A Dark Baptism

Mission Info:

Saturn felt a calling on the other side of the water, both proverbially and literally. The shrill whistle, though dampened through the waterfall, still pierced Saturn's ears sharply demanding his attention. It was both a warning and an invitation, a summoning that rang in his very bones like the bloodcurdling shrieks of a thousand wailing souls as they were swept in a hailstorm of despair. As his tanned face met with the holy water, he closed his eyes, allowing the liquid's freezing cold embrace to envelop him in the moonlight as a dark baptism that marked the beginning of his journey. He had come a long way to this very temple. Stepping through the entrance of the cavern behind the temple, he felt the hidden cave's warm embrace. It was a sanctuary where shadows danced in anticipation of impending confrontations. The blaring conch ceased, and the hidden chamber revealed a familiar silhouette. His adversary, with raven black hair and uncannily white skin resembling an empty canvas on which painting of blood waited to be splattered, stood poised in a battle stance. As their eyes locked, Saturn, gripping Minotaur's Labrys, remained calm as he made his move to the right. To his amusement, the silhouette mirrored his every step with eerie precision, simultaneously clutching his own Centaur's Twibill and making his move to the left.

The two combatants were placed 50 meters apart, and the distance from the ground to the roof of the dome shaped cavern measured 75 meters. Saturn was quick to pick up on the mirroring tendencies of his opponent. Instead of trying to approach him from an angle, the fortuneteller began to slowly, and calmly walk directly towards the silhouette. As expected, Uranus fearlessly took his own steps forward in response.  Their steady footsteps resonated through the chamber, an unspoken agreement in each stride, neither party betraying a hint of reluctance. Initially devoid of expression, both faces retained a stoic mask. However, as they closed the distance on the path converging at the cavern's center, grins gradually spread wider across their faces with each advancing step. Saturn's heart pounded in his chest, not with fear, but with sheer anticipation. When they stood a mere 5 meters apart, their sadistic grins stretched wide across their faces from ear to ear.

Perhaps it was curiosity, or perhaps it was just sheer arrogance that compelled him. Saturn rushed forward brazenly and swung his axe at the dark Saturn. Sparks flew in the air as their weapons clashed in front of their chests. Each weapon held its own, neither one relenting to the cutting force of the other. It was just as he expected, an equal match, against an opponent with an identical mindset. The dark Saturn had presented himself as a nightmare, but to Saturn it was a dream come true. The fortuneteller was on the attack, recklessly swinging his blade in various angles, daring his opponent to take more drastic measures in retaliation. To his dismay, his opponent restrained himself. Each time, his labrys was met with the edge of his opponent's twibill, neither one budging against the cutting force of the other. The grinding of the sharp edges of their blades against each other rang in the cavern like the nails being dragged on one of the blackboards at the Kumogakure's Ninja Academy. As their blades danced, the shadow began to advance, swinging his weapon with equal disregard to the fortuneteller's counterattacking abilities. They were testing each other's technique, and they appeared lost in their prance. It was as if there were a mirror, and an onlooker would lose track of which one of them had entered the cavern, and which one had been waiting for the other inside.

As Saturn cocked his blade back to perform a diagonal swing from five to eleven, he sensed a surge of chakra in his opponent's Twibill. A grin cracked on his face, his opponent had finally relented. In his mind, he had won their tug of war. Feinting his sweep, he threw his axe behind him into an orange portal, and drew a kunai out of his metal arm just as Minotaur's Labrys reemerged as an imminent threat from a cyan portal behind his opponent. When in close quarters, both his labrys and his kunai posed an equal threat - he was going to perform a flanking manoeuvre. His opponent was prepared, however. He would have thought of the same thing himself after all. He vanished into thin air and appeared behind Saturn, placing the fortuneteller in front of his own axe. Uranus had not teleported, but had managed to move ever so swiftly in order to make it seem as though he had done just that. Even this move was anticipated by Saturn. He grinned as he spun around to face his foe as he simultaneously struck his labrys with his kunai, parrying it back into the cyan portal and out of the orange one where it would be on the path to behead his opponent. But this time, he would add one more touch. Using Genjutsu, he restricted his opponent's movement.

The shadow began to disappear just as the axe approached him from behind. The top of his head was the first to disappear, then his neck just as the blade passed where it would have been. Saturn's grin widened as the rest of his opponent's body vanished layer by layer. It was without a doubt an instance of teleportation - something his clones could never accomplish when sparring against him. Saturn caught the axe by its handle and launched it upwards at the upper wall of the cavern where his opponent stood upright and upside down like a bat with his feet on the rocks on the roof of the cavern's mouth. It would make it a few meters up before falling back down into Saturn's grip. He tsked. It was too risky to keep throwing his axe, as it could easily break. His opponent stood still, completely silent, but the fortuneteller having projected his feelings had his ego bruised. His opponent had made a point. But all was not lost. He had forced him to use teleportation, which was a win in his book. "Come down here, pussy!" Saturn grunted, stretching his arms out to appear defenceless, taunting his opponent once again.

A cyan portal appeared behind saturn just as a javelin pierced through its veil, aimed for the Chunin's head. Saturn turned around and adjusted his own portals, sending the projectile into one of his own and out another aimed at his opponent. Dark Saturn reacted in kind, and the two rotated a flurry of their portals against each other, sending the same weapon through different planes over and over until it finally got lodged into a boulder in the corner of the cavern. Growing impatient, Saturn threw a heavy attack, creating a chakra extension of his axe that stretched out and pierced against the cavern's walls. He sliced through the rocks, taking a swing at his foe who had begun to run along the roof, circling down towards the floor in a spiral. Just as the extension of Saturn's blade was about to cut Dark Saturn in half, the unholy adversary disappeared and re-emerged behind the fortuneteller. Right then, Saturn chuckled. His giggles turned into manic laughter as he held his face in his metal palm and shook his head.

"I'm an idiot. Sacred Spear doesn't extend that far.. You really got me there huh...." He shook his head as the ominous figure remained silent behind him. "That was real convincing. Quite the experience. I'm all warmed up now." A tinge of agitation still showed in Saturn's tone, but his words were noticeably sincere. He released the illusion that had been casted on him, and the two combatants reemerged in the plane they had been in all this time - 50 meters apart in the mouth of the cavern behind the waterfall. Saturn cleared his throat, and for a second an intrusive thought entered his mind and caused him to doubt himself just a little bit. 

The next move happened almost instantly. It was a subtle shift of the dark Saturn's head barely a few inches to the right that left behind an afterimage in its trail. Saturn immediately recognized the technique, but it was too late. He felt his opponent's chakra surge right before a swing of his Twibill kicked up a raging storm, rapidly forming a swirling translucent white cloud around him. It was expanding rapidly, and Saturn had yet to react. When he finally snapped out of it, the swirling attack had advanced 1 meter in his direction. Pointing his Minotaur Labrys towards his opponent with his flesh hand, he quickly surged his own energy and formed four hand seals with his metal hand. The bull head on his axe opened its jaws and screeched as its eyes glowed red. In a split second, a shockwave with enormous energy expanded from his limb to clash head on with the body of dark Saturn's translucent white dragon, wiping it from existence. The walls of the cavern cracked and spurted boulders down at the ground, and they too would shatter as collateral. Through the chaos, he saw the wide familiar grin of his opponent. To his dismay, the centaur on his axe had begun to neigh.

The second shockwave crumbled the walls of the cavern even more. The air seemed to shatter as the two of them fought their duel to the death. But it was far from over. Neither of them had the mind to hold back. Saturn's own swirling dragon had spawned to cut his opponent's retaliation, and they clashed again with equal ferocity. This time, Saturn's dragon had the upper hand. The cut of a thousand blades shredded his opponent to pieces, spilling dark purple blood, making him cough up more viscous bodily fluids before crumbling to the ground on his knees. "That's it?" Saturn tsked. He was about to shake his head in disappointment, but he could only relish his moment of victory for a split second before his vision would be tainted. He saw the water, and felt his whole body drenched. The air had been knocked out of his lungs. He was sent flying back at tremendous speed, and had not even realized it until his body crashed into the lake on the other side of the waterfall, back towards the direction he had entered from. He groaned in pain and panted as he got up out of the water, spitting some out with a spurt of blood. He checked his abdomen, and harrowed at the sight of blood. "This guy's not messing around.." He coughed again, and picked his axe up from the bed of the lake. 

His opponent's shadow came closer before he emerged from behind the waterfall, dragging his twibill on the shattered floor of the cavern. The ambience suddenly seemed more grim and sinister. This guy's health bar would be enormous right now. Saturn thought, wiping the blood off of his face with the back of his metal arm as he stepped to the side, sizing up his adversary once again. A close call. He knew that a certain friend of his had assisted him in the cave. If not, the battle could have just about ended right there in the cavern, or maybe all over the cavern. As he cautiously moved, he clanged two kunai together at his side with his flesh hand, and Uranus immediately responded by rushing directly towards him, angling his trajectory as if to avoid any projectiles that may have been launched in his direction. He wasn't about to be intimidated by a near death experience. Of that, he had had plenty. 


As his opponent rushed towards him through the water, Saturn summoned his spiked Kusarigama and swung from afar. As it clashed with the Twibill, a familiar shockwave rippled through the air. The mysterious swordsman appeared frozen in place, his weapon still making contact with the kusarigama. He appeared in an instant right in front of Saturn, parts of his body emerging out of the thin air. Having anticipated exactly such a move, Saturn swerved to the side to avoid the downswing of his opponent's axe. At the same time, he dropped his own Minotaur's Labrys into the seabed behind his back. More quakes. The next shockwave erupted behind Saturn, emerging from his sunken labrys, and proved much too close and intricately calculated for his dark counterpart to avoid. 

Saturn was sure that his attack would have done damage to his dark counterpart. His dark hair and robe soared in the aftermath, but his determination seemed indomitable. The silhouette of the shadow turned towards Saturn, weathering the quake, as he brought his axe down with brutal force. The fortuneteller parried with his metal arm, shattering his opponent's Twibill before it could hurt him. Invigorated by a new confidence, Saturn shifted forward to prepare to lunge at his opponent's stomach ready to stab him with his weapon. Before he committed to this move, he hesitated. Something didn't feel feel right.

Dark Saturn's metal hand came swinging down at Saturn, who caught the act at the very last minute. He met the downswing with his axe, repelling his follow up attack. He pressed forward , and ducked in the nick of time as a sharp boomerang narrowly avoided his head - cutting his dirty blonde hair before lodging itself against a boulder at the edge of the water fall. Saturn jumped as the spinning Twibble advanced toward his feet. Dark Saturn had tried to fool him with more Genjutsu, but this time he was prepared. Using Lightness Skill, he planted his foot on the weapon using it as a springboard to leap over his opponent's back.

His back was faced to his opponent as he leaped as high as he could. It was a visibly unorthodox technique that was tried and tested to be scientifically advantageous. He planted his hand on Uranus' shoulder, and halfway into his somersault over his body he bore witness to six wings that sprouted from Dark Saturn's back. A powerful gust of wind emanated from the shadow's silhouette as he flapped his six wings, and Saturn who was deeply familiar with the technique reacted quickly by straining every muscle on his body. He applied force on his opponent's body, forcing him to contort his flesh hand to help Saturn perform 4 hand seals. Tiger > Snake > Dragon > Clone Seal.

A water clone stood up from the water behind Dark Saturn and swung his axe at his wings, chopping off the three on his left in one fell swoop just as Saturn's feet landed on the water on the other side of his opponent, his back arched - his forehead closer to the sea than his chin as he looked back and up at his counterpart. Uranus swung his axe backwards at the water clone, who leaned back to narrowly dodge the attack. Saturn, still Jotun gripping his opponent's flesh hand, rotated his spine to stand upright before unleashing a barrage of punches, his fist appearing to spray like a shotgun. Half of the blows landed on the opponent's face and torso, while he managed to avoid the other half by contorting his body. 

Uranus surged his chakra and shot out a beam of electricity from his fist. In a flash, the spear of thunder punched a hole in Saturn's stomach. Instead of blood, water spilled out from his guts as he melted into a liquid goo. Behind him, Uranus' opponent had swapped bodies, and his weapon once again approached the shadow's neck. Just as the blade swiped where his neck would be, the shadow disappeared - this time using its teleport in the real world rather than an illusory one. As he reappeared behind Saturn, the fortuneteller laughed and used Flash Step to step around Uranus, avoiding his Sacred Spear. His dark counterpart retaliated in kind, stepping behind the original using the same technique. As their dance continued, one stepping behind the other in a tug of war, one based on speed rather than power, the manic laughter continued getting louder with each fell swoop of Saturn's blade.

The dark Saturn was the first to turn and meet Saturn's axe with his twibill. Their blades clashed back and forth until the fortuneteller swayed to the side to avoid an incoming swipe, finding an angle to skewer his opponent. As the horns of Minotaur's Labrys pierced the shadow Saturn's heart, the phantom fell on his knees and limply fell over. Saturn clicked his teeth. In an instant, the duo were once again back in the cave, 50 meters apart just as they had been when their fight started. "Nani?!" Saturn stared at his metal hand and clenched his fist. The horns blared and his phantom began to whistle. The Kumon Chuunin took a long breath trying to recompose himself.

As he exhaled, his activated Gauge to check his phantom's stats. It was a technique taught to him by an old man in Winter Wonderland named Zaled the Wanderer. Looking at the phantom, he gathered two parameters. Speed: 125. Chakra: 125. So he wasn't an exact replica as much as he was a reiteration, a version of the fortuneteller from a parallel dimension. Perhaps he had other capabilities, abilities that would be more optimal for his build. Thus his repeated use of Genjutsu suddenly made more sense. Very well...




"Mind's Eye of the Kagura." Saturn declared, but not before surging his chakra to increase his Chakra stat from 100 to 170 with Raijin's Rage. This brought the power of his sensory technique to 115, and Saturn gauged that his counterpart would have to use a Genjutsu of A rank or above to get to him, or perhaps a particularly powerful B rank technique. Should that happen, he would have to reevaluate on his gamble. He sensed the enemy surge his own chakra by the same amount, bringing his to 195. "Bring it." Saturn taunted, pointing his labrys up against his counterpart once again.

The two of them beelined towards each other for what it seemed like the third time. As they came within 20 meters, a portal opened below dark Saturn's feet at a speed of 122. Another one opened 4 meters in front of Saturn as a kunai came out at a speed of 195. Sensing danger, Saturn threw his own kunai at a speed of 210, infused with Quake release. As the weapons clashed, two quakes were set of - one with a power of 122 and another with a power of 135. The stronger one turned out to be Saturn's, and it prevailed as it went on to expand towards the phantom.

The dark Saturn reacted quickly, he swung his twibill and effortlessly parried the area of effect at a power of 167, overcoming the quake force without the need for debuffs or amplifiers. Creating a wedge of safe space for him, he went on the advance as Saturn emerged from the center once again coming face to face with his enemy. As he swung his labrys, both he and his counterpart used split second to debuff the other - bringing Saturn's speed and chakra down to 170 and 120, and dark Saturn's stats down to 145 speed and 145 chakra. Saturn used his green light technique, forcing out a sphere of quake energy at a speed and power of 170 from point blank range. Dark Saturn moved back at a speed of 195 to create space. To Saturn's surprise, his quake energy was debuffed perceivably once again, down to 145 power and speed. The phantom formed hand seals Ram, Rat, Tiger, Serpent, Monkey, Dragon at a speed of 145 and pointed his twibill to fire Sacred Spear at a power of 147. 

The chakra extension of the phantom's weapon, to Saturn's surprise, pierced through his green light, creating a 2 meter gap for his enemy. Saturn parry, at a power of 150 was barely enough to surpass the power of the Sacred Spear. He immediately swung his Spiked Kusarigama to counterattack at the same power of 150, but at a speed of 110 to which dark Saturn could easily respond. His green light would have had a power and speed of 145, if not for the ANTifier adding 30 points to its power to make it 175. The spiked kama was immediately shattered as the quake energy from the phantom advanced back at Saturn at a speed of 145 and power of 175.

Saturn moved back at a speed of 200 and summoned the Gates of Rashomon at a speed of 90 and health of 110. The Gates rose one in front of the other, spaced next to each other. When the first gate opened, it debuffed the power of the green light by 50 points, but it would not be sufficient to contain it. The second gate crumbled, and Saturn crossed his arms in front of his face, and braced. 

---

Call me Saturn. Some years ago—never mind how long precisely—having little or no money in my wallet, and nothing particular to interest me elsewhere, I thought I would defect from the Hidden Leaf with my horse, and climb up to the highest mountain peak that I could find. I was a lowly Genin, but I considered myself above average at the academy as I had graduated at a young age. Though as a child with a negligent family, my absence would never come to be noticed. Since then, my horse has forsaken me. 

When the flash of light finally dissipated, the lucid Genin of twenty was walking towards a giant Oak tree. Black-Eyed Susans blossomed at the studs of his cowboy boots with every step, and a raven with white pupils stood perched on his shoulder. Although Rudbeckia hirta thrive in direct sunlight, these biennial plants can tolerate winter temperatures as low as -30 degrees. As they paved the path for Saturn to follow, their petals withered behind him as he moved closer and closer to the Oak Tree. Whenever he took his gaze to a spot on the ground in front of him, pink Joe-Pye Weeds sprouted from the soil. In his active Mind's Eye, he could see right through a playful charade but he indulged in the illusion being placed before him.

"Different flowers bloom in different seasons, but Winter always comes at the same time every year. In the Hidden Cloud, we observe the Winter months when the Sun is closest to Fuijin's constellation. Aries. Nezumi. Ushi. Tora. Usagi. Tatsu. Simha. Kanya. Tula. Raijin. Fuijin. Omoikane. Astrology. It is not a tradition much observed in this village, to no surprise. It is the Hidden *Cloud* village after all. Not exactly a village hidden in the stars. Rather, more often than not, the stars themselves are hiding." He spoke in a deep raspy voice, and the raven on his shoulder cawed as if to translate his speech in a language beyond words and sentences. "Show yourself, Lelouch, and we can have a proper conversation. I can read the likes and dislikes of people and animals, and some plants. I can see the world with the eyes of ravens and ants. I have learned your name from the widows of ostriches and mountain lions. I have watched you cross the otherworldly plane into the mountains to hunt for your prey. But I do not despise you." The Oak Tree seemed to move away from the Genin as he walked towards it, and there was no response. The world around Saturn seemed fluid and viscous, the air was thicker and the light was distorted to look like the setting was taking place in a lucid dream. "Perhaps you and I could make a deal."

A thin green snout emerged from the ether - the ether contained within an invisible hole on Saturn's chest. Two orange eyes the size of tennis balls emerged soon after, followed by a thick scaly neck and slim black horns. Lelouch reared its head from inside Saturn's chest, then flipped over to look up at the Genin. The Fortuneteller remained unfazed, as he had seen past the illusion that was cast on him while he was on the pursuit of the creature that had finally showed itself. "You found me. You learned my name. And you are able to communicate with me. I am impresssed. However, I do not appreciate your rudeness in not acknowledging my title on our first meeting, and your bold accussations about my diet. Alssso... You talk too much." Lelouch swum in the air before fluttering its four wings out from Saturn's chest, flipping and turning as it exited the Genin's body seamlessly and hovered in front of him. Lelouch was a medium sized specimen, measuring at 175 centimeters from its nose to the tip of its arrow headed tail. It had four long transparent wings and six black limbs. Its tongue was split like a snake's, and it had sharp fangs resembling a canine. It sized up Saturn before circling around him, bending its spine fluidly to run a lap around the rigid shinobi. "I am Leech the Bold, short for Lelouch the Bold, and I was given the title of Leech the Bold. What proofss do you have to show for your accusssations, Sssaturn? And what makes you believe that you are not a thoussand yearss too early to be asking to make a deal with me?"

Standing still as the dragonfly swirled around his body, Saturn carefully reached into the pocket of his hoodie and pulled out a small silver Capybara. The specimen was bound by a thick short piece of rope, and its mouth was sealed with good old fashioned duct tape which the shinobi abruptly removed, stripping off some of its fur. "Sorry." He winced as the fur came off with the adhesive. "I recognize you as Leech the Bold, and I apologize for my shortcoming. I had wrongfully neglected to learn about your culture before our meeting." Saturn spoke, taking a small bow with his free hand on his chest, then he smirked and pointed at the rodent, "As for your proof, here it is. Lelouch, you left a witness behind. This is how I found you. Silver Capybaras are a rare breed in the Cloud, but I have now learned that they are your favorite snack. On your last hunt, your boldness compelled you to venture deep into someone else's territory to look for silver Capybaras, and you killed and ate two before another Dragonfly caught you lurking. But there was a third capybara.." He tossed the bound capybara onto the floor in front of Leech the Bold. "I gather that you are a race of Summons, who are not supposed to be hunting on this side of the ethereal plane. But I'm no snitch. You can have this treat, I hate rodents. But only on one condition - You land me an audience with your scroll keeper. Or we could fight, and I'll make you take me to them."

"You fool! Don't get too cocky with me! And it's not Leech, it's Lelouch the Bold for you!"

The two squared off, but before Saturn could move, the dragonfly shot out a purple cloud of smoke, shrouding the shinobi in its mist. As the mist surrounded him, he disappeared into thin air. "He vanished?!" Lelouch cursed, as a man keenly resembling the blonde haired shinobi emerged ten meters behind Lelouch. "It's no usse. The eyes of dragonfliess are ssuperior to those of man, I can ssense movements a full three hundred and ssixty degrees around me!" Leech proclaimed, and swiftly turned around to face the shinobi. Wasting no time, it fired a barrage of senbon from its mouth. Saturn, it seemed, would be unable to react in time as he had spawned half way mid air in his jerky reaction to the poison mist. The needles pierced the tanned shinobi's skin, causing him to bleed and cough more blood when he landed on his feet. He coughed while holding the wound on his upper arm, looking up at the dragonfly seeming as though he felt dizzy and disoriented. "You are now poissoned.." Cackled Lelouch, as Saturn limped towards the dragonfly and coughed more before falling down on one knee. "You are too naive for this world. The Dragonflies of Old have ssurvived for thoussandss of years by picking our fights wissely, and doing our due diligence. You have failed to do either. Good luck in your next life, Ssaturn Ssentobi." The shinobi was on his back, his pupils contracted as he twitched and coughed one last time, before his body dissipated into a cloud of smoke to reveal a log in its place.

"I wasn't always Saturn Sentobi. They called me Saturn *Senju*, Saturn Sarutobi, Saturn Yamanaka, Billy" His voice now came from behind Lelouch though he was not physically there. His voice sounded particularly detestable when uttering the name of the wood clan. His chakra was nullified as he remained hidden. "You fool! You are not the only one with an active Mind's Eye!" Lelouch growled, and its body distorted before appearing on the shoulder of the shinobi hiding behind the thick trunk of a big Oak Tree. "You thought you had seen past my illusions, but you failed to notice that I had set up more than just one!" Its claws glowed in a shining amber light as it touched the shinobi's neck. He was paralyzed. Then his chakra was drained from his body into the dragonfly. "You will be unconscious soon, feed me your chakra, and I will take the capybara for desssert!" As Leech leeched the energy out of the body behind the tree, another identical figure in the form of Saturn emerged seven meters from the tree, facing the dragonfly. His hands were stretched out in front of him, on the verge of forming his fingers into the shape of a heart with the animal's image enclosed within in his line of sight. "A shadow clone? I'm growing tired of your trickss, prepare to die!" The chakra in Lelouch's system condensed as it prepared to make a final gambit. Saturn was prepared with a gambit of his own, but before his fingers could touch a second dragonfly fluttered its wings overhead and landed on Saturn's shoulder. The second specimen was considerably larger, at about ten meters in length, but seemed much less intimidating as it lacked some of Lelouch's traits. This one seemed less like a ferocious killer, and more like a gentle giant who was probably a vegetarian.

"Yanma? Very well.." Lelouch relaxed across from Saturn, "I accept your ssacrifice, Ssaturn. The capybara in exchange for an audience with the sscroll keeper -- Me!"

"What?! You want to call a truce now all of a sudden?" Saturn cursed as he gritted his teeth. The specimen on his shoulder had a friendly aura and did not intimidate him enough to rethink his decision to keep on fighting one and possibly two mythical dragonflies. Yanma remained silent, simply staring calmly at Lelouch from Saturn's back. The raven that Saturn had abducted from the mountains was perched on a branch in the Oak Tree, watching with its pupils still basked in a white glow. "Yanma is a descendant of Amaterasu. It would appear that our encounter was no accident." Lelouch hissed from the shadow clone's shoulder.

"Amaterasu? What are you talking about? Square up!"

"I'm afraid there is no usse to our sscuffling anymore. Although I am the sscroll keeper and I am the one who ultimately decides who getss to ssign a contract with the Dragonflies, it sserves me well to align my intentionss with the wishess of Amaterasu."

Saturn manifested a kunai made of space time chakra and pointed it at the slithering Dragonfly. "Where the fuck do I sign?!" He was still erring on the side of caution. "You must first find the doorway that leads to our cavern, the habitat of Dragonflies is not like the world you are used to. Our home is scattered. It is everywhere, and nowhere. Would you like to take any guessess?"

"It's on the way to the Oak Tree, isn't it?"

"There was never any Oak Tree." Lelouch grinned as he released another one of his illusions to reveal a Cedar tree in its place instead. "Cedar?!" Saturn gasped, staring in disbelief, looking at his own hand.

"Look behind you."

Saturn cautiously turned his neck to see a pond, packed with Fanwort. "The life cycle of a Dragonfly starts in the water. Most members of The Dragonflies of Old, or The Dragonflies of Akitsushima, have spent thoussands of yearss outside the water. Most of them have perhapss forgotten how to sswim. Tell me, Ssaturn Ssenju, will you ssink or sswim?"

"Don't call me that!" Saturn turned around to point his immaterial Kunai at the dragonfly, but before the situation could escalate, a third Dragonfly spawned next to them, only a few meters from the agitated shinobi. This one had an iridescent husk, and had glowing red eyes with sharp claws and scaled wings. Saturn's Mind's Eye had worn off, and he had not been paying enough attention to his surroundings. The Dragonfly spun around quickly with its tail extended, and whacked the shinobi's torso with its stinger, knocking him into the pond below with great force, sounding a loud wet splash.

---

Dragon, Tiger, Boar, Dog, Horse, Bird. Saturn weaved the hand seals at blistering speed. Six wings bloomed on the fortuneteller's back and began to dance, their movements appearing as a blur, and then not appearing at all as gusts of wind emanated from Saturn's body. In a cloud of dirt, through the dust and debris, the forceful winds pushed the quake energy out of its bounds, making a safe space around the Chuunin. His fateful encounter with Lelouch the Bold had payed off. With the help of his dragonfly wings, he was safe for now. However, when the dust settled, to his disbelief a towering dark figure loomed on the other side.

The phantom had grown wings of his own, and he now stood, rather hovered, seven feet tall. His long arms were stretched out to either side as he flapped his wings, flying 45 degrees above Saturn no more than 10 meters away. "You've gotta be kidding me.." Saturn gritted his teeth. His enemy now seemed more eery. Although the phantom had been able to do everything Saturn was capable of and more, he did not expect his counterpart to carry the abilities of his summoning contracts. He instinctively moved one foot back, but his own wings kept fluttering. He was aware of how dangerous his sage mode had the potential to be. He had only ever used it once himself, in a fight against one of the S ranked dragonflies to earn their contract. It was a tradition in Akitsushima, that the contractor had to defeat or draw a dragonfly in combat before signing them to their arsenal. He had been pushed to the edge, but with its power he was able to overcome an adversary whose experience outweighed his own by many millennia. 

The phantom swooped down before swinging his leg, creating a large shockwave - Iron Leg Dragon - at a power that would not compare to Saturn's Counterstroking. The fortuneteller stood his ground, he was too slow to react when the phantom flapped his own wings at rapid pace, pushing Saturn's gusts back as the dark Saturn drew closer, guiding the Iron Leg Dragon towards its target. The physical area of effect struck the Chuunin and sent him flying back, crashing through the back of the waterfall and emerging on the other side. He could sense the phantom trailing him, right behind the force field. He rolled on the ground before getting onto his feet, still drifting back. Swallowing his pride, Saturn decided to summon help. Boar, Dog, Bird, Monkey, Ram, he wove and bit his thumb before planting it on the ground. Immediately, a large spherical shadow formed on the ground, with the phantom dead in the middle.

Both of them looked up to see the massive underbelly of Yama Tsukami. It was ribbed and rubbery, rough and mossy. And it was falling at a speed of 150. Its massive diameter of 40 meters placed both Saturn and his opponent in its path. The Chuunin waited to see which way his opponent would dodge, and as soon as he sensed the momentum, he teleported back by just enough meters to avoid being crushed by his octopus summon. When the dust settled, the dark Saturn was imprisoned in a pink translucent box made of space-time energy. Saturn had anticipated his move and placed his technique in the right place at the right time. Saturn was on top of his green octopus, panting to catch his breath. "Tentacruel.. Use Chakra Devastation Agent!" He ordered, and the red eyed giant complied. A viscous cloud of purple gas swallowed the Jack-in-the-Box, and the Jack entrapped inside Jack-in-the-Box. Saturn covered his mouth to hide from the vicious stench, and stayed on top of the octopus to stay out of the effective range of the poisonous gas. He watched his shadow collapse and revert into its original state, its wings withering away. It started to twitch, and then disappeared in a puff of smoke. "Fucking cockroach. Khhhh tuhh!" Saturn spat on the ground and walked away. It was over.

---

exit;

WC: 6255

Claims:

2x Mission Rewards with Beloved Presence: 45,000 ryo, 224 AP in ryo = 11,200 ryo (56,200 ryo in Total)

1500 words towards OHS replacing Flowing Arts
1125 words towards Deceptive Detonator (B)
1313 words towards Veil Dance: Weave (B)

750 words to rank Rupture from B to A
750 words to rank Sage Art Reduction from B to A
750 words to rank Space Time Amplifier from B to A


Rest burned

Using 2 A Rank Scrolls to learn Sparrow's Descent and Kaminari no Zeus

To accommodate these changes, I am making the following changes to my stat page:

Demoting these from A to B
Vacuum Sword
Demon Wind Launch
Samurai Saber
Space Time Art: Portals 

Removing Chakra Nullification

Milestone claims

Fine, I'll do it myself: Complete an S-Rank Mission alone.
Bonus: Dragon's Dice



https://www.narutoroleplaygame.com/t52292-saturn-s-missions#395117