Shujin had managed to discover a couple of contacts that could make good use of his skills in order to make more money than the village was immediately offering and yet he felt aggravated. Of course the village was bound to its fate if it didn't offer more than the criminals did. Even these low key criminals could offer a pretty penny in comparison to an entire villages ecosystem. Why in the world was everything taxed including his mission payments if the money wasn't going towards handling these kinds of situations? The truth was the village had spent a good couple years investing in him and now he was on his own finding employment opportunities with the exact people he was supposed to be fighting. It was a pity but he wasn't bound to them by something as simple as honor. The truth was the criminals would pay more and he didn't honestly mind who got hurt in the process so long as it wasn't him. Still he was feeling cautious about taking these missions. If he was caught in the act of any criminal activity or there was proof of his involvement he was likely going to have to fight his own way out. With his special order puppet no where near completion he wasn't sure just how strong he was supposed to be. A chikimatsu without a puppet was such a basic fighter it was almost painful to admit. A common street fighter could likely take him on in that moment if he wasn't confident in his own abilities.

So here he was. Shujin happened to have wandered off to the cemetery to be alone. No one wandered the barren landscape of scattered graves these days. Grave robbers were put to the blade and those who cared to mourn had done so when time allowed. Now a days it was a struggle for survival. No one had time to go and visit their dead. Of course Shujin had chosen a bench in a section of the graveyard where his birth clan had made its plot. It was fairly extensive and some even suggested their puppets had been buried with them. That certainly was tempting but again grave robbers were often put to the knife. Still he was in a pair of dark cargo pants tucked over his boot tops and tied tightly to his ankle with the shoe strings. An open Yellow shirt only had three buttons done up at the bottom keeping it mostly open at the chest with a tie hanging loosely around his neck. A blue coat hung baggy over his shoulders with the hood up hiding most of his hair except the grey bits hanging about his face. His cutting blue eyes looking to the graves around him as clouds rumbled overhead. It was early morning but growing ever closer to noon. A storm was brewing and bringing with it some much needed rain. Still his form wasn't unarmed. Six Senbon were strapped to his right calf while a kunai rested in his right hand.

Of course he was leaning back on the bench with a green apple in his left. Idly running the kunai along the apple and cutting off a piece nearly dripping with juices. He had a couple more apples just in case he decided to stick around for long. For now he just cut into the fist apple over and over. Each time raising the piece to his lips and sucking it in in order to chew it and swallow it. Munching away loudly as he looked out over the graves again.This time taking in the scenery and noting how some of the graves were far older near the back while the ones near the front were newer.

637

Graveyards really weren't her thing to begin with, she never liked to be at the graves of either of her parents and she sure as hell didn't like the idea of all those creepy crawlies in the dirt, but sunagakure was a sandy place and the chance of having vermin and insects in the sand was smaller. Sure centipedes, spiders and scorpions could be crawling out and about, but where less frightening than cockroaches, worms and other kinds of icky, shiny bugs.

However, in this case, with the low possibility of bugs, the sand's natural good preservation of bodies and thus the necessary components, Lamya did not hesitate to scour the place for some interesting finds. Alas it seemed she was down on her luck, with none of the graves displaying any names of any clans that could prove to be interesting for future study or to be used as testsubjects for transplants. In a way it made her think leaving Uraeus to do as he pleased in town was a bad idea, since he could've been useful to check what was actually in the graves rather than reading the tombstones and multitude of nameplates on wooden crosses.

As the kunoichi made her way back to the entrance of the graveyard, she got intrigued by the sight of a silent, hooded figure sitting at a bench and eating a green apple, an apple in the middle of the desert...a rare sight indeed.

Walking over to the stranger, she stood still in front of him, her black hair tied into a low hanging tail and adorned with a hairclip with two blue magetama's on it, her white, bony horns visible for all to see. Wearing just a blue shortsleeved vest, a black tubetop, a pair of spats and high heeled shinobi sandals, she didn't seem any different from a simple villager if it weren't for the two hip pouches and the obvious sheathes for small weaponry on the inside of her vest. "Watcha doing, kid?"

It was interesting to see what appeared to be either some lowlife street thug or possibly a low ranked shinobi to be eating something which was without a doubt a rare commodity in a place like Sunagakure and even more so, the kid's laid back attitude and demeanor were rather appealing. "Never seen anyone enjoy their lunch at a graveyard before."

404

His kunai would slice audibly into the skin of the apple as he continued to eat the cherished meal. Goat meat and milk or bread and cheese was usually enough but a fruit rare to the area was far more enticing. That aside he truly hated the masses. He could get this for himself because of the work he managed as a shinobi. So what if the majority just toiled away for a place to live. They just needed a more valuable skill set. Of course he wasn't able to do any real dangerous work for the time being but that would come with time. Instead he slipped another slice into his mouth and chewed. An interesting thought crossing his mind as he glanced at his kunai. None of his weapons had ever drawn blood. Sure he had high scores in the academy. Not the highest but up there. Yet so far he hadn't actually seen any combat. While interesting it was also slightly frustrating. Why train someone to be a weapon and then ask them to patrol and report or gather herbs? Was it so dangerous around the village? He almost scoffed as he swallowed. There wasn't anything dangerous for miles.

Still that thought only crossed his mind a moment as he glanced up from his kunai to note a woman walking towards him. He couldn't place how much he found that odd. Odd enough for someone to be wandering the graveyard but there was something else. If he was more perceptive he might have noted the fact that he hadn't heard her coming. Instead he glanced up her studying her. If not for the vest he might of thought her a woman out for a work out. Even in the heeled shoes. Perhaps she just wanted to show off but in a graveyard? That vest however turned the outfit a little. Something about it suggested more combatant and less housewife. Even with that long hair tied back into a tail. As his eyes hit her face however he raised an eye brow in surprise. Horns? Who the hell had horns in suna? Probably implants he considered. His mind returning to how it was just another person looking for cosmetic attention. If only he knew the truth he might have watched his tongue as she spoke. However he had come to his own conclusions. Still so sure there was little to nothing that could endanger him this close to the village.

"Thats kind of the point. I came here to get away from the hordes. To enjoy something I earned while they just continue to talk about whatever it is they want one day. Still it seem's I can't be too lucky. After all I just had to run into someone here."

The sarcasm in his voice was evident. He wasn't cussing her out or telling her she had to go. Yet it was heavily implied that she was bothering him. If she was some sort of shinobi like him that might have been more interesting. Instead he was willing to bet that vest was just turning the shinobi life into some sort of fashion. What a joke that would be. His kunai dug into the last bit of the first apple as it crunched and spat a little bit of juice out. His fingers shifting without caring for the resistance the skin provided as the sweet smell entered the air even more potently. A kind gentleman would of offered her a slice. Hell he had two more apples and it was unlikely he could eat it all. However generosity was not his thing. Instead he bit the last piece in half. Watching her with cold eyes that almost dared her to ask for some.

1271

"That's funny, kid. Sounding all like you DON'T want anything at all..." She showed him a rather carefree smile, stepping just a bit closer only to walk around the bench silently and practically as if she was going to ignore him completely, but when she stood nearly behind him, whe leaned against the bench's backrest and let out a sigh. "I hear what you want to say, but I know in the end, that it's a lie, even if you don't realize it yourself. Everyone wants something, they want it all: fame, fortune, power, anything to save them from the boring causality that has placed them where they are at this very point." She turned around, leaned a bit forwards so her face would be nearly next to his and with a sly and cold whisper, she made clear what she was doing. "So tell me, poor little shinobi, what has gotten you here? What has made you be so restrained and dismissive of others? What is it that you... WANT?"

With a chuckle, Lamya stepped away from the bench and started humming, looking at the sky above, the graveyard splayed out in the sand and the vultures roaming about. This place reaked of death and decay, yet the kid was here, so there was something obviously wrong, something which had forced the kid to be there. She could sum up a variety of reasons, but all of them sound boring in her mind. Perhaps the kid simply wasn't content with life itself, dulled or even numbed by the inherent peace that seemed to turn most nations into stagnant and decadent shells of what they once were. This wasn't how the world should be, for the peace between shinobi wasn't true peace for this world, though that was none of her concern, to her the peace was simply boring, making shinobi complacent and perhaps in time even obsolete.

