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One of the clones born of Katon would leap from the tree as well, its hands forming a quick pattern of seals before letting loose a thick mist that would spray from its mouth quickly towards the feral genin's eyes just as his swiping claw finished its motion, timed with the other three bunshin's strikes.

Timing. So many things in the shinobi world were simply a matter of timing; it could either be on your side or against you, and Akuharu had learned this lesson all too well. It seemed his opponent was also ready to learn the same, as he'd made a major miscalculation. By being able to see the bunshin's blades enter and exit his body without pause, the boy's entire body [Enkou Shinka S Rank = 50 meter spread] would thus be caught in the mist the katon clone had simultaneously expelled; as the mist would ignite when it came into contact with any source of flame, the katon clones own body, falling right behind it as it was birthed, would explode in its own wake, the detonation spawning at what was essentially point blank range in a napalm-like expansion of fire.

But Akuharu would not sit idle as this happened. Or at least, the remaining Katon clone would not, nor would it's Bunshin brothers.

As the explosion would knock the boy forward [having gone off behind you] his body would not be falling into the river, and would instead be sprawled across the very ground he'd recently crossed to make contact with the clones. As he would land, the last Katon Clone, with the other Bunshin in tow, would have already descended from the line of tree's, it's fingers weaving seals as it moved, coming to the last seals and holding it, coming to stand above the boy's fallen body just as it would hit the ground, smaller fires still burning him after the blast.

If the boy would attempt to move at all, the Clone would release the technique it had prepared, killing him, as the insubstantial Bunshin's now also crowded the Sand Ninja's body. This was not for nothing of course, as their presence would conceal the eventual and swift approach of the true Akuharu, if the boy would give him some reason to come out from hiding, and destroy the young man completely. He would allow him only a few seconds to decide his fate, the stoic and prepared clone ready to unleash hell¹, or ready for the boy to surrender the dog tags on his person. No words would be spoken.

The boy was observant enough. He should know what Akuharu required.

His paranoid opponent seemed to have noticed the fleeting clone, and bolted towards the far away wall, back in the direction he'd originally come. As he was being closely followed, the path he took would be no mystery to Akuharu, who followed close behind, following the sounds of his enemy's passage. In the man's mad dash to escape, he'd seemed to abandon stealth completely, and as a contingency of five clones monitored the area around Akuharu to ensure that his opponent was not affecting some ruse, the other five, Akuharu in tow, would trail the running shinobi, whose Sunagakure headband was just barely visible in the deep shadow of the nearby tree's. Akuharu's eyes looked at the forest floor below, smirking. The ground seemed covered in a thin rise of water, and spying a blocked drain nearby, he was careful to keep in mind that this too could be its own trap. Users of suiton and raiton often kept sources such as this nearby to enhance their techniques, and though unusual for those of the Hidden Sand to possess such abilities, it was not so impossible as to factor out of his equations.

The true Akuharu descended a tree near the great wall diving their quadrant from other areas of the competition, careful to hug the end that would place him out of site of the one he followed. The young man seemed to be quite fond of archery, and Akuharu made a mental note that long range might not be the best way to go. Luckily, only 15 meters from where the young man thought he was hidden, eight of Akuharu's clones settled into the tree above. Two would descend, landing in plain sight of the man and standing their ground. They would both appear to withdraw Nameless from its sheathe, and pick up an easily tracked but still swift running gait across the forest floor.

Their motions were not simple; they would zig-zag as they charged, running in front and behind each other as their speed increased, not giving him a steady target for his arrows, as overhead, a canopy of interwoven foliage blocking the mid-day sun would prevent their non-present shadows from being detected. They would reach their opponent in only a few seconds, as Akuharu watched unseen from the cover of the woods, ready to strike.

ooc: well aware, broski. just the effluvia of overly-descriptive writing.

The outcome was as predicted. His opponent had dodged in the exact manner he'd needed, and Akuharu perceived the slight turn of the man's pivoting step as clearly as his own Shunshin had been read. Luckily, impalement from Nameless had not been an attack, merely positioning, and thus had no real target. His target, of course, had been to cause his opponent to turn away, and in the grip of his right hand, Nameless would strike out, Akuharu's body using its placement during the kick he'd hoped would not land as the opportunity to step down with force, pivoting as it touched the ground and allowing the Kirigakure shinobi's blade to tilt back, the flat length of the blade released into his foes path. The ill-defined triple split of the quickly formed branches, as they'd no longer seek to wrap him but pierce through his body, would merely push the nodachi towards its master as it was let go; though the momentum of Akuharu's pivot would allow his left hand, Akurojin-no-hi now in place, to stab cleanly through his opponents exposed throat as his body spun, leaving the naginata in place. He'd been extraordinarily lucky his opponent had dodged to his right.

If and when the growing branches of Mokuton would continue on their path, yet another simple blurring of steps would carry Akuharu behind his opponent a split second later, a motion that, given his proximity, would take even less than a second [going off your established 8 mps speed], dodging the altered motions of any further wooden constructs, his own quick hands fluttering through their seals.

His Sharingan, tomoe spinning, observed all of the man's movements, readying Akuharu to react with agility no matter the outcome.¹

Near the farthest edges of the perimeter, two clones moved through the thick forest top, coming to rest on the edge of a thick branch as they surveyed the surrounding area. One would slide down the trunk of an overgrown tree, landing without sound on the soft grass below, the other mirroring his movements above. Akuharu sat closer to the center of his scouted out domain, patiently meditating, eyes closed, awaiting any nuance in the awkward lull that might signal an enemy's approach as some of the clones to his rear sat, still searching for the elusive dog tags. The singular clone, breaking free of the interwoven flora, would scan the ground for footprints, before giving off the affectation of being startled, its eyes coming upon a slowly widening area of wet ground where the far of river began to spread and cover the land. 15 meters away, it would spy, finally, a movement through the greenery up above, as thickets and brambles and the darkly colored stems of large flat leaves were expertly moved to the side; no doubt the passage of another.

The clone would silently ascend back into the cover of the forest, following in the wake of the unnaturally wavering growth, trying to gain sight of the intruder. Though unable to see the person clearly, it was able to simply follow the path where footsteps had split a stray flowering of twigs, as the other clones homed in on this nearby scout's position.

Over the path of the woods, the clones could still see the smoke rising from the small fire, which had come to envelop the bush and burst sporadically into larger flame. The intruder was followed, silently, as a few meters before its roaming another bunshin would leap briefly into view. It looked in the strangers direction, attempting to catch his eye, before disappearing again within the forest. But would he be seen? Would he be followed, blissfully unaware that he himself was being tailed...goaded...into the proper position to end their little game? The clone that remained in the uppermost line of tree's would hide if the intruder passed, making sure its presence was not known until the perfect moment.

Akuharu entered the quadrant with a mild look of awe, actively impressed by the dense forest overgrowth spanning a distance the congestion of tree's made it difficult to detail. Beneath his own feet the ground was quite dry, but flush with inch-high grass, and if he listened carefully, he could just barely make out the sounds of water flowing freely near the center of the woods. He wondered how far the fields extended, though he already knew it would take him some time to travel from one end to the other, and he stretched lazily before leaping up, into the tree's, and out of sight.

He climbed a copse of thicker broken branches, slowly, moving between rows of overlapping leaf with his eyes darting back and forth throughout the green, taking note of the unusual scarcity of wildlife. Where small nests should have been hollowed into the bases of tree's, there were bits of equipment, microphones, cameras... The sanctity of what should have been a haven within the natural world had been upset by the introduction of machines and Akuharu shook his head with disappointment, scouting out a circular fifty meter area of wilderness, his senses keen. Barely the sound of a broken twig could be heard as he moved, his feet too fast to disturb the serenity of the woods.

After he was certain no one else was around, he crouched atop a high oak 'platform', gathering dry leaves from the younger growth nearby, and placing them atop a sliver of shaved bark. A piece of simple cloth string pulled from his cloak near where his dog tags remained secured and wrapped about his fingers for tension would move back and forth swiftly over a thin branch end placed in the center of the pile, and before long, he created a tiny spark. The dry leaf lit near instantly after, settling into the bark beneath, now a torch allowing a column of smoke to drift up and break the line of tree's. It was a beacon, and a calling. A declaration of position and of intent. Let's not take longer than we need to.

He left it near the topmost extensions of the same tree as he descended in complete silence to the thicker sections of its trunk; soon the entire thing would catch the heat and ignite beside it, the smoke from which would be obvious to even the most unobservant of Shinobi. Akuharu made a simple set of seals, and in a gray puff that mixed with the natural exhaust of the flames, 10 Akuharu's moved out in every direction, heading to the outer reaches of the previously scouted 50 meter perimeter, hiding in the verdant brush, observing all.

The Kirigakure Shinobi himself stepped quietly from branch to branch, navigating through foliage that would keep him hidden as he roamed for his eventual target, and any additional dog tags he might snag. The way things were now, his opponent would most definitely see him before he saw them.