Hiding Like A Mole [ToW]

Mental Molehill:

Did Ari ever mention how she hates the cold here? If not, she does now as the bitter cold winds claw at her figure. The Land of Frost is no joke when it comes to the cold, and thankfully Ari was smart enough from her life living in warmer mountains to bring winter clothing. Snow crunched under each step, but the sounds were drowned out from the howling wind over these snow-capped mountains. She was alone here, or so Ari thought as she was coming upon an outpost located at the summit of Twin Peaks.

The outpost sported a sturdy wall of stone as there were four watchtowers that Ari can see. Even though it was night, the snow makes it easier for those at higher altitude to spot a dark figure walking around the frozen tundra below them. This outpost sports some stone buildings, but as to what they are exactly Ari couldn't make out that much. Supposedly, the outpost is also built into the mountain as well, meaning that Ari will more than likely have to find a way to get in there. Either way, Ari had a mission to do. Ari was hired to assist a Foehn Union spy's escape before the Black Hand or the Tsukumogai finds him first. An easy job, but the problem is that Ari has no idea where exactly in the outpost he was. Which means she needs to search for him.

Ari is garbed in her usual armor of steel mail shirt, leather spaulders, leather cuisse and faulds. On both of her arms and legs are steel guards with a pair of spring-loaded mechanisms on her arm guards. Of course, Ari has the headband of Konohagakure tied around her head which kept her silver-like hair away from her face. On her leather belt that wraps snug around her waist is a hip pouch that contains her tools, and on her right thigh is a holster that holds exactly three kunai. Held in her right hand is the bo staff which Ari has been using to support herself in the case that she steps on something frozen and starts to slip.

"Something tells me that getting up here was the easy part… oh well." Ari whispered to herself as she purposefully lowers her small body as the thick fur coat wraps tightly around her to keep herself warm. Her hands are covered in mittens as well, but in any case she does her best to blend in with the shadows so to speak as she approaches the outpost. The way it was built, the outpost blocks any path to go beyond it unless someone goes through it. Ari's stormy grey eyes not only keeps a wary watch over at the outpost, but she also keeps an eye out above her at the peaks. As she never knows when someone will try to take the high ground.

Chen had practically begged his sensei to let him go on a foreign excursion although "beg" was probably a strong word. For Chen, begging consisted of asking politely more than once and actually giving solid reasons as to why he should be permitted to accept a foreign assignment. The Tsuchikage valued neutrality and thus was reluctant to allow Chen to take part in Minor Nation squabbles. Chen had argued that the only way he would grow as a shinobi, is if he experienced conflict. He wasn't hungry per se for fighting, he was hungry for growth and glory. This was the best way to get it.

Chen had been hired by the Black Hand to capture this mole. He was on the opposite end of the mountain quite a bit aways from Ari although equisdistant to the fortification itself. The two were approaching from opposite directions and their prey lay in the center. Chen sped towards the location running with his arms trailing behind him. He was bundled in a black cloak and was wearing a black cloth around half his face. Now that his identity was obscured his actions could not be traced back to Iwagakure no Sato. Chen melded into the ground and used Hiding Like A Mole to travel up and through the mountain. His destination? The basement of the outpost.


Learned Hiding Like A Mole

(Details to be posted later, too tired atm)

So far so good, Ari thought to herself as she snuck up close enough to this outpost without definitely being spotted. She isn’t sure if this is the safe distance to submerge herself into the earth, as Ari isn’t sure if using chakra would trigger some kind of sensory field. However, as Ari concluded, if they had something like that then they probably have already detected her. So taking a deep breath, molding the chakra into the ground beneath her which shift like water, Ari submerged under the snow and stone before moving to infiltrate the outpost.

In which case, detecting nothing strange as it is, Ari comes up into the surface behind some kind of storage warehouse. Crates and a barrel serve as shrouding herself from sight in the small open courtyard. From there, Ari deftly moves quick around the buildings as she nimbly climbs over supporting logs and even a fenced wall. All so that Ari can reach the point where a closed door could be seen that leads deeper into the mountain itself. More than likely it is the basement, but the problem was that there were two guards positioned there as well. Ari, crouched behind a stockpile of firewood, gauged the distance between herself and that door.

Channeling the doton chakra once more, Ari slips into the earth once more before she moves in the direction of the basement. Which, to her surprise, a dimly lit corridor was right beneath her feet as Ari dropped from the ceiling. Acrobatic as she was, Ari angled herself just right to tumble forward into a crouch position as she landed. Her stormy grey eyes quickly shift around to gather her surroundings. That was when Ari heard the distant sounds of footsteps coming from behind her just around the corner. Her instincts kicked in as Ari leaped up with a 90 degree flip to stick both hands and feet on the ceiling so that Ari will stick. As the result, her hood came loose, but Ari was in the position to get a look at the newcomer. Coming around the corner was a lone guard with short dark hair and yet had pale skin. The guy was carrying a lantern, but he seemed unfocused, yawning even.

”Man, why can’t they just pick a spot that’s warmer than this place? Like what’s wrong with just going down the mountain a little into the Land of Hot Springs? This is so unfa-” The guard wasn’t her man, so as he was passing by her. Ari unstick herself from the ceiling with a quick flip. Utilizing mostly strength from her drop and her Strong Fist style, Ari slams her fist on top of the guard’s head which is rewarded with an audible oof. Without missing a beat, Ari followed up with the motion of her flip to slam both feet of hers against the square of his back. Not only staggered from the punch to the head, but the guard stumbled to be slammed against the stone wall. The kinetic energy from her fall was used against the guard, so while Ari still fell on her back. It was a soft landing all things considered, and Ari quickly recovered by pushing herself up with her hands beside her head and proceeded to land on her feet. Then Ari proceeded to rush forward to the center of this basement.

Learning Hiding Like A Mole

Chen's infiltration of the compound went smoothly. He hadn't really thought to fool any sensors but he did his best to go as deep underground as he could. When he emerged it was in one of the many basements of the secret base. He slowly rose into the damp and molden cellar. He was hidden by a group of barrels and had narrowly missed a group of guards that were patrolling this level. The lad activated his Rinnegan and utilized his Chakra Visualization ability to ascertain the power level of those staffing the base. They didn't seem to be particularly powerful. He blinked and the lavender eyes disappeared just as quickly as they had appeared. He had a physical description to go off of but he knew that he couldn't very well search the entire building by himself. He would probably be caught before getting a glimpse into every holding cell and room of this base. Chen decided that his best option would be to smoke out the enemy and that meant starting a fire.

A sadistic smile made its way across his face as he smelled the familiar scent of strong spirits. He had burrowed into wine cellar. Perfect. Chen flickered through a particularly lengthy set of handseals and conjured several fireballs in the area near him. The dim fire drew the attention of one of the guards sitting at a wooden table. The guard approached slowly and Chen raised the mass of fireballs into the air surprising the man.

"Perish."

He sank back into the ground using hiding like a mole and tunnled away from the structure. As he did so, he brought the fireballs down. The thirty fireballs hit the barrells that he had been hiding behind causing a veritable amount of destruction. The barrels burst releasing wine, hard liquor, and moonshine. The explosian was loud and rocked the entire building. Flames cascaded upwards into the rooms directly above the wine cellar and although the building was lined with stone foundations it was poorly ventialted. Coincidentally, another kunoichi had tunneled into the same basement as he. She'd notice the intense heat, the mass amount of smoke, and the sudden activity of the guards. The whole building would soon catch aflame and though it probably wouldn't collapse it would generate enough smoke to force an evacuation. From there, Chen could pick out his target and any who other mercenaries present that had intentions contrary to his own.

Chen tunneled outside the building and waited underground. He would use the seismic sensing ability inherent in Hiding Like A Mole to ascertain where most of the people would congregate.

