By the New Moon's Shadow

[Arata Namikaze]

HP: 360 (460 w/ C.A.)| Chakra: 17 | Regen: 5/post

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TAGS: Kuroda Uchiha  Yōsuru Shin  Kozakura Senju

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NOTES: Arata uses [Transformation Technique]

With the slightest nod of his head, Arata acknowledged Kuroda’s gesture. With a silent burst of speed, he was on the guard in an instant—a young man, he saw, as he closed in on him. Wrapping the poor fellow into a headlock, he dragged him to the ground. A few seconds of muffled struggle later, and he had gone limp. It would mean a nasty headache for the guard come morning, but he’d be fine in the long run. If he was really lucky, he’d be expelled from the temple before the rebellion decided to raid it.

He found the guard a comfortable resting place in some nearby bushes and quickly scaled the wall to meet up with the other three shinobi a few levels up. Looking at the fake guards before him, he scowled. “Too many is suspicious,” he muttered, before forming a single-handed sign and disappearing in a puff of smoke. Out of the cloud, he appeared as a black cat. Silent and unassuming, it was the perfect form for this sort of mission. Unfortunately, that fact didn’t help him with his general disgust for transformations. Whatever was involved in the technique always seemed to make his stomach twist up in knots.

He trotted ahead of the group, navigating towards the library with the plan of expelling the transformation once they were behind closed doors.

Made by Zeref of THQ

[Kuroda Uchiha]

    Internally, Kuroda was relieved that the two guards were so easily tricked. In all likelihood, this wasn't due to inattentiveness or stupidity - more likely that the temple had always been such a fortress, that the very idea it could be breached had led to a complacency. The guards were bored - and boredom was deadly in guard duty. It was their luck that Kuroda wasn't interested in spilling their blood.

    Kozakura arrives in her fashion, also assuming the form of a guard - this one adopting the face of one of the guards that were stationed up here. Smart. Kuroda witnesses Arata swiftly take down the guard he had motioned to before - good; with that taken care of, there was less chance of an unpleasant surprise when someone recognized the face Kuroda was wearing, only to see it elsewhere again.

    Yōsuru on the other hand remained in his natural form as he followed after the group. Fortunately, as Arata navigated through the building, they didn't come across any guards. They seemed to have gone for the prayer that had been signaled by the bell's toll. They had a window, but didn't know how long it would last.

    Finally, they come upon the library. Kuroda waits for all to enter before sliding the door shut quietly.

    "Kozakura, get whatever it is you came here for - I need to find a layout of the Fire Temple and its surroundings." Kuroda turns to Yōsuru. "If you could help me locate something like a map or site planning, that's what I'm here to get ahold of."

    Kuroda turns to the Cat-Arata.

    "Mind keeping watch? This shouldn't take long, but we can't be sure when the guards might return." Kuroda says. He turns to and nods at Kozakura, and begins checking the overhanding shelf labels.

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WC: 300

[Yōsuru Shin]

Yōsuru did not respond verbally, merely nodding in response to Kuroda's request. Noise was a dangerous resource. Even quiet whispers. It needed to be exploited only when absolutely necessary. Blueprints or maps he imagined would be in some kind of archive, and an archive would probably be located within the library. As he walked closer towards it, he stuck to the shadows and formulated a plan.

He would quickly check the windows and see if there was anyone inside. The building was mostly empty, save for one attendant carefully sorting books and other items. Probably not a monk, given that they were not attending prayers. Likely just an assistant assigned to the night shift to ensure everything was in its proper place for the morning.

Yōsuru carefully moved to the door of the library, and gave it two quick knocks before performing a very familiar handsign and disappearing in a puff of smoke. In his place, a rusty old-style kunai, wrapped in silk and tied with a beautiful bow lay on the doorstep of the library.

The door soon opened, the assistant looking left and right for who had knocked before there eyes came to settle on the object Yōsuru had disguised himself as. "Oh my...this must've been a donation to the archives! Oh sweet history, I hope the guards didn't just drop you! That'd be a travesty. I'll put you nice and carefully away for now, the elder monks can decide what we should do with you." The attendant was clearly too excited by the prospect of a new artefact to really question why anyone would just leave it on the floor, and that suited him just fine. He was carried inside the library, and placed in some kind of storage closet on a shelf. Left alone for the time being. With another puff of smoke he returned to his human form, making sure to stay silent.

