Kaname planted the exploding tag flat on the man's back. He was still clutching Sakumo in his foot and unable to do much about it. Equally unawares was he when Marise attacked. The man tumbled away, wrapped in his cloak as Sakumo fell back to the ground. Bright blood streamed down from the crown of his head to his face, but his eyes were still determined- his spirit still strong.<br/><br/>"Haradou: Seikoujin!" He said as he formed a few hand seals and released a large amount of chakra. Kaname felt around her a warmth... a sort of security, the air around Sakumo himself seemed heavenly and divine- impenetrable.<br/><br/>She was soon swept up in his arms and brought her instantaneously back up into the trees back with Marise and the still unconscious Imouto. Now free of the blast radius, Kaname set off the tag. Still reeling from Marise's gentle fist, the man was consumed in an explosion. It lit up the dark forest like a bonfire in the night.<br/><br/>All together again, the Konoha shinobi would prove to be a formidible bunch. The Hyuuga medical nin could see the sphere of chakra surrounding them, centered on Sakumo. It was bright and warm, posessing of a saintly power.<br/><br/>"Mari." The white fang said as he maintainted the technique with a sustained hand sign, "Do you see the aura surrounding us? He cannot pass through the barrier."<br/><br/>In front of them, the smoke from the explosion began to clear. On one knee, the strange man appeared through the dust. His cloak was torn up, nearly half of it consumed in the blast. He stood upright, his lower half now visible. Metal and bandages beneath his half-shredded trousers, a shuriken holster on each leg.<br/><br/>He narrowed his eyes at the trio and deactivated the sword. The quiet hum went silent as he took his metallic pointed fingers to his face and brought a strip of gauze back down to his implanted eye. His other hand clutching the sword hilt went to his side where the medical nin's Jyuuken attack had landed. She saw through her white eyes the damage... it was worth three strikes.<br/><br/>The man looked up into the moonlight. "Your sword..." He said, turning his gaze back upon Sakumo, "It will have to wait."<br/><br/>"Don't pursue him." Sakumo said, still focusing on his technique.<br/><br/>The cloaked figure turned his back on them, knelt low... and then jumped upwards towards the branches above. He soon mounted the understory of the forest and leaped from one tree to the other.<br/><br/>"Mari...." The white fang said, his tone and his breath obviously betraying his fatigue as he kept his eyes focused forward, "Kaname-chan's bleeding."<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide</div><div class="spoiler_body">Jyuuken: 6 damage, 1 tenketsu sealed<br/>Exploding Tag: 4 fire damage.<br/><br/>Marise; 8,007 XP<br/>Kaname; 8,140 XP<br/><br/>A part of the puzzle is revealed...</div></div><br/><hr/><br/>Shirō did not move as Tashi disappeared before him. He blinked for a moment and then tilted his head to the side. His arms were casually loose at his sides. He looked down at the ground for footprints, narrowing his eyes at the bricks of Tanigakure's road. Then his ear twitched and he turned his gaze towards where Tashi had walked.<br/><br/>He let slip a smirk upon his weathered features as he put his hands to his stomach and inhaled deeply. From his mouth burst forth a cloud of deep dark purple smoke. It enveloped the area around Tashi.<br/><br/>With one whiff of the fumes, Tashi felt his body reeling. It was poison! From the man's very own body a toxin unlike any Tashi had experienced before. It reminded him of something... the pupeteer from Sunagakure. The man also used the same chakra string technique as she did...<br/><br/>...<br/><br/>"Hey!" Came the voice of the Daimyo's guard ahead of Jun, "What are you doing!?" She leaped off the roof and into the street below. When the wolf kunoichi followed after her, she was already engaged in taijutsu combat with... Shirō Mengishii!<br/><br/>It already didn't look good. Her kick was blocked and countered; her other leg stomped out from under her as she fell unceremoniously to the earth. This wasn't the same man she fought earlier that day... Once the woman recovered, she looked back up towards Jun on the rooftop, "Sound the alarm!" She shouted, "We- ngh... have an intruder!"<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide</div><div class="spoiler_body">Spot; 23<br/>Listen; Natural 20! Plus modifiers...<br/>Attack; Ninjutsu (Ninjutsu Identify DC: 20)<br/>Poison (Save DC: 24)<br/>Primary: <strong>6!</strong> Con Damage (15 HP)<br/>Secondary: <strong>1</strong> Con Damage (5 HP)<br/>Daimyo's Guard #1 enters the battle! 12 Init!<br/>She attacks Shirō... 1! Fumbles and falls prone!<br/>Jun enters the battle! Roll Initiative! You are 50 feet away from Shirō.<br/>Suzume is one round behind.<br/><br/>Current Init;<br/>Tashi: 20<br/>Shirō: 18<br/>Guard: 12<br/></div></div>