When the sun was at the highest, the first of the casualties cried out. The driver of the first wagon fell from his seat, an arrow bursting from the back of his skull and thudding into a crate within the wagon. The horses shrieked and reared, causing the wagon to tip and dump it's contents.

Hinji reacted quickly and put his back against the rear of the nearest wagon for cover. His bird hadn't seen the attacker so he must be well hidden. Luckily, he wasn't the only one. As fast as his feet could carry him, Hinji darted off into the shadows of the surrounding trees and vanished. He then started forward in search of the archer.

Vannor shouted and ducked into his wagon, cowering beneath a very large shield behind the driver's seat. "Ninja! Do you duty!!!" He shouted out at them boldly

Akane jumped up onto the wagon she was nearest, which happen to be the one behind the first carriage that had dumped. "Someone secure that horse!" she shouted ahead. Hinji already had sprinted into the woods alone...probably not the best idea. They were to protect these people and their goods and she hoped to not leave this area unless instructed by her sensei. There had to be about 20 wagons in total that needed protection. "DRIVERS! GET INTO YOUR WAGONS!" she shouted loud enough for them to hear.

Kami who had been with Akane hurried forward to take the horse before it spooked the rest of it's team. She didn't like being in the open out in front but someone had to keep the team from bolting and killing it's remaining passengers.

El lifted his head at the sound of commotion and his eyes narrowed as he heard something over the sound of panicking horses. "Kano there!" He pointed to their east, where a line of arrows was fast approaching their location

Kano saw the arrows and jumped to the canvas roof of the nearest wagon. His hands moved quickly, making the signs. "Get any that make it through, El. Fire Style - Flame Wall Jutsu!" He blew out across his joined fingers and poured his chakra into it. The fires expanded outwards and upwards, creating a massive wall of flame to protect the five nearest wagons.

What arrows that made it through were alight and El brought his fingers down on the strings of his new guitar and instead of them going off course, the seemed to explode into ashey sparks.

Oita had bolted for cover in a strange place, behind a pile of the crates from the tossed over wagon. He was snatching up a few more items from the pile of discarded merchandise while spying around the corner for the source of the arrows. Then the five came in. He shuffled away from his hiding space, getting nearer to Kano and El. He would help defend, if he wasn't shot on the way there.

Tsu wanted to take this opportunity to stab Vannor, but decided to actually do her job first. She bolted to the top of the nearest tree, scanning the world around them in less than a second, before leaping to a tree off to the side. She was using her speed to avoid being a target, and using her exceptional eyesight to search for the assassin. Or assassins.

Ishiaki moved quickly, stooping behind cover and taking up position at Vannor's wagon. Where the hell were the arrows coming from? "Somebody find the damned archer!" He hollered to the others. Kano, El, and Oita were busy on the defense. He whistled through his teeth, "Tsu! Take Kami and Akane, meet up with Hinji and find the bastard!"

The earth trembled at the front of the caravan line, a crack splitting forth from the treeline. An immense man hefted up a hammer and stepped out of the shadows. He had gotten their attention now for sure.

Tsu appeared in a flurry of dust next to Kami and near to Akane. She nodded towards the tree line that Hinji had vanished into. "Come on girls, we'll pin that bastard down in no time." she said, before charging towards the trees. She was taking the lead, to watch out for any arrows.

Akane tore off behind Tsu-sensei, "I'll stay high!" she shouted to both her and Kami. Her foot left the wagon and she vaulted into the air, high above the treeline. She could see Tsu below and stayed with her pace. It bothered her to leave the boys with that massive hammer guy, but there was no choice in the matter.

Kami fought the panicking horse, but there were more important things to do than to calm a frightened horse when more people would die. She also didn't like leaving the boys with their rogue foe but heeded their sensei's orders and took up the rear, traveling by ground.

"We have trouble." El said, seeing the ground split and their new advisory arrive. "And it's in our road."

Ishiaki saw him and grimaced, "Big fella..." He turned his attention to the three boys. "El, think you can shatter any more arrows that come in? That archer's about to get some unwelcomed company. Kano, Oita, I need the two of you up here. We're gonna take this guy down before he smashes any of our wagons."

Kano nodded and dropped his fire wall. He looked at El for a moment, "You sure you can handle it, El?" He didn't doubt his friend's ability, but he disliked leaving him to defend everything alone.

"Yes." El said confidently. "You two be careful."

"I will." Oita said, leaping on top of the wagons with Ishiaki. He winced as he saw the large man, putting his backpack down onto the floor and drawing out a scroll.

The arrows slowed as The Assassin Archer moved from his hiding place, to avoid the ninja who were slowly closing in on him.

Ishiaki tapped on the massive shield that Vannor was hiding under. "Stay hidden, Head Merchant, but be ready to get the caravan moving as soon as you see an opening. We'll catch up."

Kano moved quickly to the front of the line. When he saw the man with the hammer he whistled. "Wow...you're a big one!" He shouted at him with a grin. There was something else on the man's back, a secondary weapon, but he couldn't make out what it was.

"We insist that you stop your assault on the caravans." Oita said, staring at the man as he spoke "They are under INC protection and your goal shall not be completed, it shall just result in unnecessary blood shed."

As the arrow's slowed El moved up a bit, cautiously keeping an eye out for more oncoming arrows. The girls must have run him off because the arrows seemed to stop. He moved forward with the others, telling civilians to stay hidden as he went. When he saw the man with the hammer all he could say was, "Woah..."

The man moved forward slowly, scanning the three little boys set before him. A sadistic grin crossed his face and he brought the massive hammer down from his shoulder, tapping the haft against his left hand and rolling it slightly. "And if that is my goal, little boy?" He swung the massive hammer and slammed its head into the ground. The earth rippled and sent a wave careening towards them

Oita leaped as he cut his thumb on the sharp edge of the parchment, smearing his blood across it to release the puppet inside. It was Akane's puppet, this one, and blast of air from the shockwave sent the puppet soaring high into the air above them. "Then your death shall not be mourned." Oita said simply in response to the man, arms held high as he directed the puppet far above their heads.

