The Overlook

Kumo was a naturally mountainous landscape, even within the village walls. The village was formed around and along with the mountains, the rock hard landscape being incorporated into the architectural design of the village. Nobunaga had not been here for long but he managed to find a nice spot where he could escape from the rot and filth of the village had to now call his home. That spot was high up on a mountain top. Nobunaga brought Kinzoku along with him so that they could be in a place that offered solitude and so they could escape that stench that clung to the village. From way up here the air was fresher, one could actually breath properly. As Nobunaga liked to do, he went right to the edge of the mountains surface, and gazed out over the village. The peak of the mountain was perfectly flat and large, as well as being high enough to overlook the entire village and even seen beyound the village walls. It offered a perfect view of the death and rot the surrounded the village and just how gloomy a place Kumo was to live in. It was a reminder however, a reminder of how Nobunaga had failed in his duties and this was his punishment. 

"So, old friend." Still fully clad in his armor, Nobunaga would cross his arms across his breast plate as he began speaking to Kinzoku. "What truly brings you here." Before when they met at the gates, Kinzoku had said he came to see an old friend but in all honest, Nobunaga did not believe him. Perhaps he was, but would Kinzoku really come all the way here from Konoha without knowing whether they would consider him an enemy or not. He was lucky Nobunaga met him at the front gates and not someone else from the village who could have taken him prisoner. The Hiyu was not convinced and he expected a real answer. "It is an odd thing to come all the way here, to this filth, just to see a friend." Although Nobunaga did consider Kinzoku his friend, in actuality they did not know each other all that well. They were not close enough friends to warrant a track half way across the world just to see each other. There was definitely another reason behind this meeting and Nobunaga wanted to know.

Kinzoku followed the larger man into the village as they walked through it without sharing a word. While they walked Kinzoku took the silent opportunity to observe his surroundings and get a feel for the landscape of the village. It was nothing like anything he had seen before. Suna had been all sand but relatively flat. Konoha was also a relatively flat village save the massive mountain wall behind the Hokage building which contained the faces of each Hokage. But this place was nothing like that. This village had been built around and alongside the mountains themselves. For a brief moment the beaut of this place made him forget about the rot just outside it, and how this place housed the people who took his home away from him. Not only was he observing the surrounding landscape to get a better feel for the village, but he was also observing the people of the village itself. Everyone here were strangers to him and as far as he knew, the two villages were not allies. Him simply being here was a risk to his own life, possibly his village as well. But if such matters came up they would be dealt with accordingly. 

Eventually they came upon a mountain within the village. Based on the few he had observed this one had been the biggest and highest. Had Nobunaga brought them here because it would likely be the place with the least amount of ears to pick up on their talk? Whatever the reason the Nazar followed him up till they reached the peak of the mountain. Kinzoku took a deep breath of the fresh air glad to be away from the stink of what was down below. Maybe that had been the reason he took him up here. From down below Kinzoku could see the entire village and its surroundings. Had it not been for the death and decay surrounding the village Kinzoku could understand why people would live here. If he had been living here this would have been the perfect spot for his meditation. It was even better than his spot back at Konoha. Moving to the edge, Kinzoku sat down crossing his legs and gently placing them on top of his knees as he looked over the village.


"There are a number of reasons for this visit Partner" Kinzoku began as he removed his hat momentarily to adjust his hair before placing the hat back on his head. "I wanted to see how you were doing, what life was like living with the enemy." It had been on his mind for a number of reasons. He wanted to know what it was like to live among the people who took your home away from you. He wanted to know how Nobunaga had handled it but he also wanted to know for himself as he would be living under such conditions now. "Have the accepted you in as one of their own or are they weary of you allegiance to them?" There was a brief pause before Kinzoku continued, leaving Nobunaga the opportunity to to respond. During this time he replaced the cigar he had finished on the way here with another new one. How could he miss out on the opportunity to smoke a cigar on a mountain top such as this. Once he got the cigar lit and smoking, he continued.  

"I ask because... well it seems Konoha wasn't any safer than Suna had been." After a couple of puffs from his cigar, he would get to the most important reason for his visit. "Your new home is not the only village with it's sights on conquering other territories. Another foreign village came to our gates just as Kumogakure had once done to our old home. Only they didn't come two people. This was Kirigakure and they brought an entire army. Only Konoha was stronger with resolve than Suna had been. Some weren't willing to bend the knee so easily and it lead to an all out battle. We lost, both the battle and many lives." He took a moment to flex his right arm and shoulder, testing it out after the injury he had received from a Kiri nin. Although he hadn't been during the war itself, it still reminded him of it due to receiving it from the enemy turned ally. "We were allowed to remain in Konoha unlike when Kumo came. But we live under the rule of Kirigakure. I suppose that is the reason of my visit, but I am still trying to figure out the purpose in telling you." He finished with that, not entirely sure what telling Nobunaga would do. Could he still trust Nobunaga as someone he had once known, or was Nobunaga now his enemy?

