Operation: Mental Omega

The Indaina Kujira is a sentient being. It is aware of itself in relation to the world. This ability alone makes it one of the most dangerous puppets of all time. A self aware yet synthetic mind is much more lethal than one that is governed by the instincts of a beast. Two of the most important computational terminals responsible for this feature rely at the base of the Indaina Kujira's head. The terminals can be interfaced with by a person and it was the mechanism by which the Indira's creators hardcoded its intelligence. A person of sufficient intelligence can "hack" into this terminal using a combination of wit, Fuuinjutsu, and perception. They cannot disconnect the creature's mind but they can manipulate certain values so as to create emotional responses. An emotional opponent is an opponent liable to make mistakes.

Objective: Get on the Indaina Kujira's back and wreck its mind. You will need: (1) Fuuinjutsu and (2) Either S-Tier Intelligence and A-Tier Perception or S-Tier Perception and A-Tier Intelligence. Stats can be boosted for this mission.

“Ruby, this is Titan. Are you absolutely sure about this? We can try to find someone who could assist you in this, like one of the Kage, or even Shatterpoint Squadron!...Over.”

Diana rode upon her clay dragon once more into the fray, her face hardened with a quiet fury she had been holding in since she had been forcefully pulled to the back lines by her clansmen. At first, having to wait for her body to recover was more annoying than seeing an unfinished project, but the more she had to stay put in Iwa, the more time she realized she could put the time to good use. So she had spent the time training as hard as she could, practicing techniques that didn’t put a lot of strain on her body. It had been tough. Her body & mind were not able to learn much more at her current level of power, but she was sure it would be enough for the coming battle. Good enough for a mission no one had taken up yet.

Bringing one hand up to her linkpearl, she’d give a response to her best friend and confidant.“Yes Titan, we only have so much time until the Kujira takes away the remaining power of the Heavenly Emporium, and we know it’s weaknesses.” She held a silver cube she had taken from Kujira in her hand, it’s mysteries still unsolved, but at least in her hands it wouldn’t be in the enemy’s possession any time soon. Getting the cube had been a right pain, but it had given her insights on the enemy that they wouldn't have gotten otherwise, such as how to locate the core of the beast. “And if whoever planned this attack is willing to harm innocents as they did already, then there is more than just the major villages at stake. Over.” Thoughts of those she had met through her travels flashed through her mind's eye.

Diana could feel the tense pause as she waited for Titania to respond. Even without her friend's face, was sure Titania was conflicted with this revelation. But Diana knew she wouldn't leave her hanging either. “Very well, but this is your last mission against this thing, and I'm going to stay on the line the entire time. Is that understood?” Good, it sounded like she understood, or at the very least accepted her plan.

“Loud and clear Titan. Dropping radio formalities until Operation: Mental Omega has been completed.” Lowering her hand back onto the dragon's back, she'd have it speed up towards their destination.

---

185/185 CP
Sensory Technique; 0.5 CP
C2; 20 CP
➤20/20 C2 Dragon missiles remain
164.5/185

The flight back to the Heavenly Emporium hadn't been as long as Diana would of expected, Perhaps it was the idle chatter she had with Titania while she was on her way to the front lines, or perhaps it was some sort of comic coincidence, but her peaceful time flying was at an end, and while she could see the hulking frame of the Indaina Kujira in her expansive sightline for some time now, she was now close enough that she could hear the fighting going on below and above. Those below slinging jutsu she had only heard of yet never seen before at the oncoming hordes of fighters; weapons of all shapes and sizes swung, broken, and discarded lining the streets like the dead bodies that held them before; and buildings crumbled to practically dust from the constant battering between the two sides.

And here she was, going back into this hellsink that she wanted to oh-so-dearly never come back to. But she had a job to do, something that, as far as she knew, no one else could do. Diana had taken up the job of...lobotomizing the Kujira so that those who had greater strength then her would be able to fight it more effectively and perhaps defeat it. And the best part was that outside of that crumb of information she had very little to go on in terms of how she was going to do such a thing. Was is even possible to lobotomize a creature that was largely immune to attack? That had nearly killed her on several occasions because it's gaze came upon her? The desire to just turn back was strong, but the consequences for doing so scared her even more.

"I have reached the Heavenly Emporium Titan, what are the current squads assigned to the Emporium at this time?"

"That would be squadrons Thermworf, Bizmouth, and Hellbender, with Iwa affiliated Inuzuka and Yoru clan members assisting the three squads as best they can."

Only three squads that might be able to help her then, not good. Thermworf was best when fighting on the ground and not worrying about collateral damage, Hellbender was led by a Jounin who only respected Diana for her 'Clan Head' status and not her Military rank status, so those two teams were best left to their own devices. Bismouth was promising as they were one of the first squads to be allowed access the the Iwa Kinjutsu under her command, but they were also the ones who brought her back to Iwa in the first place, and she wasn't ready to face that can of worms, small as it was.

"...I see. Have someone inform them that I have entered the fray. If they want to assist me I will not stop them, but if they do make sure they understand what I am doing so they do not prematurely end my work."

"Understood. Is there anything else you want them to know?"

Diana gave thought to this request. Was there anything they should know? They already knew the dangers, and this wasn't some sort of suicide mission like other points of interest could be. "Negative, but if there is anything that comes up they they should know, you will be the first informed."

---

16.45/185 CP
Sensory Technique; 0.5 CP
C2; no upkeep cost
➤20/20 C2 Dragon missiles remain
164/185

Diana was now close enough that she could see those fighting without needing her enhanced sight, and she immediately began running mental logistics to form a flight path for her dragon to prevent unnecessary chakra waste. While on the trip to the Emporium she had flown as high as she could to prevent anyone from trying to stop her, once she had entered the warped and broken gravity field the Emporium gave off she had opted to take a mid-level height of about 200 meters. Still high enough that those on the ground wound need a range-specific technique or archery, but not too high as to risk the sight of the Indaina Kujira. Heck, she could call 200 meters 'low' thanks to the gravity field letting people fight in the sky; the rubble and debris floating in the air to act like platforms. Just at a glance she saw several Kumo ninja taking on a particular nasty puppet, their swords slowly but surely getting through it's metal hide.

Flying around as she followed her mental map took no small effort, having to make several odd turn to avoid getting a stray Wind Ball in her face, or to make sure her dragon didn't fall apart from a Lightning Rat Violent Quake a mercenary had fired off in her direction. The temptation to try and plow her way through with her mini dragon missiles was there, sure, but she only had one set of soldier pills on her, and that was for emergencies only. Instead she'd just continue flying, the speed of her dragon too fast for the majority of them, and those who could keep up were distracted by other ninja who interfered with their pursuit or were stopped by a lack of platforms to jump on. Earlier in the invasion she had no need to worry about this sort of thing, but with most people evacuated and both sides taking full advantage of the 3D space they were now afforded, she couldn't just fly above and casually take pot shots with her bows & crossbows. No, she wanted to save those as well for when she needed to make a hasty exit.

"Ruby, messenger birds have been sent out to inform the three squads as to your orders. I assume you are getting close?"

"Affirmative. While there are those trying to stop me from getting closer, they have been unable to make any significant progress. If there is anyone who could, they are likely occupied at this time."

"That's good to hear. And while I have you, the prototype seal you requested we work on has been completed, and is ready for testing as soon as you get back."

"Good to hear. Perhaps with that seal we will be able to take out the Indaina Kujira in a swifter fashion then this."

A quick swerve to the right to avoid another large piece of floating debris, and she was in range of the being that had haunted her dreams the previous day. An entity which, in less then half an hour, she'd begin the work on 'wrecking it's mind' to quote the briefing she was given.

---

164/185 CP
Sensory Technique; 0.5 CP
C2; no upkeep cost
➤20/20 C2 Dragon missiles remain
163.5/185

The flight to the head of Kujira once she had passed the majority of combatants wasn't as bad as the first time she and one of her allies had done so against it's back. The very first time puppets & xenobeasts had swarmed them both in an effort to stop them from destroying one of the components of the false bijuu. It had failed and Diana's team had taken out one of the critical parts, but it had been closer then she would have liked. Now, as she looked around their numbers were depleted, but so were the shinobi world's forces, even if both were doing their best to stay the tide. "So much unneeded death and destruction; to think my mother wondered why I had no desire to become a shinobi despite my bloodlines." Vague as the memory was, there was no denying the fact that Diana had nearly been forced to take that path, but was unable to avoid it a second time despite the calamity that flew before her. No, back when she was young she was able to flee, to run away and survive as she was only concerned for herself back then. Now though, she had others to think about. Now, she had family.

