Toshu had never really been satisfied with the kinton ninjutsu he had developed. It was all relatively simple, and had almost no offensive power. The only really damaging technique he had for it required a combination with the earth release. The impassable defense of the  metal release was legendary, but all other kekkei genkai were feared for their offensive capabilities. Toshu envied that to some extent. As it was, kinton was lagging behind even doton for attack power.

But there were ways around that, Toshu was sure. He'd spent the past fifteen years working on one such way. A technique so destructive that it would strike fear into the hearts of the four kage. And now, his ultimate jutsu was nearly ready. He wanted to bring it to bear on his enemies, but Toshu was a very methodical person. He had to be certain it was ready. All the tests had been going great so far, but there was one final stage: Human testing. He had to see how effective it would be against live shinobi targets.

[Words so far: 177/1600]

For a hunter-nin, this was pretty embarrassing.

Omoi wasn't sure how long they had been there. From the regular meals, he was guessing it was about a week. They would have a hell of a time explaining this when they got back to Soragakure. IF they got back to Soragakure. The criminal they had been hunting had ambushed them. The giant had faced them down, but it had been a feint. He'd drawn their attention while his chains entangled them. They had tried to escape, but this was some new jutsu he'd learned since Sora's prior encounter. The chains had sealed their chakra, preventing them from breaking free.

So far, escape had seemed impossible. The shackles had formed around their wrists and ankles, not leaving enough room to slip out, and only giving enough slack for them to shuffle around and eat. There were no locks to pick, and the place where they were kept didn't seem to have any doors or windows. It must have been something he'd created to house them. He was an earth type, it wasn't unheard of. Omoi had been surprised at how polite Toshu had been. He'd fed them regularly, and had apologized several times. He'd even arranged a walled-off section of their prison as a latrine. He almost would have liked the man if he hadn't remembered what had happened to others he had captured. The ones who had come back alive were missing eyes, tendons, patches of skin, sometimes even a limb. Some of them had gaps in their memory, losing jutsu and not remembering using techniques that they had been famous for. The hunter-nin didn't want to think about the fate that awaited them if they didn't find a way out. Toshu had left them with all their equipment, but with their chakra sealed none of those would be enough to get through the chains.

It took him a moment to realize why his eyes hurt. It had been so long since Omoi had seen light that he could hardly remember what it was like. The wall had opened, and a massive shape blocked them. Their captor's booming voice echoed through the cell. “I will be releasing you. You have ten minutes to adjust to the light and get your bearings before the hunt begins. I suggest you use them well.” Omoi blinked, trying to focus. The man made a seal with his hands. “Release.” The chains broke open, falling away and sinking into the ground. Omoi could feel his chakra surging back, still intact after being locked away for so long. He grabbed a kunai from his pouch and threw it at the Shirotori. His vision was still bad and his aim wasn't great, but Toshu was a hard target to miss. The knife hit him right in the center of the chest, and he vanished in a puff of smoke. Omoi's face fell. It had been a bunshin. By the look of things, not even a solid one. He'd been really out of it to fall for that. The hunter-nin rubbed his wrists, not because they hurt but because it seemed like the thing you were supposed to do in this situation.

The five were back on their feet quickly, stretching out after a long time in chains. It had been an awful week, but they were alive. They'd have to move fast, but Toshu was known as the slowest of the Shirotori. They could only hope he'd be hunting them alone. Omoi gave his team a little time to recuperate before they moved out. If they were running stiff and half-blind, it would only slow them down further. They needed to be as close to peak condition as they could. By his estimate, it was about eight minutes before they were on the move. Cutting it close, but still with a little time to spare.

It was a nice night out, and that was a problem. The light of the full moon gave them enough to see without hurting their still-sensitive eyes, but it also made it a lot harder to hide. They seemed to be in an abandoned part of town. Omoi gave a glance to Aoba, their sensory-nin, and he signaled the all clear. There was only one person around for at least a mile, and they didn't need any sensory ninjutsu to find him. Toshu stood atop the mass of stone that had imprisoned them, arms folded. Omoi was torn, This was their mission, to capture or kill this man. But they'd failed before, when they were prepared and at full strength. It had even been a similar scenario, him standing in the open to draw their attention while he trapped them. Omoi couldn't risk getting caught again, he had the feeling the Smith wouldn't be so forgiving a second time. They could return to base, regroup, and go back out with a larger and stronger team. Omoi gave the signal to move out, but he knew his indecision had cost them precious time. They had a minute left, two if they were lucky, and the run-down buildings wouldn't provide much cover. Toshu knew this area better than they did, they were probably going to take some losses. The hunter-nin dashed off as quick as they could, trying to hide in alleys and buildings as they moved.

The signal from Aoba was the first sign that something was wrong. The sensory-nin had picked up on something, a gathering of chakra similar to what he had felt before they were trapped before. The team kept an eye on the ground, ready to dodge any chains that came out. But this time, nothing rose up. Instead, a horrible sound of scraping metal started up somewhere behind them, where they had last seen Toshu. They gathered in what had once been a store, considering their next move. Toshu was doing something big, and they didn't know what. Omoi stuck his sword out, checking its reflection. There didn't seem to be anyone there. He peeked out of the building, and the street was clear. It was what was above the street that worried him.

Standing next to Toshu was a massive wolf-shaped thing made of metal. Its body seemed to be shifting and blurring in places, and its feet were starting to dig into the stone as he stood there. Chunks of rock were thrown around as it drilled deeper. Omoi ducked back inside, hoping he hadn't been seen. “Everyone, out the back. Take the streets and stay low, he's got something out there. Might be a summoning animal, I'm not sure.” The team nodded and filed out the back, darting from shadow to shadow.

They hadn't left a moment too soon. Seconds after they slipped out, the wolf thing threw itself into the air. It crashed down on the building where they had been hiding, smashing it to rubble. Bricks and bits of wood were flung in all directions as the spinning of its skin tore the place apart. The team had to take cover, losing a few seconds to avoid being injured by the rubble. When the kunai-sized splinters stopped flying, Omoi looked to his team. “Run!”

They took off at full speed, and the thing gave chase. It tore through buildings, not slowing down one bit. The walls just ripped apart as they made contact with its skin. Looking back, Omoi could see it more clearly at this distance. It was made of spinning chains, lined with hooks and spikes. The shape was like a wolf, but it didn't seem to be alive. It was probably some new metal release projectile. He would have figured out more, but any hope of calm analysis was lost when he saw Aoba was falling behind. Omoi tried to think of a way to help, but anything that could have a chance of stopping that thing would have blown Aoba into it. All he could do was watch and run as the wolf caught up to his friend. It slammed its snout into him, and in an instant he was torn apart. Blood and chunks of gore spattered the remaining teammates, and one of them slipped on a newly-created wet spot. Omoi didn't even have time to see who it was before the hunter-nin disappeared under a metal paw.

Only three left now, and the wolf was gaining. It had been holding back, taunting them. Now it was going full speed. Omoi could barely stay ahead, and his teammates didn't have a chance. One of them threw up a mud wall, but that was crushed to dust in the blink of an eye. Without pausing, the wolf smashed right through and swallowed him up. His last teammate was felled by a swipe, leaving another red spatter scattered across the block.

With one last burst of speed, Omoi pulled ahead. He had to tell the village about this, but he couldn't do it with this thing on his tail. He didn't know how long he could evade it, or how long Toshu could maintain it. He formed a few hand signs, turned to face the beast, and spat out a massive blast of wind. “Futon: Atsugai!” The blast hit the thing, and it stopped for a moment before exploding into a million pieces.

Things were a little hazy after that. Omoi couldn't see out of one eye, and he couldn't feel his legs anymore. There was a lot of blood, and more and more of his body seemed to be going numb. Through the haze, he saw Toshu approaching. The giant knelt down, turning the hunter-nin over. Omoi let out a weak moan of pain, not able to manage anything more. “Very good.” said the Smith, standing up again. “I think it's ready.” He turned and walked away, leaving the hunter-nin to bleed out.

[Words this post: 1643, grand total 1820/1600]

Jutsu used:

Approved