The capital of the newborn nation was making headways, with various workers from all walks of life trying to construct the dream of their unknown benefactor with precision and the quality demanded from them. However, the capital was not the only thing being built, for underneath the noses of all those of the former sunagakure or rather the former land of wind, something was being built under the already completed structure of what is supposed to be the capital's science and research division.

Her time as an ANBU captain and her knowledge of the secrets of Konoha had gotten Lamya the idea to use the blueprints of the land of fire's largest Black ANBU hideout as an example for her own more obscure research and development. It was an underground place were the less savory and less morally correct research would be conducted and where all those opposing her would no doubt find a fitting and brutal end.

For now though, the only thing finished were the first level and the entrance underneath the medical facility, still work was progressing quite nicely and simply by having a few officials run through the operations on a daily basis kept her on top of everything.

The debacle in Kumogakure no Sato was still fresh in her mind, small groups of bandits and dissidents had to be dealt with and the knowledge that the other nations and hidden villages with their limited information would be rather interested in quickly taking over her fledgling nation meant that she was constantly occupied with various dealings and missions. Yet even so, Lamya did not despair, her own forces were mobile and eager enough to make sure her project worked, especially since they had a lot of their own future riding on it.

Her Kishin forces were numerous and as long as she had them, she was fairly certain she could take on almost any threat, but the clock was ticking and time wasn't on her side.

There were rumors about her uncle having built up his own forces again and making moves again, the looming threat of a worldwide war with Hastur's insatiable ambitions and the ever present threat of hunters coming for her head made matters worse. However, she did not yet feel the breath of fear and death down her neck, in fact she felt motivated by the adversity and the threat on her life and that of her own ambition. It was a feeling long lost, which had now returned in full. The feeling of being alive and the feeling of finally being able to prove her superiority.

Wearing her signature black helmet with the golden rebreather, her black armor, black catsuit and high heeled, knee-high boots, the rogue shinobi was inspecting the progress of her capital's foundation. The workforce had finally started working on the imperial palace itself, so she could soon relocate from the musty old halls of the wooden feudal palace to this new stronghold which would stand as a symbol of her power. The creation of the massive glass yamata no Orochi was well underway as well, acting as a symbol of the nation's liberation and its fear.

Surrounded by a dozen of the Kishin shinobi, dressed in black attire with a Ryujin symbol on their back, veiled and armed they stood as her guards, her enforcers, her shadow. She stood on a small wooden platform, two government officials discussing the progress with her, while a single member of the Kishin forces arrived and relayed to her that the "student" she had been waiting for, had been spotted near the borders of the desert. "Bring her to me...Should she ask any confirmation, tell her that as long as the crow can't fly, the snake devours them."

636

She had barely arrived in the slums of Sunagakure when she could feel a piercing gaze into her direction. Shifting her head, she caught the last flicker of a black figure before she was left on her own again. Shifting out of her black bird form and stretching lightly to get familiar with her normal form again after the long trek, Laïs jumped down the half-constructed building and casually walked through the streets, eyes observing the works that took place. Men ran on and off, workers sweating as they worked hard to rebuild and plaster the broken walls. Where some streets would remain preserved, other areas were being bulldozed with the help of doton and fuuton chakra to make room for new projects or simply to be reorganised into a more efficient division of the city. Whatever the blueprint was they followed, designed by an unknown architect somewhere, the ruins seemed far more lively than Laïs would have expected from a country rumoured to be utterly destroyed.

As she continued her way through the busy crowd, not truly knowing where to go or what to look for, the streets gradually shifted from a worse-than-bad quality of life into something that could qualify as middle class worthy. Though construction here was just as busy as the slums, the builders took far more time bringing the architectural plans to life, keeping a sharp eye on the details and making sure everything went according to plan. From the way things were shaping up, Laïs could see herself find her own spot in here somewhere, claiming a house all for her self which would serve as her own little lair before setting out to go train or pick up whatever tasks and missions the Snake Sage could come up with to keep her occupied.

Her trail of thoughts was disturbed when she saw two black figures appear with a flicker within her vision. Able to perceive them properly this time, she noticed they were both dressed in a black attire, eyes fixated on her. She could sense their chakra was far more present than that of the workers out there, and decided to remain vigilant as she could not say what the two of them wanted.

"Yes...?", she asked them right out, somewhat annoyed at their sudden intrusion.
"You are expected. Come."
"Who is expecting me, then?"
"As long as the crows can't fly, the snake devours them"

Upon hearing that phrase, Laïs narrowed her eyes for a moment. Not too many knew that she was a crow sage, and even fewer would relate the crow with the Snake Sage she had met. She guessed the phrase could only have been given out by one person only, but that didn't quite tell her who these two people were.

"And what are you in the eyes of the snake?"
"We are Ryujin. Nothing matters more than to abide by her word."

Looking into the direction to where the Snake's chakra mark seemed to pull her, Laïs eventually nodded at the two figures and followed them along the road towards the capital. Towards where the Snake Sage waited.

---

Arriving near the wooden platform where Lamya and her entourage seemed to be in a discussion with government officials, Laïs looked up at the unfamiliar figure her eyes did not recognise as the Snake Sage. The catsuit, the rebreather and the black armour made her look like a completely different person compared to the woman Laïs had met in Kumogakure. So different it was, Laïs would almost doubt she was actually standing in front of the Living Chakra Nightmare she had experienced were it not for the unmistakable chakra signature that had left its mark in her own aura.

"Mistress.", she greeted Lamya. "You look every bit the dark warlord I envisioned you to be."

Daunting, intimidating, white skin and golden eyes lurking under the black shadows that covered her. She looked far more like a dark lord of sorts now than she had done in Kumogakure. And much like she had done with her chakra before, she did it now again with her clothes. A superior being standing in front of the young woman dressed in nothing more but a simple black dress and ditto boots, her amethyst eyes about the only bit of colour in the shadow she was herself.

"Are things progressing as you wish?"

---

744

Noticing that her men had brought the "student" to her as she had requested, the woman dressed completely in black, with her face covered by the shiny black and gold helmet simply made a gesture to the officials who had been busy laying out the plans to the next phase of the construction of her capital. It didn't take much time or experience to know the meaning of her gesture, as they made a respectful nod with their heads and went on their way to continue overseeing the construction. The four remaining members of her personal guard remained, holding their heads high and their hands upon their swords while awaiting further instruction. However, Lamya practically paid no attention to them, simply letting out a soft chuckle and turning her attention to her student. "Before we even start talking about my own problems, how was your trip?" The rogue shinobi's voice, though distorted by the helmet she wore, did not sound malicious or even dangerous at that moment, making it obvious that she was actually quite pleased to see Laïs. "I reckon travelling from Kumo or wherever you managed to come from, must've been rather ardeous with this nation still tending to its dissidents and all the roaming groups of bandits which plague the borders."

Awaiting the child's response, the rogue shinobi calmly turned to the four members of her personal detail again and waved at them, motioning them to do as they please for the time being. Despite a moment of obvious displeasement with this action, certainly after their mistress had nearly made a fatal error during the kumo incident, they eventually departed in the most shinobi-like way: by simply vanishing within the blink of an eye.

"Right, so...where were we?" Pressing the side of her helmet, the entire contraption made a hissing sound, after which the rogue shinobi pulled it off of her head and hung it backwards onto her back, letting it hand between her shoulders. Blinking with her eyes a bit, she conveyed that she wasn't used to the harsh sunlight of the former Land of Wind after having worn her helmet for more than an hour and she obviously would need a few minutes to fully adjust herself again to the bright light. "So far everything's going within our preset planning, the timetable's still good and everything's progressing on schedule, despite some rare logistical issues popping up now and then."

