[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/a8EFRzz.png[/img]
[COLOR=black][sup][b]Empire of Stone | Chunin | Squad Four[/b][/sup][/COLOR][/center][hr][INDENT][sup][COLOR=black][b]TIME:[/b] [i]PRESENT TIME[/i] | [b]LOCATION:[/b] [i]Amegakure - Landing Pad[/i] | [b]INTERACTION:[/b] [i][color=EB9675]KOKO IYOKAN - [@schadenfreude][/color], [color=gray]MIYAKO KUROSAWA - [@MesuOkami][/color], [color=6ecff6]SHINJI YUKI - [@BladeSS4], EVENT MANAGER - [@Syn][/color][/i][/COLOR][/sup][/INDENT]

Sakana glared at Shinji a while, seemingly not really impressed with the way he handled his remark ‘tactfully’ as if he were a businessman. The repetition in his speech, saying over and over that he had no problem with them, and that he needed him to introduce himself, made him look more nervous than calm and collected at any rate. [color=black][b]“.. right.”[/b][/color] On cue, Nagi Shinrikyo passed by, telling him that it was all ‘in the name’ and that we had to guard our own interests. It was funny, because it was true, but Sakana didn’t laugh or smirk at her remark. Rather, she eyed both Shinji and Koko as assets that were there simply for the ride. Like Nagi said, he couldn’t rely on them to guard anything other than their own assets – and similarly, they should expect the same from him. Except he wasn’t here for the explicit interest of the Iwagakure Empire. He was here for his own, by grace of the Emperor. The remark Nagi made about him being from Kumogakure, however, fell on deaf mans ears. Sakana served no man but himself. Whether that is a Raijin dynasty of sorts, or an emperor in an ivory tower. 

Sakana paid some attention to Miyako, but seemed more in deep thought than anything. When Miyako finished her little speech, he simply nodded. Yeah, having Miyako at the head would be fine. Not like it’d matter much. In the heat of the battle, only your instincts and fate can save you …or kill you.   

Just like Koko, Sakana immediately turned to face the commotion caused by these Konoha goons. It was so like Konohagakure to send some children to play in a game of life and death – not that Sakana could make any remark on that, since he was only 16 and possibly the youngest member of the entire team, if not the expedition at a whole. But to act like this, blatantly yelling and screaming. [color=black][b]“Idiots,”[/b][/color] was all he’d add on to the matter before turning back to his own group, a hint of irritation visible in his otherwise bland, boring face. 

He cocked an eyebrow when Koko called herself a sword for hire, before realization set in that she was potentially mocking him. Rather than fire off, like he usually would’ve, he lowered his eyebrow and grinned at her instead. Fate would take care of her – he couldn’t make any judgement on that yet. Something he could make a judgement on was that she was playing dumb – acting like an airhead, casual, go-with-the-flow type of person that so many shinobi seemed to want to be – and that judgement was that it’d come to bite her in the ass later. [color=black][b]“Sounds like your only skill is existing..? I hope Iwagakure didn’t pay a premium to have you on board then,”[/b][/color] he added, though he was quite sure that Koko, of all people, had an ace up her sleeve. The logical thing would be to assume that her pipe was a weapon of sorts, but that was too obvious to be her trump card. He’d just have to wait and see. As for Sakana, his trump-card wasn’t something he could forego telling his team about.

[color=black][b]“Unlike these goons, I should probably tell you what I can do, for your sake rather than my own. Miyako, put me on the front line. The reason is…”[/b][/color] he said, undoing his flak vest and raising his mesh shirt. He revealed the Ura Shishō Fūin seal on his chest that would activate on his death. It’d generate something akin to a blackhole that would, essentially, kill everything around Sakana when he dies. In fact, Sakana was more or less a weaponized failsafe, a suicide bomber if anything, in the most extreme fashion one could think of. [color=black][b]“.. the reason is that if I die, and you guys are next to me, you die too.”[/b][/color]

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[center][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pI7Jc-fSQQ8[/youtube][/center]

With the team assembled in the VTOL, Sakana would spend the rest of the trip being quiet. They flew over the border between Kumogakure and Iwagakure as they headed north-west towards this new continent. A dark place that Sakana had only ever heard rumours of, rumours he’d discarded as vague lies drunk men tell in a bar. Turned out it was the truth, and a pretty dark truth at that. Biological warfare was nothing new, but in this capacity it certainly was new. Where as this type of combat had usually been restricted to jutsu with biological impacts, which meant there were counters to this type of attack, this new threat was nothing of that sort -  at least, that’s what he inferred from the briefing. 

While they travelled he mostly stared out of the window, giving the impression perhaps that he was deep in thought, strategizing potential threats, making up tactics and strategies to use against these threats, and above all, how to best achieve their goal. The truth was, they didn’t have any information in regards to what they were doing. They were unaware of what threat they were facing, they couldn’t make tactics and strategies because of that, and their goal was as vague as it was ever going to be. When they started approaching a dark cloud, he suddenly turned his head into the seating area of the VTOL, speaking up. [color=black][b]“Anyone else feel like this is a suicide mission?”[/b][/color] he plainly asked, and as if by some divine intervention, a sudden crack and an explosion outside of the VTOL shook the entire craft up. 

Sakana waited about one whole second for the pilot to pipe up about some weather problems, but he didn’t say anything, and a single glance out of the windows confirmed that their wings were, in fact, gone. The ground would come closer, not so rapidly as the craft still had some forward momentum, but the time to act would be now lest the entire team die here. [color=black][b]“Miyako, shoot me to the ground.”[/b][/color] he’d say, getting up and sliding the door open on his side of the VTOL, waiting for Miyako to get up and ready to use her wind techniques to propel him forward to the ground as fast as she could. Once she was ready, he’d inform the team of his plan. [color=black][b]“Once she propels me off, you guys jump after me right away. I guess you might die, but you’re gonna die for sure if you don’t follow me. Trust fate.”[/b][/color] 

With a loud thump from the air making way for Sakana, Miyako would propel him forwards using her wind chakra, shooting Sakana off like a literal bullet heading for the ground. Any normal human would’ve died on impact, and even a shinobi would have a hard time pulling this idiotic plan off without any lasting damage, but Sakana went ahead and did it anyway. As he soared towards the ground he rapidly formed handseals. [color=black][b]“DOTON! Doryū Jōheki!”[/b][/color] He adjusted his position so that he could land on his feet, hopefully with a bit of momentum carrying him forward so that he could land in a roll, but as he picked up more and more speed it seemed very unlikely that he’d be able to do it. With a very large thud he connected with the ground, his brows furrowing in pain as he felt a shiver of pain running up his leg from the impact, twisting his ankle quite badly in the process. 

Before he allowed himself to react to the pain, he smashed his palms into the ground, raising himself into the air by forming a earthen platform moving upwards, closing the distance between himself and those of his team that had chosen to follow him down, allowing them to land on the platform from a smaller distance to lessen the damage – if any damage occurred at all. Once they were all safely on the platform, he slowly began lowering it, bringing them to ground level. During the ride down to the ground the loud bang and cloud of smoke in the distance told them precisely what would’ve happened had they not jumped. Most likely their bodies would’ve fused with the metal of the VTOL in a smoldering pile of fire and metal. [color=black][b]“Motherfucker..”[/b][/color] was all Sakana had to say in response to his twisted ankle. It was pretty bad, and definitely would impede movement during the entire duration of the mission, but it wasn’t something he couldn’t get over when they were done. He’d just have to pull through this time.