[S.O.F] A Search for Purpose

[HopeOfDamnation]

Hakumei's blade was once intricate and bright, a work of art and beauty. Now, it was colored in the rusty red of dried blood and gore, an instrument of violence. This was the life of a missing nin - one of brutality and hardship, a life the former chuunin revelled in. He craved the thrill of being hunted, the freedom of the open road and the feeling of adrenaline rushing through his veins.

Yet, when the young Fukusha had heard of a strange mercenary organisation, one that had allied with both Iwa and had a close connection with one of the minor countries, he was intrigued. And so, guided by this curiousity, the missing nin had decided to travel to this country, the so called Sovereignty of Freedom, in search of fame and oppurtunity. Now, some time after he began his travels, he'd finally reached the Sovereignty and walked along a dusty, lonesome road, the sight of a settlement ahead barely peaking above the horizon. Hakumei gripped his blade tightly, prepared to draw it, if need be. Then, he steeled his gaze and finally enterred the small town. The Iwa shinobi didn't quite know it's name, but he looked around, finding a nearby bar and calmly enterred it.

He ignored any frightened or suspicious states, sat down on the nearest chair and propped his feet up on the table. Carefully, he observed the people coming in and out, sitting around and drinking. The bandit searched for anything unusual, eyes scanning the other patrons. It was in places like these that others like him often gathered, mostly away from the crowds, outsiders looking in. He hoped he wouldn't need to resort to any of his more brutal ways of finding information, not wanting to have to paint his sword in the color of fresh blood.

[Trusted Grader]

Chikara, Yasu and Enzaragi had finished one of their daily patrols, they were located high up in the skies around the edges of the country connecting to Rock country and their new territory. Chikara, anxious over the new mission that Yasu had promised them while Enzaragi was down to clown per usual, the mercenary turned to face his comrades and proceeded to tell them that he was going to make a short pit stop at one of the bars before they proceeded with said mission. "I guess this calls for a celebration, now I know that you two don't like it when I drink but you guys can eat before we go out on the mission... And who knows? Perhaps we will find a new job at the bar or another member."

Chikara shrugged and chuckled, Yasu wasn't amused, she felt almost disgusted by the idea that she would have to spend another day with Chikara, especially when he was drunk, but he had promised that it would only be a drink. "As long as it's just one, or, you just get buzzed, if you become drunk then I will put you to sleep and proceed with the mission without you." Yasu didn't even face Chikara, instead she eyed the bar from above before leaping off the eagle and landing hard by the entrance.

"Wow, such an attitude, like... When have I ever been that drunk?" It was a dumb question which Enzaragi shouldn't be able to answer with a straight face, for there had been situations where the zealot and the leader of the pack had to leave him behind to complete the mission, withholding his pay as a result. He sighed then leaned over the eagle and landed even harder next to Yasu. Fuck! That hurt the ol' knees. Chikara could no longer deny it, age was creeping up on him.

He watched his comrade make way before he would enter the bar and order the usual, he'd sit down by the bar. Yasu leaned up against the counter with her back turned towards the bartender, eyeing for any prospects while Enzaragi did his thing.

[HopeOfDamnation]

Hakumei observed the three who has just entered the bar, carefully eyeing each of them. He listened in to their conversations, carefully mullimg over every word in his mind. So these are the people he's looking for, huh? Perhaps he was expecting something a little more.... Impressive. But one should do well not to judge a book by it's cover. So, he quickly jumped up from his table and began to approach the group, hungry grin on his face.

"Heya," The missing nin said, as he approached the three, looking them over once again. "Heard ya chatting here. You're looking for a new member, right? I think I can do you some good." The Fukusha held his hands behind his head in a leisurely manner, anticipating their response. This was the oppurtunity he was looking for and he was certain he'd be accepted in - after all, if not he then who else? Hakumei knew he was fit for this kind of job, he was absolutely sure of it and it showed in his posture.

[Mre-face]

The patrols were long and boring not much of anything happened most of the time, but it was something that needed to be done to ensure the safety of Jiyū no shuken. Enzaragi didn't mind as much as Yasu about Chikara taking a celebratory drink so long as he only got slightly buzzed and didn't go overboard which was common for the drunkard, but he had improved a lot over the years.

They landed unto the ground a large audible 'thud' was heard from the impact before Enzaragi wandered in and took his seat. Ordering water and a small bowl with bread and meat while Chikara ordered whichever alcoholic beverage he was craving.

