Nature vs Nurture

Suguru was awoken by the sound of a letter pushing the mail slot open.

Although that was not completely true, since he had not been sleeping. Rather he was drifting through his thoughts, trying to figure his mind out from the weight of the heavy matters that had fallen upon him lately.

Welfare should be able to cheer him up. And if that did, spending it would. At least, take his mind off.

Yet when under the pile of letters, one caught his eye.

The seal of the flame.

This meant it was directly from the Hokage's office.

Was this letter what he was thinking it was?

The confirmation of his paternity?

His finger delicately opened the letter as fast as possible, and began scanning the contents.

'You are hereby ordered to report to the state designated as Heavenly Emporium-'

Disappointment flooded his body, yet as he read on, hope.

'-for an important mission suited to your unique skill set to deal with the current threat that it faces.'

He could not help but smile. This was of course a reference to Big Water. Probably encrypted in case some spy tried to read it.

To be expected from the Hokage's genius.

Suguru put on his brand new shirt, gave his headband a good polish before wrapping it around his head, lit a candle in front of the shrine he had in the corner and stormed out of his apartment, a bag filled with all he needed for this trip in hand.

He could read the rest of the letter on the way.

The tide of truth waits for nobody, afterall.

[1]

Ryuko stood on top of a tower on the Emporium.  The height of the building gave her a good tactical view of the beast that was attacking the floating marketplace, providing her with the information she needed to formulate her next plan of attack.  Her gaze which was fixed on the Indaina Kujira was calm as was expected for a Kage of her stature.  It was as if she had no doubts whatsoever that the loose alliance of shinobi that came together to deal with this crisis would overcome the kaiju.

She was still relatively fresh from the operation to attack the antlers. It was hard to tell that she had already been involved in some pretty fierce fighting just from looking at her as her plate mail armor was still pristine.     Then again to someone like her that barely qualified as more than a warm up exercise.   Now that she worked up it was time for her to lay down some real damage on the creature.

That said she was tired of the approach she had been taking until now.  She could stab at it all day from the outside with her spear which was designed to make wounds it inflicted bleed chakra and not get anywhere since it seemed to have a near infinite supply.  If she wanted to defeat this bio-mechanical monstrosity and do some real damage she would have to cut it off at the source which meant venturing inside.

“Are you the backup I requested?” she asked as she noticed a tall brown haired man approaching.   It wasn’t that long ago that someone from Konoha would have been her enemy but the times had changed and she had to change with them.   There was nothing quite like working together to defeat a common enemy to bring two former rivals together. Perhaps this was an opportunity to build more amenable relations between them.

[1]

Analyzing  Suguru 1/2

Suguru had managed to get on the last cart from Konohagakure to The Emporium that and so, for once, it seemed that he would not be late for this mission, despite the letter having been sent over a week ago, yet by the luck of the divine stars, he was assigned to duty on the day.

'You will be working with shinobi of other villages and as such diplomatic ties need to be kept as required in the-'

That was obviously code for 'there will be lesser shinobi, show them why Konohagakure is the best village there is'. He hoped he would not be teamed up with some dirt-sucking Iwagakurian or even worse, a Hoshikagurian.

'-your work will reflect on the future of Konohagakure, and the world as a whole.'

The threat of Big Water seemed to be much bigger than he had originally thought. Must be that the great Hokage had sent in some shinobi to dig some things up, but in the end, they realized that only he, Suguru, was capable enough to see it through.

He would make his father proud.

And Big Water will be sunk once and for all.

Once he arrived at the station, showing his headband was enough to put him in a priority pass in the rising carriage and he had his boots on the ground before he even had a chance to finish smoking a cigarette.

Everyone seemed to be in a panic, yet thankfully the meeting spot was a quarantined part of the Emporium. Unfortunately, it required a very long flight of stairs.

Heaving, and sweating off the cola he had bought before his ride to the flying city, Suguru found himself greeted by a woman, the symbol of Kumogakure on her headband.

Probably a messenger to give him some important information about Big Water, before he would meet up with his real contact.

"I am the backup, yes." Suguru with as much confidence as a man resting against the wall and out of breath could. "Pretty bad weather today, huh? I thought they were supposed to bring this place down for maintenance or something."

[2]

Ryuko raised a skeptical eyebrow at the sight of the man who was supposed to be her cavalry panting for breath. He didn’t seem the most capable at first glance and looking like he was exhausted from running a few flights of stairs only diminished him that much more in her eyes.

She wanted to comment on him actually taking the stairs but then she had to remind herself not every ninja could casually scale the side of a tower like the one they were standing on as if it were a picnic. Maybe she’d been spending too much time cooped up in her palace lately, it wasn’t fair to judge other people on the same scale as she would herself.

She’d asked for the other village’s to send either a fellow sage or someone from the nature clan if they could. Part of her was wondering if they were still holding out on her keeping their cards close to their chest and the other part was grateful anyone had shown up at all given how few and far between the kind of people she was asking for where.

Ryuko was no sensor type but she could still detect senjutsu chakra to an extent as a sage. With her high perception she could practically smell it coming from the man now that he was standing in close proximity to her. Well that was a bit of an exaggeration, it wasn’t like she would be able to track him by it or anything, just that she could tell that he had some stored inside him just like he would likely be able to tell the same about her.

