Uzumaki Survival 012

After settling on a plan of action, Oden stepped forward, and carefully distributed chakra to the soles of his feet. 

Seconds later, he walked out onto the ocean’s surface as easily as if it were solid ground.

“Stay back.” He said calmly without looking behind him.

A Genin hesitated in place, clearly intent on joining him. 

“That wasn’t a suggestion. Someone has to make sure the group is safe, and guard against any unexpected variables.” The firmness in his voice ended the argument. He also glanced over at the squad of Yuki-nin as he spoke, to which the Genin ultimately nodded in understanding. 

Behind him, Hekutoru’s ink birds circled higher, silently watching the crimson-streaked water for any movement. 

On his flank, Suzuki was providing overwatch, like a protective mother eagle watching over her chicks. Nozomi had been left on the shore, aa they weren't so far away that he couldn't hear her warning in time. Oden arrived at the sight of the wreckage in 30 seconds, and eyed the scene. The water was a dark deep blue, if he had been out on that boat, he wouldn't have known about the attack until it happened…stealth in this world was truly scary. Although the Kappas didn't use any jutsu to hide, this was a lesson to always remain vigilant. When a ninja could hide himself, pretending to be an everyday object, like a flower pot, then you really had to watch out. When he returned, he'd have to study up and see if Suzuki could teach him the Mind's Eye of the Kagura technique. 

During his inner monologue, he unsealed a scroll, and tossed a large batch of deceased fish into the water directly in front of him. Mixing several Explosive tags in with the hundreds of corpses, he swiftly retreated several paces, yet remained standing on top of the water, continuing to act as bait. 

“Be ready.” Suzuki whispered. 

Oden briefly tensed, preparing himself to run at a moment's notice. 

For a minute, nothing happened. But suddenly, there was a violent frenzy under the waves. Like a school of hungry piranhas, a dozen Kappas had swarmed the fish near the surface, their turtle shells gleamed in the sun, giving their position away. 

“Oden! You have another group directly below you!” Nozomi's voice cut sharply across the wind.

Oden scowled, then tossed out a kunai equipped with an Explosive tag. It whistled through the air, and landed amongst the pile of fish. Once it exploded, it triggered the other tags, and a massive concussive force rocked this section of the ocean. Doubtlessly the dozen or so Kappas that were feasting on the fish were nothing more than chunks of flesh at the moment, as explosives were super effective when used underwater. However, Oden had other problems on his plate at the moment, and couldn't gloat or feel satisfied with his work just yet! 

A giant wave instantly formed, and the Kappas directly beneath him, who were attempting an ambush, were caught in the current, and swept towards the shoreline. 

Oden pumped his legs as fast as they would go, and barely outran that rouge wave, making it to the shallows. As the 16ft tall wave was about to crash onto the beach, Oden turned to Suzuki. “Jump over it!” 

The busty, fit girl grabbed ahold of him, and then, the Taijutsu expert easily flipped over the oncoming mass of kinetic energy. The rest of the Uzimaki had retreated up the beach by this point, and Nozomi had likewise barely escaped danger. 

Beneath the surface, dark shapes groggily stood up from the shallows. A green head briefly broke the surface. It had slick amphibian skin, a hard shell rising from its back, and a long hooked beak like a monstrous bird. Their turtle shells gleamed wetly as eight of them they lunged after him, snapping and shrieking with harsh croaking cries.

“Oden!” One of the genin shouted in worry. 

“The bowls on their heads are a weak point!” Oden called out to everyone. “Shatter it, or spill it all out, and they'll become crippled or die! That being said…Suzuki, knock them out, I want to capture as many of them alive as possible!” 

“Got it!” Suzuki ferally grinned, then disappeared, leaving behind Fuinjutsu character afterimages in her wake as she used her unique variant of Body Flicker. 

As these were Genin tier opponents, Suzuki was practically living on easy mode. Every chain wrapped fist was an instant knockout. Beaks shattered, and turtle shells cracked as the vicious tall red head got to work. 

Oden laughed, not at all embarrassed that he was taking an overpowered helper on an otherwise difficult mission. Although he himself had some capabilities, 20+ Genin tier opponents could absolutely overwhelm a Chunin. Of course, if he spammed those hundreds of Explosive tags, eliminating a foe with low IQ wouldn't be too difficult. 

Sending out his chains, Oden joined in on the fun, and directly wrapped two charging Kappas up. Sapping them of their chakra, he also whipped them about, using their bodies as wrecking balls, slamming them into three more of their brethren. The fight was brutal, and ended incredibly fast. In less than a minute, each of the Kappas that had tried to ambush them, and then became discombobulated due to the wave had been defeated. 

Tossing the unconscious survivors onto the sandy beach, he turned towards the open ocean once more. 

“That ambush was planned, I think the leader of this tribe isn't so stupid.” Oden said, stroking his chin. 

“You think they'll retreat?” Suzuki asked in disappointment, as her bloodlust had been triggered. 

“Probably. But we can’t allow this threat to remain.” Oden said in a righteous tone, raising his voice so that it was ‘accidentally’ overheard by the rest of the Uzumaki. “Our people will be harvesting seaweed for paper production in the future, if we lose just one of them, that'll be too many!” 

Of course, he really just wanted to collect another ‘boss monster’ and see what abilities he could steal from the Kappa leader. 

Nozomi’s eyes widened.

“Oden, in front of you, it's invisible!” The lithe girl shouted in fear for his safety. 

At the same time, the remaining Kappas had emerged from the water, and opening their beaks, performed a spitting attack. High pressure water-like the kind that can cut steel-gushed forward in a short range, yet lethal attack. This group targeted Suzuki, forcing her to take evasive maneuvers. 

Meanwhile, Oden had been wholly unprepared for the sudden strike from stealth, and barely swiped forward with a chain. The creature had closed the distance, and its midsection was hit, revealing a child-sized Kappa-adjacent creature. Sharp tiger claw-like growths emerged from its knees, which it used to stab downward, raking huge gashes across Oden's ribs. Coughing up blood, Oden hissed as the creature used the momentum from his chains to dash backwards. It then faded into invisibility once more, making him lose track of it. 

His Uzumaki healing factor suddenly kicked in, but the wound carried with it that corrosive Yin yokai chakra, and he had the ‘pleasure’ of feeling his flesh knit together, only to melt away the instant it had healed. 

All this happened in a second, and the sudden pain almost knocked him unconscious. Swiping his 20ft long chains blindly in front of him, he started to jump backwards. 

“Oden, it's beneath you!” Nozomi cried out once more. 

Jumping vertically into the air, he felt the air whoosh beneath his ankle, and a slimy hand briefly touched him, digging claws into his foot. Becoming visible once more the beast viciously grinned in triumph, and reached up to pierce his heart. 

At that moment, six inky birds had flown down, and dive bombed into the boss Kappa. Each one was aimed at the monster's head, forcing it to release its grip on Oden, and strike at the birds. In this brief window of reprieve, Oden took out the Noh mask that sealed the boss Yukinyudo. He felt his physical strength instantly increase by 2x, and felt that he could cast 10 C rank jutsus in one go solely by relying upon the power provided by the sealed yokai. However, that wasn't what he wanted to do! As the Kappa was distracted for that one, crucial second, Oden activated the unique ability of this Yukinyudo. 

The Noh mask briefly glimmered a white glow, and then a Genjitsu swept forward, targeting the Kappa. Swaying midair in a queasy state, it opened its beak, then vomited out the contents of its stomach. Going invisible once more, its movements weren't as subtle as before, and Oden saw where it had swam based upon the ripples in the ocean! 

Tossing out a dozen Explosive tags in its direction, he used an Adamantine Chain at the same time, removing the taint from his wounds. Although he wanted to capture this beast badly-as invisibly was a broken ability-it would be a lie to say he wasn't mad at the moment! Although his Uzumaki healing factor was taking care of the injury, it hurt a fucking lot! Fuck this Kappa! 

The sea erupted as the OP nature of spamming Explosive tags was put on full display. A column of water exploded upward as the first tag detonated. Then another. A chain of thunderous blasts tore across the water’s surface, sending waves crashing outward in violent shockwaves. Several of the remaining creatures were caught directly in the blast. Their shells cracked, and green limbs flailed as they were blown skyhigh. 

Blood and steam erupted across the churning water. The surviving Kappa screeched in fury as the explosions rocked them, only to be silenced by Suzuki as she rocked them with her fists. She sent each unconscious Kappa to the beach, to which the Uzumaki kids had tied them up. The busty tall girl then bounded to Oden's side, yet she didn't say a word, once more acting as his guardian. 

Oden tilted his head slightly towards the ‘boss monster’ as it had been at the epicenter of this attack. It was bloody all over, and was floating on its back, barely hanging on with a sliver of its life. Each breath was shallow, as if the next gasp would be its last. Narrowing his eyes, he wondered if it was playing possum. There were many cases across ninja history where someone would act defeated, or weak, then emerge with explosive power, or some sort of ambush. 

“Nozomi, are there any more?” Oden asked without turning his back. He was entirely on guard, preparing himself for a sudden assault from another invisible enemy. 

“N-no, there's no more!...do you want me to come over, and check your wounds?!” The little girl asked, yet was already running over as she spoke. 

Oden rolled his eyes, that bleeding heart of hers was going to get her killed some day…but he couldn't say he disliked her innocent desire to help people, or her pure kindness. 

Approaching the Kappa, Oden offered the same deal he had to the Yukinyudos. 

“Live in willing servitude, or die alone.” He simply stated, offering a summoner contract to the yokai whilst it was wrapped in his chains, making it completely imobile. 

“Heh, heh. The Dragon King will avenge me, Human.” The Kappa laughed, and then ended its own life by channeling its chakra into the dish on its forehead, and cracking it open. As the vital fluids fell out, the life left its eyes. 

Oden grit his teeth, angry at himself for letting such a valuable creature go. If he had made another Noh mask ahead of time, he could've directly sealed the yokai into the mask, no questions asked. Like a Jinchuriki pulling upon the power of their Tailed Beast, the mask would have acted the same way. The reason why Oden wanted to contract it first, was that if the mask broke, the thing sealed inside would break free. In such an event, it was better to have a willing servant, right? That way, they could fight side by side, or he could even easily reseal it back into the mask. Besides, sealing a yokai wasn't an instant action. He had to perform dozens of handsigns, and collect his thoughts. 

“Tch.” Oden spat to the side in disappointment. 

“Are you worried about his threat?” Suzuki asked. 

“Hmph, that Kappa was full of it.” Oden said dismissively. “Let's go into town, and pawn off these remaining Explosive tags.” 

Without another look back at the sea, he was ready to depart. However, unbeknownst to him, the deep ocean churned, and mighty yokai collided between one another in an effort to establish territory. Umi-bozu, Bake-kujira, and yes, even a serpent of great length had emerged in these troubled times. 

The waters of the Elemental Nations ran deep…