The Balance of Death and Life (Shiounin)

Spoiler:

Sendo slumped against the wall right outside the village. It was abnormal for him to be the early one, by a whole hour at that. He was usually right on time or just a bit late. Why? Because he just didnt really care about most missions. This one, however, he had been told killing was encouraged. In fact, if he was able to , he was being ordered to kill. On top of that, there was an enticing unknown factor. The numbers. Some lug had gotten himself kidnapped, some insanely rich guy. He was pretty sure he heard mention that he was some man invovled with the political government, but he couldnt really remember. All he knew was that he had bring him back alive, and kill everyone else, the ones who had taken him hostage not so long ago. That was the unknown, how many would there be for him to kill.

Mulling this over in his mind, Sendo licked his lips in desire. The blood that he would spill, it would be fantastical. It would be amazing. It would be down right orgasmic for him. The fools who had ordered this mission had given no specific instructions. He was free to do as he pleased so long as the criminals were punished and the target was secured and broght back alive. Alive, so vague. His heart wolud be beating, but if Sendo had his way, his soul might not be intact. Not to say he was going to threaten the psychology of the man directly. However, his manner of killing, unless specific guidelines, wasnt straight cut and simple. No, he turned it into an art form. It was an art that many did no appreciate, but it was also missions like these that he had become a ninja to partake in in the first place. Sooner or later, every criminal was caught. those that werent killed or incarcerated, were caught up in the run, unable to truly enjoy their work. Granted, he was sure that the chase had its thrill, but to Sendo, nothing could top the thrill of the blood spilling act of death. It was in his genetic code.

Reaching down with a slender white hand, he plucked a sunflower from the ground next to him and raised it up before his eyes. The other, left hand reached up and began to pick at each petal individually and let them fall back to the green grassy area below. It had been rainy lately, but for now there was no such droplets coming down from above, though there was no telling when the next down poor would start. It had been so yesterday on his mission to the north with the monks where had moderately displayed his talents in defeating one of their fighters. He had to admit, though the opponent wasnt that strong, he was impressed with himself, for that boy had had all of the advantages. He still hadnt heard on his results of the mission, but he was sure their fear of his arcane nature would lead them to contract with the leaf.

It wasnt that he really gave two shits about the villages diplomacy matters, but as he had been responsible for forging that connection, his pay would be more substantial if he had successfully cemented their loyalty to them in business. The village greatly appreciated having new assets to draw wealth from and the good thing about the leaf despite their goody two shoes nature, was that they treated their shinobi well. Sendo, again, didnt care about his comrades, but who could say no to being well taken care of. Someone of his nature was probably better off in the mist village, but it was so bothersome to be caught up with everyone all the time like that. They were mindless animals, that lot. No, Sendo, though he was undoubtedly as unstable as you can get with out going totally off the deep end, was somehow very much sophisticated and liked to go through his acts slowly and with enjoyment. The savoring of each deed was half the reward. The long drawn out process of extracting the blood and inflicitng the torture was the other. Sure the bloodshed itself was satisfying, but if you treated it like a respected reward, testing yourself, forcing yourself to earn it, it was even more gratifying. As far as killers went, he was about as complex as they came.

The last petal of the flower dropped from Sendos hand and he twisted the stem into a knot and stuck it between his teeth, leaning his head back against the wood of the wall behind him with his eyes closed. He hadnt gotten much sleep, but he was too thrilled to be very tired. He could feel it though in the back of his head. The chances of keeping himself in check were slimmer when he was mentally drained whether it be from lack of sleep or other wise. That was the only reason he was still waiting for his partner on this. To make sure he brought the lord back and got his payment. Granted, he probably wasnt going to wait till the meeting time. This Shiounin Uchiha guy had about another ten minutes before he was just going to go off on his own anyway.

The blood lust tingled greater yet as his thoughts poured through his unfiltered head. The antsier he got, the harder it was becoming to sit here and wait. His fingers began to fidget as sitting still became night impossible with all the pent up energy and passion he had accumulated in his anticipation. The ten minutes he had designated to himself had gone and past and he stood up, grabbing his leather over coat and throwing it on as he stood up. He thrust his hands in his pockets and began to walk forward with the flower stem still in his mouth, his head slightly bowed and his eyes concealed from the world.

Too busy to deal with village matters and things regarding the military he was wrapped up in, Shihouin decided to spend his time elsewhere. Recently he had been unsure about his path in life, several questions fluttered around in his mind like butterflies on a smooth wind. Due to this uncertainty, Shihouin’s emotional state had been constantly fluctuating, with mood swings that took him on an emotional roller coaster which he couldn’t control. For that reason he had ended up in the red light district of the village, flaunting his money and his power with several women.

Just showing a couple of tricks with chakra and throwing around a couple of dollars to trashy whores had earned him a free trip in and a VIP pass to the back of a popular club where only the rich and powerful could enter. At this time, the club was normally closed to civilians, but the area in the back was open to those who qualified for it. Sluts draped across the VIP room like curtains on a window, blocking off any of the morality and judgment of all the men inside. Shihouin had been especially affected by this, loosened up with a bit of sexual pleasure and alcohol.

He was curled up with three girls in a dark, shady corner of the club. Obscurity covered them as women slithered over his body, flicking their wicked tongues over his face and in other areas which pleasured him like a sweet ripe apple. He would waste a little money depending on what they did or how much they licked or where. A couple hundred or more stuffed into their garments, caught up in their snatch which easily opened for money. He enjoyed it for now, sitting in a thick mahogany wood captain chair which was bound up in deep red velvet and adorned with gold fixtures near the top, back and on the arm rests. He was king now.

Each woman continued to show skill with their bodies until all three had passed around satisfaction enough for double the crowd they had. Sipping his pants up and shaking the clingly whores off ofhim, Shihouin took an exit as his mind fell back onto his duties as a ninja. With the smell of whores and liquor on his body, he took to the roof tops in a full run towards village gates. Running against the cold air would allow his body to shake off the small drink he had, and the time spent on travel would revive all his senses. He was most definitely late and out of time, hopefully he would make it before it was too late.

Each foot pressed hard and exploded in speed and power as he continued to push off faster and faster. Since the village had been under the spell of rain lately, not a single drop in the sky had been a godsend. Even the civilians noticed it, and as he passed in a flurry of quick movement over their heads he noticed that several of them were out, more than likely picking up on chores which they had missed out on because of the relentless rain.

Five minutes left. He couldn’t cram in any more speed unless he wanted to start off the mission feeling terrible. He bit his lip in frustration as his legs churned on beneath him like a motor, carrying him towards his destination. His arms hung back loosely, streamlining his body through the wind for added speed. Stepping over chimneys, antennas and play toys which had been trapped on roof tops, Shihouin placed his feet quickly and carefully, watching the horizon of the village gates and the quickly moving scenery below.


For this mission he didn’t know exactly who his partner was, nor did he really care for that matter. For the majority of his time as a ninja he spent time doing missions with Ayame and Nasamea since he was compatible with them in his genin days. Doing mission with them was easy since he knew them and their battle styles, but growing up into a Chuunin and a Jounin had changed all of that. No longer could he just run a mission with them. Ayame and Nasa had left his life as a shinobi and he had once again been placed in a situation where he was cut off from the rest of them. Forced to meet someone new and to experience the personality and company of other ninja had brought him to this point.

He reached the village gates, ten minutes too late. He jumped clear above the checkpoint center and didn’t bother with the ninja underneath. A shinobi began to step out towards the wilderness of the fire country. Carrying his momentum and jumping off of the village gate walls in a powerful display of power, Shihouin made an obvious entrance which he hoped would catch the attention of who he thought was ‘Sendo.’ He jumped high into the air and blotted out the majority of the sun, sending a dark shadow over Sendo’s body. A flip in midair would turn his body around, as he flew in front of him, gravity gripping him down to earth as he came to land. His feet pointed towards the ground as his right and left one hit one after the other, crouching properly to avoid a fatal fall. He stood up quickly and spoke, looking the stranger into the eye. “You couldn’t wait just ten more minutes’ man? I was running as fast as I could!”

Where the fuck did the sun go?

Thats what he thought at first, forgetting that it in fact was already obscured by the cloudy overcast skies the weather gifted them with today. All the same, there was still a new dark spot that formed around him, something was over head. He wouldnt have caught it, but Sendo always tended to walk with his head slightly angled down. It wouldnt matter to others, his eyes were much to hidden by his long straw colored hair to notice that anyway, though they tended to think of him as some punk ass kid because of his looks. They werent far off on this judgment. The psychopathic mind was slightly akin to the typical hormone fluxuation and the emo and goth trends they had started for men about his age. He had been this way since an early age, so he was slightly different, and in such, was more mature, having learned to get past and harness these emotions and use them. Though his mentality would always be shrouded in darkness, he could use it to his advantage this day rather then be a whinny, cry baby fuck because of it.

Acceptance.

The shadow overhead grew slightly larger, indicating the above blocker of light was coming down towards his exact location. It was misshapen so it was hard to make out what exactly it could be, but a quick guess suggested it was his partner. The shadow then moved forward. Nothing inanimate could do this unless controlled by someone, or was light enough to be carried by the wind etc. Like paper. This shadow was much to large and the straight drop previously coupled with the speed its size had increased indicated that it was not in fact paper, nor was it being manipulated by wind. Low and behold, the Uchiha landed in front of him a few meters ahead in his trajectory. The guy looked like he had rushed to get here, thinking he was late probably. He wasnt sure but he thought he smelled faint traces of alcohol on the guys breath. They were to far to make a concrete call on that point. Not that it mattered.

Sendo reached up with his right hand, leaving his left deep in his coat pocket. The fingers slid through the thick bangs and pushed them up and to the side slightly, revealing his sparkling, mischievous eyes. The two made eye contact. Legend went that ti was dangerous to do this kind of thing. Sendo didnt care. The stem in his teeth shifted upwards as his lips broke out into an unbroken smile, still keeping his teeth hidden behind the flesh. It wasnt the friendly, welcoming kind. It was the one that said "if you dont think Im up to no good your fucking stupid" sort. He answered the guys question.

OH hell yes I could, I just didnt want too. See, the way I understand it, Im allowed to have free reign on these guys who stole the lord or whatever he is. A man with my....talents, doesnt get a chance to display them openly and walk away a free man.

He was making small hints as to who he was and just exacltly how he was planning non handling this mission. However, his mind games with his partner were already starting. This was a risky tactic. If he pushed to hard, some, especially leaf shinobi, could crack and be mentally unable to carry ou tth emission at hand with Sendos constant invasion and twisting of the mind. However, the way he saw it, if they were weak enough to fall prey to him just with a few word play techniques, they werent an asset to him anyway. Really, to him it was just fun to leave people guessing at what the hell he was talking about. Unlike the Uchiha who were world famous, the Ketsueki was an underground and rarely heard of, less often talked about clan. Hell, he didnt even know of any other with his name or kekkei genkei abilities. He was unique in this village in more ways then one. However, his prestige was non existance because he worked in the dark. The village didnt have any files on his clan, just one on him. They didnt know where he came from either. It was a mystery. He doubted highly that Shiounin had even heard his last name before unless it had been disclosed when he was given the mission orders. He doubted furhter still his skills had been discussed.

Sendo walked forward at a slight angle, so that rather then knocking straight into the higher ranked shinobi, the two only bumped shoulders. He paused for only a minute and glanced over slightly, only stopping to say Lets walk and talk before cotinuing forward, slowly picking up his pace from a causal walk to a fast paced, almost jog, yet sill managing to make it look laid back and relaxed. His hands in his pockets, his head arched down towards the ground, and the big sinister smile spread across his face. This was going to be entertaining.

Finally! Shihouin had finally met someone who was not too scared to wander into his eyes. Even when he didn’t have the three tomoe, on missions with comrades even, they would not dare look into his eyes for any reason at all. Little did most people know, Shihouin only had one genjutsu technique which worked on eye contact and hadn’t even dipped into the vast potential of the Sharingan’s power when it came to illusions. Luckily his partner here was able ignore the fear of the Sharingan eyes and be a man about it, and look him in the eye. Just for that gesture that they had shared together, Shihouin’s respect level for Sendo had raised some.

However, even though Shihouin admired the fact that he could meet eye contact with him, didn’t mean he didn’t think the rest of him was strange. His lips and muscles pulled into an unbroken smile with ease, which held something else to it. It wasn’t the normal cute and friendly smile to warm up the atmosphere between to people. Shihouin’s cheek rose a bit and his eye scrunched up as if he had seen something extremely weird. He kept his distance mentally from him, the eccentricness which leaked from him kept him away socially. This was beyond awkward.

He listened to every word as he spoke but Shihouin didn’t get why he was so concerned about killing. As a ninja, killing was something that they eventually had to deal with. Each of them had undergone some type of psychological and sociological way to deal with killing, especially when ti came to killing with a partner. Also, since Shihouin had paid too much attention to tits and not enough on the mission details, his mind clicked when he listened to Sendo. He was right. The mission was vague and it didn’t speciflally say what should happen to the people that kidnapped the intended target. Thus, giving them free reign to murder and splash blood everywhere if they deem fit. It was an interesting situation they were in. However, Sendo’s… what is the word… eagerness to kill seemed off the charts to him, this was of course boosted by the eyes and the smile, which screamed suspiciousness.

Whatever.

Shihouin was in it for the money and the fame. All he needed in his life now was more money. More than most shinobi had in their career, Shihouin had been sitting on a pretty hefty sum. If he kept up with more of the higher ranked missions, he would end up having 10 million ryo, all which he could spend on anything he wanted. Sendo’s choice to kill seemed to be his incentive for being on the mission, but Shihouin’s lied in the fiscal.

The ninja pushed past him, slightly bumping his shoulder in the process. Shihouin ignored the tap and simply used the to make turning around that much easier. He walked besides the Chuunin towards their destination. It would be good for them to get their discussions done over now, and talk about any plans or tactics they had thought of before they arrived. Shihouin took the chance to speak as he walked next to him. “To clear the air, I don’t mind if you lead on this mission. I feel like using my mind as less as possible and you seem to be eager to get rid of the guys surrounding our objective. If you want, you can lead or take that task and I’ll deal with securing the guy. I’m not in a great mood to murder but if you think that’s what is best for mission success then all right. We’re both B Ranked, so we’re both on the same level in my book.” He waited for the chuunin to respond to see what his thoughts were.

The bump hadnt gone exactly as planned. It had been a small motion, but in turn, he had expected the usually taken as disrespectful notion to be met with hostility. Not this guy. He just went with it. Maybe he just wanted this mission to go smoothly and figured early hostilities werent worth it. Maybe Sendos piercing gaze and toothless grin had struck something in him that Shiounin did not want to learn or explore about himself. Whatever it was, Sendo was fine with it. A quarel of any kind would just keep him from getting to these guys he had been ordered to go dispose. He didnt want that, no, he couldnt have that now could he.

The Uchiha began to follow him, walking by his side, and quickly flowed into Sendos suggestion of walk and talk, keeping pace with him, which for a shinobi wasnt hard. No doubt these bandits or thieves or whatnot had a good head start, but were probably stupid enough and cocky enough to take frequent breaks and rest easy. No doubt they would also be making ransom demands and would stay close. They did know they were traveling through the forests that surrounded the leaf village and were avoiding the forest of silence. To that end they had a wide area they could cover. They did have one special tool that would help them in this case, and that was the skills Shiounin possessed.

Now before this day, Sendo had never even heard the mans name. He didnt even know what type of jutsu the guy knew and had mastered in his career. he didnt know if he was a sensor, which was really what they needed. At least, not the traditional, run of the mill sensor that first came to mind. Shiounin was an Uchiha. This mission was A rank, so he had some skill to be selected and being that he just revealed that he too was B rank, which Sendos own title of chunin implied him to be, proved that he was skilled for his classification. These points woven together only meant one thing. It was certain the man had usage of his sharingan. What little he did know about it, was that it was capable of somehow knowing chakras and being able to...locate them similar to sensro ninjas. He wasnt sure about the exact science behind it or the mechanics and methods in which the dojutsu did this, but he did know it was one of its primary functions. He had more or less just being given head of this mission by his partner, which he was happy to do. This way he could more easily manipulate the situation for the maximum blood spilled by his hand. He hadnt planned on taking orders to begin with, but this way he could maneuver Shiounin in a manner that would keep him out of his way. As the two continued at their accelerated pace, he explained his thinking to his new comrade.

Fine by me. Heres what we do. We know they are in this woods somewhere. They probably havent moved much because they are most certainly looking for money. Their chakras should be fresh through here and Im certain you can locate it. We are looking for 2 or more B ranked chakra signatures. Since they are together, it shouldnt be hard to find them with your sharigan, which again, im certain you have. When we do find them, I will handle the perpetrators while you sneak by them and nab the lord. Im not going to stop till their dead, so make sure hes alright, and help me if you want after you guarantee his safety, im sure we both want to get paid here. Im not gona order you to aide me, but I wont deny you a piece of the action. That would just be rude.

Sendo kind of giggled as he cracked his joke. It wasnt a school girl giggle, nor was it a deep one. It was that maniacal kind you hear from a jackal before it breaks out into a chorus of demonic laughter. Obviously there was no worry of rudeness and such. This was a serious mission, and of high priority no less, yet here he was cool and laid back, almost like the breeze that was flowing through in a soft manner. He was obviously in this for the kicks, but he knew how to get the job done at the same time. He was a strange one for sure, because his sanity was all but gone, but his heir of professionalism, while strictly only speaking about the end result, was of pretty high rate, even though his methods and attitude could seem childish. He continued to lay out the plan as they moved.

The reason I was sent on this mission is because I am also skilled in the medical arts, and theres a good chance the lord is injured, its a suspicion of the client. I will heal him and then we will head back after, of course, the kidnappers are nothing less then dead. Before we can do any of this however, we need to find them. For that were going to use your sharingan which I know you have. Ill go forth at about 2 meters. Use your sharingan to locate a chakra in the vicinity thats equal to the description we have and direct me with compass rose coordinates to alter my course. When we get within 50 meters, hang back and give me 2 minutes before advancing, but stay hidden until you see an opening to grab the target, then do as I previously instructed. My charka is about an average level, so it shouldnt interfere with your ability to read chakra too much.

Sendo didnt wait to see if Shiounin understood. It was go time. They had been taking it slowly for too long. One more time, Sendo turned his head to look the Uchiha square in the eye and make sure that he hadnt forgotten the expression on his face, clearly detailing his every motive. He was a killer, and he was after blood. The next moment, he was pushing forward at a dead sprint, eager for this new hunt to begin.

They both walked briskly down into the wilderness of Konoha, talking as they did. Shihouin’s mind fell on distance and time, wondering exactly how far out this place was and how long it’d take them to reach it in the amount of time they had allotted for the mission. In a situation where ransom and money was involved with crime, there were several options the criminals would need to take to ensure that they got their money. Of course they would position their selves at a distance where they could be close to the village and yet be far enough away to get out in time. Shihouin thought about just simply bribing them with his own money to make the situation that much easier. It would be nothing for them as shinobi to gather up a bunch of leaves or explosive notes and transform them into money, but if they had shinobi on their side it would be futile. Maybe the best way to deal with the situation was to simply get rid of them.

Luckily for his sake Sendo wanted to kill them and dealing with securing the Lord would be an easy feat for him. As long as Sendo took care of the ranked guards outside, Shihouin could easily take the rest of them, if there were any with his Sharingan and make sure the Lord was safe and cared for. This mission seemed to be more for Sendo than anything.

As they walked down the road, Shihouin listened to what Sendo had to say. He had some good ideas and the plan he had to complete the mission was solid enough for him. His goal would be to secure the Lord as safely as possible and make sure he was OK so Sendo didn’t have any extra wounds to heal. As they neared the place, he took note what he said. As he moved forward, Shihouin took an over watch position above him in the trees and watched with his Sharingan. The chakra signatures were not hard to notice, and Shihouin quickly removed two small shuriken from his pocket and followed Sendo’s orders and waited, remaining out of sight.

They had been running for some time now, well only about fifteen minutes, but that kind of time dragged on when all you were doing was looking for something. Sendo tried to let his mind wander but Shiounin wasnt about to shut up with his constant slight alterations to their course. He had told him to do so, so he couldnt get in his face about it, but he was nevertheless annoyed by it. He hadnt expected him to be so damn technical about where they were going. They way it was, Sendo was going to come right in the center of whatever circle these guys had formed thanks to the Uchiha's detailed directions. Personally, his own eccentricities were of a different kind, and only in one situation, death.

After a short time later, the Uchiha jumped straight up into a tree. Sendo knew because he had heard the faint sound of his feet hitting the tree bark and then stopping. He glanced over his shoulder quickly and then turned back forward and continued moving. Thanks for letting me know how many of them there are you bstard. He shrugged it off and kept moving. It didnt matter how many there were. Supposedly, they were his skill level, but skill could be interpreted in many fashions. How good were they at staying alive? Everyone was about to find out.

It didnt take him long to make it the remaining distance of fifty meters which is what he had instructed of Shiounin. Now the ball was in Sendo's court and he had to force an opening for him to move in and grab the lord and get out. He had too time it for at least two minutes however, because he had told his partner to hang back for a while why he got everything arranged. he could wait longer if there wasnt an opening, but he wasnt going to move before that time.

He slowed down about twenty meters from the camp and began zigzagging behind the trees in case someone was watching. He was sure they were prepared for people coming above so he didnt even bother. He held his breath as he got close enough to survey their camp from a distance to scope out how many there were. Four. More then he had anticipated, but that was ok. More blood for him to earn the joy of spilling.

He didnt see any sentry's looking around, so that was good. Maybe they were just thieves who could use a few powerful jutsu and that was it. If that was the case, this would go quickly. Sendo took a step around the tree, and suddenly found himself anchored to the ground as earth began to rise up around his feet, clamping around his shins. A trap. he felt the cold sharp sting of a kunai barely breaking the skin in the back of his neck just below where the spine connected to the skull.

You Konoha shinobi or so damn predictable. the guy, who sounded about twenty or twenty five based on the maturity but non gruff texture to his voice, sounded quite pleased with himself. Sendo just froze. Inside he was jumping for joy. Oh this was just great. It was an odd reaction for someone who blindly walked into a trap, but it wasnt like he hadnt done so before. He had no capabilities of sensing in the slightest bit and to prepare for every possible one was so arduous. He learned to enjoy it because even though he was easy to catch, he was difficult to keep held for very long.

Now Im gona let your feet go and your gona walk nice and slow over to my friends up here in this small calering and your going to sit tight while our sensor brings us your little friend back there.

Sendo suddenly felt a bit of doubt, and at the same time exhiliration as the stakes had just raised substantially. They had found Shiounin, which with the distance he had been placed away from them all should have prevented. This sensor that was on his way to fetch his partner was probably A, if not S rank. This was going to be heller fun. He compleid as his ankles were released and walked forward, keeping his hands in sight, giving his captor a stronger sense of power and control as his catch obeyed his every command. He shouted out his victory when they entered the clearing.

Hey guys look what I got. That Kaguya jounin we hired from Kiri should be bringing us another one here soon.

This was supposed to be some easy money. A little bloodshed, some killing and taking up some rich fuck whom probably had shit his pants several times over from the fear of the ninja holding him captive. This was supposed to be an easily little maneuver that would allow them to gain some quick money and have a little fun while doing it at the same time. Though, Shihouin had been forgetting one crucial little fact, in fact just a crucial little letter about the entire mission that they were on. It was A Rank, just one step down from a mission that would put their lives on the line. At his level, this mission was S Rank for him.

Shihouin stood near the thicker parts of the tree branches for good grip and stability. With this Sharingan, he quickly scanned the area and took in all of the chakra signatures around him. There were two A Ranks wandering about the place, and as they drew closer one of them began to move. His eyes had rolled a simple one tomoe, nothing too much for the moment, just for a little surveying. Eventually he would haveto direct Sendo on where the chakra signatures were moving.

The one he had his eye on moved in a hidden eccentric pattern which he would have normally not been able to see if it weren’t for his eyes. He was taking a roundabout route which altered Shihouin easily. In laymans terms, the shinobi was definitely coming for his area. Shihouin sighed mentally; this was supposed to be easy.

As they got closer, Shihouin continued his over watch position and moved with silence as Sendo began to zigzag and use trees and other forest foliage as cover to remain hidden. Shihouin kept his feet even and level on each branch and moved near the thicker parts which would grant him total silence and concealment through the thick shrubbery of the upper parts of the forest. About 20m out, he counted four signnatures which could be classed as threatening and a few others farther away.

Before he could make a move, one of the chakra signatures began to change, and the chakra began to spread throughout the earth, emitting from one of the larger signatures near Sendo’s position. Even with his clairvoyant eyes he couldn’t warn Sendo from the doom he was about to walk into. He was tempted to toss a small shuriken to hold the ninja up which would allot Sendo some time to react, but it was too late. Sendo would have to deal with it on his own. Shihouin had his own shinobi to worry about.

Usually he focused on simple tactics and tricks which most shinobi could perform but rarely used. They were useful in making small openings which led to larger openings and eventually a fatal blow in battle. However, Shihouin would have no time for that. The sensor’s position had been getting closer and closer, and to make things interesting, Shihouin let him swoop around towards his backside. Giving himself the disadvantage had also made it easy for himself to prepare his next move and focus on dealing with the ninja at hand. Even though Shihouin was B Rank, he was definitely above that level with it came to raw talent in speed, dexterity, strength and endurance. Unless this shinobi was Kage leveled, Shihouin would easily match him.

A lo whistle echoed across the forest near the back of him, growing louder as it came up for his rear area. Slipping up under the branch below him with chakra on his feet, Shihouin hung like a monkey from the bottom of the branch and looked up at a shinobi in front of him, who stood sturdy on branch at least 5m away from him. His fingers were pointed towards his previous position, but more importantly were the muscles of his fingertips. They split in half and were quickly healing back as the shinobi brought his hands back to his side. Letting his short curly hair fall towards the ground, Shihouin smirked as he looked up at him. “A Kaguya? I’ve fight one of your types before. It’s a great excuse to walk around with a boner on all the time.”

He was definitely not amused. He flashed forward in a burst of speed, showing his supremacy in taijutsu as he aimed for the side of the tree Shihouin hung from. Out of nowhere, a bone kunai came forth from his palm and fired for Shihouin’s left shin, spinning rapidly to increase the damage should it meet with his body. Shihouin exchanged shuriken with him, throwing one directly at his chest while he released the chakra from his feet and fell towards the ground. He turned his Sharingan on to three tomoe for safety and flipped perfectly so he could land and watch the Jounin at the same time. Little did he assume that the Jounin would still continue his attack. While in mid fall, the shuriken that he had thrown was embedded within the Kaguya’s chest. Of course. He had moved his ribs with his ability and strengthen his outer body to be able to make shuriken and other tools useless unless they were enhanced in some sort of way. Using the momentum he had gained from moving down, the Kaguya planted his feet firmly on the side of the tree and launched off downhill for Shihouin’s position.

Shihouin was at the disadvantage. Only one of his feet had barely met the ground, and the Kaguya was aiming to throw his weight on top of him. All the Kaguya had to do was get close enough and erect his bones from his body and embed them into some awkward hug of death. There was no way they could let that happen. A familiar hand sign for a technique worked its way into Shihouin’s hand. A Kage bunshin appeared between the both of them, and the Kaguya rammed into it at full speed, taking the blow for the target he had not intended to hit. Shihouin’s feet had plenty of time to find solid footing, and using the small advantage of time he had created he backed up a few meters for distance.

This was supposed to be easy but the fight had just started. He couldn’t compete with taijutsu and he couldn’t use fire ninjutsu on every turn and risk burning the forest and making it impossible to leave or to communicate with Sendo. He physically prepared his body to move, counting on the Sharingan to make things easy. If he wasn’t done with this jounin in a few minutes, their plan would eventually fall apart. Shihouin sighed. What was Sendo up to?

The guard who had trapped him from under the ground walked Sendo to the middle of the clearing. Instantly he began to scan his eyes for the lord. He coudnt see him as of yet. This was no good. It was possible they had stumbled upon some other random ass group of ninja, but it was highly unlikely. Sendo was almost certain that he was here. Just by the facts alone. There were four men in the clearing who he was sure were B rank or maybe even A. The guy behind him was definitely A ranked based on the silent skill he had used to trap Sendo with such ease, and his very skilled use of small techniques and conservation of chakra was not something an amateur would be likely to pull off. Not this effectively. In truth, the man had really trapped him fair and square, he was lucky he wasnt dead already. He figured the reason was more captives, more money.

He also knew there was at least one more, this guy had basically given Sendo his resume. A high ranking Kaguya that Shiounin was now faced with. He knew the guy probably had more experience and was probably a better fighter then his partner, but regardless, he did have one edge over the sensor. He was an Uchiha, and that more or less leveled the score as far as he could tell. He couldnt be entirely sure though. He was just guessing here, but it was a very logical guess based on the information he had at the time. The only thing he knew about his own predicament was that one of them was an earth user, and he had five of them to deal with. He also knew that the Lord was hidden somewhere.

The last thing he knew, was that these guys were good. This guy had gotten him a mere second after he had stopped to look, and Shiounin hadnt had time to warn him, which he was sure he would have if he thought he could with out sacrificing his position. Also, a Kaguya sensor? He had never even heard of such a combo, but he knew it had to be deadly. Now he just needed to figure out how he was going to kill these guys and also find the lord.

Why dont you just have a seat on this log right here stranger The man holding his life at blade point kicked a stump nearby indicating which exact piece of wood he was referring to. With out hesitation, Sendo complied, but he made the mistake of putting his hands in his pockets as he sat down. Instantly the kunai dug into his scalp, just missing the kill point, but being harmless in its current location. Just a swipe to the left and it would be all over. A little bit of blood trickled out on the kunai and rand down the edge of the clean blade, a small drop of it touching the mans finger tips.

Instantly the projectile was dropped as the feeling like something was biting and burning him at the same time triggered in his brain. His arm snapped back and he looked at his now burnt finger with a tiny chunk of flesh inexplicably mission.

Hey whats wrong with you, cant you deal with a little blood, man up damn it. None of these guys knew what the hell had just happened, and Sendo continued to go soundless, sitting casually as they berated their comrade for being such a sissy. The earth user didnt say anything, just had a puzzled look on his face as he looked at his kunai which seemed to be tarnished. He couldnt tell anyone why and instead of picking it back up, he just quickly drew another one and rounded Sendo, preparing to put it to his throat. His hadnt stopped half way however, as he caught a glimpse of the mans face for the first time.

The pale lips were still pulled back in the same sickening grin that had left Shiounin half shuddering when they first met only 20 or so minutes ago. He was completely calm, and his serene blue eyes of ice were barely vicible. The piercing gaze entered his "captors" looking into his soul, and for some reason, he felt like he was already dead. Thats because he was.

All this while, when the blood had bitten into the mans skin, Sendo had been manipulating the spool of wire in his pocket, swiftly and silently letting it trail out of his coat and fall down to the ground, and when the man stepped before him, guided it between his legs, hidden in the grass. It wasnt razor wire, but it would do the job just fine all the same. It wanst seen because it didnt give off any glisten from the sun thanks to the over cast skies caused by the recent rains. When the man paused to glance at his face, He slowly guided it up the mans baggy pant leg, careful to keep it against the cloth and to not move it to much. The wire was so thin, any disturbance it made wouldnt be much, and the man wouldn't feel it, nor would the others see it. Just as he was about to continue the kunais movement to Sendos throat, he maneuvered it once more.

The thin metal moved violently, putting sharp splitting force on the flesh of his thigh, ripping through it and the main blood vessels beneath. It was a bleed out cut. He would be dry with in minutes, and useless in fewer. The wire instantly retracted as the mans own blood began to seep down his leg. It wasnt painful so the man didnt really notice or cry out. He knew he had been cut, but he didnt collapse to a knee or freak out. However, that had been the second time he had been harmed inexplicably.

What the hell.....

Sendo just glared at him with his eyes, a playful stare that let him know and understand his time here on earth was coming to an end. Realizing something was afoot, the other men put down the plates they were eating their meat off of and surrounded Sendo in his sitting positions, laughing and making jokes about how weak he was and how he was going to get it. They may have been skilled battle wise, but they were buffoons. He didnt really know them, but Sendo fucking hated them. All the while he just sat there, not moving a bit. He wasnt intimidated in the slightest. This would all be over soon enough, for them at least.

He had icy white hair which bounced the sunlight around the dim part of the forest they were in. He was about Shihouin’s size, he easily saw them fitting comfortably into the same clothes. His eyes were colored red as if he had seen not enough sleep in his life and he had two red dots between his eyebrows, the marking of his clan. The hair was long and flowed down to his back, and as he stood looking at Shihouin with a calloused expression a bone sword began to flow from the cracked, bloody palm in his hand. He wore generic Jounin attire colored navy blue with the insignia of Kirgakure placed firmly in the low center of the flak jacket, where his belly button would be. He stood tall and still, taking the time to prepare his move, his eyes never wandering into Shihouin’s own.

“You’re in this for the money I suppose. You know Konoha shinobi have money, and I currently have the most besides the Hokage who owns the village of course. I can easily split you four or five million and we can call this charade off. What do you say?” Shihouin’s timid words of negotiation flew out of his mouth and found no ears willing to listen. The Kaguya responded in a cold, grimey voice. It sounded like mold and things best left untouched. “Your head is easily worth more than that, seeing that you are indeed of the Uchiha clan. You are not skilled in genjutsu…” Shihouin’s heart sunk a bit. He knew that the Kaguya had glanced into his eyes just for a second, but not being so proficient with numbers of jutsu under his belt was killing him. He could work genjutsu just fine all right, but not having good ones available to was cramping his style. “Well, it seems that you are skilled, but you think I didn’t notice the slight drop in your chakra when you tried to clear out of the genjutsu? You wouldn’t assume that I didn’t see that?” Shihouin was backing up slightly, the remaining small shuriken nestled snugly in his hand. He was about 3m away, but the Kaguya had finished his bone sword. “Enough talk, capturing you will cause a great success for this mission.”

He took off towards Shihouin’s position, and with his Sharingan Shihouin could easily tell that this guy was more than skilled in taijutsu. He was skilled in such a way that attacking was out of the question, he had to focus on dodging and creating an opening some how…

A burst of speed almost caught him off guard as the Kaguya lifted his body into the air, holding a foot near the ground to bring him down if need be. His right hand, the one holding the bone sword had been brought across his lips, his elbow pointing directly towards Shihouin’s face. He let out a blinding slash, the semi tight sleeve on his shirt rustled in the air. Shihouin dodged below and raised his knee up, in for a kick. He kept both of his right hand in front of his chest, crossed with the shuriken as his left reached for a shuriken. The Kaguya would no doubt take advantage of this. Shihouin watched as kneaded chakra formed into a tip which later protruded through his flak jacket and poitined his way towards Shihouin’s foot.

Expecting this, Shihouin put his foot up higher and kicked the Kaguya firmly in the rib, throwing his weight and strength into that leg. The Kaguya was forced to take the kick, and being in mid air had not placed him in the best of situations. With his free foot, the Kaguya grounded himself as he was pushed back a little. With a free left hand the Kaguya aimed a swift elbow for Shihouin’s out stretched leg which had been under that corresponding arm. Aiming for his low ankle had put Shihouin in a hard spot. His center of gravity had now been thrown off. Shihouin was able to retract his leg by watching his movements, barely missing the bone tipped elbow by a hair.

Since he was going to fall back anyways, Shihouin curtly tucked himself into a tight ball, rolling back with as much speed as possible. After the second roll and about a 3m gain in distance, he pushed his legs down, which caused him to spring back up on both feet. Rushing him, Shihouin fought the Kaguya aiming several swipes with his knife, aiming for vitals with each one. His Sharingan eyes moved rapidly as his dexterous and flexible body weaved in and out of his attacks. Shihouin walked back as the Kgayua began to push forward. Each swipe required a certain level of intellect to dodge, simply because one wrong move would open up to the left hand which was waiting. As they continued to play cat and mouse, Shihouin backed up and felt roots under his feet, he was being pressed in a tree.

Time to fight back. Shihouin watched every move and found a small opening near the the Kaguya’s right lower rib cage. Dodging his sword swipe by ducking under, Shihouin took advantage of his right hand and dug the shuriken in that side, connecting the blow and embedding the small blade into his body to the point where it was no longer seen. Shihouin was about to pull back when he felt a thump hit his head, and the world around him go bright. The Kaguya grabbed his head with both hands, discarding his blade and brought Shihouin's head down and brought his knee up, kneeing him directly in the face, sending him stumbling back. He quickly continued, throwing a strong right towards his stomach, throwing his back directly into the tree as he buckled. His left hand grabbed Shihouins hair as he snatched his head and back down, opening Shihouin up to the staircase move. As his shoulders came down and his back formed an upward ramp, the Kaguya literally climbed up onto his back and flipped, throwing a hard heel directly into his back. Shihouin had taken every hit of the combo and rolled back, his hand gently fingering the Kaguya's back with something suspicious.

The Kaguya stood onec again, like a hawk looking over a dying snake, ready to strike. He took his time to savor the moment, no blades or tools needed. Underneath his skin he had been strengthening the bone in his body to form a spear with his bare hand. He walked closer and had a few parting words. “You don’t deserve those eyes, not after all the Uchiha has put the entire world through… You dare walk around flauting the Sharingan as if you were skilled with it. I will make sure you suffer in pain.” He aimed for his lung. He didn’t need to kill him but since he knew the body so well he knew that it would only take one finger to bust through his skin, through his rib and puncture one lung.

Yet there was this hot feeling near his back. A shockwave erupted and an explosive note that had been attached to him detonated, echoing across the forest like a large tree had cracked. The added force threw his balance off, and he grunted in the process as he tried to recover it. Meanwhile, Shihouin sprang to life, once again on both feet. With the shuriken in his hand, Shihouin threw it just across the Kaguya’s head and pulled on the wire which was reeling from some source on his body. Using chakra to control the direction of the wire, he spun the wire around a large tree which had been directly behind the Kaguya. Creating a Kage Bunshin with both hands, the shadow clone rushed his enemy and aimed a kick directly for the Adams apple, choking him as he stumbled back. Pulling on the wire in a tight grasp, he caught the winding shuriken which had circled several times around the tree, simultaneously performing hand signs.

He had no words for his enemy. Even though he had lost the taijutsu fight, an explosive note on his back and a kick to his throat, a weak area for anyone, would give him just enough time to finish the technique he had prepared. With the Kaguya bound by the wire, Shihouin jumped back from his position, only tightening the bind more. He was at least 7m away, in perfect range for this technique. A small ball of light crawled out of his mouth, creating a streak of light as it aimed directly for the Kaguya’s chest. If Sendo was looking, a bright light would escape from the forest, followed by a deep red burning explosion of fire, 10m wide and 5m high. Surely, the fight could be over, but Shihouin knew that his regeneration would keep him alive. Alive enough for Shihouin to finish him off with his Sharingan.

Spoiler:

A hand flew out and struck him in the back of his head, sending waves of his hair upward and about before falling neatly back in place. It had stung, the mans hand had been a hard and not at all womanly. There were several knobs of thickened skin from rough work being done to the palm. If he had to guess, the man was either a taijutsu or weaponry type of shinobi, anything to do with physical and the hand. He wasnt very big and as a shinobi the guy obviously wasnt going to just be doing grunt labor mens work all the time to build up that kind of texture. So he had two of him figured out now. He had since reassessed the ninja he had cuts stupidity and took him for a medical ninja. The guy was easily A rank, maybe even borderline S, and definitely jounin. He had the right outfit for it with the vest and blue shirt. No man of that level was stupid enough to let a cut like that go free, plus the blood was not gushing out at this point. He had healed it with out having touched it. As his head jutted forward, he only giggled that same old laugh. That cold laugh that was hollow, as though his vocal chords belonged in a puppets electronic voice box with out the background static. The group gave him a weird look and began laughing at him in a chorus of chuckles and jibes as their hands all took turns to fly out and smack him or shove him. They were trying to toy with him, knowing he didnt have a chance in the world.

this continued for about a minute or less and they slowly began to grow slightly bored with him. They all took a step back, deciding what exactly to do with him. They couldnt have him just sit here in the middle of the clearing with no bindings. But just what exactly to do with him, that was a troublesome matter. The one who had captured him and been hurt by Sendo twice already opened his mouth to speak but never got so much as a word out. Right at that moment, an explosion was heard slightly to the south, behind Sendo's back about 20 meters away, closer then he had expected his partners fight to be happening.All the heads of the kidnappers turned to look at the source of the noise and the blinding light caused by the fire the blast had created momentarily. They knew something was wrong, their associate didnt have fire jutsu or anything that produced fire.

This was all the moment he had been waiting for. He hadnt known when it would come, but he always recognized it. It was almost like an "A-Ha!" kind of moment, where everything just peaked and time suspended in the air for a brief second. It was like the groaning of a flood gate just before it burst. And just like thos kinds of tidal waters, Sendo rushed forward as fast he could, sitting one moment and being right in the proximity of the earth ninja the next, slamming his bony shoulder into his sternum. The vest saved it from breaking or even cracking, but the force like that would leave a nasty bruise. Not having muscles pad your body was good at times. Goof for him, bad for the other guy. Being so good at medical ninjutsu and ninjutsu, which had been obvious talents shown at this point, he was obviously no master of the body as those two things took such work of the mind. He didnt have enough time int he day to balance that out and that was just simple fact. The body of the ninja was thrown backward through the air, landing a few meters away.

Sendo was far from giving them a break to recollect themselves, all of them turning back to see what had happened as Sendo slid his foot in a semicircle along the ground, causing a small dust cloud to form around his ankle and hang behind him, floating along as he spun and faced them. He was going to follow suit of his partner. This wasnt going to be a killing blow, but oh boy was it going to hurt.

From his waist Sendo produced one of the four one gallon, glass containers of blood he always carried with him. After unclipping it, he threw it to where his own head had been a moment ago where the men had so foolishly circled around. When it hit the spot, just as they realized the captive was mobile and now a threat again, the handsign was made, and the explosive tag inside went off. It didnt have the power as the one Shiounin had just used, because this tags power was all used up in causing the glass to shatter, and carrying the blood with in the shock wave it produced out in all angles.

The blood splattered out and found its mark on all of them, too quick and too close to avoid. Small glass shards were mixed with the red liquid, cutting their skin as well when the acid began eating away at their flesh. Sendo was positioned at the same distance, but amazingly, all the blood that came in his direction fell to the ground and sizzled to a harmless pulp at his feet before it touched him. His own weapon could not harm him, no way. He knew it would only hurt them, but it would keep them down for a few minutes at least as they adjusted to the intense pain that was not going to cease even after removing the acid. The taijutsu user was estimated to recover first for he woudl undoubtedly have more stamina.

Suddenly he was flown to the side as a pillar of earth came from seemingly no where and hit him in the side of the head, knocking him clean off his feet and making him dizzy for a second. He had spent one moment too long watching the blood do its work on the others. The jounin had recovered from the blow to his chest quickly, and finished his jutsu right as Sendo had set off his own blast. Now it was his own turn to tumble on the ground before sliding to a halt as he slid up on one knee, almost in a bowing type fashion. He looked around, the ninja was gone, undoubtedly underground. There was sure to be a hole somewhere. However, the ninja now had him effectively surrounded. This was just like his last fight yesterday with the senjuu monk who battled him on top of wood, only this was much more of a surrounding effect, and his previous methods wouldnt work in this case. The man would probably stay underground and attack with ninjutsu and not resurface so that he wouldnt risk getting hurt by Sendo again. It was a good strategy, and at the moment, He couldnt think of a way to combat it. Plus he had four others to deal with.

As if right on cue, the guy who had slapped him earlier was, as expected, the first to recover. Wiping a the last of the burning liquid off of him by rolling on the grass, getting most but not all of it off, he stood up and glared at Sendo. He charged forward, faking a punch towards his head. Sendo stood up and pivoted to the right but was caught with a heel hook that hit him in the back, launching him forward where a fist was waiting, slamming into his stomach, sending him back again, sliding along the ground for a good two meters before he could flip up and stand, facing the opponent again.

Not so shockingly, he had been hurt, but nothing was yet broken. He hid it well though, his shit eating grin still ruling his face and his hands back in his pockets like this wasnt even serious, even though it was really starting to heat up. He needed to do something quick, but he was really eager to make this one pay for smacking the back of his head,. He absolutely hated that. He glared the man in the eye as he wondered how Shiounin was doing against his opponent.

Through the smoke, the telltale signs of the strength of an A rank jounin began to slowly rise. The ninja in front of him was none other than a skilled Kaguya, and fit his rank perfectly. Small sounds of bones popping and fibers snapping back together creaked and popped throughout the haze of smoke as the cool wind pushed it away from the fight scene. Under its screen, Shihouin had took the advantage to create and prepare a set of moves that the Jounin would not be able to see or sense due to him being cooked by his Sun technique. Hopefully, things would stay that way and Shihouin could continue the battle with ease.

The loose charred fabric hung loose from the Jounin’s body, exposing a reddened burnt chest that was slowly forming back together. The face and upper body had received most of the burning, but the marks were slowly fading as the damage began to reverse. A light, bright green chakra shrouded his body in a small cloak. Shihouin watched with two tomoes in his eyes. Of course the fight wasn’t going to be this easy. “You definitely live up to your name, a mistake that I will not repeat again.” Shihouin responded quickly. “Yeah, you totally underestimated me yet look at you here, all bound up by my wire.” Shihouin pulled on the metal wire, which had easily survived the fire, the Jounin was still bound. “You’re a bit cocky if you ask me.” A callous response crept back. “Tell me what you want and what you’re up to.” Shihouin’s eyes turned back to three tomoe to show seriousness.

At that point the A Rank Jounin had shown something he had never seen before. He stared directly into his eyes and released a power unlike ever. A killing intent was what it was called. Since he was being conservative with his chakra, he had plenty to relase. Winds and debris picked up around his body as his icy white hair flung out and shook around. Leaves and loose branches bent back under the weight of the killing intent he was leaking out of his body, and the massive power of it caused dirt to push out from underneath him. His body healed back together, quicker now under the rapid reponse of more chakra. Once again, the small bones appeared on his body, running down like sharp saw, breaking the wire with ease. He stepped eagerly towards Shihouin.

Shihouin pulled back into defensive position and crossed both arms into an X across his highchest. With a random burst of speed, his Sharingan could barely keep up as chakra curled out of the body into a white aura which tingled like electricity around the Kaguya’s body. In an instant he had traveled towards Shihouin, in mid punch appearing directly in front of him. With no way to react even though he had seen it coming from a mile off, Shihouin took the punch and flew back into a tree.

Boy did he underestimate his strength, which had easily doubled. Shihouin’s back near cracked as it split the weak tree in half, crumblinging to the wayside as he lay like a lifeless pulp near the broken stump. The Kaguya raced towards his position kicking him in the face, breaking his jaw in the process. Not finished, he reared his hands above his head and brought them down swiftly over his collarbones, snapping each of them. There was no way he’d win now. Shihouin was out of options. As a final blow, the Kaguya held a bone sword, a newly formed one in the palm of his hand as he looked down on his opponent with no pity. Without a hesitant move, he dug the sword deeply in Shihouin’s lung, pressing it outside of his back and breaking a rib in the process. Crying out in pain, Shihouin slumped over and began to breath heavy.

Yet fatigue began to settle in the Kaguya’s body. At first he had thought that he wasted too much chakra, but this felt different. There was a piercing feeling in his lungs, pain in his jaw and a wicked sharp pain emitting from his arms, chest, back and collar bones. He stopped to look at his body and realized that the scenery had changed, that he was bound by a wire and Shihouin was fine perched up on a branch not too far from him. His body began to slump, still hung up by the wires. His eyes lazily looked over to Shihouin confusion. Shihouin smirked with no words, it was obvious what had happened.

Pressing his hands together he quickly performed a summoning technique, a cloud of smoke giving birth to a lion in the process. It wasn’t an adult one, a C rank one to conserve chakra since he’d wasted a good amount. Communicating through their secret way, the lion took up post in front of the Jounin, watching with every move. Shihouin on the other hand took another over watch position and moved through the forest with silnce and stealth. He would watch from a far and see how Sendo was doing since he’d only had one opponent and Sendo easily had many more. Watching a chakra signature through the ground, he made sure he noted the chakra position of the Lord and the activity around it. There was something strange, a lesser chakra signature which seemed to be deeper underground and a higher one more closer to their position. The clone he had sent was traveling underground as quickly as possible, and would deal with the situation soon. While he watched, Shihouin made sure he had tools ready to offer support if Sendo should need it, and focused his body and moves, trying to recollect as much chakra as possible.

Sendo cocked his head to the side with his playful grin intact, much to the annoyance of his now opponent. Still the Earth ninjutsu user had not come back to the surface or made any move to strike. He was certain of what was going on at this point. There was no reason for him to not take advantage of the great position he had put himself in, because he had the perfect opportunity to unload on Sendo and potentially kill him. He was going to guard the Lord, he was sure of it. He had a feeling he had been taken underground, because that would make sense. The only problem here now was, he had no way of going underground except with a shovel, which even if he did have one, would have proven to be way too slow for this situation.

He was thankful though. Honestly, with this guy so obviously specialized in Taijutsu, he could probably take a Jounin in hand to hand combat, despite his lower B ranking. This was because he probably lacked in all other aresa of the ninja arts. Otherwise Taijutsu was usually supplementary, but so far the guy had done a pretty good job of pounding Sendo, hard. The punches still hurt him, but he had been able to turn his body enough to take the punches with out letting anything break, and that was the important part. Having internal damage for him was dangerous as he too could be eaten away by the acidic fluid that ran through his veins. He could curve that by focusing on keeping the blood along its normal course, but that would drain his chakra as well as his concentration.

Is that all the harder you can punch bitch

The man he was facing quickly turned angry at the snide comments of Sendo. He had really been trying to crush his bones, yet somehow his frial body had somehow survived the attacks. The bastard was tricky that was for sure. However, he wasnt very fast, and at the distance they were at, they could easily catch the runt and pummel him again, only this time he wouldnt let the kid get out of the range of his fists. With out any hesitation, he began forward, but paused a moment later as a high pitched poof went off behind him. Sendo was caught off gaurd as well, and they both looked the same direction back at the other fallen three.

Two of the ninja were on their feet, but looking very raggedy as the acidic blood had taken its toll on the both of them. A small smoke cloud dissapated where the third had been. The stunt was obvous, and Sendo was impressed hed been able to sustain it for that long.

Shadow clone huh? He pulled off that replacement trick pretty fast

As if right on cue, several clones of the once fallen man poofed into existence in the clearing, the blue hair and yellowish eyes covering the entire expanse of the area and shielding his view of the other three whom took the opportunity to slip out and into the trees unbeknown to Sendo, who oddly enough, hadnt dropped his aloof act yet, and was continuing to enjoy the seriousness of his opponents and the aggravation his playful nature was undoubtedly causing them. It just so happened that he had a technique for just such occasions, but preparing it when he was so totally surrounded was going to take a minute. There was no way to really hide it etiher, so he wasnt going to try.

The first ring that was around him about 4 meters out in an almost perfect circle leaped at him at roughly the same time. Sendo leaped as they did, only his trajectory carried him straight up, he kicked off the head of one of the clones to get some more air and then turned back in a spining fashion to look straight back down on them, about ten feet in the air. As he had spun, he had unhooked the second of four blood vials and whipped it around, letting it fly up behind his back, easily gaining another 7 feet. He landed back on the ground as more clones began to leap at him, landing multiple punches as his face continued to smile.

Wipe.......That........Smirk....Off....Of....Your.....FACE!

The clones each called out a separate part of the sentence as their fists continued to bring the pain from multiple blows to his face and upper body. he would have fallen to the ground but the stream of punches were so forceful and constant they kept his body up. He wasnt as strong as the previous taijutusu user, so they didnt break or crush anything, btu they did sting like hell. This new opponent was a lot faster and agile. It didnt matter, by the time they had done any real damage, all the while with Sendo begining to chuckle as his hand signs were complete which the blue haired clones had foolishly ignored. The jutsu activated as Sendo called out the name of the technique, actually mixing two separate ones into a single deadly blow that would wipe out all of these clones at the same time.

Rich Red Death Rain

The voice that called it out also broke out into ear shattering, almost squelching laughter that could pierce through a steel wall as he said each word. The sentence mixed with violence and malice, only amplified by the cold words that were mixed in with the noise. The vial he had previously launched in the air exploded like the first one he had used, and the blood splattered in all directions, however, iit took a sharp and sickening turn from there. The blood spread out, not thining like butter, but rather growing thicker and more quantified. The blood was replicating as the cells split at an extremely rapid pace, creating more then could fill several human bodies, blocking out the sun as a floating lake of blood filled the sky of the clearing. All the clones stopped and looked up just as hell began to litteraly rain down upon them.

For the next moments, only death would find them all. As the highly corrosive and rich red liquid dripped on each clone, they quickly dissapered, unable to remain constant after being damaged by the arcane barrage. Sendo watched as the rain created from his onw life force, causing such widespread destruction, leaving its scar on the earth even where it hit, killing the grass and bugs. It would be a year or so before this spot would heal completley from this attack. Before long, all the clones were gone. When this thret was aout of the way, there was still blood in the sky and plenty of it on the ground.

Sendo held out his arms like a holy man receiving a message from god and called upon his charka again to bring all the blood in the area to him. It flowed like the river of liquid it was and began to swirl around him and then settling in an ooze like formation around him, looking almost like an unorthodox defense with plenty of openings. Any fool would clearly see that it wouldnt take much for it to become something more the minute Sendo wished it. He had a cocky look on his face. He was now armed to the teeth and probably had the biggest advantage here besides numbers. He became very quizical and his smile finally dropped an inch as he heard four voices call out in unison.

Four Violet Flames Battle Encampment
Four Violet Flames Battle Encampment
Four Violet Flames Battle Encampment
Four Violet Flames Battle Encampment

His entire face dropped as suddenly purple light forming four walls shimmered to life around the area, just barely visible through the trees. He looked up and saw the same light above him. he could see through it, but it was obvoius it was there, as if it were thin gas cloud. The only way out it seemed was below but....

You cant run from me now can you asshole. No doubt your associate is either dead or damn near it. No one can take on that Kaguya and live to brag about it.

The voice came from behind him, Sendo looked over his shoulder to see the Erath ninja back on the ground in a battle ready stance, ready to get the fight started. He casually turned on his foot yet again so that his whole body was facing him, large bits obscured and seen variably thorugh and by the blood circling him, rotating in itself to keep it from hardening.

Your friends wasted their time. I had no intention of leaving her till every last one of you were dead. His confidence was back, only stunned by the trapping technique for a second, and then he was back to his normal self. His hands were out of his pockets now though and held ready at his side. His feet were aligned for quick reaction. He was finallyl starting to get a little serious. Took you bastards long enough to get me interesteed.

Jutsu Used

Spoiler:

Not a lot of chakra was recollected, maybe enough to go around until the end of this battle, but definitely more than Shihouin had started with. He looked out from a perfect over watch position, down at Sendo who was battling with his life on the line. There were easily opponents down there who out ranked him or came close, all with a set of skills focused around areas that would normally put any other B Rank Chuunin at a huge disadvantage. Through the craziness and sadistic methods and thoughts which he displayed with ease, he seemed to be taking this battle well enough.

His studies in ninjutsu and other general techniques, even Konoha’s past had not been for naught. The days and hours he spent as a younger child preparing to be a ninja took him back into ancient history of Konohagakure, centuries and years ago when things were different. Different in such that the Leaf Country in the past appeared to be more village-esque versus the metropolitan style of architecture that Konohagakure wore today. Ninja history told the battle of the Sandaime Hokage versus his own student, one of the three legendary Sannin of the village. A battle was waged on epic proportions, mastery over ninjutsu and chakra itself was a feat for all eyes to see. More important to Shihouin however when digging around for information was the tactics, strategies and techniques used by both parties to fight. Remembering the barrier ninjutsu was easy, and the recollection of the author’s well written illustration provided him with crucial information, information which would be set into motion to free his comrade.

The purple configuration of chakra molded into the technique formed into existence around his comrade spelled out certain victory for their enemies. The technique they used couldn’t be breached from the outside in, seeing that merely coming in contact with the purple barrier walls set the target a flame, punishing them with death by fire. There was no way he could breach it from the outside. With a careful one tomoe eye, he watched the chakra flow from the technique, emitting from all of the users inside of the barrier. They must have had second hand knowledge of the technique, nothing concrete and stable. The technique required the operation of specifically skilled barrier ninja which could create the barrier in different types of ways, and not just the usual formation. The skilled squad would have to carry such amount of expertise with them that would allow them to employ an extra layer of barrier around their own selves, since the weak point to the technique was obviously the people casting it. This would be their folly.

Shihouin backed both feet up slightly off the perch he was on, inching back while putting his hands together to perform a specific set of seals. Once performed he continued to quickly inch his way back until he had fallen completely off the branch, down to the depths of the ground below. With a display of dexterity and bodily control, Shihouin managed to land softly, cushioning his fall by bending his knees and merely touching the ground with an outstretched right hand. He crouched there, senses alert and body ready.

