He walked. The figure in the distance lost behind the midst of the snow that fell frantically, covering the environment with a blanket of the white powder. The three marks upon his face set like war paint made his face that much easier to remember at first glance. His face creased as he tried to shield himself from the cold white powder with squinted eyes and his hand held firmly across the brim of his hat. It was remarkable. To see snow such as this in the land of fire was a rare, daresay, treat? The Hokage could not speak for everyone when he says he enjoyed the cold and brisk feeling of this nature and he was right to say so. His vision was limited. His surroundings were grey and blurry as it was harsh on the eyes.

"Hello?" Sousetsu called but none had answered.

"HELLO!?" he shouted. His cry for help still fell on no ears but echoed through the wildlife bouncing off the trees that only became visible when he stood within five feet of their presence.

Who was to say he was even in the land of fire anymore?

His squinted eyes looked up and the breeze took its chance to glide passed them leaving tears to reveal themselves from the eyes of the Senju. He closed his eyes briefly letting the water run from them and down his cheeks. An odd sensation occurred to him. The tears did not seem to travel anymore, lost as he was in his own journey. His hand left the brim of his hat to check that the tear was now solid. Ice lingering on his face. His hat flew into the nether that was the snowy wasteland. His eyes scanned in the direction where it flew and he proceeded to make his way back to find it. His feet felt burdened with an extra ton added to their initial weight. The snow quickly turned to ice.

"How is this possible?" he asked himself as a small wisp escaped his mouth. He hadn't noticed the small clouds of smoke leave his body until now. He did not know where he was, or how he got here. He gripped his coat tight as he tried to conserve all the heat his body would let out, but the cold was only getting worse. The snow turned to hail. The soft cold breeze changed to that of small blunt daggers pricking at his body in all directions. A cut revealed itself on his face as the blood slowly spewed from the area before freezing over almost instantly. His hand brushed his wound with tenderness. His blood turned to ice.

The wind quickened in pace and the daggers continued to scrape his body like broken glass. He turned away from the direction of the hail but was greeted with more from the opposite direction also. His eyes widened. The wind had no correlation. Every direction the hail hurled itself was towards him, as if he was a magnet to the now ice 'spears'. They were growing as time went on. His teeth began to grind as he endured the pain while persevering through the rough conditions that the snow had burdened him with.

A sudden halt.

The sound escaped.

All was quiet as he looked down to find the spears of ice were penetrating his skin. Another landed into his abs before his very eyes. Still, no sound could be heard.

There was no blood as it simply froze when exposed. Was this a jutsu? Was he to endure all this pain before falling to his hunter?

He fell to his knees. The sound returned but it did not matter as his body became numb with the cold. His head fell into the blanket of snow before him.

He awoke. Nothing but a bright white room surrounded him. Checking his body frantically he found no wounds. Was this Genjutsu? Placing his hand before him and releasing the jutsu he had found himself still in the same room. His wounds were still missing. This was not Genjutsu to his surprise. The known tactician could not find reasoning behind this alien technique. A look of confusion dressed his face as he stood and began to walk what felt like an endless hallway. He could see nothing that was different from what he had already passed.

He stopped. "What is happening?" he placed his head into his palms before rubbing his face and looking up to find himself in the same bright white hallway but accompanied by rows of dark doors on each side. As he walked he looked inside the window pane from the first door finding something he recognized. It was his younger self studying under a tree. The surroundings were so vivid and inviting that he opened to door with haste to find nothing but more white. His face sank as he slowly closed the door once more, seeing the same memory play back in the window once more.

As he walked he found more memories of his childhood, then his Genin years, then Chuunin...

It wasn't until he had arrived to the doors with chains that he grew more curious. Peeking into the first chained down door he had seen Ukiyo, a memory he still remembers each day as they pass him by. With a clenched jaw and swallowing whole he moved on. The next chained door held Uchiha Hao, his first worthy adversary and major threat.

The pattern became clear to him. These were leading up to his current life, he could find his way back at the end of the hallway. With a brisk walk he heard the screams of many within a few of his haunted memories that the doors held locked away until one suddenly stood out.

The door was barely visible as the chains covered the oak entirely. The most dangerous memory lay here it seemed. He had to satisfy his curiosity and crept towards the door with caution. Looking inside he saw the same white hallway. Nothing different from where he was. A face emerged suddenly with a dark grin causing Sousetsu to flinch before inspecting the specimen closer. It was himself. The dark grin was familiar to him. He wore it when he fought those he intended to kill. The real 'Azure Beast'.

He closed his eyes before moving on to find the last door with chains already ripped apart. Judging by the amount of metal it would equal that of the door that held the beast. He approached with caution and peeped through the looking glass. It was some sort of demon.

His eyes widened, energy left his body suddenly as if he was about to lose his balance and faint where he stood.    Why was there a demon here? And why was the chains laying on the floor instead of containing it? The door began to move away along with the others. The bright white room was once again keeping Sousetsu isolated from any other way. The sound of rushing water could be heard in the distance. He turned his head slowly towards the direction of the hallway from which the waters could be heard and the coursing river was headed towards him.

In an instant, he was taken away. His teeth clamped down tight as he endured the impact and got carried away by the unexplained. He resurfaced gasping for air to find himself in the center of a large body of water that stretched for miles on end. He was on his own.  He was swept away from his memories and surrounded by the source of his power.

He realized this. It was his power. To be killed by something he had trained his entire life with would be foolish. Laughable. He seemed to have reached the bottom, the waters floor, and opened his eyes to find the predators of the seven seas enclose in on him.

He tightened his fists. His hands came together and a stream of water began to emerge in a circle around him. It shot upwards, clearing a path for him where water seemed to ignore. A perfect circular path led the way to the clouds above almost like an invisible pipe. The air filled his lungs once more. The wildlife scurried away as the power emitted with immense force from this particular Senju.

"This all you got? he grinned.

"If this is all you have then I will take back what is rightfully mine!" he roared.

The waters that surrounded him began to enter the circle around his feet, almost as if a great force was draining the ocean itself in this small circle in comparison. Sousetsu stood with firm feet grounding him as his hands maintained the hand seal. His face possessed a clenched jaw and closed eyes. Another roar left him. It was powerful, almost as if he summoned all the wild beasts to roar with him as the last of the water was swallowed whole beneath him.

He awoke. He was drenched in cold sweat. He sat up and looked to Chisaki who lay peacefully next to where was. He was home. Was it a dream? A nightmare? An epiphany? A calling? There were too many questions but which was the answer? Most of all, he thought about what this all meant. Who was Sousetsu?

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