"A kind kid would have offered me a slice of that apple, but your greed and desinterest has made sure you don't," She laughed and walked back to the front of the bench, leaning slightly forward and looking at him with a soft smile on her face. "You are difficult to decipher, but I don't mind that... so I'll tell you something very interesting...I'll tell you a simple statement, up to you to believe me or not: I can kill you, the people you hold dear, the people you serve, the people they serve, all the way up to the kazekage. To me, you are all but specs of dust in the desert."

With a smile, she made a twirl in the sand, letting out a few chuckles, before standing still, tilting her head a bit to the side and with a rather diabolical grin on her face, she looked at Shujin, almost as if she awaited some sort of reaction, be it disbelief or him waving away her earlier claim, anything was better than nothing after all and she truly hoped he'd actually get angry perhaps. Oh, it would've been fun to make such an unfeeling, cold kid tremble and cower in fear or perhaps even admiration. "So, I'll ask you...are you interested in making a deal with a monster?"

556

A funny kid eh? That sure was a funny statement. His blue eyes narrowed as he watched her. Hesitating only a moment as she began to circle him. His kunai was in his right hand and the apple core in his left. Not really effective weapons but he supposed he could make use of them if pressed. Still she would circle around behind him and lean on the bench he was on as he stared straight ahead. She would speak of how he was lying to himself or at least to others. If nothing else she was at least perceptive. He did want riches and power but he had kept those emotions to himself for a long time. Deciding that the village would pay him less mind if they didn't think he had such aspirations. Floating under the radar for his own good for the time being. Still he would hesitate with his hand gripping the kunai as she leaned down with her face close to his. Whispering in his ear something about little shinobi. Asking what had brought him here. Why he had come and what had made him so distant to the people in the village not so far away, He supposed a simple enough answer would do.

"People, Buildings, plant life. All have a worth. A tent is worth less than a house. A weed worth less than a medicinal herb. Everyone I have ever met in that village has been weeds and tents. Me? I won't be the same as them. I need to be a manor, a life altering herb. My worth will grow while they fade. Thats all there is to it."

With that she chuckled and set about looking around. Mostly up at the sky while she hummed. The more time he spent around her the more he felt out for anything hinting at training. She held herself to casually though. If nothing else he supposed she might just be a mad woman teasing him with the pestering. He doubted very much she was even a shinobi. Her entire attitude suggested a certain lack of personal training. As she mentioned how he might have offered her a slice of his apple if not for his greed he scoffed and tossed the core off to the side under a tree. It would either be eaten by animals or decay and fertilize. Not that it mattered to him. Still she made an interesting claim. Her words clear as day as to her power. Not even the Kazekage was more than a spec of dust to her? Now he had heard it all. He was certain that she was a mad woman. Attracted by his apples by whatever ward she had escaped from.

She would smile a coy smile that seemed to taunt him as she seemed to gauge his reaction to her words. With a sigh he glanced into her eyes. She was toying with him and offering nothing but words. He saw no hint so far of anything to do with a shinobi. No headband and no visible weapons. No chakra pressure that might come from one claiming to be a monster. Instead he noted the absence of all of it. This woman was taunting him for fun and likely had no way to back it up. So he took the gamble based on his own thoughts on the matter. idly his free left hand formed one hand sign by itself. A normally two handed sign formed with one hand. The sign of the dog. From between them a blue ball appeared and seemed to suddenly launch at fifteen meters a second at her feet. If it landed it would break apart and a barrier would form at fifteen meters per second around her. If it formed entirely the wind barrier would finish and show only her reflection as she stood in a three meter by three meter cube. He would audibly sigh from the other side. Standing up as he pocketed his kunai and collected his two apples. Speaking through the mirror barrier. Assuming it would hold her as he turned to walk away.

"Don't lump me in with your fantasies. I don't care who I make deals with. Monsters or devils. Its all the same to me. Maybe if you could actually prove you had something to offer it might have kept you out of that barrier. Don't worry though. Once I am far enough away it will crumble."

2023

"Oh, so you're simply arrogant, that's nice, I like that," She wasn't lying, after all arrogance was a part of her as well, though maybe to a lesser extend as in her position, her own arrogance could've simply been seen as fact and no longer a delusion of grandeur. In her eyes arrogance was a desire to control, to be better than everyone else and even if the person who had the arrogance to believe they were, was far from being the strongest, the very fact that they were arrogant showed they weren't afraid of going through great lengths to obtain greater power for themselves."Someone really thinks highly of himself here, no?"

Lamya noticed how he made a seal with just one hand, which indicated that his self-esteem wasn't entirely uncalled for, making handseals with just one hand was a rare skill that even most of the known kage in history didn't have, save for maybe those farthest in ancient history. However, rather than reacting, she simply stood there, smiling softly and tilting her head a bit to the side, anxious to see what it was this strange fellow was preparing. "Interesting..."

It didn't take long for the jutsu to maniphest itself, with a blue ball hurling towards the ground nearby, instantly forming some sort of barrier or cage. The kunoichi wasn't entirely sure what it would be, but she knew it did not matter, barrier or not, it wouldn't be enough to hold her. A prison didn't hold her when he had nearly no power, granted she had some outside help, but here and now, rejuvenated and at the peak of her power, perhaps even more powerful than she waswhen she was at the hight of her career in konoha, she saw no threat in just some random shinobi with a simple barrier attempting to keep her occupied.

"Fantasies, hmm?" She laughed from inside the barrier, looking at her own reflection in the now fully formed barrier, it was an interesting jutsu to say the least, but while looking at it, the amount of chakra used for it already made clear that it wasn't exactly something capable of withstanding much. "Let's just show you something fun."

Making the handseals rat, snake, dog and heaven, The kunoichi started to shimmer slightly, as if her chakra was starting to wake up and pour out of her, this was after all the jutsu she created to perfectly cast all her other medical jutsu without even needing to use any handseals or any preperation, the perfect tool to surprise and overwhelm an unsuspecting opponent. No wonder she called it 'Perfect Medic' in the first place.

With that being done, she chuckled softly, spreading out her arms with her palms upward, as if she was basking in this glorious moment itself. "I hope you've gotten far enough kid,
or you'll be rather groggy and most certainly feeling unwell after this." and with 'this' she meant the massive amount of chakra that suddenly burst out of her, dismantling the barrier in a mere instant and in a dome-like shape, the huge burst of chakra raced towards the kid at an almost blinding speed. "How I do love my Chakra distortion wave, it's probably the best thing to use against unruly children such as yourself."

Looking at the kid with her chin still turned upwards a diabolical grin appeared on her face and as she slowly lowered her arms, Lamya wondered if this was enough to show this strange fellow that she was not lying at all up to that point, but if necessary...she'd be most happy to show him some more. "Don't call someone else's claims fantasies without having the certainty of being stronger than them and because you said you didn't care about making a deal with monsters or devils, perhaps now it's the time to kneel on the ground and beg me to make a deal with you...or do you need a more up and close demonstration, it wouldn't be very pleasant if you were hit by that burst of chakra though, so do think your next move through a bit, won't you?"

718

Shujin had placed his hands in his pockets as he turned to walk away. A mild annoyance really. She hadn't even made a move to negate his abilities. As if hand signs meant nothing to her. His barrier placement had been so direct that he wondered if her madness has simply let it happen out of curiosity. Either way someone would eventually put her in a mental ward. It was hardly his issue. If anything he would sigh as he shoved the other two apples into his pockets. He needed a new place to eat in piece now. If nothing else she had at least managed to disturb his peace. Even now as his feet carrier her away from him step by precious step he could hear her still conversing. Commenting as if offended by his mention of her idle fantasies. About showing him something fun. He almost scoffed and forgot about caution. He could see through the barrier on his side but still it only grabbed his attention slightly. Just enough to glance over his shoulder with cold blue eyes. Perhaps she intended to beat uselessly against it with her bare hands? A barrier was a powerful jutsu though honestly these were altered to hide his attacks, Less to block anything,.

Her rapid series of hand signs were his only real warning. He hardly had enough time to turn when she had already finished, Those hand signs were not fake. She too was a shinobi. Even if her words about being basically a god among shinobi were fake anyone who could form jutsu could be a threat. However he knew the moment the jutsu pulsed out of her that it was beyond his level. He wasn't sure at what level it was at but it wasn't something he could counter. If anything the sheer power pulsing around her began to swirl the sand around the area. Shujin could feel fear catching in his throat. There was no one around to come to his rescue if this went poorly. No one who cared to save some random kid. All he could do was take this attack as best he could and hope the barrier in place absorbed enough of it. Enough that he could find the breath to get out of this in the end. However something was behind that fear. Excitement. Someone out there was beyond the mankind he had known so far. Someone power did exist.

His arms crossed in front of him but it hardly mattered. Sand rushed forward with a burst of chakra energy pushing him backwards, His feet sliding along the ground until his back slammed into a larger tomb stone. Then the sand fell and the chakra was gone. His body felt weak as he dropped to one knee. There was no pain, there never was. However his legs didn't seem to want to respond. His vision blurred and came back. Where she was standing his barrier fell to the ground like glass before fading to nothing. Shattered entirely. His connection to it was gone. She spoke from where she stood and he heard her voice as her arms lowered. Speaking of how he should not have doubted her. It was true he was wrong this time. He was just so used to people assuming they knew what power was because of their own twisted realities. She was not one of them as far as he could tell though. Still something in him forced him to place a hand on the tomb as she spoke of kneeling. Pulling himself up it to stand and use it for support. Speaking in response as he gathered is breath.

"Alright devil....you want a deal....thats fine. You obviously have power. Power I want. So here is an offer lady. You train me and help me grow....make me powerful to and that power...what my potential can become is there to support you. You make me what I dream to be....unstoppable, and I will go where you go. Village be damned..." .


2703

Dusting off her clothes after her chakra had whipped up the dust and dirt around her at the graveyard due to her pulse of chakra expanding to its outmost limits, Lamya smiled as she approached the rather insolent kid again. "Feeling a bit queasy are we?" She let out a chuckle as Shujin seemed to straighten himself out, obviously his arrogance seemed to prevent him from showing any weakness to anyone, even if it was all just a show, a façade of sorts, Lamya could still appreciate such effort and such demeanor in others, even if it didn't achieve anything in the end. "See, it's not so hard to admit your own weakness when you face something far beyond the scope of your own powers, isn't it?"

Noticing that despite his tough words and his rough exterior, the kid was far from being in optimal shape, the kunoichi simply closed the distance between them with a few quick steps, placing the index and middle finger of her left hand under his chin and lifting up his face a bit, looking him into the eyes and letting out a soft chuckle before removing her fingers again. "I see...someone who is bound by his own desire to reach the top, a very nice quality to have, but it is also the very thing you said you despised. You see, anyone wants to obtain power, for any reason and at any cost, yours will be steep however, for to become unstoppable, you must first know how to beat the immovable, which in this case would mean you'd have to transcend the limitations of your physical self."

Tapping with her right hand onto the bone, hornlike protrusions on her head, the Nukenin laughed and pointed at Shujin's head with her other hand. It should've been obvious that what she meant was that all of it came down to his own mind: how strong and how durable it was and how high his tolerance would be to pain, suffering and torture that far exceeded the limitations of just someone's corporeal form. "You will have your deal, I WILL make you more powerful than you could've ever imagined. Powerful enough to contend, no even beat any kage-level shinobi around. Though to show you truly are not against betraying your village for the sake of this endeavour...there are a few things I expect to see from you: blind loyalty, absolute obedience and lastly, but not least, I want you to be utterly ruthless and without remorse."

Grinning diabolically, the kunoichi let out a whistle and motioned Shujin to at least take a breather for his chakra to return, while she awaited the arrival of her large white pet snake; Uraeus, who slithered over the ground towards her and coiled himself up around her waste, looking at the kid with great interest. "First...we'll have to send you on a few missions, some under the radar assignments to test your skill and dedication. Do you think you'd be up for such a task?"

519

She would speak as if it was a simple matter of educating him in his own weakness. A part of him hated her for it. A part of him hated himself for it. Yes it was true he was weak. How he had ignored that for so long was beyond him. However this was a decent reality check. He hadn't had any real fight to deal with in some time. He had almost no combat skills without his puppet and even with that...he knew within himself that his puppet wouldn't be able to touch this woman. That technique she had just shattered his barrier with would do a very similar thing with his puppet. A smaller part of his had a debt to her now since she had proven his weakness to him and woke him up a little before he got himself hurt. His attention was on her now with that little inner sensation. Still he would push it down and refuse to openly admit it. Instead his defiant eyes glared even as his legs barely held him up. She was toying with him...he would not show himself a broken toy as long as he could manage. Besides it wasn't that technique hindering him anymore...it was simply her.

He would only watch as suddenly she was a step closer, than halfway to him and finally right in front of him. Her fingers tucked under his chin and forced him to look up into her own eyes. Dark pits without mercy or kindness. A being that transcended humanity for power. Still he stared back forcing himself to do so through gritted teeth. He was powerless here. Standing next to a grave of someone he did not know. Still she would release his chin and he would take a step back before forcing himself to straighten even more. Spit filling his mouth urging him to vomit. However he swallowed and took in a breath. Had he not been breathing? How out of his senses was she pushing him already? Still as she spoke he listened. His right hand settling above his weapons pouch. Far more for comfort than anything. Only then noticing he still held an apple in each hand. How foolish was he? He wouldn't be able to do anything with a kunai if he couldn't even remember he was still holding the apples. He was powerless against her. He hated it.

She had spoken of improving his body but seemed to care little for his other skill sets. His lips pursed as she brought up transcending his limits. To most that would seem like pain waiting to happen but he could not feel. To him it was only a matter of pushing his body till it stopped responding. Then doing it again. Still she touched her small horns and indicated his own head. He certainly hoped he wouldn't obtain an obvious deformity of his own but it wouldn't be the worst thing. Still she wanted to have him prove something. To have him show her his willingness to betray this very village. He would almost scoff at the idea. As if there was anything in this village he cared for. No connections to anyone or anything. Just an orphanage that had considered him a burden anyway and a clan that refused him. All barriers to his goals. Still he was already planning on a couple of crimes he had to commit for a local upstart entrepreneur. Not exactly murder and rage but still it was taking from the village, He would do both those and use this womans connections too. Still his eyes studied the snake wrapping around her before looking back into her eyes. With that he took a breath to steady himself. Shifting his hands to lightly toss both apples to her. Speaking finally in turn. His words filled with conviction and yet caution towards her.

"This village is a pile of shit my boots stuck in. You want proof I think as much? Fine. You can likely easily figure out where I live. Let me recover from this....and I will take your first task once you have it prepared. Madam devil."

3409

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, that is sadly not the right attitude to look at one's village, no matter how poorly it functions or how badly it represents itself," The woman laughed, not intimidatingly or even eerily, just a simple moment of amusement and slight disbelief after hearing the words spoken by the young man slumped on the bench before her. It was probably weird to hear those words coming from someone who had just earlier been prying the young man's ability to turn against and away from his own village, but all her performances, all her words and even her expressions had a purpose, a reason to be acted out, spoken or shown to others. "This village, no matter how bad you think it is, no matter how utterly useless you think it is, still harbors great power and a great wealth of talent and power, even in these days of its own languish and decay. You need to look at a village ass a stepping stone, a pawn towards a victory,
a village is something you can use as a cover, a challenge or simply as a place to let off steam an display your own power."

She bend through her knees and picked up something so microscopically small, one needed to be at least 'almost' as perceptive as her to see it from a distance, but lucky for Shujin, she held out her index finger closer to him, just so he could see it: a single grain of sillica or sand. Withe her other hand, she got herself a handfull and dropped the grain of sand within it, making it look like a miniature sandstorm by simply blowing at the sand as it started falling out of her hand. "You start as a single small grain of sand, but the more you add onto yourself,
the more power you gain. However, the more you add onto yourself, the more your identity will get consumed by your power, until your power becomes your very identity."

She looked at Shujin with a smile, again one that was surprisingly neutral, her golden, snakelike eyes looked straight into his and what they showed was a dullness, a nothingness or simply the absence of a soul and complete and utter lack of any morals. "Bide your time in this village, learn its strengths and weaknesses and simply abuse them, use them to your own ends and goals. You should be glad that it lacks any centralized power, allowing you to slip through all of its cracks. Learn to gain influence, gain power and gain respect and only then, when you have become a reliable piece of the village, you remove yourself from it and you'll be able to watch it crumble."

Sitting next to him on the bench and practically carefree yanking the apple out of his hand and taking a bite out of it, she suddenly crushed it in her hand. "Don't just leave the village you hate, crush it. I will make you stronger, take you with me when the time is right, but you need to grow first, you need to learn the ins and outs of this village, earn its trust and only then will you be able to truly savor the taste of complete extermination. So...you think you'd be up to become an important piece in my own plan in exchange for me granting you your wish?"

574

Shujin would listen as she scolded him for his point of view. Settling on the bench where they started casually. He knew he couldn't escape even with her seated. Something in his instincts told him as much. His blue eyes would study her with a cold look within them. There was nothing he could do but what she decided he could. He couldn't fight, he couldn't run, he was her servant now. Even had he his puppet it would do him no good. So he would remain still as she spoke of his village. It was true it had resources for those who could gather them. There were of course the free services available to all shinobi of the village. He could gain some moderate power from those. However it was difficult to fight when anyone knew your jutsu. When you used such common things. His equipment would get him fairly far but he needed the jutsu to back it up. Even for a chikimatsu he was skilled with only using puppetry with one hand. It would take time of course but the other route he was taking was superior. The criminal factions within the village had less issue sharing hidden jutsu and forbidden jutsu for a price. Jutsu not many knew of. If any at all. Of course it would be up to him to decipher which where real and which fake. It would be a pity for those who tried to trick him. They wouldn't survive long.

He would watch as she used sand as a demonstration and added to it. He had always sat alone in his room. Watching when the rains came as water dripped into a bucket, Collected from the leak in the ceiling to be drinking water later. Imagining his chakra pool growing with every drop until he was a monster no one could challenge. The sand held much the same lesson. His eyes would stare as it fell almost mesmerized. He wanted power and influence. Even as she spoke of his power becoming his identity a grin, thin but there would spread on his lips. A slight change from his cautious but angry persona up until then. She was finding his buttons and he rather enjoyed that. Still he wouldn't simply climb into her lap over some pretty words and a display of power. Instead he would simply take her words into consideration.

She would still pluck his apple from his hand only to take a single bite of it and crush it. His hand would twitch as would his eye in disapproval. That had been a costly luxury commodity. For just a second he considered stabbing her in the neck for just wasting it like that. He knew he couldn't even get close enough even at this range but oooh the temptation was there. Still she would inquire if he was willing to fit into her plans in return for power. He had to admit that it sure sounded as if her goals fit in with his own. Obviously he was being manipulated. So long as he kept the inevitable betrayal in mind he figured he would be fine. Gain power enough to survive her at least. Still he would brush off his hands and rise from the bench. His footing under him again as he spoke to her while looking to the village. "So long as it suits me yeah, Much like I figure you only intend to keep me around so long as it suits you. For now its all talk. I am off to go prove my lack of loyalty to the village. If thats alright with you."

4024

Seeing his reaction when she explained the difference and eventual overlap and switch between one's power and identity, the young man's reaction to the fact she crushed an apple, no doubt an expensive commodity in the middle of the desert and his obvious wavering between agitation and interest made Lamya wonder how far this one really was willing to go if it were for his own sake and not hers. It was already plainly obvious that he held little to no love or loyalty to his own village, already openly declaring that he despised it and that he'd apparently rather joined up with her.

