It was a dark and stormy night. Then the sun rose, and it was still kinda stormy and just a little bit dark, but Kakatsyuki Endo assured his remaining crew the skies would clear around the time everyone else sobered up.
Neither Kirigakrue nor the Water Lord patrolled the farthest reaches of Water Country, mostly because those waters just held very little of real value. At noon, the humid sea air smelled particularly thick, right before another wave of misty fog rolled in. Then by that evening it was dark and stormy again so everyone was kind of in a bad mood.
”This time for sure, I can feel it!” Supervising his men, Endo yelled and pointed as they raised a large lightning rod into the sky as the first bits of drizzle began to fall. “If that damned swordsmen Senmitsu hadn’t sunk the Explorer, we wouldn’t have had to rig up this to my personal yacht. What an ugly, short, unsatisfying pole to stick on my precious Shrimp Parade. Very unmasculine.” Endo snorted and spat over the side while his sycophants continued to work. “All we need is one good spark, boys! One little zap and the detonator will be charged- and we can negotiate with Kirigakure for all the riches we could want!”
“Oy, boss, what about the Flame? Ain’t he the one the Water Lord wanted to-”
“Not important, I can deal with him.” Endo cracked his knuckles and stretched as he walked under an overhang to keep himself dry from the growing wind and rain. “Come on everyone, stop being such sourpusses! We successfully ambushed the Mizukage and pulled a heist right out under the noses of the Water Lord, Kirigakure, and the MLEA! We’re gonna be legends when this is all over. My two hundred level IQ has gotten us this far, you losers need to just relax and trust the plan.”
“And the plan is to get struck by lightning?”
“No, imbecile, don’t get your panties in a bunch over it. Just do what I tell you.” Endo huffed and went inside to fix himself another drink. Several of his personal guards jumped to their feet as he entered and resumed their patrols. He pulled out a fancy looking glass bottle with a twisted neck and scowled when he found it empty. His face then brightened when the first peals of thunder rumbled overhead.
Dropping the bottle he made his way to the center of the yacht where a large, complicated series of machines sat stitched together with various wires and vents. It looked a bit like a pile of dishwashers with a few microwaves thrown in, and from one such microwave-shaped device he yanked out a smooth looking metallic cylinder. He ran his fingers over it in what might be considered a sensual way to someone somewhere.
Then a shriek ripped from his throat as he tugged his lab coat around his damp shoulders. “Make sure the radio scramblers are still operational! And don’t let the freezer get too warm! And I’ll add the first person I see stealing any more of my liquor to my collection!”
Lightning crawled against the sky like fingers searching through the darkness. The rumble and concussive booms of the thunder felt more intimate, like someone was screaming out and hearing no answer – just the repetition of their echo.
Crack, thoom. Thoom. Thoom.
Seawater dripped off Gushiken Ren as if he just stepped out of the shower. Despite the relative warmth of the tropics, at that moment he felt chilled right down to his bones. It might have been the lack of sleep- after his bout with the jellyfish tentacles, getting shut-eye the previous night proved nearly impossible. Too many images kept flashing in his mind: the eclipse, flurries of sparks and embers buzzing around like angry hornets, the sight of bloated reanimated corpses...memories, or premonitions? Maybe both. Or maybe Ren lost his edge and was about to walk into his own death. He emerged out of the ocean surface unnaturally, like a cork bobbing up from underneath the waves. One foot found unnatural purchase on the water, the other sticking directly to the side of the ship as easily as it would have against solid ground.
He moved silently up the side of the hull, arms spread out wide to either side, letting the water slide off of him. His objective was simple.
Retrieve the detonator. Assassinate Kakatsyuki Endo. Relieve the Flame of his duties.
By order of the Mizukage’s Office, not that he needed that excuse to be motivated.
The minions of Endo weren’t specifically mentioned one way or the other in the man’s dossier. They were a mix of shinobi, sailors, and soldiers- dregs that couldn’t hack it in a real Kirigakure department but whose careers had been saved by Endo’s personal interference. In some ways, it would be easier to simply just kill ‘em all. After all, they were traitors to Kirigakure the same as their boss. Anyone who survived crossing swords with Ren would return ‘home’ only to be arrested, at best they could flee to Lagoon Country or maybe one of the smaller satellite nations and live out the rest of their wretched existence in fear of assassination.
But he could hear it, tickling around in his head, buzzing around in the edge of his hearing, echoed in the sound of waves slapping against the hull and thunder rolling overhead: My sister was on that rig- Has anyone heard from my son? My dad hasn’t come home-
The voices of Kirigakure. Some shinobi, some civilian, all people, presumably, making up his village. The same village he both respected and resented. Where did he want to fall on that particular coin flip? Ally? Enemy?
Something else...right on the edge?
He knelt down against the hull, at a 90 degree angle from the railing, and took in a breath. He was stilling his heart, resetting his breathing, and listening for the movement of guards, crew, and...”guests.”
But he couldn’t quite get his heart to calm down...how many fights stood before him, in just a few short hours? Could he even take on Endo, or the Flame, one on one? What if they were teaming up? What if they had brought other, powerful friends? Ren was confident but not confident enough to think he could just waltz in and start swinging his sword around.
Minutes ticked by. The thunder, while impressive sounding, failed to result in any fireworks. To assuage their boss’s growing irritation one of his men approached with a highball of rum and ice and a cigar. Endo snatched them up without a word as he continued to leer out a window.
“Boss, I know you explained it already, but can’t we like, I dunno, hire a Cloud shinobi to give the detonator a little zippy-zap?”
Crunching the ice in his mouth Endo spat, then wiped his mouth on his lab coat sleeve. “Don’t get me started on those Lightning Government nitwits. Did you know that like, half their ‘raiton’ doesn’t even function as proper electricity? Imagine paying someone for a thunderbolt and all they give you is a yellow, zigzagged shaped fireball. It’s outrageous!”
“Well, uh, maybe we can pick up speed and head to the mainland.” The guard tried to stare out the window as well but Endo kept moving to block it. “There have got to be other storms we could chase. If we hang around Water Country won’t the Mizukage-”
“Dumbass!” Endo snarled and slammed his drink down. “We’re being chased by the Water Lord too, and his dog of a Konkaji can sense the detonator and will chase us down. We have to charge it immediately so we can threaten Kirigakure for protection.” Endo’s eyes peered out onto the horizon and narrowed. “Thankfully those rock-eating simpletons from Earth Country probably aren’t used to swimming in anything that isn’t as hard-headed as they are. Just keep your eyes peeled and prepare for that if needed.”
After a few more apologies his servant left, leaving Endo to steam alone in his private room. His fingers tapped anxiously against his desk as he went from the window to his blueprints. With a flick he opened something on his desk, that simply read out some pressures and nothing more. Satisfied, he then went back to the porthole. His ashtray began to run out of room for more cigarettes. If the delay continued, he seemed ready to do something drastic.
“Endo,”
Ren’s voice gurgled and popped as he took form, having sloshed around the ship as a water puddle, and waited until Endo’s ego had pushed everyone else away from him.
Name: Mizutamari no Jutsu (Water Puddle Technique)
Requirements: Intelligence 5, Tactics 4, Willpower 4
Description: The user melts into a goo-like puddle of water roughly the same size as their body. From the outside the puddle looks just like water. While in this form the user can only see what images are reflected in the puddle's surface. If someone steps into the puddle, the user may suddenly 'boil' up to life, splashing hot water and causing small burns. If the puddle is attacked the user reverts back to normal and takes the full damage of the attack. The puddle may move at Level 1 Speed on dry land, or at normal Speed levels in larger bodies of water. This technique cannot be used to travel through any gaps the user normally couldn't squeeze though.
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He cracked his neck with a twist of his chin and shivered, as if taking human form had suddenly made him notice the cold of the ship, or let his nerves take hold again. Endo’s attention snapped immediately to the hilt of Ren’s undrawn sword as he fluttered his hands in the air to show he wasn’t otherwise wielding a tool.
“All this mess an’ traitorin’, for what?” He glanced around the quarters. “I mean, sure, nice boat. But you think you can survive as a pirate? Pissin’ off Maya AND what’s-his-face, Tyrant Lord? Planning on spending time on the Wheat coast? Where could you even go?”
”A bit late for negotiations, isn’t it?” Endo tapped the ash off his cigarette and just seethed into it as he listened to the man he previously designated as ‘Jelloshot’ deliver his demands. He looked almost...unsurprised? Expectant?
Ren split his lips into a grin and shook his head. “Always time to talk with a friend, isn't there? Oh, don’t bother with your alarm, I already had my way with your power room. Was pretty state of the art electronics in there, before my boot got in ‘em. So, what’s the plan? Blow up the coastline, hide away in some unknown part of the world, until you get hunted down like the pissing rat you are? I mean, really...”
Endo didn’t even rise out of the chair at his desk, and cast his glances down at the pressure gauge on his desk instead. It almost seemed like he wanted to waste time. ”I had you pegged for an imbecile, Gushiken Ren. And, as always, my judgment was spot on. Violence is the only leverage that matters, and right now I have my hand around Kirigakure's throat. I could blow up the village any time I wished.” He leaned forward to pour some whiskey out of an almost empty bottle, before deciding just to down it straight from the source.
The waves outside listed the ship side to side. “Eh, I don't know about that one, chief. The problem with bombs is, once they go off, you lose your tool, your bargaining chips. You can only blow ‘em up once, right? But if you have a change of heart, maybe give up your detonator an’ some info on the Flame, then I’m happy, Maya’s happy, and you’re still alive.”
”Without risk, there is no reward. I wouldn’t expect a lapdog to have any ambition. That's what separates the masters from the slaves, Mr. Jellyfish. Your master Maya must be quaking in her boots to send you to me directly. Or were you too scared of losing to the Flame again to wait for him to attack me first? Tsk.”
The sound of shouting out on the decks permeated to the captain’s quarters. “Ah, damn. Guess they found the mess I made. So, what’s it gonna be? Going down with the ship?”
Ren opened his mouth continue, but let out a cough instead. Not just a normal, water down the lungs type of cough, though. As it ripped from his throat he felt a burning erupt along his neck and nose, followed quickly by his eyes beginning to water and bulge. The next breath he took was half as short as the first, and the one after that half of the second. His chest began to constrict.
”Do you smell that?” Endo leaned back and made a big show of inhaling, before giving a satisfied exhale. ”I bet you don’t. You wandered into my personal property with the swagger of a clueless, useful idiot. I’m the smartest man in Kirigakure. You think I wouldn’t have prepared for this? How long have you been slinking around the ship?”
Requirements: Power 3, Intelligence 2
Description: A medic must always be wary of becoming a victim of whatever their patient suffers from. Passively, a medic can increase his resistance to mundane diseases and poisons, delaying them by a post before they take effect. By forming hand seals this technique can be made active, allowing the medic to purge the frozen poison or disease from taking effect entirely. Outside of combat, if given a full post and the proper ingredients, the user may create the ‘antidote’ item, which can cure any poison the user has a sample of.
Stage Five In combat, 4 point poisons or Stage Six or lower poisons may be delayed or purged. All allies in eyesight may gain the passive portion of this technique.
”Long enough to feel that burning in your blood? Everything here is my property and exists to serve me. Even the air. My men obey me not out of loyalty, but because I would not permit them to breathe if they displease me. If you start groveling for mercy now, maybe I'll cure you before your heart explodes.”
The one good eye of Ren’s burned and tears streamed down it as he started to feel whatever was in the air hit him even harder. Here in Endo’s inner sanctum the poison must have been thicker than anywhere else on the ship, but from the way his veins began to pulse and scream Ren figured he must have been inhaling the toxin since the moment he set foot on the ship. He snarled and let out a deep throated cough, started to form some hand seals, then lost his stance as he coughed out more. He stumbled forward and let out another wrenching cough that sounded more like his chest erupting, spluttering up what appeared to look like blood tinged with salt water.
Then he started to bark out a laugh.
“Endo, Endo, Endo...” Ren looked up from his crouched stance, both hands on his knees as he caught his breath. He was somewhere between gagging and laughing. “This ain’t any worse than a bad cigarette. Haven’t you heard? Smokin’ is bad for you.”
Then Ren leaned back, stumbling a few steps, and raised his hand to the hilt of his sword. “Now, what is it you’re always saying to your lackies when they complain about smoke? You gonna gut me, huh? Add me to your corpse brigade? Huh? Give it a shot, you half-sized little prick.”
Tsukaeru no Jutsu (Choke Technique): Reserves 8, Control 6, Power 8
Any time the target tries to speak while under this genjutsu, they instead begin to cough and sputter as if they inhaled water. This doesn’t make speech impossible, but communicating while under this effect is still very difficult. Any techniques which require speaking are impossible while under this genjutsu.
Trigger: Hearing the user cough.
After a big inhale, Endo let out a single moist cough of his own. While he couldn’t speak, he could give out an unhappy ‘tsk’. The Jellyfish had seen fit to end any negotiations early, it seemed!
Yet rather than launch into any attack or attempted spittle filled tirade, Kakatsyuki Endo leaned back in his chair. He buttoned up his lab coat, frowned, then waved his two exposed empty palms around plaintively. It almost, almost looked like a gesture of surrender.
Or a stalling tactic for time. At any rate, Endo’s intention not to strike first was more than evident.
The stalemate obviously worked in Endo’s favor. Ren could feel his throat constricting, revolting against sucking in any more air. How much of it was real, how much of it was psychosomantic? Could he be under a genjutsu himself? The multitude of partially healed injuries on his body didn’t make it any easier to tell, but without a doubt his muscles were beginning to weigh heavy on his bones. Ren gripped onto the hilt of his sword as if he was looking for something to hold himself upright with, and then stumbled backwards until his back – and sword – clinked against the bulkhead. His vision blurred, but at least he only had one eye that could burn.
The cries of his lungs for relief could not longer be ignored, and Ren’s hand left the hilt of his sword to snatch out at his belt. He pulled out the mouthpiece for his breathing apparatus and clenched his teeth down onto it then started to attach the filter while trying to maintain eye contact with Endo. When he tried to put his hand back on his sword, he missed completely as his arm fell numb. Like a drunkard Ren slid sideways off the wall. It all came in slow motion., the sensation of falling disconnected from the visual. His sharp teeth bit the inside of his cheek as he landed but even that failed to shock his mind back into focus.
Ren’s single eye stared at Endo without waver as his body failed him. The whites turned yellow and then red and bloodshot before he finally collapsed, letting out a long exhale, eye flickering down to his hand after finally tearing itself away from Endo. His hand hadn’t grabbed the sword, but it had yanked something off his belt: a small cloth bag, now torn open and dispersing ash into the air. His desperate grip on it had torn it open on instinct.
He couldn’t even feel his lips moving – was he even talking? Or was he mumbling in his own head? His head felt like it was splitting open, and he swore he could feel something moving around in his eye socket, behind his eyepatch.
A lulling, rolling eye that didn’t fit quite right in his skull.
When Ren’s body hit the plush carpet, Endo immediately flinched. Outside the inner cabin, the sounds of panicked men running back and forth across the deck could still be heard, and just outside Endo’s office window the lapping of storm waves still splashed against the hull. Thunder sounded a few times as well and every time the loud concussive boom shook the air, Endo again winced and held his hands up to his face.
But no retribution came from the allegedly lightning-wielding Jellyfish. Endo peaked out from between his fingers at the unmoving body of Ren. He tried to speak, and choked again, and scowled.
Then Endo lit up a cigarette.
Unable to call for a lackey, Endo resented having to do some dirty work himself. He had also never bothered to learn how to diagnose or treat patients- rather, instead of relying on chakra or ninjutsu, he always treated patients based on what his massive intellect (or usually, his gut) determined was their affliction. It was making it very hard to tell if Ren was dead or not, however. Very carefully he reached under his desk and unhooked his own sword. The steel let out a tiny, well oiled squeak as he pulled it out. It felt so wrong, since his primary use for the weapon was to show it off to women to try and impress them- hence its immaculately shiny steel and artistic hilt. He used the weapon to tap the pressure sensors on his desk. They still read full, their gas tanks of toxin still pumping out all around the ship. Ren’s face mask meant he wasn’t breathing in any more of the poison, though. If it had only incapacitated him it was up to Endo to land the finishing blow.
Briefly Endo pulled out a kunai and considered hurling it at the prone Gushiken Ren. Looking at his nice imported Kaze no Kuni carpet, and deciding he didn’t want drunkard blood on it, he slipped the projectile away and went for a complex weave of hands seals instead. His palm began to grow black, and with the sword in one hand, Endo drew just close enough to swing his hand towards Ren’s head. He only needed five seconds to ensure total brain death- and with no damage to any of his property to boot!
Satsugaite - Killing Hands (Shiyrote)
Requirements: Control 17, Power 16, Reserves 16, Intelligence 15
Description: The medic focuses chakra into the palms of their hands, creating a small ball of harmful energy. This chakra is characterized by a black or purple light and, rather than rebuild a patient's cells, it destroys and unravels them. When the medic makes contact with an enemy’s skin, they can send some of the killing chakra into the target's body, where it attacks them from inside. The struck region turns black and causes noticeable pain, but otherwise does not impede motion. If the target is struck a total of 3 times in this spot, their organs immediately rupture and fail, killing most targets instantly. The festering wound heals over the course of a thread, or it can be cured by another medic via Chiyute.