Crouched on a rock that stood in the middle of the rushing Naka River, Aethir took in the misty air around him. He glanced over to his clothes, his shirt and jacket, on an edge of the river, the boy smiling to it as if they had eyes and were staring at him. His headband shimmered in the light, Aethir nodding to it, hearing the words of his academy teacher. Taking another deep breath, Aethir tugged at his near soaked pants leggings, the boy not feeling completely comfortable with removing his pants in the wilderness like this. 'Just the top will do.' he thought to himself as he slowly stepped into the rushing water. It took a moment before he adjusted the chakra correctly in his feet to allow him to stand on the rushing water, the boy wobbling before standing straight with confidence. As he stood there, the boy focused on the rapidly moving stream of water, creating six clones out of the Naka river's water. They, unlike Aethir, had a shirt and jacket, standing where they were, smiling to the shirtless boy.

"Alright..." the boy nodded to them as they searched around for a target to attack, "Like before... I need you to come at me as if you're trying to kill me." The clones remembered the last time Aethir asked for this and simply looked at him with a sarcastic look. They then began to dissuade him, the boy's determined look unchanging. As one clone darted towards Aethir, leaping into the air, it reeled it's fist back, preparing to punch. Aethir payed close attention to this, then gasped as he saw the clone transition into a kick. The boy raised an arm to block the kick, forcing  it back and slamming his free fist into the clone's stomach. It was sent back a bit, the prime Aethir having to have leaped forward a bit before crouch and flipping backwards, delivering a kick to the clone's chin. As the clone stared with an absentminded look, extreme pain registering in it's jaw area, Aethir jumped a bit while twirling twice, the first turn building momentum while the second, with an extended leg, delivering a roundhouse kick to the clone's rib area. As the clone flew off, slamming against the side of the Naka river's stone 'walls', it reverted back to water, Aethir's determined look unchanging. "Please," he nodded to the other five clones as they stared shocked, "Come at me with all you have." the boy nodded once more as the clones soon nodded as well, preparing themselves. As they did, Aethir closed his eyes for a moment, thinking back to the missions he's been sent on, how they could prove beneficial if he remembered the things he learned up to this point... It was here that he took a trip down memory lane, remembering bits and pieces of missions from the past.


As Aethir was darting after that cat the fat lady owned, he was leaping and sliding over and under different branches of different sizes in the dense forest of Konoha. "Maybell!" he shouted after the cat, hopping off of trees, climbing up trees, and sliding down them. As he was cut off, he noticed a large black panther leap from the tree, staring at him with large hungry eyes. "You again?!" he cursed, backing away from the panther as it slowly crept towards him. The boy summoned two other clones of himself from the puddle of water he created with the water trumpet technique. However, unlike how it actually played out, Aethir thought to himself while on the Naka river. 'Could I have done something without the use of ninjutsu...?' Aethir said as he altered the flashback slightly. The panther rushed forward as Aethir was now alone, the clones being removed from the memory. The present Aethir imagined ways he could have done this with just taijutsu. As the panther rushed forward, Aethir crouched, soon flipping back to kick the panther's chest with the tip of his shoe with high velocity. As the panther was high into the air, the boy thought of things he could do, time slowly down for him to do so. 'The only combo I know is...' Aethir said, leaping up while twirling twice. He would twirl twice to build momentum into his kick on the first turn, and on the second, he'd deliver a strong kick to the ribs. The panther, having had been a victim to Aethir's usual taijutsu combo, flew to the direction it was kicked, hitting the nearby tree. "That's something I can do, but what if that doesn't always work...? What if-"


Aethir, on the Naka river, dodged each attack his clones had to over, some even resorting to ninjutsu to attack the boy. He weaved out the way of the water bullets, rushing towards one of the range firing clones. 'Maybe I can do...this!!' Aethir said before stopping in front of the clone, turning his back towards it, and bent over as if he was going to do a handstand. As he lifted his legs, they rocketed upwards, the heel of his feet smashing the clone's chin, sending it flying higher into the air. 'And then follow up with...' Aethir twisted his body as he pressed both of his wrists together, both hands balling up into fists as they smashed into the poor clone's chest area. The clone slid back, panting while eyeing Aethir with a look of surprise as the boy quickly turned to see an oncoming barrage of readied punches and kicks coming his way. As they came closer, he took this time to replay in his mind what he had just done, incorporating it into a mission he had done as well.


