Bejeweled (Open to 3)

Mission:

Musu wandered around the halls of his apartment contemplating his next move. The tasks that the hollykage were assigning were starting to dwindle down and it was getting close to the end of the month now. All these goodies that the hollykage was providing was giving Musu excellent training and a lot of valuable tools and income to use. There was no way that Musu was going to stop getting all these easy rewards now so he decided that today he will go on another winter adventure. Musu would take out the letter and see that one of the tasks remaining was to go into a large cave and find some mysterious gemstone. Musu thought this one would be fun since it gave him a chance to go on an adventure in this cave system, something he used to do as a child with his father, and it would give him a chance to resharpen those skills.

After a moment of thinking Musu knew what was coming; he closed his eyes and hoped to the good gods in the world that he didn’t vomit this time due to the teleportation. After a moment more Musu would open his eyes and he would find himself facing the entrance of a large cave. The top of the cave larger than any other than Musu had ever entered into before and definitely the largest entrance into a cave system than anything that he ever saw. Beside him he saw a set of climbing equipment ready to go for him and his stomach didn’t feel any sort of irritation. Had Musu finally solved his nauseating problem?

Musu would look at the equipment and see that there was rope, a headlight, climbing boots, and a strange red overcoat that Musu didn’t know what the use was for. Musu decided to put it on anyways and think about how he was going to plan his way of navigating this dungeon.

[307]

Time had been flying pretty quickly with all of the comings and goings due to the Hollykage. Ishimaru was quite ragged due to the sudden spurt in activity but it was fun to say the least. At the current moment he was outside of his house staring up at the sky as it snowed during the night at least for him. Bundled up in a hefty jacket, a scarf with pants and some boots on he was just staring into space. " I wonder what else is going to go on during this holiday season....with all of the ripping and running I haven't been resting all too well, but it was worth it because I met some new people and got things out of it...but man the Hollykage is a slave driver," as if on cue he felt the space around him shifting as he felt his body being displaced and soon enough he was in a familiar place. Looking around he sighed is slight annoyance before he had seen someone next to him. Waving to the unknown person he walked over toward them and smiled," Let me guess... The Hollykage summoned you here as well huh? That person has no semblance of time or place do they? I'm Ishimaru. What's your name?"

WC: 212

Light flashed inside the small, warm-lit flat, Raleth Sartuobi was transported back from the world of snow, frost, and holiday cheer to his home in Sungakure. Bundled up in a thick, black white-furred Sarutobi coat, he looks around, and smiles at the familiar space. He rolls his shoulder, stretches his back, and rubs away an ache in his neck. He shakes out the exhaustion that plagues him, one of the many rewards earned from the missions given to him by the bearded, red-cloaked kage. He inhales, and thinks on the trials he's overcome. He exhales out the stress of his ordeals. He smiles, and enjoys the bliss of his silent home. The aroma of thriving plants, ripe fruit, and earthy tones wafts from the open sliding glass door.

Could go for some meditation on my porch.

A sudden thought strikes him, in all his trips to the land of iron, he had never gotten a cutting of any of the plants, stones, or any souvenir to place in his garden. Dismay hangs a somber cloak over his shoulders, his head droops down, he wishes he would of thought of such a thing sooner. He begins to walk to his back porch, to lament the opportunity he missed, when a curious sight on his living room table makes him pause. Three thermoses of hot, black-citrus tea sit next to a basket of grapefruit, bananas, and strawberries, a white note smelling of peppermint lays between them. A cheerful smile spreads over the stone-faced Raleth, he opens the note with glee.

A cave filled with jewels that shine like diamonds? An unknown challenge in the depths of the earth!? STUPENDOUS!!

Beams of light burst from the peppermint paper, enveloping everything in sight and blinding the Sarutobi.

------

The red-haired jounin from suna, Musu, was transported into the depths of the cave system glimmering with gems that sparkled like ice, snowflakes, and diamonds, he grabs the items that lay on the floor. Another flash of light, a green haired genin from konoha, wearing a jacket, scarf, pants and boots, appears meters away from him, he smiles and walks up to the red-haired jounin, he introduces himself as Ishimaru. As he does, a blinding ray of light flashes behind the two shinobi, and would leave behind the immense, ash-haired Raleth Sarutobi.