Learned:

Hiding Like A Mole [C-Rank] - 150
Demon Lantern [B-Rank] - 250

448/350

Things were progressing rather smoothly for Ari as she was quick on her feet to avoid detection, and swift to deal with the guards that did spot her. However as she quickly realized from oddly warm it was getting and the fact that the ceiling now has a blanket of dark smoke. The kind that’s suffocating with poor ventilation. Of course, there was also a distant sound of an explosion as the floor itself lightly rumbled. It was a quick exchange too, and with the smoke that followed after Ari didn’t like where this was going.

Raised voices of alarm echo throughout the halls as Ari comes to a halt as the corridor splits off to two directions. Too many voices to discern exactly what is being said, but least to say the voices were coming from the right path as there was the flickering orange glow with dancing shadows over there. On Ari’s left however, it seemed to be rather quiet, but it could also be a dead end for all Ari knew. Still where Ari came from seemed to be the main corridor to the exit, and aside from a bunch of closed doors there wasn’t another route that she saw. So, Ari pulled up her coat to mask her mouth and nose to reduce the smoke intake. Then she does the similar trick as last time to leap up with a twirling flip to ‘lay’ flat against the ceiling as she angled both feet and one hand to magnetize herself to the ceiling. Her other hand remains to keep the coat over her face since she didn’t bring a face mask. It’s not like there’s a pandemic in this nation! (coughs)

So Ari waits as the clouds of smoke shroud her form and her stormy grey eyes shift from one corridor to the other as she is ‘laying’ on her back against the ceiling. Eventually a small crowd of crowds came running from the flickering orange corridor. Each of them were yelling as some of them even had 2nd degree burns on them.

”Whoever jinxed us I’m gonna stab you!” One of them shouted as Ari remained still. Her eyes analyzed each of their faces, but none was her target.

”Pretty sure it was those guys down at the cellar, sir!” Another shouted in response as they turned into the main corridor.

”They can be screaming and charred for all I care! My Diamond Dust of 672 was down there! I was saving it for when I retire!” Yet the guy looked like he was still in his mid-thirties? That didn’t make much sense to Ari, but then again she never did see the appeal of drinking alcohol. Nor would she ever understand how someone would stab people over a bottle of wine.

They kept going as their voices were soon drowned out by mere muffled words. From the not so burning hallway is another crowd, but they’re not guards this time. Some of them wore lighter armor, but there were at least half a dozen who wore coats. Researchers? It was hard to discern at the moment, but amongst them Ari found her man. He was kind of skinny though with shaggy brown hair, a stubble beard outlines his jaw, and he wore what Ari assumed to be a lab coat of sorts. Not really a fighter type from what Ari can see, but that didn't mean he lost his value. It just meant that if a fight sparked then Ari assumed that she would be the one who can fight. Which was kind of the point of her job, wasn't it?

At any rate, as the Mole was turning to the main corridor, Ari simply dropped from the ceiling and tailed close behind the Mole. Of course Ari taps her hand on the Mole’s shoulder, and although he did jump as he turned his head to see her. Ari lowered her coat over her mouth so that she could be heard clearly to him.

”Once we’re out, we need to leave immediately.” The Mole took a second to process the information, or rather to discern whether she’s friend or foe.

”So I am going to assume that explosion just now was your doing?” It was an understanding question, but Ari shook her head in disagreement. By this point Ari lingers back to more or less shadow behind the Mole. Blocking the line of sight from the others up ahead as it were.

As they neared the entrance/exit with the air choked in smoke. Ari formed the Tiger handseal to conjure two shadow clones of herself. With these two shadow clones they would run past the Mole and essentially become the front shield while Ari continued to be the rear guard. Once they ran up the flight of stairs, everyone that manned the outpost was positioned roughly 10 meters away from the entrance as if they’re expecting it to collapse. Upon the sight of the Ari, her clones, and the Mole. They all tensed up and some of them even drew out katanas. Ari’s first shadow clone charged up the doton chakra within her as she took a deep breath. Meanwhile, Ari forced the Mole to suddenly change direction to the left with her second clone. The first shadow clone feinted a ninjutsu that was going to be directed at the guards as she immediately turned her head to the left, or otherwise the west side wall and spat out a volley of boulders. Each boulder crashed against the structure as most of it crumbled down, and created an opening as both Ari and her second clone grabbed the Mole. Then both leaped up on top of a storage building, and then leapt over the crumbled wall onto the southern side of the outpost. Which happened to be the side they needed to be as the trio landed in the snow. By this point, Ari went ahead and dismissed her first shadow clone.

Used Shadow Clone x2
Shadow Clone 1 Used Stone Pistol -3CP
Shadow Clone 1 Dismissed

Stamina: 128/135

Chen could sense the crowd forming. People were rushing out of the building and many of them were armed. Chen wasn't sure if the Mole was among them but he figured that his strategy would have at least caused some movement for him to analyze. Once a sufficiently large enough crowd had gathered, Chen rose his head from under ground and peeked at the destruction before him. Luckily, everyone's eyes were on the burning building so they wouldn't even notice his little noggin erupt from a small patch of dirt. Chen kept his eyes focused on those exiting. It appeared as though mostly everyone had made it out and the Mole was not among them. Chen was about to submerge himself back underground to start his search again when he saw a man barreling out of the structure.

The man was flanked by two shadow clones. They took the form of a strikingly beautiful girl with silver hair. Chen hesitated for a moment as he found himself immensely attracted to his target's guards. He pushed the emotion aside and returned to his darker self once he saw them round a corner to get away. Chen emerged from the dirt fully and struck the ground with his palms. The group of guards were still standing in awe as Ari made her getaway although some were now running in their direction. Ari had managed to destroy a portion of the wall and it was now obvious that she was his enemy. She aimed to help the Mole escape whereas his job was to capture the man on behalf of the Black Hand. A massive hold opened up in the ground just before the clones could pick up the Mole and leap with him to the other building. Chen's goal was to shift the earth downwards so that the Mole and the clones would instead fall into a 30 foot pit. If this was succesful, he'd slip back underground and tunnel his way towards Ari and the Mole. He needed to knock the man out as carrying a live prize was far harder than an unconscious one.

Unlike Ari his presence was still unknown. He had taken advantage of her rather brazen escape attempt and in doing so he was trying to pit her against the guards. This would allow him to snatch the Mole while she did her best to escape the trap and fight off the shinobi inhabitants of the compound.

Earth Release: Moving Earth Core - [B-Rank] 250 WC

410/250 LEARNED

The plan worked out for the most part for Ari. She got out with the Mole, made herself a path to escape, and Ari clearly had the ability to get out of the outpost. Things were going smoothly until the building Ari, Mole, and her Clone was about to land rapidly dropped. Ari recognized that to be the work of the Earth Moving Core, and while she could have countered it on her own not only would she have to put her hands on the ground; but it would also mean she'd let go of the Mole and for all she knows it could be like a tug of war with earth.

So, being able to perform Doton without using handseals proved to be a boon on her part as Ari molds the Doton chakra within her body before releasing it into the earth on one side of the wall in the hole. She was fairly quick about this as they dropped roughly 10 meters before a thick wall of earth instantly rose up from Ari's left side. However, it didn't just raise up, Ari angled the wall to a roughly 45 degree angle. So the top of the wall would slam into Ari as she braced for the impact and served as a shield for the Mole. The impact unfortunately was enough to force her shadow clone to disperse, but Ari kept her grip on the Mole even as her right shoulder and ribs throb in pain.

If this is successful, the wall will continue to push them up onto the other side of the pit. The momentum would send both Ari and the Mole skyward as they fly over the destroyed wall several meters above ground. The snow acted like a cushion in a way, but in end Ari lost her grip on the Mole as both of them were scattered roughly 5 meters apart. Ari, being quick on her recovery, flipped her body in a graceful manner so that she would not only tumble in the snow to distribute the impact in a safe manner, but Ari also would slam her palms into the earth as she starts to build up a 20 meter high volcano in front of her. Earth from underground begins to rapidly pull like a strong current into the chute were it'll violently shoot anyone that's underground higher into the freezing cold air for 10 meters. If successful and her hidden attacker(s) are indeed underground. This will practically draw them out, but the real risk is that they're on a mountain range. So there's a real risk that the chute and the wind currents might send the attacker(s) off the side of the mountain.

Learning Opening Earth Rising Excavation (471/200)
Used Earth-Style Wall -5CP (Affinity)
Used Earth Release: Opening Earth Rising Excavation -5CP (Affinity)

Stamina: 118/135

Chen sensed as his quarry descended into the ground, then he noticed something strange happen. The earth around them began to shift. Earth Release... he predicted as the Mole and his bodyguard were launched upwards and out of the pit. Chen thought quickly and realized that at the speed and force they were going at, they wouldn't just get out of the pit. They'd be in the air. And an air battle, is one that he was was sure he could win. The second they had flown into the sky, Chen revealed himself.

Eye candy...that's all she is. She can't face me in combat! I am a student of the Tsuchikage!!

He leapt out of the ground and into the air. He had mastered the Light-Weight Rock Technique just before going on this mission. It was part of the reason why he had been so confident in his ability to succeed. The jutsu had been given to him by his sensei Masaru after a job well done on the training grounds. The Tsuchikage had used it against him to devastating effect and now its power was his own. He had spent many hours practicing it. It was all a matter of getting the exact chakra distributions right. It was his people that had given the gift of chakra to these primitive simians so why should he not be able to wield one of its finest and most exclusive ninjutsu? When he began training with that sentiment in mind he was able to unlock the power of that and many more techniques. He zipped towards the airbourne Ari and as he approached, he formed several handsigns. A large gust of wind swept over the two blinding them with sand and assorted rocks. Simultaneously, a large stone dragon's mouth would open up beneath them.

The men down below were in total uproar. By now it was well known that their base was under attack and many were running to and fro. They didn't interrupt the battle happening in the sky probably because it was all so sudden for them. They were used to drinking by the fire and having comfort women visit them. The idea that their fortress could be assaulted by two umpjumped genin had never crossed their minds. It was truly a Black Swan event.

Its gaping maw open to receive its prize. Once he had disoriented them, Chen made his move. He flew directly into the Mole. The second before his body made contact with the man, he canceled the jutsu responsible for his flight and instead activated the Added-Weight Rock Technique. The result was an attempt to knock Ari away from the the Mole. Chen would apply the Earth technique to the Mole's body with the intention of freezing the snitch into an encasement of Earth. This would of course take time but as Chen descended with the Mole, he'd aim to land right into the Earth dragon's mouth. If successful, the earth dragon's trap would shut and it'd immediately duck underground to tunnel them away from the compound.

Chen wasn't sure why this Mole was so important but he guessed that harming the man was out of the question. Truth be told, the alien wanted nothing more than to rend the man's eyes out of its sockets. All of this effort and for what? The Mole was likely going to be killed no matter who got their hands on him. He probably knew too much and was too crafty to keep around. Chen wondered that if his opponent knew these things would she really be so dead-set on saving him.




Lightweight Rock: B-Rank Canon - 200 WC
Added-Weight Rock Technique: B-Rank Canon - 200 WC
Dust Wind Technique: B-Rank Canon - 200 WC

603/600

LEARNED

A small change of plan occurred when suddenly somebody started to fly through the air towards Ari. Most of her doton techniques required earth, but in this case it was why Ari took the effort of mastering her second element. Suiton. Her sharp eyes could see the cloaked stranger weaving handseals as he moved, but Ari was faster; she formed a Tiger handseal as large amounts of suiton chakra built up within the depths of her mouth. Spewing out of her mouth is a large wave of water in an attempt to crash against the assailant and send him back to the mountain. Or at least Ari assumed it was a he? Hard to tell with the cloak.

