Taketori took the communicator and turned it in his hand a few times. Ah yes, a piece of modernization. He put it in his holding bag. It was unclear if he knew how to use it given his cursory examination of a rather complex device for a jungle man.
"There is naught but to meet destiny. Let us proceed." He would follow Atsuko and the rest towards the tunnel. As a close-ranged specialist, he looked forward to it. [OOC]:
With everyone looking more than determined, houou made to take a step forward. Only to be stricken with a slight dizziness, forcing him to lean on Artemis for support. Art was quick to assist houou and even began walking in the direction he was headed while supporting some of his weight. After a few steps houou would regain his composure and begging to support his own weight again. However, secretly he pretended to still be dizzy so that Artemis would still lend her harm to him. The entire group followed their pace with a sense of determination and confidence, Taketori Rspecially. Houou has high hopes for the mission to come.
“ill lead the way there and then we can come up with a proper formation for traversing those paths.”
((Puppeting entire group with all role players approval.))
Landing near the river bank from the streets, Xifeng would set her things be the running water and sigh, wondering how that boy was doing. Hopefully well. They did have a fight to get done, but there was something that made her worry about him. She pushed it back as best she could before focusing on some warming up.
Stretching her lips first, Xifeng would practice her spitting motion for when the ink would eventually travel out of her mouth. She pushed her lips outward before then bringing them inwards and repeating the motion several times. She continued this a few times for a few minutes or so before she was ready for lift off.
[1/3]
Now all warmed up, she brought her lips together and prepared to spit a blob of ink from her mouth. Filling her mouth with ink once more, she puckered both lips and then shot out what was inside of her mouth. Unfortunately, the blob would dribble from her mouth and splat onto the ground. Huffing to herself, she prepped herself for another try.
[2/3]
After licking her lips, Xifeng filled her mouth with ink again. It filled her mouth until she was full and then spat it out at the ground. Successfully, the blot shot out of her mouth and hit the ground, a black pile of ink on the ground which stained the grass.
[3/3 l Blot Spit Learned ]
Deciding to give the shot one more try, Xifeng slowly brought her hands into a hand seal as ink filled her mouth. Without doing anything to it, she spat it out of her mouth it the opposite reason, aiming at a patch of grass across the river. A black blot emerged from her mouth, sailing over to the other side.
[1/1 l Blinding Blend 001 Learned]
Moving onto the next ink blend, Xifeng wet her lips down again. Once down, she made a different hand seal than before, ink filling her mouth again until it reached its limit, then unleashing it at the ground below her. The resulting ink was gray in color, hitting the grass as it robbed the once green fauna of its color.
[1/1 l Grey World Blend 002 Learned]
A more complex blend was coming up as Xifeng flex her hands a around a little. This ink was a bit thinner than most, on the count of blend being more slippery and loose than the other blends. After performing a different set of hand seals, Xifeng felt her chakra infused ink begin to fill her mouth.
[1/3]
While in her mouth, she began to siphon some of the chakra already present in the blend as her tongue swirled the mixture about. She could feel the thick ink begin to lessen as more and more of it began to feel like sticky water. Not to say that was exactly what ink was. Nevertheless, she continued on, feeling it was nice and ready to go and unleash her cocktail.
[2/3]
Pursing her lips, Xifeng let out a blot of golden ink that hit the ground away from her. Staining the grass in its color, whoever stepped on it would certainly be in for quite the surprise. Thankfully, she would be immune being a Hojo and all. It came with the perks of being a freakish squid descendant.
[3/3 l Slippery Blend 009 Learned]
Next technique would be just as easy, after all, it was just another variation of what she had done. Xifeng spat out the what was left of the golden ink in her mouth, wiping it off with her tongue. She let out another huff, worrying about the boy as she prepared herself for the next technique.
[1/3]
Another mouth full of ink later, She would pushed more chakra into the ink inside of her mouth. Swirling around with her tongue, this batch would become more thick and viscous, like she had a mouth full of syrup.
[2/3]
Aiming her shot at a nearby patch of grass colored back from before, Xifeng spat out a pink colored blot at the patch. It would speed over there until the impact, unleashing a gooey ink over a few inches as the grass would clump together in thick strands. A sweet taste in her mouth, the ink master general would call it another successful jutsu.