“Heh.” Ryuko laughed at his comment about the weather. If nothing else the man seemed to have a good sense of humor. “Yes tis seems to be raining puppets and aliens lately.” she remarked good naturedly. “I’m not sure about the scheduled maintenance, but this place will surely need some once this is all over.” The damage inflicted already was extensive. It was a wonder the emporium still remained in the air at this point. If the two of them didn’t get to work quickly there might not be much left to save.

“Well that’s enough banter for now, let’s get down to business. Ryuko Shizu Von Rose, The Raikage at your service.” Ryuko said, introducing herself and holding out a hand for the man to shake. As one of the most renowned Shinobi in the world she had no doubt that Suguru must have heard about her at some point.

“I have called for you because you and you alone are one of the only people in the world who can help me with the problem I am facing.” She said solemnly as she began to explain why Suguru had been selected for this mission.

“No doubt you can feel that creature sucking natural energy from the air. Tis must have some kind of engine or organ to absorb that much. With your assistance I might just be able to triangulate the location of where to strike.” Senjutsu was invisible to normal sensors so they wouldn’t be much help and the kijuu was too large for Ryuko to search blindly on her own.

She wanted to have a second set of eyes and ears to help gather the data she needed, some simple (for her) mathematics would take care of the rest. She would be observation point A and Suguru would be observation point B. Once they figured out where Point C was they would be able to launch what she hoped would be a crippling blow.

[2]


Analyzing Suguru 2/2

The eyes of the Kunoichi could sense through the mundane chakra, strands of natural energy. Yet this nature chakra that flowed in the genin's veins, which was untapped and pure, bore no similarity to the trained and calculated accumulation that Sages had; This was part of him, flowing in and out of his tenketsu in bursts before dissipating into nothingness, suggesting little to no level of control over it.

On the outside, she could see that this man seemingly was rather calm for being so close to a bijuu-level threat, and although his eyes were on her, focused quite obviously on her torso despite feeble attempts to hide his gaze, the tapping of his foot seemed to indicate he was waiting for someone else and obviously had no idea of her standing.

Suguru laughed at the 'joke' this woman made. It felt good.

Women never joked with him. Mostly because they rarely looked up at trees to notice him.

The woman then introduced herself as the Raikage.

Suguru laughed at this 'joke' too.

"Hahaha, You can't be the Raikage, only m-"

Before shortly realizing this was no joke.

'-You might encounter shinobi of other villages of higher station. Treat them with the same respect as you would in Konohagakure-'

Well, Suguru could not treat this woman the same way he treated the god Hokage. Especially since she was the leader of one of the villages that dared fight the greatest village in the world. But the rules were clear. It was the will of the Hokage.

"Your eminence." He knelt to one knee and kissed her hand. That's how they did in the manga. Or were you supposed to kiss the ring? Suguru kissed the ring to be sure.

"I apologize. I was just jesting the court." He said, replacing words with what he thought sounded smartest.

But then. Praise. It cut through his sweat and fear, and emboldened his weak spine.

It seemed the Hokage had told her who he was.

Another test for sure, to see if he was worthy to be his son.

Alas, good times soon came to an end, as what he thought were really bad clouds was actually one really big bijuu threat, as pointed out by the Raikage.

It then all made sense.

Big Water was behind this. Only they could sink so low.

"Yes, of course, your Ladyship-sama. I am at your service. I have fought this menace before and I will aid you in any way you seek fit. Suguru of Konhagakure, at your service."

[3]

Ryuko had dealt with a lot of different kinds of people over the years but none quite like Suguru. She wasn’t oblivious enough to miss his gaze fixating on her chest like that. A younger version of her from when she had still been a sheltered gennin ignorant to the ways of the world would have also noticed but might still have been ignorant to what the attention meant. She had shed that particular kind of innocence long ago on the day a man had tried to proposition her in exchange for a silver egg. Naturally she had turned him down but she hadn't been the same ever since.

At one time she might have been offended, heck she might even have called him a pig. These days she didn’t get so worked up over something so minor. He was just looking after all no harm done, heck if anything she was a bit flattered that someone was looking her way like that for once when normally it was her friend Natsuru who turned all the boy’s heads.

It seemed that Suguru didn’t believe she was the Raikage, at least not at first. She wasn’t quite sure what had clued him in but he quickly changed his tune so fast it was a wonder he didn’t get whiplash. She was used to people paying her respect but never quite to this level. It seemed Suguru was quite the gentleman as he knelt down and kissed the back of her gauntleted hand.

“Please just call me Ryuko. There is no need for such formality here, at least not while we’re in the middle of a mission at any rate.” Ryuko pleaded with a light chuckle, having found his antics somewhat amusing as she offered her hand to help him back up to his feet. The boy had much more character to him than the average rank and file soldier which made him all the more memorable for it.

“Suguru. That means ‘outstanding’. Tis a good name for someone like you.” she commented before getting back on track. The fact that this man seemed to have encountered this creature and lived to tell the tale was promising. Knowledge was power and what he knew could prove invaluable.

“Would you happen to know any weak points we could exploit?” she asked, her eyes shining with hopefulness. She wasn’t expecting much considering but you never knew. He might have spotted something that she had missed. A tiny detail that might have otherwise been overlooked. She couldn’t help but recall a famous tale about a dragon that had been slain only because it was missing one scale.


“Also Suguru, if you can feel the flow of nature chakra can you point to where the beast might be accumulating some?” she asked. If the beast was just passively storing some she’d never be able to figure out where it was keeping it. It was only because it kept drawing in more and more that she could feel a slight tug on the pool she held tightly inside her.

