Zabuza's Momochi's grave was marked by a tuft of fresh grass and a large sword stuck at it's head. Despite the warm day, the hilt was cool to the touch. Ashen pulled and the zabato slid easily from it's resting place.
"The Demon without it's tool, as if it has a use for either now." Ashen examined the blade. Rust free and spotless, like the day Saili had forged it. The metal shone, as if it's grave had leeched the countless blood it had spilled.
Ashen felt it's corruption. It's owner had become weak. The boy's grave lay next to Zabuza's, marked by a cross and a foxmask. He felt a thrill at his predecessors ability. As unstable as the demon was his pupil was tougher. Ashen wished he could have trained the boy, he would have kept such a useful tool alive.
"Hey, don't touch that!" A kid crossing the Great Naruto Bridge shouted at him. A genin, freshly graduated, his forehead protector proclaimed him. A smiled appeared on Ashen's face, the scar across his cheek twisted the expression beyond comphrension. This child was from his adopted home, Kirigakure.
"They don't call your village hidden in bloody mist anymore, but try and stop me and I'll give them a reason to." The boy ran faster.Ashen relized the boy didn't recongize him as a threat. I probably look like one of the commoners. A twinge of guilt ran through him, the memory of discarding his Konoha headband flashed in his mind. But the genin's attack sqaushed it.
Ashen caught the first two shiruken on the blade, and twisted his head to let the third whistle past his ear. The Genin leapt. Ashen slashed at the airborne shinobi, almost laughing at the simple mistake.
The blade slipped through the clone without incident, disentigrating into mist.
A water clone!
Ashen through himself to the left, the large blade got in his way and he fell. The genin's katana slashed through the air where he had been standing.
Discarding the overlarge blade, Ashen drew his scimitar. Lithe and long like it's wielder, the weapon flowed with twisting designs along the blade. The boy, now wary, approached him caitiously.
"I didn't think anyone here remembered the Mizu Bunshin. You've used your ace, go home now so I don't have to clean my blade again."
The Genin hesitated.
The shiruken covered the space between them in less than a second, slashing the back of the boy's hand. He grabbed it, blood seeping from between his fingers. He looked up in time to see Ashen's booted foot smashing into his face.
Ash watched the Genin tumble down the incline. The mist near the river quickly swallowed his body from view.
He knelt to retrive the zabato. The sword felt heavy and unwieldly, it would take a powerful shinobi to use it effectively for any period of time. Then again, was the Demon really human?
Takuzo had lost track of a nuke-nin.
He flipped through his bingo book, the heavily noted and worn pages creaking in protest as he searched. A few of the names and sketches had X's through them, others notes on where one was or had been reported.
"Where are you, Ashender?" The missing-nin had disappeared three years ago, and a spite of attacks and thefts had been reported since. The Kirigakure ninja used a specific weapon, a scimitar that left curious slash patterns. It made him simple to keep tabs on. Until recently he had been holding up the various islands of the Land of Wave. The path ended at a town called Tide Village.
There he had attacked a genin, and stolen a curious item from a shrine.
Could this be, is he finally going after the Misanagi? The thrill coursed in his veins, hidden behind his calm face.
The door slid open, a scroll falling onto his door mat. From the familiar crest stamped into the lettering, he knew it was a summons.
Looks like I'll find out soon, anyway.