El jumped as well, whistling, sending himself higher since his physical prowess wasn't that of his teammates. While the shock-wave hurtled towards where they were, El send one of his own. Sending a solid cord of sound straight down, intersecting the path of the hammer man's blow. The two waves met and earth exploded before the caravan of civilians. Dust as thick as mud exploded into the air and the canvas tops of the wagons rippled in the aftermath of the shock-wave. El played again and the dust cleared, revealing a deep fissure in the ground before the caravan and behind where he and his team had been standing. With his trainer guitar, El never would have managed such a strong jutsu.

"Yes, yes. Just take care of the brute, Mr. Hirameki." Vannor ordered him and slowly moved from under his shield. Now that the arrows had ceased, he felt comfortable enough to take the reigns again.

Kano had barely gotten out of the way before El struck that cord and stopped the big man's shockwave. He was panting, he felt stupid because he hadn't thought to jump out of the way. "A little warning next time El!" He shouted and took a deep breath. He turned and hollered into the slowly settling dust cloud. "I am Kano Kurosaki! My friends and I are going to defeat you, you walking behemoth!"

There was a bold laugh through the dust cloud. "And I am Orem Anbiru. Though I see no point in introductions. You won't live for much longer." He told them and hefted his giant hammer for another strike. His chakra flowed up the pole, that was used as the hammer's haft, and encompassed the anvil of the head. With a tremendous roar of strength, the man surged forward, leaping across the fissure and sped towards them, moving with a speed which defied his massive size.

The puppet of Akane spiraled, then rushed down at Orem. It twisted as he rushed past him, not aiming to actually hit the man. The puppet was so flimsy that hitting head on would no doubt cause some damage to the puppet itself. The razor wire that trailing from the hands and feet of the puppet, that was whipping everywhere however. It was a gentle breeze that brought a terrible sting, and the puppet was away again, into the air. Oita was proud of that.

El couldn't help staring a little transfixed at Oita's manipulation of his Akane puppet. He set his fingers on the neck of his new guitar and prepared for another sound wave just in case the puppet Akane's razor wire didn't work.

Kano didn't back away as the massive man surged towards them. He trusted his friends and their abilities. He couldn't comprehend what Oita was up to that with that puppet, but there had to be a purpose to it looking like Akane. Oita had his puppets, and El had his guitar...but him? He cracked his neck and rolled his shoulders. He didn't have any fancy weapons, or flashy instruments...

As the puppet flew upwards, the man's bulk became ensnared in the razor wire. A sharp hiss of pain escaped his clenched teeth as the wire cut into his flesh. The strength of the wire put a nearly immediate stop to his attack, his arms and hammer immobilized by it.

Kano saw this as his moment and rushed forward. What he may have lacked in flashy weaponry, he more than made up for with his fiery jutsus. His hands moved with blinding speed as he closed the distance with the temporarily immobilized foe. "Fire Style - Fire Rocket!" Flames erupted from the soles of his feet and propelled him into the giant, turning his entire body into a projectile, just as the jutsu's name would imply. Just before impact, he brought his hands forward, curled tightly into fists, and let the momentum rocket him into the man's chest.

There was the sound of an explosion as the Volcano ninja collided with the rogue. The man toppled end over end, rolling back to the edge of the fissure that happened mere moments earlier. The razor wire melted and snapped, the giant hammering flying away from his hands as he rolled. When he came to a stop at last, Kano wiped a proud fist across his chin and grinned. There were two smoldering craters in the man's chest from where the ninja had connected.

"Dammit... give me some warning before you do that." Oita said, almost sounding angry "I don't have many weapons on this puppet, and you've melted the main one." He sighed, then grimaced, having to pull hard, spiraling the puppet, making it go higher and higher into the air. He didn't need it to hit the floor right now. He did wonder though... if the man was dead.

"Sorry, Oita...If I warned you, he would have better prepared himself." Kano said meekly. "Good shot though, right?"

"Indeed." El agreed. "But if the past has taught us anything it is that we should not count ourselves won just yet."`

Ishiaki joined the three boys, nodding when he heard El's statement. "If he's dead from that, no offense Kano, I'll eat my sword."

There was a deep throated chuckle from the man as he lay on the ground before them. His body steamed with chakra as the craters slowly rose up and popped back out. He groaned as he climbed up to his feet and dusted the smolders from his skin. "Been a long time since someone knocked me down, kid."

"Can you go away now?" Oita asked as he circled the puppet above the fight "We've hit you, you got back up, big show of manliness all round. Very good. Let's not kill anyone."

"If he agrees to that, Oita..." El said with a smirk, "I'll eat Ishiaki Sensei's sword."

Orem put his hand out and the hammer began to glow. It lifted from the ground and flew to his open hand. He reached behind him and pulled his secondary weapon from his back, an anchor. "Not kill anyone? Where's the fun in that?"

"Don't knock it until you try it?" Oita said, waving a finger as his puppet carefully unfolded some more weapons up above.

"You talk too much." The man told him and slammed the massive ship's anchor into the ground, cleaving the earth in two. "Earth Style - Seeking Fissure!" The split surged across the field and opened up beneath Oita.

Oita grunted; it was a good thing that he wasn't wearing his backpack of this would be totally impossible. He leapt again, tucking his legs up as he basically dangled himself from the Akane puppet for a brief second. Only a brief one though, long enough to avoid the fissure in the earth. Even then, the Akane puppet was going for a nose dive by the time his feet were on the floor, and Oita was struggling to control it.

Taking his hammer in his other hand, Orem hefted it upwards. "Earth Style - Rising Boulder!" The earth trembled as up from within the fissure shot massive boulders, following the hammer's path upwards. He directed the boulders with his hammer, swinging them up and around towards the other members of the team

El turned his amplifier up a notch and with a loud D flat, the boulders that came flying towards them stopped and dropped to the ground. The B sharp that followed caused them to splinter into pea sized rocks and went rocketing back at their foe with blinding speed. Too numerous to dodge, hopefully he would at least be blinded, or their speed would tear into his skin.

Orem crossed his arms, shielding his face as the little mariachi shot his stones back at him. He grinned beneath the massive flesh shields of his arms. These boys were entertaining, he wouldn't call them good per say, but entertaining at least.

Ishiaki kept to the back, so far the three boys were proving to be an equal match against the man. But he knew, one didn't get the notoriety that these 5 achieved by being the equal of a few genin...

Oita was talking because of his nerves, because he wasn't very good with the puppets he had, and he honestly didn't want to die. He grimaced as he managed to make his puppet land, though it was right behind Orem. He carefully raised a hand to banish this puppet if needs be, but he hoped he could get it flying before the man did anything violent towards it.

