[center][h2][color=deeppink]Ari Aria[/color][/h2][/center]

It became clear that the team Ari was a part of was only a portion of a whole operation, one that consisted of three teams that would be performing three tasks simultaneously. Something to do with Kirigakure and a battle of resources. Or at least that was what Ari got out of it. She didn't sweat the small stuff, surely the details would be given to her once they were required. If they were required. For now all she had to do was follow Minaru, whom she still was a bit taken aback by because of how similar in age he was to the chuunin of the team, and do whatever he said. Simple and to the point. He told them to cover him as he sabotage a ship that was going back to Kiri, leaving the three younger teens to dawdle around.

That is until the port along the refinery opened and a large shipment started to get escorted out. Naturally the team had the instinct to stay hidden, as even though they had to defend Minaru it would've been a bad start to fight a force twice their size in a fair fight. Sure, Ari could probably hold half of them herself for a bit but odds are still odds and they weren't in her favor. The trio followed the five Kiri shinobi until they were a decent distance from the refinery. But before Ari or Hanare could coordinate an actual attack, Kuroba decided to jump in front of the convoy and reveal himself. While Ari didn't say anything she let her jaw drop in a confused and amazed expression. Rather than taking the opportunity to take one of them out he just initiated a fight with them, and he did it without Ari's protection.

With an irritated sigh the pink-haired girl jumped into action behind Hanare. At least the chuunin were mostly dazed by Kuroba's genjutsu, allowing Hanare to begin attacking them. Ari, on the other hand, stood idly and simply watched how the enemies all moved and reacted to the flow of events. From getting out of the genjutsu to how they handled their rogue comrade. By the time Hanare had jumped behind Ari and the three remaining foes turned their attention to the two girls, Ari had already figured out exactly what she had to do. [color=deeppink]"Yeah,"[/color] she confirmed with Hanare, raising her right hand and holding it near her face. Without using her other hand she began to crack her knuckles, just by stretching her fingers alone, before crouching down and putting her hand on the ground.

To completely interrupt the ranged duel Hanare was having with the other lava fellow, a large wall of steel erupted vertically. This not only blocked the view of both sides of each other but completely halted his lava pellets from even having a chance at hitting Hanare. As Ari stood back upright her skin tone began to change. Her fair complexion quickly turned dark grey. Even her hair and eyeballs changed to this dull color, becoming solid and durable like the steel she uses. Her Steel Release: Impervious Armor had been so well trained she was able to cover her entire body with it. And without waiting for any further ado, Ari made a quick dash forward and planted a hard kick into the steel wall she had erected.

Just on the other side were the two shinobi that were flanking forward in tight arcs, to go around the wall and attack directly. But Ari was closer to the wall and beat them to it. And the wall was her territory. The powerful impact of her flying kick sent it hurtling towards the lava-release asshole, and consequently the two shinobi who were right on the other side. The sheer surprise of the wall flying at them was enough of an advantage but the fact it wasn't flying slowly either meant those two wouldn't get the chance to test Ari or Hanare in close quarters combat. One of them was clipped in his left shoulder, which not only spun him around several times and completely shattered his collarbone and shoulder but also a few ribs and nearly sheared his arm off. He hit the ground conscious but he wasn't getting up. His buddy was less fortunate, taking the steel wall head-on. He didn't hit the ground breathing, let alone conscious.

The last one was far enough away to have plenty of time to avoid the surprise attack, but by the time he would've gotten in a position to return fire again he would find the somewhat-serious Ari was standing directly in front of Hanare by about five meters. If he was to try and shoot at them again she would easily erect another wall in time to block the attacks. Instead, however, Ari held out her right hand to her side and focused her chakra. The chakra manifested in pure steel, forming the shape of a single shuriken. [color=deeppink]"He's going to dodge this,"[/color] Ari muttered, barely loud enough for Hanare to hear. Despite her throwing motion seeming to be in rather bad form and, frankly, quite a lazy attempt, the shuriken still flew at the same normal speed one would expect. And she aimed it directly for the last enemy's head. Of course, just as Ari had predicted, the other chunin wasn't completely stupid and didn't just take the hit. He wasn't in a position to be surprised by her, unlike his fallen comrades, and made no mistake. He ducked and dashed to the right, bringing up his blowgun to try and shoot at them one more time.

Perhaps he was baiting Ari into building another steel wall, so that their view of him could be obstructed and he could try a stealthier approach to defeating them. But this time Ari did something different. She reached out with her left hand and swatted the few lava pellets away. Of course the sheer heat of them singed her slightly, but unlike Hanare she had significant protection. A few pellets, no matter how hot they were, amounted to nothing against the defense of Ari Aria. The opposing shinobi continued running perpendicular to the two girls, trying to get an alternate angle of attack now that his range was proven to be useless. [color=deeppink]"Hit him while he's stunned,"[/color] Ari commanded of Hanare, before crouching down and putting her hand on the ground again.

This time the steel wall was nowhere near the two girls. It formed directly in the Kiri shinobi's path and he slammed into it headfirst. It wasn't nearly enough to knock himself out as he wasn't going all that fast, but the blow to the head was enough to daze him briefly, knock him off his balance, and completely kill his momentum. It probably ruined his plan too, if he had one.