[RP Location] Shimeru Temple

[Oni Archives]

=Shimeru Temple. One of the four key Sanzou temples around Naraka - one for each cardinal direction. This temple and the grounds are riddled with some kind of tag, these tags resonate an odd chakra - almost foul. The tags are all over the tree, gates, and a lot are stuck and set to the ground. Theres something a bit off about this place...yet the wildlife, quiet, and peace of the area is oddly relaxing in a way. This is at the very top of the staircase branched from North Shimeru Pass. Once at the top of the stairs there is a long path through many different red gateways that lead straight to the temple at the end.=​

 

[Oni Archives]

The trek up the stairs took less time than she had expected, but it was still long enough to have her feet screaming at her for some relief. She'd never had to tackle so many stairs at once, especially without pause for rest, but there was just something about this area that unsettled her. As the reached the top of the staircase, she could feel it growing even more prominent and even if this was the safest path away from bandits or anything else- she was starting to regret going this way.

As her foot hit the last step, she stopped and looked ahead of her at the red gateway, all those tags hanging off it that she could practically taste chakra dripping off and she was barely even trying. A soft sigh passed from her lips as she rubbed her eye, her emerald eye still scanning the area. Once the other two caught up behind her, she walked a few feet away from the stairs and paused. She'd expected to at least find Ko waiting at the top for them... "It's beautiful here." Her eyes shifted toward the trees around them. The last time she was in a pretty forest and admiring the sounds of nature, she was yards away from being bowled over by a giant creature. As much as she wanted to take the time to admire her surroundings, she didn't want to take any chances. "Kind of unsettling though. I could easily get swept up in a place like this, if it wasn't so... eerie." She looked at Eiji and Sentou behind her, turning her body halfway toward them. "Just make sure we don't lose sight of each other." ​

 

[Oni Archives]

As Kasami was the first one to the top of the stairs she would be the first one to see the view, almost immediately behind her but at a distance was Eiji who would come up the stairs behind her would hear Kasami speak on how beautiful the view was. She continued to speak on the subject before telling Eiji and Sentou to make sure they don't get separated. Eiji nodded at her as he sat upon a large rock looking around for a moment, he could not find the image of Ko anywhere which was unnerving and annoying but he also could not see anyone besides their group around here.

As he looked around Eiji would focus his chakra expanding it outwards through his feet in order to try to sense anyone who might be around. He would make sure his chakra was as thin as possible and rather than making himself the center of the sensing technique he would have his chakra bounce off of rocks and trees to use them to echo it and extend the range while also making his chakra source not easily found or read had any of the beast been around or anything else unnatural.​

 

[Oni Archives]

"And they had been forewarned. The coming storm was told that it would bring upon them disaster - that the likes of which they can not escape. So it was written. So it shall be again."

=This voice echoed in the area around the temple, those proceeding towards the temple would find that the voice would come through loud and clear as if it was right among them however it most certainly was not. There had been seals upon some trees on each side of the path that the two had come past and at the point that they passed it they started to glow a slight bit; little did they know the option of retreat from where they had come to in this moment would not be afforded to them anymore beyond this point and once the other that was behind caught up with them - the same would go for him. If the two were to proceed up any further they would find themselves coming upon a beautiful temple - the floor for as far as they could see a pristine white tile that stretched across the grounds where there were ceremonial torches and pyres lite very closely resembling a shaolin temple of sorts. There was a gigantic bell further in and off to the side obviously holding some significance to the monks here by how well it was kept and ahead of them there was a large temple...the doors wide open. Were they to peer inside they would find the sight within to be utterly....discomforting.


Daikokuten's Theme/Intro

"Of all the Sanzou Temples in Naraka this is only the first that we've hit. The one that I'm looking for is not here but that doesn't make this any less a victory. The Shimeru Pass Sanzou temple has fallen, we'll raze all of them till they come out and face us. There are four temples left: Sakurai Temple, Fujimori, Takatane, And Kofudai temple. Each of you go to one - and you know what to do. As for myself...I'm going to linger a bit."

=There was a man in the temple speaking to chakra projected holograms in the room, really the only thing about them that was easily visible was their eyes - shapes could be made out but would require some focus and concentration in the dark of the room. The man that was speaking seemed to be very young - wearing a suit, fine but very loosely and lazily worn and seemed to be doing something with his hands - as if manipulating the air around him as what seemed to be long white cloth strands danced around him. Soon he would lower his hands - bearing some sort of odd Kanji, obviously of native origin to Naraka only upon the back of them and once down at waist level five bodies would fall from the high ceiling of the temple. They were dead bodies of the Sanzou monks that tended the temple - looking to have been completely drained of blood once hitting the ground with a sickening crack and recessed eye sockets. He chuckled after they fell and reached out ahead of him. When he did such a book, covered in tags and seals upon the face and backing seemed to levitate from its suspended position in the air in front of him and settle in his hand as he closed it - an absolutely sickening chakra radiating from the book up till the moment that it closed.=

"He who desires - but acts not...breeds pestilence.
So it is written.."

