Stay mobile! Atsuji's instincts took him away from the thickening mists, and he ran westward until he felt comfortably beyond the edge of the cloud. There, he turned and surveyed the arena; the mist stretched at least fifteen metres in either direction before him, and though he still had a little distance - and a stretch of open water - at his back, the terrain was open, devoid of cover. He made himself keep moving, running to one side and then the other while keeping a careful eye on the mist.
What's his plan? His mind began working on the puzzle that was Kirino's strategy.
Most mist users rely on ambushes inside the cloud. So he's probably in there, waiting for me to get caught? He changed direction again, now running north, to keep himself a moving target.
Does he have a way to find people inside the cloud? That goes against the traditions of the style, but it's not unheard of... But more importantly, how do I
get to him
?
Suddenly a vague shadow moved within the edge of the mist and four kunai tore from its edge, heading directly towards him. However, their speed was unimpressive. Atsuji drew three of his own kunai and threw them in one flawless motion; two met with oncoming weapons and sent them ricocheting harmlessly away. The third kunai he threw seemed to miss by a hair's breadth - but continued to fly directly towards the source of Kirino's weapons. His own throws were much faster, and he was confident he could snapshot a retaliation with that kunai, and have a decent chance of hitting with it.
Kirino's remaining two kunai continued towards him. Atsuji somersaulted backwards and in the same motion drew a fourth knife of his own. At the last moment he twisted his body sideways and made a deft slash; one of the oncoming kunai passed wide, missing him by an inch due to his dodge, and the second was blocked by his own knife, deflected away. When no more weapons came at him, he moved his kunai to his mouth and held it there while beginning a set of hand seals. The terrain was too open here, which was giving his opponent - who apparently
could find him - an advantage. So he had to change that.
After a moment, he dropped to one knee and slammed a palm down onto the ground. Earth rent before him in a line, and a thick wall of rock erupted upwards, effectively shielding him from Kirino's view. He moved directly into a second set of seals without pause, and soon a basic clone appeared beside him while he was hidden. Then, carefully, he peeked a head out from the side of the barrier to keep watch on the mist.
This isn't a time to hold back... he thought, and began stirring his chakra ready to begin another set of seals. Ninjutsu was not his forte, but when used correctly...
*Doton • Wall
D-Rank Ninjutsu
After performing the correct hand seals the user will form a solid stone wall up to 5 meters away from them at a speed of 6. The wall has a strength of 4 and is 3x3x1 meters large.
*[Basic Jutsu • Clone Technique]
E-Ranked Ninjutsu
After completing a set of handseals, the user forms a slight chakra 'body', thus creating a single, massless clone. The clone created from this technique is very basic and will dissipate when hit with anything. These clones do not possess vital signs or a unique chakra signature, meaning they don't disrupt the environment, and anything on their person is superficial. The clone has 1 in each stat. They are limited to basic movements.