The man from the weapon shop took off with the weapons in hand, the boy running after the weapons thief. "Get back here!! Here!!" Aethir called out, then gasped as the man swung suddenly with a bastard sword. Aethir luckily dodged the swing, and more to come as the man began to go crazy with the sword. Clones formed from the water trumpet's water, Aethir commanded his clones to help him. "Restrain him!" Aethir called out as the thief was grabbed and pinned where he was. 'Here, I relied on my clones...but what if I was out of chakra...?' Aethir questioned, reworking the flashback in his head. He stood alone, staring at the man with the bastard sword, a look of desperation on his face as he stared at the boy. 'He has a sword... Not your typical hand to hand combat... So how do I do this...?' Aethir and the man stood, locked in a stare until finally the boy made a move. 'I'll do ...this!' The boy sprinted forward, crouching down, soon flipping backwards. 'I'll block the blade with my shoe, then-' the boy gasped as he saw the bastard sword swinging horizontally towards his face. As the image ended in a bloody mess, Aethir reworked the flashback, the boy sprinting to the thief again. 'Then how about...this?' Aethir nodded, staring at the horizontally swung sword. The boy leaped high into the air, dodging the swing as the thief looked up at him. As the boy landed on the ground, back turned to the thief, he performed a handstand, the heel of his foot rocketing upwards to smash against the thief's jaw. As he did this, the boy got to his feet, twisting his body as he clenched his fist. 'But let's not stop here...!' Aethir gasped, twirling his body twice, once to build momentum and twice to deliver the double fist attack. The thief flew back and rested on the ground, letting go of the bastard sword as Aethir stood there, smiling.


As Aethir stood, staring at his slightly bruised clones, he thought to himself. 'I can't rely on them... Not always at least.' the boy nodded, looking around, observing where his clones were. 'Well Aethir,' Aethir gasped as the words of the merchant came fluttering into his mind, 'Life's too short to always be formal and serious.' The boy nodded, taking another deep breath. 'There's only so much time we have in this world... Will you spend it all being nice? Polite? A stick in the sand?' The boy smiled, a relaxed look on his face, 'Or will you have a little fun and absorb those around you~?' As if having an answer to the merchant's voice of the past, Aethir nodded once more. 'But I'm doing this to sharpen my own skill, not relying on ninjutsu...' Aethir sighed, thinking to himself, 'And if I want something badly enough, a world full of peace, then I need to be serious about obtaining it...don't I...?' The boy flexed his wrist, commanding the clones to come at him once more, the boy nearly losing his footing as the current of the river changed due to all of the movement going on at once. 'Should I not be serious...?' Aethir questioned as he blocked a kick, then dodged a punch, 'How can I be laid back while trying to obtain what requires me to be serious...?' Aethir thought, dodging roundhouse kicks and leaping from punches. The boy soon gasped, not noticing the flying water ball coming to his direction, the jutsu damaging the first layer of his skin, causing the boy to fly back a bit. As he regained his footing, careful not to fall through, the clones gave chase, not letting up their assault. 'How do I do it...?' Aethir questioned while staring at the oncoming clones.


