Samuru had spent the last few days getting to understand his extended family. It was different than when he stayed with his other clansmen in Hi no Kuni. His family had been an interesting lot. Occasionally, they trained as a family unit about every two weeks or so. They were quite skilled with the use of Raiton almost more adept than he was. It was something that was natural to all Hatake. The Hatake clan were questionably one of the greatest raiton users in ancient history. Not too many of them nowadays weren’t well known. Samuru hadn’t truly really cared for fame anyway. As long as he was able to get stronger, he would be fine with himself. He wanted to be strong like the Hatake before him. Samuru wanted strength greater than that of Hokage Kakashi. The man had was a legend and a legend that proved of what the Hatake were capable of. Though, that had been years ago. Unfortunately, he hadn’t met any Hatake that knew of Kakashi’s purple lightning technique. His father mentioned it, but said that no one that he knew of even knew how it worked. It was mostly a lost technique as far as he was concerned.

The young Hatake now spent his time trying to learn something new. He stood in front of his uncle as he tried to get a better understanding of a new type of lightning. Samuru had spent the last few hours trying to grasp the idea of crimson lightning. It was one of their clans technique. So far, he was only able to get a red spark. Though, his uncle wasn’t quite convinced that it was actually the clans crimson variant. The red technique spark was “too light” as his uncle put it. Crimson was supposed to be darker. He understood this, but it seemed like he only changed the color of the technique. His father attempted to teach him the technique years ago, but he couldn’t really grasp back the practicality of it. Samuru spent a good bit of time trying to teach himself, but it wasn’t always that easy to pick up on techniques. He tended to spend more time trying manipulate the flow of raiton within his body, but still hadn’t gotten a hang of.

Samuru had his legs spread apart holding his hand out in front of him. His uncle sat down and watched as they spent time in an open field. The young Hatake held his hand out as his hand had become infused with yellow raiton. The raiton around his hand started to change colors gradually as it changed into a bright red. Samuru held it as long as he was able. The raiton began to then change back to yellow. Samuru wasn’t frustrated he just stood there and continued to focus. All of his energy was put into trying to figure this thing out and what he was doing wrong.. Nothing seemed to break his attention away. His uncle gave him the advice he could. There was an easier way to learn the technique, but Samuru didn’t have the required sense of touch or emotion to be able to master it faster. He would need to continue and manipulate the chakra into what he wanted it to be. It was a trial of the mind that he would need to overcome. This made him wonder if he should have attempted to learn cerulean lightning. The fact that he had already mastered white raiton was a testament that he was capable of learning the other two colored variants of his clan’s hiden style.

As he continued to pulse raiton through his hand, his hand started glow brighter. His uncle watched intently as it look like something else. The raiton in his hand began turning white. It was that moment that Mutan, his uncle, realized that he was trying to combine white raiton with crimson. There was no way that was going to work, but he figured that Samuru was onto something. The white lightning then changed from white to a deep shade of red. He finally pulled it off. The deep shade of red then started sparking the air around him. Samuru’s whole body was covered in crimson raiton. His hair began standing up slightly as the raiton coursed through his very being.. Mutan’s eyes widened as he watched his nephew. The older Hatake had a flashback of his brother’s raiton technique. Samuru’s ability to use raiton was nowhere near the strength his father’s, but it was very interesting to watch.

Samuru ended the crimson lightning and began starting over. This time his hand instantly lit up with pulsing crimson lightning. Samuru was pleased with his accomplishment. It seemed like his hard work and dedication pulled through for him again. Samuru looked toward his uncle who just had a smile on his face. They locked eyes as Samuru held the crimson colored raiton in his hand. It had been years coming that he was finally able to make this one of his new specialities. This would variation of colored raiton would definitely come in handy. The crimson raiton was known for its strength against defensive techniques. Having it as a part of his arsenal would definitely make him a viable threat anything that came against him. The only thing would be creating a techniques that could help him accomplish just that.

“Uncle, show me a couple of your crimson raiton techniques.” he demanded while releasing the red static from his hands.