Motioning the Jugo clanmember to walk with her, Lamya moved off of the platform and started walking towards the multitude of construction sites that seemed to crowd the whole place, stretching as far as the eye could see, with the most prominent one being the site which obviously was rebuilding most of sunagakure's walls and hewing out parts of the sandstone mountains to incorporate the even larger features of this new "rumoured" capital. "Maybe you might be interested in seeing how our... research and development facilities are progressing?"

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"Before we even start talking about my own problems, how was your trip?"

Laïs let out a slow sigh, as if the question suddenly made her aware of the strain she felt in her shoulders and body from the long flight she had undertaken. It had mostly been strenuous on a physical level, as she had suffered little opposition from brigands during her flight.

"Travel went rather well, if not somewhat on the boring side what with all the barren lands between there and here. Iwagakure was not a bad place to be, though I seem to have met only but law-abiding shinobi over there, and the missions were not exactly thrilling either."

Even if she understood the whole shinobi hierarchy, she couldn't help but wonder who invented the need for D rank missions and obliged a young woman as her to follow such dull regulations just for a couple of coins and a bit of experience. But that was then, not here. Laïs was fairly certain she would only be given fun, interesting and most dreadful experiences here.

With her answer given, Lamya briefed her of the situation which seemed to go fairly well compared to what she had been expecting. Perhaps it was the drive to get rid of the ruins and bury a dark past under the rise of a new nation that pushed the men to cause the least troubles, perhaps it was their fear to ire the Snake Sage should they make too many mistakes, but to hear constructions went well and neatly on schedule was as amazing as it felt good.

As the two walked through off the platform and through the streets filled with countless ongoing projects, Laïs allowed her eyes to take a look at the surroundings and how they were once more of a better upstanding quality than the slums or even the mid-section. With it, her mind changed, preferring now to live in these quarters rather than the mid-quarters, even though her small amount of ryo would hardly allow her to afford the prices that would probably end up being requested.

"Maybe you might be interested in seeing how our... research and development facilities are progressing?"

The question had caught the young woman off-guard, not so much due to distraction but rather because she didn't expect her mentor to be working on a project such as this. What exactly did a being of her power wish to discover still? Did she not have everything, or could she not take anything she wanted? The suggestion of research and development seemed so... off to her.

"I didn't expect a research centre", she stated with genuine surprise.

From her point of view, Lamya was already everything a mere mortal could not be. Even for herself, who could perhaps hold a flicker of similarity considering she was a crow sage, she could not say just yet that she would be able to achieve what this woman had achieved. Perhaps one day she'd hold the same power, but her reputation..? Her fearless revelation at the Exhibition Match? Or even conquer and claim an entire Village? No, that didn't seem to be likely. Yet even now Lamya seemed to reach for something beyond that what felt already as unreachable to Laïs.

"What exactly could you be searching for that you don't already have? You have power beyond comprehension, people following your very word, your own country to rule..."

---

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Total: 1330

"That's good to hear, Laïs," The woman gave a soft, surprisingly gentle smile towards the Jugo child. If anything it seemed that this rogue shinobi who had now been branded the World's Most Wanted, did seem reliefed that her student arrived without any unnecessary bloodshed or undesirable disaster along her travels. Now that she had found someone who was promising enough in both physical and mental fortitude, the rogue shinobi wasn't willing to just have her slip through her fingers in such an unsavory manner. "Plenty of stuff to do here...in due time we could make sure you'd have yourself some proper fun."

However brief her moment of normalcy, of humble humanity and of menial mercy, the very moment the Jugo child made a mention about the fact that she found it slightly strange that Lamya would decide to build a research and development facility, despite the fact that she should've been among the upper echelons of the world's foremost leading powers, the ruler of the fledgling Ryujin no Teikoku suddenly went silent, clenching her left hand into a fist in such a forceful manner that her nails managed to penetrate her skin ever so slightly, revealing that despite her power and greatness, Lamya was still in essence a human, a human bleeding red like any other...for now. "Laïs, we are but a fledgling nation, born out of the ashes of a failed land which held no prominent resources nor prominent power," With the corners of her lips curling upwards into a cruel and malicious grin, baring her sharp, pearly white teeth into the open, while her eyes seemed to shimmer like bright gold, the woman who stood at the top of the nation's new pecking order raised her arms, the palms of her hands facing upwards. "We are but a fledgling nation, surrounded by enemies, surrounded by animals and insects that would dare to overrun us if we did not have one thing which would set us apart. We will conduct research, we will experiment, we will grow and learn...and we will have it ALL!!"

Suddenly clenching both hands into fists again, the rogue shinobi let out a rather wicked sounding laughter. "No matter how morally ambiguous and wrong, no matter how vile and how disturbed, we will research everything, we will discover and learn everything," Turning her attention to Laïs again, the woman's madly twisted face suddenly went black again, before showing that friendly smile which she had shown before. "We will gain knowledge and what I ask, is more powerful than knowledge?"

"Now, let's have a looksy at some other stuff...I am certain you may enjoy the statue which has been erected near the spot where the imperial palace is being built," In passing the research facility, Lamya ignored what a whole bunch of workers were bringing into the building under the careful eye of the Ryujin. carts covered with tarp rolled into the large building's back entrance and the faint cry of children could be heard. "I formally welcome you Laïs, to the Dragon Empire, for we are the kin which devours demons and defies the gods."

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After her question, Lamya became serious. The look upon her face was not that of person with mundane dreams like herself, but that of an empress envisioning a future that no one else could perceive. The determination to make that future a reality was just as scary as the power the Snake Sage held, and drove the young woman to drop her playful trickster nature if only for a brief moment. As Lamya explained the insight that Laïs seemed to lack, not seeing the construction which was going according to plan, but the dangers which surrounded the new rising glory. What was a certitude to Lamya was still but a question to the young woman - was it truly this dangerous to rebuild a nation?

With the shared determination, the darker side of the plan drifted on top. The nation was not only a claim to power, but the staging grounds of a nightmare which would engulf the whole world. An extension of Lamya's dreadful aura, as it were. Just remembering the experience was enough to have a shiver crawl over the girl's back, but when the aftermath prodded at her mind - all the opposition, all the 'heroes' which would ultimately rise to stop her - she could already see the thrill of battle and hear her Jugo blood roar in delight as it would rip through the masses. Feeling thick liquid run out of her nose, Laïs rubbed it away and spotted its red colour. Once again, the grand scheme that would inevitably lead to battle and warfare had excited the woman so much her nose would start to bleed.

"What is more powerful than knowledge?"

As she pressed a hand kerchief against her nose, Laïs thought about the whole idea. Certainly knowledge was a good thing to have as it gave an edge, but was it truly the most powerful thing? One could know how to fight, but did that make them a powerful warrior? Laïs didn't believe so. There was potential to power in knowledge, options. But raw power in itself was not everything either. Knowledge could refine power to a more devastating state. Though rhetoric in nature, the question seemed to difficult to be answered by her mind just yet.

The two of them moved away from the research facility, passing by carts covered with tarp that were being pushed forward. Hearing the faint sound of crying kids from under it, Laïs briefly turned her head, wondering for a moment if she had heard right. Kids? The idea of having kids being taught since they were smile was, of course, the best course of action if one wanted a well-trained soldier, but why they were put in carts eluded her, just as much as to why they were being brought to the research facility rather than trained. Laïs could only wonder what the Sage had in mind for these kids.

"I formally welcome you Laïs, to the Dragon Empire, for we are the kin which devours demons and defies the gods."

'Devour demons'. Unknown to Laïs now, those words would be the dark seed that would eventually bloom to fruition in her future. They would be the blueprint of her personal conquest towards power. But here, they sounded like a warm welcome and a dark embrace into the fold. An invitation to help build up a dark, twisted realm which would hold the cacophony of terrorised screams, a never-ending nightmare shadowing even when awake. Her lips curled up into a wry smile of being 'welcomed home'.

"Thank you, mistress. What you have on the menu sounds tasty, but I suspect this is only an appetiser before the real dish is being served?"

---

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Total: 1957

The rogue shinobi seemed almost extolled as she explained her reasoning, her passion and her desire. However, she seemed even more commanding in her silence than with her voice being used. Though years of being an ANBU would take its toll on anyone, she endured them, survived them and surpassed the suffering and hardships of those long gone days. She was no longer a protector for someone's shadow, no longer a denizen of the dark and obscure corners of the shinobi world. She was now a true shadow by herself, growing in size with every step she took forward, consuming the other shadows around her, dragging them into her own. "A single nation designed for the sole purpose of reigning supreme on any and all fields," The woman spoke silent, yet stern as she brought the young Laïs towards a massive, fifty meters high statue made entirely out of glass; which evidently seemed to be the most used resource for the foundation of her new, awe inspiring city. The statue itself seemed terrifying, a perfect replica of her own eight branches technique made entirely out of what many believe to be a fragile and hopeless material when it comes to withstanding the test of time. Yet still Lamya desired it to be erected out of glass, for it stood symbol of a connection between the old and the new or more presicely: how the new had stomped out the old and had plucked it out by the root to be tossed by the wayside. "Names of the innocent casualties and those who bravely died in honourable battle are to be inscribed upon this monument. A testament to show that I bear no ill will to the people of this nation in general and that only those who ran like cowards, who rather than stand for what they believed in quickly made way to other nations without a care for their old, natural home, will be seen as vermin, as traitors of the lowest and most despicable kind."

It was a dual nature though, Lamya knew that she still needed the people and using sentiment and patriottism, all the while revealing the truth of the former government through propaganda and funding, would be the most benificial way to achieve the current status quo she so enjoyed. "It is true, I am one of those who got rid of the old government and it is true that I have blood on my hands," The snake sage smiled at Laïs again, yet this time, her lips curled into a rather devious smile, showing that in her time as a shinobi, she had gotten a valuable lesson: thàt no matter how powerful one had become, without politics, they'd never be more powerful than any other menial jounin. "This is why knowledge is the most powerful. Knowledge opens the door to understanding, understanding grants insight, insight allows for manipulation and manipulation creates power. Knowledge is the root of all power and though the path may diverge in many ways, it will always have knowledge at its roots. From the shinobi who knows what jutsu to have, to the merchant who has insight on the market to the king who plays with his soldiers as if they were mere toys."

Passing the statue, the woman laughed rather crudely, while looking at the progress on what would without a doubt be the most magnificent and awe inspiring building in the entirity of the entire nation: the imperial palace."To me all is just an apetizer, for my hunger can only be satiated by power, thus I crave knowledge, understanding the machinations of the world and its people is simply one of many paths to take towards the ultimate goal: insurmountable, undeniable, ABSOLUTE power."

631/2311

The fifty meters tall glass statue was... impressive. Raising her eyes up, almost towards the sky, just to see the top of the eight-headed hydra, the sun's light played heavy within the glass construct. Its awe could blind onlookers, its purity could inspire people. The light caught within could serve as beacon miles away for those who had yet to reach its magnificence, and as a display of hope for those nearby. As Lamya revealed it to be a monument to the fallen who had stood proudly against her, Laïs could see the devouring aspect reflected in the eight maws for those who had tuck their tail between their legs and had left Sunagakure to die on its own.

Answering her unspoken question, Lamya explained why exactly knowledge was so crucial to her. How it could lead to insight, manipulation and power. She nodded softly, understanding the lesson, at least, but was still not quite sure how one could obtain all the information in the existence. Even in the course of a lifetime, many failed to achieve the perfection they strove for, so Laïs wondered how the Snake Sage would achieve her ambitions.

"With such ambitions... Do you aim to discover immortality?"

Immortality, the philosopher's stone, the fountain of youth... The concepts were always the same. People tried to cheat death itself and grow older than naturally possible. Surpass the limits of Nature, become true gods. Laïs didn't believe such a thing was possible, but then again, she would never have considered Lamya's power level a possibility either. Or that one could eradicate and rebuild an entire nation like she did. Perhaps in the darkness of disbelieve, Laïs believed that Lamya would probably be able to figure out such a thing as immortality - or something close to it.

"A dragon's power, its immortality, its hoarded treasures. If anyone can achieve the impossible, it must be you."

---

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Total: 2283

Ofcourse the fifty meters tall statue was impressive, but it was but the beginning of what Lamya envisioned her entire capital to be and though there was lots of work finally coming around, so far the only building near completion was the research facility which she had shown to the Jugo clanmember already, the rest of the area was dominated by workers laying foundations, clearing space and doing their best to keep things at a steady pace. With the ruins of Sunagakure not too far away from the new capital's location, this wasn't only an impressive, but also a dangerous undertaking, especially since many nations would be sending forces to the former hidden village; either to send aid or to lay claim upon the ruins.

The rogue shinobi could not allow this however and has been using and reforming the remnants of her uncle's old Black ANBU to act as her security detail and with the added benefit of some former suna shinobi and reformed bandits, she had managed to at the very least create a small force that would be useful in times like these. However, there was still so much more to be done and the student by her side was very important to the future of her designs and desires.

"Immortality is but a part of everything," The shinobi laughed and patted Laïs on the back. "Immortality is... boring though, but extending one's life without too much repercussions is already an interesting thing and as luck may have it, I already have that power. Given that I am capable of restoring my body into peak condition...I don't think immortality itself is that far away from my grasp."

However, for now the chit chat had to be dealt with, Laïs hadn't come to suna just to have a tour and some fun. No, Lamya was going to administer a few more... crucial tasks and tests to fully understand the youg woman's potential and more importantly her will. After all, the missing nin could not see any use in people whi were either too weakwilled or just simply lacking too much in the potential to be a proper shinobi. "I think we'll head back to the research facility for now," Making a swift heelturn, the woman started to walk back towards the rather dull and unimpressive gray building which they had passed before. She was quite sure that the Jugo was...at the very least curious about the carts that had been driven into the building. "We've got a few...tests to do."

With that being said, she'd continue walking, nevertheless prepared to answer any and all questions Laïs might've had. After all, it was better to ask questions before doing any actual test, because there would be no room for error at all. Not to mention the fact that without prior knowledge, most usually failed at any given test to begin with. "You know, should there be anything on your mind...it's best to speak up now."

515/2826

Immortality was boring. Laïs blinked when Lamya uttered those words. How could eternal life be boring when there was a whole nation to lead? The girl could think of thousands of things to do, gripped in the spur of youth as she was with the whole world and her whole future still in front of her. Lamya didn't look that old either, being rather close in age to her parents and she knew well that her parents would have embraced the idea of immortality when they could. Researching for an eternity to come, new people that would come and go in the village. People to test out the afflictions on, places to try out a pandemic or two... Power eternal as they grew to figure out how far one could reach exactly.

As they returned to the research facility, it dawned Laïs that Lamya and her father seemed to share quite a few traits, but where her father was limited by his human nature, Lamya had surpassed that in power, ability and ambition by far. Her father was limited to their house and a little hidden cave to conduct his research, but the Snake Sage had build an entire complex that would have had her father's jaw drop in amazement. Laïs could only wonder what, where and how Lamya achieved the resources to get this done.

But the most eerie thing to realise was that this felt much like a repetition of the past. She had once been a little girl running dark errands at the beck and call of her parents, figuring out who and what she was while her parent's taught her little by little the Ars Goetia. Was this not the same? Lamya had replaced her parents as the power that would send the crows out as the dark messenger or the black valkyrie on the battleground, and was teaching her things about herself she had yet to fully understand. As that realisation dawned upon her, a distant raven cawed thrice as if mocking her for her late vision, causing the hairs on her arms to raise.

"We've got a few...tests to do. You know, should there be anything on your mind...it's best to speak up now."

There was one thing she wanted to mention even though it was out of context before she would ask what the tests were about. Just to see the Sage's reaction, perhaps, as she doubted it would do much for the Sage that had already mastered her form.

"There is, actually. A little secret to share with you, unrelated to the tests. Back in Iwagakure, the ravens called. They lead the way to a most strange world where they taught me their sage form. Weirder even is that I succeeded the Corvus Sage Form over there, but can't reproduce it here any longer despite feeling the flow of nature chakra so much easier than before. Why is that exactly?"

Whatever the answer would be, Laïs would nod slowly, allowing the information to seep into her mind. Answers would be remembered, solutions would be tried out when possible. Then, she would actually return to the trials at hand.

"What tests are we talking about? Do I need to take on clones again?", she asked with a twinkle in her eyes. It wasn't that she truly believed there would be fighting in a research facility, but she couldn't help herself wishing to feel the thrill of battle once more after such a long boring stay in Iwagakure and the flight from there to the ruins. She really needed to stretch her legs again. Even if Lamya would not send in her clones, she had a hunch that whatever the tests would be, she would not have to remain idle.

---

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Total: 2924

"There is, actually. A little secret to share with you, unrelated to the tests. Back in Iwagakure, the ravens called. They lead the way to a most strange world where they taught me their sage form. Weirder even is that I succeeded the Corvus Sage Form over there, but can't reproduce it here any longer despite feeling the flow of nature chakra so much easier than before. Why is that exactly?"

Lamya's eyes widened, the tip of her tongue sticking out of her mouth and swiftly going across her lips. She was both elated and interested, since this in fact seemed to mean that the animals of a certain group have sought out contact with the Jugo child, just like how the snakes of the Ryuchi caves had sought out contact with her when she herself had saved Uraeus' life in the forests of Konohagakure no sato. It was at the very least wonderful news for the child to have been granted such an honor in the first place, though Lamya had no doubt about the fact that her mere presence as one of the world's foremost sages had something to do with it all well, no matter if this was due to her fame or perhaps her infamy, leading the various factions of the animal world to vy for their own champions to face off against the other factions' champions.

"To be chosen as a vessel for the power of nature, certainly when one such as yourself already possesses such an intricate bond with nature chakra is to say the least, a very great improvement for your future," The rogue shinobi wasn't lying, it took her quite some time to master the senjutsu powers that she had garnered and even more to activate the senjutsu cells she herself already possessed, but her own were dormant, while those of Laïs were active, making this into quite an interesting experiment. "I would say it to be in your best interest to study as much as you can on the sages of old and on senjutsu. To unlock your full potential in this regard, you'll need to find a center of balance for yourself, which I reckon with your unstable Jugo power would make it a worthwhile challenge for yourself, call it a valuable lesson, if you will."

Chuckling slightly when Laïs seemed to have the idea that she'd be facing some clones again, Lamya lead her to the inside of the unfinished research facility, showing the large hall and the many small offices that seemed to have been created. "Everything here and upstairs will become an open space of science and medicine, a place where everyone would be allowed to seek for more...base knowledge, but downstairs, where they are continuing the build of this nation's backbone...true knowledge will be found, no matter the cost, no matter the price or morals involved."

Passive through a double door with a few of those same Ryujin at each side, it opened up into a downward tunnel were carts with rock, sand and dirt went up and out of the facility, while bags of cement, supplies and ofcourse "cheap" labor were brought in. "Due to the nature of this place, we tend to keep things under the wraps. Now, for your test...it may sound rather menial, but I want you to clear the lowest level of red scorpions. We've managed to hit up a small underground cave with scorpions... just get rid of those, but I do warn you, they're bigger than an average dog."

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Was it strange for the girl to feel a little disappointed to realise that she could not show off the Corvus Form she had learned over here? Even if the whole sage form had done little more for her than drastically improving upon her affinity with nature chakra, she had somewhat wished to reveal how it looked like, curious if the Snake Sage would recognise it or acknowledge it as a sage form on itself. Instead, she had nothing to show for and yet, Lamya proceeded to nudge her to improve further still. Reading upon books of old lore... Laïs was not truly intrigued by sitting still and wasting her day in reading a book, but she had understood by now that picking up on 'knowledge' was simply the way of the Snake Sage before her. Still, to see Lamya this enthusiastic, she couldn't help but smile with a hint of pride herself.

The two then moved to the entrance of a downward tunnel. Guarded by two Ryujin, it was clear that this was not to be accessed by just everyone. Lamya revealed it would serve a darker purpose preferably not brought to light, a place where research for 'true knowledge' would be conducted, whatever that was. When she first revealed the crow sage would have to deal with scorpions, she was little impressed, but the moment the size of said scorpions was revealed, Laïs frowned in disbelieve. Was she truly sending her into a pit of red scorpions the size of dogs?

Laïs couldn't deny she had wished for something less boring, but dealing with scorpions of such a size was like signing a death warrant. One sting would be enough to fell a human, and she doubted that knowing her sage form made her any less humane than anyone else. And yet... Even if she was afraid of this test, she knew of a dread far more powerful. An experience that haunted her even now, and which could easily topple anything when it came to fear. The very empress standing at her side held a power that would easily make the terror of the scorpions like a joke.

Nodding in self-encouragement, Laïs formed the half-Demon hand seal and allowed her own chakra to mingle with the nature chakra of the surroundings to strengthen her body. She couldn't say if it would suffice in case she was stung, but she preferred not to take any risks. As the technique settled, she called upon her Jugo blood to invoke the Beast within and alter her human shape into that of a more feral being. As her skin tone darkened to a slate grey, her nails became sharp talons and from her elbows bone protruded to form sharp claws akin to those of the prehistoric pterodactyls. Her skin, already dark by the Jugo's natural Cursed Seal, grew entirely black in some places as tiny feathers far more resilient than normal covered her. Considering herself ready, any notion of fear was already being suppressed by the feral madness seething below the surface of her amethyst eyes.

"Harken the flap of my wings...", she whispered before turning to her Mistress with a bright smile of a maddened child about to embrace her own death with the greatest of pleasures. Then, she ran into the tunnel following it all the way down towards the scorpion nest. At first, dim light revealed the beginning of new constructions and the collection of all the required materials for said construction. Carts with rock, sand and dirt were meant to be sent up and out of the facility, while bags of cement, supplies and labouring forces were descended.

Running through the lower construction works, Laïs ignored what was going on here, eyes blazing feverishly. Blood pumping, adrenaline coursing, madness tethering when she arrived at the nest and heard the gentle skittering of scorpion legs positioning themselves for the obvious intrusion that had approached, Laïs channelled her dark intentions in the form of the necrotic energies she had become familiar with. Stepping forward, cautiously yet with full anticipation of the dangers ahead, her sage senses had already registered the handful of dog-scorpids in the vicinity. Their chakra registered as slightly higher than most animals, perhaps as a byproduct of the dark intent being hidden here. Laïs couldn't say for sure, and truthfully, neither did she care at this point.

