Ryuko Shizu Von Rose vs Masuyo Kaede

Alright, you guys know the rules. Play nice.

First poster is Masuyo Kaede. (This was decided by Google's random number generator).

You begin standing on opposite sides of the arena. 50 meters behind you is the arena circular wall.
100 meters are between you and the very center of the circular arena.
And 200 meters separate the two competitors.

Remember the arena description!

Akihiro wrote:The Four Champion's Arena was built for the specific purpose of hosting the 1st Shinobi World Tournament, where competitors will fight each other to be crowned to the best shinobi in the world. It is a circular arena, the fighting stage is a a 300 meters diameter circle composed of sand, dirt, sweat and the pride of defeated opponents.  The spectators' area is composed of three levels, each one higher than the one below it. It has a capacity for tens of thousands of people. Very complex Fuuinjutsu has been applied to protect the spectator's area, with three invisible barriers of X-rank strength preventing jutsus and other attacks from harming the audience and allowing the fighters the opportunity to go all out. The barrier is circular, placed on the limits of the arena and rises up to 10,000 meters above it. Because this barrier is extremely expensive and taxing (requiring several shinobi to maintain) it is only active during the duration of the event.

Zach, remember you're the first poster.

Good luck, and have fun!

It was showtime, and Masuyo did not hesitate the moment she saw the match ups. She was fortunate enough to be match up with one of the foreigners, and from Kumogakure nonetheless. She believed it made for an exotic match up to be pitted against another nation. Masuyo did not know much about this woman in particular, having not bothered to familiarize herself with her deeds as a Kumogakure Jounin. Though, she was at least aware of her strengths by which skills she used. In the end, Ryuko was younger than her. And Masuyo saw this as a weakness in itself. The young and wide-eyed Shinobi tend to be in their own world...I just hope this one knows when to forfeit. Masuyo ascended from the underworks of the arena, where fighters prepared themselves for their next match.

Her footwear consisted of standard black sandals fitted for comfort and security. With the toes and heel left exposed they provided additional balance, while the rest of the foot up to the ankle was protected by the thick nylon material of the sandal. The soles of the sandals are reinforced with hardened material to resist heavy impacts and weathering. She wore a pair of loose fitting black pants with the bottoms near her ankles taped securely in white bandage wrap. This provided balance and reinforcement to her ankles while closing off the ends of her pants. In addition, more bandage wrap was wrapped around her right thigh which allowed a navy blue holster to be strapped over comfortably. Around her waist she wears the basic utility belt which carries two green holsters on her right side along with a tool pouch around her back side and a canteen to the far left.

A black mesh shirt is worn under a common long sleeve black top having a red seal of fire placed on the outsides of each sleeve towards the upper arm. Over that was a fitted green flak jacket provided by Konoha's armory. The jacket was zipped up and secure firmly on her body. On both of her hands were a pair of fingerless black leather gloves, each fitted with a steel plate on the backs for protection as well as a means to fortify backhanded strikes. Around her neck Masuyo wears her forehead protector as a collar. The black cloth is tied in a knot around the back side of her neck with the steel plate facing the front for identification. The steel plate has Konoha's emblem engraved on the front. Masuyo has straight black hair which extends down to her mid back. Two strands of hair drop down touching her chest which leads into her bangs, those being cut shorter and swept to the side. She stands at 5'9 weighing approximately 145 lbs. Her fair skin is complimented with her voluptuous form which is completed with a pair of hazel eyes.

The narrow hallway ascended to the arena grounds. It was awfully bland for her own tastes. "Geez, guess they're bent on having an even ground. No matter." There was no cover for her to utilize. No trees, no walls, no nothing. It was a bit disappointing to her, but not a detriment by any means. Stepping out into the actually open area she remembered to be fifty meters inwards before the fighting could start. The crowd was already an uproar prior to her appearance. They would likely be forced to quiet, or keeping their presence at a minimum while the two fought so they could focus. Masuyo kept her eyes on the horizon hoping to size the girl's equipment up before charging in.

“What am I even doing here?” Ryuko muttered weakly to herself as she prepped herself in her waiting room. Taking one last moment to triple check and sure what little equipment she had was ready to go.   She curse herself for not being more ready.  Before the tournament had started it had seemed like she’d had all the time in the world to prepair and yet despite it taking longer to being then she’d been expecting on paper it felt like the event had snuck up on her before she was anywhere near ready.

The full armor set she’d been dreaming about had scarcely begun.  All she’d managed to cobble together where her shiny new pair of heavy metal knight rider boots. Great for protecting her feet from both attacks and the elements and even better for kicking with.  The rest? Well she’d have to rely on her old standbys.

She was wearing layers, over her rather modest lingerie was first a padded white gambeson which covered the greater part of her upper and lower torso.  Then their was her Hauberk, a chain mail shirt she had forged for herself years ago. She really out to have upgraded by now but she’d been so  focused on forging her friends equipment that she’d been neglecting her own.   Over them she wore a set of priestess battle robes which consisted of a purple shirt and a red skirt.  Last but not least was her purple mantle with gold trimmings which bore the clan symbol of the Rose family on the back.

On her arms where matching purple knight gloves and stockings. They where meant to be under armor to make wearing things like gauntlets more comfortable but ironically they’d where her only armor at the moment, at least on her arms anyway.

For battle gear she didn’t have much beyond a pouch attached to her belt with a small handful of basic shrunken and kunai inside among other things.  For a Bukijutsu user she didn’t have a lot of actually tools on her.  One singular Fuuma Shuriken,  her sword the Hakkin’s fang entrusted to her as the vestal and her ever trusty batons.  It was too late to go buy more so that would have to be enough.

For the last two years she had been training her ass off in order to rescue Nozomi from the fiendish clutches of Shiroi .  But after a chance meeting at the halloween ball she had been left unsure of where she stood with her crush.  Did Nozomi even want to be saved?  Was their even any hope left of her feelings being frequented?  

With the goal she had been casing after for so long so close and yet so far away she was left feeling adrift, aimless. Why was she here?  What reason did she even have to be a ninja anymore?  She had more then enogu money to live comfortably for the rest of her life.  She could retire from active duty, concentrate on just being the Raikage’s attendant and her armor business and nobody would think anything less of her.  What reason did she have to continue going onto the battlefield to continue risking her life?

