flotsam [pm to enter]

[Naitome]

SPOILER: Click to show

Lone Warrior
rank; d
description; A single bandit captured from a raiding party. Nothing more then your sword and shield barbarian. It’s been confirmed he doesn’t know any jutsu and will more then likely try to strike you down with his blade with wild swings and superior conditioning.
reward; 25 experience, 500 ryo
minimum shinobi; one
mission status; interminable


Kalimari Man
rank; d
description; One of our more unique specimens, the Kalimari Man is a weird squid like humanoid we came across while exploring the coastline of the continent. Expect to face a series of sticky tentacled attacks and be wary of his blinding ink shot. His stretchy five meter arms will definitely come in handy but as thin as he is, the six foot creature shouldn’t be that big of a problem.
reward; 25 experience, 500 ryo
minimum shinobi; one
mission status; interminable


Apeshit!
rank; d
description; Holding this one down was infinitely harder then originally capturing it and this wild gorilla will definitely show you why. While he may be primitive, unarmed and oblivious to the ninja arts, his incredible strength, speed and vicious primal rage will be more then enough to keep your hands full.
reward; 25 experience, 500 ryo
minimum shinobi; one
mission status; interminable


The Black Swarm
rank; d
description; We’ve managed to get ahold of an entire swarm of Vampire bats at one time, don’t ask how, it wasn’t easy. Once we release the black hurricane they’ll immediately attempt to overwhelm you and go straight to biting. Try to keep your composure as you take them on.
reward; 25 experience, 500 ryo
minimum shinobi; one
mission status; interminable


Armored Fury
rank; d
description; Don’t get backed into a corner because we’re unleashing the armored rhino. 500 solid pounds of armor and rage with a razor sharp horn to top it off. The attack strategy will be fairly basic; charge and ram most likely, don’t get cocky though. One solid hit and you’re most likely done for.
reward; 25 experience, 500 ryo
minimum shinobi; one
mission status; interminable


Wolf Runner
rank; d
description; Looks like we have a bit of a wolf problem in the surrounding area of the village. Apparently a few packs have been attacking travelers as they move to and from the village. We can’t allow something like this to damage not only our reputation but the safety of our residences. Move out and slice up some wolf burgers.
reward; 25 experience, 500 ryo
minimum shinobi; one
mission status; interminable


Arachnophobia
rank; c
description; This battle will pit you against the giant arachnid queen of the nearby forests. While not that difficult for a superior ninja, her web and ability to breed smaller spiders to attack could overwealm you quickly. At ten meters tall and 5 meters across she’s no joke but I’m sure you can handle it.
reward; 50 experience, 1,000 ryo
minimum shinobi; one
mission status; interminable


Eagles Prey
rank; c
description; This was one of our favorite captures yet, if only for the majesty of the creature itself, real shame it has to die. The giant eagle is what your facing today, 30 meters from wing tip to wing tip and 20 meters from beak to tail. You’ll definitely see it coming when it attacks but with it’s sonic screech and incredible speed, it might be too late when it does.
reward; 50 experience, 1,000 ryo
minimum shinobi; one
mission status; interminable


Alpha Wolf
rank; c
description; Blood and meat, that’s all you are to the five 200 lb Dire Wolves were bringing in to tear you too shreds. Peak instincts, razor sharp teeth and claws as well as wicked speed should be more then enough to ravage the ordinary ninja. Add in their exceptional ability to coordinate attacks and you have a real threat on your hands.
reward; 50 experience, 1,000 ryo
minimum shinobi; one
mission status; interminable


Rock and Roll
rank; c
description; We don’t even know how this creature actually exists but somehow it does. The stone beast golem of the Thunder Mountains is the creature you’ll be facing today. As far as we can tell it’s made of solid stone and has no discernible anatomy beyond those half ton boulders that make it up. I have no clue how’re your gonna win either but it’s either that or die right?
reward; 50 experience, 1,000 ryo
minimum shinobi; one
mission status; interminable

Around him there seemed to stretch endless water, a depression in coarse sand where the remnants of dried oceans filtered in uncontrollably and underground lakes swelled up like blisters in the fog. He thought briefly of what he'd read of Whirlpool Country, that place where some common ancestor to his clan had been eradicated and now, was only a patchwork maze of holes. He was in an arena, yes, like many he'd seen before, only this was designed around its environment, like a collection of half-broken walls dropped down from the clouds to wrangle up a series of inverted islands. There was a strip of land connecting where Akuharu stood to a rusted gate that opened and closed with the sounding of a far away bell.

He had no idea how he'd gotten here. He'd woken up and been tossed an ancient scimitar by an emaciated young woman, who eyed him hungrily as he gripped it. Akurojin-no-hi was still attached with chain to his back, and as the woman ran quickly away, he waved the scimitar experimentally, getting used to its weight. Though there was a seating area stretched out above him, there was no one in attendance. It wasn't until he lazily glanced over the series of symbols dyed into the fabric of free-floating banners that he recognized where he was at.

He was in Mizu No Kuni, in the ruins of the Great Sluice. This was the place where the prisoners of Kirigakure No Sato fought to the death for their 'freedom'. It was a ruse of course; the second one would 'win' the chance of escape, they'd soon find that the only path out of the old arena was full of beasts and creatures all too happy to feed. He looked himself over, brushing off the dirt of having been thrown so carelessly in with the 'scum' of Kirigakure No Sato, and realized with horror that his headband was missing. Had he done something wrong? Was he to die here? No, something else had happened. A flickering of memory. A voice and a mask.

This was a mission. He was on assignment. He remembered. This was the other reason that no prisoner had ever escaped; a Kirigakure shinobi was placed, undercover, within the arena to ensure that escape was especially impossible. His instructions had been quite simple, taken from the ANBU who'd no doubt employed some high level technique to conceal their location as they observed. This illusion of freedom, the great deception involved with the appearance of leniency; it seemed unnecessary to Akuharu, but he was not in the position to do anything abut it now.

A bell sounded. The gate opened.

Something was coming.

[Naitome]

An obscure scent traveled towards him, and even through the mesh of his mask, Akuharu could smell something wrong invading the air. Though his gaze was directed at the slowly rising gate, he could not help but feel that his attention should be directed around his body instead. A low grumbling passed beneath the ground and behind him, he heard feet shuffle along, accompanied by hoarse coughing and the drawing of a blade. As he turned, a man could be seen pulling himself up from a pile of broken spears and bent metal shavings, a tiny curved sword in hand and clutching a small wooden shield whose straps appeared worn from use. He coughed more, allowing a glob of saliva to fall from his dirt crusted lip as he wiped at it impatiently, and spoke in a cynical bass while pointing to the gate.

"They're coming now mate. Last time it was bears. Giant bears, big as you never saw, barely survived that one. Don't know what you did to end up here friend, and I honestly don't care, but if we don't have plans to become some dreadful things meal, I suggest we work together."

He shifted in place, as a terrible howling oscillated through the walls themselves, before extending his hand.

"The name is Bashir, but everyone calls me Basher. Used to be in Tull's Gang, now I'm just trying to get back home."

The name was familiar to Akuharu. Bashir, his code name the lone warrior was a wanted criminal gathered from a failed raiding party, and the only member of Tull's Gang to survive their execution. This man was a part of his mission. Akuharu had been sent, at least in part, to kill him. He extended a hand in greeting and allowed his eyes to convey relief before

Well met. I'm Saoshyant. Most people stick with 'Sao'. I was spear-man for the Thragna Brothers, till some Kiri shitheads decided different.

He said with a lazy Kumogakure drawl, rolling his eyes and pronouncing Kiri the way one might pronounce excrement. He turned then, flipping the scimitar he'd been given between hands, and taking a position a few meters to the right of Basher, who nodded in approval before sniffing the air and kneeling to touch the ground before them.

"Eh, ninja are like that. Always mucking something up. Look sharp though...I think these are...wolves..."

The bandit answered, as sure enough, the feral canine grin of a dire wolf burst from behind the raised gate like rivers of shadow, five black dots moving off from each side of it, circling their two potential victims. Their growling could be heard echoing off of every structure in the arena, and even the bones of those who'd already been claimed by death seemed to tremble at the animal call. The circle of beasts rapidly making their way closer to the duo seemed smaller, less impressive than the obvious Alpha making its way confidently towards them head on, and Akuharu thought briefly of the many stories he'd heard of wolves attacking those traveling into and out of the village. Someone had apparently gone to the courtesy of rounding them up. He sarcastically mouthed thanks beneath the cover of his mask, before dashing off, at a 90 degree angle towards the nearest wolf, as Basher surprisingly followed close behind. As they moved, so too did the other wolves, though the one they approached seemed to grow impatient and increased the rate of his charge, hungry. Once within a few meters, Akuharu's scimitar was thrown handle-over-tip, entering the belly of the rampaging beast just as it lunged upwards to claim them.

It's body hit the ground with a wet thud, near instantly dead, and behind them, Basher intercepted a second wolf, the third and fourth cutting past him to launch themselves at Akuharu as the fifth paced only a few yards away, watching with the now motionless Alpha. The Alpha was already as big as three or four of the others combined, but contained a fierce intelligence within massive eyes as large as Akuharu's entire head. It snarled as its two pack mates collided with his body, while Bashir beat mercilessly against his own attackers head with his shield, catching it between the jaw. Akuharu tumbled beneath the wolves weight, throwing up a cloud of dust and ending atop one, with the other's jaw closing to clench around his right foot. He reached down, quickly placing his right arm deep into the beasts throat, fist blocking its airway, kicking the other wolf off with his heel. It moved a scant few feet away, shaking its head and then snapping back forward as Akuharu turned suddenly onto his side, swinging the wolf wrapped around his right arm as if its body were a club to strike its approaching pack-mate along the side of its head. The impact rattled his fist severely, breaking the wolves teeth that surrounded it, and pulling the limb free, he sprung onto his feet, popping his retractable wrist blade and driving it into the others brain as it tried to regain its footing. The toothless wolf howled weakly in frustration, the sound trying to fight its way out around the mass of blood it had become, gasping for breath, as Akuharu pivoted and kicked its body into Bashir's assailant before an obscure lunge could claim the rogue bandits throat.

The fifth wolf moved forwards in a blur, aimed for both men, and the Alpha reared back its head and roared a horrifying sound that made the hair on the back of their necks not only stand up, but fall back down lazily as if the first motion had sapped all their strength.

The bell rang again. The gate moved. A second Alpha, a second alpha?, most likely the first's mate, slightly larger and somehow darker than all the others. It howled and its mate responded and the single remaining lesser wolf was speared on Bashir's blade as it shifted its gaze to find the origin of the shrill tone.

"We've got it!"

Basher called out confidently, attempting to toss his blade towards the nearest Alpha in the same manner that Akuharu used to dispatch of the very first wolf. It twirled through the air, cutting a neat path towards the things left eye, and was swatted down easily with the enormous beasts razor sharp claws, breaking in half as it slammed into the ground. The Alpha's breath then seemed to come in ragged gasps as it mate ran a blisteringly fast path straight towards them, punctuated by purposeful silences, as if starting and failing to breathe out over and over again. heh...heh...heh...heh...heh...heh...heh....

It was laughing at them.

"We're fucked!"

Basher cried out, holding his shield closer, just before the nearest Alpha lurched ahead, claws outstretched.

The bell rang. The gate moved yet again. Something else to worry about.

[Naitome]

Three more wolves, each as big as the previous Alpha's, exited the gate, tongues lolling, panting with rage and starvation. They would have no doubt joined the others, but there was a great whir and a click and a sound like the world itself splitting in half, and though they left the gate, they appeared to have been thrown, their bodies crashing into the sand as Akuharu and Basher's attention was focused on the two just before them. Basher seemed content to turn and run, though Akuharu removed Akurojin-no-hi from its chain, flipping it around in his hand, and speaking the ancient chant passed down from the War Coil Blades of the Nūrihyon Death Cult upon whose designs he'd crafted the weapon long ago.

Kyō wa shinu ni wa yoi hidesu.

_{Translation: ("Today is a good day to die.")}

Though the chant had no added effect on its user, it did help Akuharu to settle into the combat style he preferred to all others; the precise and brutal maneuvers he'd been taught by the Six Paths of the Moon. Far more comfortable with the over-sized naginata than with a sword, it was no surprise that when the Alpha wolf only five meters away from him pounced, it was met with a solemn ferocity it simply could not match. Akuharu moved like a machine, the blade flying out in an upward diagonal swing that allowed the flat of the blade to crash into the beasts chin, slamming its opened jaw closed, its bottom fangs crushed into the softer flesh of its own mouth as it had tried too soon to fasten its mouth around its prey. Akurojin-no-hi's heavy composite staff base spun into the beasts nose, forcing it downwards only for it to be used to propel Akuharu up and over, landing him atop the beasts head as he switched to a double-handed grip, driving the metal end deep into the base of the wolf's skull and performing what, to all others, would look like a hand stand atop its handle. He brought his feet down to match the position of his hands, stomping the blade further through the beasts head and twisting as he did so, allowing it to exit far easier when he pulled it loose a second later. He looked towards Basher.

The bandit was not faring as well. He'd successfully lodged his shield in between he teeth of the Alpha he'd unfortunately ran right into...along with the rest of his body, which the wolf was now struggling to force down its throat. It tried to swipe at Basher's body, which was about a tenth of its size, with enormous paws unfit for such fine work, as Basher cursed and snarled and pushed at it with quickly fading strength. At the heavy thud from its mate falling, the wolf looked up at Akuharu, eyes widening with renewed hatred, and began running towards him, with Basher flopping about sadly still in its grip.

"Put...Me....Down...Bloody...Stupid....Dog..!!"

The Alpha would have reached him too...if earlier, the bell had not rung, and three wolves had not exited the gates as if they had been thrown. But luckily for Akuharu and Basher, they had been thrown. Right on top of the body of the charging alpha as it neared its new target.

Bones cracked. The wolf holding Basher had its entire jaw nearly explode from its mouth as three enormous wolf bodies colliding with its midsection, ribs blooming out like some strange and disgusting flower. Basher's body was thrown free, and a shunshin carried Akuharu, Akurojin-no-hi trailing blood through the wind, to catch him as he fell. They landed a few meters away from the mess of canine remains; the three who'd just arrived were alive but their bodies were heavily bruised, and without emotion, Akuharu's naginata plunged into each of their throats as both men circled the cloud of dust blown up in the commotion with their hands over their eyes, feeling a small bit of relief.

At least, until they saw what had thrown the three wolves.

Akuharu's first thought, irrational as it may have seemed, was that it was a mountain covered in hair. It seemed to block out everything behind it, even the enormous walls of the arena, and when the bell rang and the gate jerkily arched upwards with the bars composing it broken off in odd places to release a deadly white blur screeching into the sky, both men could still only focus on the fleshy shadowed mass that moved towards them on two legs like a man, keeping itself upright with lanky muscled arms and a face uglier than they could understand. Above them, the white blur flew and called out to the air, before being jerked suddenly back, a length of heavy chain wrapped around its talon, tumbling it back down a few meters before spreading its wings and catching itself in the air, eyeing them like worms. It could reach either edge of the arena easily with the amount of leeway granted its tether, but it could not rise very high without a slight pulling of gears shunted it back towards the ground. They did not care. Basher raised a single finger and shouted, pointing towards the behemoth that shook the earth with its steps.

"It's...it's an Ape. Please tell me you've got another sword?"

And Akuharu did not, and he was quite upset at this fact.

[Naitome]

It's strong, but these wolves bodies are nearly the same size as it is. We should use their bodies for cover, force it to move them in order to get to us, and strike in the opening that gives us. It's got eyes and a brain, tendons and muscles, just like everything else. There's a sword about 20 meters back, go get it but be quick, and keep an eye on the sky. That...eagle...thing...isn't going to wait forever to attack.

"Eagle..thing?"

Basher looked up, eyes scanning the sky, before hearing the loud screech of challenge that confirmed what his slower senses could not. The white blur struggled to enter the sky and was pulled back by its chain a second time, it couldn't understand why escape was simply not an option. The Ape moved towards Akuharu, and Basher gulped loudly before, with Akuharu pushing his sword arm, a scrap of suspicious paper having been removed from his pack and placed on the appendage, turned and took off. The Ape only bounded ahead even faster, certain it would not be outrun by its future dinner. The Kirigakure shinobi braced himself for the coming conflict, flicking aside the blood coating Akurojin-no-hi and pointing the tip towards his attacker. With Basher safely behind him, he allowed his eyes to finally take on the crimson hue of his kekkei genkai, a single tomoe warping from slate black, the world retreating from its breakneck pace into a rhythm far more comfortable for him to process. As the great primate came within ten meters, he threw his Naginata in a high overhead arc, high enough to pass harmlessly over its head, hands flashing through a quick series of handseals. The ape swung down with incredible force, set to smash through the wolf corpses laid before him and Akuharu in one fell swoop, but he would not meet his target as he intended.

A quick strafe backwards, followed by a burst of chakra enhanced steps would carry him onto and up the Ape's outstretched fist, leaping as it came into contact with the splintered bones of the downed Alpha's. The seals complete, he would grab Akurojin-no-hi before it landed, holding it in a downwards left diagonal, katon chakra flowing through its bladed edge, dragged down the beasts back as he descended. The super-heated steel burned through its flesh where it touched, and he pivoted the second he landed, crouching in the same moment, to slash through the Apes planted heels, in an attempt to sever the tendons allowing it to walk.

The beast turned quickly, too quick, knocking the naginata from Akuharu's hands and preventing the slash through its heel to knock him onto his back a few meters...then rewound back to the point of bellowing in pain at the burning blade crawling down its back as the tomoe within the Mist ninja's Sharingan spiraled and flashed its prediction through Akuharu's brain. He adjusted the blade at the last minute, halting the slash and instead stabbing forward with his left hand lower along the staff handle for better balance, and when the beast turned to slap him aside, its large palm was nearly split in half by a swiftly cauterized but still incredibly painful wound. The Ape's opposite hand slammed down then, crushing into Akuharu's body into little more than dust...then reversed direction back up to its highest point, halting at its peak...and slamming down in real time full of strength, only to have Akuharu shunshin behind it, another heat-carrying slash cutting into the things wrist. It howled in pain; then straightened, growling, perplexed. Hurt.

Behind it, Basher, having recovered the sword and returned, had stabbed the creature through its lower back, severing the vertebrae of its spine.

With a roar, Akuharu jumped up and thrust Akurojin-no-hi between its eyes, burning into the bone as he pushed and pushed with all the strength he could muster. He let his eyes fade back to black before Basher would see them, and heard the bandit call out to him.

"Sao! You're one hell of a fighter mate, ya know that? If I still had my crew, i'd ask ya to join us an---"

Several things happened at once, all of which possible explanations for why Basher would not finish his sentence. The first; the arm holding the sword in the Ape's back was suddenly gone, replaced by a bloody stub. The second; the bell rang, and the gate jerked upwards, before the rusted old metal shattered completely against the uppermost point of its retraction into the arena walls. Basher screamed loudly and fell back, as the Ape too fell backwards, set to crush the bandit beneath it, while above him Akuharu watched the white eagle attack the remnants of a dirty cloth-covered arm holding a blade, its beak glistening with blood. From whatever the gate led to, a terrible frequency expanded, clinging to the edges of everything and slicking the walls with the impression of filth.

The explosive tag Akuharu placed earlier had been a security measure, a way to ensure he would be able to disable the man when he needed to kill him, but it seemed like it would have to serve its purpose now. He formed the single handseal to ignite it, as the eagle tried to gulp it down at the same second, and contributed to blowing its own head completely off of its body, skidding into the ground a few seconds after with a heavy chain-clanking that could not drown out Basher's screams.

Calm down damn it! We're not out of this yet!

Akuharu screamed as he came closer, pressing the still heated blade against the stub, trying to cut off as much of the bleeding as he could. The new pain seemed only a catalyst for Basher's resolve, and he gritted his teeth, only whimpering a few times as the flesh singed and scabbed over, both men trying not to worry about exactly what things would be coming towards them next.

[Naitome]

Quake. Quake. Quake. It resonated through their feet, the broken shards of the gate still dotting the landscape were thrown up; the shadows seemed to come alive and break apart and reform into a cloak that gripped the wall with thin slivers of ash-colored flesh. It was like a storm brewing, and helping his injured temporary comrade to his feet, Akuharu could only watch while a black mass of vein-ribbed wings descended from the air and a heavy thump, thump, thump signaled the lurching gait of some enormous beast, rattling the dust as it moved into the light. Akurojin-no-hi found itself chained at his back a few seconds later, as Akuharu scanned the area for any other 'new' enemies, his attention never totally off of the approaching destruction.

"I've got a kid...ya know...a boy....damn Mist bastards...took him...had to watch them..drown him...can still see it now....my son...poor Joey....god damn them all..."

Basher's eyes rolled back a bit, pain and delirium fighting for purchase within his mind, as a horn attached to a gray slab of strength barreled its way towards them, the lurching gait of a creature that could take its time as it charged. Flooding out from behind it came a swarm, the self-contained organic tornado of the night, dripping old blood like a trail across the sand and dirt. A peculiar glinting caught the Kirigakure shinobi's eye as he noted how this swarm, this flying mist that was claws and sharp barbed wings crawling through the air to find them, did not fly up and out the way the eagle had, and he understood why. High above, a bulbous tear-drop sprouting thin disjointed spikes wove a pattern of reflecting light overhead, stretching from one end of the arena to the other. It moved far faster than it should have. The thin shimmering threads were made compact with the insectile savagery of smaller, more circular globs discharging webbing in almost the same moment they were discharged from their gigantic 'parent's' abdomen, and the swarm of...bats...they could see now that they were bats and gnashing fangs and impressions of sharpness twirling through the early night sky...the bats would not fly higher, or they would risk being caught. Some massive spider-like creature and its children were trapping them, no doubt prepared to feast on whatever survivors might remain. It had probably been doing so for the entirety of their battle, unaware, working off of the corners first to maximize its effectiveness.

The tremors along the ground increased in severity, but the swarm would be upon them in only a few seconds, and Basher fell to his knee's, gripping Akuharu's hakama and whispering.

"Can't do much...to help now...sorry mate...i'll try...to stall 'em...best...best I can do.."

He grunted with effort, using his shield to push himself up, and ran to the right as fast as his injuries would allow. The beast charging them, one Akuharu had never before seen and thus could not name, bore down on the shift in its vision, the tiny target that moved away and tried to escape, hobbling with pain. It switched direction, following Basher, but the swarm that swelled up in its wake could not be diverted and set themselves to envelop and devour Akuharou, rising up into what seemed like a single point, before falling towards him like a massive mosaic arrow. The shinobi's hands flickered through seals, holding his fingers up to his mouth as katon was molded within, the mesh of his mask pulled down the smallest bit to let forth

Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu.

(Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique)

[/center]

Birthing a massive sphere of flame that extended out, fed by the chakra pouring through his chest and lungs, and reached fifty meters in total size as it claimed a few of the vermin's lives. The swarm that previously charged with little more than killing intent and hunger seemed unconcerned, splitting into two smaller groups that slanted out to either side of the massive ball of flame, rose in the air a small bit, and then poured back towards him, even closer, continuing their assault. Akuharu rolled off to the side, retrieving his chained naginata as he did so, and brought it to bear in his right hand as its blade bore into the dust and sand of the arena and flung a meter-wide concentration of lightly compacted particles into the bats that bit down snapping with ferocity where he'd just stood. The light from the blazing chakra orb soon extinguished naturally, and Akuharu began to sprint across the arena, as the remainder of the swarm followed, before hearing a new sound; the wet crunch of bones and blood, and a gasp somewhere between scream and defiance. It was Basher. Akuharu pivoted and rolled, allowing an extension of the swarm that had almost caught him to fly faces first into the dirt, nearly clipping the edge of his boot, shunshin propelling him back the way he'd come and giving him a small lead as he neared the back end of the beast that had first charged them both. He looked for Basher.

As he neared the beast, swarm greedily in tow, it turned to face him...and then he found his comrade. They man was impaled, the single protruding horn of the enormous grayed slab had pierced him just below the heart, though he had not died yet. The things right eye was smashed open, no doubt the work of the bandit's shield, and his body thrashed about in agony, twitching, his mouth welling up with blood and his shield arm lazily slamming against the beasts face. Basher saw Akuharu, whose face genuinely contorted in anger. This was the consequence of going to war with others; even those who were supposed to be your enemies became allies when they fought and bled and....and died, right beside you. Akuharu's charge continued, only faster, renewed by indignation, as the beast eventually lowered its head and dropped Basher into the dust, freeing its horn, and roaring. It's missing eye seemed to throw off its coordination a great deal, and Akuharu silently thanked the bandit for at least causing it harm. Behind him, the swarm regrouped, a slightly smaller but still deadly storm of razor sharp fangs and echoing insanity. He gripped Akurojin-No-Hi tighter in his hands, and activated his Sharingan, blooming red amid the blood and sorrow. He removed a single tag as his legs moved, holding it in the opposite hand, a blur on the arena floor.

He neared the beast, his hands seeking to drive his blade into its remaining eye, and was caught with a sudden upward jerk of the things head, which reacted to the swarm behind it. Akuharu's gut was shredded and destroyed, the massive horn ripping his body in half.....then was rewound, intestines pouring themselves back into his body in reverse and his skin mending together, Sharingan spinning as if it could no longer be controlled. He was back to charging the beast, and as it jerked its neck upwards, Akuharu instead went low, he slid his body underneath the massive treads of the creature, Akurojin-no-hi hugged tightly against his body which drug itself dead center of the animals charging form, its slightly curved edge marking a thin wound over the length of its belly. It stopped its maddened charge and reared up partially on its back legs, before its own ridiculous weight would carry it back down, horn buried into Akuharu's face, killing him instantly...then rewound as the tomoe spun, and Akuharu instead rolled off to his side and between its left-legs, slapping the tag on its side as he just barely avoided....the swarm trying to converge on his last location, which was, fortunately for him, the beast itself.

The black swarm met the grey behemoth, biting and scratching and doing very little to its massive armored hide as it swung its massive head back and forth. Akuharu spoke simply, forming a swift hand seal

Bastard.

and watched the convergence of beasts ignite into fury.





[/size][/blockquote][/blockquote][/blockquote][/justify][/font]

[Naitome]

Though the swarm of bats was melted in the inferno, the beast proved tougher still, its side suffering damage from the explosion but only leaking a small bit of blood, burns etched onto its side, its remaining eye filled with smoke. The bell that once rang in a shrill pattern every few seconds simply made the same harsh whining endlessly, malfunctioning, until the enormous arachnid overhead neared the completion of its web. It climbed down, expunging smaller black trails of baby spiders as it came, before ripping the bell from its frame, stepping daintily over the scrapped remains of the metal gate. From Akuharu's vantage point, the large spider was mostly obscured by the pained gray beast regaining its strength as it senselessly gored the remains of the ash coated flesh around it. It seemed to have grown wary of Akuharu, and this was not a good thing; if it charged him, he would have a better chance to capitalize on its single-minded focus and confuse it, possibly kill it. If it waited to see what he did, he'd have to waste energy taking the offensive. He heard a low murmur, and a light cough, and remembered Basher, eyes still on his enemies as he moved next to the collapsed bandit.

"S-s-s....Sao...something else...cough..."

I know Basher, there's lots of 'something else' out here. I...I tried to...save--

"Nah...don't say it...I...I know. Just...listen...something....something cough not in the cages...something underground...getting closer..."

Akuharu looked down at the ground, and could feel only the constant trembling of Basher's own body.

"Just...promise....promise you'll...ruin fucking Mist..."

Basher spat, mostly blood and dirt, oil and the scabs of sores he'd gotten from gods knew where, but Akuharu held his head and nodded slowly, unsure of how to react. This man was an enemy, he'd been instructed to kill him, and now he was...comforting him before...before....

You can survive this. It'll be okay.

[/b][/color][/center]

Akuharu replied without conviction, deactivating his Sharingan mid-sentence and struggling with a series of emotions that didn't make sense. He was permitted to lie, encourage to, in fact. Deception is a shinobi's greatest weapon. But he also had his own code, one that said you were to carry out the dying wishes of a friend on their deathbed, no matter what. But...friendship? Had such a thing truly developed in so short a time? It was not possible. They were not friends. This was a victim; a criminal. The Kirigakure genin knew that he should not care, should stab this man through the heart, cut off his head, spit in his face and leave him upturned in the sand to become the gray beasts meal but he could not and he did not understand why.

"No...No lies mate...I know...I know I won't make it...just...promise me.."

I might die too, you know. Alot of good my promise can do you then.

"heh...rubbish...you're gonna live...you're gonna beat them all...I can...I can see it...you're the hero type...you've got that look....same dumb look...my Joey had...same look...I used to have...a long time ago.."

Sorry I'm so ugly then.

And Basher laughed and coughed a bit more, and steadily grew more and more still with each second, his breath coming like an accident at odd intervals every few seconds. He reached up suddenly with his remaining arm, grabbing onto Akuharu's shoulder, all of his strength saved for one final moment.

"Promise me that Mist will pay for what they've done...for everything they've ever done..."

I...I promise.

Why did you say that? he thought immediately after answering, but it was too late. Basher's eyes closed and his body went limp, and the tension gave way as Akuharu rose from the ground. His vision seemed to blur, before a small outpouring of chakra blazed within his eyes once more. He was...enraged.

Fool.

He said through gritted teeth, though it was not clear whether he was talking to Basher's corpse, or to himself. His fist closed tightly against Akurojin-no-hi, and he turned just as he realized that the gray beast had had enough of waiting for him to make the first move. The great spider up above as well as the smaller brethren it had spawned seemed content to wander down into the arena grounds and pick their way over whatever corpses were left, carving obscure ricocheting sounds lightly throughout the hollowed out space. It reeked of death.

Akuharu roared, an inhuman sound.


Something else began making its way up from the dried earth.

[/size][/blockquote][/blockquote][/blockquote][/justify][/font]

[Naitome]

The gray monstrosity pushed off with its massive hind legs, its head down, its face obscured by shadow and aimed to gouge out the center of Akuharu's body, horn steady. Its feet were just squat pillars of overlapping muscle that left tiny impact craters wherever it moved, and these formed now as it began its charge. The Kirigakure shinobi stood his ground, allowing the beast to get closer as his knuckles turned white from the strength of his grip on Akurojin-no-hi. The tomoe of his Sharingan spun, a hypnotic and lazy motion that seemed to ripple and keep pace with the beating of his heart. Time seemed to slow; all he could see was the horn, inching closer and closer, as everything drew itself out, each millisecond an eternity until

No.

He...dropped Akurojin-no-hi. His hands clapped together atop the creature's single horn, and pushed down, hard, forcing the creatures head into the dirt and flipping his own body forwards. His hands twisted, their position pivoting his body through the air, legs spinning before his feet came together and arched down with the momentum atop the back of its skull, stomping its head even deeper into the arena grounds. It grunted out in pain and protest, as Akuharu extended his retractable wrist blade and began punched down, unskilled, full of little more than anger, over and over again. He bellowed with each blow, striking it at the neck, cutting away its armored hide inch by inch, until both of his forearms were covered in blood and frustration. He kept hitting, even after the creatures eyes rolled back caked with sand, after its breath stopped and its body could no longer fight to dig its head up from the dirt. He swung into it until his knuckles were white and the gray matter beneath him was only pulp and the memories of Basher's death were replaced with an empty static that drowned out everything else.

A man-sized black teardrop descended from above, landing in a thick cloud of dust. From its sides, eight dark lines of pronged chitin spread out, and lifted its body, eight black orbs shone in the washed out light, reflecting off of a dangerous looking mandible that quivered with hunger. It crept towards him without bothering to come from behind, dripping points of organic muck like oil which bubbled into smaller copies of its original form. The arena had grown darker but in his rage, Akuharu had not paid attention. Looking up, he could see the thin web stretched from one side to the other, and turned to stare at his enemy. Beneath him, the ground vibrated, and not just with the heaviness of the spider's steps. Something was slowly creating cracks in the soil, breaking its way to the surface.

Near the gate, a new shadow shimmered. It's form glimmered at the edges of understanding. It didn't matter. The spider began chewing, each sinister segment of its gaping maw contorted in a wild spiral that shredded apart a thick graying mucous, preparing its web. Akuharu's hands began their own preparation, forming a sequence of seals, mindful of how much chakra he'd already used. As his hands formed the final seal, the air to either side of his body seemed to ignite, the explosion flaring into two exact copies of Akuharu. The on to his right ran towards the large spider, the one to his left veered off and moved in a burst of speed towards the gate, while Akuharu side-stepped a projectile ball of compact webbing shot from the creatures mouth to retrieve Akurojin-no-hi. The ground beneath him burst upwards suddenly. He jumped.

A pile of stone shoved its way past the surface to stand, several feet taller than them all. It did not make sense. It was simply block cut rock stacked into a roughly humanoid outline. No sinews held it together. No bones moved its earthen limbs. No blood beat within; it had no heart nor organs, nothing soft or weak to exploit or destroy. It was stone given shape. It's movements were slow, it didn't seem quite used to maneuvering above ground, but it mattered little. The giant golem did not look for him; perhaps could not even see as it had no eyes, no sensory organs, no mind, just direction. That direction seemed to involve summarily ignoring the advances of the spider; all its attention was on Akuharu.

I'm ready. Let's do this then.

There was only the briefest pause. The calm before the storm.

Then..it began.

[Naitome]

The spider shot forward, like a bolt from a crossbow, whining through the air and leaving a trail of liquid webbing hardening into off-white rigidity behind itself. It was propelled, pushing off of whatever it could use for leverage, though cautious of the stone golem's lurching gait as it moved, avoiding it. It sought the true Akuharu; while the clone he'd produced to his right ran to intercept the arachnid. His second clone had already covered half of the distance towards the gate, while the grotesquely undulating shadow it contained seemed hesitant to move step out of the darkness. The golem eyed Akuharu, whose sharingan maintained its steady spin, hand twirling Akurojin-no-hi skillfully as each block of stone shuffled ahead, both of its rock arms rising in the air, prepared to crush him.

The spider connected with its target first, the fire clone maneuvering to its side as three of its pincer legs attempted to enter its body. The clone swept its leg out low, ducking beneath the assault, and knocking it's remaining legs to the side as a smaller collection of the arachnids brethren swarmed up and over, popping into brief flames within the katon chakra that composed the clones body. The image of the clone became a haze in the lackluster light of the arena as the arachnid queen's offspring annihilated themselves, the clone's hands pushed down against the ground, springing up into a somersault that allowed it to land atop the fattest segment of its enemies exoskeleton. Its legs wrapped around the creatures neck as...

...the stone behemoth bore down, enormous rock fists crushing into and through the horizontally held naginata, destroying nearly all of Akuharu's lower body beneath its sheer weight, covering everything below his waist in a splashing of blood that exploded outwards...then stopped, each individual droplet flowing back towards its origin, viscera reforming and melding back together as his waist stitched itself back together, the golem's weaponized limbs reversing direction in the quickest fraction of a second, Akuharu's tomoe revealing all. In real time, the golem slammed its arms down, and Akuharu pivoted on his heel, twisting the Naginata so that its handle wouldn't be in the things path, striking down with the bladed edge biting pointlessly into its fists and vaulting him up, his heavy boots making contact with the things head.

Nothing happened.

It felt as if he'd kicked a brick wall. He bounced backwards, the golem's arm reaching up to clutch Akuharu's mid-section with crushing force that easily broke through the Kirigakure shinobi's rib cage, splintering the fragmented bone outwards, throat choking with blood that gurgled as it traveled out only to form a wave and reverse and recombine as the bone settled back into his body and his ribs mended and his eyes blazed crimson, the golem's arm reaching up to clutch at him and Akuharu twisted his body out of the way of its massive hand, landing with both hands on the ground and pushing off to roll beneath the stone creature's legs, standing up behind it. Akurojin-no-hi flashed, a metallic gray blur seeking the looser pebbles that seemed to represent its joints. The resultant clang was disconcerting; only the tiniest stone flecks were successfully shaved off, though the golem seemed a bit unbalanced by his speed. It turned slowly, only the upper-half of its body shifting as its legs remained in the same position, a spinning top of stone limbs smashing into his shoulder and cracking the bone that un-cracked as his eyes glowed and took in what was and what could be and what was not and the spin came and the limb was real and Akuharu ducked below it, using Akurojin-no-hi to bat the limb to the side, hard. He pushed with all his effort, increasing the speed of the golem's upper body, twisting faster and faster. His sharingan timed a new flurry of hits from his Naginata to match its spin, adding to the speed, disorienting the creature whose torso's sheer momentum prevented it from controlling its limbs in any useful way. It attempted to raise a leg, reversing the direction of its lower half to deliver a kick, and lost its balance, falling to the arena ground and digging a crater as it connected. It's stone limbs dug out a ditch in the earth, and once they'd gone too deep, their spin stopped, and its lower body...spun clean off as

What the hell...

the clone's legs, wrapped around the giant spider's neck, squeezed hard and rode it into the earth as it was slowly covered in a spreading of webbing and tiny spider carcasses charred into coal-black remains, its hands forming quick seals that completed as it bent down, bringing its face crashing into the spider's head. Its mouth opened. It's body seemed to distort into itself as its chest expanded and flame was born that seared through the arachnid queen's head and dispersed the clone in the same moment.

Akuharu, the stone golem now little more than twitching and chaotic stone clumps scatted about and covered in sand and moisture, looked over towards his last clone, watching it at last enter the area of the now shattered gate.

There was the sound of an explosion, and a pulling of chakra that told him his clone had just been destroyed. Akuharu's sharingan blossomed with deep red, and he squinted into the darkness to take in what was his final opponent.

It was...a monster.

What...are...you?

It heard him, looked towards his direction...it moved.

[Naitome]

It was....somewhat human. It's head, at least, was dark haired and youthful, pale skinned but with features one might expect from anyone else. Everything below the neck, however, was a different story. It seemed to spurt out a foam like concentration of blood and water from several gill-like structures placed haphazardly around its form. It did not have a torso so much as a series of tentacles that branched out in every possible direction and braided together to take on the vague shapes of muscles and bones, vibrating with energy and possibly hunger. It did not have arms, but impressions of sinew and tendon woven together and bristling with brine and what appeared to be organic seaweed. It bent awkwardly where there should have been a spine, but it was only cartilage and more tentacles, sliding around on a wet skin-cloud of leftover aquatic membranes, slicking the ground with blue mucous.

Akuharu backed up. He couldn't help it. He didn't understand what he was seeing. The creature seemed to get over its fear of leaving the sanctity of the shadows and inched its way forward, expanding and contracting and greasing the arena with a substance that seemed to erode away the earth itself. It bubbled with chakra. It moved like a snake. He stepped backwards and with each footfall, it seemed like the creature got exponentially faster, the all-too-human head devoid of any emotion, but its eyes deep black and sinister. The Kirigakure shinobi held Akurojin-no-hi out in front of himself, still retreating, tripping backwards and landing with a hard thump over the dead body of Basher. He saw the beast eye his one-time comrade and slide forward even faster, and without thinking, Akuharu grabbed the bandit's corpse in one hand and began pulling it along the ground, his own chakra reserves nearly depleted, strength ebbing, unsure of what he thought he was protecting.

The creature spasmed, a flurry of limbs, rushed ahead like a tidal wave to overtake them both in a motion too quick for Akuharu's sharingan to predict. Its sides opened into several tentacles that flashed down and wrapped around both Akuharu and Basher, ripping the bandit free of his grasp. It held the corpse up to its face, its black eyes leaking a thick oil like substance as its mouth opened wide and...it spoke.

"D-d--d----Dad?"

It's voice was harsh, it struggled to escape through malformed rows of overlapping fangs and a tongue split nearly in half, held together with veined flesh. Akuharu looked up at it, his mind putting the pieces together until he had to ask

Are you...Joey?

It's face flashed with anger at the mention of the name, but then, it grew sad. It held Basher in its hands lovingly, setting him back down on the ground and falling, its body sectioned into smaller thinner tentacles that allowed it to sit in a heap of discolored skin, still weeping oil. It rose what passed as its arms up to its face, attempting to wipe away the leaking 'tears', and then looked back at Akuharu, its voice full of pain.

"I was Joey, once. Now--I am something different. They drowned me. Used my body in a ritual. Placed my mind within the remains of a sea thing they'd found with too many hearts and not enough---enough thought. My dad watched me. He was a good dad, but he was caught too. I died but they wouldn't let me stay that way. They brought me back and they hurt me and I woke up and I was so hungry. So angry. And they told me I would never see my dad. And they killed him too."

Bashir told me about his son. I tried to save him, but I was not strong enough. His last thoughts were of you. He was sad, but very proud. He told me you were a hero. You were his hero. I am...I am very sorry. I did all that I could.

And the tentacles surrounding Akuharu returned, sucking themselves back into Joey's sides and making him look a little less like a monster, and a little more like a small frightened boy, mourning the loss of his father. Akuharu held up Akurojin-no-hi and walked towards Joey and Basher, standing with the Naginata as if it were an offering. The creature...the child...looked up at him, eyes full of sadness and anger.

The Hidden Mist killed your father, they did...this...to you, and they nearly killed me. I understand your pain, I too have lost family and friends to the pointless whims of shinobi...but you are a weapon now. Weapons are used to destroy one's enemies, and it seems our enemy is the same. We can be angry and remain slaves...or we can figure out how to escape and avenge your father...and my friend.

Joey wrapped a single tentacle around the naginata, as if drawing strength from it, and used it to stand, taking one last look at his father's body, before staring into Akuharu's red eyes, his voice having gained a subtle maturity. He looked up at the webbing overhead and asked

"So--how do we get out of here?"

-Snikt-

We don't.

Akurojin-no-hi, blade first, had been shoved through the center of Joey's throat as his attention traveled to the webbing above. Akuharu pushed its end out of the right side of its throat and he spun around, slashing back through the left side and removing the head completely. It landed, followed shortly by its heavy body, still carrying a look of hopeful curiosity. Akuharu fell to the ground, his strength mostly drained, his eyes fading from their bright red to a dull black. Near him almost instantly after were several masked figures, one of which dropped his headband atop his chest, the others kneeling next to him and checking his vital signs.

"He's just tired. He'll be fine."

They nodded in agreement, and would radio Akuharu's success back to the Kage tower, before several chakra charges incinerated the webbing above. They would have to remove the fatigued Kirigakure shinobi before the new shipment of prisoners were shipped to the arena.

No one noticed the single tear that rolled down Akuharu's face.

[Naitome]

Apparently, however, he was not finished. Dead enemies did tend to resurrect themselves at their own behest, and Akuharu was forced awake by the still twitching forms of nearly every enemy he'd just wasted his time slaying. Well how about that shit. The kirigakure shinobi stood up slowly, wiping the dirt from his body and holding Akurojin-no-hi in his grip once again, flushed with the feeling that he was in for a long period of running about, flailing his arms like a loon, while getting chased by every horror imaginable and trying to regain some measure of his chakra. Around him, ten wolves rose, the strange squid boy he'd betrayed cobbled itself back together from off-colored slivers of undead flesh, the gray beast with its single horn pushed itself free of its early grave. Basher rose suddenly, one arm dangling, searching for his sword and shield with single minded purpose as the swarm of bats reconstituted from their own ashes and a giant ape swung down on a patch of web, the spider queen unfolding from nothingness itself. Overhead, the shadow of a large eagle passed and the stone golem gathered its body parts and melded itself back together, a deep stone laugh resonating across the battlefield.

This doesn't look good.

He said aloud, realizing that his physical strength alone was not enough to overcome the incredible odds stacked before him, and trying desperately to formulate a plan that did not involve his body being eaten in several new ways simultaneously.

What kind of stupid shit is this?

He screamed at the top of his lungs, head full of confused thoughts.

"Well, we can't have you going on and completing missions in an efficient manner. You are a ninja after all. You have to do things one at a time, in as long and pointlessly drawn out a manner as possible, which has been our way for quite some time."

Akuharu looked around for the source of the voice, but could not find it.

What the hell are you on about? At the very beginning of the episode, the writers established that I didn't even ask to be here. I got dropped off and drugged or something like that. Where the hell is the director? I don't have to take this shit. I could have been a judge on America's Got Talent...

"Shutup, damn you! We're still filiming! Get back in character you spoiled twit!"

...errr...I mean....What is the meaning of this? What possible ninjutsu could give you control over the dead? Have I not passed your ridiculous tests?

The voice coughed slightly, as Akuharu spied a large glowing red button strapped to each of his enemies, wrapped around them in chains and embedded with the kanji for 'continue'. His brow furrowed, and the voice that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at the same time rose up, full of self importance.

"They were not resurrected. No, no, your missions do not require you to do battle with the undead, after all. They have merely been outfitted with devices that allow them to continue fighting, until we have determined you've done enough to showcase your skill and ability."

So basically, I can hit the big red buttons, and they'll go away? Isn't that sort of high-tech for a semi-edo period anime? I mean...I know there are computers and whatnot, but if you've got technology that can do all that, can't I at least get a gun or something?

"A what? What the hell is a gun?"

Oh shit, I forgot that they don't exist. Never mind. Just have the editors cut that part out, 'kay?

"Still filming!"

OH...right right. I got it.

Akuharu stood against the backdrop of the now darkened arena, under cover of a full moon. His hair blew in the breeze and his shadow seemed to cling to him like a second skin. Akurojin-no-hi was gripped tightly in his hands as he twirled it around, a masterful spin through each of his fingers ending with a fist that pointed the blade towards the line-up of creatures moving towards him. He called to them.

I am Akuharu Uchiha, shinobi of the Village Hidden In The Mist, and I will carve my name upon this dark land..with your blood!

He charged at the first of his enemies...ready for the true battle to begin.

[Naitome]

The beast charged ahead, pawing at the ground with great gray blocks of half-destroyed flesh scraping themselves into raw nubs as it accelerated, as Akuharu's hands thrust forward with the bladed end. The naginata was parried off to the left side of its face as it continued, only slightly distracted by the handle being forced forwards to crash against its teeth. Akuharu rolled away, trying to reduce as much of the impact as possible as he eyed the mysterious red contraption strapped to its chest, that seemed to allow it to ignore even the most fatal of injuries and merely keep attacking; even now it snorted loudly, displacing the dust and air about it, and raging against the very ground it had fallen to. It stood on legs that should not have been able to hold it up and charged him again, keeping the large red button, what Akuharu saw as its primary weakness, clear of being touched at all.

He tried to use the same tactic he'd performed before; sliding beneath its massive legs as its charge came, barely avoiding the horn and perhaps, tapping the button as it reared up and back, but it failed. As he tried to slide beneath, the rhino's horn did not veer up, but instead, fell down with sharpness, catching Akuharu just above the shoulder and dragging him through a few meters of harsh sand by the fabric of his clothes. He tried to roll out to either side, but instead found his back collecting a new series of bruises as he bumped into rocks and over corpses, his arms reaching up slowly to find the things final remaining eye, and bashing it in with the blunt end of Akurojin-no-hi he still carried.

The beast veered, having nearly carried him in front of the incredibly fucking stupidly resurrected bandit whom he'd already fucking killed, before collapsing on its side. Akuharu stuck the blade of his weapon into the ground and stopped the momentum of being slung free of the things horn, his body twisting a bizarre pattern through the sand as he reached out, open palm just barely slapping against the red button at the rhino's chest. It shuddered. It began drooling an odd yellow liquid, that foamed as it made contact with the air, and then it shook fiercely, in the throes of some sort of seizure. There was a sound, like the sound of someone banging their head against a desk in frustration at some ridiculously pompous cunt, before a light sizzling that spread out from the bright red flash, and slowly expanded out, incinerating the beast, bones and all.

[Naitome]

Akuharu couldn't begin to celebrate yet, of course; he didn't know if now he'd be required to kill this things non-corporeal soul as well, since that's just the sort of stupid shit that happened nowadays. He eyed Basher, now one armed and eager to engage in battle, no doubt angry about the betrayal he'd never got to witness on account of being dead, but perhaps there was some spiritual equivalent of e-mail that could translate and transfer the severity of the situation between he and his wayward squid-like child. Basher's eyes were dark, his sclera blackened as various desert scorpions imported from Kaze no Kuni simply to make the arena a more dangerous place crawled beneath his taut skin and scrambled out of his eye sockets and pores. The two would bow to each other, though Akuharu was unsure why, and, confident that the motion was just filler between dying muse, he would take a dashing start towards his opponent, bringing his Naginata down in a heavy handed strike set to cleave the man straight down the middle.

Behind him, the rhino soul shuffled about the arena, like a fucking dumbass.

Basher moved away from Akurojin-no-hi, his broken blade sweeping up to block the attack as his right foot came up sharply, aimed for Akuharu's midsection. Akuharu grabbed the bandit's ankle, twisting it inwards with his left hand and stabbing just below the kneecap with his Naginata's blade, as, without skipping a beat, Basher's sword arm came up again, bending at an odd angle, as if he no longer cared how crazily his form contorted. He did not even make a sound as he lost his ankle, nor as his bones snapped, merely lunged out with the blade again and again, his body a slave to the red light blazing against his chest.

