Naruto: Black [IC / Not Accepting / Started]

[.:Blu:.]

Ruri was uncertain as to what Ookami must be thinking. Because of his mask, Ruri couldn't tell if he was glad or anything that she picked up his necklace and handed back to him. She didn't mind though, she was just happy that she could do something for a change. When Ookami gave her a thankful nod of the head, Ruri's smile widened to know that she has at least done a bit of good by giving Ookami his necklace back. "Umm, s-so is that necklace important to you?" Ruri hesitantly asked as she fidgeted her fingers and kind of move her eyes to the left a bit, not looking directly at Ookami. It made her appeared very shy, but maybe it's because she never had the chance to socialize with strangers before.

After not recieving an answer, Kyosuke clenched his fists tightly together. "Listen here Shinobi, it's already bad enough that you did not properly thank the Princess, but to be as rude enough as to not answer her simple question? It seems as though you need a lesson in manners." Kyosuke said angrily. Ruri then turned around to face Kyosuke. "Kyosuke, please, stop it. It's nothing important if he does not want to answer. It's okay, just please stop." Ruri pleaded with her gentle voice raised a bit.

"Ugh.... Yes Princess Ruri...." Kyosuke responded as his tension dissipated. "Let us return to our table and away from this one." Kyosuke said as he grabbed Ruri's hand and led her back to their table. Ruri only turned around and gave Ookami a apologetic gaze. As they neared their table, Inotsu began to speak to them. "Please forgive Ookami, but you do not understand the full situation. You see, Ookami doesn't talk and keeps to himself, that's why he didn't respond to Princess Ruri here. That necklace was given to him by his older brother who was killed in action. The necklace is actually one reason he keeps to himself." Inotsu explained.

"Oh I see...." Ruri said with a sympathetic voice. "Humph, there is nothing to forgive...." Kyosuke said, with his face showing signs of anger. Kyosuke then brought Ruri back to their respective table. Inotsu simply sat there and stare towards Kyosuke. "(I wonder why he's like this....)" Inotsu thought to himself.

[BLUR]

Yukan was given the job of watching out for Ookami. Two hours into the journey, the group stopped to take a break for princess Ruri. After overhearing the bodyguard Kyosuke tell the princess to basically stay away from the ANBU, Inotsu asked the rest of the ANBU besides Uyataka if they noticed Kyosuke didn't really like him much. Yukan responded by whispering, "Well I don't like him much either, so it doesn't matter to me." Yukan then looked on as the princess picked up Ookami's necklace that had fallen on the ground he smiled when he saw the princess give Ookami the necklace and although he couldn't see his reaction, he knew that Ookami was caught off guard. He smiled even wider when he saw that Ookami had not replied to the princess' question. But he didn't like seeing Kyosuke yell at Ookami for it. He obviously had no respect for the ANBU that were protecting their princess. Yukan was incredibly angered by that act and was would have went up to Kyosuke and punched him in the face if not for the fear that the rest of the Black Ops would lose all respect for him. Yukan stayed sitting but stared angrily at Kyosuke. If it wasn't for the ANBU mask, his angered expression would have been obvious.

[.:Blu:.]

Inotsu noticed Yukan staring at Kyosuke's direction and began to speak. "Yukan, is something the matter?" Inotsu asked. Inotsu did have an idea of what Yukan was doing and so decided to directly ask him about it. "Hmm, let me guess. You're probably pretty angry and frustrated at Kyosuke aren't you?" Inotsu asked. "Well, I don't blame you Yukan. I mean he is rather rude at times, and he doesn't seem to like shinobi very much. It's a surprise why he would even want to hire us in the first place. I'm glad though that you're not doing something rash Yukan. He is afterall our client." Inotsu explained.

[Warrior_Tal]

-Something told Ookami to use the Gentle Fist on that particular body guard; however, he refrained from doing it. Kyosuke may not like the shinobi.... particularly not like him at all, but that was no reason to pull someone away from a person that she was trying to be nice to. Ookami's gaze shifted down at the necklace once more. It was close to him like his brother was. And even if Kyosuke did not like him that did not mean that Ookami would stop protecting the princess. Lowering his hand down he gripped the necklace tightly and exhaled a small breath of air. His gaze shifted over to Inotsu who explained the situation of the matter as to why Ookami kept to himself. That was the whole story basically in a short version almost.-

[i]That only gives me more of a reason to keep Princess Ruri safe from harm despite what Kyosuke thinks of me.[/i]

-His throat cleared away; he almost felt terrible for not answering Ruri now. For a moment his eyes closed. Then he turned back over to Ruri wanting to at least do something right now even if Kyosuke didn't like it all. The necklace was sort of a reminder of his brother. Remembering what his brother said when he handed the necklace over.-

~Memory~

[color="purple"]"What is it brother?"[/color]

-Asked a young Ookami.-

[color="blue"]"The necklace is a symbol of "The Wolf" little brother."[/color] -Explained Hayato.-

[color="purple"]"What do you mean by "The Wolf" big brother?"[/color]

[color="blue"]"You where given the ability to summon wolves didn't you?"[/color]

[color="purple"]"Yes, you gave me the contract after I became a genin for the village."[/color]

[color="blue"]"Well like the ability to summon wolves, what I call "The Wolf" is something that not only signals you as a strong shinobi of the clan, but it is a technique that you will learn soon enough that well combined with your chakra nature. Only when the time is right is when you will know when to use this technique to protect someone close."[/color]

.......

-The crescent shaped figure on the end held some meaning. Otherwise, his brother would not of given it to him. Even with the new technique he put together it was good enough to keep Ruri safe even if it cost-ed him 75% of his chakra and weakened his arm. He only hopped he could do it in the long run.-

[Mysterium Tremendum]

Kaemon traveled to the side of the princess and always stayed a small distance away from them. Something was odd about all 3 of them in Kaemon's opinion, the princess was understandably silent and her body guards were even moreso. None of them offered anything more than some directions every few minutes which made Kaemon weary. A few hours into the journey, the group decided to rest. Kaemon took the initiative and sat apart from the ANBU and the princess and her bodyguards. The princess and her bodyguards worried him now more than they did at the village. Kaemon couldn't place it but something was off about this entire mission. No mission details, bodyguards that are almost hostile to the ANBU, and on top of that the journey was taking way too long for Kaemon's liking. All of it unsettled him, but no matter what he did he couldn't place why he felt that way. So Kaemon sat at a distant spot from both the ANBU and the princess, turning his head from time to time to glare at Ruri's bodyguards.