Samuru sat down in front of his uncle as the muscular man pulled out a pipe and prepared to smoke it. He waited for his uncle to finish the ordeal of lighting the pipe. After he stuffed it full of tobacco, his uncle lit the pipe with a spark from his finger. Samuru definitely thought that it was a waste of good chakra doing it that way, but he figured that his uncle had plenty to spare. The man looked like he could tear an ox in half without the use of raiton. Samuru didn’t think that it would be worth being that big. Though, he figured that his uncle was still probably faster than him.

“Samuru, I’ll show you, but you get more done when you ask permission,” Mutan said as he blew spoke into his nephew’s face.

Samuru just had this blank stare on his face. The smoke didn’t even affect him. It had been awhile since he even had a cigarette. There was no benefit to smoking. All it did was blacken your lungs with constant use. Samuru usually wanted to keep himself as healthy as possible. Though, he would appease his elder and not say anything to him. He knew that starting a verbal debate with his father’s brother was sort of pointless. The man was retired and didn’t have else to do with his time. Mutan probably could have argued with him all day with no time lost. Samuru wondered how many years he had been a shinobi. The man was easily in his mid fifties. Though, he looked like age wouldn’t stop him from crushing an army with his bare hands.

“Please uncle, I don’t have a lot of time to spare. I signed up for the chunin exams and need to master this form before I head to Konoha.” Samuru said in a slow low tone.

“Alright Perun, I’ll give you a little showing of what you can learn. First, I’ll teach you this move that your father knew. It’s a bit advanced, but I’m pretty sure that you can handle it just fine. There’s three stages of the technique when in offensive use. The last stage was considered by our first village as an S-Rank technique. I’ll show you one of the S-Rank versions of the technique only,” he stated firmly.

The large man stood up with the pipe stuck between his lips and motioned for Samuru’s axe. Samuru, unenthusiastically, gave his weapon to his uncle and stood back. His uncle almost dropped his pipe as he took great interest in the craftsmanship of the axe, but noticed that it was suitable for someone of his caliber. The large six feet and seven inches man almost made his axe look like a throwing axe instead of a standard weapon. The man almost had a foot on him. The large man then flourished the axe to test its weight before shrugging. The man walked to a large tree on the corner of a training field and swung it at the tree. The axe held its own and barely put a dent in the tree. The large man then took a sip of smoke from is pipe as he pulled the axe back.

Lifting the axe into the air, it began sparking to life full of crimson raiton. The weapon looked like it got struck by a bolt of lightning from the very heavens. The bright and somehow dark crimson light started to put spots on his eyes that he started to squint to get a better view of the technique. The weapon had a low deep hum that sounded like thunder in the distance. Crimson raiton surged around the immediate area as he swung it. A loud boom of thunder emitted from the weapon as the tree had cut like butter. He then then threw the axe horizontally as the axe disappeared from view. The axe still emitted the crimson raiton as it returned to his uncle’s outstretched hand. The trees before him started to fall out of their place. Mutan began laughing as he chucked ended the technique having absorbed the raition from the weapon before handing it back to Samuru.

“I need power like that,” Samuru stated.

“Well, train up cherry top. You’re the only one who can stop you from doing anything. Let that be a lesson to you. If you create a technique that emulates that, you are a threat to anyone that stands in your way. It will take time, but there’s a reason why you don’t look down on a Hatake. I may not be the strongest Hatake alive, but I can get you going in the right direction.” Mutan spoke to him like a true master and teacher.

It was one of the first times that he had ever seen power like that. His father wouldn’t even show him the full capabilities that he himself possessed. Samuru was in no way disappointed. Mutan gave him a lot more than he bargained for. The young Hatake wasn’t going to be greedy. He would take from what he saw and apply it to his future trainings. There had been quite a few things he wanted to try out after seeing this. He even wondered if he could do the same thing with his white raiton. He wanted to ask, but he wasn’t sure if it would be right after a performance like that. Samuru had questions he wanted answered and he preferred to have them answered sooner than later. The large man just stared and watched as Samuru kept fiddling with the blade between his fingers. He then looked to his new mentor to ask him a question. Though, he looked around to make sure there weren’t any non Hatake around.

“How was life outside of a village?” he asked.