They were approached by a young shinobi who seemed interested in joining them. "Oh really! And who might you be and what makes you think you can do us some good?" Enzaragi smirked and curiously asked before extending out his hand awaiting the boy's response many came with similar propositions, but many lived up and Enzaragi was excited to see if the prospect was what he advertised himself to be.

[Trusted Grader]

Chikara could barely believe his luck, it was almost as if the gods, Jashin or whoever had listened to their conversation and sent them a gift from above. Well, the true question now remained, was he a gift? Or was he a curse? Yasu looked at the kid with contempt, she didn't think much of the kid and generally just wanted to get on with her mission, Chikara on the other hand chuckled. "Is that so? Well, well, I guess today is your lucky day kid." Chikara watched Enzaragi reach out before he too would do the same, although attempting to fist bump the kid.

Yasu returned to Chikara with a drink in the hand. "Drink up, we have our mission. " The leader of the pack was in some sort of hurry, or rather she didn't want Chikara to overstay. Someone seems to be in a rush. The mercenary peered towards her; his mental dialogue was acknowledged. You found your recruit, now put him on the task, let's get out of here and complete the mission at hand! Chikara raised his hands and shrugged.

The conversation would appear weird for anyone outside as it seemed that the two of them answered each other with gestures and grimaces but once they reached an agreement, Chikara would turn towards Hakumei and propose an idea. "How about this, we are about to head out on a mission, come with us and prove your worth and we'll see what we can do about a job opening." Chikara slayed the drink before he wiped his mouth and grinned.

[HopeOfDamnation]

Hakumei was almost giddy - a chance to prove himself to some of the most infamous mercenaries in the whole world? Count him in! He shook Enzaragi's hand, grinning widely. "Hakumei Fukusha at your service! Among the most talented swordsman where I come from! The Demon of a Thousand Techniques." The boy said with confidence. It was possible that the group had heard of him - a locally known bandit from Rock country, a missing nin from Iwa. The nickname, as dramatic as it sounded, came from rumors of the boy'a uncanny ability to copy jutsus, even ones he'd seen for the first time. An ability Chikara might be familiar with.

The young Fukusha tapped his blade, running a finger along it's edge,then looked towards Chikara. His expression was one of determination and eagerness. What better way to show them what he's made of than a mission? Hakumei only hoped he'd be able to show his mastery of the blade and of lightning chakra - his two greatest assets. Now those might make an impression. "So you wanna see what I can do, huh? What's your mission? Whatever it is, I'm down." Then, he gave the older nin a fist bump and turned to look at Yasu, expression souring slightly. What was her problem? He almost returned her glare with one of his own, before deciding that would probably be a bad move.

[Mre-face]

Enzaragi looked at the enthusiastic teen, he was brimming with excitement which was good from an enthusiasm point of view but didn't prove anything about his actual ability, but it was a good start.

"Demon of a thousand techniques Eh? Then we'll see how you live up to that name." Enzaragi said as he nodded towards Chikara with a smirk. The look would give Chikara the info needed that this next minor mission would be more focused on testing the young rouge ninja instead

He tapped on his blade and ran his finger across it's edge the sword was standard issue, but it got the job done that's all that matters in the end anyway. Enzaragi was analyzing him trying to gauge what kind of style he would use he's rather energetic a patient style like Toryu or Yoshin doesn't seem like his cup of tea. Maybe Iaido or something on the quicker side would line up with him better.

Enzaragi looked towards Yasu with a small nod indicating she was the "Leader of the pack" after all... "Yasu give him the run down." Enzaragi was secretly hoping for a simple yet challenging mission don't want your prospects to die that was both tragic and annoying all at once. Worst case they could always step in and save his hide that or give him a task and if he were to complete it then he could join their ranks. However, that is if he was able to in the first place.

[Trusted Grader]

Yasu watched them engage in conversation, words were exchanged, history was bragged, and nicknames were tossed, all of which meant little to the leader of the pack, she watched Enzaragi try to scale the situation down before she was called upon. "We are to travel to the borders of S.O.F and recon the borders of Rune, we need to make sure that they aren't planning on doing anything stupid. We might even try to build up some towers to make sure that they don't just sneak into our country and try to sneak attack us."

Yasu took a deep breath and crossed her arms, her massive stature made Chikara almost appear like a small man, but truth be told, his eyes made sure that he always stuck out among the crowd of people, their matching eyes made it seem like they were indeed some sort of legendary couple, while his left eye was "inactivated". "Fukusha you say ey?" Chikara rubbed his chin but was interrupted by Yasu who continued to talk about the mission.

"This mission shouldn't be that dangerous, I would rank it around B-Rank, A-Rank if we encounter enemy troops but I expect us to fight stragglers and minor patrols here and there. This should be a cake walk for us and could be a good way for you to prove that your name is worth your salt." With that she would begin to walk out of the bar, Chikara, who hadn't finished his drink would gulp it down then rush began to rush after Yasu. "Enza, it's your job to make sure the kid doesn't die, okay? You are on babysitting duty because I AM NOT IT!!" Chikara laughed for he knew that Yasu would never agree to stand back and protect a kid they had just recently met.

[HopeOfDamnation]

This group proved a strange contrast, the three nin before him seemingly friends as well as partners. Hakumei nodded at Yasu's explanation and took in her word, grin spreading across his face at the prospect of getting to show off his skill with the blade. "Sounds easy enough, yeah. Think I'd be useful in that kind of scenario." He tapped his blade, the katana still sheathed at his hip.

The young Fukusha took a good look at Chikara, studying the man carefully with his gaze. He felt strange about the older shinobi, there was something familiar yet also so foreign and different about him. Something about his eyes.... "Yeah, what about it? Any problem with that? And trust me, you don't get a name like that if you can't fight off a few stragglers. I've done a helluva lot more than that before." He grinned with excitement, then turned his eyes towards Enzaragi, expression quickly falling. "What? I don't need a babysitter, I'm not 5! What's your problem people, I'm not a damn genin!" Hakumei's tone was high pitched and raised in embarrassment, a flush appearing across his cheeks.

By the time he'd stopped talking, the former chuunin had noticed the trio was already making their way towards the door and run over to them, quickly closing the distance. "Ya know, for a bunch of old guys, you guys walk fast. Where we off to now?"

[Mre-face]

Enzaragi listened to the briefing before nodding and taking a look around. "Sounds good? Sounds good! Don't worry about her she's like that with everyone." Enzaragi shrugged with a smirk but the idea of facing rune soldiers yet again was stressful they were among the most powerful they had ever faced. It said that their military might could rival that of the five so rumors of them poking around was to be dealt with immediately. Never the less a mission was a mission.

Enzaragi was excited as a new recruit wasn't something that they have had in awhile before he got assigned babysitting duty. "HEY! This is your recruit too y'know!" Sighing at the idea of it as they wandered out of the door. "Welp guess I'm on babysitting duty for now. Strap in kid time to show you are "worth your salt" as the lady said!" The rookie was enthusiastic at the very least which was good but for now he only had a lot of talk.

The rookie seemed fond of quips before Enzaragi filled him in. "Most likely we are gonna take a nice trip on one of the massive birds. So I sure hope you aren't afraid of heights. Then once we get to the border we proceed from there. Right Chikara?" Enzaragi asked as he caught up to Chikara and Yasu. Before looking back at Hakumei. This mission could get dangerous especially with rune possibly involved so he at the very least hoped that he was competent enough to not get himself killed on their very first mission together.

[Trusted Grader]

Chikara couldn't help but to chuckle, he knew that the boy probably wondered why they were moving so fast, well, that was because technically they were still on the job and Chikara had promised to only take one drink, with that drink done it was time to get back on the ship and sail towards victory, or something like that. He turned to face the duo exiting the bar as Yasu whistled for the birds to return. "Right, you should make sure that you stay alive then, because where we are going, death will be around every corner."

He spread his arms as he smiled. "I hope you aren't afraid of heights, because if you aren't too careful you might fall off and break your neck." With that final laughter the Nara would tilt his head right as Shiryoku dropped from the skies and clasped both him and Yasu, leaving Ayuma to pick up Enzaragi and Hakumei, the owl was a bit slower at flying than the eagle but it would give Enza and Haku enough time to get to know one another.

Hours later they would find themselves by the borders of S.O.F and the land of Rune, their sworn enemies who they had once failed to conquer and last month they had tried to retaliate but failed spectacularly, which meant, it was S.O.F's turn to invade, but today they were just going to investigate and try to find a winning strategy. "There is a stronghold by the border of our country, it's called eagles peak, where Rune has stationed some of their legendary archers, we won't be able to fly in to the country if we don't deal with the stronghold." The eagle swooped down and released both Yasu and Chikara.

Soon the owl would land next to them as Chikara continued. "We are here to make sure that that stronghold does not stand, and any other that threaten our ability to coordinate a perfect attack. Basically, we are here on a semi recon and destruction mission. Rune is known to be a very dangerous country and considering we lost with an entire army, us 4 alone don't stand a chance if things go south. But if you believe you don't need a baby sitter, then I'm sure Enzaragi is relieved." Chikara chuckled as he turned around to face the forest that separated the two countries.

[HopeOfDamnation]

"I'm pretty used to death at this point. I think I'll be fine dad." The following eye roll was almost audible. He wasn't exactly sure what the reason for the whole rush was.

The Fukusha flinched slightly as the owl landed, stepping back slightly. " I'm not afraid of any heights, but this is a pretty weird method of transportation." And off they went, carried away by a massive eagle at an incredible speed. As the owl picked him and Enzaragi up as well, Hakumei looked down at the world below him, grinning widely at the view. The missing nin noticed they were going a little slower than Chikara and Yasu, so he turned towards the man held in the bird's other talon. "Had to choose the faster bird, didn't they? How long have you known those two?"

The dark-haired young nin landed gracefully, looking out at the forest. "Makes sense. How fortified is the thing?" He raised up an eyebrow inquisitively, clearly in thought. At Chikara's next words, he frowned, turning away in embarrassment. "
"I've spent a helluva while living as a missing nin, I do not need a babysitter. If I did, don't you think I'd be dead by now? Let's just get on with this so I can prove to you and you can stop bugging me about it!"

[Mre-face]

They made their way to the birds with haste just as Enzaragi was expecting Chikara to get his laugh before being transported away with Yasu as on Shiryoku. The zealot respectfully gave Ayuma a pet as a sign of respect for the beautifully feathered bird. "It's efficient is what it is. The fastest way to get somewhere by far." This was Enzaragi's response to Hakumei calling the way of transportation weird. Enzaragi thought it was rather genius. No structures or harsh terrain could prevent them from getting to where they needed to be in a quick way.

After beginning their flight Hakumei asked an unexpected question. "How long have you known those two?" How long have I known them? By Jashin! A lot of memories flooded his mind every mission every blunder every person who came for them for help or for a contract. Every drunken night that Enzaragi had to take care of. It all came back to him causing him to pause before snapping back. "Around ten years I would say. So a decade I would say." Enzaragi smiled that he had someone he could call a close friend for all these years. A simple odd job turned into something far greater. An unexpected friendship that he treasured greatly.

Hours passed and Chikara explained how Rune have been encroaching on their borders which surprised Enzaragi they were rather secular and expanding wasn't part of their game. Why? Is this some kind of revenge for our previous war? What exactly is Rune planning? Regardless Enzaragi didn't have time to ponder why and when all he knew was that they couldn't stand for this as they knew that war was brewing and they want to have the advantage when it came.

"Assume that it's very fortified, Rune and its soldiers rival some of the strongest nations in the realm. So be careful."

Chikara had joked for a while about Hakumei's ability but it was now or never to show his worth. "Time to show what you're worth kid!"
With that, the scorpion would move towards the path of their enemies.

[Trusted Grader]

Chikara chuckled and poked his tongue out as his Shōgō-Zumi activated, he turned around and took cover by one of the trees, he overlooked a fortress that was standing on the edge of a cliff, it protected the trading routes that sprawled throughout the forest, a perfect sniping nest for the wicked. Chikara and company prepared themselves to storm the tower, normally he would have a bird's eye view over the base but today he would make do with what he got. "Enzaragi and Yasu could walk up the gate and draw their attention while me and eh... Hakumei goes around the back and scales the walls, destroying their signal capabilities."

Chikara looked over at Hakumei and winked before he turned to face Enzaragi and Yasu, who was leaning against a tree. "Or, you can walk up for once and use your little magic tricks to distract the guards while I and my partner take care of the rest, as per usual." Yasu leaned off the tree and marched towards the outskirts of the forest, Enzaragi would follow or change the plans if he wanted, while Chikara just shrugged and bumped the recruit.