She had only signed up because she hadn’t had a real battle in ages and wanted to see how far she’d come and how far she had left to go if she wanted to have any chance of beating Shiroi.  If it was purely for sport it would be one thing but the sheer spectacle the tournament had become was another.   The fact people where betting on the outcome was repulsive in her eyes, how dare they tarnish the purity of warriors like herself crossing fists with each other.  

She was tempted to just leave and simply forfit the match but in the end she couldn’t bring herself to dishonor his opponent like that. Masuyo was a famous woman in the shinobi world, one of a small handful that’d managed to reach that status.   Ryuko even owned a copy of the Iwa edition of her Ninjabo figure.  How could she not pay someone like that the proper respects?

Seeing the tournament roster she’d finally found her motivation again.  Nozomi had somehow found a way to partcipate without being hunted on the spot for being a missing ninja that more then a couple people wanted to kill on site.   If she wanted Nozomi to see her, to acknowledge her then the answer was obvious, she would battle her way to the freckled girl come hell or high water.

Ascending to the battlefield Ryuko reflected on what she knew about her opponent.  The woman’s titles spoke a lot about her. Monogamous Masuyo, Battlemaid Kaede, Masuyo the Huntress. The fact she was known by so many spoke volumes about what the priestess would be up against.  The former Iwa and now Kohana woman had several years worth of experience on her, which meant this could prove to be a very uphill battle.

Ryuko was one of the strongest ninja in all of kumo now, perhaps in some minor ways stronger then even it’s own Raikage thought she didn’t know that yet herself having never seriously battled the woman.  But she was also well aware she was more of a middle of the road type, a jack of all trades master of none.  Her strength lay in being able to compensate for what she lacked and targeting the spots where specialist had neglected.  It was hard to be the toughest, fastest or physically strongest without lacking in other era’s .

She wouldn’t go all out right from the start. That would be foolish and reek of desperation.  No she needed to analyze Masuyo first. See how relative the woman’s strength was to her own so she could figure out where she needed to compensate to match her and put up a proper fight.

Upon arrival Ryuko took a brief moment to survey the battlefield and wasn’t sure wither to sigh because of how little it left her to work with or grin because of how straightforward it made things.  It was about as even a playing field as you could ever ask for with no room to complain about how the terrain had given the other side an unfair advantage.

Facing towards Masuyo who was standing 200 meteres away waiting for her Ryuko made the seal of confrontation. It was hard to say if Masuyo would even be able to see it properly from so far away but it was a gesture worth doing all the same.  A mark of the respect Ryuko had for her since they where too far apart to exchange words.

Making the first move Ryuko began to dash towards Masuyo. Running at her full speed she unclipped and unfolded the fuma shruiken on her belt as she ran readying it to be thrown once she was at a more appropriate range.

“Have at thee” She shouted as she reached the fifty meter mark and hurled the large multibladed weapon with all her might towards Masuyo.  Instead of leading with something flashy It was an attack both elegant and simple.  Since this was a Jounin she was up against  she doubted she’d actually be able to land a hit that easily but that was alright since this was meant more to test the waters then as anything serious.  

Besides it wasn’t the initial throw that was the real danger since she’d used the Advanced Boomerang throw so that if Masuyo elected to dodge she might find herself hit from behind as the shrunken returned to it’s point of origin.

Ryuko stuff:

Emerging from the bloodworks was the her opponent. The short, young female bundled up in padded armor and mail. Masuyo couldn't help but smirk at the sight finding it somewhat cute. I'm sure she feels safe, but that must be hot. The air was a bit nippy, the climate certainly being cooler in the Land of Lightning mountains than the low, warm climate of the Land of Fire. Masuyo was born and raised in Iwagakure making her used to the similar climate here. She deduced her opponent was slow on her feet. Either that or she really did not prefer being hurt in battle. Ryuko initiated the seal of confrontation. Masuyo did not indulge in such formalities. Although she did respect her opponent she was not one to waste her time with tiresome social norms. Reaching to her flak jacket's scroll holster she pinched either side of the end activating the flap allowing a small sealed scroll to fall into her hand. Pulling the scroll open just partially she exposed one written Fuuinjutsu seal. Grazing her thumb across the surface she broke the seal with just a bit of chakra. A small cloud of smoke appeared and vanished as quick as it came. In her right hand she held a tall Yari. The traditional Japanese spear overall stood up to nine feet, seven being the shaft and a narrow two foot blade on the end. It was sharpened on either side, though the primary function was thrusting. Better yet, thrusting into the chinks of armor or outright piercing lighter armors without much difficulty.

Ryuko's armor proved to be an obstacle enough for Masuyo to bring out her real weapons. She did not doubt close quarters would be something she'd attempt. The way things stood, conventional ninja tools were insufficient at penetrating such thick armor and even a sword may prove difficult to pierce without a proper, dedicated lunge. Not long after did Ryuko begin to charge, the girl's gear shuffling along with her as she moved at superhuman speeds. Masuyo quickly closed the scroll and placed it back in her vest getting into her Art of War spear fighting stance just moments before Ryuko reached her ideal attack range. The Fuuma Shuriken was nothing extraordinary besides being thrown by the hands of a professional. It accelerated nicely, however like all thrown projectiles they lost their speed over long distances. Over fifty meters the speed changed from impressive to almost ordinary. To top it off there was not any technique applied; nothing to make the shuriken more evasive or tricky to deal with.

Masuyo would stride forwards five meters whilst extending her Yari. Her eyes fixated on the shuriken she ran her spear into the ring hole of the projectile, catching it as she controlled the Fuuma Shuriken with the spear using both hands to manage and control the tool. Masuyo's five meter stride would accelerate into an aggressive sprint closing half the distance between them in a fraction of a second before sweeping upwards with the spear flinging the Fuuma Shuriken back at Ryuko. She did this with the finesse of a Bukijutsu specialist timing her pitch to add complexity to her throw. The shuriken would soar back at Ryuko in a corkscrew pattern. Despite the unpredictable flight pattern it had a predetermined location set by the Jounin. The Fuuma Shuriken was targeting Ryuko's left thigh just below where her mail hauberk ended. The Fuuma Shuriken would pass across her flesh delivering a deep flesh wound through her muscle before flying off behind Ryuko continuing its corkscrew pattern not long before losing steam.

Masuyo pursued the shuriken stepping to the left to assault Ryuko's right side. She worked in unison with the giant shuriken to give little avenue of simple evasion. The large blade of the giant shuriken increased the chances of successful connection and the corkscrew pattern made her outer right arm a target if she were hesitant in her evasion. And of course moving to the right would make her a victim to Masuyo direct. Her goal was not to maim or kill the girl. In her eyes that was a sign of poor sportsmanship. After all this was a harmless tournament. One where she could finally put her skills to practical use; by representing Konoha's military strength it would work in favor to ensure security for the village. From Ryuko's right outer flank Masuyo lunged the spear using both arms for power.

Masuyo attempted to drive the spear point directly at Ryuko's abdomen. The Yari combined with her strength and speed would have little trouble piercing the mail and passing into the gambeson, yet the armor would lower a lot of the bite out of the thrust as she would only manage to get five inches into her belly instead of skewering her entirely. It would prove as another mere flesh wound, vital organs and arteries avoided as a means to preserve Ryuko's good health. In the end, Masuyo was there to put on a good show for the spectators. Less fatal wounds meant the match went on further, making it much more entertaining for the spectators to watch. Masuyo was a Gladiator in this moment, not on the battlefield. Death was simply not in her interests.

The Stuff:

Ryuko wasn’t about to simply stand still and watch from a distance as her fuma shruiken speed towards the only other jounin in the arena. No she had a plan in mind, one that required her to keep a certain distance to the weapon she had just tossed. Waiting a hair’s breath after tossing the weapon to give it some distance she started chasing after it making sure to keep just within 20 meters of herself for the moment so that her foe wouldn’t guess what she was really up to.

The sight she saw before her of Masuyo drawing her spear sent a shiver down her spine. No wonder the woman had the title of huntress. She had just the right type of weapon on hand to counter Ryuko’s chainmail. If only her breastplate had been ready that wouldn’t have been a problem but she couldn’t dwell on that now. If she lingered on her regrets she’d be at it all day.

The idea was simple enough. She was planning to distract Masuyo after the more experienced Jounin dodged the projectile so that the woman wouldn’t see it coming from behind when it entered it’s return arc. She even had one particular jutsu in mind to help make sure it would hit as hard as possible and with any luck land a knock out blow for her.

The idea that Masuyo would charge at her cutting the distance between them to fifteen meters before catching the shuruiken with the tip of her spear had never crossed Ryuko’s mind. The sheer speed that the other woman had just displayed was as breathtaking and told Ryuko what she’d wanted to know from the start, she couldn’t afford to hold back too much here if she was going to win. Taking in a deep breath she shifted into her patented overdrive mode, or at least a partial version of it anyhow since what she was aiming for next wouldn’t require much strength.

Far from being worried about this change of plans Ryuko was ecstatic enough to grin. It would almost look sinister if not for the red war paint under her eyes draw to look like tears wasn’t countering it. What she was about to do wasn’t what she had initially been planning but she if she was anything it was adaptable. If anything this would be even better.

“You should know better then to take things that aren’t yours” she bantered as before Masuyo could throw the weapon back at her she formed a single seal making the shape of the tiger. This caused the fuma shruiken one the spear to emit a brief burst of smoke as it was instantly enlarged to 10 times it’s previous size and more importantly 10 times it’s previous weight.

It was so big now that even Ryuko herself would have trouble picking it up without the use of chakra enhanced strength. The sudden increase in weight out out of the blue would prevent the other Jounin from tossing it like she had planned and throw her off balance and it was at that moment Ryuko had been waiting for.

Pouncing forward with ever ounce of her enhanced speed she crossed the remaining distance between them in less then the blink of an eye. Sliding around the weighted down spear she lashed out her right hand sparking with electricity as she attempted to simply bush it against one of Masuyo’s hands that where currently busy trying to hold up her polearm. One touch was all she would need to seriously mess with her foes nervous system. If she could land it the match would be as good as over without having to draw a single drop of blood.

Ryuko's stuff:

Masuyo managed to hook the shuriken with her spear with no difficulty as the blade continued to rotate while she controlled it. Although Ryuko's grin was momentary, the dialogue which followed was a warning to Masuyo. It was the mere fact that Fuuma Shuriken were known to be rigged and commonly attached with wire and triggered when the target was most unaware sending the individual blades outward like projectiles. Masuyo immediately discarded her plan at these cues pulling her spear out of the hole and letting the shuriken fall lifelessly on the ground. She coupled this with a shallow pounce just enough to get five feet of air off the ground to prevent any detaching blades from slicing her legs while still pursuing her target not letting the inconvenience completely thwart her assault. The shuriken's growth, despite not being what she had originally planned, was an obstacle evaded nonetheless. Despite the five feet of air she gained she was still on a dedicated path towards Ryuko.

Masuyo moved with enough speed to intercept the girl's path. The fact they were both moving at high speeds made their encounter a quick one. Despite the audience members hardly being able to keep up with the minor details in all of their actions, to the trained viewer they could truly appreciate all the tactical maneuvers done.

Masuyo descended quick and shallow towards Ryuko as she extended both arms using the natural reach granted by the spear to lunge into the woman's abdomen. Her blade was targeted to avoid any arteries and vital organs as usual attempting to merely skewer the girl's flesh. The spear point combined with the momentum and strength of the Jounin would have little trouble breaching the armor piercing into the flesh of the woman by six inches proving to be deep would. Only that would cause great pain and bleeding, yet given her durability the bleeding would naturally stop itself after a few minutes as long as the area around the wound was undisturbed. In the events Masuyo was successful or not she would touch back on solid ground just a moment after. The spear kept Ryuko at bay, hit or miss. If she was successful in piercing the woman Masuyo would twist the spear and wringing it out of the girl's body leaving a wider wound in her body to promote blood loss and encourage pain. Masuyo would resume a basic stance with ten feet between her and her foe, spear on guard and eyes focused on her opponent.

The Stuff:

Even as Ryuko was bantering she had been begun weaving the one singular hand-seal she needed.   It shouldn’t have been possible but somehow her foe managed to withdraw the tip of her spear from the shuriken’s hole at the last possible second.

Too late to stop the activation of her jutsu Ryuko watched eyes wide as her fuma shuriken suddenly explosively multiplied in size in mid air.  As throwing weapons went it had already been pretty big to begin with a circumference of 2 meters across.   Now at ten times it’s original size it could only be called massive.

It was only pure luck that neither of the two woman where skewered by one of the now oversized blades.  Originally when Masuyo had been spinning the shruiken on her spear in preparation for being throw it had been at an angle that Ryuko had judged was safe for both of them.  Instead she’d dropped it so that it would fall flat otherwise she’d never be able to jump over the damn thing with such a shallow hop like she was now attempting to do.

Sadly for her she’d never manage to clear the short distance between them.  Without an opening that would allow her to close the distance between them Ryuko switched gears and tactics now that she had spotted another opportunity to nail her foe.  Seeing as how Masuyo was currently in the process of trying to stab her she wasn’t about to hold back.

The falling shuriken was so big that Ryuko barely had to move from the spot she had been standing.  Shifting towards the nearest of the four blades she simple lashed out with her left leg at lightning speed and kicked it with her metal booted foot with as much force as she could muster, using her charka enhanced strength.  

“Eat this” she cried over the loud thud of metal against metal as the fuma shruiken was sent rocketing upwards towards Masuyo who was in the middle of her jump with such speed and force that it it would be nigh on impossible to avoid.  

Ryuko stuff:

Even in the tightest of circumstances where all appears to be lost, a trained Shinobi knows every circumstance can be used in their favor with the right course of action. Ryuko understood this well enough using an inanimate tool which has lost its momentum as a moving wall which carried plenty of blunt impact force to send her in the opposite direction and give her plenty of hurt to deal with. Of course Masuyo was also a well-seasoned Kunoichi. Ryuko's finesse proved to her that this woman was one not worth underestimating. With her foot under the side of the giant shuriken Ryuko utilized all of her impressive strength to send it straight into Masuyo's flight path. This triggered a straightforward reaction from the Jounin.

Letting one hand off the spear and raising it up so it wasn't the leading point of her she executed a straight, power-driven palm to the face of the overgrown Fuuma Shuriken blade. Her hand would inevitably connect to the iron. The colliding force from her strength, speed, and resilient body would cause the blade to shatter tremendously. From Ryuko's perspective her opponent would disappear briefly behind the shuriken's blade under the false sense of security that Masuyo would meet her face being slapped with a face full of iron. Yet it was the moment Masuyo made contact with the blade was she revealed again in a splintering shower of metal shrapnel.

Masuyo naturally turned her cheek to prevent getting bits of metal in her eyes. Her face was peppered with a stinging shower of iron fragments, yet a bit discomfort was all they offered to her durable frame. Those hitting her jacket did not even make their presence known. The shrapnel would also make its way hitting Ryuko, though given how well she was covered her unexposed parts be unscathed. Her exposed parts of her body, however, would be victim to this showering of metal. Unlike an actual explosion these frags lacked a lot of power and would only cause discomfort and surface damage at most, yet were a distraction nonetheless.

Stopping the giant shuriken broke a lot of her momentum as both feet were planted on the ground where she made contact with it. In retaliation she brought her right arm down in a vertical chop from her already raised spear guiding the tip and edge of the spear down from the top of Ryuko's forehead and down her face. It was a deep cut to promote bleeding and pain, the face being one of the most sensitive parts of the body. Although the blood loss would not be tremendous enough to incapacitate her it did work to trickle down her face and possibly in her eyes working as a distraction in its own form.

The Stuff:

UA Used:

Ryuko didn’t think for a second that simply sending the giant shuriken flying at high speed at the other Jounin would be enough to put this in the bag.   It didn’t take much deductive reasoning to know that wouldn’t be enough to put herself down so she had to assume that her foe would be the same having some way to avoid being slammed in the first place or at least mitigate the damage if nothing else.

The string of things she was about to preform was a feat that would have been impossible if not for her insanely high coordination and brain power allowing her to coordinate doing multiply things at the same time and make it look easy.

Using the one foot that was still planted on the ground she leaped after the shruiken she had just “thrown” by kicking it even while drawing one of her hakkin’s wrath batons with her left hand and her katana the hakkin’s fang with her right.  Activating the enchantment on blade it began to emit a chilling aura that would likely send shivers up the back of her opposition’s spine.  

As she was doing that Masuyo somehow managed to react despite the insane speed the shruiken had been moving at after being redirected and the relatively short distance it had to travel. The Huntress was already in the process of moving to hit it with the palm of her left hand.  

Ryuko swung her sword in a circular motion, producing afterimages mirroring that of the moon while the also pointing the baton at Masuyo thought large hole in the shuriken. At that moment Ryuko activated the transducer embedded in the tip flashing her foe straight in the eyes with blinding light just as the woman made contact.  

On the one hand hitting the oversize Shuriken back was a smart move since it prevented Masuyo from being bodied by it.  But on the other hand she’d messed up by using much less force to try and counter what shuriken itself had been flying at.  That meant the laws of inertia would kick in as the bulk of the kinectic energy from the shuriken would transfer back into the arm that had struck it  doing some damage no matter how tough the woman was right now.  

That wasn’t to say that Masyo’s efforts had been in vain.  The fuma shruiken had been store bought and could only take so much abuse.  After taking the kick from Ryuko to be launched in the first place the hit from the battlemaid was the straw that broke the camel’s back.  She hadn’t struck it nearly hard enough to make it explode into a cloud of shrapnel but it would shatter into larger pieces like a broken plastic toy.

Batting aside a large chunk of metal that had come her way with her baton Ryuko lead with her left foot which was still raised from kicking the shuriken early attempting to kicking it straight into the tip of Masuyo’s spear interpeting the other Jounin before she could get her feet back onto the ground.

Ryuko’s Knight rider boots where forged of one of the hardest materials she knew off and at the highest quality she could muster.  With the overwhelming amount strength she was putting out behind them she had absolute faith that she would be able to split the poll arm straight down the middle like it was a twig.

At the same time as she was kicking with one foot Ryuko waited until she had cleared enough distance between them for her sword to be in range before she slashed out with it. Using the back of her katana aiming to strike straight into the Magonamous one’s rib cage and hopefully knock the wind right out of her sails without fatality injuring her.   With any luck between the flash of light, the stealthy nature of the jutsu she had just used and the sword itself Masuyo wouldn’t be able to stop this one from connecting.

She wasn’t too worried about her opponent finding a way to tanking this one slash though, since even touching the blade would leave behind a horrible curse of sorts in the form a purple colored splotch further weakening her softening her up for the next strike and likely the remainder of the match since it was incredibly hard to remove.  

Ryuko Stuff:

Enchantment used:

Slamming her palm into the face of the overgrown shuriken would yield a negative result. Although she was not completely bodied by the Fuuma Shuriken, her leading arm did suffer some negative consequences. Due to the sheer force behind Ryuko's attempt to slam Masuyo with the shuriken she did lack the strength to match her in the contest of brute force. Masuyo felt it in her arm, more specifically her palm and shoulder where she made contact with the shuriken and the part of her body that absorbed most of the impact. Her entire arm felt numb as a slight crack resonated from her hand after impact. She gritted her teeth in response to the momentary discomfort as well as the injury sustained knowing how much of a detriment it meant for her in the battle. Dammit!

Ryuko wielded two weapons of her own drawing a baton in one hand and sword in the other in an almost ritualistic fashion. The fanning of the katana was no doubt an advanced Kenjutsu known as Hazy Moon Night. The item she held in the offhand was something she was not familiar with. The baton was very standard but for a contraption attached to it, which Masuyo soon found out was not something to gaze at as an intense light flashed from the bulb at the end. The bright white light stained her eye sight with the last image she saw, which of course had to be the illusion generated by Ryuko's Kenjutsu technique. The silhouette of a young woman, and what appeared to be hundreds of swords fanned around her was what remained in Masuyo's sights as her spear retaliation became a desperate attempt to fend off her opponent opposed to a counterattack.

Halfway through the swing Masuyo was able to make up what she could observe was Ryuko shifting in response. Masuyo saw her opponent as a flickering shadow among white light, and suddenly her spear-wielding hand budge with the shaft escaping her grasp with little effort flying several dozen meters overhead with the metal spear head and wooden shaft flying separate directions.

Masuyo reached around into her left hip pouch with her idol, injured hand as fast as she could grabbing a spherical smoke bomb which she kept in the top pocket separate from the flash bombs. Bending at the knees she did not waste time bringing her hand around and tossing it in front of her, but instead throwing the bomb directly below her between her legs as she sprung back to add more smoke cloud between her and her enemy. The thick, purple opaque smoke acted as a barrier between her and Ryuko. Covering ten meters cube of space it provided ample coverage for a brief escape. The smoke ironically worked in her favor. Although it limited her optical vision greatly it was not a light so intense it stuttered her overall perception.

As she bounced back into the smoke cloud she reached down with her right hand into a holster on her belt retrieving four shuriken and flinging them into the smoke as she exited the cloud. In an unpredictable manner the shuriken corkscrewed and changed elevation as they assaulted a potential assailant if Ryuko chose to pursue her blindly into the smoke. Three of the four shuriken were destine to hit her torso with one being the lucky star to nail her in the cheek. If Ryuko chose to stay in her location the shuriken would mostly all hit her armor or avoid her body entirely. Normally Masuyo would not display such inaccuracy yet given the conditions she faced they worked in an attempt to distract and stall her opponent as much as they could.

As she worked to equip her shuriken in her off-hand she weaved together three hand seals alone holding the Tiger as she threw the ninja tool at her foe whilst building up her secondary nature chakra from within her lungs. Landing on the ground forty five meters from her previous position where she encountered Ryuko the Jounin exhaled a small, hand-sized ball of fire which fell on the earth and naturally grew into something roughly five meters in diameter. The hemisphere of fire race across the dirt and straight towards the smoke cloud, and where Ryuko was last presumed.

Running into what remained of the overgrown shuriken would detonate the sensitive fireball into a growing fire bomb prompting Masuyo to retreat back another shallow skip of ten meters, twice, to build a good distance between herself and the flames. They would not damage her much, but avoiding damage and to avoid vain sacrifices was an important first goal to keep in mind. The fireball growing into a one-hundred meter tempest of fire would ravage the earth scorching the ground and clearing the smoke left by Masuyo's smoke bomb. It would certainly prove effective against her opponent's gambeson as the cotton and insulation was especially flammable as well as the metal rings on her armor being a natural heat conductor. Although the fire was not consistent or hot enough to warp the metal rings it was sufficient enough to heat them enough to burn her skin just slightly, and the gambeson being a fire hazard itself would ignite if successful.

The Stuff:

UA Used:

So far everything had been going more or less exactly to plan. Ryuko could feel her foot connect begin to connect with the spear which would send it flying in multiple pieces.   With her biggest obstacle the pole arm out of the picture it would be much easier for her to close in on her opponent and bring the pain.

Before Masyuo could even begin to reach for her supply pouch Ryuko had a bad feeling that if she didn’t stop her now things where about to get much worse for her.  Considering the rate she was burning energy she needed to end things as soon as possible.   She might have the huntress on the back foot now but the longer things went on the more the match would swing in the other girls favor.   The moment she didn’t have enough energy to sustain her overdrive mode would be the moment she would be quickly over powered.

Her original plan was to slash when she got into range and she was going to stick with it, only this time she was going to take things up to 11 to try and make sure the battlemaid wouldn’t get away.  In a way she was betting on herself by spending more energy upfront  in order to try and land a decisive blow and bring this battle to a close but that meant if she failed she would run out of gas that much sooner.  

There where no sure things in life outside of death and taxes. Sometimes to get ahead you had to take risks like that or you’d never get anywhere.  Apologizing in her mind to Nariko for having to break out one of the village’s ultra exclusive jutsu as she witched fighting styles.  

To an outsider her movements would seem erratic and harder to follow and she would be moving even faster then before. Taking a short breath she used a flash step with her right foot to accelerate herself forward at the maximum possible speed she could obtain clearing the remaining short distance of less then 11 feet between the two of them before Masuyo could finish drawing the smoke bomb before slashing out just like she had originally planned.

Aiming to drive the blunt end of her sword into Masuyo’s side at full strength with one fast incredibly hard to follow slash to the rib cage.   The kohana jounin had proven just how tough she when she had hit the oversized Shuriken so Ryuko was confident that the force she was trying to unleash now wouldn’t be enough to outright kill her opponent, but hopefully it would knock most of the fight out of her at least and soften her up for what was about to come next thanks to the swords curse from the very much still active enchantment.

Even as she surged forward and slashed Ryuko had been switching her baton with a couple of kunai from her pouch with 5 feet of wire attached to the hole on the end of each.  If her sword slash connected she would then follow up by throwing them at nearly point blank range aiming one for Masyuo’s damaged arm and another between her bosom above where she had slashed since it was a nice big target to aim for.

She wasn’t aiming to do any real damage with the kunai themselves, just  hopefully pierce the other woman’s skin with them so that she could run a surge of chakra thought the strings that where still in her hand to incapacitate Masuyo once and for all.

Ryuko stuff:

Masuyo's hand moved to her tool pouch as fast as she could, and although she could grab a smoke bomb there was no way Ryuko was letting her have a break. If I weren't doing this for entertainment I would've dropped underground already...but then again it ain't worth it considering her strength. Instead of retrieving her she stiffened her hand holding a half tiger as she generated her chakra.

Ryuko pulled up as fast as she did appearing in three frames in front of Masuyo as if her presence skipped showing the incredible speed the girl moved. Fortunately, with the light gone she could analyze her opponent more clearly. Having Ryuko in close quarters was just where Masuyo wanted. Her muscles clenched as a sudden energy boost surged through her body as she pushed off the ground with both feet. The couple feet between both of them would be closed in a mere fraction as Masuyo intended to exchange a sword stroke for a body slam. Masuyo's adrenaline wore off as she was much more nimble on her feet with the resuming pain in her palm and soon to be ribs as the priestess' blunt edge whipped into her side. It undoubtedly broke a rib and cracked the neighboring one, the sting and pain following through. Despite the leather she wore which was backed by metal plating inserts it did not offer a shell-like defense that a breastplate would, but instead reduced direct contact.

However getting stricken with a bar of metal going at the speeds it did was nothing to particularly shrug off. Yet, in the pain of accepting the sword stroke Masuyo was already in hot pursuit, body lowered and driving her right shoulder into the body of Ryuko before she could follow up with her secondary plan in attempting to nail her with kunai. The strength and speed put into her charge was placed so she could drive Ryuko dozens of meters across the battlefield, and fortunately for Ryuko, she would lose momentum and tumble across the dirt instead of imprinting into the concrete walls of the arena. Despite that, the magnitude of the impact was plenty to cause heavy damage to the girl given her durability, well enough to break some bones given the direct body slam to the rib cage.

The Stuff:

Without a giant shuriken in the way to partially obsucre her vision Ryuko couldn’t fail to notice as Masyuo shifted into the familiary fighting stance for the Arhat Fist that the priestess knew so well.  It seemed crazy that she’d be up against another hand to hand specialist right in the first round of the tournament.

Well if the huntress wanted to rumble then that’s exactly what they would do,  Ryuko had been trying to get into close range from the start so she had zero objections to that.  As she nailed Masuyo just like she had been planning to the Battlemaid proved exactly how stubborn she was by continuing to charge forward intent on delivering her body slam despite the damage she had just taken.

Ryuko wondered if her opponent had even noticed the enchantment that had been placed on her with the successfully strike.   Hopefully that at least would make the other jounin easier to wear down into submission.   The priestess wasn’t sure if she could win this but by Hakkin she would do her best to weaken Masuyo so that her teammate and fellow thundercat Shimiko could finish her off in the next round if she somehow failed to stop her here.

Despite being able to see it coming the attack was so fast that the priestess didn’t have much time to react. Planting her feet and securing herself to the ground with chakra just like as if she was climbing a wall she braced herself for impact.  

She wouldn’t have the time throw the kunai like she had originally been planning but their was nothing to stop her from simply pointing the sharp implements towards the person rushing her down at the last possible moment when it would be too late to avoid.

Between her erratic movements making her movement harder to see and Masyuo’s extreme speed the other girl likely wouldn’t even be able to see the knives in her way until she had already ran straight into them all full force.  

Still even if she stabbed the other Jounin in the arm, they where only small knives after all not full swords.  It wasn’t like she’d be hitting a vital spot and it would do nothing to stop the collision that would follow, hopefully one accompanied by the splash of blood.  

A loud clang filled the air as Masuyo’s shoulder collided with Ryuko’s chainmail.  Even with her armor and padding she had felt that one, letting out a gasp of pain but refusing to give any ground as her strength which was every bit the girls equal at the moment prevented her from being thrown back.

Still it would be a small price to pay for successfully executing one of her end game plans.  If even one kunai managed to penetrate Masuyo’s skin a surge of chakra would flow thought the Priestess’s hands and the string connecting the two into the huntress paralyzing her on the spot.

Ryuko's stuff:

With her shoulder reeled back Masuyo lunged into her opponent sending her shoulder backed by her body weight and strength into the point of impact. It was a direct impact on her end feeling every bit of energy dumped into the shoulder charge. Body of their bodies rocked like an earthquake as to Masuyo's surprise that neither of them lost any ground. The ground beneath them cracked as dirt was pushed out like a nova around them. In the midst of her body slam she was greeted by the sword stroke as well as an unexpected attack as the Jounin's forearm had a sudden surge of a sharp, stinging pain before it began to feel like it was swelling with the kunai planted just an inch and a half into her muscle tissue. But it was penetration nonetheless.

Masuyo's senses were brought back to normal given the stalemate of movement. She saw where she went wrong as the Kumogakure Jounin deftly concealed a kunai within her movement to generate more damage. But that was just part of it. At a moment too late Masuyo noticed the translucent wire running from the kunai's ring and into her hip pouch. This could've meant a lot of things. Ryuko could channel fire through the wire or lightning, which would be predictable given her nationality. The technique Ryuko decided was a game winning move and Masuyo knew she was well in a pickle when the wire began to glow the celestial blue hue associated with raw chakra. The moment the energy ran down the kunai blade and her body she felt a warm fuzz flash through her body as Ryuko's chakra invaded her flesh. "The Stone Needle Technique. 'Always wondered how it felt being a victim to it." Masuyo said, chuckling at the end as she struggled to move. Despite her enhanced form, breaking the grasp was impossible. The technique invaded the chakra network directly. As long as the opponent continued to feed their energy into the wire they could hold the victim indefinitely.

Given her trapped position her body began to tense itself up again seemingly ignoring the injuries she sustained. That is, as long as she did not disturb them. A cracked palm, punctured forearm, a broken rib and a cracked rib beat her up pretty good. And for a moment she was beginning to feel like she was coming down to them, yet her stubborn nature followed through right when she needed it to. The pain resided for now, but she was stuck. "Ya know, if you came at me with the intent to kill you could've possibly won this sooner. Jounin are elite Shinobi after all. It's necessary to play rough if you wanna beat one. You using the blunt edge of your sword speaks volumes about you wanting to pull your punches." Masuyo's muscles would tense up as if she was trying to force her way through the binding technique, yet her body wouldn't even quiver in response.

Masuyo would roll her eyes up to Ryuko to look at her the best she could. "I understand the concept good sportsmanship, but putting on the kiddie gloves...you must have a soft spot for me. Why'dcha show mercy to a foreigner?" Masuyo would ask genuinely intrigued by her opponent. Although she did not recognize Ryuko, Masuyo wanted to make it a point to remember her name. It was not often she found a ridiculously good opponent that could match her in close quarters, and even exceed her in some key areas.

The Stuff:

Ryuko winced from the pain of taking the body slam head on,  causing her calm mind technique to fall apart bringing her awareness of the world around her back to normal.  It would take her a moment to recompose herself but the question was would she even need to?  She hadn’t fully been expecting her little trick to work and already been calculating in her head what to do next, trying to stay several moves ahead.

It was only when the Huntress began talking instead of launching another attack that she realized that she had successfully ensnared her opponent. Letting out a deep breath the priest ess decided to relax her fighting stance slightly,  no need to keep using the disturbance taijutsu which drained large amounts of stamina with every breath here but she remained weary that this might be some kind of trick to get her to lower her guard.

Until the winner was declared the fight wasn’t over.  Maybe Masuyo was simply stalling for time trying to engage her in conversation but Ryuko wasn’t about to entertain her.  You could learn a lot about exchanging fists with someone and she had a feeling the other woman hadn’t quite given up yet.

“Are you going to surrender already or do I have to be cliche and hold my sword to your throat?” she asked after Masuyo made her remark about always wondering what the stone needle technique felt like to be caught in.   The fact that the battlemaid knew exactly what jutsu this was was all the more reason to not chat it up with her quite yet.   While strong it was hardly foolproof, let alone escape proof, given enough time she was sure the konoha Kunoichi would find a way to slip free.

For precautions sake she reached out hand sword still clutched tightly inside it and attempted to brush a finger against gently against Masuyo’s injured hand which would send a small painless jolt of electricty into her nervous system scrambling it.   She’d still be able to talk but if somehow found a way to break out of her ensnarement she’d find moving around a heck of lot harder then she had before.  

If at any moment it looked like her foe was beginning to break free Ryuko’s sword would be on her throat in a flash.  Assuming Masuyo either surrendered or the Proctor finally called the match, then and only then would Ryuko relax and release the binding jutsu before chatting it up.  After that the rest of the conservation continue as normal.

“Tis simple really. With all due respect Masuyo-san you’re one of the best of the best Jounin around.  I needed to see for myself if I could capture you, because if I could that meant I could capture practicality anybody.” she said humbly showing just how much she respected her opponent.   Even after having won the match she knew it could have just as easily gone the other way.

“Don’t get me wrong, I fight with intent to kill when necessary but as a devote follower of Hakkin I prefer to avoid needless bloodshed.  This was merely an exhibition match not a war,  as we are not enemies what would finishing you off even accomplish but depriving me of a worthy adversary or perhaps even a potential ally?” she asked holding out her hand in the seal of Reconciliation for Masuyo to complete.

Ryuko stuff:

Being ensnared by a paralysis technique nonetheless was typically a death sentence to those lacking the necessary tools in the stickiest of situations. Her attempt at small talk was immediately shot down by Ryuko. You're not as green as you act. The thought traced her mind as her opponent implored her surrender. Ryuko was burning stamina during Masuyo's attempt to stall which was the reason she tried to entertain her further. The Jounin did specialize in indirect combat and not straight arena battles. This meant she was most efficient in finding her opponent's weakness and exploiting them. Initially Ryuko seemed naive and soft-hearted which was something she could use as leverage to win. Masuyo smirked when Ryuko spoke followed by a chortle as she breathed letting out a short sigh. "Nah, you don't have to." During her exhalation with her sigh her lips puckered suddenly as she sharply let out a jet of air aimed at the kunai lodged in her forearm. A small current of air exited her lips and quickly formed into a fist-sized sphere during its brief flight from her mouth to the blade in her arm. The compressed air bullet would forcefully break the kunai in two while wringing it out of her arm traveling the same path as the wind technique into the dirt. When the technique left her lips her skin began to shift several tones darker into a hazel brown from her head down to the tops of her shoulders.

The inherent flaw with the Stone Needle Technique is it relied on constant contact with the weapon or cording used. The kunai lodged in her arm was doomed to stay there if Ryuko wished to sustain the paralysis technique, which of course made it a sitting duck for a rescue attempt, or in Masuyo's case, a self-assisted rescue.

In the split moment the air bullet made contact with the kunai was the moment her body's functions resumed to normal. She did not waste any time retreating from the woman's close range. Assuming Ryuko attempted to make contact with her hand in attempts to inject her with another pseudo-paralysis technique Masuyo responded with another brief exhale firing another one of these compressed air bullet at Ryuko's wrist. This was followed by proper evasive maneuver by retreating her arm back and hand away from her opponent's grasp. If Ryuko's hand continued on its crash course it would be greeted with a fast-impacting air bolt which would burst on impact causing some intense damage to the area of impact. With both knees bents Masuyo pounced back away from Ryuko to clear space between her and her opponent attempting to clear a fifty meter gap on her first attempt.

The Stuff:

Just because Ryuko tended to act nice people thought she was naive, inexpereinced. They tended to forget that she was a battle hardened warrior. She was a Vestal of Hakkin, the dragon god of war and wisdom. They didn’t call the woman who served him battle priestess for nothing. Masuyo was about to learn first hand just how hard she could be when push came to shove.

As the huntress said that Ryuko wouldn’t need to put a blade to her throat the Priestess felt a chill up her spin, a divine message from her lord that if she let the woman continue things would go terribly bad for her.

Ryuko had been watching eagle eyed, her sword at the ready for the slightest sign of Masuyo attempting to break free. As the Jounin opened her mouth to take a deeper breath then what would be necessary to surrender Ryuko intervened shoving her blade right up against the other Jounin’s throat so hard the edge would began to dig into the flesh drawing blood preventing her from launching her air bullet at the threat of her imminent demise.

Even if by some miracle Masuyo managed to get one bullet off despite the fact Ryuko had been basically at point blank range their was the small matter of the fact she had two kunai dug into her arm. The fist sized sphere might be enough to beak and dislodge one of the kunai but it it simply didn’t have the size to hit both.

Nor would she be able to knock them out and free herself before Ryuko was able to touch her other hand and use the body Pathway Derangement on the her like she had originally planned. They where too close to each other for Masuyo slowed down as she was for to effectively pull away before being tagged.

“Liar.” muttered Ryuko disappointed that the other woman had attempted to push things on even when the priestess pretty much had her dead to rights. Masuyo really was stubborn like an ox not knowing when to give up. “Hey Proctor, call the fight already!” she exclaimed loudly. This wasn’t supposed to be a death battle, why was he letting it drag on?

Ryuko stuff:

Masuyo's attempt of sleigh of hand was foiled by the opponent's sharp sense of situational awareness. The priestess' sword would make a quick movement against Masuyo's neck, yet to her demise Masuyo's flak jacket was equipped with a solid neck guard which had been reinforced with metal inserts granted by Kameko. On top of her headband which she wore like a collar her neck was not as vulnurable as one would hope. Despite this, the pressure emitted from the force Ryuko exerted and the chilling aura given off by the blade was enhanced tenfold after experiencing its effects firsthand. She was stubborn, but not retarded. A mere repositioning of the blade would be enough to do her in or damage her pretty face, and certainly she could not afford any of those.

"Alright alright. Guess you have this one. You have my forfeit." Masuyo said almost biting back on her words. Submission was easy, but not against another woman. Especially one younger than herself. As her body relaxed from all the battle tension being released she started to feel the effects of what she had done to herself. Her palm was feeling sore and undoubtedly tender with pressure. The two stab wounds on her arm were more or less easy to ignore given they were still fresh, but overtime would become sore with recovery. It all did not measure up to the status of her ribs with one being broken and the other cracked making the armor she carried and simply standing up more laborious.

Given Ryuko deactivated her technique or was forced to stop by the proctor Masuyo would regain mobility and fix her posture to an upright one feeling the pain in her torso as she did. With her free hand she grabbed both of the kunai and pulled them from her flesh letting them fall onto the ground. She'd clench her fist and watch her forearm react. She'd lose a bit of blood but nothing concerning telling her there were no veins broken. The flexing of her forearm shocked her with a bit of sharp pain from her stab wounds obviously, but once against her palm. I should probably get that checked out, along with my ribs. Wouldn't be surprised I broke a thing or two.

The victor would be announced in Ryuko's name following the forfeit as the crowd would go berserk in cheers. To top it off I lost some money on myself...guess that's what I get for my arrogance. Though, despite the difficulty in making her submit she was no sour loser. "You ain't so bad, ya know? Maybe we could grab a drink sometime. I'm staying at Kyoto Hotel. Stop by the bath if you're interested." Masuyo wrapped up her offer with a smile before turned the other direct. She would first collect the spear head she lost during battle. Although the wooden shaft was totaled the pointy end was still intact and completely usable as long as it was fitted with a new wooden staff. That would get sealed back in her scroll as she paced back into her end of the arena where she descended the narrow passage and back into the blood works. From there she would see about checking out.

The Stuff:

[Exit]

Ryuko hadn’t really noticed the neck guard but even if she hadn’t she wouldn’t have cared much. Her sword the Hakkin’s fang was top notch in quality. It wasn’t one of the very best in the world but it was just a step below that able to cut though things that ordinary store bought swords couldn’t dream of slicing. With the amount of force she was currently putting behind her sword there wasn’t much on earth she couldn’t chop.

Glaring into Masuyo’s eyes she silently prayed her opponent would surrender this time or the proctor would call the fight. If the stubbon woman called her bluff instead she wasn’t sure what she would do. She wanted to win and get to Nozomi but was she really willing to kill for it? Luckily that wasn’t a question that would need answering as the huntress finally gave in the ghost and packed it in.

Returning her sword to it’s sheath and undoing the jutsu that was keeping the other woman paralyzed Ryuko gently reached a hand out to help remove the kuani from her skin. Half to retrieve them and half to ensure no further damage was done when taking them out. But it seemed she didn’t need to bother as Masuyo yanked them out unceremonious before tossing them aside.

Damn was she tough shurgging off the damage like that. The wounds on her arm where shallow and with proper treatment wouldn’t even leave a scar behind but it that had happened to her it would have stung at least.

All things considered the fight have been seriously close. If it had continued much longer Ryuko would have been in danger of either exhausting herself of having to pull out her trump card to continue which came with it’s own risks making her more vulnerable to counter strikes.

Ryuko might have won this partciualr match but the results if they had do it all over again from zero was up in the air. One wrong move, one mistake and the outcome could have been very different. To make thigns worse now that the battle maid had seen what she could do a future rematch would be that much more difficult.

Where the results really worth it just to move on to the next round when she would have to face one of her own teammates? Today the taste of victory was very bittersweet indeed. Filling away the intervention in her memory Ryuko made her away out of the arena floor. She needed to rest and resupply before the next round.

[exit]