“Live outside of a village was different. There is no one, but yourself and whoever you may align yourself with for the time being. It was easier going into the popular villages like Konoha, Kiri, and formerly Suna for work. You didn’t have to be tied down. Though, you did lose out on somethings. Friendships weren’t easily gained. You may not have noticed it because of your attitude toward things, but there is a stigma of shinobi and mere men who give themselves up for ryo,” Mutan started with his most honest opinion.

“I don’t give my life for ryo. I’m living to survive,” Samuru countered.

“Oh, then what’s the difference? From what you told me, you basically are following in your father’s footsteps...our footsteps. Mankind won’t easily trust sell swords, mercenaries, ronin, or whatever category you may fit in. Etcetera, Etcetera, rah rah rah. Eventually, you’re going to want to settle down. I’m telling you from my experience. I understand your situation with your body. You’re not the only Hatake who was born that way. Though with science, you should still be able to bear fruit through artificial means. There’s a village for you Samuru whether it be here in Kiri or across the sea. It is better to sleep with one eye open in a village than sleep with a blade always in your hand. Consider that.”

“I will definitely consider your words, Mutan.”

“At least you have an open mind. Your father was quite stubborn, but it seems like your father rubbed off on you in more than a good way. Maybe his potential also rubbed off on you too,” Mutan said with praise to the younger Hatake.

The words that he spoke resonated in his mind. Samuru thought that he was truly living the best he could, but he wasn’t. The only thing Samuru had was himself. He had castaway everything for a false sense of freedom. Though his uncle spoke hallowed words, Samuru did remind himself that he walked the loners’ path to get stronger. He spent many years ignoring the fact that he had no one else to watch his back. The only back he thought he needed was his own. The challenges he now faced seemed greater than what he originally thought. His uncle didn’t directly say it, but he tried to mention that human contact was important. Samuru then thought back on an old saying that stated, “No man was an island.” Humans had to use each other to survive. Whether good or bad, humans needed each other. No man grew up solely without human contact that hadn’t gone mad. Samuru was no ordinary shinobi either. His clan and abilities set him apart, so he thought. In his land, he had family that could help look after him. A family that could make him stronger. He wouldn’t have to be alone anymore.

The idea of joining Kiri became increasingly enticing, but he knew that he still had things to do away from these lands. Samuru would still need to look for any other clues about his father. He also wanted to see Ru. Samuru wasn’t sure if his other uncle was as inspiring as Mutan was. The way Mutan talked drew him in. The sound of his voice and his power made Samuru hungry. Not a physical hunger, but a literal lust for more physical power. Mutan stirred something up within inside him. Samuru started to look at things from a different perspective, but it wouldn’t change the coldness that he traditionally displayed. Samuru had a long way to go before he was to be any role model. He would continue to walk his own path until he truly found what he was looking for. A village did sound pleasant. The current events said otherwise. If war was brewing, he would find it best to keep to himself and maybe join a side later. There was definitely money in war, but he didn’t want to risk dying before he reached the pinnacle of a Hatake’s strength.

Samuru sat down next to his uncle as the man took his time smoking his pipe. The young red headed man started to wonder how he would apply his new found skills to the test. He was entering the chunin exams and that was probably the perfect place to test out his new techniques. Samuru nodded his head at his thoughts, but performed the action unconsciously. He started not regretting going to the chunin exams. There would plenty of stuff to do to keep himself occupied. The last time the exams rolled around in Kumo, he stayed put inside of the walls of Konoha. He knew that he wouldn’t waste his time this go round. Samuru told himself that he would get whatever he could out of his. Maybe, he would meet some interesting people. Though, he kind of doubted it as far as inexperienced shinobi. He was more interested in the more experienced shinobi. Maybe he would meet one, that would sort of inspire him like Mutan. You never know. The answer he was looking for may very well be in Konoha.

2811

Samuru rose up early the next day as he wanted to have enough time to test out some of his abilities. The first thing he did was stretch to loosen up any tight muscle his body may have had. The next thing he did was reached back and drew his axe from its sheath. With one hand, he lifted the axe up and swung it downward. The motions were pretty simplistic, but it was the method he used to increase the strength in his arms. There weren’t too many people wielding two hand axes with one hand. It wasn’t always convenient to use to use both hands. He preferred using ninjutsu with supplementing his use of a weapon. Samuru could have easily used any other weapon, but this was his go to weapon. He definitely could use his recurve bow, but he didn’t think he maintained enough arrows for it to be a go to.

