| abstract | - Hideyoshi Nara has been lurking around after he heard of a puppeteer by the name of Akagi, he has been dying to get a chance to capture this man as he had lots of information which would help Konoha greatly and become a source of getting puppeteers in Konoha, which will augment Konoha's military massively. No one knows that Hideyoshi is going on a mission like that, he is doing it on his own by his free will. He has many connections over the lands, and his sources told him that Akagi would be in a forest in the land of fire after a few days. Hideyoshi rushed to the given location with eagerness. He was heading towards the direction where he sensed a shinobi chakra. He went to him on day-time so that his shadows would be effective. "Well, lets see what this puppet master got. I have a feeling that he won't die today ... even if he loses the fight." thought Hideyoshi to himself as he ventured on his way to the chakra presence. An eternal soldier traveled from a recent meeting held in secrecy between two high ranked officials. Its content went unknown by even his closest subordinates. Akagi had his head covered by a black robe. With a hood that shrouded emerald eyes. Winds gently brushed his shoulder, pushing him further down his road. Akagi walked a lonely, abandoned path. A path walked upon countless times before. Eyes watched, and mouths spoke, but hearts remained distant from this broken child. But his mind kept from accepting absolute solitude. No. Akagi's subconscious activated a fail-safe during his youngest years. Although heart breaking to some, it lead to a mastery of puppets unforeseen. However, Akagi remained ignorant to his other mental tenants. Believing each to be a living person rather than a puppet of his creation. "Those bastards asking for the day off!" Akagi grumbled. Ox and Snake usually kept him company, indulging in mindless conversation. "Yet again, I'm stuck here handling the business while they have fun. Watch when I have my day off, I'm am so going to rub it in their faces." Hideyoshi had finally reached his target, he saw him from a distance, He then enhanced his body speed using Body Flicker Technique to get right behind him. He then stopped. The breeze of wind blew into his soft dark hair as he glared at Akagi with a rather "dull" look. "Akagi, the Kyoshou. The grand puppet master, am I right?" asked Hideyoshi while staring at Akagi with his red eyes. He could tell that this was going to be a tough battle. Yet, he had undying will and great confidence in his skill (that rhymes). He then waited for his foe's response. Hideyoshi's sudden rush released a burst of wind that seemed out of place. Causing Akagi to place his hands within his sleeves. Secretly, a small scroll dropped from a compartment in his arm. A scroll with black ends and an Obsidian symbol, one of his unique crest. He kept it hidden within his sleeves. A preparation. Meanwhile, Akagi took a deep breath. "Am I?" Many have taken his name for their own personal benefit. Akagi meant nothing. He stole it himself from his favorite tree. Those who used his name shamelessly stole power from him, but also kept him protected. "I prefer Kaonashi" Akagi said after taking an unneeded deep breath. "So what is it you need or want from me? I am very busy." "And I was rather enjoying this walk away from my annoying family." Hideyoshi stared at Akagi for a minute calculating his possible moves and the possibilities depending on them. He then decided that he would go for the rather direct approach. "Well, lets be straight forward with this, I'm here to beat you. I need the information in your brain." said Hideyoshi telling his opponent his goal, which was rather odd on his side. It seemed like he wanted his opponent to be ready for attack. He then took a kunai out of his pouch and threw it at his opponent, it had an Explosive Seal on it. However, the seal was not visible. Hideyoshi's target from starting off slow is to catch his opponent off guard by making him think that he would start off slow with a direct Kunai throw. As the kunai made its way to Akagi he made a tiger hand seal when it was about two meters away from Akagi. Hideyoshi set the explosion to cover ten meters. Akagi quickly activated his scroll and switched with a copy of himself. Attaching his infamous strings breathed life into the inanimate. In loving memory of his Sensei, Akagi hid deep among trees and bushes, keeping a close eye on his prey. With gentle motions, Crow dashed backwards, stumbling from Hide's explosions with its arms up in a protective gesture, truly playing as Akagi. A testament to his mastery turned his threads invisible, giving Crow the illusion of being alive. Crow looked around for Hideyoshi. "Where are you!?" Crow screamed. He had a Kunai in his hand and prepared to go on offense or defense. Meanwhile, Akagi kept his other senses on his own surroundings. It was a rare occasion for someone to locate a master without a Dojutsu. Hideyoshi kept a close eye on the explosion as the smoke cleared up, he was then surprised by a puppet who seemed like Akagi. Of course, he didn't realize that he was a puppet, there was no apparel indication that gave a hint that it was a puppet, Akagi did a great job with his disguise. However, there was some sort of a clue that lead Hideyoshi into being suspicious about Akagi that clue being that he was unaffected by the explosion, the explosion didn't seem to phase him and he walked towards Hideyoshi out of the explosion in a rather casual way. That was the mistake that was made by Akagi as surviving an explosion like that and with no scratches or even reacting to the mentioned explosion, that was inhuman. Hideyoshi kept an eye on the fake Akagi, yet he wasn't sure that he was fake, it was an assumption by him. he made sure that he didn't give any indication that he was suspicious about Akagi and him being a decoy. While keeping an eye on the fake Akagi, he used Chakra Sensing Technique to feel any chakra presence around him. He made sure that he didn't make any hand seals so it won't give him away. He felt chakra presence in the bushes and felt a slight chakra signature coming from the bushes to the decoy Akagi. That was the chakra thread, the signature was so weak that it could almost be unnoticeable to average sensors. This made Hideyoshi realize that he was facing a puppet. He had plans and he wanted to make Akagi think that he was tricked by the decoy. "I see you survived the explosion, very good indeed." he said. He then scattered crows allover the area that flew towards the puppet to block it's vision, they also flew and roamed around the area, they cawed "caw...caw" they said, which was music to Hideyoshi's ears. The crows which were scattered in the area made it hard to see clearly especially from the bushes. Using this moment of distraction caused by the crows, Hideyoshi fired his shadow to the location of the real Akagi in an attempt to catch him off guard. Crows rapidly masked his sight, especially from behind the bushes. Fucking birds, He thought trying to keep his attention on Hideyoshi. But with each passing minute, his crows cloned themselves. Soon turning into a massive swarm. But he kept his cool and a tight hold upon Crow. But before he could attack, Akagi felt something, or someone, hold his shadow. Halting his overall movement. The young Maestro immediately mimicked Hideyoshi's movement. Plans constantly formulating in his mind. "Leave it to me to fight a Nara," Akagi roared. His voice filled with pride. "I'm actually shocked you caught me. Shinobi usually fail to last this long in battle against me." A small laugh followed. "I will surely remember this day if I survive." But Akagi had a plan. And it required perfect timing. Hideyoshi was no fool, although he realized he had the advantage he didn't drop his guard. Some of the crows that were scattered everywhere flew near Hideyoshi and formed three clones of himself which watched his back. The real Hideyoshi figured that he needs to restrain Akagi's movement, which would make it easier for him to think straight before acting. He made the dog followed by the bird hand seals "Shimekukuru Fuuin" he said. This was one of Hideyoshi's most frightening techniques said to be able to restrain a tailed beast for a short period of time. This technique was practiced by Hideyoshi and he was able to reach a tremendous level of physical restraint. He used his shadow as a medium to transfer the seal to Akagi. Hideyoshi then used Chakra Draining Seal applying it to his shadow to give it a chakra draining effect which drains the chakra from whatever it touches, in this case, it was the restrained Akagi. The crow clones kept on their guard awaiting any attack from anywhere. Akagi smirked. His puppetry involved higher levels of thinking and planning. To reach his understanding meant controlling puppets solely through ones will. One string gifted life to ones puppet. To move and manipulate a puppet meant gifting it a portion of his soul and mind. And Akagi had been born with a large pool of spiritual energy. He felt his bodies restriction, but Hideyoshi's secondary seal was useless against him. Being a bionic puppet meant he lacked a true skeletal system. In essence his body had a composition similar to a puppeteer long lost, except it had been comprised of metal. With his core, his greatest weakness, but strongest weapon. Akagi's fleeting energy worried him little. He had to play his part. "D-damn you!" Akagi grunted. He could feel his control, and surely with enough will could break it. His puppet turned its head and opened his mouth. Revealing a small gun. "Why are you targeting me?!" Akagi screamed, feigning fear and worry. But deep inside he remained calm. With a thought, Crow released a barrage of poisonous smoke bombs erupting a large purple cloud. Akagi's worried expression turned into a confident smirk as he prepared for his next attack. The poison would kill a human within three days should he breathe it in. Hideyoshi saw Akagi surprised by the targeting of his own puppet he turned to see that the puppet fired three bullet shaped balls at Akagi himself. They then exploded into violet colored smoke which was approaching Hideyoshi as it spread in the air. "Damn it, poison fog." he said as he started moving away from the fog using his own method to get away fast. His clones followed him. Akagi however was bound with two very strong restrainers, one being Hideyoshi's shadow, and the other is the seal which made it almost impossible to follow Hideyoshi. The man held his breath as soon as he saw the violet color of the poison fog as he was adept in the use of poison himself. As he got away from the fog, he couldn't concentrate on keeping the shadow imitation technique up, he had to let Akagi loose to even use the Body Flicker Technique. "Well, this is getting interesting. I don't think my genjutsu worked on him since I don't feel that I have disturbed the chakra flow in his brain. This is truly getting troublesome." said Hideyoshi as he watched the poison fog consume the are which Akagi was in. Akagi reached into his sleeve and prepared another scroll, keeping it cascaded. A gust of wind blew his poison cloud revealing two silhouettes. Akagi emerged with crow following close behind. Crow shook violently, mimicking a clowns laughter. His long crimson hair followed the wind. Tree's whistling in unison as wildlife escaped. Akagi took a deep breath. His red eyes locked with Hideyoshi as he prepared for Hideyoshi's next assault. A puppeteer's greatest weapon is patience and preparation. Words his master drilled into him. There were days when his master took him for long journey's. And whatever he had on his person, Akagi had to survive with. If only they were not fucking around...This battle would have been over already. Akagi locked eyes with his opponent and cocked his head in interest. Crow wrapped its arm around his master. "My master is protecting me," He warned. Crow's head leaning sideways. He could feel his teacher's energy pulsating within. A residue and legacy passed onto his student. "That is what makes this battle so difficult for you." Akagi kept his other hand ready. "I figured that you are immune to genjutsu. It's really my bad luck. It turns out that you are the perfect counter for my strong points." Hideyoshi clearly states his thoughts with honesty. Akagi was the perfect counter for him, he used weaponry which was hard to counter and he is immune to genjutsu, which was Hideyoshi's primary attack method. "However, you having the advantage doesn't mean that you will win." stated Hideyoshi with almost no fear in his eyes. Five shadowkhan came out of Hideyoshi's shadow. They came from the Drakforce realm. They were of the human tribe. Hideyoshi left the shadowkhan deal with Akagi while he observed. They surrounded Akagi from all directions, it seemed like they were moving with very high-speed. Two of the shadowkhan attempted to wrap Akagi and crow together with Shadow Clutch Technique. While the other two formed some sort of a triangular formation around Akagi in order to catch him if he attempts escaping. While Hideyoshi spoke, Akagi finished preparing his scroll within his sleeve. A second gust of wind masked Akagi in a final blanket of purple smoke which he used to mask his summoning. Sending it deep underground to await his call. He used his shadow Imitation technique, before, Akagi took a deep breath, completely unaffected by his own poison, a poison able to down a dragon in rumor. In clear air, he watched shadowy shinobi take guard around. He did not lose worry nor did he panic. which means you need shadows to attack. He thought to himself. Crow opened its mouth and fired regular smoke bombs from a small cannon. Grey orbs of heavy, condensed smoke which masked his entire area, including the shadowkhan. He kept two threads attached to his hidden puppet and his entire right hand locked upon Crow, giving a greater control. Akagi replaced his body once more with Crow, masking it once more. Crow stood prepared, awaiting to fight Hideyoshi's warriors. Meanwhile, Akagi remained a short distance away. He had to draw Hideyoshi closer. Hideyoshi watched as smoke covered the area consuming the shadowkhan. He wasn't worried one bit as he knew that Akagi didn't have the ability to destroy his shadowkhan, yet he wasn't sure. He knew that being in the smoke is a disadvantage as he would be open for attack, he stayed away from the smoke area, making sure to stay away from the smoke. He kept a close eye on the battlefield, in an attempt for attack, Hideyoshi used Chakra Sensing Technique to locate Akagi inside the smoke, he was surprised to see that he isn't located in the smoke, the figure in the smoke had a chakra thread attached to it. That made Hideyoshi realize that he replaced himself again. He followed the chakra thread into the source to know Akagi's position. After locating Akagi, he realized that another chakra thread was used to control another puppet, he followed the chakra thread to realize that the puppet was underground. Hideyoshi quickly made his plan and designed a strategy. He threw a kunai at Crow's position, it was marked by an Explosive Seal. The kunai was masked by the smoke on it's way to Crow, he then made a one handed tiger hand seal when the Kunai was about one meter, the explosion was set to explode at a twenty meter radius. He made sure not to catch himself in the explosion as he was forty meters away from Crow and a fair distance away from the smoke. The explosion was very strong that it blew away the smoke that consumed the area. Hideyoshi's explosion cleared Crow's cloud of dense smoke rather easily. And in clear air, Crow's body parts littered the ground between them. Akagi's strings had snapped and disappear, leaving him with only one puppet. Let's make this work. Akagi thought. His feet gently stumbled back as he prepared for his next plan. Knowing his enemies would target his shadow, Akagi kept an eye on it. Hideyoshi acknowledged the puppet underground, he was prepared for the worst and he had a plan in mind. The shadowkhan attempted to trap Akagi. They ran directly towards him after the smoke cleared and they materialized their shadows to create giant shadow arms that tried to grab him, yet the shadowkhans themselves were still intangible. While Akagi would be busy with the shadows, Hideyoshi threw five flash bombs in the air above him. He made sure not to look at the flash bombs when he activated them, he then replaced himself with a crow clone while he hid in the bushes. The light which surrounded him would cover the replacement. Akagi then was left with the crow clone who was thought to be Hideyoshi. Akagi smirked when the shadowkhan attacked. He disconnected the strings to his underground trap, since reattaching was an incredibly fast process for someone with his skill. Hideyoshi foolishly let Akagi morph their battlefield in his favor. And so, he had all his necessary traps prepared. You have to worry about so many things Mr. Nara. Akagi teased ever so gently. His thoughts filled with an unfamiliar arrogance. But your eyes lose track of your TRUE enemy. He drew multiple explosive kunai and tossed them towards Hideyoshi's shadow arms since they had materialized. Hideyoshi's flash bang gave him the diversion needed. Rapidly, his chakra threads shot out towards Hideyoshi's shadowkhan with a purpose of attaching. Although intangible, Akagi could channel his very own chakra through his threads to activate their abilities and gain possession. But he kept two fingers free...
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