Step Two: Kuuton

[Sia]

There were many reasons which Sera went on the run. One, she was still concealing her identity as Maido. Two, she had a plan. Disguised in all black, including notably her hair and eyes, she skated through the desert next to the boy and her other associates, the least of whom included a Seven Swordsmen Member and several Hunter Nin. In a huddle, they all invisibly stalked through the sands, the sensor ninja reaching out and making sure to extinguish traces of their arrival and travel as well as alter their trajectory here and there to avoid the sand sensory jutsu. It worked, shockingly, they had made it far, and deep into the country. They passed around the hideout deep on the outskirts of the country with no problem, Hisayo and Kayoko yawned.

Going to sleep, each of them took a moment to stretch and stroll, "How many grains are their do ya reckon?" Asked Hisayo finally, thinking of Fujikawa. Maido, as Sera, looked at the boy and whispered into his ear only loudly enough for the seven swordsmen member standing directly next to her to hear, "How do you feel about receiving a love bite that makes you cursed to me?" She said with a snort and turned her nose to him, looking at the swordsmen and putting on her mask as a flare of black fuuinjutsu chakra surged outwards around her face. It obscured the mask and she turned invisible as she fidgeted in her pocket, as did Hisayo and Kayoko as the lot of them boarded the carriage, the carriage driver and his two horses having arrived and joined them. Sera tossed them some Ryo and he thanked her with his usual nod before he and the horses as well as their reignments too become invisible, as did their tracks. Leaving no tracks, the horse drawn carriage didn't touch or disturb the sand below at all, rather it was a fair bit above the ground now, and improvement from last time. Not just baring a lucrutous space/time bar scheme, it floated and glided slowly, the horses being truly unnecessary and entirely for show.

Bits of fuuton enchanted the kit, and Maido had to admire its craftsmanship as she once again stepped into the carriage and experienced its larger on the inside space/time qualities. She examined the bar and found it better stocked and much cleaner than last time, its black marble top looking quite exquisite in the moment. The seats and beds too had been made and cleaned quite nicely, and there was ruckus from the others in the corner that had already made home. "Good of you to join us again, Maido." Someone spoke finally, and Maido as Sera laughed under her mask, finally removing it for all to see her face for the first time in months. Her face changed to normal then, one white braid and one black braid, with two red glowing eyes and red pale lips, a stark contrast from the black curly hair and black eyes with the lipstick she had worn as Sera. It was a big change, even her bone structure and scalp line changed enough consistently to be so entirely different that it had slipped unnoticed even to Hisayo and Kayoko.

"Currently then, only the people inside this carriage know that I am alive." She said, then her face changed back into Sera's as she smiled as the lot of them a wicked, pointy, many fanged smiled like that of a shark. "We will arrive in Sunagakure within two weeks time, I suggest we strategize during that time." With that, she walked behind the bar, a tendril carrying her mask back up to her face, though it remained as Maido's face and hair for now. She brushed the mask aside, and it recoiled to the back of her head, then became lost in the liquid of her chiton cloak. She began to pour water, passing some of it around to the others, beginning on her left.

The first day was quite boring. They slowly, invisibly, traversed through the air, maintaining a shroud of fog around the carriages that floated them above the sand in quite complex ways. It was invisible, it cast no shadow, it gave no heat signature disturbance, it was completely soundless, silent, and scentless, and only the absolutely saviest of sensory jutsu and capable sensory ninja would be capable of discerning it for more than a literal bug. It was truly a magnificent marvel of craftsmanship, a pet project which had come to fruition after much turmoil, tears, deaths, and sweat. Yet, the carriage sat there, plain as day, soaring through the air. The collaboration jutsu maintained, and from the corner of her eye Maido saw her specialist stroking the fuuinjutsu seals with a bored expression on her face. True. There had been no changes so far. Everything had remained exactly the same.

Further into wind country they delved, passing into a small village on the outskirts. Whatever name it had, didn't matter. Maido commanded it, and the carriage became half transparent, revealing its black, ornate carvings and features to the world again in a shroud of light fog that encompassed it, encroaching throughout its being as well as the two dead looking animals that happened to be drawing it. The driver, sitting within his windows, eyed the area as Maido appeared next to him. Hisayo and Kayoko checked the rear. They slowed down, and came to land in the sand as they neared the minor village within Wind Country. They approached, hesitantly, and the invisible Substiwolf and Kayoko scouted out and around, flanking the carriage in the over under fox maneuver. One of them began to perform hand seals, the other one channeled. In unison, a flurry of Katon and Raiton spewed from them, taking on the shape of homing fox-heads, as a secondary missile shot forth from them. The doton fox missiles sank into the sand, then burrowed back upwards and the six foxes zoomed around the small village, gathering intel before collecting back together into a whole clone each before Hisayo and Kayoko and whispering into their ears before dispersing.

Maido blinked as she watched Hisayo and Kayoko work, and wondered when the hell they could possibly have learned such a coordinated technique. She shrugged and turned to her better half and conversed silently amongst themselves, as no one else could currently see the fragment of Maido floating about the carriage. "We will, most likely, be met with some resistance as we reach closer to Sunagakure, no doubt." She said to the carriage full of passengers. More scouts rotated out, and Maido eyed the town suspiciously, and then extended out her sensory jutsu to feel for anyone of significance. She remained calm and patient then, and a throne shifted underneath her as she sat cross-legged with what appeared to be a bored, but was actually a concentrating expression on her face. She rested her head on her hand, and her elbow on the arm rest of the throne.

Drinking some water, she stood finally after a long moment of thought and consideration and gestured for the scouts to change formation. Invisibly, a pack of crows shifted outwards around the carriage, before being transformed into more local birds whilst remaining under their stealth ninjutsu. It was a simple yet truly effective technique, and it soared outwards from around the carriage in a circular arrangement, peering out and harboring over the village. Her specialist closed her eyes and began to take in the view from the birds, and her hands moved about fervishly, four additional pairs of arms sprouting forth from her body and each of them began to draw a map in perfect, well practiced unison. Quickly, Maido had a map of the entire village laid out before her, down to the nearest detail. Maido began to perform hand seals, and dollops of chakra appeared on the map before her then as well, taking on different colors and shapes and signifying things about each of the individuals that they represented as they moved about the map around the carriage, the range of the map increasing steadily as the fuuinjutsu rolled out along the paper and spread across the round table. Eventually, the other specialists did their series of hand seals, and the paper itself began to move around underneath the ink of the fuuinjutsu, twisting, warping, and pinching itself until it revealed more and more of the village in separate sections, stacks of paper shuffling and shifting upwards to build architecture in a three dimensional shape held together by chakra.

[Trusted Grader]

She had lost count of the days she had been wandering around the hot deserts of Wind Country, a notorious barren wasteland of a country, or at least that's what she was brought up believing, Nehan knew her mind had to be sharp or else the various "test"--hallucinations--she was experiencing pushed her to the edge. She couldn't recall when she ate last or when she had anything to drink. A blank stare and the monotonous steps that crunched the soft sands. How long do I have to wander these deserts, I should've proven Jashin by now that I am worthy to find the last scroll. Nehans eyes darted upwards towards the clear skies, her left hand covered the scorching sun that left her pale skin crying for shade.

She was on a quest sent to her by Jashin himself, or so she claimed, see, for the last five years she's been after various Jashinism scrolls, gathering information about the old world and the new one. While studying the scriptures she found lectures about facing ones inner demons, which intrigued the witch to the point of her now 30 days wandering. The heavy hair had already burned a hole in her nose and had left dried blood on her face, a sight that ruined her otherwise now pretty--untattooed--face, luckily her clothes were still intact, though thanks to the lack of water and intense heat her clothes would be drenched in her sweat.

The woman had almost been driven into delusions because she could swear that the village popping out of the desert ahead could not be real, Real or not, I have to find somewhere to pray and then get some water and something to eat... Nehan kept pacing forwards in a wobbly manner, her motor functions were currently affected by the heatstroke, which didn't help her feel any easier marching towards an unknown village in a country she hadn't visited. She wasn't exactly scared of facing anyone in the village, just more concerned that she didn't want to create too much of a hassle as she had grown tired of having to leave countries on others terms.

Nehan chuckled as she continued to head towards the village, she'd reach it soon, if it in fact was real.

[Sia]

The flock circled overhead and found Nehan in the sands in the outskirts, far away. They reported back, and a small squad consisting of Maido, Kayoko, and Hisayo strolled out of the carriage and onto the sands, gingerly setting foot into the fields of wind country and heading in Nehan's direction to assist her to the best of their abilities. They treaded through the air, leaving no traces in the sand as they tossed their needle in a chain and stalked invisibly around the perimeter of the tiny village. Hisayo saw her first, and Kayoko and Maido transformed into claymore and a polearm respectively, each of them hovering around Hisayo's arms as she floated after the invisible buzzards and crows.

Nehan's location became apparent to them all, and Maido contemplated summoning a mist, but didn't. Instead, she channeled her chakra and lunged Hisayo towards Nehan's direction in a grand and mighty leap sending her flying through the air as Maido's cloak encircled around her and protected her, staying within the confines of the Kaguya Ghost enchantment. Steadily, they made their way towards Nehan, before finally stopping just short of them and pausing. Staring down at her, Hisayo used Maido, the polearm, to poke Nehan in the chest with the sharp tip, the tip turning into liquid as Maido's body attempted to enter into Nehan's through the wound it had made. She would find the process soothing as Maido's chiton and iijutsu would immediately begin to refresh their body and bring them to, a surge of light purple kakujutsu and light green iijutsu chakra encompassing Maido's body inside of Nehan. Maido continued to scan Nehan's body and make small adjustments to her own presence within Nehan's body in order to best expedite the healing process and make Nehan combat ready as the two became one.

Iijutsu: Medical Diagnosis Technique
C-Ranked Ninjutsu
Prerequisite: 5 Iijutsu
Perhaps one of the most important Iijutsu techniques to date, the Iijutsu Medical Diagnosis Technique] allows its users to probe another's body in search for medical answers. The user will surge chakra throughout the host body. Using this chakra as an internal extension of his/her hand to feel for abnormalities and other issues, the user is often able to determine the problem after some time and concentration. In order for a thorough examination to provide sufficient answers, the user will focus for up to one (1) post, seeking signs of internal and external damage, organ malfunction and disease among other ailments. Although skilled medical-nin have the possibility to work faster, skill cannot be substituted in for thoroughness.