Earlier that day

The man sitting in the sofa, with a cup of tea and a handful of documents spread over the coffee table was obviously not pleased, having not a single ounce of happiness or joy in his face, his eyes staring coldly at the pages spread out in front of him.

"That's all of the reports, this is all we know about what happened there?" The man angrily asked the blonde woman standing at the other side of the coffee table, her sharp breathing showing that she wasn't very happy being the bearer of bad news, despite being one of his most favored Lieutenants, Myra still hated and feared the man sitting in front of her. "Ugh, where can I find myself some decent people these days. Some hired thugs from Takigakure really dont seem to be worth their money if all they can do is die the very instant they get caught or do something stupid."

The man rubbed his temples with his fingers, not being pleased with nor the results of his investigation and infiltration of the hidden village of waterfalls, nor with the fact he had yet again lost a great deal of ryo without getting sufficient intel in return.

"And this here, detailing that they were assaulted by two shinobi, of which one has slaughtered all of them," The man asked with quite a puzzled look on his face. "Surely an Iwa shinobi, we know that much, but that doesn't matter. I can't act against Akira's influence here or I'm certainly going to lose a lot of my work. It's the other person at the scene, who was he, why was he there and for what reason do those mercenaries even attack a shinobi in the first place, let alone two of them?"

Myra stood silent, though after clear thought, she cleared her throat and spoke up.

"Orochi-sama, if I may," She said with a slightly trembling voice, though getting Enaka's undivided attention in the process. "There is reason to believe that the second person at the scene was a Konoha shinobi going by the name Chi Rippa."

Enaka looked up after hearing the 'Chi' name, since that was the name of one of his associates. Chi Itami had made a deal with him not to long ago, making the death of his brother and then leader of the Angel part of the Chi clan, had to die a death resembling that of a long terminal illness in exchange for some scrolls containing the secrets on the Angel path's unique abilities to heal by using blood infused chakra.

"Who did you say?" The man would ask, trying to see if he had any recollection of ever hearing that name. Until it hit him that he had once arranged a training session with Chi Itami for his niece. The kid…that kid was the new head of the Angel path, the guy who actually stood in the way of Itami's ambitions.

"Chi Rippa, Orochi-sama, he's…" Before Myra could finish her sentence, she was abruptly cut off by another, strangely masked man in the room.

"Orochi-sama, There's a chakra sign that matches the one sensed at that massacre," The masked man spoke with monotone voice. "Most likely this is the person that was at the scene but has not participated in the slaughter, I believe this person is the one you are speaking off, this Chi Rippa."

"Hmm, it seems one of my jobs really is biting me in the back," Enaka sighed, drinking up his cup of Ceylon tea and standing up from the sofa. "I'll take a look at this person if you will. Make sure no Konoha shinobi get in our way. Should you deem anyone a threat to my…excursion, eliminate them and clean up all evidence of our involvement with that…incident of before."

Shopping district: present

Calmly, the man was walking the busy streets, with a smile on his face and squinting his eyes, politely greeting people that greeted him, showing not a single sign of the darkness in his soul. Only after a long walk, did he see a rather familiar face leaving a local drugstore with what seemed to be some kind of medical supplies.

He was amazed of how much this young man looked like his father, though less…drained of youth and in prime condition, though despite that all, there seemed a hint of hatred and…desillusion in the young man's face and movements, as if he was running from something.

Without causing a scene, Enaka slipped through the crowd, waiting for the opportune moment to come closer to the young man and give him a surprisingly warm greeting. "Now now, who would've thought I would see someone of the Chi clan in takigakure…is it not, mr Chi Rippa?"

Rippa had made his way back to the village itself from the shore. His long legs carrying him quickly but slow enough not to draw attention to his presence. He was easily moving as a genin's top speed. But he avoided revealing his true speed less some one could sense it and was waiting. At the same time he didn't want to be so slow that the commoners might notice him and say something to other people about it. Idle tongues could be the enemy. Not that he expected to come across any commoners out here anyway. He had after all taken a beaten down path away from any real roads or walkways. He knew already he was being hunted, but not stalked. The people hunting for him knew a generalized area to look nearly the size of half the country. To be stalked would imply the people after him were much closer. His blue eyes looked up to the sky as if measuring what time it was. It was troublesome but he would buy a watch when he got to the shopping district as well. But he was keeping track of time for a reason. It was the weekend and one of the most busy days at the market. During a festival it would obviously be the most crowded point around mid day. And that was when he intended to slip in.

The crowd would provide good cover to move around in. But he needed to blend. He was a rather well built individual but the things that really marked him out of a crowd was his white hair and red coat. So he had bundled his red coat and his camp all together and hid them under some brush in a hole in the ground by the beach. he had been careful to wash his boots off in a stream of any sand in case he was being tracked. The sand would show he was near a beach. Still he approached the village wearing black combat boots. Blue jeans and a black tank top. His hair was tied back in a bandanna so only his band were showing as white. He had left his Konoha head band stitched into his coat along with his gloves back there. Still his medical scroll was shoved into his left pocket. He didn't know why but he kept that with him at all times.

The first thing that Rippa hit up was the food court. His stomach was flat out rumbling for a good cooked meal. And not fire roasted either but actually cooked. So he ordered a plate of rice and some fish with Soy sauce before digging in. Even drinking some tea with it. Still it was short lived as he needed to be gone before the crowd thinned. So he quickly made his way along. Buying things to last him. Jerky and nuts and even canned foods along with a water filter and a few bottles of water. He was about ready to leave when he thought maybe this lands medical supplies might alter slightly from Konoha's. So he looked around before deeming that the crowd was still really thick. He quietly made his way to the medical sales people. Finding a drug store he caught himself looking over some interesting medical supplies. Still he was shocked when someone right next to him spoke. Freezing where he was at the sound. It was a fairly warm greeting but...who knew his name? He turned his head to see some one he didn't recognize at all. But they knew of him? But who? and how had he not sensed the man approaching? Even now he couldn't sense any malice of any sort from him. Had his crowd plan backfired and covered the mans approach? And just who was he? Rippa hesitated before speaking slowly.

"That is indeed my name...But how di..I apologize but it seems your name has evaded me...Have we met?"

671 words

When the young man seemed slightly confused as to who the man was and if they had ever meet before, Enaka gave a warm smile, which yet again showcased how incredibly good he was in masking his true face in front of other people. The only one who had penetrated that mask so far, was that darn Tsuchikage. Calm and without any killing intent, the man placed his hand upon Rippa's shoulder.

"I'm surprised that one of Konoha's best medics and greatest potentials in the field does not know about me," The man laughed, actually sounding quite pleasant without any abbrassiveness in his voice. "though, I've been out of the world of shinobis and medics for a long time now. I think you should know someone of my clan and family , Orochi Risu. Didn't your uncle once arrange a training session for you with her?"

Removing his hand from the young man's shoulder, Enaka took a silver pocketwatch from within his purple haori, looking at the time for a moment, before placing it back into the pocket. he gave another broad smile, looking at the Chi.

"If you wish, we could have a cup of tea together," The man smiled broadly, showing not a single sign of hospitality towards Rippa. "I would like to talk to a bright young man as yourself and also, as I am always interested in the new generation of medics and shinobis, I might be able to help you with whatever troubles you…perhaps the death of someone important or is it something else?"

A sudden smile appeared upon Enaka's face, however this smile was different, maybe even slightly menacing. Tilting his head a bit, it seemed as if he was meassuring up the young man.

"Oh right, you asked for my name," The man laughed with a sudden cold sound, no longer the warm tone of voice which he had used earlier. "I am Orochi Enaka. Now how about that cup of tea?"

Rippa listened as the man spoke. Conscious of his hand on his shoulder. Was he really just some one famous in the medical field? How did he know Rippa? And well enough to spot him while he was wearing some small amount of disguise no less. Certainly a person couldn't get so much from just a passing description. He had to have studied Rippa at some point. A medical professional that kept his eyes in the business of others? But who would that be? On top of that he knew about his match with Risu. Not that it was a hidden affair. But he was beginning to suspect the mans motives were less then kind. It was a trap. It had to be. From what he remembered the Orochi were less doctors and more assassins. At least his experience with them had been along the darker side of combat. He considered running a moment. But the part about such a crowd is once he had been located, he could be surrounded with out noticing. But how had they located him? And if he did try and escape how many people would get hurt in the process? He contemplated this while the man checked a pocket watch and commented about enjoying some tea.

Rippa was still contemplating his escape choices while trying to figure out how he had been found in the first place. His eyes searching the crowd for anyone else near them. But Enaka's introduction made his mouth feel dry as ashes. His eyes widened and trembled as he froze were he was standing. His body felt so heavy suddenly. The man he had been running from, the man he feared to face just yet was standing within arms reach of him. He was a fool to think of escaping in a crowd. Not this close to the man. His head slowly turned as blue eyes with the hope draining from them turned to look at Enaka. He wanted to run but his legs wouldn't move. He wanted to create a barrier between them but his chakra felt so helpless. He realized he was holding his breath as his head felt light headed. Letting out his breath felt like he might be killed before it could finish. Like it might be his last. But thankfully the breath of air in didn't end with him bleeding. Still he was watching the man something else was burning inside of him.

Why was he still alive? Was this man toying with him. The man that killed his father and he was still so helpless against him. He felt like a child and he hated it. He grit his teeth hard and his fingers dug into his palms. Drawing forth ever so little blood. But enough to slightly change his eyes color from blue. Not nearly enough to drive him into a rampage though. He was still no good against this man. If the man made him bleed which he no doubt could everyone anywhere near them was dead. And Rippa could not stand that on his conscious. Instead he spoke with a rattled voice. But still filled with anger.

"I some how feel thats less of an invitation then a demand. Very well. I shall go where you wish." At least until an opportunity to escape arose anyway.

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The man's eyes now looked directly into the Rippa's blue ones, the immeasurable emptiness becoming visible. His lips curled into a sinister grin, while tilting his head a bit. The young man looked so much like his father at his peak, a brimming example of what kind of power those members of the Chi clan had in their grasp. How fortunate that Enaka had found a dark soul among that clan in the form of Chi Itami, who had paid him in the form of the clan's secret scrolls regarding their blood controlling abilities.

memory:

Yes, Rippa looked a lot like his father, stunningly even. Ah well, the Chi blood really ran strong within the young one, that much was certain. In a fact, Enaka would've loved to experiment on Rippa, but for now, that was nothing more than just a sidenote in his grand plan, his research to the creation of the ultimate dojutsu and his manipulation of everything in the Shinobi world.

"Well then," Enaka chuckled calmly, but with a rather chilling tone of voice. "Let us move towards that teashop over there."

The man pointed at a small building accros the street, a place called the Black Snake's Teahouse. It wasn't related to Enaka or his organizations at all, but he came accross it a few days earlier and they had made his tea perfectly, some of those little things he still could enjoy. Stretching out his arm, he motioned Rippa to move ahead of him, while he would follow suite.

"Oh right," The snake whispered just loud enough for the young man to hear him, a deep and dark sounding his escaping his lips. "Don't even think about trying anything funny. Making you dissapear in the middle of a crowd and without a thrace is perhaps an easier task than dealing with your father was, so be a good boy and do as I say."

Rippa wanted to fight. He could feel his anger deep within him pushing to get out. Like a beast slowly waking from a deep slumber. He could feel it stir from its long sleep and gaze through him. A low growl nearly filling his mind. It was so omnipresent within him that he felt it might overwhelm him if awoken further. But he knew this beast. It was the curse of his clan and why most never go near battle. The blood within them always on the verge of taking over and lashing out. He remembered how he had been taken over by it before. The dogs that had been torn apart into meat chunks and that man with his lower body on one side of the cabin and his upper body pinned to the door. He had done those things as a genin. But now he was a shinobi of the spec jounin rank. And not one the rank was given too lightly. If he lost to the beast now the damage would be catastrophic to the market. A lot of innocent people would lose their lives. It was his bleeding that set it off. But something else was preventing him letting go and letting the blood take over.

He could almost see it. He could see him attempting to use chakra and then his death. Not like a premonition ability but instinct. He began to have a thin and cold bead of sweat run down his forehead. His instincts told him that the man before him was ready to kill him where he stood. Rippa was still so weak at close range encounters. And what was more he had no weapons with him. He wanted to finish his sword training before this. Damn it all but he wanted to be face to face with the man on his terms. He felt like he was shaking but it wasn't true. His body was refusing to move. His instincts told him any sudden movements meant danger. An image flashed across his imagination of Enaka ripping out his heart with his bare hand and walking away before Rippa even dropped. He wasn't even close to being on that mans level. His mouth felt dry and his throat felt like he had swallowed sand. The only reason he didn't make a mad break for it was he was angry enough not to lose himself entirely.

Still when Enaka indicated the tea shop and that Rippa should walk in front he felt his feet moving. His mind was screaming to do something but his will power was being crushed before this man. But how? He didn't sense any jutsu. Or see any chance of some form of manipulation. The man was outwardly non threatening. But he could feel it still. A tower of malice directed at him. No escape in sight. And even if he tried why would he think Enaka was alone? The man was an ex captain of the Anbu and reveled as a genius in his field. A tactician ever more so then a warrior. Chances were there was back up watching him. Suddenly he could feel them. His paranoia putting eyes watching him from every angle. How? How was he supposed to escape. He took in a deep breath when suddenly he realized he was sitting at a counter in the tea shop as he had been directed. Had he been so distracted with fear he had missed walking here entirely? He was in over his head here. But still, He wanted to know something. Something important to him. He opened his mouth and in a quiet voice while staring at the counter forcing himself to be brave enough he spoke.

"Itami didn't hire you to heal my father....did he?"

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The look on the young man's face, the surging chakra within him, Enaka felt it all. It felt like he was witnessing a raging inferno within this youngster. The man knew what it was, he had done enough research to that subject thanks to Itami's scrolls. A grin appeared on Enaka's face, eyes which used to be hollow and void of any emotion, suddenly showed a twinkle of interest, something which made him look even more dangerous than his cold stare. However, the young man seemed to understand that even that rage would be quelled by the all-devouring snake standing before him and had obviously chosen the path to preserve his life rather than seeing it snuffed out in an instant. After having order two cups of white ceylon tea in the teahouse, Enaka's smile returned, his eyes yet again squinting and making him look an incredibly friendly man to all the other people in the small shop.

"Itami didn't hire you to heal my father....did he?"

That one question, was exactly the one Enaka was waiting for when he would meet this young lad. He knew the day would come when the kid of back then would grow up and find out everything, but why should that stand in Enaka's way and why would Enaka stand in the way of this young man's quest for vengeance? In the end, it would even prove to be quite useful to him if this kid would drown himself into the darkness.

"I would rather say he did hire me to 'heal' your father," Enaka sighed, blowing softly at his cup of tea, before taking a small sip of it, showing his delight when the liquid passed through his throat. "I've seen your father more than once. Every year when the clanheads of Konoha had their sitdown, he was present, a shining beacon of strength and decisiveness."

Placing his hand in his Haori, Enaka pulled out a syringe, placing it in the middle of the table and right in front of Rippa. Inside the container, there was a amber colored substance, which seemed much like oil.

"Your father was a thorn in the side of a man who just wanted power," Enaka sighed, pushing the syringe next to Rippa's cup of tea. "For that, I was hired to remove him from this world without any evidence. This little syringe you see here is the exact same drug I have used on your father. If you really seek vengeance, why not make it a fitting one?"

Rippa froze as Enaka pulled out a syringe. The amber colored oils within it seemed to be almost haunting. The man spoke highly of his father but the poison used to kill him was now in the mans hand. What was he after? Poetic murder? Did he intend to make Rippa's death look like an accident too? Just another individual taken by illness? Rippa suddenly felt like a child. All alone with no friends or allies. But back then he could seek his father for guidance. But now...now he was most certainly alone in all of this. He wanted to believe the girl Risu he had once broken bread with would of been on his side, but truth was she had shown very little remorse when she wounded him. He knew very little of Chisaki but he doubted she cared of him one way or another. One mission together with minimal communications didn't promise much. Especially since he had opted not to join her medical division. His anger had blinded him to much for that. Aside from that he had kept Sousetsu in the dark about what was really after him. He had been afraid that Sousetsu might opt to handle it before he was ready. And he didn't have any proof anyway. The only other person was that crazed murderer Yosuke but the man seemed to want Rippa to kill him. Or catch him, He was very unclear on that point.

Still he watched as the syringe was placed on the table and gently scooted next to him. The man wasn't using it on him? Was this some trick? Was this truly evidence against the crime of murdering his father? Or was this an attempt to frame Rippa for it? He hesitated as he looked at the amber liquid. It's oily substance as sick in appearance as Rippa felt in his stomach. If he took that what would happen? Would Enaka use it against him? He doubted Enaka respected his father enough to turn over a new leaf. A shaking hand slowly reached out inching ever closer towards it. His answers he was seeking all provided to him. He felt sweat travel down the side of his face as he stared at it. His hand just inches from it when it froze. What if it was a trap? What if there was a seal on the underside of it? Or Enaka just wanted Rippa in possession of it. If he wasn't betraying Itami then framing Rippa for the murder of his father would certainly remove him as the next in line for the head of the family. Blue eyes lifted to lock onto Itami. He couldn't tell. He couldn't read the man. What was he supposed to do? Breathing was...wait breathing? He let out a breath and felt his chest relax as if it had been about to burst. He had been holding his breath in fear of the moment. Now he felt slightly more relaxed so he quietly placed his hand on his tea and lifted it to take a drink. Trying desperately to mask his anxiety and get rid of that dry mouth feeling he had. He swallowed the warm liquid before he spoke. His voice cold but careful.

"Why give this to me? What do you get out of it? Am I to turn a blind eye to your involvement when I rip off my uncles head? Or perhaps you think I will use this poison of yours on him...implicating that it was me who killed my father and clearing you of involvement? How can I forget the hand that took my fathers life even if it was at the behest of another?"

2496

The young man seemed scared, which somehow managed to amuse the Ouroboros Regent. A smile, a real smile of Enaka cracked through his usual facade. Though a smile from this man was rare, it was also something no one wanted to behold twice in their lifetime, for the combination of cold eyes and a rather sadistic glee didn't go well together. Recomposing himself, turning his expression back to a more suitable, neutral one, Enaka took another sip from his tea, while looking at Rippa and contemplating on what would be going through the young man's mind.

A swift look into the young man's eyes showed the doubt, the fear and the despair inside the Chi's soul, a torment, a torrent of thoughts trying to sway the young man into one or another direction. While it was obvious that Rippa did not know what to think or say about the gesture made by Enaka, the man only smiled softly, taking a sip from his cup of tea, before finally hearing words come out of the young man's mouth, a question and a warning, words filled with doubt and in a way a full blown threat.

"Oh no no, my boy," Enaka said, deciding that enlightening the young man would not be in vain. Instilling fear through power was maybe an easy way to deter this boy from taking any action, but words, yes, words were sharper and hidden threats and warnings were in some cases far more effective than those that had been made very obvious. "I would not dare to implicate any sort of thing nor frame someone for what I would call one of my more finer works. It would simply hurt my own pride."

Slowly, the Orochi lord savored the last sip of his tea, before continuing his explanation on the matter to the young man.

