[Invasion of Iwa - Konoha Offense] Battle Site 1 - South Wall

[Niro]

The Wall of Iwagakure no Sato could be confused as part of the mountain range if one didn't know what they were looking for. The monolithic structure stood 150m meters tall and boasted a thickness bragged about in innuendos continent-wide. Today, however, only 50m of its impressive girth would be fought on as the Blast Shield had been raised to cover the village. Centered at the top of the section of Wall stood one of the defensive towers, its own height rising an additional 40m into the sky while its base, which touched against the Blast Shield, measured only 30x30m.

At the base of the wall, a thin 2m strip of earth separated the base of the Wall from the moat of lava surrounding it. The moat was filled with burning hot lava sloshing about measuring 30m deep and reaching out 100m into the icy tundra which made up the valley the village was situated in.

[Director]

Fanho and Yoru will be at this site, starting at 200m away instead of the normal 100m.

[Niro]

[Iwa will be placing Tatsuo, Natsumi, and Kinsue here]

[Niro]

Post order is: Tatsuo -> Yoru -> Natsumi -> Kinsue -> Fanho

[Niro]

Takeo had begged Tatsuo with his dying breath to use his power for good. Of course, Tatsuo couldn't stop what was already in motion but the compromise the Tsuchikage could promise to was to leave Konoha and Fire Country alone as long as they left them alone. Hell, he had planned to leave everyone alone after Sunagakure received what was long overdue. There was plenty of problems within Earth Country he could be solving but instead here they all were.

Well, Tatsuo wasn't the one who had broken it.

The declaration by the new Hokage wasn't unexpected. There were several within Tatsuo's circle who had expressed a desire for this very scenario to happen. Tatsuo believed he understood the logic; cut the head off the snake and stop it all at the perceived source. But, as he looked over the tundra at the approaching forces, Tatsuo was sure they would've stood a better chance reinforcing Suna rather than risking the village fall then marshalling forces for an invasion of Iwa. Who knew who would've died on either side in Wind?

Now, Iwagakure had summoned the strongest members of its alliance to aid them in ensuring both theaters were more than adequately fielded. If all went well here...Konoha could be next.

Tatsuo stood at the edge of the Wall, the defensive tower erect some meters behind him. The helmet of his armor was retracted as his gaze locked onto the two figures across the tundra and he felt seals being applied to his neck from behind. His arms rested on the pommels of his blades as he glowed briefly, his melashiin blossoming from the base of his spine. From the cracks separating the greaves from his hauberk, the tendrils, like thick black-purple vines, snaked their way into the air. The mouths at the ends of each of them let loose a soft hiss as their sharp edges unraveled and snapped at the air like hungry dogs.

One of this figures he could recognize as Yoru, even from here. The man had come to Tatsuo after killing his own brethren and asked for help implanting the Byakugan now residing within his head. A shame he had trusted the man and not had other countermeasures placed during his surgery. At least now he could rectify that mistake. The other figure? He hadn't met the younger man before but he matched his bingo book entry.

Awai, Fanho. The new Hokage.

Maybe Konoha would be deciding a new, new Hokage after all.

SpoilerShow

[Basic Formation: Enhanced Melashiin]
D-Ranked Ninjutsu
Channeling chakra to their shiin, they cause it to inflate, fully forming into its full glory. Taking the shape of a long fleshy protrusion, the melashiin is able to recover at double the rate of a normal body part would. The user's melashiin has been combined with a temershiin granting it Endurance equal to user's Endurance.

[Director]

Yoru stood across the wind swept rocky plains of Iwagakure. He had been here before, he knew the territory well, and its people. His time outside gathering intelligence roaming as a missing-ninja had come calling back as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He looked over to the green Hokage, someone whomst Takeo had entrusted the village to, and seemed comfortable letting him take the reins of. Someone the village could look to as a symbol, someone that could inspire hope and in others the ability to act for one-another. He turned his attention back to the field as he looked up at the wall seeing the Tsuchikage Tatsuo standing high above.

The Kage squabbles were not for Yoru, he had no desire for politics, no personality for it neither. He was much a dark horse like that of Taiga, someone who wasn't for the public niceties and public persona. Rather he preferred to keep himself to the shadows as he had done for the last few years before settling back home. Yoru cocked his head towards Fanho as he asked, "I hope you know what you're doing. Even if you're trying this on a technicality." With a firm eye roll and sigh, Yoru folded his arms up in his kimono as began to walk back towards their main camp at the border. Confirming the opposing assets at their site, it was clear Fanho's plan had gone somewhat well.

Yoru threw up a hand as he waved goodbye to Iwa, "Can't really believe I let you wake me up from my nap for this." The Bannin quietly walked back to the camp leaving the site.

[Jinan B]

The day had come. For reasons he didn’t understand, the Tsuchikage had brought Kinsue with him to defend one of the key points of Iwagakure’s Great Wall. No doubt some of the fiercest fighting would be here, Konoha’s finest against the second-longest serving Kage; his wife (a legend in her own right), and… A no-name jounin from Kirigakure. He supposed it was a test, to see whether he had the strength to be respected after the battle had ended. Kinsue was ready to prove his might.

He gazed out from his position on the Wall’s edge, trying to ignore the turbulent lava – of all things – at the bottom of the steep drop before him. Two figures made themselves clear in the distance, recognisable even as far away as they were. Anyone who could defeat Kinsue’s cousin in a battle, simulated or not, earned his attention. Sarutobi, Taiga was the most renowned of course, but Aizawa Yoru wasn’t far behind. A man who stood atop the world of shinobi, and somehow not the greatest threat presented to the trio. The new Hokage himself had come too. Kinsue forced himself to breathe evenly. How did he keep finding himself amid such peerless warriors?

