Naruto SoundITP IC 1: A Melancholy Song of Hope To Come

[Lord Raziere]

Kikenna:
"Bonepetite Venom! keep the blood pressure up or open the veins. Heart might stop, keep it beating and keep them breathing. Its cheap but someone knows what they're doing."
She pulls out needle.
"This will keep the blood pressure up"
she will inject the two kids with it, the irony being that it was small amount of ANOTHER poison in nonlethal doses that would just rebalance the bodies chemistry so they would live longer until the medic-nins can do a more proper job. Everything is a poison at some dosage, its just a matter of figuring out the right amount. She didn't need to say that out loud though.
She will turn to Odayama and see the state of the arm and Shushuryu administering an antidote.
"....Kuso."
She will help Shushuryu as best she can.

Mitsuko:
She is heading as fast as she can to the hospital where all the medic-nin are on-call- there is always some available at all hours taking shifts. Mitsuko admits to herself that she probably wasn't the best parent, in retrospect. She still wasn't. But darn it seeing kids being poisoned like that. That just felt.... wrong. She wouldn't wish that on Ameoku even if they were on the opposite sides of a war. Poison was something you did to important political figures or shinobi so strong you can't defeat directly, not....this. She keeps speeding towards them, arms outstretched, leaping from rooftop to rooftop.

Jirou:
As he looks up, he privately wonders how such an rage-prone person ended up a shinobi of her caliber. The common emphasis on discipline and suppressing your emotions throughout the shinobi nations while on the job was there for a reason, otherwise you get mistakes like what just happened with Odayama. A little tidbit to use for later. He stands up.
"...We need to find the person who did this. Kimiko-"
He looks and sees she has already jumped out the window and the kunai with the message
"-just did something foolish! Kuso!"
Young enough to think she can take on a missing-nin alone and smart enough to potentially be right. A dangerous combination.
"Usagi! Yuyuyu! Back her up!"

Kimiko:
She lands outside in the courtyard, drawing the Origami-No-Tsurugi, her eyes darting around, seeking her foe.
"COME OOOOON! Face me you depressed bastard! Though I guess it makes sense you'd be scared of me- Kimiko Ishikawa, YOUR DOOM!"
She is not thinking entirely clearly right now. She is angry, feeling useless in the face of the poisoning and wants to fight, to win, to prove that she was still useful. That she could do SOMETHING.
Her eye cast about for hiding places while Yuyuyu hides in the shadows, waiting for her chance to strike.

[Rater202]

"And you honestly think you can be Otokage?" Senko questions, all sense of decorum gone. "If this is how you react in a crisis then we would all be dead or else scattered to the four corners of the world within a month of you taking office."

She approaches Odayama. Her arm and her face glow a fiery orange and she reaches out to Odayama's destroyed arm.

"Sage Art: Cellular Regeneration Ejection."

A glowing glob of flesh extends from Senko's body to Odayama's and attaches to his own, reshaping itself into a perfect match for his missing limb as Senko's cells and chakra become Odayama's cells and chakra.

At the same time, Senko shrinks. She now appears to be a seven-year-old in oversized robes.

And now, she says in a higher-pitched voice with just a hint of a squeak, we wait and see if it took. Approximately ten percent of humans are compatible with my clan's senjutsu. If Odayama-san is compatible, then my biomass and chakra will perfectly mimic and replace his own. If not... Well, he was going to have to see a medic-nin anyway.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

I don't mind if you still do the clone thing. This is just how Senko would react in this situation.

[igordragonian]

Ameoku say nothing to Senko at first.
'Getting to someone at the vulverable point? Clever' She say, her tone is very distant, as she was now voided of emotions, on extreme opposite. Not reacting to her directy,

Odayama dissapear between them, it appears, he fell under the table, uncounsouse.
A clone, while he is choking to the point of not being awake anymore?
Ameoku sigh softly.
'Odayama-kun..' as she see that the girls are being treated, she drag Odayama from under the table, and punch Odayama's chest- for a moment, he stop fuming, and the colorful spots dissapear, as he cough.
'Ameoku...? You didn't went berserk, did you?' he asked with a pant. 'The girls...' he looked toward their daughters, before clenching his throat again,
'Baka!' she punched him again, to keep the blood pressure high

Shushuryu work with Kikena. 'I am fine. It's part of the job. No dead people this time, so it's a progress for her.' She doesn't have the EXACT antidotes, but good enough ones.
It simply a half forgotten venom, that only a shinobi even more paranoid then an Anbu could be have been prepared for.

Usagi nodded. 'I won't let the princess to hog all the glory!'
---

Surprisngly, or not, it was a trap.
The moment, Kimiko get out, rain of kunais are thrown at her, and where she land, near childishly simple trap- paper tags with.. glue, are thrown all over the courtyard.

A voice- a female voice echo.
'I do see, why he want you dead. Has big angry kitty killed anyone? Or at least looked stupid?' the voice echo with spite and venom.
------------

on the third roof, Mitusko get at, a figure appear.
https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/sh...20200706190827
'Mitsuko-chan.... such a dutiful woman... aren't you? Are you truly intending, of helping a growing rival clan? Your duty is to your children, and your husband's values.. isn't it?'

This thing look barely human. Barely alive.
It's one of the missing nins of the village- Akuba, of the Fukaimis. She was considered dead, for years. About a week ago, she has traumtized some of the Hope Generation's genins including Usagi and Mayuwi.
'The nightmares, can be back. They WILL be back. Are you ignoring the omens, sweet child?' Akuba ask, for now not moving.

