Oh. Oh shit. This was far from what he expected to happen from just trying to peacefully observe the creature. Even the less experienced genin could sense the intense killing intent rolling off of the creature, his chest tightening as the words echoed in his mind. Cowards? Was it cowardly to try and make peace before charging headfirst in to conflict? He certainly didn’t think so, but he knew that there would be plenty who disagreed. Whatever the case, he didn’t have much time to think about that. Instead his brain quickly switched into high gear, trying to figure out the best way to handle the approaching onslaught.[break][break]
But it seemed he would never get the chance, as an answer was instead provided for him. Wide eyes quickly flicked to Aiko as she gave her instructions, lips pressing together as he felt a bit of doubt about her instructions. If they just made an outcropping, the rhinos would just crash through it. And if it was an extension of the wall they would just run up it. So...Wait, he could make this work. The genin sucked in a deep breath, reaching up to pull the goggles from his forehead down over his eyes. ”On it.”[break][break]
His hands worked quickly to form the hand seals needed to mold his chakra, his eyes focused on the edge of the crater as he did. He had to make sure this was as sturdy as possible, just in case the design didn’t prevent any direct impacts. There was only so much he could do at his current skill level, but now was the time to try and push his limits. The moment his handseals were complete, a chunk of stone big enough for the platoon to stand on would extend out from the edge of the crater. Form their position it just looked like a normal outcropping, but from below it took on a different shape.[break][break]
As Daichi ran onto the platform and gestured for the others to follow, he would quickly lean over the edge to make sure it took the shape he wanted. And much to his relief, it actually looked pretty ok. The bottom of the ledge extended a ways down, gradually tapering down to a point from the much wider top where they stood. This created a wedge effect, which he hoped would encourage the hoard to simply move around the obstacle, since it wouldn’t have enough space for them to climb up it from below. Hopefully this would work and they wouldn’t just crash through. And if they did, they just had to hope Koma had them covered.[break][break]
”Alright guys, this is the best I can do. Hoshiko, do you think you can try and spot which one of these rhinos is the real deal? That’s the one we’ve gotta be on the lookout for.”
The boy's eyes were soon to guide themselves back toward the quarry, the stamp of the beast's foot against the barren stone of the ground proving plenty enough to earn his attention. The columns of stone to lurch up from the earth seemed to be in result of the action, and as the creature hoist its leg a second time, the young shinobi plant a foot gently back, prepared to launch himself out of harm's way should the earth beneath his feet seek to shift.[break][break]
Sure enough, the ground trembled. Koma watched as the rock below tore open, revealing the army likely to have given the strange creature its name. Despite the threat the amass of horns present, his eyes showed calm, locked intently toward their target as it sought to take shelter within the leather and ivory of the herd. His posture was decidedly loose, easy, and the controlled nature of his breath proved deep and slow as he maintained his peace against the incoming storm.[break][break]
His gaze drift sideward as the ground tremored underfoot, the pound of feet in steady approach like thunder rolled through the rock. He was watching toward Aiko, weighing her reaction as he extend some patience in wait of an order. His eyes followed her forward as Anotsu's voice crackled against his ear, and as she made her intentions clear, he nod his head, fingers already reaching for four - five barrier seals housed on his person.[break][break]
"Done."[break][break]
Or as good as, anyway. The second Daichi put their outcropped stone in place, Koma was on top of it, slapping down his seals in quick succession upon its surface to grant an additional line of defense.[break][break]
With a knee anchored to the rock and the painted marks of his fuinjutsu in place, the shinobi hurried to connect his hands in ready, no tension finding the line of his brows as he focused his mind to molding his chakra. Energy drawn to flow through the markings of his seals, the barrier took shape within the stone itself - running as a protective sheet through its shape in an effort to preserve its upper half.[break][break]
The genin held his place, maintaining his focus to keep the structure of the barrier. With any luck, should the horde seek to break through the stone they'd be left with its upper portion, allowing them a safe platform with which to surf above the wave.
lavender lashes slowly lowered over silvery hues before opening back up to find them centered onto the googled genin. scared? the genin glanced over towards the rhino in question, slowly shaking her head. locks of lavender tussled and moved from the motion, a faint sight at the girl’s lips. the rhino was by no means scared, that she could be sure of. the roar of the beast’s words attested to that fact. the subsequent shrill in the air did little to cause the girl to shrink back in fear, her silvery hues settled with determination towards the creature.[break][break]
the girl stepped in the direction of her elder sister at her call, keeping her figure close by. she settled a foot in front of her elder sister, intent on protecting her rather than being protected. her silvery hues focused intently at the mass of rhinos forming and rushing towards their direction. the chakra networks of the stampede was clear to her and yet….it was so complex it perplexed her. how could all these rhinos have connecting chakra networks? were they one and the same or were they separate? regardless of that inquiry, she couldn’t determine where the main rhino was. giving a very soft shake of her head.[break][break]
❛it’s...no good. they’re all linked..., —mixed, i can’t tell the difference. ❜ she states in a soft voice, saddened and infuriated with her meager abilities.[break][break]
"Ah, I guess it can't be helped..." [break][break] The Jounin lamented, letting out a visible sigh. While the chances were faint, she had hoped for things to resolve in a manner similar to what Daichi had described, with less violence and more dialogue. Unfortunately, as the scenario was presented, there was little the animal could do but preemptively strike. Be it to defend its territory, to attempt an escape or simply to inflict as much harm as possible before being overwhelmed, it was the most sensible option left for it if it was to hold on to its ego. Negotiation would not take place, not with the tangible killing intent that could be felt in waves, even from a considerable distance. [break][break] "... Summoning?!" [break][break] Needless to say, the Kunoichi never expected to put up such resistance. Immediately turning the tables with a single move, not only had the beast acted first, but also it had eliminated the numerical disadvantage stacked against it. Moreover, the scope of the technique was unreal unlike anything the Aburame had seen thus far. It would come as no surprise if an offense of such grand scale could easily overthrow a small army. Given how dangerous the situation had become in the blink of an eye, she couldn't fault anyone for ordering an immediate retreat. [break][break] Intimidating as it might have been, as far as the Hidden Rain was concerned, it lacked the necessary strength to shake the will of their Shinobi. Team Anotsu immediately began working on a counter-measure, no, even before Mai could take note of it, some of them had already begun acting. To an onlooker, it might have seemed like the beast managed to snatch the initiative from the military groups. However, they were not ordinary soldiers. They were ninja. To outsmart one would only be wishful thinking on its part. Coordination wasn't absent and lead by both the Platoon Commander and its assigned Chunnin, they were able to put up a remarkable opposition. [break][break] Ah, how to put it, for the briefest moment, the girl had to pause what she was doing to be marveled at what their combined effort was bringing forth. A feeling of pride ignited, its purifying flames moved to rid her mind of all anxiety and fear. Ok, if everyone was working hard in order to give their best, then she would not be the one to fall behind. About done with what she had started a couple of minutes ago, the purple haired Kunoichi extended his arms as if trying to reach the other edge of the quarry. [break][break]
[break][break] "Alright~ Let's work together with everyone~!" [break][break] Rising at her order after a small delay were a large number of Kikaichu bugs, not nearly enough to effectively fend off a stampede, but enough to erect a wall if their mistress asked that of them. This time, however, she would ask a little more of them. Willing to push them to their utmost limit, the Jounin frowned at the resulting strain placed on her body, all the while never discarding her smile, which had twisted into a smirk. Right there and then, she would use the secret techniques of the Aburame Clan to ensure that such beautiful teamwork would not go to waste! [break][break] "Hijutsu: Kiseichū Shōgekiha Hakai!" (秘伝術:寄生虫衝撃波破壊 Hidden Art: Parasite Shock Wave Destruction) [break][break] Following after Anotsu's explosives and Aiko's arrow, a swarm of insects would descend, flying close to the wall at high-speeds in a formation that prioritized width over height. Going for the legs would be one way of using the animals' momentum against them but, in this case, the idea was also to sweep the fallen rhinos all the way down, a final push to ensure that the domino effect wouldn't be stopped by a particularly sturdy member of the horde. [break][break] Afterwards, if possible, she would join the rest of the platoon.
[attr="class","boxo-notes"]Let's do some trash-talking while we're here.
[attr="class","pwfbody"] the inuzuku let out a rumble of an answer at the question posed by his little sister. red hues remained fixated to the chasm, watching his ninken take hold of the little girl. thankfully she does not put any resistance, now able to turn his gaze over towards kyuu to smile cheerily at the woman with fanged teeth. kakimaru threw the girl onto his back and took off at a sprint to make his way back as quickly as he could to the top of the gorge. letting out a growl at the sight of korogaru, the orange pelted ninken paid the woman no mind or care. The commands coming from the girl receives a whine and a growl, clearly displeased with such treatment. [break][break]
❝ interesting, neh? ❞ kegawa poses to the woman, turning his attention back down to see his other ‘little sister’ to rush at the rhino. the smile at his lips vanished for a moment, cold red hues watching the fang over fang technique being used blasphemously with a bear of all creatures. a ‘tsk’ comes from his lips, red hues flicking to the rhino at its words. a goad. white brows rose upwards and the edges of the man’s lips slowly curled upwards into a menacing grin. ruby hues glinted as the rhino rose its leg up again to slam into the ground. his guts told him everything he needed to know. at once his back arched as he settled himself with palms against the ground, chakra rippling throughout his body. fanged teeth enlargened, black pupils shrinking into slits, and nails elongated into sharp claws.[break][break]
the ground shook, signaling a catastrophe waiting to happen just as kegawa had predicted. the scale, of course, was certainly something to behold. kegawa let out a silent whistle, one that his partner would recognize and hear without any issues.[break][break]
❝ kyuu, throw me into the air! ❞ the jonin commanded, reaching behind his back to procure one of his large scrolls. slitted red hues moved to glance towards the woman at his side, the fanged bared grin explaining all the woman needed to know. he had a plan that he would enact at this moment. poor everyone else who would fair poorly from his stunt. [break][break]
❝ those who don’t want to die should remove themselves from the gorge. ❞ the inuzuka exclaims with force and a chill to his tone, fanged teeth displaying themselves proudly. Grabbing the scroll from his back, he bent his knees and jumped into the air with poise as he readied himself to be ascended up into the air. The force of the woman’s move under his heel would drive him skyward into the air, the large scroll at his arm unfurling and circling around his body. the moment he came to the climax of their upwards push, a flick of his wrist changed the flow of the unrolled scroll, his free hand moving to focus onto it. ❝ now! ❞[break][break]
The scrawl on the scroll glowed, a puff of smoke emanating from the paper. His wrist flicked once more as he sent the multitude of unsealed kunais sailing towards the edge of the gorge. They imbeded themselves into the rocky surface above the rhinos, the two types of tags secured onto them fluttering in the wind before settling to dangle. the kunais impeded into the rocky surface spanned the length of the rumbling and stampeding rhinos. Ruby eyes glanced down at the gorge, catching sight of kakimaru having just made his way up from it. The ninken wasted no time in continuing to pass the edge in order to steer clear of his partner’s trap. A menacing chuckle emanated from kegawa at the sight, once sure his ninken had safely passed the danger zone. Two fingers were placed before him as he focused his chakra to connect with his sealed tags. ❝ Fūinjutsu: Kai!❞[break][break]
Immediately, the tags glowed brightly to produce a multitude of more kunai with tags that fell from their heights and large explosions to follow after. The cascade of more kunai and explosions continued in three successions after the first, lighting the edge of the gorge in fire, smoke, and boulders as a landslide was triggered from the maneuver. If all went as planned, large chunks of the edge of the gorge would break off, tumbling down into the rhinos and into any who had the misfortune of being down in the gorge or near the edge where the explosions occurred.[break][break]
Tldr; activated four legged technique and commanded for kyuu to send him into the air. ( with permission from the player ) continue to unleash his sealed kunai( with explosive tags and seal tags) onto the edges of the gorge to set off a multitude of large explosions to cause a large landslide onto the rhinos and anything inside of the gorge. [break][break] Nikukyuu Inuzuka , Kureiru Uchiha , @ those in the gorge heh oops