"Now if I were a map of the Fire Temple...where would I be?" He thinks to himself.

[Kozakura Senju]

by the new moon's shadow As much as Kozakura begrudged taking orders from a Uchiha, she listened as Kuroda directed her to seek her own bounty while he looked for plans with Yōsuru. She bit her tongue, the monk form she'd transformed into serving to hide the roll of her eyes well. "Of course." she said, her voice completely changed to match the face she'd chosen. Kozakura made haste, moving throughout the library with calculated pace, just fast enough to not waste time, but not fast enough to arouse suspicion should they happen upon another monk in the library. She was in search of two things: information about Tonika and Yosuga... and information about the Sage of Death. She had always had an idle fascination with him, but in the days of late as things readied for war, she wanted any weapon she could get on her side. Trying to avoid the watchful eyes of the other shinobi, Kozakura moved around shelves and scrollwalls until she found herself at the locked entrance of the restricted section. With one small hand gesture, a crack in the floor gave way to a long arbor vine that crossed the bars, and with a small tap of her foot and another sign, she transported herself along into the restricted section, and started her search. Arata Namikaze > Kuroda Uchiha > Yōsuru Shin Items: Shinobi Armor | Koza used [Wood Release: Mayfly]

Ninjutsu: 5 Taijutsu: 2 Genjutsu: 1 Technique: 1 Toughness: 2 Speed: 2 Stamina: 2 CP: 17/17 HP: 560/560

MADE BY ★MEULK OF GS & THQ

[Arata Namikaze]

HP: 460 (560 w/ C.A.)| Chakra: 24 | Regen: 7/post

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TAGS: Kuroda Uchiha Yōsuru Shin Kozakura Senju

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NOTES: Notes here

With a swish of his transformed tail and a quick nod to his partners in crime, Arata leapt up on top of a bookshelf near the entrance. From there, he had a perfect vantage to see where the others went as they began searching for whatever secrets the Fire Temple’s collection might hold. Yōsuru and Kozakura seemed to waste no time fanning out into the labyrinth of shelves. As much as he could, he watched the two of them snake their way into the library’s interior, using a few tricks along the way. Clever, he thought.

Ten minutes passed, then fifteen. The monks would be finishing up their vigils soon. Arata’s eyes slid across the long aisles that filled the library around them. Even with his current cat-like vision, the shelves disappeared in the darkness which dominated the space. He hoped Kuroda didn’t try any of those famed Uchiha fire release jutsus to illumine the space. It would only take one scroll catching fire to send the whole Temple up in flames.

Ahead, tucked in a nearby alcove, the Namikaze’s eyes settled on a large white scroll, it’s exterior decorated with grey ornamentation. Well, would you look at that… He had seen one like it long ago, wielded by a shinobi of the Land of Grass. If it was what he thought it was, it was too good to pass up. A moment gone from his post would be well worth it. With a quick glance around the library, he leapt off the bookshelf and darted for the alcove. With a puff of smoke, he returned to his normal form, grabbing the white scroll and sliding it into his pouch.

Turning on his heel, he took two steps before watching the library doors creak open. Two monks, one carrying a lamp, stepped into the library proper.

Arata was on them in an instant, speeding out of the shadows. The first monk’s eyes widened in surprise, but a well-placed blow quickly knocked him out. The second, unfortunately, had a moment to cry out in surprise before Arata’s staff smacked him in the side of his head. The “Whu—” which had escaped the man’s mouth seemed to echo through the library, rolling out into the night sky beyond its doors. “Shit,” he hissed under his breath. “Time to go, you guys!” he spoke a little louder, projecting out into the library.

Made by Zeref of THQ

[Kuroda Uchiha]

    As other events unfolded around Kuroda across the wide room, he himself went to the public records area first. For most, such scrolls tended to be inane, and even worthless even to an outsider, if not especially so. But there was always two ways to obtain the information he needed.

