Brace Yourselves!

The great black dragon soared in the skies. They were ahead of the storm and was able to maintain their overview of the army. The prison defenses were no match for this level of fighting and were quickly defeated. They moved through Block A, cutting a path though to the large walls of Block B. This wall was a testament to their defensive capabilities. They army would take a forever to destroy these gates. Time was of the essence, and he had an idea on how to speed this along.

He spoke to Balerion to swoop down. He merely grunted in approval, and dipped from the high sky and gave room above the army. They were used to the dragon already, though they did keep an eye on him. The Sage Clone stopped its gathering and jumped up. He jumped from the dragon and landed within the criminal forces. They cleared an area for him and he instantly gathered himself, and ran forward. His speed had grown nicely and he was moving at superhuman speeds before long.

The rest of prison guards were being defeated. And Raijin was able to hover above the attack away from the wall. The forces would be able to watch what he was about to unleash. Balerion beat his wings in the air, Raijin would leave him here while they entered Block B.

The Sage Clone ran for the gates and came within 30 meters of it. The other fighters were swarmed around him fighting their way through. Raijin ignored them, he had a bigger mission. The clones body began to change as it activated the Sage Transformation second state. The smooth dark skin began to turn to a dark scaly grey, and it covered his entire body. His face became beastly and he his teeth feral. Boosters immediately began to form over his body and aimed at the entirety of the gates.

The criminals around it began to notice the change. Then the Sage clone let out a shockwave of a roar and cleared the area away from him. Now he was able to aim without causing casualties to his side, if they came into his way that was there fault.

He quickly began to gather nature energy in the jet like boosters created around his shoulders and his hands. The Cursed One aimed at large summoning of energy towards the gate doors. Then he unleashed a devastating amount of nature energy. The blast was quick and powerful and cascaded into a wide explosion. The cannons fired into the gates and blasted into it. It would blast apart the gate walls after succumbing to such an impressive blast.

The entire front of Wall B would be blasted backwards into whatever prison defenses were there. This left the area with crumbling rocks but a somewhat clear path. The blast created a hole 30 meters wide that the criminals could now exploit. The Sage clone reverted back to normal, deactivating the Sage Transformation. Merryweather did say she needed an MVP. He knew this would be a worthy deed. The Sage Clone would retreat back into the forces, his job done for now.

-----------

Sage Clone: -20 NCP =  55 CP | 10/30 NCP
Jutsu used:

Spoiler:

Raijin: 55 CP | 30/30 NCP

The cloud of dust hadn't settled from the explosion impacting the first wall. The air was thick with dirt and stone dust. Nothing could be seen on the other side. Suddenly it parted, right in the middle, as a giant rhino jumped through the gaping hole and into Block A. At its shoulders, commanding the beast, was the lieutenant. Behind him were two men. Last on the beast was little Izumi, wrapped up in a concealing mask with loose, dirty clothes similar to what most of the criminals assaulting the prison wore.

Several prison guards stood in the way. Most fled from the prospect of getting trampled, but a select few decided to play the odds. They died. The rhino charged through them and had no trouble crushing their comparatively fragile bones beneath its powerful feet. Many other guards were tossed to either side of the rhino with a mighty swing of its head. Fortunately, none had yet tasted its large horn.

The rhino's pace never slowed. Guards quickly learned to avoid standing in front of the beast. They may be capable fighters, but none had in their arsenals any weapon or jutsu capable of felling it before meeting a gruesome end. Instead, they tried to predict the time and path of its charge. They rushed up to either side of the thing and tried to plunge its exposed belly with their weapons. The riders were thrilled. They'd been waiting for something to kill. The rhino took out most everything and they'd started to think that maybe there wouldn't be any fun for them. They took out swords and spears and lunged out to the sides. The guards were skewered before they got within range.

Izumi sat silent on the back. She wasn't very partial to all of the blood being spilled everywhere. The most brutal fight she'd ever been in was on the farm with Rin, but even then, nobody died. It was nothing compared to all of the chaos here. She knew she'd have to help out at some point, but without weapons of her own, she couldn't do much from the rhino's back. And she definitely wasn't about to jump off of the rhino. It was the best place to be and would shortcut the way to that one girl's cell.

There were criminals all over the place fighting with the guards. Izumi scanned the battefield over and over again, just in case something happened that might target her, the rhino, or the nice rhino people. The guards were obviously better trained for the most part. Some of the criminals were surprisingly good. But the guards were just way too few in number. They were clearly getting overwhelmed. Unless something massive happened, they'd all be killed. Izumi didn't think that was very likely to change. The person that had the crazy massive techniques with the lightning and the people with the huge-mongous dragons were all on their side. Supposedly, they were supposed to meet some kind of resistance. Nobody really shed any details within earshot of Izumi. So far, it didn't look like anything was going to happen on the prison's side.

And then one of the dragons starts flying low near the next wall. Izumi and the rhino were barely halfway there when one of the riders hoped off and blew a hole straight through the wall. The stone cracked and shattered, revealing more enemies behind it. Izumi wondered if maybe they should've waited until the brunt of the criminal force had worked its way to that point. Now the guards in this block would have backup, and it'd take longer for everyone to get through.

Everyone was pretty excited about this whole thing, though. Just one look at more people to kill beyond the wall made them all shout for some kind of sadistic joy. They really were getting a kick out of this whole thing. Izumi was still just sitting there, watching. the rhino didn't seem to care that it had rushed right past the criminal forces and into the half of the block occupied solely by guards. The lieutenant actually let loose on the reigns when no friendlies were nearby. The beast went wild. It start bucking around and lashing out at every living thing in sight. That was a whole lot of anger for such a cute guy.

Eventually, the forces caught up and the lieutenant took hold of the controls again. He charged the rhino right through the new hole in the wall and continued into the next block. Izumi still sat there, but she got the distinct feeling that something bad was gonna happen in this next area.

(Exit)

The flight over was relatively peaceful, with no real resistance offered against the dragons. The forces protecting the prison were laughably overwhelmed by the break in, and Nozomi found that she was a little disappointed by them so far. This was supposed to be the best prison in the world, housing the most dangerous criminals that ever got caught. Yet, from what she saw, some of the prisoners even joined in against the invading forces. They'd grown too complacent here, brain washed by the prison system, but it wouldn't matter. They couldn't stand against the waves of criminals.

Nozomi wondered what the next walls would have to offer, since she doubted that this was the best it had to offer. If so, then there would have been no need to amass such an army in the first place. She took the time to converse with Isobu while waiting to arrive at the next wall.

-

In her inner realm, Nozomi stood, a barrier maintained by the seal placed on her between herself and the giant turtle, who was curled up and peering at her through a single eye, curious about what she wanted this time. She always came and just committed to some small talk, more or less just offering a little bit of companionship.

"What do you think about this prison?" Nozomi asked, seeing if he had any insight to offer. She'd come to realize that the turtle had a vast amount of knowledge, and although he wasn't always cooperative, he certainly wasn't always unhelpful.

The turtle chuckled slightly. "The defenses here are pathetic. If I weren't held back by your seal, I'd crush through this place unchecked. Your measly human walls weren't made to stop a dedicated force by itself, and it's too large of an area to actually be manned enough to halt attacks from everywhere. The multiple wall strategy is nice, but tearing down walls is simple enough. That said, there's sure to be more resistance the further in you go, as that's where they will have more high priority prisoners and the walls are closer together. All in all, a decent defensive position, but with glaring flaws."

Nozomi nodded, more or less having reached the same conclusion a bit ago. "I doubt it could stop you. I doubt it could stop me, and I'm not a 30 story tall turtle." she added. "What hope would it have with the two of us?"

A deep rumbling laugh emanated from the barrier. "You and I are far from in sync, little one. You won't even let me out of my cage, so how could we ever be a truly unstoppable force like you want?"

Nozomi frowned. "First off, I can't let you out of the cage. Second, why would I even if I could?" She spoke from a place of ignorance. She wasn't aware that she could actually do it in the first place, and she didn't really know anything about letting him out.

"I forget, you're so young and naive about things. I give you access to my powers, because I know that you won't abuse them or abuse me. However, I'm limited in how much I can actually give you due to the seal, which keeps me locked here. It also keeps me from exerting my full power, and consequently, how much I can seep out to grant you. The more you use my abilities, the weaker the seal grows, but the more power I can give you. You are, however, in control of the seal's locking mechanism, and could release me at any point from this prison. Of course, I could then fight you and take over your body if I wanted, or just fully break out and be free if I were to consume you." The voice spoke of her like she was some insect that could be easily defeated, but the two of them both knew that Nozomi was incredibly powerful on her own merits. "However, previous owners of me have done this very thing, because should you beat me, you could take more of my chakra into your being, which is the pay off. Nobody has ever succeeded, but maybe you'd be the first. That's a gamble I'm willing to make."

Nozomi sat in silence for a few moments as she contemplated this new information. She could let him out and fight for control? This was very tempting to her. Nozomi knew that as far as potential went, she was reaching her own plateau on what she could achieve on her own. With the Bijuu's powers she had been granted already, she was probably one of the most singularly powerful people anyhow, but that didn't quell her desire to grow stronger. She wanted that full control. "We can talk more about this after we break out Chiheisen." They were coming up on the wall.

-

Nozomi and Thorn dove closer to the ground, with the large dragon landing on it with an earth shaking impact, the sheer weight and mass of the dragon landing. Nozomi hopped off the dragon, who let off a roar and a mighty beat of his wings. Moments later, he disappeared in a flash of smoke, as the extent of his summons were up.

Nozomi watched as Raijin's clone destroyed the second wall, opening up an entrance to Block B in front of them. She had to admit that he had grown a little bit stronger, that much was for sure. He was marginally faster as well, which had been his biggest flaw during the tournament. She was glad that he had been training, as if he hadn't been, then he surely would perish this mission. Still, he was still far behind Nozomi in terms of actual combat prowess and skill. It was time to enter the prison's second block.

Forming the clone seal, Nozomi split her chakra pool 6 ways, creating 5 identical copies of herself. She sent them off ahead through the gap created by Raijin, moving at their highest speed without using chakra. She was going to use them as the front scouts, and to clear out any opposition that tried to stop them, or at least weaken them first. After all, her clones had her durability, and the gear that she had as well, so there was no real reason that they should be taken out easily. And if they did go down, she'd know what to expect. The real Nozomi stayed with Raijin, to make sure that the Society didn't suffer any casualties. She expected some heavy resistance, and knew that she may have to send him back with Chiheisen while she dealt with anyone else who tried to stop them once they freed her.

-EXIT to Block B-

Spoiler:

Nozomi: 35/35(210)
Clone-zomi 2-6: 35/35

The Sage clone stood by as the rest of the criminals and hired ninja rushed past him. The whole in Block B's gated walls was now down. He rushed forward blending into the crowd as well gather energy for the next obstruction. The real Raijin noticed the breaking of the wall and a small smiled played on his face. There was almost no wall or vault that could stop him now. But the hard part was only moments away. Raijin urged Balerion forward. Beside him he was able to notice Nozomi on the top of Thorn ride with him. He could see her sending her clones into the field just as they had agreed to.

---------------------

Sage Clone: 55 CP | 20/30 NCP

Raijin: 55 CP | 30/30 NCP

[Exit- Block B]

A pair of black combat boots covered both feet leaving no open weakness to his feet. He wears a pair of common synthetic black pants personally having the bottoms wrapped in white bandage wrap to prevent it dragging or getting snagged. On right his thigh is a blue rectangular holster secured and backed by white tape. Gin wears a black single utility belt tightly secured to his waist. It holds one blue holster on his right side as well as two beige carry pouches around the back side of the belt. To his left was a short, studded club. The right of his belt was a Chokuto in a red lacquered scabbard. His torso is covered by a sleeveless black shirt. Under his black shirt he wore a set of titanium mail. It was light and was worn like a T-shirt. It provided a layer of protection which would most likely be needed. Among this he was suited in a set of plated armor. A breastplate, set of arm guards, pauldrons, and faulds dyed red.

Over all of this was a thick, black cloak which concealed the majority of what he wore making everything more of a surprise with the hood drawn over his head. Covering his face is a simple black mask up to his nose. A radio headset was worn in his right ear with the mouthpiece inches from the corner of his mouth allowing him to communicate through the predetermined frequency. This was a backup method to speak to Akihiro as they both temporarily had a slug in their possession. This summon allowed them to communicate without the distance regulations with the radio headset proving to be more efficient. Gin is a tall, lean male standing at 6'2 and weighing 175 lbs. He has a broad, moderately toned figure. He has a tan skin tone accompanied with rich hazel eyes and medium length brown hair stopping briefly past midway down his neck and shortly past his forehead.