[3]

The Raikage helped him up, and even though her grasp was amicable and gentle, he could feel a certain firmness, a strength in her limbs that betrayed her ability as a kinoichi.

"As you wish Madam Raikage." Suguru bowed down, only slightly, before realizing she had told him to be less formal, so he once more returned to a more relaxed position, yet not as relaxed as he had been before.

His name had a meaning and not only that, it was insanely cool? Did his mean really mean that? Nobody ever had told him that before.

Well, if the Hokage had to name a son, what would he name him if not something to mean 'Outstanding'?

It all made sense.

"Madam Raikage, I have not fought this beast, but the men behind it. I am sure you are well-informed about their exploits, chiefly the murder of..." Suguru's mind went into overdrive, trying to remember the name. "...Engineer Rini. What I can tell you is that these men like to mock those they fight. They will leave an answer out in plain sight, only to misguide you, just to show you how much they think less of you."

Suguru turned his gaze from the Kage to the Bijuu, and swallowed his fear, before pointing at it.

"It is not if there is a weak spot, Madam Raikage. It is a certainty that there is one. And it is hidden in plain sight." The confidence that Suguru radiated seemed to shift his personality. "Yet there will also be dead ends to waste our time. This is nothing but a game for them." His words were spoken with certainty, because in his mind, they were truth. This was how Big Water operated.

The words Nature Chakra sent a shiver down Suguru's spine. The familiar cold shiver that preceded the words of the voice. Thankfully, his mind remained silent.

If he could understand the Raikage, she was asking him to use Sensory Jutsu.

Drakon had tried to teach him the basics, yet Suguru had gotten distracted by sensing a very well endowed woman and after that he could not gain focus again, so the duo went drinking. Still, he could not let the Raikage down.

"My powers of sensory are limited, Madam Raikage, but if you wish for me to attempt, I will, though chances of victory are small."

But he couldn't lie to her either.

[4]

Feeling the touch of Suguru’s hands through her gloves Ryuko realized that he might be a bit stronger then she had initially given him credit for.   It was once again a sobering reminder that appearance didn’t always belay strength.    Just because he couldn’t go toe to toe with her didn’t mean he wouldn’t be useful in a scrap.    

She herself might be a sage but a Hydra sage like herself was slightly non-standard as they traded the ability to use senjutsu technique enchantment for the ability to use dokuton.  As she was now the plain truth was there were somethings that Suguru could likely do that she couldn’t which would make it more than worth it for her to take him along with her on this mission.

There was still a big gap between them which meant he couldn’t be an equal partner in the same way that say Shimiko was but he wasn’t so wimpy that she’d have to babysit him every step of the way either.   It was a little like working with a sidekick or one of her students.  In a way the fact he kept referring to her as Madem Raikage instead of using her name like she asked reminded her of when she had first met her apprentice Tsumi, that association between the two of them kindling her desire to insure he made it back from this in one piece.

“Ah so you speak of the Society then.  Leaving answers in plain sight like they are taunting us does sound like their typical mo.”   as Ryuko spoke, the fire of anger burned in her eyes, burning fiercely.  She had it firmly in hand for now but every new atrocity they committed threatened to send it burning out of control.   She already hated them for the atrocities they had committed such as the massacre of a village in the  The Valley of Jehoshaphat but she would never forgive them for murdering Rini.


“Let them think this is nothing but a game.  The more they underestimate us the better chance we have to flip the table on them before they see it coming.” said Ryuko, her voice like steel.   First she would thwart whatever their plans were for this artificial bijuu and then she would bring their entire organization down crashing around their heads.   She would teach living Ghosts like the Sage’s disciple to stay buried in the past where they belonged.

“Please Suguru, you're my only hope.” She wasn’t exaggerating by any means when she said that.   The only other person she could think of that could possibly help was Nozomi who wasn’t anywhere near the Heavenly emporium at the moment.  

“Your sensory might be limited but you have to try.   Even if you can’t locate it directly,  I just need a little bit of data to figure out where we need to attack.” . she said pleadingly.   Without another data point she might as well be up a creek without a paddle   She might be able to track it down eventually on her own but who knew how much time that would take, by then everything might be too late.

[4]

It seemed the Raikage knew them by another name. Maybe it was the name the Hokage gave her, as to not betray their true name.

Yet she knew of them for sure. The plot went even deeper than he thought.

Where they some ancestral enemy of the Hokage, drawn against him by his blood?

The Raikage's rage turned into a plea.

"As you command, Lady Raikage-sama." Suguru replied with another bow that ended halfway.

Suguru could never say no to the pleas of a superior, nor could he say no to the pleas of a woman.

This was his duty both as a Shinobi and a man. Letting her down would be the same as letting the Hokage, and himself down.

Still, Suguru had no idea what to do except what little Drakon had thought him. It probably was not enough. But that is all he had.

Suguru took a deep breath in, and placed his hands together. He closed his eyes, and imagined a circle slowly growing with each breath, rippling forward, just as Drakon had told him.

He quieted his mind of all perversions, of doubt and of all fear, the only sound being the words of the Raikage in his mind.

Next to him, he could feel himself being pulled towards were the Raikage was. The same kind of attraction he had felt whenever he saw a woman, yet more intense, more raw, as if his chakra hungered for hers.

He steeled his mind, and looked further. He had to do this. His name meant Outstanding afterall.

As the waves of chakra went further, he found himself overwhelmed, as if he was drowning. Ripped apart in a torrent, as a hundred hands clawed as his chakra.

Suguru's skin hardened, taking the texture of bark as it darkened. His whole body seemed to shake and grow. Cysts grew and exploded in visible torrents of nature chakra.

The air in Suguru's lungs dried, leaving him breathless and a wheeze left his throat as he fell to his knees, his being back to normal.

Blood dripped were the cysts had burst and all the confidence of the genin seemed to be gone.

Yet, he could see it clearly. A picture in his mind.

A hive of a thousands mouths. It that called to him, even stronger than what he had felt to the Raikage's chakra.

"There Madam, Raikage." Suguru raised a shaky hand and pointed towards the center of creature's mass. "It's in the spine. The Ribs. Like vines. All leading to a huge mass, probably as big as..." The genin tried to think of something as big as it, yet his mind could barely string the words he was saying right now. "...it's rather big, Madam Raikage."

[5]

As you command. Those were the words Suguru used to respond to her plee. The same kind of words she had heard from her men a thousand times over.  It never ceased to amaze her just how many people were willing to listen to her orders.  It was a constant reminder of how she had to keep working hard to continue to be worthy of their respect.    

Just as she was counting on Suguru to point her in the right direction he was likely counting on her to carry the day. She couldn’t go letting him down now that he’d stepped up to the plate for her. For now she stayed quite not wanting to break his concentration as he tried to draw upon whatever sensory ability he might have to find something.  

She didn’t even realize something was wrong at first when the color of his skin began to change.  It wasn’t unusual for that to happen when someone in the nature clan used their ability as she’d seen before with Raijin.   What wasn’t usual was for Cysts to form and burst with chakra so thick that even Ryuko could see it with the naked eye.  

“By Hakkin’s breath are you alright?” Ryuko gasped  with concern as she moved in to catch him before he could fall to his knees, her hands reflexively forming the signs to perform the Mystical Palm Technique so that she could begin tending to him immediately.

Part of her wanted to apologize. She hadn’t meant for him to strain himself so much with the sensory attempt that he would bleed.  Any yet saying sorry felt like it would be an insult to his efforts, especially since he had been successful in them.

“You've done well, Tis located in the thorax then.” she said.   She’d hoped for a little bit of data but Suguru had given her more than she’d bargained for letting her skip the need to perform any calculations.  He really was living up to his name.  "A little troublesome to get to but better than the opposite end.” she remarked lightly with a wry smile.

The quickest most efficient route would be to enter through the bijuu’s mouth.  One she was inside it would be easy for someone like her to cut her way through the soft walls of the esophagus to get into the chest.   If the target was anywhere as big as Suguru was implying it should be fairly simple for her to locate it after that.

For a moment she considered continuing on her own.  Now that she knew what and where to hit to cut off the creature’s supply of nature chakra she was more than enough to carry out the rest of the mission on her own.   For one thing it would be much easier for her to get to the mouth on her own since she could jump from one small piece of debris floating from the wonky gravity to another to reach it, a route Suguru likely didn’t have the dexterity to copy.

But when she considered how hard he’d work for her she didn’t have the heart to leave him on his own.  If nothing else she wanted to take him with her so he’d have something to brag about to his friends once he got back home.   A tale of the day that he helped fell a giant kijuu with his own two hands.   She was already well and truly a legend in her own right, so why not help him take the first step into becoming one of his own?

“Do you think you can keep going?”  She asked.  In her expert opinion as a doctor he didn’t seem to hurt but at the same time she didn’t want to force him to go with her when he was still injured.  She would allow him to make the final choice on whether to accompany her on the next leg of the mission or not.

[5]

Techniques used
5 - Mystical palm technique (cost halved due to Heartfelt Medic UA)
315/320 chakra remaining

Suguru barely had time to fall to his knees before the Raikage was on him. His was not wrong to think she was strong. Once her hands got grip on him, it was like he was laying down on a rock.

His ears were ringing, and he had a bought of dry coughing as the Raikage tended to his wounds, yet the words echoed sharply in his mind as fresh nature chakra filled his tenketsu.

"It hungers for that which brings us sustenance."

When the Raikage expressed concern for him, Suguru was once again unsure what to do. Nobody asked him if he was okay, man or woman. But a kage? He couldn't just say he is fine. He needed to say some thing cool.

"As long as I am serving you, I shall not falter." Suguru replied. He was not sure what does the last words meant, but when the main guy in of the knight manga said them, it really sounded cool.

Suguru was hesitant on what to do when a Kage smiled at him. With the Hokage, he never let himself even looked at dirt near his shoe, let alone his face.

"Troublesome indeed, but I think I might have an idea on how we can fly across, if only for a bit."

Suguru smiled back, although his smile came of more like one of a hostage who has been given an extra cookie at lunch time. He was unsure if the next action of the Raikage would be his beheading.

It was then then the Raikage asked him if he thought he could keep going. Had his smile shown weakness?

"I was sent here to do a mission, Madam Raikage. I will not stop until that mission is done or my soul is welcomed to the heavens by the Hokage of the past." Suguru once again stole another quote, yet this time it was from himself, in a dream, where he was serving the Hokage on a mission to destroy Hoshikagure.

One day, it will be reality.

[6]

Suguru didn’t bother to thank her for healing him but that didn’t really bother the Raikage, as a Doctor she wasn’t about to stand by and do nothing to assist an injured ally.    Some might question if that was a wise use of her resources considering she was trying to conserve energy for the fight ahead of her, a notion that she would have laughed off because when it came to Ijutsu she was simply just that good at using techniques like this that they practically cost her nothing.