The young red headed shinobi continued to give a workout to both of his arms. Samuru could switch between his main hand in a fight. Most people that used weapons used right dominant stances. Using a left dominance stance made for some interesting combat. Your opponent couldn’t necessarily react the same way they would with someone you shared a dominant stance with. Though most of the people he fought against had either used purely taijutsu or weren’t very skilled with a weapon. He enjoyed using weapons the most, because it gave him a tactical leverage. It was hard to punch or kick someone that had a weapon between the you and your opponent’s body.

The majority of his morning had been spent in the form of resistance training. Though, it wasn’t originally why he came out this early. Part of the reason he came out here had been to see if he could learn the use of his clan’s last special element. Samuru was inspired to learn cerulean lightning. He was quite interested in trying to become adept at using it. Samuru was big on mastering techniques and didn’t really care for the jack of all trade style combat. Jack of all trades, master of none. That was his premise on why he would focus on certain types of combat and techniques. There was nothing wrong with gaining multiple skills. Though, going up against someone who honed the same skill you chose to put off would put you in a very precarious situation. Samuru was here to join in the ranks of those who learned all three forms of the Hatake’s colored raiton.

As he trained, a familiar face showed itself from behind him. He wasn’t sure how long she had been there, but he didn’t really care too much for people who sneak up behind him. It had been second time that had happened since they had met. Samuru wasn’t the kind of shinobi for parlor tricks. He wondered if the young woman did that attempting to get a reaction out of him. It wasn’t like him to give a shocked reaction. If he hadn’t been keeping his composure, he may have attacked her. Perun definitely thought she deserved to get hit. He almost thought that someone was trying to take him out. It was paranoia from spending years as a bandit. That was something that would be a hard habit to lose. The habit where you slept with a weapon in your hand and one eye open.

“Are you going to keep doing that every time you approach me?” he inquired in a low tone.

“Of course. It’s interesting watching you not react. Plus, I’ve come to help you hone cerulean ration,” she responded.

“By doing what? Make me stand for hours staring at my palm in hoping I trigger something. How did you even know I was coming out here try that,” he said with an antagonizing tone.

“My techniques are more refined that father’s. I’ll teach you what I know. It was just a lucky guess.” Nu responded in a joyous tone.

Samuru stood there and listened to the instructions that she gave. He understood what she meant, but he wasn’t sure of what she was implementing would work for him. It was only that he would try to find out the truth. Samuru would apply what she told him by running around in a large circle. As he ran, he flowed raiton into his legs. Nothing really happened though, he just kept running in a circle as Nu yelled hints out to him. Though, he figured that he was still doing something wrong. His legs started to spark with white raiton as he started to move a bit faster, but it wasn’t what he wanted to happen.

After about fifteen minutes of continued running he took a break. He thought that he almost had it, but he wasn’t quite sure how to make it work better. Nu assured him that he was going in the right direction. His lack of physical feeling played some part in him struggling to pick it up, but at least it wasn’t taking him hours to figure it out. Or was it? Running around in circles seemed like it wasn’t accomplishing much at all. She then suggest that he meditate. He wasn’t sure what meditation was. She reminded him that cerulean raiton was created during a period of self-reflection. There were some Hatake that found to use it without self-reflection, but she thought that maybe he should try. He cleared his mind as he sat down on the ground. Samuru would try this meditation, but he wasn’t sure what he was trying to find in doing it.

Slow breathes entered and exited his nostrils. He closed his eyes as he sat still under the morning sun. He wasn’t sure what was supposed to happen. Though he already had his mind set on how he was going to earn his new abilities, he would at least try something else. His motivation for doing it was that he would get stronger. There wasn’t much else to do that would motivate him. Samuru didn’t want to be considered a weak shinobi that failed at learning the basics at a technique. That was something he disliked. Samuru didn’t like the idea of failure even if he had experienced it multiple times. He was someone who enjoyed succeeding even if he didn’t get any satisfaction from it.

