Where'd you go, Cotton Eyed Joe?

The One That Got Away:

The 11th Raikage:

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WC: 250

The Dragon Slayer:

Walking through the twisting and winding slopes along the mountainside was quite the hike. Both physically and also visually. While it took about an hour or two to eventually get to the destination, the views were stunning. It allowed for an easy relaxation moment of gathering thoughts and preparing for what lied ahead on this rocky road. During this walk, while it was uneventful, Hiroki Shimada got to see the true side of his amazing country. The grit given by the rugged range of rocks shooting from the ground until they breached the sky itself. While most of it was gray and muggy due to a storm which occurred a few days, there were some dots of color from the few trees which littered throughout the surrounding cliffs. The numbers of them low, but still with just those few it was enough to add that necessary pop of something bright to contrast against the neutrals.

Adorned in the red ronin robes which he had taken an accustom to wearing on missions, eventually, the teen who was invited by the Lord Raikage, reached a plateau area which formed one of the many gates into the lands beyond. There, standing amongst the few people gathered around that was just distinguishable enough from the others to the point of somewhat recognition, was the man, the myth, the legend. Nobo. Over the last few months, a lot of effort was put in by Roki to make his way up through the ranks of the village. Apparently, these things clearly caught the attention of the kage, being invited to join on this hunt personally. About a meter away, the younger lad would stop, his voice being carried along the wind ”Shall we get this started?”

WC: 290

Spoiler:

“Dinner’s ready!” The soft voice of a woman could now be heard calling out from an open doorway which rested underneath the makeshift wooden awning of a modest, farm home. The woman now breached the doorway and made her way down the porch stairs, carefully stepping over a toy that had been long forgotten by her youngest child, Elias Jr, who now a days, had preferred to frolic in the fields until dusk with his older sister, Mary, pretending they were both great Kumogakure shinobi. The two took turns reenacting stories that their father had told them from the days when he was a shinobi. The woman leaned down and picked up the toy, examining it for a moment, her eyes misty. She reminisced of the days when her children were little and afraid to leave their mother’s side. Those days had long passed, and it was now difficult to convince her children to spend much time with her at all.

She placed the toy back on the porch so no one would trip over it when coming in for supper, and when no one came, she departed from the porch once more, now being fully enveloped by the sun’s soft orange, waning light. Now illuminated, the woman was beautiful. She had long black hair and was wearing a pink pastel shirt with a white apron secured around her body which bore stains from the meal she had just finished preparing. “C’mon in or else supper will get cold!” She commanded in an affirmative voice that only a mother could produce. In the distance she watched as three small heads began bobbling towards her in the horizon. Her children arrived first, and she didn’t give them a chance to run into the house without receiving a brief scolding. “What did I tell you two about staying out too late? Also, Eli, stop leaving your toys around, someone could get hurt. Now go wash up for supper.” She kissed both children on the head and off they went. Next to arrive was her husband, Elias. “You look a mess, I hope the children weren’t bothering you too much while you worked, I’ve been telling them to leave you alone, but they can’t help it. You’re their hero.” A smile appeared across the dirt caked face of the man and there was a twinkle of admiration in his eyes as they fell upon his wife. “You’re the real hero honey.”, then he leaned in and kissed her. “Let me finish up out here and I will be right in.” The two kissed again and then his wife went inside, the door closing behind her, and Elias could hear her now beckoning for their children to finish washing up and to come help set the table. He staired at the door for a minute, thinking of how lucky he was to have been granted another opportunity at life. His days of murdering for the village were over and he was now at peace.

WC: 500

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WC: 422
TWC: 672

As the two were walking, the silence between them practically deafening but without feelings of it being awkward. To simply put it, that’s all it was. No chit chat. There was no real reason or rhyme behind it. No silent treatment type of thing, no well what is there to talk about anyways. Just some plain old quiet time. It was rather relaxing and enjoyable too, so there wasn’t any hard feelings about it. But, upon hearing when the Lord 11th speak up and mention briefly about who their target was and how to handle him, there was an intent behind listening to it well. A kill shot was allowed so there was no need to worry in regards to a misplaced one occurring. Another thing of note was taken in particular; the surname Uchiha. Great…this’ll be just fine…Somewhat reluctantly nodding in agreement because of this factoid, Hiroki would chime in ”Understood, Lord Raikage. Any known strengths or weaknesses by any chance?” While the question would most likely not have a definitive answer, any potential one no matter how small it was would be good intel.

Upon nearing their destination, the newly promoted Chunin would take in the sights of a grove they had come across. A ring of trees, approximately 45 meters from one end of it to the other circled around. Other small shrubbery could be seen dotting along the circumference of it, with the inside of the actual circle itself being completely clear of anything of the sorts with the sole exception of the grass turning the landscape from the neutrals shades of the mountainsides, to the green tones of a nearby small wooded area. If a fight were to break out here, unless either party would make a retreat into the woods, it would be somewhat smaller quarters for a skirmish.

After a short amount of time, they would then come across a cabin in the outskirts of the woods. Within the field of view of Hiroki Shimada, a man was seen standing right at the precipice of the home. This man was presumably the man they were after. Judging from how Nobo spoke, it would also seem like the two had a previous history. The salt and peppered haired teen would let the kage take control of this situation first, seeing as some talking might occur before they were to actually start engaging in combat. Standing at the right hand side of the redhead, dawned in red ronin robes, the Shimada brother would stand there quietly, awaiting for a response from the guy named Elias.

WC: 430
TWC: 720

Elias had been in the process of returning his farming tools after a hard day’s work, to a small wooden shed near his home when the presence of two individuals breaking through the threshold of the forest which surrounded his farm, caught his attention. Elias placed his warn shovel back into the shed and closed it shut, not taking his eyes off the duo as they grew closer. As they neared, Elias was able to make out what each of the individuals was wearing and knew right away that these were not common folk which inhabited the small community that he had built his new life within. No- these were hardened, battle trained shinobi most likely from the village he had once risked everything for. A chill traveled down Elia’s spine and a feeling of dread set in. Not for himself, but for the safety of his family. His family had known that Elias had been a shinobi earlier in his life but did not know the full extent of his past. Elias had met his wife in the same community he now belonged to, therefor her only knowledge of Elia’s past as a shinobi was limited to what he had chosen to disclose to her and his children. They did not know that he was a traitor, a deserter, they thought he had simply retired to a simpler life and only knew Elias as the man he was now, a hardworking, affectionate, and respectable father and husband- not as the cold-blooded killer he was before. In fact, it had once been his job to hunt down traitors and deliver the final blow- showing no mercy. Elia’s worst fear was now coming to fruition and the demons of his past were now standing before him ready to pass judgement.
 
The two men had now fully arrived and upon arrival, a familiar voice rang through Elias’ head, resurrecting old memories of when he had fought along side Noboru Kaito when he was a Jounin. “Hello old friend, have you stopped by for tea?” Elias would say. Despite the irony in his statement, his voice remained very serious, knowing very well that they were not here to catch-up or reminisce. Moments later, Elias’ front door would open, and his wife would poke her head out, wondering what was taking Elias so long to join them. She had been prepared to pull her husband inside with a few choice, but loving words, when her intentions were cut short by the appearance of two strange men. Elias turned to her and said, “Some old friends Honey, you all start eating without me, I’ll return soon, we’re going to catch up.” Although Elias’ demeanor did not seem threatened, his wife knew something was wrong, but choose to listen to her husbands’ words as he had never steered her wrong before. Reluctantly, she would close the door, but before doing so, she would say “Alright, don’t be gone too long.” She would say, taking one last look at her husband before closing the door once more.
 
