The town ahead was the same settlement in which he’d met the Grand Shogun the day before, and seen then one of their magnificent flying leviathans—airships, he thought someone had called them—come lumbering into berth to deliver hundreds of soldiers, supplies, and followers alike. He found those very interesting. Interesting and concerning, thus his return here today. He settled down, well concealed in foliage and shadow, to monitor the comings and goings of the vessels to the town. It seemed to be one of the Empire’s main staging grounds, with vessels arriving and leaving regularly, as if each were running the same route back-and-forth from wherever Heart’s armies waited to board. Naohiro had arrived well before the dawn and had seen one of the large airships arrive and land inside the town already from his hidden vantage, and he watched now as a second, much smaller vessel soared into view. This type was new to him, but what it lacked in tonnage it seemed to make up for in speed and manoeuvrability. It made sense there were different types, he reasoned, assuming they followed the same logic as a seafaring vessel. Neither should be underestimated, particularly not together.
As the second smaller airship settled down into the town, Naohiro took a deep breath and decided to act. Now would be as good an opportunity as any to have a look around. He performed two sets of rapid handseals, first drawing moisture out of the bright mid-morning air around him and freezing it into a thin layer of reflective ice over his skin, clothes, and equipment. The layer shifted colours as the technique completed, moving from reflective to transparent, and taking any visual sign of his presence with it. The second set of seals gathered fuuton into twisting jets around his limbs, and he manipulated it to lift him delicately into the air. Obscured, cloaked, and quiet, he let himself rise on a gentle current of air until he was far higher than the walls of the town, then shifted stance and pushed himself gently forward to drift towards where the airships lay berthed. By moving slowly and not disturbing the air, even his flight was silent, and soon enough he hovered directly over where the two airships, one small and one large, lay. He took a moment to count and analyse the many figures and activity below, trying to gauge how many each type of vessel could hold and pick out any threats or important figures—military commanders or those organising the logistics of the ships.
After just a few moments, he adjusted the fuuton technique and let himself drift slowly down towards the smaller of the two vessels and examined them from the new vantage point. They appeared to be crafts incorporating a number of large, rigid bladders pulling upwards against the body of each craft and interspersed with sets of large rotary propellers. He’d seen those spinning at high speeds as the two ships arrived, but now they lay dormant, still, and quiet compared to the noisy din of the engines earlier. Picking a couple of potential targets, he sank down until he touched the roof of one of the balloon-segments on the smaller of the two airships, feeling the slight spring of the material. Filled with air, perhaps? Odd. Still invisible, he crouched down and tucked himself against the top of the bladder and one of the propeller shafts, and began channelling just a tiny spark of chakra, hoping that the bright morning sun overhead would mask any unusual glow. The channelling allowed him to score a faint seal formula in an obscure place, where one of the prop shafts blocked easy view of the bladder fabric. The first seal was simple and quick, allowing him to track the ship. Then he withdrew a half dozen explosive tags and affuxed them in a tidy circle. A single trigger and he could detonate those to hopefully burst the entire top side of this small vessel, rupturing a wide hole in the bladder and hopefully catching the adjacent engine and prop shaft as well.
Once complete, and if still hidden, he’d float up and over to the larger airship next, finding a similar location and repeating the procedure of placing the tracking seal. But instead of explosive tags this time, he wanted something stronger. Bigger. He began preparing a second seal, this one even simpler than the first but filled with significantly more energy. Luckily, the vast ship—he'd counted hundreds of people disembarking—provided plenty of roof space that only faced the sky. Once this seal was complete he’d rise back into the air, faster than before but still careful and watching for any sign of alarm from below, and soar high and away from the small town, back to a distant vantage where he could continue watching and waiting. He wanted to see a few more of these come and go to gauge the travel time, and perhaps try and estimate the number of vessels like these that the Heart Empire could field. He’d wait and watch until one or both of the airships finished their unloading and took off back on their journey to destinations unknown...
Jutsu used…Show
[Quiescence]
S-Rank Taijutsu Discipline
The user has learned to move in total silence, and does not produce any sound when moving through any means. They cannot be heard unless a person listening for them has a specialized hearing technique of equal or higher rank.
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 instrinsic strength and do not apply the cutting passive.
Hyōton ◊ Hiemal Zephyr
A-Rank Hyouton Ninjutsu
The user will channel a substantial amount of Hyouton chakra into a thin ice-crystal layer over their entire body. The crystalline structure of the layer acts to flawlessly reflect and refract light in such a manner as to make the user entirely invisible and impossible to detect by visual means for its duration. This layer forms at a speed of [5] and has a strength of [25]. The coating protects the user and is light and thin enough to not constrict movement or actions in any manner. The layer remains for up to 6 posts before fracturing and falling away.
*Charge Fuuinjutsu • Air Seal
D-Rank Charge Fuuinjutsu
A truly unique move in that it can be used alongside other Fuuinjutsu, by channeling into their finger as they draw in the air directly in front of them, the user releases raw chakra the lingers for a small amount of time, allowing it to be used as a seal formula. Alternatively the user can also do hand seals and place their hands forward, causing a seal to burst to life in the air in front of them. This technique consumes chakra equal to the cost of the technique.
Augment Fuuinjutsu • Tracking Seal
C-Rank Charge Fuuinjutsu
Pre-requisite: *[Ninjutsu • Tracking Device]
After drawing the necessary seals on a surface, the user will imbue the object with a variant of the *[Ninjutsu • Tracking Device] technique before activating it with a surge of chakra. For so long as this seal remains intact, the user will be able to pinpoint the exact location of the seal and may use it as a focal point for navigation or teleportation.
*Force Fuuinjutsu • Explosive Tag
D-Rank Charge Fuuinjutsu
After drawing a ([Control]/5)x([Control]/5) meter seal formula on a surface of an object. The user will then arm it with their chakra up to [50] strength with a concussive force explosion outwards from itself.
S-Rank Taijutsu Discipline
The user has learned to move in total silence, and does not produce any sound when moving through any means. They cannot be heard unless a person listening for them has a specialized hearing technique of equal or higher rank.
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 instrinsic strength and do not apply the cutting passive.
Hyōton ◊ Hiemal Zephyr
A-Rank Hyouton Ninjutsu
The user will channel a substantial amount of Hyouton chakra into a thin ice-crystal layer over their entire body. The crystalline structure of the layer acts to flawlessly reflect and refract light in such a manner as to make the user entirely invisible and impossible to detect by visual means for its duration. This layer forms at a speed of [5] and has a strength of [25]. The coating protects the user and is light and thin enough to not constrict movement or actions in any manner. The layer remains for up to 6 posts before fracturing and falling away.
*Charge Fuuinjutsu • Air Seal
D-Rank Charge Fuuinjutsu
A truly unique move in that it can be used alongside other Fuuinjutsu, by channeling into their finger as they draw in the air directly in front of them, the user releases raw chakra the lingers for a small amount of time, allowing it to be used as a seal formula. Alternatively the user can also do hand seals and place their hands forward, causing a seal to burst to life in the air in front of them. This technique consumes chakra equal to the cost of the technique.
Augment Fuuinjutsu • Tracking Seal
C-Rank Charge Fuuinjutsu
Pre-requisite: *[Ninjutsu • Tracking Device]
After drawing the necessary seals on a surface, the user will imbue the object with a variant of the *[Ninjutsu • Tracking Device] technique before activating it with a surge of chakra. For so long as this seal remains intact, the user will be able to pinpoint the exact location of the seal and may use it as a focal point for navigation or teleportation.
*Force Fuuinjutsu • Explosive Tag
D-Rank Charge Fuuinjutsu
After drawing a ([Control]/5)x([Control]/5) meter seal formula on a surface of an object. The user will then arm it with their chakra up to [50] strength with a concussive force explosion outwards from itself.