"I guess I'm not the leader of the pack, I'm going on a knock-knock duty! You up?" Chikara pushed off and stepped onto the path that would lead him walking down the long road to the fortress. "These things are never easy, that's why we say every step is towards freedom, that is the motto." Chikara stopped walking as the sun was beginning to set, the orange hue danced over their matrix and revealed the sweet shadows the others were using, a sting of jealousy hit the Nara as his eyes turned back towards the massive gate, behind it they could see two massive towers that overlooked the meadow they had now stepped into.

The cliffside revealed the massive rock slabs that held up the bastion, the sunlight dancing off the rock, hiding the visage of their superiority. "Here we go." Chikara continued the road that would take them to action, his heart pumped and tensions rose as he was unsure how things would go. The other company would have to scale the walls and infiltrate from another position, while the shadowy mercenary was forced into the light.

[Mre-face]

Arriving at their lock-out point overlooking a strong fortress positioned at the edge of a cliff, its position was both strategic and treacherous as it gave a good overview of Jiyū no Shuken meaning they could strategically inform or attack at points.

Chikara suggested the usual approach but then Yasu interjected wanting Chikara to walk forwards instead. Leaving Enzaragi to choose to go along with the plan but it left Hakumei in the position of either being responsible to Enzaragi or Chikara.

After hearing Yasu's suggestion the irony didn't fail to dawn on Enzaragi which gave him great joy to transfer over the rookie to Chikara. "That sounds like a plan! Which means guess who's on babysitting duty?" Enzaragi stuck out his tongue as he slithered his way toward Yasu before making their way to their location and getting ready to do their plan of attack. "Let's role Yasu!" Staying slightly behind Yasu as she was the one that suggested the ambush.

Enzaragi put on his mask and activated his communication indicating that it was game on. After wandering in the forest his body was warmed by the sunrays and the adrenaline creeping up to get him ready for the inevitable fight. "Ready when you two are!" That was the line to let Chikara know they were in position now all that was left was to have the correct amount of violence and timing to get rid of their hold on the fort.

[HopeOfDamnation]

Hakumei was quite annoyed at the conversation taking place before him. Not only was the younger nin frustrated that he hadn't yet gotten to actually storming the tower, which was an exciting prospect, but these three idiots were still debating on what to do with him. As if he needed a babysitter! He groaned audibly, almost snapping his teeth at Enzaragi as if he was a rabid dog. "Enough dilly-dallying, let's actually get going!"

The dark-haired boy's expression began to shift, his irritation replaced with an anxious excitement of sorts. " Course I'm up, I've been itching for some damn bloodshed!" Hakumei went to follow after Chikara, not paying much attention to what the man was saying, let alone blessing him with a response.

Instinctively, Hakumei's hand was drawn to his sheathed blade, the missing nin almost itching to drench it in blood. "So how exactly are we planning to distract these fuckers? Cuz I'm not just gonna be sitting around while you bore them to death." He said as the two made their way, eyes scanning the older as they stopped on the activated Shōgō-Zumi - seemingly having just noticed it. "Now where the hell'd you get that, old man? Never heard of anyone outside the clan having it." Hakumei commented offhandedly, before activating his own and giving Chikara a crazed, toothy grin.

[Trusted Grader]

Chikara couldn't help but to chuckle, he wondered what was going through this kids head, then figured that it was the fact that he truly wanted to prove himself, little did he know that he was dealing with an B-Rank mission which was far above his pay grade. Hakumei had been a fun little extra on the way but his life would now be in his own hands, or so Chikara would claim with a shrug.

The Nara's stolen doujutsu would reveal the highest level, the Tsuyoi Shōgō-zumi, a doujutsu that only a hand few Fukushas had manged to master. The Nara grinned as he dialed the eye back down to the third stage, his other doujutsu was practically useless at the moment as Yasu's visual information didn't give him much to go on, the same couldn't be said in reverse.

"Greetings! Me and my little brother have come a long way-"

"Stop! Don't take another step forwards or we will count it as a violation of the law! You have tresspassed on Rune's sacred ground and any further actions will be seen as a transgression!" The guard yelled out, his comrade crept closer and began to whisper in his ears, words that were probably filled with poison, especially since both Enzaragi and Chikara were very well known men.

"I see, then I guess asking for a room is out of the question?" Chikara grinned as he raised his arms.

"Oh we will give you a room allright! HAWK!" His comrade shouted, two archers appeared at each corner of the fortress, taking aim at the duo.

"Oh damn, I guess I'm not as unknown as I used to be... " The missing nin grinned as he peered over at Hakumei.

Yasu was already creeping up the wall, she knocked the guard unconcious before grabbing the unsuspected guard and tossed him over the ledge, she watched as he fell down the cliff towards his death. "Ready when you are." Speaking within her mask as she peered towards Enzaragi.

[Mre-face]

As they kept discussing how to take on this mission Hakumei had grown annoyed at Chikara and Enzaragi especially them constantly making jokes about his current skill level the kid had a lot to prove but at the very least he showed that he had a fire within his heart. Hakumei growled at Enzaragi as he almost rushed forward with Chikara while Yasu and Enzaragi ambushed them from their blindside.

Following shortly behind Yasu began scaling the wall not one to be left behind Enzaragi timed it nearly perfectly pulling out his blade as he dipped through the air grabbing the blades in an ice-pick grip and piercing the neck from two sides instead before throwing them off the very same cliff. Giving a slightly less painful death by letting them die before being thrown off.

"I'm always ready Yasu! Take point, they must have gotten their attention by now right?" Enzaragi move tactically alongside Yasu while asking for a sitrep for the situation speaking into the mask rigged with a communication system for excellent mission-to-mission communication. "Oi Kara did you serenade them with your irresistible charm?" Enzaragi said sarcastically anticipating that they had somehow already triggered the guards enough for a full-blown fight. Chikara wasn't the best the drunkard was always clumsy and somehow managed to escalate- "Hakumei of any use yet? Or is he still all talk?" Sneaking in an additional joke while also being curious on how Hakumei was doing in such a chaotic situation.

Navigating through the fortress was rather straightforward but it's scale would mean that it would take quite a while before they could rendezvous not only that but they would surely encounter guards soon enough further delaying them. But Enzaragi was still worried his worry was less about Chikara and himself and Yasu. The zealot was more worried about the new recruit considering that a second of negligence or slip-up could injure or even kill the rookie.

[HopeOfDamnation]

Hakumei could barely contain himself, only doing so because he didn't want to ruin the Nara's ruse. Yet the young nin wasn't able to stop a grin from spreading across his features as the guards began shouting at them. With impressive speed, he ran towards them, hands performing the necessary seals in rapid succession. Lightning sprung around Hakumei, arcing across his skin and his blade, increasing both the boy's offense and defense exponentially.

In less than a second, utilizing his signature Iaido style, the dark-haired young man pulled his katana out of its scabbard, just in time to swing at his foe. The flashing sword was swung in a wide arc, electricity leaping up from the surface of it and potentially locking the guard's muscles in shock. If the blow landed, he'd surely be heavily wounded, muscles sore and numb. If not, then Hakumei would swing again, in the opposite direction, though most of the charge's original force would be gone by that point. He hoped that'd be unnecessary.

[Trusted Grader]

Chikara grinned as he nodded at Hakumei, telling him that he was good to go, fortunately, the kid didn't look at him as he turned to face the guards aiming at the duo, he reached for his sword and flinch draw, causing a genjutsu to be cast as he had channeled chakra to cast a specific jutsu that caused anyone who saw the action to have their "souls" jump out of their bodies, though because of the action required him to reach for his weapons that meant that the archers managed to fire off a shot at Chikara, who simply flipped over then and ran up the wall next to Hakumei.

Once they reached the top, Hakumei would notice that they failed to move as if for some reason they were frozen solid, this would hopefully boost the kid's confidence and also reveal to Chikara what the kid was capable of, though the mercenary was quick to remind him that this was only the beginning. "Don't get too cocky kid, this is just the first wave, if we don't stay vigilant then we can be swarmed... Though I highly doubt it." Chikara poked out his tongue then nodded towards the eastward wall, then towards the opposite end, telling him that they should split up for now.

"Do you think you can take down those two archers on your own?" Chikara didn't want to offend the kid but this was serious business and if he made one wrong move then it could spell the end for him. Chikara on the other hand would face six archers that aimed at them, but he denied them the opportunity to strike them as he blocked every single arrow thanks to his Shōgō being able to read all of their telltale movements.

In his mind, he was preparing for a special jutsu that he had been dreaming of lately and now that he had a Fukusha next to him maybe he could pull it off, though he doubted that the kid knew of it, for he had only read about it once in a novel written by a legendary Fukusha. He was planning on casting Izanagi, a special genjutsu that would allow him to change the fates of reality, or so it would seem to the unsuspecting.