Thirty minutes had passed as he sat within the grass closing his eyes to shut out everything. He became focused. The birds chirping in the distance didn’t disturb him. The focus he had was unparalleled to what any ever focus that he had in his life. The methodology behind him learning the ability was comparing it to white raiton. White raiton required pure raiton chakra. Maybe, there was something else he could do to find the answer he was looking for. He understood how raiton worked, but he had to go deeper. There was something deep in his conscious that he needed to find. What was keeping him from learning the last remaining variation of colored raiton.

As he meditated, he saw himself on the edge of a cliff. There were mountains  that surrounded him. Though, there were three mountains that stood over each other in separate directions. Lightning struck two of the mountains, but not the third. The color of the lightning that would continue to strike the mountain seemed to be simultaneous with the colored raiton of his clan. Cerulean ration was the only one that was not represented like the others. The mountain that didn’t have any lightning over it seemed dark and dreary. The forest around it seemed hollow. There didn’t seem to be any form of life here. He wasn’t sure what he was to do other than start walking. The path seemed long, but that wouldn’t stop him from attempting to make the journey.

The trek was long and dark one. He could barely make out the path before him. Samuru had looked for footprints or marking of animals, but found none. There were no sounds around him. It was truly an empty forest. Each tree seemed to be the same. There were no distinct differences between separate trees that existed. It was strange, but he figured that this was the state of his inner consciousness. Samuru noticed that each step he took didn’t make a sound. Everything seemed to be empty. He looked down at his body and everything seemed normal, but he did conclude that this place didn’t respond to the nature of what he knew.

It seemed like it had been literally half a day that he traveled. The trees had only gotten bigger as he attempted to reach the mountains peak. The trail he took started to become narrow as he marched on. In the distance, he saw fire burning from bronze bowls. The flames didn’t have any smoke that resonated from them. It was quite unnatural, but everything here obviously didn’t worked like he knew from the evidence presented in front of him. The trail started to come to an end as he eventually made it to the top of the mountain. The mountain seemed a lot flatter that it did further out. The bronze bowls seemed to end here too. There were no trees that surrounded the top. The sky was dark and provided barely any light to help him see. There was a statue of what looked to be him that slowly started to become illuminated with a white glow.

The statue was at least thirty meters tall and below it sat an altar. The altar was about three meters long and one meter wide. There were flowers on it and burning incense, but the flowers around it were dead. He also noticed that the incense smelled of sulfur. Samuru approached the altar as he looked at it not knowing what was going on. He heard a ominous wind that sounded like a large serpent. It was a hiss that seemed to come from every direction. Samuru turned around and noticed that large pillars had surrounded the outlier of the altar that were sporadically placed. Samuru reached back for his axe and drew it. His axe didn’t look like his usual weapon. The weapon was onyx black and hummed as he touched it. Then there was a voice that he couldn’t recognize that called out to the sky. The language was unrecognizable. Though, it seemed old...ancient. The voice then called again which seemed to shake the ground beneath him.

“Perun!” the voice called.

Samuru’s gripped tightened on his axe instinctively as held it with two hands. There was then a blue flame that covered the ground as he saw the outline of a snake like body. He could make out scales that colored matched that of the dragon. The scales then started to glisten as the being become increasingly closer. The flames lifted around him and provided light where it lacked before. He looked up and noticed that it wasn’t a serpent. It looked like something that you would read in an epic. Smoke came from it’s maws as the creature had wrapped part of its body around the statue. It was obvious what it was. The creature was a dragon or a demon. Regardless of how unbelievable it was, he accepted it. This place was definitely a strange one.

“Perun, kneel!” the beast called out.

He could tell that his body started to slump toward the ground, but he tried fight it. His body shook from the pressure. Then something else came over him. It was a sensation that he never knew. It was what someone would describe as a force that came over his body. He had never experienced this “feeling.” Whatever it was, he knew that he didn’t like it. This pressure caused him to scream as a war cry. He fought it and stood straight up. The creature looked like it was pleased. Then, it hit him. He could actually feel. He never imagined that this was what having a sense of touch felt like. Samuru could even feel air move in and out of his lungs, but this was impossible.