"As long as you prove usefull and as long as I prove to be usefull to you, isn't that the basis of any cooperation," The cornerss of her lips curled upwards, after which the tip of her tongue slowly wetted her lips. Smart kid, he seemed to know exactly how to look at the offer she was making and how to view his own position in it. There was no doubt that this one would use his time on this wretched world rather wisely and he'd most likely be the person to look for the right time and perhaps even the right people to liberate himself from underneath her yoke. It was an amusing thought to see what would break first: his body or his spirit. "You know that there's going to be a chuunin exam soon, right?"

She had already heard the news about the new competition and there was absolutely no reason why she wouldn't go. After all, usually the ones who had lost were the perfect ones to be tempted with a promising (at least for her) deal. "Grow stronger, I'll help you with that and when the time comes...you're going to be my eyes and ears in this particular exam, a pawn to stir up some trouble."

Clapping her hands in amusement, she got up from the bench, let out a sigh of relief followed by a soft chuckle."You may do what you think is necessary to prove yourself, I will know what you're doing anyway...Shujin. Have fun being a bad boy.

She wouldn't stop him if he left, the deal had been made after all and now it was his turn to firstly prove his own value, his own desire and when he'd satisfy Lamya, he'd be having a training not many would be able to endure, but perhaps he might actually pull it off, emotionless and soulless as he seemed to be.

438/3209

Exit Thread

Shujin hadn't really considered the exams much until she brought it up. It wasn't something that held interest to him. Thug like one on one matches with limited mobility in a straight up combat match. For a puppet master such direct assaults were often to their disadvantage. Besides he fully intended to be chunnin before the exams even started. Two months down the road as they were. It was too long for him to simply wait. Sitting around gaining the limited power of a genin. As it stood his training under this woman would progress far faster than the pace of those who would wait for something so trivial. Instead his ice blue gaze shifted over her as he was excused with the mention of how he would be watched. That suited him fine. As soon as his equipment was his she would see what he was truly capable of. A puppeteer with a design in mind. A plan of action and the determination to fuel it. He would make a note even in her eyes beyond the limits of the sands. Beyond the limited potential his clan had achieved. Overlooked for the sand manipulators and the advanced element bloodlines like them. He would take them all down as they came at him.

That said even as she excused him she interested him. Not for her perverse way of talking or her actions but because of that dark power. He had never seen anything that could overwhelm the light in the world so obnoxiously. He wanted it even if it meant the torment she had in mind for him was nearly endless. He felt no physical pain but he doubted she meant that anyway. There would be trials of the mind in his future. He would turn and walk from her as he shoved his hands in his pockets. He knew where to start anyway. Where to begin making his connections. There were two jobs on the lower scale to gain him entry. It would have to be enough to sate his thirst for growth. Even if he dropped from exhaustion he would be up the next day. Even if he bled they would bleed more. When others let the lights go out he would be where the smoke rose and fighting that fire for his own power. Bones to dust, blood to ashes he would gain her strength even if his soul withered.

That said he hated the idea that he couldn't compete yet. It was only going to drive him harder. He needed to be rescued back there. Had she not been interested in him he wouldn't have been able to do a thing. He refused to be so helpless. It was maddening. His ego wounded in an instant like a gaping hole. Each step he took fueled his rage as he grit his teeth. He was going to show her. He was going to show them all. He wasn't the weakling they thought him to be. He was better than the rest. He would let that seethe within him. Festering as he moved forward. Always moving forward. His fingers twitching in his pockets in the practiced methods of the practitioners of puppeteering. He would be her puppet but only for one reason. She stood at the top and she could drag him there. No one was more suited. He would have his name known and when he was called upon those he hunted would know to fear him. His fingers stopped twitching a moment as he smiled. A thin line on his face as he lowered his darkened eyes. It was time for crime.

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Exit thread
Reaction time D -> D-3
Speed D -> D-3
Perception D - > D-3

10% wc increase clan drawback
Strength D -> D-2
Endurance E-1 - E-2

148 words left over