Rini knew that things would likely pop off with a bang, so right before it began, she used the Nimble Fingers technique to grant herself more control over the puppet, putting her coordination and her puppet's speed into overdrive. After her fight with Kitsuki, she'd realized how to fine tune her own coordinations, something that could only really be accomplished through a live combat scenario, and so her own capabilities had improved drastically.
As a prodigal talent, Rini's intelligence was naturally high, and she hadn't really had any reason to test her other skills, but coordination and perceptive abilities came to her incredibly easily. Even after just one fight, her ability to control the puppet and perceive things had drastically increased, but over the entire course of the exams, she'd been in a live training scenario and testing all of her skills, not just her mind, so it made sense that she'd earned a fair bit of experience. If she lost here today, it wouldn't be a complete waste of her time, and she was happy with that.
However, she wasn't going to lose here either, not if she had anything to say about it.
Explosions were a problem, so of course Rini was going to need to keep her distance from Zeke, or catch him under a genjutsu. Something told her that that wasn't going to be too difficult, as he likely wasn't much of a thinker, and didn't strike her as a sensory type, but Chigetsu had summons, as her fight with Inarie had shown. That could definitely cover Chigetsu's weaknesses, but not a lot had been shown on that front, so Rini wasn't quite sure. She'd have to play it by ear for the time being, not something she much appreciated having to do, but adapting to new information on the fly wasn't that difficult at least.
Still, the likelihood of Chigetsu using summons to free herself from a genjutsu was pretty high, so that threw out a lot of Rini's strategy to paralyze Chi and end the fight immediately. Unless...
'Begin'
The call went out, and immediately Rini's fingers twitched, launching her and the puppet backwards at blazingly high speeds, moving back towards the gate so she could clear the field space and get some room, the level of control she had over the puppet much higher than she had during her match with Kitsuki. And not a second too soon either. Her reaction time and coordination were far superior to Zeke's own, which was a boon in this situation, given the explosion he released was faster than her puppet's even enhanced speed. And judging by the size of the explosion and the crater, far stronger as well than it needed to be. If that had hit her, she would have died.
Rini's eyes widened, her heart pounding as the realization kicked in. At 150 meters long, with them starting at the center, 10 meters apart from each other in a triangular formation, that placed the center point 5 meters from any of them, which placed the gates 70 meters away from them. Zeke's blast Rini calculated to 50 meters, engulfing much of the arena, leaving at it's utmost points, 7.5 meters on the sides each, and 30 meters distance from the gate itself. That technique was massive in scale and Rini couldn't risk being hit by it.
Still, at that point, and with his retreat backwards, Zeke was now fairly far from Rini. 35 from the center, and Rini was at the gate herself, a nice and solid 75 meter distance from the center, to total out to be 110 meters away from each other. Chigetsu likely was interrupted by the explosion, and wouldn't be able to immediately target out them with Shadow Clones, so for now Rini would observe the happenings and kept an eye on where Chigetsu was as well.
Nobody in this arena had experienced her Temple of Nirvana before, so that wouldn't be too much of an issue, as unless they knew of the technique, they wouldn't know what it was, but she had used it against Kitsuki to win, so she wasn't sure if that would give away her tricks. The fight hadn't looked super interesting, given the audience wasn't affected by her any of the genjutsu she'd used, but Kitsuki had suddenly lost the ability to see Rini and track her, started moving erratically, and then fell asleep. If that didn't point to something being off for them to look for, Rini didn't know what did. Even a moron could figure out something was weird. Using Temple of Nirvana would be a waste of chakra for everyone.
Wait.
Perhaps that was the play. Even if it was a chakra waste, that was still good. Best case scenario, they fall victim. Worst case scenario, both kai out and lose some chakra. Assuming they even know how to Kai. Kitsuki hadn't, so it was possible. Taking out one of her opponents would be nice for sure. Or at least presenting an opening for one to do so during an attempted Kai out.
Running them out of chakra might work best for her, especially since most people didn't actually have a way to replenish chakra and Rini specifically bought Military Ration Pills just for that purpose. She could sustain for a bit of time and then deal with the rest later.
Chigetsu would have to decide whether it was best to go after Rini, who was at the far edge in the corner, or whether it was best to go after Zeke, who had shown a wide ranged blast ability. Normally backing oneself into a corner was a bad thing, but Rini specifically put Chi between the two of them and gave a ton of distance to force Chigetsu on the offensive against Zeke.
If Chigetsu came towards her, then that would give Zeke a ton of opportunity to take a second blast at them both. Rini's offensive and defensive capabilities were slight, which meant Zeke was a better priority. Still, if Chigetsu went for Rini instead, that meant she would be in between the two of them, open for an attack from Zeke, and if he attacked, she'd have to defend, which would in turn place Rini in a safe zone, defended from an attack by Zeke, with Chigetsu burdening the chakra cost for defense. This was her best positioning. More likely however, was Chigetsu going after Zeke. He was a bigger immediate threat by far.
All of this was calculated and planned on Rini's retreat from the explosion, so as she arrived at the gate, her hands immediately moved to form a tiger sign and send her chakra racing out over the entire field, preparing Temple of Nirvana once more. Feathers began to fall across the stage, although only the participants and any summons and clones were able to see them. Rini didn't want any civilians falling prey to her technique, otherwise there might be some political backlash and negative attention she really didn't want to have to deal with later.
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-1 Puppet Technique
-2 Nimble Fingers
-5 UA Untapped Reserves
-15 Temple of Nirvana Post 1/2 Set up
Using 1/3 Precogs to know Zeke's going to attack immediately, so I can set up nimble fingers and just jump back.
Stamina: 161/185
Jutsu Used:
- Spoiler:
Name: Puppet Technique
Rank: D
Cost: E
Range: 0m-60m
Element: N/A
Classification: Open
Handseals: N/A
Requirements: Kugutsu Skill/D Rank Coordination
Description: The Puppet Technique refers to the art of using Chakra Strings to manipulate the complex inner-workings of puppets for the purpose of battle. Normally, manipulating an object as heavy as a standard puppet would require tremendous strength but by using Chakra Strings to control various gears within a puppet via distinct movements of the hands, a Puppeteer can control gargantuan constructs without raw strength. The Puppet Technique is useful in that it can also be used to trigger projectiles or other weapons hidden inside the puppet allowing for offensive and defensive capabilities. The Coordination stat is a critical part of determining a puppeteer's skill with the Puppet Technique. Coordination determines how many puppets the user can control at one time and at one what level of complexity. A base Coordination of D is required for the Puppet Technique.
Guide
D: 1 Puppet/ D Ranked Puppets
C: 4 Puppets/ C Ranked Puppets
B: 6 Puppets/ B Ranked Puppets
A: 8 Puppets/ A Ranked Puppets
S: 10 Puppets/ S Ranked Puppets
Drawbacks: N/A
Name: Nimble Fingers
Rank: D
Power: D
Activation Cost: 2
Upkeep Cost: N/A
Range: Self
Speed: N/A
Element: N/A
Skill: Kugutsu
Classification: Open
Requirements: N/A
Parent Technique: N/A
Hand Seals: N/A
Description: A puppeteer's hands are quick and nimble as a result of years of training. They have mastered the art of using chakra to increase their coordination in general and their dexterity for their hands in particular. The user's Coordination is increased by a + and their coordination for the purpose of anything involving their hands or arms are increased by a ++. Lasts 5 posts.
Weaknesses: N/A
Name: Temple of Nirvana
Rank: A
Activation Cost: 15
Upkeep Cost: 10
Range: 0 - 150 m.
Speed: N/A
Element: N/A
Skill: Genjutsu
Classification: Open
Requirements: N/A
Parent Technique: N/A
Hand Seals: Tiger
Description: It is a powerful Genjutsu that generates a fluttering rain of sleep-inducing, illusory white feathers. Whomever sees them as they fall, piling up and covering the whole target area, will experience Eden-like bliss and fall into a state of tranquil slumber. No matter how much one resists the hypnotic spell, the desire to sleep is instinctive, and there's no fighting it. However, an experienced shinobi will be able to dispel the Genjutsu before it takes effect.
This Genjutsu takes two posts to go in effect. After the two posts the victim(s) will be subdued into a deep sleep.
Weaknesses: This Genjutsu, unlike most, can be checked by the victim's Intelligence or Perception.
Stats:
Strength : E
Constitution : E
Stamina : C -> B [Untapped Reserves]
Speed : E
Coordination : B -> B++ [Nimble Fingers]
Intelligence : S+
Perception : C
Puppet's Stats:
Strength : C
Constitution : C
Stamina : -
Speed : B++
Coordination : B++
Intelligence : -
Perception : -
Puppet Used:
- Spoiler:
Name: Model C-001
Rank: C
Materials: 4x 1 Liter Petroleum Canisters, 4x 1 Liter Water Canisters, 2x 3 Liter Pressurized Air Canisters, 4x Piping 15ft each (cut down for the framework and weaponry, pipes), 20 lbs of Iron, 20 lbs of Bronze, 10 lbs of Copper, 80 senbon, Chain 15ft, 80 lbs of Cement Mix for Concrete, Transducer
Weapons:
Each weapon that uses the canisters consumes 1/4 of a liter per post when utilized.
Senbon launchers located in the knuckles of each hand, as well as the mouth of the puppet. 20 senbon are loaded into each arm, which can be launched out, and 40 senbon are loaded into the mouth, able to be launched as well. The senbon are launched at C rank force, at B rank speeds for 10 meters, C rank speed for 10 meters, D rank speed for 10 meters, and E rank speed for a final 10 meters, with the force dropping off a tier after 20 meters have been travelled, and then every 10 meters after. (C rank power at B and C speeds, D rank power at D speeds, and E rank power at E speeds)
Left arm: C rank Flamethrower, C rank Wind blast. Senbon Launcher.
From the bottom of the forearm, a slot is made for an opening, where a metal tube is made that extends out. The tube is connected to petroleum cans in the upper arm and back, which fuel the flame thrower's fuel source. A quick spark can be induced at the entrance of the tube to trigger a tiny flame. From the palm of the hand is an opening for a pipe that runs up the puppet's arm, connected to two pressurized air canisters filled with 3 liters of air each, located in the body of the puppet.
The Air palm can be fired as a thin stream for slices, as the opening of the palm has a slot that shifts open and closed to make it thinner, or it can be a bit more wide, for use with pushing people or projectiles back or further. The air has a maximum range of 30 meters.
The Flame thrower has a range of 30 meters and creates a stream of fire that widens out a meter every 5 meters to 6 meters wide. Both have speeds of C.
The Air and Flame throwers can be used in conjunction with each other to increase the power, although in doing so, it drains the reserves of both the petroleum and pressurized air canisters at the same time, and if any are empty, this cannot be utilized. When this is done, the power of the combined Flame is considered B, although all ranges and speeds stay the same.
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Right arm: C rank Transducer taser, C rank Water Pressure/Petroleum hose, Chain Whip
The palm of this hand is made of a highly conductive metal, copper. The transducer built into the arm allows the puppet to electrify anything it grabs, assuming the material is conductive, or can be used to electrify basic strikes.
The taser itself has no range beyond touch, but when grabbing the chain, can channel the charge through it. Additionally, the water coming from the palm can be electrified as well.
The water, much like the wind, can shift into two modes. A pressure hose with cutting capabilities of C rank, or a blast that knocks things back with C rank power, with a speed of C.
A chain is built into the concrete of the arm, with a housing chamber to allow it to slip out and extend when an opening is triggered. It's completely built into a concrete base, with a release mechanism made to let the chain free.
Defenses: This model was made more for offense than it was for defense. However, the materials that make up this puppet are quite durable in and of themselves. Knocking the puppet around isn't that difficult, but destroying it completely is a little bit more difficult.
Stats: Str: C | Con: C
General Description: This model of Rini's puppets is her first attempt to make a combat viable puppet specifically designed for fighting, rather than any models she's previously made that were supplementary at best. The puppet itself is humanoid in shape, about 5'9" in size, and weighing close to 175 pounds.
The puppet is made out of a mixture of Iron, Bronze, Copper, and Concrete, in order to give it weight and durability. There are grates that can be locked and unlocked so that Rini can replace some of the puppet's internals, but for the most part it's a set frame. The main body of the puppet is covered in 2 inches of concrete, to give it a thick skin, with an iron and bronze bodice underneath.
Rini chose concrete because when it gets chipped away, the parts underneath still are durable, which would allow her to make quick repairs by just slapping on more concrete mix over any areas that needed patching.
The puppet looks like a stone golem in the vague likeness of a person, but the metal interior is noticeable at the joints of the puppet, given that Rini couldn't cover those without imobilizing the puppet.
Requirements: N/a
Weaknesses: Since so many of the puppet's weaponry relies on canisters, it largely runs out of its offensive capabilities when those are destroyed or run out of juice. While there are backup canisters in the torso and arms, removing the arms throws out so much of the puppet's combat capabilities that it is virtually useless at that point as a weapons platform.
The joints of the puppet couldn't be reinforced with concrete, so they are obvious weak points. In order for Rini to open up the puppet, there are grates on the arms and chest that she can remove to access the internals, and targeting those gives access to the canisters and internals.
Price: 15,000 ryo + 10,000 ryo = 25,000 total
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