Kaemon also kept subtle notes on the behavior of the others, Ookami was holding some kind of necklace that had a design engraved on it that Kaemon wasn't familiar with. Uyataka was away and everyone else was peacefully enjoying themselves, but that didn't make Kaemon feel anymore comfortable.

[.:Blu:.]

((Check OOC Thread))

The minutes passed and finally it was time for the group to depart. Uyataka placed the map back into his bag and stood up from his table. "Alright, resting time is over. We will now continue with our mission. Also, I've discovered a new route that should get us to the Land of Ruins in a much faster and more efficient way. Now it should only take use two days to get to the Land of Ruins. We'll be traveling the White Forest Pass from here on out. Which means we'll be camping instead of checking into an inn. I'm sure everyone is okay with this decision?" Uyataka asked. His question was actually leaning more towards Ruri and her two bodyguards.

"It is fine with me Captain." Ruri responded. "Princess, are you sure you'll be comfortable traveling like that?" Kyosuke asked concerningly. "Yes, I'll be fine. This is not the first time I camped out in the forest before." Ruri explained. "Very well Princess. Well then, let's get moving." Kyosuke said. "Alright everybody, the White Forest Pass should be ten minutes from here. After we reached the White Forest Pass, we'll be traveling for another three hours before we set up camp for the night." Uyataka explained.

The group then began their trek towards the White Forest Pass. Within merely ten minutes of traveling, the group had finally arrived at the White Forest Pass. However, their arrival was met by some unwanted company. The group was met by five members of a radical liberation group named Ryu no Shippo "The Dragon's Tail". This group of rogue shinobi is most infamous for the attempted murder of two feudal lords.

"Oh no, members of Ryu no Shippo. Kyosuke and Sonba, you two stay back to protect the Princess. We'll handle these guys." Uyataka said as he took out a kunai with his index finger and spun it around a couple of times before finally stopping it and gripping it tightly with his hand. The five Ryu no Shippo members seems to be highly skilled as all of them have a Ryu no Kiba tattoo, a sign of high status amongst the members of Ryu no Shippo.

The five members each are wearing the official uniform of Ryu no Shippo which basically consists of brown, long-sleeved tunics with a dragon symbol imprinted onto it, long black sashes, and dark trousers. They also wore headbands with a dragon tail symbol on it. Each of them seemed to have target a member of the ANBU squad. Ryu no Shippo members holds a deep hatred for shinobi of the five great nations.

Inotsu removed his tanto from his back and got ready for battle.

[BLUR]

Yukan wasn't surprised Inotsu had figured him out. Inotsu has always had a talent of reading Yukan's expression even when it was hidden. Yukan breathed out to release all the anger boiling inside him. "As usual, you got me Inotsu," he said to him. Inotsu complimented him for not acting with his heart but with his brain and Yukan felt better with that. He was still dizzy from his earlier mistake and probably let it get the better of him. He wouldn't usually think of such threatening thoughts towards someone. [i]"It's a good thing we got this rest, I needed it more than the princess did...and I still don't feel any better...."[/i] Captain Uyataka then announced that it was time for the squad to continue their journey by going to the White Forest Pass and traveling from there. It was probably much more efficient as Uyataka said, but Yukan feared it might not be the best choice for the princess since taking that path would require the squad to camp from now on rather than rest inside an inn. But he had a sigh of relief when he heard the princess say she had camped before. [i]"Good, then she is used to it. She won't be scared of the wilderness..."[/i]

I took the crew ten minutes to reach White Forest Pass. But their path was abruptly blocked by the Ryu no Shippo. Yukan was absolutely frozen in place when the Ryo no Shippo appeared right before them. He knew a lot about this horrible group, hearing about their assassinations and crimes all the time. If there was something Yukan feared, it was the Ryu no Shippo. But Yukan knew that these members weren't ordinary. They each had the Ryu no Kiba tattoo, signifying their high positions within the group. [i]"Your an ANBU, nothing should scare you Yukan! But...I'm not ready to fight them right now...I'm too weak at this moment...maybe...I can use a light release technique to blind them so we can escape...but do I have the chakra!?"[/i] Yukan looked with anger at the two bodyguards of princess Ruri, Kyosuke and Sonba.[i] "They've been playing us like dogs this whole time. They didn't even warn us that the Ryu no Shippo would try to attack the princess!"[/i] Yukan's gaze then shifted down to the princess [i]"Did she know too? They disrespect us too much, they won't even trust us enough to tell us the most wanted group in all the villages is trying to kill them!"[/i] Yukan's anger helped him get out of his stunned state. [i]"I almost want to fight now, how else can I release my anger![/i]

[.:Blu:.]

((Make sure when you're posting your fight to not have your character take too much damage, these guys are nothing compared to what you'll be facing later in the filler))

Two of the Ryu no Shippo focused their attention towards Uyataka and Inotsu. "Hehe, finally we have something to do. Konoha ANBU huh? Just what I wanted to KILL!" one of the Ryu no Shippo member said with ferocity. It was apparent that they hated Konoha shinobi, and now that they have the chance, they would not hesitate to kill the ANBU squad. "Inotsu.... Stay focus on your enemy. These guys are not your average run of the mill ninjas. They will kill given any chance. So keep on your toes." Uyataka explained.

Inotsu remained focused on the enemy in front of him. However, Inotsu couldn't hel but glare towards the Princess and her bodyguards. "(Did they know about this?)" Inotsu thought to himself. "INOTSU!" Uyataka shouted out. Immediately, Inotsu regained his attention and look towards the front. His enemy now was dashing towards him with great speed. The enemy has a sword in his hand and was looking to make quick work of Inotsu.

Fortunately, Inotsu has a quick reaction speed and quickly used his tanto to block the incoming attack. As the two swords clashed, sparks began to form. It was apparent that both swords are extremely well-sharpened. A mocking grin formed on the Ryu no Shippo member's face as he noticed Inotsu's tanto. "Heh, it seems to me that you're an expert with using swords huh? But it's pretty stupid of you to use a tiny tanto to fight me." the man said.

"It's not the size of the weapon that counts, it's how you use it!" Inotsu said as he parried the attack and push kick the enemy back. The enemy was able to refrain from sustaining any damage by blocking the push kick with his sword. "Inotsu, haven't told you to pay attention?" Uyataka asked. "Sorry Captain, it won't happen again." Inotsu responded.

[Warrior_Tal]

-Ookami's eyes focused in on the Ryu no Shippo members. Through mere appearance these looked like the kind of ninja that could kill an un-experienced genin without even batting an eye. They looked to be formidable opponents, but looks were always deceiving. Appearance said nothing about an individual; even if you were a member of an ANBU team. Within moments, Ookami's eyes were more visible with a now active kekkei genkai. In a sudden motion one of the members of the Ryu no Shippo disappeared from sight. The Hyuga's 360 range of sight caught a hold of that one individual's chakra presence... right behind Princess Ruri?-

[i]Fast?[/i]

-In a quick motion the Hyuga also disappeared from his current spot next to Yukan, and reappeared right behind the princess just in the nick of time. The single member had a kunai in hand, and was already coming for a quick assassinated kill for the princess. However, with his quick speed Ookami took the frontal assault of the attack with the kunai. The sharp spear of the weapon pierced into the Hyuga's shoulder. Blood slowly flowed down the side of his right arm and dripped onto the ground from his finger tips. Not even wincing in pain or showing any signs of it for that matter he looked up at the man who had an impressed look upon his face. In another flash the man had clenched his hand into a tight fist and aimed a strong punch towards the Hyuga's face.-

-Even with the Kunai still in his shoulder; Ookami brought his right hand up and caught the punch in his palm. His finger's tightened holding the punch back while his left hand moved back slightly. His palm becoming parallel with his abdomen. Concentrating a small amount of chakra into his palm he swung forward at the man. His palm connecting with the belly of the Ryu no Shippo shinobi. The man lost all feeling for a moment as the Gentle Fist strike struck a soft area, and stumbled back slightly. Ookami lowered his dominant hand down slightly in a offensive Gentle Fist style. His dominant hand over his belly slightly while his left hand was back behind his abdomen slightly.-

[color="brown"]"If I could guess, you just used the Gentle Fist technique right?"[/color]

-Came the man's voice. However, Ookami didn't answer.... he just stood there.-

[color="brown"]"Which means you are of the Hyuga clan from Konoha. I always wanted to face one you? This should be interesting."[/color]

-Ookami's gaze shifted back slightly over to Princess Ruri. If she was looking he gave a graceful nod; a sign that he would protect her on this mission even if her body guards didn't like him. It was his own nindo so to speak of protecting those he barley knew and putting his life on the line. Facing forward his eyes remained focused with the active Byakugan ready for any attacks to come.-

[BLUR]

Yukan watched as two members of the Ryu no Shippo lunged towards Inotsu and Captain Uyataka. He then faced forward to see one member just walk towards him. [i]"Damn it, I didn't bring the demon wind, that was my favorite weapon. Lets see, I can still utilize the fire release without losing chakra, but my taijutsu can fail me suddenly if my body can't take that much movement. I have to keep this guy as far away as possible. He's so lucky I'm not at my best right now, then I would go straight at him with the new taijutsu techniques I've developed."[/i] Yukan smirked at the thought. He was confident he could keep this man far away from him.

"What is it? Are you so scared of death that your smiling?" Said the Ryu no Shippo heading towards Yukan.

Yukan frowned. "He wants to piss me off. He's not going to like it when I'm pissed off!" Yukan performed a few hand signs before yelling [color="#FF0000"]"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Projectile!"[/color] Yukan then shot a large jet of fire from his mouth. It burned a wide area of the ground but his opponent had simply ran backwards until the jutsu had stopped.

"It seems your short on chakra. You could have hit me with that, but you stopped midway," he said.

Yukan laughed. "No, that isn't why I stopped. But why don't I show you rather than tell you?" Yukan replied. He performed a string of hand seals.[color="#FF0000"] "Fire Release: Mist Waltz Technique!"[/color] Yukan then blew out a large mist from his mouth that headed not towards his opponent, but the raging fire that was in front of him. When it hit, the fire exploded burning his opponent. Yukan smiled and made a sigh of relief. But then he saw a figure in the smoke of the explosion, and when it cleared, it was his opponent. And he didn't look happy...


[spoiler='Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Projectile']The ninja does a string of hand seals and then proceeds to blow a large jet of fire from their mouth.[/spoiler]

[spoiler='Fire Release: Mist Waltz Technique']The ninja does a string of hand seals and then proceeds to blow a large combustible mist at the target. When the mist hits flame, it will ignite in an explosion of fire.[/spoiler]

[.:Blu:.]

Seeing Ookami protecting her from the Ryu no Shippo member, Ruri began to tear up. When she saw Ookami's nod, Ruri nodded in return while still tearing. She was happy to see that even though Ookami didn't know her to well, he would risk his life to protect her. Ruri felt a sense of worry for the ANBU squad as they're fighting to protect her and her bodyguards. Kyosuke also saw what Ookami did and he began to look at him differently. "(Maybe.... I was wrong....)" Kyosuke thought to himself. Kyosuke then turned to the Princess. "Are you alright Princess Ruri?" Kyosuke asked.

"Yes, I am fine, but I am worry about the ANBU squad." Ruri said. "Don't worry Princess Ruri, these shinobi are elite ninjas of Konohagakure. They can take care of themselves." Kyosuke responded. Kyosuke then formed a snake hand-sign and a large slabs of earth rose from the ground and formed a large dome around Ruri and her two bodyguards. "We'll be safe in here. Sonba, you guard the Princess while I keep this technique up." Kyosuke said. Sonba just gave a simple nod and went besides the Princess.

Out on the battlefield, the Ryu no Shippo shinobi continued his onslaught of slashes towards Inotsu. The shinobi attacked from multiple angles. A slash to the left then right then a vertical slah. The shinobi continued his slashing. The speed of his attacks were fast, almost blinding, but Inotsu is no pushover. Inotsu effectively parried each slash using his tanto. Each time the two swords clashed, more sparks formed. Even though Inotsu is successful in his parrying, Inotsu knew he was being pushed back further and further with each slash.

In a single lucky moment, Inotsu saw an opening to counter attack. Inotsu, utilizing the moment, placed his hands on the ground and performed a low sweep kick. The enemy however jumped up before the sweep kick could reach him. Fortunately, this was part of Inotsu's counter attack. Inotsu, using his hands as support, lift his lower body off of the ground and performed a series of kicks towards the enemy. The man was forced to block using his sword. Inotsu finally spun himself into the air using his hands to push on the ground to lift himself off the ground. Inotsu then performed a mid-air sweep that was able to make contact with the shinobi's shoulder and forced onto the ground.

Hitting the ground, the man slid across the ground for a good ten feet before finally stopping. The dust created by the man slidding across the ground began to settle. The man then stood up from the ground and looked at Inotsu with a furious expression.

[Mysterium Tremendum]

(OOC: I apologize for not being the most active. I've developed a bit of a cold and have been using most of my free time to rest and nap. As soon as it goes away, my posting will dramatically increase in rate.)