"Greetings Ishimaru, my name is Raleth," the Sarutobi, with fire in his eyes, strikes a pose of martial perfection, and flexes, "IT IS GREAT TO MEET A SHINOBI FROM THE HIDDEN LEAF!" His basso voice booms in the cave, echoing down its many paths, making distant gems shake and shine.Raleth turns to the Uzumaki, and raises his hand, "Yo!" He hands Ishimaru and Musu a thermos of tea and some fresh fruit, to revitalize their being, nourish their body, and prepare them for the challenge ahead. After their meal, Raleth looks ahead, and sees three paths ahead of them.

He turns to the Uzumaki, whose donned an interesting red coat.

"So, what's the plan?"

[[500]]

Hello you two! It’s good to see you Raleth, I see you are prepared as always, and thank you as always my friend.” Musu would say to the jounin of the sand. He was a wise old gentleman that Musu had taken a liking to since he was promoted to jounin, the first man that he actually met after his promotion. Also along for the ride was a young boy from Konoha, the one that Musu had let into the gates recently.

“Not causing any trouble in the village I hope!” Musu would say, giving a slight wink to the two of them with a cheeky grin.

It was apparent from the way that Raleth asked how we should proceed that it was Musu that was going to take point. While the three ninja drank their tea, Musu would not eat the fruit but instead he would pocket it for later, he would think about how he used to wander the caves in the land of wind with his father. He wondered if these systems would have the same features but given their geography probably not. Once he was finished without half of his tea Musu would point over to the equipment provided by the hollykage and explain.

“Well once you arrived new sets of dungeoneering equipment spawned there. I’d suggest getting into those and then follow my lead, using these markers provided by the hollykage to tie your rope to. Once you get changed I’ll demonstrate”.

If there was no alternative suggested Musu would start to descend the cliff face when they were ready. The wall was a warm up, being able to get down into the caves was some of the easiest they were probably about to face. About every meter musu would find a spot along the wall to latch a marker to. These would allow the others to latch onto as well as provide some protection against falling to doom.

“You must make sure that where you place your markers is tightly secured. If you’re wrong about one it's your head.” Musu would yell upwards, warning the two about the dangers of the task.” After a few markers were placed Musu would arrive at the bottom of the wall.

“Deviate from my markers now and go to the left and right of mine. Demonstrate to me that you understand the concept.” Musu would as the two got to about two meters above the ground. A fall from this height would hurt but it would be a bruise at the most if they fell.

Once down, if the two perform correctly, he would decide whether or not the three of them should separate.

[446/753]

"I am enjoying being in Suna at the moment, and there is no trouble to be had!," he returned the smile to the Sand shinobi as he looked over toward Raleth and his...rather boisterous entrance. Ishi hadn't met many Suna shinobi outside of Musu and now Raleth but he could tell they were full of life. Taking a few stretches after having the tea which made him quite refreshed. Feeling up to the task he would begin to follow the two until they had arrived at their equipment. Musu must have done this before since he knew a lot about it so he followed his instructions, getting everything on even if he looked a bit silly in it. Once the three were ready to go he would follow them down to the markers where he would look at them quizzically. Ordinarily he would just use the ninja techniques at his disposal to get about, but since the request had been so specific he would follow what he was told. As Musu demonstrated how to use the markers, Ishi would be mentally doing the same process in his own mind so that his body would naturally follow the steps when it was his turn.

As they descended he listened to the instructions very carefully, tying himself off to one of the markers and descending carefully until Musu had got to the bottom first and asked them to demonstrate what they were told. Of course Ishi would begin slowly, finding the perfect area to put his marker before descending bit by bit. Each marker would be put in an area that if something happened he could easily switch to another without being out of luck. There was something about this cave diving that excited Ishi. Maybe it was the fact that he had not done this before and the thought of doing something new always excited him. Once he had reached the bottom he would give himself a small high five as he waited for Raleth to come down so that they could pick their next move. Let's see what the cave had in store for them.

WC: 355

"Ha!" booms Raleth's voice as the Uzumaki asks if he's caused trouble to the village, a reference to the day both he and the red-haired jounin met. It had been some time since their spar against the second kazekage, Mizuki, in the Grove of Sunagakure.  And, in Musu's jest Raleth is reminded of how that spar had ended, with the Sarutobi using an earth style jutsu to decimate the greenery of the village. He sighs, he had grown much since that moment, and yet, his actions that day still linger in his mind. When Ishimaru mentions that he is currently in the sand village, the Sarutobi looks to him, confused. Perhaps the jest was not at him, but to the foreign shinobi in Sungakure? 

When Musu points out the equipment that spawned when they were transported from their village to the cave, Raleth scans the rope, headlight, boots and coat. He fastens the headlight to his forehead, he puts his arms through the coat and his feet into the boots. He grabs the roll of rope and hoists it over his shoulder. With everyone ready, the group prepares to find the jewel in the cave for the Hollykage.

As the group wanders away from where they were teleported, the darkness of the cave greets them. Raleth, with the other two, switch on their headlights. Light breaks, and causes the gems and stones embedded in the stone to glitter and glow like stars. The sight is breathtaking, Raleth Sarutobi takes a moment to enjoy it. As he follows the group leader, Musu, they reach the edge of a cliff. Raleth tilts his head, and can see that the bottom is a ways down. Musu Uzumaki turns, and instructs the two on how to properly climb down, and emphasizes the importance of where they place their marker. Taking in the information, Raleth, with an excited smile, waits for the Uzumaki to demonstrate.

Musu begins climbing down, placing a marker for every meter traveled. Ishimaru would follow, grinning. Raleth waits a moment, fastens his rope to the rope of the cliff and himself, and he descends the sheer, stone wall. As he follows the path made by Musu and latches onto the markers, joy rushes Raleth's being. Having never rock climbed, Raleth finds the activity wonderous. The challenge of using one's own strength to scale obstacles that defy reason made his blood pump, he wishes to find a wall that could go on forever, just to see if he could scale it. As he descends, the Uzumaki again provide guidance. Soon, Musu reaches the bottom of the cliff face. As he does, he asks the other two to deviate from his path,

Raleth would go to the left as Ishi goes to the right. The Sarutobi places each marker in a secure spot, using his strength to ensure that they would not move if something were to go awry, and would make sure that, if one of them failed, the other prevent him from falling. After climbing two meters, Raleth returns to the group. He scans ahead, his light makes the stones shimmer and shine.

"With your instructions, Musu, I believe we can tackle much larger faces. How should we proceed from here?"


[[540/1040]]

It was a little disappointing that Musu was taking this so seriously...at least too seriously for the carefree Ishi. While he understood the dangers of being too carefree, he was not a child about this and he took this just as seriously as the other two even if he acted like he didn't. His hand would slowly move back to his side as he felt a little dejected but the invisible hand of his Yuumei manifestation consoled him for a small amount before disappearing from his own sight. A small breath of air escaped his lips as he looked at the other two routes to his left and right. instead of the middle route. If there had been three sections...why didn't the three of them go on each one? It made sense from a divide and conquer aspect. When the path split a little too much then the party should have as well...Or maybe Musu knew more than the others did about this. Tapping his chin he would voice some of his objections as they came," If there are three paths and three of us...wouldn't it make more sense for us to each take one? I know some of us might be a little green when it comes to cavern exploration, but i feel like there is a reason there are three paths...Plus if anything were to go wrong we can simply send a clone to one another to assist. Maybe that's just me looking at this in a different light, but maybe you know something about this that we don't Musu?," he'd put that part last as he still found it weird Musu wouldn't want us to explore it all, instead of going only on one path.

WC: 288
TWC: 855/1333

Surprise raises Raleth's brows, the behavior of his normally humorous friend was something only seen once, when he had his outburst at the Uncle's Dragon tea shop. As he pulls his hand back from the genin, the red-haired jounin then lectures the group on the dangers of spelunking in a sparkling cave, and that death, doom, and gloom await every corner, crevice, and cranny. 

Where's his sense of adventure? Clearly, he's worked himself up to exhaustion.

Raleth looks to the young genin as he slowly lowers his hand, the sight of the dejected lad tugs at the Sarutobi's heartstrings. A shiver runs down Raleth's spine as he observes the Genin, a presence of something brushes up against the boy. What it is, he can't tell, but, Ishmaru looks as if he's being comforted. Many questions well up in Raleth's mind, yet he knows now is not the time to ask such things. The genin sighs, looks to Musu, and speaks. His point is well made, the appearnce of three paths suggests that they should all be explored. 

Yet, what if that is the challenge of this glittering cave?

Suddenly, Musu's harsh warning makes sense. If each path had its own sets of difficulty, tackling them alone could be fatal. Indeed, if they traveled as a group, they would be able to traverse any path, regardless of the difficulty. And, if one were to injure themselves, the group could be there to tend to them. The safer, and more secure choice, is going down a singular path together. Raleth looks down each of the paths, gems and stone sparkle like diamonds in the distance as his headlight shines down each one. He eyes the young genin, and a smile breaks his stone face.  

"I see your concern Musu," thrums the basso voice of Raleth,  "we've no idea what to expect from this cave. But I agree with the young Ishimaru. There must be a reason for these three paths!." He claps, releasing a massive of earth chakra, "So, lets each take one!" The immense Sarutobi places his hands on the shoulders of Musu and Ishimaru. Chakra would course over them, the air around them would be manipulated, density would be altered, and the effect of gravity on the two would be lessened. Their feet would float away from the ground, the sensation of weightlessness would be strange: they would need a moment to get used to the feeling of flight.

"Pick your path, friends. Let's see who gets there first!"

Raleth would burst down the central path, flying down the glittering cavern at 145 speed. He would weave between sparkling stalactites, and shoot down dazzling trenches. Glittering colors would whoosh past him as he made his way, in the far distance, in a carved chamber bathed in moonlight, sits a wondrously precious stone. It holds the silver of the moon in ways untold, its very sight makes Raleth's heart skip.

Is this what we were sent for?

Raleth bursts forward, toward this gem. Though, he has no idea if he is the one who will get to it first, perhaps musu, or Ishimaru, will get it first?

[[526/1566]]

Stats n Jutsu:

Musu would listen as watch as the two ninja in his company showed disdain for his idea of working together, insisting that they could all go down their separate paths and be just fine. Ishimaru even made it clear that he preferred to go alone on this mission. Before Musu would even be able to make a reply Raleth had touched the Uzumaki jounin, where he could feel his body start to feel lighter, and eventually the man would float a few feet above the air with Raleth and Ishimaru also following suit.

“What delightful power Raleth!” Musu would say giving him a smile. Seeing that Raleth wanted to now race down the pathway in this far superior state Musu would get his bearings and watch him race ahead. In reality the Uzumaki was somewhat disappointed in the outcome of this mission. Not only had the two ninjas decided to question his thought process for the mission but Raleth then made the training of dungeoneering and the equipment that they were using obsolete. Why teach them if they could have just floated in the air the entire time.

No matter, Musu decided that he was going to go down another path and not follow Raleth down the center path. Instead Musu would travel down the pathway on the right, alone, and expecting that Ishimaru would go down the pathway down the left. Floating down the pathway was quite enjoyable to Musu because all he had to do was float a few feet above the ground and just look for the hidden gemstones. Musu’s pathway would twist and turn for a little while before it made an unexpected turn back to the center where Musu would find himself in a center chamber that Raleth had already gotten to. Within this room there were sparkling rocks glitter throughout this area, it was beautiful, something that Musu had never seen before, and Musu would simply pause for several moments before moving a inch further. The Uzumaki jounin would look down and see a large green gem so perfectly placed with the rocks, nestled gently within the rock formation and so easy to take out. There was little resistance from the stone when he plucked it out of his nest. Holding it Musu could only revel in its beauty and this was indeed one of the gems that the group had come to find. Looking around he could see that this center chamber also had several other pathways leading out from it, which made Musu think that no matter what path they chose they would have all ended up here anyways, and it made Musu think.

“I guess there was no reason to worry then.” Musu would say, closing his eyes afterwards, and a moment later he would find himself back in his apartment back in sunagakure. The gemstone was still in his hand and the Uzumaki sighed as he completed the final mission on the hollykages list.

[494/1517]
Claims:
Mission Rewards:50 AP, refined Jade
WC Claims: 30 AP (Max Stat AP Bonus) , Rain Tiger At Will (1406) 2750/2750 Previously trained here, Wind Release: Wind Wall B Rank (111/1500)