The next words the boy said had her eyes go wide in appreciation. He’d said them with such sincerity that she didn’t doubt him for a second.   He sure had a ton of style to talk like that, not to mention more steel in his spine then some people she knew who ran at the first sign of adversity.    It was a pity he wasn’t one of her subordinates, she could use more men like him that wouldn’t waver so easily.

“With an attitude like that you’ll make for a  good Jounin one day Suguru. Who knows, perhaps you’ll even become the next Hokage yourself.” she mused.   What numbered Hokage were they on now anyhow?  With the way Konoha went through them the day might come sooner than they might expect.

She was pleased by his gung ho enthusiasm but at the same time she had to remind him not to be reckless either. “As such you’ll have to save speaking to the Past Hokage’s in heaven for another day when you have more stories to share with them.  At any rate you shan't be dying in my presence as you have me to protect you this day.”   she vowed.

Out of all the kage she was perhaps the least suited towards wide scale destruction if you discounted her boss summons but she more than made up for that by being one of if not the most tenacious.   She wasn’t known as the walking fortress for nothing, there likely wasn’t a safer spot on the entire continent then being under her wings which were far from figurative in this case, manifesting in physical form on her back as she drew upon the power of Rafaela inside of her which also turned her hair blond in the process.

“I appreciate the sentiment but flying only for a little bit won’t do in this case.” She said, now strongly resembling an angel in appearance.  She suspected he had been planning to transform his body in order to generate thrust in a similar manner to what Raijin had done.  

“In any case save your energy for now, We’ll need it for when the time comes." she added.  She couldn't tell the exact amount but  having analyzed Suguru she strongly doubted he had the nature chakra reserved to keep up such a feat for long even with his ability to automatically replenish himself over time.

Without waiting for his permission she moved to scoop Suguru up into her arms, attempting to carry him bridal style.  A smaller woman like her holding a larger man like him like he weighted practically nothing wasn’t perhaps the most dignified approach but it beat carrying him around like a sack of potatoes.  

“Hold on tight, this might get turbulent.” she warned as she activated her sage mode to increase her physical abilities to their limit before taking off like a rocket.  Until now she’d been conserving her energy because she didn’t have a proper target,  now that Suguru had directed her to a spot where she could inflict critical damage she was done holding back.  She was going to strike hard, and strike fast for maximum efficiency.

Weaving through the air like a comet she dodged around any debris in her path and then weaved through a crowd of puppets at a speed that made it nearly impossible for them to intercept her before heading straight for the belly of the beast or in this case the mouth plunging inside it without a hint of hesitation. She was the kind of woman that once she had a target was relentless in her approach.   Hopefully Suguru wasn’t getting too motion sick from her extreme approach since she didn’t have the luxury of taking a more gentle one when time was of the essence.

[6]

Ryuko
Tsubasa no Tensai -  1 soul point
481/500 remaining

-5 Sage mode
125/130 nature chakra remaining

Stats
Strength: B > A (Sage Mode)
Constitution: B > (Sage Mode)
Stamina: A++
Speed: B > A (Sage Mode)
Coordination: A > S (Sage mode)
Intelligence: A
Perception: B > A (Sage Mode)

A Jounin? Hmm. Suguru could not but laugh in his own mind. All the academy instructors never said he would make it to Genin, let alone Jounin. Even he was not sure how he had made it to Genin.

But then, she went even higher. Hokage. There was nowhere higher to go. It was godhood in mortal form.

Did she know? Only someone who knew that he might be the son of a Hokage would say such a thing. Did all Kage know about him?

"Thank you for your faith, great Madam Raikage." That was all that Suguru could say, having been so taken aback by such a compliment, that again, he was afraid.

This had never happened in his life before. Was this all a joke? A dream? Would she go back to her office and laugh at him with all the Kage about how stupid and weak he is?

Yet before his mind could wander even further into questioning this reality, something else took his attention. And his breath.

The Raikage's eyes were a different shade, and the clouds seemed to part as light shone through the dust clouds onto her. Her hair was the sheen of gold and magnificent wings unfolded from her back.

It seemed that the Raikage's lineage, like the Hokage's, was divine too. Of course not as divine as the Hokage, but still.

Suguru shielded his eyes from such a sight, his eyes were not made to see such sights after all.

Had the Hokage sent him here to make him more humble? Or was this all a rouse so he could spy on the Raikage and learn her powers?

Strong hands too hold of him and he found himself hoisted like he weighed nothing, cutting his train of thought once more as he was nestled securely against the chest of the angel Raikage. She said something to him, but the rushing wind was too much and his attention was rather...occupied.

It seemed the Raikage was wrong on one account. He had made it to heaven much sooner than either of them expected.

[7]

Ryuko of course had no way to know what her new friend was thinking, or if he had any connection to the Hokage beyond simply being from the same village.    She wasn’t trying to patronize him or anything nor was she pushing some hidden agenda.  A person didn’t get to her position without an eye for talent. All she was doing was simply sharing her opinion on how capable he seemed based on the same standards that she used to evaluate her own subordinates.

If Suguru thought he was ascending to heaven then to the Raikage it was more like they were descending an express elevator down to hell or perhaps tartarus.   “Disgusting.” She muttered as she beheld the mass of pulsating flesh and wires that made up the interior of the Indaina Kujira’s throat.  It reminded her of a scene straight out of a horror film and thanks to that she was half expecting for the innards to be crawling with xenobeasts only to be pleasantly surprised by how deserted it was.    

For such an important object to the Society’s plans the security seemed fairly light.  Then again they were type arrogant enough to believe their design was flawless enough not to need such a thing.  That or they simply didn’t think anyone was crazy enough to attempt to go inside a massive bijuu on purpose even if it was clearly only an artificial one.

As to be expected of such a colossal creature the interior was cavernous.  The hallway was wide enough that she had no trouble flying down it with her wings fully extended as she searched for both a suitable spot to land and a way further into the interior.    Thankfully her knowledge as a Medical Doctor was making navigation smooth as the kaijuu’s biology conformed to what she might expect to see in most animals, just many times larger than usual.  

She’d half been expecting to need to cut her way through the esophagus into the chest but it seemed that luck or perhaps fate was on her side this day as she spotted a heavy metal maintenance hatch in the side of the wall that would lead them into the ribcage.    In retrospect she should have seen that coming.  The beast was just as mechanical as it was biological and would require a crew for maintenance.

Seeing that the door was shut tight with a thick looking lock-box she didn’t even bother trying to turn the metal handle.  No doubt someone with her level of dexterity could have picked the lock if she chose to but instead she simply broke down the door with a swift kick sending it flying off its hinges.   Not very subtle of her but then again this was hardly the time for a delicate touch either.

Passing through the now open doorway she touched down on what passed for the ground before gently putting Suguru down so that he could stand on his own two feet since from the looks of it they had reached their destination.  This time she didn't bother to stop and ask him if he was still ok since that would have been insulting to the level of determination he had shown to keep up.

As soon as she had crossed the threshold she spotted the target the two of them had been looking for.   Honestly they couldn’t miss it, when Suguru had said it was big he hadn’t been exaggerating.  The organ was compatible in size to a full on locomotive only rounder and much more sinister looking.

“Drats, I was hoping to find something a bit more economical.” Ryuko muttered, feeling a bit frustrated. If she had more time she would have loved to study the organ or better yet take it home with her.   Sure she had access to some Chakra Propulsion Generator’s that Damian had built but he’d never managed to miniaturize one for her before his death.    

The organ here represented a different path someone else had taken to reach a similar goal and she had always been the type that kept her options open.  If she couldn’t achieve something through chakra she would do so with technology or vice versa.  Such a shame she didn’t have the time to do anything about it in this case.  

For all her power as a sage even she couldn’t extract something this size quickly before the entire Heavenly emperor was sent crashing to the ground resulting in countless casualties.   Ryuko had never been the kind of person to put her self interest over innocent lives and she wasn’t about to start now.

“Let’s see here.” She said as she took an exploratory poke of the organ with her spear to make sure it was safe to touch before approaching closer.   Whoever had built this had made it out of material that was fairly robust to the point where even she would have a fairly hard time scratching it let alone putting it out of commission.  

For a long moment she simply stood there in silent contemplation as she calculated various possibilities inside of her head in rapid succession.  The problem was no matter what tactic she pulled or technique she tried she couldn’t see any of them working.   Naturally she was feeling pretty frustrated since as the priestess of a god of wisdom it was rare for her to get so stumped in such a manner.

“Come on, there had to be some way to wreck this. There’s ALWAYS a way.” She complained to herself as she gave the organ a swift kick to no seemingly no avail.  The darn thing didn’t look so much as scuffed despite the fact that a similar strike had crumpled the metal hatch like it was made out of paper.    Perhaps her venting had some effect after all.  Kicking it might not have done any damage but the force of the blow had knocked a piece of purple fuin paper off the organ revealing a capacity gauge that had been hidden from sight.

“Huh, for such a massive engine tis not very efficient.” Ryuko remarked dryly at seeing how low it’s total capacity was before her face broke into a savage grin as this new information gave her a new plan.  The outside of the organ might be insanely tough but there was no way the same would hold true of the inside.    

All she had to do was overload it with more nature energy then it could handle and then an sage energy infused attack of some kind would cause the orga n to implode.  It was a good thing that she had brought Suguru with her after all since this was likely something she couldn’t have accomplished on her own.   This was a mission that only the two of them together could accomplish.

Placing a gloved hand on the organ Ryuko closed her eyes concentrating on the nature chakra that she had inside of her.  Normally she only used a small amount to fuel her sage mode at any given time but now she sent a tidal wave surging down her arm and into the foul object.  Enough that it was more than what most people would need to cast an S-rank jutsu though it wasn’t quite half her reserves either.  

Still she couldn’t remember the last time she had allowed her nature energy to drop so low.  She was always running around at full capacity so that she could use sage mode at the drop of a hat in an emergency.   She didn’t want to be one of those people that was caught with their pants down because they had neglected to charge up.  Especially after she had witnessed a normally skilled Jouin like Yomi lose in a tournament for making that very careless mistake.

“Suguru, I need you to please hit this with the strongest Senjtusu infused technique you can manage.” She requested as she took a step back to clear the way for him, brandishing her spear so that she could keep him clear of any potential interference from outside forces.   “Now let’s blow this thing so we can go home.”

