The Top of the World

[Kabu]

Some time had passed since the end of the war and finally some sense of normalcy seemed to be returning to daily life, least that's how it appeared to Masami as she walked through the village towards the Hokage's tower to answer a summons. Over the last several years she had spent a great deal of time away on the front lines and had seen and partaken in enough death and destruction to potentially last for a lifetime, but seeing the villagers go back to living their lives did bring her a sense of calm, a sense that even if she had pains and regrets, she had done the right thing by choosing to fight. Her biggest regret was being away when Kiri had invaded but still she held her head high knowing the villagers had held strong long enough for the main force to return home and push the invaders back.

All in all she was proud of the village and her people, holding strong in the face of adversity and overcoming all odds. ...And now she was going to have to hold strong herself, in her musings having arrived at her destination. She was very honestly nervous about what this meeting could possibly be about. Like, sure it was Takeo and surely she hadn't done anything wrong but there was just a sense of nerves that always seemed to come with the prospect of an official meeting with the Hokage.

And so she took a deep breath and knocked on the door of Takeo's office. "Lord Hokage, Inuzuka Masami has now arrived"

[Izanagi]

The last year had taken quite a toll on the man. His decisions, every action scrutinized by many in the wake of Kiri’s full-scale invasion of Fire Country and the complete conquest of Tea Country. There had been a misstep to be sure, and certainly the man was prepared to continue both justifying his actions and accepting the consequences that fell upon him. He had lost the loyalty of some and needed trusted friends to continue to support him and keep Konoha strong and united until it was time for someone appropriately qualified to take over the mantle as Hokage. Having led the village for nearly 12 years now the man had accomplished a great many things though there was always more to do. Ever the warrior he kept his body in peak physical condition and had fought in the front lines in the war, personally leading the invasion of Earth country and the siege of Iwagakure, supported by Inuzuka Masami, a close friend of both him and his wife. The woman had proved a valuable comrade, her strength and dedication not going unnoticed.

Now Takeo wondered if she had what it took to be a true pillar of the village. She was a new mother and had made great efforts to keep herself fit for duty. But he had to know she was capable of pushing herself to a new tier. It was time to truly put some fire under her and see her resolve and tenacity. This wouldn’t be a simple office meeting or a mere formality, for those considered as Bannin, Takeo only accepted those who could defend the village against S-rank threats. More than ever Konoha needed symbols of strength. Already geared up with his weaponry, combat knife at his left thigh, dagger at his lower back, and wakizashi across his back the man wore black pants, a black haori with blue trim, metal arm guards and a leather shoulder guard with the Kanji for fire written on it. Of course, on his head he wore his forehead protector. Slipping on a brown cloak the man replied when Masami announced herself, “Come in Masami. How many times do I need to tell you not to be so formal?” he teased with his signature smirk, his cobalt blue eyes piercing in his gaze. “Don’t worry, you’re not here for some boring meeting. We’re going to get out of the village for the afternoon. It’s about time you and I have a proper spar” he informed her. “Come on” he waved her forward as he moved to the balcony, “Try to keep up” he challenged with a wolfish grin as just like that he leapt off the railing, launching himself easily 30 meters as he burst forward at 40 Speed, landing on a rooftop two streets away as he tucked and rolled before continuing his path toward the Northern gate.

[Servant]

The forest's shade kept the jounin cool as she moved speedily between their trunks. Every now and then she'd stop to claim a kunai or shuriken that had been left behind during the war. Naturally, a pretty thorough clean up had been done and the majority of corpses and weapons had been removed quite awhile ago, but some of the small projectiles had been stuck in trees, others obscured by fallen leaves or other debris. It was these that Niku would grab if she found them. Her forest was too beautiful and important to the village to leave sharp weapons laying around. As a member of Sekkoutai, a subdivision of Mamorinuku, Niku was responsible for patrolling and guarding the walls of Konoha, which in her mind, also included the forest which surrounded Konoha. At times, she may even use her blade to remove a limb if it were growing over a much traveled path, just to keep the paths free of obstruction.

