Earthquake [2].

[King]

earthquake; the seige of sand

kage tower area

iic; 48 hours
assigned iwa shinobi; gana, jae
conditions; dead of night, warm

"Find him! Try and restrain him, prevent him from reaching the rest of his forces! Please, do not underestimate the Kazekage, i'm counting on you!"

Coco's shouted orders can be heard as the birds fly over Sunagakure, low enough for you both to leap down into the upper echelon of the village. The Kazekage tower, other buildings of importance, it's quite the dangerous district. It's up to you now!

[Jae]

My jaw clenched in anticipation for what was to come, eyes wide with excitement as we breeched the threshold of Sunagakure's border while alfresco. My Lord and I were placed together as expected and, as told by the test of time, our skills would compliment one anothers like they'd always. After receiving the Tsuchikage's command, our bird began it's own graceful descent toward the designated drop zone: The Kage Tower! Eager to get things started I let my tongue set over both of my lips in one lascivious swipe before prompting Lord Seidou to descend with me. "Shall we?

I didn't wait for his response, instead recklessly throwing myself from the amazing height to embrace the volatility of the open air descent. My jacket flapped furiously in the wind until I finally touched down atop the flat roof of a building some thirty meters away from the Kage's Residence itself, a negligible distance to traverse and one that had some strategic value that benefited the two of us. Lord Seidou would undoutbedly appreciate the option to act from afar, as well as close in had he desired to.

With that in mind, I made haste to reach toward all three of my carrying compartments to aquire a mess of objects^{1 - 5} that would collectively comprise an elaborate mechanism. Shiju's relic was attached to a line by itself and I fixed the wire through the aperture of two shuriken tightly before tossing it toward the spherical structure adjacent to us in a straight line. As it stood, the relic dangled above the rim where the sphere was held.

Holding the wire between my teeth I proceeded to do the same lacing procedure with another set of wire, this time incorporating a Hikari and two cuspated shotput-esque orbs. I made sure to attach said line to the pin mechanism of the object before weaving it through the aperture of my shuriken before leaping from the roof to circumvent the platform (running around the rim of the structure) so that the line got tauter with each step. Once the line became firm, I stabbed the opposing shuriken into the side of the building I'd intially landed upon. I even pricked it with my finger to ensure it was firm enough.

From my position I could not see the orb, so I continued around the structure until I was practically in front of the sphere before pitching my Hikari/shotput laced shuriken into the sphere, about eight feet below where I'd tossed the first one. After doing so, I'd run back the way I came to stretch the line across the face of the building so that it became taut as well. The shotput like objects created a notable weighted resistance that caused the line to bob somewhat where it had been attached, a testament to the weight of the object and thus the frailty of the line. The shotput like objects along with the hikari dangled underneath the relic and once I could feel with my own hands that the line had become reasonably tight, I jammed the other shuriken into the building I'd used as the drop point before running up it's side to stand back on the flat platform with Lord Seidou (whom I presumed had been watching me the entire time).


I didn't speak afterward, merely turning toward him to measure his response and (more specifically) to see if he was ready to engage the Kazekage.

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1. _______
2. _______
3. _______
4. _______
5. _______

[Jae]

Lord Seidou seemed to be in a meditative state. Perhaps he was assimilating the energy around him to perform the feats that he did best? Whatever the case was, I turned to him to deliver my sentiments before I took off toward the roof of the Kazekage's Tower. "I am going ahead, My Lord, accompany me quickly so that I can ensure your safety has not been compromised."

It took but a few forceful leaps until I found myself standing atop the Kazekage's tower, looking around at what could possibly be an entrance into the facility. There was an impulsive twitch within me that attempted to goad me into destroying the roof itself and simply drop in unannounced but given the delicacy of this affair, I opted to do otherwise by sending a minute amount of chakra into my eyes. Veins bulged at my temples and soon all became clear throughout the building.

I purposefully penetrated the floor beneath my feet which incidentally served as the top floor's ceiling so that I could inspect just what I was getting myself into. In the same light, Lord Seidou was still within my sights as well as any potential threat that came from elsewhere. Had there been anyone or anything to notice within the confines of the top floor office and surrounding area, I would have noticed it immediately and taken it into account.

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Byakugan (All Seeing White Eye)
Rank: C.
Type: Supplementary.
Range:
Chakra: Mid to cast, low to sustain.
Handseals: No
Special: Allows the Hyuuga to see up to to 359 degrees all around them, in all directions, and through many surfaces, including rock, cement, and even metal; only special chakra barriers can block a Byakugan out. Byakugan is also able to magnify and zoom, effectively seeing every small insect in the area and even see the infrared spectrum, allowing clan member detect things through their body heat. The maximum distance is 1KM. Finally, because the Byakugan can essentially see chakra and everything around it, it can detect illusionary chakra (Genjutsu) in order to defeat it.
Description: As its name implies, the Byakugan is just that, a featureless white eye that can occasioanlly posses hints of blue-gray and lavender, respectively. When the Byakugan is activated, the user's pupils become more distinct, and the veins near their temples bulge, representing the sudden chakra activation that makes the doujutsu possible. All members of the clan possess and can use the kekkei genkai from birth, as opposed to needing to awaken it. Byakugan gives the user a near 360º field of vision, except for one blind spot at the back of the neck above the third thoracic vertebra. With this vision, the Hyuuga can see through solid objects, and can use a degree of telescopic sight. The distance and the degree of telescopic sight varies from person to person, and can be improved. Finally, one of the greatest uses of the Byakugan is the ability to see chakra, chakra flow as well as the chakra circulation system inside the body with great detail. It is from this particular ability that they are able to employ their ultimate attack style - the Gentle Fist.
Domain: Hyuuga.

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1. Byakugan [ Low ]

[Kaifuu]

Floor 1
Walking through the familiar, now dim corridors of the of the Kazekage Administration Building, Akuma been on the 1st floor, in search of a midnight mission. It was during these times that he got get away with the thing he loved doing the mist. His thirst had been quenched at just the thought of killing somebody. Ever person he met were considered his prey. Not even his own allies were safe when it came to his constantly shifting mental state.

Something had been obviously strange, with each of the doors being open. Usually people had to knock first to at least give those in the room noticed that they were coming in. Peeking in slightly from the corner, before completely revealing himself to the room, he could nobody. Naomi, the Kazekage’s receptionist, had been assigned to watch these quarters, but not even she was there. Instead of simply leaving, he, instead, decided to investigate.

Floor 2
Continuing his journey throughout the building, he would make his way to the 2nd floor, where it had an open door, and was empty, too. Looking out the window, he caught sight of somebody jumping down. A veiled grin stretched across his face, teeth gnawed in a vicious smile. He could not exactly make out the figure, but whoever it was, their entrance from the sky made it obvious that they were not from his village. That could only mean one thing. If he were an enemy, he would have to be eliminated.

Floor 3
Quickly, he made his way to the 3rd floor, and, like before, it was the same. If the Kazekage had been gone, that meant that something had been going on. He never left his office, especially at times like this. However, one man’s trash, is another man’s treasure, and with trouble amidst, Akuma would make the room, a diameter of 10x10 meters, his. Still concealed within the darkness, he headed for the closest window he saw, to see if they were still there, but to his surprise, they were gone.

Immediately, but not hasty, he made his way around, arranging^1A things in a way he could get used to: three down, with the surrounding area decorated the same, and another on his body. Things tended to get destructive when it came to battles like this. Whoever the man was, it would be one-against-one, and he would be able to fun ripping his body limb from limb. Making his way back over to his previous location, he could see the man jumping from another building to his.

With everything set, should the man descend, he would meet his assailant, Akuma, the one who would massacre him. Stepping bewtween the opened door, and the room, facing toward it, and spacing out his arms a few inches apart from his body, he had been ready to move. Maybe this will give him the excitement he has been craving for all night. His heart pounding wildly against his torso, he could not wait to see what the “gods” had offered him. It better had not been some chump he would have a word for them.

---

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Equipped

---

1A. ?

[Jae]

The level of detection my eyes had afforded me was tremendous, and though the building appeared empty for all it was worth, there shined a beacon of chakra that traveled from the bottom level of the facility all the way to the top. I honed in closely to discover the figure of a man who seemed just as puzzled as I was about the lack of on duty security but once he reached the level below my own, I saw that he had done more than just absentmindedly stumbled into the place.

I watched his every move intently, from his withdrawing a few undiscernible objects to his guarding the only designated entrance my position offered me to the Kage's Office in which he stood. I huffed in amusement before bringing myself over to that very entrance, taking position to it's side so that I did not stand directly in front of the door. It was then that I lifted my hands to perform a quintet of seals that ushered in my deep inhale before shoving the door open and turning my head into the building from my position, breathing out and expelling a dark mist¹ that would probably be difficult to interpret through the darkness. The amount of mist I expelled could easily fill a 15 meter area, or in the case of the Kage's Office, the entire room once it made it's way down.

Once that was done I made sure to close the door so that I could entrap the gaseous mist that he would eventually smell, stepping away to remove a single slip of parchment² from my coat that would soon be tossed onto the face of the door. I took more steps backward to ensure that I'd achieved a safe enough distance away from my setup as to not harm myself.

If I couldn't directly confront him, I would "smoke him out".

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0. Sogensenshi (Chakra Nature) Suiton Katon Fuuton Raiton Doton
Mokuton Saton Hyouton Youton
Rank:
Type: Passive / Doujutsu / Hyuuga Kekkei Genkai
Range: --
Chakra: --
Handseals: --
Special: 'B' ranked version reveals Basic Releases; 'A' ranked version reveals Kekkei Touta that involve the combination of two releases at once; 'S' ranked version reveals Kekkei Touta with either three releases combined at once, or when their make-up is unknown. As such, the clan member must re-train each rank multiple times in order to be able to detect all releases.
Description: One of the perks behind Byakugan is its ability to read the chakra nature before it. Rather than simply seeing flowing energy all at once, the Hyuuga now learns to distinguish each release by a unique color coding only they can see. Best of all, as an opponent prepares a jutsu from a particular elemental nature already known to the clan member, the chakra traces burst forth, affording the user a small window of anticipation.
Domain: Hyuuga. Byakugan.

0. Enkou Shinka (Essence of the Sacred Flames)
Rank: D, C, B, A, S
Type: Supplementary.
Range: 0 - 30 meters.
Handseals: No
Chakra: -
Special: Allows the user the ability to create, control and move Katon (Fire) chakra of their own for multiple purposes. Range of flame control depends solely on the user's dominion rank.
D: 10 meter range.
C: 15 meter range.
B: 20 meter range.
A: 25 meter range.
S: 30 meter range.
Description: Katon, the birth of the flame itself. With but a mere thought, masters of the flame learn to birth their fire over large expanses. Intense training opens the door for other techniques, but they all rely on one simple core - the user's ability to birth a flame from a distance.
Domain: Katon.

1. Kasumi Enbu no Jutsu (Mist Waltz Technique) (50)
Rank: C
Type: Katon Ninjutsu
Range: See special!
Handseals: 5.
Chakra: Low.
Special: Range for mist spray depends on the user's 'Enkou Shinka' rank. Doubles the damage of the Katon technique it's used on.
Description: As its name implies, the Mist Waltz is just that – a vicious mist expelled by the user through their mouth at high speeds, which, when in contact with any form of flame, will create a napalm like explosion, enhancing the fire and even creating disastrous fires which quickly spread and burn. The user must be careful however, as any Fuuton jutsu of equal or greater rank could easily blow back the mist and turn the effects on the user.
Domain: Katon. Enkou Shinka of equal rank.

2. Exploding Tag x1.

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0. Byakugan [ Low x2 ]
1. Kasumi Enbu [ Low ]

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[Kaifuu]

Remaining stationary between the border of the hallway, and the room, Akuma could hear steps. Whoever it was made their way over to the only other entrance into the room, which had been left to the entrance Akuma stood. It had been closed, but for a reason. Raising his left arm, the moment the door opened, and his opponent turned their head into the building, 5 sharp needles would be fired off from the launcher attached to his left wrist to the head of the man, traveling the twice the speed of if he had threw them normally.

If the room had been at least 15 meters around, the distance between the south entrance, and the west entrance would have been half. They would likely hit him as he began to spill forth a substance from his gullet. He could stop, and dodge if he wished to survive, but that would cost his first maneuver. Immediately after, he would step outside of the room, closing the door behind him. He could not risk the chance of being hit by whatever technique it was his opponent had used against him.

About 3 meters of the area surround him had been heated^2A up to more than 90°. Being that the hallway itself had been quite narrow, roughly 5 meters in width and height, if the man decided to accompany him in the hallway, he would find himself desperately gasping for air. He had been immune to the effects of his of own inheritance. His thick skin^{2B 2C} could endure most things. Performing hand seals^2D, he would wet the wall toward the entrance. He placed his back against the furthest wall from the door, gripping^2E his blade, and waiting for the man to enter.

---

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2A. Pyromancer's Aura [C]
2B. Ironhide [C]
2C. Heat Resilience [C]
2D. ?
2E. ?

[Jae]

Just as I'd turned my head into the doorway I was met with the figure of the man, only to find myself at the end of a heinous projectile assault. His arm was extended and what was launched rushed toward me with a speed that threw me off for a brief moment. Had I been any less of a man, the debilitating darkness would have made the objects indistinguishable through the darkness but my sight protected me from such handicaps, providing me even more capability as an analyist. There were five senbon launched in my direction and, at the rate that they moved there was almost nothing I could do to prevent from breaking my attack in order to evade them.

But again... that would have been the case if I were any less of a man and my superior genetics proved this. In my old age I had mastered manipulating chakra to the point that it was almost negligible to do so. My instincts kicked in at just the right time to actually respond to what had happened and it was almost as if the fear itself sent the abundance of chakra into my free extremity (like an adrenaline rush). I appeared to jerk in terror, using my hand to shield my head from damage as if I expected to get hit. The truth was, I did.

That pale blue energy could be seen radiating clearly in the darkness⁰, intercepting the senbon's path with my chakra-laden hand and leaving them to fall harmlessly to the ground. I made sure to move my head down while placing my hand in the senbon's way to ensure my safety, after all the senbon's path could not be changed but my head position was a different story. This also ensured that I was able to continue funneling the noxious mist into the room, which had been spewing forth since my [url=incredibly fast initial gust. It wouldn't take long for me to fill it to capacity and once that was done I removed myself from sight by leaping backward away from the door, facing it the entire time I did so. This caused the door to close and trap the gas inside the room.

Through the walls and closed doors I could still see him, but what I found more interesting was the increasing heat that radiated off of his body as he stood there. Whether this alone (which had been projected directly into the small chamber) was enough to ignite the mist was questionable, but it certainly made the area more volatile than it would have been with just the mist.

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0. Two Two - Advanced Exercise, 11th Degree: The effects of Advanced Training, 8th Degree are increased to stack/issue additonal "B" ranked damage for a High cost. Chakra can now act as a buffer against techniques that provide damage upon "direct contact", neutralizing or breaking past them depending on their rank.


1. Kasumi Enbu no Jutsu (Mist Waltz Technique) [Completed]
Rank: C
Type: Katon Ninjutsu
Range: See special!
Handseals: 5.
Chakra: Low.
Special: Range for mist spray depends on the user's 'Enkou Shinka' rank. Doubles the damage of the Katon technique it's used on.
Description: As its name implies, the Mist Waltz is just that – a vicious mist expelled by the user through their mouth at high speeds, which, when in contact with any form of flame, will create a napalm like explosion, enhancing the fire and even creating disastrous fires which quickly spread and burn. The user must be careful however, as any Fuuton jutsu of equal or greater rank could easily blow back the mist and turn the effects on the user.
Domain: Katon. Enkou Shinka of equal rank.

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0. Byakugan [ Low x4 ]
1. Kasumi Enbu [ Low ]
1. Advanced Exercise, 11th Degree: [High]

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[Kaifuu]

Upon completing his actions, he listened in again. He could hear the man stepping outside the room. Instead of standing around, and possibly being hit with an attack, Akuma made his away half way down the hallway, near the steps. He had still been against the furthest wall, listening. His opponent could come in, and follow him, if they were not a coward. Even so, if he made it to the bottom of the stairs, and outside into the village before then, he would kill him, and leave the vultures to feast upon his body in the desert. By this time, his blade had heated up^3A.

---

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Jsyk, I'm not in the Kazekage's Office.

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3A. Heat Conduction [C]

[Jae]

Neither one of us was in the Kazekage's office, with him standing somewhere else while I was still settled on the roof, staring at the entrance way into the office. Even if he wasn't in there, to have the entire room filled with a volatile gas served a very important purpose. Had it been filled with Anbu, they could have very well ambushed me.

Knowing this I reached into my coat pocket to remove two exploding tags that would be launched and attached to the door 8 meters ahead of me, where I would bide my time while inspecting the hiding man whom my eye allowed me to see via body heat, x-ray vision, and the heat that radiated from him.

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0. Two Exploding Tags.

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0. Byakugan [ Low x5 ]
1. Kasumi Enbu [ Low ]
1. Advanced Exercise, 11th Degree: [High]

[/size][/blockquote][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Kaifuu]

Akuma had been starting to grow tired of their little game of tag. Releasing his steaming grip from the 2 Gladius swords strapped to his back, heat still searing off the hot steel, he headed to the stairway. With each step toward it, he performed a hand seal^4A, finishing up by the time he made it there.

Stepping down them, he would proceed to wet these walls like he did the entrance to the Kazekage’s Office. Continuing his descent, he had reached the 2nd floor. Leaning against the wall near the bottom, he returned his grip to his blades, though they were cooler now. These hallways were exactly like the last ones.

---

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4A. ?

[Jae]

Having not seen the Kazekage's chakra signature, which I'd become familiar with after meeting him in Mizu no Kuni, prolonging the search in his office didn't seem worth it anymore. I'd leap to the buildings from where I came before turning to face the Kage Tower once more, forming a single handseal that would set the exploding tags into action. This was intended to ignite the residual Kasumi Enbu that remained in the trapped on the third floor.

The resultant burst was tremendous and threatened the integrity of the building all together. It had been intended to cause the roof to collapse into the third level office, which in turn would already be damaged by the explosion and on the verge of collapsing into the second story room. This would continue until nothing was left but a pile of rubble that once represented the Sand Village's headquarters.

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0. Two Exploding Tags.

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0. Byakugan [ Low x6 ]
1. Kasumi Enbu [ Low ]
1. Advanced Exercise, 11th Degree: [High]

[Kaifuu]

Not being followed, he continued his way down to the 1st floor, before hearing an explosion off in the distance. Akuma did not detonate anything, or set it on fire, so it had to be the doing of his opponent. If he intended to bring the building down upon him, he had another thing coming. The most it would do is bring down the 3rd floor into the 2nd floor. It would not hit him where he had been standing. After sliding his hands^5A against the walls surrounding him, he would perform hand seals^5B, and stand in the middle of the door, and outside, looking for his opponent.

---

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5A. ?
5B. ?

[Jae]

Apparently my explosion hadn't been as strong as I'd imagined. I watched from a safe distance as the building's roof exploded and collapsed within itself to completely sunder the third and second stories of the Kazekage's tower. I made a mental note that the area should be examined thoroughly before our departure while lifting a hand to turn on my communication's device, sending a message to all of the surrounding shinobi who shared it's frequency.

[comm: Ares] -- The Kazekage is not here! Is support needed elsewhere?

I spoke with a watchful eye fixed on the semi-demolished building, more specifically searching for my opponent's chakra signature to see if he still remained despite my attempt to crush him. I soon realized he had, the faint flicker that represented my unknown coming into sight from my suspended location behind the Kazekage's Office.

He had taken refuge on the ground level of the building, standing at it's entrance from the other side, with the flaming remnants of the explosion rested just one story over his person. He was unimportant and thus I deactivated my eye shortly afterward, keeping my normal vision fixed on the building for the time being. I would respond to any abnormalities as they came.

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0. Byakugan [ Low x7 ]
1. Kasumi Enbu [ Low ]
1. Advanced Exercise, 11th Degree: [High]

[Kaifuu]

Not even the slightest sighting of his prey had presented itself, Akuma looking around, both left and right, diligently, expecting him to come out. After remaining there for a short moment, he could not hear anything. It had gotten completely silent, again, once the explosion had finished. He could take advantage of the situation, by going out the building, and checking around, but he did not feel like doing that. Instead, he went to the bottom of the stairs, and sat down, his jutsu being cancelled, as if waiting.

“If you’re hiding, you can come out now. I won’t hurt you. I promise,” he said, snickering a little with a mischievous grin, the echo of his voice booming across the room. Maybe he would talk to the man, but he wanted to see whom it was he was going up against first. If he decided to face him, man to man, he might be willing to spare his life. There had been a few other things going through Akuma mind. He had been thinking about his next plan, and where he would head next.

---

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5B. X

[Jae]

From my distance away his voice was indistinguishable through the sound of ruin and my height away from the ground. I continued to wait intently on a response back from my comrades. Had I not received one, I would search for them myself.

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0. Byakugan [ Low x7 ]
1. Kasumi Enbu [ Low ]
1. Advanced Exercise, 11th Degree: [High]