The Curse of Despair
Chapter: Prologue
Ryunoske Suisen was born in the same year that the Village Hidden in the Sand was built, born to a small clan in the Hidden Leaf Village.
He learned his clan's Hiden Jutsu, the Suisen Spear Jutsu, as quickly as he could, wishing to become a Shinobi of the Leaf. He idolized Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage, and wanted to become a Hokage just like him.
When he joined the Ninja Academy at age 6, then called the Ninja Training Institution, his naturally outgoing personality allowed him to befriend many in his class, and eventually, the entire year group.
Following years of hard work, Ryunoske graduated and became a Genin, just as the First Shinobi World War began.
At the same time, Hashirama Senju passed peacefully in his sleep and so the Village looked to their new Hokage, Tobirama Senju, for guidance.
And so, the war began in earnest.
The Genin were placed on the front lines, as the Village didn't have the numbers to leave their Genin behind. The Chunin and Jounin were deployed where the fighting was most fierce while the Genin filled in the ranks where forces were at their weakest.
Treated like cannon fodder during battle, Ryunoske lost many friends over those first few months. The aftermath of every battle heralded the start of another mission: to take stock of their fallen friends.
Before long it had hardened him, strengthened him enough that he was pushed through the Chunin Exams and joined the main battle.
Ryunoske killed many over the rest of the war and would forever tell of the day he fought alongside their Hokage.
It all came to an end when Tobirama Senju was nearly killed during the Peace Signing with Hidden Cloud. With their Raikage killed by the traitorous Ginkaku and Kinkaku, Hidden Cloud pulled back out of the war.
Ryunoske helped clean up on the other fronts, fighting Mist and Sand and Rock as they probed for weakness and after a few skirmishes, the war came to a close and peace reigned once again.
However, this peace allowed for more tragedy. On a return trip from another Peace Signing, the Kinkaku Force, now without their leaders who had fallen in another battle, ambushed Tobirama and his Hokage Guard.
The fight was one that they could not win without casualties, so faced with the decision of saving his own life or those of his guard, Tobirama held the line while his loyal soldiers escaped.
Shortly after returning from the failed mission Hiruzen Sarutobi was inaugurated as the Third Hokage.
Over the next eight years, Ryunoske fought without end, taking mission after mission after mission, never stopping to rest for too long. He lost most of his old friends but made many more, most notably among them was Sakumo Hatake and the woman he would marry, Kasumi.
Kasumi was a clanless orphan who had been in the year below Ryunoske. The two were placed on a mission together and formed a strong bond as trusted comrades, then as lovers. The Suisen clan, now smaller than ever were against Ryunoske's marriage to Kasumi, there was no prestige nor tangible benefit from marrying a clanless Chunin.
However, they would forget all of that when Kasumi gave the clan a new heir, a boy they named Hozoin.
Time passed once more until a day over five years after Hozoin was born. War broke out with Hidden Sand and a plan was devised.
Sand's front lines were mainly supported by their largest trade route and they would be greatly weakened if the route was no longer usable. However, because of its importance, Sand made sure the route was well protected so only the best could destroy the route.
Due to his great skill, Sakumo Hatake was chosen to lead the mission. He chose Ryunoske to join him, alongside a Hyuga girl and a man named Shinra. Two other teams were formed to join them as well. All teams were formed entirely of Jounin, there was no room for failure.
The plan was simple, one team would damage the route itself while the other two moved to deal with the Ninja. Sakumo led his team against the main force, leaving the weaker force and route to the other teams.
They knew it would be tough, but the resistance they encountered was much more than they expected.
They were outnumbered and even though individually each ninja wasn't a threat, they made up for their lack of skill with their numbers, this would have been manageable if not for the puppets posing as Sand Ninja. The Hyuga girl was slain, suffering from hundreds of tiny cuts from the poisoned blades of a Puppet.
She died screaming.
The other team arrived to assist, having dealt with their comparatively weak foes quickly enough.
Sakumo found the puppet master, a man with purple face tattoos, guarded by two Ninja. Sakumo rushed them, seeking to end the fight as quickly as possible. But he was rash and didn't see the puppets that appeared around him until it was too late.
Ryunoske had fought in dozens, if not hundreds of battles. He had fought alongside Heroes like Tobirama Senju, Hiruzen Sarutobi and many more.
Ryunoske moved.
The puppets fell to the Spears created from his Chakra. The move decimated the army of puppets closing in on Sakumo, but the move left Ryunoske open.
A Sand Ninja slashed into Ryunoske, cutting deep into his back. As he pulled back for another strike, Ryunoske drew a pair of kunai, spun around to face the Ninja and threw the knives.
The Sand Ninja grunted in pain as the first kunai lodged into his chest and roared in pain as another kunai lodged itself in his back, only for Shinra to appear in a burst of body flicker and lodge a kunai into his enemy's neck.
The Sand Ninja crumpled to the ground dead.
But it was too late.
Ryunoske fell to the ground, clutching at his wound and gasping for air.
Even as Sakumo killed the puppet master and the remaining two guards, likely a couple based on how they held each other before death.
The battle ended not with a bang, but with a whimper and enemy Ninja dead on the floor, their blood pooling and soaking into the sand, staining it a deep crimson.
But Ryunoske had been poisoned.
Shinra was the first one there, pulling Ryunoske up and holding him close as the poison spread throughout his body. It was moving too quickly and they wouldn't be able to make it back to the Village in time to save him.
The poison was a strong one and Ryunoske could barely speak, the only things coming through his mouth being gasps of pain but as Shinra gave empty words of how they would make it to a medic in time, Ryunoske grabbed Shinra's head and pulled him close.
"Shinra…. Watch over my…. My son for me… please…" His hand dropped into the sand.
"… I will…"
Ryunoske Suisen expired on the sands of the Land of Wind, dying from a wound meant for a comrade, for a friend. His sacrifice would not be forgotten…