The woman's cheer in her tone was gone with her beckoning, tone cut sharp against the air as she swiftly drop to plant a hand to the earth. Taking brief stock of the ground’s humming against her fingertips, she lift her hands to join them in focus, and the flow of her chakra shift. The edges of her lips peeled back as she synchronize her breathing with that of the steely hound to take his place crouched beside her, the Inuzuka's bared ivories extending to pointed fangs as the length of her nails stretched to claws at her fingers. What cheer she'd exhibited only a moment ago seemed to have vanished in the moment the ground split to reveal the beast's army.[break][break]
❝ No need to tell us twice. ❞ [break][break]
Her words sound out as a growl at her brother's direction, and with order to send him skyward? That's exactly what she did.[break][break]
❝ With me! ❞ [break][break]
The call was unnecessary, perhaps meant to brace her brother for impact more than anything. She and the rough-furred mutt at her side were already in perfect harmony, the ninken having already made the leap to stand himself atop her back in preparation for their joint attack. [break][break]
❝ Fang over fang! ❞ [break][break]
With those words, the pair was off.[break][break]
Dust kicked from underclaw, Nikukyuu shot after her brother's ascent like her bullet, and as she launched herself up from the ground in a vortex of stirred rock and violent gales, Ginmaru raced along with her, the two kicking off from each others steps to ascend further and further to the heavens above. Their strikes were aimed with purpose, not to slice at the jonin's heels, but to carry Kegawa’s weight skyward, rocketing to new heights above the chasm's edge.[break][break]
At her brother's call for his seals activation, the whirlwind of their support fell to a hush, Ginmaru finding himself at his partner's shoulder as Nikukyuu set her eyes down toward the chaos below.
[attr="class","encounteredkyuu"]
activated four leg technique, helping get Kegawa Inuzuka in the air
[attr="class","arubody"] Higa yanked at the chakra strings, when Tokoro yelled at them to brace. Kishi coming back to him as the ground shook and swarms of enraged rhinos spewed out from the new crevasse in the ground. There was no end to them as they charged in all directions trampling anything in their path: trees, rocks, it didn't matter. His eyes widened in shock, Azuma's words quickly cutting through the initial awe and fear. Tokoro was.. gone?
He wasn't about to be left sitting around. Quickly rushing through the hand seals, He flicked away from the group and then some rushing far back enough away from Azuma to stay from whatever he had planned. Rather than sit by and wait, Higa climbed up whatever nearby greenery he could find, a tall tree. He was trying to get some vantage on what was happening as he collected himself. Adrenaline helped him quickly move after the flicker, but he did need a moment to get over nausea.
After a couple of moments of panted breaths, a rough gust washed over him, almost wrenching him from his spot; even from this distance, it wasn't hard to see the smoke cloud that came off where they left Azuma. He sent off Kishi in the direction they came from, careful to keep the puppet off the ground, trying to provide some semblance of support to his Jonin.
[attr="class","addybody"] Sawako had been watching the rhino in the pit far below, so she had a clear vantage to see what it was doing before even Itaru shouted his warning. She did not hesitate, because she could not. She started to run in the opposite direction, knowing her team would be able to handle themselves. A single handseal - Tiger - and her body seemed to fade out of existence only to reappear further away. The Chuunin repeated this several times while sprinting with the full agility her training afforded her, passing large outcroppings and other landmarks.
Blue eyes flicked up to particularly high ground, a sort of cliff that hung overhead with a sparse tree atop it. She leapt up, performing a final handseal as her body used the momentum to fully reach the top, fingers grasping the edge. With a gasp she pulled herself up over it and immediately scrambled on her hands and knees to peer over the edge, watching the chaos from an impressive distance and height. Free hand moved to grasp the hilt of her katana, preparing in case rhino or shinobi should follow her and desire a fight.
From here at least, she could not pinpoint her teammates, not even the bright purple of Higa's hair. It was worrisome, but ultimately what Souichi had ordered; she heard that much in the moments before her escape. Surely he was well situated to take on the rhino, but it was Itaru that most worried her. Had he made it out okay? His body had vanished before she'd even turned around, otherwise she would have grabbed him in her flight even if it meant having to go a shorter distance.
"Ah.. Useless for now," she whispered, admonishing herself. Then again, she'd always known when embarking on this mission that she stood no chance against a rhino; her prowess was best used against the common shinobi.
tl;dr: several shunshin + running to put distance, she had a head start bc of watching rhino-sensei. climbed on top of a cliff for height.
A series of jutsu, various animals, strategies, and weapons flurried against the rising wave of grey beast flesh. All equally worthless.
The first to be proved ineffectual would be Yusuke; barely moving before horn collided with flesh. The teen would be ragdolled away, the audible crack of bones splintering as an arm twisted in ways it never should. Fortunately, he'd survive. For now.
Some chose to assist their allies, fleeing from the stampede with a fitting panic. The majority refused to take time, and stock of the situation; rather tackling the problem head on. By some measure the worse of the two options. One transformed and thrown to the wind, another exhausting a large chunk of their chakra to distance themselves. Two chose a particularly direct approach -
Seiichi dove in, although his hands would not be greeted with rhino hide, but air. To the others, it would seem as though he slid into the beast, dissapearing into the herd until it moved past him. Disorienting would be putting it lightly. Korogaru's approach was similarly disparate, although it seemed some of her companion's fluid had made its way onto one of the beasts.
Ryoto's surge of water would attempt to slow their approach down, to no avail; but the boy would remain safe behind his blockade.
A swarm of bugs directed by Mai would disappear among the crowd, her ability to command them seemingly unaffected. One of the beasts seemed to roar in discomfort in response, choosing the woman as it's primary target as it broke off, ready to gore her through if she didn't react in time.
Shoichi, having taken the precaution to guide a genin to safety, found himself on the backpedal even in attacking. The surge of flesh would find itself short from goring him through, particularly as one rhino was blown back by the wave of air; a true miracle shot, as it slipped past - if not through - another half dozen of them. His movement was good, but a wrong step and he'd end up hurting.
The group efforts showed more merit, a wall of reinforced stone doing... Nothing. The explosive arrow attempting to distract the beasts fairing similarly. The rhinos appeared over and around it, before a rather aggressive one slammed through it. The group would be tossed aside as their structure crumbled, although the fall they'd take far from life threatening. At worst, scratches and bruises would explode across them.
The Inuzuka pair, flashy as it was, would receive the most ire from the horde. The first, attempting to maneuver a massive scroll, would find themselves set for failure as their partner helped them to the skies. The shake of earth was loud, one of the stampede launching out of the herd and into the sky - a horned projectile with the payload of a rhino. If Kegawa continued the attempt, their insides would no longer be where they should, although the jonin had a faint opportunity to react. At best, they'd be able to escape with a large gash where the rhino would graze them. Nikuyuu would have to avoid the then falling beast, or get crushed underneath.
So still the 'tsunami' raged forth, any keen eye capable of noticing the markings their path made seemed artificial. Comparable to a pattern, or a print on cloth - although they'd have to divert their attention from the current issue first. An overbearing amount of grey skin, horn, and hoof bore down on the group of them...
NOTES:
[/u] penalty, but will not die. [1/3]
The rest of you are comparatively safe! Can you figure out what's going on before you get crushed?[/ul][/div]
Anotsu gave no more than a dip of his chin in acknowledgement before he turned to his southern flank. His ministrations were twofold - the most impressive of the two being his form vanishing into nothingness. Along the earth the Jounin began to glide, his Shunshin technique offering him purchase in closing the distance betwixt himself and the stampede. The second was observation: he paid little attention to those who were not of his Platoon outside of the results of their attempts. Trial and error. As such, the sense of urgency that cascaded his every moment of focus was heightened when he watched his Genin's efforts fail to offer them the earthen edifice they'd sought to utilize. The grit of ivory daggers, a grunt of exertion that saw him reach his maximum speed as footfall slammed into the earth when he drew near. His every step was calculated, meticulous in execution. [break][break] How curious, the Jounin thought, that each projectile and instrument of attack had only succeeded with indirect - grim - victories. As he drew close to his Platoon, the gears in his mind had already begun to turn. "Not all of them are real," Anotsu began with a calm but audible enough voice. Simultaneously, he had already set to reaching into his belongings. Nimble digits took but a breath to wrap about the handle of twin kunai. Years of training had afforded him a certain accuracy. To his advantage, distance and speed had already been programmed into his fingers. The projectiles were unleashed with intensity, spinning in a straight line and closing the gap between his fellow Jounin and her aggressor. But the kunai weren't alone - far from it. Exploding tags whipped about at their rear. [break][break] Anotsu maintained an appropriate distance from the stampede, years of Shurikenjutsu granting him the caution that kept him both at the outer edge of aggression and yet a proximity with which to intervene on Mai's behalf. With a single handseal, the kunai found itself detonating at the head of the rhino covered in her bugs. Its twin followed suit, offset just so to accentuate the first. The Uchiha was hopeful that the very force of the explosions would leave his prey headless, or at least thrown from its trajectory to the extent that Mai could place the final nail in its coffin. [break][break] "Ame Platoon! Evade and stay on your toes! Attempt Kai!" The distance from his Genin too great, Anotsu placed his faith in their ability to adapt. It took him few handseals as the command was given, the Uchiha's own prowess called upon once more as he surveyed the stampede before him and focused his chakra. Tenketsu roared to life as he summoned his inner essence, the flame within increasing in intensity until it surged with an ebb and flow designed to disrupt. The evidence of manipulation before him, Anotsu attempted to dispel any illusion or blanket of trickery birthed. [break][break] Hopefully, all had gone according to plan. [break][break] [3:36PM]
[attr="class","comabody"]I was single-minded in my focus - my assault continued the moment my feet touched the ground and I uttered my words, and my hands had formed a memorized string of seals even before the lingering dust had fully settled. There was something strange about the lack of reaction, both visually and auditorily. It was all but natural to react to circumstance in some way, even in animals. This wasn't a mere exploding tag, but a technique capable of rending and shattering earth. I was looking for something. The beast was plenty talkative and haughty initially, but now, nothing? They still charged. How had they not been affected? How had they not been hit? Their suicide charge seemingly continued unabated save one - somehow it was more affected than the rest. Anomalous.
My right hand grasped my spear before ripping it from his clasp, performing a simple horizontal slash dedicated to the anomaly before I stepped into it, dividing the very wind in a crescent as I followed its path from within its moon. The entire form of my body had dropped already then. My center of gravity lowered as I charged forth spear aimed forward and true in both hands, keeping pace with the crescent toward my final destination, forming a single head-on point dedicated to piercing through the beast.
By the time he had pulled himself up onto the slab of granite that he had chosen as his escape from the stampede, Ryota realized that his attempt to remove one of the Rhino had failed.
That had used a large chunk of chakra, but not all of it. By his own estimate, he could pull about two more big moves like that before he was forced to rely on Taijutsu and Bukijutsu. However, he wasn't a fool. Now that he was in relative safety, he took a moment to survey the area. As he looked, it became more and more obvious that his attempt wasn't the only one that had failed. In fact, it seemed every attempt to keep the Rhinos contained within the quarry had failed. He could even see and hear the animals parting around the giant slab of granite he was standing on. But yet, something nagged at him.
The fact that he could even see at all. With this many heavy feet falling upon such dry ground, there should have been a veritable tornado of dust on his location. But there wasn't. Odd. As his eyes shifted back down to where the crowd had come from, he noticed another odd detail. A stampede was as close as you could get to incarnating chaos on a battlefield. So why were the footprints left behind like a pattern?
In fact, why were they discernable at all? A stampede should have hidden the footprints entirely by virtue of the ground being pounded by dozens of feet. That was when it hit him. They had been tricked. He had noticed that only a few select individuals seemed to be dealt any real harm, since his relatively safe position had afforded him more time. He would have to use up a majority of the remains of his Chakra, but he understood what was going on.
He had to be careful, though. This Rhino didn't know what any of them were capable of, but it was almost certain that it would be keen to keep them under a genjutsu. So instead of making it obvious what he was doing, Ryota took a deep breath to steady himself, before stringing together completely random hand signs. If the one doing all of this was paying any attention to the crowd, he needed it to think that he hadn't figured something out. Of course, that was assuming that Ryota had figured it out.
As he reached the fifth hand sign--which was enough to make a jutsu that would normally wipe out the majority of his remaining Chakra--his hands came together in a seal that he had been keen on practicing over the last year. He would attempt Kai under the guise of performing some other kind of ninjutsu. He hadn't shown any outward hostility, whereas several of the more brazen Shinobi here had done as such. This was a risky move. It was going to leave him with very little recourse when it came to defending himself.
Of course, that didn't really matter if this beast had done what he assumed it had. All that was left was to stare into the combat, and see if he had wasted his chakra. Once it was clear what was going on, he would feel confident enough to join the battle proper.
As the genin-turned-fuma-shuriken flew through the air, an eye opened at the end of each blade of the shuriken. It looked like his sensei thought the situation was indeed too difficult for him. Everything around him was a blur, so he didn’t see too much of the outcome of the battle.
As gravity began to lower him, he released the transformation and tumbled onto the ground to break his fall far from the epicenter of the battle thanks to Shoichi’s quick thinking. The landing wasn’t perfect, so he still felt a bit of iron in his mouth as he forced himself quickly up. Behind him he saw that Sawako seemed to be disengaging the battle as well.
There were no orders given. But home was not too far away. Regardless of what was happening, there were at least two platoon sized elements of shinobi from foreign lands. Among the larger of the groups was the Hidden Rain, daring once again to trespass into the territories of the Land of Earth.
Without further orders, he did what he thought his sensei would want from him. He would begin running away from the battle and towards his village. Unless he was stopped by Sawako, or an enemy, he’d be going to report the situation and spur them to send reinforcements to deter this invasion.
Note: Attempting to leave the battlefield to report the situation to Iwagakure.
[attr="class","addybody"]Thankfully, her efforts to quickly flee from the center of chaos proved fruitful. There was so much going on in the distance that it was difficult to pinpoint any one person, much less find her comrades. That is, until blue eyes spotted a familiar genin racing in her general direction.
Ultimately, her sword techniques would have no useful application against a rhino. Her chakra had been largely expended by the continual shunshin, so even careful use of raiton was out of the question. Like she told her platoon, continuing in battle when you are at a significant disadvantage only puts more burden on your teammates. The Chuunin waited for Itaru to get closer and then she jumped down from her perch, landing beside him with a curt nod.
"Let's go," she agreed, and turned to run at his pace alongside him. They could report this situation to the Kage and others at the village, and she could at least protect him on the trek home. Shoichi would probably see the intelligence in this decision too.
tl;dr: jumped next to Itaru Tokoro. attempting to leave the battlefield with him, to iwagakure.
There had been no flesh punctured. No hide rend. No blood drawn. He had landed onto the earth, despite diving ahead with madness and volition. Yet nothing was at his mercy. Having willingly risked it all, he accomplished nothing. He could only stagger as he stood, his mind in a daze as he was left behind by a vision that fled him at a high space, ghosting over him with its inhuman sweep. What had gone on? What was all of this? There was no material beast before him, despite having been at the core of them only briefly. Seiichi looked at those strange creatures he had meant to skewer with those claws of his, which were fore-arm in length, as they moved far beyond his reach should he choose to remain still. He understood the gravity of his abilities and was ceaseless in the opportunities he'd take to improve upon them, but it became evident to the jounin that a lack in talents or gifts would only make things impossible.
". . ."
Or nurture his next breakthrough. The martial veteran mulled, having to briefly, on the matter when he recognized that they were fully immaterial and finer signs of deception were revealed in his time spent along them at ground level. Was it a genjutsu? Was it all an illusion that only the deceptive could have seen through? Despite his lack of focus on the profession, the jounin was still academy trained. While Seiichi could recognize the immaterialness of the beasts, and put greater thought into how their stampeding mass left nothing tangible in the wake of kicked up dust or left marks of their feet, he could only go on a hunch as he possessed no eyes that could decipher the flaws of an illusion and little in the manner of signaling save his own sense. Despite the unwieldiness his claws presented in the situation, his hands were still capable of performing the sign. It was there that he would disrupt any possible flow of chakra, perhaps something that obscured him from spotting the true threat as they hid in this potential illusion. Completing it, all he could do was return to his run and chase the pack.
And he did so. Seiichi broke out once again at a high speed, advancing forward with thundering steps as he'd closed in behind the 'stampede'. Surely there was something more the Jounin could spot if it were, indeed, an illusion he dispelled. He moved in quickly, a tension in his legs as he soon prepared to leap at the backs of those that remain in an attempt to hunt it down. Like a predator, he stalked in his prey and prepared to leap in for the kill.