[Lord Raziere]

Jirou:
He will not comment on Senko's criticism, as that kind of commentary was what she was brought her for. It surprised him that both her and Ameoku were more controlled than he expected. Jirou will stand guard over the two children, if they focus too much on the attacker, another might come in. The genin might be falling for a distraction, or the attacker was trying to lure people more important than the Genin. While he worried, it was also possible that it was Futility-San trying to get to the children but he couldn't immediately go to them as he had a tendency to run when adults showed up, and thus his presence too early could miss a chance to catch him. That and Senko was in no shape to fight, in all probability and he had to protect her as well.

Mitsuko:
She considers this....visage before her. Akuba.
"Heh. While you have a point, what do I have to worry about? It was Ameoku's own softness and weakness that she didn't include trace amounts of nonlethal doses of poison in their food to build up immunities over time. Ameoku speaks so much of strength, but then neglected her own offsprings training so that they can survive things like this!"
Apart of her wonders if people should need to do that, however.
"Ohohohohohoho! And when I get the medic-nin to cure them she will owe ME for it! Its her own fault for not raising her children properly. Now your clearly trying to stall me, so I have to go now...."
She will then leap to the next roof top to keep running.

Kimiko:
She deflect the kunai with a flurry of parries from paper blade, and keeps aware as she sees the sticky paper tags all around her, deciding not to step on or enar them. She considers this new voice. Someone working with Futility-San.
"An accomplice, eh? Well no one is dead, your plan failed there, as for Ameoku looking stupid, well that as happening even before you showed up so congratulations on exaggerating what was already there, hyuhyu! But enough of her increasingly clear incompetence, your dealing with me now, Kimiko Ishikawa, Shining Star of the Hope Generation, who will surpass her in due time! I'll what a real opponent is like!"
She will put on her chakra goggles to see where her foes chakra coils are, seeing one that doesn't belong. Then stab at her at range going:
"Paper Release: Unsheathing Paper Claw Jutsu."
Her blade extends up to 50 feet in the space of the thrust, bursting forward to jab at the rogue shinobi without Kimiko moving from her spot.

[Rater202]

With the injured Odayama turning out to be a clone, a big ole lump of biomass lands on the floor with a thump.

"Well, I just wasted a bunch of chakra."

She pulls out her body storage scroll and seals away the lump, she'll reabsorb it later—cellular regeneration absorption is nasty business, and she'd rather not use it in front of small children, or people who just ate.

"Sorry, that is going to leave a bit of a residue. Whoever's job it is to clean this room is going to have to scrub the floor with isoprople alcohol."

Senko pulls off her oversized robes—her underclothes are made of an elastic fabric that contracts and starches as needed, so no problem there—and begins rummaging through her first aid kits and what handfuls of drugs she does have and...

"Oh, those are most of the herbs I need for... Would anyone happen to have a military ration pill on their person? I do not need one but it would make what I am about to do easier."

As conflicted as Senko is... She does have a sample she could use that would drastically enhance her affinity for water release. Which could let her continue to assist, or at least defend herself, despite her dimished physical state. And she has just enough ingredients to improvise a crude version of the serums needed for he procedure.

[igordragonian]

Shushuryu the assistant of Ameoku get from her an aprovving nod, as she silently give a pill to Senko.
'Use it wisely.' as she check the bandlouier of her pills and syringes.
Ameoku keep treating Odayama with punches.... it does keep him alive, and she is exact enough to not to actually injure him- but for how long it will last?

Shushuryu syringe both girls, and they a bit better.
'This will buy us a minute'
----

Akuba 'stare' with her blind eyes.
'Tsk. Tsk. Time does make things easier. Doesn't it? Let's... remind you.' she dissapear, and reappear, (but more in slenderman and static noise rather then smoke-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuok3NhHN6I&ab_channel=LightMedia)
behind her trying to grasp her head, and force her bad memories and nightmares to the front of her mind, digging them from the depth of her subcounsice. Preffering to remind her, of the Ishikawas massacare, but she can't control this to this very exact degree.

----

The shilloute jump, and run with a feline grace, over the paper blade. She is a girl, probably, with a messy spikey hair, not unlike Miko and Kimiko Nekozaki.
'Well, that all that mattered. Any suffer she suffer, is my pleasure.' a scarred sound foreheadprotector cover her scarred face in diagonal, as she drew kunais between all fingers, sending them at Kimiko-
Usagi, shoot arrows, deflecting every one of them.
'Ah. Backuped, by a crippled? You ARE desprate. I like it.' She try to kick Kimiko in the face.
She seems of decent skill, but what she show so far, looks Genin level.

[Lord Raziere]

Mitsuko:
She will suddenly clutch at her head and fall to the ground as images of that day, of the Ishikawas fighting to defend their home from the sudden attack:

Spoiler: Growing Up Kiri, Part 5: The Purge

Show

(Part 1 was the graduation ceremony story, this won't be told in chronological order)

Mitsuko didn't remember exactly when it began. She only remembers the fighting, the ninja coming for her. She remembers ordering Jirou her son to grab his blade and be ready to kill any that come near him. She remembers the blood of dead Genin on his blade. She remembers running, taking cover as explosive tags detonated her and there, as she uses his paper blade to slash off another head, as she sees clan members erecting stone walls, firing high pressure blasts of water to punch through skulls or simply rip limbs clean off from the force of the water hitting them, of buildings burning, seeing other clan houses burning in the distance. Shouting orders. Scrolls to be carried away. preserved. She runs past corpses of the dead: Father. Mother. Sister. Aunt. Uncle. Nephews. Dead, dead, dead, dead, dead.

She is dimly aware of blood on her clothes, insults from the enemy shouted amid the din. The worst thing about it is that it all blurred together, it was all so horrible no one moment stood as more terrifying than the rest. She remembers Jirou crying. She remembers her not having time for him crying. She remembers Jirou being quiet for the rest of his life after that. She remembers traps being sprung and Kiri clanless falling into stone spikes, or being electrocuted when they step across a line, or get set on fire from seals. Or they die from suddenly summoned animal showing up in response to them coming in and joining the fight for the Ishikawas. She remembers seeing one clan shinobi's clone being poofed, then their second, third and fourth then dying from too many people attacking at once.

It occurred to her that in the grand scheme of things, such plans and measures were just statistical adjustments. Slight increases in a percentage. A dead body as just another number to manipulate the odds. Warfare like many things was a form of gambling, and the odds of a victory was in favor of the one who had the most to throw away to abuse the odds until they inevitably won- the house sa they say, always wins. and the Ishikawa clan currently wasn't the dealer.

She runs up to Ryota who is standing look out at the battle emotionless as ever. Maybe slightly annoyed if you look closely.
"Ryota! Why haven't we retreated yet!? We're taking heavy losses!"
"....Not yet."
"WHY!?"
"The plan is that if we put up enough resistance, Yagura himself will come to crush us. That is when the trap will spring. He managed to usurp the Mizukage first, this is the backup plan."
"That won't work!"
"Explain."
"He clearly has all the clanless ninja on his side! He doesn't need to come to us, he can just keep sending his superior numbers at us until we're drowned in blood and corpses!"
"She's right." Musumu says jumping in "It doesn't matter how clever your trap is, he has enough ninja that he can afford not to spring it by just making others kill us for him."
He is silent for a moment, thinking.
"Ryota!" she says "Your clan is dying around you!"
"Irrelevant." he says, dispassionate. "He will come for me. He hates me, for what I represent to him."
She is truly afraid at this point, knowing she never convinced him of anything before. Knowing that deep down he didn't care. For anything. Knowing what kind of person he is. How coldly meticulous he was. Which was of course the problem: sure planning was good and all but he planned too long to put it into action. She would have to try something different.
"Ryota. He is a shinobi of the Mist as much as you. They don't call us the Bloody Mist for nothing. He is probably just as willing to spend lives as you, and has more bodies to throw into the grinder. You underestimated how quickly he moved to take the Mizukage position for himself. And now its possible your underestimating how reckless he is- or perhaps how much he personally wants to kill you. A man in that position of power? Doesn't need to do anything himself. I'm sure he will be satisfied with someone bringing your head to him. Just as am I'm sure you would be. He is the one with more power and resources than you. Killing you personally is a weak person's plan."
He considers this for a silent moment.
"...Very well. We retreat. I thought he would be here by now, but its clear that he is smarter than he seems."
She only remembers the retreat and watching ninja die even as they run away, and remembers the Ishikawa clan house going up in flames, along with all the knowledge within.

She seems vulnerable as she remembers this moment.

Kimiko:
She ducks under the kick and grins.
"Desperate is far from the word I'd use. you want to face me alone, challenge me to a duel first idiot. You made this total war when you attacked without rules or warning. Your lucky that all my other clan members aren't swarming out here to surround you with pure numbers. Your one rogue shinobi right outside a clan house already outnumbered two to one. The only reason I'm not calling the rest is to prove that they weren't needed to capture you, because I'm just that good."
Well that and the fact that the place is littered with explosive tags and more bodies means more likely that one of her clan members would get blown up by one so its best to keep the numbers small, but why state that out loud? Clans like her own build their entire fuinjutsu legacy on explosive traps like this as their bread and butter, she knew what she was doing. Kimiko says
"Paper Release: Paper Whip Jutsu."
She will extend her Origami-no-Tsurugi into a paper whip and attempt to lash out to try and grab at the girls leg with the whip then pull it to send her off balance.

[Rater202]

"Menko, plan Y, please."

Menko conjures a dozen clones of her human form who stand strategically around Senko while the real Menko uses her "this is someone else's problem" genjutsu while still wrapped around Senko's shoulders.

"What are you doing?"

"The thing."

"The thing?"

"Yes, I am going to do the thing."

"I don't know about this..."

All through Senko is crushing herbs, dissolving them in liquid, and finally pouring the solution into the vial of hairs, which breaks them down and then affixes a needle to the end and jams it into her arm..

She then swallows some more herbs and the soldier pill.

It's been maybe a few moments when the clones disperse. Senko is putting away her supplies and the veins in her right arm are bulging something fierce. she's actually twitching a little.

"I apologize, for the... Invasion of snake girls, but... I know the Ishikawa clan's habit of collecting knowledge and I would really prefer that no one try that until I have perfected it... Seriously, if anyone but me did that right now they would almost certainly die in agony, so... So one gets to see my experimental procedure just yet."

Senko is starting to sweat something fierce

"I will, however, explain that if the procedure works... Which it seems it is, that my natural elemental affinities will be greatly magnified. Which should, in turn, allow me to assist in the dealing with our assailants despite my current temporary physical shortcomings... I am going to go check on my teammates now."

Senko sounds honest to most people, but Jirou, who knows her well, can tell that she's lying through her teeth about what the procedure she just did was.

The temporarily smol genin makes her way to where Kimiko and Usagi fled.

[igordragonian]

Akuba
Akuba won't hurt her body.
Oh no. Akuba is just a little fragile granny. She just here to educate.
she cackle. and pet Mitsuko's hair in a totally creepy way, like a fake mother from a grim fairy tale.
"There, there.... sweet summer child. We need to remember our pain. Otherwise, it was meaningless. Right?Never forget. Never settle. Despair." she lecture her snd then just dissapear.
She doesnt care what the crazy little ally of her does- this girl was embraced by despair, and this was good enough for granny Akuba.
Thogh... on second thought if she get captured that would be incovneint. She will back her up, if needed.
-----

"That what they teach you at the academy? How soft." she doesn't make a complete sense. Her raionality is very so so. And she just half listen.
She fall, and also penerated by one of Usagi's arrows.

she swear in pain and then laugh.
Usagi frown. "You think my arrows are funny?!" and send a barrage of arrows.
Despite her injury, the girl dodge and jump over the roof, kicking roof tiles toward the two girls.
Usagi shoot off some of them, but not all.

What this girl lack in skill, she has in bitter determination, like in the tales from the Rice Indepdence War.

[Lord Raziere]

Mitsuko:
As soon as Akuba touches her head-poof! the paper clone bursts into a bunch of paper tentacles that try to wrap around Akuba to bind her in place. This whole time she was just screwing with a paper clone Mitsuko made to be a distraction while she took a more efficient route having noticed she was being watched from the shadows. The real Mitsuko? Has arrived at the hospital, speaking to to the medic nin on call saying
"Quick! its an emergency! Ameoku's children are poisoned at the Ishikawa household and need medical attention, NOW!"

Kimiko:
She whacks the tiles aside with her blade, not moving from her spot.
"Oh did you not finish the academy? I guess that explains why your still around here: You don't know basic math."
Kimiko replies with smug sharklike grin. She then leaps clean over the explosive tags in the courtyard to land on the roof, pursuing her. Usagi hit the girl yes, but actually killing her wasn't what she wanted. This girl knew things about Futility-San. She could be a source of information. Sending her off balance had not accomplished that. She could hidden mist jutsu here, but what would cutting her own teammates effectiveness off accomplish? the mist would make Usagi unable to aim or knows what going on. So instead Kimiko sheathes her sword- then speeds forward as fast as she can and tries to tackle the girl to the ground, wrestling with her to try and subdue her the taijutsu subdual methods everyone is taught at the academy. That way Usagi could see what is happening and can adjust accordingly. After all, using a paper whip to bind her would only leave her vulnerable to more arrows fired, and a dead enemy is one that can't talk- she is reasonably confident this is a good idea, as a wounded person experiencing pain from an arrow in them was probably weaker than one without a wound, and Kimiko was as good at taijutsu as she was the rest of jutsu- she wasn't the top of her class for nothing.

[Rater202]

Outside

Since no one stopped Senko, she is no outside observing the fight between Kimiko and Usagi on one side and the assailant on the other.

Senko wants to help, but with the explosive tags everywhere she's not sure she can get to them. Not when she's reduced in height this much.

But... She'd been working on something over the last couple of days. Ameoku was unstable and Senko wanted to be prepared just in case. It also gave her something to do with her water release skills—skills she's just given a boost—and distract her from her growing guilt, guilt which is going to be a whole lot worse soon enough.

And this girl bore a passing resemblance to Ameoku and her children...

Senko channels her sage chakra into her right arm, enough to reshape it. Fingers splay and bend back, flesh becomes chitinous, bones and muscle reshape, a large tube appears in her palm as her arm reshapes into a chakra cannon.

a chakra canon she begins charging with Water Natured Senjutsu chakra.

Senko Takes Aim.

"Sage Art Water Release: Heavenly Mist!"

From Senko's chakra canon comes a heavy, concentrated spray of high-pressure mist in a stream aimed directly at the assailant.

[igordragonian]

Mitsuko

'Pesky little girl!' the crone groan angerly. She try to cut free by using a rusty kunai.
Medic nins readily jump

Despair girl?

Usagi has sort of an understanding with Kimiko, and short an arrow at the girl palm, weakning her ability to do ninjutsu quite a lot

'Math is futile. Everything come to a tragic end.' she say, with a flinch of pain. She use all of her force, in attempt to use the paper wrapping back against Kimiko and throw her infront of the chakra cannon.

Usagi wide eyed. 'NANI?!' shocked at the chakra cannon

[Lord Raziere]

Mitsuko:
I mean the crone will probably cut through the bindings easily or at least in a short amount of time. Its only to slow her down, keep her occupied.

Mitsuko will escort the medics at a similarly fast pace, keeping an eye out for the crone or any other assailants.

Kimiko:
"Hyu?"
She says confused as she gets wrapped then thrown into the hydro jet, then gets blasted over the rooftop, rolling around a little and landing with a bunch cuts and bruises, picking herself up while going
"RRRRRGH!! Why you.....how dare you make my friend hurt me! Paper Release: Paper Shuriken Jutsu!"
She will instead keep her distance and use her Origami-No-Tsurugi to fire paper shurikens at despair girl while Yuyuyu will appear and throw a net at despair girl from behind her trying to track her movements from how she dodges Kimiko's shurikens- and whatever attacks Usagi and Senko try, hey if they fill the area with enough projectiles while keeping their distance to dodge each other, this might work.

[Rater202]

...Senko is now upset.

Her attempt to help backfired. It made things worse, and now she feels guilt and shame. More so than she'd already felt.

But most of all... she feels angry.

Angry at this little **** who interrupted an important event for her mentor.

angry at this person who poisoned children to make a point.

Angry at this person who made her hurt her friend.

She'd just made a speech about controlling her rage, too... But some things push you over your limits.

With her emotions thrown off balance, the balance of her body is thrown off as well. Her chakra remolds, more fluids are produced, adrenaline spikes...

The natural energy flows through her body and she grows.

Senko can feel the transformation coming. Part of her wants to give in, to tear this person limb from limb, to revel in the carnage.

But, at the last minute, she resists, and manages to redirect the power to her arms. The chakra canon grows somewhat, and the other arm changes to match it.

Vent the build-up of energy and attack the enemy at the same time.

"Sage Art Water Style: Twin Heavenly Mist!"

