The Djinn [EVENT]

[Mikaboshi]

As expected, the creature shrugged off all forms of direct damage sent it's way. Blasts of energy and power capable of shredding structures of solid steel seemed to cause it nothing more than a moment or two of inconvenience which made the situation all the more complicated. Mikaboshi suspected that many of those in the battle currently were not accustomed to dealing with foes so far beyond their ken. It had been hundreds of years since humanity had been called upon to defend itself from a marauding supernatural threat. Even in the Old World, humanity had only risen above it's natural station due to their faith in the power of Primus and his First Men. Thus far the Djinn had only proved that the collective destructive power of Sunagakure would not be enough to defeat it; something that Mikaboshi had predicted early on in his appraisal of the situation to Sousuke. He had warned the Kazekage that they needed to be cautious with this and test the limits of their ability against it but others in the battle seemed determined to continue smashing their power against the insurmountable wall that was the Djinn's durability.

It declined to retaliate against him at all which, while it wasted his prepared escape mechanism, gave Mikaboshi an insight into his opponent. The Djinn had great power-- something which was clearly evident in everything it did. It threw powerful individuals around like toys and made light of attacks that would blister the flesh of even some of the strongest in the world. But it was not attacking. Not really. Those that had been struck down already might have argued with that assessment but Mikaboshi had seen beings of the Djinn's like in the past and worse. He had witnessed Tarasque at the height of his power. If the Djinn had truly meant to destroy those that he'd been attacking... a simple fix from one of Suna's medics would not have been enough to restore them to any level of combat capacity. The question was "why?". The obvious answer was arrogance. The Djinn-- which seemed to be possessed of two minds rather than one which could explain it's powerful mental fortitude --had claimed that it "would be back" which implied that the mind that was being subsumed by the other believed at least some of Sand's forces would remain when it resurfaced. That gave them some precious time that they needed to plan against it. Ultimately the goal of a sneak attack was to wipe out an opponent before they had the opportunity to rally, examine you and then find a way to defeat you. The Djinn had wasted it's element of surprise and-- powerful as it was --that gave Sand an opportunity to assess it. But even as that examination process ran through Mikaboshi's mind, the Djinn strained against one of those assessments; that it was pulling punches. Curling up a large mass of it's power, the Djinn prepared to unleash a blast of strength which would have unrivaled destructive power.

Feeling Osiris' power in the large crystalline dragons that swept across the battlefield abducting shinobi from an imminent and gruesome death at the hands of the mounting blast that the Djinn had called to life, Mikaboshi's body flickered from sight to ride one of them back to their destination. If they had any hope of overcoming this foe-- even as much as he was loath to admit it --they would need to combine as much of their skills as possible. The recent lesson with the attempted assassination plot stuck out in Mikaboshi's mind prominently. If those assassins had attempted to work together perhaps they might have posed a combined threat to Mikaboshi but in the solitary way they fought alone they served as distractions at best. They were simply too out-matched on their own. And so too was it with the Sand shinobi and this creature. Saying nothing as the AiT were deposited behind him and Osiris gave them a lecture and orders, the Sennin turned and immediately set his thoughts to a defensive posture. His primary defensive technique was one that would only harm those around him further-- he was not accustomed to fighting in a team. Feeling multiple barriers come up across the battlefield and judging the distance they were away from the blast, Mikaboshi decided to toss the dice and take a chance-- not that he had many other options; he had to believe that Osiris had chosen well for a rendezvous point. Turning from the edge of the rooftop, Mikaboshi went to where Osiris was and kneeled next to him to shield his person from the searing wind coming off of the blast happening in the background.

"Osiris, report!" He boomed over the sound of the incoming blast. From his vantage point Osiris had to have seen or heard something that might give them an edge.

Spoiler

Moving to the rendezvous point to plot with Osiris.

 

[Takahashi Aki]

"I feel particularly normal today. Two errors already."<i></i> The Steward spoke to himself as he formed hand seals to form a barrier around Okibi. The Steward trusted her reaction speed to some degree, but he didn't trust it enough to deal with his level of techniques. The Steward was most content with Satsumaru's ability to defend himself.

This foe was beyond understanding and in ways it pushed the Steward to act in ways he never would. The Steward could see that there were people still out there and not behind the defensive walls his nin were putting together. First Sousuke ran through hand seals, first he needed the spark of life earlier. Next the Steward focused his attention upon some of the metallic rubble and forced his will upon it. A humanoid form began to rapidly assemble. The Steward then threw the spark of life he drafted into the structure he was making. The being first crawled but soon enough got to its legs once completed. The form quickly rose up on two feet and came to the Steward. Sousuke listened to the various calls and relays coming in. Kuro too came to his side and spoke his mind. "Do what you can. I'm going to prepare my own defensive techniques, but first..."[/b] The Steward made a hand gesture for his mechanical creation to deploy. "We need to get some more people out."<i></i>

Sousuke's mechanical creation ran out into the field to collect in particular Muzai. The Steward's creation was a terrifying thing of metal. The expression on the face of the was human, and while terrifying to behold it offered that much more than Sousuke ever could. It had blazing red eyes, and human teeth. The form reached out and simply grabbed Muzai, picking her up and then proceeded to return back to the Steward's defensive designation point which was with Haru and Oba who were conjuring defensive jutsus.

Sousuke himself shadow danced outward to collect Okibi. "Keep close. Cling to my neck if you must. Number Seven, with me."<i></i> The Steward spoke louder than usual to assert his orders. Granted Number Seven was to take orders directly from Okibi, the Steward merely wished that the canine would follow seeing as how this foe was going to do something devastating. The Steward with Okibi in tow, and with Number Seven nearby would go back to meet up with Haru, Oba, Muzai, and his own metallic construct. Once there the metallic construct and Sousuke would exchange nods. "I'm going to position my defensive walls next to Harupia's. I'm not going to terminate the stability of the leaf wall."<i></i> The Steward began to run through hand seals to construct his own wall except it was born of fire. The Steward had went through more hand seals to summon a second wall to try and widen the defensive range. "Raijin, Kuro if those sealing techniques don't work, get behind my flame walls. Self-termination is not acceptable."<i></i>

 

[Kagai]

Kagai was feeling his strength returning to him, and what appeared to be a clone, just sat there as if it was watching over him. Obviously it couldn't speak, but Kagai didn't know that at the time when he was being dragged. With all of this strange shit going on, Kagai could hear a voice over his headset. It was Elfin, and she was calling for him to meet up with her at Osiris's location.

Now, that would be just great if he actually knew where Osiris was, but he was thanking Kojin that at least one of the leaders was...."Elfin, Plague here. Where is Osiris?" Kagai would ask over his headset as he attempted to stand up. He was a bit shaky at first, but he appeared to be able to stand on his own power now thanks to the healing techniques. He finally did come to the realization that the crater before him once was the Caduceus Tower, there could be no mistaking it. What was this thing?

Kagai's mind fell back to, what he believed, his dying dream. He saw Lord Kojin in all of his glory, shining like the sun above, or perhaps he was the sun. It would make sense as it is he who leads the world from the darkness, but all of that could be worked out later, all he knew was he could not die here, he had a much grander future awaiting him.

It was then Kagai seen it. A bright light exploded into view, illuminating the entire underground. It resembled the fist of an angry God, and it appeared to be growing. There was no use trying to outrun it, he was in no condition to run just yet, so he would have to try and defend himself as best as he could. The Steel Clone, apparently sensing the danger, would spring to life and create an earthen wall around himself and Kagai. The warrior priest was also in the middle of his own barrier technique, forming his handseals and overloading this jutsu with more chakra than would normally be considered safe, hoping to pump it up as much as he could to try and shield him from whatever this was.

With one final seal, Kagai and the steel clone would be surrounded by ring of flames, which was reinforced further by the steel clones earthen wall. He could only pray that this would be enough, and only time would tell if his prayers were answered.

[MFT]

WC - 417

 

[Sand Council]

The fire roared like a living thing, consuming and violent. It was alike Nansui; chaotic, artistic and vengeful. It was a great way to go out and certainly distracting enough. Everyone who had come out so strongly and brazenly to fight the mighty Djinn were cowering like dogs. As they should be.

There was a small transitional period when one brother receded into the recess of the mind and the older brother, Shunsui began to bloom. Within the head of the beast, if one could see what transpired there, and perhaps only a Hyuuga could, the right side of the man's brain which had previously been so lit up and active began to dim. The left hemisphere compensated with a surge of electrical messages and an influx of chakra. During those few short moments, a hint of clarity would overtake Djinn. Both sides of the brain were equally stable, firing at the same rate.

The man faltered, his eyes clearing and the skin of his creased brow smoothed out. A feeling of freedom, release... He could almost remember his name... who he really was. But the brain tipped again, the power shifting to one side and his sanity was lost to him once more. The left side of his brain started firing up and a different kind of calm overcame his face. While it was the same body, the same man that stood there before the towering fire and chaotic wreck, it was also as if he were a different man altogether. Shunsui was returning.

The timing for an attack couldn't have been better, however. While he was transitioning from side to side, his guard was down and his ability to draw on the chakras around him faltered. Hands burst from below him, before the left side of his brain was fully transferred into power, making him look down as a simple man did when trying to understand something that was too complex for him. A pair of hands slapped up against his bare ankles. A burning sensation flew up the Djinn's legs, like ten hornet stings centering over the points where the very large digits landed. The beast yelled out as he felt something dull him, rip power from his grasp. He was a being of attack, vile maneuvering and power; he was not accustomed to pain or abuse.

The attack on his body finished the transition from Nansui to Shunsui and the logical brother's eyes cleared and sharpened. He saw all around him, saw that he had been sealed by something powerful. Rage overcame him, almost enough to risk throwing the logical side back to Nansui's more chaotic side, but it did not for now. The whole action and his scream took only a fraction of a moment, though for those watching the beast take a surprise injury, hope would make it seem longer.

The fire pillar died out almost instantly as the Djinn's attention focused solely on his attacker and chakra ceased to funnel toward the torrent of flames. He bent at the waist, his black hair flying out behind him in the motion and he plunged his hands into the mineral rich ground. Clawed fingers found immense solid forearms and he heaved upward. The monster of a man who had found purchase with his timely attack was pulled clear of the ground and his hands ripped away from the Djinn's lower legs. It was here the Djinn felt the first affects of the seals that had been branded upon his screaming limbs. Chakra fueled his strength, his speed, his abilities, even how strong he seemed physically depended on his manipulation of the endless flow of power from the lives around him. While he had no problem ripping the mountain from his earthen grave, his edge was missing. It was as if his usual open flow of chakra was being funneled and came to him slower and his body could not use it properly.

Rock and rubble flew up around Raijin and Djinn. The ground shook around them and spires of earth erupted in various sizes around the two, not unlike a petrified field of tall grass. The much smaller but more terrifying monster pivoted and pulled the blond down from his spot in midair, bringing him downward onto his back upon the jagged rocks. Several spikes tore straight through his flesh and bone, spraying the beast with red and flecks of white and pink. Several had torn straight through him, the largest of them standing reddened with it's thick tip appearing several inches above the man's thigh. It had went straight through his femur. The rocks did not hit his vital organs, but the damage upon his being was catastrophic.

He released his hands upon Raijin and stagger-stepped away from him. He was unused to this feeling, almost felt like a baby taking it's first steps, but this was not a time to assume him so weak he was beatable. The physical carnage he had invoked on the other would speak leagues about his remaining strength, but would it give away a hint to his downfall? That remained to be seen.

With the fire down, the winds stalled to almost deadness once more, Djinn's voice would be heard clear as a lion's roar over an open plain. It was different than before, as it had been right when they had first met the Djinn. Malice laced his words, they boomed with barely restrained fury, "You fools, how dare you strike the mighty Djinn? How can you not see we have come to bring balance back to the desert. Not all of you will die this day, but all of those who fight to preserve this plague will perish." His arms spread outward from his body. A strange blurred pattern began to flush over his skin, tainting it from it's bronzy tone to blue starting from the tips of his left fingers to his bare abdomen.

"I shall feast on your remains, your children's fear shall empower me. Your symbols will be torn down and washed away by sand and wind! You shall be forgotten as I will show you how sickened you are... And what you deserve!"

A vision of Djinn's glorious end; a sea of red sand and rubble washed over the entire area. All the buildings and smoldering wreckage would begin to disappear to the eyes of all the shinobi and civilians around him. The world they knew was turned to a swirl of colors and ended in a solid shape of this desert. The sun and blue sky replaced the crystal-riddled ceiling of the cave. All those in attendance could even feel the heat of it on their skins, hot as scalding water on their time-lightened skin. Around them, they would see each other, all the people lying around, standing in grounds and those ready to attack the Djinn.. each other but nothing else save the sand, rubble and sun of the Djinn's great genjutsu.

The Djinn's eyes closed, he stood in the middle of the vision, then as water moves, he was swallowed up by the sands, removed from the scene and their eyes. A deep, rumbling voice reverberated around them, coming from all corners of the desert vision, "See peace, see truth... You have perverted this wonder with sickness. See it rot." And the sands began to turn green, a smell of putrid mold and disease would awash over the people. "See how the light is snuffed out by your sin." And the blue sky turned to gray. Ash started to rain from the sky, falling upon the people around and in the vision, the ash would start to rot their own skin, turning it black and withered.

The trick of the senses from a being powerful enough to emcompass all, or almost all. Only those with the eyes or minds who could not be fooled by such things could escape it and those numbers would be few and far between. He would leave them there, unseen by the clouded eyes. Djinn would be leaving the area to suffer another penalty to the people.. he would destroy their statues, their pillars and strength.





OOC:

Spoiler

If you have no knack for genjutsu, you're stuck until someone can get you out of it. Play fair, there are a few of you who should be able to release yourselves and others.

Djinn is leaving the area, I'm making up the next post right now, look for it in another board!

I'd suggest medics stay and heal people until you're ready to join the next thread. I'm sure we'll need you again. Don't just abandon this one because Djinn is running.

ALSO, be sure to post HERE and show you are leaving this thread before entering the new one. I don't wanna see any people doing that or I'll turn your character into a sheep. I'm not kidding.




NOTE: The last part about the sands is a genjutsu, repeat, genjutsu!

[topic left]

 

[Toraono Kuro]

Djinn's vision of a glorious end showed a vast amount of blood red sand with intermixed rubble covering the entire area desert. Sharingan Kuro and Demon Kuro flashed with celestial power for a brief moment as the genjutsu washed over them in a massive flux. All the buildings and smoldering wreckage would begin to shimmer away along with all the shinobi and civilians around him. Sharingan Kuro's Mangekyou Sharingan along with demon Kuro's latent telepathy began to work in overdrive with Hyakujuuonouu's support. Djinn began to once again surge with power and shudder with his own insane anger and need although it was less than what he had summoned before. Demon Kuro's vision was turned to a swirl of colors and ended in a solid shape of a desolate crimson plain of sand and crushed stone. Kuro defied this even as it took him over, the sun and blue sky replaced the crystal-riddled ceiling of the cave. All those in attendance could even feel the heat of it on their skins, hot as scalding water on their time-lightened skin. All the people lying around, trying to stand against Djinn.. nothing else could be seen but the crimson sand, alabaster rubble and the golden sun of the Djinn's great genjutsu. Sharingan Kuro's eyes bled, Demon Kuro's nose bled and then suddenly the illusion shattered and he was on the move releasing others from the genjutsu two by two.

A deep, rumbling voice reverberated around them, coming from all corners of the desert vision, "See peace, see truth... You have perverted this wonder with sickness. See it rot." "See how the light is snuffed out by your sin."

Djinn had been weakened thanks to Raijin's efforts so Kuro stepped up his efforts to free others from the terrible power of Djinn's genjutsu before taking off after Djinn himself. With four more 5 element seals readied and his own chakra absorption techniques readied Kuro planned to sever Djinn from not only ambient chakra but all the chakra within him. After that he would fall, of this Kuro was certain, no one would terrorize his village and get away with it.


WC: 357
MFT

Spoiler

OOC: Kuro would fight his way free of the genjutsu, heal others from their genjutsu then leave Hyakujuuonouu in place to continue to heal others near the remains of the medical center. After Kuro would try to chase down Djinn

Kuro should be able to track Djinn rather easily between his Sharingan and his chakra sense abilities. He was heading towards another structure, Kuro hoped he could arrive in time to help stop him... all lower ranking individuals with little genjutsu resistance would be released by Kuro on his way to track Djinn. Mikaboshi, Sousuke, and those over 3400 PL would be able to free themselves or be freed by those released from the genjutsu by Kuro.

 

[Honma Kotone]

The intensity of the blast, the tower of fire and light, was something so spectacularly powerful that not a single person could hold against it. However, it was lucky that for the two people, of whom casted defensive techniques, were stationed together: Haru and Kinnaku. She would struggle, molding continual papers against the already existing field of paper, but if it wasn't for Haru beside her; she would have been obliterated by the blast entirely. And those who now sat protected behind her would have also gone. Nevertheless, the blast would die down and the heat would linger on their flesh for a moment more. "You there," She would say to Haru with a tone of urgency, holding grasping her paws onto his frame, "You came for me in the Tower, you didn't need too." Kinnaku would say, stating his previous actions, which were very noble and noteworthy.

"Please, I need you to work with me." The Sennin would lower her technique and approach the man, distracting herself from the most obvious wave of power that came over the Djinn nearby. "Many people will die, but we need to work together. Can you please watch over Muzai? Most of the women, men and children in my Branch are gone now... I fear that I we lose her in this battle, the tide will shift." And it was true, nobody could survive on the field without being healed during their battles, and it was only thanks to Muzai that they were alive; well, some of them.

Suddenly, a flush of red sands and rubble appeared in the area; washing over the entirety. She would quickly place her hand against his, infusing her chakra into his hand, and releasing her grasp. Haru would feel the small injection of chakra, but it was something naturally positive, healing and good rather than painful and unnatural. This technique, this amount of chakra, would be significant of the Medical Ward technique. It was something that would active if he ever needed to be healed, at any point, and he would be able to control it reflectively. "Be safe."

The wash of red would carry the Sennin away from the scene, her body crashing against a cobbled building and holding her beneath their tiny grains. It was almost like she was suffocating under the sands, but at the same time being continually burnt by their unbelievable grasp of intensity. But thankfully, although that was debatable, it turned putrid and horrid. The stench of death, rotting choked her senses. But thankfully Kinnaku was a veteran in the medical field, and thus had grown immune to the stench of surprise - although, well, this smell was quite something...

However, she would vanish from plain sight; hidden under a sea of translucent grains. After some time, the grains would recede like an angry tsunami would after its temper-trap. She would be so far exhausted, tired and rather hunger from today's activities. Although she couldn't rest, not yet, she had to return to the scene of the crime - at a different location from where she was swept from her feet - and check up on her allies. She would wonder what the Kage's next move would be, should he make one.

[Post edited.]

 

[Honma Kotone]

[Please be aware that the Event has moved to this topic. Everyone is doing fantastically so far!]

 

[Takahashi Aki]

It took some time to get past the genjutsu, the Steward's form was frozen stiff. He had fallen to his knees as he was frozen in time, but the mechanics of his suit was still working. His mechanical construct was still operational and keeping an intent eye on Muzai, which was nothing short less of a threatening red eye glare of sorts. The entity also eyed Oba for a moment and then Haru. The entity held up a skeletal mechanical hand and proceeded to count down. Once at zero, finally the Steward seemed to snap out of it. The Steward's head rose up a moment. "Elfin, Titan, Orisis, Plague, Mikaboshi, Apex, Raijin, report. Are you still functional?"<i></i> The Steward first checked in with his Anbu to make sure that they were operating to some degree. The Steward's concern for his men and women surfaced in a strange way as he spoke coldly and mechanically to them. Still though his concern was evident.

While the Steward awaited for the calls to return in to confirm their status, the Steward rose up. He stared upward. "Harupia, always good to see you. You seem to be functioning at a reasonable level given what just occured."<i></i> The Steward experienced shock in a way, he had to talk his way out of it. Thankfully he could rely on his senior academy student acquaintance to help him in some way. The words of the enemy stung, it was a strange feeling. One that the Steward could not easily explain. The Steward changed frequencies and opened up a private call. "Oba, we've never met before steel to flesh but I know of you. I apologize for making your acquaintance this late. Report."<i></i> The Steward as he awaited her response went to go dig out the power source he had made for the hospital. ""I'm going to retrieve the Fusion Key Drive."<i></i> The Steward within a minute found it amongst the rubble. He pulled it out and looked at it. It was still operational and not damaged. "It's not compromised. Tell me, do you want it here or shall I send it to Keystone? It's still capable of lasting two weeks without being hooked up to a main generator."<i></i> While he awaited her answer the Steward put in another call this time it was a private line to Keystone. "Launch the mark two, co-ordinates are ... 32, 16. Send the spider-convoy puppet."<i></i> The Steward was on standby for a moment.

The Steward paced about and kept an eye on his people. He was weighing in his options. Everything was pointing to keep fighting at this moment in time. He didn't understand his foe. This was natural, but within time his foe would cease to even understand the Steward. A large spider puppet approached with a case. The Steward opened the case revealing his upgraded armour. Bit by bit the Steward took out the pieces and interlocked them into his current mark one design. "This foe caught us by surprise, but surprises only work once. They are operating outside of convention, and now it's my turn to operate in a realm outside of their understanding. We are King's Men. I will give halt and pause to their progress."<i></i> The Steward's form was silver and white. The form seemed hulking and angular at first, but it was most of all reinforced. "Seals work fine. Our genjutsu is limited as confirmed by Elfin. This enemy is faster than most of course, and is not short of major firepower. Physical strength is an unknown, but does not seem lacking. My plasma techniques couldn't land, but I didn't notice an inherent immunity to plasma. Our elemental defensive jutsus worked, but they were not compromise at a ... zero-time frame. They lasted as long as they could. Does anyone else wish to contribute their observations?"<i></i> It was time to have an understanding of their foe, based on what limited experiences was gained.

 

[Juzo]

Pain. It spread throughout his body faster than his mind could process it. Raijin groaned under the burden placed upon his central nervous system and waited until the Djinn was gone. A lovely genjutsu came over him and he found himself unwilling to wake himself. It was just too nice to feel the heat of the sun on his skin. But the pain would not let him ignore the truth. This was an illusion and an artificial construct meant to distract the mind of a shinobi. So once he got over himself he shattered the genjutsu veiling his eyes. But he found himself in an even worse situation. The earthen spikes had impaled him in several places and broken quite a few important bones. Because he still had the items in question thrust through his body and bones, they could not heal.

The elder shinobi forced himself up and off the spikes. From there his body slumped to the floor rather helplessly and the seal on his chest activated. Bones snapped back into place, with audible sounds and visible pain on Raijin's behalf, and open wounds began to close. Had he been bleeding worse, that too would have lessened, but he hadn't faced much in the way of slashing injuries. These were brunt force trauma wounds. Each breath was labored but they also, each, drew in new life.

His headset flickered on and off. He managed to mumble in his own report. "Raijin, functional." Then he broke off into a coughing fit.

It had been a long time since someone did enough damage to leave him in pain. Much less the kind of pain he was currently experiencing. Even his own natural regeneration could barely cover it. Despite this, he couldn't stop smiling. He had landed the first successful attack on this being. There was hope after all. But how to make better use of the knowledge they had?

The Special Jounin laughed and forced himself to stand to test his leg where the Djinn had broken it. So far so good, the man made a few stumbling steps before stabilizing himself. Then he took one mighty deep breath. In doing so he absorbed some of the ambient energy left behind by the stranger. The Chimeric powers that allowed him to steal bloodlines came in handy for some light detective work. But it was too early to make assumptions, he would collect more information. From there he moved to the Kazekage and those who had collected around him.

They seemed to be discussing what did and didn't work. "I wouldn't go so far as to say all seals work." The giant interjected. "I used Morality Sealing - Dark and 5-Element seal. Only the 5-element seal took. That monster seemed to reflect the other seal back at me." Raijin held up his right hand which looked thoroughly thrashed. "Never seen anything like that." From there he took a moment to remove the Morality Seal on his own arm. It had been slowing the regeneration his Solar Seal afforded him. With that he seemed to start recovering at a more 'natural' rate. Occasionally a bone inside his chest would snap loudly as it was forced back into its proper place. The bodyguard didn't seem particularly bothered by it.


MFT
WC: 546

 

[Kumiko]

Once landing on the roof top, Elfin could hear Plague speak within her ears. Once more she pressed the com button on her head set. " We are located North East of the Caduceus tower ruins upon the rooftop. You should be able to feel our chakra signatures." By now those on the rooftop were herself, Titan, Silver, Osiris, and the ANBU Sennin. Followed by Plague once he arrived. First things first, elfin would reactive her sharingan.

Trying to use a genjutsu on a highly trained Uchiha was a foolish thing. It took a few moments before her sharingan spiraled into action. With ease she saw through the genjutsu, bringing her back to reality. Could her team mates revive themselves was the question. Time was of the essence here so Elfin wasn't going to sit around and wait for them to free themselves. First the female Uchiha would go to the AIT of the group, placing her palm upon the top of his head and channeling her chakra into his mind to help cancel out the genjutsu. This process would them be repeated to Titan, Plague, and Osiris. Seeing as Mikaboshi was the Sennin, she figured he was strong enough to free themselves. She'd give them a quick nod before explaining. " The Dijunn cast a genjutsu on us all. " More of an explanation was not needed. After a few moments Sousukes voice sounded over the head set, once she switched it back to the public channel. " Elfin here. I am functional. " She responded.

Once more a brief pause before, surprisingly, gave a very motivating speech to his troops. As his loyal soldier Elfin would simply stand and listen to what he spoke. Only after would she voice her opinion. " His leaving the battle wasn't foreseen. We need to prevent that. If we could create a barrier to contain him, that would benefit us. " From here on out she would simply wait for instructions.

EDIT: words: 326
[ MFT ]

 

[Mikaboshi]

Before he could get anything of worth out of Osiris, once more the Djinn began shouting and suddenly colors blossomed across Mikaboshi's vision and deposited him on the surface of the Wind Country and bathing him in the light of the surface's sun. Fuujin's sun. Whirling in surprise, the sun seared his vision causing him sudden spikes of extreme pain illiciting a hiss of surprise and anger from the ancient who so deeply despised the sunlight. Raising his arm to shield his eyes from the sun, Mikaboshi found no respite there was the light seemed to pierce the material of his leather coat which covered his arm as he could feel the heat of it upon his vessel's skin, boiling and hissing as if the very sun itself were poisonous to him. Growling in frustration at the continued games that the Djinn seemed to be playing, he continued to hear the words of the creature spewing pointless villainous rhetoric at him as the strange change in scenery began to change once more. Slowly a putrid smell came to Mikaboshi's olfactory sense and Mikaboshi scowled at it. The smell of rotting meat had little impact on the ancient whom had seen hundreds of corpses over the years and long ago had gotten over any reaction he might have had to such a stench. Mercifully... the sun finally grayed out and it's light slowly turned to shade giving Mikaboshi relief from it's punishing rays though now the skies seemed to belch forth a flurry of strange ash that ate away at the material of his coat at it's very touch and anything else it managed to touch of his. At first the ANBU Sennin had truly believed that they had been transported to the surface for a continuation of their battle but as the rational part of his mind snapped out of it's surprise at suddenly being awash in painful sunlight it questioned why the Djinn would have dragged the fighters away from Sunagakure. It was winning the fight just fine among their own buildings and in fact bringing the fight elsewhere only delayed the purification that it kept ranting about.

Feeling the flesh of his hand and his arm beginning to putrify at the touch of the raining ash along as the remains of his ANBU coat fell to the ground behind him, Mikaboshi knew that he was trapped within an illusion. The rapid series of strange events... the sudden shift in location despite it having no value to the aggressor... it didn't fit well enough. More than that, he could feel a distant nibbling at the back of his mind as he examined the ruination of his hand and forearm as that corruption continued to spread over his body's armor, eating it's way through to his vulnerable skin. It hurt, of course. How could it not? But pain was an ephemeral thing to him, something that he had long since learned to isolate his rationality from. Still, he could not divorce himself from it entirely which betrayed the illusion further. Under normal circumstances he would have simply disconnected himself from the pain receptors in his hand and forearm to prevent it from inhibiting him. The damage would remain, of course-- it would not suddenly become healed because he was ignoring it. But being so disconnected the pain would not distract him further. But the parameters of the illusion he was trapped in demanded that he feel the pain and so he felt the pain. Though he possessed no skill in casting illusions of his own, he was plenty familiar with the concept and how they functioned. Being a contest of wills, Mikaboshi found no surprise that he'd been trapped in one to begin with. If the Djinn had focused the entirety of it's power into an illusion he suspected that no one present would have escaped it. Raising his skeleton hand to the sky, Mikaboshi furrowed his brow behind his mask in effort as he demanded that his fingers contort into a fist. Within the world of the illusion there was no nutri-fluid to carry his spiritual energy to the fingers to make them obey his commands but this world was not real. It's rules could be influenced and broken if one had the spiritual energy to back up their demand upon the fake reality and Mikaboshi certainly had spiritual energy to spare. Slowly the skeletal digits curled at his demand and even as the features of Mikaboshi's mask sizzled and resisted the corroding effects of the raining ash a low rumbling shout from Mikaboshi began to escape as he rallied against the force that enraptured his mind and forced this dream upon it. With Mikaboshi's will actively resisting the illusion now, the ash ceased to fall and his flesh began to knit began together... it's effects reversing as he pushed against it. It was impossible to tell what was going on outside of the dream world that the Djinn had placed him in but Mikaboshi was too proud of a creature to let himself be contained within such a petty spell. It was bold and obvious, intended to shock and awe. But the once and future again Ancient of Deep and Shadow would not be cowed so easily by a fake god.

... Mikaboshi ... Report ...

As if an echo being heard from a far off shout, Sousuke's order vibrated through Mikaboshi's dream state through the headset attached to his ear and seeped through the cracks which the Ancient had made in the illusion. Eventually the illusion would have been broken from Mikaboshi clawing at it alone but as Sousuke's words reached him in the heart of the fake world, both the spiritual representation within the illusion and his physical body would state his reply even as his hand moved on it's own responding to the thrashing chakra within his body trying to get free.

"Yes, my Lord."

Unlike most of the others present, Mikaboshi's body played host to his rational mind as well as his ancient power which remained sealed behind the power of his mask. While that power possessed no true thinking mind of it's own, it represented his subconscious id; his most primal thoughts caged behind a wall to prevent them from overtaking his rational mind while present in the society of humans. And right this second, that subconscious power desired freedom above all else. Streamers of shadow ran down the length of his arm slowly bringing it up to his face and wrapping two of his fingers through the eye-sockets of his mask before quickly wrenching it free. From the release of his mask, chakra poured forth like a broken pipe with black and green energy surrounding the form of the Sennin bringing his consciousness back to reality as the illusion quickly crumbled before the combined willpower of both Mikaboshi's conscious and subconscious minds working in concert.

Coming back to consciousness, Mikaboshi looked down and blinked for a moment clearing his head of the last vestiges of the illusion before affixing his mask back unto his face and once more corking the metaphorical bottle that was his physical vessel. Any who were in his presence would certainly have felt the rush of energy that had exploded from his body and though it had not been his fully released state that had been unleashed it certainly would have felt as if someone had pointed a massive fan in their direction for a moment during the short time that his mask had been off. Even still, any who had cast their eyes at him during that time might have caught a glimpse of the masked lord without his mask-- a rare opportunity --and his oddly normal features given his strange personality. With his mask back on and the spiritual pressure of his released state cornered once more behind it, Mikaboshi nodded back towards Kimiko before reaching up to his headset;

"Mikaboshi to active ANBU... pull yourselves together and rendezvous at the Steward's location for regrouping before that thing resurfaces.</I><I>" He said over the ANBU frequency before switching frequencies and confirming to Sousuke that he was in fact still alive. Looking to Elfin as she gave her opinion, Mikaboshi folded his arms across his chest as he gave a few moments for any of the ANBU still struggling with their genjutsu to come out of it. "Before we do that, we need to have a plan for defeating it. Right now it's clear that it doesn't regard us as a threat as at least some of us are still alive and unfortunately it's right. If we succeed in trapping it we'll only have cemented an engagement against an enemy which we don't have a plan for defeating. Once we regroup, we will pool our information and extrapolate a weakness or a strategy."

 

[Hanone]

Almost all his ANBU had rallied to the roof before him, even his sennin came to where the ANBU captain had stationed himself, riding on the back of one of his black-crystalline beasts. The fire explosion and torrential winds were then shielded very unexpectantly by the mystic man who even knelt before him. Osiris found himself stunned slightly at the change of position. Even though he knew it was nothing more than a way to protect him and the others from the assault. His jackal mask tipped down as he allowed a technically short, but reflectively long expanse linger on. Was it the power it allowed him to feel over the other? No, it wasn't. Was it the willingness his sennin had shown to protect him?

He shook himself of the feeling and turned his masked face upward the others with him. He saw them, was ready to report as ordered, but the Djinn had other ideas. A streak of sunlight hit his eyes and he blinked hard. Where the hell was sun coming from? Had the Djinn broken through the ceiling? No wasn't it night time?

The vision before him changed. The air was cleared, the sky was blue.. the sun was beautiful. Eiji felt himself melting away in it's radiance and raised his face toward the heat. He missed the sun and like a gift from the heavens, here it was... Yet little more than that was washed over him as a new sensation overtook him. A small thing touched the top of his head, a pressure he hardly noticed. Then a feminine... taste flushed through his system, something that was certainly not his own. It made the sun blur and very suddenly he was himself again.

He stepped back, disconnecting the small hand from his head. It was of no offense, but it would take him a moment to regain his bearings. No sun. That had been genjutsu, certainly. He had been lucky for Elfin. Her unique abilities proved to be... irreplaceable. "Very good, Elfin. My gratitude." He offered her.

It was about then that he noted the struggle of all the people around them. The civilians on the ground were starting to panic and were clawing at their skin as if in pain. So many around them were trapped, even Mikaboshi was still caught. He stepped forward to begin the process to assist his sennin, but was met with a strange happening... the ancient pulled his own mask off. Osiris's hand stopped where it was, half reaching out toward the man. A furious wave of black and green. It was strange, and terrifying down to his core in a way he couldn't describe, but enticing and powerful. And he saw the skin under the mask. Normal, fairly so. Hairless face, straight lips and nose, and dark, uninteresting eyebrows. Was he really just human under there?

It didn't last long. The man found himself again, and replaced the mask. Osiris had to remove his thoughts back to the now, but it was hard. He had to report... but he'd lost that chance for now. He would explain later when they had regrouped.

Finally of calmed mind, Osiris responded to the steward's call, "Yes, Sousuke-senpai. Osiris is functional.". Elfin offered her suggestion, one he agreed with fully, then conceded they would need to move to the steward first. But first he would say his foremost thoughts. He turned his face to the sennin.

Since he hadn't spoken a word to him yet, he was forced to first address the man correctly before uttering anything else. "The shadows are here, sennin-sama. I too agree with Elfin. The creature is dangerous and powerful, beyond anything I've seen before. It's paramount we attempt to close him off from any civilians." Any more would have to wait until they had moved locations. The Djinn seemed to be gone from the area which might give them some time to think before acting; that was if nothing worse happened in the meantime.

Osiris stepped away from the group and scanned the area for the steward, finding his location, the ANBU captain pointed to the spot then leaped off the building. Chakra flooded down his legs and allowed him to land safely then he made his way in a quick run, ignoring the writhing people still caught within the genjutsu. They would not die from it, no matter how terrifying the illusion may seem now. They were not his concern. When he came upin the steward-kazekage, the ANBU captain halted and knelt upon the ashy cave ground upon one knee. "Kazekage-sama. Osiris here." Then lifted himself to his full, albeit short height.

 

[Ryu Hime]

Nani was not like any other puppeteer. She was separate for her puppets in many ways and thus they did not serve as a second line of sight. She had no knack for genjutsu, but her own chakra was chaotic which made cast an illusion on her difficult. Well difficult for shinobi, but this guy did not see it as a problem. Nani did not what the hell was going on. The building, the rumble, the whole village was gone. The sun shined so brightly that it would have burned her, if her skin was not already use to such heat as a pyro. Totoro realized that his master was under the effects of some sort of illusion and shakes her out of it. She then follows Kuro that was tracking Djinn. It was time for pay back.
[left topic]

[occ: oh crap I'm late. Quick post no jutsu]

 

[Kokomo]

The gasping never stopped. Her eyes wild as she stared upwards and her mouth gaped as she tried to take in the oxygen needed to keep breathing. She choked on her own air as she cradled her shattered shoulder and her lungs made a strange wheezing sound. Her voice cracking and squeaking as he body commenced into shock. Tremors shaking through her body as she rolled her head back into the dirt as she sucked in more uneven breaths. She couldn't fathom the amount of pain she was in. It was worse then the twisting and churning in stomach for each day of food she missed. It was worse than being force fed through a tube. It was worse than the hallucinations the pills gave her. It was worse than being scratched up by a schizophrenic maniac with claws. No, this pain felt as though her arm had been ripped from her body. She could feel everything shift as the small shards of bone floated around inside the pool of blood forming under her skin.

Her name was called, but Muzai was in a haze of pain. She was struggling to comprehend anything other than the immense pain she was in. Kinnaku's face appearing over her with those large sad eyes, she looked like she was saying something, but the scrawny blonde wasn't sure. Her arms grabbed her, maybe too violently as Muzai crushed her teeth together, gritting them as she winced and let out a long groan of pain that soon began to subdue as Oba laid her back on the ground. Her head swirling and turning as her eyes looked wildly towards the sky and her chest rose and fell in a moment of hyperventilation and panic. Her body was trying to retrieve all of the oxygen it could get in hopes it would help the pain. Yet, the more she breathed, the calming she became. It was a cool feeling that washed over her like a strange mock-baptism. Slowly, her breathing rate returned to normal as the tranquilizer set in. She couldn't feel Kinnaku snapping her bones back into place as her body lay limp on the ground, her eyes rolling around the world before her. Colors began to shoot out into world. Long rays of green flew from the grass and the trees. The lights from the fire shot up in long straight rays into the ceiling as the jutsu settled into her brain. These were different hallucinations than the ones the pills gave her. These were beautiful hallucinations that didn't scare her, but rather intrigued her drugged-stated mind.

But, she didn't see Kinnaku after that. She was unsure of where she went, but her eyes stared wide and bloodshot upwards at the artificial starry night. Her chest slowly rising and falling in her frail and thin cage. It was almost like all of this destruction wasn't going on. Almost like she was back in the Grand Palais, smoke in hand, feeling this state of euphoria and calamity. It was a happy-place that Muzai did not desire to leave, ever. Even as the large pillar of fire shot into the sky, her head rolling to look at the rays that shot off of it like a flaming disco-ball, the slightest crooked smile playing on half of her lips as she watched it. It was so beautiful. The rays shooting in all directions as it swirled and danced so gracefully. It even moved--

Oh, wait, no that wasn't the pillar.

Zai was lifted from the ground, her body limp as her head fell slightly back and her arms dropped down by her side in deadweight as she slowly turned her head to look towards the....strangest thing. A skeleton was carrying her--a large metallic skeleton. The red rays of light shooting from it's eyes and spreading across her face as she stared at it, giving it the slightest smile, as she had the pillar of fire. She was unable to feel the fear that she would have otherwise as the beast carried her to another unknown location, holding her as it stood beside a familiar man.

"Usuke..." She slurred, her eyes rolling back just for a moment as she let out a slight laugh. Her voice was low and her words morphed together as she had difficultly with using her tongue and lips. He wasn't paying attention as he spoke to...someone? something? She was unsure, but she couldn't hear him either. There was a loud ringing in her ears, but she watched his lips move as the large metallic skeleton held her like a babe.

But the hallucination took a wild turn. As her eyes stared blankly upwards, her nightgown and wild blonde hair draped over the arms of the metallic partner, the ceiling of the cave turned the strangest color. An endless bright blue with a large ball of white light that burned her eyes and made her skin feel as though it was close to flames. She sucked in a deep breath, suddenly coming to consciousness as she began to panic again. The world had changed around her in the strangest way. Wrapping her small arms around the neck of the metal-beast, she shifted so she could hop down, with his help, and stand on something far worse. The ground had changed to hot sands--Muzai being barefooted. She squeaked again in pain as she grabbed at the skeleton for him to pick her up again. Her arms wrapped around his neck as her legs draped over one of his arms and her back propped against the hand of the other arm. She stared wildly at the people around her in this strange new place--totally unaware of what a 'sky', 'sun' and 'desert' was.

"What is this?" She asked, looking up towards the sun, squinting before looking away in pain. When she blinked the strangest blue and red spots appeared in her vision--certainly from this strange ball of light. "Ouch..." She murmured, rubbing her eyes with her free hand, the other still wrapped around the skeleton, but he began to count down with his fingers towards Sousuke, the two of them watching it and once at zero, the image disappeared. It shattered, almost, and the shock took the breath out of Muzai's fragile lungs as she looked around at the peculiar group of people around her.

Genjutsu.

Of course.

But now what? And where was the creature that caused such a fuss with it? Slowly, gingerly, and cautiously, Muzai boot her bare feet on the ground again, settling into the artificial grass as she looked towards the metallic beast that had helped her. He glared back with those vicious red eyes, and she gave him the slightest smile, taking his hand like a small child. Muzai didn't want to lose him! He was very valuable to her health and protection, and seemed to want to watch over her. Walking with him, his feet making a disturbing clunking sound with every step they stood before Sousuke he gave instructions and a sort of briefing to a handful who had escaped. Her eyes looking behind her towards the group of people still stuck in the Genjutsu. They cried out and clawed at their skin and coughed violently. That place, when Zai was in there, had seemed so peaceful, what was going on? Her hand stayed firmly around the metallic beast's as her neck craned to look behind her at the men and women who cried out.

"How can I help?"

[OOC: Notes]

High jacked Sousuke's escape, assuming it'd work for her to. PM me with any problems.

WC: 1265

 

[Raizo]

Throughout this whole ordeal it would have been very easy to simply look at it as a negative experience because of the loss of life and the loss of the tower. It could be further compounded by the physical ineptitude of those that had stood before the Djinn. And while all of that did factor into Roku's mind there was still something else screaming deep within him that caused him to feel repulsed; his utter defeat. As a warrior that prided himself on physical combat, to have been shut down in such a quick fashion, it was a spit in his face, a jab at his pride. There was a pain that could not be expressed by a literal puncture or tear, there was a pain welling up deep within his being that was making him realize that even with all his pride, all this training and all his natural ability he was still no where close to being in the condition he needed to fight equally with those in this world. Now Roku wasn't completely irrational, he understood this Djinn character seemed to be otherworldly but the fact that he existed meant that there could be others like him in this world and if that were the case he was one thing; useless.

Following behind Sliver and Elfin he would arrive at the location of Osiris but before anything could take place the world around him would start to change. The buildings, the bodies, the fire, all the wreckage was being washed away by the sands. While this seemed a bit odd it did not seem out of the realm of possibility for this monster that stood before him. He was bellowing out words but what happened next was more interesting. Soon they would find themselves on what appeared to be topside. They were standing before a true sun, standing atop the ground, only to have it all stripped from them as the world began to grow putrid and vile. The stench of decay would overwhelm him, congesting his nasal cavities and bringing out a feeling to gag. It had been a while since he through up, years of alcohol abuse seemed to kick out that pesky gag reflex a bit. And while this hellscape continued to spiral out of control before him, a quick jolt of light would flicker within his eyes knocking him out of the dream and back to reality.

Stunned for a moment his eyes would look around, trying to collect his bearings, and realizing that he had been under the spell of a genjutsu.
Now before continuing it should be noted that Roku had done a great deal, through his own subconscious and his brothers training, of work to keep his emotions in check. If he didn't there would be an incredible, violent rage that he would be consumed by following the loss of his father and the substance abuse of his mother. But Roku functioned because his own mind had tempered itself to regulate those fears, that anger, behind walls and allowed him to be carefree. Now this is brought up because this event has caused to things; 1) the physical defeat was so overwhelming that his mind was not ready to balance it so those metaphorical walls within his mind, one would have been broke 2) Genjutsu, while knowing it wasn't his specialty, was not something he had been completely defeated in yet and now he had. With that another 'wall' within his mind, holding back all his suppressed emotions, would snap, sending a rush of his anger, self loathing, and fear one more step closer to his outward nature.

"Titan, functional." There was processing going on at the moment within his mind so he really did not feel like saying more, but with his emotions fluxing at this point and a remembering of a previous comment only fueled him to remain further silent. It was time for the 'grown ups' to talk.

 

[Onamuji]

Somehow, Satsumaru's flames held up against the blast. It took a lot of focus and effort to maintain the shield of flame, but it outlasted those of the demi-god. More disturbing that the sheer force was that of the monstrosity's mental force. He was immune to genjutsu, but clearly had a natural aptitude for it.

Visions of the Sunan landscape washed over their sight. Warm sands, bright sunlight. It took away the insides of Barnyx, and the village within - showing them what it looked like to dwell on the surface as their (or most of their) ancestors had. But then, light turned to dark. The sands turned to rot, the skies broke and let ash fall, and all around them looked disfigured and destroyed...including themselves.

For a time, Satsumaru was enveloped in the genjutsu more out of curiosity to see it rather than a weakness or ignorance of it. When his flesh began to rot and deteriorate, however, he knew it was a genjutsu and he had to get out. Using his Sharingan eyes, he attempted to use their ability to reverse genjutsu upon the user. While it removed him from the illusion, the Djinn had already made his way away from the group. Satsumaru doubted it would've bypassed his natural resistance, anyway. He simply watched as the Djinn distanced himself, doing what he could to take in and analyze what had just happened.

It was then that a familiar name echoed from his headset, however. The Steward had called out the callsigns of active ANBU, himself included. With a wave of his hand, he summoned his ANBU mask and donned it. Kinnaku would have to fend for herself now. Satsumaru gave way to Apex, and there was a village to protect. Pulling a sealing scroll out, he uncovered his armor and strapped it firmly across his frame, completing the ANBU visage away from prying eyes.

Approaching as a shadow near the Steward and the collective Sunan defense force, Apex noted, "Apex, perfectly functional, my lord Steward."

Looking to place what little he had gleaned, the Uchiha added, "This thing, for all it's egotism and confidence, is clearly not invincible. Your guardsman proved that well enough, and it showed that this thing can be wounded - physically and mentally. If this being is an ancient, he may be based in the elements. Raijin's Five Element Seal seemed to take hold, so perhaps if we commit a sealing attempt and cut him off from his source of elemental strength, it might force him into a state of vulnerability."

It was one option, at least. Even if not the best, it was better than a random, full-frontal assault.

"If necessary, I can summon Susano'o and hope to garner the being's attention. It may not be enough to stand up to this enemy, but the old god might be able to withstand the attacks and regenerate well enough to last long enough to allow others to initiate some elemental seals," he went on to add. He didn't like summoning Susano'o, for all the lasting damage it caused him, but a god-on-god scenario seemed like an option worth presenting; even if it did equate to being used as a human shield.

 

[Darasu]

A large group of his village members had assembled atop a roof, all awaiting their next instructions from their captain. It was times like this that really showed Darasu that the village could stick together, find unification in destruction. Their village had been destroyed in portion, but the will of the sands people kept them strung together.

His arms remained crossed while he waited next to his fellow ANBU atop the roof. But then there was a change in his atmosphere, a warm glow he rarely felt. It was sunlight. Strange that it was breaking through the ceiling of the large cavern, but between all the chaos and destruction that the village had seen, it wouldn't have surprised him to have the cave collapse.

But then there was something else. A gentle wind, which soon turned into a howl. The warm sun became a scolding burn. Soon after, a large wave of red sand came and enveloped the entire area. The young Haku's lungs would shortly after fill up with small rocks and pebbles, bursting from the inside out. His eyes would dry out and begin to bleed, and his skin would rash out-

And then he was back to normal, standing on the roof top with all his comrades once more. So it was a genjutsu huh? Classic retreat Maneuver. From here, Darasu would just wait for further orders from his Captain.

[Topic Left]

 

[Sunaku Harupia]

It seemed as if he would be useful once again. At least so he hoped. He could feel the heat and power emanating form the explosion, pushing against his modified earth technique. Luckily it seemed that the Aburame medic from before had some fight left in her, reinforcing his own barrier. Still, he held his ground, palms digging into the ground, reinforcing the wall with more hardened minerals from the ground. Fully concentrated he kept the wall strong, not letting a single crack last longer than a second. He needed to save his companions, friends, all the people he could...

After what seemed like an eternity the onslaught seemed to fade, only a lingering heat remaining. With a heavy sigh he stood up, taking out the hands from the sand with a bit of effort. He sure dig himself deep down...yet the facture of sand was nowhere near as pleasant as on his best days, not in these circumstances.. His wall would still stand there just in case, with him being ready to reinforce it. Suddenly he would feel a hand clutching to his shoulder. Turning his head urgently, assuming it would be the Djiin trying to stop him, he was quite gad to see a familiar feminine face in front of him, though the sand under his feet almost jumped up to form a makeshift defense. As he heard the women speak, his eyes gazing into her equally tired, red eyes, he himself panting from the earlier use of the Jutsu, he did get a small boost to his confidence. Though her assumption he didn’t need to come to her aid was kind of strange in his ear’s. He was a Shinobi of the village who just witnessed their medical area being torn apart. In his mind it was his duty to come to aid anyone he could. Regardless of the rank of this women she was no exception.

Still after she stopped talking he would give her a small bow saying “I only did what I saw as my duty, and I’ll try my best to keep doing that, and try to lead as many people to safety as I can…and don’t worry, I’ll keep an eye on Muzai…though she does seem to have a protector already “he said with weak chukle, which turned into a slight cough,seeing the undernourished women being carried by a metallic construct…normally it would be worrisome,but the creature didn’t seem to be intent on hurting her,otherwise it would be to late…besides the best itself seemed rather intent on doing his deeds personally. As he mused on the hlper the other medic had gently touch his hand, a warm, pure chakra spreading across it. He simply mouthed a thank you to her as she asked him to stay safe, looking down at the palm. A medical technique. It would surely come in handy.

Before he could do anything more, the wretched aggressor shouted out to them all, spitting out the venom form its mouth, rabbling nonsense about plagues and other bullshit. He could care less about the slurs it throwed at them, even though he fully knew he could wipe them out if he tried. But he didn’t… for some reason it was still toying with them. And it sounded hurt. As if someone managed to strike blow. So he wasn’t quite the invincible creature it seemed to be at first…

All of the musings were interrupted as the scenery changed. Gone were the tower ruins, the cave, everything…all that was left were the people, and the dessert. The bright, sandy dessert from the surface, in its blazing glory. He could almost feel the sand under his feet…his dream world, the home which truly belonged to the land of Suna…such an exhilarating sight…and then he ruined it…the sand detoriated, the smell of dead flesh filled his nostrils…it kept spewing bullshit about this being their fault, but it was him. He caused the suffering, he caused all this grief…it was all burning, stanching, his skin, everyone around him…this couldn’t be real…it was too fast, to marvelous…it had to be a trick…He tried to fend of the pain, as his skin rotted away, thinking of the touch of the Genin, the heat of the flames, the taste of the wrapped meal he had before, anything which brought him back to the real world… And then he heard a voice from the outside…the monotone, yet friendly voice of the Kage…

Back in realty Haru wasn’t really feeling as he was operating fully well, as their leader would put it. Falling to his knee’s as he broke of the jutsu, his face sweating and eyes slightly hazed, the contents of his stomach threatening to rush out. Still, knowing he was back in reality, feeling the sand under his fingers, the air filled with ash and death, but still fresher than the Genjutsu…he managed to collect himself. Standing up, grabbing a handful of the sand which he smeared over his hands to make himself sure it was all real, he would listen to what the people gathering had to say, still coming to a bit. Seal’s work, the rest not so much. As they chimed in their ideas he would say “Binds…did anyone try to bind him down? His movement is faster then meets the eye, but I don’t think it enough to say he is using any sort of warping ability. So physically holding him down would at least hinder him. And perhaps giving him large targets as a distraction can help us gain time to formulate an attack. It seemed to favor damage in larger scale, and I think I might have just the technique that would catch his eye” he concluded, fully back into the swing of things. His robes dirty, hands solid and slightly lacerated, a tire gaze in his eyes…but there was also determination. He wanted to take this…thing down. He had to…he couldn’t allow himself to think of all the pointless death…so many lives lost. He needed to focus if they were to stop the bloodshed…and he really didn’t want to heave in front of the Kazekage. Regardless of circumstances.

 

[Ryu Hime]

[Vioded]

 

[Kagai]

It seemed the combined efforts of his wall of flames and the clones earthen barrier were enough to ward off the impact of the blast, though with much difficulty. Kagai felt slightly drained from the ordeal, but it would quickly pass. It was then he was shown a very odd image of blood red sands and other such strange sights, knowing that it was obviously a Genjutsu despite his lack of talent in it.

Before he could attempt an escape, his ANBU comrade Elfin took it upon herself to send her own chakra through his body in an effort to break the Genjutsu. It was appreciated, as he didn't need to waste his time on breaking it now. Now back to reality, Kagai would stand himself up and crack his neck. Oddly enough, being thrown a few dozen feet does wonders for loosening up ones muscles. It seemed they had all gathered, and were now waiting on the Kazekage-Steward to issue the orders, which Kagai was fine with. He was hoping that whatever the plan was, it involved Kagai getting another chance to strike that blasphemous bastard and tear him down from his high horse.