=And with that being said he would stand there peering off into the darkness of the temple in silence as if he were contemplating something.=​

 

[Oni Archives]

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These steps finna be a breeze head ass."

As the group made their way up the steps sentou would initially be the one in the front, jogging up the steps as he smirked with determination looking back at Eiji and Kasami both every now and then, "C'mon you two, y'all coming? I could do this all da-" And just like that as he raised his left foot to reach the next step he underestimated the approach and quickly resulted in slipping and descending down the steps in a tumble breezing by the two he was just shit talking. It would seem neither of them had attempted to stop his descent, however before falling completely to the bottom sentou managed to grip a surface slowing his drop. "Oh son of a bitch!" he raged as he grabbed one of his knees for a moment and rolling other obscenities off his tongue.

After a couple more seconds of cursing himself he got up and ascended the flight of stairs once more, albeit being late he would catch up to the other two slightly out of breath as he rushed up the steps more carefully this time. As he looked around he would finally get a glimpse of the area admiring the environment, however something was completely off as the foul chakra in the air made his stomach churn and with his sensitivity to chakra sentou knew his gut feeling was right. A voice began to speak and as if it was right beside him sentou would look around the vicinity to see no one, however it was now that he would notice the tags all around them that glowed weakly. "That's definitely not a good sign." sentou said as he spoke about the tags. Remaining with the group sentou could feel a sudden decline of chakra coming from the temple ahead of them through the gates, the sensation was already weak on its own let alone almost undetectable as the strong chakra that resonated through the forest was seemingly engulfing it. "Y'all felt that, right?" sentou asked quietly, "There's definitely something up ahead at the temple, do we get involved?" He finished as his right hand made its way to the scroll carrying his Tonfas gripping onto it for safekeeping should he need to summon them.
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[Oni Archives]

Her eyes looked Sentou up and down with a slightly amused smirk pulling at her lips as he rejoined them at the top of the stairs, a partial laugh coming from her as she turned back toward the path and looked down it toward where she assumed the temple waited. She had taken one step to start to head forward when the voice began to speak around them, causing her to pause and wait. Rather than look around, she stared straight ahead down the path and waited for a moment. After the words had finally rung its last chord, she moved her foot back so that she was standing straight again and turned toward Sentou as he asked if they should get involved. Her eyebrows furrowed and she frowned at him. "I honestly don't think we have a choice. Ko went this way- he's our best bet at survival right now should we run into something we can't handle..." Her voice trailed for a moment as she turned and looked at the archways heading down the path. "We don't know what this could be, so keep on your toes- but don't act without thinking about it first either. If we can avoid fighting something we can't handle easily, then we should. We have a long ways to go and can't spend everything we have, there's no telling when something else would show."

She couldn't guarantee this wasn't an Oni, and she knew for fact that if it was- they shouldn't try to fight him. Not without Ko. Her eyes shifted over toward Eiji, head tilting just a slight. "Did you find anything when you were looking?" She'd have done the same, but she also felt like even if she were to use a way to distort or mask her chakra- the things here were smart and skilled enough to find her anyway. Her previous temperament had seemed to melt away and in its place was someone trying to calculate every move she made and communicate for survival rather than coming off aggressive. Kasami didn't care much for Eiji's attitude, he reminded her of someone she did not like very much, and Sentou seemed like a loose canon until he proved otherwise. But she knew that she wouldn't make it through here alone. She hadn't had enough training for this, and her newer skills were still very... lacking. She hadn't even used her Rinnegan since it healed.

"Stay close enough to see each other, but maybe you two should take cover and walk out of the direct line of sight down the path. It might give us an advantage, it might not. Either way- we need to move, we're sitting ducks right now. Do with my suggestion what you will." She gave the both of them another look over before returning her attention back to the path and starting to walk down it toward the temple. Her fingers laced together behind her back as she walked, should she need to do anything from an approaching threat. If there were two things she had spent a lot of time practicing more than others, it was control of her chakra, and using hand seals behind her back. It came in handy sometimes, if no one paid attention to her the fact that her hands were moving behind her.​

 

[Oni Archives]

As they reached the top of the stairs with Sentou coming up soon after them, Eiji's sensory technique had spread out for a moment now. When his sensory technique fully spread out Eiji would be bombarded by a large number of vibrations coming from all directions. The mass number of vibrations which hit him all at once would cause major confusion and discord as his senses were unable to keep up. As this happened Eiji would stumble over falling down on both knees, "I can't sense anything... feels like there are three armies surrrounding us..." He said with a face contorted in severe pain.

