As Hīryu flew in his blue jay form, he made his way down the main road a ways until he was sure that he was out of the range of the gate guards sight. Landing on a tree branch, Hīryu released his transformation. Taking a moment, he sat on the branch he was crouching on to take in the sights. It was the first time he'd be outside the village without some sort of supervision. But, if he wanted to get stronger he couldn't follow all the rules; they were more like guidelines anyway... Right? After reflecting for a moment, his mind went back to the task at hand: finding Belamos Karna. The only logical thing to do in his mind, was to train under the strongest shinobi they can find. Hīryu moreso just wanted to talk to him than become his student, but he just wants to learn from him in general.
Hopping down from the branch, Hīryu dusted off his robes and began walking down the road. One never knows what awaits them in the open, so Hīryu would have to be on his guard, he was still just a Genin. It was true he haf become stronger, but ge knew he was still no match for a high ranked shinobi. As he continued his journey down the road, he came upon a bar. He wasn't old enough to drink, nor did he want to, but figured it'd still be a good idea to rehydrate himself as well as a decent place to try to gather intel on if Belamos had passed through.
Walking through the front door, Hīryu quickly scanned the room discreetly. The characters he saw fit the image of who you would find in a bar, though none of them particularly stood out. Taking a seat, he was approached by a bartender who was cleaning a cup with a rag, and had a rather large mustache.
"Aren't you a little young to be in a bar, kid?" The barkeep asked, cleaning the inside of the glass.
"I am." Hīryu replied flatly. "May I purchase a non-alcoholic beverage, please?"
The barkeep gave Hīryu a once over, cleaning the glass as he looked at the young Storm ninja.
"Alright. I ain't gonna ask what you're doing out here, so long as you don't cause trouble. Understand?" The barkeep asked rather sternly, as if he were scolding him.
"Understood." Hīryu replied, an icy tone layered in his voice.
The barkeep would smirk slightly as he continued to clean the seemingly infinitely dirty glass that was still in his hand.
"Good... I'll be right back with your drink, kid." The barkeep said, as he began walking down the bar.
Hīryu would soon get lost in thought, thinking about what his next move was, and what reprocussions he'd face if it was discovered he had snuck out of the village.
The King leaned against his palm, elbow propped up on the table, and swirled the ice in his glass of Whiskey. He was doing this when Hiryu walked in and did not so much as toss a glance this way. He was more focused on seeing what inspiration he could find for the next step of his quest at the bottom of this drink. As he took another sip a short man wearing a rather funny looking rounded hat burst into the room. He frantically scanned the bar before pointing at Belamos "He's in here boys!" He said as he yelled over his shoulder to listeners unseen.
The man who could now be identified as the Town's Constable approached Belamos from behind, trembling hands holding a pair of handcuffs. 'Sir you are under arrest for the murder of...well, like three dozen people!' Belamos ignored him and took another drink before finally replying "Yeah...no" It was at this moment that the constable, irate at being dismissed, slapped a single one of the handcuffs on Belamos's wrist as he went to raise his drink to his mouth. The action, unfortunately, made the Shinobi spill his drink.
Quick as a snake he twisted and extended his arm- grabbing the law officer by the back of his neck and slamming his head into the counter top. This stunned the other two dozen office who, had by this point filed in, sat in stunned silence. Eventually one of the braver one's spoke up "Arrest him! The deputy pointed to Hiryu "Shinboi! You! Please help us"
Hiryu had managed to take a single drink of the green tea he received before the commotion started. The rather large, tattooed man seemed to dispatch the constable with ease, though he didn't seem like much more than a ruffian. Still, something was... off about him. If what they said was true, he had killed dozens of people. As Hiryu monitored the situation, the officers had called on him. How was this his problem now? Annoyed by his inner call to help, Hiryu took another drink of tea and sat the cup on the counter.
"While this isn't my problem, it stands in the way of me finding someone." Hiryu said with his arms crossed and eyes closed. "If he's as big a threat as you've made him out to be... You don't stand a chance."
Hiryu opened his eyes and gwve the two officers an icy glare.
"However... I suppose it can't be helped." Hiryu said, raising his hand to grip the hilt of his greatsword. "You. I'll be outside."
Hiryu proceeded to get up from his stool and walk towards the front door. He pushed aside the curtain and walked out into the sunlight. As he made his way to the center of the road only a few steps away, Hiryu unsheathed his sword and drove it into the earth. Crossing his arms, Hiryu closed his eyes and waited for the tattooed man to either come outside, or flee.
The call for aid was answered by a young male in the bar- a sort of roguish looking character with odd hair and a large sword. While he didn't have any outside symbols that tied him to a village he could have been a former student at their Academy. Kogarashi was looking to bolster its ranks and he wasn't one to shirk away from skilled challengers who could potentially serve him one day. It was for this solitary reason, the piquing of his curiosity that Belamos Karna finished his drink and stepped outside into the dusty streets, about fifty meters away from Hiryu. As he emerged from the doors Belamos had a spear in his hand- red metal tipping a black wooden shaft. Around the spearhead, a red banner was tied- rippling in the wind as Belamos walked. Once he found his mark he stared at the boy. After a moment of inaction, Belamos cocked his head to the side "Well?" He asked expectantly.
As the man walked before him on the street, Hiryu opened his eyes. Letting his arms fall to his sides, he gave the ruffian another once over. When he wasn't sotting hunched over at the bar, the man was indeed obviously large, and his spear added to this new more ferocious appearance. Who he disregarded as a simple highwayman previous, it turns out was actually a rather strong looking warrior. Hiryu couldn't tell if the man was a shinobi, and the lack of symbols and a headband didn't help. As the man spoke, Hiryu's focus shifted. Either he was incredibly pompous to offer the first strike, or there was an ulterior motive.
"Before we begin... Is what those offocers said true? Did you kill dozens of people in the Storm Village?" Hiryu asked, his face still expressionless.
Hiryu placed a palm on the pommel of his sword, still planted in the ground. He didn't grip it, but simply rested his arm there. He wanted to get some information from the man before their fight started, even if it was miniscule. He needed to find Belamos, and this fight was taking up time he could better use to finding his man.
He started walking forward, spinning all 72 inches that made up Shōkyaku in his hand as he did so. He casually sauntered up to Hiryku and when he was within 8 feet he would shoot his arm out, holding Shōkyaku by the end of it's shaft. The length of the blade plus the extended reach of his arm made it so that, even though Belamos was still 8 feet away, the strike would piece Hiryu's shoulder if he did not react. Afterwords Belamos retracted the spear and quickly spun it in front of him in an effort to ward off any counter attack. For now, he would just see how the kid reacted, specifically against an opponent that could keep you at a range you couldn't attack from.
Hiryu was caught off guard. He hadn't expected the man to charge immediately after answering his question. "He's fast. Faster than he looks..." Thinking quickly, Hiryu held both of his arms downward toward his feet, palms held out. Surging chakra through his arms, two intense bursts of wind shot forward, launching Hiryu sraight up in the air, narrowly avoiding the strike from the spear.
Hiryu was nearly a half mile in the air after only moving for a second, a large cloud of dust encompassing the area where he had been standing that's to the surge of wind. Holding one hand aloft aimed at the ground, his sword came flying up from it's previously entrenched position. With a smack, Hiryu snatched it by the hilt, ensuring his grip was set.
"Don't underestimate me!!" Hiryu would shout as he began to descend.
Charging more chakra to his arms, Hiryu would channel that into his blade; Ryuutsume. On his way down, Hiryu began swinging his sword in multiple directions, waves of fire being launched forth in huge swaths. Multiple flaming arcs rained down toward the ruffian, aiming to envelope him in crimson flames.
Dexterous Prince
Techniques Used: • Kyōshu no Tokkan [ Assassin’s Rush ] | B Rank [ Fuuton ] • Kusanagi no Tsurugi: Kuu no Tachi [ Sword of Kusanagi: Long Sword of Sky ] | B Rank [ Maruton ] • Kumoryuu Kængiri [ Cloud Style Flame Slash ] | B Rank [ Katon ]
As the spear was blocked, Belamos merely watched as the boy took off into the air. It was the accompanying sonicboom that really shook him. He winced as the pain in his ears subsided but made sure to keep the kid in his sights as best he could. After a second the sword took off after him, flying high into the air. High up he could see the boy swinging the sword about, letting loose arcs of fire to rain down upon him 'Oh dear' He thought to himself as the fire landed around him.
Hiryu would hit the ground as the dust settled in the area, revealing a hurt and severely wounded Belamos kneeling on the ground. He was using his spear to keep himself steady by wedging the butt of it into the earth and treating it as a cane.
Or, at least, that's what the boy would see.
In reality Belamos was perfectly fine, standing exactly where he had been a moment before but was now bending the light of the area to phyiscally create an image he desired. This was no genjutsu as any and all around him would see it- this was reality shaped to the King's will. A moment after the boy landed the wounded Belamos would seem to lunge forward and throw his spear towards Hiryu as an almost last resort kind of attack before collapsing onto the ground. The real Belamos would match the throw so that the spear thrown was indeed real but otherwise stand behind the image he had created of himself- completely invisible to the boy who would now think himself the victor.
As Hiryu landed, he saw the wounded ruffian. The blood, how he held himself with his spear as an anchor. As he was going to make a move, the man lunged forward to stab. Without thinking, Hiryu activated his Sharingan, his iris's suddenly alight with scarlet, a single tomoe on the ring.
Even with his increased vision, Hiryu could tell the spear was coming too quickly for him to parry; he wouldn't get his sword up in time. In desperation right as the spear began to comnect, Hiryu body flickered behind the bar, drops of blood falling to the ground, followed by the mans body, exhausted, immediately after. Before reemerging, Hiryu quickly made a clone.
Jumping up to the roof of the bar, Hiryu came back into view from where he teleported. There was a piece of his robe cut out by his shoulder, a decently deep gash from the spear evident; he had gotten away, but only barely. With slightly labored breathing, Hiryu looked down at the mans motionless body on the road. "Did I kill him? He almost got me with that one... Too close." Hiryu hopped down, sheathing his greatsword as he landed. Taking a few steps toward the body, Hiryu examined it with his sharingan. His chakra was extremely weak, but something still wasn't right. Hiryu just couldn't tell what it was.
"Who are you..." Hiryu asked aloud, almost mumbling.
To ensure that the man would die for his crimes against the village, and not escape capture if he healed, Hiryu made a single one handed seal. Many ice spears would then begin to shoot up from the ground, aiming to impale the man. Leaving an enemy alive can get you killed, this Hiryu knew well.
Dexterous Prince
Techniques Used: • Shunshin no Jutsu [ Body Flicker Technique ] | D Rank | [ Maruton ] • Nenshō Bunshin [ Burning Clone ] | B Rank | [ Katon ] • Hissatsu Hyōsō [ Certain-Kill Ice Spears ] | B Rank | [ Hyōton ]
Belamos stood in place as the kid ran away from danger, and then like a tentative mouse checking to see if the cat had gone returned to finish off his supposed 'Kill' all the while tense and nervous as could be. Ice spears sprung up in front of Belamos piercing the imaginary body that lay in front of him. As the rogue slowly approached Belamos heard him ask who he was. Tired by the charade, and annoyed that his interest in the boy had been met with weakness and cowardice Belamos decided to drop the act. He would show this boy who he was.
"More than you can handle"
The image of the dying Belamos shimmed away, dissolving to light. In its place, the real Belamos stood, five feet behind where his counter-image had lain. A flash originated from his person, brighter than even the sun in the sky. His visage began to shimmer with such intense brightness that even the mere act of looking upon him was painful. It was akin to standing before the incarnation of a star itself!