The great battle avian plunged towards the ground, flapping its wings and standing before the tunnel carved out by Bayushi within the Block A side. Izumi, Bayushi, and Nozomi's clones already ran ahead of the party to face the demise of The Blood Prison's guards and defenses. The power displayed by the attackers was impressive having dealt with the first two walls in a matter of minutes. But the gravy train ended here. Upon the back of the Falcon was Gin as his eyes scoured the battlefield, or at least what remained of it. A few bodies here and there, but the standing threat that remained in Block A explained the attacker's efficiency in advancing through the prison so quickly. Big Bird remained at the front of the tunnel, the five meter tall falcon covering the hole in its entirety. The cloaked figure riding it falcon hopped off and landed on solid earth. "Hello, Nozomi Himitsu." Gin's hands move up to remove his hood and draw down his face mask to reveal his face. "It's been quite awhile." They only stood ten meters apart which was optimal distance for most methods of attack in his arsenal.

Gin Stuff:

Big Bird:

She was wearing her usual battle gear, which was more or less just a grey and black ensemble of pouches and the usual jumpsuit and flak jacket that you would see on a career shinobi. It was just one of those generic flak jackets, with no real identifiers on it, but hers was one of incredibly high quality. She also had on the rest of her outfit, which was her old set of Military Combat gear, given to her by Yomi from when they had come to Kumo the first time. She'd lost her combat jacket, but she wasn't sentimental like that, so it wasn't really a big deal to her. She only wore these items out of convenience. A pair of gloves to help protect her hands, if even minimally. Her pants had an iron plating woven into the shins, covered by another layer of cloth, with the knees and upper thighs protected by a layer of plastic, also covered by another layer of cloth. Her boots were basically just normal boots, but they had a layer of iron at the tips to help protect her toes and give her more solid kicks.

Her gear was fairly standard for her: she had her tanto, sheathed in the baldric behind her left shoulder. She had several pouches on her belt and person that held her various ninja tools, although she rarely resorted to using them anymore. Two holsters, one on either side of her hip, each held a single kunai in them. Her headband hung near her neck, the line she had etched into it to declare herself a missing-nin prominent. She had recently cut her hair down to shoulder length, while riding over on Thorn from Kumo.

She hung back while the clones and the rest of the group moved through the hole in the wall, and was about to follow suit when a large bird and rider dove to the ground, cutting her off from the rest of the group. It was fine, she still had clones available to continue forward, but she dismissed 3 of them to regain their chakra.

That left two scouting ahead, although as they noticed the disappearance of the other clones, one of them douvled back, keeping a distance to try and get the drop on this new opponent. She would sneak forward stealthily while Nozomi watched him dismount the bird.

As he pulled back his hood, he spoke her name, declaring some sort of familiarity with her, but Nozomi didnt recall meeting him. The bird struck more of a familiar chord though, and she nodded. "You were at the valley." She kept her eyes on him, ready to react at a moment's notice.

"I would love to stay and chat really, but I have a job to do. You can stand in my way and things will not work out for you, or you can help free Chiheisen and get out of my way. Our employer is offering 1 million ryo and a rare item to any who help free Chiheisen. That could include you, or you could die and receive nothing. Your choice."

She would usually love to fight, but if she could settle it without fighting and move on ahead quicker, then that would have to be how it was. If not, she would kill him fast and move on. Honiko had disgraced the village's forces 2 years ago, and Nozomi was at least as strong as Honiko had been then. She doubted Gin would fair any better with less backup than before.

He was either trying to stall her or he had identified himself for a specific reason, but Nozomi couldn't see whu he would do that unless he was willing to talk, or just outright arrogant thinking he could take her on without the element of surprise.
-popping 3 clones to restore 105 chakra to Nozomi's pool.
Total- 140/140 [210]

Thanks to Merryweather there was a steady draft around the prison. Her technique used to prevent outsiders from interfering with the Blood Prison worked in Gin's favor. There was a heavy "Nozomi smell" coming from her location as well as the path leading to the tunnel behind him. That smell was also coming back out the tunnel and to Gin. Certainly there was an approach from his rear, but he couldn't afford to double-take. He had little idea how much Nozomi had grown since the valley, but news had it that she was deemed the grand champion. Gin didn't care to participate in the event, but a lot of powerful Shinobi did. Including Masuyo who currently outranked him.

Gin had little memory of Nozomi besides her blunt betrayal in front of all of the great nations. She effectively grown to become a tool for the Society just as Shinobi grew into tools for their nation. He couldn't argue morality with her for siding with a much more powerful force. It was probably the wiser thing to do. She offered a petty deal to have Gin change sides. Money and the promise of a special item the best she could do which didn't interest him in the slightest. "Check your flank, Big Bird." The Falcon would shift with Gin's command catching the sneaky Nozomi at the end of the tunnel. The Falcon would remain docile for now keeping a steady eye on the girl. "Well you see, I was actually going to give you a proposition. I don't pick sides. Whether Chiheisen leaves here or stays imprisoned has little interest for me. I'm only here for a contract, but I intend to do my job proper. And I intend to fulfill my contract at any cost. That girl's status means nothing to me."

Gin was unaware of the current status of the fight within Block B, but no loud explosions were heard nor did he receive any contact thru radio or slug about another breach. He was comforted in knowing the army's progress was halted for a bit. He'd raise his hands casually and place both on the handles of his primary weapons-- the sword and his club. He'd rest them there while having them at the ready if combat were to break out between the both of them. "What I'm trying to say is once the castle is breached, the guards in Chiheisen's cell will be ordered to execute and dispose of her. I know you don't want that, and your contractor definitely does not want that. Alas, I'm not being unfair and saying you can never have the opportunity to free her. Just not while I'm here and while I'm on duty. I'm letting you know what's going to happen to Chiheisen ahead of time so you have a chance to reconsider your assault. Your allies were being taken care of in Block B. Let them perish. I'm sure you have little care for them as you did your former village. Your objective will still live and the prison defenses will return to normal allowing you to secure her at another time. Of course your other option is to fight me and prolong this conflict. In that case you risk guaranteed failure and risk to your own life. What will it be, Nozomi?" Ultimately her decision determined whether or not he had to fight. He was prepared for either approach

Gin Stuff:

Big Bird:

As Gin's hands moved towards the hilts of his weapons, she slipped into her Spring Chant stance, although she didn't expend any energy while doing so, just holding at a ready position. With her clone having been noticed, and the other clone unable to advance to the next block due to the sheer distance, Nozomi dismissed both of her remaining clones, returning all of her chakra to her original self. As the bird would view her clone, it would poof into a cloud of smoke.

Gin brought to her an interesting proposal, but unfortunately, Nozomi wasn't in a position that she could honestly back away from. He offered her information that she wouldn't have otherwise had, in the form of Chiheisen being under guard and threat of execution if she was freed. Nozomi didn't think that the Warden would be too thrilled about that, so she filed that information away for later use as it was. They'd have to be pretty careful when it came to freeing Chiheisen, otherwise she would die, which was pretty petty.

"If I leave my allies to die here without completing my own mission, because of some minor complications, I would lose all the trust that Honiko has placed in me. And no payment if she isn't freed either. I'm willing to risk Chiheisen's life so long as I make the effort to complete the mission. If Raijin dies, so be it. My contractor understands the risk of Chiheisen's breakout. The Warden, on the other hand, might have something else to say about that."

She dashed forward with no warning, not even bothering to finish her sentence before she launched forward, closing the distance of 10 meters between the two of them, not using the full extent of her stance, but still incredibly fast as it was through her base speed alone, still incredibly strong with her base strength alone. She launched an open palmed strike up towards Gin's throat with her left hand, and a follow up quick kick immediately after towards the left inward part of Gin's ankle, aiming to cripple his movements by breaking the ankle with minimal movement and without unbalancing herself or leaving too much open. She kept her right arm free for the purposes of blocking any counter strikes.

She held back so she could see Gin's own physical abilities, to gauge where he was and if he was able to react to her in the first place, while still showing enough skill and pure speed that it would be believable that she wasn't holding back at all. She wasn't above using the element of surprise with a burst of speed and strength.

-

Stamina: 210/210

UA- Body Like Steel: Nozomi has been training and fighting for years, and her body has been well conditioned to pain. Unless caught off guard via sneak attack, whenever Nozomi is in a fight, her constitution is raised by 1. Freebie UA.

Strength: B
Constitution: B -> A (w/FUA)
Stamina: B+
Speed: A
Coordination: A
Intelligence: C
Perception: A

Gin watched the girl's response to his stance. He couldn't decide if she was nervous or honed by the Society to where she was designed for combat, taking any cue of potential violence seriously. As the girl's shadow clone disappeared the falcon turned its attention back to Gin supporting him from behind. By the start of when Nozomi began talking he concluded she was against his bargain offer. So be it. Gin was honest with what he said. He did not care about the fate of the prison or Chi. He was pulled into this conflict because of his village and the sense of duty he had to keep his position of power. Nozomi immediately followed off her last words with an assault. Big Bird and Gin immediately responded with flawless teamwork. The large falcon flapped its wings to build up an air current beneath him to gain air. Meanwhile, Gin drew his Chokuto from his belt using his right hand in an off-hand grip while wielding his club in his left hand, again in an off-hand grip. There was little time to prepare a proper grip, but fortunately Gin was experienced enough to make the most in a sticky situation.

The club moved in front of Gin and across his field of view using the side of the weapon to parry Nozomi's incoming palm thrust. The blonde was an expert fighting and didn't need to re-approach him or take time to think of a different measure. Close quarters combat flowed naturally with her as she paced her attacks one after another, changing angles of approach to make negotiating them increasingly difficult. Especially when Gin could admit she was faster than he was. Her leg came in close to strike the inside of his right leg targeting the ankle, a soft target which would cripple his movement, though he was able to prevent contact by driving his Chokuto into the earth having the side of the blade parallel with his leg. The sword was long making the amount of space he needed to clear minimal. Nozomi's leg would contact flat side of the blade never making it to his ankle as the earth and his own strength prevented her leg from going further or disarming him.

By that moment, Big Bird was in position hovering ten meters over the combatants with his presence casting a large shadow over them. Gin's left leg moved up and across to try and trap Nozomi's leg between his leg and the Chokuto. He'd adjust his body to provide maximum control over it to try and keep the girl close. Breaking her leg loose would be difficult given the foot's design being perpendicular with the rest of her leg. Big Bird hovered above them for a brief moment as he charged his chakra. Beneath its wings formed thirty, one-foot diameter sized missiles of condensed air. These hailed from their position striking the earth around the two fighters. A ten meter clearing around the both of them with Gin and Nozomi as the epicenter remained unscathed. Instead, they nailed a thirty meter thick doughnut around them. Big Bird constantly produced these bullets one after another in a constant feed of aerial support totaling with one-hundred and fifty bullets making the target area impossible to cross without being perforated.

This was a deterrent to the true trap. Gin honed his Lightning chakra from within before expelling it from his body during the barrage from Big Bird. Dense electricity sparked from his body covering the ten meter clearing the two stood in. The purpose was to give her nowhere to run and suffer some form of damage. Assuming Nozomi was trapped and was still unable to break free, Gin would take advantage of the girl's position to make a downward swing with his studded club striking the top of her head in attempts to split her wig after twirling the club into a regular straight grip. The effects would be heavy given his strength and what the club was made of, being Senju Wood fitted with steel studs. Although she was durable the club would send a lot of energy through her thick noggin sending alarming shock, a punishing headache, and reconsideration to his offer earlier.

Gin Stuff:

Big Bird:

Captain's Long Sword: A-grade Jade Chokuto. Improved handling design increases the user's Coordination by +1 advantage and Strength of strikes by +1 advantage.

Occult Club: B-grade Senju Wood club fitted with centimeter steel studs. Enchantment: Banish summons A-rank and below for 6 posts. 30/30 uses.

He was strong enough to block her strikes, and fast enough to react, which was actually a fairly impressive thing considering how quickly most would have fallen to her combo. It looked like there was more to Gin than met the eye. It was a shame really. Nozomi wanted to build up the Society's forces, and recruiting was the best way to do so, but Gin was more focused on completing his mission than anything else, so she'd have to beat him down for the time being. Even if what he said was true, she wasn't about to let Raijin walk into a trap and get Chiheisen killed. If he happened to make it past the defenses they set up, he was going to fail the objective anyhow, and she couldn't let that happen.

