Thunder rang out across the mountain peaks of Kumogakure. The Village Hidden In The Lightning with the clouds containing the lightning if view would be well below the peaks themselves.
Kumogakure had a more offensive form of defense for their hidden village as the mountains that formed the hidden village had both hot springs in them that provided steam that formed the thick clouds.
But due to unique elements in the mountain's the surrounding mountains were constantly being struck by lightning, and people wearing or carrying metal on them were heavily at risk of being struck by the lightning that just seemingly looked for any excuse to strike something.
Unless... You walked the main path up the mountain that led up to Kumo's main gate. Which was heavily defended to say the least.
Above the cloud layer and built into the mountain peaks was a spraying city, with massive stone bridges and structures that connected the multiple mountain peaks that made up Kumogakure along with the city being built into the mountain sides and into the mountains themselves.
Within one of the mountain's in a massive gymnasium with it being well lit by electric lights as well as one of the walls of the gym being a giant window that let in the sun's harsh light.
The clashes of steel rang out, as Killer Bee, a larger man with dark skin and weilding two swords casually sparred with his apprentice.
Said apprentice was a woman with short pink hair, green eye's and a couple teal highlights through her hair and the woman was meeting Killer Bee's swords with two fuma shuriken. But the three-bladed large shurikan's were spinning quickly even in her hands which showed they had some sort of mechanism that allowed the motions.
Not only that, but each of the three blades had an elemental effect, one was glowing with fire, one was covered in a sheen of water, and the last was encrusted with hardened earth that covered the blade.
"Haha! Little Rappa the R has the bite of three upgrades in her blades!" Killer Bee cheered as he danced away after pushing his disciple backwards.
Rappa grinned with the fuma shurikan's spinning faster in her hands before she relaxed. "Yo yo Bee! Why you slackin, you afraid Imma be lackin with you?"
Killer Bee shook his head with a grin before he shrank a bit and said sheepishly. "Nah little Rappa, Bee's got split. Gotta handle some business down in Grass. Gotta put someone people on their ass you know?"
Rappa pouted with a frown before she kicked the ground. "Bah, when do I get to take to the stage? I am strong as well now, well past chunin to say the least!"
Bee, on the other hand, chuckled and said with some joy clear in his voice. "Yo yo! Rappa is gonna take the stage by storm! In fact haha. The big honcho has already gotten the storm's stage ready for you to outrage everyone!"
"The fourth, has already set forth and added yo name to this season's Chunin Exams yo! You gonna be out there with a couple of brothers and gonna smother their ambitions!" Bee continued proudly with Rappa's eye's widening.
"Ohh! But who will my team be? I mean a Chunin exam team has to have the three amigos lest we be left with nothing but woes?" Rappa asked in clear confusion.
With Bee shrugging and then laughing with Rappa's face twitching as Bee shamelessly said in so many words that hearing his apprentice was going to style on Konoha's weak lineup this season. He just danced away, making up new rhymes all the while.
"Ugh! You rappin Fool! How am I supposed to carry the exams when my bro's be nothing but farts in the wind!" Rappa yelled out as she tried to kick Bee who just laughed and danced away.
-
"I thought these wolf youkai were running around and causing issues?" I muttered quietly knowing all too well these Youkai were going to be different from the Oni that Quelaag turned to ashes.
As even Jiraiyia's joking atmosphere was wiped away beyond usual as in the middle of the large pack of congregated wolf youkai that took all kinds of forms. Was a massive boss summon sized wolf that was literally more than fifty meters tall... Laying down at that.
And that massive wolf was also covered in what was clearly some kind of divine armor that screamed to my senses.
"He... Should not be here. He is supposed to be guarding the Blood Prison and the many demons sealed within it." Jiraiya spoke through gritted teeth.
"That is Toga... The Wolf Sage and War God of Heaven. I can fight him for a while. But I will lose for sure." Jiraiya said very bluntly but there was clear confusion in his voice.
I swallowed at that new's and I took in the literal hundreds of wolf youkai that took the forms of giant wolves, bipedal werewolves, humans, and even demihumans with just wolf ears and tails.
"Jirayia... Is it possible they didn't destroy those towns maybe? I mean those giant moles did directly fuck with Konoha as well? Is it possible this is a false flag operation?" I asked with a wry smile.
