The Shield is reforged [Private]

[Senju Kazuki]

OC
Continuing from here: http://www.ninpocho.com/viewtopic.php?f=218&t=47955

IC

After a few hours of shadowy travel, Fuu and Kazuki reached their destination. They popped from the ground, producing a faint sound that was barely audible to human ears. The Oracle certainly would feel a little dizzy and disorientated for a while, unless she had some sort of supernatural resistance, which was not unheard off. But such confusion would then be washed away as something else would take its place. They were in the middle of the desert. Near Barynx's egg lair. Most people equate a desert with an endless sea of sand and the occasional dune. But that was not the only form of a desert could show up as. The pair faced a red plateau, near a old watering hole oasis that had long dried up. The heat in the air was practically unbearable and the sun was blistering hot. The Overlord felt no discomfort, despite the ambient conditions, but what about the the Ashen Haired Woman? The White Wolf was exuding his deathly chill aura, but if she was immune, and had no resistance to heat, like the Silvery Haired Man had, then she would soon be in a bad shape.

But one question lingered. Why were they there? The former Sennin was after a body. A human, long dead, that he wished to resurrect. A former Toraono Warrior, once known as the Shield of Sand. And what better way to help protected Sunagakure, than by using one of their legendary heroes? Reizo had certainly been a formidable fighter, brave and bold, but he had also been reckless. His life cut short by venture alone into carnasaur territory. A valiant action but unnecessary foolish. Death came as expected, but Reizo would be offered a second chance in life. And so, after receiving directions from the All-seeing and All-knowing Oracle, they had come to the Shield's resting place. Seeing where they were and how the man had died, it was clear he never received a proper burial. His corpse left where he had died. But what else would they find in here?

"I have brought us to where you indicated Reizo died. What else can you tell me?" Reaper would inquire Fuu. It was better if he could collect some information about what to expect before venturing on.

[MFT - 380]

 

[Sand Council]

Fuu
The Oracle​

The darkness and gloom which had ensconced them hurled them through the space of many miles, the earth seemed to move swift underfoot and landmarks (albiet there were only a few once they escaped the borders of Sunagakure) whizzed past them as she could only see earth after that. They finally reached their destination after some time, Fuu stumbled away from Kazuki. Her head was swimming and it felt full, her stomach felt like a piñata in that it ached and it felt as if the contents would soon be evacuated. She blinked twice as she attempted to get reacquainted with the daylight and to regain her bearings. She was somewhere, just where? She retched over the parched earth, but her stomach was empty of contents which was for the best considering the transportation afforded to her seemed almost disabling. Ah yes, that was what they were doing, seeking "the Shield, the demon-warrior Toraono Reizo." Fuu was certainly not one who possessed a natural immunity to whatever it was that Kazuki had used to transport them across the desert in a matter of hours. A pair of fingers on Fuu's right temple she asked, "what do you call the shadow transport technique you utilize?" It would be a fact that she would be forced to relegate to her eidetic memory.

She brushed off her cloak and adjusted her collar as she looked around. He had near pinpoint accuracy with this technique, despite the near disabling side-effects. A side effect that curiously enough she was the only one to suffer from come to think of it as the Senju himself appeared rather unscathed. She let out a low cough to clear her throat and looked ahead at the crimson plateau, a massive landmark that placed them unbearably close to an ancient egglair that had likely been long-ago ravaged by scavengers and men alike. The sun was high in the sky, she had to shade her face with her hand to gaze upon the great plateau. They were facing west, Barynx's lair would be at the base of the plateau. She had never personally ventured here, not that it was out of fear but rather practicality. The desert was a dangerous place to travel alone or even in groups; oasis' were rare and treasured but something that could not be depended upon. A trip in the desert necessitated preparation and should not be undertaken without a clear and distinct purpose. Fuu let out a sigh as she unbuttoned her cloak, it was heavy and warm. She would not be able to travel wearing such a heavy thing. Wordlessly she pulled her arms from her sleeves and folded the cloth in half over her arm once and then a second time before the rolled it up like some would a sleeping bad. The cloak seemed to rattle as she gently placed it onto the ground. As for Fuu herself, she was dressed rather plainly. A white tank-top, a pair of khaki shorts and a pair of well-worn hiking boots was all she donned. A bulge in her pocket indicated that she was still carrying something, be it smoke bombs, poisons, EMP grenades, etc. and a silver handle was exposed along the edge of her sock suggesting that she was armed with a small weapon, perhaps a knife. It was hot but the heat was dry which would make it tolerable for a short time as long as she avoided prolonged exposure to direct sunlight. She wondered if the heat would be a detriment to the Senju whose core biology was something she had yet to determine, but whose presence was oftentimes accompanied by a deathly chill.

She would pick up her cloak and rest it beneath her arm before she started to venture in the direction of the plateau before Kazuki would have the chance to ask her anything. She was attempting to flee the sunlight and the heat, they had ventured into the desert ill prepared. Her own ambition to see something new would work against her in this case and perhaps also against the foreign former ANBU Sennin.

"I have brought us to where you indicated Reizo died. What else can you tell me?"

"That his last mission was to destroy what remained of Barynx's egglair. That a terrible monster attacked and that the Shield, the demon-warrior Toraono Reizo fell due to mortal injuries sustained in his battle here. Due to the inherent danger involved in recovering his remains, he was left to lay to rest here. The accounts spoke of a massive, scaled creature that rivaled a sandworm in size that breathed lightning. While the report failed to specify what the creature was, I can only assume that it was a Carnasaur that took Toraono Reizo, the demon shield's life," she explained. What she had told him was a cause for concern, assuming that such a creature still existed out here. The expected lifespan of a sandworm is rather protracted, could the same be said of a carnasaur? That would be hard to say, little research has ever been done on a Canrasaur -- where a sandworm is not necessarily fixated on humans or other living creatures for the most-part as they sustain off the microorganisms in the sand itself, the same cannot be said of carnasaurs. Carnasaurs have a strong predators instinct, their domain does not need to be encroached upon, their young do not need to be threatened nor does the Carnasaur even need to be hungry to attack. "Little is known about carnasaurs, there has never been a survivor's account of a Carnasaur attack, however it is not believed to be an old wives tale because tangible proof of a massive, unaccounted for creature has been recovered at various points in our history. Due to their relative size and assumed strength, it is believed that Carnasaur's are the apex predator of Wind Country and sustain themselves on sandworms almost in entirety. It is likely that they are one of the reasons Sandworms are also rather uncommon in this country. They breathe lightning and I would have to assume they are cold-blooded due to the reported reptilian creatures, but that is as far as my books will be of assistance." She warned. The two of them would never be able to take a Carnasaur on themselves, their best chancwe would be to flee or to hide if one were to rear its head. Of course, if Fuu were to find such a glorious creature her first inclination would not be to destroy it but rather to watch it. As for Kazuki, perhaps he would be more pragmatic in his approach, however neither would be successful if they attempted to co-exist with the dangerous creature.

"The entrance to Barynx's egglair would be at the base of the plateau," she added as she continued a brisk pace in the direction of the great plateau. It would not be a long jaunt, several minutes at most. Enough for a fine mist of sweat to form over Fuu's brow and for the sun to already turn her skin pink but they were shaded by the great landmass before them. The lair would appear simple enough, a massive hole that burrowed into the ground that would open up into a cavern if they were to immediately enter. There would be no eggs in here still, those destroyed, ravaged or stolen centuries earlier. The stone-like fragments that resembled curved pieces of shale littered the floor but there was nothing else here. No worm. No body. No Carnasaur. Of course this is not the end of the adventure, bit rather the beginning. From here they would have to retrace Reizo's steps.

 

[Senju Kazuki]

"what do you call the shadow transport technique you utilize?" were Fuu's first words after recovering from Kazuki's transportation technique. The Overlord stared at her for a second there. He had never thought of naming that technique, but come to think of it, all great swords had names, so why not label such ability with one as well? He pondered for a bit until he found one combination that seemed to suit perfectly. "Shadow Step." he calmly replied. The Silvery Haired Man noticed as he Fuu began undressing her customary cloak. The White Wolf's clothing was sparse to begin with, but he rarely felt discomfort from the elements. A nice and little side effect of the things that made him gray prematurely. Reaper was glad that she was not unharmed, although he doubted such tiny blade would be nothing but a nuisance to an aggressor. At the least the kind they could find out here. Before the former Sennin could say anything, Fuu was gone. She had started walking toward the plateau, something that led Kazuki to conclude was a sure way to evade the intense heat. After flexing his entire musculature, the Overlord calmly followed her.

On their way toward Barynx's lair, the White Wolf would quesstion the Oracle about more facts regarding the late Toraono Reizo. "That his last mission was to destroy what remained of Barynx's egglair. That a terrible monster attacked and that the Shield, the demon-warrior Toraono Reizo fell due to mortal injuries sustained in his battle here. Due to the inherent danger involved in recovering his remains, he was left to lay to rest here. The accounts spoke of a massive, scaled creature that rivaled a sandworm in size that breathed lightning. While the report failed to specify what the creature was, I can only assume that it was a Carnasaur that took Toraono Reizo, the demon shield's life. Little is known about carnasaurs, there has never been a survivor's account of a Carnasaur attack, however it is not believed to be an old wives tale because tangible proof of a massive, unaccounted for creature has been recovered at various points in our history. Due to their relative size and assumed strength, it is believed that Carnasaur's are the apex predator of Wind Country and sustain themselves on sandworms almost in entirety. It is likely that they are one of the reasons Sandworms are also rather uncommon in this country. They breathe lightning and I would have to assume they are cold-blooded due to the reported reptilian creatures, but that is as far as my books will be of assistance." Carnasaur eating Sandworms? Out of the frying pan into the fire it would seem. The Silvery Haired Man silently listened to all that Fuu had to share. His hands were behind his back now as he walked the same path as Reizo had, a long time ago.

"The entrance to Barynx's egglair would be at the base of the plateau." the Ashen Haired Woman noted moments later. Reaper nodded and kept his silence. He was still processing the information she had shared with him. Although this quest had started with a specific purpose, and one that seemed danger free, Kazuki now faced a very dangerous situation. Reizo had been left for dead in Barynx's egg lair, killed by a Carnasaur, the Wind Country's apex predator. A creature that regularly fed on sandwyrms. If one was still inside, they were good as dead. Well, he could always use Fuu as bait and get the hell of out there, but that would be a poor thanks for her assistance. The entrance to the egg lair was nothing but a simple, yet massive, hole in the ground. Upon breaching it, silently and carefully, the pair would find a massive cavern. The floor was littered with stone-like fragments, resembling dried out eggs. But for the most part, the cavern was empty. The Overlord shrugged his shoulders and motioned for Fuu to stay silent. The lair seemed vacant, but predators could be lurking. The Oracle would also notice that the White Wolf's shadow had risen and was covering him. She would spot her own doing the same. This was a simple trick that could conceal them from sight, but not from anything else. If the Carnasaurs primarily resorted to the sense of smell, and they were there, then this would not do a thing to stop them.

Staying close to a wall, step by step Reaper would venture further in.

 

[Sand Council]

Fuu
The Oracle​

The air was cool and dry, shadows loomed and beyond the mouth of the cavern there was no natural source of light. Darkness of both the Senju's shadows and the gloom of the cavern itself would soon ensconce them. Their footsteps were soft, but underfoot the porcelain-like shells did crunch. Their breath, faint and near non-existent. Kazuki's perpetual chill and the Oracle's sun-provided warmth radiated into the small cavern. They would smell like any human would, a natural musk or cologne that would permeate the air with its own strange bouquet. Fuu's fingers brushed against the wall as she took slow, deliberate steps. Her golden eyes could see nothing beyond the first few dozen yards, the actual nest was massive in size and she could only guess the dimensions.

She did not know the exact resting place of the shield, only that his final battle was fought here. Men were not considered food to worms but they were to carnasaurs, yet this is a moment that Kazuki would need to notify Fuu of something that she did not know. A Dark Sage does not require a body, he only requires his essence. His body would be reduced to bones and a sandworm's waste did in fact produce carmot but what of a carnasaur who gorged itself on the remains of worms and man. Yes, it was unlikely that Kazuki would find the intact remains of the Toraono but that he would rather find parts of him -- a femur in a pile of refuse long ago turned to dust, a fractured skull or even a few nuggets of a patella or scapula. That he would find of course, if on purpose or by pure providence if his foot met the crescent-shaped bowl-like bone that was one a man's skull. In theory, it could have been anybody -- perhaps there were many others who died unrecorded as they attempted to destroy what remained of this egglair. An unlikely fact, that Fuu's records would be so incomplete.

The air seemed to shift and move, almost vibrate with an unseen energy. "Senju, do you feel that?" Fuu whispered. She stopped in her tracks but she could not hear any movement. Her skin progressively became cooler in Kazuki's presence and she felt outright frigid at this moment. There was no other temperature disturbance just yet, only something strange in the air that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up on end. In the blackness there was a spark, it was a brilliant blue and crackled outward. With snaking, twisting arcs of electrical current that traveled cross a protracted distance the area before Kazuki and Fuu was struck with a massive bolt of raw electricity. The stone scorched, it was petrified into something that would resemble glass but they would not have long to appreciate this change as stones from the wall displaced and buried the skull fragment that Kazuki so prized. The lightning also illuminated this massive space, but only for a moment. There was a mistake in Fuu's records after all or perhaps an alternative resident had made a home here as this was not a den for sandworms but rather one for carnasaurs. The one before them, the one that she... they likely saw for only a fraction of a moment was certainly massive but by no means near the five-hundred feet that records had indicated. This was an infant? Larger than most men, this scaled reptilian creature opened its maw in the darkness a second time and a glowing spark emitted behind a row of jagged teeth. Behind the creature were intact eggs, likely much like the one that this hatchling had emerged from but thankfully there was no mother present.

"...baby Carnasaur."

 

[Senju Kazuki]

Kazuki was unsure how long ago had Reizo been slain. He was not hoping to find a perfectly preserved corpse, but he did hope to find some remains. He had no need for a full body, but he still required a DNA sample to do his magic trick. The Overlord was on the lookout of anything that resembled to belong to a deceased human. A partial skull, a broken femur, some ribs. Anything would work for him, as long as he could sort out if they belong to Reizo or not. But even if there was no physical way to figure it out, he could always use some spiritual means to discern them. "Senju, do you feel that?" Fuu would question him, breaking complete silence. She had whispered, but in a place devoid of sound, it echoed like a scream. The White Wolf almost shrank with it as he turned around to fulminate her with his black irised gaze. Yes, he had felt a sudden surge of energy. He also noticed she was not moving at all, but so was his progression halted when he turned around. He felt this kind of energy before. The hair on the back of his neck stand up as electricity was congregated somewhere in their area. The Silvery Haired Man had fought a creature, not long ago, that had the same effects on humans. But that one had been slain and was under Reaper's guidance now. This unseen foe was not. The pitch black darkness of the cave was suddenly washed away as a spark emerged. A lightning bolt suddenly scorched the area in front of them, glassing the rock. They had been saved. If it were not for Fuu's question, they would have been hit instead.

The lightning allowed them full view of the cave, even if for an instant only. The egg lair of Barynx was gone. This was an egg lair for carnasaurs. Their opponent? A baby carnasaur according to the Oracle. They had intruded into an active lair and this infant creature was certainly trying to defend its still unborn brothers and sisters. A baby she said. That was no comforting words. The carnasaur species was the apex predator of Sunagakure, even a baby was a dangerous foe. But unlike an adult one, perhaps one they could vanquish. His main form of attack seemed to be that lighting attack, and as they knew, lighting attacks were very, very fast. A blob of shadows abruptly rose from the ground, behind the former Sennin. It keep growing and engorging itself till it was towering both humans. A second electricity surge would reach them as Kazuki summoned something from the lore of the world. Zzzax, the Lightning Lord. A creature he had recently slain and could prove to be very helpful in their current struggle. Being entire made of lightning, Zzzax not only had the ability to attract lightning but he was also practically immune to them. If Fuu's knowledge pool went back as far as pre-humanity and pre-ancient, then she would recognize the Overlord's summon for what it was. Millennia or more ago, on the world's surface an endless war took place. Five clans, entirely made out of elementals, struggled for complete dominance. Each clan represented a basic element, and they had been the basis for the five main countries of their world. Each clan was lead by the greatest of the elementals, the Five Elemental Lords. The White Wolf and the Steward had fought Zzzax, because the Lords had allied with the Cosmic and primordial entity known as the Phoenix Force.

The blob of shadows receded, revealing the primordial entity, that once lead the Lightning Clan against the other clans. The 15 feet tall creature distanced itself from Fuu and his master and growled back at the carnasaur. With so much darkness, the Silvery Haired Man was right where he wanted to be. Shadows were his domain and where he thrived. His shadows had been slowly and silently been spreading toward the baby as he tried to ensnare it with the Nara's basic shadow trap. No sudden movements were needed. And for him to acquire what he had come to get, the carnasaur had to go.

OC
Summoned Zzzax - For the purpose of this thread, we can consider he has the One with the Sky CA, if you allow it.
Used the Shadow Possession- Shadow Binding Technique on the carnasaur.

 

[Sand Council]

Fuu
The Oracle​

The baby carnasaur made a strange high-pitched squeal, it sounded like a soprano yowling cat if one could imagine such a sound. It was an infant's distress cry in fact and it was calling for its mother. Apparently its mother, wherever it was had left for a time but who knows how far and if it was into the deeper depths of the cavern or if she would be waiting for them outside. A rattling sound escaped the creature's throat as its slitted reptilian eyes even in the pitch dark blackness spied the pair. Was their primary sense sight in the dark, or scent, or sound? Fuu was a rather curious woman, dangerously so. It could not be sight, not in the dark -- unless... heat? She crept forward another pair of steps away from Kazuki, his frigid aura was diametrically opposed to her rather normal core body temperature. Did the creature follow her? No.

The darkness and the gloom would shift and boil but this would be left unseen and unfelt, this intangible blackness that seemed to have a life of its own as it was compelled by the will of the Senju. This was more his domain than even the residents of the lair as the shadows took hold of the infant carnasaur. A reptile perhaps most unfortunate in the dawn of its existence to come upon the former ANBU Sennin. Meanwhile Fuu squinted into the obscurity, she could not see where the calignosity ended and the beast began. The creature was halted, a guttural sound escaped it once again before it again cried out for its mother.

Fuu was feeling apprehensive, not because there was a carniverous beast that nobody had ever survived a personal encounter against to tell the tale but rather because one such legendary and rare creature was before them and she could not see a damned thing. She knew roughly where the creature was, it was just something she was capable of but exactly what was not clandestinely transpiring between the pair was a mystery to her. "What is happening?" She asked, with no notebook to record for posterity she needed to memorize each passing moment.

With those words, the Carnasaur's attention finally had direction, its already open maw again started to glow with an infinitesimal spark that grew rapidly over the course of 3.5 seconds one could count and then again a twisting chain of lightning escaped from behind a jagged row of teeth and struck Fuu squarely. She let out a scream and she could hear it echo back at herself as she fell to the floor. Her body felt numb and limp, painful jolts of pain seemed to creep throughout her body. Her clothes were burned, the metal rivets in her shorts had actually burned into her with a searing heat. The soles of her boots were partly melted. She struggled to rise, while the grin could not be seen in the darkness it was there while not immediately apparent. Driven by sound, she mentally concluded.

Meanwhile the Carnasaur would try to break free of the Senju's grasp and fail. Also, a creature made of pure electrical energy would be summoned. This provided a trace of illumination in this otherwise tarry space. Fuu would still be on the ground, her arm spastically attempting to rise and grab hold of a stone to balance herself on so that she could pull herself upright. The carnasaur would be standing some forty paces from where they were, still. Its eyes fixed on this traveler pair. There were other eggs, unhatched but in the distance it would appear that a few were cracked and one even appeared to be rocking. This lone infant would soon have a family to fill this nest but they had time. Not long but they had time. Another spark seemed to manifest from within the infant carnasaur, aimed again at the oracle who was struggling to stand. When this bolt was unleashed it seemed to detour mid patch and strike Zzzax squarely.

OC: Time to play a badass Kazuki.

 

[Senju Kazuki]

Shadows were everywhere. This was Kazuki's domain, as one possible Deep Court Ancient, as a Nara, and Zabucho knew what. With so much darkness the creature had to use other means of locating its prey, rather than using its sight. Maybe through sound or heat. With his chilly aura, the Overlord was uncertain if his body radiated any traceable heat, unlike Fuu. So assuming he could not be located through heat signatures, the baby carnasaur would have to hunt him down via sound. And for as long as he remained silent and motionlessness, he could not be targeted. Unfortunately, if he was not able to be targeted then the Oracle certainly could be. "What is happening?" the Ashen Haired Woman foolishly questioned, revealing her position to the infant apex predator. The White Wolf almost face palmed at this. Was she forgetting in what kind of predicament they were? This was no trek to the local library. They were in real danger and if not careful, they could die. With Fuu's location known, the carnasaur unleashed a second bolt of lightning that hit right on the mark. The Oracle's body was thrown away from its original position as she let out a cry of pain. The Silvery Haired Man remained where he were, his mouth still closed. He could smell the burnt clothing.

Unlike the Carnasaur, Reaper had no real means of knowing where his foe really was, but with so much shadow around, he really did not need it. By considering a large enough radius, he would launch his trap toward that area and eventually the predator would be caught. And so it was. Firmly under his grasp, it was time to initiate his plan. One on one, he had no chance of coming out on top, but what if he had reinforcements? Lots of reinforcements. Zzzax, the Lightning Lord, came forth from the void. The place where his host of souls were stored, waiting to be called. Being a creature made of pure lightning, its mere presence provided a much needed lighting source, albeit a weak one. Despite being bound, the creature was still able to launch its bolts and so a second one was aimed at Fuu. Luckily for her, Zzzax's presence acted as a lightning rod and attracted it, saving her from a possible untimely death. With a death avoided, it was time to act. The former Sennin's body would soon be covered with pitch black runes as he activated one of the seals in his arsenal. In fact, a tiny lunar marking on his chest would shine momentarily as he kicked start his Lunar Seal. A second patch of shadowy tendrils would make its way toward the Carnasaur, slowly rising from its paws until they would intertwine with each other on the beast's neck, starting to squeeze it.

And more reinforcements would come. First, Kazuki would call upon the strongest demon, the Youkai Contract had to offer. And this trustworthy legion of ghouls would emerge from the ground. He was not done yet, but things were starting to be uneven for the baby creature.

Actions
Maintain Shadow Possession- Shadow Binding Technique
Activate Lunar Seal - Rank 2- 1AP using Initiave
Use Shadow Neck Bind - Shadow Strangulation Jutsu - Rank 3 on the Carnasaur - 2AP
Use Contract Summoning - S Rank to summon Zangyaku - S Rank Summon - 4.5 AP
Use Resurrection Technique: Corpse Soil - B-Rank Ninjutsu - Master - 2.5AP

Conditionals
Reapply Shadow Possession- Shadow Binding Technique - Rank 3 on the Carnasaur if he breaks free

Zzzax
Activates Thunder Armor and Channel Thunder

 

[Sand Council]

Fuu
The Oracle​

A small army was forming alongside the Dark Sage, a massive demon was summoned and the undead were clawing through the ground to the surface. Their aged and rotted flesh gave them a grotesque appearance that was nothing in comparison to their smell. The electrical current that overcharged her nervous system had started to resolve, she could feel her legs. It was painful to move but she was able to do so in the dim ambiance. She placed her hands together and ran through an array of seals. She was not looking to attack the creature, oh no-no-no... This was a once in a lifetime chance. Demons and living corpses and shadows oh my!

The Carnasaur would eventually break free of the gloom that tethered him so, but his freedom would be short-lived as shadowy hands reached out once again for the reptile and froze him in place once more but not before the carnasaur's claws cut through one of Kazuki's zombies. The zombie turned to dust but none still remained. A flurry of papers were created by Fuu's ninjutsu, it was not an offensive attack --never. Kazuki seemed to have the dinosaur well in hand, she needed so document this battle. Not only was there a legendary creature but there were monsters who came in response to the foreign former ANBU Sennin's call. His dabbling in the dark and the forbidden seemed to have worked out favorably in his case. The sheets of paper rumbles and rustled, one even torn but she snatched them all the same and in time as the Carnasaur shot out another electrical attack in Fuu's direction before she scurried off into the shadows. It only grazed her and burnt her arm. This time she was not simply standing in the gloom, but rather she hid in the darkness (stealth). Was it the act of a coward? No, not entirely. It was the prudent choice to hide and watch. With the illuminating presence of Kazuki's summon, sight was no longer a deficit for either party and she doubted the Carnasaur was born blind, they had optic cavities that would otherwise have gone to waste.

The field had grown to encompass a small battalion against a single infant Carnasaur. The Senju, covered in symbols also forbidden, the Carnasaur tried once again electrocute this time the adventurous Sennin. The bolt re-directed again to Zzzax, the injuries should have been severe and dire having taken two full hits as such but Zzzax seemed empowered instead. The injuries certainly present but not nearly as apparent.

 

[Senju Kazuki]

Ally after ally, Kazuki kep calling upon the forces he could muster. Zzzax, undead, a high ranking demon, all came upon his call. The battleground was getting crowded and the odds were stacking on the human side. Despite being attacked, not once, but twice now, Fuu had decided to not to attack the beast. It was clear she was taking this chance to record everything she could about this fight. The Overlord's focus was slightly forcibly shifted away from his enemy as he heard the rustling sound of many sheets of paper. He turned his gaze around to check what the Oracle was doing. To his surprise, despite the damage she clearly had received by now, she was solely driven by the urge to record everything in written form. Instead of helping out, she was concerned about writing a book. So be it, if Reaper had to take a Carnasaur all by himself, then he would do it. He had come to retrieve the remains of a Demon Warrior, known as Toraono Reizo. Not fight with the creature that had signify the man's demise. But if to gain a new host for his Impure World Resurrection Technique, he had to go through a baby Carnasaur, then he would do it.

The White Wolf's small army stood ready. The assault could begin. And the creature would fall. They did not have much time. There were more eggs ready to hatch and the mother could be coming to defend her nest. It was time to use big moves. Maximum effort indeed. Joining on his host's barrage, the Silvery Haired Man would launch a couple of massive techniques, but only after adding, yet another player to his crew. Even if he could knock the creature now, it should not be able endure for much longer.

[MFT - 302]

Actions
Maintain Resurrection Technique: Corpse Soil - B-Rank Ninjutsu
Use Elemental Clone Master (Special Action: Earth) - 2AP
Use Dark Displacement Master (Special Action: Full Hit - 2AP
Use Dragon Flame Bomb Master turning it into shadow with Shadow Bend Rank 3 with Minor Affinity move: Debilitate and Scorn of the Lich - Necrosis - 3AP
Use Dragon Flame Bomb Master turning it into shadow with Shadow Bend Rank 3 with Minor Affinity move: Overcharge - 3AP


Zzzax
Use Raijin's Vengeance Mastered (special action selected), with the Channel Thunder from the previous round, on the Carnasaur - 3AP

Corpses
All try to grab the Carnasaur until 4 are successful, then the solely basic strikes.

Zangyaku
Use Utter Chaos – A-Rank Genjutsu (Visual) on the Carnasaur - 3AP
Use Venomous Bite – A-Rank Ninjutsu (with Melee Acc) on the Carnasaur - 3AP

Clone
Uses Earth Flow River Master on the Carnasaur - 1.5AP
Uses Stone Bullet Master on the Carnasaur - 1AP

 

[Sand Council]

Fuu
The Oracle​

Fuu feverishly scrawled a series of notes, diagrams and photographic-quality drawings on the pages of loose-leaf. Her arm charred by the previous assault, she was diligent in this one thing above all others it would appear. A compulsion? An interest? An oddity? For a woman to be so brilliant and yet so foolish as well. Finding something 'new' was exceptionally rare for the Oracle, this much was true. The former Sennin demonstrating his power-set was enlightening to say the least, similar to Five in some ways perhaps that was what gave her notes evidence of that fine tremor. Still there was a great deal that would make it into her notes:
[legend="Notes"]1.) A massive lightning-based creature that acts like a lightning rod.
2.) A strange demon-like creature similar to a summon Kaito possesses.
3.) Images similar to the original, so close in fact that even she could not discern who was the real man and who was the fabrication.
4.) A shadowy dragon that would hurl itself into the Carnasaur and disperse into a cloud of shadow and gloom.
5.) A crytozoological discovery: the Carnasaur. Capable of manifesting lightning from its maw in what would be hypothesized as a 'lightning gland' and it hatched from eggs.
6.) A man capable of summoning a veritable army if given the opportunity.[/legend]

Recording to the point of obsession, this was not a sign of mental illness or dedication to one's craft. Previously she had appeared rather stable considering who or rather what she was and her associations with some of the most important men in the country. Yet now, here she sat on the ground with a pile of papers in her lap scrawling the scenes to a battle that the Senju would be the ultimate victor of. A neophyte, albeit a powerful one that has not yet grasped the true scope of its own strength had cried out twice and in its own way has summoned something much more powerful and experienced than itself. There was a low, steady rumble that could be heard or rather felt as the cavern space shuddered at intervals.

The unfortunate beast let out yet another distress cry and from someplace distant a rumbling roar could be heard in response. Shadowy winged reptilian specters manifested overhead and crashed into the Carnasaur not once but twice, setting the beast ablaze. Dark flames did dance, barely illuminating the immediate space. The hard-packed earth beneath the Carnasaur infant turned to a thick, sticky mire. Another sound, best likened to a scream emanated from the monster before another bolt of electrical energy was released. Wide and frenzied, the rake-like arcing current struck both Fuu and Kazuki, or rather it nearly had as Kazuki melded with the shadows using his personal skillset to evade harm and possible death. Fuu, on the other hand, was badly injured. She seemed aware of her injuries if one would take the time to look at her distressed and pained face but she did not tend to her wound, not did she attempt to flee or even stand to defend herself. It had always been the assumption that she was capable of combat or at the very least able to hide well. She was proficient in both, however it would not appear so at this moment. Obscured by her ashen tresses was a seal at the base of her neck, one of four hidden on her body. Seal of Command: a forbidden technique that made a certain action or command compulsory. There was a clandestine battle between herself for desire of self-preservation and the command that subjugated her in this way, dark blood vessels could be seen that marked her tainted vasculature but the seal was unyielding. Curiosity was a dangerous thing.

The demon was also making swift work of the Carnasaur, his teeth exposed Zangyaku bit into the Carnasaur's flesh. The disease and corruption more vile than the injury itself, the Carnasaur's knees buckled as it staggered in its approach. Long, curved talons cut through the air and into Kazuki not once but twice before the beast fell at the Dark Sage's feet. It was knocked unconscious (had 25K, and this would have been a bit more than 26K at this point in damages done if the shadow-bind constriction from the previous 'round' was included). Meanwhile Fuu's hand was beneath her in the rubble and displaced earth, much of which had already turned to glass. It clattered and clinked but from the ground was a single long bone that she liberated. Her hand bloodied from the excavation she tossed with an underhanded motion over the long bone in Kazuki's direction. She did not saw anything and simply glowered as she stacked the papers she had written on and placed them under her arm. She was able to stand but it was a slightly wider stance than normal. Her hand rested on the slick cavern wall and perhaps served as a crutch. "It would seem that you are a man of many friends Dark Sage Senju," she commented making now an assumption based on Number Five. "A live Carnasaur is unheard of in captivity," she added as she staggered in the direction of the Carnasaur and fell to the ground on her knees alongside the still burning beast. From her pocket she liberated a scroll, not the kind for writing but rather the kind for keeping and attempted to take the Carnasaur in its debilitated state into the pocket-sized scroll.

Notes:

• AP time-stacks are hard: Unlike summons which have the remainder of the round to suffer rez sickness, clones have the duration of the round they are summoned to fight but seconds (there are 10 in a round) is not a clean conversion to AP. Having 2.5 AP for the round or rather per 10 seconds and being created 2 seconds into the rounds gives the clones 8 remaining seconds which would give you 2 AP for the clones for the duration of the round.
• Kazuki is suffering from Rank II Bleed but has most of his HP.
• Fuu is suffering from Rank I Bleed (self inflicted) but has been badly damaged by the Carnasaur. She has 5% of her max HP remaining.
• The Carnasaur is not dead, it is KO'd.
• The Carnasaur called for its mother and she is on her way, she is MUCH stronger than 25K (approx 500K).
• Fuu is attempting to take the Carnasaur with her by placing it in a scroll.
• Fuu has given you a human femur. Is it the Toraono's? (Yes)

 

[Senju Kazuki]

Strike after strike, the Carnasaur fell. It was the logical end of things. He faced a small army alone. Regardless of personal strength and power, nothing could withstand against such odds. Not Kazuki, not Fuu, and certainly not a creature that had barely learned how to walk. Still, the beast was not exactly defenseless as it still managed to inflict grievous wounds on the Overlord's exposed chest. Two gashes were visible on his muscular chest, and they were bleeding profusely. Luckily, with so many shadows around and being a quick healer, the White Wolf would soon recover. Fuu had been stroke a third time, and by looking at her posture and the way she moved around, the Silvery Haired Man concluded she was badly injured. Yet, instead of healing or trying to get the hell of dodge, she was focused on capturing the unconscious creature. The former Sennin could relate to her hunger for knowledge, but she had been acting foolishly since they had entered the cave. He had heard the baby's cries for help and he had heard an answer from deep within the cave. He was aware that if they were to prolong their staying, they would suffer the same fate as Reizo once did. And he was the least interested in that. Reaper commanded his single clone to go forward into the cave so it would face whatever it was coming to end them. His entire corpse collection would grab all of Fuu's laying equipment and the Oracle herself and would drag her out of the cave, if needed. Zangyaku and Zzzax would carry the Carnasaur. But Kazuki was ready to send them away, effectively leaving the creature behind, if they would drag their escape out.

"It would seem that you are a man of many friends Dark Sage Senju," Fuu would note. "I do what I must." the Overlord would answer her. It was a simple answer that did not reveal much, but this was not time for chit chatting. Reaper was hurrying along with the rest of his posse, as they all went, willingly or not, toward the cave's exit. Fortunately it was not far and unless they were going to face any obstacles on their way out, they should leave it rather unscathed. Some more than others. Once outside, assuming they could do so, Kazuki would continue leading this procession of strange creatures into the open, going toward the same emptied out oasis as before. However, right at the entrance, he would cover the carnasaur in his shadows that would suddenly shrink into a sealing scroll that he would held.

 

[Sand Council]

Fuu
The Oracle​

Fuu had knelt alongside the felled beast. It was astonishing, this infant who was likely born in the past few hours and was larger than most men. She ran her fingers over its cool, smooth scales. She had only hypothesized what one would look like. she had seen countless artistic renditions and some were rather close. She could only conjecture before now what one would feel like. This creature was a marvel and she held her breath as she took a small scroll from her pocket. Behind her the dead shuffled about, none of her supplies were still in the cave less the created papers that were beneath her arm and the scroll that was in her diminutive hand. She was exhausted, not that she was any help what-so-ever in the battle but because her mind and body were raging against the seal that compelled her to remain there alongside this unfortunate legendary beast. She did not fight - she could not. She did not flee - she could not. All she could do was assess and record because before her now was something absolutely and utterly new. She knew that something greater was coming, she too heard that distant echoing roar but her knees were locked in that pose. She could not even state what or why she was doing this at the present time because on the surface all of her thoughts revolved around edification at any cost. It was only the deepest parts of her mind, those that had the will of self-preservation that revolted. She was aware of both peripherally but there was nothing she could do.

A corpse, that is one of the ten would snatch these articles - the papers and the scroll from Fuu. The Oracle would protest or at the very least start to before a pair of zombies grabbed her from behind. She would yell at them to stop and try to push the pair back but as she feebly did there were three others waiting. She was knocked over by one and a pair of undead creatures attempted to grab her legs, her face pressed against the ground she kicked them both off but the third of that particular trio had grabbed hold of her shoulder and wrist and twisted her arm behind her back painfully. She let out a rattling scream as she was pulled to her feet. Yet another grabbed hold of her free arm. "Let go!" She yelled as she dug her heels into the ground. "I am not allowed to go!" She insisted, sounding more like a madwoman than the cool, collected Oracle that most had seen. Despite her struggles and her protests as she pulled herself free from one, two more would replace the last and continue to drag her from the cavern.

She calmed only slightly when Zangyaku and Zzzzax heaved the Carnasaur between the two of them and started to carry it from the cave. Fuu's eyes never left the fallen creature. The seal at the base of her neck seemed to grow and Fuu let out a defeated huff as she was dragged along with this procession of bizarre and strange creatures over the brief expanse of desert that would bring them to the Oasis. Her vasculature about her neck and shoulder had turned black, each and every capillary and vein, creating an inky spider's web beneath her pale skin. Her discarded cloak recovered by one of Kazuki's many subordinate summons, it was heavier than one would have expected. A trio of scrolls were hidden in the lining and a strange silver pen was in the breast pocket. She would not even care about her belongings, she craned her neck to continue to watch the carnasur in time to see it devoured by a pool of shadow. She did not even recognize the sound that came from her mouth. She pulled at the corpse pair that had presently restrained her but she could not break free.

Where was it?

Where did it go?

Did he hide it?

Did he break it?

She bit one of the corpses hard, not that it seemed to do much to something that was already rotted and dead. She could feel her arm twist behind her back, it was on the verge of breaking but the pain did nothing to quell her thrashing. These corpses would have been near useless against her if she had not been struck thrice already by the Carnasaur's blast. Only on the edge of consciousness, her intransigence came about as a near lame struggle and even that seemed to be too much for her at this point. The heat from the sun was near overwhelming and her struggle seemed to only hasten her heat exhaustion as she eventually fell limp between a pair of undead minions. One hoisted her over its shoulder and continued the trek to this meeting area, this former oasis.

 

[Senju Kazuki]

Fuu's reactions were quite a curious thing to behold. Kazuki could relate to her hunger for knowledge, but what she was doing was madness. Complete madness. She had forsaken her own defense for the sake of recording the battle. She was purposefully ignore her own health, which was in a terrible condition right now, and even further inflicting injury upon herself, so she could gaze the unconscious Carnasaur. This was folly. No one, if sane, would act like she was. The Overlord never stopped once as he trekked toward the Oasis, but he did come closer to the Oracle, so he could closely watch her craziness. It was then that some light began to be shed about this matter. Now that he was close to her, the White Wolf spotted something odd. The Oracle's neck, specifically her veins, had turn completely black, effectively creating an intricate web-like pattern on that area. Having worked with seals for so long, it was not hard to recognize such signs as part of one. But what kind of seal was that? Something he could figure out on his own, given enough time to study it, but time was a scarce resource and this was not the proper place for such research. He would have to question her. Unfortunately, the struggle combined with the extreme heat lead the Ashen Haired Man to finally black out. This was a godsend as they could finally traverse the remaining distance in peace.

Eventually they reached the dried out Oasis. No longer needed such an extensive army, the Silvery Haired Man sent away all his underlings. First went the demon, quickly followed by Zzzax. Both were enveloped by shadows and simply vanished from the face of the world. The corpse that carried Fuu, gently placed her on the desert floor, beneath a palm tree and followed its brothers down to the earth. It was just Reaper and the Oracle now. The former Sennin placed the femur and the scroll, on the floor, near him. He had what he wanted and could easily start the ritual of resurrection, but he had told Fuu she would see it. And that meant he had to wait for her recovery. But only if he could do not anything about it. Kumogakure had a term for his abilities. Dark Sage was what they called it. And a Sage usually meant a person with great wisdom and knowledge. Kazuki had both and an even greater understanding of the world's jutsus. And within his jutsu pool, the medical techniques were present. Yes, he was incapable of performing the truly epic ones, but simpler ones were not difficult for him to use. First he was going to treat those nasty scars he had on his chest. Then he would treat Fuu's bleeding hand. And then he would use a series of weak healing jutsus to try to restore her health. If this was not enough, then he had two other methods he could rely on. One was summoning something that was more healing able than him. The other was placing a seal on her and let it do the job. If the Mystical Hand proved to be enough for Fuu's recovery, she would wake to find she was inside a crude shelter. The sun above had been blocked using her cloak. Beside her, the Oracle could find a wooden bowl filled with fresh water. Kazuki would be seating in front of her, with his back resting on a second palm tree's branch. The large femur resting on his right side and he would be playing with a scroll. The very same that housed the living, baby carnasaur.

OC
Used Coagulation Mastered on myself and Fuu.
Used Mystical Hand Mastered on Fuu until she recovers consciousness.

 

[Sand Council]

Fuu
The Oracle​

Kauki was correct, what she was doing or rather had done was nothing short of madness. It went beyond curiosity or even zeal to foolish and self-destructive obsession. Quite some time ago the Oracle was sealed thrice, and these seals made what she did a compulsion rather than a desire in many cases but there was always this thick line of grey where it was hard to define where the real woman started and the spell began. Forcibly trained as an Oracle after her mentor and all those like her were destroyed, it should not be shocking in the least to learn that she had fled her prison and once she escaped she would not dutifully serve a dead vocation and yet here she was, recording. Fuu was laid to rest beneath the palm. If it was not for Kazuki's intervention her compulsion would have proved fatal on this day; it was an unnecessary kindness considering the fact that he had everything he needed from her.

In the time between her loss of consciousness and recovery she did not dream, she never did. All she saw was a black, blank abyss or perhaps that was just the back of her eyelids and she had never slept at all. She had no idea how long she had been unconscious, had it been a few minutes or a few hours... it was impossible for her to know because she woke in the shade. It was an unusual experience for an Oracle, a sense of utter befuddlement. During this unknown duration of time, one thing was certain -- the Reaper had been busy. Her body had been badly burned by the electrical energies of the Carnasaur, but her flesh did not seem quiet so damaged but she was still pained. That was likely the Senju's medical intervention at work. She tried to sit up, to look around in a cautious silence but failed. The back of her neck throbbed and she tried to bring her hand to the back of her neck. Assuming she was capable of at least this feat, her hand would return to her vision painted with blood. The seal, unless external intervention had taken place would be still intact but her body did revolt against this dark art. The will of even a human was limited to their physical capacity it would seem and hers was incapable of overriding the seals' effect even when the risk was to her life. "Not again" she would whisper out loud.

She would look skyward and see the canopy that was the underside of her cloak and then with effort in the direction of the Senju, a femur and a scroll. The Oracle did not know or at least comprehend that the Carnasaur was sealed inside - only that it was a scroll that looked like any other so the scroll alone without stated value would not elicit a response from her if that was what Kazuki intended. She was wracked with pain but her expression did not bear the burden. It was not that she was incapable of eliciting an emotional expression but rather time and caution have suggested that otherwise would be the best course of action. "Thank you," she concluded after a moment of fitful silence. It was the conclusion to an assessment but there was the intonation of a query in her voice. One that begged to ask not what happened because that she was able to vaguely determine but rather why. What she knew for now was that she was in better condition than she should have been and that while removing her from the cavern was done at minimal expense to the foreign ANBU Sennin and former diplomat that the efforts were also unnecessary for the near stranger to provide. "This is unexpected I diffidently admit," she announced.

She was apprehensive but fought to not show it. She was not like most shinobis, her skills were certainly learned as were theirs but it was rare she ever actually entered a room that she was not already completely or mostly in control of. There was no off-the-cuff decisions, Macgyver-like creations or decisions made in haste without a lengthy consideration of the variables which gave her an advantage that for the most part no skill-set could override. Still, that would not be a terrible thing to make a spontaneous choice but perhaps not here with a man who eats souls and a man who has strangely enough not yet consumed hers. And that was why she had to ask, she had to know. "Why am I alive?"

OC: Was not sure if you were trying to test her reaction to the scroll/Carnasaur or not. Also, not sure of your plans here so kept this short in case you had a direction/plan.

 

[Senju Kazuki]

Despite Kazuki's medical efforts, Fuu's recovery took time, but eventually the Oracle recovered and woke up from her forced slumber. The first sign of such recovery came when she opened up her eyes. Her gaze would, undoubtedly see the ceiling of the Overlord's makeshift cover, consisting of her own cloak. The second recovery sign showed up as Fuu tried to sit, only to be stopped midway as pain coursed through her entire frame. It even included touching the base of the neck. The same place the White Wolf thought it was the location that she had been sealed something. "Not again" she would whisper, still loud enough for the male Senju to hear. Not again? Then this meant this was a recurring event. Either passing out due to the seal, or the activation of the seal. Or perhaps something else that still eluded the Silvery Haired Man. "Thank you" Fuu would say after gazing upon the direction Reaper sat. The former Sennin would offer no words in return, simply staring back. His hands were still busy playing with the scroll that contained a living, yet unconscious, Carnasaur. Something the Oracle was unaware of, but would soon learn. "This is unexpected I diffidently admit. Why am I alive?" and then the Oracle would ask the million dollar question.

Why indeed? Such a simple question but with several answers. And all correct. The first explanation was quite simple. Kazuki always tried to avoid needlessly killings. If he had no reason to kill someone, he always opted to stop his hand, unless he really had no other choice. The second was as plain. Yes, he required souls. It was an active and constant need of his. Perhaps part of his Ancient genealogy, but had recently absorbed one. Specifically Zzzax's essence. And this being was a former primordial Elemental Lord. A being whose power was so great, that he had leadership over the entire Lightning caste. And absorbing such a creature had filled the Overlord's hunger for a while. The third answer was equally as uncomplicated. The Ashen Haired Lady was part of the Cabal, while the White Wolf was part of Suna's Shinobi forces. And that meant they were enemies. But despite that, she was still more useful to him alive, than dead. The Oracle was a pool of knowledge, one that the SIlvery Haired Man had full intention of using as much as possible. And last, but certainly not least, Reaper and Fuu had a deal. And the former Sennin always fulfilled the end of the bargain. And since he had enlisted her assistance to find Reizo's remains, offering her the chance of seeing how a Dark Sage resurrected someone, he was going to ensure she would be able to witness it.

All answers were equally true, but she had no need to know them all. One would have to suffice. "We have a deal going on. I always fulfill my part. If you were to die, how could I? I said I was going to let you see one of my rituals, not that I was going to perform one, on you." Kazuki finally answered. He also stopped playing with the scroll. "You have some strange markings in your neck. If I have any understanding about seals, I would surmise you have a seal there. Am I incorrect?" the Overlord would question her, using the scroll to point toward her neck, as implausible it would seem since he was seating in front of her, despite the distance. "And I also surmise that your little dementia episode you experienced back there, was a product of said seal. Am I incorrect?" he would further question her. The truth was that the White Wolf was curious about her. Or at least at the reason she had been sealed. The Silvery Haired Man had sealed himself to gain power. But her seal was different, it had to be. Why would someone slap such a seal on her? Because it was clear this was not her own work. No one sane would do such a thing. "If, by now, you are wondering why I have a scroll in my hands, I can offer you an explanation. And for free. This is where the carnasaur is stored. The scroll will remain in my possession until I see fit to give it you. Rest assured you will receive it, but only at a time of my choosing. But you will have to earn it." he would tell her, effectively toying with her. And this was a way to ensure they would meet again. And under his own terms this time.

[MFT - 772]

 

[Sand Council]

Fuu
The Oracle​

She was initially met with silence. She was still badly injured, while the Carnasaur they met was a mere neonate yet taking such a direct blow more than once would have killed most. She made a second weak effort to sit or rise but failed to accomplish much more than a restless-seeming shift in her position.

"We have a deal going on. I always fulfill my part. If you were to die, how could I? I said I was going to let you see one of my rituals, not that I was going to perform one, on you."

A cold chill ran through her, not at the statement of what could have been but rather what had already been done. A third seal, one that even she had briefly forgot about. "Much appreciated Senju," she rasped. The third time the charm, with gritted teeth and a badly burned torso she sat upright. "I doubt I will find respite in death." His fingers continued to meddle with the scroll, the pain she was in seemed to cloud her interest but her mind took note of this as it had everything she had experienced during her waking moments.

"You have some strange markings in your neck. If I have any understanding about seals, I would surmise you have a seal there. Am I incorrect?"</B><i></i>

"Yes," she admitted. The Oracle had no reason to lie. It was one of three, but she had seen worse done to others.

"And I also surmise that your little dementia episode you experienced back there, was a product of said seal. Am I incorrect?"
<i></i>
<B>"I would not call it dementia," she corrected as she reached back to the site of the seal. Her fingers slid back out, streaked with clotting blood. She looked at it with clinical interest as if she was checking for something, which she was -- she wanted to make sure her bleeding would stop. "More like a compulsion, I was aware of what I was doing but some needs are overwhelming." She admitted. The seal was not as simple as 'if one lacks an answer then one must find one' but rather takes a qualitative aspect where the knowledge must be relevant and useful. "The seal is almost ironic and poorly thought out," she added. It had more to do with her information sharing than even her sealer could have considered. Almost akin to Satoru and his ultimate downfall.

If, by now, you are wondering why I have a scroll in my hands, I can offer you an explanation. And for free. This is where the carnasaur is stored. The scroll will remain in my possession until I see fit to give it you. Rest assured you will receive it, but only at a time of my choosing. But you will have to earn it."

Fuu took in a deep, shuddering breath. THAT was not a good plan. She grasped a handful of sand between her long pale fingers. "Can you quantify a price?"

 

[Senju Kazuki]

"I would not call it dementia. More like a compulsion, I was aware of what I was doing but some needs are overwhelming.The seal is almost ironic and poorly thought out." Fuu would answer, essentially confirming Kazuki's suspicions. Yes, she had been sealed, and her crazy episode was the result of the seal. It was an unfortunate thing. The Overlord had plenty of seals on his body, but all of them had been placed by himself, and certainly not against his will. The Oracle's one seemed to be otherwise. No one, if perfectly sane, would request such a thing. The White Wolf shook his head. "I suspect you were sealed against your will. And the seal is certainly not for your benefit." he stated. Considering what he had seen before, this was no wild guess, but still a guess. An educated guess if you will. "I have some knowledge about seals." he noted. The understatement of the year. "I can try to remove them if you want. A word of caution though. I do not know how they applied the seal, which means my extraction methods might not be effective or harmless. In fact, we should not discard death from the equation. There are many ways to prevent the unsealing of one, I know a few myself. If you do want it and assuming you perfectly recall the event, I can increase the success chance to sixty percent. It your choice." the Silvery Haired said. His offer was genuine and almost for free. In fact, he had more to gain from this and than the Oracle. He would learn a new seal, there was the chance of removing a member of the Cabal.

The conversation then shifted focus to the scroll that the former Sennin held in his hands. After revealing what was inside, he could see Fuu's brain cells activating. In fact, he thought he saw a facial expression indicating hunger in her. Yeah, she had taken the bait and whole. "Can you quantify a price?" she would question. Of course could. If Fuu was expecting Reaper to ponder for a while, she was sorely mistaken. He had already everything planned out. "The price is not a monetary value. I have no interest in personal wealth. But I do want something in return. You are an Oracle. You are a broker of information and what I want is information. I want you to give me detailed files of all the enemies of Sunagakure. Present and future." and there it was. That was his price. Was it simple? Probably not, but there would be no bargain. "I accept nothing less than what I have requested. Maybe this is a not a simple price to pay, but I am certain as an Oracle, you are capable of so much more. I have faith in you. Tell me how much time you need and we shall meet again once the deadline is reached. Same place as before. The ruins of the old Kazekage tower. Until then, the scroll stays with me." and with those words said, the scroll would be engulfed in shadows and that would shrink until they were gone. Now only Kazuki could retrieve them. "Unto bigger things. Time to bring Reizo back. Are you comfortable enough? Can I do something to ease your pain? This ritual might take a while." the Overlord would question the Oracle. It was time to do what they had came here to do.

 

[Sand Council]

Fuu
The Oracle​

"I suspect you were sealed against your will. And the seal is certainly not for your benefit."

She nodded an affirmation, the Senju would be correct in his hypothesis. Yes, she was an Oracle. The last true Oracle and that was what made her exceedingly valuable to the Daimyō, when she escaped all those years ago and fled to the badlands her mental faculties were a great resource that not only assured her escape but also her survival and subsequent employment with the Cabal. The Cabal was not always a terrorist group although most of them harbored resentment towards Sunagakure for their lack of intervention on the behalf of the countryside when the maelstrom came. They were 'treasure hunters' if you were as simple as Naganisa in explaining what they were. They sought various valuable artifacts and then either utilized them or sold them for a hefty price. Her mind was why she was integrated into this group, simply put who besides her would know every story... every legend... every account of almost everything that has happened in Wind Country. Still, her studies ceased when she escaped and when she joined with the Cabal. That was until she was found and recovered. It was foolish for her to assume that someone with the skill-set she had would remain an utter unknown forever, it was almost cruel that Daimyō Ishii would sent her son Shouki to retrieve her. Yet she was recovered by the Jashinist teen, he had grown strong those years in her absence and no less merciless. He brought her back to Sora where she was brought before Ogasawara Nao, better known these days as Number Five where he placed three seals on her.

"I have some knowledge about seals."

Kazuki announced, but that was not something that set the woman's mind at ease. Seals were a dangerous, terrible thing. A source of fear for the Cabalist, although her expressions rarely betrayed her. "As do I," she admitted solemnly. "These are well outside the scope of anything short of a Sage," she explained. "Seals are nothing to dabble in, they can restrain your consciousness, your form, your strength and even your will." Things she knew and saw first hand when she saw what Number Five did to those men and those children.

"I can try to remove them if you want. A word of caution though. I do not know how they applied the seal, which means my extraction methods might not be effective or harmless. In fact, we should not discard death from the equation. There are many ways to prevent the unsealing of one, I know a few myself. If you do want it and assuming you perfectly recall the event, I can increase the success chance to sixty percent. It your choice."</B><i></i>

Seemingly undeterred by the inherent dangers in seals he went on to make an offer to give her respite from the cull. The back of her neck throbbed and bled, but that was not the seal that she feared the most. "And how can a woman die better than facing fearful odds, for the ashes of her ancestors, and the temples of her false Gods?" She quoted, it was something Nao said once as she struggled to move. She healed fast, it was uncanny on its own but still it required time. "I would rather escape my final fate than my present," she rasped as she revealed a seal she had previously not shared with anyone located on her abdomen. It was small and almost unnoticeable at this time because it was dormant, something needed to happen to activate the seal but this seal would be one that the Dark Sage would recognize although it would be one he had not yet used in this way. It was a seal of Impure World Resurrection, yet she was not yet dead. She had been pre-sealed it would appear in case of her death. It would tether her to the Soverign long after her untimely death. "The reason my safety has been a non-concern for my compulsion," she explained as she revealed her seal. "Death would be a relief to me considering the pains of my existence, but as long as this remains... your failure would only condemn me to an existence of eternal subjugation." She released a breath, "so if you were to try to unseal me at a risk to my survival... odds are best in my favor, as well as yours," she was not threatening him but rather making a statement because she did not know if there was a command or a compulsion attached "to make sure if you fail that I remain dead." It was an odd thing to contemplate ones mortality, she did not want to die. Not anymore, but she had for a long time. Still, there were things more dreadful and painful than death.

Kazuki revealed the contents of the scrolls. She would be compelled to try to take it, thankfully she could not at this present time but that would not be forever. Still the seal at the base of her neck was scalding hot, but beyond her pained expression that was barely different from before there would be no external sign of this. Still, he mentioned a 'price' to pay and a query was made, hopefully enough to satisfy the Exigency Seal.

"The price is not a monetary value. I have no interest in personal wealth. But I do want something in return. You are an Oracle. You are a broker of information and what I want is information. I want you to give me detailed files of all the enemies of Sunagakure. Present and future."

"That is something I can provide, but at great risk to yourself." She revealed, her gaze bore past the foreign former ANBU Sennin. "You see, I am compelled to learn at risk to myself. I am tethered to one of the Daimyō's friends<i></i> (since English is not your first language this word choice is important because she did not say 'subordinate' or something of that nature)<B> in case of my untimely demise likely due to efforts to edify myself. But I am also compelled to share all I know with the Daimyō, and thus I would be forced to share that you know. I have been feeding Sunagakure tidbits of information for the past year, but nothing concentrated enough that I would be forced to likely mention." He was asking for much more than the scraps she had given the others, too much. His safety was not truly her concern, he was no friend of hers although in a different world and a different place perhaps that might have been different. She stuck out her tongue following her statement, not in a childish way but so that something odd would be revealed ascribed on the surface of her pink tongue. A seal much like the one at the base of her neck, but this one was not bleeding nor was it actively paining her. She had no need to combat the effects of this seal in particular at this present time.

"I accept nothing less than what I have requested. Maybe this is a not a simple price to pay, but I am certain as an Oracle, you are capable of so much more. I have faith in you. Tell me how much time you need and we shall meet again once the deadline is reached. Same place as before. The ruins of the old Kazekage tower. Until then, the scroll stays with me."

Insistent. She was reflecting back on a truth she had learned over the years: that people heard what they wanted to hear, saw what they wanted, believed what they wanted. And he wanted to believe that knowledge did not come with an inherent consequence, one that she warned him of. She would groan as the scroll was constricted into nothingness by the shadows.

"Unto bigger things. Time to bring Reizo back. Are you comfortable enough? Can I do something to ease your pain? This ritual might take a while."

"I am fine," Fuu lied. "Show me what you can bring back from the world's end."

 

[Senju Kazuki]

"These are well outside the scope of anything short of a Sage," she explained. "Seals are nothing to dabble in, they can restrain your consciousness, your form, your strength and even your will.". Kazuki shook his head. She was only partly correct. It was true that there wre seals only those beings known as Dark Sages knew about. And yes, there were souls that were nothing but malign. Doing exactly what she had told him just now. But there were also seals that had nothing but a benign function and any corroding effect could be prevented if the one sealing wished it so. The Overlord own seals had no such effects as described by Fuu. They always did what he told people they would do. The only thing he never admitted was the simple fact that by sealing someone, he was robbing them of a tiny fraction of their soul, ensuring once they were dead, their soul would be drawn to the White Wolf. That was the only extra. She was an Oracle and as such, Fuu had way more knowledge in her brain, than Reaper hoped to have in his entire lifetime. She was the Queen of knowledge, but regarding Jutsus and Seals, the Silvery Haired Man was King and the Ashen Haired Woman was only a pawn. "Not every seal will do that. In fact, if the scriber wants it, he can block most, if not all, of those effects. I will suppose you never were fortunate enough to meet one of those." the former Sennin countered.

"And how can a woman die better than facing fearful odds, for the ashes of her ancestors, and the temples of her false Gods? I would rather escape my final fate than my present. The reason my safety has been a non-concern for my compulsion. Death would be a relief to me considering the pains of my existence, but as long as this remains... your failure would only condemn me to an existence of eternal subjugation. So if you were to try to unseal me at a risk to my survival... odds are best in my favor, as well as yours, to make sure if you fail that I remain dead." the Oracle would note while revealing seal she had on her abdomen. Kazuki tilted his head as he inspected the seal. It was oddly familiar. It closely resembled the seals used on the Impure World Resurrection technique. In fact, judging from Fuu's words, it had to be one. "As much as it pains me to admit, I had never seen the usage of such a seal for such result." Reaper admitted. In fact, he admired that work. It was terrific and beautiful at the same time. She was fully bound to the one that sealed her. One seal commanded her to record everything new, regardless of personal health. The other would ensure her loyalty and servitude after her death. Terrific and most evil, but beautiful.

"That is something I can provide, but at great risk to yourself. You see, I am compelled to learn at risk to myself. I am tethered to one of the Daimyō's friends in case of my untimely demise likely due to efforts to edify myself. But I am also compelled to share all I know with the Daimyō, and thus I would be forced to share that you know. I have been feeding Sunagakure tidbits of information for the past year, but nothing concentrated enough that I would be forced to likely mention." the Oracle would explain once the White Wolf had brought light upon his price. She even went so far as to show him a seal, that being the third one, she had on her tongue. Likely the reason why she had to share everything with the Wind Daimyo. The Silvery Haired Man had not considered that, but he also had no knowledge of it. Yes, there were risks, especially if the Daimyo was indeed an enemy of Sunagakure, as all facts pointed out. But the potential benefits of having such information, could potentially outweigh all the danger he could draw to himself. "I will think about it." he would simply state. Yes, he had to ponder about this newfound knowledge, but before they were to part ways, he would let her known his answer.

"I am fine. Show me what you can bring back from the world's end." Fuu would state. "I do not think you. You still cannot sit well enough, but I will not force further help if you don't want it." the former Sennin declared as he got up. Kazuki would scan the area, searching for an appropriate place for his ritual. There was one, close to them. It was mostly even ground and that would suffice. Reaper walked up there and stopped when he was in the center of a virtual circle. On his way there he had picked up Reizo's femur. Clasping his hands together, four black and metallic pylons would emerge from the sand, one for each cardinal direction. Once their ascension had stopped at 2 meters tall, the ground would become covered by a purple shining runic circle. The Silvery Haired Man's shadow would grow and rise from the ground, acting like a cape. From within, a bound human male would be thrown out. Curiously, the man would stop right at the center, at Reaper's feet. His shadow would then shrink back to its normal size. Fuu would surely notice that human was still alive. The eyes were wide open and the guy's face showed nothing but sheer terror. He still had parts of his samurai armor on his body. Using his shadows, Kazuki would position the sacrifice in a seated position. Picking up the femur, he would seemingly crush it, allowing a crimson-like liquid to drip all over the other guy. He would then clasp both hands again and start an ominous chant whose language was undistinguishable. Probably elvish. He had no need for the chant, but blame him for adding a bit of theatrics.

As his voice raised and lowered, black tendrils began to emerge from the four pylons that slithered toward the living sacrifice. Upon making contact with the male, they would began to cover him, as more tendrils sprouted and imitated their precursors. Eventually the sacrifice would be fully covered in shadowy tendrils and Kazuki's chant would reach its climax. The male's body would begin to glow purple, just like the runic circle. But unlike the the circle, the glow would pulsate instead of being steady. The pulsing glow would eventually reach its climax, just like Reaper's chant had done so before. At its max, it would be an almost blinding light. As it diminished, Reizo, with his eyes closed, and still seating, would be there at Kazuki's feet. The runic circle would then fade and the four pylons would descend back to the earth. The Overlord's hands would rest at his side and he would stand in silence, waiting. With a slow and deliberate movement, Reizo would get up and turn to face his new master. Taking two steps back, the now undead Toraono warrior would finally open his eyes and stare back at the White Wolf. "Master." he would speak while bowing. "Your village needs you once more Toraono Reizo. You were once the Shield of Sand. You fell facing a Carnasaur. Today, Sunagakure faces a far more dangerous foe and it is in dire need of shielding once more. You can prove your worth again. Come we have much to do." the Silvery Haired Man would announce. Not that Reizo needed any explanations. Again, it was all for theatrics.

 

[Sand Council]

OC: Love theatrics. More bad @$$ creds for you. And gratz, you have instilled some fear into Fuu.

IC:

Fuu
The Oracle​

His lack of surprise or hesitation had wrought a dire sense of trepidation into her being. It was only supported when she saw the runic symbols on the ground, it was not unlike Ogasawara Nao's work in some ways. She saw the sacrifice laid onto the ground, she wondered how long he had been trapped within that scroll. The light consumed the unfortunate, bound samurai leaving the oracle restless after witnessing the scene. He was a Dark Sage, and while he vocalized a more benevolent or perhaps reasonable methodology she was an instance of equivalent exchange: a life for a life. Not that she mourned for the dead, either the one who was murdered or the one who was resurrected and now tethered to the Overlord. Such were the way of things here in wind Country and in this terrible desert where the first law still, even after the destruction of the old ways, still reigned supreme. There was no greater ethic than survival of the fittest but some, herself included found such things to be barbaric, perhaps because she has always lived on the other side of these exchanges. The wise fell one by one despite their superior intellect due to their weak and diminished forms, leaving her as a child the last of her Order.

She could not help but feel angry at what she saw, perhaps because she could do nothing about it or perhaps because this would one day also be her fate. One day she would be bowing at the feet of Nao when she should have been returned to dust. She was not a religious woman, she did not believe in an afterlife or even a paradise, in fact she doubted a soul was even an actual soul but rather just a concentrated form of life energy housed in each and every one of us that had no will or sentience at all. She did not know all of the answers but she knew many of them. she could feel the burning hot gall pool in the back of her throat as she swallowed hard in response to the scene. She did her best to push down, deep within herself these emotions she felt so she could embrace the facade of apathy that had served her so well all these years. She knew entering this that it was something along these lines that the Senju planned to perform this or a similar taboo, but that was the thing with a compulsion for knowledge -- a legendary figure and a man of untold power was too great an intellectual reward to overcome.

Still with her eidetic memory, these images would be seared onto her consciousness forever. She would remember the swirling, runic lines on the floor, the pulsations of light and even the forgotten language he chanted with. She would remember Toraono Reizo's form, his name and his role in the days to come for the Dark Sage. And she would also despair. It took a great deal of determination and pain tolerance to sit upright, she braced herself with her arm against the earth to prevent herself from falling over. She wanted to leave. She wanted to run away. What constrained her will so was now satisfied, but the flesh was not as ready or as willing as her heart and mind. Still she tried to stand, it was a struggle to rise past her knees as her hand grabbed onto the rough bark of the palm to steady her stance. The world was swimming but it mattered little to her, the flash of light from the kinjutsu was more bright than the blinding sun but she still closed her eyes in hopes that it would still the terrain. She looked downward at the ground through slits, the hazy earth was calmed with this brief passage of time. She took a retching breath as she attempted to back away.

This was her way of fleeing, one staggering step at a time.