[Grass 2] Bandits and Cows

[Ace Trainer]

Kozaki stood at the edge of the forest they'd been directed to. Within the bounds of the forest, allegedly only several hundred feet from where the duo stood, was an encampment of bandits. Based on the information they had, there were something like 20 individuals in this particular encampment. Kozaki imagined if they were operating in Grass Country they couldn't exactly be a massively intimidating group of men, or whatever. Turning to Iwamaru, Kozaki remained low against the ground. Last thing they needed was getting spotted early and noticed by some patrol.

"I can blind them, if you'd like..", the black band on his arm began to move as it had before, forming a thin sleeve around his entire arm. "I feel pretty confident fighting blind. You'll be able to see about 5 feet in any direction. Which should be enough to keep most of our combat pretty close to one on one. I doubt we're going to be fighting any super high end opponents. So, if you want to just roll in and go for it, we can.", Kozaki shrugged, "I doubt they can hurt me, he emphasized himself here, it seemed Kozaki had a lot of confidence in his armor. "So if you want to just barrel in and take 'em down we can. But it might be easier to be stealthy.", he smirked. Kozaki wouldn't mind a big tussle, but Kirigakure shinobi were all trained in the matters of stealth and subversion, so if Iwamaru preferred to be covert, Kozaki would happily oblige.

Peering into the forest, he could see the wood panels that formed the boundaries of the encampment. Within, there were some tent peaks he could see, not much else beyond that. It didn't seem like a particularly large encampment, 20 individuals seemed accurate. Whether Iwamaru wanted cover or not, whenever he was ready the two would begin. It was late in the afternoon, the sun setting behind them, so they'd have the advantage of a blind approach as well.

[ShinobiTruth]

Iwamaru kept absolutely still, doing his best to not make a sound as he and Kozaki peered into the camp. The bandits were only twenty strong, hardly anything to be concerned about. Something about what they were seeing didn’t add up. Why would such a small group like this be able to actively attack so many villages over a long distance? This made Maru think that there was some sort of secret they were hiding.

Upon consulting with Kozaki, it was clear that Iwamaru was not a good candidate for sneaking around. And while the cover of night most certainly gave them an element of surprise, the psychological advantage from attacking mid-day seemed to be preferable. ”Stealth will work for you, friend, but not for me. I’ll admit that I’m pretty clumsy of foot. Here’s my suggestion: I can attack from the front and bait out the enemy. Meanwhile, while I’m causing chaos in the front of the camp, you can infiltrate from one of their flanks and take out other bandits while they try to reinforce the front. If we attack now, our boldness may throw them off guard and grant us a psychological advantage.”

This was not an insistence. If Kozaki was dedicated to his plan, Iwamaru would concede to it.

[Ace Trainer]

Kozaki nodded, Iwamaru's plan worked. If that's what he wanted to do, Kozaki was fine with it. A fight was a fgiht, whatever Iwamaru was most comfortable with. Kozaki had a feeling he was a little more flexible in this case. Nodding, he gestured forward towards the encampment, and began his own travel. He shifted through the grasses, following Iwamaru's plan and positioning himself to the flank of the encampment. He was now deep within the brush, and he was closer to the encampment, maybe 50 feet from it. He could see a single look out standing on the wall he was facing. They didn't seem particularly alert, they certainly hadn't noticed him, and he could tell he would get an easy shot on this guy.

Staying low to the ground, he tried to look towards the direction Iwamaru was coming from. He knew that Iwamaru would make a commotion, so once Iwamaru started and drew the aggro, Kozaki would begin. Picking up a rock, he threw it with his strength at the base of the wall. The lookout would be the first person to notice Iwamaru, so hopefully KOzaki could draw his attention and give Iwamaru an easy in.

Ball was in stone man's court.

[ShinobiTruth]

Welp, it was time to get to it.

Iwamaru waited about as long as it took for Kozaki to get into position for the chuunin to drop down and immediately start charging toward the front gate of the camp. The two guards at the front gates locked eyes with him immediately, eyes that were soon filled with horror as Maru weaved seals and produced a massive boulder from the ground with his Lumber Boulder technique. The boulder moved slowly toward the gate in front of Maru, at least until Maru kicked it. His near bannin strength rocketed the otherwise unimpressive boulder into and through the front gates of the camp, the guards weightily falling at least twenty feet from their posts, breaking bones from falling onto the ground unguarded. The splintering logs of the camp sprayed into the unsuspecting campdwellers inside. Iwamaru drew his sword and entered the camp through the smoke, his antics having serious injured at least four of the bandits in the camp.

All eyes were on him, as both archers and melee combatants ran toward him. 'If you're coming, Kozaki, now's the time,' he thought to himself as he strafed to the side, weaving between tents and structures inside the camp, giving the archers a difficult target to lock onto.

[Ace Trainer]

The rock struck against the side of the encampment, prompting the lookout to turn and look, his eyes scanning the area looking for something that wasn't there. Kozaki smirked, what a simpleton. Just as quickly, however, a huge crash was heard and a commotion began. Time to act. Kozaki bolted forward, the weapon wrapped around his arm turned to a pole in his hand, slamming into the ground and Kozaki launched his body upwards. The pole would extend to it's full length, lifting Kozaki several meters into the air, before retracting, allowing Kozaki to soar through the air. The look out, who had turned towards the crash and just about to rush off. However, Kozaki's small body descended upon him, and the weapon that had just pushed him into the air turned into a small blade wrapped around his wrist.

Kozaki landed on the look outs back, shoving his knee into the man's spine, his hand reached down to the man's neck and the knife would stab into it, before exploding in size with 45 strength, launching the man's head into the air, his body quickly falling limp.

Kozaki turned, observing what was going on around him. Iwamaru had really blown the place to hell. Kozaki quickly tried to absorb what was going on. Charging towards Iwamaru was 7 individuals, all big bodied, carrying various weapons, Kozaki hadn't enough time to observe exactly what they were. On the platform Kozaki stood on, there were 3 other individuals, all standing against each of the walls, holding bows and taking aim towards Iwamaru. The entire area was maybe only 75 feet across, and Kozaki could see pretty clearly.

In various posts around, there were 8 other people, with bows or weapons, reacting to what had occured, two archers specifically on the ground aiming arrows at Iwamaru.

Including the deadman under Kozaki, that was 19 individuals. They were missing one body. He put that to the back of his mind as a hard thud resounded from his chest. Indeed, someone had just shot an arrow at him. One of the men on the platform had noticed him, and all three had aimed their bows at him. The arrow, however, had no effects, instead cutting the less than centimeter of skin, and bouncing off of the hard Samsara armor under his skin. Before he could reach, another would hit him on the side of his head, the same event happening.

Kozaki couldn't help but smirk, turning his bright yellow eyes to the man closest to him. A devilish grin filled his face, ear to ear.

This was going to be fun.

[ShinobiTruth]

Despite his bulky size, Iwamaru was not too terrible with a sword. As soon as the first wave of melee attackers came at him, his sword was practically like a spinning barrier, quickly launching slashes at opponents that tried to close in around him while not leaving himself open to attack. They would try to regroup, getting their pikeman and spear users up to the front to try and contest him, but he would immediately step forward as they tried to shift their ranks around. One particularly egregious misstep on their part cost them three swordsman, Maru's blade striking true as the tip ripped through chests and ribcages, the bandits spitting up blood as they fell back. They eventually stood back, preparing for their archers to try and take him out.

Almost expecting this, Iwamaru jumped back and sheathed his weapon as the arrows flew toward him, managing to avoid the volley of arrows. As he fell back toward the ground, he wove a string of hand seals before touching down. Plunging his hand into the ground, he pulled up a wall of earth with rows upon rows of jagged stone blades. The wall wouldn't last for long as he slammed his fist into the back of the wall, causing it to explode outward, launching the plethora of stone knives flying at a Speed faster than he could achieve himself, propelled by his immense Strength. Another five of the bandits were felled in this manner, several others taking more minor wounds as they pulled the stone blades out of their armor. Taking five kunai from his waist pack, Iwamaru sniped the two archers foolish enough to be on ground level and near his person, the kunai literally running them through like needles through cloth. With the three remaining kunai, the three archers aiming at him would be targeted next. The first one was killed outright, the second took a kunai to the shoulder that pinned him to the wall behind him, and the third just barely managed to dodge after seeing what happened to his two compatriots.

Though they hadn't given up yet, the men were starting to show signs of fear, as if they threatened to route. Iwamaru stood in front of the only exit. None of them were escaping alive.