At any rate, the colliding wave of water is also to defend herself against the Dust Wind technique, and even then since they would only cancel each other out there was still the whole large body of water falling down due to the gravity. In which case would still put a barrier between the Mole+Ari and the cloaked figure. After the suiton technique left her lips, Ari proceeded to briefly split her chakra in half as she conjured a shadow clone. With a flip of her body, Ari spring boarded from her shadow clone to catch the Mole in her arms once again. As if to make matters worse, the impact of the water against the mountain causes large sections of snow to collapse from below altitude. Causing an avalanche to occur as it rapidly cascades down the peak.

This avalanche is to hopefully bury the dragon head that was below them. However by charging up small amounts of doton, Ari spits out a volley of small boulders that descends upon the assailant and two cleverly were sent down to plug the maw of the dragon. This hopefully enables Ari to safely land in the snow with the Mole still in her grasp, or if the large body of water is coming down along with the avalanche. Ari will instead magnetize her feet to glide along the freezing water downward with the Mole in hand.

Used Shadow Clone
Used Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave - B Rank Canon
Used Earth Release: Stone Pistol Technique - C Rank Canon (B rank Power/Speed)

Thanks to the power of flight Chen was moving faster but not fast enough. Ari saw him coming and executed a Suiton technique. Chen smirked as he realized that she was capable of utilizing two elements. He found these humans adorable. She must think quite highly of herself from being able to use two out of the five elements that his people had gifted them. Chen flew through the air quickly taking evasive action to avoid the torrent of water that cascaded downwards. Of course, this meant he couldn't get close enough to capture the Mole but given Ari's attack, he decided he didn't need to. Rather than cancel the jutsu, the Kimyōnakama merely flew higher, further, faster whereas Ari (who could not fly) had no choice but to submit to gravity. As he flew, Chen made several handseals before shooting his hands out. An arc of electricity burst forwards from his arms and made contact with the flood that Ari had spawned. There was a significant amount of water in the area. First by way of the technique itself and second by the heaping mounds of snow that was now rolling through the area. She had created an tsunami and avalanche but in doing so she had likely sealed her fate. The moment that Ari made contact with either, the electricity would be fired from Chen's arms and run through the water and fry both her and the Mole. The Mole would be badly harmed and shocked into a state of unconsciousness but it wasn't enough to kill him outright.

Chen continued to float in the air as he analyzed the situation from above. If there was one thing Iwa excelled at, it was apparently maintain air superiority. Chen allowed Ari to destroy the earthen dragon with the boulders. After all, it provided a welcome distraction from his lighting attack and would only make it more likely that she'd be unable to stay airbourne or not touch any of the copious amounts of water she had spawned in the area. For those that were aimed directly at him, he dodged artfully using his enhanced reflexes. Those that he could not avoid, he'd destroy with the wide arcs of electricity that had burst from his arms.


Lightning Release: Thunderbolt - C-Rank Canon 150 WC [Power B-Rank as a result of contact with water]

Upkeep: Lightweight Rock,

370/150


Stats:
Speed: D -> C+ [Lightweight Rock]
Coordination: C-> B+ [Lightweight Rock]

Ari knew that her attacker was at least just as decent with Doton techniques as she was, but she had no idea that her attacker was also capable of using Raiton either. Had she known, she wouldn’t have used such a tidal wave. At the same time Ari felt like that was the best option she had considering that she was airborne. As she spat out the boulders to crash against the dragon’s head to nullify said dragon from operating, her feet made contact with the rushing water and snow. Albeit the snow is not a good conductive for electricity, the freezing water that Ari erected however was the good conductor. The Raiton was powerful, when her feet made contact with the rushing water Ari bolt at high speed.

The Raiton caught her left foot that strongly electrocuted her as she made a surprised cry. Her entire left went numb as thousands of needles seemed to repeatedly stab along her skin. Water and snow spray on her body as she kept a firm grip on the Mole. With her leg out of commission right now, her right foot gliding along the water, Ari could only think of one thing.

”Hang on!” Ari calls out to the Mole as the deafening sound of water and snow overwhelm their voices. Ari briefly lets go of the Mole to form a single Tiger seal to create several hazy clones around her. It added a misty appearance around them as Ari followed up by grabbing the Mole once more before she allowed herself to sink into the water and what would be stone. Both Ari and the Mole were dragged into the mountain as the doton chakra shifted the rock and dirt around them. At the same time the snow swallowed where Ari and the Mole positioned. Based on the timing, it would appear like Ari collapsed with the mole and was swallowed up by the avalanche.

If successful, Ari would descend for the full 25 meters into the mountain before tunneling at an angle to essentially travel down the mountain at a rate of 15 meters per second. She silently cursed as Ari could see that her left foot held burnt marks and cracked skin as blood trickled down to her boots.

Used Hazy Clone - D Rank
Used Hiding Like A Mole - C Rank

Chen observed as his lightning attack hit home. The girl was certainly a genin like him. She had little experience and like most shinobi her age, she assumed that he was like other humans. It was rare for someone to have more than one element but Chen was not from this world and one of his many gifts was that of elemental mastery. The moment she released the Mole, he knew it was now or never. The boy made the Ram seal just as she formed the Tiger. He then shot out his hand and released a vortex of wind. The vortex zoomed in-between Ari and the Mole preventing her from re-establishing physical contact with him. The force of the wind was enough to pull him away and Chen was able to artfully manipulate it such that he remained airbourne while Ari would continue to fall. The Mole would be pushed into the sky by the vortex and then dropped off the side of the mountain where he'd presumably plummet to his death.

At least that's what would have happened if he didn't have a "guardian angel" looking out for him.

Chen flew to the man's rescue but as he did, he flickered through a set of seals and fired the Intelligent Hard Work technique onto the ground just as Ari would make contact. He wasn't entirely sure which Ari was the real Ari. There were a decent number of clones and the avalanche wasn't helping. Fortunately, the fireball didn't require precise contact. Instead, once it struck the earth, it would rapidly spread along the ground. This would ensure that the area up to fifty meters would be covered in flames. Much of the snow would melt and Ari who would be on the ground or perhaps partially submerged would likely be catastrophically burnt. Chen was counting on the fact that the girl had already injured her leg and thus would be in little position to avoid the flames. This was especially true since she was falling from a pretty impressive height.

Chen then banked hard through the sky as he followed the Mole down the side of the mountain. He could fly faster than the target fell so he was soon able to wrap his arms around the Mole's torso. The man was already either conked out by the electrocution or too hurt to fight back. He applied the Lightweight Technique to the subject and soon they were now both as light as a feather and with about 60 feet to spare. Chen then flew low and away from the mountain, intending to escape with the prize.


Used:
Fire Release: Intelligent Hard Work
Wind Release: Divine Mountain Wind

Both B-Rank so that's 400 WC

438/400 LEARNED

Upkeep: Lightweight Rock

To Ari, the plan was great, but again she did not expect her opponent to contain not just two, not three, but four elements at their disposal. So far she has witnessed the assailant use earth, raiton, fuuton, and now katon. The instant Ari failed to reapply her grip on the Mole, Ari placed this attacker to be roughly skilled with all of the elements as Ari was skilled with earth. It was at that moment that Ari decided to greatly change her game plan as originally she was just going to take the Mole and run off with him. However the persistence of her attacker was becoming clear to Ari that she needed to eliminate him. In order to do so, Ari needed to go beyond what people would normally do.

With unbridled fury as Ari almost instinctively assumed the stance of Spring Chant while simultaneously charging up large amounts of doton chakra. Not having the need to weave handseals done wonders as Ari leapt off the water to go after the Mole. Her leg hurts, but Ari pushes through the pain as suddenly. A chinese looking dragon of earth bursts through the side of the mountain just under Ari at incredible speeds. Simultaneously, another dragon of earth bursts forth above Chen’s level as multiple rocks cascaded down on them with a large boulder in the dragon’s maw to which the dragon will violently throw said boulder down at Chen’s location. A third dragon bursts through the mountains alongside Ari that proceeds to shield her from the lingering flames of Chen’s katon technique.

All of them were for one thing, and that was to give Chen a distraction to avoid while Ari manipulates her second and third dragon to pincer Chen as both dragons aimed to chomp down on him. Simultaneously each dragon manipulates their large bodies into a spiral that might as well have been a barricade with stone bars. Ari maintained to her dragon that she rode on to snatch the Mole by swallowing him whole into her dragon. If successful, Ari will turn her direction towards Chen with a defiant glare. Either way Ari will continue to assault Chen with her earthen dragons while she strings together a normally long set of handseals. Upon completion, the water within the avalanche suddenly seized in the air.

Ari willed her dragon to ascend up to its brethren as they added into the spiraling sphere of earthen dragons that used their large bodies to slam against Chen and attempt to bite at him. The whole point behind them was to overwhelm her assailant with sheer power and basically became a wrecking train. Sure he can fly, but Ari could control her dragons within a hundred meters with deadly accuracy. With her in the mix and the spiraling dragons would only add further confusion as to which dragon held the Mole and in which case held the Mole hostage.

Ari on the other hand isn’t going to be dormant during this chaos as she proceeds to leap off from her dragon in an attempt to slam her palm against Chen’s left shoulder. She didn’t know how much of his strength he had over her, but Ari’s palm becomes coated in doton chakra that if she succeeds in striking him whether he blocks or not. The doton will quickly latch itself onto Chen and crawl along his skin to force his hands behind his back. Where the doton will attach themselves to form skin-tight shackles, and to make things worse for him Ari manipulates the doton to coat Chen’s hands to the point where Chen wouldn’t be able to wiggle a finger.

If Ari fails then the doton chakra would remain in her hand as she sails past Chen, and with a flip of her body she’ll leap from one dragon to the next in a quick fashion.

[Used 3 Earth-And-Stone Dragons - B Rank (A rank Power, B rank Speed)
[Used Earth Release: Terra’s Grasp - B Rank]
[Learned Spring Chant 651/200 - C Rank]
[Used Water Dragon Jutsu]

When Ari decided to push off of the water rather than continue to fall downwards, Chen was astonished. To jump off of a badly damaged leg was truly a magnificent feat but in doing so he knew he had her right where he wanted her. It was nearly impossible to maneuver while in mid-air and doing so while badly injured greatly lessened any chance of escape. The sky was his domain and not her's. The moment he saw her jump he began to weave handsigns. During that time three earthen dragons would burst from various points around him. He fired a bolt of lightning at the stream of water she had just leapt off of and used it to invigorate and ricochet the streams of lightning. Fortunately, Thunderbolt allowed him to hit multiple targets at once and given that they were all within a range of 20 meters, they'd all be within the strike zone. The lightning fired from his hands, hit the water and then careened into the three dragons as well as Ari. The earth dragons would be totally destroyed given Raiton's superiority over Doton. The constructs and the boulder cargo one of them carried would be reduced to harmless rubble which pelted him from the sky. Ari who was now attempting to jump off water with a broken leg and was already in pain would have no room to maneuver from the second lightning strike.

Chen juggled the Mole in the air with Divine Mountain Wind and then grabbed him, applied the Lightweight Rock technique, and then flew away with him.


[Exit & Declaring Victory with Ari's Permission since he is on absence ]

Upkeep
Wind Release: Divine Mountain Wind
Lightweight Rock

Used:
Thunderclap