[S-Rank Mission] Ethics in Question [Tatsuo]

[Shieo]

Mission Title: Ethics in Question
Type: Solo Modded Mission
Participant: Tatsuo
Moderator: Shieo
Rank: S

Concept: With the recent arrival to Kumogakure, Tatsuo is faced with a challenging scenario. With his ethics held fast, and the soon to be discovered reality of some of Kumogakure's necessary evils. During a casual stroll,
he finds himself venturing into a distant small-town in Lightning's country, given the tasks of simply observing the lay of the land and understanding the newfound responsibilities as a Kumogakure shinobi.
During his travels he comes face to face with a squadron of ethically questionable Kumogakure shinobi, employing a slowly growing archaic technique employed in the CPSS as they make efforts to coerce youth into the Shinobi forces, against their wills and those around.

[lb][/lb]Source: https://vityar83.deviantart.com/
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... A week has passed, Tatsuo had been travelling throughout the lands of Kaminari no Kuni. His task was nothing short of mediocre; however it was key in developing fundamental knowledge of his new village's influence around the lands, and the task-coordinators knew this. Thus he was tasked with scouting the country in a 'at-a-glance' speed, to have a general understanding of where particular villages, landmarks and various tactical vantages were. Throughout his venture, there was little excitement; other than the occasional greeting from locals, and others giving him a look of relative disdain simply by him adorning the headband of Kumogakure no Sato. Anytime he decided to stay at an inn of sorts, they would interact if only minimally to serve him and be done with it.

=​

Which leads us to today, the young Jōnin found himself walking into an otherwise unassuming town, there were people strolling around with lazed purpose and intent to complete their days as soon as they had started them. There was an air of the rural life, a fresh smell of baked bread and in the distance lingering smells of fresh cow manure; a lulling sense of strange comfort for many, and certainly the folk that inhabited the town. Some passed by him with curious glances, none of which gave off any direct sense of disdain.
With the sun nearing it's high, the day was warm and gave off plenty of light to observe the clockwork efforts of the locals. He had found himself exploring the streets for somewhere to settle down for a lunch, with a growing smell of soup in the air and the quiet bustle at the end of an alleyway, Tatsuo had been lulled like a mouse to cheese; being welcomed into a restaurant and offered a fairly reasonable cost for a large load of food, before he knew it a few hours had passed, between feasting and talking with a friendly waitress. As he prepared to depart, she stopped him with a ...
"Oh! Before you go~ I heard that there was some other Kumogakure shinobi in town, friends of yours? They looked to the rugged sort you know." She had paused and tapped her plump lips a moment afore continuing. "On second thought, they wouldn't be the sort you would be familiar, you're too sweet. But best of luck on your travels! Kaminari no Kuni is a beautiful country, certainly worth the travels. -- And take this, to help with your travels and to remember this town by!" She had given him a baguette bread, he could tell it was quite fresh. While departing, she had been waving him off.

=​

Walking back out into the streets of town, the sun had cast a lower light; although still present. Strolling back towards the main-road, which required to pass through the same alleyway- heavier shadows cast inside with the lowered sun.
As he drew closer, the sounds of a number of people became present; they sounded panicked. "Come now! Stop strugglin- ! Tch you stupid cow!" A cold sensation would run down his spine, as a sound of flesh to flesh was heard, followed by a strained and muffled scream.

Around the corner, and looking into the alleyway. Tatsuo would quickly discern the details of the situation with the trained senses of a shinobi; and ultimately the instinct of a fighter. The alleyway itself was between thirteen to fifteen feet wide; from the end he was on to the main-road was approximately a hundred feet, a heavy over-shadow covered the alley with a blanket of contrasting darkness. Standing at the half-way mark were four figures, one of which appeared to be a young-woman; perhaps in her early twenties struggling under the weight of a lithe man; who even under this light looked incredibly pale.

The other two stood watch, each facing towards one of the alley-way openings. One was darker ethnicity, smaller in build, snow white hair and ice blue eyes; and definitely a woman with a quick glance; she was the one facing towards Tatsuo's entry. Immediately as she saw you, her voice cut into the air with a sharp "Boss, company!" It was then, you noticed the headbands-- All were Kumogakure in origin.
It was then, when the third and final looked over his shoulder. Markings underneath his golden eyes, his skin nearing the same color as his eyes with a matted fade to it. Standing a whole foot taller than Tatsuo, and merely squinted.

As if anticipating the young-man's movements.

"H-H-.Mfmgh.. Help!" An iced voice from the struggling woman sent the signals... What will come of this?

[Post 1 | 772/7,000]

 

[Tatsuo]

While Tatsuo was no stranger to travel, this was starting to become a bit much. He hadn't explored all of the Lightning Country but a lot in his time spent in the country, however whoever was in charge of him ensured that he would be travelling. It wouldn't even be that bad if it wasn't so damn cold, he thought as he wrapped his cloak around him closer. The cold was something he never got used to even after spending the better part of a year in the country the last time he traveled here the chill in his bone was something he never grew accustomed to.

But duty was duty, or however it went. At first he was annoyed to have to leave after returning to the village so shortly, but a shinobi rarely had an option on the missions they partook in. Especially a foreigner looking for good faith to ensure nothing happened to him or those he sought refuge alongside. With the rest of Team 11 back in Kumogakure, it was Tatsuo alone travelling through the countryside. Too quickly to smell the roses per-say, but too slow to get anywhere quickly. The journey almost felt pointless to the boy who enjoyed nature and all it had to offer, but he was learning a lot about the country. The areas in which support for the shinobi were greatest and where he was likely to find little comforts. Small things like that would come a long way when on a real mission where ones life may be in danger.

He understood the politics of the Fire Country well enough, considering the Civil War that had ended in his lifetime he knew who were enemies and those he could rely on. But here, in Lightning Country, things were different and he had to respect that if he was to serve his new village well.

After a long time of travelling Tatsuo found himself at a small village which had an idyllic charm to it. During Tatsuo's youth they had spent time in a village much like this for most of his earliest years. It was one of the few portions of the country which still supported the shinobi of Konoha. He was quick to find similar hospitality here, guided by his nose he was led into a small restaurant where he was met with a friendly waitress who made sure that Tatsuo was well fed. After some chit-chat she mentioned something about Kumogakure shinobi being here. At first he shrugged his shoulders, but his face grew red as he realized he was indeed one of them now. He was no longer a foreigner, by allegiance, at least.

Finishing his meal and thanking her multiple times for the bread he was off, a chunk of it hanging in his mouth as he walked past the alley. Instantly he was able to tell something was off, after years of going on missions and doing the day to day as a shinobi he was able to read the situation in an instant. Two men, two women, one who seemed under attack by the thugs. As they noticed him he noticed something about them as well, they bore the same headband as him. Unfortunately, this meant little to the young upstart. Despite their attempts at intimidation, the woman's plea for help was all Tatsuo needed to spring into action.

As his connection with Koto grew better, the monkey himself would appear when he felt Tatsuo needed the help. Considering he was outnumbered one to three, his ally decided to even the odds a bit. As he appeared in a bit of inter-dimensional smoke, the small white monkey quickly charged at the girl shinobi in an attempt to grapple her down and take her out of the fight. At least long enough for Tatsuo to deal with the rest. Tatsuo formed a single hand-seal and extended his arm, shooting out two tendrils each seeking to bind the two which Koto had not targeted.

WC: 668/7000

 

[Shieo]

Mission Title: Ethics in Question
Type: Solo Modded Mission
Participant: Tatsuo
Moderator: Shieo
Rank: S

Concept: With the recent arrival to Kumogakure, Tatsuo is faced with a challenging scenario. With his ethics held fast, and the soon to be discovered reality of some of Kumogakure's necessary evils. During a casual stroll,
he finds himself venturing into a distant small-town in Lightning's country, given the tasks of simply observing the lay of the land and understanding the newfound responsibilities as a Kumogakure shinobi.
During his travels he comes face to face with a squadron of ethically questionable Kumogakure shinobi, employing a slowly growing archaic technique employed in the CPSS as they make efforts to coerce youth into the Shinobi forces, against their wills and those around.

And thus... The engagement begun. One could almost hear the music blaring in the background as the youthful driven Jounin stirred into righteous action; undivided by the matter of comrades adorned in the same markings and responsibilities that he himself, was to hold dearest.

No less, did the three prepare themselves for the incoming assault; namely from the monkey and then the wood-style of the skilled combatant rushing down the alleyway. "You're making a mistake kid." Spat the large man. With the woman fit for her defenses as the air begun to bite with venom; one could see in plain sight that the air started to crack and grow a chilling aura exhumed from around her persons. The monkey came colliding with her in preparation, as they crashed together it appeared to be a booming success; however amidst the chaos Koto had discovered that he was still flying forwards with the pent momentum; and he had simply collided with a sculpture of ice that looked eerily similar to the woman... Kawarimi?
Leading to the other two combatants. The first was the man that lingered over the woman who had initially called for aid; whom as the wood lunged towards his back, was met with a mess of bone like tendrils in opposition; a sickening crack and splice of flesh and bone from his spine; had evolved and created an astute defense. In-which took no keen eye to notice had effectively shattered the wood afore it could make any adequate connection.
The second had much more momentum and preparation it seemed, as it came crashing into the hulking figure with force. With it's efforts, it had twisted and launched the man into the adjacent wall; a spurt of saliva had shot out of his mouth. But his stamina looked to be at a close peak.