Jirayia sighed before he slowly nodded. "It's certainly possible kid. Honestly, I have seen and spoke with Toga a few times, and he knows that eating humans is a good way to get tortured in Yomi for a good while to wipe out the karma once he finally does kick the bucket."
I saw the toad sage shake his head before he said quietly. "But we have several reports of wolf youkai in particular snatching, killing, and directly eating people in the villages and small towns... Though that also could be the act of Genjutsu from enemy ninja's on helpless civilians."
My lips twitched at that reminder that any decent Chunin with a genjutsu focus could stir up alot of issues when it came to doing Genjutsu.
Hell one easy example was in canon where hundreds if not thousands of people including some genin were easily knocked out by a genjutsu done by Kabuto who barely had Jonin chakra levels at best.
And Kabuto wasn't exactly known for his genjutsu talents obviously.
"Now what then?" I asked bluntly to Jiraiya whose face darkened as he clearly had to think this situation out.
Until finally he exhaled and said calmly. "Even though Toga is supposed to be watching the Blood Prison especially. He isn't part of Grass country nor the guiding divinity for the land. I just don't see him allowing his pack to ravage the landscape, it's just not like him at all."
There was a pause before Jiraiya looked back at me and asked. "Well Akari, want to take a chance with me? I am going down there to speak to that old hound. And if something goes wrong, you just escape with your Earth Mole jutsu and we will meet back at Tanzaku Gai."
I slowly nodded thoughtfully at the reminder of the small city a good forty miles away from here, and somewhere I could easily get to in a couple of hours even while traveling underground.
And if I traveled above ground, flying through the air? I could get there easily within half an hour without issue.
"I am willing to give it a chance. That, Toga is bad new's and is setting off all my senses." I admitted with my kitsune tails twitching at the oppressive strength coming off the Daiyoukai.
I knew for a fact that I had not a single damned chance in hell against the monster to say the least.
Jiraiya took a deep breath before I felt his dense chakra unfurl from his body and then I saw Toga's large wolf head light up slowly at obviously sensing Jiraiya's chakra in the distance.
"Let's go then... We need answers at the very least." He said firmly and we jumped down from the tree and headed down towards the wolf tengu pack.
As we approached without hiding our approach, howls filled the air as the wolves likewise 'welcomed' us with the larger beastial wolves circling us but allowing us to approach and then likewise the bipedal wolves watched from a further distance.
While the humanoid and more powerful youkai who had control over their spiritual forms and power watched us approach impassively from the center of the camp that we entered.
The wolf youkai didn't have tents or other human comforts, they clearly were sleeping under the stars and on the actually somewhat soft ground due to the thick grass land we were walking on.
"Let them approach." A rough and powerful male voice spoke out from the giant wolf that was Toga.
The more humanoid wolf youkai silently pulled back and I watched with a raised eyebrow as Toga's massive form glowed slightly before shifting and compressing into himself as he took on a human form with a pair of wolf ears and large tail behind him.
Toga's human form had pretty tanned skin, with white hair, and his eye's glowed yellow with his inner Daiyoukai power that earned him the name of a god. But he was also armed with easily a half dozen divine weapons that screamed power to my senses that he wore clearly on his person as well.
Several swords, a mirror hanging from his waist, a bow and arrows that carried the scent of some terrible poison, and lastly from his back was a massive curved sword that had a fur covered handle that 'felt' the most dangerous.
"You have come a good way from Konoha, Jiraiya." Toga spoke in a smoother but still powerful voice before his eye's landed on my form.
And for a moment he just stared before he shook his head and said with pity. "Well then... I would appreciate your talent as a kitsune clearly following the martial path. But your soul is human, and you are mirred in the tendrils of the divine watching you too closely."
Jirayia cleared his throat and the air was filled with tension as he abruptly demanded bluntly. "Toga, a number of villages and small towns were slaughtered in the land of Fire in this area... With many eye witness accounts saying that it was wolf youkai who did the deed. Is that the case?"
Despite Toga's expression not changing... I saw how his slitted eye's tightened. Then he spoke calmly. "My pack has done no such thing. You know well I woudn't allow such a thing as that would have the monks and gods coming down on us."
