To the Edge of Tomorrow [ToW]

Mission Name: Evalu Trading
Mission Rank: S
Theater of War: The Epsilon Eventuality
Relevant Plot NPCs N/A [Unless Requested by Players]
Mission Goal: Retrieve/destroy the cargo
Description: As the search for the scrolls continue, Several Factions have caught wind that an important supply caravan has come to give the splinter that currently has the scrolls some much needed relief. Go either retrieve the cargo or destroy it, but watch out for others who'll try to help their own faction as well as the guards trying to protect the cargo. Victory is declared when all but 1 side is incapacitated. If, by some miracle all sides are knocked out, the point will be given to the victor of the final mission.
NOTE: Genjutsu is amplified here, being treated as if the user has a +1 Tier UB to intelligence as well as a rank higher for the purposes of breaking out of it. This includes Dojutsu Genjutsu.
Payment: 100,000 | Additional 50,000 if cargo is not destroyed
Maximum Number of Participants: 2 or 3 (1 for each faction)

Mort was tired, oh so very tired today. It had been almost two years since the start of what many in his clan were calling the 'Epsilon Eventuality', and here he was, still at it. While the other major wars had been breaking out, the Land of Frost was still having it's own little war going on, someone oblivious to the major countries around it. It was probably for the best, as if a major nation truly wanted to try and sort out the mess that was the fractured Kurama community, they probably would have done so. A blessing in disguise as it were.

As the current head of the Kurama Clan, it was his duty to sort out the mess after all.

The Seraph of Swords pulled up a set of binoculars, absentmindedly munching on a few mint leaves as he scanned the skyline. Even during these colder months, Frost somehow always amazed him in the sort of plants that struggled to grow out here in the Range. Things like mint, pine, and somehow red rooibos all grew out here. Some were in obvious places like around hot springs, but others were in truly strange places, like the phantom blooms, which grew underground like a sprout, but you could always tell where they were above ground due to the flowery illusions they gave off to hide it's location. And then there was the Snowbell, a plant that he assumed was originally from the Land of Snow as it only bloomed during heavy snowfall.

He wanted this war to be over. This wasn't his ideal lifestyle.

Id would be closely by, controlling one of the two clones he made as a lookout, looking the opposite direction. Id too, was tired. Something was eating at Mort, Id knew, but somehow they couldn't tell what it was. It was eerie, like another entity was blocking them off, and if the other clone with orange eyes was in fact said entity, it wasn't talking. A call from the radio halted that train of thought.

'Seraph, do you read?'

"This is Seraph, go ahead."

'The caravan has been spotted at Quori's Pass, and we've taken down one of the enemy faction's hired shinobi. We don't know who sent them, but stay on the lookout for other hostiles.'

"Understood. Head back to Rivia and rest up. And keep and eye out for Hōki, he's still out there."

'Roger, Team 13, out.'

Setting the radio down, Id would walk over to their body and tap mort on his shoulder. He was wrapped up in his battle kimono, made in such a way it worked almost like a gi in some ways. On his back were the twin Soaring Swords, and on his hips his other two swords. Around his neck was the only keepsake he had of his mentor and Raikage, Ryuko von Rose. And of course his hat was on top, a thin layer of snow having gathered on top of it's wide brim "Let's go Mort, time to go do what we do best."

He'd tilt his head slightly, as if to look at Id. dispersing the jutsu he'd take in the info both of his clones had gathered, and then with a small tap seal up the camp he had set up before putting the scroll in one of his pockets. He'd steel his eyes, stand up, and then began to make his way to where the caravan was set to be, the sun as high in the sky as it'd get for the day.

There had to be a reason the elders called it an 'Eventuality' after all.

Ari came to this mission under the garb of her newly acquired armor after she had to replace her destroyed gear. She had started to grow a short bob of silver hair as lightning scars seem to have spider-webbed her body from head to toe. The young kunoichi was armored with steel arm guards, shin guards, and a mail shirt. Over her abdomen was a leather faulds, and from her hips to her thighs was a leather cuisse. Finally, but not least over her shoulders was a pair of leather spaulders. Underneath that armor was a brown long sleeved shirt that had wool that insulated her body temperature to keep her warm. Her slightly baggy pants were charcoal black, and she wore a pair of leather boots that also had a layer of wool within them. Not protective against a blade or fire, but it kept her warm nonetheless.

