Blistered toes wandered through the dusty path, a path that possessed trees littering the route. His legs were tiring and his stomach growled. It became obvious to him that at some point, he went off track. His map was of little use to him. The map had few reference points since the land was essentially one gargantuan rock. His eyes surveyed the area in hopes of finding some sense of direction, a signal. His right hand scratched the back of his head as he muttered. “This village really is hidden.” His voice lacked the confidence and was replaced with a sense of melancholy. The young Hattori seemed to be all alone, no one in sight in any direction. With every passing step, the earth beneath him crunched. Even this illusionist could not control his mind to change his perceptions of reality. This was the reality of a distressing situation, a reality that Seito had no control over. His shoulders shrugged as he continued to press onto into a seemingly endless march. The cool chilling winds and clouds expunged the warmth of the sun sending shivers down Seito’s spine.

Not only was Seito lost but he was also a foreign shinobi. He knew nothing about the geography of the Lightning Country, in fact; he was incapable of finding Kumogakure. If there was anyone who was going to be attacked it was going to be the foreign shinobi, the one with no backup anywhere. The thought lingered and poisoned his mind, his own suspicions made his journey that much longer. Now, he was wishing he spent more time looking at the Lightning Country’s crime rates.

Black circles widened as Seito two figures appeared on the same hidden route as Seito. “Hmm…” His mind shot into different directions, what should he do? He was completely alone with no guidance; he had no one to rely on. The idea of getting into a battle here was something that was not appealing for the tired shinobi. Hopefully the two would prove to be helpful. The shinobi tightened his headband and maintained his pace towards the two travelers. The smaller one was clearly more nervous and the taller one seemed to be in control due to his confidence. Seito analyzed the two from a safe distance, utilizing ocular pat downs that he learned from working with the intelligence division. The boy did not want to bring any attention to himself nor did he want to make this situation worse.

The illusionist stopped about 10 meters in front of the two and shouted loud enough so that the two could clearly hear the question that Seito poised. “Do you know where Kumogakure is?” He spoke in an attempt to get directions. Seito was concerned because this could be evidence to conclude that Seito was lost, thus making him an easy target. But, he figured that if they were going to attack, they would have regardless if he were lost or not. If not, then Seito could have found new directions to Kumogakure. It was the best way for him to obtain new intelligence. He watched as the two begun to reach for something inside of their robes and Seito slowly went to grab for his tanto that was above his left shoulder. Of course, he would act as if he was scratching the back of his head. Maybe the shinobi was being overly paranoid, or maybe he was doing what he needed to do to keep him alive.

He certainly was wishing he had more experience.

His eye’s clinched to grasp a better perception of the two. Upon further investigation, Seito concluded there was something dubious about these two. He response given seemed synthetic and forced, detected sarcasm when he referred to Seito as ‘buddy’. The cold and harsh voice forced the Kiri shinobi to raise an eyebrow. Many people were suspicious of Seito because his ability to alter perceptions and Seito mentally accused the behemoth of the same thing. The opposing crony’s reaction forced even more concern. ‘Hmmm…’ Yuuta’s reaction was all too apprehensive. Seito figured he would play along for now. He was already on high alert and had little trust for these two. Their rags of clothing, his grimacing grin and their questionable body language and hand motions compelled vigilance.

“Hattori Seito.” He exclaimed confidently. At this point, the two were not stopping and getting too close. Seito could see the inferior associate’s hand begin to tremble while obviously clinching something in his robe. The two mindlessly walked towards the foreign shinobi with malicious intent; Seito effortlessly interpreted it off the hesitant one. His right hand concealed from sight due to his cranium begun to perform three swift handseals. “I have orders given directly by the Mizukage. There must be no delay.” Proclaiming, ensuring that the duo apprehended. A sly grin appeared on his face as he knew the two would be caught, it would take a few moments for the victims to feel the wraith of his genjutsu. Luckily, there was no one else in sight because they too could have fallen victim to Seito’s jutsu.

The inexperienced shinobi’s knee begun to tremble and his stomach begun to turn; the reality of the situation was coming to life. Who was stronger? It was not that he was afraid of these two, but he knew nothing about them. The duo was assured with their ability, since they were walking right up to Seito, a Kirigakure shinobi. To challenge any shinobi displayed true competence or sheer recklessness. Regardless, one thing that Seito knew was to never underestimate his opponent. A silver of hope still stirred in Seito’s mind, he could have been reading the situation all-wrong but it was too late for that. If they were not enemies, then Seito would surely force them to be adversaries by applying a genjutsu.

Their footsteps trampled the dense terrain. Hotaka kept shooting his eyes over to his boss, waiting for something. His body was prepared to motion, however; it was waiting for something. Black dots forced their way into the eyes of the titan, the wielder had no concerns to stare the other in the eye, and he knew who the boss was. The boss man had a grin on his face, as if he was about to earn some reward; a greedy grin indeed. Of course, he kept himself on high alert awaiting a reaction from the two. He did not want this to escalate but this power was up to the two.

With a voice of a commander, Seito declared,
“Now, point me in the direction of Kumogakure.”

A mutiny occurred, the colossus flicked his finger towards the genin. Yuuta wildly swung out a mace from his robe with power that could have easily cause broken ribs. A backwards leap from the boy saved his flesh from being shredded. His eyes expanded as a shoulder charged right into his body. He had no time, even with his speed. The blunt forced knocked the young shinobi forcing him to tumble; regaining his balance in the air, his feet settled on a vertical thick trunk. His knees swiftly propelled him away from the trunk, giving the shinobi time to reassess the situation…

Spoiler:

Trembling, Hotaka was too slow for action. His mace barely recovering from the strike as Seito landed on the trunk of the tree. He stood there in a frozen panic as he watched his partner get ambushed by some shinobi. Shaking his head, buzzing off the shoulder charge that trampled him. Seito watched as a figure begun to construct behind the mammoth of a human. ‘A jutsu?’ He thought as his polished tanto made a cunning appearance in his right hand. His other hand was still available to perform jutsu; Seito was skilled enough to only need one hand to perform jutsu, a rare trait among all shinobi. The tactician inspected the battlefield, with a new guest appearance. Seito hastily gathered that he was a shinobi due to his clothing. The stranger seemed to ally himself by Seito’s side, even calling them criminals. A brief sign relieved Seito; he certainly caught a break due to the help of this Kumogakure shinobi. With a moment’s notice, he was back in action.

Casually walking back towards the action, Seito focused his efforts on the inferior unchecked opponent, Hotaka. The feeble minded criminal stood aloof from the two in combat. “There is no escape for you.” He spoke in a calm matter, knowing that his genjutsu was settling gave Seito the confidence that he needed. Hotaka, mace in hand made a foolish attempt to protect Yuuta by dashing over to his aid. The smaller mace lifted above Hotaka’s head, shakily maneuvered. The Kiri shinobi leap into action but was too far away to make an immediate impact. The stranger was a bit reckless in entering the battle because he put his own life in an unproportionate amount of risk; he must much closer to both criminals than Seito was. This made him an easier target to pick off.

At this point, Nora was mounting a mace through agility and nimbleness. This feat was quite impressive and Seito would certainly take note of that, perhaps; even commend him for his bravery and competence. Hotaka was almost within range to strike down his hammer of a mace, Seito had to do something. A grin appeared, he was certain that the promising stranger could have leapt out in time if he noticed the charging mace but the boy continued to observe. He briskly paced over to the three bodies, knowing that at any second; the two criminals would collapse and complain of being stabbed in the back. Best part was that Hotaka would be behind Yuuta, where the strike would occur. Perhaps, Yuuta would blame Hotaka for his own misconceptions. The trickster had no doubt in his mind that the genjutsu would strike. There must have been enough time for Nora to catch Seito standing, seemingly being of no use, of no assistance.

“I told you. There is no escape.” He said with a grimacing stare, showcasing his dark eyes that could very well have been portal to another dimension, another reality.

His eyes shot over to his new comrade, or at least whom he thought was his comrade.

