I'm Saaaaaaailing Awaaaaay... [Contract search]

[Hiyasu Shiori]

The wind pulled at Shiori’s hair as the small boat bobbed on the swell. He smiled as he tacked upwind, making his way back to shore. He had been taking free time to come to the coast and sail more and more. There wasn’t much work for a young genin at the moment, and so Shiori had been focussing on developing other talents. He had been sailing before back on Moon Island, and it had been one of his loves. Leaf had little to no water for Shiori to keep up his skills, and he had only recently gained the freedom to explore. His parents didn’t care where he went as long as the money came in, so he had unique freedom.

He liked this particular spot, there were changing currents, and the large standing rocks twisted the winds and caused random swells that kept Shiori on his toes. He had to keep his eyes on the water, looking for the darker patches showing a gust. Such a thing in these swells could pitch the small boat, and may even capsize it. Shiori was prepared for such an event, but it could be troublesome with all the rocks about. The tide was on the way out, and there were certainly some rocks about. But that was the thrill! Like a fight to the death, or gambling with your life savings, it was the only way to truly feel alive, to truly put something on the line. It drew something from within a person, made them better. Shiori could only truly perform if there were some stakes.

As he was marvelling at his own skill, the boat lurched, sail luffing. The movement was accompanied by an almighty scraping noise. He looked down, and saw a gash in the hull, below the waterline. Fortunately, Shiori was close to the coast. If he kept his speed up, he should be able to make it in before he sank. The boat began to list, and pull to the port, caused by the drag. He had to tack upwind to make it in, though. Every turn slowed the boat, bringing in more water. At least on the starboard tack the port would rise out of the water, letting him speed up and drain away the water. Even though it may go under at any point, Shiori was still grinning ear to ear.

The boat made it onto the shore, and Shiori flipped it onto it’s side, the mast stopping it from rolling totally over. He sat back on his haunches, regarding the hole. Fortunately, it went from bow to stern rather than across the beam, so it would be easier to patch. He moved back around, opening a small bag he kept there. Inside was some quick-hardening paste and some rope.

Idly, he conjured a blade with his chakra, and cut the bag open, forming a rectangle slightly larger than the hole. He pierced the middle, and tied the rope through it. He picked up some driftwood, and began spreading the backside of the cloth, using it firstly as an adhesive, smoothing it to the hull. He then slathered it over the fabric, and onto the hull, smoothing it out as much as possible. It would take a while to dry, so he had nothing to do but lean against his boat and look at the sea. He grabbed some dried, shredded squid from a pouch, munching on it idly. The breeze was nice.

 

[Tomomi]

It was truly a beautiful day outside as the sun was high in the air and there was a calm, salty breeze in the air. Our story begins with the protagonist snacking on some dried, shredded squid as he admired the sea that he had just been in mere moments earlier sailing and having a wail of a time. Of course, one could simply not blame him for looking over the pristine waters and seeing in the distance some other sailboats with people happily enjoying their times on the waters with their families or simply by themselves. It would appear that this small body of water in Fire Country was getting more attention finally after the Fire Country Civil War was over and the Hidden Leaf was almost back to its former glory prior to their country's Daimyo causing some issues or so that is what the reports said. Only time would tell how long it would take before our protagonist moved onto another body of water to sail on due to overpopulation or growing bored of this one, but for now, he was in the general vicinity and had seemed to be enjoying himself in the prequel.

Unfortunately, all the rainbows and unicorns would disappear ever so quickly as in the distant, he would be able to see a ginormous squid that had revealed itself and was terrorizing people in their boats as blood, piercing screams could be heard. Did the kraken-sized squid give a flying damn about the screams? Absolutely not as it wrapped its tentacles around some boats and began to drag them forcefully under the water causing them to break in the process as cannons were fired nearby. Unfortunately, the cannonballs aimed at the squid seemingly had no effect on the creature! It actually only appeared to irritate the animal as people began to jump from the side of their boats to their untimely deaths as there were abnormal sharks around the squid that chomped right into them as they cried out in pain. Why exactly did these sharks decide not to attack a large target like this squid? The world had no idea but possibly out of fear of being murdered by it as the moderator of this search certainly would not want to mess around with something the size of a kraken!

The question at hand as Shiori watched all of this was what would he do? People were dying and screaming for help as nature was placing a twisted game with them and they were seeming to be between a rock and a hard place as the squid or the sharks would both love to tear them apart and make it a true living Hell for them. But as a shinobi from the Hidden Leaf, he had to act right? So what would he do?

 

[Hiyasu Shiori]

A mouthful of dried squid dropped into the sand as Shiori took in the sight unfolding before him, the nightmare. Great tentacles lashed at the boats on the horizon, their demise marked by a plume of spray, the loud thuds and slaps reaching him much later. He tucked the empty packet into his pocket, poking the makeshift seal on his dinghy. It had now hardened, able to hold out the water, along with the bracing at the mast. He pulled the boat back upright, pushing from the stern to get it into the water. He leapt aboard, grabbing the mainsheet in one practiced motion as he settled in, carried on the offshore wind.

As he closed, he noticed the water around the great squid frothing. There was something else under the water, plucking at those jumping off their vessels to avoid the omnipresent limbs of the kraken. Scavengers drawn by the wreckage. He shifted his weight back, pulling up the daggerboard. His small boat began to rock slightly, but the reduced contact area caused the boat to pick up even more speed.

He had to stop this Kraken. He didn’t know how, but he would. Ninja were supposed to do that, and ninja were supposed to save people. If he was going to be the best, he needed people to carry his story. His legend needed a foundation to be built upon, and what better than Shiori, the Krakenslayer? Yes, perfect.

As he closed, he pushed the daggerboard back down, needing that extra bit of control as he dodged around boat wreckage and the far more unsettling human wreckage. He could see the grey shapes in the water below, and tried not to think about it. Sharks. Big ones as well, almost unnatural. But they weren’t the issue. They could glut themselves on the many people thrashing in the water. THey didn’t pay heed to the small dinghy going into the maelstrom.

He kept his eyes on the squid, his instincts keeping the boat moving around. He was observing it’s patterns of attack, what it was going for. He needed a plan…

Abruptly, he turned the boat into the wind, letting the boom flap back and forth, becalming himself. A foot on the tiller to keep it straight, he yelled out at that mass of tentacles and hate.

“Your time terrorising these simple people is over, great Squid, and I, Shiori of Konoha will end it!”

An onlooker would think the boy, only freshly into his teens either mad or really trying to impress a girl.

 

[Tomomi]

Our little hero of this story definitely was a courageous one to say. He decided to head straight into the hellstorm that was brewing on the waters evading the poor bodies of the deceased that were being devoured upon by the sharks around the kraken-sized squid. Their screams were loud and unbearable to the common ears; Shiori was likely being impacted by their cries of anguish as he sailed by them right to this larger-than-life creature that was causing destruction all itself almost like it had no remorse for anyone or anything! However, this shinobi from the Hidden Leaf did not seem to be the brightest bulb in the box as he shouted out to the squid which only had its one tentacle come towards his boat and wrap around his body, squeezing it in the process as its path of destruction would continue on!

If Shiori would bare to watch, he would see the squid continuing to slam its tentacles down on the objects floating in the water which involved corpses that would drift away and cause the water to be contained with their blood as the sharks devoured them. The people on shore would screaming in panic as the squid continually pounded everything in its path while tightening its grip on Shiori. The poor chap would feel his bones beginning to crack under the pressure and it is quite possible that his internal organs were going to get injured before too long if he didn't try to fight back. The issue for him however was his hands were loose from its grip but forcing his way out would likely make the grip tightening more and more. But, he could certainly try!

What would Shiori do?

 

[Hiyasu Shiori]

The earlier confidence that had swept through Shiori as he knifed through the water towards the beast began to flee, resulting in a heavy feeling in his core. With unnatural speed, the kraken wrapped Shiori with a tentacle.

Slowly, it began to crush. Shiori felt the air in his lungs expel, his bones creak under the pressure. It became the only thing in his mind. Would his story end here?

Would he die?

NO! Shiori would never die. He would never be forgotten. His ring was burning. He stared into the baleful eye of the ocean beast. Everything around him was forgotten, the sounds muted, the smells dampened. In his mind, it was only himself and the great squid. What did the rest matter? They were chaff, not strong enough to take on this creature, unlike Shiori. Shiori was strong. He focussed on that innate ability of his. The ability to bend reality to his will.

He reappeared on top of the very tentacle that had been trapping him, still staring into the eye of the beast. The hint of a smile twisted his features as he clenched a fist, drawing it slowly through the air.

As he did so, unnatural light bloomed around the boy’s hand, crackling, hissing noises sputtering as it moved like a faulty recording. The light coalesced into a blade of pure energy, the form of a guard even flickering into and out of focus. The smile widened as the light intensified furter, and Shiori’s form also began to flicker, his shadow moving out of time, and from the wrong angle.

“I’m not like the rest. I will beat you. Because I am better than you. I will be remembered forever!” Shiori yelled, charging down the tentacle, towards that eye.

Spoiler

-Quicksilver step to top of tentacle
- Sunder reality
- Soulsword overdrive
- Synchronised multipresence
- ATTEMPT: Myriad strike- Outer rim breaker THEN Transpositional flurry (Called shot: Head attempt with flurry)

 

[Tomomi]

Initially, the Leaf shinobi appeared to be somewhat dim-witted as he charged straight into danger and into his own grave as the kraken-sized squid had wrapped its tentacle around him and was squeezing the living daylights out of him. However, the boy was smart to keep his wits about him as he would appear to flick, to a normal eye, unto the top of the tentacle as he was allowing his inherited abilities to show. Quickly, he would ran down the tentacle of the creature after yelling some nonsense straight towards one of the eyes of the creature. As he did so, the creature would try to get him off by shifting its body and even trying to smack him off with another tentacle. Unfortunately for the giant squid, this shinobi easily could evade the attacks and he was making his way quickly to the eye of the creature which would only aggravate the creature more.

One may ask how would it aggravate the creature even more? It was quite simply really as the squid had directed all of its attention to him and still could not manage to get him off. It was almost like he was breaking reality and simply a few seconds into the future. In any case, the hero of our story would actually lunge at the eye of the creature and pierce right through it causing the unfortunate creature to begin to bleed out which spilled into the water below it. However, he would not be done as he somehow warped and rained down on the squid some more at its eye spilling the very life essence from the creature. It was almost like the protagonist had an assumption that the blood being spilled would prompt the sharks' attention as they began to swarm towards them. All of this occurring while the squid let out a high-pitched screech that had the capability of shattering glass.

Luckily for our hero though, he was standing on top of the squid's head as the creature was reacting violently to its pain and the threat of the sharks below. It actually was interesting to see the squid in pain as it had been causing people mere moments earlier as the sharks began to bite down on it while it thrashed its huge tentacles at them. Some of the sharks would be killed in the process while others would simply evade and continue to try to get a nice, iron-rich meal into their bellies. The fact that Shiori was even able to stand on top of the squid while all of this was occurring was simply remarkable, but what could one expect otherwise from a shinobi of any of the Hidden Villages?

As he stood there, he had to think what his next course of actions would be. He had managed to stop the destruction to humanity from this abnormally-large creature, but he was now on top of the creature and likely holding on for dear life as the squid reacted to everything occurring to him. True, he had saved people of his kind, but what consequences would he have to deal with due to this? Also, would he try to simply try to run away from this scene that had unfolded in front of him or would he try to get involved and see what would transpire from it?

 

[Hiyasu Shiori]

There was a flicker of something as he watched the great squid thrash about, being attacked by the sharks all around. Was it pity? Maybe. He had never felt it before. This great beast did not deserve to be ended in such a way, slowly ripped apart by smaller, weaker creatures. Was his former foe about to become an ally?

Now that people were able to escape, Shiori would be unable to get past the sharks, especially with his own little skiff smashed to smithereens. That helped make his decision: he would help he is great beast. They could both profit. Shiori could get to shore, and the great squid wouldn’t...die. a pretty good deal.

He knelt, pushing chakra out of his feet to keep his grip on the thrashing beast’s mantle. “I will help you. I respect your power, you are a worthy fight. You don’t deserve an end like this, great one. You deserve a fitting death. And that is not today. Not to these… vermin.”

With that, Shiori began manipulating the water, his skill with jutsu coming to the fore. He could crush the sharks below, like a God stepping on an ant. These sharks disgusted him, opportunists riding on the coattails of greater beasts, like the squid. Aquatic vultures. He could respect the great beast of the sea, a creature stronger, and therefore better, than anything else in these waters. The sharks below were vermin. He would enjoy dispatching them and aiding the kraken he had been ready to kill.

Use Torrential Vortex on sharks

 

[Suika]

The tides of the story turned as the young man shot forth a violent vortex on the sharp-toothed creatures below. Not anticipating the boy's aquatic assault, the sharks were hit head on. Some managed to scatter and leave with partial damage, while others were instantly crushed by the torrential force. Thanks to Shiori's valiant efforts, there were no more sharks in the vicinity and the giant squid was saved! The waters below calmed as most of the squid's humongous tentacles fell slowly back into the sea. Upon the impact of its limb, huge crashes of waves flew every which way. If the boy wasn't quick enough, he'd find himself drenched as a result.

It was then quiet. The squid floated peacefully as if nothing had happened prior to this moment. Was this where the adventure ended? ...Heck no!

Suddenly, the seas vibrated below as a deep, audible tone projected itself. “THAAAAAAAANK YOUUUUU, SHIIIIOOOORRIIIII.” Wait, was the squid talking?! “NEEEEED MORRRRE HEEEEELP!” With that, the waters began to tremble violently as forceful winds were conjured from thin air. A whirlpool formed below the grand sea creature. It began to sink in. As it was dragged down by the aggressive, swirling tides, it would attempt to wrap the Leaf shinobi with its sticky and intimidating tentacles. It sought to bring Shiori down with it. “COOOOME WITH MEEEE! SAAAAFE!”

What would the protagonist do? The danger of this occurrence was real, but he would be able to distinguish a sense of truth from the squid's words. If he decided to trust the squid and adventure below with it, the force of his descent down the sea's drain would knock the shinobi out temporarily. He'd see pitch black darkness as his mind would either drift or remain in a silent slumber. What will Shiori choose?

[OOC: Hey Shiori! As shared on Discord, I will be your new mod. Get ready for a fun and wacky adventure!]

 

[Hiyasu Shiori]

Shiori surveyed the scene of carnage he had created, sharks floating belly-up in the water, bobbing alongside the boats and other debris in the water, a quiescent air overtaking the scene as he bobbed atop the squid, which seemed to have stopped thrashing so much.

A great wave of water sloshed over the shinobi, causing him to let out a gasp of air at the shock. The great pesudopod of the beast had slammed back into the water, throwing up a massive spray that had hit the boy with quite some force.

“THAAAAAAAANK YOUUUUU, SHIIIIOOOORRIIIII.”

Shiori nearly leapt from the precarious footing on the squid’s mantle as the deep, resonant voice boomed out, shaking his very bones. He was so shocked by this turn of events that he didn’t notice the tentacles wrapping around him until it was too late. As he struggled, feeling the ache of fatigue alongside the ache of his bones being pressed by tentacles, he noticed that the great kraken was sinking.

“COOOOME WITH MEEEE! SAAAAFE!”

Well, Shiori really didn’t have much choice at the moment in regards to trusting this great beast. He gulped in a great breath as he began to sink. The water came up over his head, giving him a feeling of weightlessness. He tried to keep his eyes open, the salt stinging his eyes. His vision began to blur and darken, and his body began to feel weak. He could feel his body shutting down into unconsciousness, and, at that tipping point, he could hear the ancestor voices that would push through at times of danger. His ring felt warm.

His last thoughts, pushing through the fug of unconsciousness were that he hoped this squid wasn’t trying to get an easy meal.

 

[Suika]

'Blub blub blub'

The sound of bubbles making their ascension.

'Blub blub blub blub'

As the boy slowly slowly awakened from his unconscious state, he'd be greeted by the flowing, low sounds of the deep sea. Following, he'd also hear a dainty feminine voice call out to him. "Shiori-kun..." she sang. Despite being under water, her voice was clear. "Shiori-kun..." As the shinobi opened his eyes, he would see a concerned blue-haired girl motioning at him. Who was she?

"SHIORI-KUUUN!" The girl attempted to slap him. Once the boy composed himself, he would notice that he and the little lady were both submerged in the depths of the waters. More strangely, he was able to breathe as well as he did on land. Not really giving him room for questions, the spunky girl smiled cheerily and waved her arms. "Shiori-kun, you're awake! Finally!" She swung her arms and rested her hands on the back of her head. She floated seamlessly. "You're probably confused and that makes sense. But know, I need your help, hero Shiori-kun." Although the deep blue around them was calm, the girl's eccentric demeanor was like a spark of lightning. She continued. "Thanks, by the way. Those mangy shark grunts really went after me there." She didn't even care to explain this further.

"You must be wondering who I am..." Her lips curled into a prideful grin. She placed her hand on her chest and ascended her gaze proudly. "I am Princess Squidyanna Inkalota Aquatica! I am part of the deep sea's royalty." She held our her hand, her expression now determined. "Now, will you help me, hero Shiori-kun? My Kingdom is in danger and I could use some muscle." How would the boy respond?