The first scorpion shot forward, legs skittering across the stone floor, pincers at the ready. One near, it tried to pinch the girl in front of him, agitated by her tainted presence, but only found it vigorously pounded on by an axe kick before feeling its flanks hit hard by a sweeping move right after. More resilient than Laïs would have credited it for, the scorpion was merely kicked to the side, it's carapace showing but a few cracks. A little dazed at the counter assault, it seemed to abide its time while the second scorpion ran in. Mercilessly, it aimed its sting at her legs, striking several times without success before she could grab it solidly and cut it off with the claws. As the second one screeched out in agony, the first scorpion was starting to feel the necrotic taint the carrion crow had left behind with her strikes. At that moment, the war was on. The first scorpion returned to the battlefield, with the others following suit.

As pincers and stings aimed to kill her, Laïs understood there would be no chance for her to get through this unscathed. Quickly starting a little break dance, legs sweeping all around her in her dance, not only did it seem to confuse the scorpions as to where they had to sting, but as she executed her Crow Storm combo, she ended up hitting every of the giant scorpions in time. A hit there, a scratch there, a kick wherever... even if it wouldn't kill the chitinous creatures, combined with the growing taint on impact they would ultimately perish as the necrotic energies would make their way to the more vital parts of their bodies. Dancing in the middle of Death Incarnate, thrilled to such a point the Jugo was almost screaming in pleasure as the Beast was gaining a greater hold upon her sane mind, rationale faltered and failed to uphold the caution she had tried to exercise this whole time. The first of stings was inevitable, striking her limb without fail, and as scorpions fell one by one, even a second sting executed by the last scorpion in its death throes did not fail to hit the dancing danger.

Falling to her knees for a brief second as the poison was spreading fast, pearls of perspiration broke out and the muscles in her limb started to burn. Still under the sway of the Jugo blood, she laughed maniacally at the pain she felt eating up her leg, the little of rationale deciding she had to return to the only one that might know the solution to such venom. As she walked back to Lamya, the Beast within was slowly failing to hold its grip, in its own way being defeated by the poison that was close to numbing her left leg entirely. As she felt the pain crawl into her chest, the first of tears of agony glistened in the corners of her eyes as she hopped on one leg forward, grabbing to whatever to maintain her balance in the increasing dizziness the venom was starting to cause.

By the time she had returned to Lamya, her vision was but a blur. Her legs had become useless, her arms were losing their strength and her heart was beating with such power she thought it would explode within her chest. Her face pallid, lips turning blue, all she uttered with the greatest of efforts was, "Scurp'ns ar' dead... Mistress.", before rolling onto her back, breathing heavily in effort to fight the scorpion venom with the 'demonic resilience' she harboured.

---

1350
Total: 4274

Chakra 105/170, Rage 3/10:

It was intriguing to see Laïs do her dance of death among the scorpions. No matter how big theyr were, no matter how intimidating and poisonous they were though, these scorpions, even in large groups such as this one shouldn't have been too much of an issue for any strong genin, let alone one who could call upon the grace and strength of nature's own power. So rather than using this as a way to test the Jugo child's strength, Lamya sought to test Laïs' problem solving skills, tactics and general intelligence. It was after all not just strength or skill which would lead to the snake sage's blessing, but more importantly intelligence itself which would grant the Jugo child the honor of being tutored by Lamya herself. It was a given that she'd desire someone smart, for if her student would grow powerful, the intelligent ones could become rivals and rivalry simply boosted one's own skills and power just as well.

"Excellent work, Laïs," The rogue shinobi softly clapped her hands, looking at the carcasses breaking down and letting out a foul odor when the internal fluid of the eight legged beasts started to evaporate due to the heat. Making a simple gesture with her hand, a few children started to clean up the mess, removing the scorpions' remains and cleaning up the fluids and other unwanted liquids in the area. "I reckon a bunch of mindless beasts should not be too much of a hassle, though of course it is your job to train yourself and to prevent yourself from devolving into a mindless beast as well. It is after all the so called curse of your blood that you are extremely well attuned with nature, but sadly also highly volatile when using this power granted to you by your blood and lineage."

Picking upa pincer that had been snapped off of its limb, Lamya held it in front of Laïs to serve as a symbolical equivalent to the girl herself. "Due to your jugo blood, you on the peak of your power, are like this pincer: strong and powerful, but without aim or direction," Walking a bit further, she momentarily stopped two children from dragging away a scorpion's remains, bending through her knees, Lamya grabbed one of the frontal limbs and showed that pincer to Laïs. "Both the sagemode and myself however are meant to act as the limb that guides, steers and directs your power...to prevent it from selfharm and wanton destruction." With that being said, she handed over the pincer to one of the children and gave the Jugo child a pat on the back. Pointing out that with this minor inconvenience dealt with, they could have a more hands on approach in terms of techniques and possible theories regarding the Jugo child's senjutsu powers.

"I must admit that you did handle the situation quite well, no remorse, no guilt and no hesitation, very good...very good indeed," As they reached the upper floor, Lamya simply made a gesture that they'd be going to the roof of the building, since there was ample space and a decent floor for them there. After all, space was necessary when teaching techniques and techniques were the bedrock of any teacher student relationship. "Though it might sound rather repetitive, but do ask anything you have on your mind, I am more than willing to answer or explain anything you are troubled with. After all, it is my job to teach and nurture you, not to keep you in the dark."

606/4036

Delirious by the venom, Laïs could see three black blots above her take on the form of circling crows. Like vultures waiting, they circled and circled, their caws echoing in her mind. The burning pain of the venom had almost transcended into pure bliss, the whole world around her seemingly vanishing as the circling crows took up all her attention. Somewhere in that delirious state she heard Lamya's words echo about. Her praise. Her attunement to the natural chakras. Her volatile power. Thrice the words rang true, just like there were three crows.

"I'm not dead yet.", she muttered between her teeth, shooing the circling birds away with her mind. They only laughed, before everything went black as something dangled in front of her. A pincer? She blinked, her mind seemingly returning to reality with a snap. Standing up despite her dizziness and exhaustion, she looked at the pincer that Lamya was holding before her. Her words sounded clear, sharp, unlike a moment ago. She was like the pincers. Powerful but without aim. Laïs tilted her head somewhat, feeling a little offended at the symbolism. She felt like her aim had been quite spot on this entire time, even if the same could be said from the scorpion's stings.

Still feeling her body burn, it almost felt like the poison was losing its battle within her body. The slated grey of skin was clearing, and her claws and feathers retracted, growing back to the normal nails she had. Yet, a certain black taint remained within her veins. She recognised the black markings from her technique, but the black veins were something new. She was certain she could feel her own chakra course through her veins with the same familiarity as the necrotic taint she usually channelled in battle. Was she... afflicting herself to get rid of the poison? It certainly seemed like it even though it didn't make sense.

As Lamya continued her explanation on how Sage mode and even herself would be 'the limbs' that directed her, she had to admit she ended up confused. While it was true making use of her blood generally ended up making her lose most if not all of her reasoning, she didn't quite understand why she was to be considered a 'power without aim'. Was wanton destruction, pure obliterating the enemy not a good thing, then? As she eyed Lamya with a blank stare, the answer came to her. No, it was not. Lamya was all about knowledge. If she destroyed everything, she would not be able to learn from it. Was that the reason?

"Thanks", she said, still weak from the poison affecting her system. "Do you mean to say I should keep things alive so you can gain knowledge from it?"

With her skin having returned to its normal colour, it was visible how white her skin was from illness and how her cheeks burned a feverish red. Her body was still sweating as it attempted to get rid of the venom, and her veins were growing increasingly black as her own necrotic chakra was spreading through her veins.

"Could you teach me how to deal with venoms properly?", she asked, showing the black tendrils beneath her arm. "The scorpions got me, and currently I believe my necrotic chakra is trying to destroy it but... I'm no doctor, Mistress. Is that how it should go? "

Having asked the question, she wasn't even sure if Lamya was the right person to ask this. After all, she had healed Laïs with snakes before while those animals were not exactly known for their healing properties. Or... Maybe that made her just the right person for the question?

---

624
Total: 4898

Death is but the next step of the chain of evolution, a treasure trove of information and knowledge, thus not exactly something Lamya would actively prevent in other people or other creatures. To her it was an interesting occurance, but just as well something to conquer, for though she did not dislike examining the dead, dissecting them and experimenting with it, she did not want to die herself. Her own death would mean loss of information, loss of knowledge and would show her the futality of her own desire, something no sane nor insane person would ever desire, but if she could remove the factor of death from her own life and only focus on the benefits of dying and reviving, she'd essentially be continuously evolving.

"Keeping things alive isn't the issue nor is it the problem," The woman placed her hands upon the Jugo child's shoulders and smiled rather deviously. "It's that with wanton destruction comes the loss of possible information and possible knowledge. That's why I'll direct your power, steer your rage and when necessary... control it. Taking a life is never the problem, it's wasting it...that is essentially the issue here."

With the Snake Sage's hands suddenly envelopped in a bright green aura of medically charged chakra, the woman started to pour her energy into Laïs, yet if this would prove to still be insuficient to at the very least comfort the child and numb out the pain, she'd still be able to rely on her more trusted Monitor Snake jutsu which the Jugo child had experienced once before.

"Hmm...you asked me before wether or not I'd have you fight with clones of mine again..." The rogue shinobi smiled at Laïs and nodded slightly. "If you truly want me to gauge your progress a bit more, I could still agree to such a course of action...even though I propose you first take a breather and at the very least wait for yourself to get  the venom of those scorpions out of your system, don't you agree?"

355/4391

So she'd really have to keep the rage in check? How dull. Limiting her own passion and power sounded like taking a step backwards rather than forward even if she could understand the desire to preserve knowledge so as to be able to extract it. As she thought about Lamya's words on that matter, the crow sage sat up and watched how the necrotic energy continued its spreading trend, burning away the poison along with her own health. She figured she'd have to work out a way to gain a better control over her own life-eating chakra, build up a resistance or alter it to a more beneficial sort. Something like that, at least. Trying to figure out what to do with it, she felt a familiar sensation suddenly spread through her body as Lamya's healing chakra took care of both poison and taint. The positive to her negative, Laïs tried to figure out where the difference laid between the two approaches. She suspected both belonged to the Medical Ninjutsu branch, but how to recreate the two opposing ends of the same spectrum was still beyond her grasp. Sorrows for later, though.

"That sounds like a good idea."

Remaining still all this time, she could feel how nature chakra was slowly moving as if on its own accord. That, was not such a surprise. She was familiar with that. It was more so the strength with which it happened, and how it actually had an impact on her mental well-being. In the domain of the Corvax, the nature chakra had saturated the place to such extend her senses were simply drowned by its sheer amount. But here, she could feel the natural chakra with every fiber of her being. Was this 'the pull' she had felt in Kumogakure when Lamya had taught her about senjutsu?

"I'd love to fight again, just to see if I improved anything at all, but I'm also curious about your healing chakra. Am I right in my understanding that your healing and my tainting chakra are similar in nature? I believe they are the opposites of a same spectrum, but I can't seem to replicate your effects. My healing tends to ruin and eat away rather than restore like yours."

A benevolent poison, so to speak, if such a thing even existed in the world. She could remove poison by creating something that was more powerful whereas Lamya's healing seemed to balance or purify it instead. Her techniques were weak compared to that of Lamya, making them rather 'safe' to use, but how long would this safety last? If she replicated the power of a technique like the Monitor Snake she had experienced before, would it still be as beneficial if it followed her necrotic principle? Doubtfully. Laïs' understanding of  'ending one's suffering' was a very literal approach, easily twisted to 'end with suffering', but now she knew Lamya would not approve of such an approach.

---

504
Total: 5402

115/170:

As her chakra healed the majority of the Jugo child's wounds, the missing nin looked at Laïs with a rather confused look in her eyes. However, this expression of confusion quickly vanished, being replaced by a more confident smile and a twinkle of amusement in her golden, snakelike eyes. It was true that contrary to the jugo child's rather detrimental and decaying chakra, Lamya's own was primarily suited to be used medically. Of course she was capable of using rather destructive elemental variations, techniques and more, but her medical capacity in general, despite her rather dangerous disposition was more or less of the 'healing' kind or at least it looked like that.

In truth though, healing wasn't even the main strength of her medical expertise, but rather the expert manipulation of her own body through the use of chakra. Just how in the olden days the legendary Sannin Orochimaru could stretch and limberly twist and contort himself through the use of medical knowledge, medical ninjutsu expertise and the innate powers of snake senjutsu, so could Lamya and just as how that very legend seemed capable of surviving fatal wounds simply by shedding not his skin, but his entire body, so could she...albeit in a lesser, but nonetheless still impressive way. Just like him and all other truly great medical shinobi, she was able to manipulate her body practically at will, changing its shape, its properties and its overall appearance to the most minute details.

"It's not healing that I excell in though," The powerful shinobi smiled as she admitted this fact. Even if she was known to be a capable healer, her greatest healing techniques were selfish and mainly for her own use. "It's manipulation of cells through the use of medical ninjutsu...speeding up the process of cells splitting up, regenerating, reshaping and more. But to be fair...you're not entirely unique with the necrosis, my dear little student. There have been few great names using that power and form of medical ninjutsu, it even happens that even I am partially able to use it if need be."

Letting out a sigh, the woman let her left hand rustle through Laïs' hair, basically petting her and even praising her in that matter. "You'll grow into it, in time you'll manage to differentiate between healing and decay. It's never a bad thing to have though, for decay is very useful in its own right. If you fail as a healer, it does not entirely make you useless, in fact it could be said it is actually quite the opposite," Pointing at a small group of Ryujin arriving with clothes, bathsalts and other comforts, the woman simply nodded and turned her attention back to Laïs once more. "Go take a bath for now...we'll start a more theoretical approach later, it is time I start teaching you some fundamentals."

With that being said, Lamya made her way to the outside of the facility, towards the platform upon which she was standing during Laîs' arrival and it was there that she'd be waiting for the girl to arrive once more after the Ryujin had granted her entrance to a simple, yet nonetheless clean and usefull bath in the facility for Laïs to use at her leisure.

562/5053

The revelation of Risu's actual strengths in Medical jutsu left the Laïs perplexed... and disappointed in herself. From the basic explanation of Medical Techniques that she had received had left the impression that healing was just that - healing. Of course, she had added the other spectrum to that by herself since one could probably destroy the cells they could restore. But the depth of medical jutsu that the Snake Sage offered suddenly broadened the spectrum of Medical jutsu to such a point the girl was almost lost in its possibilities. Cell manipulation and everything that came with. She wished she had been paying more attention in biology class now as all she remembered of that was a dissected frog, reproduction between animals and her teacher dying of an 'unknown' illness. It certainly wasn't enough for her to claim she had any idea what she would be doing if she channeled the positive aspect of healing chakra. Maybe that was the reason why she couldn't replicate its effects to begin with.

But her disappointment came when she heard she was far from unique in her abilities. It felt as if her whole world crumbled. She had taken some pride in the idea that what her father tried to create through alchemy and experiments, she could manifest by sheer will. To hear she was far from the first one to do so, made her feel... less the person she was. Lamya rustled her hair, as if comforting her, and stated that it was not too bad a thing to be a bad healer. In fact, knowing decay seemed to be the better solution. Laïs wondered why, and how she could make her decaying energy unique again. A signature style that'd define her so she could leave her dark mark upon the world in turn. She'd be given her time to think about it as Lamya offered her to take a bath, the Ryujin servants waiting to give her clothes, bath salts and other comforts. Laïs smiled, feeling spoiled by the luxuries that were being offered to her. Luxuries she certainly never had back home and gladly accepted now.

"You spoil me, mistress.", she said as a way of thanks before rising to her feet, taking the offered goods before parting ways from her teacher. She would follow the Ryujin to a small but useful bath within the facility, leaving them at the door as she entered by herself. Aside from taking her time to wash off the dirt and dust caused by the fight, she'd check the wounds caused by the creatures, still amazed as how Lamya's healing didn't even leave the slightest of reminders on her skin. It had to be said... some things were just mind-boggling in their effects. After donning the clean clothes, which consisted of a simple but comfortable black dress subtly carrying the Ryujin kamon, and smelling like a sweet flower once again, Laïs left the baths and moved to the platform where Risu would be.

Her mistress had taken place on the platform once more, overlooking the construction works and continuing the strategic planning of Suna's reconstruction. Escorted by the Ryujin, Laïs arrived quietly, amethyst eyes gazing at the ever advancing constructions before she coughed softly to attract Risu's attention.

"I'm here. What will be today's lesson?"

---

569
Total: 5971

115/170:

While in the large tent on the platform, Lamya rubbed the back of her neck while biting her lower lip, showing that she was annoyed by something. A small, scribble like tattoo seemed to be on her neck, visible for only a few moments, until the woman lowered her hair when she heard Laïs' arrival below the platform. She could have her student see her growing weakness. If anything, it was better to retain the image of an all powerful empress rather than the actual state she was in. Lamya knew all to well that if the child would realize that her mistress' power was actually slipping, she might get some funny ideas.

"So, feeling better now that you're prim and proper?" the rogue shinobi joked when the child arrived in the tent, showing a wry smile, before removing a piece of cloth from the small table at the center of the tent, revealing a small brown sand snake with a large gash on its abdomen. "I reckon you know this snake is beyond saving? I have its permission to use its remaining time to do as I please with it. It's already been given sedatives, so it won't feel anything anyway."

To prove this, Lamya made a small incission in the snake's scaly skin with her index finger's nail, showing that the snake didn't even react to it. She motioned the Jugo child to come closer and stand next to her, right in front of the small wounded sand snake.

"Now...I know you think you lack the strength or the direction to use your chakra to heal, yet I still want to see if you are truly lacking," Lamya's hand calmly reached for Laïs' shoulder, granting her some support. The rogue shinobi though didn't really expect to see the child heal the snake, but rather intended to see to which extend the jugo's necrotic chakra worked and how it could be harnessed more properly and without harming the user itself. "You may begin."

346/5399

She grinned at Lamya's question. Yes, being all healed up and cleaned certainly did good on her morale, but even then the previous use of her chakra left her slightly drained. It was perhaps not a bad thing, as she felt calmer now, strangely more at ease with herself. She followed Risu to the table in question, spotting a brown sand snake as she removed the cloth that covered it. Continuing her explanation on the situation, she cut into the snake, stating she had been granted permission to do with it as she pleased.

That statement confused the Jugo as she didn't quite understand how the snake would give permission to the shinobi, nor as to why Risu would require permission to do so in the first place. It was just an animal, even if she was a sage related to it, the creature was just that... a creature. Yet, leaving the oddities for what they were, she would simply nod and take step closer when she made her desires clear. Her mistress wanted to see her 'healing' techniques, for as far as she had those.

Taking a look at her own hand as if that would allow her to actually heal the snake, she already knew from experience she had not been able to figure out a positive approach to channelling her chakra. She wasn't sure why, or if it was related to her being born in the Land of Demons, or perhaps if she was affected by the occult lessons of her parents, but she had tried several times and had yet to succeed at doing something else than numb or ruin a body with it. Still, intending to put some effort into her attempt once more, she moved her hand to rest it slightly above the snake and focused on channelling her chakra with the idea of healing the snake.

As the medical chakra enveloped her hand, it created a predominantly watered-down black aura with sickening green veins, but even then she didn't want to give up just yet as she simply assumed that the colour was simply a manifestation of her natural chakra. Lowering her hand with intent to heal the snake, the chakra came to touch the creature and slowly started its process of corruption. At first, the outer skin flaked as rot ate away at various spots at once. Then, the inner flesh slowly died as necrosis set in and the same black taint seeped into its blood stream. The subtle scent of decay started to become apparent. Lastly, as the snake had almost completely withered away, the last remnants of the animal had become nothing but a grey putrid heap as brittle as dead leaves.

Laïs sighed softly. She had, as expected, not succeeded at restoring whatever she had touched, instead only succeeding to get better at destroying living tissue. Ironic, as her mistress wanted her to subdue that destructive part of hers. Granted, it was not exactly 'wanton destruction' as the entire process was far more controlled than what she generally did when she was driven by her Jugo blood, but that was probably the only good part about it too.

"I've been trying to find a different sort of ah... 'healing', but all I have succeeded to do so far is unravelling existence on a deeper level or a slower pace. I haven't succeeded doing both at once, as I either get too tired or lose control."

Stepping away from the table, Laïs' frown indicated that she was thinking about the whole thing. Trying to find the answers, the key to the gate she was missing. She couldn't grasp it. Not then, not now, and looked at Risu to gauge her reaction instead.

---

632
Total: 6603

She watched as the snake quivered, before it began to show signs of decay, necrosis and rot spreading from the wound all the way across the body. Lamya was quite intrigued by this occurance, amazed that such a thing could happen, manifesting at the hands of her student. This wasn't just using necrosis, this was BEING the very affliction itself. With a sickly twinkle in her eyes, the rogue shinobi let the tip of her tongue run across her lips, grinning almost diabolically at the sight of the snake basically desintegrating into nothing but mushy remains and dust.

"This...was highly unexpected if I say so myself," Slowly, the woman came closer to whatever remains were left, her fingers reaching out for the gray putrid and smelly heap of decay. When the tips of her fingers touched the remains, they crumpled and scattered, flying off like dust in the wind. Tilting her head to the side, the missing nin frowned slightly before showing a bright smile. It was completely unexpected and practically unheard of, of finding a child with inability to use medical chakra in a positive form. It was true that the Guanyin had the power to manipulate their medical chakra naturally to suit it for either positive or negative effects. Lamya herself had managed to study and learn the ability to switch between positive and negative as well, but in this case, there was only negative medical use, which was extremely rare. It made the woman think wether or not this came due to the Jugo child's natural disposition as a sage, her connection to crows and carrion birds or just the lack of selfesteem harbored by Laïs herself. "I must admit I had not expected this to happen, at least not in such a way to be precise. Very well, seems that trying to teach you how to 'heal' something right now might be...rather pointless."

Lamya grinned when uttering those last words, not to add fuel to a fire of despair and desillusion which no doubt had already been lit within the young Jugo, but to show that not learning healing jutsu at this point wasn't at all a bad thing. The missing nin knew fully well that perhaps in time Laïs might still find the strength and control to do so, but for now her lack of control obviously resulted in the opposite workings of her medically charged chakra.

"Seems to me you just lack the finely tuned and honed control over your own chakra a medical shinobi would need to practice healing jutsu," Grabbing Laïs' hands, the woman turned them with the palms upwards and looked closely at the child's hands, seeing how the necrosis had little effect on the Jugo herself, making it all the more obvious that it more or less came naturally to Laïs. "So...what we need to do is expand your chakra reserves and strengthen your control. This won't be an easy task, but as always one of the best ways to strengthen oneself is true combat and hardships. So you can choose...either we're going to train till you drop or we're going to test out that necrosis more...personally."

543/5942

Risu brushed away Laïs lack of healing techniques with a grin. She had formerly stated that not being able to heal didn't necessarily mean she would be a bad medical user, but that diabolic grin of hers hinted she was almost overly pleased with the fact she couldn't do so. The level of precision with which she had turned body to ashes truly seemed to intrigue the Snake Sage to a level it almost worried the apprentice, and yet Lamya proceeded to teach her.

Grabbing her hand to assure herself Laïs hadn't been suffering from her own Yin-laden chakra, she explained the necessities to improve upon her healing techniques - practise, not unexpected. Expanding her reserved, mastering her control. It would be done by one of the two options. Combat, which certainly attracted Laïs, or testing out her necrosis more personally. Not too sure what Risu meant with her last suggestion but equally interested in understanding the workings of healing chakra as well as her own natural chakra, she considered the second option to be of greater interest as it would also reveal a little more about Risu herself - or so she hoped.

"The idea of fighting is appealing, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't interested in learning more about my necrosis. So let's go with the second option, shall we? What do you want me to do?"

If Lamya would move to a new spot, Laïs would follow her, listening to whatever her mentor had to tell about the topic at hand and trying to reconcile it with the limited information she had stored in her mind from general explanations on iryojutsu and the previous lessons she had been given. But most of all, Laïs really wanted to know how she could put such an inverse healing to good use. How, despite no ability for restoration, she could still become a good medical user.

---

329
Total: 6932

Lamya grinned deviously when the Jugo child decided to go for the second option, the more personal and more dangerous option. It was without a doubt an interesting idea to test out the limits of Laïs' current state and more importantly the strength and use of her negatively charged medical chakra. "Follow me," The rogue shinobi didn't waste too much words, opening tyhe tent flaps and jumping off of the platform, sand, dust and shards of glass being sent into the air when she landed on the ground below, her heels cracking the molten glass layer that covered the surface. "We're going to need some... better ground for this little test of ours."

Leading the Jugo child on a rather long walk through the desert, Lamya finally stopped at a place where sand made way for sandstone and old ruins of ancient civilizations were littering the surroundings. "Civilizations which have crumbled under the weight of the shinobi wars lay here, remnants of old days before the time of the shinobi and of chakra," The woman nodded towards old, crumbled towers and ruins of what once in a distant past may have been part of a thriving civilization or powerful kingdom.  "Quite fitting wouldn't you say? Testing out a power designed to turn things to dust, a power based on decay while being surrounded by signs of a past long past its own decay and destruction."

Removing her armor, helmet, gloves and vambraces, Lamya now stood without any protection and without any add ons. Even though she had reached the dreaded thirty in age, she did not look a day older than her mid twenties, a show of how strong her chakra and lifeforce truly were.

"Now than, we'll first compare your necrosis to my own medical ninjutsu... go beyond your limit, come at me with all that you have," The woman breathed in and out slowly, calming her chakra and starting the preperation on probably her most insane jutsu, one which truly held the key to immortality and constant regeneration of both body and life itself. "Do not hesitate to target anything you think to be a weak spot, I want you to fully attack me without restraint. I will not harm you...it's all just a test after all."

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actions:

Laïs followed the Snake Sage through the desert along a path she was far from familiar with. She regretted instantly wearing black clothes in a place like this, where the sun was so warm, but didn't complain even when sweat was slowly dripping from her face. It annoyed her that she had just bathed, only to sweat barely a five minutes afterwards. The idea of ice cubes and a good cocktail increased in attractiveness with ever step.

Eventually reaching sandstone rather than ruins, the lingering residue of death was almost instantly picked up by the Jugo, making her wonder where they had arrived. She understood quickly why this was the case when Lamya hinted at the history of this area and how death and ruin marked the story of a crumbled civilisation. How fitting a place, indeed. The whole place read like an old parchment to her senses, written in a language she could not understand. Ancestry, history. Tales of a past worthy to uncover, if only to figure out how to make use of its ancient lore and techniques. A feint echo of the Land of Demons, but enough to make her feel more attuned.

Laïs nodded at the request of trying out her necrosis against Risu's medicine. She felt a little reluctant as it felt awkward to strike at a person she actually respected, a teacher she didn't mind listening and learning from, but she had also experienced the expansive chakra of this woman to a point she understood that whatever Laïs would do, she would never be able to harm her enough to leave a lasting impression. So she stilled her mind. Allowed her senses to reach out to the lingering energies of decay from the past. She drew them in, mingled it with her own chakra. A flicker of her sage form could be seen in the process as her eyes turned a glossy black and her hair gained the iridescent colour typical to the feathers of the ravens and crows she had an affinity with.

Holding on to that moment, Laïs would then unleash all she could muster in a wild explosion of Yin-choked medical energy and senjutsu chakra which would engulf the immediate vicinity, the air turning briefly putrid by the passing sense of pestilence. Critters skittering around would instantly perish and even the sandstone below them would seem to gain a murkier green hue for just a moment. As the wave of negative chakra would come to pass, the figments of her sage form would have disappeared, blown away with the expulsion of her chakra. With everything unleashed, Laïs would look at her teacher, wondering if all of this was even remotely sufficient to affect the Snake Sage even for a little bit.

"Was that worth anything?"

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OOC: Don't have any C rank necrosis jutsu, so I'll just wildly unleash C rank + senjutsu boosted chakra.

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Looking at her student with an air of anticipation and exhilleration, Lamya hoped this stubborn Jugo child would prove to be the thing she'd been looking for for so long: someone with unique talents and a unique look on life and speaking fairly, Laïs had not disappointed her...so far. Surrounded by the ghosts of ancient pasts and the winds which had swept the whole place clean, covering ruins of glory and power with the ever consuming blanket of dry sand, the two of them would now for the first time test out the young woman's abilities in a less 'by the book' way.

The rogue shinobi had realized that she could've never gotten this strong, this overpowering without the suffering she had endured in the past, so with that in mind, she decided to truly make the Jugo child learn what it truly meant to be a shinobi, nay... a force of nature. "Whenever you are' ready, throw everything you have against me, do not be affraid...I am the closest thing to immortal after all," The missing nin smirked and looked the child straight into the eyes with her own golden, snakelike orbs. There was an abundance of arrogance and pride to be found in those eyes. "Unleash it all."

As if practically on commando, the young woman seemingly finally let go of any hesitation, yet just for certainty's sake, Lamya decided to at the very least activate her own Perfect Medic technique, just to make sure that if she perhaps underestimated the child's frustration and anger with her own inability to heal rather than decay, she would still triumph over even that very feeling with her own sublime power.

In a haze of putrid, dark energy, the snake sage got completely swallowed up within the deceptively large outburst of Yin chakra. It lingered for quite a while, until Lamya swiped her arms aside, showing signs of necrosis having gotten a hold on her exposed skin, with her flesh starting to discolor at some places and near her neck even having lost most of her skin. "Very interesting, to have this power at such a young age and with such ferocity...interesting indeed," Coughing up some blood, the Snake sage smiled and pulled a few strands off of her hair and engorged them with her own chakra, which made those hairs turn into familiarly looking white snakes, coiling up around her and shining brightly with a green hue as the woman's afflicted areas healed almost instantly. "It's good, very good even...but we'll need to pinpoint it, focus it...hatred, anger and fear are good emotions, useful for anyone with the mind to control them and focus them. It is only when you focus all that raw emotion, that you'll truly grant yourself the power you deserve."

Looking at a nearby hill of sand, Lamya's hand made a simple flicking motion, after which a small desert creature, a mamal of some kind made a yelp as four senbon hit the ppor thing in each of its limbs and paralyzed it. "Would you mind trying to focus that same energy in a sort of focused blast towards that little critter? Do take your time."

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