"Then why Toga, are you not guarding the Blood Prison back in Grass?"
Toga's wore a cold smile at that, and he then said blandly. "Why are you asking me that? You know all to well why I am no longer at the Blood Prison. After all... It was your teammate Orochimaru who shattered the seals of the Blood Prison allowing ten thousand demons free from the prison."
The Wolf Daiyoukai stepped forward to Jiraiya, their faces but inches apart with Toga's right hand casually laying on a sword at his waist as he said quietly. "Well Toad Sage? Where is your desire for peace when your teammate and village decide to weaken another nation by unleashing countless horrors upon the land."
Jirayia was silent for a moment. Before he said rather flatly. "Orochimaru didn't break the seals to the Blood Prison... We are both, it seems being played with. As Orochimaru was called back to Konoha to deal with large-scale underground invasions with his snake summons."
The toad sage then laid a hand on my shoulder and added on. "And for the last month, I have taken this young man Akari as my apprentice. Where we have been dealing with other issues while I trained him. So I have been out of the loop on important details."
My face twitched as Toga then said flatly. "Uhh huh. And a pasty man with makeup and riding a giant snake attacking the Blood Prison is obviously a patsy."
A moment of silence rang out before Jiraiya switched this around. "Did your wolf youkai attack these towns. Yes or no Toga."
Toga instead looked to me and he said with some amuesment. "You see this. This is what the world is like." And then he looked to Jiraiya and said plainly.
"No, no my pack did no such thing. Now, Toad Sage are we going to get to killing one another. Or are you leaving?" Toga stated rather than asked in any shape as this wasn't a question of what Jiraiya was going to do.
But simply the two paths ahead of our parties now.
A soft crunch of crumpled grass rang out and I looked to the side as I saw a humanoid youkai with just her having a pair of wolf ears and a tail behind her as she stepped closer slightly with her having a large sword as well.
And Toga raised an eyebrow at seeing the female youkai moving... Then he grinned and said in amusement. "Actually, instead of killing one another and posturing. How about we have some fun instead, you perverted old toad."
Jiraiya at being called a pervert, huffed and then grinned in turn before he said. "Haha! Go ahead you old hound dog, tell me what you have in mind."
Toga raised his hand up to that youkai woman who had stepped past the encirclement. And as Toga spoke, I saw Jirayia's face became pinched and VERY uncomfortable.
"So I have heard of your great promise with the Kage of the Nadeshiko Village... What was it? Oh that your disciple and her own would challenge one another after your own duel with her went awry or something?"
Toga's face was full on grinning ferally now, quite literally with his fangs extending a bit in his mouth and his eye's glowing brighter as he continued to speak. "So, seeing as we don't want to cause damage to the region in battle, and want to keep things civil... We can have your disciple Akari here, duel my daughter Sesshomaru here."
I looked over at the wolf youkai woman who proudly nodded and said calmly. "I will not disappoint you father." Then her youki filled, gleaming yellow eye's fell upon me as she hefted her large curved sword at me.
To which she simply demanded proudly. "What say you, disciple of the Sage of Mt Mbyouko!"
I took a breath and then with a chuckle, I shrugged off the weight of responsibility and spoke out. "My name is Akari Sadra, and I accept your challenge!"
I looked Sesshomaru over more clearly and I saw how she had a half moon-like tattoo tastefully across her forehead along with a couple streaks of war paint or something across her cheeks. But it could also be the result of chakra tattoo's similar to Sage tattoo's that came as a result of channeling nature chakra.
Besides those facial features, Sesshomaru was wearing a regal white dress with light purple and gold trim that had several pelts across it. And frankly I couldn't get much out of her body shape due to how ornate and the number of pelts on her.
It reminded me a good bit of Eleonor my... Girlfriend? Anbu watcher who could compress her very curvy form with the special anbu uniform she wore to lose like a foot of height and hide her ample curves.
But still in turn I pulled out at my Black Knife and then I flared my chakra and got rid of the illusions that covered up my kitsune features as Toga could easily see through them.
And as the black knife flared with crimson and abyss black flames, I could see Sesshomaru gaze tightening as the conceptual death flames was a clear warning and danger to her.
I could feel even Toga's gaze on me tightening with Jiraiya calling out sheepishly. "Akari, no destroying her lifespan and soul alright?"
I sagged a bit before I looked at Sesshomaru and said a bit blankly. "If I can't use my killing weapon... Could you put away your sword then?"
And Sesshomaru blinked before she snorted and carefully placed her sword on the ground so that the ground didn't dirty the blade and I just tossed the Black Knife to my teacher who caught it by the handle.
But I saw very quickly as Jiraiya's face twitched as his grip shifted on the black knife. Then I refocused on Sesshomaru, whose hands took on a knife shape, with her finger nails extending.
Which reminded me of that youkai-blooded girl from my first class who had the ability to extend and harden her finger nails into deady blades.
So I just pulled a kunai out of my leg holster and with dashed forward with her stabbing her hand forward at high speed to meet my kunai and as her fingernails met the kunai with a screech of metal... And pieces of the kunai are literally being shaved off from her fingernail grinding on it.
I knew that she was better 'armed' than me in any case. But as she came in with her next blow, I allowed her to spear my stomach with Jiraiya groaning loudly as even Sesshomaru froze as her hand sank halfway into my stomach.
But then, with all my strength, all the strength of a dude with the third Gate permanently open. I fucking clocked Sesshomaru right in the face, her face rippling in slow motion as my full powered punch.
Just clocked her out, even as she tried to 'roll' with the punch. But when you were surprised... It is rather hard to roll with the punches when said punch is a surprise truck to the face.
Sesshomaru's head snapped back with her hand being ripped out of my stomach, and her form rolling across the ground and for a moment. In the corner of my eye, I saw Toga frown before his frown became an eye twitch.
As he clearly saw through my torn clothes, the large carving wound in my stomach. Where Sesshomaru's hand had pierced through the muscle and gotten into my guts was already healing, with the skin visibly closing up over the wound.
Sesshomaru herself, rolling back to her feet with a literal indent of my fist in her cheek, looked blankly at my wound before she spat blood and a couple of teeth out. But I noticed she was careful to catch the teeth she spat out for some reason?
"That was a good trick... But I won't fall for it again." Sesshomaru said not so proudly, but stating a fact, even if she seemingly actually had some respect for me now.
I grinned and with shame, I said. "Good, now let's dance, I am the new Hashirma of this generation... Let's see if you can be my Madara haha!" I laughed with my chakra flaring as I held up a hand sign.
And the wolves howled and yelped as the ground gave way as massive roots broke through the ground with Sesshomaru running across the roots with a bark of laughter as her hands glowed purple with some kind of toxic youki as in youkai-based chakra that was more on the spiritual side of things.
"My father was stronger than Madara, so why would I want to be him!" Sesshomaru snarled with a grin as she came down on me with those poisoned claws in her hands.
But I likewise just grinned and uncaring of any wound she gave me, I kicked her through a tree as I roared. "Yeah, and how did he do against Hashirama and Madara huh?"
And in the background... I could hear Jiraiya laughing as Toga said blankly. "Why the hell am I getting shamed in this? Those two brats were unreasonable as well, hmph!"
Sesshomaru clawed through several trees that came in at her, and as we clashed in a quick flurry of melee blows, where she was very careful to avoid my much stronger blow's I surprised her with a water ball that exploded violently that pushed her back.
And as I went to dash forward, I staggered a bit, both because of the noxious poison she had in her claws that thankfully my immortality was quickly dealing with. But also because the Celestial Grimoire had decided to reach to grab a perk in the middle of the damned fight!
'Wow... interrupting the fight to give me this. Right at the start?' I thought with some bemusement at the sheer irony of the perk landing in my soul.
[Assassin's Blade- A dagger in the dark is worth a thousand swords at dawn. When you land an attack on someone when unnoticed, you do ten times the damage you would normally have. It doesn't matter if it's a dagger, a warhammer, or even a fireball, you are sure to deal a killing blow or fatal wound.]
Though I was one of the least stealthy kinds of ninja, I did have some training in stealth... More than a little seeing as Jiraiya's idea of stealth training was peeping on youkai and other beauties in the baths.
But still, the fact that I got the perk mid-fight was honestly... Like the Celestial Grimoire was just fucking with me.
I put aside the thoughts on the Celestial Grimoire as my right fist smashed her knife hand aside. Then as she spun around using the momentum to drive another knife hand into my chest.
I reacted by grabbing her wrist and yanking her forward, and throwing her over my hip and shoulder.
In the moment I did so, she jumped with the motion so she would land still close to me, and as I rose up, I swatted aside her knife hand with the hand that was previously holding her other hand.
A loud crack rang out as she blasted youki out of her heels to launch herself upwards and my vision went dull as the crown of her head slammed directly into my nose and cheek.
My nose was broken quite clearly, but the real kicker was the moment of confusion as my brain was rattled. And as I rolled away from her to regain my senses, I gagged as she kicked me hard in the chest, breaking my collarbone as with the all-out blow she made.
But... In doing such a powerful blow, it knocked me a dozen meters away, and sure the roll was painful. But as I rolled back up to my feet, already my nose was fixing itself and I knew my collarbone would be fixed in the next ten seconds at most.
So I just needed to use my other arm... Seeing Sesshomaru sprinting at me with her hand knives ready again to do a lot more damage, I held up my free hand in a hand seal and Sesshomaru was thrown into the air as a large eastern dragon made out of Mokuton wood grew from the ground.
I pumped more chakra into the wood construct and it roared as it built up chakra and from it's mouth it sent a blinding storm of mokuton needles that shot at high speed in a wide cone at Sesshomaru.
Sesshomaru seeing the wide cone of thousands of needles coming after her, simply snorted and then she puffed up and screamed with yellow youki/youkai chakra blooming from her form and following her scream to create a yellow colored sound wave that blasted past the storm of needles and slammed into the wooden construct.
Her sound wave attack even cut halfway through the wooden dragon as well! But I had the almost destroyed wooden construct swing itself like a giant baseball bat sideways across the ground, tearing up the soil as at came in as a twenty-meter-tall draconic wall of destruction.
All the while, I was running across the back of my wood construct as I knew she was going to just jump over the wood construct. Which was exactly what Sesshomaru did.
Which I was ready for, so with a front flip to build momentum, I slammed the back of my heel into Sesshomaru's raised arms to block my blow. And her momentum in jumping into the air was reversed as she was then slammed back-first into the ground with a loud thud as her form sank a good half a foot into the ground.
Then I came down on Sesshomaru with my feet slamming into her stomach making her choke as I crushed her stomach and knock the air out of her lungs.
She swiped at the bottom of my calves and I just hopped into the air to dodge the swipe... And I just smashed both feet into her chest this time with her head snapping back with the force as she was trying to rise and hit the ground.
As her head hit the ground I stepped away as I felt a weight on my form and then Toga's voice rose up. "That's enough."
Sesshomaru's face turned into a snarl as she threw herself up with a hand over her chest as she wheezed with the breath she tried to take. "Fa... Father! I can-"
Toga's gaze became cold which silenced his daughter then he smiled as he looked away towards me as I stepped away from his daughter who slowly stood up properly.
Then Jiraiya clapped his hands together and with a grin called out. "Good! That was a good fight though. And there isn't any weird marriage agreement or promises of any future troubles so this was a great first meeting for you both."
There was a moment of silence as Sesshomaru's face twitched as Toga said with amuesment.
"Don't try me Jiraiya. I see the strenght of your apprentice, his bloodline added to my daughter's won't be bad especially with all the divinity interwrapped with it. It's almost certain any child they would have, would spark into godhood."
My lips twitched as I thought. 'First the Daimyo and now this Daiyoukai. Well his interest in some mild eugenics at least makes sense."
But then Jiraiya coughed and said hurriedly. "Well! This meeting has been most productive I have to say! Now, uhm yeah Akari let's get going. It's obvious that Toga's pack has had no part in the previous issues."
Toga's stern expression turned into some twisted joy at seeing Jiraiya realizing he wasn't joking about what he previously said. Then before he could say anything... I paused as Sesshomaru spoke coldly. "Do you look down on me Akari Sadra?"
And as I looked into Sesshomaru's proud eye's as she met my gaze. I realized I was fucking cooked.
'Why does this feel less of a training trip. And more like I am Ranma getting a dozen marriage contracts thrown in my face... And my master isn't even trying to sell me out!' I thought mentally out.