Around her waist was a leather belt that held her hip pouch that contained all of her tools save for her three kunai. Those trio of kunai are located within a holster that hugs against her right thigh as it is held up by a white cloth. On her forehead rests the Konohagakure headband, and Ari looked adequately equipped for a genin. Unfortunately, Ari planned on not using them just yet.

After the acquired set of eyes were placed within Ari’s head, her perspective of the world visually had only become more appealing. Even the vast snow capped mountains under the crystal clear sky only highlighted nature's beauty. However what Ari couldn’t fathom to guess, but the mountains felt like the fabrics of reality were somehow warping. She wasn’t certain that if it was just something her Byakugan could see, or it was perhaps an invisible energy that seeps deep into the mountains. Being kept underground as she hid within the mountains itself via technique, her Byakugan could see through the earth in addition to the Hiding Like A Mole sensory ability. Being able to see up to twenty kilometers with ease, Ari scouted out the caravan from 10 kilometers west beforehand, and in doing so she caught sight of three presences that also appeared to be either on lookout or scouting out the caravan as well. After all, Ari was warned that other hired shinobi from other factions would be present, but two of the presences appeared to have been dealing with some resistance against a lone fighter.

The single opponent was eventually cut down, but while that was going on Ari positioned herself while staying underground for an opportune ambush point as she kept her Byakugan nearly passive as she was able to see at incredible detail from far away. Ari even heightened her senses that enabled her to track them even if they were a speed demon as she positioned herself close enough to be within 200 meters away from the lone individual and 150 meters from the caravan itself while she remained hidden 25 meters underground. The individual had begun to move towards the caravan, and so she waited until he was within 100 meters away from the caravan. Then with a large amount of doton chakra that swelled within her small body, and to them a giant hole of 125 square meters opened up underneath both Mort and the caravan itself. The hole was 50 meters deep as to Mort the closest wall happened to be 25 meters behind him as either side was roughly 62.5 meters. While he might be able to get away in time, the caravan however is brought down to the bottom with a loud crash as the guards cried out in panic before they hit the bottom. One of them was even crushed under the caravan, and the horses were all unable to stand as they either have broken legs or the wagon pinned them down. Either way, Ari would be located 50 meters away from Mort's rear, and 25 meters underground as her watchful eyes analyze Mort’s reaction.

Ari’s Stuff:

As he made his way across the mountains, Mort's mind kept wanting to wander, but Id helped him keep his eyes on the prize. It was a strange feeling, normally he did missions for the thrill of battle or to relax, but this was out of his wheelhouse. Why was he tired of this fighting? As a Warrior of the Wind, he should enjoy it, not be exhausted by it!

As he kept moving forward, the ground began to move underneath him. He'd jump and draw his twin wind swords, generating a small whirlwind beneath him to stop his decent as he moved back upwards. 'Doton user, most likely underground. Unknown location, distance within 50 meters of us and the hole to be reasonable. They were probably watching us. Possibly has a form of sensory or an archer's sight.' Doton, the one element he still struggled to fight. The technique was pretty obvious, and if they could pull off an A-rank technique like that, he needed to be careful. He knew some earth techs could let a person sense without sensory, so staying off the ground would be best. If they had a proper form of sensing it would likely be farther, but it was safer to assume they were close.

"Come on out Doton user. It's rude to hide."

As he spoke, a wave of chakra exploded from him. To those who could see chakra, it would rapidly spread over the land, spreading out in a 200m radius from his location. the chakra would begin to seep into the ground, the snow, the trees, anything it could grab ahold of. It wasn't a very complex illusion, but the illusion's premise was simple: If they used earth, make them think he got rid of the earth. If the chakra were to be touched and the illusion set in, they'd see the land around them turn from mountainous terrain to pure ice.

With the genjutsu set, he'd continue to move towards the center of the hole, making sure to stay above the hole itself by about 5 meters, as that'd keep him relatively away from any pre-existing earth. While he didn't enjoy moving as slow as he did with an enemy around, having as much time as he could to react would be useful.

Mort's Stuff:

If there's anything that Ari was thankful for, it was the Byakugan's capability of seeing chakra that's building up. She wasn't sure just how much chakra this stranger has over herself, but Ari makes a safe assumption that his stamina is greater than hers by some degree. In other words she had to consider her next move carefully. As the chakra moved through Mort's body yet not outside of his body yet, Ari moved herself through the earth 10 meters closer which effectively places her 40 meters away from Mort. Then she held the Mystic Style before Mort's chakra took shape, and simultaneously Ari built up chakra within her body as well.

