Lee's POV (Irminsul Wildlands - East Forest)
Lee and Muuni excitedly walked down the open-air corridors that threaded their way through the trees and the central hub of the Okama hideout. Well Lee was excited, Muuni seemed happy but awfully moody. Perhaps she would miss him once he left? The treehouses were elaborate, small, and functional homes, each flowing to the other. Nearly every building held an indoor kiln and clay, which each raccoon worked on dutifully. As well as various other housing necessities, nearly as decorated and lived in as any human home.
"What is the deal with the clay? Are you all fans of pottery?" Lee asked curiously. He had seen several raccoons working with clay or even harvesting it during his stay. "A respectable hobby if so."
"It's our talent." Muuni impatiently replied. "Every member of the Okama clan is both an artist and student of clay. It is actually used to form these unique homes and pathways we walk through and on. And what achieves our acclaim to the other clans. Many have peaceful agreements with us in exchange for our pottery and unique skills. Such is why this hideout is necessary. Though I cannot tell you much more as a non summoner. We have already offered you much more than what would be considered appropriate. Please be silent for now; I am glad another human is coming; perhaps I will be relieved of watching you, Human Lee."
"Your frank honesty is the epitome of youth!" Lee responded happily. Allowing for what he felt was a most comfortable silence. After a short journey the duo drew to the central training and eating facility. Half a training field for a variety of physical and chakra-related exercises. The other half was an indoor dining hall. A group of smaller, what Lee assumed were children, raccoons scramble by playing around the facility. Several adult raccoons were being drilled in spear play, though most seemed to have gathered to see the second human. Though Lee did note they were all oddly silent.
They entered the mess hall to see an older woman sitting patiently at the head table. Surrounding her were several large raccoons. Apparently, the bruisers of the clan, whose immense physical strength allowed them to act as the guards of the Okama. Lee had in his time here sparred with them, and they were surprisingly voracious fighters. They had initially been Lee's watch until he earned their trust by proxy for his friendship with Naruto. A shame they had worthy training partners.
'Not one of my youthful allies. I should be grateful that they are spared the potential danger I suppose. Nonetheless, leaving this stranger astray in a strange land would be most unyouthful. I'll just have to protect her until I can find a way to send her home.'
"Hello there, mam!" Lee called out politely. "I see you have also been taken to this land, as I was only a short while ago. I wanted to assure you that I will ensure your safety!"
The woman smiled prettily at Lee. "It is relieving to know a young and lively young man such as yourself will be protecting me. But I must ask, where is this place we find ourselves? I was merely relaxing after a patrol when I appeared here."
"Well, the exact location and finer details are a mystery even to me," Lee admitted with a shrug. "Youth can miss the finer details at times."
Muuni sighed at such, likely excited for her eventual break, as she interjected. "We are now at the land of Terra, a world separate yet connected to your own. The most defining difference is that this land is free of humans. In fact, it is ruled solely by intelligent and, thankfully, less destructive "animals" as you would put it. This world is where you humans gain access to the summoning clans. Your arrival here is likely due to the same reason as Lee, one of the clans have been attempting to force access to new summoners. Forcibly reverse summoning various shinobi. I believe you to be a kunoichi. As you had mentioned before you lost your headband and the patrol you mentioned earlier. Clearly, you do not come from the Leaf, so which village do you claim?"
Lee frowned as she saw the lady's face twitch for a second.
"I come from the village hidden in the rain. My name is Muki Tsume, and I am unsure why or how I was brought here. However, I am a mere Genin, so I must admit to being quite fearful." The woman answered, yet her words did nothing to alleviate the growing discomfort Lee felt around the woman. Something was wrong…
"The Rain village?" Lee asked politely. "I don't mean to be a bother, but your clothing would suggest Iwa; they are known for their thicker clothes. Furthermore, your muscular tone suggests you are quite a capable combatant. My, I can even see several old scars, an odd sight for a supposedly green Genin…"
The woman's smile nearly grew wider at their slow realization.
Muuni suddenly stood in an enlarged form over the woman, holding her up threateningly. The female raccoon hissed. "You are lying! I can feel your deceit within! Who are you, and what is your purpose here?!"
"So their warning was true, you Okama clan members are shrewd and frightening. The ability to delve into a combatant's mind so casually is useful. A shame you are mere mammals and enemies at that." The woman spoke sweetly as she suddenly tensed. Immediately breaking out of Muuni's grip and flipping, she kicked the female raccoon away as she flipped, launching the giant creature from the building. The woman smiled at Lee as she landed casually. Lee grimaced at seeing Muuni harmed and dropped into his default combat stance.
"My name is Suzumebachi Kamizuru, the current head of the Kamizuru clan, loyal Jounin of Iwa, and at the present time hired gun of an unknown employer. My purpose for being here is to find a certain clan and secure the objective of my employer. Luckily said employer was wise enough to warn us of you infuriating raccoons. Though I must admit we weren't necessarily expecting to see other shinobi, in fact this whole summoning clan fiasco wasn't part of the plan at all. How interesting, I'll have to kill you to make sure you don't tell the others then…"
Lee eyed the various raccoons outside and inside, yet none reacted to the sudden and violent event. "What did you do with the others?" Lee asked the woman with his fiercest glare. He knew the feisty Okama clan had no qualms with what they deemed necessary combat.
"Nothing special; in fact, it's merely my own ace of a jutsu. Shame you won't get to learn what that is. Until it is much too late…" Sazumebachi said with a smirk. Then, she seemed to casually flick her hand. A quiet whistle sounded off as she did.
Lee barely noticed it, but Gai had trained his battle IQ and reflexes to absurd levels. He caught the projectile Suzumebachi had subtly thrown with a lightning-fast swipe of his hand. Glancing at it and realizing it was a living wasp, Lee crushed it before it could attempt to sting him. Though he was surprised by the effort, it took to do so. "My name is Rock Lee; I am the prodigy of the great Might Gai, the beautiful, youthful Genin of the Leaf Village. I am not sure why you have chosen to attack such a peaceful and friendly clan as the Okama's, but I will ensure you learn the error of your ways." Lee said as he prepared to lunge forward.
"I wouldn't be so quick~" Suzumebachi taunted Lee. "See, I had a little time to prepare; they foolishly warned me another shinobi was present after all. As such, with our lovely host, nice and dazed, I rigged this mess hall to explode with various paper bombs. You won't fight back and sentence these raccoons to death, will you? They won't be able to avoid it like you and I." As she finished, she raised a hand sign revealing the walls of the halls, with the occasional prepped paper bomb placed on them. They glowed in sync showing it to not be a mere bluff.
Lee eyed each tag as Suzumebachi began to laugh; he was sure she was hoping to see him panic before accepting defeat. But Lee was done with embracing defeat; he wouldn't lose here or accept the death of others! He took a deep breath, glad his weights had been removed for training for this. Lee had spent every waking moment since his loss to Fuu training; his abilities had grown, and with his newest technique activated, Lee was sure he could do this.
"Well, strange young man, what is your answer-" Suzumebachi stopped mid-sentence as Lee sounded off with a boom. 'He's fast! A mere Genin can move like that?!' Suzumebachi screamed inwardly as she activated the tags and prepared to body flicker away. Stranger still, suddenly, the strange man reappeared, one hand holding a bunch of glowing paper tags and the other grabbing onto her top. Suzumebachi got over her shock and thrust a kunai for his neck. Though Lee managed to lift and throw her with one hand, stopping the desperate attack and sending her flying through an open window. Lee then crumbled the soon-to-explode paper bombs, throwing the sizable explosive paper ball after the flying Suzumebachi. Lee took a deep breath as the bombs exploded outside the building. He had thrown both well above the hideout, minimizing damage. It was a shame she had forced his hand; these paper bombs took five seconds to blow, and even at max speed, it had been close for Lee. Her death had been regrettable but unavoidable, considering the circumstances. She had made it sound like she had allies present; however, best Lee be ready for more foes. Though he had never heard of the Kamizuru clan…
"You damn bowl-headed freak." Suzumebachi spat as she climbed back in through the window she had been thrown through. "I barely managed to substitute my way out of that. Not to mention, Genin shouldn't be able to move that fast. Though you showed your true nature, had you been a better shinobi, you would've used the element of surprise to outright kill me. Too squeamish to do it head on aye?"
Lee frowned as he prepared himself for another round. "I prefer not to kill at all, death is the opposite of youth. However, you had forced my hand; I must admit, however, I am glad you survived. I have several questions for you, and now I will not have to live with your demise."
"Hahaha! You certainly are one of those foolish Leaf Hippies! Hesitating to play for keeps, and soft down to the very core! You should've killed me when you had your chance. A Genin stands no chance against an experienced Jounin like me!"
"We shall see. With this newest technique of mine, I fear you will be surprised. Allow me to show you my inherited youth!" Lee called before shooting off again. This time, however, Lee was shocked as Suzumebachi matched his speed. The two clashed in the middle, the woman managing to hold her ground for a moment before he pushed her back, Lee chased after with a jab aimed for her chin, following up with a head kick, both of which the older woman ducked. Suzumebachi attempted to sweep his legs as she did so; however, Lee flipped over it, jumping back to reset the chain of combat.