Niku clenched tighter into the corner she was pushed into, listening desperately to hear anything that her enemies were doing as she was starting to get a bit scared. Sure, she had what it takes to deal with several ninja, maybe even the entire party going after her but Rukasu the Snake King, Meiko from Konoha and Konoha’s Sorceress were some damn tough eggs to crack. Either one of them alone would pose a significant challenge and here Niku was treading these ground alone. Then there was that stupid future predicting sensory of the little magic twerp. One couldn’t have made up a more troublesome ability if they wanted to. Niku wasn’t briefed on how it worked or its range, its weaknesses etc. This was entirely new intel for the Parabrahma!

Particles of iron dust started slipping down Niku’s sleeve, compiling in the cavern around her and splitting into miniscule dust. Dust that were intended to be breathed in, something that wouldn’t have been picked up by anyone but the most careful and observant sensors, even if some of the folk coming at her were sensors it didn’t matter – common sensory would barely even distinguish Tetsuton chakra from Niku’s own chakra viewing it as a blur of chakra, Sorceress’ super sensory may have cut it but she must’ve been hurt and out of the fight or something. That bitch was really pissed before, no way she’d not have come for Niku’s head by now…

Something was wrong – Niku could hear sounds of some sort, someone rushing pretty fast with little to no fucks given about their life. No way this idiot was the real thing, must’ve been a suicidal clone or something. There was something going for Niku – she was used to fighting in the darkness, she was catching and eating rats and insects from inside her cell, this idiot running at her couldn’t have been. Plus he’d be breathing in all of the Tetsuton dust if he came into Niku’s little room. “SHIT!” Niku almost yelled out realizing – if this twerp was a clone he could breathe in all of the dust, it’d take chakra and time to set it up again!

Niku rushed forward to meet that unfortunate fool halfway, heading towards the direction where his footsteps came from. The woman couldn’t really distinguish much of the clone’s features – he was short, that was pretty much all that the darkness let her identify. The clone lunged at Niku forcing the woman to move sideways and form a stake of steel out of the Tetsuton dust in the mines, the woman didn’t notice the clone of the shorty slashing at her eyes but her extravagant busted up headdress protected Niku as the woman stabbed at the clone as its arm opened his chest up for a finishing blow. It was highly unlikely for the clone to avoid this attack in pitch darkness.

“Fucking twat!”

Niku cursed as she realized that this diversion cost her chakra, she needed to use more Tetsuton in the air. Ideally she wanted everyone coming at her to simply inhale D-C rank worth of dust which was as simple as one or two breaths, Tetsuton dust slipped out of Niku’s sleeve again. The woman didn’t want to attack, she wanted to wait it out until Tenma joined her. Plus if those idiots came to her instead of the other way around she could lure them into a lethal trap, then maybe she could bargain their useless dying bodies to lure the Sorceress in as well. All that Niku needed for that plan to work was that these idiots rushed in and engaged her recklessly. Maybe they needed encouragement for that?

The woman started to walk forward, using that same stake to bang around the mine walls causing resonances to be sent through the mine, if they tread deep enough they’d all be hearing strange noises inside the mine luring them to the appropriate location but needless to say – Niku was heading towards the direction where the clone came through from as well. She only had enough Tetsuton dust to manipulate for a single construct, the rest were all in the air of the cavern that Niku tried to keep as her ace in the sleeve. If Niku met up with her enemies she’d have taunted them.

“All those people… Guards, men and women… I killed them all… Did you know it was “bring your children to work day”? I killed them all! And I’ll kill you guys too…”

Niku would have playfully chanted out as dashed backwards into the darkness trying to lure her prey into the cursed part of the mines where death awaited them. All they needed was to get agitated, to charge at her. That was just what Niku wanted all along…

Spoiler:

Adrenaline pumped through the clones veins as it came upon the despised enemy. He could not make out Niku's features when they were obscured by a veil of darkness, however that didn't stop the clone from making an attack on the figure. Dagger and Bowie Knife alike lashed out, each with its own purpose. The side step Niku performed saved her gut from being pierced by the thrusting dagger, however Mugen found tangible contact in the form of his knife scraping her headdress. It was unfortunate that he had not been aware of the armor, but that brief meeting of metal on metal allowed Mugen to tell which direction she had moved via the physical sensations sent to his hands even if his eyes could not provide such intel in the dark. The criminal's actions were standard and one could call her counter to be a well executed orthodox maneuver, the only thing unusual about it being the convenient nature upon which Niku could summon her weapon.

The Mugen clone knew little of this kunoichi's weapon preferences or fighting habits, but he did know the skills of his weaponry trade very well. Almost all Kousen clan members trained with blade from a young age so the boy knew his way around a close range fight. When he sensed Niku's sideways movement through the contact with his knife, the boy knew a counter attack was only a hair's breath away. Thankfully, Niku didn't already have a weapon in hand and needed to form it. If luck were on Mugen's side, that brief split second would give him enough time to act. One of Mugen's feet reached out to demand traction with the ground and dig into the earth giving him a point upon which to pivot. The clone turned in the direction Niku had moved while retaining a bit of his forward momentum as his foothold skidded forwards a slight ways. The dagger and knife in his hands snapped back into place as quickly as his muscles would allow. The Bowie knife held up near the clone's head as the dagger performed a sweeping motion across Mugen's torso in a defensive manner. Even if he couldn't see an attack coming, if he knew it was imminent, certain blanket precautions like this could be made.

If the maneuver paid off, Mugen's sideways turned body would prevent a small target for the stabbing motion of Niku's stake and the sweeping dagger had a chance of deflecting the weapon off course before it could do any bodily harm. Assuming this act was a success, Mugen would find himself with a lot of forwards momentum from his lunge that made a follow up melee attack unfavorable. The time it would take to regain his footing for a proper strike simply couldn't be afforded. Besides, it had done its job and ensured there were no obvious traps lying in wait. Now the clone had to focus on making the most out of its presence so it took the opportunity to kick off the ground with the one foot that had reached it. Using all of Mugen's youthful strength, he would try to launch himself past Niku deeper into the mines in the direction from which she had come running. The boy would tumble through the air casting his weapons aside in favor of making a few hand seals. As Mugen landed, the ranton technique Ankoku no Kumo would begin to manifest around him propagating outwards in a coil to spread along the entire passageway.

Its purpose was simple. Block off Niku's path of retreat with a billowing wall of lightning clouds and force her back towards the group. The dull black clouds would be almost invisible at first in the darkness until the first few arcs of black lightning danced along their surface giving off an unnatural red glow. Once the cloud had expanded fully to create a barrier-like wall of cloud between Mugen and Niku, three black bolts of C-rank lightning would lash out with a three meter range threatening to do Niku harm if she lingered. These were just provocative attacks meant to scare the target into moving away from the cloud, but they had the potential to deal damage if she made no efforts to avoid them. The clone would hold his position here like this and spend the next three turns keeping the jutsu for as long as he could manage.

Jutsu:

SCs:

Mod Post: The response is approved, due to changed circumstances some changes to Niku's behavior are in order:

*) Niku still retreats to the team of ninja coming after her and still taunts them.

*) After taunting she retreats back slightly and starts making a new cloud of Tetsuton dust making the previous cloud further in the mines inert, for that reason she loses 35 more CP. The Tetsuton will slowly accumulate in the area and if no identification of it in the dark is made or characters do not withdraw from the location within one post it is assumed they've breathed it in.

Niku's CP: 114/235

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OOC Note.:

Justu used/active:

The panic Mugen's actions had caused their leader made it hard for the boy to hold back a smirk. Mana didn't lose her cool for long, but the sudden shout over the mental link had the young Kousen suppressing a giggle. Even if he hadn't moved out on his own, the rest of the team was already speaking of plans that didn't involve driving Niku out to the other side of the mountain. She was a famous kunoichi, but she was also injured badly. Mugen figured it would be best to let her recover while they handled the rest. After all, this criminal already had one foot in the grave...right? Reports of Niku's waning chakra and injuries had Mugen feeling overconfident and the rest of the group seemed to be having their own swells of faith in actions. It was a surprise to find the other members of the team praising him when he'd been so reckless. Fortune favored the bold, but in the world of shinobi such impulsive acts could often spell out punishment for the offender. Thankfully, it appeared to have driven the others to action and now the fight to press this wounded beast of a woman to her death was on.

At Meiko's warning, Mugen reached into his clothing to retrieve a breathing apparatus in hopes that it would be enough to keep Niku's tetsuton out of his lungs. The device was simple and there was a good chance it lacked the capability to purge each breath of such fine iron particles, but there was little else Mugen had in his arsenal which could deal with such a threat. With this preparation against a potential danger made, the boy followed at Kiyomi's side and followed orders this time. Meiko was the first among them to engage their target drawing forth a bow of chakra in a manner Mugen hardly thought possible. The warning came to shield their eyes and Mugen obeyed without waiting to see why it was important.

The genin's forearm rose to cover his oculars just in time to bar the otherwise blinding light from doing its worst to his sight. When he lowered his limb it wasn't like there was much he could see in the dark anyways. But at the very least, it had saved him from being completely lost in shadow. This allowed Mugen to witness the cave in induced by Hiruzen come rumbling down on top of the enemy as a rainfall of stone and earth. It was a wonder that the instability hadn't buried them all in dirt and a large cloud of dust kicked up filling the tunnel with a filthy haze. Coughing through the billowing cloud, Mugen squinted through the obscuring debris as Kiyomi's voice sounded next to him. It was a call to strike with everything he had but it was hard to accurately hit a target buried under a mountain of rocks. Thankfully, Mugen had a jutsu that could simply go around these earthly barriers. A string of three hand seals danced forth from the Kumogakure shinobi's fingers ending in a pair of open palms aimed upwards slightly in Niku's last known direction.

"Ranton! Ryuusuisen!"

Simultaneous to the blast of heat unleashed by his konoha senpai, Mugen's chakra manifested as a wave of liquid lightning that spewed in an upwards arc going overhead any allies that might get in the way only to splash down on top of the rubble. Even if Niku remained buried to use the ground as insulation against Kiyomi's heat, the many gaps throughout the pile would serve as poor protection against the fluid ranton jutsu. Upon hitting solid rock, the technique would spread around it and flow deeper into the mess of earth seeking out an enemy to shock. Cracks and gaps would serve as a maze of pathways towards the goal of Niku's flesh lest she did something to halt the numerous split streams of ranton before they could reach her.

Meanwhile, the clone held its ground and maintained the barrier of Ranton clouds ever wary of an attempt to escape.

Jutsu:

Equipment:

SCs:

So far Niku was unable to pinpoint just exactly the plan of these children was. The fact that pitiful and insignificant hatchlings of ninja were causing trouble to her pissed her off, still, not to the point where Niku would lose focus. Had the woman not faced the Sorceress and been blown away so easily, with the young cocky little twerp even joking at her, she’d have underestimated these brats but now… Now they were fair game, they were just like any other ninja, Niku felt no hesitance in killing them. But first she had to find out exactly what their plan was.

That young boy whom Niku didn’t know as she was not briefed about him blocked her escape, that meant that the team didn’t want Niku to get out of the mine which didn’t make too much sense. Had they forgotten that the woman spent almost half of her life inside a pitch black cell. She sustained her life catching small animals in total darkness. Sure, she was no super-sensor who could sense anything around her like a bat or anything but if there was an environment she preferred to fight in, it was this darkness. These kids grew up in freedom, their eyes knew what rays of light were, Niku had to learn all that again when she was freed by the Parabrahma.

*****

Blood squirted out of the small rat as the woman’s teeth sunk into it. How long has it been that Niku lived on what she could find? After all she did for the village they barely even had enough decency to place her in a proper cell, they didn’t even put her in the same prison that everyone else went. Why would they – everyone hated killers of their comrades. Brothers in arms… That’s how their team was called. Yet they were all bastards, cunts and greatest dicks one could find. They did their jobs but they cursed, drank, tortured the enemy soldiers. At least Niku had the decency to just kill them outright, those men and women were her friends… But they were also bad people which meant they had to die.

A loud noise sent Niku down on the floor, the long hair that had by now reached her feet fell all over the woman’s tired and wounded body. Her body was probably still suffering from the infections from all the rat bites. It was like the little critters knew what Niku was doing to them and they bit her back when she tried to sleep. Niku ate them so they tried to eat her back… Those rats were almost the size of dogs, maybe their great size was the reason why Niku managed to survive feeding on roaches, those big blind mountain spiders and rats. Still, no one who put her here intended for her to live – she was a reject – killer of brothers and sisters. People like that were worse than scum in the ninja world.

The loud noise was some sort of steel clinging to her cell. Niku hasn’t heard any noise in well over years, the whole eternity for what it seemed. A noise of steel grabbing and denting the steel surface was like… It had no worthy comparisons. Was this friend or enemy? Have Kumogakure finally grown enough balls to take her out of her misery? Tears burst from Niku’s eyes, she went so far these years, she did things, suffered so much just to survive. She drank blood and ate flesh of things people ran away from after even seeing with the corners of their eyes. Her body was covered with corruption of infection, it ached to even move a muscle. She didn’t want to die…

The steel roared as the door burst open and bright purple light burst into her cell. It was emanating from the chains that tore the steel door to shreds. Door built by her own clansmen, people who were disgusted by Niku’s murderous ways. How couldn’t they understand? Bad people was what made the world bad, if all bad people just shut the fuck up and died, everything would be better! No one would have to go through the suffering that Niku went through! A man in a hood entered Niku’s cell. The woman screamed as the noise of his footsteps and the small amount of light to determine his body shape reached her long dormant senses.

“Hmmm… You tried to scratch through the rock…” the man said, his voice was like knife to Niku’s ears, the woman hurled the most horrific cry of agony. “Pleaseee… Stop…” as she covered her ears. The man grabbed her hand and lifted it up to his eyes. “Your nails… They’re completely torn off, you’ve been clawing the rock until your hands were beyond use. I can use a person with such will to live. You want to make the world better by killing all the evil, I want the same thing. Come with me.” Niku couldn’t stop whimpering from the man’s voice. His tone wasn’t pleasant, his words sounded more like an order than a request. She got back on her knees and crawled after him. Out. Out of her cell. Into freedom. Whatever that was…

*****

Niku sensed one of the brats doing something. They must’ve had some sort of communication, no way they would’ve worked together so well without words. As much as Niku hated the sound of a person’s voice as it reminded her of her liberation, she realized the importance of it. They must’ve had a mental link or something like that, which meant that it had to be taken out. But not now, now was a time for survival. The one who lifted the arm sent nearly indistinguishable sounds of steel rubbing together, almost like pieces of armor. It had to be Wakizashi Meiko, that young woman was someone Niku was briefed about. She was dangerous and could stand up to some Parabrahma members alone potentially, something everyone thought to be impossible…

Even right now the young woman must’ve tried something, this was a bad place to be holed into: Wakizashi Meiko, Yamanaka Kiyomi, Snake King, that Kumo brat… These weren’t people one wanted to face alone holed up in a mine, each one of them could’ve posed a significant challenge, together they were dangerous, who would have known that the likes of Wakizashi Meiko and Yamanaka Kiyomi could work with the Snake King, wasn’t that guy really disliked around Konoha? Didn’t he kill people close to the Konohagakure borders? Was the Parabrahma’s information incorrect? How could they work together so simply?