[3/3 l Taffy Blend 013 Learned]
The next blend would be the next true tier up in terms of complex blends, needing more than just filling her mouth with ink and dumping chakra inside. After a brief moment of hesitation, she did just that but with a small change. After the initial handseals, her tongue wound bend into the shape of a snake as more chakra swirled in her mouth.
[1/4]
Spitting out a blob of ink, it splattered onto the ground with a dark blue color. Looking over it, Xi would huff. "Not enough chakra mixed in. Gotta do more." Accepting only the best in terms of training, failures like this would spell out disaster in battle. She took a moment to catch her breath from training and continued on.
[2/4]
Trying the technique once more, the pink haired Hojo would repeat the steps as last time. She brought both hands together and performed the hand seals in front of her. Filling the ink flood into her mouth, she puffed her cheeks out to contain it all.
[3/4]
She forced her tongue into a snake sign once more, this time waiting as a flood of chakra mixed into the ink. Once ready, she spat out a blot at the same spot as last time. The ink produced was now a much better shade of blue this time, leaving the squid person with a satisfied smirk.
[4/4 l Enfeebling Blend 018 Learned]
"This isn't getting any easier." She mumbled to herself sitting down carefully to avoid staining her clothing on the ground. Having stained her dress before, it would take a while to get off any ink that stained her clothing. Taking a moment to breath, she performed the hand seals again, beginning with one before slowly turning to several more.
[1/4]
Her cheeks would slowly fill with ink until it soon became full. Mixing in her chakra through her tongue, the ink in her mouth would slowly change color to a green color that darkened. She waiting patiently, taking her time with the technique.
[2/4]
The bitter taste of Moth Ink would fill her cheeks. It was absolutely awful, like licking the armpit of some foreman in a village. Her tongue continued to swim the ink until it became viscous enough to stick to a surface reliably. Holding her head back, she then unleashed a blot of moth ink in front of her.
[3/4]
The dark green ink blob sped forward across the river before it slowly descended and made impact with a nearby table cloth. The ink spread across it and would fizzle, slowly chewing through the cloth as the caustic substance would not be powerful enough to actually chew through it. Looking around to see if anybody was watching, she was thankfully safe from where she could see before then figuring she was in the clear.
[4/4 l Moth Blend 019 Learned]
Removing some residue on her hand and wiping it on the ground, Xi looked around at all of the spots of ink around the riverbank before looking at a fresh patch of grass that wasn't inked. Seeing a new spot to practice, she adjusted her posture to face her blank canvas and continued inking whatever. She made a dog hand seal, followed by a snake.
[1/4]
Ink poured into her maw again, coming up from the depths of her body. Her tongue performed the same seals she had, not in the same direct shape, but would push chakra into the tasteless mixture in her mouth. Very slowly, it would begin to stir it around.
[2/4]
The mixture was hot, spicy was a much better word for its description. She stared across the river while swishing the ink around her inflated mouth. Waiting for the ink to be ready for shooting, she would lay back in the grass while closing her eyes. It would be a few seconds or so before it was ready, Xifeng sitting back up and pressing her tonge against the floor of her mouth.
[3/4]
Spitting out the dark red ink, it splattered the other clean side of the hill, a clear success in her book. She leaned back and decided to rest a bit before continuing with some of the more taxing blends. Another swipe of her hand and wiping it off on the ground below her, she would close her eyes and drift away as her ink reserves would replenish.
● Kōrimizu Ika [ Cold Water Squid ]: [ Mild ] increase in speed when submerged. Able to breathe under water. ● Hojo Ink: Xi's Hojo Ink cannot be removed unless scrubbed vigorously with hot water. ● Text Here ● Text Here
NON-COMBAT DATA
✘║ Mission Information
Mission Title [ Rank ] Mission Details
Mission Title [ Rank ] Mission Details
Mission Title [ Rank ] Mission Details
✘║ Non-Combat Passives
● "Charm" - 1.5x Ryo Earned From Missions / Jobs ● Text Here ● Text Here ● Text Here
✘║ Jutsu Learned
● Text Here ● Text Here ● Text Here ● Text Here
✘║ OOC
Notes:
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
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Posted: Mon Feb 26, 2018 9:51 pm
Xifeng Lao
After the brief rest, her training would continue. The next technique was like the Searing Blend, though somewhat different in set up. She would inhale once and exhale heavy, then removing an armband and hiking her sleeves up to reveal her barren arm. Once securing the clothing so it would not interfere, she would begin with a set of handseals.
[1/6]
Ink filled her mouth just like every other time, yet this is where the techniques would differ. Instead of filling up the entirety of her mouth, it would stop a little over halfway. The remaining area in her mouth would be fueled by pure chakra as it filled the void and she mixed it with the partial ink.
[2/6]
Once it was ready, she spat it out on her arm and observed to see if anything came as a result. Purple in color, it would lie there with no real results coming forth. An aggravated sigh later, she would try once more.
[3/6]
After making the worthless hand seals once more, she would slowly draw ink from her reserves once more. This time, however, she would cut herself off when her mouth was nearing the point of becoming half full. Once the point was reached, she would insert the chakra again once more.
[4/6]
Stirring the chakra around her her tongue, she would feel it blending in with the ink. This continued until it was thick enough to stock to whatever it would land to, this case being flesh of another living thing. Just to make sure it would do so in this instance, Xi would continue stirring for a few more seconds.
[5/6]
Unleashing the contents of her mouth onto her arm, Xi would get actual results this time. Flexing it and feel the ink seep in, she felt stronger, faster with this even. it would come to pass, but it was definitely something that would be useful should a boost to these things be needed.
[6/6 l Ceremonial Blend 032 Learned!]
(( I finally remember the -1 post reduction for Rogues here ))
"Gotta slow down soon. Getting dry on ink." Making another set of hand seals, Xifeng would take things slow while preparing herself for another blend. This one would take four instead of the usual three, slowly increasing in complexity as well as chakra cost.
[1/5]
The woman's mouth filled with ink as her tongue made semi-coherent shapes similar to the seals she had made. After releasing chakra into the ink, she swirled it around her mouth. It had a very distinct taste, almost like she had just chugged medicine from a doctor's office. Resisting the urge to gag, so would spit it out on her arm again.
[2/5]
The contents would splash onto the limb, coating it in a pinkish ink. Confirming it had been done successful, now was the time to go for real. She unsheathed the sword by her hip and made a small cut near the ink. Blood would soon pool and drip down her arm.
[3/5]
Beginning the technique again, Xifeng would make the required series of hand seals and draw upon the ink system in her body. Ink flooded into her mouth a short while after, topping off at just about the eighty percent mark. The rest of the space would be filled with chakra.
[4/5]
Mixing in her own chakra, Xi would begin to swirl the mixure in her mouth until it was ready, and then spit it out at the wound. The pink ink would take a while to travel into the surface of the skin, acting as a temporary way of stopping the bleeding for a while. It would remain there until it fell off a little while later.
[5/5 l Mending Blend 38 Learned!]
The next blends was one of her personal favorites. Nothing said surprise like a way of tunneling into places uninterrupted! She would steady herself and make even more hand seals, repeating the same process that always came. A few hand seals here and there, along with her tongue mimicking the ones she had always been making with her hands.
[1/5]
Her mouth would slowly fill with the same normal type of ink that usually came with just summoning ink like normal. The fun part would not come until later, however. She would inject chakra into it and begin to store with her tongue, channeling it into the mixture until it had become the sticky ink that her clan was known for.
[2/5]
With the semi finished product in her mouth, she would catch wind of some of the pollen in the air and suddenly sneeze. The contents of her mouth would spill out onto the ground in a splattered mess. After sniffing and spitting out the last of the ink, she cursed silently to herself and tried again.
[3/5]
Another pair of heals seals and her cheeks filled with ink once more. She processed the mixture with some of her own chakra and would then begin to swirl it around her mouth as she did her best to ignore the strong taste to her liquid. After a while in her mouth, she leaned her head back down and performed a blot spit of ink.
[4/5]
The blot came out unlike the previous mixtures or blends that had been pure blobs of ink. The shot came out cone shaped, with a piercing end that could definitely leave a mark on whatever it had hit. The blot would hit the ground and stick inside until it would eventually melt back into a normal pool of ink.
[5/5 l Spiral Blend 041 Learned!]
The last Hojo technique she would focus on for now was a bit different than the last few she had been working on. It like like the spiral blend, but made for cutting down defenses rather than walls. With only two hand seals, the ink began to pool in her mouth once more as she draw from her personal source.
[1/5]
With the ink slowly filling her mouth, she next channeled chakra through it once more while blending it together although this one would contain much more chakra than its previous blend. The ink had a much finer point, and thus would require more holding it together than just throwing any amount of chakra on it.
[2/5]
Next would come the part where she swishes the blend around in her mouth until it was ready, though she would actually use her teeth this time. Once the ink would ready, she would use her molars to grind it into a fine point. She worked bakwards until Xifeng had actually made a fine pointed needle like structure in the ink.
[3/5]
She would take aim at the tree just north of her, across the river, and then release. Because of being in the blot spit shape, as soon as she launched it out of her mouth, the blend would take shape of a thin ink needle the moment it touched the air. Sailing across the river, it would be hellbound for its target.
[4/5]
The ink needle soond hit the tree in its dead center. The impact had forced it to wobble a bit as the projectile stuck out of it Xifeng could see a couple of small pieces of bark fly off and the intrusion had forced itself into the tree somewhat but not event reaching the halfway point. Perhaps some training later would fix that.
[5/5 l Piercing Blend 044 Learned!]
Not wanting to march straight into a fight without getting something else to cover her ground, Xifeng would work on one more spitting method. This next one was a bit slower at inking territory than just spitting a blot out at her opponents, but was cover larger ground. She would make a snake seal and fill her mouth with a normal blend of ink.
[1/6]
She mixed chakra into the blend hastily, not wanting to waste anymore time with Hojo techniques. Spitting out blots was fun, but she had other things to do for the time being. Licking her lips together, she would bring her head back and begin to spit out the contents of her mouth.
[2/6]
Unfortunately for her, the ink had not been mixed properly, and instead of spreading out, just clumped together like manure on a farm. Wiping her mouth off in frustration, Xi would begin once more. She brought both hands together and inhaled a single time. A moment later, exhaling.
[3/6]
A snake hand seal was formed as her mouth filled with ink. It would begin to fill as she dispersed the chakra in her mouth with her tongue. It would slowly leak into the mixture in her mouth after stirring it around a bit.
[4/6]
The watery substance soon became thick and viscous enough to be considered ink as she paused to make sure it was ready. Wanting to be sure about this blend in her mouth, she would put a little extra before forcing the mouthful of ink to the bottom of her mouth as she tilted her head up to face the sky.
[5/6]
After pausing for a moment to ready herself, Xifeng suddenly forced the ink back up. It would rocket out of her mouth as she closed her lips partially until the inks forced its way out of her mouth. The result as a literal semi-spray of ink droplets that splattered the ground across her. Once her mouth was empty and the ground across her was covered in ink, she called it a day and moved to her other techniques.
[6/6 l Fountain Spit Learned!]
Taking out her Ukyo Mizo, Xifeng would prepare it for some training. After swinging it around several times in a single hand, the woman would grip it with both hands before swinging the blade upwards. Her blood mixed in with the Ukyo ink would be slung across the direction she had aimed. Several inky kunai were born from the think ink that had been remaining idle in her mizo's sheath.
[1/2]
The fake projectiles would sail far before hitting the tree that had born struck her her previous technique. While not doing as much damage, they would soon break down and become a stickier and messier version of the ink she had down from one of her Hojo clan techniques. Some had even struck a few leaves falling in midair, forcing them down onto the ground after robbing them of their kinetic energy.
[2/2 l [ Ink Projectiles ] Learned! ]
The next Ukyo technique she would wrap her mind across would be an alternative version of the regular cloning technique. With her mizo in hand, Xifeng made a hand seal and swung the ink down on the ground. The ink would soon explode in a smoke cloud as an identical copy of her would soon appear where she had inked.
[1/3]
The copy would launched itself across the river and landing with amazing grace as it then moved over the hill to see what was one the other side. More housing and such across the river would greet the clone as the real Xi would remain back where she was near the river's edge. The clone's new information would come back to her as she know knew what lied beyond the river.
[2/3]
That's enough. Return. Came from the inky queen as the ink clone would obey and run back towards her. It jumped over the river once more before landing next to her as she recalled the jutsu. The clone would disappear in smoke as the ink used to create it would return to its normal state.