The boy stared sarcastically at a drunk man before him, practically looking like he was on the verge of falling over. "I OINT SCARED BOT....I DON'T TAKE LIT'LL GIRLZ." Aethir blinked at the man as he wobbled in place, "I SAID I AIN'T FIGHTIN' LITTLE GURLZ!! ...GO HOME, WOMAN!" Aethir stared at the man then rubbed his eyes, thinking to himself. 'How can I be relaxed when such a world of hatred exists...?' the boy looked over to the drunk man running over to him, 'How is this guy...able to enjoy himself in such a wrongful world...? When everything is just...wrong? Aren't you meant to be serious...?' The boy leaned out the way of the man's heavy punch, brushing it aside with ease while kicking the man back to where he originally was. "THAT'S IT!! YOU'RE GETTING IT NOW, FLAT CHESTED-" Aethir darted towards the man with a frown, crouching down to him before flipping backward, delivering a kick to his chin. The man was lifted into the air by the force, soon lying on the ground, rubbing his chin. 'How could he enjoy himself...to the point where he go drunk...?' Aethir questioned as the man slowly got up. As the man ran at the boy again, Aethir leaned out the way before delivering a quick jab to the man's face, causing him to fall over. 'Are we not meant to worry about the world...? At least the amount of people I have planned...?' the boy sighed as the drunk man continued to speak. The rest of the flashback played out as Aethir continued to think of an answer to give.


"So then, how was he able to have such a good time to the point of intoxication...?" Aethir sighed, standing up after taking a bit of beating from the clones. The question was now plaguing him to the point where his taijutsu skills were becoming inferior to that of his clones, or in a way, his own skills were below their usual levels. The boy thought more about this, the rest of the clones disappearing as they either ran out of chakra or were too exhausted to continue. Aethir sighed, making his way over to his clothes to take a seat while staring into the river. "Maybe we're not mean to worry about others...?" the boy thought to himself, soon beginning to delve deeper and deeper into the never ending cycle of 'what ifs'. Finally, he hit the ultimate question that made him think for a moment. "What am I doing...?" he sighed, rubbing his forehead, thinking to himself. "Why am I even out here...? What am I hoping to do? What can one guy do...?!" the boy scratched his head, thinking long and hard about it, trying to think of an answer. Finally, his eyes went wide as he realized the answer. All he had to do was think of the question of where he came from. "I don't know who I am." he gulped, then nodded. 'I guess...deep down, I'm hoping as I travel, someone will see me...and someone will know me.' He sighed, looking up to the sky, thinking for a moment. "Someone will call me 'son' ...someone will call me by my name... I'm not traveling to travel... That was a lie." Aethir shook his head. "I'm traveling to discover myself..." Thinking more about it, the boy tilted his head. 'But I have a family... I guess it's just not enough to not know where you're from. Origin wise.' he nodded to himself before standing up. "I understand why I'm traveling," he sighed, thinking back to the big question, "But what do I hope to accomplish while traveling? Other than finding myself...?" Silence fell, the rushing of water being the only thing present audibly. 'There's no need to kill.' Aethir nodded to his inner voice, thinking more about it. 'Maybe if I can get the world to see that, my beliefs, there will be no more pain from loss...'  'And are you willing to die for those beliefs?' Aethir gasped, hearing a familiar voice in his head.


Aethir stood as a large man walked towards him, his body covered in scars. He ran towards the man who easily brushed him aside, obviously stronger than he was. He roared as Aethir got up, staring at the man. 'I took this guy down with my bare hands...' Aethir reassured himself, remembering how the fight played out. The boy started the fight out, checking to see if the man's arms were easily persuaded to move, forcing his fist to press into it, noticing it wasn't. 'It's strong...' Aethir commented, leaping away from the man. As the man walked towards the boy, Aethir continued his attack, the duration unknown to the boy himself. He just continued to attack and dodge until his illness spiked. He panted, noticing the man himself was panting, possibly worn out as well! 'That's how I'll beat him. I'll wear him down...! But this illness...' Aethir closed his eyes tightly, eventually seeing double as the man stood before him. As the fight continued to play out, Aethir delivered his first roundhouse kick to an enemy target. The man fell over, but soon got up, the boy unleashing his usual combo, debuting in this fight. A kick to the chin, and a double fist punch to the man's face.

Punching the man was like punching a tire, the boy's fists stinging greatly. "Shrimp," Aethir heard the man speak, staring at him, "If you ever drop your 'No Killing' beliefs, you'd be twice as powerful... You know that, right?" Aethir took a moment to think for a moment. 'Dropping my no kill belief...' Aethir gulped, thinking to himself, 'Just kill...and don't worry about knocking out enemies...' These dark tempting thoughts floated in the boy's mind as he thought about himself dropping  all he believed and gave up on that which he preached for years. 'Maybe I should give in...?'  'Why am I not killing those who oppose me...?'  'I'm capable of killing...So why-' Aethir paused, thinking of the death of an innocent animal in his life. How the animal was unfairly killed due to trusting humans. How the animal was killed and not given the choice to run free. And deep down, Aethir knew what kept him from killing. "No," Aethir shook his head, staring at the man, "No amount of power can replace a live." the boy spoke as the man chuckled, the flash back coming to an end.


"That's right..." Aethir nodded, thinking back further than he had ever done, years back to his house hold. "The night of the burning building...The reason why I don't kill is because..." the boy paused, looking down at his reflection in the running river, "I don't want anyone to experience that pain." he nodded, smiling, "I don't care who you are. Someone cares for someone else. There isn't a single person who isn't cared for! If someone dies...there's pain." Taking a deep breath, Aethir smiled once more, standing and walking onto the river. Balancing the chakra in his feet, he thought back to himself. 'So then how have I made a change in this world so far...?' the boy thought, then gasped, thinking about all of the people he's help in both Konoha and Kumo. 'Thank you...' the voice of the old woman on the mountain of Konoha came to mind, Aethir helping the woman with her shopping and chores. 'Aethir Lamdem...? Well I'll be... I guess there are some tricks left in the world to see, huh...?' Aethir smiled, hearing the farmer's voice in his head, remembering how he helped him in his time of need. 'Well, while it's not the best job in the world, it's a job done well enough~' the boy nodded to the konoha ninja, commenting on his paint job. "Thank you very much." he replied to the mental voice, more confidently than he did back then. The boy thought about the park he cleaned up, thinking about the kids playing in it. 'Told ya' I can do it!' Aethir grinned, hearing the ninja at the Konoha academy speak to him. "Never doubted you or a second." he replied to him, remembering the look on his face once he heard the compliment, his classmates clapping for him as he succeeded the class of students. The final nail in the coffin was back when Aethir was in Kumo, remembering the way the female ninja treated the poor troll.


As the boy was doing battle with the troll, his arms were in ruins due to being foolish enough to try and block such a strong punch. His clones, luckily, saved him enough time to form a large electric javelin. As he threw it, the clones unleashed their water bullets, collapsing into regular water due to running out of chakra to hold shape. As the troll was now soaked, Aethir fired 'wave of inspiration' to the soaked troll, the creature kneeling where it was. As the boy panted, looking at the troll, it breathed heavily, still alive obviously. "You found it! Now kill it!" Aethir stared in disbelief at the female ninja as she continued to try and get Aethir to kill. 'Someone feels pain from another's death...' Aethir remembered, refusing to kill the troll. However, the Kumo ninja unloaded their raiton attacks, causing the troll to wail in pain, looking at Aethir with a pleading look. The boy stared, not sure what to do,but thinking back, Aethir knew that he should have stopped her... He should have, some way! The troll laid there, now dead as the boy was informed to come get his reward... 'Someone killing for revenge... Does it make it right...?' Aethir thought to himself, staring at the troll. 'Someone is always hurt by another's death...But to survive, this troll needed to eat...' the boy continued to stare at the troll, thinking, 'Couldn't...Couldn't they just have supplied the poor troll some food...?' the boy closed his eyes, returning back to reality.


As the boy stood on the Naka river, he took a deep breath, thinking about his own question. "No," he shook his head as his clones began to take shape, "Revenge...is never correct. The right thing to do is to let go." Aethir nodded, taking in a deep breath, then exhaling. 'Let go...Let go...If someone causing trouble has been warned, then punishment is to be served.' The boy closed his eyes tighter, thinking back to his most recent action in Kumo.

Roaring loudly, this creature...this monster...was tearing apart limb from limb a clone of Aethir. One after another, clones with try to attack the monster, the boys being either crushed or ripped apart. "W-What the-" Aethir shuddered, feeling his first real intense fear in the ninja world as he was staring at his torn apart clones reverting to water. He heard his own cries of pain as he heard bones crackling, the clones left alive changing to water. This monster appeared to be showing no remorse for the death of Aethir, almost as if it had it out for him from the start! 'This thing would have killed me if my brother's voice didn't intervene...' Aethir shivered from the thought as he remembered the voice of his brother. 'There's just no way to keep a peaceful side in this world, Aethir...' Aethir nodded, realizing that side he's on, 'Soon, you'll have to kill or be killed...' Aethir remembered how he became enraged and feared for his life, throwing all of his offensive jutsus at the monster, not caring about knocking it out. He feared for his life and for a moment...he gave into the opposite of what he was fighting against. Hatred...anger...pain.... 'You will have to kill those who dare reject your dream. Besides,' the monsters roared loudly, it's face enraged as it soon collapsed to the ground, not showing signs of life, 'How can you change a world if you're dead...?'


'I can't change the world if I'm dead...' Aethir said, preparing himself to fight his clones once more, 'But I can...give fair warning to those I must fight. I won't just lay down and take it just because I choose not to kill a criminal.' Aethir nods, taking on all of his clones at once. As a clone rushed in to try and trip Aethir, the boy leaped high into the air, soon stomping his clone directly square on the face. The clone reverted to ward as Aethir turned to see water bullets flying towards him. 'I won't show mercy to those who know from right and wrong...Those who know full well of what they're doing.' Aethir nodded, kicking the water bullets away with the sole of his shoes and the force of his kick, the clone staring in awe. As he ran towards the water clone, he jumped behind it, grabbing both of it's arms while pressing his feet on it's back, pulling the arms as hard as he could and pressing  the legs just as hard, the clone's arms giving way.  Water ran down Aethir's face as he maintained a serious face, the clones running in all together to take down the prime Aethir. 'I'll treat everyone just as I have been. With respect!' Aethir nodded, flipping backwards to deliver a kick to one of the clone's chins. However, instead of completing the back flip, Aethir forced his body forward, back to the standing position, leaping high into the air, above the rising clone. "Skull splitter." he said in a hushed voice, dropping a VERY strong axe kick onto the skull's cranium, the head smashing, soon turning to water. 'But I can not...' Aethir turned, to see a clone rushing in behind him. He flipped forward halfway, kicking the clone's chin with his foot, sending the clone up wards. As he turned quickly, the boy flipped backwards halfway, kicking the clone even higher, 'Nor will not...!' Aethir formed quick hand seals, three lightning rods hovering around the boy. 'Be taken advantage of!!' Gripping one rod to create a large javelin, the boy took aim, piercing the midair clone right in the chest. As water droplets poured down to the boy looking up, the boy quickly formed one more clone, the clone staring innocently to Aethir. The boy walked over to the clone, giving it the tightest hug it could, feeling awful inside. Killing clones, even if it's just his own clone, felt like killing innocent people... But ultimately, as long as Aethir's alive, the clones are alive. He didn't kill anyone. But still...this new mindset will take some getting used to. The clone stared at Aethir, obviously confused, the boy simply walking over to his clothes to put them on. "Let's...just get going." Aethir nodded, the clone tilting his head curious as he followed Aethir, both leaving the Naka river area.