In truth, the kunoichi had grown pretty comfortable alone in these woods. The time to think and mentally process everything that had happened during the war was much appreciated. She had much to process, between the things that happened to the village, to her, and done by her. She was sure there were children somewhere that would never see their parent because of her. In the moment, those things needed to be done, but Niku also needed the time to come to terms with the 'footsteps' she left in this world. All that to say, she still loved spending time with people and would often peruse the training grounds just for a chance of a social interaction. Due to the war and her use at the front lines, she had not been tasked with raising a genin team yet, despite having been a jounin for the better part of five years. She hoped she would get an assignment soon.

On the other hand, she'd heard rumors about Yozei heading to Fire Country's recently acquired land to the west. Nothing was set in stone, as far as she knew, but the idea of exploring new lands and helping to set up outposts was also terribly exciting. Building something new was kind of an enticing opportunity for the kunoichi... she didn't really know what her future held at this point; in some ways, she was just glad to know that she had a future, a feeling that one didn't always have when they were at war.

[Kabu]

As she followed Takeo out of the building and into the village, Masami was admittedly feeling a mix of emotions. Surprise, confusion, worry, and joy all mixed into one. She had walked into his office expecting a simple talk and that had somehow led to a spar? She had never been good with meetings and formalities so she was glad for that much at least, though that didn't help to entirely shake her nerves. She had been waiting for this day for so very long now and while she was happy, she couldn't really feel too excited about it. What if it was just a repeat of that day from so very long ago? She was a whole lot stronger now but Takeo was stronger still, and if she didn't impress then she wouldn't get her promotion and who knew when she would get another chance. Worse still was the risk of disappointing all of her friends after they had put so much faith into her.

No, this was no time to be worrying about that. She would impress, she would earn this promotion and make everyone proud of her. With that in mind she leapt forward, picking up her pace to move at around 35 speed, grinning as she caught up to Takeo, trailing just slightly behind him. She could have gone faster but she didn't want to be too wasteful of her energy. "Keep up? Easily done. I'll show you firsthand just how strong I've become."

Yeah, that was the stuff. She needed to be confident, this was for her future, the village's future. She absolutely couldn't afford to disappoint, she would succeed and after so long she would finally move to the top.

[Izanagi]

Takeo smirked at Masami’s spirit. Good, that was the kind of confidence he wanted to see. He would lead her through the village and beyond the gate, slowing to a more comfortable pace of 35 Speed to settle into Masami’s pace. It was a promising start. Though there was another they would be meeting whom he was sure could move faster than either of them. He had sent word before picking up Masami for a courier to find Niku as she went about her patrols and direct her to meet the Hokage at his personal training grounds. They were quite well known by any of the Jounin of the village.

About 30 miles north of the forests surrounding Konoha there was a large ravine, 150 meters across, 60 meters wide and 100 meters deep. The stone walls contained 45 Strength, enough that they had survived over a decade of training, occasionally large chunks would be broken off but eventually they would be reformed. Down the center of the ravine was a 20-meter-wide river that had also been created by Takeo’s chakra, many small bushes and even some small trees had grown over the years at the bottom near the water. At the end of the ravine was a large circular quarry 50 meters in diameter that was full of boulders and a sandy ground full of many pieces of smooth glass, the ground and walls alike scorched a permanent black from intense flames.

It would be here that he would test both of the women, intending to fight them simultaneously. Truthfully, he wasn’t sure if he could handle their combined strength but this would be a test for himself as much as it was for them. When he arrived with Masami he would stand at the top of the ravine, looking down over the canyon. “I hope you’re ready for a fight” he said with a wolfish grin, looking back at Masami as the sun beamed down over them. “Once Niku gets here we can get started” he explained, smiling proudly at the woman Masami had become. They hadn’t even begun yet but the fact she was being considered for Bannin at all was a massive accomplishment in of itself. And most impressive was that she was a Jinchuuriki who had defied the odds and his own expectations and still was able to stand here with him after so many years housing the Genma within her. He would be the first to admit he had been wrong about her.

[Servant]

As Niku made her way through the forest that protected Konoha, a messenger appeared in her path. She wasn't particularly pleased to be interrupted, but also somewhat surprised. Few messengers came out here to deliver their messages, let alone in the middle of a patrol. Niku came to a stop, holding her hand out to the messenger to receive her message. She still had trouble understanding what was so important to interrupt her patrol, but she quickly opened the letter and perused the message. Naturally, with his job done, the messenger headed back to the village without waiting for Niku to finish reading it. It took her a moment and then she read it again. The Hokage had summoned her to his training ground, the note didn't say why, but there was little more they could do at a training ground than train.

Without much worry regarding her patrol, the kunoichi headed towards the Hokage's location. Her mind was going over the possibilities, but she kind of settled on some sort of trial for bannin. Perhaps he could be giving her a mission or sending her to follow Yozei, whom she had worked with many times in the past, but that wouldn't need to be done at a training ground, so her assumption was some sort of spar. She'd been to this place a couple times, but this time felt different. Her right hand instinctively went to the sword on her hip, a nervous habit that she thought she'd long since gotten over. She could see two people through the trees and she was curious who the second was, though as she got closer it became apparent: the tail and ears were a dead give away.

She came out of the forest, Niku's fellow shinobi the only thing between her and the large ravine. "Hokage," she said, bowing slightly. She was definitely on her best behavior at this point. She wanted to launch into a barrage of questions about why she was there, why Masami was there, why Takeo was there, and what all this meant, but she had grown a bit over the Great War and had come to understand restraint. "Masami," she said, also giving her fellow jounin a slight bow. She waited for someone to tell her what was going on.

[Kabu]

Masami couldn't help but giggle, smirking all the while as she and Takeo dashed along towards their destination. This really was the day she had been looking forward to for so many years, in more ways than one. This was her chance to finally show she was worthy of Bannin and that she wasn't any longer the weak little girl that she had once been... that she really couldn't afford to be. She not only needed to be strong for her friends and village but more importantly for her and Souta's little boy, for little Hajime. It was a strange feeling, though not an unwelcome one... becoming a mother had brought out a new side of her, a drive to become strong that went beyond simply proving herself.

Soon they arrived at their destination, Masami raising a brow at the mention Niku would be meeting them as well. Were they both being tested for Bannin? Had such a thing ever been done before? Well, she wasn't going to argue back about it. "I'm more than ready. You have no idea how long I've been waiting for this day..." she trailed off, letting her meanings linger in the air as she heard a set of familiar footsteps approach, their owner soon standing by her side.

She smiled and waved at the sight of the woman. "Good afternoon Niku. It seems the both of us are to be tested for Bannin today and our task is..." she trailed off once more, her gaze turning towards Takeo as she lowered into a battle ready stance, preparing herself to pounce once the fight truly began. "A spar with our Lord Hokage." she finished with her explanation, smirking all the while. It wasn't going to be an easy fight but especially with a partner whom she had worked with once before back during the war she felt optimistic about being able to come out on top.

"I hope you're ready for this..."

[Izanagi]

Takeo nodded slowly, a small smirk forming as Niku emerged and joined them at the mouth of the canyon. He was about to explain the situation, but it seemed Masami had figured it out. “That’s right, I’ll take you both on at the same time. Together you should be able to defeat me, but I won’t hold back much, if at all. It’s been too long since I’ve had a good fight so give it your all and show me you have the strength and conviction to be Bannin” he challenged, looking between them each as he spoke. “That being said I’m getting old, and I’ve heard you’re quite the kenjutsu master Niku. I think it’s only fair that we start on opposite sides of the ravine. Masami, take a position with her, we’ll begin on my signal” he announced before dashing over to the right side of the ravine, expecting the women to each move along to the left so that they would be standing along the middle of the training ground, standing 60 meters apart.

Once in position, he calmed his mind, entering a ready stance as he prepared himself to defend himself in close quarters if need be. His first step was to create armor, his chakra flared to life and his hands blurred, encasing himself in stone armor, complete with a helmet that formed with 50 Strength and at 30 Speed. Next, he formed another series of seals, longer but still, his hands were a blur before an aura of fire enveloped him. This double-layered armor was the signature combo that gave him an extra edge in his brawling close-quarters style. Truthfully, he was more skilled against hand-to-hand fighters than against kenjutsu masters and it seemed Nikuya would be a potentially overwhelming force without his supplementary elemental ninjutsu.

Masami on the other hand had access to a number of powerful fusion elements as well as being skilled at ambush tactics. He was curious what type of skills she would utilize against him. Whatever the case, it was their turn to set the pace of the match. “Begin!” he commanded as he drew his Wakizashi and his dagger, expecting them to charge in. Though if they kept at a distance he could certainly show off some of his larger-scale jutsu.

Jutsu UsedShow

Mind like Water
A-Rank Taijutsu Stance
Focusing on a relaxed state of mind and standing in a position guarding his center line Takeo can enter a state of enhanced perception, focus and reaction time. While using this stance the man's movements tend to be much more fluid, flowing like water around his opponents and focusing highly on counter attacks and utilizing an opponents force and momentum against them while tying in ninjutsu making this an ideal stance for fighting multiple opponents, honing his focus or dealing with a particularly fast or aggressive opponent. Due to the enhanced focus however, this stance is rather taxing. +10 Control, +2 Speed, -10 Endurance, - 2 Chakra Pool.

Doton • Combat Armor
B-Rank Ninjutsu
After performing the necessary hand seals Takeo will flow Doton chakra throughout his body, enveloping himself in a dark brown stone suit of armor. The armor encases his clothes and weapons holsters though leaves them accessible enough to draw from. Enveloping his head is optional and if opted to only his eyes will remain exposed. All in all, the stone is about an inch thick and capable of defending against a strength of 50. Throughout the 5 posts in which the armor lasts Takeo is able to extend or retract stone blades which extend from his forearm past his hand at a speed of 30, the maximum length of these blades it 2 meters.

Katon • Avatar of the Divine Sun God, Amaterasu
S-Rank Ninjutsu
After forming the necessary hand seals the user will emanate katon chakra around their body protecting themselves from and coating themselves in flames. For 7 posts, their body constantly exerts 1 meter of flames which push out from their body at a strength of 50. This causes the user's body to become a living inferno, causing fire wherever they go and burning all life in their path. In addition to this, the user can just once over the span of the 7 posts cause their encapsulating flame to pulsate and expand out 75 meters at a speed of 40 for an instant before returning to its normal size.

[Servant]

Niku listened intently as Masami explained the situation clearly. She couldn't help but be a little let down. On the one hand, an opportunity to become bannin was in front of her and she was excited at gaining an attempt to attain the most prestigious rank that the Hokage and Konoha had to offer. But on the other hand, Niku was kind of curious how she'd measure up against the Hokage in a one on one situation. It wasn't that she thought she could take him, and she surely had no intentions of becoming the Hokage herself, but she was curious how far she still had to go. She pushed those thoughts aside when Masami took a battle stance. She turned her attention towards Takeo, the man who'd been Hokage for the entire duration of Niku's shinobi career.

She listened as the Hokage challenged the two kunoichi, not to battle, but to show their desire and the strength of a bannin. While it was true that Takeo was older than either kunoichi, he hadn't seemed to have lost a step and she wondered why the Hokage dared to belittle himself before them while also complimenting her. Regardless, Niku nodded a confirmation and headed with Masami towards the opposite side of the ravine. Niku's mind seemed calmer than she thought it should feel and kind of wanted to be more fired up, but that just was't how she felt. Maybe some friendly conversation would brighten her mood. She looked to Masami as they got into position "Any battle strategies you want to use?" While the two kunoichi had worked together previously, neither had been in charge during that mission and Niku wasn't fully aware of Masami's capabilities.

Some awe came across her face as her enhanced sight saw Takeo engulf himself in earth and then flames. She hadn't needed to go all out since the war, but she started feeling like this might be a good opportunity to do so.