[7]


Ryuko
Tsubasa no Tensai -  1 soul point
480/500 remaining

-5 Sage mode
-50 to overcharge the organ
70/130 nature chakra remaining

Stats
Strength: B > A (Sage Mode)
Constitution: B > (Sage Mode)
Stamina: A++
Speed: B > A (Sage Mode)
Coordination: A > S (Sage mode)
Intelligence: A
Perception: B > A (Sage Mode)

Nestled securely against the angel Raikage, despite it being the first time he ever flew, the genin managed to make the trip not only without trouble, but it cemented itself as one of the best experiences ever, only second behind meeting the great God Raikage.

Suguru had lived a long part of his street in filth and squalor, be it in the orphanage cramped in a dirty bed, in an alley hiding from the cold or that of his own making in his apartment due to neglecting to wash for days.

Yet the smell that assaulted him as they flew to the inside of this beast, was even something he was not prepared for. The smell, something akin to a mix of burning metal, rotten flesh and surgical spirit threatened to overwhelm even the limited senses of Suguru.

But he had to hold fast. No weakness. Not in front of the Raikage.

Although sad that his trip was now done, finding himself faced with the organ he helped find was enough for Suguru to make that his second worse problem.

Metal and Flesh has been fused in a way where it was hard to know which one started where and which ended where. The longer he gazed, details seemed to get lost in architecture that grew before one's realization.

As his eyes were stuck to the pumping-jutting motion of the organ while the Raikage investigated, the cold chill in his spine ran down once more.

"It hungers for that which brings us sustenance. It needs to be annihilated."

Although Suguru was not sure what brought 'them' sustenance, he could for once agree with the voice. Yet letting himself go and the voice take control was not something he wished to do in front of the Raikage. It was not something he ever wished to do.

He had finally managed to go to sleep without worrying about waking up in an alley covered in blood. Letting the voice back in, it might invite trouble.

Yet as the Raikage gave him the order, he realized that he had no choice.

"As you command, Lady Raikage."

Suguru was not sure what Senjutsu was, but he assumed it had something to do with the thing he did when the voice came in his head. Reluctantly, he let the chill in his spine grow.

"You ruin my chances with the KILF, I will kill ourselves, you hear? So I'll stay in control, but you can do your own thing. And NO rashes this time. We work together."

The voice was silent, possibly cowed down in by Suguru's newfound confidence given to him by the Raikage's praise.

When he had asked her if she wanted him to try and fly, the Raikage saw that there was weakness in his request. Whatever had happened to him, they were not wings. And the Raikage now had just given him the clue he needed.

'Blow this thing.'

Those things were the perfect bombs.

As that last half-rational thought left his mind, his knuckles cracked as the joints grew and pushed themselves open with muscle. As his bicep bulged, tendrils of darkness began to cover his whole arm, darkening the skin and snapping hard into place.

Cysts started to take form. Yet this time, instead of simply popping as they did the first time, they kept warping till they were ready to burst with chakra, and hung like ripe fruit all over his fist and soon he was covered with over two dozen chakra cysts.

The genin took a step towards the organ and swung his fist forward against the organ with great strength.

The cysts exploded in a flash of blue flames, nature chakra burning against the organ as they erupted with fury, fist grinding against its target.

An inhuman scream left Suguru's throat, till, as it began, all returned to normal.

Barely able to move and stand on his own two feet, the genin turned his gaze back to the Raikage.

"Was that enough...Madam Raikage?" He panted.

[8]

Multiple Lotus Nonself Connected Cannons Learned.
STR C > A [Sage Mode 2: 10 CP]

Nature Reserves: 0 / 20

Ryuko was well aware of the propensity for nature clan members to go berserk when using their powers.   With time they could learn to control their destructive impulses but Suguru had likely yet to reach that point.    Some might consider ordering him to use his power anyhow to be a risk but the truth was even if he did go wild he was no danger to her.  

Even if he could theoretically boost himself to be physically stronger then her it wouldn’t matter since she’d be able to see it coming and get out of the way long before could actually tag her.   Honestly speaking, redirecting him in such a state would be easier for her then a matador leading a bull around with a cape.  

And Yet despite the odds against him Suguru managed to hold himself together anyhow as he unleashed an impressive blast of chakra that struck the organ from the outside even as it was overloading from within.   The next moment the entire thing  erupted with a sickening squelch sound followed by a torrent of vicarious dark purple and black liquid that threatened to wave over the Gennin like a wave.  

"Watch out." Cried out the Raikage, moving swiftly she stepped between Suguru and the mysterious liquid deploying the Tengādian that had been attached to her left arm to shield him from being splashed.  It wasn’t that she was necessarily afraid of the liquid but since she didn’t know what she was weary of what it might do.  Sometimes it was better to be safe than sorry.

“More than enough I’d say, Splendidly done Suguru.”  At first glance she had been concerned that the Hokage had been holding out on her. A concern that had been dispelled by Suguru’s stellar performance.  It was nice to know that the Hokage really had sent her his best after all.   She’d have to make sure she did her best to reciprocate the favor when the time came.

Shaking her shield to clear off any remaining liquid she returned it to it’s more compact form before taking one last glance around the room to confirm that their object was complete as well as reassess the situation.    As much as she would like to keep going and do more damage Suguru looked like he was on his last legs, barely able to remain standing.   If she left him alone she couldn’t see him fending off a swarm of puppets or Xenobeasts if they showed up nor was he likely to be able to ascend to the ground on his own in his current condition.

