Board Thread:Konoha Missions/@comment-26510601-20170714000244/@comment-24714922-20170718015732

The lithe man was dead, falling to the bottom of the pit with half his face full of shrapnel. This is what it was to take a life. To be a ninja, but these lives he was taking was for the better of the innocents these men had been terrorising. His attack on the centipede ahead of him had also been successful, slicing clean through the spike and centipede alike and sending the rider falling to his death. Three lives ruined or ended by his own hand, but so many more avenged and protected. With his rider dealt with, Michirama perched upon his spike and surveyed the area, which is when he saw the issue.

Somehow, Masami had misjudged her jump and ended up falling into the pit, from his perch he could see her broken legs, not in detail but could tell they weren't meant to bend that way. He also noted the frenzying, riderless centipede thrashing towards Masami. Tuck was also attempting to make it there but there was no guarantee that he would make it in time. On top of that, he could see the rider running away from the fight. If Michirama rushed to Masami's aid, the rider would escape and who knew what would happen after that, but if he rushed after the rider, there was no guarantee that Tuck could save Masami.

The words of his father ran through his head, he should complete the mission and bring honour to his family and name, it was even in the ninja rulebook that the mission comes first. But what sort of man would he be if he abandoned his friends? That was the problem with this world, lives meant nothing and honour meant everything. He had made up his mind. "My friends before my honour," he said to himself as if convincing himself this was the right thing. Michirama didn't have much time to act, his energy was running low, he estimated he was at 30% capacity, while he may be a Senju, a clan highly regarded for their impressive stamina, Michirama was still a genin and this battle had been quite draining. He guessed he could probably get one more flying swallow out before he would only be able to rely on very small chakra expenditures if he didn't want to pass out.

Taking a moment to memorise the escaping rider's chakra signature Michirama turned his attention to Masami and the Centipede which was charging straight towards her. A frontal charge from a frenzied opponent was a huge opening. Michirama brought his hands together, still gripping the scabbard and katana between his palms so he could make handseals; he made the Tiger handseal and seemingly vanished from his perch. Through the use of a body flicker, Michirama reappeared between Masami and the Centipede with a good 5 meters between himself and the centipede. He had one more powerful attack in him. Michirama raised his left hand so that the scabbard was held horizontally ahead of him, and brought his right hand up above his head so that the tip of the katana pointed behind him. He once again channelled wind natured chakra into his blade, extending its length to three meters. Once the centipede was two meters from him Michirama swung downwards in a powerful downward vertical strike. As the centipede was raging and charging straight forward there was theoretically no reason for it to change its course, if successful, Michirama would slice the centipede clean in half from its head to midway down its body as it ran towards him, the addition of wind natured chakra making it easier to cut through and help to send both halves of the centipede's body on either side of Michirama and Masami, allowing them to avoid being attacked by its pincers.

With the centipede hopefully dead, Michirama would be left at somewhere between 5 and 10% chakra levels, his body was shaking, sweat dripped down him like water and he seemed more pale than usual. He grip released on his katana and scabbard, letting them fall to the ground before turning and rushing to Masami's side. He would kneel beside her, finally seeing the state her legs were in, it made him sick but he had to stay strong. "Masami ..." He would grip her hand with his, his ripple like eyes locked with hers "Just squeeze my hand and keep breathing, You'll be fine. Talk to me, okay? I'll get you out of here" He would look around for Tuck, he'd seen the small dog running in this direction earlier "Tuck ... I'll ... I'll need a hand, I've just about reached my limit. We need to carry Masami back, and check if theres any of the bandits still kicking for interrogation" Michirama's breathing was coming in laboured gasps, he needed rest, food or a chakra pill but he none of those handy at the time.

The rider had gotten away, no doubt he'd send the message to the rest of them; Konoha was still strong, or perhaps, he'd send the message about Michirama specifically, a boy with ripple eyes. Regardless, Michirama had memorized his chakra, he could remember what the masked looked like, what his build was like, he just needed a face. Then he'd hunt him down and finish the job, but for now, Masami was safe and needed urgent medical care, she was the most important thing right now, he'd face the consequences later.