As Gin started to cross his leg over to trap her leg between his sword and his leg, Nozomi noticed that the Bird flew over them, hovering in place and began to swell up a Fuuton jutsu that began to box them in. Even as the first round of bullets hit the ground, Nozomi had begun her counter, not one to allow someone to dictate the terms of their close quarters fighting. Gin would find out just how big of a mistake it was to try and box her in.

She had already gotten into form before the fight started, but had held back just for that very reason. She only needed to have established the basic form to utilize it at it's fullest potential, and Nozomi was the only one to have mastered Spring Chant to the degree that she had. Her counter attack was 3 fold, a quick and overwhelming amount of force that would also assist in disabling Gin for the time being.

With her right foot locked into place for the time being, she knew that Gin couldn't advance, and that he had also more or less trapped himself into the same position as she was, so she took full advantage of that. Luckily, she had developed a jutsu in preparation for this sort of thing. It was mainly meant to be defensive, but she could work with what she had for the time being and get some damage stacked up on him as well. Her left palm strike to his neck had been blocked, but Nozomi hadn't attacked with her right hand for a reason. The first was so she could defend if needed, but the second was to have an immediately free hand for a follow up if her previous strikes had landed.

Even though they hadn't, she was still set up for it. Her left hand pulled back as she channeled Raiton energy through herself as well, forming into the Seal of Confrontation, something that was already one handed and so she didn't need to slow down to make the sign. At the same time, Nozomi's right arm launched forward, her muscles tensed up her entire arm, but clothing obscured how much they had been. She applied a single application of her Misty Petal Shift to the strike, enhancing the speed of the strike slightly, while also utilizing the full potential of not only her Awakened Spring Chant, but Spring's Potential as well, over clocking her muscles and fighting at full force. The combination of the form she used and the techniques to enhance it gave her strike such intense speed that most people would find it impossible to follow. Even she herself only saw it as a blur.

In combination with the speed though, she packed an immense amount of strength behind her blow, delivered towards Gin's chest for the express purpose of smashing him with as much force as she could physically muster, even if it would hit the armor and be even somewhat mitigated. Moments before she had launched her strike though, the Seal of Confrontation and Raiton chakra she had built up surged through her and propelled from her in a meter bubble, projecting from herself in her Electromagnetic Repulse. Trapped as she was against Gin, and Gin trapped to her, there would be no way to escape from it. Her counter had come almost immediately upon the Bird's first volley of bullets, which would either interrupt the Chidori Current, or run in tandem with it.

Should they run at the same time, the defensive nature of Electromagnetic Repulse would cancel out the current as it would come into play. If the punch connected as well, Gin would be launched backwards towards a portion of the wall that hadn't been destroyed by Raijin, and potentially through one of the barrages of Wind Bullets that the Bird was launching to keep them ringed in. If the Electromagnetic Repulse and punch connected before Gin's Chidori Current, Gin would receive a mild enough shock to him, although he'd be able to push through the pain with little difficulty. The true power of the technique was in it's repulsion of jutsu, items, and people. At the start, however, it didn't have a lot of power to push people away though, but that was fine. She used the technique to shock his system and mess with his coordination for a little while, basically short circuiting Gin.

Either way, she would likely be free, and expecting some sort of a counter from the bird, so she would prepare to either retreat or advance depending on the bird's positioning upon blasting Gin away. Still, even that short exchange was a massive drain on her reserves, and she couldn't afford to continue on like that for too long.

-
-5 Awakened Spring Chant
-5 Spring's Potential
-1 Misty Petal Shift
-10 Electromagnetic Repulse
Stamina: 189/210

UA- Body Like Steel: Nozomi has been training and fighting for years, and her body has been well conditioned to pain. Unless caught off guard via sneak attack, whenever Nozomi is in a fight, her constitution is raised by 1. Freebie UA.

Ninjutsu Perk: -1 Raiton Chakra Costs
Taijutsu Perk: -1 Taijutsu Stamina Costs

Strength: B -> B++ [ASC] -> S [SP]
Constitution: B -> A (w/FUA)
Stamina: B+
Speed: A
Coordination: A -> S [ASC] -> S++ [MPS]
Intelligence: C
Perception: A

Jutsu Used:

Spoiler:

Nozomi's leg was helplessly trapped where it was, with attempts to break free serving as a distraction and possible injury by the razor sharp blade. Big Bird was efficient in laying down suppression fire as Gin prepared his technique. Everything went according to plan. All he had to do right now was tolerate whatever Nozomi tried to dish out in the brief second they were in close quarters. The blonde's arm budged slightly causing Gin's eyes to shoot down momentarily at the hand sign. She was also preparing some form of technique given their close proximity. He did not doubt even she was capable of taking advantage of such a ripe opportunity. A Ninjutsu's primary weakness was how slow it was compared to Taijutsu or Genjutsu. However, being within grapple distance of each other rightly negated any of that.

Gin had a simple remedy for this: overpowering. He had no doubt Nozomi planned something powerful as her counterattack to prevent receiving any damage to herself. This just meant he needed to amplify his technique beyond normal limits. Both of their chakra charged as they were about to execute their technique at roughly the same time. Nozomi's free hand moved from her close guard. Although she looked lightweight and petite she was by no means weak after getting a taste of what she was capable of in her first two strike attempts. She was just as strong as he was, physically. He prepared his body similar to how he augmented his Ninjutsu.

Digging his feet into the ground beneath him it began to crack displaying the incredible pressure build up. She was almost too fast for him to deal with in close quarters. Being within such close proximity his best option to avoid any damage was to disengage which was not an option. Not after he invested so much into this trap already. He prepared to take the brunt of her impact. He moved his body the best he could without compromising the leg grapple he had Nozomi caught in. Nozomi's punch would not strike Gin dead center in his chest. Instead it was placed just off-center to his right. Initially he planned to deflect her strike entirely by using his breastplate as a means to glance her knuckles. But that was far from what actually happened. Her strength and precision was so immense she drove her knuckles into his breastplate punching the jade inwards leaving a detailed imprint of her knuckles behind. He'd feel the energy and pain drive into his torso and ribs.

The ground beneath him began to crack a nova-effect occurred expanded a few meters around him. Normally Gin would have been sent flying in the opposite direction and into the bullet storm conjured by Big Bird. His newfound strength and durability helped poise him enough to stay stabilized. Nozomi's leg was still trapped, even more helplessly so, as Gin's technique unleashed from his body at the same time Nozomi's did. The blonde would notice a drastic turn in events. Maybe she underestimated the technique he used? Whatever it was, her attempted defense was completely blown out as Gin's Lightning release reined superior. She would suffer great damage as the electricity worked to override her nerves and cook her from the inside. Anything in the ten meter bubble around them was toast.

Gin right hand reached down to grab the Chokuto again in its reversed grip while twirling the club into a standard straight grip. He still had some strength left over in his adrenaline surge. As the lightning receded and Nozomi recovering briefly from the painful experience he would take advantage of her dazzled mind. Fixing himself in a proper stance letting her leg free he'd swing both the club and sword simultaneously. The club was aimed at the left side of Nozomi's head while the Chokuto would aim to slice the outside of her left thigh deep into her tissue, though a few centimeters short from hitting the bone. The club packed a mightier punch as it would have little trouble breaking the tissue and causing a fracture. Neither would be life threatening, but the club striking her temple would have a very high potential of rendering the woman unconscious. The combination of the two attacks would send her soaring to his far left going dozens of meters before tumbling across the ground.

Gin Stuff:

Precog Used (2): Used one Precog to gauge the power of Nozomi's technique to use Gin's Technique LBP and another to gauge the strength of her Taijutsu attack to use his Physical LBP.

Big Bird:

Captain's Long Sword: A-grade Jade Chokuto. Improved handling design increases the user's Coordination by +1 advantage and Strength of strikes by +1 advantage.

Occult Club: B-grade Senju Wood club fitted with centimeter steel studs. Enchantment: Banish summons A-rank and below for 6 posts. 30/30 uses.

Nozomi's fist crashed into Gin's armor, although he had managed to somehow move himself enough to not be launched backwards as she had intended. Despite that, she severely dented the armor, which would be cumbersome on it's own, and probably transferred that energy from her strike into him still, even if only a little bit. A battle was won by the build up of damage, not a single strike, so she was okay with it, he had still taken what was more or less a direct strike. The ground around them cracked with the intensity as Gin tried to tank the shot and hold his stance.

While it didn't work quite as well as he had hoped, Gin still managed to stand his ground and not get launched backwards. However, he would still be forced backwards several inches, freeing up Nozomi's leg from Gin's entrapment. She hadn't actually been aware that he was building up his own technique, and so was surprised when a chakra nova of lightning exuded from her opponent, overpowering her own defense.

Nozomi was a very practical battle adept, and immediately realized she didn't have the time to dodge, or if she did, she would have to move fast, but that wasn't going to happen just now. Instead, she tensed up, preparing to take the hit herself. It might give her a chance for a counter attack, and she could get incredibly durable when she was prepared to defend. With the power of her own attack pushing against the power of Gin's empowered Chidori Current, she at least managed to weaken it slightly, so she wasn't taking a full on attack. Nozomi let her body loosen up in specific areas, so that she was still tensed for a defense, but where she was would be malleable.

The lightning barrage hit her, but having prepared against it with the split second timing, Nozomi wasn't too shaken up by the power of the technique. While certainly strong, she was able to deal with it. Springtime's Halt was the mastery of defense and evasion, blending the two of them together to help her not only defend an attack, but also let it shape her movement slightly, moving with it rather than stone walling. This helped reduce the full impact things had. Between that, and her natural constitution, in addition to her armor, while Nozomi received what most would consider a major shock, Nozomi only came out of it minorly frazzled.

Still, she stood her ground, and was still ready to continue the fight. She couldn't feel her legs much, the electrical shock having short circuited her nervous system partially. She was still able to move, she could feel that much, but it would be a little bit slower than usual. She had also fought off the stun by having tensed properly when she was hit by the technique, most of her muscles not having to tense up at all because they had already been tensed. The electricity had moved through her system and grounded itself quicker.

She didn't move though, waiting for Gin to advance before she went for the hard counter. As he started his swings, Nozomi moved into action. Although she had been slowed as far as movement speed, her hand to hand speed was more or less untouched. She shifted forward as Gin would strike towards her, and pushed into his range, while grabbing for the club in Gin's hand, and Gin's hand or the hilt of his chokuto, using her own superior strength to grapple and hold it in place, her superior coordination and hand speed in addition to his own started movement which would be hard to stop if he had been swinging with any real force behind it. The factors should add up to Nozomi intercepting his strikes in a non dangerous way, although with her iron-like skin, there wasn't too much danger from being hit once or twice. Gin simply wasn't strong enough for that to be a worry. His adrenaline boost to tank her shot had worn off almost immediately.

She moved her head back as if winding up for a headbutt, but that was purely a distraction technique. She brought up her knee with incredible force, once again applying a small boost to put her over the top using a propulsion from Misty Petal Shift to that foot, leaving behind another burst of petals where her foot had been. If successful, her right knee would drive itself into Gin's groin with the same amount of force and speed that had dented his armor earlier. If he tried to move or shift back somehow, she would follow up by extending her leg for a full kick, shifting her hips and rotating however she needed to, aiming the shot for whichever knee joint or cap was easiest to hit.

He'd eeked out a lot of power to withstand her attack and overpower her technique, but had failed to actually take her down then and there, which would prove to be a vast mistake. Still, she would find herself impressed with the level of skill this Konoha ninja possessed, and was annoyed that she had to end the fight quickly, or she'd take her time to enjoy it more. Instead, she had to pump out more power to end the match as soon as possible. It might pay her some interesting scenarios if she paid a visit to Konoha next, assuming she didn't kill Gin during this fight.

-
-5 Awakened Spring Chant
-3 Spring's Potential
-3 Springtime's Halt
-1 Misty Petal Shift
Stamina: 177/210

UA- Body Like Steel: Nozomi has been training and fighting for years, and her body has been well conditioned to pain. Unless caught off guard via sneak attack, whenever Nozomi is in a fight, her constitution is raised by 1. Freebie UA.

Taijutsu Perk: -1 Taijutsu Stamina Costs

Strength: B -> B++ [ASC] -> S [SP]
Constitution: B -> A (w/FUA) -> S [SH]
Stamina: B+
Speed: A -> C [CC Debuff]
Coordination: A -> S [ASC] -> S++ [MPS]
Intelligence: C
Perception: A

Although Nozomi was able to break free of the snare she was a victim to his Lightning attack. Gin considered it a success despite taking a solid strike to his torso. The dent left behind served as a constant reminder as his bruise pressed firmly against the depression in his armor. It was negligible, however, as the dent was not in a vital location area for movement and the pain from the initial impact started to dissipate, though still present. During the shocking process he noticed a hidden strength in the girl, most likely just adrenaline and not her actual ability. Gin observed she was tolerating the technique well as the initial reaction he had calculated mentally was far off. She seemed moderately unphased by the technique despite being considered S-rank in power. It was worrisome to say the least.

The bullet barrage conjured by Big Bird would cease just after the initiation of the Lightning attack and even he would notice Nozomi's state. Gin very much predicted a quick retaliation once the sparks ended. After all she was a Taijutsu specialist clearly seen how she treated his Jade breastplate like a tin garbage can. When the sparks stopped flying he disregarded his planned action of his sword and bludgeon strike and fled backwards thirty meters. Big Bird, still hovering above Nozomi, flew down to her flank thirty-five meters back as he exhaled a stream of air creating a large sphere of wind growing in size before him. It would take two seconds of build up before being ready to launch. Big Bird would lock Nozomi in its sights and launch the sphere which exploded into double its size. The ball of compressed air twenty meters in diameter, which was a bit larger in scale due to the size of the bird, was sent towards Nozomi's present location at her flank.

The sphere of air tunneled the ground demonstrating its destructive power while giving the girl little avenue of evasion. The impact would hit her like a freight train as the compressed air was fairly solid, though unlike water it lost its integrity when striking a solid enough target popping like a balloon.

Gin stowed his weaponry during the process where Big Bird prepared his technique reaching into his hip pouch and retrieving a small vial filled with a yellow liquid. He'd uncork it and take a dram on the potion. It was sour and fizzy, reminiscent of a sugar-free lemon soda. Tossing the vial aside he had just enough time to prepare his chakra as Big Bird's technique was launched. Wherever Nozomi moved he would exhale a powerful beam of Lightning from his mouth. It moved like a spear where he'd attempt to skewer the woman's abdomen from one side to the other. The beam would be hot to the touch, though unlike most Lightning technique it did not electrocute the victim focusing on the Lightning's natural piercing potential to deliver damage. The beam was no more than two inches in diameter, though it had potential to cause great damage to her internals.

Gin's Stuff:

Big Bird:

Precog Used (3/5): Used one Precog to predict Nozomi's retaliation after Chidori Current to disengage.

Gin was every bit the combat tactician she would expect to be guarding the prison, and ultimately she was one to recognize the merits of a tactic she had used against Shimiko. Evasive maneuvers were smart, as she would have to be the one to aggress in order to take him down. With the Electric surge through her from earlier slowing her down, in order to deal with both the Bird and Gin at the same time in close quarters, she'd need to expend a lot of chakra, which she didn't really want to do. Still, there wasn't much choice that she had in the matter.

She could try and run and build up the time to restore her speed to her, but there was no guarantee that Gin wouldn't simply turn around and go after the rest of the criminals that were attempting to break through the prison. She needed to deal with him, and a tactical retreat wasn't an option. Of course, there were other ways that she could react without actually giving chase to her opponent.

As the bird started to move to her flank, and Gin was backing up to 30 meters distance, while he was still in his movement backwards, Nozomi formed a ram sign, molding the Suiton chakra in her stomach and launched a torrent of water from her mouth to the ground. The sheer size and scale of the waves created by the technique, which spread out over several hundred meters in every direction as it carved a crater in the ground from the sheer force would be more than sufficient to overtake Big Bird if he continued to try and charge the Fuuton technique, and even if he stopped, he may not be able to escape being swept up by the waves.

Gin had backed himself up and into the hole in the wall that Raijin had made, so the only escape he would have would be backwards, but she would be fine with him retreating. At least the bird and Gin would be separated and she would have a large source of water to draw from. Plus, it would buy her some time to recover from the Chidori Current's effects a little bit. Of course, he could try and block the water, or try and tank it, but that would place him in a sea of water with Nozomi, which wasn't generally a place people wanted to be.

Luckily, the amount of water was massive, so sending Raiton through it was impractical at most ranges except for close, since it would diffuse. Nozomi was a very powerful Taijutsu user, but her practiced brand of Taijutsu was mostly Nintaijutsu, so she was just as capable when using Ninjutsu as she was close quarters. She flipped through more signs while the waves were still crashing around them, Tiger, Dog, Monkey, Snake, Boar, Tiger, a fast activation of Water-Heaven's Convergence. If Gin or the Bird were underwater and in range, she would attempt to use the technique to hold them in place underwater.

If they weren't, she would attempt to locate them and respond accordingly. Her stance had relaxed a little, given that she was no longer in a Taijutsu encounter. Still, she knew exactly how to shift back into it an energy intensive form if she needed to. Of course, there was always the possibility that she had managed to take care of Gin and the Bird immediately, which would be nice. She would move the water beneath her and around her away, keeping a 5 meter radius bubble around her while she dropped to the ground, making sure she wasn't touching any of the water, in case Gin tried to electrocute the water and happened to be in range to do so, or if the Bird wanted to launch some Fuuton technique, it would have to move through a sea of water first. Besides, she would need to move through the hole in the wall, and the sea of water would make it a tad bit more difficult.

The wall was impressively built though, and her technique didn't destroy any more of it than was already destroyed, although it did break off some more chunks where the hole already existed. Not enough to widen it by any real margin though. That hadn't actually been her intent though.

-

-10 Water Release Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave
-5 Water Release Water Heaven's Convergence
Stamina: 162/210

Isobu: Lower's Suiton tech costs by 1 rank.

UA- Body Like Steel: Nozomi has been training and fighting for years, and her body has been well conditioned to pain. Unless caught off guard via sneak attack, whenever Nozomi is in a fight, her constitution is raised by 1. Freebie UA.

Strength: B
Constitution: B -> A (w/FUA)
Stamina: B+
Speed: A -> C [CC Debuff] 2/3
Coordination: A
Intelligence: C
Perception: A

-48 Hour'ing (Sorry, I don't like to, but my people need me)-

Her attack had been successful, flooding the immediate area and downing the bird, crushing it under the force of the waves, ending the charge up of the Fuuton jutsu prematurely. Gin had been unable to retreat or defend either, the waves crushing him down into the ground. Both the bird and Gin would have been swept backwards with the water had Nozomi not utilized her Water-Heaven's Convergence to hold them in place. All in all, a successful execution of her defensive measures, flipping the tide of battle in a rather splendid way.

Nozomi wasn't really one to gloat, as doing so was best left for after a fight was finished, and generally seemed to be a childish thing as it was. She wanted to get her results as fast as possible though, and with the Water Heaven's Convergence providing a constant pressure on the both of them to hold them in place, moving would be rather impossible for either the bird or Gin, unless they could overcome the power of the technique.

Having safely removed herself from contact with the water as well, Nozomi influenced the current of the sea of water to bring the bird and Gin closer to her safe bubble. All the while, she was focused on trying to pump water through the nostrils and mouths of her opponents, manually drowning them. His weapons had been washed away as he had been trying to stow them as the wave hit him, but he would lack the required strength to keep a hold on them. While she had a moment, Nozomi reached into one of her pouches, pulling out 3 of her military ration pills, and popped them into her mouth. She needed to keep her chakra reserves relatively full for the time being.

Once she moved both the bird and Gin's body a little closer to her, about a distance of 20 meters away, she would hold the current and pressure applied to them there, and while still funneling water into the mouths and nose of Gin and the bird, trying to fill their lungs and stomachs with water, Nozomi formed a few hand seals. Rabbit, Dog, Boar, Ram, Rat, Nozomi let loose a current of electricity from her hands, the Wave of Inspiration began channeling through the water, increased in power by the conductive property of water.

Nozomi wasn't sure what it would take to finish them off, but she figured she would do her best to speed the process along, so that she could continue on moving forward. Her goal wasn't to kill Gin, she simply wanted to remove him from the fight. However, she would kill him if she needed to. Like he said himself, this was simply a contract he had to fulfill. Nozomi was much the same, having been given a job to complete. However, this was more important to her than simply a job. Chiheisen was Honiko's sister, whether Honiko cared or not. Nozomi owed that much to give her all to release the girl.

-
Isobu: Lower's Suiton tech costs by 1 rank.
Ninjutsu perk: Lower's Raiton tech costs by 1 rank.

+30 3/3 Military Ration Pills Used for the Quest
-3 Water Heaven's Convergence upkeep
-5 Lightning Release: Wave of Inspiration activation (A rank power due to conduction through water) (-1 tier speed debuff on target)
Stamina: 184/210

UA- Body Like Steel: Nozomi has been training and fighting for years, and her body has been well conditioned to pain. Unless caught off guard via sneak attack, whenever Nozomi is in a fight, her constitution is raised by 1. Freebie UA.

Strength: B
Constitution: B -> A (w/FUA)
Stamina: B+
Speed: A -> C [CC Debuff] 3/3
Coordination: A
Intelligence: C
Perception: A

OOC: 48 houring again (Sorry again, claiming victory)

Gin seemed to have lost all of his fight. Between the strike she'd given to his armor/chest, the wave slamming into him, possibly resulting in his breath being knocked from him, the electrocution from her Wave of Inspiration, and her pumping water into his lungs, it would appear that he understood the futility of going against her. And with his lungs full of water, and no oxygen in his lungs, there was nothing he could really do except fall unconscious.

Nozomi had held him where he was, and kept holding him in place until she was sure that he was unconscious completely. Without air in his lungs, Gin would pass out very fast, and with her holding the water in his lungs, and being held underwater there was simply no way for him to actually do anything to escape her.

The bird would disappear first, poofing in a cloud of smoke, water rushing in to fill the space it had occupied. That would be Nozomi's first clue that Gin had actually fallen unconscious. She would bring herself and Gin up to the surface of the water, directing the current and the bubble she'd created around her up to the top. While she was sure that Gin was unconscious, she wanted to make sure that he was.

Gin's body would rise out of the water, still restraining him from movement, and Nozomi would post up in Arhat Fist stance, and rush towards him with an upward fist to his jaw with a Slamming Palm. The force would connect with his jaw and if he wasn't unconscious before, he would be now. The force was enough to launch him into the air, and Nozomi would catch him from there.

Grabbing him by the back of his neck, Nozomi would start to drain him of chakra, dragging him as she advanced forward. She pulled out her Tanto and placed it at Gin's neck, at which point she would evacuate his lungs of water. She doubted he would be awake for the rest of the invasion, and she had no qualms on ending his life, but a hostage was valuable, and she didn't mind the chakra he was providing her either. She moved through the hole in the wall, walking on the surface of the water until it finally ran dry, but she moved a large portion of it with her, following behind her and above her, coalescing them into thousands of needles, some of which she had moved in front of Gin's eyes, throat, temples, and ears.

-Exit to Block B-

-3 Water Heaven's Convergence
-1 Arhat Fist
-3 Slamming Palm
+15 chakra from UA, unopposed post of contact
Stamina: 192/210
UA Chakra Drain cap: 15/105

Isobu: Lower's Suiton tech costs by 1 rank.
Taijustu Perk: Lowers Taijutsu tech costs by 1 rank.

UA- Body Like Steel: Nozomi has been training and fighting for years, and her body has been well conditioned to pain. Unless caught off guard via sneak attack, whenever Nozomi is in a fight, her constitution is raised by 1. Freebie UA.

Chakra Drain: Nozomi is one of the precious few people who can drain chakra from people. This UA allows her to app techniques that can drain chakra, although those techniques leave her more open to receiving damage from chakra as well.
Without using techniques, she can choose to drain 5 chakra from someone by making physical contact with a them using her forearms or hands, although she has to consciously do so. This is able to be used through gloves and clothes, but does not extend to other tools or weapons.
Every time she makes contact, she can draw out chakra from a person (capped at 15 per person per post) or 15 chakra per person if she sustains contact the entire post. However, doing so opens Nozomi up to increased damage (+1 rank of damage) from tangible chakra techniques for the rest of the post round. This is all elemental jutsu, and all attacks with tangible chakra, such as Chakra Flow and other such techniques. The amount that this UA allows for non technique absorption in a thread is capped at half of Nozomi's base stamina cap, even if taken from multiple different people. This can not set her over her maximum pool of chakra either.

Strength: B -> A (Arhat) -> S (Slamming Palm)
Constitution: B -> A (w/FUA)
Stamina: B+
Speed: A
Coordination: A
Intelligence: C
Perception: A