He’d gone above and beyond for her in order to complete the mission so it would be remiss of her not to see him home safe first before moving onto her next target.   “Time for a strategic withdrawal.” she declared as she moved to scoop him up in her arms once more so that she could fly him out of the beast.   Only instead of landing on the top of the tower they had started at she descended to the base of the building so  that Suguru wouldn’t have to make his way down the stairs.

“Thank you again for your assistance today Suguru, You were most speldend. I hope we get the opportunity to collaborate again in the future.”   she said wistfully as she set him down on terrafirma.  It was a shame he was already part of another village’s forces otherwise she’d try and recruit him.  

It was clear as day that he valued his loyalty too much to bother asking him.  Frankly she could respect that, especially since it would be extremely hard for her to trust someone who could be turned so easily.   That said if Hakkin forbid something ever happened to Konoha she would be more than willing to welcome Suguru with open arms.

Recruitment or not, that didn’t mean she had no options available if her only goal was to spend a little time together.  He seemed like a pretty interesting guy and it couldn’t hurt to get to know him a little better since friendship between their two villages was something she wanted to encourage.   Sometimes  the best way was to lead by example.

“Perhaps you’d be interested in visiting Kumogakure as part of the international Shinobi exchange program.   As it so happens I’ve set aside a district for the Nature clan and I’d quite welcome your opinion on how to improve the area in order to make it more comfortable for your people.” she suggested.   Hopefully he’d at least think about her offer.

“Anyhow I better get back to slaying the beast.  Please give the Hokage my best regards.” With those parting words she gave Suguru one last wave before taking off back into the sky towards her next mission.

[8]
[Flashpoint Complete]
[Attempted Exit]


Ryuko
Tsubasa no Tensai -  1 soul point
479/500 remaining

-5 Sage mode
65/130 nature chakra remaining

Stats
Strength: B > A (Sage Mode)
Constitution: B > (Sage Mode)
Stamina: A++
Speed: B > A (Sage Mode)
Coordination: A > S (Sage mode)
Intelligence: A
Perception: B > A (Sage Mode)

Before the Raikage could tell him if what he did was enough, a gurgling sound erupted from the organ, a sound Suguru had only heard once in his life; when Drakon Pendragon killed a man with his bare fists.

Time, like it always did in these moments, seemed to stop.

Bulges started to appear across its surface, an invisible force pushing against the thick metal skin and warping it to form sacs. The tendrils that spread from it seemed to shrink and started to peel off the walls of the beast and onto the ground, writhing and thrashing.

Suguru ordered his legs to move, yet all that occurred was a trickle of blood streaming down his nose. Despite having full chakra reserves, it seemed that the act of tapping into his powers have overloaded his tenketsu and he was merciless in the face of this torrent.

A black cascade ripped through the organ as if it was nothing more than wet paper, bubbling and foaming with malicious intent, and the genin was at its mercy, as his legs gave out beneath him.

He had not the will nor the strength to go further. Compliments, a rarity in his life as love itself, have made him do things he did not even know was possible, yet even that had a limit.

"-You might find yourself facing a choice between death or the success of your mission. Failure of the mission might mean the death of all of us.-"

At least his father would know he died serving Konohagakure. Hopefully, he would give him a medal.

The familiar wash of sadness filled his lungs. It hurt, but he didn't want to die. There was so much he wanted to do. He wanted to thank Drakon for being his friend. He wanted to not die alone. He wanted to touch a woman. He wanted to do things. So many things. Bad things. Good things. All things.

A rush of wind and the world turned black as he fell to his knees.

Yet it was not the darkness of death that covered him, but of protection.

The Raikage, with speed greater than his will to live, saved him.

Suguru, already on his knees, put his head down and bowed. He owed this woman his life, so he was sure the Hokage would not mind him bowing before another man. Well, not a man. So guess that was not a problem.

"I only did what I was trained to do, Madam Raikage." He said, as he wearily got up. That was a lie since he had no idea what he had even done, let alone if his training covered it. But he needed to be cool now. Keep it all inside. Drakon style.

Once more, the Raikage swept him off his feet, both literally and metaphorically, and soon they were out of the beast. Despite his best instincts, Suguru still managed to mar the chest of his saviour with blood, since the opportunity to huddle close to a woman, even if donned in cold plate armour, was not one he was willing to give up.

The genin stumbled to his feet once placed down on the solid, non-bijuu ground, still haven't gotten used to flying by Raikage.

Suguru could only nod at the first compliment, having somehow run out of words. He knew that probably the next time he would see the Raikage, it probably would be on opposing sides. That is, if he ever saw her again; It was unlikely that any who opposed Konoha would remain alive for any extended period of time.

Yet, the Raikage offered something Suguru had no idea about. A student exchange program? Hmmm, it must be set up so Konoha students show how superior they are to everyone else and demoralize them from ever starting a war. Maybe even a way to spy on other villages. Probably other reasons he could not fathom, born out of the Hokage's infinite divine wisdom.

"I'd be honoured to, Raikage-sama. I'll make sure to keep it in mind once we deal with...this situation." Suguru replied. "And I will gladly be of service there as I have been today."

"And I am sure the Hokage will be pleased with what we accomplished today." He waved back, as she took flight and headed to her duty.

Once the Raikage took her leave, Suguru set down next to some abandoned crates, probably left behind in the hassle of the evacuation.

"I wonder what she meant by Nature Clan. Maybe all descents of the Hokage are part of it? The Hokage is the leaf and the leaf is part of nature after all." Suguru thought to himself.

"Eh, I am sure I'll figure it out."

[9]
[EXIT]