This time two firehoses full of chakra-based water spray out aimed directly at despair girl.

[igordragonian]

(let's say that Mitsuko and the medics will get there... next post?)

The despair girl laugh. There isn't true joy behind this- just petty bitterness.
"Never trust people. Wether they like it, or not- they will disapoint you."
Her shoulder bled, and she was in pain, but didn't cared.

She had hard to keep up-she was probably less skilled then any of them as induvdial, she pushed herself through bitter hatred.

And it seemed, it became too much for her.
She manage to parry off two kunais from Kimiko, but if she thrown more then two, it will hit.
Another pair of arrows penerated the desprate girl. Rather then screechs of pain, or setoic pant of pain, she laughed.
laughed histercily and yelled
"Futile! Futile! Hahahaha!" the more injured she became, the slower she became and an easier target.
She is captured by the net and blasted by the water cannon to the wall that close Ishikawa's clan yard, with a loud crack of bones as she hit againt it.
She is on her kneens, her left arm look like a hedghog.
She shake with pain.
Despite it The despair girl start a set of seals, which were taught to them right after finishing the Genin tests.
It's a ninjutsu that cant be trained. One use only.
The Last Shout Technique.

[Lord Raziere]

Kimiko:
Time slows down for her as her mind analyzes the situation at lightning speed: the recommended countermove for such suicidal attacks is to fall back. That if the enemy is so willing to blow themselves up, don't be in the blast radius. However her pride knew that falling back would be admitting she couldn't capture the enemy that could them much. That she was outplayed. Rush forward, die and fail. Fall back and fail. Kimiko Ishikawa did not tolerate failure. Her eyes narrow in anger as her mind blazes through all the possibilities and available resources around her. There was no time for Usagi's bell genjutsu, that required set up. Yuyuyu did not yet know any genjutsu to put people to sleep. Senko's abilities were so unusual that Kimiko honestly didn't know how to factor them into her plans- she didn't know their full capabilities and limitations. Anyone with more experience who would have prepared solution for this situation was inside or getting help.

So she decided upon a third option.

Kimiko flashed through hand signs shouting
"Kuso! She's starting Last Shout! Paper Clone Jutsu!"
Taking more chakra out of her than most, a clone of Kimiko poofs into existence and speeds for with a body-flicker technique, instantly appearing in front of despair girl and tries to grab the girls hand with her left hand to keep her from forming more hand signs and to use the other one to keep despair girls mouth shut, trying to stop it before she can finish it.

[Rater202]

The Last shout was a powerful suicide technique and... That's literally everything that Senko knew about it.

It's clearly not a power-up state, like the eight gates, becuase if it was then Kimiko wouldn't need to stop the girl from completing it.

...Capturing the girl alive would have been best. And Senko didn't really know what her motives were, but if Kimiko fails to...

Senko makes the judgment call. She'd rather have a live Kimiko but a dead prisoner than a dead Kimiko.

She'd literally just grafted the bloodline to herself, but so far she seemed stable enough. And right now there were no witnesses besides the people who already knew what it was that she did.

A little tweeking of the nozel... She wasn't as proficient with wind release as water release due to lack of practice, but bloodline use was instinctive to a degree.

No name this time. Nothing shouted. Just a shard of chakra-conjured ice shot from Senko's palm and aimed at Despair Girl's throat.

[igordragonian]

The despair girl is weak, but she grapple against the paper clone.
Usagi guide Yojimbo to give her a better angle- and she shoot in a very exact manner, the palm of the despair girl, without hurting the paper clone.
'HA! You can't even kill yourself!'


But Akoba has arrived, standing on the wall. Her genjutsu was the most effective with a touch, but she had ways for a group weaker genjutsu- she thrown a gas bomb, filled with hallucnatic gas.
it doesn't take you inside your mindscape, liker her beter genjutsu- but it materialize your fears in the real world- you CAN deny them if you are strong willed- but it take a lot of mental fortitude. She try to use the distraction to grab the despair girl by her hair, and drag her up.


The medics are aready near.

[Lord Raziere]

Kimiko:
She wasn't expecting this, and it was genjutsu/hallucination from a more powerful ninja. Both her and her clone see a collection of images: corpse of the bandit she killed in the basement of her clan house, the first Futility-san she beheaded, the Bye-bye Kitties injured from her negligence, Senko turning away from her after lying to her about the ice-cream man, Senko dying to appease the ronin, Ameoku's children dying. all because she failed, failed, failed.
The clone shrieks and explodes into harmless confetti. Kimiko falls to the ground at her knees breathing heavily clutching her head at the images, eyes wide and torn being angry and scared.

Yuyuyu is in a similar state surrounded by a single image: being alone in a dark void, all the people she was connected to, all the people that she supported and in turn supported her, gone.

Mitsuko:
She sees this happen and doesn't know whats going on: she doesn't know why the despair girl is here. She looked like one of Ameoku's clan, but she wasn't either of her daughters. Why was she being carried away? The other Genin seemed to have been attacking her judging by the arrows matching the rabbit girls quiver. that girl was an enemy then. She sees the gas and not knowing what it does, uses a paper whip to pull Kimiko out of it and hug her close, because blatant parental favoritism thinking that it might be poisonous.
"Kuso! Are you okay!? Is it deadly? Maybe I should've tried to immunize you to poisons! I'll have the medics look at you after they take care of Ameoku's kids as fast as possible!"
Kimiko is just struggling in her embrace going
"I failed! I failed! No! I need to succeed! I failed!"
"No you didn't. The medics are here, mission complete."
"No! She needs to be captured! She could have information! Why aren't you going after her!?"
"Calm down! This was a defensive fight, no shape to go on the offensive and actually pursue. We didn't lose any allies from something that was trying to tear us apart, thats a win."
"RRRRRRGH!!"
Kimiko growls as she struggles.

Jirour will quickly greet and thank the medics for coming and direct them to who needs medical attention.

[Rater202]

Senko has a great deal of experience controlling her emotions... But she has her triggers.

She flashes back to her childhood, walking through the remains of her village, finding her mother dying in the ruins of her house, being directed to the basement to find the book about her clan and realizing that everything was her fault.

Then she flashes back to the day she met Team 3... Except that this time when she came too, the village was in ruins and her new friends were dismembered horribly.

The same situation in Ryuchi cave.

The final image is different, however. It's Kimiko, and Yuyuyu, and Usagi, and every other child in the Sound Village subjected to horrific, Frankensteinian experiments turning them all into monsters while the Otokage shrugs. And then Ameoku leads the survivors into a battle where they're slaughtered, and Senko had to watch it all.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry. My fault, it's all my fault... Should have controlled myself... Should have protected you when I had the chance... Damn it, damn it, DAMN IT!"

She was already off-balance before...

Senko jumps for Depair Girl and Aoba.

The Oni of Debuita lands before them, a sadistic grin full of sharp teeth flashing down on them.

[igordragonian]

(All on basis of what Akoba try,assuming she succeed

Akoba cackle.
"ah. You turn your fear into rage. How... kawai" the almost corpse crone let Senko to bite her, it would feel to Senko like dry leather. And she use this intimate distance to touch Senko's forehead, locking her inside her own mindscape at it's darkest place.

Akoba slide away carrying the girl.



Usagi wide eyes simply see rain of blood.

One of the medics- (the guy from Fukaimi which I have forgotten his name)https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/on...20200223175503
(let's call him... Habu)
does a wind release to send the gas away, while the other medics rushed inside and rather quickly neautralized the poison from Odyama, Miko and Kimiko

Ameoku drag her family in a bear(or cougar?) hug.

[Lord Raziere]

Jirou:
Mitsuko will keep Kimiko restrained to keep her from pursuing or trying to seal Senko- a shinobi affected by fear gas is in no shape to do either. Jirou however quickly body flickers in front of Senko and place a sealing tag on her forehead as Akoba leaves, having done this kind of sealing before and always having a spare sealing tag up his sleeve just in case- after all maybe Ameoku could've said something stupid enough to provoke Senko into this kind of rage, who knows? When the sealing takes full effect and the danger is passed, he will turn to Ameoku as they are cured and as she ends her hug.
"Ameoku. I am glad that your family is safe. However we did not get to finish the meeting. If we do not do so, it may send the wrong message that we were too weak, that we let a terrorist attack get in way of discussing important political matters. We should at least find a good time to reschedule and reconvene with appropriate security measures in place to protect us both. I want to make sure we are clear on all issues, and dispel any doubts about our loyalties."

Meanwhile soon the genin will recover from their fear and Mitsuko will put Kimiko down, who looks grumpy that she failed to capture despair girl.

[Rater202]

Senko is sealed and remains so until her transformation runs its course.

Afterward, she's shaking, as normal after a transformation, and has to be reassured that she didn't kill anyone.

"...The next time I get invited to one of these events, I am bringing the Ronin. A big strong person with a sword to stab anyone who shows up trying to murder kids."

Senko is still shrunk down to the size of a seven-year-old due to lost biomass.

Menko in human form takes advantage of this, hoisting Senko up onto her back papoose style.

"Don't woo-wey, Senko-tan. Menko onee-sama will pwotec you until you're big again."

"...You know that this is only skin deep, right? This goes away the second I reabsorb that blob of flesh."

"Please let me have this."

[igordragonian]

Odayma nodded to his wife, panting, as his ribs were cracked at least a bit from her constant punches.
'Do your job, Ameoku-can, and I'll do mine.'
He, Miko and lil Kimiko went out to check on the team of young kunoichis.

He smile weakly, and offer the girls, candy-dolls.
'Well. That, was a thing that happened. Are you alright girs?'

Miko and Kimiko look at the battle scene. Miko say'Lots of papers...'

Kimiko:'I can't believe I have missed the battle because of a stupid poison! I bet, If I were here, I would have caught the bad guy!'




Ameoku stare after Odayama. What would she actually do, if he died? She would lose completly to the beast within...
doubts. Good thing she always carried the mask on. Shushurryu nodded slowly, encouraging Ameoku.

'Very well.' she take a seat, turning to herself, after allowing herself this too long moment of vulnerability.
'THAT exactly, why we can't allow ourselves to grow comftrable- we are being disrespected- would you imagine some broken shinobis doing such things in Konoha?' she clench her fist.
'Worse. Those terrorists used the BEST qualities of our village against us- suicidial resolve. I couldn't help in the battle, but I have heard it. A single ninja, with less training then a whole team of Genins, gave them a fight. During the war, we made ninjas into Genins, simply by them making a kill- not some tests in safe eniverment in the academy! If we try to be Konoha, we will always be lesser then them- we need to stick to our strengh!'

[Rater202]

"Are you insane, Ameoku-san? Not only have you proven today that you can't be trusted to keep calm in a crisis, but now you are twisting facts."

"That untrained child lost to two academy genin and a girl with only informal ninja training. She then tried and failed to take us out with her in a sacrificial technique, and only escaped becuase a far more powerful ninja rescued her at the last minute."

"If that despair girl is your model for an ideal Sound Ninja, then we might as well give up completly and bend over for the Leaf now, becuase any war that you inevitably start with them will end with us all dead or enslaved to their will."

"No, seriously... Everything you just said... It is making me want to become the Otokage when I grow up solely so that I can outlaw the Last Shout and erase all knowledge of how it's performed from the records solely to spite you for saying we should follow an inherently self-destructive model. That is how stupid what you just said is."

"Besides... With how important the Last Shout was to Sound's victory, however phyric it was, n the War, the Leaf Village has surely invested time and effort into creating counters in case they ever have to fight us again. As would anyone who suspects they might have to fight us. Relying on the same tricks time and time again will lead to failure."

[Lord Raziere]

Kimiko/Mitsuko:
Jirou....doesn't know how to respond to this proclamation by Ameoku
"What-? How did you come to this- I don't...."
He pinches the bridge of his nose at this, trying to deal with the incoming headache while Kimiko just tilts her head and goes
"Wait, if you define strong as sacrificing yourself for the village in suicide tactics, and your supposed to be strong, why didn't you die with Odokuro twelve years ago? Because by your logic, everyone in the village is weak and cowardly until we sacrifice ourselves in battle for the village. So therefore you had the chance to prove yourself strong on your own definition, by sacrificing your life in that battle but you didn't, so that does mean you don't consider yourself strong? Or right now, why didn't you grab the assailant yourself, then blow yourself up to take her with you? Then you would be strong according to what you say. But by your own definition, your not strong since your still alive."
Her tone isn't accusatory or scathing because Kimiko doesn't actually care, she is just confused and doesn't when to be quiet.
"Your definition of strength is very confusing, I don't think I'll follow it."
Mitsuko puts a hand on Kimiko's shoulder
"Kimiko, let your Okaa-san explain it to you: Ameoku wouldn't know strength if it bit her in the face. Every real shinobi knows that true strength is in planning, deception, throwing away morality, paranoia, surviving, and ruthlessly making the other guy die for their country. I bet Konoha has had the Uchiha clan make genjutsu to fool suicide shouters into detonating early by now before they ever reach any real targets, or the Yamanaka have figured out some early mind-based detection system for that kind of thing, or worse the Nara probably have some multi-step contingency plan or procedure they dreamed up for any shinobi to follow that they just have in a file cabinet somewhere labeled "OPEN IN CASE OF WAR WITH OTOGAKURE" that details all the ways any normal shinobi could fight around the Last Shout to the best of their knowledge, or just treat it with some general anti-suicide bomber protocol they've set up for any jutsu of its kind. Our clan may be good at planning but the Naras are better.

And lets not forget that Konoha was fighting a war with Iwa and Kumo at the same time they were fighting us. To say that we won purely because of the tactics employed is to ignore that we got real lucky they had two bigger foes to fight. We can't expect that to happen again, and such tactics are primarily an offensive tactic when you don't have a village or land to defend. The Land of Rice doesn't have enough land for scorched earth to be viable, we'd just be hurting our own chances of recovery after a loss, so really, Ameoku's plan to fight Konoha if its to be any way viable would be to abandon the Land of Rice and this village entirely and start blowing up in various factories, farms, and facilities in the Land of Fire to damage their ability to wage war while avoiding their actual military forces to basically either force Land of Fire to spend money on restoring it all or ignore it to fight us, making the war too costly for them to keep fighting it forever either way, but even then it basically guarantees that Rice falls back under Land of Fire control as we would be unable to defend anything we hold. The Rice Daimyo would be perfectly in his rights to declare us all Missing-Nin for not defending his nation, disband the Sound Village and accept Konoha protection.

We'd basically be giving up all that we currently have just to screw over Konoha, and I didn't fight in the Third Shinobi War and train you as hard as I can so that you could end up living in an abandoned bunker in Fire as a disposable pawn for someone's poorly thought out revenge scheme."
She turns to Ameoku
"You hear that, Ameoku!? This clan signed on so that we could have prosperous lives in a new land, not so that we can be your living bombs to throw at Konoha. Ohohohoho! No wonder you never liked me, never reached out to me, you know that I have too much of a survival instinct to follow along with your plans. There is a difference between accepting the risk of death in our profession and charging straight into the certainty of it. And your kids getting poisoned in your own fault. You could've taught them your shinobi skills to help them survive in the life they are going to live, shared the secrets of your strength so that they could replicate it, its like teaching them math or how to read they're going to need it no matter what. And now your angry that someone inevitably turned your own tactics back upon you when all is fair in love and war."
She points to Senko
"See? She gets the problems with that technique. I saw the same thing: that missing nin girl was losing badly, and I could see Kimiko switch to her nonlethal takedown taijutsu moves, she was trying to capture not kill which would've given us a source of information, then a stronger ninja I had to distract with a clone on the way to getting to the medics to cure your children, came in used a gas bomb genjutsu they couldn't defend against it and took her away. So really you owe me for saving your child's lives while my child did the best she could to defend and capture the assailant. She was more of a help in this situation than you."

[Rater202]

"If you want the sound village to be stronger than the Leaf, or at least strong enough that we won't be victimized, we can't allow ourselves to stagnate or fall into self-destructive patterns. We need to fortify, build up the strength we have, not throw it away."

"Speaking of which: In the last month I have stolen a major summoning contract and SAge title from the leaf village right under their noses, and recruited a samurai from the Land of Iron who is now teaching sound village children swordplay, and technically I am not even a genin. What have you done recently to make the village stronger, Ameoku-san?

[igordragonian]

Odayama smiled akwardly as his support seemed uneeded.


Ameoku smile to Senko.
"You are an adorable child. I like you, and your charmingly arrogant attitude. I think Odokuro-duno would have LOVED you. I would gladly train you, if your pride would allow you, but I dont owe you explanations. I enjoyed your intative, but dont let it get to your head, Senko-chan."



She sigh and reply to the grownups.
"Nonono. Are you keep misunderstanding me on porpuse?"


She gesture at Mitsuko. "You get me. More or less. I think the same. I meant to have the RESOLVE. The *will* and *readiness* to sacrafice everything. I never spoke of scorched earth- why would I want that? Suicidal isnt equal stupid. How to explain it..." she tap her chin.

"Chicken games." Shushuryu offer.
'Ah. Yes. Thank you for reminding me. . You see, in order to win, power isn't the real factor- it's about the will to maximize it's use. I have a story, that might explain my point Let's imagine mmm.. a ronin. A powerful one,who terrorize a village for food and supplies. He once defeater their strongest warrior and since then,they have obeyed him,and when ever someone hinted at displeasure, he glared at them.

Miko:"Oh! I love this story!"
Kimiko groan.:"It's stupid"

Ameokylu continue
"Years pass. The villagers were unaware, but the ronin started to like the village, and even if on the surface he kept bullying them- he liked them.
This secret eventually was exposed- maybe a kid tried to steal something from the Ronin,but he wasnt willing to punish the kid, beyond empty threats.
The very next day group of the village youth have attacked him. He beaten them without killing them. Next day, a bigger group has ambushed him, but he wasn"t willing to kill,and eventually they have lynched him to death,ripping him to pieces.
The Ronin had power, but it was meaningless, when he refused to use it. The young villagers didn't had much power, but they had the will to use their number and viciouse violence. Their will to act overpoweree the unused power of the ronin. This is my point- to stop holding back. To use everything we got. I have plans, that I cant reveal in this forum. Only the Ottokage may know the full scope of those plans, but I dropped hints. What I discuss here,aren't the technicalities of this strategy or that strategy, I got this.covered. I am talking about the spirit of our village. Our attitude as a whole.

[Lord Raziere]

Mitsuko:
"Flattery will get you nowhere, I'm loyal to my Patriarch and future Otokage."
She says dismissively.

Jirou:
The headache subsides and he says, with newfound anger and passion.
"Okay. Okay. Your talking about resolve. Okay. Question, Ameoku: what do you think the Will of Fire is?

Because its not some pretty words they repeat. Its the original version of the kind of resolve that your talking about. Its the resolve that everyone else has copied just to keep up with them. They will fight just as hard as we will! They have their own homes! Their own families and friends, loves, lives, hates, passions and sorrows! their own culture, their own identity they believe in! I have faith, no doubt in my mind that this village already has the spirit, the resolve to fight hard in response! You think Otogakure having the resolve to die for their village is special? Its not, because Konoha are the ones who invented dying for your village! They been there done that, wrote the book on dying for your village, named it the Will of Fire, got rich off it and signed the kami-damned fan copies at the convention!

But resolve alone does not win wars. Your speaking in an abstract immaterial factor. One we can't measure. One we can't calculate or plan for. Your assuming they won't fight as hard us, that they will be lazy. That they won't care. Your underestimating them. We killed their Third Hokage for Sage's sake! Do you think they don't want revenge for that!? Its only been twelve years. There are people for whom that death is still fresh in their mind! You will just be giving all the people in Konoha who want an excuse to attack us to burn us to the ground! To galvanize anyone in Konoha that could be sympathetic to our cause against us! Do you not remember the Three Deadly Leaves who became famous specifically for pursuing revenge upon us!? Have you forgotten the Third Hokage had a Jounin daughter who openly spoke out against the Fourth signing the treaty with our village!?

Do you really think people like THAT, aren't going to fight as hard as they can to destroy us? They have every reason to hate this village. They have something to defend and something to hate and destroy, those are the two strongest forces in humanity's resolve. And if we, some minor nation break treaty with a major one first? There will be no villages in all the countries that will stand by our side. We will have picked a fight with a sleeping bear as a rabbit and gotten killed for it. They have more than enough resolve to match ours and bigger numbers to use that resolve with. Don't mistake their Hokage's mercy for weakness or lack of resolve. Everything we got will not nearly be enough! This is something we know from fact, from historical basis, not some dreamed up fable about how you think this works. And the fact is: They have every advantage on us. They have more people to expend, all those sacrifices we've made? They can make the same sacrifices but more of them.

So imagine the Konoha version of Ameoku, going through all the same things, now imagine there are multiple versions of her each forged in similar crucibles of sacrificial fire to fuel their resolve, just as determined, just as bloodthirsty, just as ready to fight as you, ready to gang up on you and not care that there is only one Otogakure Ameoku to go kill between them, and they're all older and more experienced, all of them just as ready to die to screw you over. That is what your facing on a massive scale. That is what your wanting to fight! We merely adopted what they built the foundations of this entire century upon! Your not in any way utilizing anything unique about this village by going down this path- only allowing Konoha's victory by internalizing a value they popularized even if we win, because victory by those methods will only mean that we will have BECOME a new Konoha, same as the old Konoha, but with sonic explosion decorations!"
He shakes his head.
"You'd be doing nothing but changing the wallpaper."

[Rater202]

"If a new Konoha is what yow ant us to be, Ameoku-san, then I could just go tot he LEaf Village now, tell them I a hte Sane Sage, that I am probably a Senju by blood, and use that to negotiate a reconciliation. We'd be safe from being wiped out by the LEaf in exchange for being a satellite village."

"Or we can find a new edge, something all our own, and maintain our political and cultural independence..."

"And Ameoku... If you really want to 'rain me,' you'd be better served by giving me your research. The experiments that allowed you to create your bloodline. My own research on the nature of chakra and the effects it has on biology and vice versa would greatly benefit from such information, while... Your fighting style? You're a berserker. While I myself am primarily a melee combatant, your exact style would be... Incompatible. I have to remain in control, or people will die."

Yeah, Senko's going for it.