Diana was quite surprised when she was within about a hundred meters of the beast that there was little resistance to her arrival. A few puppets sure, but with a quick mental command her dragon would swipe them away with it's claws, their broken bodies falling to their doom as she landed. Sliding off the living technique she'd take several tenuous steps forward, looking around as she did so for the 'terminals' she needed to locate, her dragon following behind in case of more unwanted attackers. Yet none came, making Diana even more concerned as she spotted an odd outcropping near the nape of it's neck, close enough one would consider it the beast's 'base of the head'. Short as the journey was to it's base, her adrenaline & anxiety of possible attackers made it feel like hours stretched over eons, Diana knowing full well what some of the more dangerous puppets could do during her early flights over the battlefield. And yet, still no attackers, not even a defender as she reached what were clearly terminals of some kind.

Strange.

The terminals themselves weren't that ornate, but her engineering & fuinjutsu knowledge let her know the sight before her was revolutionary. To terminals, side by side with remnants of ink on them; chakra ink in all likelihood. In fact, the terminals blended in rather nicely. Shame they had to be hacked, but that was her job and she'd fufill it. Commanding her dragon to stand guard, she'd activate her linkpearl once more.

"I have arrived at my destination Titan. Did any of the teams decide to join me?"

"Negative Ruby, they all trust that you have this under control."

"Good, I am glad to hear they have such faith in me. Now, the terminals look like they will need my full attention, so only call me if an emergency comes up."

"Understood Ruby. You got this."

Diana lowered her hand for hopefully the final time until her mission was done. Focusing her mind, she'd begin the process of attuning herself to the world once more as she became one with nature, then took one final look around to see if any combatants were to try and stop her. Satisfied nothing was there, she'd place her hands onto the nape of the massive biomystical puppet, letting the chakra ink flow into it as she initialized her connection to it's twin terminals. It took about three seconds before she'd hear the sound of someone...no, something fill her mind. A sound that threatened to sever her connection to the beast immediately, were her hand not stuck to it's back.

---

163.5/185 CP
Sensory Technique; 0.5 CP
C2; no upkeep cost
➤20/20 C2 Dragon missiles remain
One with Nature; 20 CP (perception +2 tiers; A -> S)
143/185

Diana immediately tried to recoil back as she heard the voice, but her hands didn't move. Her arms didn't move. Her body didn't move. Her body tried to hyperventilate, the mere thought of being paralyzed by some unknown, no, VERY known means in a hostile environment unnerving her, yet her body could only preform calm breaths. She went through the possible reasons she was stuck. Ninjutsu? Likely, but an unknown kind. Genjutsu? Highly unlikely, she was likely one of the hardest minds to pin down normally. Fuinjutsu? Also possible, but the question would be how. She went through several more options to calm herself, before assessing the situation in full.

First and foremost, she couldn't see anything...no that wasn't quite right. She was able to see some sort of object, but her other senses weren't picking up on it. And even then this 'sight', felt off, closer to when she used her sensory to pick up genjutsu in her mind, as best her other senses could tell, her eyes were closed. There was also the fact that she couldn't end her trance, that could be an issue as it took a lot out of her to keep it active. She might've been able to end her C2 dragon, but given the tone of...IT she didn't have much of a desire to do such a thing. Finally there was the noise she was hearing, a low droning sound that she hadn't heard before connecting to the terminals. Overall it wasn't a good situation that she was in, but it didn't mean she had failed. All and all she figured that she was interactive with the terminals as they were intended to be interfaced with, so she'd work with what she had: the sight and sound.

'Focusing' her eyesight, she saw that she was standing in a pale, creamy void on top of a slightly whiter platform with a small walkway forward. Carefully walking over to one of the edges, she looked down and saw the platform continue down, going into an inky expanse that she figure would be the end of her if she dared go down. Given that there was nothing else, she'd take the only way forward; the small walkway no bigger then a few yards wide. And she'd walk.

And she'd walk.

And she'd walk.

It was rather boring, but thankfully for her she'd come across a split in the path, with a large eye at the split. Looking directly at the eye, she'd hear that voice fill her head again.

---

143/185 CP
Sensory Technique; 0.5 CP
C2; no upkeep cost
➤20/20 C2 Dragon missiles remain
One with Nature; 20 CP Upkeep (perception +2 tiers; A -> S)
122.5/185

Diana paused in horror as she let the words of the Indaina Kujira reverberate inside her mind. It knew she was in here. In it's domain. She took several seconds to calm herself again, preforming the steps in her mind as if she had control of her real body, somewhat working enough that she could think again. At first she hadn't noticed, but she did in fact have a body here; her body in fact, but it was rather...transparent. She had many theories as to why this was the case, but none of them didn't matter, as for as long as she had a body, fake as it might've been, it was normal, and normal meant she likely had some control given whatever this was definitely wasn't a genjutsu now that she had some more time to analyze it. If she had to guess her guess of it being a Ninjutsu seemed likely, perhaps a derivative of the Saiko Denshin, as that would also explain why she hadn't felt her body move. The more she focused on it, the more she realized it was moving, just very, very slowly, so in a way she had more time to work with, but unlike a Saiko Denshin her chakra was still draining in relation to her mind, so she still only had so much to work with.

Continuing to try and figure out what to do next, she'd look down each path. Both kept going on for what seemed like forever, so simply walking wouldn't get her to where she needed to go, and she was not jumping down if she could help herself. All that she had to work with was the large eye, still staring at her, but at least there was no voice; a small but welcome comfort at least. There had to be some sort of logic, some way she could proceed forward. And then it hit her, if this place was based off of the Saiko Denshin, she might be able to replicate it's effects. Placing her hand onto the eye, she'd envision a terminal that would let her modify the beast's mind, and within moments one of the paths would become translucent as the other seemed more...solid. Solid was the best way she would have been able to describe it as 'extra-opaque' wasn't quite right. While she wondered more about what kind of pseudo-mental defense system she was in, her path forward was clear as she continued down the solid path.

With more walking. It was a long enough walk she figured she'd go into a jog, finding that at least her mental-body-construct-thing wasn't tiring as quickly as her real body would. The path was also seemingly trying to throw her off her game, as it began snaking left to right, going up and down with artificial hills and valleys, and even a few seemingly dead-ends that just blended really well with the void below, yet per attunement with nature let her mind-s eye pick up on the subtle differences. Eventually though, she was greeted with a sudden wall blocking her path with another eye.

---

122.5/185 CP
Sensory Technique; 0.5 CP
C2; no upkeep cost
➤20/20 C2 Dragon missiles remain
One with Nature; 20 CP Upkeep (perception +2 tiers; A -> S)
102/185

Even though she had expected the words, Diana still flinched as she instinctively expected something to try and attack her, yet still, nothing. Was it trying to make her disillusioned with her plan? Perhaps, but that didn't feel like the whole story. Surely if this beast could stop her, then it would have already, right? She knew the beast could preform genjutsu, yet instead she was working against a derivative of a Ninjutsu/Fuinjutsu hybrid to try and-

"Ah. I am ashamed that I had not thought of this sooner."

Even with her increased attunement, it was no wonder she hadn't realized, this was a defense system against those trying to modify the mind of the Indaina Kujira. Shame for it, as even if Diana was not a fan of being alone with her thoughts, she had dealt with that brand of bullshit before. Reaching out she'd place her hand against the wall, and after a brief moment of study undid the barrier as given what she was working with was fuinjutsu, therefore she could just undo everything inside. And she was about to, her hand taking the signature position of the Five Elements Unseal, when the voice came back.


But she was still in there, so with a shit-eating grin she tried to preform the technique, and nothing happened. Right, grin gone; she'd need to manually take this place apart piece by piece. Placing her hand onto the path, she'd notice the small lines made up of sealing formula. She could undo it, but then she'd fall down into the void, of which she was sure would just eject her back to reality given how this place worked. No, instead she'd take full advantage of her enhanced senses to look for small pieces of sealing she could modify, change the formula with her own small bits of chakra ink, and in what felt like a few short minutes the path before her shortened considerably, a terminal similar to what she was interacting with on the 'outside' now before her. The big difference though was that the sealing formulas on the terminal were flowing from one end to another, and as she watched it she solely understood why it was moving. The formula before her was what she was looking for this whole time, the mind of the Indaina Kujira.

---

102/185 CP
Sensory Technique; 0.5 CP
C2; no upkeep cost
➤20/20 C2 Dragon missiles remain
One with Nature; 20 CP Upkeep (perception +2 tiers; A -> S)
81.5/185

As she watched the formula flow, she became more aware of what she could or could not do to the false Bijuu she was interacting with. Not all of the formula was interactable in this strange mindscape defense, and really she could only blame herself for slipping up like that. There would likely be no second chances now, so she would just have to work with what formulas she did have access to. The second thing she realized was that while she wouldn't be able to interact with all if it, she could see all of the complex formulas that governed it's mind. The third thing was that she didn't need to lobotomize it, the biomystical menace had already had that happened to it when it was created.

Delaying long enough, she'd begin her dissection of the Indaina Kujira's mind. Ethics were not a factor in this, there was no hypocritic oath she upheld, this thing had caused so much death and destruction that she swapped and added variables in the formulas whenever she could. Add a function where when it saw a konoha symbol it would become irrationally angry, when it saw a blue shirt it would desire to shoot only raiton jutsu, heck, she swapped it's response to those climbing on it's back to instead of sending puppets to try and shake them off of it's back instead. Not all of her formulas stuck, some just conflicted and she knew the beast would sort those out eventually, but those obvious wrongs would hide the smaller ones she added. As she edited she'd also make small mental notes of which things in the formulas she could use for her own creations: Cerise's father had made good progress, and the disc she had decoded had similar code, but with this she was sure to make something neither Hyuuga thought possible.

But that was for later. She spent several more minutes unleashing years of pent up anger and rage out on the poor code before her. But the passion would eventually subside, and when she took a step back she was satisfied. Before the beast was akin to a lobotomized savant; now it was closer to a young child prodigy with intelligence they could use, but couldn't be relied upon to not instead throw a temper tantrum. Satisfied, she'd preform one final removal of formula: the floor. The undoing of it was rather quick, and with a grin she fell into the inky void of fuin code.

---

81.5/185 CP
Sensory Technique; 0.5 CP
C2; no upkeep cost
➤20/20 C2 Dragon missiles remain
One with Nature; 20 CP Upkeep (perception +2 tiers; A -> S)
61/185

With a gasp and a massive headache, Diana felt her mind back inside her body proper. She was out. She had succeeded. If she wasn't on top of one of the greatest threats to mankind she would have cheered, but that could wait for later. Looking at her tomestone only a minute had passed, but she felt like she had been running for an hour nonstop. Taking one final glance at the terminal she had been interacting with, she could just barely make out the differences in the seal that was there. Small changes she likely wouldn't have been able to see if she had not kept up her technique. There wasn't much more time to stick around though, as she could feel the massive monstrosity she stood on begin to rock back and forth, the modifications beginning to take effect. Puppets that had been encroaching lost balance and fell off, with those close that could pose a threat being quickly removed by her clay dragon's claws. Bringing her hand up, she'd contact her friend, still recovering from the out of body experience.

"Titan, this is Ruby. The mission was a success and the Indaina Kujira should be liable to mistakes."

"Oh? that was rather quick. I would have assumed that you would have needed more time."

"I will tell you more when I get back, but please have one of my attendants prepare a bath for when I return. Short as the mission might have seemed for you, for me it will be an interesting one to tell."

Picking herself up, she'd climb back onto her Dragon, of which thankfully was none worse for ware, and took off, taking the long way around by flying to it's right wing before turning back to Iwa. She began reflecting on the strange mindscape she encountered, calm as it was for most of it, had it not worked out those puppets would have done her in. As she reflected, she'd reach into her pocket, finding the small metal cube she brought with, and placed a memory seal on it. What she had learned today was rather interesting, and even if she didn't find a use for it, having a living record of the events that happened today would be good for the books.

[EXIT]

---

61/185 CP
Sensory Technique; 0.5 CP
C2; no upkeep cost
➤20/20 C2 Dragon missiles remain
One with Nature; 20 CP Upkeep (perception +2 tiers; A -> S)
40.5/185