Standing tall with his arms crossed, Nobunaga would continue to gaze out over the village and out beyond its borders while his friend took a seat beside him, admitting that there were several reasons for his visit. The first thing he wanted to know was what it's like living with the enemy, being a part of the very same village that destroyed your home. There were several shinobi from Suna that had assimilated into the Kumo forces after the destruction of Suna. Perhaps Kinzoku wanted to know what his life would have been like if he had chosen to walk a different path, if he had chosen to follow Nobunaga and the other few who had joined Kumo. "I try not to think about it. What happened happened, I cannot change the events of the past therefore I must come to terms with my situation." Instinctively raising his right hand to scratch the long scar that ran across his face, Nobunaga would continue "A new leader reigns over the village, one who will probably cleanse the village of its rot and filth. There are good people here too, people have suffered greatly under this regime. Now that I am here I must aid and protect these people. I have some semblance of a purpose now for before I was lost." Living under the enemy at first had not been easy but once Nobunaga came to terms with the reality of his situation and the life he needed to live, it become a little easier to deal with. "I have not spent much time here either. After the village take over the Kumo forces went to a hidden village named Hoshi before making our way here. "

"I would not know." Answered Nobunaga to Kinzoku's next question. "I have avoided interaction with most of the village shinobi. I have met some, who were hostile, but mostly only met children who were unaware of who I was. But the hostility is expecting, especially considering one of our own was named second in command to the Kumo forces." Kyson had been assigned the leadership role of Kumo's Anbu corpse which essentially made him second in command within the village hierarchy. Nobunaga knew Maku was only doing this to keep Kyson close by his side, however despite the Kage's schemes, it did actually give Kyson power and superiority over the village shinobi.

Despite Nobunaga having joined the enemy, it seemed Kinzoku's path after the destruction of their home was not so peaceful. Konohagakure no sato had warred against Kirigakure no Sato and the foreign invaders won. It appeared Kumo were not the only nation of shinobi planning on conquering opposing villages. The first thing the Hiyu though of was that that would directly put Kiri at odds with Kumo. Two villages intent on conquering as much land as possible would inevitably come face to face with one another and it would definitely not be a peaceful meeting. "Hmmmm, the path you chose was not so much better than mine. The armies of Kiri, do you know what their plans are? What do they plan on doing with Konoha now and are they going to continue their plan of invasion?" It was unfortunate that Konoha had lost, however that was the reality which they lived in as shinobi, and Nobunaga needed to be a step ahead if he could. 

"If Kiri continues their path of invasion and Konoha is assimilated into their army there is no doubt Kumo and Kiri will face one another one day. We may find each other at opposite ends of the battlefield when that day comes. Perhaps that is why you came to tell me?" Running ideas as to why Kinzoku would want to tell Nobunaga for he had no idea himself, he was not good and reading and figuring people out, the Hiyu offered another possible explanation "Or perhaps the remaining Konoha forces are planning and revolt and you've come to enlist my services? I have no idea why you are here, friend."

Kinzoku sat on the edge of the mountain with his legs crossed and cigar between his lips and he listened to Nobunaga speak. He informed the Nazar that he tried not to think about it for there was nothing he could do now. Kinzoku could agree that there was nothing that could be done now, but that did not mean he stopped thinking about it. He thought about it daily. He used it as a reminder, a motive to keep pushing him. Now he had two instances to keep him going. Though he continued listening to the brute of a man as he explained how there were good people here and their new leader was going to clean this place up. As far as Kinzoku knew, this place was still the enemy. From the way things sounded, it was looking like Nobunaga was becoming the enemy as well. Unfortunate circumstance. Though it seemed he was still within the process of being accepted as one of the villages own, which was to be expected. There was no way Konoha would be accepting relations with Kiri with open arms, why would this place be any different?

"You're correct to say so" Kinzoku replied to Nobunaga's remarks about his path not being so much better than his own. Taking another puff of his cigar before parting it from his lips, he continued to speak. "They plan on ruling over us. Konoha will stay intact with the Hokage continuing to rule and protect the village, but we were forced to bend the knee to them. We're essentially allies, but they can tell us what to do." He paused to scratch his head under his hat before answering the last part of the question. "I have no idea what the plans of Kirigakure are. I haven't had the opportunity to speak with the Mizukage. I can only assume he won't stop at Konoha. It's only a matter of time..." only a matter of time before the two of them would likely find themselves on opposite ends of a battle.

Just like that Nobunaga had spoken the very words Kinzoku had kept in his head which forced a slight chuckle to escape. "Maybe that is why I came" he replied, "maybe I was coming to warn you of Kirigkure as well. Who knows?" he followed up before Nobunaga suggested one final possibility. "I didn't come here to recruit you" the Nazar answered. It had never crossed his mind to do so. What had crossed his mind however, was asking the Hiyu to be an informant for him within the village of Kumo. And in return Kinzoku would do the same; inform him on Kirigakure matters. But the whole idea was too risky and at this point he wasn't entirely sure it was a smart move. More than likely Nobunaga was bound to fully assimilate to the village and there was no telling whether he would turn on his village, or Kinzoku when the time came. "Perhaps I came to talk to a friend one last time before we're forced to meet as enemies." 

Once finishing his cigar as it was reduces to its bud, he flicked it off the mountain edge and watched as the wind blew it side to side as it fell. Rising to his full height, Kinzoku padded down his black pants before turning to Nobunaga. "You know, we never finished that spar of ours. What do ya say we finish it off Partner?"

So according to Kinzoku it seemed as though Konoha would be able to keep some form of its autonomy. The Kage would stay in place and rule over the village, but would still be the subordinate to the MizuKage. That was odd, that the MizuKage was not leaving one of his own in charge. Seemed likely that an uprising would happen where the Konoha faithful would take the village back. But perhaps if there was no foreigner there to rule, there would be no one to take the village back from. They would have to go back to Kiri in order to perform their attack which in that case would be useless. "Despite having been taking over, Konoha had faced a better fate than Suna, it would appear" It was still standing and still running, just with a new master. Far more than Suna had been offered. "I have no doubt the Kiri forces will continue their invasions. Once man gets a taste of conquest, they are never satiated till they have it all." Turning to face his seated friend, Nobunaga would continue "Kumo is the same. I have no doubt that one day the two will be at each others throats." Kinzoku wasnt sure about the Mizukage's intentions, but both of them knew it wouldnt end at Konoha.

 "Aye, informing me about Kiri was good. A surprise attack upon this village would have put many people's lives at risk. Not everyone here is deserving of such a horrible fate." With this information, Kumo would be able to put up some defensive measures to make sure they were not caught off guard like Suna was and presumably Konoha. "I hope that day does not come." Nobunaga solemnly replied as he looked back out over the village. He did not look forward to potentially facing Kinzoku out on the battlefield. They were both Suna nin, bread and raised by the same village. It would be an unfortunate day if the two of them ever had to fight to the death with one another.

Shifting his upper body to face Kinzoku who was now standing tall beside him, Nobunaga's usual expressionless face would display a slight grin. "A good way to finish off the day before you head back." Stated the Hiyu, nodding his head as he agreed to finish off the spar the two of them had started but never ended for they had to part ways. Turning to fully face him, he would continue "Know that I wont go easy on you, being my enemy."

Kinzoku couldn't tell if that had been a thank you or not, but Nobunaga agreed that it was good knowing of Kiri ahead of time. Although he still viewed Kumo as the enemy, the Nazar did not like seeing lives unnecessarily lost. They both agreed that the day Kumo and Kiri faced off was inevitable. All Kinzoku could do was prepare himself and other for that day. To be better prepared then he had been when Suna was taken over and when Konoha was attacked. When Nobunaga said he hoped that day did not come all Kinzoku could do was return a smile. Wishful thinking is what that was.

The two were now facing one another when Nobunaga agreed to finish the spar they couldn't finish back in Suna. It was indeed a good way to end such a day. Twirling his right shoulder and arm that had recently been completely shattered in a bout against a Kiri ninja, Kinzoku began walking to his right away from the Hiyu while keeping his gaze on him. "I'll try my best not to kill you Partner. Though I can't make any promises" spoke the Nazar in reply to Nobunaga. He couldn't remember correctly, but for some reason he felt their last spar started like something along the lines of how this one was starting.

Either way, when Kinzoku reached a mark of about 10 meters from the Hiyu is when he would stop and make his move. His left metal arm would snap behind him grabbing a hold of Peacemaker. In on swift motion Kinzoku retrieved the crossbow, pulled it off his back while simultaneously pulling back the hammer with his thumb and the crossbow's "wings" opening up. The moment Peacemaker was in front of the Nazar and aimed at Nobunaga, the trigger was pulled and a single bolt fired. The bolt was aimed towards the right shoulder of Nobunaga. This was simply used as a test shot to see how quick the Hiyu could react as well as how strong his armor was. Also if it were successful, well he would have taken out one of the larger man's limbs straight from the get go. He also assumed his right arm was his sword arm.

20 ap Kyudo Kai Quickdraw (152 speed)
1 bolt (150 speed/force, 250 sharpness)

AP: 510/530

Grunting at Kinzoku's words, the Hiyu would watch the Konoha nin retreat to the right, both of them keeping their eyes on one another. "Don't get ahead of yourself. It will be your downfall." As he walked backwards, Nobunaga would not simply just watch. His armor had already began to spread, growing and expanding as it covered his entire body. Unbuckling the button that clasped his cloak together, it would fly away in the wind, revealing the horror that was Nobunaga's armor. It had now both fully expanded and bonded with Nobunaga's flesh. The giant mass of metal flesh was now ready and good thing that he was, for Kinzoku made the first move and a quick first move it was. Moving faster than Nobunaga had anticipated, he watched his opponent masterfully pull out his crossbow and simultaneously launch a bolt towards him. As the crossbow was raising to its full height, Nobunaga already started his evasive maneuvers. With the aid of the 10 meter distance between them, a split second before Kinzoku launched his bolt, Nobunaga would already ducking to the left. Once the speedy arrow was launched, it missed only by about an inch, just missing Nobunaga's armored shoulder. 

Now kneeling down closer to the ground, a faint glow had appeared around Nobunaga for he had activated his Lightning Javlin. If he wanted to stand a chance against Kinzoku he would have to close the distance between the two of them so that he would be unable to use his crossbow. Bolting forward on the opposite site from which Kinzoku held his crossbow, Nobunaga would aim to close the 10 meter distance between them. As he started his forward motion the Hiyu would reach behind him before swinging his left arm across his chest. Letting loose two kunai aimed straight for the crossbow, Nobunaga aimed to both destroy the weapon and to distract the Jounin from what was coming next. Closing the gap, Nobunaga would make his move at the 5 meter mark. 

With nothing but pure strength and power, Nobunaga would launch his right fist forward, punching the air. However the sheer force of his punch let loose a massive wave of pressurized air that took the shape of a tiger's head. The tiger head of pressurized air, 10 meters in size would not have much distance to travel before reaching Kinzoku. Whether Kinzoku managed to avoid the incoming taijutsu or not, once it reached his current position the tiger head would explode into a blast of pure blunt force. The explossion would cause the ground bellow it to crack and erupt as the explosion reached a distance of 50 meters. The explossion would engulf Nobunaga too, however he was far too tough and strong for it to faze him. He would stand his ground and let it hit him, watching to see how Kinzoku dealt with the attack. 

OOC:
kunais moving at a speed of 160

Daytime Tiger: 90 speed 80 power

-50 ap for bonding my armor, -30 for lighting javelin, -40 daytime tiger

AP: 417/537 

Stats:

Nobunaga instantly noticed the glow in Konzoku's eyes, clearly having activated some form of enhancement jutsu once he saw Nobunaga had activated one himself. Figuring it had something to do with enhancing his speed, Nobunaga would continue with his attack nonetheless. Upon his dash forward, Kinzoku pounced backwards, clearly aiming to keep some distance between the two of them. Nobunaga noticed that his kunai had deflected right off of Kinzoku's crossbow, the Konoha nin not even flinching upon seeing the projectiles heading strait for his long ranged weapon. Maybe his glowing gold eyes somehow showed him that the kunai were not strong enough, or perhaps he just knew no kunai, no matter who threw them, could destroy his weapon. So they bounced off like ping pong balls, never distracting Kinzoku like they were suppose to. Instead, he deflected the kunais, took aim with his weapon and fired off another bolt. Based off of the angle Kinzoku was aiming his weapon, the Hiyu could easily tell that the bolt was not aimed at him bust some distance ahead of him.

It did not take an idiot to figure out that Kinzoku had something planned. No one would deliberately aim to fire a bolt ahead of someone else without a plan in mind. Kinzoku was probably setting up some sort of trap. A trap Nobunaga would not fall for. Once the bolt was fire, Nobunaga would slightly crouch and pounce into the air. Jumping 20 feet into the air, once the bolt collided into the ground and exploded, Nobunaga would jump right over the explossion, dodging the flames and avoided its blast. From his elevated position, he would continue with his planned attack. Thrusting his arm forward with clenched fists, a wave of pressurized air generated by the pure force of his first cutting through the air would form into a massive tiger head. As planned, the tiger head spanning 10 meters in size would roar through the air. However, this time Nobunaga would change his plan. Having seen that Kinzoku fled backwards at the onset of his attack, Nobunaga would not wait for the raging tiger head to his the Jounin before causing it to explode. 

Being 20 feet in the air and Kinzoku being 10 feet away from Nobunaga since he kept the original distance between them, that placed Nobunaga in the air about 22 feet away from Kinzoku. Once the roaring tiger head had reached a distance of 10 feet from Kinzoku, Nobunaga would cause it to explode. Erupting into an explosion of pressurized air spanning 50 meters, it would rip the ground apart, causing cracks and junks of rocks to fly, making the ground jagged and uneven. Landing onto a slightly elevated portion of rock, Nobunaga would land in a crouched position, watching to see how Kinzoku would react to his attack. It was one of Nobunaga's more powerful Taijutsus, and getting hit by a blast like that would gravely injury most shinobi. If Kinzoku got hit, it wouldnt kill him, but it would hurt him enough to make the rest of this fight more difficult. Nobunaga did not want to end this fight right away however he did want to show Kinzoku the range of his strength, and if this took him out, than so be it.

OOC:
Daytime Tiger: 90 speed 80 power

-25ap armor, -30 lighting javelin

AP: 362/537

Stats:

Kinzoku's eyes studied his sparring partner closely as he watched the man bend his knees into a crouch. It seemed he was anticipating the sneaky attack from Kinzoku and was thus preparing to avoid it. As soon as the bolt was fired Nobunaga jumped high into the air easily avoiding the explosion of fire. As a result Kinzoku refrained from using ephemeral because the genjutsu would have been discovered the moment it was activated. Nobunaga knew that Kinzoku was a genjutsu user and if he suddenly felt his body heating up it wouldn't take him long to realize the cause. So instead he kept his golden eyes trained onto the Hiyu climbing into the air. 

Normally this would have been the perfect opportunity to release an array of bolts at Nobunaga as he reached the peak of his jump as his options were limited in being able to avoid the attack. It would have given Kinzoku in good indication on how tough his body armor was. But he refrained from doing so when he noticed Nobunaga pulling back for a punch. Doing so meant only one thing. He had an attack that could reach him from his 10 meter (arprox. 33 feet) distance. As the punch was launched Kinzoku removed his right hand from Peacemaker and formed the seal of confrontation followed by a set of five seal at top speed. Horse, Dog, Bird, Ox, Snake. Once the jutsu was complete a massive earth dragon head ripped from the ground in front of the Nazar and began coiling around its summoner. By the time the massive tiger head shot by Nobunaga exploded half way the dragon wouldn't be fully out of the ground. But enough of it would be out to shield Kinzoku. Even from behind the protecting of his earth dragon Kinzoku could feel the force from Nobunaga's taijutsu. It was quite powerful and would have left the Nazar in quite a battered state. 

After the taijutsu was done the ground all around Kinzoku was uneven, though where he had been standing was not as bad as the ground ahead of his dragon. Once the damage had been done, the earth dragon pulled the rest of its body out coming to it's full 14 meter long body and 3 meter thick body, its head being 4 and a half meters thick. With a roar it lifted its head up into the air and launched itself down at an angle towards Nobunaga as it uncoiled itself. Mostly used to test Nobunaga and distract him, Kinzoku aimed his crossbow towards Nobunaga yet again as he waited. By the time the dragon reached Nobunaga 10 meters away, it still had 4 meters left to spare at Kinzoku's side. It would attempt to crash into Nobunaga and clench him in between it's massive jaws. While it attempted to do so, Kinzoku waited. If Nobunaga remained where he was and attempted to withstand the dragon or counter attack it, at that moment Kinzoku would fire a bolt aimed at his right thigh. If instead Nobunaga decided to evade the oncoming dragon, Kinzoku would watch to where he was evading to and fire his bolt there aiming to have it collide with the Hiyu's ribs.

5ap for Arahant (+20 chakra, +60 RT)
45ap for Earth Dragon (90 health/speed/power)
1 bolt / 3 (150 speed/force, 250 sharpness)

AP: 445/530

stats: