Halting the acceleration through the Land of Fire, Takeo had found himself two and a half miles away from the battlefield, instead stopping at a large clearing where the 4th Hokage sat. One arm rested on his right knee, and he appeared focused on a single spot that was severely scorched, kunai and shuriken both embedded into the ground. Approaching quietly and stopping only until he was directly beside his former student did Takeo think of raising questions. Nikuya was Kenji’s objective and judging by how far he had pushed her away from Konoha he had ultimately succeeded in keeping her from causing any lasting damage to Konoha, as was the plan. [b]“Did you kill her?”[/b] [b]“Ran away, as we expected. Nikuya was never a huge concern …not after what you and I have dealt with.”[/b] Kenji looked up towards Takeo, noticing that there wasn’t a single scratch on him. He knew that Takeo was one of the most skilled shinobi alive, but had at least expected a scratch somewhere. When he began to think about it, he didn’t expect Shinji to ever have a scratch either; only the strongest of the strong tended to be able to touch any of them, and there were very few who could claim to be capable of it. Most of those who had the potential to were dead, and the one that nearly killed him was far from this place. [b]“I take it everything went well if you’re here.”[/b] [b]“Something like that. There’s something you should read.”[/b] Takeo handed Kenji the scroll he had pocketed, and quietly allowed the Hokage to read the contents. As expected there wasn’t very much change to be had; Kenji was equally unimpressed with the Empress’ terms and, like Takeo, wanted her to answer for how many lives she destroyed. The two sat in silence for several moments even after Kenji finished reading it, until finally he had spoken. [b]“Part of me wants to hide this and treat it as a sick joke …but the Hokage in me knows better. The Empress killed the last person who had wanted this war to end without violence.” [/b] [b]“What do you think the Mist would say?”[/b] [b]“I doubt Takeshi and Kotomi want to shake hands with the woman who has the blood of the 5th Mizukage, their father, stained on them. I also doubt that the village as a whole would want to hear it.”[/b] Kenji picked himself up, picking up the shuriken and kunai he had expelled at Nikuya during the height of the battle they shared. The talk of peace was destroyed a long time ago. [b]“If the Mist did their job, and they do their job well, then this leaves two territories secured for us. Suna is becoming friendlier to the Empire, Kumo’s military was completely destroyed and those that remain are criminals.”[/b] Kenji looked over his shoulder at Takeo, both knowing the state of Iwagakure. [b]“We’ll discuss Iwagakure after we gather our strength, but for the time being it’s off-limits.” [/b] Takeo crossed his arms and looked towards the setting of the sun; stars had begun to shine in the sky and tonight would be one of celebration for the people. Suna was growing less contested and more ‘pro’ for the Empire, but it was also one of the closest locations to the Leaf. Things were going to get interesting very soon. [b]“Let’s head back, there’s something I’d like to discuss with you.”[/b] The two vanished, yet by the time they returned Takeo and Kenji both expected things to be coming to an end. - The roar of Kenta’s chakra was extraordinary, so much so that it was a little deafening to Kaede’s ears. Those pills he swallowed were something special to the Akimichi Clan and a great source of power, and this would be quite a fight for anyone right now. Her body was still shaky from the force used to knock her backwards, but getting back to her feet wasn’t a significant issue. The Bykaugan reappeared once again to help her better defend herself, and she had begun to bend her knees just as Kenta had begun charging. There was a plan of her own that Kaede wanted to put into motion, but there was no way she could announce it to anyone. Shuriken with cutting power enhanced by wind style ninjutsu had come spiraling by, cutting between her and Kenta. Katsu’s efforts weren’t in vain; the simple move had forced Kenta to leap high into the air, fist still heavy with power. This offered an opportunity Kaede did not wish to miss, and she had begun to prepare for a ‘counterattack’. Karela’s effort, while caring, only served to make her stumble over and out of harm’s way to leave herself open for receiving a harsh blow. Raising her palm and thinking quickly, Kaede was quick to make use of her Air Palm to save Karela, who was acting careless all of a sudden. This was once again becoming one of those times where the Hyuga clan demanded representation; the Angel of the Leaf did not earn her Jounin rank without some tactical skills and a strong voice. It was thanks to the efforts of Natsumi that Karela could be blown out of the vicinity with wind ninjutsu, as well as a deadly set of explosive kunai Katsu had thrown from afar. Were it not for that maneuver, she might’ve needed to avoid the kunai as well. Natsumi had gone off a little on the two and Kaede couldn’t find it in herself to defend them. Dren had been stunned to the point he hadn’t moved or spoken yet, which meant that this may have become a four on one match with someone who still had triple their experience and likely power as well. The clashing of men and women surrounding them had brought the seals that many of her comrades carried life, and Kaede had leaped backwards several feet to bring focus to them. For a short while she’d need to ensure that no more casualties for Konoha be met, and so clasping her hands together Kaede quietly accelerated the feeding of chakra. Katsu would be able to feel it most of all, being the closest one with the seal in her vicinity. Explosions and cries of pain racked her ears, yet her nerves were steeled for it all. [i]For the time being …you must all work together without me …[/i] - Kenta crashed into the ground with his fist, dismantling the earth below with devastating force. He had registered everything; the shuriken thrown at him, in spite of wind ninjutsu backing it, was easily leaped over with his momentum not being affected. Kaede was just below him, and with a forward flip he began to descend towards her rapidly. As a friend of the girl and with knowledge of the Hyuga clan’s techniques he was more than aware she had plenty of options of dealing with such a straightforward maneuver. That idea changed once another girl had jumped in the way, throwing off the possible counterattack Kaede had planned and instead …stood there? Coming to her rescue just as his fist was inches away from her head was Natsumi, knocking her and the troublesome explosive kunai that had come from Katsu beyond his range. With his fist returning to normal, Kenta was obviously unscathed minus some dust on his right fist. A timely rant from Natsumi had shown serious complications with the small band of ninja. He had noticed that there was an overwhelming desire to protect the medic of the group, which was basically their best chance at keeping alive should things go wrong. The other Hyuga in question hadn’t reacted much at all, which to Kenta likely meant he was probably the weakest of the bunch in spite of being the oldest of them all. The boy was eager to cover his comrade and performed fairly well given the situation, but what if his comrades hadn’t been relocated and he chose to endure the explosion? They would likely have sustained the same amount of damage by being so close. And Natsumi …well, the fire in her heart burned strong, and the release of the Uchiha clan’s signature technique had come barreling towards him. A claim of him not dying was sent his way. [b]“That’s not your choice to make, Natsumi!”[/b] Turning on his heel to face her, his left palm had grown, markings covering the surface with visible chakra covering it entirely. Thrusting it forward, the burning sensation on his palm was uncomfortable but but more bearable than what would have happened had his palm been unprotected. The fire ninjutsu the girl used was powerful, but Kenta’s experience and quick-thinking was shown to be more than one of them could handle alone. As it turned out, Katsu had remained in the path of Natsumi’s attack and had resorted to bickering with her as well in the middle of a battle. This alarmed Kenta greatly, and he was momentarily at a loss for words. Looking between the two Uchiha, and then towards the girl he didn’t know, the Hyuga who had ultimately proved a little slower and weaker than one might expect, and Kaede herself Kenta had seen the true issue here. [b]“ARE YOU BICKERING CHILDREN, OR ARE YOU THE NEXT GENERATION OF THE HIDDEN LEAF!?!?”[/b] Kenta roared, obviously insulted by this pitiful display amongst the people that bickered. The former instructor within Kenta was emerging in spite of him knowing that all ties to the Leaf were to be broken. No longer could he kid himself; as long as he drew breath, he’d always hold the Leaf’s best interests at heart and it was just a matter of him believing in a different path than his friends and family. This was so embarrassing he was starting to wish the poison spreading in his body worked faster. [b]“YOU THERE!”[/b] Kenta pointed towards Karela. [b]“IF YOU HAVE ENOUGH TIME TO ASK ME TO DO MY WORST, YOU HAVE ENOUGH TIME TO TRY AND AVOID MY ATTACK, OR BETTER YET TRY TO COUNTER IT LIKE KAEDE WAS DOING!”[/b] his brown eyes filled with disgust, he turned his attention towards Katsu. [b]“CARELESSLY USING EXPLOSIVE TAGS WITH YOUR COMRADE SO CLOSE TO ME? YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELF!”[/b] unless Kaede and Katsu had managed to work together in the past, he doubted that she knew the plan since Kaede was obviously prepared to attempt something. Taking a deep breath, the Akimichi had tried to calm down a little more. His days teaching newly-made genin hadn’t quite left him, and in some ways he was still the instructor he needed to be. As it stood, none of them were perfect. [b]“Natsumi, even you …you had time to save that girl, but you didn’t take advantage of me being in the air? That saddens me. None of you are exempt, so either you band together as comrades, or you die together as children. AM I CLEAR!?”[/b] Kaede was focusing on tending to her comrades, hoping that the others could maintain his attention. This allowed their forces to better combat the troops that had chosen to remain behind with him, and it was a wise choice. No communication necessary; they knew who she was and what her primary task was, and Kenta would keep that in mind. Reaching behind him and retrieving a flash bomb, he had thrown it into the ground and set it off, hoping to blind all those nearest him. As users with eye-based Kekkei Genkai, they would often rely on their eyes a lot without being used to fighting without them. In the several seconds of vulnerability he hoped to gain, Kenta would emerge from the brightest point emitted as a rolling ball of destruction: The Human Bullet Tank had gone careening off towards Katsu now, ignoring Karela, Natsumi, and both Hyuga. [b]“TIME TO LEARN THE HARD WAY!”[/b] he shouted perfectly fine as he sped towards Katsu, tearing up the ground beneath him.