    There would always be separate records for a structure's blueprints - public records with serve as a general overview of the structure, and private records, which are usually kept under lock and key due to sensitive information held within them. It took little time or effort to locate the public records, and less effort to find the property overviews. Everything in this library was kept very much up to date, it seemed. Kuroda took the public records scroll, and placed a blank scroll in as a replacement. It would be discovered eventually, but it would likely take a few weeks, if not longer.

    Kuroda then made his way over to the restricted section. He gazes at the metal door for a moment, and spots the security seal plastered over seam of the entrance. If broken, it would immediately alert the person who had created the seal. No doubt there was a way to temporarily remove the seal if someone needed access, but Kuroda didn't know the proper seal release to do so.

    The sounds of a sudden commotion drew Kuroda's attention, and he grimaced. These public scrolls would have to do. At Arata's warning, Kuroda was in motion. He flew towards the area near Arata, offering a fast wave to make sure Arata knew it was him; he was still transformed into the appearance of one of the temple guards, after all. And he would not be dropping that disguise until they were far away from this place.

    "We have a few minutes at best." he says, glancing at the unconscious monks.

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WC: 311

[Yōsuru Shin]

Yōsuru had to silently remind himself not to whistle a jaunty tune as he searched through the storage room his dagger form had been placed into. He was going to need a bit of time to sift through all of these records to try and find what he was looking for. Luckily they were all completely undetected so he had as much time as he needed to carefully check through all of these...

"Whu-" 

Or perhaps not. The muffled yelp just outside was already a bad sign but the follow up from Arata made it even worse all of a sudden. With a deep sigh Yōsuru began digging through cabinets and shelves to try and find anything he could resembling a map before he left. Given that it was likely the temple would soon be alerted to their presence he didn't really pay much mind to making a mess. 

A minute passed and he found himself standing amidst a pile of discarded scrolls and miscellaneous artefacts. Before his hand fell upon something that looked larger than a normal scroll. It was somewhat crusty and aged, and bound in a mysterious seal, but it definitely appeared map like.

As the commotion increased outside he realised it would have to do. He grabbed the map and tried to put it away somewhere before realising it was a tad too large to be safely stored on his person. As such, it seemed he would have to carry it with him.

He moved to the storage closet door to slide it open, only to realise it was locked tight.

"Ah...bugger..." 

[Kozakura Senju]

by the new moon's shadow Kozakura wasted no time, trawling through the shelves for what she was really here for. Each item on the shelf, objects, relic, scrolls and books; all of them were locked tight, with layers of fuinjutsu seals scrawled across them, a protective measure against the curses and other effects on them. From the shelf, she took two items as she heard her companions and realized their time was up. The first was a book of flayed, blackened leather made from something worryingly close to human with a dark purple stone clasped in the mouth of it, and the other was a scroll stitched shut in black thread that seemed to writhe and wriggle as she grabbed it from the shelves. She stowed them with some difficulty inside of a carry scroll, feeling the items resist her fuinjutsu as she stuffed them inside, and flashed her way along the vine back to the room with her follow intruders. This time, in a hurry, she had failed to move under the bounds of the seal placed on the restricted gate, and she felt a pulse of chakra pass across her and into the air. Whoever had crafted that seal was definitely aware someone was passing through that gateway now. She held back a curse unnder her breath. She skidded around a shelf into view of Kuroda, Arata and Yōsuru. Her guise as a monk dropped, the transformation jutsu interrupted by the complex combination of passing through the seal she'd broken and recovering from the wood passthrough of the mayfly technique. "Looks like our time is up. Have we got what we need?" she asked, looking down at the unconscious monks and up to Arata, then across to Kuroda. She didn't exactly like the idea of the Uchiha getting a map of this temple, but if it meant he'd be on the way out at the same time as them, that was ideal. She hoped in their brief time apart Arata would have been able to snap up a map of Tonika Village. Arata Namikaze > Kuroda Uchiha > Yōsuru Shin Items: Shinobi Armor | Koza used [Wood Release: Mayfly]

Ninjutsu: 5 Taijutsu: 2 Genjutsu: 1 Technique: 1 Toughness: 2 Speed: 2 Stamina: 2 CP: 17/17 HP: 560/560

MADE BY ★MEULK OF GS & THQ

[Arata Namikaze]

HP: 460 (560 w/ C.A.)| Chakra: 24 | Regen: 7/post

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TAGS: Kuroda Uchiha@riyota@kozakura

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NOTES: Notes here

The others were back at the entrance quicker than Arata had expected—a hopeful sign. Perhaps they had been finishing up their searches when the commotion had occurred. Or, as Kozakura and Kuroda’s overfilled packs suggested, the shinobi had simply taken what was at hand. Damn. The night was a waste unless they walked out with some relevant information: maps, preferably.

“Are you saying you didn’t find it?” Arata responded to Kozakura’s question with a concerned look. He glanced over at Kuroda as well. Perhaps the Uchiha had snagged a map along the way.

He shook his head slightly. “Either way, Yōsuru’s not here yet. You said it well enough, Kuroda—we’ve got a few minutes. I can be quick enough when I need to be. Do what you will: I’m going to go look for the map and the Shin. Then we’re getting out of here.” Without hesitation, he turned and sped toward the corner of the library he had last seen Yōsuru heading toward. With any luck, Arata would be able to find both items in the same place.

“Yōsuru—time to leave, friend!” he spoke loud enough to be heard across the shelves in that section.

Made by Zeref of THQ

[Kuroda Uchiha]

    Kuroda kept watch as Arata went back to collect Yōsuru from the archives. Kozakura came up to Kuroda, posing her question.

    "I believe so. I have part of what I came for - hopefully you got your interest too." Kuroda replies, gazing down the halls. There wasn't yet any sounds of running feet - but that didn't mean much. He turns to Kozakura, but doesn't say anything at first.

    What could he say, really?

    "I'd like to talk to you under... better circumstances." Kuroda says. "We won't get into it here - but there have been wrongs that need righting between us."

    But finally - an alarm bell sounded. Kuroda grimaces.

    "Looks like they found the guards we knocked out earlier." he says. He turns back, and with a puff of smoke, returns to being his normal self. "Time to go! We're out of time for real now!"

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WC: 145

[Yōsuru Shin]

"Well it seems like the element of surprise is trully no longer our ally." He mumbles to himself, still locked in the nearby storage closet. With a focused breath he channels wind through his body before striking the door with a forceful palm. Causing the wooden barrier to shatter into splinters. Showering the floor with fragments of timber. He steps out and brushes himself off, looking left as he notices the library attendant cowering and attempting to hide. In response Yōsuru simply smiles, raises a finger to his lips, and utters a quiet "Shhh..."

It wouldn't take him long to reconvene with his allies and realise that the situation had very quickly gone from smooth to quite unfortunate. "Here, I was able to snatch this. No clue what it is, might be nothing. But given the fact that it's been specially sealed. It certainly doesn't feel like nothing." He informs Kuroda, handing the sealed parchment that he hoped was a map or some such over to the Uchiha. "Right now though. I suggest we see to getting out of here."

[Kozakura Senju]

by the new moon's shadow Kozakura was usually very composed and difficult to read, but as Arata questioned the fact that she hadn't grabbed the map herself, there was a moment where she looked a bit like a deer caught in the headlamps of a wagon on the road at night. With a breath, and not wanting to explain what she had actually gotten, she tried to think of a reply that would keep the conversation off the table for now. "I had a secondary goal, I achieved it." Her reply was simple, and her faith in Arata's skills was proved yet again as she watched him race off through the library after Yōsuru, the fourth in their bizarre quartet. And Kuroda had replied to her question, too. Better circumstances? she thought hard about what he had just said. While she held no grudge against him specifically, there was nothing she thought he could do to right the wrongs between their clans. Wrongs aren't righted. They're repayed, or forgotten. And the Uchicha clan's wrongs would not be so easily forgotten. But there was a morbid part of her intrigued at hearing him out. Before she could offer him a reply of any subtance, an alarm bell began to ring out. Where Kuroda grimaced, she found solace. She could avoid this complicated conversation for another day, and that was relieving. She gave Kuroda a nod, and she didn't make clear with it whether it was toward his offer to right wrongs, or that they needed to leave immediately. But she did start to run. Their limited time in the library had very rapidly come to a close, and Kozakura watched as monks began to spill in from the flanks, on their left and their right. "Arata, have you got that map? There's no more time." she said with a sense of urgency, as she conjured a whip of thorns and struck down one of the incoming monks. Items: Shinobi Armor | Koza uses [Wood Release: Thorn Whip] for 5 CP || Wood Release: Thorn Whip deals 25 Wood (Earth) damage! || Wood Release: Thorn Whip generates 1 Wood Token!

Ninjutsu: 5 Taijutsu: 2 Genjutsu: 1 Technique: 1 Toughness: 2 Speed: 2 Stamina: 2 CP: 17/17 HP: 560/560 Wood: 1

MADE BY ★MEULK OF GS & THQ

[Arata Namikaze]

HP: 460 (560 w/ C.A.)| Chakra: 24 | Regen: 7/post

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TAGS: Kozakura Senju@kuroda@riyota

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NOTES: Sorry...

Arata ducked through the shelves, threading his way back toward the other shinobi. As he sped along the corridors, his hands reached out reflexively to bag whatever scrolls looked ancient, interesting, or of some relative importance. In the unrestricted sections of the library, he was unsure what he might find—but it was better than nothing. The sounds of battle had flared up just seconds before, which meant that they were out of time. Powerful as the four shinobi might be, they stood little chance against the entire Fire Temple. Best to get out while they still could.

The Namikaze rounded a corner and spotted Kuroda, Kozakura, and Yōsuru running ahead of him. A burst of speed caught him up to the trio just as monks began to pour into the space.

He felt his stomach drop as Kozakura asked about the map. The truth was, he was unsure what all he had managed to grab. It was possible, of course, that the map was in the pack that hung over his shoulder. It was also possible that he had merely managed to grab old monastic records and necrologies.

“It’s possible,” he responded through gritted teeth. He swept the legs out from underneath one monk who got a little too close.
He could feel some frustration building. He’d been tasked with keeping watch—something he could’ve admittedly done a little better—and not with finding any maps. He had assumed the others would take care of that. Foolish.

But there was no time to worry about that now. Weaving a few signs, he built up wind chakra in his lungs. With a sharp exhale, he blew a powerful blast of air directly in front of the group, knocking over two of the monks blocking their exit. It wasn’t a jutsu, really—just a blunt use of chakra, unrefined and sloppy—but it got the job done. A gap opened in the monks’ formation, and the Namikaze shot into it, staff swinging wildly.

Made by Zeref of THQ

[Kuroda Uchiha]

    Everyone was on the same page now - as they move, Yōsuru hands a scroll over to Kuroda, who nods in appreciation.

    "We can get back out the way we came in!" Kuroda huffs as the group runs down the halls. He follows Arata as the Namikaze barrels through a pair of guards, and bringing his staff to bear down on the rest of the guards! Kuroda joins the brief melee, weaving his hands to form seals. "Fire Release: Paralysis!"

    A wave of hot air suddenly shoots out, washing over the guards and monks, but not touching Arata, Yōsuru, nor Kozakura! Their opposition all stop in their tracks, falling over with the loss of their motor functions! Kuroda rounds the corner, and bursts through the doorway and back out into the open night air! The alarms were being hammered against, and Kuroda could see that the noise had drawn attention.

    Grunting, Kuroda leapt from the second story platform and onto the walls! A guard came running, wielding a spear, but Kuroda took them down with a non-lethal chop to the neck. He looks back to see if the others were following, and drops down to the other side. From there, Kuroda would wait only until he saw that all three of them had also escaped, before disappearing into the night and shadows of the forest...

Thread Exit!

[Yōsuru Shin]

The rampant chaos that was now ensuing wasn't exactly fantastic for a supposed stealth mission, but he supposed no plan survived first contact with the enemy. Yōsuru's presence here could easily spiral into an international incident, even more so if he struck or killed any of the monks present. So he did what was likely the wisest thing, if not the most heroic. As the others scattered the monks and made their escape the older Shinobi slipped away into the darkness unseen and leapt back over the wall, fleeing into the night to avoid further troubles, though he'd make plans to see each of his companions again soon.

[THREAD EXIT]