When the group resumed travel, Kaemon trailed doggingly behind the princess and her two bodyguards. He decided he'd rather not let the two bodyguards of the princess in his blind spot, otherwise he felt he'd regret it later on. Kaemon still was unable to pinpoint why he felt uneasy around all 3 of them, but it just continually stayed in the back of his mind and Kaemon was unable to shake off the feeling of uneasiness.

When Uyataka announced that their arrival at White Forest Pass, they were suddenly confronted by five men clothed in brown, long-sleeved tunics with a dragon symbol imprinted onto it, long black sashes, and dark trousers and headbands with a dragon tail symbol on it. Kaemon was unfamiliar with such a symbol but promptly readied for battle as the ninja charged. Kaemon drowned out all other sounds around him and focused on the ninja that came at him. Kaemon leaned back a little bit, anticipating a sword swipe and then formed a few handsigns, ending with a Pyratheon hand-sign, fusing the chakra he'd gathered with the blood and swiftly drew his knife and cut a large gash on the palms of his right and left hand "[b]Blood Release: Bloodrain Dragon[/b]" Blood spewed from his hands and soon enough gathered and took on the form of a large dragon as it solidified. Kaemon immediately jumped on the head of the dragon as soon as it formed and focused more chakra for a second jutsu, "[b]Blood Release: Clone of Blood[/b]". Some of the blood that comprised the dragon emerged from the hide and slowly took on Kaemon's form. Numerous clones soon popped out from the dragon and charged at the ninja and surrounded him while holding their short swords. Kaemon moved his arm for the attack and the dragon comprised of blood charged at the ninja along with the army of clones.

[Warrior_Tal]

-Ookami still had a firm grip upon the necklace that his brother gave to him. He bit the bottom of his lip; not even knowing the kind of opponent this individual was spelled trouble. Already this man knew of Ookami being of the Hyuga clan. That much was certain already through a small use of the Gentle Fist technique. He tucked his necklace into his pocket and continued in a standard form of attack. He had heard only a little about the Ryu no Shippo, but as far went in terms of their fighting style.... well it was rather difficult to grasp onto. The one member that Ookami was facing off against looked down at his opponent. The ANBU mask hid almost everything in facial features.-

[i]He is a short range fighter which means I need to keep my distance from him.[/i] -The man thought.-

[color="brown"]"Well then, if you don't make the first attack then I will."[/color]

-He reached into a small pouch and pulled out three senbon. Sharp needle-like material that could easily kill if they struck one of the major internal organs. Ookami's eyes already picked up on that and turned slightly. His feet quickly picked up as the man threw them at him. Each of the needles struck the ground as to where the Hyuga was standing. However, just as the last senbon hit the ground his other hand reared back and threw another set of three senbon at Ookami.-

-The Hyuga slid to a stop his hand strung together performing the Tiger hand seal. The projectiles struck Ookami leaving the man to believe he had hit his mark. However, the Ookami that stood there liquefied and dropped to the ground along with the senbon. The shinobi's gaze didn't change. All he did was chuckle at this technique.-

[color="brown"]"Water Clone Technique. So you have a water chakra nature. Interesting."[/color]

-The man turned slightly trying to figure out exactly where the Hyuga would be. A smirk had formed upon his face. To be facing an opponent who was not only a Hyuga, but also held the water chakra nature within their body. A strong combination of the two made a good form of techniques. Ookami could already tell that this Ryu no Shippo shinobi was a close to mid range fighter. However, because he knew of the Hyuga's way of fighting he chose to stay at mid range. Already he had seen one of Ookami's water techniques. There was still more, but he refused to use the Hidden Mist Technique as of yet. That would only be used when the team needed it. For now he would stick to something that he knew would help against a fighter like this.-

-Using his chakra; Ookami performed the Hydration Technique. His body liquefying into his bodily form behind the man. Just as soon as the Ryu ninja felt the presence he quickly turned around with an aimed fist at him. It hit. But only a liquefied Ookami. The kunai that was in his shoulder floated slightly a bit. Using a small amount of his chakra; his arms returned into a solid nature, and unleashed a blow after blow of Gentle Fist strikes aimed at his chakra points. The shinobi did all he could to dodge the incoming strikes. The speed and power was enough to withstand it alone. With each dodge as best as he could the Ryu no Shippo shinobi strung together several hand-seals: monkey, dragon, rat, bird, ox, snake, dog, tiger, ox, rabbit, and finally the monkey. Shortly after the man slid several feet away and lowered his left hand down while his right hand moved to his left shoulder. The sheer concentration of chakra from the shinobi gathered around nearly becoming visible in the palm of his hand. It was a technique none to familiar to the Konoha shinobi..... Chidori.-

[BLUR]

Yukan's opponent had most of his tunic burned in the explosion and now typical ninja clothing was clearly visible underneath the remainder of his brown tunic. He was clearly ticked off that he had fallen for Yukan's trap. He ran towards Yukan with such speed that Yukan could not see him moving. In fact, it had looked like he had completely disappeared. Then suddenly Yukan was hit heavily in the face by a unexpected punch from behind. His opponent followed that by a strong kick that sent Yukan flying away from the rest of his teammates. He got up, coughing up some blood after being kicked in the ribs. He clutched his ribs. Out of nowhere his opponent appeared in front of him and unleashed a barrage of punches, all hitting Yukan in the face. The Ryu no Shippo shinobi ended the barrage by kicking Yukan in the face making him fly backwards. Yukan got up slowly and by now his opponent had an evil grin on his face.

"Looks like your going to meet your end buddy, you shouldn't have made me angry," he said walking towards Yukan.

[i]"I can't die like this, I can't die achieving nothing! No...no! I won't die! Not until I have something to die for!"[/i]

Yukan suddenly felt a rush of chakra. His anger had brought out his chakra kept deep within him, the chakra Yukan had never accessed before, and he finally lost the feeling of fatigue he had for the entire day. Not only that, but the pain of the beating he just took felt greatly minimized.

"There's no way I'm losing to a scum like you!" Yukan yelled. He was surprised by his sudden chakra rush. [i]"I have the chakra to utilize it, so I will..."[/i] Yukan put together a string of hand signs.[color="#FF8C00"] "Light Release: Blinding Light Grenade!"[/color] A sphere of light formed in Yukan's hand after the final ram hand sign. He threw it to the ground in front of his opponent and the ball bursted letting out a very bright light towards his opponent. It temporarily blinded his opponent and gave Yukan the chance to attack him while he was off guard. Yukan started by punching his opponent with continuous uppercuts straight to his stomach. His opponent coughed out blood with every punch. Then Yukan grabbed him by his clothes and threw him into a nearby tree. His opponent simply used the tree to jump back at Yukan after he was thrown. He took out a kunai and slashed at Yukan, but Yukan took out his own kunai, the only one he brought along, to parry the attack. But then his opponent dropped his own kunai and took out his sword at an unbelievable speed. He thrusted the sword right at Yukan's heart....

[.:Blu:.]

((It's cool Mysterium, take all the time you need))

Inotsu noticed the enemy was still recovering from Inotsu's earlier onslaught on counter attacks and decided to utilize the situation to his advantage. Inotsu dashed towards the shinobi with great speed. With tanto in hand, Inotsu was looking to end this battle once and for all. However, the furious Ryu no Shippo shinobi formed a devious grin. Inotsu noticed the grin but continued onwards thinking his speed would be quite enough to defeat the opponent before he could do anything. The Ryu no Shippo shinobi then began to form a couple of hand signs.

The enemy formed the snake, horse, and finally the monkey hand sign. Inotsu then stopped, knowing that he won't be able to reach the opponent in time. "(Damn it, I could've ended the fight if only I was faster....)" Inotsu thought to himself. The enemy then plainly stabbed his sword into the ground. Inotsu was rather surprised by this. Suddenly, a screeching-like noise could be heard from where Inotsu was standing. Due to his keen senses, Inotsu successfully pinpointed the source the noise was emanating from, the ground.

Inotsu looked towards the ground but it was too late. Inotsu was hit by a powerful electric shock generated from the enemy's sword. Inotsu was brought to his knees from the powerful shock. "Heh, stings doesn't it? This move is a variant of the Chidori Current." the shinobi explained. Upon hearing "Chidori Current", Inotsu looked up towards the man. "Ugh.... How does someone like you learn that type of technique?" Inotsu questioned.

"Humph, I don't need to tell you anything. But since you're about to die anyways, I guess I could give you a bit of insight into the matter. You see, as the Ryu no Shippo, our goals is to wipe out the Five Great Nations, and what better way to do it then to use their own techniques against them. I learned this technique from ancient scrolls that the Ryu no Shippo had stolen during the days when the war was at full-blown. It gave us the distraction we needed to steal these scrolls and learn their secrets. But enough talk, let me end your miserable life Konoha scum." the shinobi explained.

Suddenly, a cut was formed on the shinobi's face. "Ugh, what the hell was that?!" the man said as he placed his hand on his cheek to discover his own blood and a cut. Inotsu stood up from the ground, holding his tanto in one hand. "If you want to fight with Nature Release Jutsu, then I'll be happy to oblige...." Inotsu said.

[Warrior_Tal]

[i]How could he know of the Chidori technique?[/i]

-The Hyuga thought to himself. Only a hand full of shinobi were fully able to learn the technique and yet adapt from it. The only two parts of his body that were solid at the moment were his arms and hands. Everything else was liquefied into a light cool blue water color. Ookami only did this so he could use his Gentle Fist strikes in hopes of reaching his chakra points. However, someway the Ryu no Shippo shinobi managed to dodge the strikes? Almost as if he knew were exactly Ookami was aiming for. To top it off he had visible chakra in his hand forming the Chidori technique. Already the Hyuga knew that he had to turn his body back into a solid before the lighting release technique struck him.-

-Just as he was about to return his body into a solid the man disappeared with nearly blinding speed. Even his byakugan eyes couldn't catch up to the speed of this. Before he knew it the man was in front of him within a fraction of a second. His arm moved back and the strung forward with the Chidori still cackling into the liquefied Ookami. The electrical currents fizzled and cackled lighting up the watery shinobi like a bright christmas tree. The Hyuga's eyes nearly widened at this; it felt like he was receiving an electrical chair torture. The lightning coursing through the liquid and even down his arms. He couldn't move. The sound of the chidori fizzling through the water could be heard around the area and possibly by Princess Ruri and her body guards. The man simply smirked watching the electrical current coursing through the Hyuga.-

[color="brown"]"Shocking isn't it?"[/color]

-The man reached over grabbing the kunai and pulled it from Ookami's shoulder. The weapon still had blood on it mixed with a small amount of water.-

[color="brown"]"You probably already know that the Hydration technique can be stopped dead in it's tracks by a simple lightning technique. Well the chidori will do just fine with that. You can't move, which leaves you open to any of my attacks. Well at least your arms are open to strikes."[/color]

-Bringing the kunai out the Ryu no Shippo shinobi slammed it into Ookami's dominant hand. Pain moved through his muscles and blood flowed all around the once white bandages. Dripping down upon the ground where Ookami stood. There had to be a way to get out of this problem. The chidori technique held him there. The electrical current moving all around his liquefied body and down his arms. The man had a smirk upon his face knowing well that the Hyuga would never make it out of this binding hold.-

[.:Blu:.]

"H-How were you able to attack me just now without me even noticing?" the shinobi asked with a hesitant voice as he wiped the blood from his cheek. Inotsu was pretty damaged himself, more than the Ryu no Shippo shinobi he was facing, but it was nothing compared to other hits he has taken before. "You want to know how? Well, since you're going to die anyways, I guess I won't mind telling you." Inotsu said. When he heard that, the shinobi grind his teeth in anger and frustration.

"You see, while I was dashing towards you, I've noticed you making a couple of handsigns. After the handsigns you did not form any type of technique and since your friend over there used a chidori, I automatically guessed that you would be using a lightning release ninjutsu as well, and I was right. Though it was too late for me to dodge or counter the attack, I had enough time to strike you as well with these." Inotsu said as he pulled some showed three threads of chakra-infused strings.

"C-Chakra strings?" the shinobi said with a surprised look on his face. "That's right, chakra strings. You see, during that moment when you struck me with your ninjutsu, I threw a small wad of chakra strings towards you. The wad was connected to chakra strings that I held within my hand. I used my wind chakra to strike at your face by using the strings as a guide." Inotsu explained.

"I see.... I guessed I underestimated you Leaf Shinobi. But now," the man then formed the ram hand-sign. "you die! Water Release: Crushing Pressure Ball!" Upon saying the jutsu, the shinobi's cheek began to expand, and from his mouth, the shinobi shot a large ball of white water towards Inotsu. Inotsu then quickly formed the tiger then dog hand-signs. "Wind Release: Vacuum Great Sphere!" Inotsu yelled as he shot a giant wind bullet towards the water ball.

As the two jutsu collided, it created an explosion of pressure, kicking up dust and debris, even chunks of earth into the air. Inotsu then dashed towards the cloud of dust and debris with his tanto in hand while the Ryu no Shippo shinobi dashed towards the cloud of dust with his sword in hand. The two shinobi lunged forward into the cloud of dust, meeting each other with a single sword clash that produced sparks upon collision.

[Mysterium Tremendum]

The ninja that Kaemon had been facing gasped at the massive blood dragon that had been produced from a humongous amount of blood. The enemy who produced it was seemingly doing fine even after loosing all that blood for the Jutsu. The ninja steeled himself, he was unfamiliar with this type of jutsu, it wasn't like the Byakugan or any other Kekkei Genkai he'd ever come across or even heard of as a Limit that resided in Konoha. The ninja had maybe one jutsu that could destroy the dragon and the rest of the clones. He moved his hands at an abnormal rate, forming 2 handsigns in a second before he prepared the jutsu. "[color="#FFFF00"]Lightning Release: Thunder Wall[/color]"

Kaemon saw the enemy form handsigns and quickly began the second part of the plan he'd concocted. He switched himself with one of his Blood Clones riding on top the Bloodrain Dragon's head. He silently slid down the inner blood inside the dragon and hid himself in the back amidst the clones. When the thunder wall came, Kaemon ordered the clones to jump. The ploy worked perfectly, blood spattered everywhere around the Ryu no Shippo member but Kaemon was nowhere to be seen. Unbeknownst to the Ryu no Shippo member, the blood soon began to subtly move, forming a perfect circle all around him. Kaemon thought with glee at his own cleverness. The dragon and the blood clones had all been a front to disguise what Kaemon really wanted to do. Once the dragon and the clones dispersed, they left the blood they'd been created from behind. Utilizing the blood, Kaemon initiated his most powerful Genjutsu by forming it into a circle. It wasn't like other Genjutsu, it couldn't be broken by conventional methods since it utilizes the blood as a catalyst to constantly control the enemies chakra system. However, it took more chakra than all other conventional Genjutsu. Kaemon could maintain the illusion for as long as he kept both of his hands in contact with the circle of blood. Nothing else could enter the circle while the Genjutsu was active, everything became immaterial right when it passed the circle.

The Ryu no Shippo member was startled as the clone that he'd thought was the real Kaemon riding the blood dragon suddenly dispersed. He looked all around him, searching for the real one when Kaemon suddenly emerged from his hiding spot amidst the clones that he'd thought he'd destroyed and then the shape of the blood that encircled him became apparent. "Shi..." the Ryu no Shippo member got no further as Kaemon dropped his hands to the circle and pumped chakra into them. The genjutsu activated and Kaemon thought of the most wicked and appalling things that anyone would have to experience. Rapes, murders, crimes unspeakable, monsters, gory scenes, and all manner of things that would make even the most cold-blooded ninja bulk in fear. Kaemon initially had helped out with the torture at Konoha facilities because he was infamous for this Jutsu.

[Warrior_Tal]

-There was no mistaking it that these Ryu no Shippo shinobi were skilled users in the Lightning Release techniques. As far as Ookami could tell; none of them carried the type of chakra nature that was strong up against the Lightning technique? Already, he was in a bind for using his Hydration Technique without closely thinking the situation over. Now he had to figure a way out considering that the Chidori was keeping in a fixed position. The only part of his body that were solid at this moment were his arms. Electrical currents passing through them like he was receiving some kind of torture for an enemy. The best way out seemed like a clone technique. His slowly moved - even with the Chidori coursing through his arms - and pushed up against each other. The Hyuga then formed a tiger hand-seal.-

-Nothing happened? Did the clone simply disappear. The man chuckled at the Hyuga's attempt to break free from this hold. Nothing seemed to be stopping him at this moment in time. However, without even a seconds noticed the Ryu no Shippo shinobi was suddenly pushed back by several Gentle Fist strikes around his abdomen. Grunt escapped his mouth; his hold on Ookami broken. His feet slid back with his right hand grasped around his abdomen area. Just as the Chidori technique broke; Ookami's body dragged to the ground; his body still in the Hydration Technique form, but his arms still in the solid form. The Ryu shinobi looked up to see a clone in the standard Gentle Fist style and another standing next to the real Ookami with his hand over his shoulder helping him.-

[color="brown"]"Still able to form a simple hand-seal even in your situation."[/color]

-Ookami's gaze shifted up to the Ryu shinobi who began a wave of several hand-seal. They were quick and to the point to were he could not catch which one exactly was. Again he held out his dominant hand. Was it another Chidori technique? Hard to believe that much. However, it wasn't; a good thing so to speak. Lightning slowly gathered into his hand and then expanded outward. The formation of a beast slowly took place with each expanstion. The beast roared out; it charged forward grabbing a hold of the first clone and threw it to the side. The clone splashed up against a tree leaving only water. Then it came at the second clone that jumped in front of Ookami to help him.-

-The lightning hound clawed the clone's feet from underneath itself and then quickly jumped on it destroying it in a display of water. Snarling the creature prepared to attack the real Ookami. Just as it was about to attack Ookami quickly performed the ram hand-seal disappearing in a cloud of smoke. A last minute display of the Body Flicker Technique. The man looked around in hopes of finding the Hyuga but saw nothing. Then from behind blow upon blow landed upon his back pushing him forward. Ookami had reappeared in a solid form without the use of the Hydration Technqiue. Performing the last of the attacks he kicked the Ryu no Shippo forward sending him face first into a nearby tree; his hold on the Lightning Hound disappearing destroying the beast. The man snarled pushing off of the tree and turned glaring at Ookami through the ANBU mask.-

[color="brown"]"You are really starting to get on my nerves."[/color]

[i]Am I now?[/i]

-The Hyuga thought amongst himself; a smirk forming beneath the ANBU mask that he wore. The Ryu no Shippo shinobi glanced down noticing a trail of water from Ookami's recent use of Water Release techniques. His gaze shifted back up with an evil grin on his face. His hands moved together performing five more hand-seals. Ookami knew well that this would be another lightning release technique, but thing is what technique would it be? Boar, ram, snake, horse, and dragon. Then he moved his hands out; concentrating his chakra electrical sparks of lightning formed into his hands. The slowly moved outward more and more with each second that past by. Finally, words soon uttered from the Ryu no Shippo shinobi's mouth. At the same time his hands slammed down on the ground on top of the water trail. The water being carried by the lightning rather quickly.-

[color="brown"]"Lightning Release: Electromagnetic Murder."[/color]

[.:Blu:.]

((Alright, everybody should now be finishing up their battle, and if you kill your opponent by using stealth, then that'll be really awesome))

Running in parallel manner, Inotsu and the Ryu no Shippo shinobi threw kunais at each other, all of which clashed with its opposite kunai and fell to the floor. Inotsu the jumped onto a tree and used his legs to push off the tree to propel himself towards the enemy, ending in a clash of swords once again. The two fought it out, strike for strike with their respective weapons. Each clash telling the two opponent's battle history to the other. In the shinobi world, you do not need words to know someone, all you need is to battle with them.

The Ryu no Shippo shinobi performed a hard right slash towards Inotsu. Using his acrobatic skills, Inotsu somersaulted into the air and landed safely twelve feet away from his opponent. "I have to say, even for Konoha Scum, your skills in swordsmanship are pretty good. I gotta give you credit for being able to parry and even dodge my sword strikes. But now, I'm thinking of using my ultimate sword technique!" the shinobi yelled with fury.

Inotsu did not respond at all. Instead, Inotsu ran off towards White Forest. "What the? The hell you think you're running off to?" the shinobi quickly ran after Inotsu, but fell behind in speed when compared to Inotsu. Inotsu quickly disappeared into the forest, followed by the Ryu no Shippo shinobi, who was confused about the whole matter. Even so, the shinobi only kept one thing on his mind, and that is killing Inotsu, who he views as Konoha Scum.

The shinobi cautiously tread through the forest, looking around and up in the tree line to try and find Inotsu. However, it was to no avail. Inotsu was no where to be seen or heard. It was as if he just vanished into thin air. But of course, you were expected to be as if you didn't exist if you are an ANBU. You work in the shadows, out of plain sight. You use cover and secretive techniques to accomplish what you want. Inotsu is in his element when he is hidden, and now was the perfect chance to strike.

Suddenly, a figure came out of the bushes and ran towards the Ryu no Shippo shinobi with great speed, ready to strike with a scythe-like weapon. The Ryu no Shippo shinobi quickly turned around and slashed the figure furiously. "Haha! You're dead now Konoha Scum! Wh-what-" Suddenly, the Ryu no Shippo shinobi fell face-first into the ground, as well as the figure who attempted to attack the shinobi.

It turned out the figure who attempted to attack the Ryu no Shippo shinobi was a puppet, a cursed puppet. Suddenly, the Ryu no Shippo shinobi stood up from the ground. "Mind Puppet Switch Cursed Seal Technique.... successful...." the shinobi said. "(What the hell is going on?! I can't move, and why is body standing up by itself?!)" the Ryu no Shippo shinobi thought from inside the cursed puppet. "That's because you're not in control of your body anymore." Inotsu explained from within the Ryu no Shippo shinobi's body.

"(What the?! Wh-who are you?! And what do you mean I'm not in control of my body?!)" the shinobi asked through his mind. "Do you remember what you attacked? It was a puppet, a cursed puppet. When you attacked it, your mind and my mind switched, meaning, I'm now in control of your body. And you should know who I am, I am the Konoha Scum that you were insulting." Inotsu responded.

"(Ugh.... N-no way.... Mind switch, cursed puppets?! No, you can't be.... You're-)" the shinobi's thought was interrupted by Inotsu. "A Yamanaka.... Inotsu Yamanaka." Inotsu said plainly. "(LET ME OUT OF HERE!!! LET ME OUT OF HERE!!!)" the shinobi yelled in fear. "It's no use. You won't be able to escape without me releasing the jutsu, and there is no way possible way for your teammates to hear you, and even if they somehow manage to notice you were missing, they won't be able to rescue you as my teammates are dealing with them. Your life ends here." Inotsu said coldly.

"(W-wait please! Don't I'm begging you! I-I'll give you money! I'll give you anything you want, just don't kill me please!)" the shinobi begged. "Coward! In the moment you are about to die you beg for your life?! You do not deserve to wield a sword!" Inotsu said as he placed a planted a kunai into the ground. "Now, a coward like you will die...." Inotsu said as he used the Ryu no Shippo shinobi's body to fall towards the kunai.

From the tree line, the birds just flew off into the sky....

[Warrior_Tal]

-The lightning traveled rather quickly through the trail of water, and considering that Ookami had a good amount of water on him from the water techniques he was utilizing there was no possible way of escaping the shocking sensation of the technique. He took a gradual step back almost nearly ready to perform a technique. However, he was caught short! The Electromagnetic Murder technique hit his feet and quickly traveled up his body shocking him. The amount of chakra put into this technique must of been great, because of the voltage of it coursing through his body already. His feet moved back slamming up against the wall that the princess and her body guards were concealed within. The sound was probably enough for those inside to hear it. Ookami dropped to his knees - his brother's necklace falling from his pocket onto the ground - at the same time his knees touched the ground. The Ryu no Shippo shinobi smirked watching as the lightning technique ran it's course through the Hyuga.-

-Ookami was counting the number of times this shinobi was using techniques. He knew that each technique required a usage of chakra. This gave the Hyuga the only reason to not expunge his chakra with so many techniques. The lightning technique slowly came to a stop. In little time of notice this gave the Hyuga a good amount of time to re-cooperate. His breathing remained slightly heavy; then he pushed up off of the ground and stood up to full height. The Ryu shinnobi looked with a smile; like if he was wanting to perform one last strike to kill off a Konoha shinobi of an ANBU team.-

[color="brown"]"You are about as pathetic as you are weak!"[/color]

-His eyes glared in on the Ryu shinobi. Focused, centered, and yet calm. Even if they could not be seen through the wolf-style ANBU mask a simple facial expression was enough to show that he was ready to end the fight. The Ryu shinobi stood there for a moment waiting for some kind of verbal answer, but nothing came in through the form of words.-

[color="brown"]"AND WHAT'S WITH THE SILENT TREATMENT?!"[/color]

-When no answer came again the Ryu shinobi seemed to grow a little more angrier.-

[color="brown"]"I guess it is true about the Konoha shinobi....."[/color]

-The man pushed together to form several more hand-seals, but was suddenly stopped. The Hyuga had suddenly disappeared from sight once more? One thing that seemed to be an advantage of being an ANBU black ops shinobi was the act of staying in the shadows and disappearing when needed. The Ryu shinobi's eyes shifted several times over trying to figure out where exactly the Hyuga went. Suddenly pain fell through the upper portion of his stomach then more pain came in from his throat area; blood slowly slipped out of his mouth and dripped onto the Hyuga's pointer and middle finger.-

-His feet shifted back a few feet as he dropped down entering into a Gentle Fist style stance? The preparation of the Sixty-Four palms technique.... he suddenly pushed forward quickly striking the Ryu shinobi with the technique at his chakra points:

-Two Palms
-Four Palms
-Sixteen Palms
-Thirty-Two Palms

finally.... SIXTY-FOUR PALMS!

The last of the strike threw the man back up against a tree. He sat there for a moment; blood dripping from his mouth, then slowly slid down landing upon the ground. Motionless. Out cold. But not dead. The Hyuga stood there for a moment, his breathing heavy. The defeat of the shinobi had tired him, but not to a point were he needed sleep. His breathing was heavy and yet his posture and stance stood firm. Away from the dome that held the princess and her body guards... even his necklace that laid next to the dome.-

[Mysterium Tremendum]

The Ryu no Shippo ninja screamed and bashed around inside the illusion. Kaemon felt a little resistance as the ninja tried repeatedly to dispel the genjutsu but to no avail. That was one thing about Nightmare, it was impossible to cancel the technique from the inside. The only ways were to have outside help to get Kaemon to take his hands off the circle or to wait out the Genjutsu for the duration of Kaemon's strength and so far only 2 men have been capable of such a feat.

Thinking back on how strong his ninjutsu skills were, he wondered why he'd outlawed it during his spar with Inotsu. As soon as possible, he was going to have 1 more spar with Inotsu with Genjutsu and Ninjutsu enabled.

Kaemon finally took his hands off the circle, releasing the Genjutsu from the Ryu no shippo member quivering in the middle. Kaemon might have gone a little overboard, besides tortures and murders, he'd thought of unspeakable crimes to do to any human. Ripping out several vital organs through extremely painful methods, Rusty needles used in manners that were just gruesome, and even the decapitation and cannibalistic death of the man's wife and several other unspeakable horrors. He was utterly broken.

Kaemon stared at the broken man in the center of the circle of blood, quivering in Fetal position. When everyone's battles seemed to be over, Kaemon called out to the others, "What should I do with him?" Kaemon pointed to the man, "I'm not sure whether to let him live or put him out of his misery." Kaemon spoke in a sorrowly manner.

[BLUR]

The Ryu no Shippo shinobi thrusted his sword fully expecting to kill Yukan. But Yukan clapped his hands together to stop the sword. His opponent's eyes widened in surprise, unable to believe someone was able to read his movements without the sharingan or byakugan.

"H-how is this possible, you shouldn't have been able to react to that attack!" He said. Yukan just smirked, and replied by saying, "The Blinding Light Grenade technique not only bursts out a flash of light to blind an opponent. But! It also dizzies the opponent. Although you may not feel it, you are reasonably slower than before. Therefore when you attacked me with your sword, I was able to see your movement and block it."

The Ryu no Shippo shinobi was unable to believe what he just heard. Then, while still holding the sword, Yukan began performing hand signs and then said,[color="#FF0000"]"Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique!"[/color] Yukan breathed out fire which traveled along the sword. Soon, the Ryu no Shippo shinobi was engulfed in fire. He burned and burned but than rolled on the ground and put out the fire. He got up and had several burn marks all over his now exposed chest and his now bald hair and face were a burnt black. He looked around but Yukan was not there anymore. He screamed for Yukan. No one answered, but than a kunai shot out of a tree straight through the man's head. Yukan jumped out of the tree. He looked at the man who now had a giant hole through his brain with blood flowing out of it. "That's too bad, this wouldn't have had to happen if he hadn't chosen the wrong path to take." Yukan then collapsed on his knees, and breathed heavily. He started coughing hard. He got up, feeling his wounds now more than ever, and headed towards the rest of the team.

[spoiler='Light Release: Blinding Light Grenade']The Blinding Light Grenade Technique acts as a concussion and flash grenade. It both dizzies and blinds an opponent. After a string of hand signs, the user will make a sphere of light in his hand upon impact, the sphere will explode and burst out light.[/spoiler]

[.:Blu:.]

Inotsu exited the White Forest and headed towards his teammates. Back in the forest, the Ryu no Shippo shinobi that Inotsu was fighting is now lying there dead with a kunai imapled through his chest and a puddle of blood under him. Inotsu felt no pity towards the man that he had just killed. The man was a coward, and Inotsu believe that cowards shouldn't be able to call themselves shinobi. Inotsu noticed that his teammates have already defeated their enemies, though two of which are still not dead.

Uyataka had already defeated his enemy long before the others and was standing besides the dome created by Kyosuke to ensure the Princess' safety. "I see.... Two of them are still alive. What should we do about them Captain?" Inotsu asked. Uyataka walked towards the rest of the group. "We should kill them to avoid any situations that might force us into fighting again. These men are not the only Ryu no Shippo shinobi." Uyataka explained to the group.

The dome Kyosuke had created crumbled away. Immediately, Ruri noticed Ookami's necklace on the ground and picked it up. "I'm glad that's over with." Kyosuke said followed by a nod from Sonba. Ruri then ran towards the ANBU group. "Princess!" Kyosuke shouted as he ran after her along with Sonba, stopping when they got to the ANBU group.

"Thank you all for protecting me and my bodyguards. All of you got hurt protecting us, I'm truly sorry." Ruri apologized with a bow. "Hey Kyosuke, did you guys knew about the Ryu no Shippo?" Inotsu questioned. "What do you mean by that, are you supecting us-" Kyosuke was interrupted by Ruri. "We had no idea that the Ryu no Shippo would be here, honest. Captain Uyataka?" Ruri said looking to the captain.

"It's true. The Ryu no Shippo shinobi was an unexpected and unwanted presence. The Princess and her company had nothing to do with it. I guess it's no use hiding it anymore. After we enter the White Forest Pass and make camp, I'll explain the full details of this mission. That way all of you can be assured. Now let's depart shall we?" Uyataka said as he began walking towards the White Forest Pass. Inotsu still had some suspicion, but after being reassured by the Captain, Inotsu decided it was best to not press on for details.

"Ookami." Ruri said turning to him. "Here is your necklace. Thank you for protecting me." Ruri said as she handed Ookami the necklace. She had an apologetic smile on her face. She was sad to see the ANBU group getting hurt, but she knew that this mission for the ANBU members wasn't going to be easy. The true mission hasn't even begun yet. She wished she had the strength to defend herself, but alas, it is only a wish.

[BLUR]

Yukan walked towards Inotsu until he was beside him, still not fully trusting princess Ruri and her bodyguards even after Captain Uyataka explained they didn't know about the Ryu no Shippo. He watched as the princess gave Ookami's necklace back to him. [i]"Ookami has got to stop dropping that thing..."[/i] Yukan then looked at Kyosuke. He definitely knew more than he was admitting. "Kyosuke, do you have any idea why the Ryu no Shippo would even want to attack princess Ruri? What would they have to gain from attacking her?" Yukan asked with a hint of anger in his voice. He realized that when he said it too, but he didn't care. Kyosuke hadn't been talking to them right, so he just thought of it as returning the favor...