Her eyes looked into the chakra, the design, and the intent behind it. A reality warping chakra that Ari's calculative mind registered that it was the work of False Surroundings. An illusion that is triggered by walking. Ari recognized it only because she had the technique as well, but the technique Ari just performed was not even to counter the genjutsu. The very earth made a deep rumble as if the earth itself grew a loud voice before two large chinese dragons burst through the hole's walls in a spiraling motion. Dragon A through careful manipulation was formed around Ari which proceeded to pull her through its large body as both dragons attempted to deliver a joint bite attack upon Mort. While technically she was moving, Ari wasn't walking either. So she didn't have to worry about the False Surroundings so long as she isn't forced to take a step.

Hit or miss, the dragons will follow up to intercept Mort's movement shortly after it began as the dragons could outpace Mort's flight speed. The twin dragons will attempt this outcome by practically forming the frame of a sphere. Using their large, long bodies to encircle Mort. Anticipation lingered among the earth dragons as Ari made excellent use of the Byakugan's near 360 degree vision by always keeping her eyes on him. Even as she hid inside of Dragon A, Ari continued to analyze her opponent.

Ari's stuff:

The low rumble gave Mort pause, incentivizing him to turn around. While a little blurry, it was clear the stone dragons were coming towards him. It also narrowed down his search as to where his opponent could be from anywhere around this hole to within 100 meters of him, and unless they were invisible and could fly (which was unlikely) they were either somewhere within the earth back there or on the dragon. And given how that strange Hozuki fought, there was a chance they were on the dragon and he just couldn't see them.

Channeling Wind Chakra from himself to the swords, he'd swing both of his swords and two blades of air would follow, spiraling to mimic the dragon's movement as he'd control them to intercept said stone beasts before they could bite. It didn't require much effort, he understood the techniques, just damage them enough to quickly end them, and then if his opponent wasn't there, he could just...Pressure Damage the ground where the dragons came from and blast them out of the ground himself. Heck, even if he missed with his Tearing Palms, he'd just strike the dragons with his soaring swords, and their sheer sharpness would probably be enough to dispel them. Not like he couldn't take the hits with his armor, but...

It was almost a little...boring. That bothered him. Why was this fight boring him? He was a warrior, he should be enjoying this already, yet here he was, bored. Maybe it was that he had become more aware of the world around him, having buried himself in his studies a little too much. Trying to find a balance of both being a warrior and a Kurama was difficult, and this here just reinforced it. Or maybe it was because it was war. fighting was to be looked forward to, but not war, and this war had gone on for two years now.

Is this what Ryuko meant back when she talked about being at the precipice of her power? Was he already reaching that point himself? He didn't think that was the case, there were still others stronger then him, but maybe this was what she felt hen fighting weaker opponents.

He didn't like the feeling it gave him.

Mort's Stuff:

Another build-up in chakra was detected within Mort's body that equaled the amount of chakra Ari invested into her dragons. More than likely it was to defend himself as her dragons moved faster than him, however his sense of coordination is clearly higher than his movement speed. Ari just needed to get a little closer to him, whether that was to directly touch him or to let her earth do the talking. Either way she wasn't close enough to do any of those things. Not without triggering the genjutsu that he had placed over the area. Even Ari could tell that the radius was quite vast due to her Byakugan. However Ari learned she must be patient and wait for her opportunity to strike. So far they've been at a stalemate, and perhaps in a head to head fight Mort would certainly win.

So Ari charged more chakra and laced it into her dragons, yet doesn't set it off just yet. Rather the girl waits until after with a swing of each Mort's arms. Powerful winds clashed against the earth that forced the structures to crack before exploding. This might reveal Ari in the midst of the cascading rock that had begun to descend. However in that moment Ari unleashed her primed technique. The fragments of the dragons' bodies rapidly expanded in size as ten large slabs of earth towered over Mort before it rapidly descended upon Mort's body. Gravity takes into effect that pulls the earth down, and even if one slab of earth was destroyed there were multiple walls of earth and stone. Directly beneath Mort were ten more large walls of earth as each wall was 20 meters squared, and if the top half of the walls connected it would slam Mort in between these two walls. Additionally, eight more walls of earth would erect in seemingly random directions from between the two billets in an attempt to pin Mort in between two of the walls that hopefully would keep him from moving. If successful the rest of the eight would simply put Mort inside of an air tight box. All of these attempts was to ensure that the mighty walls of earth would drag Mort 55 meters down to the bottom with a mighty crash.