"I am simply giving you the truth, the weapon that has brought your dear father to his demise," The straight-faced man spoke calmly, though his tone grew colder and slightly more menacing. "What you do with this, is up to you. You could use it on your uncle on yourself or on me. You could throw away this gift and foolishly decide to take your uncle head on, but be ware boy. You have no idea what and who you are going up against. Take down your uncle and you might live to see another day, but turn that anger towards me and I will devour you whole, leaving not a single trace of your entire existence. I give you the means to fullfill your revenge, to exact your vengeance upon those responsible for your father's death. However, if you would decide to take me on…you better not try to do it yourself, for nor you, nor any of your friends or family would be sufficient to take me on."

A rumbling sound could be heard when Enaka started laughing loudly, a menacing and frantic cackling which could even scare the dead. A menacing black monstrous aura of visible chakra gleamed around the Orochi lord's physical body, while the entire teahouse seemed to tremble and the air began to feel pressured, even tasting rather foul. This presence was so much more than a mere jounin, Rippa was probably now one of the few to have seen and felt a glimpse of Enaka's true power, one that even surpassed that of the current Hokage Sousetsu Senju.

"I will leave you now to your own devices," Enaka suddenly said, while sighing deeply, removing all proof of the presence he had earlier show to Rippa. Standing up and walking passed the young man, he leaned in close from behind, his lips close to the young man's ear. "You will swath a bloody path across Konoha, but nor your vengeance, nor your rage will even scratch the surface of the power within my grasp. So do not tempt me and simply accept this gift, you have earned it…"

Rippa could feel the mans presence in full as it seemed to fill the room like a dark sea flooding everything. For a moment Rippa thought it would consume him. Eat at him like a carnivorous monster. Like a snake swallowing him whole. But first it wanted to crush him. Break him down and make him to broken to fight back before slowly killing him within the belly of the beast. He could picture the giant snake like chakra coiling around the room. The head of it blocking his vision as it slithered to look at him eye to eye. He wanted to run but it would snatch him up if her tried, he was sure of that. So his mind told him to fight. The poison so close to his hand. He just needed to stab the snake with it over and over again. But what good would it do? What could a simple weapon do against such pure chakra? He trembled as he considered it. If only he had more time to prepare. If only he had run before this snake had manifested....But when had it? It struck him then that the snake was just part of his minds eye. His mind rationalizing the pure wave of chakra into form. But there was something else. He could feel it. It wasn't immeasurable. Certainly it was potent but his own chakra, that bloody monster within him stirred. It wasn't a straight up match yet but it was ever growing. For a moment the beast within him looked upon the snake before him and it growled.

Still even with Rippa able to tell it was not limitless he doubted he stood any chance. He was careful to keep his hand away from the poison as Enaka crossed around the table near him. The laughter having died out and that dark snake like chakra gone again. Still his own chakra was not so easily sated. It shifted within him wanting to take apart this individual that its host was shaken by. Its territorial nature causing his eyes to shift slightly between blue and white. After all he had not yet healed the finger indents in his palms and it was bleeding ever so slightly. He felt his breath against his ear and leaned away from it looking away. But the words were clear. He was confident enough to leave Rippa there. With the tool that he used to kill his father no less. He thought himself above anyone else. Invincible no matter what Rippa did. And at the moment he was right. Rippa would die in vain if he tried to act now. But now he had time. He sat quietly and obediently not daring to even look at Enaka.

But there was something Enaka had done that Rippa was now determined to learn. Enaka controlled his presence at will. If Rippa could harness that ability then his bukijutsu would be all that much stronger. If he could completely hide his presence then his plans to use his weapons without ever being seen might make him strong enough. But what of the bloody trail he was to leave? Would his uncle throw away so many lives just to take him down? Either way he would take more time to train. To learn how to be the perfect swordsman and attack in such a way that even Enaka would rethink his position on him. But not now...He was not ready just yet and if he tried he would not be given the opportunity to grow. Of this he was sure.

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Bukijutsu training C-B 1241 from other thread + 2759 from this thread =
C-B 4000/4000 Bukijutsu

339 remaining