“Alright then, just not near my home.” Elias would say coldly, agreeing to Noboru’s terms. Elias had not yet known the extent of their surprise visit and there was still a possibility of resolving the issue without loss of life, but if he was backed into a corner, he would have no choice but to fight for his freedom and the protection of the life he had built for himself and his family. Elias would follow Noboru and his accompanied party towards the horizon of the field he had been plowing earlier in the day, which would take them far enough from his home so that if a battle were to ensue, they would be unaware of the result. “So what brings you two to my fine estate today?” Elias would say rhetorically, knowing full well they had come to close loose ends. It wasn’t in a shinobi village’s best interests to allow their senior operatives to desert freely, taking with them their extensive knowledge and secretes of the village they fought for. Maybe they would see that Elias had changed and was not a threat to the well being of the village and that his only intention in life was now raising his family and dying peacefully in the small home that he had built, surrounded by the fields he had cultivated.
 
WC: 733

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WC: 593
TWC: 1265

Nodding in agreement, it sounded like their mark would provide quite the challenge. While it certainly may not have been the worst opponent to face in combat, judging from how Nobo was speaking the man would still go down swinging. ”My arsenal may not be superb against him, but with these in mind I’ll make do.” Hiroki would say as a response to what the Raikage had mentioned about Elias. It slightly brought back memories of the last man in which he slew, the Dragon of the Ravine. They too, were an Uchiha, and the Dragon Slayer had managed to avoid too much difficulty there. But, still didn’t mean Roki could be getting comfortable, that’s for sure.

With arms crossed, the Chunin would simply watch over the initial reaction between the two men. Things would at least start calm. Luckily enough, the events that were about to unfold didn’t have to take place in front of the former Jounin’s family. Hiroki knew basically above all others, even if it was just the wife that he was currently living with, no one deserved to witness the death of a loved one regardless of their past. Eyes scanning back and forth between the two, there wasn’t a word to be said by the 18 year old. Just calmly watching as few words would be exchanged before the lot would then head off to take care of business.

Walking through past, the twilight sky beginning to approach within the distance, they would pass by the gorgeous countryside. A shadow was being casted onto the land as the sun’s light was beginning to fade. Words couldn’t describe the whimsiness of the many cycles within nature. From the comings and goings of the celestials bodies above, to the changings of the seasons right here upon the earth. The magic of it all could hardly be described as simply gorgeous or beautiful. Everything about it all was almost surreal; something that would make someone think they were just endlessly dreaming peacefully. On the other hand, Roki knew this was all just the calm before the storm. As sure as the tides wash upon the shore, things were soon about to take a turn. Though for now, the mood would remain somewhat light and easy as a smirk was given to the ginger’s joke on the way there.

When they would all get there, the Shimadan would follow Nobo, standing next to him on the right. Coming to a quick halt, he too would turn to face the missing shinobi. All that would happen next was another simple phrase added after the Lord 11th’s remark, ”This doesn’t have to be hard for any of us here…but I suspect things won’t work out that way.”

WC: 457
TWC: 1177

Elias remained mostly silent as the trio traveled towards their final destination. He had lost his humor long ago and saved any remaining wittiness for when trying to seduce his wife. He only once spoke during their brief walk to say, “Is that right?” in response to Noboru's remark that Elias’ family would be taken care of in the case he didn't make it back to them. Noboru Kaito, an old friend turned Kage and now executioner, was many things, but a liar he was not. it did provide some relief to Elias to know that his family may be taken care of if he couldn't win this unlikely two vs one, but besides the unfair advantage, Elias was thankful. If this truly was his last day on this Earth, at least the Kage had been kind enough to provide him with a true warrior's death. This old farmer was ready for a battle.
 
In the wake of the suns remaining light, they would finally arrive at a clearing that would serve as the stage for their final battle. The clearing was 100M in radius which consisted of a flat field void of any trees or obstacles other than the dense forest which bordered the perimeter of the clearing. Elias paused after reaching 5m into the clearing, creating 5m of distance between himself and the two Kumogakure shinobi. Noboru Kaito would read to Elias his verdict and upon completion, Elias would blink and activate his Mangekyou Sharingan in both eyes, along with his Perfected Sharingan enhancer. Both shinobi before him would then find that they were both unable to move their bodies at all. Elias remained still and staired at his opponents with his crimson eyes, waiting to see how his opponents would deal with this first, draining challenge.

AP: 1500 - 112 = 1388

Jutsu Used:

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AP and Actions: