The Wild Wild West

[Seijin]

"This could be heaven or this could be hell"


Dressed in his ANBU blacks, Umashi opted to go for the traditional blank ANBU mask instead of the tucked away one from Miro. As ornamental as it was personal to him, he didn't want Maru messing it up when things came to fisticuffs. Fortunately for the two would be captors, it wasn’t hard to find Maru even with the narrow winding streets yet, that was also easily the issue. Almost welcoming in an unnerving way, the people seemed to part as the two walked through the crowds. Perhaps they recognized a shinobi on a mission when they saw one, or perhaps they knew who not to mess with at a glance. Cursing to himself, Umashi knew deep down that they were making a showy display by not dressing like the locals but showing his face was just as likely to cause a scene for the discerning eye as it wasn’t.

People often didn’t forget the face of a guy who was on a national monument in a nearby superpower shinobi state and while Sunagakure was just as far away socially from Soon’s Harbor as Konohagakure was, there was always the possibility that somebody paid attention to the history books and would call him out by name. In his mind it was better to be seen as just another shinobi on a mission than a retired Kage but his thoughts continued to churn out all of the possibilities that could stem from him being here as they followed the lead that they had been given.

As dry and as dusty as the place seemed to be, the proximity to the harbor came with a number of sights and smells that many would have no doubt not attributed to the Wind Country at a glance. For one, seafood seemed to be plentiful and naturally the spices seemed to flow even more plentiful than the vast ocean just beyond the shore. When at last they’d come to the supposed “hotel” that Maru was said to be at, Umashi turned and gave an understanding nod to Ziren before he knocked on the door.

Taking a moment to inspect the building a bit further, in any other setting Umashi would have found the villa styled building to be beautiful and something that he could see himself living in. Looking very much like the style of aged but airy homes that he figured the desert to house, he was so busy admiring the architecture that he was momentarily caught off guard when a woman answered the door. ”Konnichiw-!” Stopping just short of actually extending a greeting, Umashi couldn’t stop from jerking back defensively as he was shocked to see that the woman only had one eye. Unable to collect himself quick enough, the woman’s tone changed from one of wanting to one of disdain.

”Can I help you?” Remembering his script, Umashi didn’t prey on the easy joke that could be made. Maru usually surrounded himself with an interesting sort but staring wasn’t kind. Getting to the point, Umashi used the direct approach. Maru wasn’t a dummy and despite the door only being partially opened, it was clear that there was either a big party or an equally big funeral going on due to the sound of music that could be heard. Pulling out an old wanted poster, he showed it to the woman who didn’t look surprised in the least. ”I’m sure that a mutual friend of ours is expecting company, no?”

Dokuso Maru
~The Prince of Pranksters~​

- Mistakenly the feller of the late Nidaime Hokage Umashiashikabihikoji (at the Battle of Skyfall).
- Accidentally the slayer of the late Sandaime Hokage Yomi (at the Skirmish of Shin Yoko).

- The darkest flame born of the Fire Country!
- The night terror of the Tea Country!
- The wild beast of the Wind Country!
- The enigmatic enemy of the Earth Country!
- The lethal striker of the Lightning Country!
- The winsome wanderer of the Water Country!
- The misunderstood malcontent of the Moon Country!

- He is known as a cunning conundrum of a character, a living weapon that should always be considered armed and dangerous!​

Bounty: 555 Trillion Yen

A.K.A. something akin to the combined GDP of at least two major NPC countries and then some . . . ¯\_(ツ)_/¯


***Preferably wanted alive by practically "everyone" for torture n' stuff . . .***​

Taking a long hard look at the poster and then at Umashi and Ziren, the woman sighed and rolled her eye. If Umashi could call it, the woman looked as annoyed as she was sad but nonetheless she opened the door fully and beckoned them in. ”They say that if you can’t roll with the big dogs then you should stay off the porch. That little Uchiha heifer had it coming to her.” Not knowing if the woman was speaking about the ANBU Sennin or the Raikage, Umashi grimaced behind his mask but cautiously walked inside of the building and was instantly greeted with a much cooler temperature than what was present outside. Semi lit as the overall area was, Umashi’s eyes focused on the clear sightline to an area just a number of meters ahead where the music seemed to be emanating from. A villa like few others, the space was as much local as it was modern. That and a touch . . . perverted if Umashi could call it like he saw it. It was clear that this was the sort of seedy place that Maru would call home seven days out of the week.

Rolling up the wanted poster, Umashi discreetly scanned his surroundings for possible traps and exits. With all the encounters that he and Maru had had over the years, it was most likely true that Maru was equally playing the game that was the gentlemen's agreement to not stab each other in the literal back, Umashi had lived long enough to be paranoid when it came to the ilk that Maru tended to hang out with. After all, Maru literally hung out with monsters. Walking a bit further inside, Umashi followed his guide at a careful distance but even he was forced to pause when they at last walked into the open air atrium that was the courtyard.

​

In a word, it was anciently beautiful, decadent, elegant and every word in between. Paradisiac in a worldly way, the desert oasis-like décor was totally appropriate when Umashi caught sight of the plentiful food and very clear, very clean looking water. Even with their footsteps he’d noticed that they didn’t even kick up a single grain of sand and when he glanced up at the multistory open expanse above, he caught just the faintest shimmer of chakra at play keeping the open air from allowing in the dirt and grime from the surrounding area. Even the air smelled incredibly clean, and as his eyes slowly drifted back down to where he was, there was Maru by the water, lazily being fed by a woman that in most circles was sporting an outfit that was more appropriate for a private beach than a public place of work. Unless . . . that actually was the work at play. As distracting as the music could have been, it seemed to not matter when considering the whole of the scene. Here, Umashi and Ziren were hunting for Maru and fully expected to walk into a room with guns drawn and Maru was having an indoor pool party with artisan women of the night. Seeing that Maru was otherwise occupied, Umashi took an approximate aim and threw it at the feet of his former student and watched it roll open. As if on cue, the music stopped and all eyes were on the party pooper. One for the moment, Umashi didn’t hesitate this time and said a simple ANBU greeting. ”We can do this the easy way or the hard way.”



OOC #1: This topic is Private mostly because the details of the story have been discussed beforehand concerning the final outcome but leaving room for creative RPing in the middle.

If you haven’t asked to join then please do so before posting so that the topic flows. All who have agreed to the topic know that the topic will be PvE only (please don’t be that person that disrupts that) and such more fun will be hopefully had for all involved.

OOC #2: The Setting is below.
The setting is a Middle Eastern style villa with an open atrium courtyard. There is a clear chakra barrier keeping the desert out and the building is especially clean and "modern" despite looking aged. There are 2 additional stories going up and one below as well as a rooftop space with vegetation and "party" space. If you're familiar with the Eagles song, Hotel California, the general spirit of what the song describes can be found here, aka, there's unstated debauchery taking place. The actual name of the location is "Hotel California" but all statements of the name should ICly be cut short or assumed to be said (yes, all of my topics in the Wind Country during this story arc have been California themed). It's clear that some sort of chakra barrier is keeping the outside out and the inside in, so all attempts to get in should keep this in mind. You aren't just going to unscrew an air duct, you had better already be in, bribe your way in or otherwise "shinobi" your way in.

OOC #3: Roll(s) and Lore.

Spoiler: ”Roll to see who answered the door”

Umashi, Ret. Nidaime — Today at 3:08 PM
Knocking on the door of Hotel California and rolling to see who answers the door for Maru . . .
1 = One eyed cyclops girl
2 = Bat girl
3 = Giant girl
4 = "Bug" girl (spider, insect, etc)
5 = Cat or Kitsune girl
6 = Dog or Wolf girl
t!dice 1d6
Tatsu
BOT
— Today at 3:08 PM
:game_die: Rolling dice!
[d6 : 1]
In the end, the result was: 1

For reference concerning the Wanted Poster.

Probably His Last chance [Requesting Entry]

One Week later: Since he was told to wait a week because the gates were closed, he hung around the outer village for a little bit looking around for the guy whom he wasn't successful in finding. The last guy he met at the gates wasn't by no means helpful in finding the guy he was trying to...

ninpocho.com

 

[Chigokai Yuna]

There was a certain reason as to why Ziren chose to go with a whole different attire than just get a mask from the ANBU lady at the Gates. For one, He was once Anbu, and knows the importance of having a certain uniqueness that comes with the job. And two, he specifically made this whole attire so that there will be little to no way for anyone to recognize him unless he did something stupid. Along with the mask that he made specifically to put over his head to cover all traces of blue hair, Ziren has also put on brown eye contacts to hide his true eye colors. And lastly, he has two sleeved gloves that both go up to the bend of the elbow. Originally, he only had the one to hide the fact that he had a metal left arm, but came to think to himself that that would be an identifier for the discerning eyes. So he opted with both. Even though he isn't as well known as the man he travels with, it would be a no brainer that someone would be able to point out a blue haired man with a blood filled eye and a metal arm. With no real identifiers to show who he is, the Chigokai can rest only the smallest, slightest bit. It helped that he made this attire while he was in Cloud, in case. After he woke up from his coma in Water, he always had to look for another option, "In case it happens". Though, they are dealing with Maru, and that man is sure to have tricks up his sleeves.

The place itself seems to be a resort of sorts, perfect place to hide out and enjoy life to the fullest in the arid desert. Though the man found it hard to believe that Maru would be here of all places. A memory popped back up of Maru always spouting nonsense of darkness and how he likes it. This place seemed the opposite of that. Then another memory popped up. One that was their very last encounter when the Mercenary at the time was calling himself, "Princess of Hearts", for a reason Ziren still doesn't know to this day.

Ziren had heard blood flow coming near the door, and he shifted his body in the ever so slightest way in case things got hairy. When the door opened, he too, like Umashi, was a little bit shocked by what he saw. But unlike the old man, Ziren has now been a master at hiding surprise, all thanks to Umashi himself since the start of their journey all the way back at the Gates. And also the mask helps out. He averted his eyes away from the woman as he scanned the area behind her to the best of his capabilities, listening to all the blood flows all around and discerning which ones that he would need to pay particular attention to as they are escorted inside.

The Chigokai wasn't able to take a good look at the wanted poster Umashi has, but he guessed that it was enough for the one eyed woman to let them through. Once inside, music blared making it hard for Ziren to really concentrate. A thought had occurred to Ziren that Maru really had thought of everything. Not a lot of people are aware of the hearing senses of the Chigokai clan. Big noises and loud places would be a good start to hide more concerning blood flows. Since it would be hard for Ziren to really get a feel for everyone, he'll just have to settle for those that are in close proximity to him and Umashi, see if any of their blood flows sets off any alarms in Ziren's mind that he doesn't like, whether it be the sound of a familiar blood flow, one that is moving fast (a way to tell if adrenaline is running through), or an almost nonexistent blood flow (One's that hold their breaths for they know of the capabilities of a Chigokai, making it herder to be detected.) Ziren was by far a unique sensor, but his abilities can only get him so far in this chaotic place full of noises. Yes, focus on blood flows in close proximity to him and Umashi.

Then they walked into the courtyard. It was mesmerizing to say the least. But as he scanned the area, he was looking for any imperfections. none. It almost seemed too perfect. No sand from outside. And with the smallest head movement to see what Umashi was seeing, there seemed to be some sort of chakra set up around the whole perimeter. Something Ziren would regrettably not see if he wasn't paying attention to his companions movements and actions, however subtle they might be.

And finally he laid eyes on him. Dokuso Maru. At least, Ziren thinks that this is the very same man. He seemed to be living life to the fullest as he was eating fruit from women and enjoying his pool time. Once Umashi threw down the wanted poster, it seemed the world went on a stand still. Nobody talked, not even dared to move. Even the music stopped, which would be the greatest advantage for Ziren to now use his hearing of blood to its fullest. Now being more aware of anything around them a hundred times better than before without having loud noises deafen his ears.

(OOC: Topic entered)
(MFT)
(WC: 911)

 

[Midori Futotta]

Last time, when Maru went missing from Cloud a he kept his head down in another plane of existence just partying with his little group of demons like there is no tomorrow celebrating the day he accidentally destroyed the village gate and accidentally killed a anbu trying to stop a missing. He may have lost the fight, but the style gave Maru’s youkai reason to celebrate! After all they were monsters so when they heard that Maru destroyed the village gates, killing an anbu and a innocents in the process his youkai was so happy that the fact that he actually lost the fight since he was trying to stop the missing; not go full jinchu mode to rebel against the village full of weaklings. Though Maru was however a little conflicted since he did have family over there, not really Umashi or even Yomi though they were cool people now that he looked back on it but they didn’t have his blood. No, he was missing the children he had around in kumo. Yeah. He didn’t really give them notice when he left them since it was kind of like a yolo moment when he left, plus he wished he was a little better as a father since like two of his children kind of had a problem with him. Like the situation with Yoko. Maru wished he handled that a little better, he was just so mad that she brought a dog to lunch with him. Oh, lets not forget that he also tried to ditch another one of his children to mess with some hookers around kumo. But that was his life in kumo. Maru may have had to sacrifice a few things in kumo for his freedom but at the very least he got his adoring fans of monsters, a happy eldritch abomination, and he had not just one but two fox girls!!! If he had a choice to stay with family or go with fox girls Maru would always go with the fox girls. He cared about his children but that was nothing compared to the pleasure of having two dominant fox girls on his arms.

When Maru heard his foxy chicks were heading to suna, the fox quickly followed them since the taint from using his possessing spirits power was just about healed. While she went to handle business in suna, Maru decided to meet a old friend he left in Soons Haven……………..

On a chilly night, in Soons Haven a shooting star with nine tails flew around in random zig zags over Soons Haven before crash landing in Soons Harbor. A large portion of the ocean began to give off a white glow, then a sinister purple fog appeared as the fisherman was about to get an early start in gathering crab and looked at the glowing waters in awe. As the fisherman just stood there watching the water, something began to rise from the ocean…. Something big. A massive beaklike mouth covered in snow white fur came out from the center of the glow, a mouth that looked to be able easily swallow entire ships in one bite would then smirk as the thing from the ocean rose from the waters…. Rising out of the ocean was a 24 foot monstrous abomination; a being whose very existence defies the rules of nature. In this form Maru this form appeared to be a fox or rather he looked like a being representing a fox. However it seemed to have small traits of other animals like a bird, a shark, the fox and a human being. To put this form into words, the thing that came from the ocean was a nine-tailed fox-like creature with a beak-like mouth that had rows of sharp shark like teeth. This horrible monster had a torso of a man, but the structure of the body as a whole looked capable of walking on all fours and on two legs. It's fur a bluish white, it's head turned slightly to look down at the tiny human with its horrifying yellow eyes almost like an eagle eyeing its prey then kindly announced. ”My name is actually Maru… yanno?”

That was enough to send the fisherman running away for his life; screaming, crying and laughing like a madman. This was enough to make the monster hold his head, then laugh as the tiny man ran away after Maru just plainly introduced himself, 13 demons rose from the water laughing with Maru pointing as the man tripped a couple times on as they disappeared out of his sight. On the docks stood a woman with a hat on next to a ship, on the ship there was a company label named Sandsailor's Deliveries and Retrievals which made Maru smile as he moved towards the docks then shrunk all the way down to his normal height then he lifted himself from the water and shook himself! The fox got up as his kimono just felt a little damp against him, adjusting his mask as the woman casually walked up to him, heels clopping against the docks removing her mirror shades and then gave the fox a grin. “Welcome to Soon’s Haven! You’re looking like shit as always, huh?”

”LADY SHIENZEN! MAN IT'S GOOD TO SEE YA!” Maru yelled, adjusting his clothes then gesturing for his youkai to come up to him since they were a little hesitant since they didn’t know if the lady was friendly or not. Clapping his hands together he decided to catch up with an old friend of his from his time here in wind country as a mercenary. ”How have you been? My bad for being gone so long, had a really good thing going on in Kumo but hey you did get my letters though.”

Lady Shienzen would laugh giving the fox a little shrug. “Yanno civil wars, merchant lords acting up, just all sorts of shit happened around here but hey the company is doing good too.” she said, looking out at the sea pausing for a moment as she came to the realization that this probably wasn’t a visit to see how the company is going. “But I get the feeling that you aren’t here on business are you?”

Maru snapped his fingers, pointing at Lady Shienzen since she seemingly knew just what to ask him. ”Yanno think you know me well, let's talk somewhere a bit more private. Eh?” he asked. The two would then go onto the boat to the captain's quarters to talk, giving Lady Shienzen the whole story from beginning to the end. To how that old man Umashi snaked him into the village, to the little good that he did do around kumo, and even told his misdeeds which made Lady Shienizen’s eyes widen in shock since there was two things that he did do that made her wonder just how the hell is he still living.

“So let me get this straight…. You blew up a town because YOU were pretending, got demoted to gennin, then said hold my beer and blew up the village gates killing a anbu who was in the running for sennin in the process; not to mention the possible casualties of the people who actually work in the gates and no one tried to stop you…. At all.”

Maru bobbed his head up and down quickly though adding one little detail that she left out. ”Both times being accidents mind you.” he said in his defense, if only to make it seem like it wasn’t his fault. Lady Shienzen would then rub her temples since apparently this fox didn’t know exactly what he got himself into since now he’s a wanted man. Though he was able to weasel himself out of trouble with the whole mess with that twon going boom, there's not much you can do about a dead ass anbu.

Laughing to herself, she pointed at the clever fox man waving her hand as if she found this whole deal amusing. “You got yourself into big troubles, yanno that. You got a lot of heat on you now so this is a risky situation you’re putting this little ol’ lady in. I need something more precise. Who am I supposed to do about all this and how are you gonna help me?” she asked, tapping her hand on the desk. Maru giggled a bit, feeling like he was in one of those action movies making a deal with some mob boss but like she said he’s been in riskier situations before. Like with leaf, they had a kill on site thing on him if he ever came back but he saw that his crimes were pardoned and weirdly the new kage thanked him for his teaching. He doesn’t remember them, but if he inspired the freaking hokage then the fox should keep his head up. Leaning in Maru began to start using his charm to get some help or at the very least now…. get something to do while his fox girls worked on recruiting people for their cause.

”What I need from you is someone who can get me some monsters and a place to stay for a while. Like back in kumo I had clans of demons and a group of pirate kids at my side but here I got all these resources and I have no one. Surely, you can call shots right now and get me some protection.” he said, leaning back in his seat, thinking of what he could offer her in exchange for the since he had bigger aspirations than just being a 50/50 partner in Sandsailor's Deliveries and Retrievals. ”Tell ya what, I give you 25% of my stake in this company, you get me as a employee and I handle some of the underground work for you for free until I work off whatever you gotta pay to get me what I need. So you got 100% control of the company till I work off what I owe then I get my 25% after it's all over, sounds good?”

Lady Shienzen bit her bottom lip as she thought about the offer, Maru sat with his legs crossed as waiting for a response letting a few moments pass before answering. “I will see what I can do about getting you those monsters, in the meantime come back here in the morning so we can put this all in writing and get you working on a few deals. There's a hotel in The Bazaar, a five star beauty, talk to a guy named Michi and tell him Lady Shienzen sent you.” she said,writing down an address then handing it to Maru. He took the paper then he got up as Lady Shienzen began again. “Also we need you to change your look, maybe get a haircut too so it’ll be hard to recognize you as a precaution. Pleasure doing business with you and I look forward to our meeting in the morning.” she said as Maru left her office to go to headquarters. This was the beginning of a new chapter in the man known as Mr. Normal, one where he abandons the life of a ninja for a life of crime and mischief…

Present: Mr Normal! Fighting Gold!

Now we move to the here and now. After meeting with Lady Shienzen about 5 months later, Maru quickly made a name for himself here. He wasn't really a talented ninja so joining suna was out of the question, he also found the corporate life a little boring but Maru had a knack for figuring out what other people wanted, and how to get it for them. Maru spent most of his time buying and selling favors. Gaining some of the best connections in the underworld around Soons Haven. His nickel-and-dime deals quickly turned into the big time stuff. Smuggling weapons over from iron country. Sending spies to steal and resell medical supplies. Being the middleman for some high-priced mercenaries, or even hiring a whole pack of chakra deformed mutants to back a client's contracts. He is also known for hiding some of the secret 'projects' that escape from the lab since they don't have rights under the law, or get some of the freaky looking people a place to stay when they need it. Maru buys and sells favors like an old-style Mafia godfather who has his fingers in a lot of pies. Ranging from businesses, deals, and political groups.

Right now Maru was having a big ass pool party, creatures ranging from demons, to walking animals and tough looking mutants all danced while the big man himself was getting his ears massaged and being fed grapes by a couple of succubus's while he was reading a echii manga. Most of 'friends' were dancing around the pool, grooving to some funky music while some of the people who just stood off to the side just drank some weird glowing stuff that honestly probably is poisonous. Needless to say it was a very odd group of people since none of these people looked human, some were partially animal, others were large ogre like things, there was even a mustache having fox who wore a fake afro dancing with ladies with hearts for heads! Not the shape of the heart but actual human hearts for heads. As the freaks danced, Maru was blissfully unaware of the fact that he was being hunted. Everyone was having a good time, swimming, laughed, drinking, living the high life but all it took for the music to stop was Umashi throwing Maru's wanted poster at his feet.

At first everyone was confused, even Maru was confused wondering why the music stopped opening his eyes to see a couple of monkeys and his wanted poster rolling open for him to see. "Dude! That was flashlight they just cut off! Flashlight!" Maru yelled, tossing his manga behind. He was mad at first because his favorite part of the song was coming on, but when one of the mask strangers spoke Maru felt a slight recognition... "Wait… wait. No fuckin' way. Ooh shit! Its-"

Maru was cut off when he saw some of his crew members starting to take action, pushing through the crowd of party goers was a sea of leather coats, muscle t-shirts, mohawks and rough looking people who were just standing near the wall. Some armed with spiked bats, others making tiger seals, some swinging around big heavy chains, some with katanas, and others had guns. One guy made some vultures that flew around in a circular motion as the crew made their way up looking for a fight. The vultures made of clay bombs armed and ready to blow. Maru was surprised with the sudden aggression his crew was showing then he yelled at them, even though he was in like nothing leopard silk swim trunks. "Aye, aye, aye! This is family, guy's I know this guy we go way back! The guy forged me a passport for crying out loud." Maru told his crew of tough chakra enhanced mutants who were already standing around the pool. Looking intimating with their weapons brandished. "Everybody just chill, let's listen and let me catch up with my familia kay?"

[Mutant Crew on standby]
​

Now that everyone seemed calm, Maru would then steal a drink that was sitting near him then sucked it through a silly straw and then put it down with a slight arrogance about him. Looked back at Umashi, holding both arms up like 'what the fuck' as though he was in the wrong here. "What is this? What are we doing right now? Did you think that you can just walk in here– let you kick my ass– in front of ALL these people. Like common that's some main branch shit, no scratch that academy student shit and trust me I know some bold ass academy students." Maru laughed, getting up and with a snap of his fingers he was already dressed in his 'updated' clothing. His pointy ears twitch, as gestured for his escorts to leave and they poofed into a pink cloud of smoke looking at Ziren now with half closed eyes, pointing at both him and Umashi."I expected a little better than this. You two are a long way from Kumo. Now we can avoid all this drama if we can just talk, who knows I may let you leave without tying your legs around your chin." he said, deepening his voice to sound cool as chains rattled in the background and the sound of a shotgun being loaded came from all over.

"Hey like how did I sound, did I put too much edge in the whole mobster thing or…." Maru asked them, really needing to know in case he had to tone down the whole attitude thing since he got most of it from just like… watching movies.

[[Ooc: Entering with Yamamoto Maru NPC]]

[[Ooc: You have encountered Maru and his mutant goons.]]

[Ooc: Maru tries to smooth talk the situation offering a friendly chat to ask or say what you want for now.]

 

[Seijin]

Thinking to himself, Umashi had to give it to Maru, he got it honestly. While he expected a certain amount of civility, he didn't expect things to actually go the way of diplomacy. In a word, Maru seemed mature at this point in his life. More mature than Umashi would have given him credit for before. While Umashi momentarily fumbled with exactly how to go about making the bargain, he didn't notice that a rather sly figure had made not only his grand entrance but also had firmly planted himself as the broker of all deals set to go down. Slinking in with an unearthly lean, an unnaturally looking fiend going by a name that was only hushed in the dark made his grand entrance and spoke up. Seeming to come with his own posse of sorts, when he spoke, all eyes focused on him and his deep bass-baritone voice seemed to shake the very walls with its power. Hailing from some shadowed corner, he parted the crowd in much the same as Maru did though he certainly showed a sort of reverence toward the former Kumo-nin.

"Nah man, you good. I can dig it." While recognizing that it was darker towards the corners, Umashi realized that he hadn't actually noticed the creature when he first walked in. That was a mistake, and one that he wasn't trying to so soon repeat. These weren't his normal stomping grounds and gaining intel on his immediate surroundings would surely help him to get out of this mess alive. "But what I can't dig are these jive turkeys disruptin' the funktastic groove, ya dig?" The first word that popped up into Umashi's head was that the blue devil had more than outed himself as an over glorified hype man. That being the case, even the most annoying hype men could cause a problem. "You heard the man . . . spit it out. What do you want?"

Clearing his throat, Umashi scoffed as he looked to Ziren and then back to the brokerer. "And you are?" "Annoyed. Answer the question." "Maru, do you have your goons answering for you now? I thought that we went way back?" "Man, if you don't stop killing my vibe, I'm going to have my personal chef fillet you for dinner. Spit it out already. Some of us were enjoying a party before you rudely interrupted!" Going tit for tat, Umashi couldn't determine if the beast was just a nosey patron of the place or actually one of Maru's villains-for-hire but he shook his head and sighed before getting to the reason as to why he and Ziren were her. "Well, Mr. Annoyed, Maru here went and attempted to assassinate a well respected kunoichi of Kumo. The price for reparations has in turn been set by the offended lady in the amount of Maru's tails. It seems fair, Maru wronged somebody attempting to keep him safe and now they want recompense." Holding up a hand to pause the negotiations, the creature shook it's head. "I believe that living is payment enough. He could have eaten her." "The same could be said for his life. The tails are a fair trade." The creature laughed boisterously.

"Go home, you're drunk. From our horns to our hooves, we don't give up our assets for any human." "Be that as it may, Maru can pay up or get put down. One option leaves him here, at this party, and very much still able to socially enjoy it." Pulling up his brightly colored sunglasses, the creature grew serious. "Is that a threat?" Seriously annoyed at this point, Umashi spoke directly to Maru instead of through the uninvited interpreter. "Dude, who's man is this?" Continuing on, he mostly ignored the monster doing all of the talking but still acknowledge that Maru might want to actually keep a tail or two. "Look, I'll be honest, I don't know what's up with the whole fetish that Uchiha seem to have with kitsune tails and the like but I'm here to get the job done. I'll accept half, rounded up since nine doesn't exactly breakdown easily. That leaves you with more than enough to do the fox trot." Not missing a beat, the monster spoke up in Maru's defense. "You're a long way from home human. You'll get nothing, begone." As if to emphasize his contempt, the monster closed its eyes and made a shooing motion with one of its jeweled hands. This drew a series of chuckles from the captive audience.

Forcing a faked laugh, Umashi slapped at his knee and doubled over laughter before abruptly stopping and straightening back up. "I don't like the way you said human. It sounded like a racial slur to me, aka, real offensive. We'll take the full half and he has to regrow the rest of the half tail left over. How about that?" Umashi really didn't want to bloody the place up but playing hardball was something that he was prepared to do. "You can have this cane shoved up yo- . . . one and then you scurry off." "Wow . . . four and you can toss in one of your horns since you're into that sort of thing." At this point those in the audience began to speak in hushed whispers concerning the human that dared to speak so boldly. Clearly offended, the monster tapped his cane on the ground a number of times to quiet the crowd. Clearly angered, he made a motion of wiping something invisible off of his face. Umashi wasn't overly familiar with the ways of monster folk but he accepted it as some sort of mantra to calm things down.

". . . Two tails, then you and your Uchiha-bae will be twins." Countering back, Umashi didn't miss a beat this time. "Three tails, because my friend here likes to cosplay." Motioning with his thumb to Ziren, Umashi wasn't actually sure if Ziren was into cosplaying but it seemed like a legit excuse considering the audience. "You drive a hard bargain, who taught you how to boogie with the shakedown?" Shrugging, Umashi couldn't help but to enjoy the banter at this point. "I'm classically trained, even once sold salt to a slug." Somewhere in the crowd there was a gasp as all eyes quickly darted to a slime looking woman who clutched the pearls around her neck in shock and dismay. Excusing himself, Umashi held up his hands in defense. "I meant no disrespect ma'am." The situation might have proved comical in a different context but the monster power broker once again loudly tapped his cane on the floor and turned to Maru, silencing the commotion in the room. "What say you my man. You willing to settle with these squares?" As all eyes turned to Maru, to yay or nay the deal, Umashi discreetly motioned to Ziren to be ready for anything.

OOC: Requesting three of Maru's tails.

 

[Chigokai Yuna]

The next set of events that took place was really testing Ziren's ability to hide his surprise. First things first, as Maru's goons closed in, Ziren was ready to break the closest guy to either him or Umashi, but before either party was able to do a thing, Maru intervened and told his goons to stand down. The next bit of words surprised Ziren so much, he was thankful he was wearing a mask. Wait a minute. Maru thinks of old man Umashi as family? Not only that, but Umashi had even went and forged a passport for Maru's sake? It really made Ziren reflect. Not only does Maru sound like he's changed, vastly from what the Chigokai would have expected the encounter to go, but someone has been around to change him. Even if he only has respect for one person, Ziren has got to hand it to Maru.

They finally laid eyes on each other, and he could tell Maru doesn't know what to think of him, probably doesn't know, as long as he doesn't speak. It was when he talked to Umashi that he had expected better than Ziren, that Ziren knew he doesn't know a single thing about the masked man. He did well to hide any and all identifying features. The Chigokai decided to keep up the act of an anbu by not talking, it also might be bad for them if Ziren did speak out of retaliation from being insulted. Maru was right on one thing. They weren't in Kumo anymore.

Maru gave them a threat, before asking them if he put to much edge on the mobster thing. Before anyone could really answer, the Chigokai heard a voice coming from a corner. This things blood flow... seemed different. The blue devilled creature regarded them before asking them why they were here again. It was quite the conversation. Umashi and Mr. Annoyed haggled for Maru's tails as if Maru himself wasn't even there. At first, Mr. Annoyed wouldn't budge on the whole bargaining off tails, but Umashi softened him up enough to start haggling. It finally ended with taking three of Maru's tails at the comment of.... Umashi saying that Ziren likes to cosplay. The smallest of sighs escaped the mask. Well, the cost was worth it as the blue demon agreed to the terms and asked Umashi who he learned from. Ziren does have to admit. Haggling would prove to be a useful skill to have, especially if it means that everyone on both parties come out alive.

But now, the spotlight was on Maru. Would he really be okay with such a deal or not? Ziren saw the smallest of Umashi's movements signalling him to be ready for anything. The Chigokai listened to the blood flows of all occupants in the area. But his main focus for hearing blood would be Maru. In case things go South, they don't get the tails, something happens to Umashi, Ziren will need to know Maru's blood flow in order to track him if it comes down to it.

 

[Midori Futotta]

"Well, well if it isn't the Killer from Kumogakure. You've made quite a name for yourself around here Mr…."

"Call me Maru, a pleasure to meet you Don. Yanno? The guy who got you some tough scary goons to protect your shipments and handle the smuggling." the fox said with a hint of pride in his voice. Since Lady Shienzen pulled some strings, she got him some of the weirdest creatures that she could find for Maru's new crew. Since then he was doing a few nickel and dime gigs. Helping clients locate an item they needed, protect shipments of illegal weapons harvested from materials in other countries, protecting clients themselves for a fee and even bribing the press to see if there's anything good he could use for blackmail. The Don wasn't one of those ruthless crimelords like people thought, he was actually a Don in training since the original one had decided to lay low in moon country since their mob known as The Sandclads took a big hit from the war around Soons Haven which left the youngest grandson incharge of running the Sandclads.

Maru could tell that the young Don was quite green at the whole crime thing, often trying to seem tough around his boys when it was clear to the fox he had no clue what he was doing. The young Don was dressed in a stylist white suit with some mirror shades sitting over his eyes, a cool looking white brim hat and was sipping on a fine wine. He also had a cool nickname too, Dr. Pepper or D.P which is what Maru respected most about the young Don

"Maru… or do you want me to address you as Lord Dokuso from white sand." said the fast talking Dr. Pepper almost sounded like he was about to beg for something just by the tone of his voice.

"You can call me Maru." the fox repeated.

"Maruuuuuuuuu~ My dawg! The big homie. (Maru: Hey don.) Maru!– I'm kinda into some deep shit right now." said Dr. Pepper which made Maru cringe after he just simply said hey since the fox knew he was being buttered up for something. Maru said nothing, just sat there with an awkward silence between them for a good while and the fox made a gesture for the man to like… get to the point.

"Like remember those shipments I had you guys do? The funniest shit like happened man! Okay like here I am, minding my own business eating pasta when out of nowhere this chick comes kicking in my door." He laughed a forced laugh. "So right now I'm all like 'Bruh' and apparently I got a threatening letter from The Red Knuckles saying that they are putting me on the line for a selling on their turf. Now me being a badass I just mailed them a nice photo of one of my middle fingers and they mailed me back a severed finger with another letter that may or may not be a ransom for one of our doctors we keep around here." Dr. Pepper explained which made Maru need to rub his temples to process what D.P was asking.

"So you want me to handle the extraction of the doctor… dude like seriously you have goons why don't you send them." he asked. Dr.Pepper explains to him that his guys do not really respect him, especially this one guy who thinks he is soft and takes almost every opportunity to punk him in front of the boys knowing that D.P didn't really like fighting. Like, he already asked the crew to help save the good doctor but when Jakkie the Face said no the others did. The Sandclads are pretty divided now with the majority wanting to follow Jakki the Face and a few who were loyal to the family followed Dr. Pepper even though he was in over his head with him being the new Don. Maru shook his head, going in his pocket then pulling out a golden badge then slid it across the table. "The solution to all your problems."

When Dr. Pepper took the badge and moved it around in his hands, the badge was the golden head of a fox that wore a top hat and it's whiskers curled up like a mustache. "What the fuck is this?" He asked, holding the badge up.

"Think of it as a contract, while you have that you'll be considered as part of the family meaning that we'll help you and we get paid a percentage of whatever you and your crew makes." Maru explains as Dr. Pepper seemed to be a little lost so the fox decided to explain a bit more. "Okay, okay let me explain. That little badge there is a easy way my crew gets in contact with each other; it's where we send snapshots, Morse code some jobs, get in contact with some of my lower ranked officers and if you press that muzzle there you can contact me directly." as Maru was explaining what the badge was, Dr. Pepper pulled the left ear and he could see through genjutsu snapshots of documents, list of different people along with talent's, a mission board, and items from the black market. As Dr.Pepper looked amazed at the glowing words and pictures filling his head Maru explained a bit more. "Another thing this badge is what we call an Obligation. Basically the Obligation is simple, if you decide that you want out of this deal you give me that badge back and then you're done. No harm. No foul. You're out, wish you well and all that stuff. Though with that obligation comes a free favor from me and I'll do anything to make whatever you want happen. Not just my crew but you get the backing of a corporation, the pirate group I know, politicians and anyone I can think of to get you whatever you want. Only problem is if you use that free favor you don't get to leave, you'll be in be working for me and whoever else who helped you till death do you part… for you I'll give you two free favors since you are a Don."

At this point Dr. Pepper was looking like 'Holy shit' but Maru picked up again. "Think you should use it to save your doctor and for me to help get The Sandclads more loyal to you. I got a few scramblers ready to brainwash them then off that rebel you are having trouble with free of charge. But know when you take that offer you're in the family now forever, there won't be any leaving and you might need a little makeover to fit in with my group. You want respect? You need your doc saved? Need that rebel gone without a trace? Use that favor and I'll see to it you're well taken care of man." Maru reached his hand out for Dr.Pepper to shake. Long story short, D.P used that favor and Maru being true to his word did exactly what he said that he would do. He got some of his best genjutsu artist to warp the brains of the Sandclads which was relatively the most easiest part once they got the rebel out of the way, then the gang that had D.P's doctor was quickly disposed of within a quick sneak attack thoughtfully planned out by some of Maru's best strategist. The doctor was saved, the Sandclads more united and D.P went through an odd body modification process to make him look more beast-like. Some of the Sandclads went through a similar mutation through a body modification process simulator to a Rite of resonance, however this natural energy was purposely infused into a person to mutate them into something… Which explains how the gang now was mostly a group of demi humans and weird mutants now. The Sandclads was just one of the many gangs who used their Obligation favor which was how Maru mob grew. Maru looked at it more as being a sponsor to the friendly gangs like he was for the Kurū clan back in Kumogakure. Investing in people then moving them up to stomp with the big dogs. However there were a few problems that came up down the road since there was one person who did not like how fast Maru and Lady Shienzen was raising…

A common enemy that has been after Maru and Lady Shienzen.

That person was the Rouge Sunan Aburabata, a guy who's been after Sandsailor's Deliveries and Retrievals. Also an old enemy from way back when Maru was a mercenary from the leaf village.

Present:

When Maru asked Umashi and his silent partner if he sounded as though he was trying too hard he saw big man Dr Pepper slinking his way towards them. Internally Maru chuckled, seeing in Umashi's eyes that he wasn't expecting the fox to actually want to talk first. He honestly would've just gotten to the big fight already if baby boy by Umashi was alone or if it was him along with someone else but Umashi was family! The man did a lot for Maru and it wouldn't be right to just shoot him on sight without at least hearing him out. He spared him on several occasions, so what kind of a man would he be if the fox just tried to ice him right here. "Ayyye lookie who finally decided to show his ass! Glad someone appreciates my fine art!" Maru laughed at the grand entrance good ol' D.P made, even agreeing that Umashi and partner just came in disrupting flashlight! "Busting getting my boys all riled up, can you believe these two."

Dr. Pepper repeated Maru's question again to the two pigs who came looking for the fox. Letting D.P handle his business, Maru went in one of his pockets and pulled out a large Cigar from Moon Country then lit it with a mini fox fire. Taking one drag from his Cigar before Maru raised his hand to silence Umashi. "Old man, you got your chance to talk. So talk." Maru huffed out smoke from his nose, then took another drag from his Cigar to let Dr. Pepper handle the negotiation… at least for now. As Maru figured they came for him for the whole killing Scarface thing that happened and to make up for what he did the two were asking for his tails. The fox showed no reaction, instead thumping his Cigar as he took in the back and forth between Umashi and Dr. Pepper. At this point Maru was just listening, letting D.P do the talking for him and while blowing smoke into the air he gestured his hand at Umashi when asked him who D.P even was as if telling him to get to the point.

Finally he made a deal that seemed interesting… though he still hasn't said anything yet since he wanted to see what Dr.Pepper would say. Maru just remained cool, laughing at certain parts while shaking his head as the negotiation continued. D.P at least got him down to only three tails which honestly wasn't really a bad offer. Actually convinced Dr. Pepper believed it was a good deal, Maru had to give it to the old man for having skills in this little shakedown. Maru after taking another drag on his Cigar raised his other hand to Dr. Pepper, a signal for him to be quiet because he was about to speak. The fox would then drop his Cigar to step on it, grinding it under his foot before he finally said something. "Umashi… or should I say Musashi? That's pretty graceful of you. But you see I'm having a few issues with a deal like that and I'll tell you why." he stated, folding his arms just to explain the little problems that he was having with it. "Now what happened to your Scarface Anbu was a tragic accident. It was just one of those moments when you try to kill a spider with a flamethrower, someone's bound to get hurt and in this case Scarface was simply collateral damage of no fault of mine since I was trying to stop a missing attempt." Maru explained.

"You know how it was; she wasn't pulling her weight, I was going full offensive, I got genned and Scarface got smoked. Now it was not really my fault she died but of course Scarface might not see it that way." Maru stated while he paced the floor, thinking back on it, Scarface did dislike the fox for some reason even the before the whole murder thing. Honestly he thought it was the nickname that he gave to the child but Scarface was a pretty cool name in his book. "Now as is, the offer was you get three tails. Good on paper but we are talking about a uchiha here who got smacked hard. Hate to be that guy but those Uchiha people are famously known for not letting shit go and I doubt that if you come to her with three tails it would be enough for that loony bitch. So where does that leave me?" Maru paused for a moment before starting again.

"Leaves me owing you two again, you come back here asking for the rest and we do aaall this shit again because YOU TWO will be cleaning up a fuck up!" Maru raised his voice as he continued to pace, it was so obvious that if he took that deal he'll end up in a sort of shark type deal. Umashi was family yes but he honestly didn't trust the guy. "Plus what if I decide to send one of my boys to pull out an eye from Scarface's skull? Then what? Since the deal is either tails or die; I refuse, we fight, I whack you two knuckleheads more problems for me and if you kill me it'll be more problems for you old man." Maru said with a little smile on his face. "Funny thing is you played yourself by showing up here, we all know your voice and we know your identity. Shit like that could get leaked around that the former hokage is still running around and some trigger happy mercenaries or even the leafies might be interested in having a talk with you.. or your family man. Now I like you, but you off me the little morals I have are gone with me and you'll be a huge target when people find out you are still alive." Maru explained the little shit storm that Umashi got himself into.

The trouble was mutual between him and Umashi. If Maru managed to kill the two, it would probably mean more heat on him coming from the cloud and when it gets out that he was too hot he might lose a few connections here. If Umashi managed to kill Maru, you best believe that his identity would be leaked around the world which might have him and his family in hiding when folks know who he was, not to mention there might be a few monsters taking snapshots of Umashi chakra signature. Maru honestly didn't think anyone would even care if they found out the old man was still alive but he seemed to be obsessed with hiding so there had to be someone out there who'd be interested. "How about this, if you can't guarantee you won't come back here asking for more let's pretty the deal up a bit. For my tails, how about a little we agree that we won't have the same conversation again to avoid all this confusion?" he offered. "Tell you what. If we make this misunderstanding go away and be a little more friendly you can use my family resources. We got some body modification if you two need a quick power boost and–" Maru raised his hand then looked up. "I swear that I won't retaliate against Scarface. Plus I got a few scramblers to help with my crew knowing who you are because yanno, loose lips sink ships. You take care of this tail situation, you get the family free of charge old man so if you need something handled we won't hesitate. Basically like a Godfather only you're the one doing the legit work while I get my hands dirty here. All I'm asking is a limited amount of protection and you can get more favors from me with the tails being one of them. Plus I have a few children in cloud that I need a few updates on if you see them." he looked over at Umashi again, waiting to see if he would take the deal then looked at Umashi's silent partner to try to get a read on who that masked man was.

[[Ooc: Maru Makes a counter offer: If Umashi offers a limited amount of protection and some give Maru some updates on how his children are faring in Kumogakure, Umashi gets free favors from Maru's Mob and he won't retaliate against Mirō (Tails included in this deal)]]

[[Ooc: Also offering some body modification in case anyone is looking to get a Bloodline/Core Ability swap]]

 

[Seijin]

Hemming and hawing certainly wasn't going to change things and Maru most definitely wasn't a bad businessman. No, for a fact Maru had fully graduated from the petty low level things to a respectable entrepreneur and while Umashi didn't necessarily agree with it, he definitely had his own skeletons stuffed in closets to deal with. If Umashi was being completely honest with himself then he would have had to have agreed with Maru on one thing above others, him being here was a mistake.

There was a reason that most Kage, even retired ones, didn't go around handling the dirty work on their own and that reason was that knowledge was power. Sure, a ransom note here or there could move a large sum of money but few things amounted to the motherlode of information that was a Kage or Sennin in the flesh. With just the right amount of pressure one could procure enough intel to topple an entire government and possibly even neighboring powers. That was primarily the reason why Umashi opted not to speak and instead to use a gaudy means of communication like paper and brightly colored pen. The less people that knew where he had retired to, the better.

​

Mulling over the deal that Maru had countered with, Umashi figured it fair to shake on. Shrugging he slowly and deliberately walked forward to Maru and only stopped just long enough for Maru's guards and goons to give him an overly thorough pat down. "You drive a hard bargain but . . . the only difference between a pirate and a privateer is a sheet of paper. You have a deal. Oh, and we'll take two of those power boosty things to go. Preferably in an easy to transport form if you don't mind. You never know when the journey might get tough in a pinch."

As he reached out his hand for a handshake, Umashi made sure to look Maru in the eyes to let him know that he was serious. Umashi lived his life by keeping his word, or at least trying to. "Look, the Raikage has no clothes and thus far, nobody is bold enough to say it out loud, so until someone does, just tell your kids to refer to me as 'Uncle Uwu' when they see me in the streets and I'll know that it's them." A firm handshake was usually the sign of a deal well done, and if that was the long and short of it then Umashi could at least proudly say that he'd managed to make it to the Wind Country and back without losing life or limb in the process. Now for the transferring of tails and other dubiously legal things and they'd be on their way back home.


OOC: Agreeing to the deal with Maru and shaking on it, signaling the transfer of the tails and power boost stuff.

 

[Chigokai Yuna]

The amount of surprises one person can take in a lifetime before something drastic happens to them; aka a heart attack, permanent dumbfoundedness, or even death. It differs with each person, and Ziren can only say that every other minute seems like a surprise for him. Maru surprised him yet again with his talks. First off, he spoke analytically, weighing the cons out loud. Ziren would never had thought Maru be capable of such thinking from the once darkness, puppet loving fanatic.

The second thing was that Maru had told them what had happened. Before, Ziren had only thought that Maru had attacked the Sennin, but now he knows more of what had happened. Such is a scary thing, Genjutsu. Made a wanted man, aka Maru, even more wanted. Ziren wondered if the man was having a good and honest life before he was Genned. Third thing... This one's about Umashi. The Chigokai had always wondered why Umashi was in Cloud ever since he had a message from him when he sent his Plant contract to give a message and received one when he was in Tea. So people think that he's dead too? Well, to be honest, he doesn't know what Leaf thinks of him, he remembered sending a letter to Leaf when he went off to fight his parent's killer. And he thought he had it hard for being overly cautious. Now he knows why Umashi chose to be an anbu, at least, that might be one of many reasons.

Fourth thing that surprised Ziren, was that Maru was totally cool with the deal, even went on to haggle it to make it better for both parties. He'll give them power enhancing "stuff" and promise not to retaliate against "Scarface" along with... Wait, what? Final bit of information really surprised Ziren enough to slightly turn his head to Maru, the most he would see is the brown contacts that hide his true eyes, but their eyes locked on for a split second, before the Chigokai remembered that it'd be best to scan around the area for possible threats. He wasn't intimidated by Maru, heck, he surely has seen his fair share of being in battles long enough. But the truth is that there were too many unknown variables at play, somethings that probably hasn't been shed to light. things he doesn't know but has to rely on his keen hearing of blood sense. As his eyes scanned around without moving his head, and ears listening to the blood flows all around him, trying to find one that would potentially set off alarms in his head, his thoughts ran wild. Maru is a father? That bit of information was something that hit number one of being surprised throughout this whole week. And this week surely had held some top notch surprises.

Umashi agreed to the counter deal Maru had made and Ziren couldn't help but smile underneath his mask. Maru surely has grown up. There is still hope for him yet. All things seem to be going perfectly. But Ziren knows that this isn't all over until they make it back safely to Cloud and those tails are delivered to this "Scarface" Anbu Sennin. For now though, the Chigokai will have to stay vigilant and listen to the blood flows around him.

 

[Kairyuu]

“A party.”

It wasn’t really a question but an incredulous statement as Maki shook the fellow once more. The trail had led them here, to Soon’s. A place Maki was familiar with through his several visits to Suna. And a place he learned one of his former…..assaultees has taken up residence in apparently.

“Yessir! A party! Maru hosts the best ones, yanno?” Maki growls and throws the man to the side, in this case that side was off a wall into the waters thirty feet below. He makes his way down from the wall in much the same manner, but in his case hopping onto the drier side of things.

He heads back to the room they were keeping, informing his colleagues of what he found and planning the meet. And then heading off to buy some things he felt….appropriate.

--------------

Getting in was simple enough. Climbing over the roof, sneaking past the guards. All trite, boring ninja bullshit that could be handwaved in any good story. What mattered was finding out where in this very ornate place they were. And considering Maru was now involved, Maki was betting on wherever the most fucked up stuff was going down. So that door there where someone was talking about pirates. Bingo.

The door to the room is thrown wide open as a black smoke floods in from the smoke bombs Maki threw at his feet just seconds before. And then several large speakers slide across the floor into the room, the size of a man and numbering at five, they fan out across the space their cables let them. As the concert begins.

As the music blasts, in walks Maki. He was wearing a sleek black gi and matching undershirt and pants. His boots were now armored, and he had armored vambraces over his forearms with padded shoulders and an armored chestplate. A demonic mask covered his face, curves carved into it with two horns going back behind his head. He’d even covered his head with a wig of long red hair that went behind him in a fabulous ponytail. He looked every bit like not-Maki.

The smoke begins to clear to reveal his own companions when they emerge. ”Maru, its been far too long. Such a fun reunion.” The mask turns to Ziren and tilts to the side. ”And you, whoever you are.” He looks to the monsters in the room, wondering what the hell he’d walked into.

His ears twitch at the sounds of the room, the bat side of him picking up on the smallest of vibrations in the ear and the overwhelming sense of blood in the room from all of these people packed in so tight. The demon wanted loose, but he would hold it in check for now as he scans the people present.

”So, I heard there was a party and decided to crash it with some friends. But I see the guest of honor is already here. Umashi, as I live and breathe. Here we thought you dead, but I guess ghosts exist after all.” The music restarts in a loop as he begins to bob his head.

”So, who wants to dance?”

(Topic entered. Hi.)

 

[Uchiha Takeshi]

Covering up from head to toe the black robes, and mask keeping his disguise completely from anyone that would see him, it seemed that Takeshi had finally turned up as he followed Maki into the location, moving through the groups he followed Maki inside, though the extra padding made him look a lot heavier than normal it was more to just keep his identity from anyone, the mask a plain black mask as well nothing special as it was clear his time serving as Umashi's Anbu Sennin would give the game up pretty quickly if he was to wear the exact same outfit as normal. Instead, he went for a much more plain and casual look deciding to keep himself in all black like at a funeral.

Stalking around the side of the group as the smoke begun to clear, he listened to Maki speaking to the group. he didn't need to add anything else to the conversation that Maki had already seen, they had found who they had come for, and right now he knew that it was a standoff, as his hand came down it rested on the hilt of the pistol that he carried as his eyes tracked each of those involved in the conversation. He knew full well that the next few seconds would decide how this would go. He nodded his head towards Maki acknowledging that he was prepared for whatever happened.

His eyes not flinching between the others he kept them on the two men that might cause trouble for the group, wanting to make sure he had a careful watch on every single move they made, not wanting to let them out of his sight. His finger wanting to grab the gun but he wouldn't make the first move, as much as the weapon was calling to him to carry out violence in his name.

[Topic Entered]
[MFT: 301]

 

[Haku Yuki]

The journey so far for Yuki had been on of discomfort, Suna was everything that she hated, it was hot, sticky and covered in sand that got in more places then she liked to admit, however she was a seasoned enough ninja to not let that effected her focus.

Maki had already reported back to them earlier and they had formulated some what of the plan but Maki being Maki couldn't resist a dramatic entrance, the smoke cleared and the former Sennin was the first to make himself known to whoever beyond the threshold of the building, Yuki stayed close to Takeshi, the hood of her own black cloaked largely covered her masked face and listened while Maki spoke to the others that had gathered there, some of the faces she knew well, others were strangers to her she kept watch on as many of them as she could studying them, readying herself if things turned ugly.

[Topic Entered]

 

[Midori Futotta]

As the friendly neighborhood fixer in these streets, Maru became great with sealing the deal between his clients. Afterall, he had to deal with some real scumbags in his time here in wind-country, so there is always a chance that the shit could hit the fan pretty quickly so it was always good to have a little leverage and pretty up the threat with an offer that can't be refused. Most of the time people will take this little edge to make things a little better for themselves but the fox knew that a good offer would make him some friends. Better to offer something good as a starting point to assure some loyalty than holding a gun to their head the whole time, you can only keep a hostage in one place for so long before you need to make some negotiations so they can both walk away in one piece. You gotta give something to get something and thankfully Umashi saw it the same way.

Maru waited to see if the old man had come to the right decision when he approached him, his goons still tense but the fox raised his hands to tell them to chill since the Umashi knew what he stood to lose in this situation. With a smirk, the fox quickly grabbed Umashi's hand then shook on the deal which allowed his goons to relax for only a split second. "Two to go, I got you old man!" he chuckled before going into his pockets right quick. "Think I got me a few samples of this sweet tablet called brotha–" before Maru could finish the sentence smoke bombs went off which caused some of his innocent bystanders to scatter. The fox was right in the middle of going into his pocket to get Umashi "The Stuff" that was getting pretty popular. He could see some figures moving in to plug some stuff in then the speakers screeched which caused Maru to hold his ears before the music began to play…

Unlike the funk that he would've chosen for this party, this song was catchy though. Maru knew this song from some furry movie, that one with the chicken and pig he didn't know what the heck it was called but he knew it from somewhere! Maru began to grove just a bit believing it was just his goons getting the music started up again but after looking around to see no one else dancing he slowly stopped since it seemed like Maru was the only one that found the song good since he was getting some odd looks here and there. "Oh common it's freaking wannabe! What! Ya daughters haven't jammed to this before!" Maru said in protest since the song is pretty popular or at least good enough to make it into the movies. Of course, then a few people that he barely even knew who decided to crash the party. The guy, or at least he thought the person who knew him by name was a guy even knew Umashi which made Maru look back at the old man then pointed at Maki then asked. "Is that old man Uchiha's wife? Her voice kinda changed a bit from how I remembered it." he scratched behind his fox ears wondering if this was really the hokage's wife since he only knew four red heads. One was the Raikage, the other one was Hokage's wife, the other was some girl he tried to kidnap, and the last one was his Temporal Mistress. By process of elimination Maru just assumed it was the hokage's wife since how these people appeared seemed very… leaf like.

Maru began to tap on a button on the side of his head in case this was some raid, a little silent alarm activated signaling some of his goons who were in the basement level of the hotel to act….

Underneath the hotel, a team of about twenty lizard people were packing up some of these odd glowing tablets known in the pirate world as Brother Blood. Brother Blood was a small capsule that if ingested, it would grant a person all sorts of wild things. The common thing that it does is basically allow a person to just change their bloodlines, one tablet will change a person's genetic code to match the bloodline they are going for depending on which capsule you take. This is good if you see something you like that another bloodline has but of course some people use it to hide from the law or to surprise people who think they are one bloodline but turn out to be another. There are more special ones too, such as the rare Gold Blood that gives a person immortality with the price of being a little weaker when you wake up from death or the Double Blood which makes a person into a chimera. These obviously cost just a little more since the material is a bit rare to get since dna from the old jashinist for their immortality is a bit hard to get now due to how rare the old ones were, chimera was only rare to get because curtain ones had shit like you’ve never seen before but there were plenty of shinobi corpse around to get some materials from.

A lizard man wearing a cheap leather jacket with no shirt was looking at a 18+ manga involving monster girls, eyeing mostly the reptilian girls in that manga when suddenly he heard some beeps coming from his headset. The lizard man turned down some old school rock and roll that he was listening to when the message played itself again.. Two long beeps and a short one. G. One long beep. T. Two short beeps, a long beep, and another short beep. F. The lizard man started to get tense already knowing the last letter was O, once it was confirmed like four or five times that the secret code for a sting happening upstairs was in fact GTFO or --. / - / ..-. / --- in morse code the lizard would then grab his shotgun then ran out of his office to announce it to the other lizard people. “THE JIG’S UP! PACK THE PREMIUMS AND TAKE THE ONES THAT ARE POPULAR!” yelled the lizardman in which in that instant some started to pack up some of the Brother Blood in a hurry. Some of them stuffing them in their pockets, some flipping over tables to mess up the workplace a little, some even started crushing as many of the tablets as they could to keep the people upstairs from learning their secret. A case full of Golden Blood was carefully closed as the chaos was going on then two lizard people dressed in suits looking like a stereotypical businessman calmly began speedwalkin towards the exit while ignoring carnage that was going on around them. The shotgun wielding lizard had to run to get to the corporate looking lizard men, then he yelled for the others to leave the rest behind and follow him. Holding his shotgun in front of him to slow down in case the sting was coming down stairs, it was so far so good the shotgun wielding lizard man would then begin to send a message of his own to the boss upstairs as he walked then moved up stairs. A simple code that simply spelled out GTG. Nothing more nothing less.

[CODE RECEIVED: Lizard people will try to leave through the emergency exits in three post]

Lore on black market item;

Spoiler

BROTHER BLOOD
Brother Blood is a pill that possesses a strange kind of mutagen which allows the user to do some crazy shit. Common ones are the ones that allow a person to change their genetic coding in under 10 seconds after taking it, allowing the user to change to a new bloodline or even an enhanced skill depending on which color they choose to ingest. While this is useful for changing things when the gods above change their abilities to something weaker, this is popular for criminals who are hiding from the law and human puppets who would like to use these tablets for a sweet gauntlet. There are even ones which allow you to quickly leave a location, enhance doujutsu. Store senjutsu and the one that everyone wants. Immortality which allows a person to regenerate and resuscitate themselves as long as there is a single cell intact after you were offed. That one is called Golden Blood, though the side effect of it is that you’ll be weaker since all your chakra reserves are working on the simple task of bringing a person back from the afterlife…

When Maru got a code back from his worker lizards, he quickly shifted moods, now the goal here was to stall long enough for his lizards to get out with the goods since he would be on the line for that Brother Blood since he got them through some of his corporate connections. Needless to say they were looking to get a cut of the money for this illegal project of theirs, afterall some folks did want Golden Blood and they already put a down payment on a shipment that Maru has! So this means he had to just stall, bring the attention on him which Maru was talented at doing. Clearing his throat , Maru fixed his hair then did a dramatic pose with his hands on his hips then did what he did best… Be perverted.

”Well, well… At first you made me curious but now you’ve interested my tenth tail cutie. I see you’re interested in getting to know exactly what the fox says….” he said in slowly, lowing the pitch of his voice just a bit then winked at the masked Maki who had Wannabe playing on loop. After clearing his throat, Maru started to make some fox mating calls which was him just going a high-pitched scream sort of like loud ’WOOOOOOOOOOOOOW!!!!!! WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAOW! Ehh…. EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAH!’ After finishing his fox calls, he snapped his fingers then pointed at Maki. ”Now you scream like that, then we'll get right to the breeding process.” the monsters, mutants, and demons around cringed at Maru’s failed attempt at flirting. Maru could even hear some people behind him telling him to just…. Stop but Maru didn’t really care to listen he just waited on Maki to return the call. Even offered his hand out as a sign that he was actually waiting on the call to actually be returned.

 

[Seijin]

"You can check-out any time you like,
But you can never leave!"

Umashi wasn't the strongest or the fastest and if one was being quite honest he was pretty middle of the road as far as Hokage went. Kami before him was far more knowledgeable about the way that the world worked and even Yomi after him held a wisdom that he could only hope to ever attain. Even Takeshi, as much as his failings were many, proved to be both quicker on his feet and more demonstrative in his prowess and if his protégé was anything like him than the the newly minted Godaime Hokage was surely a more expedient version of he that came before her. Indeed, much like a true turtle, Umashi's best charm was that everyone loved an easy going, easy to please reptile that was content with simply riding the wave that was life. Was it the best methodology, hardly. Was it easy, absolutely not, but more often than not, taking the time to enjoy what he had rather than lamenting what he did not allowed him to rest easy at night when he fell asleep.

Maru shook his hand and both equally surprised and not surprised as he was, Umashi was glad to see that Maru hadn't come empty handed. The goal as ever was to get in and get out, and with the end of it all so close in sight, Umashi actually licked his lips behind his mask in anticipation of what would finally be the end of this mess. Then the bottom fell out, or rather, the ceiling . . . no, somebody actually kicked in one of the numerous doors and started blaring music the likes of which Umashi hadn't heard in just long enough a time that he never wanted to hear the music again. So close and yet so very, very, far away. At first believing these to be some annoyed customer of Maru's, Umashi tried to stand nonchalantly enough to not be seen as a threat but the moment that his name was mentioned he instantly broke out in a cold sweat. All of a sudden, for all Umashi cared, the world stood still as his heart skipped a beat.

In a scenario like this there were always a number of ways that things could turn out. The fact that he was so easily identified despite having a mask on meant that his cover had been blown or that he'd been set up. Neither of which was good. Attempting to regain his balance emotionally, he spoke as he stalled for time to think. "Well, for a fact you aren't from Kirigakure, most of them are dead and there is no standing army there." Umashi could attempt to fight his way out, but considering that the man had brought friends inside and probably had others outside, that would likely end horribly for Umashi considering that he probably hadn't earned any favors with Maru's goons. To that end, Maru cracked a joke as if to imply that it was the old man Uchiha's but Umashi brushed it aside. "It would be believable that Kumogakure could want me gone but . . . no, that wouldn't make much sense, the Raikage is more of the royal braggadocious sort than the scheme within scheme's type of high roller." More stalling, more thinking. If they knew his name then they knew that most of his tactics were to stall till victory or a safe exit was all but for certain but he doubted that his turtle tactics would work all that well if they made such a grand entrance as this. Applying enough pressure would break even the hardiest of turtle shells.

"Sunagakure . . . could write the book on political intrigue and drama. I'm hardly a blip on their radar." Something that Maru said resonated with Umashi and with that, he slowly but deliberately took off his mask and slid it into his cloak. In Umashi's opinion, Uchiha ran most of the world and had their fingers in everything, but Maru made the statement, "Is that old man Uchiha's wife?" . . . there weren't that many notable Uchiha with spouses that did an equal amount of dirty work. Did he know who this new threat was? "Now Iwagakure . . . those Stoners wouldn't lift a finger against me. I'm literally a living Saint to them!" The gruff voice had mentioned Maru and himself but not Ziren. All three of the men hailed from the Fire Country but only Maru had been unmasked the entire time and if they were trailing Umashi then when him and Ziren split up, they obviously didn't follow the bloodborne boy. Ziren wasn't the target and Maru was just collateral damage. Umashi was the prey and he'd walked into a trap by leaving Kumogakure on a fools errand.

If this was a Konoha led operation then they knew every facet of how he'd think and how he'd presumably act. They knew his tactics and they knew his strengths and weaknesses. Umashi wasn't going to win against an Uchiha dead set on turning his brain to mush and as far as his skills with fisticuffs, a Hyuuga would find it more difficult to take candy from a baby. Maru hadn't given him the goods yet, and unfortunately none had spilled out of his pocket. Tapping away at his temple, Umashi could clearly see that Maru was preparing for trouble. Ziren had probably already identified every threat that lived and breathed in the room. Everyone expected Umashi to go on the defensive when going on the offensive was clearly the wrong answer. The only right thing to do in a situation like this was for Umashi to do the least expected thing and insure that Ziren could finish the mission. "And so it seems that Konoha has come to tie up loose ends, eh?"

Spoiler: Turtle Time

Smirking, he began to activate his turtle sage mode and spoke to the newcomer as he turned his head to Maru, then back to the man and then finally at Ziren. "Dead as I may not be . . . I'm still a man on a mission and I intend to stick to the plan. Maru owes me something." Without much of a warning, no sooner had his sage mode finished activating and his skin took on a reptilian trait and bulked up, he grabbed at Maru's pocket and snatched where he figured at least some pill to be and came up with many. Eyes glowing, Umashi threw one of the pills in his mouth and chewed it expecting to get an instant power up that would hopefully empower him to best the best Uchiha and Hyuuga that Konoha had to offer. Awkwardly, nothing happened. "Well that was disappointingly anticlimactic." Stuffing the rest of the pills in his pocket and then snapping it shut he quickly applied the might of his natural energy to his foot and stomped the ground and caused the room to shift. Today, Umashi had been given the choice and instead of taking the road most traveled, he chose chaos in its truest form.

OOC: Grabbed a handful (20) of pills from Maru's pocket and ate one. I haven't ICly figured out if the effects are working or not.

Rolls and coin flips for dice.

Spoiler

Umashi, Ret. Nidaime — Today at 2:37 PM
Rolling for if a pill or pills fall out of Maru's pocket due to movement. 1-6, with 1 being 0 pills and forcing Umashi to have to reach into Maru's pocket.
t!dice 1d6
Tatsu
BOT
— Today at 2:37 PM
:game_die: Rolling dice!
[d6 : 1]
In the end, the result was: 1
Umashi, Ret. Nidaime — Today at 2:37 PM
:neutral_face:
Ok, Umashi reaches into Maru's pocket, how many pills does he pull out 1-20, true numbers.
t!dice 1d20
Tatsu
BOT
— Today at 2:38 PM
:game_die: Rolling dice!
[d20 : 20]
In the end, the result was: 20
Umashi, Ret. Nidaime — Today at 2:39 PM
:dizzy_face:
Since the pills are samples, are they stable. Heads, yes, Tails, no.
Best out of 3
.flip
Nadeko
BOT
— Today at 2:40 PM
Kid Classic#5553 flipped Head.

Umashi, Ret. Nidaime — Today at 2:40 PM
.flip
Nadeko
BOT
— Today at 2:40 PM
Kid Classic#5553 flipped Tail.

Umashi, Ret. Nidaime — Today at 2:40 PM
.flip
Nadeko
BOT
— Today at 2:40 PM
Kid Classic#5553 flipped Head.

Umashi, Ret. Nidaime — Today at 2:40 PM
Stable it is.
How many does Umashi shove into his mouth at once. True to number 1-20
t!dice 1d20
Tatsu
BOT
— Today at 2:40 PM
:game_die: Rolling dice!
[d20 : 1]
In the end, the result was: 1
Umashi, Ret. Nidaime — Today at 2:40 PM
whew
Umashi, Ret. Nidaime — Today at 4:11 PM
Only because I have never been able to swallow a pill without drinking something . . .
heads or tails if biting the pill causes an issue . 3 rolls based on if chewing causes an issue with pill intended effects. D6, 1-3, no issue, 4-6, yes issue.
t!dice 3d6
Tatsu
BOT
— Today at 4:13 PM
:game_die: Rolling dice!
[3d6 : 3,2,2]
In the end, the result was: 7
Umashi, Ret. Nidaime — Today at 4:13 PM
There ya go

Umashi, Ret. Nidaime — Today at 4:13 PM​

There ya go

OOC Battle Actions:
I'm not so much as paying attention to CP and AP as I am the RP of it all.

Spoiler

Currently a Senju x Archsage
- Entering Turtle Sage Mode
- Use a free basic strike to snatch the pills from Maru's pocket.
- Using Initiative to speed up Gravel Shift (Mastered) via Natural Energy & Wood Conversion to those immediately around him (Maru, Maku and a couple of monster folk)
- RPly I've Unbound Loyalty prepped so consider Turtle shells and Tsukumogami weapon shenanigans to ensue.

 

[Chigokai Yuna]

Everything was working out perfectly, that is, until it didn't. And yet ANOTHER surprise came his way, this time in the form of blood flows. Three of them, but only one that he was familiar with, or at least, remembers. But before he could impart that information to Umashi and Maru, a smoke bomb was thrown down and stereos were plugged in to play some music. Ziren had brought his hands up in a combative stance, mainly to protect most of his body if an impact came his way, but nothing happened. When the smoke cleared, Ziren saw three masked people, but only one of which talked. That voice... It can't be... But his suspicions were right from when he first heard the blood flow, now hearing his voice and his mentioning Maru and Umashi by name. This is about to get really messy really quick. He calmed his mind and body, knowing that a single indication of weakness could hint them that this masked man knows one of them. His body relaxed as he tried to find a way out without tipping the Leaf ninja off of who he was. For now, he was happy that he didn't accept that ANBU lady's hand crafted mask, for that wouldn't have been able to cover all identifying parts that made Ziren, Ziren. To them, Ziren might as well be a faceless anbu or merc here to get paid.

Both Maru and Umashi were trying to stall in their own way. Maru with his... Ziren doesn't really know what to call it, but the fox said it was a mating call that obviously his monster friends are thinking that Maru is failing. And then Umashi, talking out loud of which Village wants to off him. Finally, he came to the conclusion that it was Konoha, and then proceeded to interrupt Maru's attempt to woo Maki by jamming his hands in Maru's pockets and stealing some pills before taking one. Ziren looked at him to see if anything would happen, but nothing did.

The next split second would change everything. He knew that they would be at least somewhat surprised by the behavior of Maru and Umashi's failed attempt to gain a power boost, so it would fall on Ziren. He would have to use an element he really hasn't been known to use, in which the list is long for who could use Crystal Jutsu. But first, the man flipped through hands seals fast putting up a giant stone wall between them and the Leaf Ninja. He continued to make more hand seals to at least by them time, all the while trying to push both Maru and Umashi with his body, in hopes to make sure that they won't get separated once his next jutsu comes to fruition. He was only able to push Maru to be with him. As his hand seals were finished, crystals popped up those such as opal, garnet, jasper, turquoise. It was enough to make a whole labyrinth of just crystals, mainly turing the building from a resort, to a crystal wonder. The only problem is, that him and Umashi were separated. It would only take a few seconds for him to find Umashi, since Ziren was the one that made this thing. But that could be said the same for the Leaf ninja and happen on Umashi by chance, though, they would have to get past the earthslide wall first.

Everything seemed to be going good, up until the crystalline labyrinth made crystals that made a dome like top over everything. And the music. For some unknown reason, the crystals didn't destroy the studios nor unplug them or knock out their power source, so the sound amplified throughout the area and echoed, making it give the whole place a mysterious creepy vibe despite all the colors and the music playing. Ziren shook his head, he can barely think, much less hear blood flows from far away. Then a thought hit him. Maybe this is a blessing in disguise. Yeah, he can work with that, he was further away from the boom boxes than their "friends" so he can work with it. The masked man turned to Maru, hoping that the man isn't too busy covering his ears to make a head movement gesture as if to tell him to follow him without using words. Best way is to not show that this loud noise is messing with him. Even though his radius of listening for blood flows has decreased due to the echoing loud music, he can rely on the fact that he made this jutsu, so he has a good idea where Umashi is, just as long as Maru decides to help Ziren out by not doing anything too Maru-y.

OOC NOTES:
Rolls and coin flips

Spoiler

1-6 of Ziren recognizing blood flows, 1: Maki, 2: Takeshi, 3: Yuki, 4: All of them, 5: None of them, 6: reroll



[6:04 PM]
t!dice 1d6

TatsuBOT — Today at 6:04 PM​

Rolling dice!
[d6 : 1] In the end, the result was: 1

A Chigokai or a Hyuuga — Today at 6:04 PM​

ok

A Chigokai or a Hyuuga — Today at 6:28 PM​

attempts to push Umashi and Maru while casting jutsu, 1: Umashi, 2: Maru, 3: Both of them, 4: neither of them



[6:28 PM]
t!dice 1d4

TatsuBOT — Today at 6:28 PM​

Rolling dice!
[d4 : 2] In the end, the result was: 2

A Chigokai or a Hyuuga — Today at 6:28 PM​

darn >_<
[6:34 PM]
does the jutsu separate Ziren and Maru from Umashi, heads, yes, tails, no. best two out of three
[6:34 PM]
.flip

NadekoBOT — Today at 6:34 PM​

Ziren#0188 flipped Head.

A Chigokai or a Hyuuga — Today at 6:35 PM​

.flip

NadekoBOT — Today at 6:35 PM​

Ziren#0188 flipped Head.

A Chigokai or a Hyuuga — Today at 6:35 PM​

darn again >_<
Stereos muffled or echoed, heads, muffled, tails echoed. Best two out of three



[9:15 PM]
.flip

NadekoBOT — 04/09/2021​

Ziren#0188 flipped Tail.

A Chigokai or a Hyuuga — 04/09/2021​

.flip

NadekoBOT — 04/09/2021​

Ziren#0188 flipped Head.

A Chigokai or a Hyuuga — 04/09/2021​

.flip

NadekoBOT — 04/09/2021​

Ziren#0188 flipped Tail.

A Chigokai or a Hyuuga — 04/09/2021​

Echoed






Message #bot-fun

Battle stuff

Spoiler

first used earth slide wall
then used crystalline passage

MFT
WC: 796

 

[Seijin]

“Hey . . .”


As things began to play out in the typical shinobi fashion, the world slowing down to a crawl, heightened senses and that inescapable feeling that one could die at any moment, Umashi watched as hand signs started to be weaved and battle lines were quickly established. There was truly barely any time to think because thinking usually caused people to think wrong and die all the same. Even with the nagging voices in his head beckoning him to consider all sorts of possibilities, Umashi’s biggest pull was preservation of the mission objective and getting home safely.


“Hey!”


Either someone was missing the tell tale signs of a battle or they truly were oblivious to the idea of losing life or limb but even over the noise of blaring music, screams of terror and hurried routes of escape, Umashi continued to hear someone, somewhere in the chaos yelling to get someone else’s attention. Attempting to fall back away from the party stoppers, Umashi felt an off sensation as his chest began to burn like bad indigestion. Was the pill finally working or . . .


“Hey, listen!”


And then everything truly came to a screeching halt, or so it seemed. His eyes able to take it all in, Umashi noticed that this wasn’t just a normal battle intuitiveness, because the world was really slowing down and moving at a snail's pace.Did Maru somehow spike the pill or was Umashi awakening the Sharingan, he couldn’t tell, but far quicker and normal than everyone else around him, a figure looking eerily like himself moved through the crowd and sidestepped the figures that had broken up a perfectly good deal and even Maru himself before coming to stand right in front of Umashi.

“You’re a very hard man to contact, you know.” Questioning what was going on, Umashi attempted to shake his head but found that doing so literally shook him loose of his own body as he appeared as a mere projection of himself, next to himself. “If you’re strong enough to stop time then it would do me no good to question who you are at this point but I’ll bite . . . who are you?” Smiling and shaking his head, the figure shook his head no and pointed widely at what was happening around them. “This isn’t actual time manipulation in the least. This is literally all of your doing and no, you haven’t been blessed with the Sharingan. I’m a bit more grounded than that, literally.”

His face scrunching up in confusion, Umashi started to ask what the being was when the answer popped into his mind as if he’d known all along. “You’re an Elemental?” Closing his eyes and making a scale like motion with his arms, the creature indicated that Umashi was close, but not quite. “Technically, you had all of the genetic potential within you. Maru’s pill just helped to unlock what was already there. I, me, we, whatever you want to call it, were able to simply bridge the gap between that which was already present within you and all that wonderful Natural Energy stuff outside of you.” While the answer somewhat made sense, it also left far more questions than had been answered. There was also equally still the whole slow motion sensation that the world was currently undergoing.

Slapping his own forehead, the creature shook his head as if it had read Umashi’s mind, something that Umashi was sure that it actually had. “Oh . . . that bit.” Turning to face the assailant that had signaled Umashi out by name, the being walked right up to him and began to wave its hand in front of the man’s face. “See, nothing. Humans have the innate ability to perceive the passage of time at all times. People just assume that Uchiha are doing something extra special but in reality they’re just able to take hold and control their perception of what’s going on. Simply put, they’re able to hijack their own reaction time at will. As a being of pure chakra I’ve momentarily hijacked your brain in order to force you to actually observe what’s actually going on around you while we communicate via chakra; which without going into the complexities of energy and time, means that we're having a really normal conversation really fast in your head. That aside, we need to have a chat about the important issue that needs addressing.”

Turning back around, the creature pointed behind Umashi and as Umashi turned around to look at what it was pointing at, he stumbled back in confusion and awe. Where there hadn’t been before, there was a large ominous gate beyond what looked to be a crumbled one.Turning to question the creature, Umashi noticed that as soon as he did, that the rest of the room seemed to disappear and it was only the two of them in a twilight lit expansive space. Neither dark nor light, where the little bit of light emanated from was unclear but what was clear was that something had clearly been attempting to get past the gate that was left standing.

“I’ve been trying for a few cycles now but I can’t get past that second gate and it’s really affecting my ability to solidify our connection. You gotta let down those mental guards that you have. I was able to get through one but there’s two more and that second one isn’t budging.” Looking at the gate, Umashi could see that there was indeed a third gate past the second and he attempted to mentaly will the remaining gates away but was unsuccessful. Shrugging he turned to his elemental familiar. “I’ve got nothing and I’m not even sure why those are there, I don’t normally walk around attempting to protect myself from mind reading chakra beings.” Scratching at his chin, familiar matter of factly spoke as if thinking out loud.

“Well then that means that you didn’t place it there and that whatever is behind there is something that somebody doesn’t want you to know. I guess it makes sense since you are a clone . . . naturally your creator might have stored away bits of information within your genetic code that could prove disastrous if released into the wrong hands. Like I said, you’re an anomaly in that you have the genetics that don’t quite make normal sense. I guess the only way to bring down the gates is to hit the reset button.” Utterly confused and somewhat offended, Umashi commented with alarm. “Wait, what?” Won’t that sever the connection between us and aren’t I in the middle of a room of people who may or may not want me dead? This doesn’t sound like a well thought out plan.” Beginning to cause a fuss, the mental realm that Umashi and the creature were in began to shake.

“Remember, I’m a being of pure chakra and we’re communicating via Natural Energy, I’ll keep you alive and well . . . enough. Though, I guess that I could speed up your healing factor a bit. Trust me, this won’t hurt too much. A quick cerebrovascular accident ought to do the trick.” Umashi had been in and around the medical field long enough to know what a cerebrovascular accident was and he wasn’t going to agree to it without really looking at if knowing what was behind the gates was even all that important to know. “You’re going to give me a stroke, really? Maybe what’s behind there isn’t worth knowing, huh? You can’t just go around attacking people’s brains without their permission, who even asked you to come bother me in the first place? I’ll have you know that I know contract rulers in high places!”

Carrying on as he was, the creature ignored Umashi as it stared off into space and began to give instructions to something or someone that Umashi couldn’t see before finally addressing the panicking man before him. “Look, you signed the contract when you swallowed the pill. My job is to now protect you, even if that’s from yourself. We can do this the easy way or the hard way but right now, that thing and whatever lies beyond it are a hindrance to what could be a mutually beneficial relationship. Either we bring it down or it corrupts the entire process and causes further harm. I in fact, intend to keep you alive, hence the protective measures that I’ve put into place. A hotfix and a rewiring is already underway and we’re using Natural Energy to rapidly speed up your healing by way of your chakra reserves just as soon as we’re sure that the mental blocks are gone.” Silenced, Umashi had nothing to say when things were put as they had been. As the world began to dematerialize before him he had only one last question before his life would momentarily darken. “Can I . . . Can I at least get your name first?” Blanching, the creature paused as if it hadn’t considered that to be a question that needed addressing. “I uhh . . . I don’t have one in the conventional way of having one . . . perhaps you can call me . . . wait, that’s gonna hurt!” In that moment, everything went dark for Umashi and he hit the ground with a thud.

​

OOC: In light of the new GMT rules, I'm making a post in order to complete my build swap. As far as anyone will be able to tell, within seconds after my last post (if you can see/hear/sense vitals) you'll know that Umashi had a stroke. If you can see/sense chakra then you'll know that he had an uncontrolled Natural Energy flare up. Either way, Umashi is momentarily unconscious on the floor.

 

[Chigokai Yuna]

I thought I was doing good. Made some protection to keep the old man safe and even a whole crystal labyrinth to keep the Leafies at bay. But what happens? I saw the man fall flat on his face and from how his blood flow is sounding, it's not good at all. Crap, crap, crap! Why did you have to go old and senile now of all times?!

I turned the man to his back and started chest compressions. But nothing. I even went as far as using Angelic Blessing, not really thinking things through. I will say one thing, I was desperate. I didn't want someone to die while I was around. I had failed to save a lot of people, from enemies, themselves, or sickness. I can't let Umashi end up on that list too.

That's when a thought hit me. Maru's pills. A quick power boost to really amp up the healing jutsu's. Maybe even change one of his blood line or core abilities to something like Benevolent, the kind that mainly focuses on healing. Without really thinking, I stuffed my hand into Maru's pocket and pulled one pill out and stuffed it under my mask and into my mouth. Gulp.

I waited. One second. Two. Nothing really was happening. I wondered what the chances were of grabbing a Chigokai pill of my part of the bloodline, the chances should be slim, but- I started to cough uncontrollably, my chest starting to hurt. This may as well have been the most dumb thing I have ever done, probably. The whole room seemed to be spinning, and everything seemed to be getting bigger. No... That's not right, it was as if I was getting shorter? Now I have experienced my fair share of weird, but this was on a whole other level. I was physically shrinking down a few inches, but that wasn't all of it. My chest felt a little bit weird, but I can't really know what happened, with all this attire on. And something is growing out of my own butt! Next thing I know, my mask starts moving up as if being lifted up, I slam it back down to keep my identity from being seen only to feel sharp pain on two very specific points on my head, which was weird as hell. Now my uniform was all baggy, obviously not made to fit all sizes. If I had to guess, I would say that I am around five foot three right about now.

"Relax. You're not dead." A Voice that sounded too much like a young woman was made out in the chaos that is the echoing of the music and... Wait a minute. I cannot hear her blood flow. Come to think of it... I can't even hear Umashi's whom I am standing over right now, nor Maru's, who was nearby. Not being able to hear blood was a foreign concept for me. It was like a fish without water. A bull without horns. Maru being a normal guy. Not knowing what is all around me without hearing blood was something that really put me off. I looked this way and that, studying everything as if anything could be an enemy or jump out from these beautifully made corners of crytsals and... wait, why did my mind go off like that? "Hey!" There's that voice again, this time, I knew where it came from because shortly after, fingers were snapped in front of my face and a girl with a tail and fox like ears appeared in front of me.

​

"Geez, you act like you've seen a ghost." She said, then she smirked at me, "Oh wait, that'd be me." I was at a total lost of words, but the Kitsune, which I guessed was, since she kind of fit the bill, simply waved her hand in front of Maru's face, before going on, "So here's where things get a bit weird. You and me are partners now whether you like it or not. Normally, what would have happened was that you get some kind of power up from just a fraction of my genetics. But for some reason, whether it be too much of my DNA in that compound of a pill, or something is wrong with your genetic makeup to make you look like me. But because of that, we are now soul bound. Not really, I just wanna laugh at you for trying to be selfish and take power for yourself, and from a cute Kitsune like myself of all people."

Wait, look like her? Is that even possible? My messed up genetic code from when I was blasted by a bio weapon way back when mixed in with her over abundance of DNA in the compound mix that is called this pill? Then again, it would explain how I got shorter, feel something near my butt, and what just might be fox ears on the top of my head. I tried my voice for the first time since even being around this compound. "I didn't do this for selfish power, girl, I did this to save this old man from having a stroke." And sure enough, my voice sounded of a higher pitch, more feminine. No doubt Maru is probably looking at me like I've gone crazy.

The girl shrugged, "Well it'd be your fault for dilly dallying around. And you weren't thinking straight, just use Resusicate, and that should stabilize the Geezer." I did as I was told and let my healing chakra flow to Umashi, but I noticed that it was giving off a warmer glow than usual. Holy. The Kitsune nodded beside me and then said, "I let you use the holy chakra, since we are spirit linked. But I want you to be able to go even further than that and be able to draw forth that Holy chakra for yourself. Just think of pure thoughts and all that mushy stuff. With enough focus, you can blast an enemy with enough force that you actually heal from hurting them." This chick really wasn't a good teacher, but I decided to just go with it.

"Hehehe, what do we have here? Now where is that one that Master wanted so badly?" I looked over to see the same individual from the bar had made his way here, "You sure are slippery, wherever you are." With a reluctant sigh, I did the only thing sensible. I blasted him away with chakra blast, doubting that would stop him, but there was just too much going on right now.

You're welcome again, I sensed that man was a dark individual, so I added some holy to it to really hurt him, and also..." Broken crystals fell down on me as I got cuts from them, but I felt my own cuts heal up, as I looked at where my unknown evil stalker had blasted off to. "We are Exalted, just a reminder for you so you don't try any of that barbaric Chigokai things."

"Me? Barbaric? And what's with this whole Linked and we business?" I exasperated, which probably sounded like a frustrated woman not getting her ways to Maru. I then looked over at Maru, "Help me get this old man out of here, please."


(OOC Notes: Made in light of Chimera patch. What all would notice, physically, is that Ziren is now Five foot three, and has a more feminine type of body, and a kitsune tail. Disguise is kind of baggy now. The ghost Kitsune is only visible by those who have the abilities to see spirits, otherwise, It just looks like nothing is there, to where Ziren is talking.)
(Also switched up point of view to mainly to confuse myself with the he, she, kind of thing. Easier to say I, me.)

 

[Midori Futotta]

As Maru was trying to talk to the leafies he could feel someone's hand trying to go into his pockets, in which he responded by slapping their hands, before turning his attention back to distracting the leafies until his lizard people would make it out of the hotel. Though Umashi’s persistence prevailed since he just like reached into his pockets to pull out the samples of Brother Blood that were pretty much still in the more ‘experimental’ phase which was just as a surprise to him as it was to his fellow fiends even as Maru would quickly spin then yell at the old man. ”WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH YOU!” he yelled though everything happened pretty quickly at that point, One moment Maru was trying to get the situation under his control then things quickly escalated with Umashi taking some of the Brother Blood and Ziren tackling Maru which separated them from the fresh hell that was just started. That was when the gang started to finally act, beginning to shoot, throw knives and explosives turning the hotel into a freaking warzone almost instantly. Some armed themselves with stuff they had from the party to rush at whoever they thought had been the enemy at the time.

It was a good thing that they weren’t separated from Umashi for that long, plus with the cover of this crystal labyrinth this could give them an opening for an escape. Maru looking over at Ziren would then follow him then stretched impossibly wide to yell at Ziren. ”HEYYYYYYYYY I KNOW A PREFECT ESCAPE ROUTE!” he yelled trying to drown out the music though Maru noticed that Umashi was in some kind of trance or something before he fell unconscious to the floor. Now this would probably be a good time to escape, especially since Ziren went in his pocket to pull out some more brother blood but Maru did want to play nice since the mask guy or femboy… or did he mutate into a whole female? ’Broooooooooooooo~ I need to know which one was that.’ he thought to himself as he pulled out a brother blood in his pocket to look at it for a moment, deciding to maybe add the whole possibility of gender swapping to the list of side effects…. And yanno talking to themselves. Maru would then quickly rush over then began to pick Umashi up, putting him over his shoulders like a wounded warrior then he began to run for it as the chaos was happening on the outside of this dome, deciding to save the last brother blood for himself to see what it does since he felt like he should be joining in on this mutagen party.

”Common, let's get out of here.” Maru said while they were under the cover from the bullet hell that was happening on the outside of this dome that could’ve possibly have kept the leafies busy which allowed them to slip through the crystal labyrinth without much issue. Meanwhile, the Lizard men below them finally made it up from the basement and the two in suits would find that there were a bunch of fiends making a break for it to the fire exit screaming and yelling. Though their guards cleared the way for them by setting up a blockade to halt the fiends from leaving so the lizard men in business suits left the building.

Maru got the code from his lizard men made it out alright once they were outside of the hotel using another emergency exit to the west. The fox would then set Umashi by the door then turn to Ziren. "So, I'm gonna bounce. I'm sure you can take Umashi from here." Maru said before channeling his chakra into a plasma blade, the booms and cracks of the firefight going on inside could still be heard. "Don't worry, I'll hold up my end of the bargain here…." and with that, one slash with the plasma blade behind them and all nine of his tails fell to the ground still writhing before going limp….. that… was an accident. Maru went for a kind of stylish kinda slash since just cherry picking just three tails with a plasma-fucking-blade was kinda lame. Needless to say he overdid it a bit but with the wounds cauterized there was at least no blood for now. Looking down at his tails, he felt just a bit more weaker than he originally felt.

"There, you got triple of what ya asked for, that should do it so Scarface doesn't yell at ya." Maru said as though he actually meant to do that. "Think I'll go sleep for a few months, you two take care and remember I got your back." and with that Maru would then fly in a random pattern from the hotel within a huge ball of energy leaving Ziren and Umashi with all of his tails so he could go into another hyberation under the sea for a couple months… maybe longer.

[[Ooc: Maru accidentally cuts off all of his tails. Umashi and Ziren has all 9 tails from Maru who goes into a hyberation under da sea.]]

[Leaf Unless stopped]

 

[Seijin]

[Start of Transmission]​

“Something went wrong.”

“Define something went wrong?”​

“I mean, exactly that, something went wrong. I think that someone else may have been running interference on the operation.I was so close to trapping him, and it seems like he managed to break through despite not being aware of what was really going on. Heck, it looks like somebody else showed up to try and disrupt the party as well.”

“Like who?”​

“Well, you know how our minds work and there are a lot of us so it's anyone's guess but I’d be willing to believe that it’s one of the ones further down the line. The other folks though, they couldn’t have possibly been one of us, they were too sloppy and made too much noise. That aside, I do believe that enough of the protocols were able to be uploaded before the connection was severed. I think that that might be enough to get things underway but we will definitely need him to complete the equation.”

“I understand. Well, we can't let our hand be shown too early. Clean up the mess, We can't have anything linking directly back to us and we certainly can't have him figuring things out too soon.”​

“And what about him?”

“He'll find his way back home, trust me, he always does. his friends though, rough them up a bit, make them sweat and get them off the trail. Divert their attention elsewhere.”​

“ Understood father, I'll make this quick.”

[End of Transmission]​

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

​

Not quite dead, and with his chance at life quickly fleeting away, the thud of Umashi hitting the ground was enough of a shock to his system to force him back awake in enough of a state to be somewhat conscious of what was going on around him although he wasn’t fully in control of his body just yet. His mind a foggy haze, he thought that he could hear some sort of faint calling for something in the distance but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it just yet. All that he knew for certain was that his head hurt, in fact, an entire half of his body hurt and he couldn’t figure out which or why.

Struggling to move, he wasn’t aware of who was friend or foe or even where he was, and an attempt at trying to call for help only came out as a mumbled mess of unenunciated grunts and moans. Something was wrong with him and something was wrong around him, but like a baby he was helpless to do anything but be a passive observer. As dizzying as his vision was though, he was able to focus on a bright light that seemed to draw the attention of everyone around him. Whether it was his jumbled senses or something else, the warmth of the light seemed to invigorate Umashi as the fog started to clear away.

Having fallen from the open air above like the brightest falling star, more and more bright lights of varying sizes began to manifest and fall ever so slowly like snow on a winter’s day. Pulsing and changing shape like an uncontrolled chakra nature, the closer they got, the more strength that Umashi seemed to regain. When at last they were close enough for even the most untrained of beings could jump and grab hold of, Umashi realized quite suddenly that they meant nothing but danger. Unable to form a longer sentence than one bearing a single syllable, the seemingly defeated victim managed to speak right before the world around him was bathed in light. “Run!”


OOC: Unknown forces are blowing up the place. Ziren will close out the topic but those left in the topic will be considered to have reacted to the chakra bombs in enough of a defensive way to where they aren't dead.
OOC#2: Topic Left Unless Stopped

 

[Chigokai Yuna]

Even in the hell of whatever was happening around me, somehow it was all going smoothly, even better than I would have thought even. I know that things like this are rare chances that are usually followed up by the more common bad luck immediately afterwards. I followed Maru as he carried Umashi and finally ended up outside. Then that's when Maru did something I did not expect. He actually sounded like a genuine human being that cares for the people that are around him. Such a foreign concept, I was also surprised even more when he cut off all nine of his tails. He would then leave in style with me and Umashi here. I took the tails gingerly and put them inside of a sealing scroll, and stowed the scroll away.

Another thing that I had noticed and kind of bugged me was that the ghost that had helped me has stayed quiet. No word. But the biggest thing that was unnerving was the fact that there were things along the likes of what one would call a meteor or... Wait there are more? Falling from the skies. It reminds me of the Stardust Nova jutsu, but not at the same time. There was a thought of just throwing up a barrier jutsu, but honestly, I don't want to stick around here any longer than I have to, and it would only seem that a barrier would only stop a few of those from hurting me. If I stayed around any longer, then I would have to face whoever or whatever is sending these things my way.

As Umashi regained consciousness, and saw the meteors, he said run before running off himself. I didn't need any encouragement, but whilst I was running, I wasn't going to take any chances. There were a lot, but the least I can do is reduce how much damage is done to the area. Flipping through hand seals, I made my own meteors come out, Stardust Nova, to crash into the other meteors that were raining down in the area where they were at. But alas, some got through and crashed down. But if I was a betting man, woman, kitsune, whatever, I'd bet that they are still alive. I sure as hell know that Maki is one tough cookie, and there is no doubt that the other two that he's traveling with probably are too. My mind wandered for a bit before being pulled back to reality as I saw a meteor coming at me. There would be no time to really dodge it. But I can soften the blow.

Using more of my chakra, I used my affinity to gravity to use Shinra Tensei, a gravity field erected around me as the meteor closed in. I felt the heat of the chakra, the intensity. It was all I can do just to keep standing. That's when I realized that they were not meteors at all, something of very highly condensed chakra with one purpose. Eliminate.

My jutsu ended, but it really took a lot out of me. Now that I think about it, I was throwing out a lot of high leveled jutsus around, that and my sudden transformation. My whole body was just sore and hurt, which I can probably deduce it being from the chakra bomb, but everything up to this point has been hectic and has kept me on my toes. A sudden thought came to me, my hand wavered near the sealing scroll, and was relieved that it wasn't in bad shape. Me on the other hand, blocking that chakra bomb kept me alive, but my attire has seen better days. It was a good thing it hid the tail and my face.

I was finally able to move and followed Umashi to the best of my capabilities, making a single clone. We both ran around before my clone went in one direction and me in another, which is where I think I saw Umashi head off in. I'll be letting that clone do it's clone thing for about an hour, to wiggle off any potential pursuers.

(Topic left)
(mft)
(WC: 690)

 

[Uchiha Takeshi]

It seemed to Takeshi that chaos happened so quickly it wasn't even to be considered funny, no matter what happened to the group it was always these lot that got caught up in it, stuff had changed and things had happened he wasn't quite sure what the hell had gone on but that was life for most people, and right now he was aware that the group that came from Leaf would have to get out of here, their mission had been and stood as a failure he was sure of that, he knew that he would have to report such to Asuka but some missions like this it was to be expected.

"Move, everyone out quickly and head for the docks, we failed here and need to make sure we are not hanging around and caught by anyone else, this mission was secret our identities hidden so let's keep it that way, make us a way out and move through it silently, no speaking until we have made it back home go"

With that he would move quickly out of this place, keeping the safety of his team at the forefront of his mind as he moved, the sound and damage around him was funny the fact that even if they had failed their mission, they had seen Cloud destroy and damage something that belonged to a different nation, this was an interesting turn of events and at least he would be able to give that information back to the Hokage when they got out of here. Taking tight turns left and right the group sprinted towards the docks and to a way back home.

[Topic Left]
[MFT:270]