Timed with the flash- ripples of red seemed to crawl through the ground for a brief moment. This was the only thing that forewarned what was about to come for in the next moment everything for hundreds of feet in every direction- the buildings, the grass, the streets themselves- all caught fire. The entire world around Hiryu was burning. Oddly enough, the fires did not seem to consume that which they burned upon them. Yes, they were real and, yes, they were extremely hot but for some reason the buildings and people remained unharmed.
While the fire did not directly burn Hiryu it would only serve to further the image of the hellish landscape he was now in. Every direction there was naught but flames, and while the threat of being burned was low the harm the heat commanded was very, very real. He would begin to sweat and tremble as dehydration and fatigue immediately set in.
Belamos meanwhile merely raised his hand above his head, palm towards the sky. Floating above his hand a miniature sun formed. In a mere moment it ballooned from less than a foot in diameter to over 150 feet across! He would merely hold it aloft, now deigning to speak out "I am Belamos Karna, Son of Utu. Witness the Soul of Helios!" Like a meteor dropping onto the earth the ball of fire held above Belamos would be directed towards the Hiryu he could see. It would be interesting to see what happened next
The ice spears came shooting forth from the ground, impaling the man's corpse. Only, there was no movement. Not so much as a flinch when the spears came through. It was then that Hiryu realized what was going on; the body simply faded from view, and the man he thought he was fighting stood only a few feet from his former body. "s**t! It was a trap!" Uttering a few words, the man unleashed hell -- literally. The flames spread across the ground, and Hiryu was blinded by the brilliant flash of light. Once he regained his sight, Hiryu looked at the man who had now created a miniature sun, only it wasn't miniature for long. The now massive fireball that was akin to a sun hovered in the air above him. Hiryu was speechless as the man began to pronounce who he was.
As the giant sun came down, it enveloped Hiryu and collided with the earth. Intense heat and viscous flames tore around the area, decimating anything that dared to stand in it's way. As the air seemed to settle, the real Hiryu lept up from behind the bar, landing on the roof as his clone had. The fire that had been spread across the area remained, causing Hiryu to sweat alongside his already slightly labored breathing due to his earlier injury. Looking down at the man, Hiryu's heart began to race. This was Belamos Karna? This was the man he was after? He hadn't read anything about him being a murderer. Or maybe it was an imposter? No, it couldn't be... This guy was strong, too strong to be a simple roguish shonobi.
"You're Belamos Karna? I've been looking for you. If you're telling the truth, then you're right... You are more than I can handle." Hiryu said stoicly. "However... I find it hard to believe that the hero of the last Great War would murder his own comrades!"
As Hiryu finished, his eyes began to glow seemingly brighter, like two small pools of malice. Hiryu had to assume he was the real deal. He had the heat techniques. He had already demonstrated incredibly strength and strategy; he couldn't beat around the bush anymore. If this truly was Belamos, he couldn't hold back -- he wouldn't hold back. His mind swimming with emotions and thoughts, Hiryu glared at the man; a second tomoe appearing on his eyes, the next step of evolution of his sharingan. Unaware of the change, Hiryu made a flurry of hand seals and followed it with holding his hands out before himself. A large volume of water rose from the ground, covering the ground around the bar. However, the previous flames hadn't been extinguished, instead they simply kept burning underwater, causing steam to rise from the surface. With another string of seals, Hiryu held the final one. A large dragon made of water rose from the surface with a majestic roar, and launched itself toward Belamos, aiming to crash into and swallow him. Hiryu had already been pushed harder than he ever had, and he was beginning to run low on chakra. He only had a few more opportunities to attack with ninjutsu, and if the fight wasn't ovet by then, he'd be in serious trouble.
To make matters worse, he had tried to look at Belamos dead on, an as such blinded himself. He thought he could withstand the light radiating from him, but it was too much. Hiryu had to close his eyes, only able to see Belamos now as a chakra network through his eyelids, severely hindering his ability to track him.
Dexterous Prince
Techniques Used: • Takitsubo no Jutsu [ Waterfall Basin Technique ] | C Rank | [ Suiton ] • Suiryuudan no Jutsu [ Water Dragon Projectile Technique ] | B Rank | [ Suiton ]
The boy's awe was appropriote- in this moment Belamos was displaying a not insignificant amount of his true power. Still, he did not wish to kill the boy nor lay waste to the land and it was for this reason he continued to hold back. When the boy spoke Belamos responded in kind, keeping up his holy glowing light that silhouetted his person "Just a story to get a fight out of you boy- they were naught but lowly assassins" As the Water Dragon was launched Belamos simply raised his hand. A wall of invisible Shakuton Chakra formed and as the dragon hit Belamos's outstretched hand the length instantly disolved on contact until the last bit of the tail finally made it to him. Belamos now completely unharmed would simply raise his arms to hevan. As he did so the light from the Sun overhead got painfully bright- increasing the heat of the land even further and bathing the area in a golden radience. A moment afterwords thousands of senbon composed entirely of light began to rain down from the sky towards Hiryu- threatening to impale him hundreds of times over
● Pyros Aegis- Active ( S Rank ) ● ● Magnificence of Light [ A Rank ] (Continued ) ● Lucifer's Domain [ S Rank ] (Continued ) ● Mizu Shirizoke [ Water Repelling ] [ B Rank ] ● Taiyō [ The Sun ] [ A Rank ] ● Tenkyū [ Rain from a Cloudless Sky ] [ C Rank ]
Hiryu could hardly believe what Belamos had told him. Was he really just goading him into a fight at this point? Were the men he killed simply assassins? It was plausible, but he couldn't know for sure. Belamos was definitely as his reputation preceeded. He was incredibly powerful. Keeping his eyes covered, Hiryu could feel the heat around him intensify from above. He couldn't tell what it was, but it was definitely warming up quickly.
Seeing that Belamos hadn't moved via his chakra network, Hiryu could tell his attack hadn't worked. Nothing he threw at him had done much of anything. If that wasn't a sign of this man truly being Belamos, Hiryu didn't know what was. Sweating even more profusely, he began to shake slightly. The heat was becoming intense the longer they fought, and it was starting to take it's toll on him. His energy was being sapped, and he was feeling weaker, less energetic.
Right as Hiryu was about to make what would possibly be his last ditch effort, the hundreds rain of light needles fell upon him. Impaling his shoulders, arms, back, and parts of his legs, Hiryu crumpled like a glowing porcupine. Dropping to one knee, his breathing became even more labored. He was getting dizzy, the pain of the needles locking him in place. He had never felt or seen this kind if heat before. The water he summoned had begun to recede, the previous flames continuing to flicker and dance. Had Hiryu been able to see, the road would look like a flame-covered hellscape, the evidence of a battle very clear. Trying to force himself to his feet, Hiryu pushed through the pain. Standing upright, although wobbly, Hiryu continued to breathe heavily, somewhat hunched over with the light needles covering his back and limbs.
"I... I won't... Give up." Hiryu said through gasping breaths, as he attempted to take a step forward toward Belamos.
Unfortunately, he didn't have much of a choice in the matter. Falling forward off the roof, Hiryu met the ground with a thud, kicking up a small cloud of dust around himself. Nearly passing out, his breath was shallow. He couldn't move, he was drained of chakra, and he hadn't been able to talk to Belamos -- instead, he ended up fighting him, and losing. Trying to resist, Hiryu placed both palms of the ground, fighting to push himself up. He had made it nearly a few inches before falling back to the dirt, falling unconscious.
Dexterous Prince
Techniques Used: • Sharingan Active - Insight Lens
When the boy faded from conciousness Belamos would release his hold on all the Jutsu's he was using and simply walk over to the kid who was face down in the dirt. He would also surpress the fire's in the area, returning the town to it's natural state before scooping up Hiryu, throwing him over his shoulder, and walking off