Yasu lept and attacked an enemy ahead of Enzaragi, she split the man in half before she spun around and tossed her massive blade towards the trio that was running towards the alarm. The massive blade cut them to pieces and knocked the bell off its hinges, causing it to ring once but not enough to set off any alarms, Yasu and Enza had been informed that the bell needed to be rung three times before a chakra burst would send out and warn the nearest military compound.

But just because they managed to knock it off its hinges didn't mean that they couldn't still ring it, Yasu moved out of the way of an incoming strike, sidestepped the samurai in order to let Enzaragi take care of him as she front-kicked a man attempted to strike Enza over the edge. "We should clear the back before we enter the main building from the back."

Yasu flipped and landed next to her blade, she pulled the sword off the ground then rested it on her shoulders, then peered towards the nearest tower. "You don't mind, do you?" Yasu knew that Enzaragi was far faster than she was, so it would be easier if he ran up the tower and took care of their enemies, while she covered the walkway.

Chikara, on the other hand, was busy finishing up the final touches of the genjutsu, he had studied his enemies and knew damn well that if he didn't use it correctly then he would lose his eyesight for the day being as this was a technique that would not only make sure he survived but turn the tables in his favor. Unfortunately, it came with an extremely heavy price, the jutsu would shut down his Shogo for the entire day as it required so much power to alter reality.

This genjutsu would, for the enemy at least, appear to give Chikara the power to change his fate, if he sees something come towards him which could end him then he would just move out of the way before the strike while within the genjutsu they would see him perish, all of their senses would tell them that this fate bestowed upon him was real and the only fate fitting for a mercenary, all the while he would become invisible to all senses until the moment he either struck, left the battlefield or ran out of time.

The genjutsu was near limitless but at the same time required patience, caution, and intelligence to use, for if he miscalculated then he could still be injured as it really was up to him to figure out a way to escape whatever predicament he found himself in as it wasn't like he had the power to actually alter reality, it was all an illusion after all. A chuckle escaped his breath as he was ready to cast the genjutsu, but stopped once he saw that a massive warrior made his way out of the center building and seemed to be beaming towards Chikara and Hakumei.

"This is going to be interesting." Chikara grinned as he cast the genjutsu on the commander right as their eyes locked from the distance, now all he had to do was make sure to retrigger it before he needed Izanagi to save his life, until then he continued to lay waste to his enemies.

---

946/900


[Izanagi]
S-Rank Dormant Warp Genjutsu
Prerequisite: Tsuyoi Shōgō-zumi, 50 WP.
One of the epitome of the visual powers of the Tsuyoi Shōgō-zumi, named after the primordial God Izanagi-no-Mikoto of both creation and life, so it's only fitting that the eye that can copy techniques would hide the ability to fake reality to the point where the onlookers can believe that the caster is capable of altering reality. The user channels chakra or forms the needed hand seals before their doujutsu begins to cast Izanagi, anyone who looks at the user while the jutsu has been cast will be trapped within the Genjutsu, once it has been cast the genjutsu goes dormant and rests until it is ready to be cast again. Here's the beauty of this genjutsu, it doesn't alter anything, and it doesn't trick the enemy into seeing flying dragons or their body melt, no, what this genjutsu does is retrigger once the enemy attempts to kill the caster, this retriggers Izanagi and creates a perfect body that the target can smell, taste, sense, and touch, basically creating a real body who they kill, while the real body becomes invisible to not only the eye but the other senses for as long as the user doesn't attack or until the genjutsu runs out. This is a long-term genjutsu and lasts for 10 posts.

MetaShow

Soul Flinch
B-Rank TaiGen Dormant-Illusion Maneuver
Prerequisite: Flinch.
Chikara channels chakra to his blade before flinching, All who witnesses this action, then they will feel their "soul" take a full step back and give them a third perspective of their bodies, allowing them to see the back of their body and outwards. Lasts for 3 posts.

[Odoriko • Fortune teller]
A-Rank Taijutsu Discipline
Prerequisite: [Shōgō-zumi], [Perception]
Chikara has trained both his body and mind to be able to keep up with foes that are faster than him, due to the eye-capturing minimal pattern movements which allows him to almost predict what they are about to do and work perfectly with his reckless combat style, as long as the user's [Speed] is not below -5 than the opponent's [Speed] they'll be able to keep up with the opponent's attacks, it works well when he is facing multiple opponents.