubaki replies.

It doesn't take long before more bubbles show up and gather all around them until they're eventually encapsulated in their own little bubble jail. And not just any kind of bubble jail, but the kind that robs its victims of what breathes life into them.

"Maki... air... I can't breathe! There's... not enough... to..." Tsubaki tries to alert her companion, but it's too late. Their vision becomes blurred and their heads swim as their bodies lose consciousness and ultimately collapse from their bubbled prisons.

And then there was one.

By now, the mist would've already dispersed, and Kazuma's vision restored.

"About time! Did you guys fi—" And his countenance quickly shifts to one of trepidation. He finds Maki and Tsubaki encased in a large bubble-esque dome and when he looks behind him, he finds Kami's body lying motionlessly on the ground. And towering over that body is the Genin they believed to have the upper hand over. There's a pause where nothing happens until Kazuma shifts his hammer into a Mid-Guard stance.

"You little Konoha brat, I'll squash ya like the rat that you are!" Kazuma rushes Himari and readies his swing overhead before arcing his swing toward Himari. However, the young kunoichi still has some tricks up her sleeves as she channels her tenketsu and shoots outward in an explosive dome that knocks Kazuma away from her. He attempts to recover in mid-air and lands on his feet beside where Maki and Tsubaki lay until... huh. He should've touched the ground by now. And that's when he looks down to find that he's hovering. He doesn't recall using any Jutsu to help him levitate until he quickly realizes his breathing's becoming more and more shallow.

Himari, with an open palm, tucks it to her side before thrusting it forward as a multitude of thinly, blue-white light homes in on his position. What he feels next is a short burst of agonizing pain before his senses succumb to numbness and the world around him grows dark...

Mission Complete.

After assessing the damages and results of her work, she confirms that all four key figures have been dispatched and later deliver their remains to the village morgue for processing. Come the following morning, she returns to the administration facility to collect her dues (and a scolding from the staff for the property damages) before she retires for the day.


WC: 5,523
TWC: 5,523


Passively accumulating 2 Heavenly Body Stacks (2/10)


[EXIT THREAD]


Requesting approval for the following claims:

Claiming the following mission reward(s):

► Total Ryo Earned: +8,000 Ryo
► Total AP Earned: +40 AP

Investing 5,523 TWC into the following Skill(s):

► Training One-Handed Seals (2,000/2,000) [3,522 TWC Left]

Investing the remaining 3,533 TWC into the following Jutsu:

► Training Iryōjutsu Amplifier @ B-Rank [190/1,500] → (1,500/1,500) [2,213 TWC Left]
► Training Damage Reduction Shield @ B-Rank (1,750/1,750) [463 TWC Left]
► Training Poison Mist @ B-Rank (463/1,500) [0 TWC Left]

Spending the 5,523 TWC on the following Stat Points (max stats):

► Subtracting -25 Strength (-2,500) [3,023 TWC Left]
► Subtracting -20 Vigor (-2,000) [1,023 TWC Left]
► Adding +45 Chakra (-4,500) [1,023 TWC Left]

Spending the remaining 1,023 TWC and converting to AP (100 WC = 2 AP):

► Training +20 AP (-1,000) [23 TWC Left]

→ Expunging the remaining 23 TWC left over.