The Shield and Sword ablaze (P)

Maruka cracked his neck, finally landing on a large tree branch across from the squad of Genin he had been trailing. It appeared as if they had been expecting him, probably thanks to Sojiro, as half of the group had already left, leaving behind two. His green eyes would narrow from behind the mask, so it would be Sojiro and Genkumaru staying behind huh? He would not have expected anything else. The two young men had shown great promise in both their individual skill and their cooperation as a duo. They truly were two of the brightest rising stars the village had to offer. What a shame he was going to have to put them in their place. All three of these men shared a village, shared a duty, and while he did not enjoy the thought of going against his comrades, his brothers, Maruka was a proud member of the Blaze and the Leader of the elite Puppet Corp. He had a job to do, and he would not allow two hot headed Genin to forget their duties either.

Placing a hand against the flat of the mask, the pale young man would remove the ceramic mask altogether, placing it in his pouch. Fluffy red hair would fall from underneath his black hood, the two Genin getting their first look at the puppeteer. "No need for this thing anymore huh. Looks like you two are not going to let me pass huh? I do not normally like beating up on proud Sun Shinobi, but i have a mission to complete, and as of this moment, you are to be considered my enemies." His tone had completely changed, moving from caring and compassion to stern cockiness. In truth, he had no plans to actually hurt these men, at least not very much. He had to keep face though, a lesson needed to be taught.

From beneath his black cloak the man had already begun to prepare his plan. He was currently standing on one tree branch, the Genin on another directly across from him. There was 30 meters between them, with several limbs and branches that could be used to traverse. He had estimated that they were also about 200 meters into the air, so it was going to be an elevated fight in the trees huh. That is when Genkumaru did something unexpected. A loud boom went off as the man began to exert pressure, energy radiating from him. The Blaze member could not help but smirk, this was going to be very interesting. "I know Hikari is your friend, and it is amazing you want to protect him. But you are Proud shinobi of Nikkousato, the greatest village on earth! You have worked so hard, done so much to get here, remember your duty! If you really want to help that young boy then you will let us do our job! He will only lash out more and further harm himself or others if this farce keeps up!"

He was trying to play to their sense of honor and duty, hoping to strike a nerve for one, if not both men. It was a tough situation, but shinobi had to make hard choices every day, it was what made them who they were. He prayed these two would come to their senses before it was to late, however if words would not work, he was already prepared for plan B. Beneath his cloak chakra strings had formed, leaving his fingertips and attaching themselves to ten tiny metal balls on his waist. This entire process would be silent and hidden by the large black cloak. He would use his speech to hide his actions, readying for whatever reaction he was met with. The metal spheres would sit attached to his waist band, chakra strings latched on, dormant until needed.

"Hmm, that took a turn"In his mind Maruka could not help but find the situation funny, and a little bit ironic, but he would not allow any emotion or reaction to spread over his face. If the mask remained, the Puppeteer might have allowed a sly smirk, but he needed to remain calm and keep up the appearance right now. Both of these men were dealing with a lot, all kinds of emotions assaulting them from every angle. On one hand they were Sun shinobi, took an oath to protect the village, and he knew both of these men were serious about their honor. But on the other hand, they were Hikari's friends, and cared about his well being. Maruka knew what they were feeling, he had been in situations like this himself, having to choose between his friends or the village.

Something he had said had indeed sparked a thought in these two men, as the aura in the air had suddenly changed. The wind shifted direction, rain continuing to pelt the trio as Sojiro was the first to speak up, quickly followed by Genkumaru. A clap of thunder rang out as their words carried across the trees, agreeing to help him capture the moon shinobi if he could agree to a few things. The Blaze member had managed to keep his composure for the entire conversation, up until the name Sonin was mention. His cheek would twinge ever so slightly, eyes narrowing as he watched the two genin. Were they really, truly going to turn on their friends?

"If you are serious about helping, then i can promise no harm will come to either of you two, Kannagi or the moon ninja Kenji. That is if they agree to back down and do not offer any resistance. My mission is simply to capture Hikari, detain him until the Eclipse arrive, and turn him over to them. What they do after that is out of our hands." He would take a few steps forward, remaining on his own branch, both hands still tucked under his cloak. He hoped he could trust these two, and that maybe they had seen the light of the situation. "While i have every intention of bringing him in as peacefully as possible, i need you to know, if anyone lashes out or attacks, i am to treat them as a traitor and my enemy. I hope you can respect that."

He would take one final step forward, coming to the edge of his own branch. The situation had surely taken a turn, but it was a welcome one, for the last thing he wanted was to add five names to a bingo book instead of one. "Now if you two are good with those terms, we can continue on. Sojiro, i would like you to take the lead with the nose of yours, and i shall follow up the rear." He hoped the plan was good enough for these two, and that they would work alongside him in completing this mission.