*Screams in agony as you poke me with the stick*
SENAISONDALKDFN AJEFKKJFE AEFKJAEJKD X___X
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Had enough?
Name: Hazama
Nickname: Dawan
Gender: Male
Age: 23
Clan: Kiyoshi
How do I look you say? I mean formality is integral I guess; I was brought into this world to connote some sort of creepy archetype. Being depicted with a bright green, radiant hair colour which acts as the centre of my persona, along with an ever-present psycho-pathological fake smile. I have been described as having my eyes slanted, almost closed, perhaps belying a demonic nature of sorts. Though my eyes are of a gold colour with snake-slits for pupils, and a smile of a benevolent creature.
Now, my clothing. I used to wear a simple black suit with a white shirt underneath, short brown gloves and brown steel-toed shoes. Having donned a pair of black trousers held up by two brown belts, the outfit was then completed by a black fedora hat upon my Iwagakure headband. But recently I've altered my clothing a bit, depending on where I reside in the Ninja world, due to certain circumstances which erupted from my fights, the formal clothing had become a bigger part of me than my personality. These days, I tend to wear a hooded yellow cape along with long black ribbons across my arms. Still retaining a few articles from my previous clothing, including the open shirt beneath my vest, the belts and black pants.
I'm a bit of a freak, really. During my childhood I always maintained a kind and innocent personality. Showing care and respect to those around myself, and I'd do anything to make my parents proud. You could suggest that my maturity grew before my age, and thus made me be seen as more of an adult rather than a child. I have stayed up nights debating the influence of my childhood actions on my choices now in adult life, since my general and attitude and personality has drastically changed, just as it is with every other adult in the world. We grow up with the world and we become accustomed to this reality we exist in, we learn to adapt to hell. I had to go through such a pain when I was young, seeing my parents cease to exist in front of my very eyes have struck a nerve in my heart not to even think twice about someone's life. As I pass by people on the streets I don't stop to think about their lives, I carry a sense of destruction and, even to an extent, a sense of greed and selfishness. Merely setting my sight on various individuals to see how they could be manipulated, how their pathetic little lives could be destroyed and twisted for my own gain.
Now you could be calling me a ruthless murderer, having no qualms with killing those who seem to get in my way and an apparent lack of remorse for all my actions. But that's not true, when it comes to people that I care about,t he turn of the events will be reversed; the little voice in my head will revert me back to the way I was when I was a child. I'll show love and care, gratitude and respect for their well-being. I'd look after those who may be hurt, even risk my own life just to ensure their safety. I don't look at life in terms of what you make of it but of how you intend to survive within it, how you will pass obstacles blocking whichever theoretical path you follow, it's when you're facing said obstacles where a person's true colours shine. My favourite book has to be The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde; an analogy for my character. Stevenson wrote a line of great importance to me in that book, which read ''Man is not truly one, but truly two.'' MY actions, beliefs and complexity all matter on who is part of the equation, and what the likely derivable consequences are. Some see me as a crazy psychopath, others see me as a hero , yet it's laughable that I can't even read myself.
Village of Birth: Konohagakure
Village of Alliance: Iwagakure
Ninja Rank: Unofficial Sage
Speciality: Earth | Water | Taijutsu
Elements:
[
✦]
土遁 - Earth - Completed
[
✦]
水遁 - Water - Completed
[
✦]
風遁 - Wind - Completed
[
✦]
火遁 - Fire - Completed
[
✦]
雷遁 - Lightning - Completed
[
✦]
音遁 - Sound - Completed
Your Ninjutsu:
[
✦]
忍術 - Ninjutsu - Completed
[
✦]
体術 - Taijutsu - Completed
[
✦]
幻術 - Genjutsu - Completed
[
✦]
封印術 - Fuuinjutsu - Completed (non-medical)
[
✦]
体術 - NB Taijutsu - Completed (excluding restricted)
[
✦]
重み - Weights - Completed
[
✦]
八門 - Eight Inner Gates - Completed
[
✦]
京シ - Kiyoshi Arts - Training (General rank)
[
✦]
蝦蟇 - Toads - Signed
[
✦]
ホライモリ - Olms - Signed
Custom Fighting Styles:
[
✦]Tsubaki no Hayashita Sennin | Dance of the Bearded Sage - Practitioner (Sage Level)
[
✦]Jishin Sento | Seismic Combat - Creator
[
✦]Tairei | Oversoul - Practitioner
[
✦]Yūgana ken | Graceful Fist - Practitioner
[
✦]Kung fu | Chinese Martial Arts - Practitioner
History:
Four men make their ways back from what appears to be nothing but a rocky plain field that scopes miles outwards. The nature around remains calm at peace but with the loud footsteps destruction was brought into its stability, their clothes were dirty, torn apart and many were missing their headbands, their pouches but their smile signified that the will was still strong. One man at the front, stood out more than the others behind him, wearing a yellow-hooded cape and dragging a whip-like structure, studded with metal plates that produced clinging noises as it hit the rocks on the ground. The men stopped once sight of their village gates were found, all of them turning back to see a bloody trail left behind them, nothing but brown and red everywhere. The men walked up to the gates and were greeted by the village guards ''Welcome back First Officer, war was a success I guess?'' The man looked down onto the ground, as the air whistled around their clothes. ''It went our way for sure, and we came out on top but whether it'd be considered a success I can't say yet, only the circumstances following the events lead to whether we won it or not.''
''Don't be such a goddamn bore, you maniac'' A voice lingered from the depths of the village, out walked a handsome, sophisticated man. with a clean shave and dark, piercing eyes in tune with his slicked back hair. Covered by a more formal, long black cloak and black gloves. ''You all look tired as hell'' He said, waving his hands around and nodding his head ''You've done the village great, we're all in your debt. Let's go down to the tavern and relax.''
The men walked down to a small hut, with a half-hung sign radiating with the words ''Rock Tavern''. Upon entering, roars of cheer spread throughout the small building, with tears of joy falling down the villagers faces for the mere fact that the warriors had survived the dreadful war and returned in one piece. The man in the cape sat down by the bartender. ''The usual, I guess'' He sighed as he placed his hands on the wood. ''I didn't ask if you wanted anything sir'' The bartender said in disbelief, as the man normally doesn't get anything straight up. ''Just do it''.
''Right then, as your Tsuchikage...'' The formal man came again, sitting down besides the depressed guy, ''And you as my right hand man...'' His grin was out of the world, and caused the other man to smile back ''I think it's safe to say we make a good team, don't you? Another one for me as well please'' The man said as he reached his hand into a big pocket. ''I guess so yeah'' He chuckled.
''You'll never guess what I found, remember that diary you told me about that you hadn't seen for like, nearly a whole year?'' The grin got wider ''Tada! Here it is in all it's glory'' He took out a black, dusty book with a golden pattern diagonally down on the front cover. ''What are you going to do about it?'' He curiously asked.
The man in the cape observed the book, blowing the cover of the book to clean it from the dust, seeing the word 'Diary' engraved quite largely at the top of the cover. ''Don't mind if I go home and take a look at this do you?'' The tone in his voice was much more sincere now, a relaxing vibe emitted from his attitude. ''Sure, go ahead. Don't let me stop you, just remember you'll be missing out on all this!'' The Tsuchikage jokingly said, and the man in the cape laughed along with him, a real and elegant laugh.
And so, the man took off from the Tavern without anyone noticing him, walking through the village breathing in the dusty air that he was so used to, only to walk up a few stairs by the Kage's mansion that lead to a small house built on a mountain. The man entered the house to see that nothing had moved since his departure. It just felt a bit too cold. Taking off his attire, placing his cape on a coat hanger, with his vest and shirt still on he walked around the house. Past his iconic fedora and former blazer, which was all torn apart. He turned on a small fireplace, placing some logs to heat up the room. And finally, he took off his belt which was just his metal-like weapon wrapped around his waist, placing it down on the side of a desk. Rubbing his hands together then, he sat down onto the chair by the desk and opened a simple drawer, containing a small case, taking it out and opening it revealed something that was not covered in dust. A silver pen, with a golden tint to it following a pattern similar to that printed on the book he was holding in his other hand, picking up all the paperwork and tossing it to the side, he placed the book down onto the desk. With the pen moving about in between his fingers he opens the book, but doesn't click the pen just yet; instead, he first decides to read over what was already written the last time he wrote in this book.
It was a dark stormy day. The snow was blitzing down from the skies, and thunder roared through the oceans. Hazama was sitting on a rock in the peak of the highest mountain, in the middle of nowhere, whistling to himself, almost like he was waiting for someone. And then it struck, the lightning stopped and the storm quieted down. A second man approached the former with his head down, the sun escaped from the wrath of the clouds and glimmered onto his body, raying a hope of light onto mankind. The closer he was getting the clearer the day got. He was wearing traditional Japanese clothes, and his hair was shining in gold. He lifted his head in a polite manner as the sun shined into his eyes, and the gold pupils glared into the eyes of Hazama, as the man took a seat next to him.
‘‘Tell me about your past’’ Said the man, as his words rocketed down Hazama’s mind. Thoughts, feelings and memories drowned him in his own subconscious. As sweat was running down his face like an avalanche on a snowy mountain, and his teeth were grinding vigorously. At the end he beat his temptation though, and he sighed in relief as he looked up at the questioned man. Hazama took a deep breath and opened his eyes, revealing a tinted golden glare as well, which made the man chuckle, as the story of Hazama was about to begin.
‘‘Many have called me a disaster of mankind, a waste of our resources and some have even questioned the point of my existence. Life hasn’t been all too great for me yet, and I’ve strived and fought for my own survival, done things others would see as an unexplainable action, things I’m not generally proud of. But let’s start at the beginning before we go off track. It was a long time ago, of course I can’t remember it, but many have described it as a horrible event, others have signified its importance in our world, but I just know it as my birth. It was on the outskirts of Konoha, located inside a barn that my father had bought for the family. You see we weren’t really the rich kind of people, and we were never officially part of a village. Therefore, the consequences were very dire, my father and mother had to work for themselves and we lived in that small barn and a small field that soon enough after a few years would turn into a great farm that was my first and still to this day, my home.
I wasn’t an ordinary kid, or so I was told by most people. I don’t really remember being a kid at all, since the beginning of my existence, I was always treated as an adult. I helped both my parents around the farm and hence became mature way before people my own age. I had no time to involve myself around the Academy that was close to our farm, because of the situation that my family was in. However, I was always interested in the shinobis that would run across our field during their missions; sometimes I would catch them on their way to the mission and act as a kid, rather than the adult that my parents had made me out to be. It was fun, because these people weren’t aware of my maturity and thus paid me much more respect and sincerity, which somehow made me feel happy inside. That moment would only last a little bit because we both had jobs to attend to; the shinobis had to go forth on their mission, whilst I had to go back to the farm and get back to my work.
This was pretty much my life for a short amount of time, I don’t remember most days well because the pattern of events would always be the same, I never had a goal, I never even knew what a goal was, I was isolated from the rest of the kids and I had led a different life. Until one day where this all changed to me, I was out playing in the field one day with a wooden kunai that was left to me by a
special shinobi, I also had been spying on a particular person that I saw from a distance. His body was covered in a thick fog, though I could see a golden shine come from the fog, I just couldn’twonder what it was. Once done and on my way back I heard a noise come from inside the barn. Anxious to know what was going on, I obviously went to approach this noise, and this sound sent a chill down my spine. I could tell something was wrong so I dropped the kunai and began descending towards the barn. I slammed the door open only to witness horror that still to this day shock me everytime the thought comes into mind. My mother was lying on the floor covered in blood, a katana was stuck in her right lung and her eyes were wide open, and right In front of her fell my dad. He was still just alive, crawling towards the door
with his right arm extended, motioning me to run away, but I just stood there in shock. I didn’t know what to do, I was scared and worried, but I just stood there. And then, right in front of my eyes, a katana was stabbed straight onto my dad’s back, blood was gushing out and splattered all over my face. My eyes widened and the veins were popping out. I couldn’t believe what I had just seen; I fell onto my knees and lowered my face. Seeing the corpses of the only people that actually cared about me, the people that raised me and the people that I loved. My whole world was crushed completely, my heart was broken, I thought this was the end, but nothing happened. The clock just went on, tick tock….
tick tock.
And then came two men, dressed as shinobis who were chuckling to themselves, like this was some kind of joke. Realizing that this is the true world, finding out the truth in our pitiful existence, I came to a halt. All emotions that I had felt at one point in my life was now gone, and a new me was born. A heart full of hatred and sorrow, I looked up at my first sight on these two shinobis as they were deciding on what to do with me. And as one of them approached me with a katana out of its sheath, I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. Clenching my fists as hard as I could, I let out a roar that shook the world apart and went on a rampage, I myself don’t know what actually happened. I just kept screaming with my eyes closed, I heard the sound of pain ravaging through their veins, hearing their blood swivel out of their bodies, felt the evil side of me take over as I stood there beating two shinobi to death.
The deed had been done and there’s no undo button in our life, I was now in even more shock as I had pummelled these people into nothingness with my own fists. Covered in blood I sky-rocketed out of the door and ran as far as I could. I didn’t care as to where my destination would be or for how long I’d be running. I only cared about running till I could run no more. I probably ran for days, weeks or even months, I couldn’t tell, I just kept on running. Tears were rushing down my eyes as people from the streets were looking across their shoulders in disgust. I came to a dark alleyway, and as I ran down I hit onto a person and staggered onto the floor. The person jumped in shock and quickly bent down to his knee, in order to help my dizzy and confused body. My vision was mostly blurred and I couldn’t really distinguish what was going on around me, though I could feel being dragged around due to the fact I couldn’t walk on my own legs. I then felt the soft sweet tender touch from a duvet, I was lying on a bed and I fell onto its resistance. This was the first time in weeks where I could take a nap, and of course, I fell into a world of dreams.
Several hours later, my mind was clear again and my vision was perfect. I woke up to two boys around my age sitting down smiling towards me. They all came up one by one and introduced themselves as I was attempting to figure out where I was located.
The first approached me ‘‘Why hello there, I’m Baldy. People call me that because I’m Bald. I like to talk very fast and in long sentences, so you’d have to listen carefully if you want to get along here.’’ Again, this was said in a quick manner and disturbed me to an extent.
Finally, the second and oldest came up. ‘‘Hello there, I’m Erzo and we’re just like you. I saw you run along the streets and knew you needed help, and that’s what we’re here for. Make yourself at home, because this is your home now.’’ This one seemed like the leader to me, but I was too confused and tired to work out what was going on.
Later that day, Baldy, Erzo and I took a trip around the new village that I had landed in. Much to my surprise, this village was Kumogakure, the land of the clouds. And as I was taking a stroll I got to adapt more and more to my new home, the Raikage, Mugiwara, was out for a walk. Village kids would run around friendly without a care in the world, and a man walked past the four of us and glimpsed with his eyes, as I saw a golden taint shine like a light in a dark room. The man kept on walking without looking at us again, as the four of us finally reached the destination. It was the Kumogakure academy. We ran to the front doors as my newfound 3 friends knocked hard. A lady answered it and soon enough I found myself inside where I had always dreamed to be. In the exact place that will train me to become the person that I always wanted to be. Before I couldn’t achieve that goal due to how I was raised up and helping out my family, but now the time had come. The gates opened and a swarm of kid ran past us, some of these would later carry on becoming very close friends of mine. Five kids approached Erzo and Baldy since they knew each other before this event. They later then identified themselves to me as –Naruto- Zwei, Kryptiic, Dead Bones and Klaus. I could sense their innocent and calm nature, and I felt happy being around them. They decided to give us a tour of the academy, and my mouth was gaping in awe as we walked around the facility, I could pin-point the exact personalities of all the kids just judging by their body position. Two boys, called Selendrile and Coyote, were leaning on their backs against the wall, and I could tell they were the so called supposed ‘‘cool kids’’ of this lot. We carried on our tour around the academy, met the teachers and had conversations with everyone around.
Once done with that we went towards out first lesson. And before the blink of an eye the time for graduation had begun. Years have been spent now at the academy and in Kumogakure. I had made lots of friends and my life was on track, everything was going perfect, and apparently, my potentiality was looked over by a feared person across the Ninja World. He was regarded as a very strong sensei that approached me on the day of graduation, and that was when my life took a turn for the better. His name was Gobi Gobletsson. And is one of the people that I look up to the most, the reason why I’m sitting right here is because of him. He took me in under his wing, and taught me for days to weeks, to months and even years. My training was severe; it’s funny because I still remember my first day with him. I had to leave everyone behind and both of us went on an adventure together. I packed all my clothes and equipment, my blood gushing excitedly through my body as the life of my journey was about to begin, Gobi and I waved goodbye to the academy and set out.
Our times of training is not something I’d like to share with everyone, since it’s something really private and important to me, thus the information would be kept secret to myself and Gobi only. But all I can tell you is, during this journey I’ve met with countless of people,
both that would turn out to become either friends or foes. One person could be considered a mutuality between the two, you see me and Gobi would visit Kumogakure every now and then whilst we were in the neighbourhood, and one time we were caught in the midst of a war. The Akatsuki, had attacked my previous home. And two men, called Goro Kaguya and Izanami Kaito were flying above, their high positions in comparison to the clouds and the villagers signified their dominance. And within an instant the whole Kumogakure was about to fall from beneath my eyes, or so I thought. As I was in shock from the invaders attacking, Gobi went out of my sight due to the distraction. And something struck to me right there, memories began swarming my body as I recalled all the people that cared about me in Kumogakure. Everyone that helped me put my life together again, and with those memories I began running towards the gates. The time for reminiscing wasn’t just there yet, as we had to hold the Akatsuki off. I helped my friends and the villagers, but we couldn’t last long. So I decided to give it all with one shot. I let my body get the better of me as I ravaged towards the pair of Akatsuki, and fought just like I did back in my childhood, though this time with my eyes open. I couldn’t land a hit though; these guys were out of my league. But in a glimmer of hope, just before I would pass out, I saw the same man again, he was standing from a distance and his eyes were shining gold. I couldn’t hope but wonder who that man was, and that’s a question I have been wondering my entire life. This man has appeared in rather different situations during my life, he’s been there the entire time, almost like he was watching me.’’
Hazama chuckled to himself as he raised his head and looked towards the man sitting In front of him. He stopped for a second to breathe in as he was finishing off his story.
‘‘After taking a heavy beating, the Raikage had arrived with his wings flapping magically into the air. Him and the Daimyo of Kumogakure, whose name I never got to find out, fought the Akatsuki duo and beat them. My body was heavily beaten and after I got healed I decided to go on my own adventure this time. I spent weeks gathering Intel on this person, finding out why he’s been following me and more importantly what he wants. Who he is and what he is famous for, after all this time. I was told that if I came here, on this specific day at this specific time, I’d finally meet you…
His eyes widened, as he took a gasp of breath and finishes his story.
…Roku Kiyoshi.’’
Roku laughed to himself, as he stood up from the rock. ‘‘Your story is very interesting, and yes it is true. You were a special one from the start, I can tell you know why I’ve approached you.’’
Words muttered out of Hazama as his smiled went inhumane ‘‘The Kiyoshi Clan?’’
Roku put his hands behind his back and faced the other way ‘‘Come forth now Hazama, your time has only just begun.’’ They started a walk towards the direction Roku came from, it was quiet and took some time. And as they walked, the birds flew magically, the grass swayed in a generous manner, and Roku turned towards Hazama for a split second, letting the sun shine into his eyes again, glaring with gold, because the story of Hazma Kiyoshi, has just begun...
Page 1
Well well, it sure as hell as been a long time since I've decided to reflect back on my life, the mysteries that all surround me. I started of as a nobody, no one knew me and with the friends I had created, I had actually made myself reach somewhere in this pitiful existence I have. Some time had passed and I was settling in with the other Kiyoshi students.
Funny, I still remember the first day where we were all introduced to each other, somehow I knew them from many places before, I had encountered each of them individually, but this was the first time we were all brought as part of the same clan, as family. I could sense their energy, they were much stronger than me, I would never be able to amount up with their capabilities, however that was not to hinder me from my ambitions. We spent many fortnights, without any sleeping at all with the Grandsage, Roku Kiyoshi. He taught me the fundamentals of life, and brought me closer with the way of Shinobi above ways anyone else could, and every now and then I'd get visits from Gobi when he passed by my new home; Iwagakure.
Speaking of Iwagakure, the village is very close to the Kiyoshi hideout, and in result me, Erzo and some of the other new students lived there, settling in really quickly with the family-like atmosphere all around, I grew accustomed to the village and consider it my only home now. We have been through everything together. For instance, this one time Iwa was attacked by Suna, and along came many Suna shinobi, among them was an old companion of mine that went by the name of Zoro, whom we had a scheduled fight but instead decided to not exchange fists. To sum it all up I have been accepted by everyone in Iwa and grown to be known as a member of the Iwagakure village. To add on from this, I enrolled into becoming a senpai, and took another shinobi that goes by the name of Tybone under my wing to teach him the element of Earth, I myself saw it as a test to see whether I was actually capable enough of teaching a variety of different people. You see, I was always in love with teaching, ever since the good ol' days with Gobi, I appreciated the bond we had together, and his presence there rather than what I was actually learning.
Either way, the test with Tybone was a success and words spread quickly, on an unannounced day, Gobi showed up and asked me to travel with him whenever we felt like; across all the borders and different villages, teaching people as we moved along and learning for ourselves, and so I agreed.
This plan however, quickly came to a close as words were spreading around the village, apparently there was a new tournament being held up. Invited for only the strongest of the strong, with a prize that shinobi around the world only sought to achieve, it was truly a magnificent place to be, and coincidentally Gobi's presence quickly went absent during the planning of the tournament. However, he did tell me to practice and train myself a lot, and so I did. Day and night whether it was in Iwa, or in the Kiyoshi hideout, I put my blood, sweat and tears into getting stronger, into just striving to achieve the ambitions that I wanted. Not necessarily to gain anything that'd make me stronger in the physical sense, no... I just wanted
to be happy.
A month or so had passed and I was called up, along with a hefty number of people, both my brothers from the clan and several Iwagakure shinobi, we all traveled together to the main battle arena, which was nothing less than spectacular. From the outside it looked like a fully built Colosseum, shining with all its glory. When you walked inside, you could just feel the massive, dangerous atmosphere all around. Shinobi gathered from all the countries, the strongest of the strongest were to contest and the last man standing beneath all the corpses would be crowned the eventual winner, it was something I had been waiting for my entire life, something that would end up marking at least some significance towards myself. Without any further inspection the judges of the tournament gathered up, standing beyond the horizon of the Colosseum, shining with all their glory over us, from a retrospectial view they might have seen to be looking down at us due to their power, but of course in my opinion they were much higher than all of us. Then, out of the blue, the tournament organizer came up, the person who was in charge of who would square off against who, and in what area, and how long each battle would last, the shadow glimmered under the sun as it engulfed the entire arena, everyone's eyes were fixated on that single person, seeing his notorious head shimmer above the balcony. And there he stood, the man I had both loved and looked up to my entire life, Gobi. He didn't really say much apart from the generic rules of the tournament, however I could sense he knew I was there, it was blatant. That means this was my chance, my time to show him how much I had improved since our times from before, I had to give it my all, nothing else was acceptable within my own boundaries.
And so the battle's ensued, my first opponents provided a heap of joy and danger in one go. It was an honor to step into the same battlefield as them, and they did put me all the way to my limit from the very beginning. I knew it was no joke, this was the real shit. Either way I managed to end up on top, and advanced through the tournament with great difficulty. This was something of confusion to me though, as I had no idea I would even be able to grace the skin of my first opponent. Perhaps I underestimated myself, or as I have been told for a big part of my life, maybe it was that I was just lucky. But there was no turning back now, my only goal was to appease Gobi for now, show him how much I had grown, and so the ambition I set for myself was to slaughter everything in my way, beat everyone that may obscure my path, the path to becoming a true conqueror. I began to inhibit this different personality and it was taking me over, changing me into someone I wasn't before, someone cocky and arrogant that now overestimated and was not aware of my capabilities. But all that became clear soon anyways. My next opponent was the famed man whom I had met before, he went by the name Mugiwara, and with simple ease he flicked me away like I was a mere bug. All the power I had constructed, the mindset I had built and the courage that was deep within me, all gone, in mere seconds. I bit off more than I could chew I guess, but it served as a wake up call, seeing Mugiwara wasting little to no energy in order to beat me, it proved that I had to step my game up, I had to dust myself off and try again, it was not the end yet.
I was given one more chance, was on my last lifeline is one could call it that, one more time to prove myself worthy. There weren't that many people left, meaning the weaker ones were defeated, and only the elitist of the elites remained, including me. My bones trembling in fear as I approached the battlefield, head down and sweat pouring off my face, I took feared steps into the Colosseum and lifted my head to witness the man who I was going to engage with next. He had a stern face on his look and was rather formal, didn't appear to be as strong as the others whom I had conflicted with, but he was somewhat different. A strange aura emigrated from him, an aura that hinted sight of both confidence and a great sense of power, however there was no time for greeting. The battle ensued and carried on for what I thought would be an entire lifetime, I truly gave it my all, to the very last drop of blood and sweat exerted from my body, to my absolute limit. But in the end, everything that I had worked for in this battle, the man managed to fight back with some ease, I did pressure him at some points though the result would still follow the same sequence of events for any sort of attack I pushed onto him. And when the dust from the battle cleared, he claimed victorious, though in a sense of hostility he whispered his name to me, McRazor. Though I only heard it once I still remember it to this day and most likely will never forget that name.
I was out of the tournament, but that was not on a bad note. It taught me one of the most valuable lessons I hold dear to my heart, it proved to me that I was capable of achieving almost anything I wanted if I put my heart and mind to it. To think that I started from nothing, from zero, being infamous in my own village, knowing absolutely nothing and having a next to no
purpose in life. And then after all this time, to come out as one of the best in a tournament for the strongest throughout the Ninja World, it brought a smile to my face, a new-found purpose in life I wouldn't mind basing the rest of my existence on. And the best of all, I somehow felt that Gobi was proud off me, I managed to show him what I wanted and achieved what I wanted from the tournament, I was
happy.
Walking out the Colosseum I was saying goodbye to my first achievement and hopefully, my first of many. Standing outside was my own family, greeted with tons of respect and love we embarked on the journey home to celebrate the accomplishment both myself and various other members progress throughout the tournament. The journey seemed like a flash to me, I don't remember much of it, just a nice and cozy temporary environment, and after a day or two we reached the outskirts of Iwagakure. Now came a choice, whether to continue on and head to the Kiyoshi hideout to train with the Grandmaster Roku, or to stay in the village and help out in case my assistance was needed. I decided to rest in Iwa for now, I needed to take a small break and just relax, put my head at rest and concentrate on what to do next. Confusion flooded me now as I walked past, villagers would look at me differently, but more importantly I had received a substantial amount of both fame and respect from the, why would that be? Was it because of what I achieved in the tournament? Pondering with that question in my mind, I drew to the conclusion that fame is the result of power, what a shameful world we live in, but perhaps this is only my own opinion, I am still naive when it comes to human, more specifically shinobi behavior and their philosophy behind actions, one day I hope to understand the mindset of all shinobis, to understand their power you have to understand them individually, or well, that is what I believe.
A few weeks passed and my life was uneventful, not boring but uneventful. Me and various other members became teachers in the academy, raising the newer generation of shinobi in our precious village. Then one day fear roared through the skies of Iwa, I heard people scream from the very top of their lungs, and hearing blood being shed like there was no tomorrow. Quickly running out of the residing place most of the villagers gathered up at the office of our Tsuchikage. Panic spreading epidemically into the hearts of our people, yet somehow I couldn't help but wonder what everyone was so worried about. The officials of the village notified everyone what's happened
''I'm afraid we're being under attack, an evil scheme set by Konohagakure. Their war general was spying on us for some time and now have enough intel to hint out all of our weaknesses, we got screwed over.''
The man bowed his head down for a split second, but instantly lifted it up as a smirk grew on his face ''However this is no time to be frail or fear, we must stand together, as a family, as one. In times of despair like this, we must combat the problem, so who's with me?!'' The crowd clapped and suddenly the confidence was over the roof, a great sight to be part off.
''Right then, there's nothing to waist. Everyone get in order, we will have our sensors deduce who is coming this way, strategy is the key for us to come out on top, we're at a disadvantage for now, but that'll soon change. Hazama and Erzo, you wait here-''
I didn't hear much of what else he said, my mind simply went blank. A massive grin grew on my face as I exchanged eye contact with Erzo, who was on the other hand stern and expressed a stoical face, this meant more for him than it did for me. I wonder how much he had grown in time as well, I was yet to experience the power behind his name. We stood still, the officials finished speaking and most of the villagers scattered out. Within seconds I could hear it all, the innocent gushing of water, roar of thunder, intensity of fire, elegance of the wind and wisdom of the Earth. I could hear and feel it all, my blood was rushing like ants, time to put my skills to the limit, these weren't everyday normal battles- no, this was
war.
''Sir! Tobirama is approaching the village gates!'' A man shouted to the officials, their eyes fixated towards myself and Erzo, a simple nod was all that we received and we knew straight away what they wanted. Tobirama Senju is who our opponent was, we rushed straight towards the main gates before he got any chance to even grasp the beauty of our village. When we crossed paths, he showed no emotion or speech, he simply sighed, almost as if he was disappointed.
''This is all that Iwagakure can offer huh? Two infamous rookies? I expected more to be frank, pathetic.'' His words stunk horribly, and his very face annoyed me to the utmost limit.
I turned my head to Erzo and he had his head down, fists clenched, but he spoke no word. I had to take the responsibility to reply ''If you don't even know how us how are you able to judge our power? Arrogance always prevails''
The man shook his head in anger ''You don't seem to understand, you're insignificant. Both of you, all of you newer generation shinobi seem to think you can achieve all that you want. We live in a cruel world, a world with no mercy, and sooner or later you all have to come to reality with what you are, mere fools.''
I sighed ''I've heard this many times from many people. What you hear can be your greatest enemy, though the truth is always in sight'' I smiled and pointed forward, my finger aimed at Tobirama ''albeit only to those who aren't blinded by their own obnoxiousness''
''W-what did you just say...?'' Tobirama was furious by now to be treated in such way. ''Just who do you think you are? You're no match for me and you never will be...''