“It’s not impossible. You were granted this while you’re here.” the creature stated.

“Who are you or what are you?” he said in an aggressive tone as he almost paused having felt the vibrations in his throat.

“I’m am Samuru,” the beast stated, “I am Perun.”

“You’re me?” the red headed ronin inquired.

“Yes and you are me,” he stated, “It’s our conscious. I’m the you that guards the altar. What do you think of yourself.”

“I am no one,” Samuru responded.

“Lie!” the dragon said as the earth shook.

“What do you think of yourself?” the dragon asked again.

“I am the one who will crack the sky with lightning.”

“Bold. What should you do about yourself?” the dragon inquired.

Samuru stood there contemplating the question. He knew that he wanted to get stronger, but didn’t know how far he would take himself to do it. The past few years didn’t really seem like he was getting any stronger. It was only in recent months that he saw true change in the form of learning new jutsu. He came to the conclusion that he was conflicted in more than one way. His mind was usually kept clear, but when it came to making himself stronger there was a lack of clarity. He finally realized that he was holding himself back. Samuru talked big, but it was just a ploy that he developed and fooled himself. He had spent years forcing himself to believe that he was already strong, but in reality he was weak. There was nothing holding him back, but himself.

“Seems like you already know the answer to that. I’m going to clear the blockage,” Samuru stated.

“Oh?” the being said.

The axe in Samuru’s hand started to glow with ruins on the blade of the weapon. The weapon became covered in white raiton. The large creature moved its head toward the sky and curled into a striking position as if it were a snake. Samuru took the axe and slung it down on the altar. The altar cracked in half as a bright blue ruins started to run into the blade like a school of salman flowing upstream. The dragon hissed as it went to strike Samuru. Samuru didn’t flinch as the dragon stopped inches from his body. Samuru just stared into the dragon’s eyes as they traded glances.

“Prostrate!” Samuru yelled.

The dragon’s head fell to the ground and seemed to be suffering from the force on its skull. The ronin placed his boot on the dragon’s snout and looked down on it. Samuru knew what he had to do. Things were much clearer now than they had been before. He knew what his objective was. Now, he didn’t have to be conflicted. It was time to take the bull by the horns and drive his own destiny. Back and forth the struggle consumed him no longer. It was time to dominate his own mind.

“Very well. Oni King,” the beast called out before become a bright blue light.

“Why just a king, when I have the potential to become a god?” Samuru responded as the dragon then chuckled in a deep tone.

The light traveled into his axe. The altar then reformed into two lightning rods. Samuru plunged the axe into between the to rods as they blazed with light. The axe vanished from his hand as the ruins moved up his arms. The sound of thunder cracked the sky as white lightning began to channel through the rods. Lightning continued to flow in a continuous stream into the rods. He then got an inclination to touched the rods. Samuru moved closer and placed his hands on the two separate rods. The lightning from it coursed through his body as whole body started to erupt in ruins of an unknown language.

As he opened his earthly eyes, he stood up from his meditation. It was high noon even though time seemed to have passed a lot faster than it did while meditating. Nu was watching him intently as stood up from his now matted patch of grass. He grunted slightly. His mind truly was clear of any conflicts that he had. There wasn’t anything on his mind. The only thing he would need to do was find out to see if he was able to use cerulean raiton. Samuru flowed chakra threw his legs, but decided to take it a step further and focus it around his body. His body then started to show signs of cerulean raiton sparking around his body. Then, he his chakra expanded on the outside of his body.

“Oh, you can use it now, but what does that do?” Nu questioned as she looked puzzled at the way the raiton formed around his body.

“I’m not sure what you mean,” he stated.

“You have have chakra horns or something,” she said with some excitement.

Nu took off her headband and showed him his reflection in it. His body was covered in what seemed like an aura of lightning. It was a deep blue that sparked over him. Out of his forehead were two horns that extended out to about four inches. He thought to himself that this was now the time for him to shine. The only thing he would have left to do would be to test out to see what this form could do. He ended the chakra aura around him.

“I’ll test the form later. I’m probably not going to get it down before chunin exams though. It would probably be a waste to try and learn it early.”

