There was no time for regrets, and no time to feel bad for the things he had done. The man stood in the middle of a pool as water was poured over him from a bucket; cool and rejuvenating. A humanoid monkey made his way towards the scarred man, straight razor in his steady hand as he reached towards the bearded face, taking away a good amount of facial hair in his first skillful stroke while another used a brush with a long handle to wash the man’s body. It had been long since he had been treated to such luxury, in fact he didn’t think he ever had before, and he had no trouble admitting that he enjoyed it. The straight razor shave was the best he had ever had, and it was the first time he had been able to shave in a long time, potentially the first time he had been clean shaven since he was a teenager. His long hair was trimmed by another monkey and washed before being pulled back into a ponytail, tied with a strip of leather so that it would stay together.

“It might not be wise to pursue this current course of action, Lord Sarutobi.” The voice of his friend was always a welcome sound, even when offering criticism. He had come to respect the Monkey King Eizo’s words greatly, above any other in fact, but he couldn’t help but to disagree this time. “After the situation in the sands has a time to blow over would be a better idea...Time heals all wounds, but the one you left was a deep gauge upon the face of the earth.” The man said nothing, allowing the monkeys to work as they finished cleaning him and began to get him dry, bringing out a new set of clothing to make him look like a different person.

“The Chuunin Exams are the greatest chance for me to gauge the state of the world, Eizo.” His voice was calm and collected, moreso than he had sounded in a long time. Eizo was happy to see his friend in such high spirits, but it was unfortunate that those high spirits had come at such great cost. An entire village lay in ruin and countless men, women and children had died in his assault on his former master, and while the world was rid of a true villain, another may have been born that night. That, of course, remained to be seen. “Solstice will wish to speak to me I am sure, it has been long since she and I have met. Rippa as well, I take it. I wish to know if Konoha continues to struggle or if they thrive once more with the removal of Sasori’s taint. And this Hastur...I know nothing of him. I need to find out if he has turned Kumogakure from its path of sin and brought it back into a righteous light. Sanosuke was a taint on this land, but with his removal perhaps the lands may thrive once more…”

The outfit that had been brought for him was a simple one, one that would make him blend in with most crowds. A simple pair of Haka, black, and a short sleeved gi of natural linen, with a black undershirt and a red rope belt. He wore a pair of traditional sandals upon his feet and a do'un upon his head, keeping with a very traditional look. The removal of his trademark beard and the clothing would hopefully make him fairly unrecognizable, but he had no idea if it would work or not. “I know you think that you will be welcomed with opened arms for the removal of such a villain, but you must see that you currently also look like a bad person Mitsuo. Your actions were not those of a rational man, and you will likely be condemned by those you think will welcome you.”

“You worry too much Eizo. My path is a righteous one. The gods have chosen me to be their blade of justice, and through my divine purpose I am granted strength and confidence, and the people of the world will know that my right is divine and my quest and heart pure.” He walked over to the Monkey King, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Now take me to the hidden cloud...I have a date with destiny.” Eizo wove hand signs and placed his hand to the ground, reverse summoning himself and Mitsuo out of the Monkey Kingdom and into the middle of the village of Kumogakure. The two of them stood by a bench as several people walked past them, glancing in their direction before moving back along their way. It seemed possible that he had become less recognizable, but he knew that it never hurt to be cautions, as you never know who could recognize a man as famous as him. While he should have been fairly safe, he had one thing that would always set him apart from the rest, the beautiful eye of Synn Karisuma, also known as the stunning eye...It was something that any Karisuma would know, and the fact that he only held one made his identity fairly obvious...

(883)

As Mitsuo and Eizo spoke, a young girl made her way towards the two of them. He assumed she was about the age he was when he had been in the Chuunin Exams, though that was difficult to tell, especially with people never actually looking their ages. He wouldn’t have even looked at her had it not seemed like she was coming directly towards him, but that was absolutely the case and therefore he watched her cautiously. Was it possible that she knew who he was? He knew there was always that possibility and that it wasn’t necessarily the smartest decision for him to be here, but ultimately if she were here to arrest him and take him to Hastur, that would line up fairly well with his own plans. And it wasn’t like he had never been arrested in Kumo before. He still remembered the time they tried to hang him here...that didn’t quite end the way they had expected.

Something interesting happened as she walked closer, something that was impossible for him to miss. He had noticed that she was quite beautiful, even if she was likely quite a bit younger than him, but the thing that really interested him was her eyes. He saw them flash, the same way he had seen in the past. It was a flash that he was immune too these days, but at one point that flash had nearly led to his death. He wondered if she truly was there to kill him, as the eye of the Karisuma was a dangerous weapon and most members of that clan wanted him dead for what he had done to their clan in the past. Clearly they didn’t understand his motivations on that day, or the fact that he had likely saved their entire clan by wiping out the slaver elders of the clan. This girl likely wouldn’t have even been able to have been walking around freely today if it weren’t for Mitsuo, and it was quite likely that she didn’t know that. She moved up towards him and stood directly beside him, Mitsuo nodding politely and looking back towards the people in the streets as she spoke to him, at which point he really froze and something completely different ran through his head…

"All of you...Every last one of you have sold our family into slavery....as whores ! For this I seek justice...for...for my sister."

He was back inside of that compound, the beautiful young man standing before him as his body was frozen, watching as blood poured from the wounds inflicted by Mitsuo’s blade...no that was wrong...he went by Chita then. He could see the elders standing in front of them, making a hand sign as he put all of them into a mass genjutsu. The stun wore off as Mitsuo brought his blade back to bare, placing it to Synn’s throat. He told him that before he killed him, he would allow him to watch as Mitsuo carried out his plan, spewing gunpowder forth from his mouth and igniting it with his Ash Pile Burning jutsu, destroying the elders and the rest of the compound in the process. He then gave Synn a quick death and took the eyes from him, taking them with him as he traveled. He had always personally believed that by having Synn’s eye, he was allowing him to live on and see the world through him. It was one of the little things in life that helped him feel better about his past actions, and now this girl was telling him that the eye had belonged to her uncle. It was almost like being hit with Synn’s stunning eye once more as he gritted his teeth for a second, before reaching into his shirt and pulling out a cigarette, lighting it with the heat that radiated from his thumb, and inhaling deeply, keeping the smoke in his lungs and allowing it to cloud his head slightly before exhaling and speaking.

“That is an interesting claim, young Karisuma. If it is true though, why have you come here? Do you seek vengeance? Retribution? Justice perhaps? Do you believe me a sinner and wish to purge me from the earth? Synn Karisuma was a sinner, and it was my duty to remove him, and I always follow through with that duty...” His words were quiet and calm, not betraying the uncomfortable feeling that was building up inside of him. He took another drag of his cigarette, enjoying the slight release as he bit his lower lip and looked towards the girl once more. She looked a little bit like him, the red hair being the thing that really made her similar, though the eyes were completely wrong. Synn’s eyes were a pale green, like he assumed most Karisuma’s were, but hers were different. “If you come for justice you should take it quickly, I do not allow anyone to take more than one shot at me.”

1734

There were many ways to take being cornered and interrogated, the majority of them negative, though that wasn’t the type of man that Mitsuo Sarutobi was. He was a gracious man, and one who had no problem with indulging those who looked up to him from time to time. While he believed that hero worship was something that should be looked down upon, he also believed that he was a person who was worthy of at least reverence. It was unlikely that anyone in the shinobi world hadn’t heard the name Mitsuo Sarutobi at this point, but he did believe that those who hadn’t likely needed to be illuminated. Perhaps this was a way for that to happen, to bring his light to the dark corners of the shinobi world. He wondered if the sinners knew of this righteous man and his goal, would they repent and begin to walk a better path? It was unlikely, but any avenue of stamping out the darkness of the world was worthy of being explored. For that last point alone, Mitsuo would indulge this girl.

She went to hand him a worn book, one that would have no bearing on him and he would briefly place a hand on it before simply nodding and removing it, allowing her to take the book back. It appeared to have some sentimental value to her, and as it meant nothing to him, he would not tarnish whatever she felt of this book by burning it to cinders. In reality, all proof of Synn Karisuma’s existance should have been extinguished on the day that Mitsuo had brought divine retribution down upon his clan, but it seemed as though this simple thing, a weak conglomerate of pulped trees, leather, and the thoughts of a deranged man, had survived the wreckage. It was truly proof that a man’s words could live on forever, as trees and leather would burn, but those words influenced this child to seek out Mitsuo. Mitsuo had never felt the need to write his thoughts or feelings down on paper, he instead carved them into the flesh of sinners with blade and flame.

“All there is to know of Synn Karisuma is he was a radical idealist who instead of dealing with things properly, decided to allow darkness to corrupt his soul. He became one of the very sinners he was trying to purge, and that is something that could not be allowed. His ideal was pure, and for that reason, and that reason alone, I executed his last will and testament upon the Karisuma clan. There is no crime worse than the selling of children into any form of slavery or servitude, and because of that divine justice was passed on that day, and from the ashes of your clan elders, a new chapter began in the lives of the Karisuma clan...a chapter of freedom that began with the cleansing flame. While Synn may have been wrong in his execution, he was correct in his thought and therefore, in order to honour that thought, I carry him with me and allow him to see the world through me, so that one day when I bring about utopia, he will witness the world as it should be and as he wanted it.”

Eizo shook his head; Mitsuo was ranting and sounded like a madman as per usual. He had always been one to make a speech and anything he said was always said with a tremendous zeal and passion, much akin to a priest. He was a fanatic, and at some point those ramblings seemed to have become more and more out of control. He said nothing, however, as Mitsuo continued to speak. “To  your first point; I did not destroy your home. I executed my duty to this world and brought justice to the sinners of the sands, hiding in their putrid dens of hatred and darkness. I did not allow anything to stop me from my goal, and from making the world a better place. As for your second, I know not this man of whom you speak. It seems to me that any man who would discuss such things, however, should not be trusted and likely should have his tongue removed...” Loose lips had become a problem that the Sword Saint had to deal with much more often as of late, and it was something that he grew tired of. The world would know his name, and they knew the name of Aoi Bara, but he certainly wished they would stop screaming them from the heavens...

2504

{Exit thread}

Str A->A3