Kano burst forward again and started hammering the man with punches and kicks, moving with the quickness that granted him the leave of coming to the Coalition in the first place.

Orem grunted and started backing up as Kano's blows hammered into his massive bulk. He dropped his weapons, when they struck the ground, the earth shook. Moving with a speed, once more, beguiling his size, he seized Kano by the the arm and by a leg as he attempted to kick him. His massive hands closed around the boy's thin appendages and heaved him upward. "Enough of that!"

Since the man ignored the puppet, Oita struck without mercy. Two thin blades slid out from the puppet's arms, stabbing forward rather than slashing. It was stabbing at the man's arm like a series of needles, trying to hit nerves and joints as it struck.

El played a B flat and the arc of sound wave outward, aimed at the behemoth's ankles, hoping to knock him flat on his bottom long enough to Kano to escape while the Akane puppet hopefully did some major damage to the muscles in the man's arms.

The giant man roared in agony as the puppet's blades dug into the flesh of his arms. When the sound wave slammed into his ankles, he bowled forward, releasing his grip on the Volcano Ninja.

Kano tumbled for a few feet then sprang up to his feet. He dusted himself off and whirled around to look at the man. "He's not nearly as tough as we were lead to believe, is he?" He asked his comrades. It didn't make much sense to him, every attack they tried seemed to hit this fellow...what kind of legendary rogue ninja let himself get hit??

"I happen to believe that something is amiss here." Oita said as his puppet carefully climbed on top of the large man's back and attempted to stab down into his spine with the long, sharp blades.

The massive man simply lay there and allowed the puppet to repeatedly stab into him. A great rumbling laugh tore through him as slowly, he stood. He treated the stabbing puppet as though it were nothing but a mosquito to be ignored. "If that's all you children can do, I'm afraid you'll never be rid of me." He flexed and his muscles rippled along his massive body, actually pushing the puppet's blades out of his body. He held his arms out and again his monstrously large weapons flew to his open hands.

"I may have to pass out earplugs..." El informed his comrades, hoping he didn't have to liquify another foe's brain.

Oita grimaced and banished his puppet before it got damaged. It was too little damage on the man. It might have been useful had the razor wire not been melted off.

"I must say...that is quite impressive." Ishiaki said as he watched the weaponry fly through the air and join the man again. It would take immense strength to simply lift those weapons on their own, this man was lifting them with chakra...And not a wound on the man's body, despite the brutal attack of Oita's puppet...curious and curiouser.

Kano groaned when the man got back to his feet. "Good gods...what's it gonna take to keep you down?" He asked the brute, as he stared in disbelief.

Orem grinned and shrugged, setting his hammer against his massive shoulder. "Where would the fun be in simply telling you my secret? At least one of you is smart, can't you figure me out?" He replied and burst forward, honing in on the one he saw as the 'weakest' link in their group. The boy with the guitar was surely the one to take out first.

"I know how to keep him down." El told Kano quietly. "But it is rather vicious and underhanded..."

Oita was glaring at the figure as he dashed forward. Something was off here... "See if you can make him bleed." he said, whipping a kunai out and throwing it towards the base of the neck. It couldn't be that, could it?

Orem batted the kunai away with his anchor. He swung the massive anchor and aimed to take off El's head with the bladed end.

Ishiaki appeared before the boy and blocked the man's swing with his sword. His feet crunched into the ground from the force of the blow and he grit his teeth as he pushed back against him. "If you are going to do something, El, might I suggest you get to it? Vicious and underhanded seem to be what these 'Masters' are about."

"Plug your ears then." El said, turning up his amplifier. He dashed into the forest and began to make his way around behind the hulk. Once there, he closed the distance and played a high piercing note that caused a very thin, fine blade of chakra to arc out, aiming for the man's Achilles tendons with intense speed.

The massive man collapsed as the sound blade slashed into his ankles. The blade cut clean through his tendons, causing his legs to fall out from under him. With a load thud! and a slight tremor, the man fell to the ground face first.

"That looked painful." Oita noted, watching the man on the floor.

El winced, not liking doing something so... underhanded.

Kano grimaced and looked over at his teammate, finding it hard to believe his friend was capable of that...

Walking forward, Ishiaki peered at the man curiously. This was twice he'd simply taken the blow when he had clearly proven to have the ability to dodge it. Twice now, he'd taken a blow that would have crippled a man...was he going to get up again, just like before?

As soon as Ishiaki had gotten close enough, Orem sprang upwards from the prone position. He did not move at all like a man who'd just had his Achilles tendons sliced. He surged directly up and slammed his full weight into the Jonin, effortlessly flinging the man backwards.

Ishiaki flew backwards, completely taken by surprise...It was rather unnerving truthfully, but at the same time, he was rather intrigued that such a feat could be accomplished. He hadn't seen any surge of chakra from the man, nothing that would have possibly indicated any sort of movement from him...As he landed several feet back, he groaned and simply laid there, trying to sort out what had just happened.

Were they certain that this wasn't an illusion? Oita glared at the man as he got up again, Oita carefully raising his hands before putting them before himself and concentrating. "Release." he whispered as he clapped his hands together.

Kano couldn't believe his eyes when the man sent Ishiaki flying...He didn't think anyone could take the swordsman by surprise! "I thought you took him down, El?!"

"He shouldn't be able to get up after that." El said in surprise. He tossed his friends earplugs and turned his amp up again, playing the same cord, pouring more chakra in it this time. Trying take his feet off above the ankle this time.

Kano caught the plugs and quickly put them in place before taking the extra precaution of covering his ears with his hands as well.

The immense man leaped through the air as the sound wave surged beneath him. He had let the blast strike him earlier, there was no need for it to happen this time around though. Slipping the hammer behind his back, he held the anchor's haft with both hands. "Earth style - Rock Wave!" He called out as he brought the anchor down into the earth. A great wave of stone surged up from the strike and rolled towards the boy with the guitar.

El grabbed his hat and whistled high and loud in his usual manner of escape. He shot into the air, evading the wave of earth and held onto his hat as it aided in his drift back towards the ground.

Oita winced at the new jutsu. He balled up his fists, then pulled out another scroll. He supposed he would have to use another puppet.

Kano shot fire from the soles of his feet and jump up and over the wave of earth. "Very nice! But how are you standing??" He shouted at the man, still finding it hard to believe the man could have gotten up...

"What's the point in telling you my secrets?" Orem replied and hefted his anchor onto his shoulder again. He stood easily, unlike a man who'd just had his tendons severed...If one was to look closely enough, they'd see that the tendons were in fact sliced clean through, and yet he was still standing...

Ishiaki groaned and slowly got to his feet. He rubbed his neck and shook his head slowly. He 'looked' at the man intensely, focusing his unique sight, trying to see what was remaining unseen. "Hit him again guys...Whatever makes him get back up only shows then."

Kano made the signs and shouted, "Fire Style - Fire Rocket!" Summoning forth the jutsu, the flames erupted from his feet, sending him streaking down from atop the wave of earth. If Ishiaki-sensei wanted them to hit this guy again, he was more than eager to do it. As he flew towards the giant, he moved his hands again, "And...Dragon Dance!" The flames burst from his hands and he slammed himself into the man. He punched and kicked at the man, leaving great scorch marks behind.

Orem raised his arms to block Kano as the boy accosted him with fiery strikes. He retreated several steps as the boy pounded away at him, his skin becoming marred with black soot from the flames.

As El floated down from the sky, behind Orem who was focused on Kano, he played a series of cords on his guitar, arcing out with long slices of sound that struck the man's back and neck.

Oita was uncertain. He concentrated, then summoned a puppet of his. The large grandfather clock stood between him and Orem, faintly ticking away as Oita concentrated. It didn't seem to move past the normal gestures of a clock, which was odd, considering Oita's twitching fingers.

As the sound waves slammed into his back, Orem pitched forward, leaning into Kano's fiery assault. He groaned under the combined attack of the two boys, shielding his smallish head from the Volcano boy's blows. With a tremendous groan mixed of irritation and desperation, he roared and slammed his feet, one after the other, into the earth. He sent a surge of chakra down through his body and into the earth beneath him, causing a tremor that rocked the entire area.

Something strange seemed to happen when the waves got near to the clock resting on the floor. There was a soft rumbling noise, and where the waves met it, it seemed to part, as if Oita's puppet had blocked it without any obvious signs of moving. As the waves hit however, there was a ticking noise, and the hour hand moved one number for each wave.

Orem swung his massive arm and slammed it into Kano as the boy tried again to smash in his head. His swing found purchase and he caught the boy in the middle of his chest. He pivoted expertly on his heel, still swinging his arm about, with Kano attached, and spun around, flinging the boy towards the sound ninja who'd left his back pouring with blood.

El played, slowing Kano as he came close to crashing into him, but the momentum still struck El and his new guitar pretty hard with a loud BRREAANG sound that knocked the wind from El. They fell back, landing in the dust several yards behind their foe. El for the moment was dazed and with Kano on top of him, he couldn't regain his breath.

Dammit, dammit. Oita needed more of those shockwaves or... something. "Guys, aim some attacks at the clock!" he called towards the others, though he knew that they were having some difficulties with the large man at the moment. He looked around, then took a deep breath and summoned a clone very quickly. It dashed towards Orem, kunai drawn. He had to buy them time.

Kano groaned and crawled off of his friend. He looked over at him worriedly, "El? Dude, you alright?" Despite El's efforts, he had still hit him rather hard...he hoped he didn't damage the guitar as well..

Again the man spun with a grace belying his size. He pivoted around and met the clone, bringing a massive fist down to squash the boy. "Get it through your heads boys, you can't beat me."

Ishiaki appeared by Oita's side. His chest ached from Orem's blow, but he was standing, that was more than could be said for El at the moment. He gripped his sword's hilt tightly and looked at the puppet ninja. "How much chakra do you need from us?"

"Just give it what you can." Oita said gently "I've already got quite a bit of earth chakra from him, but right now there's no such thing as too much." He hoped that Ishiaki didn't break his puppet.

"Any particular nature or does that really matter?" Ishiaki asked him curiously. He wasn't sure what this puppet could do, or what the boy was intending, but he had the ability to summon every chakra nature from his scabbard. If one wanted a particular one, it was He that could provide it in a pinch.

"What's the most destructive one you have?" Oita asked, swallowing hard and twitching his fingers still. He was pretty sure this wasn't going to work, but he had to try something.

Ishiaki moved his hands quickly, bit his thumb and applied the blood to the summoning circle upon his hilt. "Kaze tsurugi - Sword of Nisashi, Samurai of Wind." The air rippled as he pulled the sword from his scabbard. The wind howled and swirled around his arm as the blade manifested. "It may not look like the most destructive, but when used correctly the wind can overrun all other chakra types."

"Just... aim it towards the clock. And I hope... hope it turns out alright." Oita admitted, looking nervous as he continued to twitch his fingers; strange that it didn't seem to be moving at all. It was all he could think of doing... and that wasn't a good sign.

Ishiaki nodded and channeling his chakra through his Kaze Tsurugi, slashed through the air. "Kyofu burasuto - Gale Blast!" The air grew heavy around Ishiaki as his jutsu burst forth. A tremendous burst of freezing cold air exploded from his sword and slammed into the back of the clock puppet. He was still wondering what purpose this could possibly serve for Oita, but if the boy wanted destructive chakra, he'd get it.

Oita fingers began to move faster as the wind hit his puppet. But the more the hour hand moved around, then slower his fingers seemed to move, actually struggling against something. "Enough!" he suddenly yelled, before looking towards Orem. This was going to be rather difficult.

El finally woke coughing. His guitar was fine, but he sounded as if he'd had his lungs knocked flat by the blow from Kano. He groped for help to get up, but he was wheezing and sounded like he needed another minute on the ground.

Kano was there to help his friend up. He held his hand out, glancing over his shoulder and wondering just what was keeping the big guy from attacking them. He heard Ishiaki call forth his attack and then the rest of the noise was drowned out by the sound of the wind.

Ishiaki pulled the sword back and then fell back a few steps, returning to Oita's side. "Now would be a good time to enlighten us, before your clone becomes overwhelmed."

Oita's clone was basically just dodging and weaving for its life, dodging backwards towards the clock, trying to draw the large man to the front. "Just... don't get in the way, alright?" Oita said, wondering if this would even work.

"I'm over here, aren't I?" Ishiaki replied with a smirk. He sheathed the Kaze Tsurigi, feeling the weight of the blade drop from his shoulders as it reverted to it's natural state inside the scabbard.

El got to his feet with Kano's help and frowned at the sight before them. "What... what are they doing?"

"Your guess is as good as mine." Kano said and hauled him up to his feet. "Knowing Oita, it's not good for the big guy." He couldn't help but grin.

"Enough of these games!" Orem shouted and slapped his massive hands together, he poured chakra into the gap between them and in the instant that his hands collided, the chakra met and exploded. The resulting shockwave dispersed the clone with a poof! and arched outwards from the man. It wasn't meant for an attack, it was meant merely to remove the bothersome clone so he would be freed to attack the ninjas again. He grumbled and looked at the odd puppet the boy had summoned. "Is this supposed to stop me?" He asked in disbelief. The thing thus far had only sat there.

As the chakra clap dispersed the puppet, the hour hand hit twelve, and Oita was sweating as he held his hands completely still. He looked towards El and Kano, then quickly nodded backwards desperately, hoping to show them that they needed to get down. "Just... watch the birdy!" Oita called out to the man as there was a sudden snapping noise and he pulled his fingers back. There was a great whirring noise from the clock, the hands suddenly spinning backwards, the hands moving counter clockwise at a blur, until finally both locked back into the twelve position, and it went deadly still. A small hatch opened at the front, and a small, carefully carved cuckoo bird came out. It gave a synthetic 'cuckoo' before retreating back into the clock face.
The chakra hadn't just been collected, it had been channeled. It didn't so much explode as release dramatically in the area around the clock, all the wind chakra poured into the clock, all the earth chakra collected, bursting out from the stationary puppet in one powerful explosion. It was enough to strip flesh from the bone, the amount of power people had put into the puppet. Oita just hoped it was enough to take this guy out.

Kano's eyes nearly popped from their sockets as the chakra exploded outwards. He had saw Oita's desperate nod in their direction, but didn't exactly have time to react to it. He sent chakra to the soles of his feet, and gripping El's arm tightly, rocketed the two of them back. It was a rough jump and he prayed he hadn't just torn El's arm from the socket by doing it without warning, but that explosion had to be enough to finish that guy and anyone else who was fool enough to be too close.

Ishiaki let out a low whistle and looked at his student proudly. True, it was mostly his chakra that had fueled the puppet's attack, but Oita had to channel it to make it do that.

"Uhk!" El exclaimed, feeling Kano snatch him backwards, hopefully to evade the shock wave. "Did you know he had that?" He asked Kano, shouting over the noise.

"That would be a No...." Kano told him as they landed some distance away.

What came next was a horrid sound of anguish and pain. From the very heart of the explosion, where the man known as Orem had once been standing, a nearly inhuman shriek of horrific pain broke through the sound of the explosion.

Oita just stood there, bracing himself against the explosive reaction from his puppet. He winced, the chakra disappearing with a sudden lack of noise. He wondered what state he'd left Orem in...

As the smoke cleared, a still form could be seen laying upon the ground. A low, painful groan emanated from what was left of the man...if one could really call him that. Great gaping gashes were throughout the man's form, his arms lay several feet from his body, shattered like broken pottery. The massive bulk of the man had been cracked open like an egg, shards lays strewn across the lifeless field before the clock puppet.

Oita carefully hopped along, pulling out a kunai from his belt as he made his way towards Orem. The clock puppet was sitting there, undamaged by everything that had happened, a monolith of a creation. "I'll make it quick." Oita said as he got closer to Orem's broken form "Unless you want to give in. We've got a healer. But I doubt we'll manage to recover your arms."

El was rather astonished at the level of power Oita had just used. He felt particularly inadequate as he watched Oita approach the goliath.

Orem groaned and looked up at the little boy responsible for the wreckage of his body. He trembled and pushed himself over, barely, his pitifully thin arms barely even managing to move him within his shell. He coughed, blood bubbling from his mouth. "Finish it and claim your trophy boy..." He spoke shakily, his body twisted and gnarled within the broken shards of the goliath that had once stood before them. What had appeared on the outside to be a man of monstrous size and strength, appeared instead to be a sad, frail, and twisted man hardly any larger than Oita was.

"Sure you don't want to surrender?" Oita said, carefully reaching inside, helping to pull the man free of the wreckage that was his shell. He ran a careful hand over him, dusting off some of the wreckage, but accidentally knocking some skin free as well "Our healer is quite good, and you are very talented. I'm certain there are ways you could redeem yourself."

"The...damage you see.." Orem started, shaking his head slowly. "Is not from your attack. I cannot be healed, it has been tried." He looked towards the broken shell and sighed. "The golem armor was the only thing that allowed me to move more than just my arms..." He looked at Oita pleadingly, "Name your prize and let me die for what I've done...for what I am..."

"Name my prize?" Oita said, carefully picking up a large arm from the ground and examine it "Live. Talk with us, and I will help you... rebuild this..." He frowned slightly, carefully turning it around "I think I should be able to assist. I built my puppets from scratch, I can build this thing. With your help." He looked down at the man "We can heal up your injuries, you can live, and I can help you. But you'll need to cooperate with me."

The boy's response made Ishiaki smile. He couldn't be prouder of his student, though he certainly wasn't the one to teach him that...

Orem coughed and couldn't help but smirk a lopsided grin. "Live? I have slaughtered hundreds in my travels. All dead, for nothing short of a child's anger. And you wish for me to live? Not only that, but to return to me what you have just destroyed?"

"If you promise to behave... and I WILL be keeping an eye on you, trust me." there was an inflection in there that wasn't entirely as 'giving' as it first seemed. Oita looked down at the man and gave a small shrug "You may have to face... certain people. I cannot promise that your crimes will not be brought up. But it is better than death."

Hardly believing what he was hearing El asked Kano, "Is he stoned?" meaning Oita.

Kano found himself speechless as he watched the exchange between Oita and the fallen giant... He shook his head in disbelief, "I can't believe he's offering him anything..."

"What makes you think I won't simply attack you when your back is turned?" Orem asked the boy, finding it just as difficult to believe that he was offering to repair his golem armor...

"Because that is what trust is." Oita said with a slight smile. Trust, and the fact Oita was making the armour. Orem surely wouldn't think him stupid enough to not put safe guards into the armour? If Oita made it, Oita could stop him dead in seconds. "That, and I'm the only person who's managed to defeat you in quite some time I believe. And you surely want to make sure that that does not happen again."

It was at that time Akane arrived at the scene. She lept down from above the forest nearby and touched down. The giant appeared defeated...and no one else seemed to be hurt. That was good. Perhaps now they could finally continue their journey. However, the more she saw what was happening, the more confused she grew. Spotting El and Kano off to the side, looking just as dumbfounded, she headed over, "What is Oita doing...?"

"He wants to fix the golem's armor..." El said, "Though why is anyone's guess..."

"Oita just took the guy out...Never seen anything like it." Kano explained, shaking his head. One minute the giant was knocking them around like ragdolls, and in the next, Oita was standing over a shrivelled up, tiny little man.

"It doesn't matter if you let me live or not. I lost, Tetsu will kill me either way." Orem explained, shaking his head slowly. It looked as though it pained the man simply to move. "My armor is broken, just kill me now.." He didn't want the boy's pity...

"If you're certain. If you have nothing to live for. No... person." Oita said, carefully kneeling down beside Orem and pulling out a Kunai. He paused though, kneeling beside the man "I can try to promise it will be quick and painless, but I'm not... very good at this bit."

"What the heck is taking him so long?" Akane asked Kano and El. Placing her hands around her mouth, she shouted to her teammate, "ON WITH IT ALREADY!"

"Shhh." El shushed her, a little more forcefully than she probably liked.

Kano held his hand out in front of Akane. "There is no shame in offering surrender."

Walking over to the boy, Ishiaki knelt beside Oita, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I could do it, if you'd prefer." It was a simple statement. There was nothing at all wrong with being reluctant to kill an unarmed and defenseless opponent.

Oita took a deep breath, then suddenly twisted the man's neck and drove the point of the kunai into the base of Orem's skull. It would sever the spinal cord no doubt and most likely kill him before he realized what was happening.


Orem let out a final gurgling raspy breath as Oita's kunai sliced clean through his spinal cord. Blood seeped from his mouth as his eyes rolled to the back of his head.

Ishiaki sighed and placed a steadying hand on Oita's shoulder. Words would not be spoken, not by him at least. There was nothing he could say that would lessen the burden of this act.

El winced, knowing that feeling... remembering what it was like to kill Viktor... Oita wasn't going to be the same after this.

There was brief silence after the man passed, as if everyone was too afraid to speak. Akane would have none of this and decided not to make the man's death a big deal, "Well I'm ready for lunch and to get on with these travels...." she said with a clap of her hands. She also really didn't want to take another arrow to the ass.

Hinji walked out of the woods and onto the scene. He walked up to his teammates, "How did you fair?" He said as he watched Oita and Ishiaki by someone's body.

"Oita just bagged our foe." Kano told him with a nod. He gestured towards the remains of Orem's golem armor and the small frail man at Oita's feet. "How about you guys?"

"We triumphed over our foes as well." Hinji said as he continued to watch, "Even got one to surrender, Tsu-sensei is carrying him back."

"Foes?" Kano asked, putting emphasis on the 's.' "As in plural, Hinji? There was more than one archer?"

"Right... well." Oita went to pull the blade back out, but couldn't seem to manage to free it from the man's spine. He let it go and wiped his hands on his jacket, though he'd barely gotten any blood on them. "I think... perhaps... yes. Yes, I should have a look at that golem armor. It would be very... useful."

Ishiaki nodded and stepped back, giving Oita room to move. "Collect what you can of it and then you can study it along the road. Perhaps we can find space in one of the wagons."

"Hmm....well it doesn't look like anyone on our side got hurt. I think maybe I should scout out the perimeter while Tsu-sensei and Kami head back this way. Just to make sure we don't get flanked by anyone else." Akane said to El since no one else was listening to her.


"Where is Kami and Tsu Sensei?" El asked, agreeing with her but not liking the idea of splitting up before everyone regrouped.

"On their way. Hinji and I left right before they did." Akane said. "And hey- between you and me..." she began in a softer voice, "What the heck is wrong with your sensei? She totally off her nut. She was wagging around one of the archer's arms like it was a chew toy."

"She is odd." El said. "But such tactics also aid in intimidating the enemy."

"Second guess their sanity maybe... not quite intimidate." Akane corrected, a hand on her hip. Feeling a wet spot, she looked at her palm to find old blood there. How bothersome. Looks like she bled on her clothes and all down her leg. Maybe she could grab something to wash off with from one of the wagons.

"The Archer was really four brothers working as one entity to make themselves appear able to be everywhere at once." Hinji explained to Kano, " Their group started to fall apart when one killed some of his brothers." He saw that Ishiaki and Oita were getting ready to head back their way, " If you will excuse me, I must speak with Ishiaki." With that he started forward towards the blind swordsman.

Oita carefully picked up some pieces of the golem and began to drag them towards the carts. He then pointed to his clock puppet "I'll need help getting that back into the cart. I don't want to banish it just yet."

"Were you wounded?" El asked, trying not to make it noticeable that he was looking at her bottom.

"Not anymore." Akane said, feeling a bit more upset about her clothes now. "Let me tell you... taking an arrow to the ass cheek doesn't really do wonders for your pride."

"Huh...good tactic..." Kano said quietly and nodded as Hinji dismissed himself to speak with their sensei. He caught the tail end of Akane's statement and looked at her with a smirk. "You got shot in the butt?"

Ishiaki nodded to Oita. "I will take care of it." He fixed his sword into place on his belt and headed for the puppet. He paused and looked in Hinji's direction, tilting his head quizzically. "Did you need something, Hinji?"

"More like stabbed." Akane corrected, unamused by Kano's expression. "So whats up with you two? Did you both just stand aside and let Oita do all the work or what?"

"This is not over." Hinji said to Ishiaki, "Their leader will be on his way soon to do the job himself. We got this information from one of the Archers."

"He stabbed you in the butt with an arrow?" Kano asked her, ignoring her question altogether. He was enjoying her situation a little too much.

"Uh, no." El said. "During the fight Kano was thrown into me and as we were recovering... as I was recovering Oita had prepared his finishing blow."

"Tetsu the Iron-Faced." Ishiaki said with a nod. "Not surprising that he'd come himself...but there are two more that we have yet to come across. My guess would be that they are attempting this in waves, should one group fail, the other will attack..." He sighed and leaned against the puppet. "Care to give me a hand with this?"

The puppet would be heavy, heavier than they'd expect really. And it jingled and creaked when you moved it. Oita moved over towards the others, looking between El and Kano before looking up at Akane as if she barely interested him. "Are you two okay? That final attack of his was very dangerous." he said, looking to El and Kano.

Akane was going to say something snarky to Kano when Oita barged in on their conversation. Pinching her lips together in annoyance, she leaned to her left hip and crossed her arms. With a roll of her eye, she waited for them to answer Oita.

"His attack was dangerous?" Kano asked him in disbelief. "Oita, I had no idea you could produce something like what that clock did..." He was very impressed by the boy's final attack.

"It was indeed very surprising." El agreed.

"I simply put in the mechanism." Oita said with a small shrug "The real power came from the chakra the puppet absorbed. As impressive as it seemed I was being, without Ishiaki supplying chakra it would have just been a clock."

"Don't sell yourself short, Oita." Kano told him with a grin. "That was awesome."

"Why is there a clock out here?" Hinji asked, feeling quite justified in asking this.

"It is one of Oita's puppets. He didn't want to return it just yet." Ishiaki explained with a shrug. "Just grab an end, if you would, please."

Akane left while the boys chatted, not really wanting a part in it. Kami and Tsu weren't back yet, but she ventured along the row of wagons anyway. There was nearly a dozen of them and she wanted to make sure no cargo got stolen or damaged.

Hinji doubted he would be much, if any, help moving this thing. He did was he was told, though, and grabbed a hold of the clock puppet's base.

With Hinji holding the base, Ishiaki tilted the clock down onto his shoulder. "It was an impressive attack, a shame you missed it, Hinji."

"I will...have to ask Oita...about it later." Hinji said as he struggled with the clock. His training had always been in reading and calligraphy, which never left much time for physical work.

A little breathless Kami and Tsu Sensei arrived. "Sorry we're late." She told the others. "I had to go back for my weights."

"Sorry to put this off on you." Ishiaki apologized as they started forward with the clock. "So there were four archers?" He asked curiously, it seemed a waste not to get briefed while he had the kid here.

"Correct." Hinji answered, "They were all brothers working together. Only one of them is alive now. He is with Tsu-sensei, possibly still under the belief that he has been poisoned."

Akane rounded he last of the wagons and found nothing. The earth was shifted in places and the horses were terrified, but everything else seemed in tact. Walking back along the other side of the cargo, she stopped when she came upon their only fatality. One of the drivers had an arrow sticking out of the back of his skull and laid dead near a tipped wagon. With a sigh and frown, she jumped up into it and tried to find something to wrap his body in for now.

"The belief he'd been poisoned?" Ishiaki asked, wanting to know more. He'd have to talk to Oita about maybe putting some wheels on this puppet...

"One of my summons got a good hit with a spike projectile. He asked if it was venomous and I made him believe it was." Hinji said simply.

"A clever deception." Ishiaki told him, giving him a bit of a nod. It was an awkward nod, considering he was hefting the clock on his shoulder. "Definitely must speak with Oita about installing wheels..."

Oita gave a small shrug to the others "It is only the truth. As powerful as the attack is, it didn't come from me." He looked around as the others arrived, then Akane had left "She was rather rude, wasn't she?"

Tsu smiled over at the others when she arrived. With blood still on her hands and a man over her shoulder, she walked over to Kano and El "Hello my boys! How did the fight go. No one injured I see."

Akane settled on a tarp that had been rolled up in part of the wagon. She untied it and laid it out to place the man inside. Bending down to the driver, she frowned at the arrow jetting out on the back of his head. That wouldn't do. Rather than trying to pull it out, she crouched down with a kunai and began slicing the wood as near to the man's head as she could. Akane wasn't know for being the most compassionate of the two ninja groups... but she certainly held respect for the dead and presumed that this man's family would want his body for a proper ceremony and burial.

El hadn't noticed Akane had left until Oita mentioned it. He went to her, wondering what was so important, then realized they'd forgotten about their one casualty. He knelt beside Akane, but said nothing.

"She took an arrow in the butt." Kano told Oita with a shrug. He naturally assumed that something like that would make one rather rude towards people. He couldn't help but smile when his sensei arrived. "Nothing injured but our pride. He threw us around like a couple of rag-dolls, Sensei. Then Oita unleashed that huge clock puppet over there." He gestured towards Ishiaki and Hinji as they struggled to bring the puppet in. "Ishiaki-sensei fueled it and when Oita attacked with it..." He whistled and shook his head slowly. "I'm surprised the man survived long enough to beg for death."

Not noticing El was behind her, Akane began to roll the victim over onto the wagon tarp so that he was face up. She paused for a moment when his face was exposed. Holding her hand straight in front of her with her thumb touching her chest, Akane took a deep breath to show respect to the fallen man. Then, she took a feather from her pouch and placed it on his chest. Next, she straightened out his arms along his sides before proceeding to wrap his body.

"Ah, good, strong boy." Tsu said with a nod to Oita "Good to see Ishiaki is keeping you all up to scratch." She scanned him for a moment, then turned her head a little towards Kano "Be a dear and hold him up? He is going to collapse in half a second when what he's done catches up to him. Trust me." She was seeing the signs, little shakes, stuff the others couldn't have seen, not at their level of training.

"I'm fine." Oita said, his cheeks a little pink from the accusation that he was about to fall over.

Kano turned to Oita and looked at him questioningly. "She's right, isn't she?" He asked, after looking at his friend. He did look a little shaky...

"Just... get ready. If that puppet did what I think it did, he had to restrain all the chakra that Ishiaki put into it. Think what that does to a body." Tsu said, nodding towards Oita, who was going both pink and pale in the face at the same time.

Kano moved over to Oita, ready to catch him should he actually fall.

"Here." Kami said, taking out a pouch of energy balls. "A few of these with water should help."

---

El scooted closer and began to help wrapping the man's legs.

Akane turned and saw El trying to help. "Oh- I didn't see you there. I thought I was the only one who remembered our causality."

"I am sorry to admit that I had forgotten until I saw you come this way." El told her sadly.

"Well you're here now." Akane said, not wanting to add guilt. She finished wrapping the man and looked over at the wreckage, "We should push this wagon back upright and load everything back in."

"We're going to need help." El said. "I don't think we can do it alone."

"You should ask the others then." Akane said, knowing people were more likely to listen to him than her. "I'll start collecting and bringing together the cargo."

El nodded and went back to the others. He went to Kano first, knowing he'd be likely to help. "We need help righting this wagon." He said. "And moving the casualty."

Kano looked at El when he reappeared. "Oh? Sure thing." He looked back at Oita, "Are you sure you'll be alright, Oita?" Kami had offered him an energy pill of some sort. He could certainly leave him in her care. She knew what she was doing and she was his teammate.

"I think that would be best later on, if we got in trouble and he needed the energy. Don't want him crashing when the next people get here." Tsu pointed out to Kami with a small nod "I've really got to go give this guy to Ishiaki though." And with that, she left.

Oita took the pill, staring at it as his hand trembled ever so slightly. Should he take it now? Or do what Tsu said and eat it later? He wasn't crashing... not yet at least.

After El left, Akane had begun gathering the spilled goods. She piled crates, boxes and baskets of goods near the fallen driver, ready to put in the wagon once it was righted.

"Take it." Kami told him. "And this one." She offered another and her canteen. "You'll feel better."

"Where do you want this, Oita?" Ishiaki asked as he and Hinji lugged the clock over to the boy.

Kano looked at El, "Well, I guess he'll be fine. So lead the way."

El led Kano back to Akane where she had accumulated the smaller of the spilled cargo. "We need to make a space for the driver." He said.

Akane was thankful Kano had followed. He was physically stronger than both she and El. "We can load up the cargo on one side and place him on the other. First we should tip the wagon though"

El went to one wheel and offered Akane a spot next to him. The two of them together were probably as strong as Kano.

Akane didn't like to admit it... but El was right in thinking so. She took his gesture and grabbed hold of the wheel, waiting for Kano to grab the other.

Hinji stood, waiting for Oita to respond, and wondering why Oita wasn't moving this thing himself.

"Put... put it.." Oita had the pill in hand as he half slumped down onto the floor, eyes closing and head burning as his body finally relented.

"Told you..." Tsu sighed softly, shaking her head as she looked at Oita. She then turned to Ishiaki, jostling the man on her shoulder "Got a captive."

"I suppose here is good." Ishiaki told Hinji with a smirk. Hinji had the bottom, so he'd have to put it down first. He looked at Tsu and nodded, "So I am told, well done."

Hinji set the giant clock down and dusted off his hands. He didn't leave, however, he wanted to make sure that Tsu gave credit where credit was due and not try to claim it for her own.

"Anywhere I should put him?" Tsu asked, looking around for somewhere that might be considered a little 'safe'

Meanwhile Kami helped guide Oita down as he slumped to the ground. "Lay back." She said, "We'll get you into the wagon once the others are done, but you really need to eat this."

"Sorry..." Oita mumbled softly, closing his eyes and carefully moving the pill up to his mouth. He needed a little help eating...

Kami knelt behind him, giving him her thighs to lean against. She took the pill from him and placed it to his lips. "And when this one is down I want you to take another... and when your back on your feet, two mre."

Oita groaned and carefully opened his mouth to eat the first pill she gave him. These would probably taste disgusting...

Ishiaki pushed the clock up until it was standing again, then rubbed his shoulder. He looked at at Oita a little worriedly, "Are you alright?"

Oita blushed a little, though it would be a lot more if he could have actually managed to have enough energy for it. "Tired..." he admitted softly as he chewed Kami's pill.

"Drink." She said, holding the water bottle up to his lips. "Then another and another until I'm satisfied."

Oita drank when he was told, his head swimming a little as he did as he was told. He really couldn't complain right now.

"So anyone injured in your group?" Ishiaki asked Tsu as he moved from around the clock

"Akane took an arrow to the butt, but it's alright now. She healed it up... but I think she's a little traumatised by that experience. I think Kami might be a little... unhappy with what I did, but she's not hurt. And Hinji is Hinji." Tsu said with a little shrug.

---

Kano moved to the other wheel and grabbed a hold of the spokes, setting his hands nearest the axle. "On three?" He asked for clarification, if they just heaved randomly it would probably damage the thing.

"One.. Two.. Three." Akane counted and began to lift with the other two. The wagon was a handful, but not too incredibly heavy since the cargo wasn't in it. It tipped over and righted on it's four wheels with a loud THUNK. Thankfully though, nothing looked damaged.

El heaved with them and when the thing went upright he quickly pulled his hands away, mindlessly protecting his fingers and letting Akane and Kano correct the thing should the springs tip it the other direction.

"Well. That wasn't so hard." Kano said, dusting his hands off and looking at the two of them. "What's next?"

Akane simply pointed at the pile of crates and things that she had so neatly piled.

"Simple enough." Kano said with a nod and headed for the crates.

El went with him, but stopped and returned to Akane. "Watch my guitar?" He asked her, taking his hat off long enough to give her his instrument. He also took off the amplifier. "Please?"

If it meant she could just stand here while they loaded up the cargo? "Sure." she said and took his things. Akane swung the guitar strap over her shoulder like he did, assuming it would be easier to hold onto and kept the amp in her hands. "How did this thing work out for you? Or did Oita just steal the show?" she asked concerning the guitar, but also to Kano.

"We tried our best..." Kano said sadly. He was happy that the enemy had been defeated, but he was indeed disheartened by the fact that it was not by him. "We were each able to knock him down, several times. But only Oita was capable of keeping him down."

"I imagine that we can expect another attack soon. Reflecting, I don't think it was a good idea for us to split up like that. Clearly it's what the archers wanted. They led us deep before retaliating an attack." Akane explained.

"We will be more vigilant." El said. "And it worked fine... better than expected."

"And we now have a better idea of what to expect from the other Masters." Kano explained with a nod as he started loading cargo

"Is that so?" Akane asked, leaning to one side. She exhaled and shook her head lightly, "Well at least no one got hurt this time around."

"Well... Oita doesn't look so hot." El remarked.

"Nothing but our pride..." Kano said and kicked the dirt before bending and picking up a crate to load.

In no time, the cargo was loaded and last was the task of hoisting the fallen man.