Tatsuo was no beginner to the scene of a fight. And while he had some control established in the bout, he knew that it was a two way street- figuratively and literally. As the woman reformed, ten feet up and latched to the walls of the alleyway. Her deft hands already in the working process of her assault, with one hand weaving seals and the other manifesting a dagger of ice. As the air around her condensed into frigid colds, six spires of ice formed around her. Aiming like missiles on Koto and Tatsuo- As they fired three broke off and homed in on Koto; and the others towards the Jounin. Each of them were incredibly fast, and were puppeteer-ed by someone no other than a master at their element. The three aimed on Koto had been a bit gruesome, given his close proximity and her knowledge of where he would land had set him up for all three to land their marks- one drove painfully into his leg, the other sliced past his left arm and the third just barely scratched; leaving a bitter cold behind. The other three had zoned in on Tatsuo; with careful defenses he was able to evade one of the three; however two of which managed solid blows.

The lithe man had taken the opportunity of combat to finish his preparations of binding the woman. And with little hesitation had heaved her over his shoulder and began running; the woman shouting out towards Tatsuo. "Please! Hel--!" The man had quickly sent a quick jab into her rib, causing a seizing function in her vocal chords from pain. "Seriously, can it woman!" While he was quick, he wasn't going to be making any full-on sprints with the weight of two people to deal with.

The Boss-man, to Tatsuo's dismay was quickly writhing through the wooden bindings. He was-- A bit ferocious with his superior form, it appeared as if his entire body was thriving with muscle and strain. Afore he broke free from the bindings. A two foot fall had encouraged caution in his presence, as the ground cracked from underneath his weight and presence of chakra. Having lifted a hand to his neck, he did a rather cliché crack of his neck; the golden eyes now digging into the form of Tatsuo. If only for a hairs-standoff shounen-style, he had pressed a foot into the earth and launched himself at the Jounin, the brick blocks curling and uprooting from the force behind him. Appearing in-front of Tatsuo, the daunting form of the man had begun an assault of three punches; each carrying tremendous force behind them. Whether it was surprise, uneven ground or otherwise- Tatsuo couldn't find the sheer defenses to stifle the devastating blows from the man. Each punch had connected with audible 'fwomps' of force, a shockwave breaking from behind Tatsuo and his Jounin-flak from each strike. At the final blow he had directed the fist to the young Jounin's rib, sending him careening towards the Alleyway wall.

Things were looking rough, and both combatants had their share of bruises already. But such is the whims of battle; certainly not enough to drop two S-Class Shinobi-- Even if their foes seem to be at similar qualifying levels as him... How will he respond?!

[Post 2 | 1,627/7,000]

Notes

• I tend to use rolls to help pace attacks and defenses. Nothing added or subtracted typically, sort of the flavor of the week that I'm feeling.
• Sorry it took so long to post, but I was stirred into a bit of a muse today and felt like getting stuff done finally.

"Victim"
"Lithe Man"
"Woman Combatant Dark"
"Bossman"

 

[Tatsuo]

And so the fight raged, Koto and Tatsuo both sustained some injuries which reminded the young Jonin that these people were most definitely his equals. While running may have been the smartest decision here, Tatsuo was never one to run, especially when he was in the right. Even if they were outnumbered, there was no doubt Tatsuo still thought he had the advantage. "Alright.. i'll give it to you guys, you're tougher than you look but lets see if you can keep up with this." he stepped forward, glancing to Koto and giving him a quick nod. Before his hands flew into a flurry of seals, almost too quickly for anyone to follow. Unless they had a Sharingan, perhaps. With the last seal he let out a roar, "Wood Style: Great Forest Explosion!" A favorite of the boys, especially when fighting alongside his monkey companion.

From the earth below them, to the walls surrounding them, plants of all types grew. A literal forest began to appear around the combatants. The walls being coated in a mix of plants and bark. The floors covered in a thick bush that limited motion except for those skilled enough to traverse through such a thick jungle. Such as those trained in Saru-kata. Not only did Tatsuo and Koto had the advantage of being surrounded by his element, but the darkness would make it hard for the enemy to know where they were going. Much less know where to strike and considering the fact that the forest's chakra was intertwined with Tatsuo's he was able to pinpoint their locations making it harder for them to make any sneak attacks on him.

Rushing through the forest his first initiative was to get the girl to safety. While he was always eager to battle, the safety of the defenseless woman was the priority here. Koto was quick to rendezvous with Tatsuo and both of them coming up with the plan. Koto's injuries were quickly healed by the monkey who formed a quick seal and stopped the bleeding as if nothing happened. The little monkey said "Me will distract and attack, you save woman, I go poof once woman safe, ok?" The monkey smiled a big cheesy smile and Tatsuo agreed, he could tell the woman was nearby now he only had to get her without injuring her.

It was not long before he found her and the lithe man, forming a quick hand-seal he created three wooden clones which all charged the man. Simple distractions, before the main event. Each of the clones went to grab onto the man making it harder for him to dodge while Tatsuo prepped his most accurate attack. Last thing he wanted to do was to get the woman caught up in the blow. Bringing his hands back he prepared an attack, a natural energy blast that would form at his hands and shoot straight for the enemy. (Think a Kamehameha)

On the other side of things, Koto was looking for that woman who impaled him early. With the rage that only a beast could have, he was quick to track her down with his superior smell. He went straight for her! The maneuver he had in mind was a real neck breaker, literally. If the blow landed, he would attempt to grab the woman and jump straight into the area and bringing her back down. Enough to kill a man, strong enough to disable a shinobi! During the maneuver Koto would shout "Saru style! Great Tree Droppa!"


WC: 1255/7000
[MFT]
Koto speaking
Tatsuo speaking

 

[Shieo]

Mission Title: Ethics in Question
Type: Solo Modded Mission
Participant: Tatsuo
Moderator: Shieo
Rank: S

Concept: With the recent arrival to Kumogakure, Tatsuo is faced with a challenging scenario. With his ethics held fast, and the soon to be discovered reality of some of Kumogakure's necessary evils. During a casual stroll,
he finds himself venturing into a distant small-town in Lightning's country, given the tasks of simply observing the lay of the land and understanding the newfound responsibilities as a Kumogakure shinobi.
During his travels he comes face to face with a squadron of ethically questionable Kumogakure shinobi, employing a slowly growing archaic technique employed in the CPSS as they make efforts to coerce youth into the Shinobi forces, against their wills and those around.

In the moments that settled the previous set of engagements, the Boss of the group had eyed down Tatsuo with his domineering presence and form. The yellow-eyes nearly glowing with churning energy and power, while the lithe man had made efforts to depart and the woman had been still standing vertical on one of the walls of the alleyway.

Upon Tatsuo actuating a sea of trees to weave around the alleyway, and bleeding some of the wood into the streets on either end of the alley. The Boss could only attribute a smirk as the wood had eventually separated vision from Tatsuo and himself. He then called out in a muffled shout, "To hide in the trees, not a very brave man are you." While the claim was sound to the man; he was plenty aware of his own strengths in these sorts of environments. While he was no Senju; he was not foreign to fighting in strange and obscuring obstacles- in some ways, he preferred it.
The woman on the other-hand, had some challenges staying on the wall and found herself leaping to one of the growing branches in order to keep her elevation to her opponents. A dagger of ice still in hand, while she held her off-hand up with a modified tiger seal; all as a means of preparation of counter-play, she was ultimately out of her environment.

As Tatsuo started leaping, bounds and utilizing acrobatic talents through his stage of comfort in the strewn trees, foliage and cover for himself and an empowerment of his jutsu. With the fluidity of the Lithe man, even under the growing sea of trees, he was capable of maneuvering himself with relative ease with the woman in tow; but given the superiority of land, Tatsuo closed the distance before the man could get out of harms way.
Turning his head as his ears perked, the sound of Tatsuo's arrival had grabbed his attention. Acknowledging Tatsuo with a narrowing of his eyes, there was only a moments notice afore three clones had lunged to latch onto the man; the clones were met with a grin.

Once they were a few feet from his position; Tatsuo would immediately know something was wrong. As a wave of cracking earth erupted all around the man, into the trees and for about fifty-yards in every direction; save inside the nearby buildings. And from these cracks shot up at lightning speeds huge bone spires; shredding into the trees, and the into the clones. In that hair of a moment, Tatsuo had started charging his beam of energy; the lithe man didn't require seals for his sea of bones that lay disgustingly all around. In that moment of the unleashing of the attack the lithe man twisted onto his heel and placed the woman between him and the attack; which a terrifying amount of precision. "Gahhh!" the victim had shrieked in pain as she was shot towards the ground from the blast of natural energy, upon crashing down to the ground, she rag-doll tumbled towards one of the spires of bone and crashed into it. A yelp escaped her, as she lay limp- Alive; but unconscious.

With the advantage of positioning, with Tatsuo being airborne and the Lithe man down on the ground. He reached back and with a pop of bone sticking out his spine, he clenched down and ripped out the spine-like bone; and like a lasso he whipped it towards Tatsuo- Just barely latching around his form. With a quick lash, he tugged the Jounin-Senju towards the sea of bone below. Sending him crashing into the earth; in a moment of clarity once the dust settled; Tatsuo was met with a strange amalgamation of bone that twist around the Lithe man's arm, it looked like a massive lance- and in his bindings. He was helpless but to take the brunt of the lance-like attack, impaling into and through his flak-jacket rather viciously; in a splatter of blood and a momentum of impact. Tatsuo was sent flying out of the bindings, and breaking through countless spires of bone and into his own trees that formed earlier.
"Look kid, you're good. Too good maybe- But we told you to back off." He spat out a wad of blood, while rolling and cracking his shoulders; the bones he used to supplement his attacks earlier seemed to have since been replaced. "Guess I'll just have to deal with you now, else you'll be a continued pain all the way back to the village huh." He lowered his form, readying himself for a duel it seemed.

Deep in the weave of trees. Where the other three combatants dwell mostly went in favor of Koto; he homed into the woman with little effort, and caught the woman off-guard. As he struck towards her neck, she was only barely able to get an arm in-between the strike and her neck. Unfortunately, this caused her forearm to snap at the center, with a nauseating audible 'crack' of the bone. Sending her stumbling on her feet against the wood platform. Her shoulder impact to the alleyway wall. And left her open to the incoming Monkey. As Koto enclosed in a blur of speed and precision, he grappled the woman and was quick to send them both like comets towards the ground below- shattering several layers of thick tree on their way.

'BOOM!' erupted in both plumes of stone, dirt and smoke as they came in-contact with the ground. Where Koto was prepared for the impact and was left mostly unharmed in his radical efforts; the woman was in much rougher shape. Alive, and moving- with spools of blood trickling down the side of her mouth and countless shows of scuffs, bruises and injuries.
Unfortunately for Koto however, there was more than one opponent he had to worry about. And he was met with a fist as hard as steel; and impacted like a freighter train against his face. Time almost seemed to stand-still for a split-second, as the yellow-eyed Boss utterly broke the speed of sound behind the fist.
Koto was sent flying through the trees; annihilating countless blockages of the trees, and came bursting through the wall that separated the fight between Tatsuo and the Kaguya. In a spray of splinters of wood, and for some yards bone too. Koto was left to recover some; now being in the area where the Kaguya and Tatsuo stood off.

The Boss had looked to the girl, and offered a hand. "Get up. We're not done." In a steeled tone, he cast her a demanding glance and started walking through the path the monkey had made unwillingly. Up until he emerged to where the others were engaged, his attention shifted to Tatsuo. A mug of silent preparation; he clearly looked unwelcoming to playing games.

The woman, in pain had slowly lifted herself up to a standing position. Slouching as she worked the efforts, adrenaline and body-function to rekindle her combat-readiness. "Tch- That damn monkey is going to pay." She spat, as she stood in the crumbling trees alone for a few moments, as she started walking through the path too. Along her skin developed a growing number of tattoo like symbols; sprawling all across her dark-skin each swiveled like waves. The bone in her forearm slowly, inhumanly started to crack back into place and reform it's vitality. And the air grew colder-- Much colder.

And in a few seconds after the Boss arrived; the woman emerged too. Eyes burning holes towards the Monkey, and her pace continued towards him too. A dagger of ice in hand-- The fight was starting to get real serious. And the reality of how powerful these people become ever more clear-- Tatsuo knew, he was against S-Class warriors. And they weren't happy.

[Post 3 | 2,929/7,000]

Notes

• I seriously haven't forgotten about this, finally got to getting the rest written.
• Time to test Tatsuo's resolve; (I did a roll for that little block from the lithe man... He did a little too well)

"Victim"
"Lithe Man"
"Woman Combatant Dark"
"Bossman"