She pulls level with them. "As long as we are expected."

"I opened communications well in advance, before we even decided for sure what to do. They know to expect us." 'Hawk carrying communications seal' is an odd use case, but it's useful for rapidly changing emergencies.

Karin jumps over.

There's a natural-ish place to sit at the base of her neck, below her crest and just in front of the shoulders of her wings. Dragonhide is not exactly comfortable, but that spot offers a minimum of jostling.

"Hold on." And off they go.

Karin appreciates not having to use chakra to stick to Ellisaria's back, she has plenty but it's best to minimize waste.

She directs Ellisaria to the mountains nearby Konoha, where a group of seven have killed everyone at a border station and seem to be preparing to move out.

"There's more elsewhere - that Deidara is on the other side of Konoha - but these felt the most dangerous," she says. "The six except the blue-haired woman feel linked, they might be able to communicate or otherwise use techniques more easily among themselves."

"A challenge, then. Well enough."

She strafes the enemy, coating the area with shadowflame.

Her flames are blocked by a truly ludicrous amount of paper, and the purple haired woman sprouts wings made of the same before launching herself into the air, papers swirling.

The six others take off in different directions.

Gravity around Ellisaria starts misbehaving rather rudely, a pinpoint black hole opening above her, another below her near her head, and one man, a significant portion of his body replaced by or enhanced with metal, fires a series of rockets at her.

Tsk. One would think paper would be more flammable. She repurposes an old Outland trick, shifting form for just long enough to cast a pair of slow fall spells on herself and her passenger. She shifts back and grabs Karin before she can drift away and wings off at entirely different heading much less troubled by the gravitational anomaly, handily evading the rockets.

Three of the linked shinobi, including the rocket launcher, start angling for Konoha on different headings, while more gravitational anomalies open around and in front of Ellisaria. There's an alarm from the direction of the village, and one glances towards it, scowling, and gestures - 

And a massive gravitational anomaly begins opening over the village's center.

(The paper woman, meanwhile, is continuing to harry Ellisaria).

The paper woman would be much more threatening if she were made of something other than paper. Which is still flammable, unlike herself.

"Suggestions?"

"Kill the one forming the anomaly. That one over there seems responsible," Karin says.

Right as Konan determines 'cut into weak points' isn't working and sends a hailstorm of paper to surge up Ellisaria's body, aiming for encasing her head - and incidentally attacking the sensor.

She flares her considerable chakra outwards, pushing against the paper.

It flares - then arcs inwards.

It appears to be multiplying, small seals on it sparking and summing more beside it.

Fel take this woman. Paper. This is absurd. She shifts form for a split second, just long enough to reorient and grab Karin in her claws. "Don't fight this," she says, bringing the girl in front of her face.

The reds say that life is their domain, but this they share in common with the other flights. The fire that elevates, that purges weakness, that brings strength. The binding of mortal soul to dragon fate. This is the ascension of a dragonborn. Or the first half of it, anyway. There will be time for the rest later.

Ellisaria ignites in flame, a crackling aura that denies the existence of that which is not the Obsidian Dragonflight. The burns this begins to inflict on the girl held in her grip are washed away in an instant by the fire streaming from her mouth to bathe Karin. The Blessing of Flame is painful, but while it burns her within and without, she will not be hindered by the paper.

She wings down after the man indicated to be forming the anomaly.

Karin grunts, but seems to recognize she's healing, and flares her chakra oddly.

A massive animal with an armored, spiked back, easily Isobu's size, eyes purple and rippled, appears over him in a cloud of smoke, and cranes its short neck to look at her, barbed tail whipping.

Tail's likely venomous, treat with caution. Might have limited vision because of the short neck, but has the same eyes as the humans. Linked to their communication? Armor thick enough to be trusted as defense.

Start with shadowflame breath attack, reassess options based on reaction.

It grunts and seems agitated, and the flame definitely destroys some of its armor, but it isn't outright killed.

(The paper woman appears to have backed off for now. Ellisaria might notice a roiling mass of paper in the distance.)

Right. She'll hit the attack again, but this time use it as a distraction to drop down close and get a look at its underside. Is it more vulnerable than the back?

The paper's going to have to take care of itself for now. Maybe some reinforcements will show up.

It's hard to get a look at the underside without landing - the thing's legs are incredibly short compared to its size. There's some plating on the belly, though, but it doesn't look as thick.

She lands-

-and immediately shifts into human form. Blinking to underneath the beast-

-she shifts back, the sudden displacement overbalancing the creature overhead.

It rocks back on its hind legs, snorting, and swings around, trying to bring its tail to bear - 

There's a shimmer in the air at the edge of her vision, a barely-there warble - 

She launches back and up, taking off again and attacking the creature's belly with her fire.