His face quickly reddened, almost like he was about to explode in fury ''I didn't come here to talk, I have a mission and I aim to complete it. Just like I've been doing my entire life, I've seen fools such as yourselves claiming to be big, claiming to be worthy enough to engage in a combat with me. And they have all failed, one by one their pitiful existences eradicated from the very surface of this Earth. And that will happen to you today, too bad you can never live up to the promises you've set for yourself and your accomplices'' He was in the motion of raising hands to determine his obedience ''prepare to meet your fate, the wrath of Tobira-''
He stopped speaking, but his mouth was still open and his hands were on their path of being raised. Though something didn't feel right, his body was not moving at all, almost as if he was paralyzed. His eyes, turning from their initial stern look, into eyes that have just looked straight into the depths of hell. He was terrified, clearly the fear itself has rendered his mobility useless. Sweat was draining off his face, I could hear him panting like a dog begging its owner not to be put down.
''...Silence.''
I felt the same chill through my spine, it wasn't anyone else but Erzo. His face still emotionless, no expression whatsoever. But he was looking straight at Tobirama's helpless body. I thought to myself if Erzo was the person who put him in that state, and it appeared so. Erzo began walking towards Tobirama, every step formed tremors that spread to the entire battlefield. Once reached he grabbed Tobirama's chin and picked his entire body up, looking down upon him, he spoke no word but the intensity of his eyesight was astonishing. Tobirama started to pant more and his heartbeat increased rapidly, he let out one final cry for aid.
And that was the last words he ever spoke, as in front of my own eyes Erzo ripped out Tobiramas skull from his body, it was something peculiar. I have never seen Erzo like this before, it was truly something terrifying. Holding Tobiramas head within the grasp of his hand as the lifeless body now fell completely on the floor. The aid was here, it was the Jinchuuriki Roushi and his partner Haku, of the Yuki clan. Their first reaction was a massive shock, to see such highly regarded shinobi of Konohagakure, headless on the floor, sent a shock in their body. And now I could sense us have an advantage, we may just be able to clear the doubts and win this war. Erzo dropped the skull on the floor from his bloody hand and looked at our new opponents, analyzing everything about them, he then turned around towards me. ''Hazama, let's go.''
''Sure'' I replied excitingly, and so our battle commenced. The two proved worthy of being shinobis from Konoha, unlike Tobirama. And it was a tough battle, seeing as how this would be the first time me and Erzo fought side by side, strategy was the key as we were told. The other two possessed Ice and Lava, disregarding the fact one was a Jinchuuriki. But we had something better equipped in our hands, the training received from Roku. The ability to understand chakra rather than abuse techniques, the energy both within us and in the environment. We used this to our advantage and with ease proved to be more powerful than the other duo. The battle stopped for a minute or two to exchange words.
Roushi spoke ''I've never heard of you two before, but to leave Tobirama headless isn't something I was planning to see. Maybe we underestimated Iwagakure and their shinobi.''
I opened my mouth to answer but Erzo raised his arm, signalling me to stay quiet. ''You should never underestimate your opponent if you don't know who they are. That was the mistake your fellow fool here committed and look where he ended up.'' He pointed to the corpse ''Now you have the advantage of that not happening to you if you leave. We can do this the easy way or the hard way, but Konoha will not gain anything from this, you messed with the wrong villlage''
Erzo was right, I looked around at the other battles occurring and it seemed like what the officials had proposed was correct, from the strategies we placed we managed to accomplish victories, not individually but as a village. Iwarians were slaying their opponents like bugs, we were stomping on our opponents and this brought forth a warmth feeling in my heart, I felt secure.
It proved to be too much for the fellow opponents ''Hmph, I could just transform right now and your poor village will turn into ashes in mere seconds'' I hesitated to reply once again ''Go on then.'' The tone of Erzo's voice was securing. Enough to pressure the duo.
''I've seen enough, until next time, Iwagakure.'' Roushi and Haku began running away, though no one followed them, it seems we had enough as well. Various villagers were hurt and buildings suffered minor damage, but now that we had came out victorious in the war we needed to treat everyone hurt and repair damage. Many people crowded both me and Erzo, I felt truly happy fighting by my friends side, it was an honor and I wish we would be able to do that many more times in the future. He was recognized now as well throughout the Ninja World, many people spoke about him in the village, a perfect role model to the aspiring shinobis of the next generation. To be honest, I could see him becoming the next Tsuchikage and leading us.
A few weeks passed and life was turning back to normal, all the casualties of the war were now healed and the damage had been repaired, we resume training as usual in the academy and the Kiyoshi hideout. Constantly waiting for another event to happen, I don't remember if Iwa wanted to retaliate against Konoha but that was not for me to ponder, I merely aimed to continue gaining strength and making a better person of myself.
One time I was on my passage towards the Kiyoshi hideout and a strange person approached me, he had his face hidden and was carrying a rug-sack. His voice was raspy but soothing, and so he called me towards him. He gave me a single letter and told me to prepare myself for the battle of my life in two weeks. What was this? Who was this? Was I going to fight this lone man? Or would it be a collection of people? And for what? And why would I even have to accept this? But it somehow felt really important to me. Maybe this man knew me and didn't want me to know who he was, at least not for yet. Though now I had a purpose to train, a purpose to put myself to the absolute limit for these two weeks, and so I did. Every day all the way throughout until the night, I did nothing but train, it's funny but those times took me back to the very beginning of my path as a shinobi. The continuous training I would be put through by Gobi, felt really nostalgic for once. Now I could tell he did that for a good reason, it was to shape me into the individual I was today, i can only hope he understood that in the tournament. If he saw me fight and witnessed the transition from the kid I once was into the supposed man some people call me, into a shinobi.
Two weeks had now passed and the fated encounter had come, I walked into a plain field, knowing I was being followed. The grass swayed majestically, the birds in the trees were tweeting their rhythm and the sun was shining down upon the Earth. I could feel footsteps approaching my location, it was the same man, he walked onto the field as well and carried with him was a belt-like whip of some sort that caught my attention. After closer inspection I realized what it was, I had heard many stories about it, but to all I thought it was nothing but a myth, the whip that is able to split mountains individually, the all collector of everything Earthen in this world, the Goddess of Earth itself, the
Haniyasu Hime.
The man lifted off his hood and much to my surprise it was the man who has been following me my entire life. From the very beginning he watched me grow up, and even assisted Roku in picking me out to be a Kiyoshi. Not only that, but then the man who took me in when I was nothing, the man who trained me into becoming the person I am to achieve everything I had wanted. The man who not only watched me raised up, the man who raised me himself, the man whom I owe the most to out of every person in my life, the man himself, Gobi.
''Well, seems our reunion has come as planned Hazama, you've grown a lot'' His words carried wisdom.
''I always knew somehow I would come to meet you again Gobi, I'm not going to say anything, but ask one question, what do you think of me?
''Regardless of my answer it would not have a significant effect on your behavior, young one. Yes I have been watching you, and I am proud, indeed. But that does not matter to me at all, as long as you have grown into the fine shinobi that people speak of you, and as long as you are happy, then I'm happy.''
My eyes widened ''What do you mean? I thought I was going to come out here for the battle of my life? I can't fight you''
He chuckled to himself ''You see that is where you're wrong Hazama, you are here to fight indeed. And-'' He raised his head to take a breath of fresh air before fixating his eyes on me once more ''You are going to fight me.''
''No, this can't be happening please'' My body fell to the floor as fear consumed my entire body, there is no way I could bring myself to even touch my sensei in a harmful manner. Not that I could anyways, he was much more powerful than me, I'd stand no chance. ''I can't do anything to you, your power is too great, not that I want to anyways.''
His face became expressionless ''It's either that you defend or I kill you. Things aren't the same as before anymore, I can't keep looking after you, that job is now up to you. If you're challenged you must accept it, now come forth...
Show me what you're made of Hazama, make me proud.''
Those words were enough to persuade me that whatever I wish, would not happen. All this time I was being delusional to myself, the only way to truly prove my strength to Gobi was not to fight in a tournament, it wasn't to advance far and gain both the fame and respect of many people. No, the only way that I could truly show my progress was to fight Gobi himself, to put every ounce of breath and sweat I have into this one battle, this was not just a test for my progress but it was a test for my limit. It would be the very first time I exchanged fists with Gobi with the intention to do so, but then again friendships are forged through battles.
And so it started, the test of my life, the battle that would describe me for who I am. It began off at a slow pace, Gobi wasn't really attacking at all, simply just waiting for me throw my moves straight at him. And so I did, I fell right in his trap and attacked endlessly, using anything that I've got to gain some sort of advantage against him, albeit none of that worked against this man, his entity was incredible, fond of super-human abilities. I was astonished to say the least, yet somehow disappointed. I could sense that he was not going all out on me. No, he was going easy, he wanted me to show all I've got, and so I did. I was placed to my utmost limit, and the battle was drawing to a close, he had me cornered with nothing to prove anymore, I had given it my all..
Using a sacred technique he taught me himself, I activated Asura's solution, my hands glowing in a vibrant red colour due to the friction of energy. I was standing on the ground, nearly worn out with the last bit of chakra left, he hadn't used the Haniyasu-Hime so much, but for the times he did I could truly grasp the power it carries with it, only a true shinobi would be able to carry it, a majestic entity in the shape of a whip.
''Why are you not destroying me?!'' I shouted at him furiously
''You think I'm not going all out? Don't underestimate your own power baka~ I have given it my all this entire time, you're simply much stronger than you make yourself out to be.'' He grinned and slammed his palms together, as if he was about to use a technique ''We haven't finished yet, don't you even think about stopping.'' The tone of his voice became calm and soothing.
''I'm nearly worn out sensei, there's nothing else I can do, you might as well kill me now.'' The vibrancy of my hands increased as fury enveloped my emotions, I had to give one last shot. I was not going to give up till I was at both my physical and psychological limit. I was ready to greet death with a smile. Screaming- no, screeching at the top of my voice as I ran towards him I heard a silent and innocent sentence, like it was whispering to me in my head.
''Even if i wanted, I couldn't kill you.''
It was the voice of Gobi, and it was nothing in my mind, it was reality. I looked up and my attack successfully collided with him. The rest was nearly a blank in my mind, an explosion occurred which disintegrated anything within its radius, excluding me. The wildlife was being destroyed, nature was disturbed, the grass and trees incinerated into ashes, and the entire ground exploding into a massive crated. This carried on for what I thought was forever, but when it finished, when this traumatic experience was finally over, I lied on top of the crater, looking high up in the sky.
Attempting to deduce what just happened was over me, I was beginning to think whether I was turning psychotic. Did I just kill my own sensei? The man who placed me where I am now, the man who did everything for me, did I just end his life? But then his statement came back to me and I was at an emotional drain, did he do this purposefully? It seemed like it. Did he waste his own life just so I could get some self satisfaction? No, it couldn't be, I felt like nothing without him. I was nothing without him.
And then it struck me, I lifted myself off the ground with the small might I had left in my legs, and stuck on the ground laying there in the middle of the crater was the Haniyasu Hime, in all its glory. And that's when I realized what the purpose behind this all was, he had nothing left to teach me. He had nothing left going for him and he wanted his legacy to be passed on. The whip was a symbol for everything he has done for me, to bring me from zero to hero, and now this. I'm indeed thankful Gobi, and I wish I would be able to say that to you once more again. Even at his deathbed he managed to teach me something new, and with pride I walked over to the glory, to the reward, the legacy that was left for me. The Haniyasu-Hime, picking it up and effectively encrypting my name into history now, my mind was at peace from this fight, and apparently so was my body, as I passed out in the crater.
Everyday now I walk around the environment, not taking what us shinobis have for granted. I go on many different journyes and adventure in regard to my sensei, to Gobi. One thing we did good together was all the walks, the runs, scoping this entire world, searching far and wide for anything we could find, we didn't know what we were searching for, but we searched.
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So I leave this page with a memory in mind, something that I still hold dear to my heart. Though there may be obstacles that will obscure my path, none of it will matter, as it can be overcome. Friends and family will come and go, but it's the lessons we learn from them that makes us unique, this short time has taught me a lot, and I am truly great-full for everything I have, as my path has only started.
My path, as a conqueror.
Page 2
The man chuckled to himself, as he flipped the page over to a new, blank and empty slate. Leaning back on his chair, the wooden floor creaks, he puts his pen down onto the desk and stares upwards at his ceiling for a few minutes, not saying anything but just pondering about the events succeeding the moments written in this book. A smirk grows on his face as he levels out the chair again, and clicks his pen; placing it on the paper, he writes another page:
Great to be back again I guess, and in the time since I last covered a page with ink, I've gone through a lot of adventures. Many of them were good and many of them were bad, but in the end they all contributed to shape me into the person I am now. But looking back at all I had written, I guess that was the turning point in my life, since now I'm much more of a renowned person, I am respected and I am known. My name actually holds some importance within our village, and people don't see me as a nobody anymore. Well, I owe it all to the man that took me in when I was nothing and for some reason, I wiped out from the face of the Earth. I was able to hit him with his own technique and take his life in front of my very eyes, for what, a mere weapon? Speaking of the weapon, it has brought me immense attention across the ninja world. Walking around with it within Iwagakure I was approached by a man who did not appear to be part of our village, his appearance was creepy to say for all, wearing a hood covering his forehead, and he eyed me from head to toe, noticing the whip being tied around my waist. ''That weapon you have there, it can't be the Haniyasu-Hime no?'' He delightfully asked. ''It appears to be so yeah'' I laughed, scratching the back of my head to emit a humorous and friendly approach, but the man didn't seem phased by it all. ''I want it.''
''That's a bit advanced don't you think'' My expression turned stoic ''It's my weapon so I have to respectfully refuse to give it to you.'' He sighed in disbelief ''Either you will give it to me, or I'll take it off you by force. And trust me, you don't want to go down that hard path, there exists only one copy of that weapon in the entire Ninja World, it's practically priceless, and the power that is stored within it should not be with someone of your calibre, what I'm saying is it would just be better for everyone if you handed it straight over rather than making me hurt everyone you love.'' He lifted his hoodie off his head, revealing a Kumogakure headband, shining bright with the sun's rays reflecting off it. ''You're a Kumo nin?'' I asked angrily ''That's really the only thing you could ask at such a time? I'm the one asking the questions here, you only answer.'' He crept closer withdrawing a kunai, in the middle of the village as well, it was rather weird and a lot of questions were pondering my mind. But no one was back to cover me, plus I didn't want to put the village's safety on the line to settle a feud, so I took matter in my own hands. Grabbing his hand with mine I took the kunai and threw it down onto the ground, allowing it to settle in a crack in the Earth, sending a few dust particles in the air. ''Alright then, I knew what I was getting myself into when I picked up the whip, meet me at the borderlands in 3 days, don't bring anyone into this, the second we start to fight the alliance between our two villages is severed, have I made myself clear.'' The man smiled creepily ''With pleasure.''
For 3 days straight I sat down on my bed doing nothing but wondering on why this man was sent. Was he meant to set up an invasion on Iwagakure? Was he meant to distract me from the rest of the villagers so the rest of the Kumo nin could invade without anyone noticing it? Why would Kumo even try to set an attack on us, we have a strong alliance that has spun on for generations, and we have not had any serious conflict since I can remember. The only idea keeping my mind intact is that this mysterious man acted merely on his own, as a rogue ninja with nothing going for him whom seeks great power, and is knowledgeable in the secrets of the Haniyasu-Hime, either way I could not let him have such a treasure, as the power within it must be used catiously. For the sake of the village as well I dictated the fight outside the borderlands, and as he reluctantly agreed it must mean his target is not Iwagakure, but me personally, or
rather my weapon. Standing up from my bed, I did not this time wear my usual attire, placing my fedora and blazer on my bed, and opening a drawer revealing something made by a student of mine a few years ago, a long cape of a yellow hue with a green pattern along the neck area, the cape itself reaching down to thigh-length. It would be a perfect attire to wear, something that would be a mix of both deviating from the norm that has been associated with my character to add a scent of uniqueness to myself, but at the same time something that wouldn't idealize me as someone different, something that would still keep my name and personality intact to those that actually knew me. Running out of the borderlands not being seen by anyone I stand in front of the man by the borderlines, he has a kunai down by his right hand, and his headband was removed, lying down on the floor besides him. ''The name is Yashiro, prepared to be killed'' The tone of his voice was extremely confident, almost cocky. He didn't know what he was getting himself into and before we knew it the battle began. He gave it his all, throwing everything his way and even utilizing his Snake Summoning Contract, summoning the big boss into the battlefield, but my superior tactics and massive arsenal just proved to be too much for him, as he came in near to engage in close quarter combats I sent him crashing into the ground, taking out my whip and pointing the tip of the blade at his throat. With a clear, anger in my shout I roared ''Why have you come here? What is your purpose, who sent you?'' A maniac's laughter was the only response I received, well that and silence. I felt humiliated, embarrassed, as if I've been played. Without a second thought I lodged the blade deep into his throat, cutting off his entire head and placing it into a bag, tightening the top. I then formed a small swamp t hat would sink the rest of his body into the ground, since I wouldn't stoop down to his level and let his carcass be used as meat for the crows around. Though I was feeling berserk, there was a rage behind me that I hadn't gotten rid off during the fight, someone had to answer my questions.
Amidst the rocky borderlands, as I made my way back to the village gates a man approached me from my back, thinking it was still the man that I had just beheaded or someone else from Kumo, I attacked ruthlessly without turning around, knocking him into the ground and placing the tip of the blade to his throat much like I had done before. ''Relax! It's me, Daemon.'' The man lying on the ground was someone of Kumo yes but it was my brother, a person who I highly regarded and respected ''Daemon?!'' removing the whip and tightening it around my waist again, I relaxed. ''You really startled me there you know, do you know what I just went through?''
''Yes, I was watching it all, I was sent by the Raikage to ensure that he didn't do anything stupid but I could easily tell you were able to handle him yourself, so there was no need for me to intervene.''
''You knew he was going to fight me?'' The tone in my voice drastically changed, questioning every motive that Daemon had fired at me. ''No, he defected from the village and vowed to put the entire Ninja World against us, knowing that the strongest alliance we had was with you guys, the Raikage managed to oversee Yashiro's actions and thus predict where he was going to go and what he was going to do. Albeit he didn't imagine he'd come out and fight you for the Haniyasu-Hime, he was correct in his assumption that he was going to put Iwagakure against us.'' I sighed, holding the bag tightly in my hand as I processed his words. But before I could speak, he interrupted me. ''You believe me right? Come with me, you can sit down and talk to the Raikage himself if you want to.''
''I doubt Mugiwara would still want to see me after I left the village, sure it will always hold a deep place in my heart but I can't bare myself to be ridiculed by your villagers.'' He laughed out loud ''You really think they will laugh at you? After what they see the contents of that bag I doubt any one of them will open their mouths about you.'' His voice quitened down ''Also Mugiwara stepped down as Raikage some time ago.'' My head turned to stare him into his eyes ''So who is it now?''
''You'll see.'' His voice softened the rage inside of me, as it appeared I still had friends that resided in my previous village, and before we knew it we were off on the long journey back to where everything started, to where it all began. Just before we embarked on the journey Erzo came running in, noticing Daemon who was standing beside me, and the rotten smell reeking from the bag. But instead of saying anything he just simply nodded, having shared a bond since all three of us are Kiyoshi brothers, there would be no feud and the questions would be asked later. Returning to the village he saw us off and we started walking. Talking about the past, the present and what will become of the future. About the plans of our villages and what we individually would seek in the foreseeable future, what the training with Grand Master Roku would become of, how we'd fly through the ranks of the Kiyoshi warriors and become happy in the situations we had placed ourselves in. Basically just our aspirations and dreams to an extent, and before we knew it we had reached the borderlands leading to my previous village. The village hidden in the clouds, taking a breath of the air I was amazed at how much has changed, yet I still felt attached to the place.
Just before we departed into the gates I was instructed to lower my hood, so that my headband was not visible to any individual within the village. We were greeted by two guards ''Welcome back sir, who's with you?''
''An accomplice of The Raikage, don't worry about it'' Daemon said, placing 4000 yen into one of the guard's pockets, patting him on the shoulder as we both walked past them, and all the memories hit me back like a boomerang. Seeing the old training grounds, the old battle arena, the run down and previous Cloud Tavern, the little kids running around and the old couple crossing the road together, arm in arm. A grin grew on my face, it was good to be back here even if it was temporary, but alas I wasn't here to simply enjoy the atmosphere, and I was dragged into the new cloud tavern where a meeting was occurring between the top village officials. Something that was a secret and no one apart from the officials themselves should have been allowed to enter the tavern without the kage's permission. So obviously when we entered we turned all their heads faced us, their attention was diverted and the discussion that was going on abruptly stopped. One man stood up from his chair, my hood was covering my eyes mostly so I couldn't identify most of the people there, but one person that I remembered was still there, but I just couldn't put my finger as to where I knew him from before. The man approached me aggressively as Daemon walked away, sitting down on a chair by the only occupied table in the tavern.
''Who's this?!'' He shouted, his voice echoing off every wall in the building. ''That's none of your business'' I replied, ''I haven't come here to speak to you'' I could tell this man had some importance within the village now, and what my response to him was clearly angered him, to a saddening point. ''Do you have any idea who I am? No one can talk to me in such a way...'' His appearance was frightening to say the least, nearly twice my size built like a giant, with a pale-green colour radiating what seemed to be spike-like hairs, not wearing a top to show off his muscles and physique, matched with baggy kind of kilt like thing, he did seem menacing but at the same time someone with a short temper. ''Who are you?'' I reluctantly asked, knowing that it would push him off the edge, not trying to intimidate him in any way but I was not going to fall into his trap and succumb to his dominance. ''You're a funny one, I guess I'll just knock my name into you'' He prepared his fist, retracting it backwards generating a massive amount of chakra in his fist, causing the entire room to shake, plates to fall down, glasses to break, stools to crumble to dust and the floorboard creaking up, it was clear he was angry or this was just a fragment of his power, but I was not going to hold back. His fist flew outwards and before I knew it had already connected with my face, he let out a roar of anger at the same time and all I could see was white, as if an explosion had occurred, dust was coursing through the wind and pieces of wood were flying everywhere, but everything was still quiet and my mind seemed fine. Letting the dust settle I still felt his knuckles touching my face, and I was feeling ok, as if the attack really hadn't done as much as I would have expected it to, the reaction on his face was the best thing to see.
He moved backwards in shock, wondering how someone of his calibre wasn't able to inflict any damage at all to me. At the same time the impact of the conflict caused my hood to fly off my head and reveal both my face and headband, and the minute all the dust had cleared a loud laughter came from the back of the room, revealing none other than the person I had seen before, the great Better. ''Where the hell have you been all this time ay? Never would I expect you to come back to your home, come y'all, have a sit down by the table-'' He patted the table, only to see half of it had been destroyed in the man's angry punch. ''Look what you've done now Broly, didn't even manage to do anything to the thing you were supposed to hit in the first place.'' So Broly was his name, walking past him as I sat down I stared straight into his eye and I could feel the fear in his heart, he may be strong and an impeccable warrior within these lands but even he knew that he wasn't a match for me. And to add insult to injury I sat down at his chair, smiling straight at the Raikage, my old friend.
''Look at yourself Better, back when I was here we were all nothing and you've managed to get yourself to a position one would only dream of.''
''What can I say? Y'all left me for other villages while I was still young but I never gave up, being one of the only children left back when we were young I managed to push myself forwards and take the throne.'' He smiled in a peaceful way. ''Well I am really glad for you but that's not what I am here for, I ran into some trouble a few days ago and I engaged in a fight with a villager of yours earlier today.'' Better turned to look at Daemon ''Was it Yash?''
''Yeah.''
''What a shame, let me explain.'' But before he could continue, I placed the bag that I had been holding in my hand this entire time down onto the table. ''Open it.'' Better extended his hands out and untied the top of the bag, leaving the rotten head of the decapitated Yashiro. The smell reeked through the entire tavern, but he couldn't help but laugh. ''Don't tell me he tried to take you on by himself?'' He asked ''Unfortunately yes, the greatest worry in my mind was whether you had sent him here. And I can't say I was but a little annoyed when I found out he was one of your shinobi, you should be happy he came to me first rather than any other ninja from my village or otherwise the stability of the alliance between our two villages would be at stake.'' I bent forwards on my chair, placing both my elbows onto the wooden table awaiting a response. Better laid back on his chair looking up at the roof. ''You see ever since he left the village gates he immediately became an ex-ninja of this village. He was a member of my personal squad but he never listened to orders, he never did anything we wanted him to and just sought to seek actions and consequences that would benefit him in some way and not the village as a whole. Because of that I had to take him off such a high role since he could take the village into jeopardy.'' He lent forwards now as well. ''And what do you think he did when I said that? We started arguing, he even wanted to start a coup to knock me off the throne, just so he could run
the village the way he wants it. I tell you, when you become of someone with power people will always come to you in order to try and steal that power from you, and when they can't have it their way they make it seem as if it was all your fault. So obviously he wanted to ruin my position, he wanted to make sure that he put this village in the worst scenario possible. And because of such actions I kicked him out, knowing exactly what he was going to do, I know he was going to come to Iwa and try and ruin the alliance that we had with one another, and I knew that he would stand a good chance of doing so unless we kept a close eye on him, which was why I sent Daemon after him. But I didn't think he'd be stupid enough to attack you one on one, maybe he just wanted a death wish.'' In anger, he slapped the severed head off the table, allowing it to roll on the floor besides us. ''You remember back in the day?'' I asked. ''Back when we had no worries, back when we were children and everything went out way, how we could get away with everything and how we had our whole lives in front of us?'' My voice lowered in pitch ''There's a part of me that wants to go back to those days, to go back and relax like we used to, to run around the training grounds like we used to, to fight and learn like we used to, knowing our whole lives were ahead of us.'' I was almost muttering now ''But then there's the part of me that wants to stay an adult, to stay like this, the way we are now. Talking about our villages and our alliances, traitors and all of that sort. We have power now, and with power comes responsibility Better, we can't let ourselves be hindered by the actions of one man, but rather allow that certain exaggerated action to further boost our morales, because that's one bad person out of the way, imagine the rest of the damage he could have caused if we didn't stop him, we should be proud of ourselves for stopping him and keeping the peace between us at store.''
''I guess you're right, it's just somedays I don't see the point of doing this at all when there are so many people that have their back turned against you and just put on a fake smile to get to a higher position in the village.'' He muttered angrily ''That is true yes, but that was something our predecessors were also going through, and something our successors will go through as well no doubt, but they kept all the feud within themselves and sought to settle any trouble that could potentially spark off an event by themselves, ensuring the safety of the village and most importantly the development of the newer generation. We were brought up well and the accomplishments we've achieved is the result of that, so one can only assume that the children these days will one day get past us as well, we have to ensure that they do, right?'' A chuckle came from the Raikage ''You've changed, you know that? You're much more cautious these days and you seem to be smarter'' I sighed ''Yeah, well that's because I've done things which have made me this way. My seek for power evidently turned me against those that were there for me the most''
''You mean Gobi?'' The sound of that name kept ringing in my voice, no matter what I would do in my life I could not stop thinking about him, I can hear his voice in my head always judging my actions and that's why I've always trusted my gut feeling. ''How did you know?''
''Everyone knows, but word around is that he isn't actually dead you know'' My mind snapped, staring Better straight into the eye ''I saw him die in front of my very eyes, by my hands! What are you talking about?!''
''See that's where you're wrong, you think you could actually defeat him even if you wanted to? Don't get me wrong I'm not insulting you, but we all know the great man that Gobi was, and the fact that he wouldn't let his own life go to waste so that he could pass to you his most prized possession, he could have just given it to you.''
''It wasn't a matter of life or death, it was a developmental situation for me, it was all that which changed me into the person I am today, heck I wouldn't even have had the courage to fight the man that sought to take this whip off me if it wasn't for that one battle.''
''Just trust me on this, word spreads quicker than you think.'' Better abruptly stopped, before shouting at the bartender ''Venom! Get us a bottle of sake.'' The bartender listened straight away, And Better relaxed on his chair ''Listen, my sources have told me that he has taken a place within the Akatsuki now, and that he is still very active in the Ninja World, but discreet enough that no one has really caught him out yet. But if you keep doing what you're doing now I'm sure eventually he will make his appearance to you, there's no way he'd leave you so simply, and deep down you know that too.'' It was almost as if Better was speaking my true consciousness, as if what he was saying was what I wanted to believe all this time, but just didn't have the confidence to say it out loud. ''I just miss him, I feel both strong and much more powerful now, but empty now that there is no one to look up to.
''Didn't you just say earlier that we all go through this? It's the circle of life. We will all lose someone that we love and we will all die eventually, we are not immortal and never will be, but we must ensure that we bring the newer generation into the world the way we were brought, you must make sure that you treat the younglings at Iwa the way Gobi treated you when you were young.'' His voices were full of confidence, and brought my heart at peace. I chuckled ''Speaking of which, you still haven't changed, that confident and leader-like personality still resides within you, I can tell you've made a fine Kage.'' We got up and hugged each other like brothers that hadn't seen each other for a long time, and I was ready to depart back home.
But as I was walking up to the door of the Tavern, a man came running in with a massive grin on his face, full of delight. ''Raikage Sama! Raikage Sama! There's been an announcement to the ninja world, the famed Ninja LoK is hosting a tournament, it will happen approximately in a month's time, and the winner will be able to learnt he secret ways of the Eight Inner Gates!'' As he finished his speech he flailed around a piece of paper in his hand and ran out of breath, sitting down on a stool besides Better and handing him the paper over, being intrigued I followed on as usual and sat down by the table again, the bartender now finally having finished getting the sake, he brought the bottle to the broken table and placed down two cups. Better filled each one up and gave one to me, holding one for himself, taking a sip as he read the leaflet out loud. ''Attention Ninja World, in one month's time the annual Grand tournament will occur once more, this time with a twist which will be announced on the day when the tournament starts. Each village bring forth 10 of your strongest men to the old Colosseum by the land of fire, in again, one month's time. Be prepared to be killed, but the person that emerges victorious shall seek power that is out of this world.'' A smile rose on all of our faces, as we all had something to prepare for then.
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Evidently, I was asked whether I would participate or not, and I reluctantly agreed because it reminded me of the past, of that one Grand Tournament I went through back when my Sensei was still alive, it was the first time I experienced such a thrill and I went far in that tournament, even far enough to walk out of it alive which was a massive accomplishment. But this only meant that I had to train even more and harder so that I could finally
''Hazama''
22/02/2014
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