Placing his hand on the ground, Sendo would soon notice that help was arriving sooner than later. A technique used to halt opponent movements and induce a level surprise as well. The ground barely moved underneath their feet, and the grass didn’t break at all. However, slowly but surely, hands of earth began to work their way up out of the ground, stealthily approaching the ankles and shins of their targets. There were at least two hands per target, and once in range they all quickly clamped down and began to move slowly, in an attempt to drag their opponents away from Sendo at a slow rate. Forcing them to move was crucial to his plan, since it would easily allow him to force his opponents to let go of the immobility required to perform the technique. Of course Sendo would take this advantage as soon as he noticed it, which would easily create an opening for him to attack.

Luckily the battle was moving on as he thought it would progress, but an unnerving feeling edged Shihouin in the back of his mind, forcing him to take a quick look back. In the distance he could still see the chakra signature of the lion and the Kaguya opponent, but for some reason he didn’t feel as if the Kaguya was just done yet. Truthfully the battle had been too easy up to this point, but Shihouin didn’t care for that. The Kaguya could have been fatigued from before, who knows? Even though he knew that something was up, it pleased his mind to hopefully think that it was over with him, and they could focus on dealing with the objective. Meanwhile, the bunshin tracked the chakra signatures of the lord from underneath, coming up to a perfectly dug tunnel which had a door to it. Since it was low on chakra, easier tactics couldn’t be deployed here, and dealing with it was important. Resorting to simple tactics was his only hope, and maybe this would work. He knew about the real Lord being on the other side, so simple tactics for a shot out at information would be its best.

The henge technique allowed him to turn into the Kaguya with ease, in perfect likeness of his image. Shihouin took a breath and collected all of the memories, muscle patterns and voice of the Kaguya, to form it into one false act. With a simple hand he pushed on the door, opening it up to a room with a ninja on the side of the door, who obviously was the Kage Bunshin of the Earth user from above. The false copy of the Lord sat bound in chains and rope, drugged up and knocked out, laid out in a raggedy mat in the center of the earthen room. The doton user flashed a look at Shihouin glancing at him before speaking in a rugged tone of voice, a sound which matched his ninjutsu type. “You get that other ninja?” Shihouin tried to remain as callous as possible, not paying much attention to him. “No… Since we have the advantage in numbers he escaped and probably called for backup.” The Doton user stood up from his squatting position and looked at him with slight anger. “You’re one of the fastest out of Kiri… Why didn’t you follow him, we don’t need more ninja out here if we want to get the ransom money!” Shihouin turned away from him and headed towards the other door. “You have earth ninjutsu strong enough to block them off. Coupled with your skill you can offer a great defense while I guard the Lord down here. In this space, my bone manipulation and taijutsu skill easily have the advantage. There is nowhere to run.” The Doton user skeptically gazed at him. “I’ve got a single question for you, even though that’s a good idea.” Shihouin looked at him as well as he possibly could, a look which implied for him to go ahead and ask. “Your taijutsu style conserves chakra, I can easily sense you’re at 50% or less. If the other ninja ran away, why is your chakra so low?”

And Shihouin could not answer.

Spoiler:

Why are you even bothering, your movements have been restricted and its been made clear that Im higher qualified as a Ninja then you are. Ive never seen someone with your particular skill set, or even heard about it, thats the only reason you've had the minute success against us so far. Your friend is dead by now. Your in an impossible situation with impossible odds. Give up.

Sendo was unsure as to why this man was talking to him in this way. He had several theories though. Perhaps this opponnet had a bit of fear instilled in him after seeing what Sendo could do and how seemingly easy it had been to take them on so far, granted it had taken its toll but he was doing his best at not showing it. Perhaps he was actually a kind man put in a bad situation and didnt actually want to hurt anyone. The most prominent one that stuck out to him however, was that he wanted more money, and given Sendos display of skill thus far, maybe the man assumed he could not defeat Sendo with out killing him. For now he only continued to peer at him behind the blood.

He was analyzing and waiting. He was not about to make the foolish mistake of making the first move, not with the opponent surrounded by his weapon. He could attack at any time and feel comfortable about not leaving any openings that would be to obvious or critical. Nor would he be open for long. Sendo would have to think fast and act even faster in order to take this guy out. There was no longer time to try to be creativve and witty about this. He had to just simply, do it. Otherwise he was going to die. There was no way he could over power this guy, he was going to have to outsmart him.

Noticing that Sendo still had not moved or made any indication that he was going to just "give up" as it had been so bluntly labeled, the earth ninja spoke once again. Fine, but you brought this on yourself boy He swung his arms in a martial arts fashion, centering himself both in focu and in stance, preparing for battle. Sendo kept his position. He was battle ready, but his stance was anything but professional. he didnt need it to be or care to waste his time on going through the annoying steps when he wasnt planning on using taijutsu. There was no doubt this was going to be a ninjutus battle, as that was both mens area of expertise. The two had subtle advantages over the other. There was no doubt Sendo was weaker in his elemental mastery, but his acidic blood was perfect against earth. All the other four elements, wind, water, lightning, and fire, could easliiy pass through his blood and remian ultimately unaffected unless it also held chakra strong enoguh to cunter the technique. Given the rooted in the physical realm nature of earth however, his acid easily disolved away the earth, chakra playing a much smaller role here.

Suddenly the walls of the prison shut down all at once, the sky was visible as the dark grey colud rather then the UV like layer that had tainted it earlier. Sendo began to laugh in the same way he had before but with more control this time. It seems it was my comrade who killed yours and not vice versa after all. Hes an Uchiha you know. They dont fall so easily. He didnt know if Shiounin had taken out the four, but he had at least disrupted their jutsu and after using the technique for any length of time, they were all sure to be worn out. Especially after two of them had already engaged in battle with Sendo, one of them creating several clones and was probably approaching ground 0. The kidnapper cringed as he realized that the tides had changed in a matter of seconds. The kaguya was down, and the other four were useless. Now it seemed to be just him and the other earth ninja down below who was guarding the lord. They had quickly narrowed it down from a 6 on two fight, to an evenly matched in numbers, 2 on 2 battle. Their best fighter had been taken out, but thten again, these two were both earth users, and this was their best battle setting. Also with the position of the lord, they still had the trump card. Threatening the life of the lord would be a great asset later on.

Still Sendo waited patiently. this was going to be a stand off for a little while longer. Or so he had thought. With out warning, several pilars of earth, very close together and slightly thin erupted around him and formed a dome cage around him. The blood ninja suddenly realized he had blocked his own view of the persons hands and had missed the initiation of the jutsu. He had screwed himself there, but getting out of this cage would prove no such issue. He simpley manipulated his blood to spread out in an almost shockwave fashion like when a rock is thrown into water and ripples go out in all directions. The blood easily ate through the bars, and threw the top to the side so it wouldnt fall on Sendo as a result. However, the looming shdaow didtnt go away.

With out even thinking about it, Sendo jumped backwards as fast as he could, barely missing being flattened by the giant, mishapen ball of earth that the opponent had prepared while he was busy getting rid of the cage. The cage had been used in anticipation that Sendo would uses his blood to get him out, leaving him distracted and open, perfect for an above crushing assault. Though he had missed the center, he had not avoided it entirely. His body wasnt fast enough. He got clipped by the side of the earthy boulder and got tossed back, which had been another planned feature of the earth ninjas trap. The ground opened up beneath where he would have landed, instead causing him to fall down for about 20 meters before hitting a level area and the hole above him closing up. He hadnt noticed the light that twas in this room from below because he had been looking up waiting for the ninja to attack him again. He looked to the right and saw the lord, unconcoius and tied up in the corner. His mouth was bleeding and he could see deformities in his ribs. Sendo would need to conserve more chakra then he had so far so he could heal him later as the mission had required.

He looked over to his left and saw not one, but TWO ninja standing there talking, and he heard every word of their conversation. All the while he was trying to figure out why his opponent had put him right next to the lord, which he had obviously been after this whole time. Why would he compromise their own position like that. Sendo figured out fast that this was the bone ninja that Shiounin had faced. Yet if he was here, saying that his comrade had run, how had the cell been taken out. He knew the answer of course, this was Shiounin, and he was henged. However, he picked up that he was certain this other guy was an earth user as well. It clicked in an instant.

They put him next to the lord so that he couldnt attack as freely, so he would have to worry about the lords safety as well. Plus now he didnt have the blood he had earlier. He could get to it, or rather, bring it to him, but that would take to long now. Plus now he had two ninja who could easily crush him with all the earth around them. This was a hell of a predicament. At least Shiounin was here now to help him. Then he realized with the time difference, the one that had taken the barrier and the one before him, were not the same. Shiounin had used a clone. He didnt no which was which, but he hoped this one he was seeing now was the real deal, and if not, that the real one would show up in the next few seconds, for right then the other earth ninja who had thrown him down here appeared from the cealing landing between Sendo and the lord.

Give it up Uchiha, we know its not the Kaguya, someone just took out the other four, and your story doesnt match. Now, your both going to die nice and quietly got it. We wouldnt want to wake and frighten the politician now would we.

Sendos eyes suddenly became glazed. He no longer cared about the mission. The severity of the situation had pushed his brain to go on overload, and his instincts were now running supreme, the killer intent that made him truly dangerous. This earth ninja had seen nothing yet. Even though he was at the disadvantage, there was no doubt in his eyes, only the motivation of spilling the blood of both of these incompetent assholes. It was now up to Shionin to ensure the lords safety, and not only from the captors, but from Sendo as well.

Fear, you know NOTHING of fear you son of a bitch.

----------------------------------
Jutsu

Spoiler:

Deep down in the basement trouble was brewing a storm that Shihouin could not out run. The odd seconds lingered by, they stood there for about two seconds eyeing each other and none of them moved. A muscle tingled at the lip of the Doton user, pulling his face into a sly, shrewd grin which mocked Shihouin’s failed attempt for deception. In the back of his mind he sighed mentally, and he realized that he should have gone with the other plan, simply staring the user down into submission with his Sharingan eye, ignoring the chakra that he was losing at a fast rate due to the shadow clone.

A pasty predicament stuck to Shihouin’s bones, and out of nowhere he dropped the henge, light ribbons of smoke dissipated around his body as he revealed his true form. He was at the disadvantage for the most part since Doton had been a recessive of his, and he knew that his opponent would force him to run from his attacks. “Give it up Uchiha, we know it’s not the Kaguya, someone just took out the other four, and your story doesn’t match. Now, you’re both going to die nice and quietly got it. We wouldn’t want to wake and frighten the politician now would we.”

Shihouin pushed for the door, pushing his way through its raggedy earthen build. On the other side was a small candle which held the real lord, in the flesh. The chakra signatures from this one were low, civilian level, and constantly diminishing as Shihouin appeared, fear forcing him into greater levels of fatigue. Shihouin wasted no time, as a Kage Bunshin it was crucial he survive without getting hit. Luckily for him the Lord was a pasty old man, skinny and frail as if all the bones in his body would rattle like wind chimes if he was shaken enough. Putting his hands together for his own custom technique, he completed the jutsu and grabbed the Lord and immediately ducked down into the earth.

The real body was only a few meters away, and making it there was quick at that, once he had gotten close enough, around 20m from his previous target, the Kage Bunshin rose up from the ground with the Lord, placing him on the ground as he dissipated, covered behind the trees Shihouin had been under for stealth. He was now caught in a predicament. The objective of the mission was to secure the Lord… He could leave with him now, and with the chakra he had gotten back from the Kage Bunshin he could definitely hold off and make it. Shihouin had not been idle this entire time while his clone was dealing with the underground situation, so the number of traps he had step up in that mean time would allow him an easy escape.

But he was a Leaf ninja, and therefore even if he didn’t know the sadistic partner he had been with on this mission, there was no way he could leave him. Shihouin mulled over the thought for no more than half a second. Whistling sharply, Shihouin called the lion from his previous position to watch over the lord instead of the Kaguya who still seemed to be out of the commission… The lion knew what to do, no words necessary, it wrapped its tail safely around the Lord and began to pull him away at a rate that couldn’t be described as slow or fast, but definitely away from all of their enemies.

Dealing with their enemies seemed to put them in a situation where they had little time to react. Shihouin had to get back into the battle. Quickly crawling down through the tunnel he had made before, he ended up back where his clone had been, moving through the new formed cave that they were both trapped in. Shihouin moved towards the edge of the cave forming hand signs, keeping his eyes on Sendo. He could easily pass through earthen walls, but he wondered how Sendo would get out.

Upon Sendos own arrival, the Uchiha quickly made his own leave, thus he was now alone with not one but two earth users in a small underground cavern. Now this was ultimately, a shitty place to be in just about every aspect you could think of. Still, Sendo stood there, eying the one he had been focused on this entire time, the man who had trapped him and evaded nearly all of his attempts to kill him. The guy who had with ease landed more then one combo on him and then trapped him down here where he was virtually helpless. Up to this point, Sendo had more or less been his play thing. His elemental techniques just worked too well in conjunction with one another for him to even hope to match him. Sendo was weaker, that much was certain, and now he just had to start being crafty. He had injured the man secretly twice. One of those times it had been a death move, but had been no worry because the man was also a medical ninja and was able to heal it up in no time as the wound wasnt a complex or severe one in that aspect of it.

Not very long after the Uchiha had disappeared, the lord disappeared as well, right out of sight. It was obvious that Shiounin had done the trick. The one he had been dealing with before Sendo' sudden and forced drop in jumped straight up and disappeared in the earth above, apparently tunneling back up to the surface. For what reasons were uncertain. Sendo kept his eyes on the medical ninja, not even caring about the other. Shiounin could deal with him he was sure of it. Especially since he had taken that Kaguya all by himself. Thats when he heard it, the static sound of a radio coming from the red hair of the man in front of him. Sendo pinpointed it instantly, they were using communication devices. It was muffled, but he barely picked out what was said.

Get out of the cave, that brat in the cage dies now

With out even a slight hesitation, the other earth ninja ducked back into the dirt below him, vacating before Sendo had a chance to call out after him. He screamed in a demonic squelch which echoed off of the walls of the cave and even up through the hole that had brought him down here in the first place. Up top, the earth shinobi that had stalled Shiounin heard the sound and shuddered, only momentarily stopping him before he thrust his palm on the ground and called out the technique.

Earth Release: Tearing Earth Turning Palm

Back in the cave, the earth began to rumble and shake. Sendo looked all around him for any signs of anything, but found no one or any clues. Suddenly all the rock began to slide inward at a rapidly increasing rate. He had no out. He was going to get smashed. there was no blood, and he couldnt make enough to help him in this situation fast enough.

There was only one thing that could save him. The thing that made his already unimpressive speed even slower, the chains around his waist. The rocks and boulders churning around him in a tornado of rock and earth were all of larger size and clumps, so this could work. Thats when he noticed that the cave was actually a naturally cubbyhole in the middle of the earth. That meant there was water nearby. It was going to take a serious amount of charka, but he could do this. The water he knew would be just below where he was standing and with the churning of the rock, ti would be so easy to get to.

Sousui no Jutsu

He watched, pleased as a layer of water rose up from the rocks almost like mini geysers or something, and all came towards him, landing on his body, covering him on all sides like a somewhat effective suit of armor. But this wasnt going to be enough. To finish his defense, he raised both his arms, and all three of the chains at his waist began to shoot straight out then curve around him, forming a ball around him like the path of electrons around an atom. It was an imperfect defense, but the chains backed with his chakra would keep out the larger rubble which was the truly dangerous part, and the rest would be held at bay by his water armor.

It all worked out, the earth was suffocatingly close and it was difficult to breathe, but the chains and water did its job. As the opponents jutsu came to a close and he was no doubt presumed to be dead, Sendo let loose of the energy draining water, but not the chains. He would use the chains to push away the rock and clear himself a way back up to the hole that he had been cast down here in which had been foolishly left open, and then he could easily use the chains to pull himself up the hole with no physical effort on his part.

-Back on the surface-

Both of the earth manipulators stood facing each other about three feet apart, discussing what to do.

Theres no doubt the kid is dead, he had no way of being able to escape that, he wasnt of high enough skill and your trap was ingenious.

In truth I had wanted to kill him myself, but since your the one making the payment, I guess I didnt have a choice did I. There was no way that kid was more then a Chunin, but he thought he could take me on, let alone the other four. Ill give him props, he did good. The other four were injured quickly, and no doubt there laying in their positions when they initiated that barrier technique No doubt their all passed out from chakra loss.

Yes you all did your parts well. You took care of that one kid like a pro. Cant say the same for that Kaguya. Ill cut him some slack just cuz it as an Uchiha but still. He surely out ranked the kid. Im not going to mourn his death if he cant even hold his rank.

Youd be wasting your time anyway, Im not fuckin dead yet assholes.

From the left of the two ninja, the Kaguya reappeared and walked intot he clearing, he was badly injured and had a limp in his step, but he was alive. He was in no position to fight in all honesty, but his eyes looked extremely pissed off. It was clear he wasnt finished yet, even though further altercation, even if he did manage to kill of any opponent, would land him with a badly injured body and he probably wouldnt make it back to his village for medical treatment if he continued.

Well, well, I cant say you havent looked better. Glad your alive though. So far we have zero casu....

Suddenly the supposed leader of the groups eyes popped open wide as searing pain entered his body from behind, None of them had seen it coming as Sendo had perched himself perfectly behind the target so the Earth user wouldnt see him and the Kaguya, who he assumed was the real one this time, was to out of it to use his peripherals. He wouldnt be focused again till he was fighting someone and had a reason. His body simply couldnt handle it unless his adrenaline kicked in.

Sendo jerked the chains back which had since circled his arm, all three of them, and brought the body they had sunk into with them. The leader of the whole thing landed right next to him, kicking up dust as his already dead body crumpled. The chains retracted, and the reason behind the quick death was revealed. Attached to each end of the chains was the vital organ they had pierced. So much damage in quick succession left the victim with no chance in the world. On one was his liver, the other held a chunk of his lung wrapped like a lasso, and finally, pierced right through the middle was the still faintly beating heart. The others dropped off the chains and slid to the ground ontop of the blood soaked back of their once carrier. The heart came positioned right in front of Sendo who proceeded to pull it of the end with his hand and hold it right in front of his face.

Make that one casualty

His hand closed faster then the other too could track, The organ imploded on itself, sending squirts of blood and bodily fluid in all directions for a short meter. There was a sickening squish sound as all the slimy bits crumpled and slid against each other under the force of his palm and fingers. Some of the blood splattered on his face, but Sendo only licked his lips and continued smiling. He didnt hold the same glazed out of it look as before, but now he had the devils stare. Like the calm of an impending doom. His gaze met the other earth user who had initially captured him, and for some reason, he was unable to blink away or advert the stare.. The intent to kill this kid had, no the need, and to spill blood and ultimately maim his victims was preposterous. he had used acid, and now was ripping apart someone from the inside out with metal chains. He used his own blood and seemed to get even happier every time he saw more of it. He was crafty, he was resourceful, and obviously capable of surviving an impossible situation. What he was he was not sure, but he had to die. If Konoha had shinobi like this, he hated to think what they were capable of at a stronger level.

Sendo laughed quietly, and it was about the most ghastly sound in the world. To most he would seem entirely evil, ready to take out even his closest friend for the sake of causing more blood shed. It was soft, but it was clearly audible. Honestly, he cared for nothing and no one, just like back in the cave, but now he had his wits about him. It was impossible to describe how dangerous someone in this state was, because they would do anything to get at their next kill. Both the Kaguya and the earth ninja stood transfixed, unable to decided if they should cut their losses and go or finish the job and take this kid out, or even if they could. The way this boy acted left them uncertain and unwilling to make a decision, for fear it would be the wrong one. The ever looming fear of the unknown was upon them now, and they were lost for words.

-----------------------
Jutsu Used

Spoiler:

Amidst the trouble they had been shrouded in on this mission Shihouin had found some solitude. His Sharingan showed him all sorts of information, they were like math eyes, he could calculate so much just by opening them and seeing things. He could tell how low or high someone’s chakra signature was and he could read the muscle movements of a person, those fragile, little, slight sets of tension that raced power across their entire body. He had that kind of intuition for the Sharingan as well, and sometimes with it off he could still see, well imagine the next move his opponent would make in his head. Intuition like that was rare, but Shihouin had it. As clairvoyant as his eyes were he could not really see what was going to happen next in life no matter what, but he did know that Sendo had the situation under control, for the most part.

Regardless of the arduous battle that they faced the mission still required something from the both of them that they had barely achieved, on this A Rank mission the objective wasn’t yet fully completed it, though partially was. Either way, Shihouin was going to complete it first and worry about Sendo later. Trapped in the craggy cave walls that encircled him, he had an advantage here since he could ultimately save on chakra. Jutsu, chakra and mind had all been prepared to move and the moment the cave walls came up to surround him, Shihouin backed into the earthen walls and simply passed through them without disturbing the structure of the cave at all. Of course in the process of doing that he had left behind his comrade, but he figured that things would be fine. The unbelievable about of skill put pressure on Sendo’s opponents, and the rare battle talent he carried combined with the sadistic battle personality made him an force that would bring wary to anyone who faced him. He had this.

Shihouin’s movement through the cave wall and, combined with a quick flash of his one tomoe put him in an advantageous point stealth wise, steering clear of any chakra signatures. He remained mobile, turning off his Sharingan and walking slowly to collect as much silence as possible, sticking to the bases of looming shadows from trees which would allow him to move undetected through the forest and give him cover if he wanted to attack. He had put all of the mental effort he could cram into his senses and chakra sensing capabilities. His opponents were a mere hop away from master sensors, but at his level he at least had control of a 3-5m radius around him. He wouldn’t be snuck up on so easily.

His whistle from long ago had brought him another friend to the battle, a fully grown lion. Being a lion trained for the aid of shinobi, the grizzly black and deep golden main it carried shook majestically as he arrived through the lower shrubs and foliage of the forests’ deep. This summon was a strategic one which costs no chakra and had been following Shihouin around since his genin days. It took some time for it to arrive by whistle, but in a situation as the one Shihouin was in, conservation and regeneration of energy was important. As he concentrated on trying to regain some chakra back, he watched the cave and the enemies together. The lion pulling the lord aside had not been an issue of their enemies just yet, a small success.

Eyes peeled and senses alert, Shihouin quietly communicated with his lion as the enemies jutsu failed. One last trick, one last simple plan that they could try and pull off. He watched as Sendo went on a spree, holding no mercy to the heart he cradled in his hand. Smashing it to oblivion had made the situation all the more terrible and messy, the blood splatter of the victim had raced out in a small shower of death, Shihouin could tell he was enjoying this. As if their opponents had been bound by the very chains used to tear his opponent down to death, they froze in fear. It was at this precise moment Shihouin initiated his plan. He took off in the direction of his lion and would head back towards the village with the Lord. Sendo still would have time to heal the Lord, and the distance between them would probably give him enough time to regenerate some energy if he had to use ninjutsu.

Behind him, Sendo would notice that not only were his next victims staring at him, but also staring at a large figure behind him. The trembling worsened and the fear crept from their bodies as a rush of urine soaked the inner and outer parts of the pants leg of the earth ninja. This was an A rank mission, and someone like him showing up certainly meant that the mission was now over. He wore a kimono, and as peaceful as it looked, they were still shaking deeply. The Doton one cracked out, “K-k-k-Keiden Senju… The Kage of the Leaf!” Should Sendo strike them both, “Keiden” would definitely take the other one and end the battle swiftly.

The Hokage.......what was he doing here. Sendo and the other two had been locked in a gaze battle for a few seconds now, they being unable to move, Sendo not wanting to ruin the moment that was pure extacsy for him. Normally against these two, he wouldnt stand a chance, but the Kaguya had been injured badly, and the had used a good bit of his chakra with his multiple trips from cave below to the surface above. That coupled with the sheer number of attacks he had pulled so far. Sendo was also running low, but not too low. He had drained a little under half of his chakra, which was impressive considering what he had done so far. In truth this mission was over, but he had unfinished business. He would leave the four B rank that had caged him earlier, they had ultimately beaten themselves already and there was no joy in defeating a nothing. These two plus the one he had already taken out however, this was going to be fun.

The illusion that it was Keiden only held weight to Sendo for a moment. Shiounin had already used this trick once and he was able to see past it in the figurative sense. The next moment, he remembered the Kaguya being a sensor ninja. The illusion wouldnt hold weight much longer for their opponents either. He had to act now while they were still held in shock at the site of this man. Using the averted gaze toward Keiden to his advantage, Sendo ducked down slightly so it the gaze returned to him he would have seemed to have disappeared. He popped back up to full height about three meters to the doton users left, sure that by now Shiounin had gone off to attack the Kaguya and finish him for good this time. There was to be no mercy from either of them. This ended now.

Honestly if the opponent had had more time to react, he would have been able to dodge it easy, but by the time he noticed, the wire was already thorough the air and wrapped around his neck. It wasnt razor wire, but such a thin thing was able to cut with ease, even grass, as flexible and soft an object you could find, was capable of drawing the blood of a man. Now as a complete lasso, Sendo jerked his hand back as hard s he could, and the slip knot executed perfectly, sliding through the flesh and finally pressing against the spinal column itself. Now he couldnt use the wire to get through bone, it was too strong that was all.

the man was still alive however, and was trying to use the same technique he had before to close the wound up, only this was much more complex of an injury and would require more time and chakra, and time was exactly what Sendo needed, if only a little bit. He began to drag the mans body along thr ground, unabel to send him flying through the air because a wire and a chain are not of equal durability. Once he was just about a foot from him, Sendo kicked the bloody mans head as hard as he could, disorienting him, which would slow down his healing even more as he began to drag the enemy over to the nearby trees, leaving a bloody trail behind him. The man was dying quickly, however he had managed to quickly save his jugular first to keep from dying instantly. He was still getting weak however, and death wasnt far off.

Placing him between two select trees taht seemed sturdy enough, Sendo stepped back and brought his wire back to him, forcing it back into its coild in his pocket. The trees were barely more then a meter apart, which was perfect. Once again he called upon his chains. The first chain pierced the mans left hand, then flowed behind the mans back and against the ground, causing him to squirm from the discomfort, the chain then came up from beneath, piercing his other hand. The chain then shot up, taking the man with him with his arms stratched out, and then imbeded each end into either tree. The second chain did the same only this time warpping around his feet, making him look like he was being crucified. Then the last chain, following suit but wrapping around the mans stomach instead.

The man looked down at him, finally ceasing to heal himself further as he just gave up. This was the grandest part for Sendo. It was all over for him now, and the fact that he knew it was the best of it all. The two locked eyes, and a single tear formed in his victims eye, slowly running down the side of his cheek. He had just been doing a mission, and now to die so dishonorably like this, never to see his family again which counted on him to provide. All taken away by this kid. This kid who seemed to have no compassion in battle. He hadnt been trying to just kill them, he had been making them suffer one by one, and had enjoyed doing it. He let his head drop as he waited for what he knew was coming next.

All the chains reacted at one. The ones piercing his hands pulled up in the center, as the ones holding his legs pulled down, streatching out his body. The final move being the center chain quickly constricing at an overly rapid pace. The end result of all these forceful actions happening with such quick timing was the man being ripped in half, his spinal column tearing from his hips and sticking out of the bottom of the top. The two pieces remained suspened as Sendo, now more blood covered then before stood there unmoving and began to laugh. It was a laugh that would cause a shiver within a bone. It started off nice and easy, and then out of no where turned into a full chorus, more distrubing and audbile then his laugh in the cave.

Sendo collapsed to his hands and knees as he continued to laugh like a mainac and pounded his right hand against the ground hard one time. His head rollled back as he stared up at his kill and then rolled to his back, keeping his eyes int he same location. When his back hit the ground he stopped his laughing an dput his hands behind his head, surveying his work as through he were watching the coluds. He would sit here like this until Shiounin came over to him to let him know the Kaguya was dead. He decided then that he was just going to let the man sit there and rot, he could replace the chains in town as easily as kunai. The crows would take care of this guy, and a more fitting end he couldnt think of.
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Jutsu Used

Spoiler:

The tactic was simple, a small diversionary tactic which was used to deceive the enemy into thinking that they were out matched. A strategy only employed when one could not match the force of an enemy or when one needed to buy time for a particular movement or other objective. Of course, there was no way the Hokage could suddenly arrive on the battlefield, and Sendo would know this moment the Doton user’s voice barely mumbled the words. Like a true ninja, the smallest time frame, the single fleeting thought, that moment when your opponent hesitated just a slight bit was enough to pull the kill switch on the entire battle. Shihouin had planned to do just that with this small tactic.

And like a fish floating to its own death, they took the bait. Sendo moved to strike his opponent quickly, and so did the Hokage move. He moved in a flurry of movement which was obviously too slow for his reputation. It was quick, but the Kaguya probably expected a death to the point where he had not known what would be coming, but with this attack he would surely see oncoming death and feel every bit of it. Unfortunately, if Sendo wanted to see Shihouin any time soon, he wasn’t going to get the chance. Shihouin had been long gone by now, heading towards the village with the Lord in hand.

As the Hokage rushed towards the Kaguya, his body began to quickly morph and change into that of a fearsome lion, flaring mane and huge body in all. With outstretched claws that sunk deeply into his skin, the lion landed on the Kaguya’s chest, driving his power into his body. Game over. No matter what the rank of a ninja, having one of these lions attached on to you meant the game was over. Since the Kaguya had resorted to a normal skeleton due to low chakra, a feast was now in proper reward for the lion. The added chakra to his body made everything much more easier. The meat came off the bone like hot butter to a knife. The weighted hand and sharpened claws dug into then neck first loosening the head from its grip on the muscles. Once the head had been separated from the body, the lion continued to feast, face buried in the remains of a once talented fighter.

Etched on the lions back were some symbols. It started with two symbols, the kanji for money and lord, beside the Uchiha crest, with an arrow pointing directly towards the representative symbol for the village. At least now, Sendo would now know that Shihouin had decided to bail to secure the objective. Once Sendo was finished he could call the lion at his whim and have him follow him home for extra protection since there was a chance of him being fatigued from chakra loss. They would sooner or later meet up near village gates to see if there was any possibility at healing the Lord before completing the mission.

A few minutes had passed already with Sendo continuing to look up at his prey in a silent pleasure. To most people, this was that state of absolute euphoria and personal wholenss and and calm after having cum during sex. Sendos biological geared purpose was not to reproduce, but to kill. In this way it gave him the same feeling, the same release of hormones that made it a pleasurable experience. To him murder was sex. Although it held zero intamicy with the victim themselves, the end result held pieces of himself in it, and thus it was accurate to call it art, for all great artists did so. As far as everything else went, he was easily still a chunin level ninja, even genin in some aspects, namely on morale and the like. And for that reason, it was likely he would never be promoted. However, when it came to assassination, things that required his master over the art of spilling blood.

Sendo could stand on par with a jounin with out much issue. He had just taken on four chunin level and two jounin level ninja and won, albeit with some help with his comrade Shiounin. All the same, this was no small task by any stretch of the imagination. As the minutes passed, not really paying attention to anything but his own thoughts and the view of his prey. In this way, with his mind so distracted and calm, he fell asleep, waiting for Shiounin to come tell him it was time to go, having no doubts he could finish the job with ease.

Finishing his meal, the lion realized that Sendo still hadnt come over to him, he had gotten lost in his own feast as well, and hadnt really been paying attention. Turning slightly and looking that direction, he saw the boy sleeping peacefully at the edge of the clearing. Confused but unquestioning, the lion walked over to him and using his teeth in a firm but gentle enough way threw him up on his shoulders and back, laying longways down his spine with arms and legs hanging loosely at either side. For the lions sake, at least he wasnt snoring. Together, though one not knowing really what was going on, the two made their way back to Konoha. Being a lion and not being too far, it didnt take them long to get there as the lion took off at full pace, coming out of the forest at about the same time Shiounin did only a few meters to the left. They met together right outside the gate. Rolling his shoulders slightly, Sendo slipped off and landed on the ground. If you caught a glimpse of his face, you would have seen he looked serene and peaceful, almost like a baby. There was no trace of the maniac that had done those questionable acts less then an hour ago.

When he hit the ground, the sudden jolt woke him up, kind of. His eyes opened about half way, and his voice sounded groggy when he spoke. Huh? Then he noticed the lord and Shiounin, the first being unconscious and on the ground right outside the gates. Oh right, that. He got up and not even bothering to dust himself off or anything, staggered over to his patient, almost looking like a drunkard he was so out of it. He knelt down next to him and began to do the basic healing technique all medical ninja were taught. Based on the injuries he could pin point and the evidence, he wasnt injured to badly and this would work well enough. He placed his glowing green hands over the body and got to work. It only took a minute or two and it was done. The ribs were put back in place and the jaw was relocated.

Sendo stood back up and walked back over to the lion, collapsing back on his back, this time his head and legs on either side of his body, his stomach laying upon the spine like a hinge for the rest of his body.You go ahead and take him to the Kages mansion He immediately passed back out. He wasnt chakra exhausted, but the large amount of pleasurable hormones that had entered his body had worn him out all the same, he needed sleep. The lion looked up at Shiounin with his head slightly turned, unsure about what to do.

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Jutsu Used

Spoiler:

What an odd situation. It was filled with irony that Shihouin really could not process. This man, this mastermind of murder and its inner workings was now healing someone. Shihouin chuckled at the thought of it, a little laugh that barely trailed on the wind. Both lions, teenage and grown one decided to stay out for the rest of the day. After Sendo had healed the Lord, he immediately passed out, slumping to the floor in unconsciousness as the last useable bit of chakra drained from him. With this, both mission objectives had been a success. Shihouin picked the Lord back up, who was now able to stand on both feet and was wide awake.
He sighed, leaning forward on both of his knees. “It’s finally over isn’t it?” Shihouin looked his way as they both walked through village security, the full grown lion carrying Sendo on his back. “Yeah it’s over. I have to escort you to the Hokage’s mansion for safety though, just to make sure you get there. Are you sure you’re still OK?” “Yeah, I am fine, thank you, the both of you, I was sure they were going to kill me. I was sure I was going to die.” Shihouin smiled a little bit, it was funny. “Yeah, that’s what we’re here for, you do understand the position you are in and having you harmed is out of the question.” The Lord nodded as they walked through the final security measures. The lion took off towards the village center, and would drop Sendo off at the hospital since he didn’t know where he lived.

As the Lord and Shihouin walked towards the Kages office, the Lord still wanted to get some conversation in. “Is there anything I can do for the both of you? My mind is still boggled from the fact that I could’ve died. Do you need money?” Shihouin thought about it. He wanted to reach 10 million as fast as possible, but in doing so he might get caught. They arrived at the Hokage’s masion, standing in front of the gates. “Put in a good word for Sendo Ketsuki and Shihouin Uchiha. That’s all.” The Lord nodded in thanks, dipping his head slightly. When he brought it back up, he stared off into space, wondering where Shihouin was since he had disappeared.