When the comforts of civilization begin to dull our senses, we must never forget that in the beginning, there was war. And war. And more war. Long before there were empires, there were humans consumed with greed and the hunger for power. Resources, territories, information—these were the forms of sustenance upon which we preyed. Today, we call such habits vices. Oh, how arrogant we have become! Are we not still impelled by those primordial emotions? Is the advent of war so far-fetched? But alas, for you to truly understand, we must dive deeper into this land’s half-forgotten past.
There was a time when might was the only law that humankind knew. Fearsome clans roamed throughout the land, seeking amenable grounds within which they could take root and opposing forces against whom they could test their mettle. Given the irregularity of nature’s bounty, certain regions appealed more than others, and dominion over such coveted territories became the spark that ignited the earliest inter-clan wars. These fierce, internecine affairs tended to conclude only when one side had decimated their competition into oblivion, and many clans of story were rendered extinct during this period.
The victors of war, having claimed their territories, often made truces with surrounding locals, offering protection in exchange for access to the yields of agriculture. Over time, certain communities emerged as more dominant than others, either due to numbers or sheer talent, and their rapid expansion would force smaller, neighboring communities to either collapse into their fold or be devastated. When the dust settled, humankind found itself divided into the five major territories that we are familiar with today. And was the bloodshed over? With our lands obtained and our bellies filled, were we finally content?
06/01/2023 June is for Juggin
We made it y’all, another month of OTA, and fresh off the press we have another promotion ready. Leaving behind the opening bonus sadly, we welcome the jugggggg! June is for juggin AKA working hard, so we are making it a double rewards month for every mission completed! Yes we said it's double rewards, now you all can really get into the thick of those builds if you work hard enough. And who knows what you might uncover in the process. AND all jobs are free to enroll no quest EXCEPT ANBU(Black Ops) roles.
I had heard the chatter on my radio headset, and although garbled words continued to cut in and out, the gist of the static ridden messages became clear to me – the compound, MY HOME, was under some form of duress. Emphasis should most definitely be placed upon the poor quality of the transmission, a blunt fact I accepted without fret, all the while questioning the quality of my own equipment. Had I been dealt a dud? Perhaps. Perhaps not. I was still emerging from the thick fog, and it was known across local shinobi circles this environment could potential hinder electronic communication. Thankfully, I had something natural at my disposal that could help fill in any gaps left behind by the shoddy signal. With but a thought, chakra rushed to my eyes.
BYA-KU-GAN!
Silent as I scanned, I began to form a clear picture with the gift my eyes bestowed, allowing me to see the world in ways most could not even dream of. Midst unmistakable reconnaissance, I could hear panicked reports sent back and forth between civilians and shinobi representatives, all of which hinted of a possible hostage situation. With a hasted pace adopted, I darted my way into the compound, a destination already presented to me – perhaps by fate itself – as I had been intending to head there anyways after my stroll in the mist. Considering I heard mention of a bounty, I felt like claiming that prize over any other agent. It was, after all, my home turf. To exert dominance here, publicly, would naturally boost my presence. While lost in life was one of the many things you could call me, uncertain was most certainly not – I knew exactly what had to be done.
“I do not recognize him…”
But as I spoke seemingly to myself, a deep, slow tone employed, I knew this mattered not. Fatality would be dealt by my fist, and this apparently erratic kidnapper was most certainly at the end of it. You see, I am by any and all means what I say I am – a doctor, a medic, a healer of men. I have no intension other than to impart wellness. However, if necessary, I have been blessed with a myriad of techniques that can easily turn my healing hand into one that dealt devastation. I was neither proud nor addicted to it, unlike some of my colleagues in the ANBU black ops force; I simply knew when its use was necessary and justified.
These Girls Ain't Loyal Rank: C Repeatable: Once per PC Description: Deep within the Hyūga Compound, originating from one of its many households, a young, strong, and seemingly delusional man with a strong case of paranoia has imprisoned several young woman in his manor. Seeing them as possible threats to his prospecting Shinobi career, he’s threatening to eliminate them publicly. Due to the delicate nature of this assignment, the Hyūga Head have decided to allow an outside force to resolve the issue seeing as conflict within the clan could cause municipal complications. Be warned, however; the target is armed with both the Byakugan, and an irrepressible need to defend himself—stay alert.
I had not lied when I confessed earlier that I knew not the identity of the hostage taker. This much was true, considering I am an adopted member within the Mizu sect of my clan. As such, it was often that I was relegated to be stuck wandering aimlessly in a metaphorical form of perpetual ignorance by its elders, called upon on only when it benefited the defense of their precious legacies. But I did not mind it too much – at least for now – considering I was afforded many luxuries and opportunities many had not had, and I most certainly cease. Plus, I had an incredible amount of freedom to finally do what I have been secretly longing my entire upbringing – the investigation behind who I really was, where I really came from, and what really happened to my parents. But while I knew not who the soon-to-be-deceased clan member was, I certainly recognized – near instantaneously – exactly where I was in our vast, lavish compound.
And that meant knowing which side of the family I would be “visiting”.
With this knowledge, I knew just where to navigate. My cousins had grand, lavish quarters, but most structures always had a weak spot if one looked hard enough. It was a shinden-zukuri style, elegant in nature, but also upgraded with military style defenses. In this case, the deranged Hyuuga had not yet realized a second story positioning would better cover him, and instead chose to relegate in the compound’s shinden, it’s main sleeping units. Assuming the worst, I knew it was best I act, not just for the sake of his hostages, but also, to ensure the swift certainty that justice would prevail, and every action and an equal and opposite reaction – if the reacting force was willing to contend. I was more than eager. Balled up fists and a tense façade later, I let my voice boom.
“Weak men are not afraid to die….”
“…they are afraid to LIVE!!!”
There was no use for stealth, as the gift I currently used was also a gift shared among us. If anything, my attempt to neutralize him would be much safer for all rather than bringing in outsiders that were simply unable to defeat the Byakugan. I could see their various approaches – some alone, some in groups – slowly creeping and nearing the compound. As such, my window of time was only so wide. My swift stride would finally find rest as I arrived to the closed partitions before me, slightly less than ten meters away.
I felt the power rise. My right fist, no longer entangled tightly in rage, became a solid palm. With sudden chakra surging through my very being, it took but a passing thought to channel it all into my palmed appendage. Less than a second later, a back-and-forth motion of my right arm unleashed hell itself. Hakke. KUUSHOU! In the blink of an eye, the building’s opening was shattered into pieces, and anything behind it most certainly got knocked back. The sudden vacuum I produced shred through the architecture before me effortlessly. A fair amount of dust billowed from the source of my destruction. As the dust settled and debris fell, I realized it was…quiet.
Though the debris made it impossible for the normal eye to penetrate the ghostly colored veil of billowing smoke in the wake of sudden vacuuming power, my eyes would take but a moment to notice the truth – my target, tall of stance, still and proud, was unscathed. The room around him was disheveled, and his hostages had taken momentary refuge on the floor and under the nearby beds. But in the wake of sudden destruction, affirmation set in, as finally, I was able to get this psycho’s attention. From the looks of it, he was none too happy with my sudden intrusion. After a moment more of silence, his expected outburst finally came.
Timed with a primal, beast-like scream, his chakra levels shot up, covering his body in energetic activity that would only guarantee he would become all the more dangerous. Being no stranger to such an activation sequence, it didn’t take me long to see just what he was plotting. It involved a direct frontal assault on my person, fingers blazing with chakra, ready to deprive my body of my own. If he made little sense before - during his demanding stage of his kidnapping - there was absolutely no nuance of sense found in the assailant’s guttural utterances. Whatever words I had reserved for him were no longer needed; I had him right where I wanted him, an achievement met with the use of little effort.
Having enough knowledge of my family meant that I knew the potential for danger the opponent before me brought to the table. He was avid with his use of Jyuken, and as part of the main house, contained access to knowledge reserved only for its elites. These techniques were quite more dangerous than the basic offensive jutsu within the Gentle Fist arts, which was an already deadly enough style of fighting. However, main house member or not, I possessed something he most certainly did not, an observation made evident by his acceptable but improperly balanced distribution of chakra across his body. My eyes never lied. I could see just how much superior my chakra control was.
“You are nothing more…”
Words whispered truth as I felt the surge of energy continue to rush through my body. He had dashed like a mad animal engaged in the hunt of its life, fully feral and foaming at the mouth for a chance to devour me. Yet despite my still semblance, I was ready to receive the raging beast and grab it by its horns, all the while delivering one swift lesson in pain it would soon never forget. His attempt? Hakke Sanjuunishou at the end of his sprint, the front of my body being the target. My response? Well, let’s just say it was…overwhelming.
Two Hyuuga would come together, their palms ablaze with power, aiming to maim each other after utterly reducing their tenketsu networks to shreds. However, one of those men was using a technique that was not quite on par with the other, inferior in every way, shape, and form. That man was the one that was currently about learn a hard lesson, a lesson that was intended to be received on the other side of my palms. For every palm strike he attempted, I would offer double as a retort, my enhanced appendages producing twice as much output as that of my opponent. I would not only negate his strikes, but at the same time, I offered my own.
16! 32!! 64!!!
Every palm strike he attempted was deflected. I raged internally yet remained completely calm in the face of this man’s utter decimation. And while both of our Hakke domains overlapped, it was mine whose presence would overwhelm and overtake. Pretty soon, the opponent’s palms ceased their striking attempts, arms destroyed and devoid of power, slumping down to both sides while I continued to pummel at his chest. His body, slumped and without any more visible force, began to receive push-back as my strikes reached the end of their sequence.
NOW BEGONE!
The last palm struck the heart. Now, it was truly quiet. Glowing eyes revealed the other hired hands had arrived to the battlefield, but what they would find is that they were too late. As they stepped upon such hallowed grounds, the Hyuuga’s body slumped forward, his head dipping down before me. It was a weak display, but it was the only available outcome to having to fight me. Simply put, he was outclassed. Now, it was time for one last display of dominance. His hand, once embracing the form of an outward palm, now balled together tightly, a crude fist formed.
In the eyes of newly arrived onlookers, it was finally time to end the lesson.
This next, and final, display of power would be much more brutal than the calculated and precise assault I delivered onto my opponent. Just moments ago, before his body grew lifeless and devoid of chakra production, I had precisely deflected his strikes, all the while landing my own, palms of fury obliterating his tenketsu, forcing his energy production to shut down. Not only that, but I had struck him with unwavering force, the result of my mastery of the Gentle Fist. Now, as he remained limp in his defeat, I would take steps to ensure such proclivities never happen again. It was a sudden and savage amount of chakra that encased my right fist.
”At times, my hands may heal…”
I swung my hammer-like fist down with impunity, the chakra-enhanced punch that was Oukashou delivered in a descending fashion, so that it may strike – and hopefully crush – the top of his head, forcing him to further crumble downward and into oblivion. It was as merciless as it was quick, evident by the sudden rush of gasps emerging from the mouths of nearby onlookers. To those uninitiated, any display of violence would send them spiraling down into chaos. To my fellow service people, they would wonder if the punishment was too harsh, but they would agree as to its necessity.
“…but when needed, they DESTROY!!!”
As the cracking sound of broken bone erupted, I held the pose of the result of a successful downward punch for a few seconds after impact before I devolved back into my regular, more relaxed stance. His body, while not lifeless, did nothing more than twitch. Blood soon began to slowly pool under his head, though his unkempt locks prevented a clear visible shot of where the injury lie. My eyes didn’t miss it though. It was the top back of his head. I would take only a moment more to observe the carnage that I had created in front of me before preparing to move on.
Those brave enough to approach me had overcome their disgust as their mustered the courage to inquire as to the very nature of my presence. When I revealed my senior rank of Jounin, any detractors I had would almost immediately cease to pursue any form of retribution. The village was under shinobi law, after all, and this man's punishment was warranted. How so? Well, based on the fact his behavior was erratic enough to warrant our Kage make his removal an actual ranked mission.
”If you have any reservations about my conduct here, then by all means, please go to the Mizukage’s office and file your complaint.”
“Just make sure you stay out of my way.”
My presence here was no longer warranted. The same attitude I had towards my fellow nin could be said about my clanmates, whom had gathered and joined in glaring at my general direction. While they could not stop me physically, they certainly wished me ill. And even if they could, no amount of restraint shown on my behalf towards the assailant would grant me their mercy or their adoration anyways. In their eyes, I, an outsider looking in, had chosen to raise a hand against one of their own. So for those very reasons, I did not see myself remaining here any further. Why would I? Rather than relax at home as I intended after a long day of work, I’d fuck off back to the Mist, where I could be once again left alone. But before I did, there was one more piece of wisdom I wanted to share with my disgusted onlookers.
“I know you all may think that I went to far, that the man was already subdued, that I had no reason to harm one of my own like so…”
“…well, let me tell you – you may be right. Maybe one should have mercy. Maybe. But some times…?”
“…sometimes you just got to send a message.”
And with that, I was gone as quickly as I had resolved the conflict, back into the cocoon Kirigakure provided for me naturally, to be used when its inhabitants became much too insufferable to tolerate. You see, I was different than them...and they didn’t like it.
