Spoiler:

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Spoiler:

He'd been up all night, researching something that had caught his eye; a skill that the ninja of villages used to great effect for a variety of tasks; something called 'Genjutsu', or Illusionary Techniques. From what Tre could gather, these techniques are employed in the same fashion as ninjutsu, requiring chakra and hand seals. However, the primary difference between the two is that the effects of genjutsu are illusory; instead of attacking the victim's body, like taijutsu or ninjutsu, genjutsu techniques manipulate the flow of chakra in the victim's brain, thus causing a disruption in their senses.

He'd been up all night, researching something that had caught his eye; a skill that the ninja of villages used to great effect for a variety of tasks; something called 'Genjutsu', or Illusionary Techniques. From what Tre could gather, these techniques are employed in the same fashion as ninjutsu, requiring chakra and hand seals. However, the primary difference between the two is that the effects of genjutsu are illusory; instead of attacking the victim's body, like taijutsu or ninjutsu, genjutsu techniques manipulate the flow of chakra in the victim's brain, thus causing a disruption in their senses.


Apparently, this is frequently used to create false images or to cause pain from trauma (because the body is led to believe it is in pain); however, there are plenty of other uses depending on the situation. They are not used as often as ninjutsu because they don't physically harm the opponent. Genjutsu is created when a ninja controls the chakra flow of the opponent's cerebral nervous system, thereby affecting their five senses. Those under the influence of genjutsu will either appear to be unconscious or continue to move around under the pretence of the genjutsu. The latter was considered very effective in battle as a genjutsu user can make themselves appear to be somewhere else and attack the victim from behind or change the environment to make the victim see a flat plain where there is a steep cliff.


Closing the book, Tre sat back and stretched his arms and legs, attempting to work out the stiffness that built up during his reading. A quick glance at the clock would read 2:40 am; had he really been engrossed in his book for two hours? He'd only meant to read a little and wind down before he went to sleep, but given the time, it seemed that sleep was not going to happen tonight. A light snore from his bed caused him to turn and look back. His latest conquest was peacefully asleep; a young ninja by the name of Xio Mishima, ironicly his new former classmate. The male had studied with Tre for several months before this point in order to pass thier graduation exams, something that neither had planned: it was be request from thier academy teacher that Tre assist this  young man to help him pass. A small celebration had turned into a night drinking, with the younger betting the Hatake he could drink him under the table. Not one to turn down a wager of such nature, the elder ninja accepted, and then proceeded to show Xio exactly how it was done. By the end of the night, both were quite drunk. Rather than let the young man walk home at that time of the night, the elder ninja offered to let Xio stay at his house for the night, as it was not far from the bar. Once home, one thing let to another and .. well... a satisfied Tre burned through the alcohol in his system while showing one of his classmates exactly why he was called 'King'.


Perhaps it was time for a shower? Getting up from his desk, Tre stripped down to his small clothes and fetched a clean pair of underwear from a nearby drawer. Stepping into the adjoining bathroom, he turned on the hot water. He prefered his showers burning, and the bathroom to feel like a sauna. As the water began to heat, and the bathroom began to steam, he couldnt help but think over what he'd been reading, mulling it over in his mind. There had been mention of something called 'Yin release'. From what he could understand,it was the opposite of his own chakra nature, Yang release. Where as Yang release techniques were based on the physical energy that governs vitality, Yin release, or "Dark Style" or "Shadow Style", were based based on the spiritual energy that governs imagination, can be used to create form out of nothingness. According to the texts, the abilities of Genjutsu fell under Yin release. Well, that seemed like the proper place to begin. He had to find a way to discover how to use Yin release, if possible. He had read that the power of a genjutsu relied heavily on a person's intelligence; he did not think himself unintelligent, but this was something he had no experience with whatsoever.


After stripping off the last of his clothes and ducking under the water, the male could not help but groan as the dirt, grime and the scent was scalded off his body. Reaching for the soap, he lathered his body before proceeding to scrub the remaining traces of the scent of sex from his skin. While he was particularly proud of his ability and stamina, he hated smelling like sex for an extended period. While one upon a time, he wore it as a badge of pride [particularly when he first lost his virginity], he had come to realize that that notion was foolish. When he was satisfied that he was finally clean, Tre stepped out from under the water and grabbed a towel hanging nearby. As he dried himself off, he could not help but admire his body. For a man in his late teens, he  had the physique of a man in his late twenties. According to his doctor, his youthfulness was due to the power of his yang nature chakra, which apparently kept his body in top physical condition. He was going to complain; just another wonderful reason to be him.

Once he had put on his undergarments, he stepped back into his bedroom to the smell of breakfast. A quick glance at the bed would confirm that Xio was still asleep; so who the hell was cooking? Was Uno or Due awake? Did his 'fun' wake one of them up? Throwing on an A-shirt and sweatpants, the commander made his way to the kitchen and peeked in. Sitting on the table were two plates, and a folded piece of paper. Each plate contained an assortment of breakfast foods; egg done over easy, sausage links, biscuts, hash browns, bacon and toast. Mugs of coffee were settled next to each plate, as were tall glasses of juice.

Picking up the note, Tre would open it to read the message it contained:


Tre snorted, crumpling the paper and pulling out a chair. He found it amusing, to say the least; there was a bit of truth to the note; on a previous 'play date' had indeed awoken the neighbors, but that was only because his conquest at the time had been a bit of a moaner. Turning his attention to his food, he wolfed it down rather quickly. Sex always gave him an huge appetite, so none of it would go to waste. Finding more coffee in the pot, he would refill his cup and set about placing the second plate into a fridge after covering it up. He was no longer sleepy by that point, and it was late and or early enough for him to not want to bother with it anyway. For a moment, the male wondered what he could do with his extra time -- wait. The prospect of a few extra missions sounded good. He was not worried about Xio -- he knew the male well enough, and it was not the first time he had slept over and woke up to find himself alone. Tre would not even bothering to leave him a note.

After setting his dishes into the sink to be washed later, the male headed back to the bedroom to get changed. His choice of clothing was typical for himself; a black jacket with skull-motif buttons and sequenced details on pockets. He keeps it unzipped and the tag on the zipper also has a small skull. Underneath he wears a steel gray shirt with skull prints. Tré wears black cropped trousers and black buckled boots with red soles. He wears a black motorcycle glovelet on his left hand. When he was satisfied with his clothes, he grabbed a brush and pulled it through his hair, thanking whatever deity that watched over him that he was blessed with easy to manage hair. When he was done, Tre snatched up his identification papers, his hitai-ate, a kunai and three shuriken to deposit into clothes in various places, then headed out the door.

It would not take him long to reach the mission board; perks of being from a small family like his was that they were able to live just about anywhere in the village instead of being regulated to a compound like most of the larger clans. As such, their home was close to the administration building, making it very easy for him and his siblings to pick up missions on the fly. Stepping into the building through the door, he would glance around. As expected at nearly four in the morning, the place was empty, save for the overnight secretary who was slumped at her desk, softly snoring. Chuckling quietly, the male made way over to the mission board, taking a quick look to see what was there to be completed. He quickly saw the latest missions were occupied by his siblings, something about a scouting and delivery mission that seemed like it would take them several days to complete. Shrugging it off, the male glanced through what was left, and settled on one that was marked as priority; those generally tended to pay a bit more than the average mission. It was simple enough; all that was required was for a simple delivery to one of the army training camp outposts. Seemed legit enough. Pulling the mission down from the board, he took it over to the desk and rang the bell. The secretary jumped up with a gasp, knocking her stationery to the floor.

Tre offered her a polite smile as he waited for the female to compose her self. Pulling out his identification papers, he slid them across the desk to her.  "Hatake Tre, I.D. number zero nine two eight eight nine. I'll be taking this mission here."

The secretary adjusted her glasses, peering down at the mission. "Oh, okay. One moment, there is a bit of paperwork involved with this mission since its priority. Can you wait a second?"

"Yes ma'am. I got nothing but time." The Hatake grinned at her as she walked away, nodding slowly. It was true -- he did have nothing but time. With that breakfast in his belly, he was feeling fine; like he could go for hours.  A moment later, the secretary reappeared, holding a form and offering him a pen. "Sign here, please."

Tre signed the form, and slid it back to the female who placed a scroll onto the desk and slid it over to Tre. "Because of the sensitive nature of the contents, it has been sealed into this scroll. However, that seal on it is timed, and will expire in seven hours. Until then, the contents cannot be unsealed unless you have the correct counter seal from the Jounin Sakumo Hatoshi, the man in charge of the outpost, but the contents of the scroll must be delivered long before then. We clear?"

"Crystal." With a set of instructions like that, the male could only wonder what exactly was sealed into the scroll. Perhaps some sort of secret battle formations? Orders to attack a foreign nation?

"Alright then; the training camp is called Yamamoto, located east of the village. If you head out the east gate, following the road, you'll see the sign pointing the way. The outpost is located near the boarder with the Land of Grass, or whats left of it. Good luck." There was nothing else to say; Tre tucked the scroll into his jacket with another smile and nod, before leaving out the administration building. He followed the secretary's instructions, heading towards the east gate of the village. Before he arrived there, he stopped for  moment to grab another cup of coffee from one of the few stores that remained open twenty four seven. Once he was armed with his brew, the male made his way out of the gates of the village.

2065 WC

He was making good time; the sun was just starting to peek over the horizion, and he was no more than a half hour's run from the base camp. The scroll containing the package he was delivering was still tucked away into his jacket, hidden from the world. It would not be long until he could turn in the scroll, and head back to accept his payment for the mission. For the most part, his trip had been uneventful; save for the legnth of time that it was taking him to complete it. Despite him making good time, squeezing a trip that normally took twice as long into half the time was a chore in and of itself.

Now, he just wanted to go home and go to sleep. Most of his 'extra' energy was burned up at this point, he was starting to 'lag' some what. But it was okay. All he had to do was make it, and he could go home.

As he came upon the camp, the male would be stopped by the guards stationed outside the perimeter.  Wanting to get this entire ordeal over with, he flat out told them that he had a package to deliver to that was time sensitive. The one of the older ninja nodded, saying that Tre was expected, and they would escort him to Sakumo Hatoshi. As Tre followed the guard ninja through the camp, he could not help but look around; it was his first time visiting a outpost such as this, so he was curious as to what went on here. Much to his surprise, the outpost seemed just like the barracks back in the village. The only difference he could see was that these ninja were simply stationed outside the village. He did not exactly know what he expected to see, perhaps a unit of hardened ANBU? Either way, he was no disappointed, just... underwhelmed.

"This way." The previous ninja was speaking to him, pulling aside a tent flap to allow him inside. Once he stepped inside, the flap was closed behind him. Inside the tent, an older male was sitting at the table. Upon Tre turning towards him, he would motion at the empty seat across the table from him. "Have a seat, son; My name is Sakumo Hatoshi. I'm the H.N.I.C, or Head Ninja In Charge. I was told you have something for me?"

Tre nodded, producing the scroll  that he was to deliver from his jacket. He had the item on the table, then slide it accross to the man.  Sakumo Hatoshi would take the scroll and place it into his pocket without look at it, before nodding to Tre. "Thank you for the delivery, but I am afraid I must ask you another favor of you. There will be a merchant arriving at this outpost this afternoon, and he will be heading to Konoha once he is finished here. He does not know the way to the village, and has traveled all the way from Iwagakure. He claims to have wares that are too valuable for him to travel without escort; he is currently traveling with samurai, but they are paid only as far as the border of where Hino no Kuni meets Kusa no Kuni. Would you kindly escort him to Konoha as you make your way? I cannot spare any soldiers at the moment, otherwise I would not bother asking."

Tre blinked slowly; was this man asking him, or ordering him to do this? Either way, it was no skin off  his back -- he was heading to Konoha, so he might as well keep an eye on this guy as he went. "Uh, sure. I will do it; I have no where to be currently."

Sakumo Hatoshi nodded, smiling. "Wonderful. Tanama Housuki is his name, and he will be arriving this afternoon, as I said." The male stood up, reaching across the table with his hand extended to grasp, which Tre took and returned a firm handshake. "I imagine that you have been up since the late evening to deliver this package. You are welcome to find an open bunk in the barracks and get some rest. I am sure it is going to be a long trek home."

Tre grinned slowly; did he really look that tired? Either way, he was not about to turn down the generous offer for some much needed rest. "Thank you sir. I will take that offer, and I shall make sure Tanama Housuki makes it to the village of Konohagakure no Sato without a hair misplaced upon his head."

"Thats the spirit, son! Dismissed."

~~~

It would be several hours later that Tre would awaken, stepping out of the barracks. A 'morning' piss and a quick meal in the mess hall, the male stepped out into the camp to have a look around. Even now, Tre just could not get over what the atmosphere of the training camp was like -- relaxed, yet alert. It was amazing, to say the least. He wandered around the camp, quietly assisting the soldiers where he could. He was even able to participate in and run a training course. It was not easy, running that drill class; he was asked to demonstrate to the assembled soldiers his skills with a sword. He showed them as best he could, making sure that they understood that his particular fighting style was based around deception and quick attacks. The highlight of the training session came when Tre managed to fool one of the soldier into thinking that he was able to use any and every Kekkei Genkai he saw in the course of thier spar. The shocked look on the soldier's face was priceless, and Tre was not quite sure the man believed him when Tre explained that it was all just genjutsu.

As the day drew to a close, Tre was finished up with the training class and took another meal in the mess hall. As he was finishing and talking with some of the soldiers from the class, a messenger would approach him, telling him that Tanama Housuki was ready to depart, and would meet him at the gates of the outpost. Tre was surprised to hear this, but concluded that the merchat had merely arrived while he was sleeping, or assisting the training class.

Approaching the gates of the outpost, he caught sight of the merchant adjusting the packs stacked on his wagon. Tre would approach Tanama Housuki, and introduce himself as the ninja who would be escorting him to Konohagakure no Sato. The merchant nodded, before climbing up onto the seat of the wagon and offering Tre the seat beside him. Nodding his head, Tre took up the seat besdide the merchant, thankful that he did not need to walk back to Konohagakure no Sato. The trip back was pretty uneventful, save for the cow that was sleeping in the middle of the road at one point. When they arrived at the gates of the village, Tanama Housuki thanked Tre for his services, and handed him a wrapped package for himself. As Tre opened it, Tanama Housuki remarked that he had heard of Tre and his remarkable ability to blend his genjutsu skills with that of his swordsmanship skills, and felt he should have this sword. According to the smith that crafted it, the sword was rumored to enhance the weilders prowess with genjutsu, and as such, was named the Mirage Blade. Tre thanked him profusely, and then hopped off carriage. Who knew that a simple package delivery would turn into him gaining a sword.

As Tre departed, the merchant smiled to himself. It would seem like a strange turn of events was at play here; several months ago a woman whom was a beloved customer of his sent him a letter requesting a sword for her one of her two sons, a young man whom was skilled in the arts of illusions and kenjutsu. This woman, whom had saved his life in one of the most dire times of his life, was one of the most kind people that he could ever have met, and so he had agreed to create the weapon for her son. Before the weapon could be completed, word reached him of her untimely death. The merchant, in honor of what this woman had done for him, continued to create the sword to honor her. When the weapon was completed, the merchant set out to travel to Hi no Kuni and ultimately, Konohagakure no Sato to pray for this woman's soul at the memorial and to deliver the finished weapon to her son. Lo and behold, unbeknownst to him, it was her son that escorted him to the very gates of the village he came to pray for her.

"Be proud, Celia. He's gown up to be a fine young man."

1478 | 3543


Merchant Escort: 3543/1000 -- Taking C rank Mission Credit

Drill Instructor: 2543/1000 -- Taking C rank Mission Credit

Supply Run: 1543/600 -- Taking D rank Mission Credit

943 WC remaining

SPD E-0 to D-0 943/750

PER E-0 to E-1 193/75

REA E-0 to E-1 118/75