[3/3 l Sumi Bunshin no Jutsu [ Ink Clone Technique ] Learned! ]
Xifeng would dip her weapon back in its sheath to refresh the ink that she had drawn from it before beginning the next technique. Making a horse hand seal, she would then swing the sword around her before dispersing the chakra inside of the ink to create a mist. What actually happened was that blots of ink shot from the slung ink and soon fell to the ground. Xi would konk herself on the head. "Damn it, wrong seal."
[1/3]
Trying again, she made a snake seal with one hand, the other one handling the weapon with its inked blade out behind her. She would then swing it once around her body for a complete rotation. Immediately afterward, she released the chakra in ink and dispersed it outwards.
[2/3]
The result was a thick smokescreen made of ink that was hard to see through for even her. It would remain there for a few moments or so before the wind had broken down most of the inky-smoke and sent it flying away. An excellent distraction tactic that could surely get her out of a bind in a hurry.
[3/3 l Sumigasumi no Jutsu [ Ink Mist Technique ] Learned! ]
Xifeng would sheath her mizo and unscrew the top of the blade's hilt to showcase a stored brush within. A few shakes to get any residue off of it that had made its way in there and it was ready to roll. After dipping it in the disk, she would gather up a scrap of paper flying in the wind and write the kanji for the word "transport" on top of it.
[1/5]
Jumping across the river, she would place it on the inked tree that currently was damaged by her previous jutsu on the poor flora. After watching it to see if the tree would fall over or not, she would then hop back across the water just in time to see the note fly away and land in the river. Making a mental note to herself, she would have to keep stock of stickier paper to prevent this.
[2/5]
After scurrying further down the river, she managed to find another piece of paper, albeit it smaller in size, but it would make due. After leaping across the river again, almost falling in, the woman drew the kanji symbol on its face before attaching it to the same tree as last time. Making sure it was secure, she crossed the water source again and spun around while readying herself.
[3/5]
She faced the tree that was currently suffering from its fresh sticky note across the surface of its bark, the pink haired rogue would make a series of hand seal while activating the chakra in both the kanji and her ink well. It would take only a second or so for the space around her to become uneasy. A large wave of ink would swallow her as all went dark for a moment.
[4/5]
When she was released, Xi would teleport out of the kanjo written note and look over at the area where she had come from. After shaking her shoes free some some ink, she would call the training a success and move on to the next jutsu. Not wanting to litter, she crumbled up the note on the tree and would shove it into her pocket so she could throw it in the trash later. No need to get on anyone's bad side in the village.
[5/5 l Sumi Yusou no Jutsu [ Ink Transport Technique ] Learned! ]
"Damn. I need a scroll case." The woman said as she searched high and low for one before catching wind of such an item floating down the river. Grabbing it before it went to waste, Xifeng would open it up and smile as the paper inside was still usable. She began by infusing some chakra into her inked brush and drawing kanji for the world dog. As she was finished, the wording leapt out of the paper and twisted into the form of a rather freakishly made dog. Its limbs were much to largs and it seemed like it had been disassembled and reassembled on the spot. Recalling the animal, Xi would moved a space across and try again.
[1/5]
ANother try went by, this time she wrote down the kanji for the word "cat" as quickly as she could before the kanji lept off of the page. After a few seconds, the ink would leap onto the ground as...not a cat. In fact, it barely looked like any kind of animal at all. it was more akin to some type of awful mutation. Shoving it back in the scroll, Xi took a moment to remove the image from her mind and move on.
[2/5]
Maybe she was starting too small. Something a smaller size would do. She moved along in the scroll, writing down the word "mouse" before flinging it into the air before catching it. The ink flew off of the page in the form of a mouse. Unfortunately, it hit the ground upon contact as she was quickly losing her patience. But at the very least, the scroll would need to stay on the ground.
[3/5]
"C'mon, Xi. It's just a stupid jutsu." She told herself, this time writing the kanji for "chicken" The words jumped off of the page as normal and formed into the shape of an actual chicken. It clucked around for a while until exploding in ink a short while later. She stopped for a while and truly focused on writing the words as perfectly as she could for her next attempt.