“Full body raiton. Seems something similar to how Uncle Ru uses his raiton. Though, he usually uses it to increase his physical movement. Not much in the way for protection. Combining ration is doable, but father seems to think that it won’t work out well. Maybe if you can practice using two forms of colored raiton at the same time. It could help.”

“Sounds like a plan. I guess it’s time for lunch. Humor me.” Samuru replied.

Nu was a bit surprised that Samuru didn’t sound condescending as he usually did. She wondered what kind of reflecting he did to be able to use cerulean raition. His facial expression was even different than his usual hardened look. Maybe he would be more friendly. She figured that only time would be able to tell if what she thought was true. She had only known Samuru for a few days, but she could definitely tell that something changed. Though, she wouldn’t bother asking him. She thought that Samuru would deny anything was actually a different.

Samuru and Nu walked into the city and went to a popular ramen shop. They sat down at a table near the back. Samuru didn’t bother picking up a menu. He figured that he would order whatever the waiter suggested. Taste didn’t influence him even though he could still taste things. Nu was unusually quieter than normal which started to get Samuru thinking. He wondered what was on her mind. She seemed to be in deep thought as they waited for someone to approach their table. For a popular ramen shop, it was pretty empty. There were a few old people here, but not many other people. Everyone was probably gearing up for the chunin exams. Samuru definitely understood, but he thought that he probably shouldn’t bother training to hard.

“What’s on your mind, Nu?” he said as someone brought them cups of hot tea.

“Ugh, just wondering that’s all. How do you feel about the chunin exams,” she said with a slight blush.

“I feel nothing, but I’m sure that I will get through it somehow. Depends on what happens. I never experienced a chunin exam. I plan on winning though. I refuse to let anyone get in my way. I tread a new path and I plan on showing everyone my might,” he responded.

“I’m guessing you haven't experienced the chunin exams with all the traveling right?” Nu questioned with a smile.

“Yes, I had no interest before. Now, I want to test my true power.” he said

A waiter appeared and took their order. Nu ordered a giant pork ramen bow while Samuru tried a seafood based ram. They watched the crowd as a large group of people started to flood the door. It had been shinobi and civilians a like. It started to become really noisy, but Samuru started to deal with it pretty well. Nu wasn't though, she had an eerie look on her face. She didn't care for loud noises and they would have to wait awhile as their food was to be prepared. Nu sighed as Samuru kept his eye on the door. He just gave his cousin a blank look as she had now planted her forehead into the table. A glass of hot tea was raised to his lips as he sipped it and put it down. Part of the reason she planted her face, to the table was because of she skipped breakfast. Samuru didn't question and let her be. There food arrived as she dug in without waiting. Samuru looked at his food before slowly taking bite after bite. The food could be considered good, but it was hard for him to tell. His cousin didn't seem to mind it at all based on how she was trying to get through the bowl as fast as she could.

"You're gonna choke if you keep going that fast. How about slow down and take your time?" Samuru antagonized.

"No!" she forced out with a face full of noodles.

"Nani? How about finish what's in your mouth so I can actually understand you?" he said bluntly.

Nu sort of swallowed her food and stuck her tongue out as she would then stuff her face. Samuru just shook his head and continued on. The ramen he had was decent for a bowl. It's not like he wanted to get another bowl or anything. His cousin finished before him and demanded another bowl. They brought out another bowl pretty quickly which Samuru looked a bit confused. Nu just stuffed her face into the second bowl. He wasn't sure what was quite going on as he sipped more of tea. Today was just unusual. She hadn't been this greedy about food from what he knew. Then he remembered that she did mention that this was her favorite place. It was probably common for her to get too bowls. As he finished the bowl, he threw back the tea to the back of his throat.

"I think it's time for more training," he said.

"No," she responded again with another full face of noodles.


3910/6721


[Thread Exit]

Training

Colored Raiton:

2000/2000 [Crimson Raiton]
2000/2000 [Cerulean Raiton]

Jutsu Training:

2000/2000 Perun’s War Pulse (-20% Clan/WC)
600/600 Raiton: Static Sense (-20% Clan/WC)


Unused WC: 121