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The wind howled across the barren landscape of lightning, taking the high route the army had marched from the eastern coast of the country, traveling across the barren tundra of rock that would eventually lead them to the high lands, and then to the high mountains, in which Kumogakure rested.

Many Villages on the way had been torched, not a single living being was to see this army as it made its steady approach. Hundreds of scouts had been sent out to kill any enemy that might spot them, and already reports of cloud ninja patrols being eliminated had come pouring in.

Yuuan rode on a white steed that had been gifted to him upon his arrival, it was a beautiful horse and even though his sense of feelings were numbed, he thought he was growing fond of it. Hanmon was riding next to him on a brown horse, in rank Hanmon was actualy above him, but when it came to military matters he had always been given the lead.

He glanced back at his army.

Under a Jutsu of mass camuflage walked an army of Shinobi and regular soldiers, mercenaries and men at arms from the nations and villages of the water islands. It was an impressive sight.. There were 200 hundred battle ready Shinobi, which half was out scouting ahead of the army. It had to his annoyance not been made clear to him the different strenght levels, but the estimates were that it was mostly compromised of Chunin and Genin, with about 10% being of Jonin rank.

Yuuan knew that his Shinobi would be the most essential in the attack, but still he enjoyed more to watch the larger fraction of his force, the regular men. Marching in great collums, the men and women of the islands, armed to the teeth, were marching in formation, five thousand soldiers. Even without powers, that kind of number would make a difference in the upcoming battle.

Kuromachi-Dono! I have a report to give.

Announced a sudden visitor, a shinobi had appeared before him, causing his horse to shift nervously.

Yuuan: Speak.
Scout: The number of Kumo sentries and patrols are increasing, the amount of civilian population is aswell, I do not think the main army can march much further without being spotted, som-
Yuuan: Take fifty shinobi from our reserves and go out and make sure we are not.
Scout: Wha-a!? With all my respects, are you asking me to-
Yuuan: Lay waste to all life from the point you now stand to the edge of the mountains, every living thing, we must not be spotted before we are right at their gates.. Do you understand?
Scout: Ah... Yes.. Yes Lord Yuuan, I will do as you will.

As the scout vanished once again, Hanmon approached and rode up next to Yuuan.

Hanmon: You do not seriously belive that we will remain unseen for that long? The Kumo is not all born blind are they?

Yuuan looked annoyed at his brother, he was a man of virtue and one could compliment him on many things, but not his strategic prowess.

Yuuan: If they are spotted, all they will see are Water-nins running amock on their lands, they will belive that to be the only force in the area as the relationships between them are already strained. They will send out a force to deal with them and then I...

Hanmon listened then, as Yuuan explained his strategy to him, at the end Hanmon nodded eagerly, he had always been in awe of his brothers brilliant mind.

_________________________________________________

- Ten Hours Later -

A Kumo Sentry reports to the leadership of Kumogakure that about 150 shinobi is laying waste to the countryside just a few miles to the east.

In the depths of his Mansion, Psy was brooding over an old document under candlelight. The room was his study, and it was dark-lit everywhere with exception of the luminating candle casting dancing light upon his face as he studied the document with great scrutiny. Suddenly, a feeling he had not felt before hit him from nowhere.

"What.. this feeling.." He uttered into the darkness. It was like when he sensed someones Killing intent during a fight, but different. He got up, and looked around the room to check for assassins and thieves, before returning to his seat.

"This reeks of trouble.." The voice in his head told him. It belonged to the Hachibi, now dormant within Psy.

"I can smell it, but where is it coming from?" He replied to the beast.

"I cannot tell you, only you know that. Ive seen this before.."

Psy leaned back in his chair, obviously discomforted by this feeling of evil hanging in the air.
"Do tell, im due for a history-lesson anyway"

The Hachibi grunted, and told Psy a story from his old host Killer-bee. Once, he had aided the Nine-tails Jinchuuriki in mastering his Biju. Bee himself did not awaken this ability, but upon mastering the Nine-tails, Uzumaki Naruto immediately sensed the presence of an Akatsuki hiding in the form of Bee's newest weapon; The samehada. It was a unique situation. The hiding Akatsuki were supposed to be impossible to detect, but the Nine-tails jinchuuriki sensed him on his Ill intent alone. The story went on, and Psy connected the dots as it reached its conclusion: He had the ability, and it was firing like a blowtorch in the back of his mind, drilling the sensation of danger into him.

"Whats the range?"

"Hard to say, it depends on you. Bee didnt have this ability, you must have surpassed him somehow. This feeling is new to me too."