Ari saved two of the thirty walls for herself as a platform of earth had formed underneath her while the second wall formed in front of her. Serving as half cover and should she feel the need to duck the wall would cover her completely. Additionally her platform had far less weight compared to the billets of earth so if anything she'd descend at a less rapid speed. That certainly wouldn't help the velocity that steadily gains momentum. But Ari would roughly be 25 meters within the hole and from the bottom of the pit. In a way Ari hoped that this was enough, but in the worst case scenario she'd have to trigger the False Surroundings and deal with whichever comes her way. Her attention was still focused on Mort as she continued to read upon his chakra network.

An illusionist wind user… interesting. Ari thought to herself as she was getting a better understanding of Mort's capabilities. By the same token, Ari wagered that he might have been doing the same thing. She wasn't one hundred percent certain, but from what Ari has seen far she has speed advantage over him. Granted Ari wasn't certain that would be enough with this genjutsu in effect. Waiting for Ari to move as her feet magnetized upon her platform while Ari refused to take a single step. Either way, Ari plotted a couple of other routes she could take. It always amazed her of the irony after being reduced to a barely alive husk only served to improve her body and mind.

Ari's stuff:

He didn't need to see him opponent to know they were inside those earth dragons as their technique went off and trapped him right in the middle of the makeshift dirt box, but it still caught him somewhat off-guard due to their speed. As the walls moved in and he was sealed in, a fear that had been there for a long time rose up, a fear of the ground he stood on for most of his life. It wasn't a big fear for him, but he never felt truly safe until he was given the Soaring Swords.

Something inside him became afraid, like he was reliving an old memory that he had forgotten. An island, a girl covered in earth, a pointless battle, suffocation, and then..nothing. What bothered him most though that the fear wasn't from him or Id, and yet they were both afraid all the same. It wasn't that hard for him to tell what is was, ever since it appeared back when he fought Ryuko, he had done his best to figure out why his Superego had awoken. And while it wasn't at the forefront of his mind, he wondered why his 'perfect' self was afraid of asphyxiation. There wasn't time to wonder, as the walls began to fall, he had to act.

Rapidly building up a large amount of chakra, he'd release several instances of the same technique from all over his body and the swords themselves. 150 Bullets of air would fly in every direction, 60 of them going upwards as to not only slow the fall, but to break up the ceiling so it would harmlessly fall away. Even if all 30 walls were above him, which he could see that wasn't the case, they would stand no chance against the barrage of equal power, and he'd break out of the trap without much effort.

As he'd break out, he'd look to where his opponent was, then down as he had no indication they could fly outside of using earth dragon and probably wanted to go down with him where they'd have the earthy advantage. He'd continue floating there, his eyes having turned orange and chakra starting to seep out if his eyes like an invisible flame, and his face was that of a calm anger.

"You have made a grave mistake trying to pull a stunt like that."

If he saw them or any of their work, he'd point a sword and fire off a Pressure blast at the corner of the wall nearest to his opponent. They would not kill their opponent, no, they would send a message to never do that again.

Mort's Stuff:

Even if Ari relied on her sensing Technique, she could see the large amount of Fuuton chakra that dwelled within the stranger's chest. Just enough for him to break through the walls it would seem. Ari purposefully triggered the illusion, for she knew that either she sustains enough damage or her perpetrator drops his concentration. She triggers the illusion by leaping from her platform with an acrobatic flip to plant her feet on what she originally thought was the side of earth. Instead she sees that it is a wall of ice rather than of earth.

Despite her eyes not looking at Mort, the Byakugan allowed her to keep her vision on him as he broke through what looked like a cube of ice. His eyes blazed with anger that remained under the what would be a calm expression. He spoke of how she made a grave mistake, yet the girl just grinned at him.

"Ain't exactly a grave mistake when this is neither of our graves." The girl answered, and if he fired the pressure damages, Ari would note that he couldn't make the vortex too big since he'd be caught in the middle of it. Or perhaps he was too angry to foresee that? Either way, Ari would use the Blitz Parade style as her speed exponentially increases as Ari dashes off to the side while slightly going up. Of course if Mort proceeded to fire the other pressure damage, Ari would suddenly change direction and run straight down to once again avoid the blast of wind. She's cleverly keeping her distance so that Mort would be caught in the crossfire while also outrunning the vortexes. Since each Pressure Damage covers up to 100 meters in diameter, and this hole was only 50 square meters. Each Pressure Damage could easily cover majority of the whole, so multiple would be a bit much. Ari proceeds to outrun the gusts of winds along the western side of the wall this time as she had reached the other side relatively quick. As Ari moved in a serpentine pattern in her haste to throw off his aim while Ari made way to hop up on top of the western side of the hole. She's basically using his own techniques against him, and if necessary she'll move away from the hole to stay away from the vortexes.

Ari's Stuff:

There she was, and without hesitation he fired off the Pressure Damage and rapidly let it expand, preforming a quick Jump Step and a gale Palm through his swords to move himself to where the middle of the hole was, avoiding the full 50m radius of his own attack. But he had briefly seen her before she sped up. While he didn't know her name, he had heard of a several descriptions from both the Epsilon and the Iwa-Konoha wars that...somewhat matched her. But there were small differences. Her hair was shorter, her skin looked....off, and the eyes, if the report of Mejing was correct and she was in fact the same person, why did she still have eyes? Did someone transplant her some new eyes, or did she take them herself? It explained her sensory skills though, having to rely one less sense for another. But her response. The golden eyes stayed for a brief moment, before reverting back to green.

"Hah. Haha. HAHAHAHAHA! Man I needed that."

He'd roll his shoulders as he took back control of his sight and vocal cords. Whatever it was that got his superego to speak would have to wait, as it burned through more Chakra then he would have liked, even though it wasn't much thanks to his swords. And as much as he'd like to relax, he still had a job to do. He'd turn and do his best to keep an eye on his opponent, but it was...tricky. He hadn't faced an opponent with as much speed as his foe did, but it was enough that they were heavily blurred, and almost skipping in his vision, but he could still see them.

"I'm curious, why do you interfere with my clan's war? You could have left us well enough alone, yet here you are. Is it honor? Loyalty? Money? I don't mind as I enjoy a proper battle, but I'd still like to know."

As he's speak, he'd keep up the pressure by firing off a wind ball from one of his swords at Ari, the speed almost matching her own, but not quite. He wasn't expecting to hit her while she was moving this fast, but if his assumption was correct in that she was using some sort of taijutsu to maintain the speed she currently held, he could conserve his energy while forcing her to burn through chakra to avoid being hit. He could've probably used an amplification technique to make it harder to avoid, but felt it was unneeded at the current time.

Mort's Stuff:

48 Hour Rule:

Mort would blink in surprise as the ball of wind would hit despite the girl using serpentine maneuvers to avoid his attacks. While a simple attack, it would be enough to take out his opponent. He'd see her drop to the ground like a pile of bricks, and he'd drop his own flight briefly so he could get to the ground a little faster, tuning it back on to slow his decent and land safely. The guards were preoccupied, and clearly out of his league, so he'd make his way over to his opponent.

Once he made his way over to her, he'd check her pulse and other vitals. She still showed signs of life, but it was weak. Setting one his his swords to his side, he'd heal her up enough to stabilize her condition, but not enough to wake her as he made a Five Elements Seal in the roof of her mouth, not wanting to risk her knowing fuinjutsu when she woke up to immediately undo it. He'd then pick her up, noting how heavy she was, but he was still strong enough that he could do it for a bit.

"You never answered my question, and I guess in this state you won't."

Walking back over to the broken caravan, he'd set Ari down and quickly dispatch the remaining foes. It hurt a little, him having to cut down his own kin, even if they weren't related by blood. But they had decided to fight against him, and as such he had to put them down. He'd look back at Ari, and became curious. He'd open one of her eyelids and see that they were byakugan, answering how she was anticipating his movement underground and inside the cube. but she wasn't outwardly a Hyuga. An implant perhaps? The reports did say Tamwyn fried her eyes, so that was probable. But who would have donated the eyes? Off the top of his head, there was the clan head of the hyuga, but they were also teammates, so that wasn't likely. Maybe he'd get an answer when they woke up. Just in case he'd tie her up as well.

(Declaring Victory for the Black Hand)

Mort's Stuff: