dishonest downfall

Mission Codename: Golden Chorus

Soon upon arrival, her worry was well founded, as one of the divas could no longer perform, her vocals strained beyond immediate repair. After a short check up, she decided that all the diva needed was time to rest, a comforting diagnosis, or at least it should be if it weren't for the fact that the show needed to be completed tonight.

They could not delay the performance longer due to the importance of the full moon present. If they were to wait, they would need to stall for a whole month, severely hindering the traveling diva's schedule, to the point where they would be forced to skip Konoha.

In their distress, their eyes turned to the youthful appearing medic, quickly scattering to get her prepared to take her spot with no regard for her own opinions on the matter.

Though, even for an experienced shinobi, the choreography proved to be quite complex, and considering the tight time frame, the group prudently decided to split the sick diva's role into two, searching for a second member to enlist.

"We need a second member? Anyone should do, her let me call-" before her mouth could finish its statement, her eyes cut it off, clocking a concerningly familiar hooded figure, "Itachi. You have no business being here-"

"Oh you know him? Perfect! I can feel the synergy just radiating from you two already!" One of the divas beams. "It has to be him, he has the face for it as well," several of the crew setting up the stage hum in agreement.

"Alrighty! We will leave you two to iron out the choreography. See you on stage in two hours!" They all wave, leaving the two standing in tense silence, the one that follows a torrential storm, fearful of riling a second.

Not that he much wants it to, but it does. A jutsu of this nature has its uses for many reasons. He sincerely doubts the Akatsuki would want to partake in what most of them would deem as silly if not outright degrading, but there are already a few places he can think to put such a technique to use. If he can even learn it to begin with. 

Of course, learning requires watching, patient research as the group performs. From one place to the other, he has followed and upon arrival in Konoha, perhaps he’s let himself slip a bit too much. Even with the partial return of his sharingan, he finds himself lacking as much bite as he would personally like. 

When, after all this time, the lead - the main voice and object of his study - can no longer perform, he wonders if Konoha will simply accept that they cannot.

Naturally it doesn’t. Such isn’t the nature of the leaf. 

His steps against the lily pads are made with his back towards the wind. Above all else, he should like to see them unharmed. Throwing kunai in such a place would be worse than wasteful in his mind, but it’s not quite so simple with the tail he’s picked up.

Never did he expect to see those of Suna here but he supposes the world he once knew is not so cut and dry.

It would be nice to actually believe that.

“If you continue to stir the frogs in this manner,” he says in spite of his own footsteps drawing the creatures into the water. “There will be far larger problems than me.”

“Your family isn’t skilled with Lightning aspect, are they?” It was, at least, known that the Uchiha were firebreathers, in a land that underappreciated it and claimed a Will of Fire for all but they - another of life’s little ironies.

It was all the explanation that he gave as he continued the shuffle and drag forward, noting the pattern of movement that he had taken thusfar and, while he understood that nature did not necessarily have to follow such stringent patterns, Sasori still found a little artistic thrill in the supposition that he was right, that the storm itself would find his endeavors successful.

“Here. Watch.”

And he hefted and tossed the body at the clap of thunder, then a heartbeat later on the downturn the lightning struck it square in the sternum, leaving the dressed puppet to twist and writhe as though it were alive once more before it hit the ground with a dull thump, steaming from each extremity.

  Out of them all, Sasori being well versed isn’t very surprising. Troublesome? Maybe one day, but that was not today - a grace granted to both of them. It’s not kindness that makes him speak rather than nod -it’s wanting to see what he was actually up to without breaking his focus even a bit. “Correct. Is that a necessity for this?” Would a lack prove to be a reason for complete inability to do so? Their pace forward, into the storm, is steady whilst chaos continues to swell within the air around them. 

  A demonstration is placed before him and hungry red eyes drink every moment of it up with undeniable eagerness.

  The body is one way to contain the strike, even should it shift and jerk in a way that makes it obvious the vessel isn’t fond of it’s new addition. The dull thump that follows not soon after is likely not meant to be part of Sasori’s showing. There’s a low hum. No need to retell what they both can plainly see, the slightly narrowed eyes as he looks over are loud enough. 

  So he needed something stronger.

It was not an ideal environment for him to be in, strictly. It was not as though Hiruko had not received the absolute best varnish and water repellant coating that he could manage to concoct, although the water seeping into the cracks and joints as it always would was annoying. He had treated his creations for the harsh wind and the brush of sands, to stand the test of time against the harshest aggressors that nature could offer.

But there was an appeal to a maelstrom of this calibre, and when he lifted his gaze to the heavy clouds that roiled and churned through the lash of rain, he lifted the tail to shield Hiruko's face and waited for the flash of light to streak across the sky.

There.

The crack of thunder that ripped through the air rumbled in his chest and stirred a chuckle for him as he navigated his way through the field, dragging the corpse along behind him.

Well, it had been a corpse. It had taken the careful work of stripping, draining, cleaning, reassembling until it looked even remotely presentable as something that could sit beside his art.

In truth, it was more of an experiment. Less a real piece that he cared to carry through to the end, and more a piece of scrap that he'd managed to find offhand, to test a theory that he'd never quite been able to.

The steps were soft, and if he were not so trained to be cautious - paranoid - Sasori might not have heard them, let alone acknowledged them with the sharp look over his shoulder.

Compared to the first flash, the next is a bit closer - the echo of its thunder much louder. Heavy torrent pauses as if timidly waiting for the next splitting strike.

"What do you need it for?" Because Sasori, eccentric as the man in front of him is, is not so purposeless. Clear answer or not, Itachi will at least see this madness through. The storm will not last forever, nor will another of this magnitude be likely to come again so soon.

The fact that he gave it over to begin with is baffling, but what part of this is his fault?

Tanamo skips forward to take the senbon, depositing it somewhere before turning her gaze back to the Man that has tried to grasp her. "Weasel-Kyun~ There's tomatoes in one of these~"

He's beginning to think this is less of an exam and more of a test of the proctor's ill placed comedy. Making this any more complicated is a pain, but it's ill advised to be stripping themselves of their weapons like this. If anything happens - he will simply make sure it doesn't.

Tanamo takes your peace offering... not before leaning in nice and close to whisper into your ear. "Hound was so so disappointed in you, try not to disappoint the rest of us."

"Why waste the hope? Are there not enough promising shinobi?" The remark bites as he at least reels in the irritation setting in to his expression.

She doesn't respond as she skips away, and yet... you notice it soaring through the air far too late, the accursed bomb that is either glitter, spandex or tomatoes

Boom! You are suddenly covered... in rotten tomatoes, they stink, and they make you a magnet for all manner of birds.

The proctor disappears with their weapons, leaving him with an unsettled feeling. Wire, senbon, kunai. Handing weapons over to the enemy isn't exactly in their best interests on a battlefield, and he surreptitiously glances into his pouch at his remaining supplies, before fixing Itachi with a sidelong glance sharpened by the veins of the Byakugan.

(There's not much it can tell him here, but that is something the other really doesn't need to know.)

The mirror turns, opening the way outside of the dream for you, Neji cannot follow, asleep as he is but you step out into the cavern, noticing that the proctors are now sat on two corners of the pentagon, meanwhile, Hatake Kakashi walks towards you, stretching his legs after being sat to maintain the dream for so long. Your feet will not allow you past the ring of Spider Lilies yet, and now you have time to interact with Hound.

Itachi walks to the very edge of the Spider Lilies and maintains a deep focus on his face. He would beckon him closer if that would do anything, but he asks: "When do you plan on waking everyone else, or is this part of the "mission" too?"

"Maa~ I'm not a proctor Weasel, and you're not quite as sick of home as others claim. When you all wake is up to them, I'm merely here to... help my adorable little kouhai." He doesn't seem afraid of the others overhearing, infact you get the sense that he's here of his own violation, yet there remains limits on what he can tell you before the gaze of the two women turns from amused to... concerned

His brow twitches, the tip of his foot taps against the ground and he closes his eyes. "Well."

He isn't ignorant to the situation, far from it if this is how the man has decided to help. A momentary swallow of pride, he attempts to extend his hand out beyond the ring of lilies.

Your hand feels cold and yet the familiar Jounin tilts his head in amusement at your efforts as the ring merely expands in response. You've heard of them before, those that excel in traps and clearly one of the two proctors have come well prepared for any scenario. "You won't get out of that until they're ready Itachi, not even the Sharingan can handle the shifts when she gets involved with her full attention. I tried."

He tried...? Ah. A light amused huff escapes his nose. "Then you can make sure it's not her full attention." His own stakes in this are low. The target is stuck just as much as they all are.

The sparkles on his skin are annoying, the smell he's already beginning to mentally tune out. "The descent will be no easier." It's a question despite his even tone.

"Perhaps, perhaps not, we both know that your training covered the unexpected." He's chosen to purposely ignore your request to help cheat whatever scheme they've cooked up before you notice that Higanbana has stood to walk towards what you can make out to be Sasori and Ino, a raven soaring forward before it too falls to sleep inside the circle, as for what you cannot tell. "Time's up, I'd rest if I were you, Ja Ne~" The harp strums loud as you feel sleep call to you once again, a piece of almost vital information acquired

Itachi's eyes catch into the bird just as it falls into unconsciousness.

Hm. What debt could he have incurred? Wary is he with much to lose and Itachi hums as he takes a step forward.

Then two. Then three.

You reach to grab for her before suddenly, to the left and right you notice ANBU on both sides of you, with Katana's raised against your throat. "Do you really want to continue... Traitor to the Will of Fire?"

By the time his hand has reached just before Tanamo's arm, he feels a set of swords at his throat.

Itachi stares at her. Of course not would be the time both Deidara and Sasori were nowhere nearby but maybe it's for the better. He doesn't drop his half outreached hand, only looks off to the side, wondering if he can find another of those ravens, not that he much needs a second round of glittering. "If I do or don't, isn't it an inconvenience either way?"

"Hah! He learns for once!" Yet they don't move, instead looking to Tanamo to gauge her reaction as to the implied threat before she shrugs, holding up two of her wire wrapped latest creations as if threatening a reapeat of what you've already seen. "Hyuga-hyun~ If you get hit with these that glitter will last for a month~ Or maybe these are the spandex ones, who knows?" You realise now, at the mention of spandex that the reason she never made Jounin is that pesky sanity requirement~

Not so with this threat. Precisely because this exam is not a mission with real stakes, the threat becomes immensely, terrifyingly real, and the two faces that flash before his mind's eye drives him into immediate motion.

Neji whips out a senbon from his pouch. If the proctor had been interested in shiny objects before...

"Take it, then," he says, and maybe his voice comes out in a rush unbefitting of a jōnin under pressure, but so what?? No actual enemy will go around threatening him with that, and he's already covered in glitter. There's only so much humiliation he can take in one day, and this entire ordeal has been a disaster from the moment he'd been paired with the missing-nin, one he can't even attack without ascertaining the amount of strength the other has.

The fact that he gave it over to begin with is baffling, but what part of this is his fault?

Tanamo skips forward to take the senbon, depositing it somewhere before turning her gaze back to the Man that has tried to grasp her. "Weasel-Kyun~ There's tomatoes in one of these~"

He's beginning to think this is less of an exam and more of a test of the proctor's ill placed comedy. Making this any more complicated is a pain, but it's ill advised to be stripping themselves of their weapons like this. If anything happens - he will simply make sure it doesn't.

Tanamo takes your peace offering... not before leaning in nice and close to whisper into your ear. "Hound was so so disappointed in you, try not to disappoint the rest of us."

"Why waste the hope? Are there not enough promising shinobi?" The remark bites as he at least reels in the irritation setting in to his expression.

She doesn't respond as she skips away, and yet... you notice it soaring through the air far too late, the accursed bomb that is either glitter, spandex or tomatoes

Boom! You are suddenly covered... in rotten tomatoes, they stink, and they make you a magnet for all manner of birds.

The ravine is already prepared for but what is not is the fix not the shattering nor-

Kakashi. One too many familiar faces reside in the center of this formation and for a moment, his eye flinches. When the cavern gives way to verdant flora, he looks back over and sees the bird once more.

This time he will not let it go.

When he grabs the bird, it feels unusual.

You grasp the bird a little too tightly, until suddenly you realise the laughter is back again, louder. "Weasel-kun~ Don't tell me you thought that Tanamo is the only one that likes to make things... Explode"

Pesky. "One less thing to worry about."

With a hiss, the Henge'd Kagebunshin suddenly Explodes in a cloud of glitter, Tanamo's work no doubt and yet it's still annoying as the force of the explosive tag is slightly overtuned... or would that be undertuned for Tanamo's norms. Yet as fast as the Raven disappears, it reappears atop your head.

(He can't be certain how wide the effects of the affliction are, and a part of him regrets never talking to the rest of the Konoha shinobi about it in his effort to downplay the problem. All he knows is Gaara and himself, and optimism has no place on the battlefield, and with the other's red eyes, their playing field is, at the very, very least, equal without any advantages offered to him. He had to avoid conflict with Itachi until he could be sure he won't be immediately overpowered.)

The raven explodes in both their faces, jolting Neji from his train of thought, and when he looks at the other man, he sees that the notorious missing-nin now looks... much less threatening. It would be amusing, if he wasn't certain he had suffered the same fate. And, well, if Itachi hadn't caused it to happen.

"I'd stay farther away if I were you," he says, trying for a mild tone that goes somewhat incongruously with the murderous glint in his eyes, "Even the famed Sharingan will be useless with your chakra sealed."

Not too long a distance down the path, something else rustles.

Tanamo skips into your field of view, waiting, yet the vest you saw earlier is replaced by dress once again, she does not speak but you know she's waiting for something. "Naughty naughty Hyuga-kyun! now you have to pay your debt!"

Hm. What debt could he have incurred? Wary is he with much to lose and Itachi hums as he takes a step forward.

Then two. Then three.

You reach to grab for her before suddenly, to the left and right you notice ANBU on both sides of you, with Katana's raised against your throat. "Do you really want to continue... Traitor to the Will of Fire?"

By the time his hand has reached just before Tanamo's arm, he feels a set of swords at his throat.

Itachi stares at her. Of course not would be the time both Deidara and Sasori were nowhere nearby but maybe it's for the better. He doesn't drop his half outreached hand, only looks off to the side, wondering if he can find another of those ravens, not that he much needs a second round of glittering. "If I do or don't, isn't it an inconvenience either way?"

"Hah! He learns for once!" Yet they don't move, instead looking to Tanamo to gauge her reaction as to the implied threat before she shrugs, holding up two of her wire wrapped latest creations as if threatening a reapeat of what you've already seen. "Hyuga-hyun~ If you get hit with these that glitter will last for a month~ Or maybe these are the spandex ones, who knows?" You realise now, at the mention of spandex that the reason she never made Jounin is that pesky sanity requirement~

Well, he doesn't disagree.

What he does disagree with is the spindly set of feet making their home in his head. That said, it has its uses.

Itachi reaches up and grabs hold of the bird.

Your hand curls tight around it, and yet you notice it's staring you directly in the eye as if egging you on to try something. It's owner is long silent now, so silent in fact that the only way to get information out of it would require more... unique methods.

Itachi keeps hold of the bird and stuffs it into his coat. "I will not lose track of who has captured who."

The raven is silent, yet below you all you can hear is laughter, as if you've fallen for a logical ploy. "Come, let us see if you remember the lessons taught to you." A pathway through the trees is now open to you, leading you further into the forest.

Ideally, the Konoha nin present would outnumber the odd strangers among them, whom Neji had assumed were merely foreign shinobi come to join the Chunnin exams but now seem to hold a grimmer possibility. Not to mention the disparity in power among the participants. And all that is without taking into account the fact that, according to the Kazekage, the restriction to their powers is far wider than an isolated issue.

Between keeping an eye on his partner and considering his options, it takes Neji much too long to notice the form of the earth before them.

"Stop!"

The foliage ahead looks completely normal to the naked eye, hiding the steep ravine that it crawls over like some sort of illusion. Neji bends, pressing his palm into the grass, seeing it ripple and warp against his touch.

(It's only several seconds later that he asks himself why he would bother to warn his 'mission partner', when allowing him to fall off the cliff unaware would be much preferred.)

It would be quickest to head through here, and the ravine is not so wide that they cannot traverse it with some aid. Withdrawing the roll of wire from his pouch, Neji measures out around ten meters, intending to wrap it around a heavy object to fling into the solid tree some distance ahead.

You hold the wire out, only to notice far too late the fox that darts out from somewhere. It's sharp teeth grab exactly 9.99M of wire as if that .01M is left there by it's mistress just to taunt you. It laughs happily, disappearing into the underbush before you can even attempt to stop it while Tanamo's amused, deranged laughter echoes. "Yay! Higanbana look look more wire for my toys~ The raven atop your head suddenly goes ramrod stiff, as all you can hear is an almost scared exclamation of "Tanamo, no!" before a loud bang echoes from the direction of Akagahara.

"Wh—" By instinct, he follows the fox, but only a few steps off the path, the sound of shattering glass fills his ears, and the world twists, the natural light of the forest replaced by shadows upon stone. A sea of spider lilies surround them, and in the center of the ring formed by the unconscious participants are the two proctors and Kakashi-sensei.

Your gaze falls on Kakashi who is currently sitting there amused, it seems as if the two proctors and their peculiarities are familiar to him while he's focused entirely on ensuring that none of you can wake up too early. You meet his gaze for a moment only to spot his finger coming up in a shushing motion, telling you not to speak. Among the sea of red spider lilies you notice that both you, and Shikamaru almost directly opposite have a trail of blue flowers

You notice that Tanamo is no longer in her dress, instead she seems to be clad in a garb that is all too familiar if you've spent time around clan heirs. There, for a split second you see a mark on her shoulder, one that denotes, or perhaps denoted her as a member of ANBU

At Kakashi-sensei's urging, Neji stays silent, but before he could make any other movements, the sound of a harp brings both of them back to the forest, conveniently on the other side of the ravine.

The ravine is already prepared for but what is not is the fix not the shattering nor-

Kakashi. One too many familiar faces reside in the center of this formation and for a moment, his eye flinches. When the cavern gives way to verdant flora, he looks back over and sees the bird once more.

This time he will not let it go.

When he grabs the bird, it feels unusual.

You grasp the bird a little too tightly, until suddenly you realise the laughter is back again, louder. "Weasel-kun~ Don't tell me you thought that Tanamo is the only one that likes to make things... Explode"

Pesky. "One less thing to worry about."

With a hiss, the Henge'd Kagebunshin suddenly Explodes in a cloud of glitter, Tanamo's work no doubt and yet it's still annoying as the force of the explosive tag is slightly overtuned... or would that be undertuned for Tanamo's norms. Yet as fast as the Raven disappears, it reappears atop your head.

The summit should be a reasonable task for anyone worth the cost of the kunai in their pocket. He at his side at least seems capable, but is that saying much?

A low, feminine voice echoes upwards from the flora, dangerous, familiar, "Konoha's treacherous little weasel comes home to roost."

"To see what trials have been creating such sorry shinobi." Nothing more. Nothing less. The question now is how does he break this one too.

"Of little concern to a traitor, we should burn that mark from your skin and bury you for it. No matter, you'll learn soon enough that all actions have consequences." With that, the creeping chill of Death's Embrace fades, as if her attention is turned elsewhere

He allows her to think as she will. Bemusement even seems to make itself a small little cot on the corner of his lips. The attention off of him allows him a moment of ease at least. If they take too long, he'll end up ashamed in himself too.

His voice, too, stirs Neji's memory of the village gates, and that suspicion is only accentuated when the flowers part around them, his own Byakugan focused on the raven that had appeared on the other side of the exposed trap, a bright outline of chakra suggesting this is no simple bird.

This is another one of this man's tricks, or even a summoned creature, the same sort of raven that had appeared to him when they had first crossed paths. Neji readies his stance for a potential fight.

"What are you trying to accomplish in Konoha?" he demands of the dangerous criminal standing mere feet away, but before the other could react, it is the raven who makes its response.

The raven you noticed is laughing at you, clearly whoever it is connected to is quite amused by the turn of events before it darts forward to land on your shoulder. "Hyuga-san, best not to waste your breath on him~" The feminine voice is clearly amused, amused enough for the raven to nest into your shoulder.

The boldness of the raven's action is as troubling as it is startling, and just as Neji reaches out to grasp at the bird, it flits upwards in a cloud of dark feathers.

The raven only barely escapes your grasp, instead soaring through the air to nest in the Hair of the man beside you without a care for the discomfort it may cause him. "Ah ah ah, no can do~"

Well, he doesn't disagree.

What he does disagree with is the spindly set of feet making their home in his head. That said, it has its uses.

Itachi reaches up and grabs hold of the bird.

Your hand curls tight around it, and yet you notice it's staring you directly in the eye as if egging you on to try something. It's owner is long silent now, so silent in fact that the only way to get information out of it would require more... unique methods.

Itachi keeps hold of the bird and stuffs it into his coat. "I will not lose track of who has captured who."

The raven is silent, yet below you all you can hear is laughter, as if you've fallen for a logical ploy. "Come, let us see if you remember the lessons taught to you." A pathway through the trees is now open to you, leading you further into the forest.

The summit should be a reasonable task for anyone worth the cost of the kunai in their pocket. He at his side at least seems capable, but is that saying much?

A low, feminine voice echoes upwards from the flora, dangerous, familiar, "Konoha's treacherous little weasel comes home to roost."

"To see what trials have been creating such sorry shinobi." Nothing more. Nothing less. The question now is how does he break this one too.

"Of little concern to a traitor, we should burn that mark from your skin and bury you for it. No matter, you'll learn soon enough that all actions have consequences." With that, the creeping chill of Death's Embrace fades, as if her attention is turned elsewhere

He allows her to think as she will. Bemusement even seems to make itself a small little cot on the corner of his lips. The attention off of him allows him a moment of ease at least. If they take too long, he'll end up ashamed in himself too.

"Katsu!"

The explosion is brief, destructive, and, in Deidara's mind, beautiful. His scroll's light flares — he opens it with a proud grin on his face, only to see a message that is not one of victory.

You want to be rid of me so badly? The feeling's mutual.

She couldn't see them, but a please could help her there, too.

He'd have kept watch even if Komorebi hadn't asked him - three Akatsuki members was fucking nuts, and they just kept finding each other, but at the very least the last two hadn't attempted to tear down Seiryuu's cavern with everyone still in it.

Typical Iwa bullshit, actually.

The academy's structure wasn't what he was used to, but busting in wasn't quite the same task as busting out, and Suteki gave himself a running jump from the rooftop he'd been awaiting on, channeling the chakra into his legs for greater height and to allow his body to become the needle that punctured the structure, dropping to a weightless stop as he felt the chakra signatures he needed -

And, well, saw the big fucking smoking hole in the wall.

"Gents," he greeted, cocking his head as his fingers wrapped around his staff, the beads tinkling gently in the quiet of the night. "Can't believe I gotta come in and warn you from causing a ruckus, but I don't think you're quite following the spirit of this exam."

The sigh he wants to let out would not vent even an eighth of the frustration. Why Did He Do That? It's already thin ice that they're treading, but recklessly curating his "art" has resulted in another set of eyes on them. Another challenge where they couldn't even handle the first.

Their previous guide was it?

"Are we not meant to simply accomplish our mission? Whatever means we do so by - that doesn't matter, does it?" He really would rather not, but that is all they need to do right?

Itachi's eyes flicker to the beads of the staff before quickly locking in onto Suteki's own. There are no hard feelings here.

This is simply a means of escape.

The space is easier to read now, easier to break. The trouble he could cause with even just the slightest effort would leave a devastating mark, but that is not the mission, is it? "I also only recall there being one proctor. Is two not also against the spirit of this?" Not that he cares.

For a moment the exit, one of his own making, is within his grasp but he pauses and sighs through his nose. "The cavern, you wouldn't have allowed the Hokage to perish, would you?"

"Judge carefully then. It's likely to be necessary." Deidara is the worst for these kinds of thing, but that ends up wrapping around into him being... useful.

He scans the room — there's... not much, except for an alcove and an electric panel.

Deidara INVESTIGATES the Electric Panel. 8/10 SP, +2 EP due to possession of WIRE.

His hand reaches for the door, recoiling quickly when a shock runs up his arm.

The tiniest sparks precede the largest of flames. This flame - explosion - at his side is likely to precede many within these halls if a handle isn't kept on him. Itachi can't help but wonder where it is Sasori wandered off to after that display in the cavern of gold but he supposes it doesn't matter. Getting through this without trouble would benefit them all.

If he's closer to their mark or making his way to it, then that's fine too.

Atop the roof - normally he'd think it best to go from here. Metal linked together along the edges of it stop him. He refrains from touching. If so much effort was gone to put them here and give them intel, it's likely such a simple answer would result in a fail of equally simple stature.

"Judge carefully then. It's likely to be necessary." Deidara is the worst for these kinds of thing, but that ends up wrapping around into him being... useful.

The tiniest sparks precede the largest of flames. This flame - explosion - at his side is likely to precede many within these halls if a handle isn't kept on him. Itachi can't help but wonder where it is Sasori wandered off to after that display in the cavern of gold but he supposes it doesn't matter. Getting through this without trouble would benefit them all.

If he's closer to their mark or making his way to it, then that's fine too.

Atop the roof - normally he'd think it best to go from here. Metal linked together along the edges of it stop him. He refrains from touching. If so much effort was gone to put them here and give them intel, it's likely such a simple answer would result in a fail of equally simple stature.

In hindsight, a tree sprouting in this rot filled cavern would be more odd than a creature that assumedly spread the rot and decay of their surrounding. Even had it been a tree, for the Hokage to punch it...

The creature in it's anger from the strike(one anyone would reel back from) aims its rage at her. He's not involved as far as its concerned now. If the Hokage dies here, that just makes their lives all the easier, doesn't it?

From beneath his cloak a kunai is launched towards the creature's maw - an attempt to ensure it's jaws down see fit to snap down around the Hokage but she looks like she has other issues of it to contend with.

As does he. The tail snaps back against his midsection - he grits his teeth and stands upright. "Escape is our best bet," he says though it's not like any of their wagers are particularly good at the moment.

"It won't wait for us to attack it next time."

Sasori jerked backward from the blow, grunting through his clenched jaw, felt his joints rattle with the impact of it, but his hands went immediately to the spots of his skin where the rot had fallen, where it ate through at him to the wood beneath. Wiping, wiping, swatting, proved futile, and his fingers flexed uselessly.

"What an abomination," he spat, virulent, hateful, "the most disgusting anathema to everything beautiful."

It was destroying his art, and worst of all, he did not understand what it was. His eyes had sought out every inch of this cavern, not merely at the behest of Konoha's useless guide, but even more alarming was when his gaze fell on the slug princess - she did not know it either, and the rot was eating at her as well.

Chiyo-baa would have been delighted, he thought idly,, and a corner of his lip lifted.

Wouldn't it be lovely? If he could gather all of this ugly rot, distill it to its purest essence, and bring her home to her son once again?

"Running is fine if there's somewhere to go," he snapped, fingers flexing once more, as though seeking something to connect to. "Unless you'd like to get yourself stuck in that tunnel."

His eyes look back up at it, glistening spots reminiscent of ichor stand out as if calling to him. If the Hokage falls, then she simply does. That said, he aims more carefully this time.