"Puppets are our clans keepsake Hiro. This is not something you can deny."
The sound of the creature cackling next to his grandfather was near unbearable.
"Are you listening to me, boy?"
It's body was vaguely human shaped with very unnatural contortions of the limbs, which were longer than regular appendages. Inch long sharpened spikes protruded from the monstrous puppets arms and legs and covered them completely.
The elder snapped his crooked fingers and the creature lashed out and whipped him once more. He pushed back his flowing white hair as Yasuhiro yelped in pain. A cruel smile peaked through the elderly man's beard.
"Oh don't worry, I'll break you of that nasty little habit."
Electricity lanced from the torture puppets mouth and channeled up and down Yasuhiro's spine. He tried his best to swallow his screams, and failed. His body thrashed about for a bit, and went limp after several minutes of chakra induced lightning coursing through him.
"Hmmm. Two minutes with the lightning. Your boy's getting better Taiko."
The elder sneered and released the jutsu which kept his puppet present in the main house of the Tenma Kairai puppet clan.
"Please father…you needn't be so hard on him…the boy is only eleven," Yasuhiro's father spoke out in reserved protest, "Let him be a child for a while before taking on all the responsibilities this clan has."
"So long as I am head of this household our heir will not be weak," the elder narrowed his eyes and stuck a boney finger in Yasuhiro's fathers face, "I clearly failed with you. I won't make the same mistake with this kid. He has potential."
Yasuhiro rose to the sounds of his father arguing with his grandfather over his fate. This wasn't the first time he had been beaten in order to teach him a lesson. It had happened many, many times before. Something stirred within him. A yearning to end his suffering by his grandfathers hand. A yearning to attack. He didn't need his father to stick up on his behalf. He would do it himself. Now was the time to reveal it.
His hand seals were shaky at best but he completed them and a boy about the same size as Yasuhiro himself appeared. They were identical in every way. Short, tousled silvery hair, white eyes, and tan complexion with designs painted tactfully on to their faces. Yasuhiro felt the strings connect and he sent his second self careening into his grandfathers back. The old man crashed to the floor of the main room, clearly surprised by this sudden attack.
"What in gods name is that? It looks just like you!" A grin spread from ear to hairy ear across the old mans face as he clamored to his feet. His eyes were lusting to know and he questioned again, more fervently this time. "Who is that, boy? Did you know he made a puppet Taiko?"
Yasuhiro's father seemed as dumbfounded as the elder had been.
"I hadn't the slightest clue," he responded as a proud smile filled his face.
Yasuhiro commanded the puppet to attack again, more quickly this time. A blurred motion of seals from the elder and the torturous puppet appeared once more. They exchanged blows in several good volleys, but it was clear Yasuhiro's puppet was outmatched. Yasuhiro heard the floor crack a bit and watched as his puppet was slammed to the floor and held there by the superior strength of an older puppeteer.
"I said…Who is that? Are you going to answer me, or should I put all your hard work to shame?" His grandfather spoke, smoothing back his long white hair and straightening his beard.
"Satsujin." Yasuhiro spoke the name, released the jutsu, and the small silver haired boy disappeared from the main room.
"Satsujin eh? You've done well Hiro. Continue being a little demon. You exhibit more of that behavior and you might just earn the head of this household." The elder walked past Yasuhiro, handed him a small scroll, and made his way into a separate wing.
"You've really outdone yourself Hiro," Yasuhiro's father stated, striding across the hardwood toward him, "you managed to make grandpa proud. Best remain on his good side. What is that scroll he gave you?"
"Not sure…" Yasuhiro and his father studied the scroll intently. There was a strange presence emanating from it. He began to untie the string of the scroll, but his father grabbed his hand.
"Hiro, this isn't something you should open now. That scroll is dangerous." His father showed an intense look of concern Yasuhiro had never seen before. As though he knew exactly what it was now.
"But…when?" Yasuhiro pondered aloud. He yearned to tear away from his fathers grasp, rip the scroll open, and read its contents to his hearts desire.
"Well…Only in a time of desperation…When you have no choice but to use it. That scroll has been passed down to every child who has proven his self worthy of its incredible power. I cannot stress the importance of what it means for you to have it. The scroll skipped me, my brothers, and my sisters. He has deemed you worthy. Be prepared for the trials ahead." His father seemed different somehow as he finished the sentence. His eyes were blank and thoughtless, and he seemed exponentially more weary than he had previously. He rose from the knee he kneeled upon and walked heavily from the room.
Yasuhiro held the scroll tightly in his hand and made his way back to the small room that he called his own. Maybe someday he would get the chance to use it. Maybe he could become Kazekage with its power. Would his brother want to take the scroll? Maybe his father would attempt to take it. Would he become more powerful if he simply used it now rather than waiting? All these thoughts ran through his head rapidly, constantly taking the place of one another. He continued to think deeply throughout the night, and awoke with a start to find that it was morning. The shower was warm, but Yasuhiro's heart felt cold somehow. He knew he should be happy for the gift, but somehow it felt more like a burden. His silvery hair fell into place where it always did, and he slipped on his standard clan shirt, basic pants, and shoes. He strode into the main dining room where his family awaited him. Though his eyes faced downward, Yasuhiro felt the pressure of stares from the moment he entered the room.
He stopped abruptly.
"I'll be going on ahead to school." he said quietly and began striding to the door quickly.
"Not hungry Hiro?" It was his grandfather who spoke. "A prodigy needs his energy!" He laughed and Yasuhiro felt the stares grow more intense by the moment.
"No. I'm fine." he quickly spoke and escaped out the sliding door and onto the path he took to get to his school. As he walked he was absolutely sure of the change in attitude of his clan members. His grandfather seemed to smile upon him… but his brother, father, uncles, aunts, and cousins all seemed to be enviously pressuring him. What was this scroll? Was it a curse? A blessing? Something to be feared? Respected? Hated? Loved? Was it worth being hated? Could he really use it for power? He put his hand in his pocket, touching the worn paper of the scroll. He felt the chakra within it. As he walked quickly along the sidewalk directly outside of his school, eyes closed, focused on the scroll, he slammed directly into a young girl with a thud.
"Gah! Watch where you're going kid!" The girl shouted and flipped around to face him. "Oh… Hiro? What're you doing? Watch where you're going!"
"Sorry Momo. I didn't mean to…Just distracted this morning." Yasuhiro looked at his feet and shifted his eyes nervously as he tried to avoid eye contact. He had never been good when dealing with awkward situations.
"Hahaha, it's okay Hiro! Don't sweat it! Geez. What's got your pants in a knot?" She laughed and tried to cheer him up in his gloomy disposition.
"Hehe, just some silly clan stuff…I'll be fine by the end of the day" He laughed reluctantly and walked into the building with her. There really was no reason to worry. The scroll could wait. He had something much better to show his classmates and sensei. Everyone got settled and at the last minute two kids burst through the doors.
"Musashi Matakire and Nadoka Hissori, you're late! Take your seats!" Temari-sensei always knew how to shout perfectly and get her point across.
"Sorry sensei!" Their near unison shouts and bows led to a hurried scurrying for seats next to Yasuhiro and Momo.
"You guys are idiots, ya know that?" Momo laughed and slapped each of their backs.
"Shut up, woman!" Musashi bellowed and quickly lurched to grab at a rat jumping from his hair into hers. She screeched and reeled back as he scrambled to recover it from her hair. "Just sit still and I'll get him!" Nadoka and Yasuhiro sat and laughed silently to themselves in amusement.
Yasuhiro was certainly glad to have such friends, where every day seemed like an adventure. Nadoka Hissori was the child of a ninja family aligned with Orochimaru and Otogakure many years ago. They had learned many sound jutsu, only to realize that Orochimaru's village was a lie. They proceeded to create a clan within Sunagakure while still making sound jutsu important in their technique. Musashi was from a prominent, and infamous, group of beast tamers. The Aburame clan had insects, the Inuzuka clan had nin-dogs, the Kamizuru clan had bees, and the Matakire clan had rats. Their rodents were powerful and a force to be reckoned with if used properly. Momo was the youngest of the Nanako clan. Their popularity came from their smithing within the sand village. They made the best kunai, shuriken, swords, or really any weapon you could want strait from the clan house. They were all trained in prominently taijutsu, and Momo was no exception. Her family was proud with high hopes for her strength.
While his friends were fun, his studies were also exciting and he was glad when the lesson started. Temari-sensei talked all about the Great Ninja Wars and the people born of them. The students learned all about the Hokage Sage of Konohagakure, Naruto, how he was born of the fourth Hokage, and remains to this day the legacy of the fourth housing a beast inside him. The current Kazekage was actually good friends with him, and had strengthened ties between Suna and Konoha ever since their battles against powerful organizations such as 'Akatsuki'.
The Akatsuki were born of the Third Great Ninja War and sought to bring on a fourth. Apparently a very powerful man named 'Madara Uchiha' was collecting monsters, or 'tailed beasts', in order to take over the ninja world. A frightening concept, but Yasuhiro couldn't help but wonder what his motives were. One simply didn't aspire to take over the world without a reason. Nonetheless, Naruto and the Kages managed to take down Madara and stop his plan. Yasuhiro learned about a man name Pain who had the exact same eyes as the Sage of the Six Paths. He was defeated by Naruto after a hard fought battle. Before he knew it class was over and Yasuhiro was left wondering where his future lay. Would he help pave the path to a better world? Would he leave behind a legacy as these men once did? Yasuhiro had always dreamt of being a hero like that. He wanted to be the Kazekage. He needed to protect the people of his village.
His favorite time of class finally came, jutsu demonstration. Temari called them one by one to do a bunshin jutsu to create a clone. Some kids made them pretty well, others were shaky at best. Yasuhiro was finally called and he jumped down.
"Alright. Create a clone for us Hiro." Temari said patting him on the shoulder and stepping away.
His hand signs showed no wavering but they weren't the signs for a simple clone jutsu.
"Hiro, what are you-" Temari began to stop him but halted as the boy completed the technique and a child identical to Hiro stood beside him. "Is that a…oh! Well done Hiro! Everyone, Hiro has just demonstrated a puppet clone technique. What is its name Hiro?"
"His name is Satsujin." Yasuhiro smiled and basked in the glow of his accomplishment. He returned to his seat and Musashi rose and stumbled down the steps.
"Make a clone." Temari spoke, muffled by her hand covering her nose. A small rat jumped out of the boys hair and onto the ground. A hand seal or two later and the rat transformed into an identical boy.
"Good job! Beast clone jutsu!" Temari shouted, risking her nose being exposed to the pungent odor. The smelly boy returned to his seat and Momo followed.
"Show us how it's done!" Temari seemed excited to see her students succeeding. Momo drew back, completed her seals effectively, and two clones of identical stature stood aside her.
"Well done! Two clones! These kids are raising the bar for the rest of you." Temari beamed, patting Momo and sending her to her seat. "Nadoka! Show us your skill."
The boy pulled out a cane and walked down the steps, he was blind. But in no way was his blindness an issue. At the front of the class he turned and raised his arms to begin a seal. A shuriken suddenly zipped from the shadows of the rafters and hit its mark directly at his heart. He fell back onto the ground and began bleeding heavily. As the class began to rise to their feet, the bleeding child poofed.
"Fantastic!" Temari shouted. "A clone you made in secret! And it sustained being punctured as well!"
There was no doubt that Hiro and his friends were the best in their class, and would graduate as such. Class came to an end, but Yasuhiro's mind was still reeling with thoughts of the information learned in class.
"Temari-sensei, I have a question" Yasuhiro approached carefully so as not to seem too eager. "Where can I learn more information about Pain?"
"Well Hiro, there are several books published about the insanity of Pain. Or his 'ideology' if you want to call it that. Some people in this world somehow manage to appreciate him. They actually love him and his ideas. But you can find those books at any bookstore in the village I'm sure. The most famous or popular book is 'The Truth of Ninja, a story of Pain'. It does a good job of looking at both sides of the Pain ideology. I'm really glad to see you taking an interest in your studies Hiro!" Temari finished and rubbed his head.
Yasuhiro was excited to go home and get all the money he had saved and try to buy the book. He walked out of the schoolhouse, face resonating a smile.
"What're you so smiley about?" Musashi spoke from the tree he was in with Nadoka and Momo.
"Nothing really, just going to be a good day I think" Yasuhiro smiled bigger and ran up the tree and sat alongside his friends. It was the same tree they sat in every day. Could he build on the peace that he had gained with his friends? Yasuhiro hoped as much. He cared for them and this village more than he had ever cared for anything. He would destroy anyone who stood in the way of the peace he found. These people were his everything. This village was his everything. They sat in their tree talking and laughing, and letting that wonderful day roll by.
Chapter 1: FeAR
"We did it!" Momo shouted and jumped for joy as she walked with Yasuhiro, Musashi, and Nadoka down the dusty path toward each of their clan homes. They were older now, and maturity had followed for the most part. But among old friends there was no purpose in hiding their true excitement.
"Did you see that? All of our rounds were amazing!" Musashi's voice rose with excitement and he fist pumped to complete his feeling.
"Well…Seeing it isn't exactly accurate. But it was good!" Nadoka added with a laugh from himself and the others. He was okay with playing off his own disability for a joke now and again.
"We're chuunin now…we can protect the village even better now. Going on more advanced missions. I'm one step closer to ruling my clan, and maybe being the Kazekage." Yasuhiro mused aloud smiling lightly and gazing up to see Gaara's Kazekage building looming on the horizon.
"Hahaha! Here we go again! Kazekage talk from Hiro. What else is new?" Musashi laughed and slapped Yasuhiro on the back.
"I know right? Full of optimism. But I really think one of us could make it. We did make it to the finals of the chuunin exams." Yasuhiro laughed along while tacking truth to his words to attempt at convincing his friends.
"I guess he has a point. It could really be possible." Nadoka spoke, smiling and letting his cane be his guide.
"Hiro has the right idea! Optimism! If it's one of us, we will protect the village. With all our heart!" Momo said, filled with her ever vigilant happiness and bliss.
They passed approving glances to one another and headed on each of their ways back to their own clan houses. Yasuhiro's mind was reeling with the possibilities of what they had accomplished. They would finally get to go on real missions and work for the village. Yasuhiro was ready to accomplish the greatness he knew could happen for him. He slid the clan doors open to see his grandfather standing there with Sehanine, the puppet that looked like a torture machine. He looked Yasuhiro up and down…studying the chuunin vest intently.
"Well done…my grandson." His grandfather spoke, leering at the last word. In a moment Sehanine was attacking. Yasuhiro dodged, and parried nearly every volley of attacks the puppet delivered. He led the puppet out of the clan house, down the steps and-
"Now. Satsujin." Seals like a flurry from Yasuhiro's hands forced strings to connect as his puppet erupted from underground. Satsujin's arm plowed directly through Sehanine with razor sharp blades extended. The puppet was bisected on the ground and Yasuhiro wasted no time. He grabbed the pieces with his chakra strings and hurled them into the air. He spun, whipping out two explosive tags, and tossed them high in he air alongside Sehanine. The explosion forced a rain of puppet pieces on the clan house roof. Yasuhiro strode pleasantly up the steps right to his grandfather.
"I'm done dealing with you. I'm a full fledged ninja now." Yasuhiro said, the delight from the words filling him.
"Really? You know Hiro…I've always thought you would be the one to take the head of this household. I still believe that. But you must never, ever, count your enemy out." The old man finished his last word as the quickly reconstructed Sehanine raised a blade to slash Yasuhiro's throat, and connected. Yasuhiro fell to the ground grasping at his neck…after several seconds he raised his head and a grin spread as he screeched and coughed two kunai forth from his throat. One scored a hit directly to the elders chest, the other slashed across the side of his neck. The old man fell to his knees grasping his neck…this time it was real.
"Go to the infirmary." Yasuhiro was done putting up with his grandfather. The real Yasuhiro spun around the corner from the outside of the door to the main hall and strode to his room; a smile played up on his face and he poofed Satsujin away. His grandfather was afraid of the power he had gained. The old man spent nearly every other day in attempts on Yasuhiro's life. Who knew if they were heartfelt attempts or just tests…Yasuhiro thought the elder regretted the gift of that scroll. It didn't matter. He was ready for his first mission. He reached down into his pocket and touched the worn parchment and closed his eyes. The energy was just as resonant as ever. He thought of what secrets it could possibly hold, as he had still never opened it. He tucked the scroll away in it's hidden place. He began thinking of what types of missions would come, and how the scroll would play into them.
Yasuhiro awoke. He hadn't even realized sleep had come. His father was standing against the door, arms folded, staring blankly.
"Hiro. Come to the door. You have a letter." His father stated bluntly, turned, and walked away without another word.
Yasuhiro rose steadily and shook himself awake. He headed into the main room of the clan house and looked toward the door. He saw standing there Master Baki of Sunagakure's advisory council, holding a letter. Yasuhiro couldn't help but show his surprise. Important people like this didn't normally show up to simple chuunin's homes. He walked across the hardwood floor to the sliding main door and bowed.
"Master…What is it that you need from me?" Yasuhiro asked politely…not letting his surprise be hidden.
"Well. I've already visited your friends…Your first mission is to be visiting a village that had reports of trouble a few days ago. I'm dropping it off because you kids showed great promise at the chuunin exams." Baki said, smiling lightly and turning to walk away. "Report within the hour to Captain Tsuchino, he will be your new jonin leader. Meet outside the Kazekage building. Oh, and well done at the exams." Baki turned his head and smiled. He departed and left Yasuhiro wondering about the specifics of this mission.
He wasted no time gathering his supplies. Weapons and puppet ready to go, Yasuhiro departed for the Kazekage building within ten minutes. When he arrived he was not surprised to see his friends already there and outfitted.
"You as excited as we are?" Momo asked, beaming with joy.
"Absolutely. This is a chance to prove ourselves." Yasuhiro answered, his blatant honesty showing.
"Prove sh-move, this better not be a load of nonsense." Musashi spat as he chomped a large block of cheese and fed some to the small rodent on his shoulder.
"I'm sure Baki wouldn't have delivered it himself if it weren't important." Nadoka laughed and sat against the wall surrounding the Kazekage building.
"Nadoka has the right idea. This is Baki we're talking about…I'm ready to get this started. If we show what we're made of here, there's no stopping us." Yasuhiro stated, sliding down to sit next to Nadoka.
"Oh, Hiro! I saw your grandpa walking down the street holding his neck with a bandage around it. I tried to say hi but he ignored me!" Momo's concern dominant in her voice. "What happened?"
"It's no big deal. I just put him in his place." Yasuhiro tried to conceal a laugh and put on a face of the same concern she had…he couldn't. As soon as he laughed the rest of them did.
"Hiro you've got to be more careful…Geez…You know your grandfather could kill you!" Momo shouted, still laughing.
"Well it's his fault for going easy!" Musashi spoke up with a mouthful of cheese, some of which flipped out onto Momo's hair.
"GAHHH! I'll kill you Musashi!" Momo screeched and threw her head about running her hands through her hair. She then proceeded to chase after the rat ninja, intent on hurting if not killing. Nadoka and Yasuhiro were left to sit and laugh while poking fun at the two. Not much had changed for all the years that had gone by. Hopefully these moments would last long. The reality of the ninja world would never tear them apart.
"Stop this foolishness." Nearly out of nowhere, a ninja with long blue bangs and short cropped hair everywhere else appeared. His bangs were swept to the left and he had the traditional vest and arrogance of a jonin ninja. He was quite handsome and didn't have any visible scars. He wore his headband as a necklace and a string of ten visible extra long kunai were at his belt with five on either side of his waist. Each of the ten kunai was about a foot long, the hilts being just less than six inches. "It's time to go. I am Captain Tsuchino."
"What is our mission?" Yasuhiro asked rising to his feet and unwaveringly meeting eyes with his superior.
"Not too far from here is a small village that has been attacked by…something or someone. We're not sure what or who." Tsuchino spoke, meeting Yasuhiro's eyes with the same unwavering resolve.
"Then let's get to it." Musashi spoke this time. "It sounds like these people need us. Our job is to help them in any way possible."
"Well put. Please follow me, I trust you all have supplies and rations?" Tsuchino said, turning and heading in the general direction to exit the village. He turned to look at them as he walked, and they nodded to confirm that they had what they needed. They felt a sense of pride and accomplishment as they saw the people who they grew up with and the adults they grew up around watching them walk with a jonin leader. People nodded, smiled, waved, and gave reassuring looks to the young chuunin. As they reached the edge of the gate Tsuchino turned to face them.
"This is it. You must obey the orders of the Kazekage. Do you understand? When you take on a mission you must complete it to the best of your abilities. They are not optional. This is not optional." Tsuchino said, glaring at each chuunin individually.
"We can do this. We understand our responsibilities." Nadoka said, sincerity in his voice.
"There's no backing down now! We're strong!" Momo laughed, one hand on the bicep of her other arm as she pumped her fist.
"I'm game. Let's prove ourselves." Musashi smiled as he finished the statement, glancing at Hiro.
"No problem Captain Tsuchino. We will succeed. Watch us. We'll be the strongest in this village." Yasuhiro smiled, looking at his friends and back at their cynical captain.
"Very well. I like the determination. Let's see if you can keep pace with one of Suna's fastest, since you're all so great." Tsuchino smiled sarcastically, joking with his chuunin, and dashed in a blur out of the gates of the village. The chuunin were taken off guard but followed after about half a second of confusion. They would each pull ahead of one another and even occasionally catch up with Tsuchino before he rocketed into the distance again. After about an hour or so of racing they saw a village on the horizon and Tsuchino had slowed considerably.
"Is that it?" Momo landed alongside Tsuchino, peering into the distance.
"Yes. That's our destination…it looks deserted. Let's be cautious in approach." Tsuchino said, lowering his stance into one more suited to stealth. The chuunin followed suite of their jonin leader and dropped into a stealthy demeanor. They approached the village with caution until Tsuchino held his hand up as a gesture for them to stop, and they obeyed. He closed his eyes and made a seal with his hand. Yasuhiro felt a spike of chakra and within an instant it was settled.
"The village is uninhabited. Everyone is dead." He turned to face the chuunin, no expression of fear or remorse on his face.
"Then let's go. We have to see if there are clues as to what caused this." Hiro said, matching the remorseless expression. He wanted to betray absolutely no weakness to his leader. They proceeded into the village with less stealth but not dropping their guard. Nadoka stabbed specially designed senbon into the ground around the area. These senbon vibrated a specific frequency that could allow the blind ninja to see the shapes around him.
"Be careful. There may be traps." Nadoka said almost as a cue to the snapping of a string beneath Momo's boot heel.
"Watch it!" Tsuchino slammed into her back, knocking her out of the way and catching two kunai that would have implanted themselves in her skull. The trap wasn't done yet. Tsuchino jumped back as a trap designed to crush ligaments in the leg came up snatching.
"Sorry…" Momo looked distressed at the mistake.
"No time for regret. Just don't let it happen again" Tsuchino continued his advance into the village. "Yasuhiro, what are you-"
Yasuhiro was bent over a well looking inside of it. As Tsuchino began addressing him he leapt back, puppet at the ready. "I found our issue I believe…" He finished his statement and a large worm burst forth from the well, bearing it's fangs. It's body was pulsing purple and it had no visible eyes…This was clearly no ordinary beast. It lashed out at Hiro. He managed to backflip to dodge and leapt onto a short building nearby, controlling the puppet from there. He forced Satsujin to attack, long silver hair whipping behind him out of his painted face as tan puppeteer painted arms forced blades from hidden compartments to exchange blows with the monstrosity. He retained his semblance with Hiro despite the years thanks to determination on Hiro's part. Momo was on it within the next few seconds. As the years had gone on she had developed her specialty in martial combat, weapons training, and hand to hand combat. Certain of her taijutsu ability, she pushed herself off the ground and with trained precision brought a flying dropkick onto the creatures head.
At which point Musashi shouted "Form A-Prime is in action!" he threw two kunai strait in the air as hard as he could and ran to Momo's side along with Nadoka. The head of the beast smashed into the dirt and before Momo hit the earth Musashi and Nadoka caught her feet and pushed her into the air with practiced effort. At this point Satsujin jumped back and rain full sprint strait at the writhing beast and tackled it in a strong embrace. Blades ejected as soon as the deadly arms were wrapped around the creatures circumference. Musashi whipped out two kunai and jumped back in suite with Nadoka who whipped out two kunai as well. As they completed the maneuver on the ground, Momo had soared through the air alongside the kunai, snatched them out of the air, and proceeded to perform an aerial spinning technique with the kunai pointed down. She had studied the lotus style of the hidden leaf and tried to do it on her own. She clearly could not without being taught, but this was what she had created for herself. Whirling and gaining momentum she crashed spinning into the creatures head as Musashi and Nadoka impaled it from the sides and Hiro held it in place with Satsujin. Once more, with practiced effort Momo stopped her decent into the dirt by flipping around to rip the kunai through the beasts impaled body and kicking off Satsujin's strong puppet back all in a flash. As soon as she was clear, Nadoka completed his jutsu and screeched. The reverberating sound waves were enough to deafen any person who was not prepared for them. The beast clearly was not. Writhing in pain from the hole ripped in it's head and the slashes all along its sides, it was immediately stunned by the deafening pitch. Musashi unleashed a wave of rats into the beasts subconscious, forcing them into ever dark corner of the monster's mind. After having too much exposure to the pain of the battle, the beast toppled back into the well, which it had never fully emerged from. The young ninja panted, covered in blue blood, but forced smiles at one another. Tsuchino looked impressed as he joined them near the well.
"I can't tell you how pleased I am to see a competent team of ninja. I had heard you were good…but I hadn't expected that. So quickly too." He smiled and turned to walk into a house nearby. "We need to check these homes before our mission is complete."
Yasuhiro was proud. They had worked on several such maneuvers over the past several months and he hadn't expected them to go off without a hitch like that. He wandered into a building on the far end of the village. He saw a family there. The sight was enough to send his stomach churning. He saw that they were absolutely dead. Impaled by many shuriken. Blood stained nearly every part of their bodies. The mother and father sat close together with a little boy inbetween them. Their dead vicegrip held him in what seemed to be a last attempt at protection. Hiro smiled. He knew what he had to do. This was part of his clans tradition. Those who died in the sand village, in the areas around it, or on a mission had the potential to retain their usefulness. They would be made into puppets. Sehanine had been his grandfathers best friend when he was alive. During the great ninja war against Madara he had died. Grief stricken, Hiro's grandfather had made him into a puppet to keep him around forever. Yasuhiro stepped forward and pried the parents loving embrace from the boy's mangled body. He could be salvaged. He could be useful. He pulled out a small reverse summoning scroll that was used by his family to force the dead bodies back to the clan house cellar. Unfortunately it couldn't work for the living. "Kuchiyose" Hiro whispered and placed a hand on the boy, sending him poofing out of the small shack. "You have served your land well…" Hiro said, smiling and bowing to the deceased before him. "He will be taken care of…for the service of the sand village."
A glint of metal caught his attention and Hiro turned quickly to see what it was. He realized it was only a headband…but a strange one. It had a symbol on it he had never seen before. It looked like an oblong triangle that was lopsided with the larger end toward the left side of the headband. Also on the left side was an oval adjacent to the flat end of the oblong triangle. He grabbed it and exited the shack, heading back to Tsuchino. The rest of the gang was there as well, holding similar headbands.
"Honestly I can say I've never seen anything like this. I have no idea who these belong to…" Tsuchino seemed confused and distressed. "We should get back to the village and report this development…"
Yasuhiro's mind was filled with questions. Who were the people who had planted that beast? What was their intention? This couldn't have been any important village…The sun was getting lower in the sky but they were still very much battered by the heat and arid conditions. The pace they had taken before was slowed seeing as the chuunin were expended from the battle. Nevertheless they arrived by sunset at Sunagakure's impressive gates.
"Very well done my chuunin. You're prowess in battle came as a surprise. I can't say it isn't a welcome surprise though." Tsuchino smiled and swept his bangs from his brow.
"I told you sensei…we'll be the best in this village." Hiro returned the captains smile and nodded at his friends. "I'll give anything for this village…I love it and it's people with all my heart and soul."
"I agree with Hiro! We'll never give up! We have each other and this village to rely on. We're strong." Momo piped up. Bliss and optimism always accumulating in her statements.
"Thank you for the opportunity sensei." Nadoka bowed low. "Please continue to challenge us as we continue to attempt pleasing you and our village." He rose and gave a lighthearted grin. Always soft-spoken, yet wise beyond his years.
"Hey! Wait a minute. We never got to see any of your abilities Tsuchino-sensei. I want to know what you're capable of. As our captain I feel it's only fair." Musashi declared, raising his eyebrows while glaring at the captain wryly and folding his arms across his chest.
"He has a good point Tsuchino-sensei!" Momo shouted, not bothering to hide the eagerness in her voice.
"Would you mind giving us a display of your abilities sensei? I mean…the mission doesn't have a deadline really. And I'm sure turning in those headbands can wait till nightfall." Excitement shone in Nadoka's voice as he attempted to talk the captain into a display battle. Hiro wanted to finish the mission…but the opportunity to know Tsuchino's prowess proved too much.
"I believe they would be best suited to be shown in an actually dangerous situation." Tsuchino smiled and he walked past the chuunin.
"Then let's make this dangerous, captain." The smile Yasuhiro wore showed in his voice as he hurled two shuriken at the captain's neck and back. They impacted, hard, sending the captain smashing into the sand…which he conveniently became a part of as the sand substitution took effect. Hiro felt the air shift around him as Tsuchino materialized behind him. Out of the corner of his eye he saw one of the foot-long kunai in his senior's hand. A quick duck saved his neck from the lethal blow and a fast series of hand signs forced Tsuchino to dodge as Satsujin arched his arm from the sand and forced the demon blade strike into the air space where the sensei had been moments before.
"Very well then. You shall have your demonstration." A smile of equal intensity to that of Hiro's showed just as much in his voice. He pushed the attack to Hiro swinging his kunai in a very expert manner, and the chuunin managed to keep Satsujin in front of him at most points. He knew this was the weakness of puppeteers, close combat. His friends jumped to his rescue and began attacking their sensei. Momo was clearly the best among them at hand to hand and melee combat and she demonstrated this. Landing several blows on Tsuchino's torso, he grunted and swung the kunai at her in a reverse-grip style. It missed. The captain made a quick seal with two fingers pointing skyward with his left hand. Instantly an obsidian-grey arm shot out from the kunai's flat edge and it's fist connected with Momo at her cheek. The powerful hit surprised all of them and Momo slammed into the sand. Just like that the arm was gone and Tsuchino continued his attack, this time against Musashi. Hiro saw that this could be his chance, as the attention was not on him, and he sent Satsujin to join the brawl. Demon blade strikes attempted to hit home on Tsuchino. The jonin lived up to his title and managed to only take minor hits as Musashi continued blocking the attacks and barely managing to avoid being wounded. Nadoka struck, they all heard the screech directed at Tsuchino and Hiro knew what to do. For a split second the captain halted his attack, and that was when Satsujin struck. Using the full force of the puppets momentum he attempted to slam both arms, blades extended, into the jonin's left side. He was met with two kunai that parried both arm attacks, and were attached in the middle. Tsuchino spun them around with strength enough to twist the puppets arms, and each kunai glinted. One coated itself in a layer of fire, the other in a layer of water. He delivered a side kick to Satsujin that shoved him back five feet. Hiro had never seen anything like this before. The technique was incredible. The ability for this man to stop all their assaults was amazing. This was a Sunagakure jonin. Hiro smiled on the inside…he wanted this type of power.
Momo rose and joined the battle again, attempting an air strike against their sensei. Tsuchino backflipped out of the way and tossed the original kunai he was holding at Hiro's feet. Once it hit the sand it poofed into a replica clone of Tsuchino that appeared more muscled that the real man himself and had an obsidian-grey skin tone all over. It struck out immediately with a flat hand moving so quickly Hiro had no time to react. The backhand sent him sprawling through the sand. In the same motion the clone used it's momentum to deliver a low kick to Satsujin, knocking the puppets legs out from under it. Momo, Musashi, and Nadoka had no choice but to react as the two kunai he was holding detached and he threw them, along with a third, into the ground in front of them. Each poofed into a clone with exact semblance to Tsuchino, but with minor differences. One had fiery red eyes and blazing red hair in the same style as the original. Another had no face and it's hair, again in the same style as the original, was a bright aquamarine color. The third had longer hair. The bangs, down to his shoulder, and the rest tied in a topknot. Runes appeared to be tattooed on every visible part of his body. All of them had on the exact same garb as the original Tsuchino. The senbon needles specially designed for Nadoka were in the ground once Hiro had made his first attack. He wasted no time striking out with his pole to deliver two swift jabs to the fiery clone. Both attacks hit firmly against the clone's torso, and as they did jets of fire spewed forth from the puncture marks. Nadoka deftly twisted his body out of the way, feeling the intense heat searing above and below his twisted frame. Momo was on the aquamarine faceless clone like a wolf lunging on it's prey. Her ferocity forced the clone back and a series of intense volley's against her powerful weapons pushed the clone to it's limits…or so it appeared. She landed a hard kick to the clone's left forearm just as he raised it to defend himself. Instantly the arm burst into a torrent of water that whipped around her leg and threw her completely off her axis of balance. She went down, right leg still held firmly in the water trap.
Musashi jumped back and studied his tattooed opponent as they circled one another. The chuunin spun and threw a kunai at his opponent. The clone easily avoided the kunai, but as Musashi spun his lightning fast hand sign went unnoticed. The sand began to shift under the clone's feet and he tried to jump clear of the trap. It was too late. A stream of rats lunged from the dune and caught one of his legs mid jump, slamming the clone into the sand. They began overwhelming him as he tried to scrape them off in a frenzy. He ripped an arm free of the rampaging vermin and pointed it at the rat ninja. A rune tore free of the Tsuchino look alike's arm and spun toward him. The ninja moved quickly but the rune followed him, tracking his every attempt to maneuver away. It smacked into his chest and he hit the sand, unable to move. The battle didn't look good for the young friends. Hiro saw that they were losing. They landed several hits but these clones were tough. Musashi was stuck, as was Momo. Nadoka continued dodging gouts of flame and Hiro avoided the incredible taijutsu. The battle was much more uncomfortable than Hiro would have liked. But that was the way it needed to be. A ninja had to be pushed to show his true power. Just like that, the battle was over. All the clones disappeared. Only the kunai remained in the sand where they had been.
"That's it. I'd say I've proved myself useful enough…yes?" Tsuchino smiled and gathered his kunai, attaching them at either side of his belt. They began to walk into the village and continued their conversation. "There are more than that but I'm sure you'll see them in due time." Hiro notice that they had only seen four of the ten kunai in action.
"Can you summon all of them at once?" Hiro asked, leering at the kunai, his curiosity raging.
"Afraid not. I can only retain control of four or five at once. Though that would be useful to use all of them. " Tsuchino laughed and seemed in nostalgia thinking of times when it really would have been useful to him.
"I've never seen anyone wield kunai like that captain…it was amazing." Musashi laughed and stretched out his sore limbs.
"I know who you are now…I never placed it before. You're the Tsuchino, the Broken Kunai." Nadoka's surprise at this realization showed on his face. All of the chuunin had heard of the legendary jonin of the hidden sand. In the ninja world there were those whose names had stood out. Copy Ninja Kakashi, Konoha's Yellow Flash, the three legendary Sannin, Kazekage of the Iron Sand, Hanzo the Salamander, and the list could go on. The Broken Kunai Ninja himself was counted amongst these, though new to his fame. His specially made summoning kunai were unique in all the ninja world. Hiro couldn't believe he had missed it all this time.
"You got it. That's me." Tsuchino stared up at the Kazekage building as they entered Sunagakure.
"I heard they're thinking about making you the Kazekage when Gaara passes! Because by that point you'll obviously be an even more amazing ninja" Momo accompanied the compliment by joined him in gazing at the Kazekage building.
"Heh…Maybe. I guess I would have no choice. I'll do anything for this village. Even if it means leading it…" Tsuchino looked to the ground and began fiddling with the kunai at his waist. Hiro stopped in his tracks.
"You can't mean to tell me you wouldn't jump on the opportunity to rule this, the best of all the ninja villages?" His blood was seething. Yasuhiro wanted the opportunity more than anything. The idea that the favored successor to Gaara wouldn't be thrilled filled his anger even more. "What better way to serve? You're a legend. That means you'll be a legendary leader. Much like Gaara. The fact that you will have made it to the ruling seat in the village will instill a sense of respect in all other villages. Don't be a fool captain." Tsuchino's gaze broke from the ground and he stopped moving to stare at Hiro. This brought them all to a standstill.
"Don't you dare call me a fool, boy. This village will never see a poor leader even if it isn't me. Any who is a Kazekage in this village is a legend. You cannot become the Kazekage without forging your own legend. Not all legendary leaders are meant to be the Kage though, never forget that." Tsuchino turned and continued walking as if nothing had happened, and the team fell into line with him.
Hiro was brooding over what Tsuchino had said. Maybe he had been a bit hasty with his anger…Tsuchino would make a good Kazekage, but he didn't have to worry too much. Maybe by the time Gaara passed, Hiro himself would be favored amongst the lead ninja of the village. As Tsuchino said, either way there would be no weak leader. He continued his thoughts on the position of Kage and what it meant to him and the rest of the village until they reached the building where Gaara resided. They scaled the steps and Yasuhiro realized that this was the first time he had met the Kazekage. Being a genin he never got missions directly from the Kage…but now it was different. Now they would be going on real missions and working up their status in the village. Tsuchino reached the large oak door and knocked twice. The two hard thuds resounded through the hall like an amphitheatre and they soon heard a calm voice from inside.
"Come in Tsuchino." Gaara of the Sand sat behind the desk in the white and blue robes of the Kazekage, the saucer-like hat was on a stand beside him. He was diligently filling out paperwork and didn't so much as glance at the team as they walked through the door. In unison Hiro and his friends spoke and bowed low, as was custom when first meeting the Kage.
"Kazekage-sama. It is an honor." They spoke together and rose from their bows.
"I see. Thank you. Tsuchino. How did the mission go?" The Kage was very straightforward and to the point.
"We did find something quite…intriguing…and didn't know what to make of it" Tsuchino rifled through his bag and pulled out the battletorn headbands and laid them face up on the desk of their leader. He touched each one and traced his finger along the design.
"I'm not sure I know what to make of this either. Clearly there is another hidden village, and clearly they wanted us to find these. They would have had no trouble slaying that entire village and leaving no evidence…yet they did. I believe they are attempting to threaten us. Letting us know that they are proud of what they have done. I will consult with the elder council as to what course of action we will take. I thank you for this valuable piece of information." Gaara stood and walked with a sense of urgency from the room. "I will contact you if I need you for any further missions. Well done. You're team is certainly the most advanced chuunin group in the village."
Tsuchino and the chuunin friends bowed as Gaara exited the room. They were beaming with excitement at being called the 'most advanced chuunin group'.
"Well done team. You've gained favor with the Kazekage, as worried about this as he may be. You're on the road to fame in this village. Albeit at the beginning, but nevertheless on the road." Tsuchino smiled his warmest smile. "It's time for us to depart. Go back home and get some rest, you've all earned it. Here is your pay." He handed envelopes with five thousand ryo apiece to each chuunin and they departed from their jonin leader and went on their way down the steps and out of the Kage building.
"This is great! Our first real pay as ninja." Momo stated and flicked the envelope, giving a big grin to her friends.
"It's not much, but I guess it's a start." Musashi smiled and crammed the envelope into a pocked on the inside of his vest, the contents of which also contained cheese.
"I had a great time. I'm sure we'll get lots more moments like these in the future. I look forward to it." Nadoka spoke his belief and gave them all hope in that thought.
"I'll see you guys later. We've definitely proved ourselves." Yasuhiro waved as he departed down a separate path to his clan house, reflecting on the days events. Surely another mission would come in no time, and when it did he would be prepared. New jutsu were a must. He had to keep Tsuchino on his guard and always expecting something new. It was time to make his new puppet. It was time to make…Hayai.