Anyone who looked at him could tell what Eiji was feeling was more like an attack on his psyche more than anything. It would seem that his sensory technique was repelled and to his dismay would cause misinformation to be told to his teammates. After he spoke Eiji would topple over from the mass shaking that had hit his brain at all once. Almost passing out but still barely conscious. He would hear Sentou and Kasami begin to speak on sensing a mysterious chakra but in his current state he could hardly even feel his own thought process. He would need some time to recover from the large shockwave that rattled his brain.​

 

[Oni Archives]

"Ah I see, you must have been using a sensory technique of some sort. I thought I detected something like that in use. You should be careful, problem with a technique like that is that you have very little control or premeditation as to what it is you are going to sense. Never know what you may get. There's a reason shinobi dont just walk around with several different sensory techniques or passive ones, just too much liability. Not that it'll matter for you three anyhow."

=As this was said it would be noticeable that the voice seemed to be one small and high pitch as if being projected from something tiny. Had they followed the source of this sound they would turn around behind themselves and see what appeared to be an eyeball, disembodied and floating along the path behind them. The eye somewhat fluttered left and right shifting between each of them focusing on one then the other as if to examine as it spoke; one could only guess where the eyeball came from as the man that stood in the shrine still remained with his back turned, his thumb seeming to slowly scroll across the book from the left corner through the page.=

"I already detected you, I'm all around you - these seals, this forest - there's no escape and no reason at all to sit around formulating a plan. No, I'm afraid this is the end of the line for you. Not Oni obviously - I can sense your chakra loud and clear. Unfortunately for you I am unlike the heretics of Naraka that believe it is a place for the impure. And as such I believe it is time to purge it clean. If you would - do come forward. Lets see if you can entertain me before we really get to the meat of things."

=As he said this the eyeball started to drift away, dwindling like sand in the wind till there was nothing left and only blown away particles where it once was. After that the male inside the temple turned around to look straight down the path at them, his head bandaged around the forehead at the entire circumference of his cranium from that point and a calm smile upon his face as he watched them. He would do nothing but stand there with his book in his hand as he watched the three.=​

 

[Oni Archives]

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Gritting his teeth to the truth behind Kasami’s words sentou would once again hear the words of the voice speaking to them through the forest just as Eiji fell to his knees. “Eiji, are you alright? You’ve gotta get up man, you should be setting an example as the adult here. Here, take my hand.” Sentou called to Eiji as he moved into position, kneeling on a knee as he offered his hand to help Eiji off the ground, however whether or not Eiji was capable of taking his hand sentou could still hear the voice in the forest; it sounded a lot closer than he had originally thought. It wasn’t until the eyeball began to deteriorate after requesting the three to come closer that sentou caught a glimpse of it and it was. With or without Eiji, sentou slowly stood back up, eyes fixated on the temple ahead of them, “I guess this is it then, but if it’s a fight they want I’ll give it to ‘em, I spent a lot time in my life fighting “freaks” so this’ll be no different.” Sentou said as every fiber in his body began to scream, no more would he allow himself to be pummeled down, no more would he be faced with life or death situations, no more would he hold back any punches. The aspect of survival by any means coursed through his veins as his general cheery nature had dissolved, having been exposed to the rather foul chakra the moment they entered the forest, a switch in Sentou started to flip he was going to get out of here and definitely make Izanagi answer every one of his questions by any means necessary. "We don't have time to formulate a plan but just restrict the movement of anyone we run into with your Wood techniques and I'll try to put them down as quickly as possible alright, Kasami?" sentou asked without looking back at his team, he was sure Kasami was currently undergoing her own strategies, as long as they didn't lose sight of each other they were okay. "Eiji, you better wake your ass up now because until you do, we can't move from this position!"

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[Oni Archives]

Kasami had stopped walking when she heard Eiji's knees hit the ground, not turning around to look at them but rather keep her eyes forward and down the path just in case anything should come their way from that direction. She was refraining from using sensory abilities for a few reasons, and she was glad that she had considering the reaction her "teammate" had. Her head tilted back to look up at the open air above them as the voice filtered back into her ears, before it rolled on her shoulders and looked behind her at the eye as she turned toward it halfway. There was little expression to her face at the moment, her naturally round eyes simply staring at it as the voice came from it and spoke of their impending deaths. Her eyes rolled, shoulders slumping for a moment as she huffed out a breath and turned toward Eiji and Sentou fully now. The eye deteriorated right beside her, leaving them in silence for only a moment before Sentou started to speak- and he was doing exactly what she knew he was going to do. Her hands shifted from behind her back then, untying her mask from the bow around her waist as she brought it up to her face and secured it over her nose and mouth, closing her eyes. "You might not feel the need to strategize," her voice rattled against the metal, "but you're also asking someone to watch your back with a technique they've only had for a short amount of time." Her eyes opened, shifting as Sentou passed her and grabbed his hand, giving him as sincere a concerned look she could manage in a moment where she wanted to smack him upside the head. "None of us know what the other is capable of doing. Don't trust me to watch your back, because I don't know how well I can. Not in this place. Keep on your toes even with me watching out for you."

Letting go of him, she looked down the pathway and then at Eiji. "That being said- I promise that I will try, at the very least. I don't know either of you, I'm not one for half assed attempts though. If my job is to be your back up and watch out for you, I'm going to do so until I'm dead." She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, turning toward the temple as she started to walk and join Sentou, but staying back slightly so she could see things in his blind spot. "Just don't be reckless, please. There could be traps everywhere under our feet for all we know."​

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[Oni Archives]

As he fell to his knees, Eiji could hear the voice which was coming from the eyeball but in his daze from the bombardment of vibrations he would not be able to make out what was being said nor could he see the eye. He could barely make out Kasami's image right in front of himself. As such Eiji was focusing his attention on raising himself up as they listened to the eyeball talking to them. For a moment, he had recovered enough to be able to see and think straight, the rattling in his head had stopped and he noticed Sentou coming over to help him up.

Though he was not close to him, Sentou who had offered to help Eiji up was so far the kindest teammate he had ever had. Normally he would be left behind or abandoned, with such in mind he took Sentou's hand showing his first real smile since they met feeling a sense of compassion and teamwork from another. He stood up with the help of Sentou and listened to Kasami's words towards them, "I agree with Kasami, I am not the greatest with my own skills but I will fight to defend you guys to my best. Don't know how well I'll do but I'll focus on long-range attacks if that helps." He told them already knowing this would be his strongest chance to help them in a fight. He looked at the other two as he stood there preparing to follow behind and took a moment to regain his strength and composure.​

 

[Oni Archives]

=The entire time that the three went on he was fully aware of their motions and words. He had eyes and ears all over this part of the temple by now and he found nothing more then amusement from analyzing them as they went about. Obviously these three were not a team for very long at all otherwise their coordination and response to each other would be entirely different. A team knows each other and is well fleshed out already - they act as a single body combining the abilities and strengths of each member to act as a single entity against a common threat - one goal one mind. These were obviously more individualistic and with that their actions, plans, and routine was not at all as fluent and easy going. A smirk slipped upon his face as they started to finally get themselves together - he would grant them as many courtesies as he could in order to get maximum entertainment out of them. This was not just an attack on the temples for him, this was a religious winnowing. What he was doing was fullfilling prophecy in his mind, something that was a long time coming and inevitable by all means. Every opponent defeated was another symphony composed in celebration of his ultimate goal. As they started to sum things up he would close his book and let it hang by the chain at his waist as he stepped off the steps into the shrine he was in and stood at the gate about thirty eight feet before them. He would then slam together three handseals - though if one had a keen eye they would see that it was much more than that, simply a fast combination that gave a false pretense. As he did this he would mutter to himself "Gravity Style: Nebula birth wave" and as he said this he would cup his hands at his chest with a gap between them and between that there would spawn forth a deep black orb - darker then black but more accurately described as Vantablack. Once he did this he would turn his hand upright holding the orb and let it cast off towards them - the orb would fly towards them and curve up into the air and once up in the air above them about twenty feet it would start to emit a strong pulling force. A well of gravity in itself pulling loose leaves, dirt, broken tiles and otherwise up from the ground and into it where it would simply disappear. The orb itself seemed to get no real purpose from absorbing the plethora of physical materials but the gravity force was strong enough that if they did not pay attention it would make their movements difficult and pull them into the air if they lost their footing on the ground.=​

 

[Oni Archives]

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With Eiji taking his hand and being pulled to his feet Sentou would give him a nod of acknowledgement before turning his attention back to the direction of the temple where it would be there that he would catch a glimpse of the man who more than likely was responsible for speaking through the eye from before. There was a shroud of mystery that lingered in the air, so much it felt tangible as Sentou tried to analyze this stranger, something about this just screamed to run away however he was tired of just running. "Sorry, I probably should've asked sometime before I don't mean to put a burden on you, just do what you can." Sentou said as he referred to Kasami and her statement of her lack of control of the techniques she displayed before, "Eiji, if you're capable of Long range, do you think you could lay down suppressing fir-" Sentou would continue albeit pausing in the middle of his words as he noticed the stranger ahead beginning to do something.

The number of hand seals made no difference to Sentou, it wasn't like there was any way he'd possible be able to make out the jutsu in question, but it was as the dark orb was created and simply lifted into the air that Sentou could feel a sudden change in the air of the forest. A subtle breeze quickly turned into a vacuum as the tiles shattered and were pulled into the singularity among other things. He clicked his teeth with his tongue as the orb continued its intense pull, definitely a hole in his plan he thought. "He's not even taking us seriously, like we're not even good enough to handle himself he's just going to cast some jutsu and think that's the end of that huh? Tch, typical. Well, I'm all ears, I'll be the frontline while you two keep things together in the back." With that said Sentou removed one of the two scrolls along his waist channeling chakra into the manuscript as he quickly unraveled its length, as the chakra reacted with the summoning kanji along the paper it would poof into a veil of smoke which soon revealed his newly acquired tonfas each one firmly gripped in his hands. A devilish smirk pulled from the corner of his mouth as he felt proud finally getting the opportunity to test his new toys, taking a step forward he'd lead with his left foot allowing the right one to slide in place behind him so he could balance himself off the balls of his right heel while tucking both arms close to his body to not leave himself open for a frontal assault. With a deep breath, the young Kenzai monk would clear his mind as he hoped his teammates would be prepared for the unknown while also waiting to see if either of them had a better plan than his own.

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[Oni Archives]

Kasami had moved after she had talked to Sentou, her feet firmly planted on the ground enough to keep her steady at the initial start of the jutsu that their apparent enemy had cast. It was almost reflexive how quickly chakra gathered at the bottom of her feet to help keep her on solid ground, used to practicing doing so a million times in the forest that she spent every day in.

She didn't know who this person was or why he insisted on getting in their way, but she didn't have time to really worry about it and negotiating didn't seem to be an option. Her expression had shifted to something more calculative as she looked up at the hole sucking up anything that wasn't nailed down, a frown behind her mask creasing her lips together. It didn't help the situation that Sentou was rambling and taking up a defensive stance rather than attacking. It was almost funny to her that he had said he'd take care of their issue and then took such a position in the fight, but she could also imagine, or at least hope, that he was using his head. Surely he wasn't expecting them to stand there and formulate a plan when they could be heard, and they didn't have time to sit there and talk it over. "Just do what you need to do, if we're playing backup we will do our thing. We don't have time for planning now." She looked down from staring at the black hole type pocket in the air and at him, before she raised her hands. Her hands formed into the snake seal, eyes narrowing slightly as the tile of the path directly beneath the hole started to crack and rise up as if something were pushing at it from underneath. A root that seemed to be bulging and growing in size continued to push itself free from the ground, almost seeming like it wanted to spring free but it was being blocked by the earth around it. It grew three times its size before finally snapping free from the dirt and remaining tile, a gnarled end flying up and lashing directly against the orb with force. She was hoping it would help with something. Either blocking it up to prevent it from being able to suck things up or to knock it further away from them. There had to be a way to get rid of it without making it worse. Were she successful in getting rid of it or at least temporarily stopping the pull from the jutsu, she'd tell Sentou to move quickly and make sure Eiji was with her as she started to head closer to the temple. She hung back, walking at a slow enough pace to guage her surroundings and have time to catch things out of the ordinary around her, and far enough back to keep an eye on Sentou's surroundings especially. Either way, Sentou needed to move and do something, or the man they were up against had more time to kill them.​

 

[Oni Archives]

After Sentou had helped Eiji back to his feet and they would have begun discussing a bit of strategy, however; before Sentou could even finish his sentence, everyone would notice the man that approached them. Eiji himself was attempting to track the number of hand seals the man had used though it was irrelevant as he could only make out three. Annoying as this was it showed Eiji that this man was not only a high-level shinobi but probably one of the Oni higher-ups. Eiji knew thought process was worthless at this point as Sentou and Kasami finished talking.

Eiji would notice Kasami preparing a hand seal and at the same time, Eiji would begin preparing his chakra. An aura began to pulsate around Eiji who was preparing himself for what would seem like a rather large technique. This was misleading as Eiji simply increased his chakra level releasing enough to distract the man and hopefully draw his attention away from whatever Kasami was planning to do and also to give Sentou an opening to strike the man. Even if it did not he was making a single hand seal which was preparing himself for a jutsu to back them up and possibly counterattack the mysterious man who held a book upon his side. Eiji himself was worried about whether this was the right move or he should go and simply strike at the man or create a better form of diversion.​

 

[Oni Archives]

After Sentou had helped Eiji back to his feet, they would have begun discussing a bit of strategy - however; before Sentou could even finish his sentence everyone would notice the man that approached them. Eiji himself was attempting to track the number of hand seals the man had used though it was irrelevant, he could only make out three. Annoying as this was it showed Eiji that this man was not only a high-level shinobi but probably one of the Oni higher-ups. Eiji knew that thought process was worthless at this point as Sentou and Kasami finished talking.

Eiji would notice Kasami preparing a hand seal and at the same time, Eiji would begin preparing his chakra. An aura began to pulsate around Eiji - preparing himself for what would seem like a rather large technique. This was misleading as Eiji simply increased his chakra level releasing enough to distract the man and hopefully draw his attention away from whatever Kasami was planning to do and also to give Sentou an opening to strike the man. Even if it did not he was making a single hand seal which was preparing himself for a jutsu to back them up and possibly counterattack the mysterious man who held a book upon his side. Eiji himself was worried about whether this was the right move or he should go and simply strike at the man or create a better form of diversion.​

 

[Oni Archives]

"No one ever likes to take the lead I see. Suppose its left to me then."

=The man muttered under his breath as he watched the three of them start to set up starting with the much more physically fit looking male to the front. He watched the three of them and in doing so deduced the typical set up for a squad - even if they were not in themselves an official squad appointed to each other such seemed to always be the format that these kind of things ended up. An attack specialist, defense or range, and a support - and by using this logic in looking at the three of them he came to the conclusion that the male in the front was their attack - the woman defense/range and the male surging his chakra support. It was that very surge of chakra that did in a way catch most his attention but he did not let it mislead him. In fact it was only for but a moment that it did such - right after the fact that he realized no technique immediately followed that surge he took it that it was either a dud jutsu or just a misuse of his chakra. He was more interested in what was transpiring with the gravity orb as the woman among them utilized woodstyle to strike the ball. In doing so the orb would dissipate like dust - it was after all soft in structure - only meant to sit in position, throw off enemy balance - and if any constructs of chakra came by or traveled near it; suck it in and feed off the chakra to grow. If nothing solely chakra based or size viable to be absorbed struck it - then it would simply lose its structure. He knew of only three shinobi with wood release and she was certainly not one of them which interested him even more, for at this point he could only discern that there was some connection between only the most relevant of the three subjects in question. His gaze fell straight upon her as he pulled his book and flipped it open once more as if a lion with its sights on a gazelle. "Oh? Heh...delicious." he said and just as he said this and started to step forward there would call out a single sound that would interrupt everything.=

"Raikiri!"

=This voice came from the sky above the male with the book and the moment that it called down everyone else may have found themselves in shock or just noticing where this was coming from - the expression may reflect that; but the man with the book simply smirked and raised the book up over his head with the backing of the book directed towards the source. From the air came Ko - striking down with a hand that seemed full of lightning towards the male and as he did such it seemed like with the force that he was swinging it that the lightning had to catch up like the tail of a comet behind the path that he was swinging his arm. In doing so there would be initial impact of his hand towards the male that would seem like it was deflected by some invisible force in front of the backing of the book - and following it would be that tail that hit with the sound and impact of a high power rail gun. If there were ever any doubt about it before one thing would be confirmed for certain from this. Ko was a seasoned shinobi and killing was absolutely no doubt for him. He absolutely made an attempt for the males life with that attack but the only thing that came from it seemed to be a purple smog from the book and forward into his face when he struck. Ko backflipped away from his target and landed with hands smoking resonating a chakra from them as he did. He found himself thinking a'loud: "How did he..." obviously shocked at the fact that either the male knew he was there or the fact that he blocked the attack - maybe both. He then stood straight up and the two locked eyes for just a split second - and right after their bodies blurred and the clashing of fists could be heard for a moment till finally Ko and the male struck and he came sliding back down the path on his heels towards the rest of the group. He sprung straight up bouncing on his heels side to side before he planted his feet and snarled a bit: "For a guy with a book he's pretty good with his hands....not much technique there...but shit is he str" his words choked out by a slight exclamation from the young male and him doubling over to a knee in pain as he held his chest. He seemed to be gasping for air - hitting his chest and even resorting to laying in a slight push-up position trying to extend his diaphragm to make breathing easier. As he did the male with the book would stand at the gate and chuckle, pushing his hair from his face and clear of the bandaging on his head:

"Oh me oh my is that interesting...I would have had to believe it for my own eyes. Took longer for the miasma to take hold for you - that was odd but I think that I know exactly why that is now. Oh yes I think I have a good idea."
=As he said this he kept the book open hanging loose in his hand and as he said such Ko let out a yell and looked up at him - face strained and turning red, veins pulsing in his eyes as he turned the now bright red pupils towards him...even more so as he turned these bright red sharingan upon his enemy something else would happen....his eyes would change to a Mangekyou sharingan but as they did the pattern would be...quite unique. His eyes looked like normal bright red eyes - small pupils in the center and that in itself was his mangekyou's appearance. As this occured the male chuckled and started to step back - it was all that he needed to know and as he did this he would only comment: "..As I live a breath its true...ha..well this changes things doesnt it?" And as he said this he would step backwards and it would seem like the purple smoke that was released from the book would shoot up around him - once cleared he was gone. After a moment of the smoke clearing Ko would still be there growling and gasping for air holding his chest with his back turned, standing immediately before Sentou. Whether or not anyone came and checked on his condition or not was irrelevant. He would grunt out and throw his feet backwards immediately donkey kicking the first person behind him (in this case Sentou) with enough force that it woiuld drive the target backwards down the pathway they had walked and in the end of his donkey kick he would roll forward and twist to face the three, and from seals underneath his wrists he would summon windmill shuriken connected to an alloy wire on his arms that would ignite in a black amaterasu flame and throw them outwards around them - so that he could bring the shuriken inwards and wrap the three up in the wire, squeezing them with deadly razor sharp precision and engulfing them in the flame only to hold them in place for the shuriken to plant and do their job. It was apparent that he was not in his right mind. Perhaps this was the effect of the miasma he had breathed in during his attack - one thing was certain, this attack was extremely deadly and there would need to be immediate and drastic action taken - post haste. There was no room for error.=​

 

[Oni Archives]

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Waiting to learn any suggestions his fellow mates could give him, Sentou would only receive one from Kasami and that being to do what he needed to do and with that Sentou made a mental note that should they survive this ordeal, they were going to need to work on their teamwork. Simultaneously the three of them would begin to act almost in unison whether they knew it or not; As Kasami begun to create her jutsu to eliminate the orb of gravity and Eiji flexed his chakra, Sentou had started to charge forward. Quickly gathering chakra around his body like armor sentou would use his body heat as a medium in tow with his fire chakra to create orange-red flames that flickered around him in tandem with his wind chakra to create the fusion of scorch flames that coated him like an aura, the words 'by any means' echoed at the back of his head as he felt the pull from the black orb vanish due to Kasami's woodstyle. It felt like the perfect moment to jump in and fight this stranger toe to toe, perhaps they actually had some chance.

"Raikiri!" A voice rung out catching sentou by surprise and causing him to hesitate in immediately jumping and as the voice finished, out of no where someone could be seen coming from above the unknown assailant in attempts to kill in one attack however it seemed this unknown person was well prepared as he blocked the attack and went into a quick skirmish. As the two backed away from one another, the one who had just arrived would slide into place in front of sentou only for him to recognize it was Ko who had arrived, coughing trying to breathe. "You? I figured you'd show up sometime or anot-" sentou said as he tried to check on Ko making sure he was alright but was quickly cut off as he noticed the changes in Ko's body language suggesting he was about to kick him, dodging to the right to avoid the attack. "The fuck man!?" sentou shouted, enraged by the sudden attack, however it wouldn't matter as he noticed the look on Ko's face as he spun around; it was clear he had the intent to kill on his face.

With the summoning of two Fuma shuriken, Ko would throw them in the direction of the three having cladded what looked to be wires with a strange black flame, they couldn't be the flames Totsuka had mentioned before could they, he thought to himself not wanting the chance to find out. As Ko threw his arms outward to send the shurikens sentou would quickly react, crouching low and colliding his right fist and tonfa into the ground surging the ground with scorch chakra causing an imbalance within the ground creating an eruption of orange-green dual flames that tore through the ground in Ko's direction; although the flames of scorch were deadly in their own right, the utilization of his scorching geyser shook the very ground beneath Ko to destroy the stability and ultimately throw him off balance however had Ko been caught up in the aftermath of flames sentou held no sentiments, he was going to survive by any means -- how teammates would react to ensure their safety was completely left to them. Had Ko abandoned his attempt in using the flame cladded wires and shuriken to kill the three due to the unsettling ground sentou would make sure to avoid the stray wires by jumping into the air only to stay there suspended just like before when they met the beast in the forest earlier. It was from this height that he also noticed that the stranger from before had taken his leave as he no longer stood at the front of the temple, no what if he was still hanging around and they just didn't know it? That book was strange, he saw it, not only was Ko's attack effortlessly deflected but some kind of smoke came from the book and the male even went so far to mention something about the miasma taking sometime to take hold of Ko. If the three of them were planning on succeeding and moving forward from here they had two choices, kill Ko so they had no interruptions with this man with the book or destroy the book maybe even remove it from the man, he thought. Regardless of their choices, Ko was an obstacle that had to be dealt with, and without alerting his team sentou put it upon himself to hold Ko off while they figured something out. "C'mon ugly, was that the best you got?" sentou goaded Ko as he beckoned him to the sky where he stood while twirling his tonfa in his hands. As he did so he made sure to keep his words quick and short, he didn't want to get caught off guard, especially if those black flames were truly the Amaterasu flames Totsuka told him about once before.
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[Oni Archives]

Kasami recognized Ko's voice instantly, though she didn't know exactly where he was coming from until he came into view for everyone, it had caused her to stop walking toward the temple. At first she felt relieved, but as usual when it came to him her imagination started to rampage. She stared forward as if watching the events unfold, but her mind had been taken elsewhere. All she could focus on was him getting hurt, her chest tightening and a dewy look hazing over her eyes. She never doubted his skill, but there was always that what ifp in the back of her mind that pushed its way forward. What if this is that time that he doesn't come out on top?

It seemed her fears were realized to a certain degree as she refocused on everything happening around them, taking a few seconds to realize that Ko was on the ground not that far from in front of Sentou. His body language told her that he was in pain, and there was something else about him that just felt... off. She had spent a lot of time with him since they met, practically attached to his hip, and maybe she was just reading into it too much, but he seemed different. "Ko?" There was a worried shake to her voice as she reached up, pulling the mask down from over her mouth and nose as she started to walk toward them. "Are you o-"

She cut herself off, big round eyes widening as he tried to kick back at Sentou. Kasami was practically frozen in place, unable to move forward any further as she watched him stand and turn toward them. The murderous look on his face turned her blood cold, because she'd never been on the receiving end of it. Knowing what he was capable of though, she knew she needed to put as much distance between herself and him as possible. Her feet finally listened to commands as she bolted toward her right, having to drop back onto her knees and practically press her back to the ground as the shuriken and wires nearly caught her in their path. Sitting up quickly, she scrambled to her feet with the help of her hands on the ground and turned around in time to see Sentou attacking him back. It was crazy. It was all crazy. This was insane. It isn't fair. Her thoughts were all over the place, chest heaving as anxiety of so many unknowns tried to crush her. Her round eyes wavered with tears, trying to choke out a plead to both of them not to fight. There had to be another way... There had to be. She frantically looked around for their original obstacle, the man with the book, but he was nowhere to be seen.

She touched the sides of her face and looked down at the ground, trying to get her shit together in a sense. It was hard because Ko was the only person she'd ever cared for since her brother left, and he was the only person that she had now. After her last squad, they'd spent all their time together and she spent it with no one else. She had secluded herself and relied on him. She was starting to see why that was her biggest weakness, and why now of all times she needed to face the music of possibly losing him too. Maybe if they could subdue him, there was a chance to snap him out of it. It seemed so naive to be hopeful of such a thing... That stranger very well could have been an Oni, and Oni were impossible for them to beat. There was no way. Forming her hands together, she waited until his feet were planted on the ground again after he dodged Sentou's flames, if he'd managed to, and focused her chakra into her wood style. She aimed to entangle his feet in smaller roots than the one that she had summoned before to get rid of the gravity orb. It was obvious though, that there was still a lot holding her back from going all in. If she didn't get it together soon, it'd probably get her killed. And she knew that.​

 

[Oni Archives]

As his chakra began to surge Eiji would notice that the man sitting in front of the temple was indeed distracted by his surging chakra but it was not for long, however; it was long enough for Kasami's ability to work. The wood release technique sprouted into the air popping the orb that seemed to be sucking away everything and throwing off their ability to move normally like a needle popping a bubble. This was a good sign that set Eiji's mind at ease, *We have a chance, may not be a big one but it's a chance none the less.* He thought to himself as he noticed Sentou beginning to gather chakra around himself like armor and preparing to attack the mysterious man holding a book.

Before Sentou could begin his attack they would all hear the word, "Raikiri" being shouted from the sky, this would normally distract anyone but Eiji was not one to let his guard down. He would look up slightly while keeping the man with the book in his sights as well. What would come next would surprise Eiji as Ko would come flying down from the sky like a lightning bolt striking at the man with the book only to be repelled by what seemed to be an invisible force. After Ko was repelled Eiji would lower his chakra but not extinguish it. He was preparing a jutsu to help Ko and to give himself an advantage on the mysterious being.

Before Eiji could make his third hand seal in secret the mysterious man and Ko vanished into a blur as the sound of fist colliding could be heard all over the place before Ko was knocked back. As Ko was knocked back and slid right in front of Sentou, Eiji took note of the man stating, "The miasma took longer to affect you than I thought but I know why." Eiji took this as a clue to the man knowing something about Ko that no one else among them did, even Ko. But before being able to find anything out, Sentou would approach the struggling Ko and almost get himself kicked across the temple and down the steps.

Now Eiji's idea of Ko being a ruffian and beast was coming into play though looking at Ko from his demeanor Eiji could tell that there was something off about him from when he first met him. This was followed by Ko releasing shuriken coupled with wires that would become clad in flame, *This beast is trying to kill us... His animal instinct must have taken over his rationality.* Eiji thought to himself as he would jump upwards into the air creating a platform beneath his feet as Sentou would have struck the ground creating a flame geyser with his signature flames of excessive heat launching it from underneath Ko to make him lose his footing and hopefully abandon his attack with the black flame clad shuriken and wires.

While these two moved upwards Kasami seemed to dodge to lower ground to avoid Ko's attack, Eiji himself would have launched six smaller shurikens though his aim seemed off. Each would be launched to the side and not directly at Ko. This was, however, a ploy as the shuriken were covered in a thin veil of wind style chakra giving them a razor-sharp edge but this was not what would make them fly at Ko. On each side of Ko, three shurikens were launched and would collide against each other before knocking away sending two shurikens at Ko. After which the other four would collide continuously till all six shurikens were aimed at Ko from all directions. The collisions also increased the speed at which they moved by enhancing the wind chakra upon them. Had he avoided any horizontal direction he would be struck by one of the shurikens and cut deeply though they were not aimed at vitals they would still do considerable damage. Had he dodged upwards they would all collide together creating a vacuuming force to pull him downwards towards the ground and into the shuriken which now became a large circle connected by the wind chakra tearing him from the outside in.​