Akuharu side-stepped a poorly aimed slash, ducking beneath its return trajectory and stomping into the side of Basher's knee, the hole near the man's center still open and dripping gore. As the bandit fell forwards, Akuharu brought the blade of his Naginata up sharply, nearly severing through the man's neck completely, leaving only the thinnest scrap of skin behind, twisting the tendons around sharply. A shunshin would carry Akuharu into the defeated man's blindspot, where a simple kick to the bright red button would activate the infernal device, and eat the body away completely.

[Naitome]

As the incinerated flesh cooked itself into oblivion, a light sheen of sweat could be seen on the Kirigakure shinobi's forehead, and his hand moved swiftly to wipe it away. His chakra had not yet replenished itself, and as he waited, approached by the queen of spiders, Akurojin-no-hi shifted eagerly in his palm. The creature reared back, twenty meters away, and let out an inhuman screech Akuharu was surprised could even be produced by its constantly gnashing maw. As it made its way towards him, he pushed out, a flooding of chakra allowing his steps to traverse the distance between them in that same instance, the head of his Naginata biting out with all the ferocity of the creature it sought to destroy. Caught off guard, the beast seemed to crumple, the blade removing itself off to the right side and having entered just beneath the dark clump of sinister eyes that directed the things vision. His coal black eyes spotted the same contraption marring its otherwise bestial savagery, and he reached out his left hand to tap it and do away with the beast, when its fluttering of motion caught him by surprise.

It was like a dead thing, yet it did not seem disturbed by the wound it had suffered at his blade. It's legs scissored out, grasping him by the ankle and lifting him from the ground, as it shoved its face outwards and attempted to gnaw through the light-weight mesh covering the genin's frame. He twisted his body, hard, loosing its grip and landing on a single knee as his blade flashed upwards, though too slow. The spider merely moved away from it, allowing a hardened ball of webbing to crust over its clicking mandibles and be shot out, catching the spot where he crouched before he'd had the time to escape. Mid-jump, it stuck to his boot like glue and forced his body back down to the earth, as a flickering of all too valuable spiritual energy mixed with the physical and allowed his Sharingan to rotate into activity. The blood colored sphere showed him the insects angle of attack, as along its back, tiny droplets of liquid chitin solidified into horrifying realness, and rose on tiny senbon-thin legs, scattering into the wind.

He dropped the naginata blade first into the ground, attempting to use it as leverage as the spider readied another helping of web, its mouth like a hose that shot forth the off-white threads with incredible speed. Akuharu attempted to use the flash step yet again, but his feet could not gain traction and he instead only tore in vain, ducking at the last possible moment to avoid each new web the arachnid produced. In it's failure, some part of its mind not enslaved by the blinking red light strapped across it seemed furious; it hobbled towards him, steadily regaining its balance and bearing, before weighing him down bodily beneath its own form. He was forced to the dirt, breath escaping in a dust filled exhalation of irritation, his left hand pulling his weapon free of the arena floor. The spider smashed itself against him repeatedly, building a patchwork film of fine bruises across his skin, and preventing him from moving Akurojin-no-hi into the proper position to strike. It's gruesome mouth bore onto him, covering him in scratches and tears, as the tinier kin it produced swarmed the lower half of his body, hungry and stupid and vile.

He was disoriented. As the beast came down for what appeared to be its final physical assault, Akuharu raised his own head, the spiders constantly moving jaws catching him about the neck and removing his head as they snapped closed, then releasing him as time seemed to reverse and the burned in combat imprint undid itself. Akuharu curled his body up as the mouth of the beast truly came down, and he used his new positioning to sit up, swiftly, the newly tied headband he now wore slamming into the center of the arachnid queen, and sending a shockwave of heat and death through the tiny button that had given it its second wind. It fell off of him, confused, before the red light spread and its residual energies ignited and Akuharu lay, still covered in its web, eyeing his next opponent and wondering just how he would free himself.

Can't keep this up...forever...

[Naitome]

The commanding titan of stone, strapped with the same device as the others, skirted the outer edges of the arena walls. Though it was the farthest away of all his enemies, it was without a debt the most notorious, and Akuharu stared at it wavering heavily in the shadow of the great walls. He struggled against the webbing still trapping him to the ground, using the bladed edge of Akurojin-no-hi to slowly but surely cut himself free. It took precious minutes away from his ability to escape the large white eagle, circling him without half of its face, its beak a shattered mess nearly as visceral and ugly as his own deformed jaw. He was only able to stand at the moment that the great bird descended, veering off sharply to his right with a well-timed roll, and rising to run at full speed towards the golem. The eagle opened its wings wide, catching thermals and halting its descent, allowing a rush of air to guide it in the Kirigakure shinobi's wake. It pursued him as he ran, and the golem merely stood, its great block head unable to follow him but still somehow aware of his presence.

His grip tightened and sure, his feet followed one behind the other, preparing for motion, meter by meter yet not quite fast enough to stop the eagle from gaining on him. Once finally within striking range of the golem, its hands shot out, both aimed to wrap around his throat, but slow enough for him to dodge beneath, ducking just as the eagle rammed the remaining fragments of its beak into the golems path. Its stone hands wrapped around the avian monstrosity, nearly throttling it and letting free a few high-pitched whines, while Akuharu used Akurojin-no-hi for leverage and lifted himself atop the golems frame. He straddled its massive shoulders, eyes processing each second of movement, and reached down to tap the button at its center. There was a reverberation, like a localized earthquake, and before the rock could be consumed in a burst of flame, he leaped free from its body and landed with concussive finality onto the back of the now rapidly ascending eagle.

Boom.

The stone golem exploded. In an effort to flee the fallout from the blast, the eagle ascended, with Akuharu centered along its spine, wings creeping through the sky. It climbed higher and higher, twisting and attempting to throw him off, as he was now able to view the entirety of the arena below, and the many enemies he had yet to face. They'd begun to congregate in the center of the arena, waving their limbs feebly in his direction, or howling, or flailing a collection of tentacles in the night. The eagle circled the pit, and Akuharu allowed his Naginata to slice through the edges of webbing still spread out and preventing any true notion of freedom. He kicked into the eagle's spine, digging into the slighter bones arched behind its wings to adjust its flight path, and forcing it to make several rounds to sever the false netting. After a few short minutes, the outer edges of the webbing ripped true, and the webbing above fell, as Akurojin-no-hi found its bladed end forced through the beast lower back. It flipped in mid-air, falling faster than the netting above it, and with a harsh push of his feet, Akuharu stomped into the red button flashing at its center, and moved, just barely, outside of the range of the falling web.

It contracted partially as it collapsed to the ground, encircling his remaining foes and sticking fast to the arena ground as he landed in a heavy heap of bruised muscle twenty meters away. He stood, shaking, watching the conflagration of foes fight to free themselves from the balled up webbing. He took a deep breath, calling as much of his remaining chakra to his chest as he could, his hands moving through a series of familiar seals.

He exhaled...a ball of flame directly into the awaiting web which caught fire like a candle under the now easily seen moon. It was an inferno. A new sun. A burning pyre that circumvented the simple buttons strapped to each creatures chest and left all within the flaming web as a bundle of ashes. But Akuharu would not see this.

He'd already collapsed. He hoped vaguely that this had been enough to quell the never-ending onslaught of attackers, before succumbing gracefully to unconsciousness.

[KEITH]

+115