What did it mean to be powerful? Zetsume thought as he was staring at his ceiling fan turn slowly on a bright day. In Kumogakure, days like this were valued as the sky was clear except for patches of clouds that would give a brief relief of heat. The wind would blow down from the mountain tops and give a cool breeze every once in awhile. It was late into the afternoon while he was relaxing despite having the urge to train. Zetsume's eyes closed ever so slight before a nudge was felt at his feet as Repede looked at him with saddened eyes. The dog could tell that his owner was in turmoil but knew not how to help. Giving a small jump the dog got onto Zetsume's bed and laid his head on the man's chest. A small pat was received but not much else as Zetsume laid there deep in thought. No thought could help him feel so powerless to the forces out there, they loomed like a dark cloud despite how bright of a day. How could someone like him really stand to others toe to toe. While he had distance and for most of the part the element of surprise, but other than that if they got in on him he would undoubtedly lose. He had once before on a fellow shinobi let his guard down and was defeated due to it. Zetsume was careless that day but how could that be a proper excuse. He would have to do more training and stop riding off his own current power levels.
Letting in a deep breath followed by a deep exhale that sounded more like a sigh, a small knock was heard at his door. Something that was unusual around these parts. It had been quite sometime since anyone had bothered to travel this far to see him. Both the dog and Zetsume looked at it as if something must have hit it, but no instead another small burst of a knock was heard. Letting a small sigh, Zetsume got up from his comfortable bed. Though he felt happy that something was happening rather than nothing. Curiosity is one hell of a thing.  As he was getting up a young feminine voice called to him from the other side. The young child's voice seemed in distress as she spoke it was followed by small crying noises. "Zetsume-san, there is an issue. Please open if you're in there." At first he was hesitant, it was as if something told him not to but still the door opened ajar he would not let anxiety take control of helping others. Indeed there was a small child there, a young girl no older than the age of ten. Her hair was in a pony tail wearing a pink dress and looked like a small princess. Tears were in her eyes as she looked up at him. Zetsume lives on the outskirts of his village as the boarders stretch far. To his knowledge there was no one else that lived that close to him, and he liked it that way. Kneeling down and placing a hand on her shoulder he spoke in a soft and gentle tone. "Tell me what happened, spare not a detail if you can." Her voice was more shaken than it was when she spoke earlier almost as if relief swooned over her, it was as if she was looking at her hero. "Please you must come to my house, my father he is not himself. Something is wrong with him. It was my birthday and he came home from work and shouted at me to run away from him. I.... I do not know what is wrong with him." Zetsume looked down at her bare feet and the bruises she obtained. He knew she could not travel with him, what if her father means to cause harm to others. Exactly how far did Zetsume's tolerance handle situations that were dire. To his knowledge not to well. The girl had no bruising from being attacked, but that does not mean others could be so lucky as the girl was in quite a distraught state of mind. He could not let her come with him. She might see things that would break the girls heart. If the problem was still there she could also be in danger. She would be safer out here than with him... Everyone is.

"Everything will be alright darling, I want you to stay here until I get back. I am assuming you're Henchi's little girl. I know where your house is and its not far but I must make sure your father is okay. Repede will keep you company, don't be shy to him he is quite a lover pooch. I will be back as soon as possible and if need be, Repede can find me. Please be strong for your family, they may need you more now than ever young one" he patted her head and gave her a heart warming smile. He did not want her to feel fear anymore.

Like that he was off knowing Repede would take care of her with his life if need be. Both he and the dog would die for anyone of their people, it was something that is engraved in them. He did live on the edge of his village but that did not mean he was away from the dangers of the world. Then again not many people knew where he lived, this man's family being one of the few as they did not live far and often asked for his help but that was a long time ago. Zetsume ran with incredible speed because he knew he had not much time to lose as Henchi was a good man he knew that something must have gone wrong for him to shout at his little girl that he always is so proud of. He was always kind to Zetsume and Repede in the past, but Zetsume's own distance factor never let him get too close to the family. By the time he made it there the man's house was torn up, the door was unhinged and all the furniture was scattered. It was either a struggle or perhaps something else. Zetsume checked for blood but none was found. Could they have been looking for something? Letting out a loud shout, Zetsume proceeded to check more areas. "Mr. Henchi, your daughter showed up at my house crying. Is everything alright? Give a shout if you need help! I need to know where you are sir!" At first not a noise was heard, then a faint groan was heard from a room upstairs followed by something that sounded like a body falling. Zetsume rushed to see what the noise was upstairs, he feared for the worse. When he opened the door, Henchi was on the floor bloodied and bruised face down with an arm outward as if he was going to crawl. He undoubtedly was in a struggle of some sort, clothes were torn and his breathing seemed short as if every breath hurt him. Rushing to his side, Zetsume helped the man sit up. "Mr. Henchi what happened here? Your daughter is safe at my house with Repede. I need to know what happened so I can help you. You look like hell sir."

The older gentleman coughed a little and smiled at the words Zetsume spoke when he said his girl was safe. He could hardly speak but words were muttered. "Small.... gang.... South.....I am sorry... Elizabeth they took her.... I am so sorrryy..." The man's eyes closed as he passed out but he still had a pulse a strong one at that. Zetsume knew not of what was happening or even if he could find the perpetrators, but he could not let this go unnoticed on his watch. This was his village and he would be damned if a group of his own people that he is out there bleeding and dying for are harming innocent people. Zetsume made the man comfortable before exiting the house. From this distance Repede should be able to hear his whistle. Zetsume let out a loud high pitched whistle that seemed to echo through the air. Kneeling down he used various pieces of broken wood to make a doctor symbol at the door. Repede would undoubtedly know that Zetsume was here and this man would need a doctor and it could not wait until he came back. Zetsume would carry him to one, but there was no time to lose on catching the ones that did this to him. The faster he got on the trail of these monsters, the quicker he could feel at ease with what is going on around him. A small jolt of excitement seemed to swoon over him but soon vanished and he began pursuit. Clearly something had been happening here, this was not a random attack. Why did the old fool not come to me sooner, and better yet... Where was his wife? Zetsume scanned the ground for group of footprints that could have been south of here. After a short distance of searching he found marks he was looking for. Indeed there had to be at least five men for this amount of tracking. Zetsume jumped from a tree top to get a better look. Most of the imprints were of people of large stature while a few were much smaller, maybe feminine. Zetsume looked in the direction of travel and stayed hot on their tracks. As he ran, the tracks seemed more fresh, either their pace slowed or they were nearing their hide out. Regardless Zetsume would bring justice, but he would have to refrain from lethal methods. Finally a sound of a voice was heard, and Zetsume began to creep around closer and closer to the noise. From the distance he was at there were small tents and a campfire. There were four men gathered around the fire speaking of words that sounded such like victory. The drunkards were having their fill of what they could carry, but this still made Zetsume uneasy about the fifth pattern of prints he found. He would have to make sure there was not a hostage in danger. Zetsume quietly jumped to a tree nearby looking to the sun as it began to slowly set, letting the fire give the only light. The men counted and parted their spoils that consisted of gold, expensive wine, and what happened to appear as scrolls. Perhaps these people were aspiring shinobi that did not make the cut thus were shunned and banned from their clans. Undoubtedly, Zetsume would have to take even greater caution as he looked at them from a distance studying their movement and hoping they drink themselves down. The four large appearing men were drinking throughout the night and never seemed to get enough fill. They would eat, drink, and piss on a tree nearby making jokes about how far they could piss farther than the other. Clearly these men were on a minimal thinking level and this attack was random not planned. It would not be hard for him to take them down from this spot but he would have to refrain from killing them as seeing them rot in jail would be so much more fun to him. Finally one of them made a different move other than to piss. He went into the tent, and the other men cheered from the outside. A small cry was heard from the tent as Zetsume could hear the man say "Oh so you have awaken my sleeping beauty." Panic swooned him as he could guess that their last prize was in the largest tent that the man went into and it was a woman, possibly Henchi's wife, not it had to be her. He must stop it at all costs without causing harm to them unless they deem aggressive to Zetsume.  Zetsume realizing this, shot an arrow from where he was that would pass through the tent and jumping down to make his presence noticed. As a scramble of eyes looked around for the assailant.

"Excuse me, but I need to ask you some questions and I am going to need you to answer as truthfully as you can. Are you the ones that attacked Henchi earlier this afternoon. If I sense you are lying I will cut your tongues out. By order of Jounin status of Kumogakure I command you to lay down your arms or face the consequence."

The men looked at one another and shouted "Like hell we answer to you lap dog" before drawing swords and spears trying to rush Zetsume. However, the other man was still in the tent, something was going on and Zetsume would have to end this small fight quickly. Zetsume quickly drew back his bow and shot in rapid succession into the men's knees as they collapsed to the floor shouting in pain as blood seeped from their knee. Zetsume did not make a fatal shot to arteries, he had no intentions of killing these men but he also was not going to take them too lightly. Clearly these ones were just lackeys of the one inside the tent. Ones without a place able to be brainwashed into causing atrocities. As their screams were echoing the man came from the tent with a woman held in his arms and a blade to her throat. Her clothes were torn and her eyes clearly were swollen from the beatings and crying she must have endured. Zetsume could feel the blood in him begin to boil. These men.... Were taking turns before he showed up. She had been passing out during the time, and while Zetsume was there they did not enter that tent till recently, meaning they like it when they fight back as she was not tied up, but her body was quite in pain. So much blood was on her body, Zetsume drew back his bow and took aim, but the man was hiding behind the woman. He yelled from behind her "STOP OR ELSE I WILL SLIT HER THROAT. GO BACK FROM WHERE YOU CAME AND NO MORE HARM WILL COME TO HER!" Zetsume knew a bold face lie when he heard one. These men have no intentions of letting this woman go until she has fully used her body up. It was not the first time that Zetsume ran across vermin like this. Zetsume glared for a moment before lessening the tension on his bow before setting it down. "Look, if you do kill her I will make the death you experience seem like an eternity in hell. You could scream all you want but out here no one will hear you. That is why you chose this spot is it not? I am here to rescue her and if you think I am going to walk away without her you must be more ignorant than I thought. Why do you not stop being a punk and fight like a man."

Zetsume had hoped that his provocation would stir the man's blood and he could use that moment to go on the offensive. His bow might be on the ground but it would be easy for him to grab it in a moments notice. He would have to wait for this guys response. "If I let her go will you leave us?" He said as his voice began to shake, it seemed he could tell that Zetsume was not playing, he meant every word of how he was planning to make his death as painful as possible. Zetsume did not say a word, he kept his stare on the man not blinking at all with a stern look on his face. Zetsume nodded slightly to let the man know it would be alright if he let go of her. Like that, he let go of the woman and kicked her forward as Zetsume rushed to her and stopped her from falling. He caught her with such grace as the man was breathing heavy waiting to see if Zetsume would keep his word and leave. Zetsume gave the woman a heartfelt hug as he whispered "I am sorry but I can not let this go." Like that he let go of her and jumped back grabbing his bow with such speed and drew back releasing the arrow as it pierced the man's skull through his eye. His large body fell down as his followers looked in horror and began to shout at Zetsume that he was a liar and filth. Zetsume was not lying he would leave them. This far it would be hard for these men without kneecaps to find help. He knew that they would die out here if no one came and he did not care. Zetsume would never allow them to leave alive, he just let their leader die a quick death instead of a long one. He never agreed to leave him alive. Zetsume looked at the other men who were crawling towards Zetsume some hobbling. It was as if they sought after his blood and something murderous was about. However in their current state they would never make it to him, let alone harm him. Zetsume would have to snuff them out just in case they sought revenge on this family again. Zetsume quickly shot the men down as they gargled on their blood before their bodies went limp. The woman had her face covered, Zetsume walked toward her and knelt placing a hand on her shoulder, "Keep your face covered until you are back home. I am sure your family misses you dearly. Don't worry about walking, I have you covered." Zetsume took off his jacket and wrapped it around her before picking her up. She was so light as if the weight of the world vanished and she was safe once again. The woman fell asleep in his arms as he began the walk back.

As Zetsume reached her house, the authorities were there and a group of men rushed to Zetsume's side. Two men took the woman and began to make sure she was alright before carrying her off to the hospital. A man approached Zetsume to question him about what happened. "What happened here, we managed to save this man's life with the help of your dog, however where were you? You do know this man almost died from you leaving." Zetsume let out a long sigh as he would have to explain why he did what he did. How could these people know of the struggles of being a shinobi. They were just personal that governed small things like pick pockets, little did they have to deal with what Zetsume did. Zetsume spoke back firmly on what he had to, "Their daughter was the first to tell me of what was going on. When I came to this house, I made sure that Henchi would not die of something quickly before I left. I am not a doctor but I can tell a dying man when I see one and I knew he was tough enough before proper help came. As for where I was I hunted these men down, and between us, I enjoyed it. They did unspeakable things to this woman that would have landed them years on years in jail that would possible escape. I could not allow them to seek vengeance on this family and thus I made everyone's job easier. They are no longer with us."
The authoritative figured looked at him oddly but nodded and left. He really did not have any power over Zetsume as he was a jounin. Zetsume knew not much would happen to him for this, and for their family to live in peace he would slaughter his own villagers to accomplish this task. Over the next few days, Zetsume spent time with the family to make sure that these men were not linked to others and they would seek vengeance. During this time, Zetsume almost felt like he had a family. They all looked up to him and always were too polite to him when he would show up from the smell of food. Repede even found himself a new friend as he and the girl were inseparable and they would often roam far from the house further than her parents would like but they knew she was in good hands.... or paws to be exact. Almost a week passed before anything happened.

As Zetsume was laying his head down for a sleep, a powerful knock was heard as men shouted they were on urgent news to tell Zetsume something. Opening the door, one of the panting men began to speak, "Zetsume sir, one of the men you killed was the only son of an infamous mob boss outside our walls. He has placed a bounty on your head, our informant told us that every crook within walking distance is going to hunt you down." Letting out a laugh Zetsume just told them that he would implore these people to leave as soon as possible if it was true, he could not let them be in danger and they left after Zetsume thanked them for their contribution. Zetsume knew that if he killed them that this would undoubtedly happen. No one is truly alone in this world but him, and even he had Repede. A link to love that if lost would breed such a disdainful hate that it would black out his morality. Zetsume would have to find this mob boss and bring him down. No one will miss someone like that, hell he might even be paid for it. Zetsume laid his head down as finally something seemed to peek his interest, and Repede let out a small whimper as he felt something changing in Zetsume and did not know if it was for the better or the worse. He would have to get up early in the morning and find more information. That is if he could get some sleep, he might get attacked. Then again Repede would notice anyone trying to sneak inside, he could tell ninja from common thugs. Zetsume let sleep come over him as Repede stayed up late making sure no one was coming before taking a small nap.

Training Perception D-C-3: