Watch the Throne [Event, DE]

[Baek]

The last of winter’s touch faded on the spring winds as the diverse sounds of men and beast forging their path through reluctant jungle rang aloud. Melding together with the natural cadence of the vegetated area around them the advancing army formed a peculiar chorus with the rough melody of a distant roar or the occasional scuttling of something hidden behind the tall grass. Overhead the canopy served as blessed protection from the fully bloomed sun that hung in midday position. Even so the heat of Kusa no Kuni crawled beneath the clothes, seeping through layers of skin until the heart could feel its uncomfortable closeness.

Ronin of all manner surrounded him on either side, but Kizaki did not see them. His single eye peered into the distance, spanning the remaining 500 meters that separated him from the hidden ninja village rumored to be at the heart of the jungle land of Kusa no Kuni. From the Kikkawa’s information the Crimson Forest was an identifying landmark to the village and they gave further assurance that the feudal of the land had been effectively taken care of—undoubtedly paid by the meager coffers the family had mustered over their years of bitter exile. Working out a crick in his neck Kizaki let the excitement he’d bottled up within him since the disgraced ninja family had approached him bubble to the surface. At his waist was his sword and his back felt weighted with the welcome burden of his glaive; these weapons and their subsequent uses were all that mattered to him.

Truthfully he had wanted to face all of Kusagakure no Sato’s ninja by himself. He had laid siege to many a fortress without the aid of half-hearted mercenaries with heads filled only with compensation; he had done it for little to no compensation as well. Pain flared up from his knee, the result of a misstep earlier in the day when he happened upon a Giant Beetle. The creature did provide a much needed snack, but trouble it had caused in ambushing had hardly been worth the meal. Thinking of how his body retained most of the hurt that it incurred now darkened the intrigue that had kept him from brooding upon being forced to march with an army rather than facing his enemy by himself. Old age was something every warrior, regardless of talent or determination was forced to face and he was slowly realizing that he was no exception to that rule.

At the rear, 25 horsemen road. Their served as initial warning to any stealthy attacks that the village might have had planned for them along the way, but Gensai wasn’t worried. As the world’s strongest swordsman—a title which he took lightly—he relished the opportunity to find an enemy that could stand against him equally on the battlefield. The prospect on taking on an entire ninja village was honestly the only reason that he had bothered to take up the loathsome clan’s cause.

“General Gensai, I was wondering what the plan was once we reached the village,” asked a smiling young man. His clothes were that of a vagabond, one without a master, but at least he wore the katana-wakizashi set in his obi like someone who knew how to them. “Since we set out some of the men and I were wondering when we’d go over the assault strategy. I know we’re spearheading the attack, but…well you know, we thought with a legendary swordsman for a general we’d have an excellent chance of winning the battle ourselves.”

Mustering as much disinterest as he could fit into one eye, Kizaki gave the boy a brief sidelong glance, his face expressionless. The only motion he offered in response was the slow, but purposeful reached for his own katana with his left hand. Already he’d acclimated himself to moving with the added weight of a pack quiver in addition to the hip quiver and the recurve bow resting at his back. Old excercises found him envisioning how easily a Kenjutsu style Irounkagiri would bite deeply through the worn brown cloth of the kimono covering the lad’s torso. Tensora would have neatly have gotten the job done, but he had always favored the basicness of Kenjutsu—it was less precise and left more room for fun on his part if it wasn’t always enough to kill a strong foe.

Sensing the old man’s mood the young man fell back into step with his comrades, the silence that loomed despite the armies unified front a clear sign of how uneasy everyone felt about the diffident relationship they shared with a revered swordsman fighting under the same banner as they. Of course it was no matter to Kizaki Gensai.

He had come for one reason and one reason only. To fight. All other matters were trivial at best.

“Attention at 100 meters directly North! The enemy village is in sight!” called one of the several scouts who had rode ahead.

Hiding his smile beneath a tuft of thick mustache hair, Kizaki’s pace picked up as his feet hurried him to the battlefield and all thoughts of his increasing age fell to the back of his mind. Now he only sensed the impatience of his eager sword to cleave through the flesh and bone. “Now it begins.”

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Objectives

• Find Kizaki Gensai
  
• Defeat Kizaki Gensai in battle
  
• Defeat the Kikkawa Army

[OOC: Simply post what you are doing at this point in the thread. Be certain to establish weaponry, equipment, and who is with you. Note that you cannot attack in your introductory post. NFRP battle rules apply.]