[4/5]
Closing her eyes, Xifeng dipped her brush in some fresh chakra mixed ink and would create a stunning kanji drawing of the word "dogs". The words flowed off the page into two medium sized shiba inu's that licked the woman's hands. giving each a handful of affection, she returned them to the page before closing it altogether and stuffing it in her robes to trash later. She would have to get her own sometime in the future.
[5/5 l Choujuu Giga [ Super Beast Imitation Drawing ] Learned! ]
This next part would be why Xifeng hated the Ukyo ink. It was the worst tasting of all ink she could get her hands on. Taking a deep breath and chugging the contents of her mizo sheath, she...Nope, too gross. She spat out what was in her mouth, the bitter taste of steel and rust present as she washed her mouth out in the river nearby. After spitting onto the grass a safe distance away, she continued.
[1/5]
Once more, she got a mouthful of the ukyo ink and held it there so she could get used to the taste. Her eyes began to water, the taste something as if she licked a blade that had just come out of a corpse. Not one to back down jut yet, Xi would hold it inside just for a few more moments or so.
[2/5]
Once she was done with growing accustom to the taste, she would make a series of hand seals. Meanwhile, the ink in her mouth would be swished around by her while the hands seals were performed, and then a few times afterwards. Once she was comfortable with the process, Xi spat out the ink in front of her and observed the results.
[3/5]
Sadly, the ink bubble would float for a moment before popping as a result of too much chakra put into the technique. Shaking her head, she would take yet another mouth full of the ink from the inkwell and hold it there. FIghting the urge to spit it out, she performed the hand seals in quick succession.
[4/5]
Swishing around the ink in her mouth a couple of times, she then spit out a perfectly round sphere of blank ink that sailed forward across the river before popping. Rushing to wash her mouth of the nonsense, she vowed to only use that when it was needed. The aftertaste was like licking the side of a manure delivery cart.
[5/5 l Sumi Tama no Jutsu [ Ink Ball Technique ] Learned! ]
After refreshing the ink on her brush, Xifeng would continue with the final technique of the session. She gripped the brush while bringing out the remaining space of the scroll she had found from earlier. She would then draw what appeared to be two stick swords over top another one and bring it to life out of the page. The resulting shield was flimsy and ineffective. She would frown and tap her foot against it as it instantly crumbled before her. Curse her inability to draw very well.
[1/5]
Trying another way of creating two swords, she would take a little while longer this time before bring the shield up. After drawing three swords against one another, the shield that rose from this technique was a bit strong but still would shaped nothing like a shield. More like a moon really. Recalling the jutsu, she would slowly be learning the basic shape of a sword, at the very least.
[2/5]
Third time was the charm as they said. She took her time in drawing a picture of two swords with one crossing over the first two before unleashing the creation. This shield looked strong and sturdy, kicking it as hard as she could didn't make it budge or even falter. Smiling at her success, Xifeng recalled it and then flipped the scroll onto its backside for a fresh sheet.
[3/5]
Testing out another aspect of the shield, she performed the technique once more with her brush full of new ink. This time, before she lifted her brush from the page of the shield, she draw flames on top of the shield. The same shield as always soon rose from the scroll, but this time taking a red color as it looked as if it was ready block against anything fire related. Maybe one more time wouldn't hurt.
[4/5]
For the final time, Xifeng noticed that she was slowly getting good at redrawing the swords. She could now probably work them out as if it was nothing major at all. After drawing water flowing down the shield, she sheathed her brushed as the shield formed around her once more. Now colored blue with tiny bits of condensation around it, she would recall it and claped her hands otgether while looking in the direction of the shop once more. "Better go see if he's back yet."
● Kōrimizu Ika [ Cold Water Squid ]: [ Mild ] increase in speed when submerged. Able to breathe under water. ● Hojo Ink: Xi's Hojo Ink cannot be removed unless scrubbed vigorously with hot water. ● Text Here ● Text Here
NON-COMBAT DATA
✘║ Mission Information
Mission Title [ Rank ] Mission Details
Mission Title [ Rank ] Mission Details
Mission Title [ Rank ] Mission Details
✘║ Non-Combat Passives
● "Charm" - 1.5x Ryo Earned From Missions / Jobs ● Text Here ● Text Here ● Text Here
After his tremendous failure at the apartments, Zets would appear in an alley near the Arena, with the aid of body flicker. Facing the western side of the bride, he would scan the area looking for a more optimal vantage point to blend in or hide. The map mentioned something about the bottom of the river, so that would be his main point of focus. Keeping his hood drawn low, Zets waited patiently in the alleyway for an opening. Either the UHV would reveal themselves first, or he’d find an opportunity to check out the river.
‘possibly at bottom of the river? What the hell are these bastards up to.’ Zets thought to himself as he recollected the note. His head was on a swivel as he looked for any suspicious activity. In the back of his head he had thoughts of the endless corruption in this village... how has it come to this?
While the bridge itself was fairly busy, its underside was all but deserted. The banks here were steep, but looked like they would be fairly easy to navigate for all but the drunkest passersby. Trash littered the shoreline. Bottles, bags, wrappers, half-eaten food, things that looked suspiciously like human feces, all of it found its home on the shores. Except, that is, for one area: A small strip of mud directly under the bridge on one side was clean. There were a few footprints there, but they were old. The way the water flowed between that patch of mud and the opposite bank was simply wrong, like it was being forced upward rather than moving in a straight line.
Might Senju Flowers
Ergo War Vice Captain
Enduring Guildsman
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Might Senju Flowers
Badgeless Loiterer
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Posted: Tue Apr 30, 2019 2:50 pm
༄༄༄┤ʐєтsυợυ ѵợиɢợℓα├༄
Taking advantage of the bustling crowd, Zets slipped out of the alley and merged himself within the flow of traffic. After slowly walking the bridge, pretending to be a sight seer, young Zets caught wind of the abnormality beneath the bridge.
‘this must be what Kara’s note spoke of... bottom of the river huh? s**t it looks filthy!’ Leaning over the bridge, Zets thought of what he was about to get into, and realized he was in way over his head. Spying on the UHV was one thing, but jumping headfirst into a hidden location, it was as good as suicide. Zets was good, but he was far from perfect.
“this is turtle reporting in on the secured channel, if anyone’s listening in, I’m scouting out a possible ‘Infested’ hideout. Location, western side of the bridge near Morrison Arena. If I don’t check in, within the hour, send backup.” A response wasn’t necessary, for someone was always listening to the secured channel. Even Zets kept his receiver on at all times, in case of an emergency call.
Temporarily removing his communicator, and placing it inside of his water proof casing that stored several other devices at his waist, Zets would make use of the body flicker technique once again. After taking a deep breath and vanishing from the bridge in a swirl of leaves and dust, he would appear midair, diving toward the abnormally flowing water feet first. His body as straight as a needle. Just before the point of impact, he began to exhale in order to prevent and damage to his lungs. He had no idea what was waiting for him on the other side, but judging from the aged tracks, there was a good chance he could slip in unnoticed.
The rush of the water swept away the noise of the city. It would be as if Zetsu had entered another world, one that was much quieter, much colder, much darker. Under a glass sky spattered with trash and rippling with raindrops, the young man would find himself floating in an almost lunar landscape. Concrete walls gleamed like silver to either side as his momentum carried him down to the smooth, muddy bottom.
Where the flow of water had been there was a great net, not unlike those used for fishing. Unlike those, however, this one looked to be woven out of some kind of metal fiber with carabiners attached to it at various points. Toward the top, it had caught quite a bit of the filth flowing downstream. On the other side of the net from Zetsu there was a large metallic tube protruding at a low angle from the riverbed, the raised end pointed toward the heart of the city. The lower end disappeared below ground.
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Might Senju Flowers
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Posted: Wed May 01, 2019 6:09 pm
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Zets wasn’t expecting to sink after jumping into the river. There was no swimming required to reach the bottom whatsoever, since his falling momentum did the work for him. Once his feet touched the muddy river bed, a small cloud of sediment would be kicked up and disperse.
‘what is it about this area that’s causing the flow of water to change? ’ He thought as he checked his surroundings. There wasn’t much air left in his lungs but he had caught a glimpse of something strange on the riverbed. Why had there been a tube down here? It didn’t look like a common pipe, and it was even going deeper into the riverbed. After looking intently in his area once more, specifically the area beneath his feet, Zetsu began to become short of breath.
‘that tubing on the other side of the net warrants investigation for sure. I’ll have to investigate further after I figure out what the he’ll is going on down here.’
Before resurfacing, with his last moments on the river bed, he attempted to unclip one of the carabiners at the bottom corner of the net. Not inogh to disrupt the trash catch, but definitely enough so that he could slide through. If he dove back down, he’d have a clear path to the other side so that he could follow the out of place object.
There was a stark difference between the quiet below and the noise above the water. Zetsu's descent would go smoothly, just as it had on the other side. His feet would once again find mud without him having to expend much effort, this time much closer to the tube.
The tube was about as big across as Zetsu was tall. It seemed to be made of steel, and where it protruded out of the ground there was a hole covered by a net not unlike the one interfering with the flow of the river. If he looked inside it, he would only see darkness and spiraling grooves along the visible surface, with nothing that looked like a handhold or like it was designed for human passage, even if it was big enough to allow it.. Curiously, there would be no water or dirt inside the tube, both stopping firmly at the net.
A shadow would cross between Zetsu and the lights of the city. A couple of people had started climbing across the net dividing the river. They hadn't yet gone underwater, if indeed they intended to.
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Posted: Thu May 02, 2019 11:07 pm
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Staring into the dark abyss of a tube, Zets contemplated what the heck this was even all about. The fact that there was air just beyond the threshold, meant that there could have been some sort of facility down there. Just as he thought of returning to the surface, the shadows of two individuals would race across the riverbed. The air in his lungs was running out and he couldn’t risk being discovered now of all times. Quickly unhooking a few of the carabiners, Zets slid into the tube with one hand gripping the edge with all his might. As his body lost all sense of weightlessness in the tube, he scrambled to return the carabiners to their respective locations, resealing the entrance.
Catching his breath, Zets began to focus on his chakra circulation, pulling focus to the area around his feet. After he regained his composure, he planted his feet one the walls of the tube, making use of the tree climbing skill he’d learned. His plan was to wait in the shadows of the tube, out of sight and anticipate the movements of the pair above. If they attempted to enter the tube, Zetsu would release the jutsu and take his chances in the abyss.
Zetsu was able to slide in fairly easily, along with a bit of water that came through the area where he'd unhooked the net. The air in the tube was extremely stale, like there hadn't been any circulation in a long time. After a couple minutes, a figure appeared at the entrance. They seemed to be fussing with something or other, but didn't look inside. They would leave again quite a while later, at which point the air would be getting a bit thin.
Though the Tree Walking Technique had attached his feet firmly to the wall, the rest of him would have some difficulty finding any grip. His breaths echoed in the darkness. The only other sound was the sloshing of water farther in, punctuated by the occasional bang from whatever the visitors were doing outside. The banging stopped shortly after the departure of the person who had been at the entrance.
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Posted: Fri May 03, 2019 6:21 pm
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It seemed as though the pair had no interest in the tube whatsoever, but the outside area instead. Thinking on his feet, Zets would use this opportunity to get closer to the entrance once again. Using the loud bangs and sloshing water to cover his footsteps, he got as close as possible, without alerting the pair to his presence. It wasn’t likely that he could poke his head out, but he sure as hell would listen closely to what they were tampering with, while attempting to sneak a peak.
Once the pair departed, the banging stopped all together. And with the air growing thin, he had to act quickly if he was going to tail them. Making use of what little air remained, Zetsu unhooked enough carabiners to let in a minimal amount of water while squeezing out of the pipe. With that one last lung full of air, Zets rebooked the carabiners and investigates the surrounding area. There had to be something that he’d missed the first time.
‘what the hell were they fidgeting with’ He thought as he looked around frantically, knowing that he had to get back to the surface and tail the pair that had just left, before they got too far. Luckily they just got out of water, and would leave some sort of trail within a short distance.
While he wouldn't be able to tell what the duo had been working on while he was inside, Zetsu would be able to spot a small panel about halfway down the tube once he got out. If he hadn't been looking so closely, it would have been easy to miss, being both the same color as the rest of the structure and only marked by a slightly raised lip on one side.
The silhouettes of the two visitors were rapidly retreating toward the shore. Both had already surfaced and were shimmying along the larger net. The first hoisted themselves onto land and then hauled the second up as well.