Spoiler:

The genjutsu user noticed that the leviathan had not toppled over in his own pain. A perplexed expression rendered itself onto Seito’s face, but for only a second before became cognizant of the situation. A large kunai wound replaced the man’s eyeball. A light chuckle came out of Seito, showing how sadistic he truly could be. Nora spoke of protecting Kumo’s peace; this left the shinobi with a grin. His voice was genuine and sanguine. This led Seito to conclude that Nora was a true shinobi, a shinobi who fights to protect what is behind him. His light jaunt led him at the feet of his prey, which was lying in pain. Howling in pain, Seito stood inches from him. Settled, overseeing Nora and the puddle of blood he caused. Blood could also be seen on the cheek on the shinobi with a smile that went from cheek-to-cheek. Not only this, but he displayed prowess by being able to handicap the man within seconds. Certainly, Seito would say that Nora has finesse.

"You gonna finish off that one or keep playing with your food?"

Letting out a chuckle, he slowly forced the penetrating blade downward into the heart of the downed crony. Yet, while doing so, Seito had his eyes focused on Nora. This was not meant to be an act of deviance or intimidation but Seito did this for his own purposes. He had never killed a man. With his last dying breathe, the Hattori took his gaze down into the eye’s of whom he is overpowering. Scouting his eyes, Seito ripped out his tanto and sent an arc of blood flying. A splatter of blood made it own his cheek and lips. His natural reaction was to move his lips, forcing some blood to enter his mouth. The strong iron coated his mouth, a truly bloodthirsty shinobi. Returning his tanto into its scabbard; he pointed his eyes back towards the other shinobi.

His elbow reached his cheek, wiping off the blood and revealing a suave smirk. A ‘We fucked them up’ smirk. There definitely was a sense of camaraderie between the two young shinobi, this was an early experience for both of them. A light tip of the head came from Seito for due respects. Clicking his boots, he begun to communicate with poise and tact, one similar to a jonin.

“Hattori Seito. On official orders to Kumogakure. Do you know the way?”

He spoke with a suspicion, built due to prior experiences; the last time he asked, someone swung a mace at him. “I am looking for a Kiri shinobi named Gin Kuroka. Perhaps you have heard of the former Kazekage.” Seito casually, yet confidently  pronounced completely disregarding the dead body that lay at his base.  Even with his calm demeanor, he was still on high alert.

'Nora...' He thought, a name that would forever be embedded in his memory. Gin was considered a legend in Kirigakure and even a demon in Sunakagkure. The Hattori was surprised that not many people have heard of Gin, perhaps; she had not had enough time to claim her presence in Kumogakure yet. 'Sano-sama?!' The boy repeated in his mind. Seito was hoping Nora was referring to the Raikage; it certainly would be an honor to exchange words with such a powerful shinobi. In fact, the most powerful shinobi in the entire village. The young Seito wondered where he was ranked in his village. Suddenly, Nora begun to turn his body and walk away. Seito's eyebrow rose, was he supposed to follow?

A single foot forward in a slow pace...waiting for direction. Nora's arm rose up by his side and Seito had a shinobi reaction as his right arm rushed for his tanto. His fingers stopped before clutching the handle of his shoulder tanto, as Nora called for Seito to follow. "Nora, you say ummm too much. You should be more confident when you speak." The Hattori said as he walked by Nora's side. He made sure that his back was straighten and that he was speaking with confidence. The two left the bodies there for some other wanderer to take care. Killing with no remorse seemed to be a shinobi trait. Seito and Nora were coming up along nicely.

The adrenaline from the killing was long gone, in fact; the entire killing part almost did not exist in his mind. His hands had taken another life, he had become a killer. His father would have been proud, such a strange thing to be proud about. The walk towards Kumogakure would prove to be friendly and it appears that Seito met a new comrade. He had slight chest pains from the hit that he took from the bandit but he was going to be able to soldier on. There will be plenty of time when he is going to get hit and have to pretend like it did not hurt and completely get over the wound. It would be best if he could figure out a way to escape the aching pain, but this was the life of a shinobi; this was a life that he was going to need to get used to. Training his endurance now would serve to be very beneficial in the future. He knew many people would say that life is not about how hard one can hit, but more on how hard one can get hit. His chest must have been bruised to a minimal degree with nothing braking or any major damage. This caused Seito to suck up the pain. He had been hurt more often in training sessions when he was younger. The rest of his body had enough energy to continue but he knew that the adrenaline gave him an extra surge of energy that he used during the battle. He felt the faint effects of fatigue, but once again, it had no significant effect.

[Exit]

Perception and Endurance to D-3
2350/2725