Giant Sharks II: Electric Boogaloo

Gleaming in the skies and falling with heft did the three Rashomon Gates sink down onto the beach, spraying sand and dust around the structures as Baruga summoned a new whale after shielding the beach goers from possible danger. The orca would displace the water and rise, being soon mounted by the royal summoner, who would bark out commands to the standing trio below her. Noboru had to smirk; in the heat of battle, she had decided to take charge, finding herself in her element, and recognizing the danger of the situation.

For the redhead, the situation was much less dire; in fact, the situation was fun. When had he fought such a vile beast last? Near two years had passed since he had accompanied Katsumi and Anaphiel deep into the mountains, tracking a loose summon, judging it rampant and sentencing it to death, performing the execution soon after. He had been a chunin at the time. How quaint.

His dark eye shifted between Blades and Rizuke, before looking once more into the glistening rocking waters. He could easily find the position of the shark, yet, to do so, he would have to risk revealing the Hyuuga prize within his skull. It was not worth it, unless one of them came close to serious danger. Even enabling his Sharingan would provide unnecessary information to Blades, a foreigner, who already knew of his physical prowess as it was. No, he would instead allow each one of them to pull their own weight through this encounter, and if worse came close to passing, the gourd of sake would prove just as useful of a last resort savior as either of his eyes could.

When the two parted into the water, Noboru took slow steps, listening to Baruga's plan to sense the beast below the waves; it wouldn't take long before Blades was targeted by the shark, a call out that helped the man get out of perils way by the youthful Barug, and so the blonde dashed forward, sending an explosive tagged kunai at the great maw of the steely creature. It was a sight to be seen, how the creature's scaly skin resembled a thousand battered dagger points, or how his jaws parted to reveal ivory bloodstained teeth and gums, as if new teeth rotated constantly to keep up with the violent demand of the beast.

Rizuke took up his place in the fight, trying to lull the shark into a false pursuit of a crow murder, while relaying his own plan to the other three. Making the shark chase him around in circles was a good idea, and it would assist both him and Baruga in keeping tabs on the shark. “Good work, lad”, he would say, before jumping high into the sky, creating a cloud of sand behind him, and as he arched, his skin would start burning as well, before sinking into the waters where the shark chased crows. With the cover of the deepening banks of sand and high amounts of water, Noboru was able to enable his Byakugan without anyone around him to witness the veins that now popped at the right side of his head; faithful to Rizuke’s plan, the shark did seem to chase the crows that the boy created to boggle his mind, swimming and biting at random through the waters, circling what would become his watery grave. The redhead allowed himself to sink to the bottom, watching as the shark approached him above, distracted and infuriated by the murder that teased him, and as he approached above Noboru, the redhead reached out in a leap, grabbing onto the tail of the shark, the sharp skin biting into his calloused skin and trying to cut it without success, and Noboru used his massive strength and every ounce of willpower to pull back, causing the shark to slowly swirl backwards. Spinning more, he created momentum, causing a whirlwind below the surface of the water, with which he would force the shark out of the water and into the air, in the middle of the trio above, where he would be open to their finishers; in a last push, a scream bubbled it’s way to the surface as Noboru swung the shark away from its element, breaking the whirling waters above as the creature spun airborne.

How he wished he could be above the waters to see that sight.

All seeing and sparing no detail, the redhead is able to witness all that happens within one hundred meters. He had been able to see the blonde evade the shark and harm it with a well placed kunai, a tactic the redhead held close to his heart as one who specialized partially in weaponry and it’s utilitarianism, bringing back nostalgia from the times he had done as much, either to harm or to distract opponents. It was an underrated tool, an underrated mechanic in combat. It brought him some joy to see someone utilizing tools to this extent.

He had been able to see Rizuke stand amid the waves, fooling the furious fish into chasing an illusion, even though not ten minutes before he was scared of baiting a lesser beast with the three other team members assuring him of his security. To be able to lull the shark on a crow chase as this, where only the shark saw the prey, was something else, and quite the show to be able to witness.

Baruga, on her hand, mediated atop a soaring whale, likely focusing to acquire the needed energy to awaken a superior form of power; the red head had heard of such techniques, but to the best of his knowledge, he never had the opportunity to see if happen first hand. Now underwater, he had been able to see through the tumultuous waters to witness how Baruga dove beside him, taking her place by the Lord of the Hidden Cloud, eyes flashing with light, her skin marked in blue, showing she was not only the heiress to the Lightning Country’s rule, but to the domain of the oceans. It was an impressive sight to see.

Weaving seals as Noboru launched the shark into the air, the waters followed along the stirring of the redhead and proceeded to trap and elevate the shark further, as the whale billowed dark clouds all around, striking the shark repeatedly, peeling away the scales and searing the flesh underneath, driving the fish mad with pain and anger. However, the whirlwind threatened one person: Rizuke, still standing in the waters. Before he could come into danger, Noboru propelled himself from Baruga’s side, launching through the waters and homing in onto the Uchiha as a great projectile, and as he broke he waters he grabbed onto the youth, disabling his Byakugan, and holding him against his torso as his legs lifted in the air, a great arch between water and beach being completed until he finally landed on the sands with great force, which he did the best to absorb into his own musculature to prevent the youth from suffering great injury. Just in case, he wove a few seals of his own, and though the control of his chakra was barely above that of a basic genin, he managed to exert enough control so as to complete the Healing Hands technique, allowing his chakra to flow through the Uchiha to ensure any injuries or fractures he may have sustained in the fall to slowly mend. It wasn’t much, but it would allow him to walk the situation off.

It was then that he was able to turn around, the sun bathing his cold and damp skin, and witness as the shark, smoking and limp, flew through the sky, and below it, in wait, the blonde vampire bid his time to leap and meet the creature halfway, the sword in the bikini clad lad shining a blue hue, until a thousand cuts sealed the fate of the monster. A lesser person may have missed it, but decades of experience allowed Noboru to track the motions even without the aid of his legendary dojutsu – the Rinnegan, or even the Mangekyou Sharingan, of which so few people knew about, and fewer still knew Noboru had achieved the peak performance of the heritage of the Uchiha, some calling it theft and heresy, others calling it unethical power amassing. Noboru saw it in a different light. Power for power sake, power to protect his people, power to ensure a beach was safe from an indomitable force of nature. If his soul was the price to pay for the power to bend fate to his whim, and afford him the possibility of saving those he held dear, then so be it. He had already resigned himself to being a tool for the Lightning Country, and no condemnation would make him step back from his path. Some had gone as far as calling him a tool to the will of others, but that had been wrong too. For now, when he had the power to control his own fate, he remained as headstrong on his path as he had been before. Power for power sake. Power to keep his people safe. Power to inspire his people, to make them covet it, seek it, usurp it.

The power to commit the greatest sacrifice.

When the beast fell onto the sands, its body no longer supported itself, and it caved into cubes by the force and sharpness of Blades’ sword. As Blades landed, he looked at the lads and lass, nodding. “Well done, team. Hopefully, that was the last of it. If you two will stay around, then I hope you’ll keep an eye on the waters. As for this shark–”

It was then that some of the populace gathered around, tentatively at first, but getting closer and closer past the great Rashomon gates once they felt secure. They gawked at the cut beast, at the wet ninjas reflecting the sun off the salt water on their skins, at the bloody blades and sands. Noboru regarded them with care, these fragiles beings. However, as soon as a fisherman approached the beast and tried to grab at it, he grabbed his hand, carefully. The fisherman would be able to sense Nobo’s power just from this light grip, the power exerted by the Extreme Realm of Force likely sending vibrations and shocks through their arm and joints. “And what is it you think you’re doing?”

“Please, sir, this shark, it could feed us for weeks!” Noboru’s expression was unchanged. “And it will feed my team for a day. What’s your point?” The fisherman was confused. “It’s our kill. If you want it, you will pay for it.” The fisherman nodded. “Y-yes, sir. I will go grab my wallet, and we can d-discuss prices?” Noboru let go of the man. “Sure.” At least they could get paid for this.