"Then, we better assume that whatever is giving off this feeling is close.."

Again, as he had done when he set out to meet with the Rocking Sage, he went to the east-wall of his study and opened the armory. His mind scanned the various equippment, wondering how one should prepare for something you dont even know is there. He chose the strategic approach, and grabbed his white cloak in favor of the Kumo Armor he had been rewarded with. In addition to numerous items, both strategic and sentimental. Agility and nimble tactics over power, as always~

______________________________________________________________________________

In the Raikages office, action had spawned from the elders in charge. Without the Raikage, it fell to the elders to manage Kumo, and there had not been time to elect a new Raikage. The report regarding the Shinobi Forces had just reached their ears, and the old couple now situated behind the Raikages desk opened their wrinkly mouths.
"Get every able-bodied shinobi out of bed. This is tactical play, scorched earth, no doubt about it.."
"Why ma? could just be hoodlums, hoho~" The old man next to her responded.
"150 of them? Quiet you old geezer, ive seen this before, i didnt get to be this old by being careless and stupid."
She stood up, an action which she barely managed to perform due to her old age and creaking bones. Her eyes radiating determination, a product of years upon years of experience both on and behind the frontlines.
"I cannot say exactly what is coming our way, but something is coming, ill bet my cane on it! Prepare our defences for Assault.."
She thought for a second before speaking up again.
"And send word for the Hachibi carrier, its been hiding in its nest for weeks. Get that weapon out in the open right away"
She said, her tone clearly not in favor of jinchuuriki's. Chari-Baasan was of the old school, only recognizing Tailed beasts and the humans they inhabit as weapons of mass destruction.
She didnt have much love Psy, who she saw as a blight upon Kumo. Blessed by the Raikage with great power, he now used it to brood within the walls of his own home. The might of the 8-tailed demon ox, caged inside the Mulander Mansion.

Resulting from Chari and Habanaka's orders (more like bickering), the security level of Kumo was stepped up. 150 Shinobi approached them, a force of considerable strength regardless of rank, and they needed to be ready. Shinobi everywhere rushed out of their homes, equippment and clothing still half-dressed as they rush to their posts.

On top of the Raikage's mansion, Misuto was seen looking out on the horizon. He felt that something was wrong. The air felt somewhat blood thirsty. Although it wasn't in any sort of a surprise to the Mizukage. He lost his village some time ago and Konoha was just recently assaulted. All that Misuto could think of was what Mei was doing at this moment. He wondered what the man could be planning. He took a deep sigh as he just wanted to relax. Ever since this whole situation took place, Misuto has been on edge. Not to mention the fact that Kumo's elders were having a meeting in the Raikage's office. Amane and Senken were also no where to be seen and they were Kirigakure's jinchuriki. The lost in power for Kiri was great and Misuto didn't know how to regain himself or his village.

???: "Mizukage-sama..."

From behind Misuto, Natsumi approched him. Even though Kiri was destroyed, she still acted as Misuto's messenger. The lost of Kirigakure was also a big toll on Natsumi but she was always there to support Misuto since he was the one responsible for the safety of his village. The stress level for Misuto was on a higher level then that of herself.

Natsumi: " The elders have gathered a great number of shinobi including some of Kirigakure's men. They believe there are shinobi forces close by and they want to increase Kumogakure's defence line."

Misuto: Could it be him?... "Natsumi, make sure that security routes are made for the villagers in case Kumogakure gets attacked."

Natsumi: "Yes Mizukage-sama."

As she took a bow, she disappeared using the flicker technique to follow Misuto's oders. Misuto had a stoic look on his face. He wasn't gonna have Kumogakure fall like Kirigakure had fallen. He had then bit both of his thumbs, performed the summoning hand signs and slammed both palms on the ground. The summoning glyphs were larger then normal as a large cloud of smoke burst out from the ground. From the smoke, came from four owls; an elf owl, a snow owl, a masked owl and a horned-owl. Each one of them being large enough to carry a passenger except the elf owl who was small enough to be on someone's finger.

Misuto: "Tezema, Musei, Hakuhen and Tsuno. I want each of you to take all corners of the village. Report back if you spot any strange activities."

Tezema (Elf Owl): "Finally! I get to do something."
Musei (Masked Owl): "Yes Mizukage-sama."
Hakuhen (Snow Owl): "I won't fail you."
Tsuno (Horned Owl): "..."

Following Misuto's orders, Tsuno took north, Tezema went south, Musei took east while Hakuhen went west. Misuto stood at his position, waiting to see what would be to come.

Even though, she was an ambu of the mist, kerushii was alone when the kumo ninja found her. The ambu, knowing of her history, and seeing the headband with three symbols; one of sand, one of earth, and one of mist growled out an order to her.

"The stand in Raikages have ordered all shinobi to the walls... an attack is imanint they fear..."

Kerushii nodded, turned and at her top speed ran for the south wall. She did not check with the misukage, after all... she was sort of a lone wolf and still not completely trusted by the kage of her villidge...

*resting on top of a building, I contemplate a curious cloud moving overhead. I'm broken from my reverie by multiple footsteps moving down on the street. I sit up and look over the edge of the roof, making note of the numerous kumo nin moving to and fro. I spot a few kiri nin and hop off the roof. landing at the base of the building, I move to intercept one of the kiri nin. waving my hand, I garner the attention of one of the nin and he moves towards me. he stops in front of me and i rattle off my question before he can ask me what i want*

"what's going on here? where's everyone going?"

kiri nin "some hostiles where spotted not far from here. the kumo elder staff has given orders to strengthen our defensive wall. some of the kiri nin are going to help secure the wall as well."

"but if everyone is going to the wall, who's going to keep a look out in the town? If the hostiles are shinobi, there are numerous ways to get past a wall unseen..."

kiri nin "I don't know...but my orders are clear. I gotta go secure the wall."

*with that the kiri nin runs off to catch up to the rest of his squad. I stay where I'm standing, thinking about these 'hostiles'. deciding to arm myself, I head back to the raikage manor*

"maybe the mizukage can clear my doubts"

I have that feeling again, the feeling of impending chaos and this time the cloud hangs over Kumogakure. Unlike the events that transpired at Konoha I think I shall have to play an active roll to save Kumo from destruction, I mean you can't have chaos if no-one is alive to cause it. There's also the upside of backing a select village to make it a super power over the others, this could make things quite interesting in the future.

As soon as I felt the tug of the chaos I left for Kumo and was just now arriving, the pull of the chaos getting stronger as the seconds passed by. Due to past actions it may not be wise to appear directly less I risk my life so I think it would be worth contacting their jinchuriki, he's sure to have some weight to his words if I can convince him that I'm here to help and not to hinder.

With all this is mind I tunnel my way up from the bowels off the earth under Kumo. As I approach the surface I feel for the jinchuriki's presence and head off in his direction, breaking the surface outside of the Mulander Estate and stand outside gates, garbed in a black hooded cloak, and mumble to myself.

"This must be where the jinchuriki lives, it wouldn't be wise to intrude so I guess I'll wait out here"

I walk off to the side of the gates and proceed to lean against the wall and wait for my target to leave his mansion.

Hisagi was solemnly walking along the road from the south back to Kumogakure. He spirits were at an all time low after the incident at Nagi Island a few days ago. He wasn’t sure if he even wanted to face the Mizukage and his peers, let alone his mother and sister. It was then that he heard a faint screech above him. Something above him cast a very small shadow as it flew over. He looked up and saw an elf owl. Hisagi recognized it as one of the Mizukage’s summons. He thought this was very peculiar.

Hisagi: Why does the Mizukage have one of his summons flying around the sourthern corner of the village?

A chill rose up Hisagi’s spine. The Mizukage wouldn’t do something like that unless it was for a reason. Hisagi deduced that the reason must be a grave one. The last time he felt this feeling, Kirigakure ended up getting destroyed. He hoped he was just being paranoid over nothing. There was no time for hanging his head over past events. He needed to get back to Kumogakure as quickly as possible to find out what was happening. Hisagi lowered his head and ran as fast as he could toward the village gate.

It is not a choice for one to take up the weapons of man whence the night falls and the darkness claims the world, such is the mystery of mothers tears, to the night we all must fall.

Hanmon, It is crucial that you succeed.

Hanmon nodded gravely, it was tradition for the Kuromachi to let their madness take a slight hold of their control and let forth a poem or propehcy hingend on madness, Hanmon and Yuuan were one of the few who still performed the short lived art, and this one had been particularly grave, only members of the bloodline could truly understand the meaning of the mad rambling, but it probably would not benefit them if they somehow could.

He reared his horse and vanished into a dark portal, following behind him came a throng of heavily armed elite soldiers, armed with weapons capable of taking down Shinobi and skills to match, aswell as a bunch of cloaked agents.

Yuaan: I will draw aside the curtains when I hear words of your success, remain sane brother!

"And if not, may the madness be swift" replied Hanmon gruffly as he finally vanished, leaving Yuuan and his white horse behind with the rest of the army.

This mission will be tough on you brother.. Do not fall.

Yuuan turned away from the closing darkness and looked back at the carnage, the mansion of the Fedual lord was on fire but it was quickly being put out by his warriors, all around him were the corpses of the lords bodyguards, they had not stood a chance in defending against his onslaught.

A few miles to the south, a battle had also taken place with the small standing army that had been garrison in this place. They had rallied out to fight them, needless to say, not a single one of his soldiers had fallen in the ensuing battle, causing their spirits to soar. The main lightning army was in the west at the border, far away, unable to help the fedual lord who now were at his mercy.

"Please, don't kill me!"

Pleaded the lord who was currently kneeling in the bloody mud before his white horse. Yuuan gave him no heed, instead he thought about his plans. He had made a change due to Kumogakures defensive choice, he had planned differently but this would work out better in the end, his shinobi were still ravaging the countryside but one by one they were receiving new orders to seek out the major cities of the land of lighting and utterly destroy them, some had been given the order to gather at the Feudal lords mansion, were a large military camp were now being erected, the surrounding land was being burned so that nothing could approach without being spotted and great wooden fortifications were being put into place.

Even if Shinobi are quick, possess great power, they are just human. His army still counted in the thousand, and even if only a small percentage were Shinobi, and furthermore only half were actual trained soldiers, they all knew how to aim a crossbow.. No matter how fast, agile or tricky, a thousand crossbow bolts would be like a powerful jutsu of its own, one that did not require chakra, and could be sent again and again with only a few seconds interval, yes indeed.. His army could defend themselves, even from Ninja.

"Ill give you anything!" Begged the fedual lord.

Yuuan continued to ignore his pleas as he gazed towards the spot where he was told Kumogakure would be, hidden by clouds and mountains. He wondered how the enemy would react to the capture of the fedual lord, they could ignore it he gussed, but somehow he doubted that they would.

"Why, why won't you answer me!?"

Yuuan finally looked down upon the worm quivering beneath him, he gave him a look of disgust, he hated men which dignity unraveled the moment their lives is at risk.

"You will tell me all you know about the Kumogakure military, your own forces and finally I will have you-"

The Fedual lords eyes opened wide at the last request, his face visibly going pale as he took in the unconditional request.

Closing the heavy wooden doors behind him, Psy steps out into the courtyard. As he happened to toss a glance at the gates before leaping onto the roof, he notices the presence of someone. The same feeling as earlyer, but yet again different. This intent was not evil, but it was not good either. As Psy approached the gate, the feeling gained a "cloudy" sense. Like someone dancing in the grey area between the light and dark.

Opening the gate, he spots the figure in question leaning on the ivory walls of the manor. The manor was in the outskirst of Kumo, and Psy couldnt think of any other reason for anyone to be there besides for him. Dragging his foot in the ground, like someone does when tired, he makes his presence known as he locks the gate behind him.
"Need something?" he asked without much interest.

From the direction of the Raikage manor, a messanger bird could be seen flying in the direction of the Mulander estate, bearing grim news. The bird lands on Psys finger, and he proceeds to read the messages contents.

_________________________________________________________
"The Jinchuuriki has been summoned, Elder-sama" A Kumo nin reported.
Within the raikages office, Chari and Habanaka were hard at work preparing. None knew what laid ahead, but acted as if doom itself was on their doorstep. Instinct, perhaps, or paranoia after the destruction of Kiri. Regardless, they were determined not to be taken with their pants down, and would rather see everyone one night short of sleep instead of dead.
"Hmph, took you long enough. I need a tally on our forces, and get me list of our most talented shinobi, those who still remain that is" Chari-baasan replied, obviously still agitated about the loss of the Shadow doctor aswell as Sora Arakumo and Captain Mateo Tsuriki. They stood weaker then ever, and Chari knew this well. In all her years, she had not seen so many betrayals and missing shinobi in such a short while, and had suspected a coming storm for some time.

Suddenly, the door to the office slammed open, and a pair of kumo-nin stood blodied in the doorway. As the surprise subsided, the elders realized the blood came from only one of the two. The un-injured one spoke up.
"We got trouble! This is Yamaga, he was stationed near the Feaudal lords manor, hes been injured badly!"
Putting him down on the floor, a medical ninja rushes past the elders and tends to him as he opens his bloodied gape.
"T.. the lord, ugh.. *cough* hes.. AGH!.. hes!" The fallen shinobi squeezed out, before his dying breath gave no more room for words. He fell silent on the floor, eyes still gazing upon the caring faces above him.
Chari-baasan stood up, furious-looking but still remaining her calm.
"Shit!" The old woman barked, a surprising syllable for her age and wisdom. "They took him right under our noses! Theres no doubt anymore, we are under attack." She proclaimed. "Get the Mizukage in here, have him gather his subordinates and prepare to hit the open field. We need his eyes on that manor, preferably hours ago! If there is a situation, i want him to attempt to resolve it before reporting back. We need this information more then we need a body, kage or not, tell him not to take any chances. Got all that"?
A ninja standing in the corner with a pile of papers nodded, and left the room.

The elders looked to eachother and cursed the timing, being without a Raikage in this grim time was a burden which almost seemed impossible to carry. Yet the two seniors remained willstrong and hopeful that the village could be saved. They pray'd that the Mizukage would do as they asked, despite the fact that they have no authority over him. From the mouth of the Manor, a tracker-nin appeared with the message and begun searching for the Mizukages chakra within the village. He didnt have to look far..
(Hoshi, would be please take over control of this NPC as he delivers the message?)


_____________________________________________________________________

Unbeknown to the Elders of Kumo, and the looming threat that now covers the land of lightening, another force was moving with purpose towards Kumogakure from the north-west.

Houndreds upon houndreds of footsteps, each a tap of a foot meeting rock, were moving up the north-western mountain-ridge like something flying. As mere shadows they moved with great stealth and agility, the nameless batallion of Shinobi crept closer to the cloudlayer surrounding Kumo.

The first of their kind touched down on the ledge, seeing the towering Raikage manor in the distance. He removed his hood, and strong reptilic eyes observed the target-village.
"He is here, they both are..." he said unto the wind, letting the words fly off for a few seconds before turning to the drop behind him.
"Form up!" He shouted in a powerful, almost godly voice that rung down the mountainside. Shinobi started popping up over the edge of the cliff with every second, and in minutes they numbered about 800 men and women, shinobi and kunoichi, side by side with the Mulander banner waving proudly amongst their ranks.
The first hooded figure steps out front, and gazes upon the ranks of warriors under his command.



"Mulanders, men and women of the shadows! I have asked you step into the light this day for a single purpose! We do not stand as numerous as we once did, and much of our knowledge is lost to us. But i tell you this my brothers and sisters, that the course of history have not been shapen by our numbers, but by our determination, our desire for harmony. It is the wish in the hearts of everyone of you, and the knowledge that what we do is Just."

"Today, we honor our ancestors.
Today, we protect our descendants.
Today, we perform the duty the rest of our clan has forgotten in their sorrow and grief. "

Today, we march to war!!

The crowd roared in agreement, and begun the long march between them and the enemy~

And perhaps.. to my sons ascension..

Seeing as Misuto was just above, on the mansion, the messenger didn't lose too much time on his search. When he had found him, he saw the Mizukage just standing there as if he was waiting for something. The messenger didn't waste any time with the order and kneeled down before Misuto. "Mizukage-sama! The elders would like for you to gather your men and prepare them for battle. The Feudal Lord mansion was assaulted." "I knew something wasn't right..." as Misuto replied, under his breath. He had then placed his right hand around his mouth and let out a bird shriek. As it echoed through the mountains, Tsuno and Hakuhen had came back, which didn't take too much time as they stood in the village.

Hakuhen: " You called for us?
Misuto: "I have called you both here because my predictions were true. We are currently being attacked by shinobi forces. The location of the attack is south..."
Tsuno: "Where the Feudal lords are?!"
Hakuhen: "Isn't it where Tezema went also?"
Misuto: "...Please don't interrupt me. The elders of Kumo need my help with Kirigakure's men. Hakuhen, I'd like for you to search for Natsumi and tell her of the situation. I would also like her to gather my men and prepare for the counter. Tsuno, I want you to come with. We are going south."
Hakuhen/Tsuno: "Yes sir!"

Misuto had jumped on Tsuno amd headed south as Hakuhen quickly took haste in the search of Natsumi. Before Misuto left his location, he had placed an Ice mirror on top of the mansion.

__________________________________________________

Natsumi, was seen just finishing up with the emergency route. Everything seemed to be under control and was ready to be used at any time. At that moment, Hakuhen was seen lowering herself to Natsumi's level.

Hakuhen: "Natsumi, the Mizukage has an order for you. It is now known that we are being attacked. The shinobi forces have already assaulted the Feudal Lords manor. The Mizukage went ahead and look at the results as he wants you to gather Kirigakure's men to prepare for battle."

Learning of the news, Natsumi had froze momentarily. To think that the Feudal Lords were to be attacked meant that this was a serious situation. "Thanks for the update..." With quick haste, Natsumi took off. It took about thirty minutes, Natsumi had gathered Kirigakure's forces that were left. It was roughly 120 men altogether. The destruction of Kirigakure also took a lot of lives. It seemed like a disaster but its something they had no choice to work with. The army was all in lined in front of the Raikage's manor, outside. Natsumi was waiting for the elders to get her next orders, while Misuto personally went to the Feudal Lords manor himself. She had hoped that he would be alright.

__________________________________________________

As Tezema arrived at the manor, he had hid himself from sight by hiding in a tree. The place was a gory mess. Dead bodies everywhere, pools of blood all over the place, weapons thrown everywhere. Although it seemed like a dead valley, Tezema had noticed a strange figure. The figure looked completely unarmed. Out of all this mess, not a single wound. Tezema had to quickly get back to Misuto and give him an update report. He figured that he stood long enough and he didn't want to stay any longer thus he had flew away, shuffling the leaves of the tree he was on.

*opening the door, I rush through the barracks provided by kumo. I pass other kiri nin heading outside, already outfitted in their gear and proceeding with their orders. I move down the hallway and turn left through an opening into my room. moving over to the footlocker by my bed, I open the footlocker and reach inside. I pull our a ninja vest, a cloak, and my greatsword. of the three items, my greatsword was by far the strangest. Having acquired it on the religious assassination mission, it seemed to be of a higher quality blade than any I have previously wielded. it's overall strength and ability where comparable to the seven swords of kirigakure.

I put on my vest and cloak, strapping the sword across my back over both articles of clothing. checking that the blade will easily slide from the scabbard I have it in, I rush out of my room and down the long hall of the barracks. exiting into the outside world, I faintly hear a high pitched bird shriek carried on the wind*

looks like the mizukage is gathering his personnel forces. guess I won't have time to ask him for orders.

*I move to the side of the building, out of the way of the entrance*

guess that means my orders are my own. As much as I hate to do it, I guess I'll head towards the border. from there I can calculate the risks of going outside the village or staying to defend the village from unknown attacks

"geez...I hate large scale battles. why can't we just solve all our problems with a good assassination"

*I jump hard off the ground, kicking off the wall for more lift. I grab the lip of the roof and flip myself on top of the building. running faster than other ninjas on the ground, I race for the east gate*

I look up as you approach me, my face remaining shadowed by the hood, adn stand up straight as I realize you are the jinchuriki, the one I had been waiting for.

"Ahh jinchuriki, as a matter of fact yes I do. I'm here to help the dear village of Kumogakure from the impending chaos. I'm sure your aware due to the large defensive mobilization but a cloud of chaos and destruction looms over this village and I fear despite your shinobi's prowess you may need a helping hand in the battle to come."

I pause for a bit to let the information sink in, looking for any facial signs to tell me whether or not your liking what your hearing or if I should start running.

"This is where I need your help, as I look a little bit shady I'd like for you to notify everyone that I am helping you, not hindering. And perhaps I could help you personally in the chaos to come."

All I could do now was sit and wait to see what he thought. Regardless of his answer I was going to help however it would be much easier if I didn't have enemies on both sides trying to kill me every time I take a step into the open.

The sound of the shreaking bird alearted me to the misukage's summon. I was a kiri ninja; however, I did not listen to it. The misukage had not spokin to me personally, so I figured it was a sign of contempt. My gaze was centered out across the land, where smoke could be seen.

Hmmm... whats south here...

"Shit!"

I realised that the futual manner, was down there, which would be a prime target... at this moment, the misukage flies over head.

alone... is he that much of a fool?

Leaping off the wall, dropping to the ground far below I roll and begin to sprint at top speed for the futal lords mansion. I needed to protect my kage, no matter what...

(2300 speed)

As Hisagi entered the village he heard a shriek. It seemed the Mizukage was trying to communicate with his owls now. The situation must be progressing faster than he had thought. The call came from the direction of the Raikage manor. Hisagi's knew his best chances of finding the Mizukage and find out what he should do was to head in that direction. As he ran, the Kumo shinobi were moving in the other direction past him. He overheard conversation from multiple groups about an attack and defensive formations.

Hisagi: So it is what I expected. It seems like Kumo and the land of lightning is under attack. Could it be the same adversary that took out Kiri?

When he got to the Raikage's manor, he saw 120 Kiri ninja gathered together waiting. This must have been one of the orders the Mizukage gave out. Everyone was getting ready here to help defend Kumo. At the head of the group was Natsumi, the Mizukage's assistant. He did not see the Mizukage anywhere. He figured Natsumi would be able to fill him in on everything. Hisagi rushed over to her.

Hisagi spoke in between deep breaths: "Natsumi-san..... What is.... going on?....Where is... the...Mizukage?" He finally caught his breath. "I heard something about an attack."

Psy weighed the strangers words carefully. He knew somehow, just like Psy, that something was coming. Even when concentrating, consulting with the Hachibi for advice, Psy could not pick up anything more sinister then this "gray area" feeling he had caught before. As of such, he made the descision that the enemy of my enemy is my friend, and replied.

"I dont normally have a habit of working with people who hide who they are, but in this situation i dont have time to find out or argue. If you think you can make a difference in what lays ahead, then i welcome your aid."
His eyes narrowed. "But be warned, if you as much as think a more sinister goal, i will find you wherever you hide and toss you so far out of Kumo you wont touch earth for days".

Psy was not a malicous person, he was a gentle being by any standard with the exception of when battle rages at its most intense. He did not mean to threaten the stranger, it was not his style. Yet he was too worried about the village to take any chances.


After leaving the stranger to his own business, and accepting his terms, he informed the Elders as he answerred the summon. They did not approve of his carelessness, this stranger could be an agent of the enemy, but let it pass. They didnt have the time or resources to hunt this stranger down, and did as Psy told them, informing the allied shinobi defending kumo not to treat this person as Hostile (Haissems char is now a friend, whohoo). The elders Ordered Psy to the south-wall, where he was to be stationed while waiting for new orders. The elders were frantically trying to figure out a way to use this weapon without risking losing it to the enemy, and awaited the Mizukages report on the Feudal lords manor before making a descision.

The army was fully entrenched, the trees had been all but cut down and a huge wooden wall had been constructed around the mansion, and in the shadow of this wall thousands of soldiers rested, outside large patrols roamed the field, destroying any obstacle that a ninja might use to hide.

They were creating a deadmans ground, a field in which no man, no matter his speed or stealth could walk without being spotted, not even a ninja.. And even if the Ninja somehow managed to get by, within the walls it was so thick with soldiers that one could hardly move without bumping into someone.

The mansion itself had become a fortress, all its windows had been sealed shut, its walls fortified with metal plating, but that was only the topping, the true defense came from the seals that had been put in place around the mansion, a powerful barrier in which nothing could pass by had been put in place.

If one wished to enter the mansion..
He would have to defeat the army first.

The Roof of the mansion had also been changed, just above the barrier a platform of wood had been created in a hurry, on top of this platform huge balista capable of firing once every twenty seconds had been erected, scouts with good eyes patrolled around the platform, gazing in all directions, from here one could see everything, almost all the way to the gates of Kumogakure.

In the middle of this platform a tent had been built, within this tent a table had been placed and here Commander Yuuan and his generals had been talking strategy for the last hour.


General: We've burned three small cities so far, to the south a major city is about to be attacked once enough shinobi can gather to properly assault the town.

Yuuan: Hmm.. Once the city has been torched I wish for most of them to return, the rest can continue wrecking havoc in smaller villages, ruining one major town will be enough to force the southeren armies to defend the remaining cities, we will ignore these and focus on the smaller ones.

General 2: What about the north? The Shinobi in these parts are seeing less and less life, they-

Yuuan: Have them turn and start roaming around Kumogakure, we need to apply pressure to the leadership.

General 3: Should we not have them return aswell? We do not know the power of the approaching army, would it not be wise to consolidate power to counter a potential worse case sceneario?

Scouts had not too long ago reported an approaching army from the north-west, the other generals knew naught of the identity of this army that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere, however Yuuan knew them well.

Meikaika had informed him before he had left about the possibility of the old Mulander clan resurfacing in this chaotic period if the proper trigger was pressed, certainly his army was such a catalyst. He had chosen not to tell the other generals however, they did not need to know, if they did, they might have forced him to withdraw the entire army.

That would not do.
Not at all.

He would accomplish his task.

_________________________________________________________

Within a dark place a throng of warriors were gathered around Hanmon, etch had a pill in his hand, waiting for the order to swallow, though the time was not yet there and Hanmon was not yet done instructing his warriors.

His mission was crucial, if he failed the entire campaign would fail. His brother was counting on his success, he would not disappointing him, not again.

Kerushii stopped, on a small wooded area, on a hill just above the edge of the clearing ground. she gazed down, irritation written clearly on her face.

How in hell can I get there?

Clambering up a tree like a deranged spider monkey, she gazed out. her mouth dropped perceptably.

"Oh shit..." she wispered, fear tenging her words.

From what she could see, things were empty until about a mile in. Then it began. hundred upon thousands of souldiers, unknown or not if they were shinobi. It was likely no, because of the garbments that they wore, but to play it safe she would assume they were. Where on earth was the misukage in all of this?

She glanced up, and pure fear struck her. High above was a platform, and on that plat form were soldiers with strang weaponry that Kerushii had never seen, let alone heard of before. She only had one choise, and her opertunity was quickly coming. The misukage, would have to handle himself.

All went better than expected, in fact I would be rather disappointed if the jinchuriki hadn't threatened me at least once. This lets me know that he is a careful man and from his conviction conveyed in the threat I know he is a man of action. I know that he will watch my back if I am helping this village.

As Psy takes off I follow him shortly after, waiting outside the elders building until he leaves again for the south wall where I resume following him and upon reaching the wall I land next to him and simply stand there silently. Even if he had managed to get guaranteed safety for me it would be better to be seen standing peacefully with their jinchuriki rather than in the shadows.

Flying through the skies on Tsuno's back, Misuto had spotted his little friend Tezema, who was working his way back to Kumogakure to give him a report. Since they have met earlier then expected, he just gave his report on the spot.

Tezema: "It's horrible Mizukage-sama. Dead bodies everywhere, blood at every direction. They turned the manor as some sort of fortress. There was an army!"
Misuto: " Then its true, a battle is about to start and they are taking out the higher ups to make Kumogakure go into a panic as well as lower our political power... Tezema! Report your.findings back to the elders. I'm gonna try to weaken their forces here and try to hold them off from attacking Kumo so that there would be less tragedies in Kumo."

Tezema nodes and quickly continued his path back to Kumo. Meanwhile, Misuto jade jumped off Tsuno and told him that he can handle it from here. Being worried about Misuto's well being, he wasn't about to disobey him thus he disappeared in a cloud of smoke. It didn't take long for Misuto to reach the fortress. Arriving, he kept his distance and observe the area. Tezema was right, it was a fortress, which was guarded. From his location, he created four shadow clones, including himself makes five. Afterwards, he performed the tiger seal, with a single hand, creating ice mirrors, five of them. One above the mansion, and each at the each side of the building (north, south, east, west.)

Finally, he created and Ice mirror in front of himself. As the clones and himself cast the ice armor on themselves, they had all entered the mirror, which one of them taking a side of the fortress. Each on of them, causing panics, cast a jutsu as soon as they got out of a mirror. The one from the north had spit out a large fireball, the one in the south had blown out a large blizzard, west had cast strong gusts of wind as the one from west shot out water. All this as the real Misuto was observing from the mirror above.

During this time, Tezema had arrived in Kumo and explained the elders of the situation. Including the part where Misuto was trying to slow them down. Down at the army itself, Natsumi was approached bu Hisagi, who seemed worried about they situation.

Natsumi: "Hisagi, you should go find somewhere safe to be. I'm afraid that we are going into battle."

She couldn't answer the question about where Misuto was since she didn't know herself so she jade decided to skip the question and keep the army at bay until further notice.

Throughout the chaotic display ensuing outside, the clinic of Kumogakure found itself as busy as ever. The nursing staff scurried along the halls in order to evacuate the patients in a timely manner. At the southern wing of the clinic, rested Tenka Hakutou, the woman whom assumed the position of Mizukage until Misuto arrived once more. She was still not at one hundred percent health since the attack upon Kirigakure and was still recovering. On her bed she sat upright whilst looking out of the window. Her expression was lifeless. She was at a loss of words since receiving notice of the situation going on around her.

"Lady Tenka, we must evacuate immediately," a nurse stated as she entered her room.

Tenka forced herself into a smile and nodded to the nurse that she would follow suit. Another pair of nurses came in other to help Tenka out of bed and prepare her for evacuation.

A nurse on either side of her held her up while she limped across the hall. Another nurse secured her belongings, and took her Kiba swords wrapped in a bandaged cloth. As the group exited the southern wing of the clinic, Tenka wore an expression of distress and disappointment.

"Amane, I can't sense your flow of chakra. Please....be safe and don't get yourself in trouble. I will remain here waiting for you until you come back.