JutsuShow

Tora Tosshinken Ryuu • Prowling Tiger Stalks the Earth
D-Rank Taijutsu Stance
The basic stance of the Rushing Tiger Sword Style, Iwamaru keeps his legs in a wide stance and slightly bent to allow for quick, dynamic movement, holding his empty hand opposite of his sword hand for basic attacks. These movements often involve short hops for a quick, non-commital burst of movement but can also be more normal footwork as well. Attacks while in this Stance can come from a variety of angles as Iwamaru can dynamically crouch and rise while attacking and defending. In this stance, Iwamaru can fully block an opponent's attacks while standing on one leg without losing his balance, compromising his center of gravity, or being pushed back so long as his Strength is equal to or higher than the Strength of the attack that he's defending against. When attacking with this style, Iwamaru typically uses one hand to swing his sword. The empty hand serves both as a counterweight to properly balance attacks even when leaning, crouching, or standing on one leg and as a reinforcing hand to bolster the strength of his parries and blocks.

Tora Tosshinken Ryuu • Tiger Camouflage
D-Rank Taijutsu Discipline
By making use of centrifugal force, Iwamaru can seamlessly fuse the end of an attack into the beginning of a parry or block if he wishes. Whenever Iwamaru launches an attack, he can use the energy at the end of the attack to transition straight into a spinning parry or block whenever he so chooses. This grants Iwamaru's attacks using a Sword Weapon inherent defensive elements, placing the palm of his guide hand on the flat of the blade to increase the strength of his parries or blocks against attacks whenever he chooses to do so.

Tora Tosshinken Ryuu • Crushing Paw
D-Rank Taijutsu Discipline
Prerequisite(s): 5 Taijutsu, 5 Strength.
As the majority of basic attacks with this style only make use of one arm, Iwamaru has learned how to efficiently use his movements and kinetic linking to generate the force necessary to strike with full force using only one hand without creating openings in his defense or movements. This Discipline represents Iwamaru's capacity to attack and defend at his full Strength with a Sword Weapon using only one arm.

Tora Tosshinken Ryuu • Hidden Predator Sword Rush
D-Rank Taijutsu Maneuver
A defensive technique designed to cover the inherent openings caused by the style's dynamic movements, Iwamaru will channel the energy of a failed attack into centrifugal force, hopping and spinning his body as he spins his sword between his hands. This technique allows Iwamaru to both defend against multiple attacks or weapons while also repositioning himself and resolidifying his centers of balance and gravity when he lands. He may continue spinning his sword and defending against attacks when he lands if he so wishes.

Doton • Wall of Pain
C-Rank Ninjutsu
After performing the needed seals, Iwamaru pulls a wall up from the ground at a Speed equal to his Strength and with a Strength of 10. The wall measure 5 meters x 5 meters x 3 meters and is covered with thin, sharp stone spikes each 1 meter long with an equal Strength to the wall. If Iwamaru strikes this wall with a Strength or 10 or higher, the spikes will break off of the wall and be launched at opponents up to 20 meters away at a Speed equal to Iwamaru’s Strength. Conversely, Iwamaru can push this wall with a Strength or 10 or higher to launch the entire wall forward up to 20 meters away equal to his Strength.

[Ace Trainer]

Kozaki couldn't help but notice the absolute shit show Iwamaru was causing down below him. What a hell of a fight the kid was putting up. Kozaki couldn't help but be impressed. Iwamaru was certainly a competent fighter and was handling himself well. Their plan, however, was less than successful as the group of bandits had just as quickly noticed Kozaki and now three of them ground level were climbing up a ladder to get on the platform with him and the three archers. Fortunately, Iwamaru took one out, and the one closest to Kozaki had gotten pinned to the wall. They'd all been thoroughly shocked by Kozaki's....resistance to being harmed.

Running along the platform, the black ball in Kozaki's hand bulged into liquid form, looking like a giant black water droplet. Grabbing the man Iwamaru had just pinned to the wall, Kozaki smiled, slamming the ball against the man's head. Quickly, it disappeared, flowing into his mouth like fluid, his eye full of shock as they slowly turned yellow like Kozaki's, "Welcome to the team.", Kozaki said, ripping him from the wall and shoving him forward at his friends. He looked absolutely sick, and as the surviving archer rushed forward at his comrade, the three that had just climbed up tried to navigate around them to get to Kozaki.

Kozaki simply shook his head however, and crossed his arms. From the man's stomach, several thin black spikes would explode out of him at 45 speed, with 45 strength. Kozaki had quickly learned how to maximize the shape manipulation of his weapon. The man would be ripped apart by the spikes, as the spikes penetrated the archer holding him, and the three men around him. Kozaki would walk over, kicking the corpse off the platform, then descending after it. As he landed on the ground he would wink at Iwamaru, and grab a part of the black spikes. The weapon quickly retracting, the shaping moving into a black thread that would climb up his body and around his neck, laying taught against his neck as a thick black necklace.

Iwamaru counted the bodies, 1 on the platform, 5 on the ground from him. 1 on the platform from Iwamaru, and 2 archers on the ground, 3 swords men, and 5 randoms, there were only 2 left..

Two?

Thats right there were supposed to be twenty.. Soon enough a giant man would erupt from a apparent trapdoor on the ground, cloaked in a fur jacket, giant horns mounted on his head, and two large swords on his back. Kozaki took a couple cautious steps backwards, rolling his eyes in annoyance as several more smaller men filtered out from the trap door as well....looked like about 7 more. How annoying, it seemed their information was wrong.

[ShinobiTruth]

Iwamaru quickly surveyed the scene and came to the same conclusion as Kozaki. Something was amiss. The numbers weren't adding up. Things made more sense as the extra soldiers rose up from the trap doors around them. Thankfully, it seemed that the rest were melee fighters. This was to Maru's liking. Using a quick hand signal to tell Kozaki to stand to the side, Maru decided to try and bait the men into a trap. Weaving a set of seals, it would likely be imperceptible to everyone except maybe Kozaki, but Maru would cause the earth within 15 meters around his position to weaken. Unlike Kozaki, who would appear to be falling back, Iwamaru would appear to be the cocky, ignorant bruiser biting off more than he could chew.

With the cockiest grin he could manage, he simply stood and beckoned his enemies forth with a wave of his hand. Considering they had decimated the entire rest of their crew, Maru was banking on the likelihood that they would be pissed and ripe for a taunt.

The six smaller men took the bait like flies to a carcass. Not moments before they descended upon him, Iwamaru would stomp the ground beneath his feet with one foot using all of his strength. The earth beneath their feet would momentarily swell before exploding upward in a shower of dust, earth, sharp rocks, and stone spikes. Three of the men would be impaled on the spikes that had erupted from the area around him, one of the men writhing in agony as he was still left alive with the spike having skewered him straight threw the stomach. He cried out in agony until Maru walked forward and with a swift grip of his head, violently twisted it sideways, shattering his neck instantly with a sickening squelch and crunch. The other four men had been blown sky-high from the strength of the impact, their bodies falling soundly to the ground with wet, crackling impacts. One particularly light fellow had been launched up and fell face-first into one of the spikes, his skull impaled on sharp stone.

Ripping one of the spikes from the ground that wasn't carrying a corpse, Maru eyed the final enemy, the man with twin horns and swords on his back. "Hey partner... You wanna play with him first, or should I?" he asked Kozaki, probably enjoying letting his strength show more than he probably should have.

JutsuShow

Doton • Improved Sundered Domain
C-Rank Ninjutsu
After performing the necessary hand seals, Iwamaru channels Doton chakra into a 15-meter area around his person, including stone and concrete terrain or structures. The stability of the ground/terrain is weakened. If Iwamaru punches or stomps on the ground with 10 Strength or greater, the ground will break apart, rasing slabs of rock and stone around him at a Speed equal to his Strength. Each of these slabs has 10 Strength. This technique cannot be used against structures or terrain infused with an opponent's chakra if the average of their Ninjutsu and Control, rounded up, is higher than Iwamaru's Control.

[Ace Trainer]

Kozaki was surprised at how....readily Iwamaru had taken to the fighting. Iwamaru seemed so disciplined and exact, but in this fight he was cocky to the point where it had this guise of careless, even if it really wasn't. He wasn't clearly enjoying himself much the way Kozaki was, but perhaps with different principles. Kozaki was a bit of a sadist, he enjoyed bringing about pain to his enemies. Iwamaru seemed like he was just...enjoying being able to let loose. It was a very different energy than from the arm wrestling competition.

He had swiftly taken apart the group that arose, except for the larger one of coure, and offered him forward to Kozaki.

Kozaki shrugged, if thats what he wanted, sure, why not. Taking a few steps forward, his eyes scanned the area. The man turned his eyes towards Kozaki, seeming to recognize his first fight would be against the small child. He smirked, and Kozaki gave a simple smile, seeming to suggest, this is the way things are, versus any sort of cockiness. The man pulled out one of his swords, and swung it swiftly at Kozaki. An impressive speed, but Kozaki's weapon was faster. His eyes simply widened as he reached towards his neck. The weapon leapt from around his neck, into his hand, a formed a thin shield in the path of the sword, umbrella-ing around Kozaki's body. The sword would strike against the weapon, and the confident grin on the bandits face would disappear from his face as the weapon displayed it's incredibly strength, stopping him right in his tracks.

Kozaki rushed forward, the weapon retracting to his hand. Jumping up, his small stature against the giant man, and kicked both of his feet into the man's chest, forcing him onto the ground as the weapon dove down and pinned itself into the ground around the man's neck, locking him in place. "Pie.", he said with a smile. The man struggled as Kozaki jumped off of him, putting himself out of the man's reaching, "What should we do with him?", he asked Iwamaru.

[ShinobiTruth]

Iwamaru stepped back, watching Kozaki calmly approach the opponent. The large man seemed competent enough, but Maru knew that he didn’t truly respect the strength of his opponents. Simply put, if he had, he would have run. Whatever was about to happen, Maru was certain that it would be short and sweet.

Surely enough, the exchange, because it really could not be called a fight, was swift and brief, Kozaki clearly showing his dominance over his larger, burly opponent. During the incredibly short scuffle, Iwamaru looked back toward the corpses left in his wake. It was only now that the heat of battle had subsided that Iwamaru was forced to reflect on the bloodshed and destruction he’d just wrought. He would not allow himself to be an ignorant killer, steeping himself in his basest violent impulses. He would make himself witness the grim worm of his hands. To be blind to it would be an even worse cowardice than refusing to kill at the cost of additional suffering for others.

Looking upon the glazed eyes of the deceased around him, he found himself feeling a certain sadness, yes, but it was tempered by the knowledge of what they did. They had willfully attacked innocent people, stolen loved ones away from them through death, and selfishly stolen their livelihoods. Did they expect they could be so callous with the lives of others without being willing to risk their own? Such was folly, and by their swift judgment, justice was executed for those who suffered at their hands. ’You died for your own sins. If there’s another life, try to live as a good person with the next chance you get.’

Iwamaru turned back to his partner and started walking toward him. ”Break his arms and legs. I’m going to check below to make sure no others are hiding out. I’ll leave the interrogation and torture to you. Make sure you do it underground. If there are scouts, we don’t want anyone being alerted any more easily than they may already have been.”

He’d lean in and whisper to his partner one additional step. ”When you’re done with him, bring me his head.”

Iwamaru would quickly sweep the underground caverns the bandits had dug out below the outpost. There was not a soul left, though there were plenty of supplies. Good. They could take these back to the villagers as a further demonstration of goodwill.

[Ace Trainer]

Iwamaru gave instruction, and Kozaki was swift to follow. The weapon changed shape, shrinking around his neck even tighter than extending out to his shoulders to pin his arms in place. Kozaki would grab one of the giant fists of the man, yankin on it, and then torquing it against the extension of the weapon, a disgusting crack would be heard and the man would cry out in pain. He smirked as he walked over to the giant hand on the other side, a swing from his elbow that Kozaki side stepped, grabbing the forearm and acting again. Twist, torque, crack.

The man's arms fell limp, and Kozaki jumped onto his stomach, sending a swift kick backwards into his chin, knocking the man out. He'd grab the legs of the man and do the same, cracking them at the femur and tibia on each side to take out the man's ability to walk. Winking at Iwamaru, he reached to the man's head and removed the giant helmet he wore, tossing it to Stone Man.

"This is gonna take a while.", the sadistic grin on his face only got wider. "I'm gonna milk him for information, so it might take some time. How about you take that and head back to the village. Foment peace and all that. I'll spend my time with our friend here and head back to you once I've gotten everything I can from him?", Kozaki heaved the larger body over his shoulders, turning back towards Iwamaru. "That sound good?", sounds like they had a plan. A plan that might spare Iwamaru from seeing any....indiscretions from Kozaki. His village training would be coming to use here.

[ShinobiTruth]

Iwamaru roller his shoulders and stretched as the sound of snapping bone and cartilage ruptured the silence between them. He’d since made peace with the suffering and death the man was going to endure. It was the price he paid for being a leader that drove his men to evil. Quickly turning and nodding at Kozaki’s proposal in agreement, Maru caught the helmet with one hand and wasted not a moment more. Finding a large cart, he would quickly load supplies on the cart to take back to the village before towing the vehicle out of the bandit camp at full speed along the road.

He would make haste to the village. Though it had involved grisly methods, the people of the village would have justice and closure. It was the only gift he could the dead. The living would receive the gift of their hard-earned food, supplies, and possessions being returned to them... all in all, a good way to end the mission.