Mission: Everlasting Gaze

[7eleven]

The mouth to the cave was wide, and very ominous. Surrounded on all sides by barren mountains. But, all things considered, it seemed to be a totally normal looking cave.

[seiuchiblarg]

looking down into the mouth of the cave, Katsuo sighed. Someday, Raikage-sama is going to send me on a mission that doesn't involve going miles underground. He shrugged. Nothing for it, I suppose. And in he went.

[7eleven]

The cave was very dark, very dank, very scary. As Katsuo progressed into the cave, his visibility began to decline. He could hear what sounded like snakes slithering across the floor of the cave, and the dull, flickering light of a fire in the distance.

[seiuchiblarg]

Katsuo walked deeper in, and soon, there was little to be seen. He attempted to close his eyes and go by his other senses for a while, but that simply would not work for him as well as he liked. He paused to consider, hearing the crackle of a distant fire. Thinking for a moment, he took a second to adjust his out fit.

Off came his weighted vest, first, and then he slipped out of Nenshou Yoroi Tsuba. He knew to be wary and careful at this point, having stripped himself of a large amount of his weaponry, and being blind besides. Eventually, assuming no interruptions found themselves in Katsuo's path, Kumo's Bleeding Heart would remove his shirt, and then replace his weaponry, vest, and the body suit on to him where they belonged. Then, unrolling one of the large Scrolls, Katsuo activated it -- not to summon every weapon, but only one good-sized Katana. After replacing it and the umbrellas, Katsuo would wrap his shirt around the blade of the weapon, impaling it for good measure, to make sure that it was well in place. Following this, he would take a Kunai from his weapon's pouch, and remove the paper bomb, placing the blade back in to the pouch from whence it came.

With a quick seal, Katsuo would ignite the paper bomb with as little force as possible. Doing this allowed the shirt to catch fire -- as well as a shirt could -- and then Katsuo had a makeshift torch.

Mostly, the clothing was just embers, glowing dimly, but it was enough for Katsuo to make out things a few feet in front of him. That would be fine, he figured. And so on he went, following the sounds of flame from a distance, aiming for stealth so as to avoid being detected and caught off guard while he was at such a disadvantage.

[7eleven]

Katsuo managed to make his torch without any setbacks. It revealed that the things slithering on the floor were not only snakes, but centipedes, millipedes, earwigs, and an array of other creepy crawlies of various shapes and sizes. If Katsuo listened closely, he'd be able to hear the vague sound of footsteps among the slithering as he neared the opening the light was emitting from.

[seiuchiblarg]

Katsuo wasted no time after his torch had been made. He continued on, slowly, carefully, trying to avoid stepping on any bugs or the like. He noted that the number of animals in the area was abnormally large... There shouldn't be so many, especially with natural predators such as snakes around. Katsuo noted this, and considered. Why aren't the snakes taking down the number of other animals here? Shouldn't they be the top predator? Hmm... I think it's safe to assume that at least one of the animals down here is a summon, or another kind of companion of sorts. Perhaps obne of the species has developed intelligence. If that's the case, they may be the cause of all of this happening. Either the snakes have learned to treat the insects as superiors, or else they have been ordered not to. So is it the Snakes which are the allied creature, or is it the bugs? Either way, they probably already know of my presence here... He continued on, his footsteps quiet and careful, taking care not to move too close to the light until he was ready.

When Katsuo got close enough to see inside, He stayed away from the mouth which opened up and used the Henge Jutsu, transforming himself into a large snake, not unlike those which he had seen throughout the cave. If they knew about his presence, Katsuo doubted they would think much of just another snake. The torch had been put out, and Katsuo could writhe his way into the base and listen to the enemy's without being noticed. Still, he was wary. He knew an enemy may pick up on his presence regardless. He did not let any get behind or beside him; instead, he skirted the edges of the opening, listening as well as he could. Katsuo noted that the bugs and snakes were scattered even here, too. If this was the work of a ninja, he likely used them in some form of ninjutsu.

[7eleven]

In the center of the large chamber, sitting close to the fire, was a figure that appeared to be human in shape. It wore a cloak of sorts with a hood that shielded its face from view. It seemed to be entranced with the flame, and either didn't notice the entrance of Katsuo, or paid no attention.

[seiuchiblarg]

Entrance... successful. Katsuo was smirking on the inside, but at the same time, his mind was at work. Something's wrong here... There's only one figure there by the fire... It's not moving at all. Katsuo decided that the figure was likely part of a trap: Some sort of bait, perhaps, to trick Katsuo into approaching for the purpose of attack, capture, or interrogation. At the same time, however, the jounin couldn't risk that this was, in fact, his opponent, and just leave him here to explore aimlessly. Kumo's Bleeding Heart decided to scope around the rest of the large, opened area for other exits. It may be possible that Katsuo could locate the missing persons and bring them to safety before any incident arose -- or else find their remains.

[7eleven]

During his little expedition, Katsuo found no remains or other exits of any kind. It was likely that the remains were either disposed of elsewhere (I mean, c'mon now, do you leave your leftovers sitting out in the living room?), or that there were simply no remains left. The figure in the center of the room continued to pay Katsuo no interest, and simply faced the fire.

[seiuchiblarg]

After scouring everything, there was no sign of entrances or exits, save the one Katsuo himself had gone through. That means I'll need to protect it, in light of a battle, to make sure the enemy doesn't escape. Katsuo writhed his way out of the hole, now, moving himself away from the entrance a bit.

De-spelling the Henge, Kumo's Bleeding Heart removed thirty nails from his weapon's pouch, and placed them into the ground. He watched, stealthily but near the entrance, as they bore their way beneath the surface, and then pushed their way through the cave.

Eventually, they would reach this shrouded figure, and then, from underground, Katsuo would spring them. Ten nails, from below, to assault where the legs should be, and another sixteen -- eight nails on either side -- to assault the arms, all at once. They would avoid any vital spots: Katsuo was aiming only to immobilize and interrogate.

SpoilerShow

*Ninpou • Gyorai Shin [Ninja Arts • Torpedo Needle]
C-Ranked Ninjutsu
Prerequisites: Character must have nails or senbon.
Ninpou • Gyorai Shin is a Ninjutsu technique utilized by Minamina, Katsuo. Removing nails and/or senbon from their pocket, the user will throw them into the air and then plant them tip first into the earth. Using his chakra the nails and/or senbon will travel into the ground. Then at their discretion, they can fire the nails from the ground through the feet of their target to nail them in place. They can then fire the remaining nails and/or senbon from the ground to cut their target to pieces.

[7eleven]

At first, the cloak seemed to just hit the ground, limp and empty. It wasn't a man at all, just a cloak that had been, somehow, placed in the shape of a man.

It wasn't long, however, before the various creepy crawlies that were all over the floor swarmed the cloak, and began writing around in it. For the time being, they paid no attention to Katsuo, or the threat he posed. They were entirely too concerned with that cloak.

[seiuchiblarg]

Katsuo looked on, watching as the various creatures from the ground found themselves attracted to the cloak, writhing around it, on it, in it. What were they doing? Katsuo had no clue. The man stepped up onto a wall, to get himself away from the insects and snakes -- primarily the latter -- and continued watching.

[7eleven]

After a few moments, a man stood up from the writhing pile of critters, clad in the cloak that, just moments earlier, appeared to be empty. After standing and getting his bearings, he turned and looked directly at Katsuo, though the lighting coupled with the hood of the cloak obscured his face completely.

[seiuchiblarg]

Finally, the man took shape, glaring at Katsuo. Kumo's bleeding heart wasted no time. As the nails which had been flung sunk back into the ground,The four which Katsuo had not yet unleashed would be forced up into the enemy's feet with great force. The enemy could not see underground -- or at least, Katsuo doubted that he could. The nails would push straight through the enemy's feet, and if they did not, death waited from below regardless.

Moving quickly, Katsuo dropped his entire weapon's pouch, allowing the nails to sink into the ground. He was confident that he could win this fight. Once the enemy's feet were pierced, if they were, Then they would naturally be immobilized, and Katsuo could begin a process of interrogation. He stayed tensed, muscles at the ready: He wanted to be able to move as soon as the need arose. The jounin kept an eye on his surroundings, aware of what was happening around him. He couldn't make out much, but he could discern things from the dark, writhing forms he saw and heard.

[7eleven]

The nails dug into the feet of the figure, and, without so much as flinching, he performed a string of handseals causing two clones of himself to emerge from the ground comprised of various bugs, including Kikaichuu. The clones immediately charged at the man, while the original remained motionless and unphased by the nails stuck into his feet.

[seiuchiblarg]

Katsuo could feel the resistance of feet on hsi nails, but the man made no noise, didn't even flinch. Well... That's odd. What the enemy did do, however, was perform hand seals, and of the bugs near him, two clones were made. These... these creatures aren't just summons! He... He uses them in his ninjutsu? what... what kind of ninja is this guy!? Katsuo was fortunate enough to be in a defensible position. There was only one place from which the clones may attack Katsuo, and that was from the entrance. As they got close, Katsuo sealed, and would spit a large amount of water at the enemies with great force -- hopefully enough to destroy them.

Katsuo's water, however, would serve a double purpose: Not only would it be released with impressive volumes and great intensity, but it would also drown any and all bugs on the ground as it made a small lake within the cave, rendering a large amount of this man's arsenal useless... Katsuo hoped.

In his element, Katsuo would be a bit more confident, and with good reason: the enemy was currently nailed to the ground. As the water filled up the area, the enemy would drown. Katsuo wouldn't allow the enemy to die, of course, but he was inclined to wait until the enemy was unconscious before he would bring him up out of the water. Then interrogation could begin.

SpoilerShow

*Suiton • Baku Suishouha [Bursting Water Collision Waves]
B-ranked Ninjutsu
Suiton • Baku Suishouha is a Ninjutsu technique utilizing the Water Element. After forming the needed handseals, the user will expel water from his gullet. This will then expand into a large volume of water. The user can control the water by riding on top of the waves.

[7eleven]

The man in the center of the chamber leaped from the ground, uninhibited by the nails in his feet, and attached himself to the ceiling. The bugs on the far side of the chamber began scrambling up the walls, but the ones closer to Katsuo and the snakes were not so lucky, and got swept up in the wave, as did the insect clones. The water, however, put out the flame that the man had been sitting at, leaving the room completely black.

[seiuchiblarg]

Katsuo's head poked out of the water, and he watched as the enemy jumped. Kumo's Bleeding Heart was only just able to make out the trajectory of his jump before darkness came all around. Katsuo was fighting blind, and it only occured to him then that the enemy could be at an advantage in darkness.

He hasn't made a sound, even though I'm sure I impaled him with my nails... He reacted noiselessly to my water... Can I be sure he's even human? If he is, he either can't make noise, or can't feel pain. Well... I'll see how far that can take him.

Still above the Water, Katsuo tossed his umbrellas into the air, and as he sealed, he sank below, now submerged completely and therefore safe. With his chakra, Katsuo launched an initial barrage of needles towards the cave wall to ensure he had a fair judge of distance, and from that point, perhaps after some adjusting, his needles would fly in circles, low around the cave walls. It was Katsuo's hope that they would impale the enemy's lower half without harming the upper. His control was limited over the needles, of course, so they wouldn't be able to curve over the whole wall, but Katsuo would be able to direct them in an array to the area in which the enemy should have landed, and then move a bit to ensure a hit. Katsuo had a plan.

SpoilerShow

*Jouro Senbon [Sprinkling Needles]
D-Ranked Ninjutsu
Prerequisites: Character must have am umbrellas which contains needles embedded within them.
Jouro Senbon is a Ninjutsu technique that is utilized by Katsuo Minamine. After hurling their umbrellas into the air, they will unleash a torrent of needles. Using their chakra they can guide these needles towards their opponent, but only with limited control.

Shinzenbi Bubun Mizu Bunshin -- True Partial Water Clone Technique
Rank: A-rank Ninjutsu
Range: Self/Supplementary
Description: Using this technique, an advanced version of the Bubun Mizu Bunshin, Katsuo can use this technique not only as a more effective version of the Bubun Mizu Bunshin, but also to give himself gills, or to put a second set of eyes into the back of his head. The last possibility is that he can enhance the eyes he already has by manipulating the water surrounding the rods and cones to enhance the efficacy of each.

[7eleven]

Is that the jutsu you're using for the water hand? Because, if so, I don't think you could use that jutsu for that purpose...

[seiuchiblarg]

Using this Jutsu, Katsuo can manipulate the water around him to make clones, just like the water clone technique. Unlike the water clone technique, rather than making entirely separate entities, this technique makes only limbs, appendages, and other body parts, and adds them to Katsuo's own mass. Using this technique, Katsuo can add to his own muscle mass, and make himself stronger, and other fun things like that. This technique is used primarily for taijutsu, granting Katsuo up to +3 strength or to add additional limbs. If Katsuo raises his strength with this technique, he will lose one point in speed for every point gained in strength, to accommodate for the extra weight of the water.

The idea of the technique was that he could make himself larger with water. It's generally used to add muscle mass or to give additional limbs, but in lieux of that he can add water to limbs he already has and shape it to give them additional length.

[7eleven]

You can check with Zangy or Ian, but taking a jutsu that just makes your own body bigger and using it to stretch your arm across an entire room to pin someone against a wall are entirely different things.

[7eleven]

The needles tore through the figure with little resistance, and even less effect, due to it's unique body composition. The man was actually composed entirely of bugs, having replaced his physical form with a new one by transferring his consciousness in his cloak using highly advanced sealing techniques. This allows him to compose a physical form of insects, while never really endangering his real body. Of course, in this light (or lack thereof), it was impossible for Katsuo to be able to tell that, or that his needles had even hit their mark (unless he can sense it somehow, and I missed it).

The man pulled a large group of Kikaichuu from his body, forming them into a pretty sizable ball that he then hurled towards the man laying below.

SpoilerShow

~Kikaichuu Arare (Destruction Bug Hail)
B-ranked ninjutsu
Perquisite- any rank Kikaichuu.
The user releases a condensed ball of Kikaichuu towards the enemy at the bugs max speed, (varies on bug rank). The impact of the Kikaichuu ball would be equivalent to a punch with 2 strength for D-rank, 4 strength for b-rank and 6 strength for a-rank. Upon impact, the user would not only feel the pain but they would promptly be enveloped by bugs as the ball burst and the bugs spread themselves around the target.

[seiuchiblarg]

(Well, Katsuo has limited control over the needles, so while he's not a sensor, he would probably feel the resistance of the body against them. Sounds logical, yah?

Also, if you're getting hit with the needles, it stands to reason that the cloak would be taking damage too, right? It wouldn't be completely destroyed or anything, but damage has been done to it, correct? I wonder if that affects your abilities at all.. Probably not, unless the seal inside of it gets destroyed, but meh.)

Katsuo was able to feel the resistance of the needles as they came into contact with the body, and for a moment smirked at easy victory -- until a lack of a splash intrigued Katsuo. Ugh... he's still standing. How? What is this guy? Katsuo thought, considered. When I struck him... the cloak just dropped to the ground, and then insects grouped around it. it wasn't until the bugs had gotten there that the cloak stood up again... So then this is -- just a clone! Katsuo nodded to himself, sure of what was going on now. This is a clone that the enemy can make out of bugs... and I'm guessing that it can replenish itself with more bugs after I do any sort of damage to it. So then, I just need to kill all of the bugs in the area, and then the enemy won't be able to replenish himself! He'll have to come out!

Katsuo's first thought was that he could simply use his water spitting again and drown every bug in the room by filling it up, but then reconsidered: If the area was filled with water, the enemy wasn't likely to swim in Katsuo's element to attack, especially after all of his insects were destroyed. Katsuo would need to lure the enemy out, and to do that, he would need to first, force the clone to replenish itself a lot, and also, conserve his own chakra to face the real enemy when he emerged, and the clone was destroyed.

As Katsuo thought, a large buzzing noise was heard from in front of him. He registered that the water level had been dropping quickly -- leaving from where he had entered. Of course, he thought. Katsuo was unable to identify the buzzing itself, but the source was clear enough. The sound seemed to be getting louder, as the creatures made their way towards him. He recognized a little late that these bugs were actually flying at him, rather than in his general direction, and dove to the side quickly, tumbling on the water. He felt the feel of crawling on his leg, the gentle buzz of fluttering wings coming in for a landing, and plunged himself beneath the water quickly. Katsuo didn't know what these animals could do, but he was certain he didn't want them on him.

Katsuo was unable to get a fully accurate location on the enemy. He had a general idea of his location, thanks to the buzzing before, and the fact that he seemed so still before the torch had gone out, only moving when absolutely necessary. Katsuo used the Gyorai Shin technique, first in focused areas, attempting to force the opponent to move (and in doing so make sound), or else to feel the nails and needles meet resistance, and thereby get a location on the enemy. Once a location was found, Katsuo's nails and needles would assault that location and all points within a two meter radius around it wildly. The enemy could be full of holes, if Katsuo lucked out.

[7eleven]

You need to simplify your post. We talked about it on the cbox, iirc.

[7eleven]

And you sort of like...didn't do anything about my attack.

[seiuchiblarg]

That's because Kikaichuu bugs can't swim. I didn't need to do anything about it because I was underwater and, well... didn't need to.

[7eleven]

I think you're greatly overestimating how much water your jutsu made, or how much water would have remained in the chamber. It creates some waves, not enough water to fill an entire cave with 6+ feet of water.

[seiuchiblarg]

I've PM'd Ian to ask about the depth of the water -- how deep it should be. Once he responds, I'll either edit my post, or let you know that I don't have to, with a copy of his PM to show you I'm not just pulling stuff out of my butt. So yeah, don't fail this mission just 'coz I haven't edited yet.

[7eleven]

Well?

[seiuchiblarg]

Seven seems like he hates me more than usual. D=

I only just got the answer. The depth of the water depends ont he size of the place. If we're talking living-room sized, it'll be up to my chest, and I can just slip under water -- as I said he had, to keep himself protected, when I thought that it made a far more substantial amount.

If it's more the size of a basketball court, he said, not so much.

He said it was ultimately up to you to decide the size of it indirectly, by giving a size of the general area. So yeah, you tell me exactly how deep this will bem, and I'll edit accordingly.

[7eleven]

But...even if this chamber is the size of a living room, the water is still going to drain out of the chamber through the entrance. <_<

[7eleven]

Whaaaat.

First off...you still didn't do anything to avoid the attack, and made no mention of getting hit by it.

Second...you're not going to be able to determine the trajectory of a projectile based on a vague buzzing sound in the dark. That makes absolutely no sense. <_<

[7eleven]

As the first few nails began to tear through the shinobi's pseudo body, he dispersed his bugs quickly across the top of the cave wall. His cloak fell to the water below. Luckily, getting the cloak wet wouldn't pose any problems, but it did sort of put it into a dangerous spot. He was just going to have to play this out and hope for the best.

During the commotion of his body scattering across the ceiling, hundreds of more bugs poured in from the various holes covering the walls. They spread themselves fairly evenly across the walls and ceiling, waiting for their next instruction from the man that bound them.

[seiuchiblarg]

Katsuo was watching, listening as his nails and needles drove in. After a while, the resistance was gone as the enemy dropped down, fell from the ceiling. There was a faint splash, and Katsuo didn't let the advantage go to waste. A couple of Katsuo's nails remained, and using his ability to move them and thereby to sense their location, he began sealing immediately. There was a splash, and the water which surrounded the enemy would be changed to acid. This was Katsuo's way of insuring that any bugs that fell with this clone of the enemy would be destroyed, and also to ensure that no threat remained to harm him in the water.

He didn't know about the importance of the cloak. He merely knew that the enemy had fallen, and that here was a prime chance to eliminate that threat. It was Katsuo's hope that the true enemy would reveal himself after the clone was destroyed by his acid.

SpoilerShow

Joukyuu Suppai Kaishin -- Advanced Acid Change
Rank: A-rank Ninjutsu
Range: 0-25 Meters
Description: As Katsuo studied, and developed his Burning Blood technique, it became obvious that he could not begin by making his blood into acid. Instead, Katsuo began with very small amounts of liquid, usually water, and converted it to acid. Katsuo has taken this training and extended on it, allowing him to take a set amount of water and make it into acid. With this most effective version of this jutsu, Katsuo can currently convert an amount of water equivalent to a puddle about 5.5 feet deep and with a seven foot diameter. These numbers get lower if the liquid is diluted.

(Note that Katsuo didn't change that much water, instead changing only what water was in the direct vicinity of the enemy's falling clone, to save his chakra on the true enemy.)

[Zangy]

(OOC: Yeah, just timing this out.)