No, Niku wouldn’t just stand here. She quickly dashed back and shot her arm forward, focusing her chakra which built a wall out of the Tetsuton dust covering 10 meters radius, in other words, it was unpassable as it was S rank steel of finest quality. That eliminated all of the dust in the area but it blocked the shinobi off. Luckily enough right as she did that, right as whatever technique Wakizashi Meiko tried to perform something else happened, something burst from the walls of the mines, shaking up the very foundation which made it very uncomfortable to be holed up for both sides: Niku didn’t know if the Team Hokage clogged up the other side of entry and if they did – they were in a world of trouble as the mine was going down.

Unfortunately for her – she also was sort of clogged up with about 5 meters of Tetsuton dust left to exploit. That clone and it’s silly jutsu was still in the way so Niku charged at it, forming swords in her arms nearly momentarily and swiping them in an X shaped formation covering most of the mine, it would’ve taken extreme agility to dodge in such clogged up space or just a very powerful jump above the X where she swiped the blades. Either way the clone and his technique would’ve been out of the way – the blades were as hard as an S rank steel alloy – there was little it couldn’t cut. Luckily enough the wall was just as hard, it wasted a ton of Niku’s chakra but it will be a bitch to break through it, it would take an incredibly powerful lightning technique to drill through that, at least S rank which wasn’t very common.

The Parabrahma member had no idea who it was to cause this cave in, whatever he/she did, Niku was lucky to make a run for it and build a wall of Tetsuton before being overwhelmed. That same wall then took a powerful hit shaking the mine even further. For some reason the Tetsuton dust were brightened up which suggested a heat-based attack being sent Niku’s way simultaneously with the combined assault of the whoever caused the rocks to fall and that Meiko kunoichi. Whatever the method of their communication, it was getting to hot for the injured Niku, she could only manipulate half of the amount of weapons she normally could, it was time for a tactical retreat. She was facing far greater resistance than she planned to. Hopefully that meant that Tenma and Kijin and Tenma’s stupid army had less pressure to deal with…

Niku had no idea what just started to make the mine collapse, rocks were falling all over, it took complete focus for the woman to even sense when the rock separated from the ceiling and went down to crush her head. Whatever the person that caused the first rocks to fall must’ve caused more damage to the mines than they intended to. One rock even hit her headdress removing it and exposing Niku’s bald head. Revealing all the Parabrahma silence seal tattoos on her body and her eyes, cold, emotionless and lacking any pupils but still able to see relatively alright, not as well as most people, but enough to call it sight. The Leader said she was lucky when he had her body healed. Niku dashed through the mine, she had to get out, she had to retreat to the wall!

She disintegrated the swords right after swiping, unless the clone somehow tried to counterattack, of course. That left her with 5 more meters of possible useable Tetsuton as the wall was still intact. There was a limit at how much dust Niku could manipulate, that capped at about 30 meters at highest rank, the rank of the jutsu also dictated the sturdiness of the tool crafted. That was what made the Kirikuzu clan so famed in the shinobi world – their ability to near effortlessly craft tools of highest quality. That loser-blacksmith from Konoha must’ve been impressed, Niku’s ideal and matchless craftsmanship blown her uselessness to shame!!! “No, stop getting careless, stop underestimating them, that’s how Kijin lost his life…” Niku thought as she got closer and closer to the mine.

“Shit” she yelled as a rabbit jumped at her, a pink and hairy little bastard tried to sock her right in the jaw. Niku ducked and slid under it moving past it. She tried to make a run for the exit as the rabbit shouted something out, maybe an offense or a taunt as Niku felt a powerful blow in her back – the rabbit must’ve refocused her efforts and drop kicked Niku as the woman stood up sending her crashing forward through several fallen rocks out into the yard, right near a wall. Had the woman faced the rabbit she'd have dodged the pathetic attack effortlessly but she got reckless and tried to run, she made the right call - standing in that mine was dangerous now that it was falling down on everyone inside. Niku felt blood in her mouth, she felt her bones being grinded to dust where the rabbit kicked her – that little bitch had some kick in her. Niku spat out some more blood as she stood up only for her jaw to drop.

A gigantic white rabbit with the stupid Sorceress bitch was waiting for her on the other side… THAT was their plan all along!

Spoiler:

• The only counter the clone will attempt to make is to fire the last two lightning bolts left from the cloud in an attempt to deal two instances of C-rank lightning damage to Niku. Assume it takes any hits after that and is destroyed.
  
• Upon gaining the knowledge from the clone's defeat, Mugen informs Mana over the Yamanaka link that Niku is making a break for her direction.
  

*) In a very spontanic attempt to dodge Mugen clone's lightning bolts Niku managed to avoid one and took one C rank lightning bolt damage to the side before encountering the rabbit.

Spoiler:

Jutsu used/Sc's active:

Not everything that was happening was something anyone could do. In the beginning, Mugen used his clone to get the enemy closer to the team so that Mana could rest a bit longer.  Which worked well but at the same time, it caused the people on this team to fight when there was no way knowing if it would work or not. Each attack and each plan executed perfectly but Niku already knew what to do to prevent any more damaged to her. It was just getting to become a very long battle. It also seemed that the more injured she got the better she fought. However, there was no real way to prove this so Rukasu had already concluded that she was a crazy mess. Rukasu barely did anything as he was just observing each tactic that played next. Mieko dropping down from position was a good idea because it seemed that the criminal teamed up with only the genin to fight this battle. Rukasu needed someone strong to fight alongside of him. However, Kiyomi was now in charge and that was not a bad idea but she did have her trust issues against the Rukasu.

Soon after that, the team attacked with Ninjutsu, as they tried to blind her and hurt her in different ways. Rukasu's sensory ability was on as he noticed someone in the earth above them. Well to be exact this person was close to the enemy. When Rukasu noticed the rocks falling down at her but missed, it was clear that this was an attack against Niku. Rukasu then told the team that this was someone's doing from in the earth above. It was their choice if they wanted to believe him or not. This person chakra levels were excessively high, at that point, he could not tell if this person had more chakra than Mana. Rukasu ended up ignoring the person, as he knew he needed to react quickly before it was too late. The criminal had taken out one of his scrolls, opened it and placed his giant sword on top of it. Rukasu knew that this sword would not be able to finish the job. He knew he would have to rely on his other skills before he could achieve his part in this mission. Forming the hand seal as the blades switched, and then he heard in his mind that the link between him and Mana could happen. Rukasu was now able to her something before this battle was over. The criminal knew that he needed to make sure this was happening since he could not predict the outcome of this battle.

"Thank you Kiyomi." Rukasu said in his mind link with Kiyomi, and he watched as his teammates attacked on. However, Niku was now escaping the cave but she intercepted by usubane, a rabbit that was not too happy with Rukasu. It was clear what was going to happen next and the criminal was going to attack head on. Kiyomi told the team to escape and make sure that they used their speed to reach Mana before it was too late. Rukasu had taken a deep breath and he was gone in an instant, using his speed to escape the mine. If Mieko's speed matched, Rukasu's then she could be about next to him. Once Rukasu exited the mine, he stopped as he formed a series of hand seals, bit his thumb finger and slammed his palm on the ground. Rukasu summoned Kin. The red headed criminal was on top of his giant snake, as the criminal looked down, because there was a high chance of someone exiting with him. "I am going to go on ahead, if you want a ride hop on." Rukasu said as he signaled his snake to ride along side of the mountain. Rukasu wanted to be the first one there so he could make sure that he would be the one to kill Niku and not anybody else.

Rukasu then realized as the snake charged ahead, that he almost forgot about his personal link, "Hey Mana, if you can hear me that is great. I asked Kiyomi for a private link between us two. I want to let you know that I am on my way there, please do not fight and let me handle this for you. I saw the blood from before you summoned your rabbit, please be careful. I don't want you to get hurt in any way. If I die today then I want you to know once again that I have fallen for you deeply and I cannot live without you. I am going to kill this lady for you, so you won’t have to dirty your hands any more. Your happiness will be my future. Please keep your head up; I am always here to protect you as much as I can. Oh, I almost forgot one thing. If I die then tell the world that I died as a hero." Rukasu said over the mental link that was for Mana only not knowing that Kiyomi had listened in on the conversation as well. Rukasu would not have mind, and he knew that once she heard what he had to say then nothing was going to worry him at all.

If someone jumped onto the snake, while riding along side of the mountain, then whoever is on the snake besides Rukasu would reach Mana in no time? Since they were getting close, they prepared themselves.

---

Chakra: 104/150 [-11]

Jutsu Used:

OOC:Im sorry I had to be skipped the first time, and I hope that I did not miss anything. lol that was a lot to read.

Jutsu used:

For a moment there Niku‘s heart was overflowing with absolute fear. After all, she was fighting the woman that made fun of her before, that forced her comrade to commit suicide and then fought off all ten of the Parabrahma, catching all of them in a genjutsu at one point. This was the demonic woman that took on everything Niku had to offer and responded with more, the bitch that Niku hated most out of all because of her Ms. Perfect attitude and tendency to shove her filthy little face into everything. Once the craftswoman remembered that her soul was overcome with rage.

It was too late. The gigantic rabbit leapt at Niku, the woman probably didn’t have enough chakra to defend against him. She could’ve commanded that giant wall in the mines to collapse, the dust would’ve caught up with the two of them in a minute or so or Niku could just let go of the wall and grind some new dust. Still, the woman was short to defend against the rabbit. She jumped back and slapped some explosive tags, setting them off as the rabbit went at her over them but… As if anything could even stop that thing… Sharp blunt pain. Niku could feel her body flying back into the rocky mountain. Her consciousness started slipping for a while…

*****

The woman walked into the room, her nails were fixed by a young medical ninja boy, her hair was trimmed, being so sick of it getting in the way Niku asked the dresser to take it all the hell off. The woman was through the worst experience in her life, stripped, beaten and imprisoned by her own village just because she did what she thought was right. On the records she was dead, apparently from the papers Leader showed her the village recorded her death shortly after the trial but the ninja in charge of her “execution” left her alive just to torture her more. To make the death of the “comrade-slayer” slower, more painful and gruesome. These people were her own village, they disowned her…

“Kirikuzu Niku, we are the Parabrahma. You have a power we are interested in, this world has offended and disowned you, what other place you have to go to? You’ll be hunted, beaten and tortured wherever you go: for Kumogakure you are a “comrade-slayer”, to the other villages you are just a nukenin scum, a person who they can do as they please with. If you have any desires in your heart, let them be known, in exchange to your power I shall grant them, whether it be now or after the world is ours…”

The Leader’s voice was powerful, he spoke with great charisma and trust. It seemed like he had experience to back his speech up, like he’s been telling it over and over again to everyone in that room. Even worse, it seemed like he didn’t say those words, like they were transmitted to her head in some way, like he was telepathic. Maybe one of those hooded men was one of the Yamanaka? Coli – her comrade was also a Yamanaka, she liked to pry into the minds of her enemies and torture them using their own thoughts, tell them of their own families and how they won’t be seeing them as she slowly killed them. She deserved what was coming at her… Was this Yamanaka the same too? Were they all the same? What did it matter? Only the answer mattered. The question with the only possible answer.

Leader was right – wherever Niku would’ve went she’d be fair game to the scum of this world. People just like Coli, sick fuckers who had no place on this world, all of them had to die if this world was to be better. Niku would help these people, she’ll be a martyr, she’ll offer her own life, give it all up: friends, family, chance at a normal life just so everyone else could live better. She will make this world a better place by killing those everyone fears and this Parabrahma bunch will help her achieve that goal. Niku looked at the Leader with her white as snow eyes, eyes that could still see yet people would’ve felt ashamed looking at.

“I want to live!” she answered

*****

Niku’s voice roared as her body lifted off the ground, she was using her last strength just to keep standing, this pathetic little magician bitch will not get in the way of Niku’s mission, this little brat may want to protect the world’s scum but she will not succeed! She may believe that this world is a cruel place but it is not! The world is great and it will be even better when all the criminal fuckers will bite the dust, when the Parabrahma have their way. This brat, all those idiots in the mines, that cursed Daimyo, none of them know what a crime they are committing by stopping the Parabrahma, by protecting these wretched men.

That stupid bunny attacked Niku, apparently she was a taijutsu master but the woman dodged all of the rabbit’s attacks one by one. Niku’s knee lifted up sending the rabbit away. It wasn’t a singular conscious mind that had Niku fighting now, it was instinct, instinct born of desire to live, live so that all that is evil dies. This magician girl, she is evil, she is pure demon. She defends other demons and gathers the criminals of the world to defend their own. No way this wretched child will claim her life, no way in Hell! The young one spoke something, Niku was beyond understanding her speech, she was existing but alive only to end this child’s life.

Something happened then, a gigantic avatar of flames materialized around the kid, so she really was a little demon. This must’ve been all the evil of her heart concentrated to fight off Niku, while the idea that previously this little kid held back against her was terrifying, it didn’t matter to this instinct-driven Niku. Normally it’d have made the woman afraid or sent her into a fit of rage or one after the other, holding back against a Parabrahma member was something completely out of the realm of fiction, a pretty story but… Here she was. Using some sort of evil incarnate form to attack Niku.

The woman leapt sideways again and again avoiding every blow of the demonic shape, its fists were huge yet for some reason Niku was able to avoid them. Why was that? Even she and her instinctual rage wasn’t that good to avoid literally every blow but… Maybe that was this kid’s plan again? Curse that kid, how many damned schemes does she plot in her little brain? Niku sensed weakness in that avatar, the pulsing emanating heat started to fade and that was Niku’s chance. She could hear that stupid rabbit coming in but it didn’t matter, nothing mattered but killing this young woman, this symbol of evil itself. Niku formed a shape of a long spear like rod and awaited of the moment that the demonic flame would have faded to thrust it forward into the user’s weakened body, aiming for the chest but anything would’ve satisfied the woman.

Niku felt a hard hit in the back, a kick turning her body around and a barrage of punches all over her body – a price she had to pay for spilling demon’s blood. Niku felt her body flying weightlessly into the sky, she felt that her life was already at the point of leaving her body, it must’ve all been over so there was no need to trigger the silence seals. Not that she would’ve done so anyway, Niku wasn’t the kind to kill herself, she wanted life too much. Here she was, sacrificing her own life for killing a woman wearing demonic shapes. The rabbit’s strong leg thrusted the woman’s body down into the ground as the rabbit soon followed. Niku could barely feel the heat of flames covering up her body, she probably died already, that rabbit and that damned kid killed her.

But why did she end up in Hell…?

[EXIT/CHARACTER DEFEATED]

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Now everything was ending, as the criminal charged closer on top of his trusted partner. Kin smiled evilly as he charged full speed on the mountain. Rukasu knew there was other ways but he needed to get ready for battle against Niku. Rukasu's urge to kill was too great but the urge to protect Mana was even greater. Holding onto his ninjato, he looked ahead as he was getting close to the area where Mana was located. There was something off with that chakra signal he had felt earlier like he knew who that person was that was in the mine. It was crazy because he could not remember who chakra that belonged to. Then he thought that it could belong to someone before he obtains the skill.

"So Rukasu, why is it you summoned me. It has been a while and I hope you have someone for me to kill. Hehehehe" Kin said in his deep demonic sinister voice, as he went full speed the criminal felt someone coming his way. In a matter of seconds, he saw Meiko passed him in the air. She was airborne and that was something that rather pissed off the criminal. A girl like that was able to fly this whole time. Rukasu did not understand why she not showed her true potential right from the start. Rukasu did not understand some people in this world but he knew that one day he would be able to. "Is that chick friend or foe?" Kin asked as she flew by. Rukasu knew that Kin would kill anyone upon request but he also knew that if he sounded like a traitor to his partner then Rukasu would die quickly. Choosing his words correctly or die was the options the criminal had now.

"I am on a personal mission. A person I know asked me to help the villages defeat a common enemy. So this is only a mission and nothing more." Rukasu said as the snake laughed aloud. Rukasu knew he had gotten close to the area when he saw the giant white rabbit.   Then as the giant snake kept on going, the criminal watched it all. He saw flames going at different directions and it was like a light show. Rukasu knew he had to hurry but as he got closer, he saw someone else. Who was that person with a cloak that match the same one he saw when he fought that guy in the graveyard. Could it be the same person, as the criminal had gotten closer he saw the man's face. He did not know who that guy was but he knew that same cloak.

Rukasu knew he needed to focus as he noticed Niku on the ground. She may have looked knocked out and this was the perfect time to kill her. Rukasu knew that one way or another he needed to kill this evil piece of crap that made the snake king look very badly. The giant snake went right next to Niku as Rukasu jumped off. He heard that Mana wanted to keep her alive, but for what. It was not safe to keep this woman alive. She is a threat to the whole world, so why endanger the world when the team did this mission to save it. It made no sense as the criminal looked down at Niku, as he looked at her move less body he just grew angry. "I did not even get to damage her. What have I been doing?" Rukasu said to himself as he clenched his sword as he place it right against her neck. The urge to kill her was too great but something stopped him. Before he could do it, he needed to know one thing and only Mana could answer it.

"Mana I know you don't want me to kill her but I am going to ask you one question. Your answer will decide if I kill her or not. I am serious about this. Everyone here please do not interfere. In addition, if you want to extract any information Kiyomi, you do it before I make my move to kill her.  I want to find the others and kill them all myself. This will prevent Mana putting herself in any more danger. Now Mana, Niku has done more evil things that I ever did and you still want her alive. Why? You kept me alive as well, are you against killing that much. It makes no sense to me." Rukasu asked as the blade gently touched the lady's neck. The criminal knew that if she answered correctly then Mana could save her. Now answering correctly did not mean anything. She needed to open the heart of the criminal once more to help him fully realize that the decision she made was the right one.

"Rukasu what are you doing, just kill her already. This is not you. You are making me question your motives." Kin said as he looked at Rukasu with this confusion. The snake could not believe he was looking at Rukasu. Kin wondered if someone changed his heart and who was capable of doing it so. The giant snake looked up and saw Mana covered in blood, as the snake looked at her he noticed something about her that was different. He saw the connection between the two and it sickened him. “Rukasu I don't know what you are doing but this is not you. You used to kill someone instantly with no hesitation. So why is this women or that one covered in blood different than you." Kin said as this was a problem; it was something the evil snaked was really bothered about.

"Kin, I am ordering you to stand down and watch. I am doing this because I need an answer. For this whole time, we came to this mission to kill this woman. The main purpose of this mission was to make sure she does not kill this one person. The mission is a success except for one thing. Mana the women I care about want to keep this enemy alive. It makes no sense but I will get my answers." Rukasu said as he tuned his head back to look at Mana. Rukasu then looked at both of the rabbits. "Hey Usubane and Usushiko It has been a while hasn't it. I can see that both of you look stronger than you once were. Behind me is my partner Kin." Rukasu paused as his eyes could not resist but too looked at the cloaked stranger. “I know you don't I? I have the feeling I fought you at one point in my life. Who are you?" Rukasu said as he looked back at Mana, and this was crazy because so much was going on but the entire criminal just wanted his one answer.

Rukasu could see all the blood on her and this was something he was just angry and for that one second he pushed the sword forward a little bit. However, he stopped quickly because he was not going to kill her just yet, as a little blood ran down her neck. "Mana when you are ready I need to know, and don't worry I respect your decision to not kill her but you know eventually I will. I just need to know your answer from your pure heart." Rukasu said as he looked at Mana waiting for an answer as he wondered what the women of peace would do next.  

---

Chakra: 104
Kin Chakra: 50
Sword Equipped: Ninjato [forgot to post this last post]

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Much like Kiyomi, Mugen was unhappy with his own lack of mobility and how it meant he would be trailing behind the group without much chance of arriving on scene before the battle would be over. However, just because he was going to be slow to arrive did not mean that he had to be useless. Once they exited the mines, Mugen slowed down a bit allowing Kiyomi to run on ahead. At the entrance to the mines, Mugen performed a string of hand seals before reaching a thumb to his lips and biting the flesh to draw blood. The crimson ichor was painted across Mugen's palm which then planted against the earth, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu." A billowing cloud of white smoke erupted and Mugen stood looking down at the small shinobi ant he had summoned. Ariko, an ant which had entered into contract with Mugen when he had foolishly reverse summoned himself to her realm. She was small by most summon standards but still unnaturally large when compared to most ants. The female insect leapt upon Mugen's head almost immediately and began to make herself comfortable in his white hair only for the boy to sigh and remove her. Mugen placed Ariko onto the ground in front of him and knelt down so he could be closer to her as he spoke.

"Not now Ariko, this is an important mission and I need your help." Mugen told the ant sternly. Ariko looked up at Mugen and nodded understanding that he had not summoned her simply to teach her more about human villages as she had hoped. "I see...what do you need of me, Mugen?" Ariko replied in a warbly sounding voice. Something about an ant speaking human tongue just didn't sound natural and the sound almost made Mugen's spine shiver. But he was grateful for her co-operation none the less. "I need you to go there." Mugen pointed in the direction where he'd been placed on standby when the mission started. Where the Daimyo of the lightning country was being protected and where more shinobi of the hidden cloud were surely stationed. "Find a shinobi with a Kumogakure headband and take this radio. Once you give it to them, I'll handle the rest. Will you do this for me?" Mugen retrieved an Ear-Piece Mic Radio from his tool pouch and gave it to the ant before she responded affirmatively. "Roger, I'll make sure this gets to someone as soon as I can...good luck."

The little antling didn't know the details of the mission at hand, but she could see that Mugen was covered in dust from the near cave in as well as the mental fatigue in his eyes. Ariko knew that he had summoned her in a time of need and would go about fulfilling her duty to him under the assumption that it was of great importance. With that said and done, the summon and summoner parted ways. Mugen pursued the team while Ariko followed his direction and began searching for a high ranking shinobi from their village. The Kumogakure head band she wore denoted her loyalty to their village so hopefully she would not be mistaken for a foe.

It was not difficult for Mugen to tell which way he needed to go. The giant snake and rabbit had both left obvious marks in he landscape that even the most novice of trackers could have followed. From trees being knocked over to giant paw prints, Mugen would likely have no trouble in going the right direction. If Ariko's side mission had been a success while he was in transit, Mugen would eventually receive a transmission on his own radio tucked securely into the genin's ear. The message he would relay to them was simple. "This is Mugen. Part of the team sent to handle the enemy in the barracks. Our target is injured and will likely be defeated soon. We have at least one wounded kunoichi from Konoha and perhaps more. Please send a retrieval team specialized in holding prisoners as well as a medical detail just in case. Go to the mines and then follow the giant snake trail leading around the mountain. It  should be hard to miss." The purpose of this message was to get some support to help the team wrap up their mission without too much trouble.

It would take Mugen a good deal of time to arrive on the scene. His side mission would make him the last to arrive without a doubt. The boy would be sweating as he got there and his breathing deep, but he was far from out of breath even after traversing the mountain. If Niku was still breathing, Mugen would step over her body to guard it and speak up hoping to end any arguments over whether or not to let her live. "Thank you, everyone, for your assistance in capturing this criminal. But a team from Kumogakure should be here shortly to take her into custody for interrogation. I'm sure our esteemed allies and guests from Konoha will be welcome to assist in that..." Mugen made a nod to Mana, and her friends to assure them they would likely not be excluded from questioning Niku, "...however I insist she be turned over to us...It would be a shame for this to break down into an international conflict over such an incident. Or for any of you to be labeled an accomplice of the criminals for silencing her with a merciful death." Mugen would then eye Rukasu and come to gaze upon Hiruzen for the first time since being there. Mugen had met him before, but it was under the cloak of a hood so he didn't recognize him as the man who had broken his arm.

If Mugen didn't hear back from any Kumogakure shinobi then what he said on arrival would not change much. Only that they should bring Niku in to be taken into Kumogakure's custody themselves. Either way, he would attempt to use diplomatic pressure to ensure his village claimed this prize and all the intel she held. Hopefully it would all go well.

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