[PROLOGUE] La Bestia Viene

[Sandy]

Thirty Minutes Before...

Two traders and their Cloud ninja escorts patiently waited while the outpost proprietor counted out the ryō offered for the goods they had just purchased. The area they were in was vast and empty; Kaminari no Kuni territory on one side and a foggy morning lake on the other. The perishables they were acquiring were extensive, and any business man will tell you that every coin counts.

After nearly ten minutes of idle chatter, the outpost’s proprietor announced that he had accounted for and secured the last coin. The traders gave their visibly bored escorts a thumb’s up and approached the window, seeking the charter they would have to sign off on in order to secure the deal. Quill was inches from the paper when a bone-chilling shriek pierced the fog shrouding the lake...

Naturally cautious, the two ninja spun around and assumed a defensive stance, kunai in hand. Likewise the traders spun around and stared slack-jawed in the direction of that awful sound. However, they saw or heard nothing else, though their attention was drawn to a dissipating ripple on the lake’s surface.

The first Cloud shinobi loosened his guard. “Huh.”

“Huh?! That’s all you can say?” The second snapped. “What the hell could that have been?!”

The first man shrugged, both turning when one of the traders spoke up. “Perhaps it was a kappa. I hear these waters are rife with them.”

“That’s a myth,” the second shinobi spoke, still keeping one eye on the eerily silent lake. “Kappa don’t exist. It was probably just a bear in the distance.”

“Harmonics? Yeah, I suppose a big empty space like this would echo sound quite we—”

The words didn’t finish leaving his lips before a gigantic white tentacle sprang out of the lake and crushed the man, splattering his nearby comrade with his remains. He only had time to gasp in horror before that same tentacle swept him away with such force that his head disconnected from his shoulders.

Ten Minutes Before...

Miles away, a meditative sensor’s eyes snapped open, his face white as a sheet. “Wh-what could this… awful chakra be?”

His companion, who was also nearby, acknowledged the same signature a second later and matched the reaction of his associate. “Th-this isn’t human! We need to alert Lady Raikage immediately!” Not waiting for an agreement, the sensor stood up and ran out of the isolated chamber they were in, throwing open the double doors and immediately garnering the attention of a small group of shinobi playing cards.

“Alert Saoru-sama immediately! A bijū approaches!”

Five Minutes Before...

By the time that ninja would be banging on Saoru’s office door, every shinobi in Kumogakure would be feeling a gut-retching sickness. It was everywhere, cloying at one’s innards like a miasma. Even before the vile bijū was within the village’s borders, the infirmaries were filling up with men, women, but mostly children, who were vomiting, shaking, and sweating profusely.

Such was the power of the Six-Tailed Slug, who was now within visible range of Kumogakure’s look-outs. Emergency orders were going out, lock-down procedures were activating, and a loud klaxon was attempting to drown out the Rokubi’s horrid cry.

[Tendō Kai]

Kai was one of the lucky few that hadn't fallen sick to his stomach at just the mere presence of the Rokubi no Namekuji. He felt the paralyzing fear, the oppressive force, the sheer malice this ancient beast possessed.

But he had a purpose, a reason to keep moving. In an emergency, he had one prerogative, and one task only.

Keep the children safe.

Kai sprinted into the Academy, knowing that his father had already set up a secondary forge in the Raikage's tower, churning out kunai, shuriken, senbon and swords by the dozen for what he knew would be a bloody effort. Kai, on the other hand, ran down the halls of the Academy, signaling its alarms, getting the kids evacuated into an underground shelter.

"C'mon, move move move! Bijuu inbound, we don't have time!"

[/justify][/blockquote][/blockquote][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[the guardian]

"Saoru-sama!" A man broke through her door, eyes frantic. His body had shattered the wood and splinters were stabbed deep into his arms, yet he didn't even blink. He bled terror. "The Rokubi --"

"-- no Namekuji." She finished, standing in the middle of the room. Her old ANBU armor was fitted beneath her cloak, which billowed from the ominous wind that passed through the window from the chaotic village outside. Her face was set in grim determination, yet her body showed off no other alarm.

"Yes, I'm quite aware."

An armored shinobi piled in after the first. Her assistant, Buta, who rarely took up arms rested a hand on the hilt of a massive spear on his back. "Saoru-dono, I rallied the Kinkaku Butai as you requested, along with setting up a perimeter around the hospital. Any remaining Iryōnin are setting up infirmaries at the edges of the assumed battle positions."

"Have the long-ranged fighters set up positions on the cliffs?"

"Yes. And the ANBU and remaining forces are at ground level, ready to defend the mountains. Kin-san is busy with a platoon of earth-element users preparing for the beast."

Saoru moved to speak, but caught herself. Looking out at the village, she could already see the crows darkening the sky with their sable forms. Their beady eyes searched for a corpse, and their razor-sharp beaks were hungry for dead flesh.

The clouds of death had gathered.

Turning to Buta, her golden eyes flashed momentarily as they did when they caught an idea. "Gather a group of Fūinjutsu users to absorb any remnants of chakra the beast gives off. Now leave me. I must prepare."

"Yes, Saoru--"

"And Buta? Locate the boy and bring him."

He nodded and rushed out with the original shinobi, disappearing down the hallway in a blur of motion. Saoru turned from the door, striding across her office before coming out on the balcony. Her hands were strung together to form a tapestry of seals. Planting her hand on the railing, she stamped it five times.

Tendrils of butterflies erupted, circling in wide columns that flew toward the sky. On each of their bodies, an explosive tag or one of her seals were applied to its abdomen. Following behind the thousands of insects, a massive white butterfly burst into existence before her, hovering just over the railing.

"Hakuō." She said, smiling humorlessly as she hopped on its back. "We've got one hell of a battle before us."

"Someone attacking the village?" The king butterfly asked curiously, his placid voice making the window panes vibrate and threaten to shatter. He flapped once, then twice. They sped past the village crowded on the mountain, and dived past the clouds and toward the ground.

"... it's the Rokubi..."

The Raikage spoke with fear for the first time since her grandfather's disappearance. She knew many would die. She knew that those she loved would perish under the might of the bijū.

The battle companions spoke nothing more as they sped toward the front of the lines, a swarm of butterflies covering the sun and blotting out the carrion birds that waited there.

[Kaito]

A shiny golden horn bounced off of a man's hip as he strolled down a walkway. Like countless times before, he walked towards the Raikage's Tower in the hope that Saoru would finally pay him mind. He had once been Kaito and Saoru. After the war, he was simply Kaito. Since his return, words between the two had been few and far between, forcing Kaito to desperately crave attention. His mind was filled with thoughts of Saoru, causing him to be oblivious to his surroundings. As he walked, he tried to figure out a way to get past the Raikage's secretary, who knew that Saoru preferred to not be bothered by Kaito. Through his constant denials, Kaito had gotten to liking the man, even if the feeling was far from mutual. As he thought of the overweight paper pusher, the very secretary came running towards him. Despite the man's panicked look and his heavy panting, Kaito smiled joyfully at his new guest.

“Puffball-chan! I was just thinking about you.”

Uncharacteristically, the pet name the secretary hated so much went unnoticed. Instead of degrading into their typical form of bickering, the large man spewed words in a hurry. Unable to decipher what were words and what was the man's tired breathing, Kaito froze as he made out a select few words.

Rokubi no Namekuji.

The secretary ran off to the Raikage's Tower, leaving Kaito frozen on the path. Almost unconsciously his hands rose together, slowly forming different seals. As it had done thousands of times before, Kaito's chakra radiated outwards. A soft whir brushed through his ears for a moment as chakra reinforced his hearing. As his emitted chakra spread, it reacted with all other energies it came into contact with. Used to the white noise of the village, Kaito ignored the vibrations that were caused. Soft buzzes were filtered out as each sound became less distinct as his chakra traveled further. Suddenly, Kaito hit the ground. Unheard by anyone else, a blast several times that of a train horn resonated in Kaito's ears. He had quickly released the chakra from his ears, yet the sound had forced a painful buzzing noise into his head. The sheer amount of chakra that had vibrated in response to Kaito's chakra had floored the man. Despite being far away, Kaito had never experienced the sound of chakra so vividly. As he laid in his shell-shocked state, Kaito saw a large form fly from Saoru's office. Recognizing it immediately, his brain forced his body to rise.

The man leapt down onto open ground quickly while forming hand seals. As the buzzing still bounced around within his head, he yanked a scroll from his belt line, unraveling it with one hand while biting the other viciously. His bloodied hand slapped out at the paper. Smoke filled the area as silhouettes appeared in a flash within the white fog. Visibility returns to the marvelous display that had arrived. Directly in front of Kaito stood the leader of the Nintengorira, complete with a samurai helmet and katana. A long cloak flowed down to his thighs, settling in the aftermath of the summoning technique. Behind him was a row of five fully grown Nintengorira, each baring a Kumogakure headband and weapon of their own. Finally, behind them was the second largest of all the Nintengorira, standing nearly thirty feet tall on all fours. The leader, Shikorira, looked at Kaito in disgust.

“You have summoned us to our deaths!”

Kaito and the gorilla had developed a close relationship over the years, yet Kaito refused to acknowledge it as he barked back at the leader.

“And you'd rather have the village you've pledged allegiance to fall to a demon?”

The two continued their exchange before the gorilla finally ceded to his summoner. Kaito and Shikorira jumped onto Kemorira, the large gorilla, as they followed in the trail of Saoru. On the way, Kaito and Shikorira discussed the situation to the ten soldiers that followed on foot. As they neared, Kaito's stomach turned from the beast's presence. Distantly he could make out Saoru as she rode her own summon, causing him to shout at Kemorira to speed up.

[Omoi Shiun]

Omoi Shiun was not prone to sickness. He merely felt the presence of the vile monster approaching the village and shuddered at its wickedness. But vomit did not pass his lips. Only worse did; words that echoed the sentiments of multiple others within the village.

...fucking bijū.

Due to the shear size of the creature, it was not lost to Shiun the visage of his enemy. He peered up at the creature and grumbled his distaste for the upcoming battle. But he was needed for the battle. Unlike many others in the village, Shiun was capable of fighting off a creature like this. That in mind, he immediately dropped the menial task set to him by his wife and rushed to the front lines.

He met with a messenger on his way to battle, informing him that ANBU were stationed on ground level to defend the mountain. That was perfect. Shiun continued down his path to his station, ready to combat the menace that faced his village.

[Chino]

Liquor seeped down the tip of his pink lips. For hours, just like any other day Chino had been drinking himself into his little place in the sky. He was more presentable than usual, his clothing was neat. And for once, the second time since he was given the horn, he wore it at his hip-side.

Heading towards to the Raikage's mansion in order to give details on a mission while as drunk as a bum, no less, he trudged along. Around him everywhere he saw people clenching up, showing signs of distress or vomiting. It wasn't until he decided to pay attention to that extra sensation he felt that he noticed something unpleasant, something cataclysmic.

What's this feelin' he asked himself as he looked around only to see butterflied swarming. A plump, round man barreling forward, worry causing his eyes to bulge from their very socket. Noticing his panting, he patted him on the back.

"Yo." He called the panting man closer, "What's going on?"

"Yo--you're Ch-chino-senpai. Yah?"

Glaring, giving the boar of a man a witty stare, he shook his head. Confirming the obvious: a man who smelled of liquor that roamed the village with a liter of sake in hand with a nice due, amazing build, and great shiny whites.

"The Roku--" He choked.

"... The what?" He quipped, sizing him up.

"The Roku--" He choked again.

"Spit it out already--?!"

"The Rokubi--the Rokubi is coming!"

A sudden shock overwhelmed the usually obnoxious rapper, this was one of the very few times where he was at a lost for words. The Rokubi?

IN THE FACE OF EVIL, WHEN THE ODDS SEEM SLIM, LOOK TO THE CLOUDS
"KUCHIYOSE NO JUTSU--!!"

A thrust of the arm prompted a poof of smoke, thirty hug phoenixes appeared in ranks. Aligned by their size all the way down to their hue, the looked upon to Chino, all wearing the same question. In the lead of this platoon of phoenixes was the largest of those summoned, issuing looks and glares to his company.

"Why have you summoned us, Chino-kun?" Asked Ujihō, leader of the thirty.

"It seems like things are about to get a lil' dirty and I will you guys to keep me posted, set up traps and be prepared to attack." The wise phoenix nodded his head, its beak perched open as for to say something.

"You haven't summoned us in months since that damned war."

"I know... Thing's haven't been too hectic until now. I've felt this feeling for quite but didn't think nothing of it until now. I would've never expected it to be this..." Stated Chino, groaning.

"What is it?"

"Apparently the Rokubi no Namekuji." Plucking two more scrolls from his pouch his arms spread apart as he stepped on the back of Ujihō.

"Seems like you have a lot to do then, Chino-kun."

"Indeed. Let's get straight to it..." This reaction was priceless, "Phoenixes, scatter!"

It's about to go down.

[Sandy]

Kin tossed and turned in her sleep. Her stomach was uneasy and her head ached. She awoke with a groan and sat up, looking around her bedroom with sleepy confusion. She tossed back the blankets and dragged her feet towards her medicine cabinet, certain that a few aspirin and a glass of water would be all she’d need to shake this sickness.

Then she noticed the smell.

“Did somethin’ fuckin’ die?”

A half-dressed and scraggly Kin jogged into her living room and threw open the curtains. At first she saw nothing out of the ordinary, but then the street below her apartment began to fill with frantic people. In short order, it was pandemonium. Then the alarm sounded.

“Oh no.”

The ANBU who appeared beside her shared her sentiment. He handed Kin a sealed missive, bowed, and was gone again, disturbing neither the window nor the door. Kin paid it no mind and read the note under her breath, soon punctuating every other word with a curse.

A good shinobi could be on the front lines in seconds, and Kin was no exception. She was dressed, groomed, and out the door in a flash, appearing on the amassing front line so fast that a powerful gust of wind tousled the air of her comrades. She, along with a small regiment of other similarly powered Cloud shinobi, stood one tier above their designated location.

Assuming a role she thought she had left behind from the last war, Kin questioned the troops under her command. “You know the plan, ya?”

A synchronized “HAI!” was the response.

“Good. Thirty feet apart, each of ya. We’ll shape the ground first, raise the walls second.” Kin enforced her order by thrusting her outstretched finger at the valley below. “Now go!”

Kin watched the men disperse, each landing exactly thirty feet apart, living a large space in the middle of the formation for their commander, who landed in her reserved position a moment later. They were now much closer to the Rokubi, and not everyone was capable of suppressing their gag reflex.

“Keep it together!” Kin commanded, facing both men who vomited from the presence of this wretched monster. They responded with loyalty though the green coloration didn’t leave their faces.

Kin began what seemed like a well-rehearsed performance, with the shinobi of her regiment serving as her back-up dancers. With each sweep of an arm or high kick of a leg, a wide trench sliced into the earth, and each subsequent motion deepened it until there was a scar over twenty feet wide, sixty yards long, and unknowingly deep. On the other side of the trench, thirty large, domino-shaped walls began erecting themselves from the earth, creating a sturdy and effective defense… at first glance.

In reality, Kin knew this wouldn’t be enough. The Rokubi was closing in and though she managed to ignore that earlier feeling of sickness, it was beginning to worsen. How effectively could the shinobi of Kumogakure fight a creature they couldn’t even approach?

[Omoi Shiun]

Shiun watched Chino with a disappointed expression on his face. This kid just took himself out of the fight by wasting all of his chakra on summoning so many phoenixes. It was a wonder the kid didn't drop dead on the spot.

Otherwise, Shiun readied himself for the fight. He formed quick hand seals and activated his Yang Seal: Lightning Release. His body transformed into that of pure energy. Electricity crackled up and down his form. He was ready. And he wasn't affected by the aura given off by the Rokubi while in this form. Because, seriously? He can't vomit lightning, you know. Well, not as a gag reflex.

"I suggest you all strike me with your lower level Raiton Ninjutsu," Shiun advised his comrades. He polarized his electrical body to attract lightning techniques being used. They would strike Shiun and increase his size continuously. If he was hit enough times by low level techniques, he would easily reach the size of the Rokubi.

Some of his comrades were hesitant at first, but others knew of Shiun's abilities. Raiton Ninjutsu were fired in his direction, and his body absorbed the electricity to increase Shiun's size. The more he was hit, the more he grew. And soon, many individuals caught on and followed suit. Yes, Shiun would be capable of going toe to toe with the Rokubi soon enough.

Seriously, Nozu. You just took your dude out of this whole fight. What were you thinking?

[Kamizuru Kireme]

A solid wind of black rot blew across Kumogakure no Sato. Lying there, hand covering his face, the ever aware mind of Enro Kado suddenly became possessed with conscious thought. The tired Jounin sat up right on his bed as the fleeting sense of dread slid into the folds of his mind and he was forced to cup his face into his hands.

W-what…is this…?

Kado’s breath was coming in ragged grasp now. Never before had he felt this sensation. Never before had someone, no, somethings chakra brought him down like this. Forcing his eyes shut, Kado focused inwardly, controlling his chakra and forcing out the fear. If the energy of life was visible to the naked eye, a blue aura would have been visible around Kado, whom was passively releasing and controlling his chakra flow.

Moments passed before he finally regained his composure and slinked out of the bed. Quickly he became dressed, knowing full well that something was coming and that the Raikage would have been alerted by now. Called by the sense of duty, the Enro left his chambers and began to walk down the halls of the clan estate.

“Kado! KADO!” The yelling voice came from ‘round the corner, where his younger cousin appeared. Wearing a black jumpsuit, the child ran over to the battle-prepared Kado, who stood there and looked down on the boy. “Kado-San, t-the…!”

Perking an eyebrow, Kado responded.

“Kuro, what is it? And where is dad? There’s something-”

“The Rokubi no Namekuji is on its way!”

---

Kado stood there, alone, amongst one of the many gates of Kumogakure. Behind him was a score of ninja, lead by his father whom was one of the greatest Sensors known to the village. The old man was weary of this, and sweat poured from his brow. When Kado had arrived he had chosen not to mince words with his father. The sheer stress and power of the Rokubi, which the elderly man had experienced, was weighing heavy on his heart and mind.

Closed eyes opening, the Youn member fitted his eyepiece over his left eye and stepped forward. Soon Saoru would arrive and he would be her personal guard for the battle. Given his sensory abilities and strategic mind, she’d probably need it.

[the guardian]

The white wings of the boss summon thundered with each mighty flap as it flew low over the ranks of shinobi beneath it. Saoru sat atop its back, daring not to look at any familiar faces below her. Instead, her golden eyes stared forward at the beast in the distance. A hand rested on her kodachi. They passed the battlements that Kin's battalion had erected, and kept flying.

"Can you feel it?" Hakuō rumbled. "It's like poison."

"Yes. It must be what the villagers are feeling." Saoru had felt it earlier, but the effects of the venomous were starting to became more potent the closer she got. She felt like grasping at her stomach as it ached in protest.

And that was when the first butterflies fell from the sky.

Hundreds of the insects fell dead, plummeting to the ground. It was a morbid scene, to see such lovely creatures often depicted as pure and benevolent dying as though they had smashed against a flaming wall.

"My children..." Hakuō whispered, his voice barely rising over the sounds of calamity that the village and the beast were making.

"It's a sacrifice we were willing to take. Have them fly as high into the sky as possible and fly straight over the beast. At such an altitude, they shouldn't be affected as bad, but once they get over him and descend the explosives will be able to be triggered."

"As you wish."

Looking on toward the cloud of dust and chaos that surrounded the beast's trek toward the village, she could only frown. Taking a glance back toward the village, her hopes rose. The sight of an old colleague standing gloriously in his lightning form would bring inspiration to all. And the sight of the gorillas and phoenixes meant that the Kinkaku were ready to fight as well.

"Ready, Hakuō? Shit's about go down."

[Shinja Sonzou]

Sometime in the afternoon
Kumogakure Gates
Subterrain Tunnel Exit

The Path to Prodigiousness V
Sensing the massive heat temperature, Sonzou did not need to be awoken or alerted. The seventeen year old Tokujō was already at the gate. While some scrambled to alert others and some were getting others to safety, Sonzou would be helping in his own way. With his hands placed in the snake seal, Sonzou started secreting massive amounts of poison from his pores.

While he was doing so, he noticed others starting to appear. Kaito and Chino, obviously from the Kinkaku and Shuin, another Jonin in the village. Having seen all these people before in the Raikage's office, he knew shit was about to go down. The cream of the crop were here and there was not time for jokes. Continuing to release his venom from his body, Sonzou watched in awe as Shuin started to grow from the electrical charges he was receiving, and Chino and Kaito summoned all their phoenixes and gorillas to prepared them for the upcoming battle.

"I need to hurry up!"

Though Sonzou did not require chakra to secrete the venom form his pores, he was using minimal chakra to make the venom emit from his pores faster. After a few more minutes of releasing venom, Sonzou saw Saoru-sama take off on her boss butterfly summon and decided he had enough. Holding the same seal, Sonzou shaped the venom into a large bird and made it dense enough for him to stand on. Jumping on it's back, the bird took off after Saoru.

While in flight, Sonzou would continue to feed the large bird his poison which naturally secreted, making the bird slightly larger in size by the minute. After mere moments of flying, the bird caught up with Saoru's butterfly.

"Saoru-sama. I am here to aid you."

Flying next to Saoru would be Sonzou atop of his venom bird. His commitment to his village and to his mentor was unquestionable and now was the time for him to prove it. Saoru was well aware of Sonzou's abilities and with them being at her disposal, Sonzou would dive into the belly of the beast if she so much as thought it would benefit Kumogakure.

[yoippari marui]

audentes fortuna iuvat fortune favors the bold * * * * * *

The boy was on his way for a meal with his mother when he felt the sudden onset of nausea. His stomach wrenched and his airways burned, as if he was breathing in gasoline. These invisible fumes that the boy could feel surrounding his body began to give him a headache, and as he looked around he found that this seemed to be effecting everyone. Marui looked to his mother, and both she and him nodded, silently affirming what had to be done. Although only a genin, one of the lowest class of shinobi, Marui had made a vow to protect his village, no matter the cost.

Turning around and darting back towards an empty alleyway, Marui pulled his forehead protector from his back pocket and fastened it around his head, proudly bearing the Kumogakure insignia. Once he made it to the alley, the boy doubled over, emptied his stomach of it's contents, and spent the next minute breathing deeply as he gulped down a bottle of water. Moments later the genin nodded his head, mentally preparing himself for what was to come.

Rushing out into the narrow streets of the village built upon a mountain, Marui looked up as he saw his sensei, Saoru the Raikage, heading straight toward the Rokubi no Namekuji. Feeling pride in the fact that his sensei was not only the leader of the village, but was fighting on the fight lines of this treacherous assault, Marui looked for the nearest ranking shinobi. Finding a Chūnin who was busily ushering civilians towards the hospitals, Marui asked the man what he could do the help, and was tasked with taking a group of young children to the nearest safepoint, a hospital about 10 minutes away.

"Common' guys, keep movin'! We're almost there! Most fast like a shinobi! Hophop~"

The young genin motivated the children to keep moving, constantly aware that just years ago this was him, a young boy in a village being ravaged by war. Marui was doing his third head-count to make sure everybody was accounted for when he realized they were one short. Cursing under his breath, the boy pointed at the building the children should go to for medical treatment and safety before turning around and bolting in the other direction.

By now the village streets were barren, as everyone had taken shelter indoors where they hoped the vile stench wouldn't find them. Making his way along the path he had just traveled, Marui began panicking, unable to find the boy he had taken on responsibility for and lost. Spinning around a final corner, the genin heard something -- it sounded like a cat whimpering ... or a child!

Rushing through the alley, Marui came upon the missing boy, huddled up behind a merchant's cart, his knees held close to his chest as he cried in fear.

"What's wrong buddy? We're almost as the medical checkpoint, and once we get there we can find your ma and pa~"

The little boy looked up at Marui, deep blue eyes gazing up at him as they'd look upon a hero.

"Really!? Mommy and Daddy!?"

"Yeah bro, we'll find 'em both! But we can't do that with you sittin' here while the monster's a comin', mm?"

"Y--yeah. Okay Shinobi-san!"

Those words, the simple word 'shinobi' paired with the suffix '-san' made Marui appreciate the life he was building for himself, and was all the payment he needed for his services. The boy swelled with pride to know that he was looked upon as a shinobi of Kumogakure, even if it was only by a child.

"We don't want the monster to catch us, so how about we race to see who can make it to the medical checkpoint fastest? Run like the wind... 3..2..1..HAJIME!"

Sprinting forward at the same speed as the child beside him, Marui made it look like he was struggling to keep up with the younger boy, grunting and gritting his teeth as he raced forward.

* * *

With all of his assigned children safe and being taken care of at the medical checkpoint, Marui made his way back into the streets, staring up with awe as the Raikage's butterflies swarmed forward, blocking out the sun. It was then that Marui knew what he wanted to do, not caring about how everyone would react. He would make his way to the front lines, and fight alongside the great shinobi of Kumogakure.

For his village. For his clan. For himself.

[Sandy]

SLUGPOST

The Six-Tailed Slug was in visible range of Kumogakure’s lookouts now, and though it was a truly horrifying sight to behold, what it left in its wake was far worse.

A winding path of corrupted earth, rotting vegetation, and animal carcasses trailed behind the bumbling monster. This destruction went far beyond what its chakra alone could do; the white, sticky mucus that slicked its body was also a potent acid, and a splash of it was shaken off with each ponderous step.

For any ninja who was present for the war thirty years prior, this would be a grim reminder of the unfathomable but lackadaisical power of the Rokubi no Namekuji.

But the beast’s most passive power was definitely not its strongest. The gargantuan slug waddled up to the stone walls erected by Kin and her squadron and tilted its head, as if it was confused by the pitiful attempts of these lesser beings. Without visible effort, it continued its march forward, plowing through the obstructions and raining rubble into the chasm that laid beyond.

This, however, did give the bijū pause, and the ear-piercing shriek that emanated from its lamprey-like mouth confirmed it was not happy. The trench created by Kumogakure’s earth-wielders was impassable even by this mighty creature; it could not fly nor did its stubby legs lend themselves to gravity-defying leaps.

Apparently falling upon a decision, the bijū reared back and disgorged a veritable tsunami of the same milky slime that coated its bloated body. The chasm that laid before it was vast and at first, it appeared that no amount of goo could fill it. But minutes after beginning, some of the more observant Cloud shinobi would notice that the bottom of the trench was beginning to rise…

The Rokubi no Namekuji stopped then, its attention diverted to an enlarging, shiny object in the distance. Looking up, it focused its beady, stalk-mounted eyes on Shiun. Like a moth, it appeared to initially be enraptured by the bright light, but that was quickly replaced with a perceived threat and it began to ready something truly terrifying.

Black and white arcs of energy materialized from nowhere and began to coalesce in front of the bijū’s mouth. The sphere continued to grow for about seven seconds, stopping only when it was about the same size as the head of the beast that had created it. With a loud spitting noise, the Bijūdama (尾獣玉; lit., "Tailed Beast Ball") was loosed straight at Shiun’s location.

Kin had observed the monster from a relatively close by location for several minutes now and her stomach was doing barrel rolls. Her normally chocolate-colored complexion was a sickly shade of lime and only her and two others from her twenty man squad remained conscious.

She knew some specifics about all nine bijū, so she certainly knew what chakra so potent it was visible meant. It was preparing to use its Bijūdama, and after frantically looking over her shoulder to ballpark its intended trajectory, she weaved a series of lightning-quick signs and took a deep breath. “KATON! Karyū Endan!!”

The stream of flames that roared from between Kin’s lips burned so hot they became white, but after several seconds of seeing no reaction from her target, she stopped and accepted that it couldn’t be so easily deterred. Once the smoke cleared and the bijū unleashed its attack, Kin noticed through hazy eyes that though she had struck the beast square in the chest with her fire ninjutsu, it had caused virtually no damage. In fact, its coating of slime was undisturbed.

“The fluid… it’s fireproof…”

Kin sounded the retreat then, running to her nearest fallen comrade and hoisting him onto her shoulders. Her men needed to pull back before the creature finished filling up the chasm and crossing into Kumogakure proper. Hopefully someone friendly who had observed her attempt noted what she had.

[Kamizuru Kireme]

Kado fixed the radio to his throat, the black device having the microphone hanging directly before his lips. For what was about to occur, he’d need perfect coordination with not only the Raikage, but with the other members of the various platoon leaders.

“Platoon leaders F through M, prepare for invasion repelling tactic four.” Kado spoke cooly, his half lidded gaze sweeping across the grounds before him.

“Hai!” Came several voices in unison. All along the gates of Kumogakure no Sato appeared platoons of twenty men, each platoon lead by a figure robed in white and black.

Turning ‘round, Kado looked to the men behind him, his father being amongst them.

“Take the sensors to the extremes of the gate and farther back into the village, around its perimeter. We need to be able to know if any other attacks are coming or if there are Shinobi controlling this thing.”

The elderly man, whose brow was still laden with sweat, nodded as he bounded off, and followed by several teams of men. That left Kado with his own twenty, whom began to line up beside him. Thus started repelling tactic four.

Fifteen of the twenty Shinobi produced various scrolls of large sizes, each one containing an insane amount of weapons. The remaining five, along with Kado, opened the scrolls and began to weave through hand seals. Kado himself popped in a solid pill, knowing that the extra chakra that had began to spread throughout his body would be needed.

The scrolls unraveled, the fifteen shinobi took them and jumped into the air, thin strings connecting them to the fingers of Kado and his five elemental users. Raiton formed and ran down the strings to each scroll and, bounding from the scroll, were the hundreds of weapons contained within each.

Unleashed upon the Six-Tailed Slug was a hailstorm of lightning infused weapons, each capable of slicing through the hardiest of materials. Accompanying it were the other eight platoons weapons, forming a massive wall of yellow lightning and steel that aimed to slice the Bijuu apart.

Falling to one knee and panting hard was Kado, whom had been forced to use a lot of chakra, along with the others, to pull of such a tactic. Reaching into his pouch and popping another pill, the Jounin sighed and narrowed his eyes, focusing on the results of his devastating coordinated attack.


Kado felt the attack before it actually hit. Deep down, in the smallest recess of his mind, he could feel something on the other side of the crusading wall of lightning. A large, black, evil mass filled with so much dread and hatred that…

“RAIKAGE-SAMA, ITS ABOUT TO ATTACK!!” Kado’s voice, for the first time in years, was laden with an uncharacteristic amount of worry—worry that Saoru would be able to realize that was serious.

SPOILER: Click to show

JUTSU USED

Raiton: Chakura Nagashi Lightning Release: Chakra Flow
Kado is able to freely flow his Raition chakra after performing the Dragon seal. By doing so he is able to pump his Raiton into steel wire, shuriken, bladed weapons, etc and can continue this until he runs out of chakra or releases the technique. This makes his weapons far sharper than normal and adds a stunning effect to them should they cut into an opponent. When applied to ranged weapons the Raiton flow only last, at the most, fifteen seconds.

The stun produced by this technique is variable in nature. Depending on the amount of chakra used, Kado can make it so the technique only slightly numbs, or if he uses a higher amount of Chakra he can paralyze entire limbs for several minutes. As such this technique is ranked B.

[yoippari marui]

audentes fortuna iuvat fortune favors the bold * * * * * *

The boy made his way to the front lines of the battle, first slinking through the side-streets of Kumogakure, and then by taking advantage of everyone's preoccupation with the bijū so that he could slip forward through the lines of defense. The boy willed himself not to look up as he marched forward through the lines, and kept his gaze fixed down just a small distance ahead of his feet. As he walked forward, the boy tried his best to stifle the nauseous feeling rising within him and took shallow breaths through his mouth to save his nose having to take the brunt of the Rokubi's toxic stench.

Marui suddenly tripped over the outstretched foot of a chūnin trying to set up a fūinjutsu on the ground, and apologized quickly as he looked up at the intimidating shinobi who glared down at him. As Marui began to get up, his gaze lifted to the horizon-line, where he was faced with a sight that made his gut wrench and face contort in terror as he gasped. As ear-splitting screech accompanied the angry bijū, and Marui couldn't take his eyes off of the great white beast who was radiating not only toxic slime and fumes, but a chakra the likes of which the boy had never seen. With a few handseals the genin's eyes changed to the infamous green hue of the Aogan, and his being a Yoippari was announced to all those who bothered to see him activate the famous dōjutsu.

As the Rokubi gathered it's chakra before it, coalescing into a giant sphere of swirling energy, Marui could see everyone's nervous systems flashing as they panicked, and could relate to those around him who felt they should flee rather than fight this awe-inspiring beast. Shaking his head to rid himself of these negative thoughts, the boy spun his head to follow the trajectory of the bijūdama as it shot through the air towards Shiun. Wincing, Marui himself shot forwards, although he raced toward his sensei, the Raikage, to stand with her as she fought from the skies atop her butterflies.

Was what he was doing foolish? No doubt. Would he be disciplined afterward, if he were to miraculously survive? Yes. Then some would ask why a boy would be so crazy as to put himself not only into harm's way, but to attempt to fight alongside the strongest of his village, when he was but a mere genin. There is only one answer to this -- Marui was a child, and when faced with a highly stressful situation, the reason and logic he was instilled with as a shinobi were thrown out the window and he rushed forward. He didn't care that the chances of him dying were a million to one, because he was an immaturely brave shinobi of Kumogakure.

Fight or flight — this boy would fight !

[Omoi Shiun]

BIJŪDAMA!!

Shiun grew larger more rapidly as more raiton ninjutsu poured into the mix. He clenched his hands, confident that he would be able to better aid his village like this. Then, suddenly, something caught his eye. Chakra flared around the Rokubi, twisting itself into a ball. As if the stench and the feelings of sickness spread throughout the defending forces (even churning Shiun's stomach with the potency) wasn't enough, this attack had to happen on top of it ass? It was a conceited thought, but Shiun swept one large electrical arm through the air.

"SCATTER!!"

At his signal, before the bijūdama was fully formed, the shinobi surrounding Shiun immediately dispersed from their position and sought out shelter. Then, the bijūdama sailed through the air toward Shiun, who promptly avoided the ball-beam-ish-shit-thing which passed by and hit somewhere other than Shiun. The ball of chakra exploded away from human life, only destroying part of the mountain (though not to the degree of making it unstable) and producing a massive crater.

Once that was clear, he charged at the Rokubi and leaped over the mucus-filled trench. He landed at the Rokubi's side and shaped his arm into a sword of lightning, which he slashed down at the Rokubi's side. His attack was accompanied with the activation of his Raihyōko to send a massive jolt of electricity coursing through the beast on contact.

At the same time, some of the shinobi that were under his command shot low ranking raiton ninjutsu at him once more to slowly continue his increase in size.

SPOILER: Click to show

RAIHYŌKO|lightning devil possession
lightning devil possession is the act of distributing the electricity that makes up the body of a yang seal: lightning release user into the body of another person or thing. this is done by direct physical contact with the body of electricity. the possession is actually a shock treatment, which can range in severity based on the skill of the user. the more skilled the practitioner, the more mild a shock is possible.

RAI HENGE|lightning transformation
lightning transformation is the act of re-shaping the body of electricity into other forms. unlike the common henge, the re-shaping is not masked by a natural appearance. instead, the body of electricity maintains the look of electricity. dividing and projecting parts of the electric body is possible. due to the nature of the lightning element, manipulation after division is not possible unless the main body and the dividing bodies remain connected.

[Kaito]

The forces of Kumo had met the call. Kaito looked on in pride as he rode up atop his massive gorilla. The smell tortured his nose as one of the gorillas he had alongside him confirmed his worst worries.

“Kaito-sama. To go near this beast would be sure death. Our swords are of no use here.”

The man looked deep in thought as the slug crushed through the earthen barriers that had been created. Simply approaching the beast had caused him to dry heave several times as he fought the urge to puke. He observed his fellow shinobi, recognizing those that had proven themselves to be powerful. His attention was suddenly swayed, however, when the bijū cried out in annoyance. Kaito quickly figured out its dilemma, barking orders to his subordinate summons. Each gorilla reared back, using its hands to form a sequence of seals. The group moved ahead of the rest of the shinobi, fighting nausea and light-headedness. They dispersed into a straight line, with Kaito and the large gorilla being on the opposite side as the leader of the Nintengorira. As Kaito stood atop the largest gorilla's helmet, each monkey slammed their hands to the ground repeatedly. As they drummed the ground with enormous force, the earth began to vibrate violently in the direction of the Six-Tails. From the two most powerful gorillas the earth split, fissures shooting past either side of the slug. The toxic sludge oozed into these crevices, diffusing from the main trench. The cracked ground crossed behind the slug, effectively creating a triangle of trenches to trap the beast. From the five weaker gorillas the ground shook violently around the trenches. These vibrations caused some of the excrement to seep through the earth as if sifting sand, hindering the process of filling the trench slightly. As they did this, Kaito speculated as to how to actually damage the monster. His hands slid together many times before he outstretched a single palm. In a marvelous spectacle of blue, a beam of pure chakra rocketed through the air at the beast's midsection. As it traveled, Kaito made sure to observe closely to determine if such an attack would damage or strengthen the Bijū.

He was forced into a state of horror, however, as a large ball of chakra was formed by the enemy. The aura of chakra that was created further pushed Kaito's gag reflexes. He began to shout out to Shiun in warning, but instead stood in amazement as the being of lightning simply shrugged off such a powerful attack. Kaito, awe-stricken, watched the devastation the blast caused. The horrible feeling that was beginning to dominate his stomach pulled him back into the battle. As the gorillas continued to offer primal roars as they beat the earth, Kaito looked upwards for Saoru. While some had foolishly attempted to engage the beast without first determining its power, Kaito knew that their only hope for survival floated above them all.

SPOILER: Click to show

Kuchiyose: Jihibiki | Spiritualism: Earth Tremor | 『 C-Rank 』
The Nintengorira can slap the ground with chakra-infused palms, forcing the ground to shake violently. In cases of powerful summons, this can create a fissure shooting out directly in front of the animal.


Reezaakōsen | Laser Beam | 『 B-Rank 』
By expelling compact chakra, Kaito can shoot what is effectively a beam of chakra from his palm. The beam can be maintained for extended amounts of time, however the jutsu is most powerful and controlled when initially used.

[the guardian]

Gilded eyes tracked the shinobi mass below, and watched as the beast grew near, how many of the forces fell from the sheer pressure of the behemoth's chakra. Raising her sword into the air, she dropped it to activate the command for her long-ranged fighters.

Catapulted boulders launched from the side of the mountains rained down toward the beast, but most of the earth projectiles bounced harmlessly off or melted against the creature's acid hide. She glared, raising her arm again to command another regiment of shinobi to launch another attack to test the beast's defenses --

When one of her students appeared on her mount. Looking at him angrily, she was being more protective than thoughtful. "You fool!" She bellowed, beckoning toward the other shinobi on the front-lines, who were mounting attack after attack on the beast.

"We're not training, Marui! Go back to the village immediately and protect the civilians! Now!!"

Already she realized her mistake when she turned back to the beast. Then tendrils of contrasting chakra had already formed into the ball, and she had no time to form the necessary seals to turn back the sheer strength of such an attack.

Short, dark hair fluttered about as the beam sliced toward Shiun. However, she expected a much graver outcome than the one she witnessed. The trajectory of the swirling chakra globe was altered slightly as it passed through the funnel in his chest, and blasted into the side of the mountain.

The Yondaime allowed her self no chance of hesitation then, and planted a hand to the base of the butterfly's spine. Another large and graceful creature exploded from Hakuō's back, its thin legs outstretched to pluck and grasp her student tight to its underbelly as it flew upward to the temporary safety of the village. "Do as I said!"

Focused back on the battle, she watched the thunderous form of Shiun land beside the slug and begin his lethal assault. She dropped low on the back of the butterfly, placing a head on its head. "Tell them now, Hakuō."

The insect seemed to growl, if it was possible for a butterfly to even make such a sound. From the clouds, thousands of dead butterflies fell from the sky and began to land on the back of the creature. Their carcasses sizzled into vapors, as did the explosive tags attached to their bodies. However, the ones acting as a medium to her seals would cause a cryptic symbol to spread out from the point of contact. In a short amount of time, hundreds of the seals would be branded across the slug.

Hopefully, Shiun would recognize the seal and move away from the blast zone.

"Kai..." She clapped her hands together, and each mark would burn with a glowing light before erupting in massive plumes of white-hot fire and explosive pressure. The front-lines would be knocked back, and many would fall unconscious, even though they were half a mile away from the Raikage and the monstrous slug.

"SHŌIDAN FŪIN--!!"

The Raikage jumped to the head of the butterfly she rode upon, thrusting her palm out to suck in the fire, globs of acid, and explosive shockwaves that radiated toward her and the Yoūn close to her into the spiraling seal on her palm.

[Shinja Sonzou]

Sonzou watched as the Rokubi started to fill the pit with it's own mucus-type material. Watching as the mucus bubbled, Sonzou could tell it had acidic properties. Therefore physical contact with the Rokubi was pointless. After doing so, the Rokubi set its sights on Shiun. It seemed it was attracted to his bright lights and found him opposing.

That was when Sonzou witnessed the true monstrous power of the Rokubi. As people below tried attacking it with multiple jutsu, Sonzou took note of the things not affecting it such as the flame jutsu his comrade used. But Sonzou also noticed the black and white ball of chakra forming in the Rokubi's mouth. It was the Bijūdama!! From what Sonzou heard, the Bijūdama was one of the Bijū's deadly attacks. It used pure chakra to incinerate anything in it's path.

And unfortunately for Shiun, he was the target of this attack. But Shiun was prepared and Sonzou expected no less of a shinobi of Kumo. Shiun managed to dodge the attack completely, even with it's massive size. A beam then made it's way from Kaito to the Bijū, following with Shiun's charge. Shiun attempted the cut the beast with his sword made of Raiton.

After doing so, Saoru started her assault. She sent multiple butterflies to the Rokubi with seals on them. After making seals, the explosions began to encase the Bijū. She then utilized another jutsu to swallow the explosion before it met herself and her student. Noticing that no one was letting up, Sonzou figured it was his turn. He would not give the Bijū time to recover.

"My turn!"

By now, the bird he was on was as big as a boss summon. Sonzou then kept some venom under himself to keep himself aerial and continued to feed venom into it. The rest was sent after the Rokubi. Shaping the venom going towards the Rokubi into two enormous fists and making them as dense as possible, Sonzou started pounding on what was left of the Bijū. This would serve to physically harm the Rokubi and to distract it, giving everyone else a chance to formulate a plan to stop it or use Sonzou's distraction to find an opening.

SPOILER: Click to show

Jadoku ^{[Serpent Venom]}
The Shinja Clan can excrete a poisonous substance from their pores and apply chakra for force it into their opponent’s skin upon contact. The Shinja Clan can also control the toxicity of their venom to make it to be deliberating or fatal.

Shihai ^[Control]
Shihai is a technique that allows Sonzou Shinja to manipulate his liquid venom. By holding the snake hand sign, Sonzou is able to control the movement, by altering the direction in which the liquid venom is moving. By adding minimal chakra, he can control the density and also make it move faster in which ever direction it is going.

[Haruka Soku]

The Bijū was attacking. There was no denying that. The alarms were sounding, the streets were chaotic, and many shinobi rushed to protect the village from the tailed beast.

Soku, despite wanting to assist, knew he wouldn't be anything but a liability. His Jutsu were pathetic, his skills lacking, and he couldn't offer anything to the situation against the monster itself. Hell, he was even gagging and finding it hard to move, the only reason he wasn't curled up in pain being his training and mental discipline. But that didn't change the fact the ominous presence of the Bijū was having an effect on him... Soku vomited, hunching over as the sour bile passed his lips.

He hated himself right now; he hated the weaknesses; he hated the reliance on others; he hated being helpless.

As a bunch of Academy students were rounded up, being led by a fellow Genin, Soku fell into line and offered the other boy help. If Soku could at least provide some assistance it would allow him to forgive his overall inability to provide actual support against the monster. Besides, most of the younger shinobi were meant to head to the fort below ground, and Soku didn't have a choice - he was no genius, he was nothing special, so he joined the other cubs the pack protected.

"Come on, hurry up!" Soku shouted, pushing a student, shoving him along. One would think that with a tailed beast knocking at the front door, people would be more than ready to rush. "Idiots..."

Catching Kai's eye, Soku nodded and continued to help herd the younger villagers...