Kinsue spared a glance for Tatsuo, who struck a fierce figure against the vast horizon. They would wait for the Konoha-nin to close the distance, that much was clear, but the Karagata was still eager for direction. Something to give him focus and keep the fear at bay. He was better than this, he had come to prove that. He knew his nerves would fade away once the confrontation began, but he’d be damned if it made the pre-battle tension any easier to bare. Then, something shifted. The two Konoha-nin, after waiting and watching for a while, turned and began to back away.

What?

Kinsue was dumbfounded. They had come all this way, taken on the risk of travelling into enemy territory, abandoned Suna’s defences (where surely, they would have a greater advantage), only to turn away now? Did they plan to attack elsewhere along the wall, now that they had identified the Tsuchikage? None of this made sense to the Karagata. He shifted his weight unevenly, his confounded mind creating indecision in his movements. Finally, he found the presence of mind to speak.

”We should pursue,” he said, blessedly sounding more sure of himself than he felt. Years of training were hard to overcome; they screamed that the pair didn’t want to fight. That made it a fight they needed to seek out, didn’t it? Whether Fanho and Yoru were re-positioning; or bizarrely, pathetically retreating; they couldn’t let the battle be given up so easily.

If Tatsuo gave his approval, Kinsue would leap from the side of the wall. A flash of hand seals would cause chakra to eject from his tenketsu and guide his trajectory towards a safe landing. Then, his training with the Division would kick into action, increasing his pace towards the enemy. He needed to close the distance first, 200 metres was too far for any of his jutsu to be effective.

If Tatsuo didn’t, he would simply do his duty, and wait.

MetaShow

Kinsue is wearing his Standard Operator Mask and Flak Jacket, and carrying all equipment per his sheet.

Jutsu Used:
If Tatsuo approves pursuit
Fuuton • Daedalus
A-Rank Fuuton Ninjutsu
The user opens their tenketsu to release streams of concentrated fuuton chakra, manipulating them like miniature thrusters to propel the user and control air flow around their body. This allows the user to fly at up to their [speed] while maintaining total control of their speed, acceleration, direction, and momentum. These fuuton jets have no intrinsic strength and do not apply the cutting passive.

[Featherstep]
C-Rank Taijutsu Stance
The user has learned to move in a particular way to lighten the tread of their feet and with carefully placed steps. This allows the user to move without leaving any visible trail to all but the most experienced of trackers, eliminating obvious environmental disturbances and signs such as footprints, scuffs, displaced dirt, and so on. The lightfooted nature of this stance imparts a +6 to Speed at the cost of -6 to Strength as the user primes their muscles for swift and gentle movement rather than power.

[Director]

Fanho stepped out on the field in simple martial drab. A fitting black t-shirt, white tied martial pants, and some basic black slips. The Awai cracked his knuckles as he began to stretch from across the way staring at the imposing pop band sitting atop the wall. He began to make a show doing such extravagant stretches, working his muscles in such intimidating form. Flexing his peerless skills and super human form. With one final crack of his hands a toothy smirk grew on Fanho's face as he heard Yoru sigh and turn around. "Can't really believe I let you wake me up from my nap for this."

The Hokage deflated as he slumped his shoulders and looked back at Yoru. "Hey you can't just take the wind out of my sails like that! I was making a show here!" Fanho flubbed his lips as he ran a hand through his hair as he gazed off towards the hill where the main fighting took place. As if on queue billowing smoke from the shadowclones sent out to fight in the masses as a distraction began to waft over the hill. The jig was up at this point. No death's on either side, just a show of force to drive Iwa back home. Surely something the Tsuchikage was not happy about, being outwitted, outplayed, and forced to use the B team for Suna. There would certainly be some sort of angst and frustration from the war lording Kage standing above.

With a bow Fanho gestured to the hill and looked back to Yoru as he slumped his shoulders once more at the man stealing their thunder. With a bit of chakra Fanho let his voice boom across the way to reach their opponents. "Well on the bright side no blood shed here or there." Fanho gestured to the hill where shadowclone after shadowclone popped revealing the Iwa mainforce was fooled just as well no blows aimed to kill. "Rather just a show of force, glad to see you find little ol' me and Yoru that threatening you prop up three of your best fighters." The Hokage shrugged as he watched the Kiri-nin tense with anticipation and flex ready to pounce. The Hokage looked over his glasses as if to give the impression he'd make mince meat of the Kiri if he dared make a move.

He opened his mouth as if to start into a lecture but chuckled at his own naivety. "Nah, anything else said would be lost on you guys. Just don't think you can disrupt the balance of the world and get away with it. It would be nice to have peace, but some people just can't be satisfied with what they have, isn't that right Tatty boy?" The Awai turned on the heel of his right foot as he waved goodbye to the three as he joined Yoru walking away patting him on the back as they teleported back to the base camp with the bulk of the forces on the border. "Sayonara war lords."

All that was left was to hope Suna held out, and maintained its sovereignty. If that were the case then the case could be made to bring it back to Iwa's borders to force a concession and changing of the guard. To someone less war hungry. For waging war on decades old disputes and trying to plunge the world in a new world war was something Fanho didn't anticipate dealing with in his first year of being Hokage. Quite the conundrum proposed before him to start out with. Reason seemed to have left this plane of existence, replaced with the typical feudalistic fire of expansionism and land grabs. In a world of ninja, war, espionage, and strife Fanho was waging a war upstream, and everyone else wanted to follow the flow. Perhaps to stop the flow, sometimes one has to move with it.

He learned this lesson with Setsuzoku and their two S-rank shinobi, as well as what was unraveling before him only seemed to affirm the idea that reason was beyond these people. They wanted what they wanted and ambition would drive the ends to justify the means for them.

[Fanho and Yoru exit stage left]

[Ace Trainer]

-Graded-