There was something interesting about being in a place like the Village Hidden in the Sands after you had grown up living in the lush green forests of Konohagakure no Sato, and that was the fact that the people here seemed so happy and content to live in the mediocrity that was this village. Atsuhiro Mitsuhada frowned as he watched people walk past the cafe, so smug as they went. He wasn't impressed by most of the people in this village, and hadn't been at all in the four or five years he had spent living here. It wasn't that he hated this place, far from it. It had given him a chance to restart his life and try to really build himself up to be one of the greatest shinobi who had ever lived. But as he watched the people baking away in the hot desert sun he could't help but to think that this place was simply some kind of hell hole where people went to die. It really had almost no redeeming factors, besides the fact that there were good looking individuals all around the place and nobody knew about his past, which was an added bonus. He had to be extra careful here, as a Hyuga in Sunagakure would likely be met with hostility.

Atsuhiro moved a hand to loosen the already fairly lose tie around his neck, not liking the feeling of being choked at all but still liking the idea of wearing a tie for the sake of the look. His white linen shirt was unbuttoned three buttons down, showing off his torso fairly well and his black linen pants were hemmed a little shorter than traditional, so that he was showing off his socks when he was sitting and they were just kissing the top of his shoe when he stood. The socks had the symbol of the village on them in white, and were black background. He wore a pair of sunglasses and sat at the table of a small outdoor cafe, one of the places that had become his favorite in the village since he had come here, and sipped on the coffee that he held in his hands, or at least it had been coffee in its first life, as once Atsuhiro had finished that he had filled the cup once more from his flask and now it was pure whiskey. Life was torture, unfortunately, and for the hyuga separated from his home and his love, whiskey was a good substitute.

His red hair fell in front of his face a little bit as he moved a hand to brush it away, sighing slightly. He was feeling as though he was getting stagnant again, although he knew that simply wasn't true. There was so much to do in Suna as opposed to Konoha. There were missions aplenty if he wanted to take them, since crime was abundant in this village, but he simply had no interest in doing so tat the moment. He had spent a long time trying to train but to no avail. He had originally really just tried to settle into his new life, the life of a suna ninja and not of a member of the prestigious main branch of the Hyuga clan. He took another deep swig from the coffee mug and looked across the village, seeing many people walking and going about their business. Such a simple day for many simple folks...how boring. If only something interesting would happen today...

594

Ryu calmly moved along the street. His eye on all those around him. Still Ashamed of his mismatched eyes so he kept the purple one hidden. His blue eye almost shining in the light. His frown keeping to its nature no matter who came by. Never altering as none of these people mattered much to him. Each of them well off and caring nothing for those that were not. He wondered sometimes how long the slums could be ignored. If you didn't acknowledge a problem it went away right? Well that would change when he conquered all the gangs. The slums wouldn't answer to the village anymore. It would be his and they would thrive. If Suna tried to start taxing them after offering no help they would be turned away...if it turned into a fight so be it...For now he had his own business to consider. Sure he ran a bar but he also delivered booze to many locations both slums and not. For now he was running low on hops. Over his right shoulder held there by his right hand in the hand hold was a shiny metal keg. Empty for now but he intended to fill it.

Ryu himself was accustomed to this climate. He had lived here all his life and truthfully, the breeze felt nice. The prison had no windows and was built within a cave. It had always been like an oven in there in the summer and in the winter at nights a freezer. Extreme levels men actually died due to. Ryu alone had managed to survive from his cell block one summer. Hiding the toilet bowl water. Again he had nearly been the only one in another cell block one winter. One of the prison gangs took all their blankets for their cell block...leaving them to freeze. They huddled together but it became a fight as those at the edge wanted further in. Ryu and a couple others had figured out to strip the clothes off the dead and bundle up. This suna heat in the market? It was relaxing. So he strode through the market with his boots clanking with each step due to the three metal clips on each boot clasping it down. Blue jeans were tucked into the boots to keep the sand out. A white shirt wrap as wrapped with the right side over left betraying his dominant hand. Over that he wore and black jean jacket with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows. A sash held his blond hair back mostly but bits of it still spilled down to his chest. His pony tail falling to the small of his back. An eye patch hid his right eye and lastly gloves without fingers covered his hands and a pendant shined hanging from his tattooed and tanned exposed chest. On rags tied around his wrist was the symbol of the Jackal. In the small of his back lastly was a kunai tucked into his belt on the left side and a combat knife on the other side. Some sort of Tanto.

Still as Ryu moved passed the cafe' he didn't even bother to glance at it. Not noticing the observant red head within. People in his vicinity were his problem. Still a breeze rustled his coat revealing the weapons for a moment before it settled down. His attention was more on the road ahead. His feet stopping just passed the cafe' as he noticed six men were moving to block his path. Large men with an assortment of bats and pipes. Typical merchant gear for beating away thieves and such. One big man who was shirtless with only a vest and tan pants with sandals and a bandana held up a picture. Looking at it before looking at Ryu. As he did Ryu seemed to patiently slide the keg over his shoulder and set it on the ground with a thud. He made it look like a simple thing. Like a back pack. Anyone who ever lifted a keg that large though knew that took some strength. being casual about it probably wasn't a good sign. Still the big man stepped forward from the group with a wooden bat over his shoulder and spoke up.

"Mr. Myugan! Mr. Sholts told you to stop underselling him outside of the slums. He gave you a fair warning. Now, we owes you a small token of his displeasure and you ain't buyin hops this month. Now you just take this ere' beatin you leave with just bruises and sprains, you put up a fight? You leave here on a stretcher...whats it gonna be?"

782

It appeared as though nothing would be able to come from this dreadful day, the young Hyuga sitting in his chair and watching the ebb and flow of traffic. He was ready to call it a day, but he found something to latch onto, as he saw a man with an eyepatch walk quickly across the street. He was armed fairly well and he had what appeared to be a keg on his back, which was curious enough, but Atsuhiro noticed that he would end up walking up to a large group of armed men, which would catch his interest instantly. Ah, so either this man was quite powerful, or he was about to see quite the beat-down, though it was likely that no matter what happened the sheer numbers against the man would overtake him. Atsuhiro was not a fan of seeing people get ganged up on, and it was clear to see that these people were pretty pathetic picking on one man like this. He would end up dropping the keg down on the ground as one of them began to speak to him, and had their weapons not made their intent clear enough, their words certainly did. The Hyuga man would step up from his chair, finishing his coffee and moving towards the group.

As he walked a little bit closer, he could see the gang symbol on this jacket, that of the Jackals. Now that was something interesting to see. He almost wondered if he should simply allow this scuffle to play out, as gangsters were part of what was polluting the village, but he knew that he wouldn't be happy seeing that happen, and it was also a chance for him to potentially show off some of his skill. As he walked towards the fight, he removed his tie and his jacket, putting the tie in the coat pocket and dropping the jacket on the ground once he was on the side of the road that the fight seemed to be breaking out. He would be able to use that jacket for a substitution jutsu, were things to get hairy. As he approached he rolled up the cuffs on his shirt, his red hair flowing behind him with each step.

"Geez friend, you sure know how to pick 'em. Did you have to go and piss off every primitive buffoon in the area? These men look like they just walked out of a hardware store with whatever they could get their hands on to hit someone with." His voice was calm but barbed at the same time. He liked to get under peoples skin, an he was fairly positive that these thugs wouldn't really stand a chance against Atsuhiro, and if this other man was any good in a fight it shouldn't be an issue. Now if Atsuhiro ended up having to fight all of them and the other man, it would be a bit more of an issue, but he would be willing to bring his full power to bare. He stood beside the Jackal and nodded as he chuckled softly. "You know, I was hoping for something interesting to happen today, and it looks like you might have given me just that. I hope you don't mind an old man like me getting in on this action, it looks like these guys are out for blood." He would take a fighting stance, left foot forward and right behind, both bent at the knees. His left hand would lead the way, palm out and his right would rest around his belt area, preparing to pull out a Kunai and apply one of the utility fuuinjutsu techniques that he knew to it. He hoped the man would accept his help, but if he decided to turn on him, Atsuhiro would prepare to fight him as well...

1239

Ryu would watch the men as they grinned at him. Buffoons the lot of them. Not a single one held so much as a stance or a hint of a real weapon. Each of them as poor an excuse for a thug as the last. Still it came as no surprise that some rich man from the village wished to crush a competitor in the slums early on. The village didn't give a flying rats ass over who supplied whom and going to the slums over a lack of proper registration was well passed worth it. Still his blue eye would count them before focusing on the one doing the speaking. Squaring him up and considering everything that could come next. Their posture was on edge and none of the other men were at his side but instead slightly behind him. If anything these were simply men paid to do a simple intimidation job. Nothing too serious. Likely the one talking was the only one with any invested interest in this. That would certainly make matters simpler. A small smirk touched Ryu's lips as he observed the big mans words. Hardly finding the warning something to take seriously. Not from this lot anyway. If this Mr. Sholts wanted to scare him off he would need to try harder.

"Geez friend, you sure know how to pick 'em. Did you have to go and piss off every primitive buffoon in the area? These men look like they just walked out of a hardware store with whatever they could get their hands on to hit someone with."

Ryu was a little surprised to hear a voice coming up from behind him. He hadn't sensed any ill intent and had been far too keen on concentrating on what was ahead of him. Truthfully had the individual been part of the group and interested in knocking him upside the head it would of rapidly escalated into an issue. Still Ryu let out a humored snort at the comment about the hardware store. True enough he supposed. Still he looked over the fairly well dressed man. His cuffs rolled up for the moment. However Ryu would stop scanning over him as he came to the sunglasses. A real Billy bad ass type eh? Guy looked like he belonged in an action movie. Still he wondered if it was just some rich kid grown up feeling invincible as the man spoke again. "You know, I was hoping for something interesting to happen today, and it looks like you might have given me just that. I hope you don't mind an old man like me getting in on this action, it looks like these guys are out for blood."

Ryu would raise a single eye brow at him and consider just letting the guy have at them. Maybe have an apple until the stranger got overwhelmed. It wasn't everyday someone stepped into a mess like this one. Not that Ryu was one to turn away charity. Still he would watch as the mans feet would spread and one palm would be held out while the other rested near his side as if near a weapon. Ryu would whistle audibly at the impressive stance. Not one he would expect from a rookie. It was clear this wasn't someone with no knowledge of martial arts. Still Ryu would glance to the side and smile at a lady at her stand. Flipping her a coin he grabbed a green apple in his right hand. Tossing it up and catching it casually as he spoke up.

"My bet is you aren't to familiar with what goes on in the back ground round here stranger. A little closer to the comfortable side of things. See, mobs, much like this one are all to common in the slums. In each one there is always a leader or two. Trick happens to be, you dominate the leader, the pack folds. Allow me to demonstrate on the idiot with the bat yeah?"

Ryu tossed the apple up in the air in an arc for Atsuhiro to catch. The eyes of most everyone drawn up by the apple including the mob and its would be leader. The whole host of them looking up. As they did Ryu stepped hard enough to blow sand back the opposite direction of the way he moved. In a split moment he was standing in front of the mob leader. His left hand raising up as the man instinctively swung his bat. His palm catching it even though it was a two handed swing. Seemingly with ease it stopped with a smack against his palm. "Shoulda put nails in it" Ryu commented before suddenly his left hand while holding the end of the bat shot forward and smashed into the mans nose knocking him out clean. With that done Ryu released the bat to clatter next to the man before looking back at Atsuhiro again. Speaking with a grin.

"Well go on then! Intimidate the lot of them!"

1626

The man standing up to the crowd of people looked Atsuhiro before giving him what Atsuhiro would describe as a quizzical look. He bought an apple off of a nearby vendor, Atsuhiro frowning slightly. This man didn't seem to be in any kind of position to be so cocky towards a group of people, but there was always the chance that he knew something that Atsuhiro didn't. The whistling didn't help with Atsuhiro's agitation, but that was just a personal thing. He couldn't stand cocky people, as they in general just drove him crazy. He would smirk a smug smile as he knew he was going to be showing this kid what a real fighter was like. You didn't cock off to your opponent, you showed them the proper respect and didn't waste a second. As Atsuhiro was about to move in and attack the increasingly angered mob, the man spoke to him. He began suggesting that Atsuhiro was unfamiliar what happened in what Atsuhiro assumed was the underbelly of the village, to which he was partially correct. Atsuhiro had been keeping himself busy finding fights where he could, including in an underground fighting ring in the village where he had grown a small amount of fanfare. He enjoyed the challenge and the fact that it gave him a chance to show off a little bit, something that he didn't get to do when he was sitting at a table sipping on tea. He began speaking about mobs, which to be fair, besides the odd mobster that he might encounter in his fights, and he supposed the guys who ran the ring, he didn't know much about. He spoke about how if you take out the leader the rest would fall, cutting off the head of the snake as it were.

He threw the apple into the air and Atsuhiro didn't bother watching it, watching the man instead. He watched as he quickly caught the leader's bat, stealing it from his hand and making a comment before smashing the man in the face. Atsuhrio would let his eyes briefly find the apple, still falling, as he would quickly kick it towards the next largest member of the group, the apple pulping against that man's face as he looked towards Atsuhiro angrily. The rest of them looked unsure of what to do, but Atsuhiro knew that they were scared, and he had something that he was absolutely positive would send them all running, and possibly the man whom he had become brief allies with. He took a step towards them once again, the large man coming towards him, before Atsuhiro exclaimed "Byakugan!" loud enough so that all of the thugs could hear him, but not loud enough to draw too much attention from the rest of the area. He watched the larger man stop dead in his tracks as the veins around his eyes puffed out and they took on a pale purple tone that was well known, respected and feared across the entire shinobi world. He smiled his half smile once again before beckoning the man forward, the rest of them turning back and starting to leave after the display from the man with the bat, and learning that they faced a user of the Byakugan. At least this one man wasn't a coward, Atsuhiro would get to have a little bit of fun.

The man would run towards him, but Atsuhiro could see the fear in his eye. His chakra was almost non existant, and Atsuhiro could tell he would pose no issue. The man stepped towards him, his sluggish movements extremely easy for someone like Atsuhiro to follow. He would swing a slow right hand cross, which Atsuhiro would quickly counter by striking the man in the bicep, taking all of the power out of the swing and stopping it in its tracks. The largest man would snarl and bring a leg back for a kick, Atsuhiro striking that leg again with his right hand in the thigh muscle, forcing chakra into it and causing him to feel discomfort. For a shinobi something like this wouldn't have been such an issue, but to a normal person is caused his muscle to spasm. He would grunt and then bring his head forward for a headbutt, Atsuhiro having none of that as he would dodge slightly to the side, taking his left hand from behind him and striking the man in the chest with his palm, before activating one of the jutsus that the Hyuga clan was famous for, the Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm. Chakra would push through the man, coming out on the other side and tearing some skin with it. He could hear the man's ribs crack and he smirked once again as the man clutched his ribs before Atsuhiro sent a quick kick to the side of the man's skull, knocking him unconscious as he slumped to the ground.

"Well, not exactly what I was hoping for...Fighting all of them might have gotten my blood pumping a little bit..." He deactivated his Byakugan, his eyes returning to their rewritten shade of copper orange, before making his way towards the other man. "You seem to know what you're doing. I'm curious about the mobs, and more specifically the ones that run the fighting rings. I could use a little extra coin and I enjoy a good fight." He would grin as he watched the man before paying for a pair of apples from the woman nearby, going to hand one to the man while taking a bite of the other. "Sorry about your Apple by the way, but it was too tempting."

2202

Chakra 230/250:

Ryu was feeling rather confident. His attention to the main boss man/ speaker in front of him had rendered the man virtually unconscious. Laying there dazed and bloodied. It was satisfying to take down someone talking down to him. He was the head of his gang, the leader of the strongest gang in the east slums. The Jackal of Suna and some business man thought basic thugs enough to handle him? Laughable. The man before him for all his size was nothing more than a pitiful stain under foot. Just someone who thought a weapon in hand was enough to conquer the world. All for a pocket full of cash too. Sadly this wouldn't be the last time he saw the man. Such people never gave up confronting others for money. They were bullies and refused to acknowledge there was someone else out there that had beaten them and could do so again. The only difference was the next time he may not announce himself. It was a danger to let him be as the man could surprise Ryu later with weapon in hand. If he did it well enough he could do some serious harm. He was a danger to Ryu.

So it was that Ryu shifted his foot and lightly pressed the toe of his boot to the mans temple. His head leaning back ever so slightly as he considered it. What good was this man anyway? Who benefited from his life? No doubt it was far outweighed by the damage he did. All he had to do was press his toe down until he felt a crunch and the issue would be resolved. However even as he shifted to get a better angle he stopped. Gritting his teeth he cussed ever so slightly. He wasn't a murderer. The man was disabled and as such he wouldn't kill him. If he was going to than he would of done it when the man swung at him. An armed opponent dying was acceptable. Killing a downed man was not. However a loud thud and a splat broke him from his thoughts. In horror he turned to see what he already knew to be true. The world seemed to slow as he walked forward. Nothing outside of what he saw mattered. He heard the man call out his Byakugan and in the back of his mind it registered. However he simply knelt off to the side and tenderly scooped something out of the sand.

To his chest Ryu slowly clutched it and looked down with his eyes taking it in as his hand slowly opened. A single chunk of the apple stained in sand. The beat down the other man got from the hyuga raged behind him. The apple was no longer edible. He had paid money for it and now it was gone without a single sweet succulent bite. He felt a pain in his gut at the loss even as the other man approached him. Ryu heard the words but the hurt inside was simply to great to respond. However as the man held out an apple to him Ryu raised his head in question. had his loss been saved? What charity from a stranger...He paused in caution before slowly raising to his feet. Taking the apple in hand he glanced it over before taking a bite himself. Light seemed to burst forth into the world as sweet juices he thought lost to him filled his mouth. Slowly he chewed before he finished the first holy bite and swallowed. The dry throat scorched so long without moistened by the treasured apple. When he spoke he did so through a smile eyeing the young man.

"Well damn, guess I can't ignore you since you were so kind as to help. I got time for one question before I have to buy my goods and get out of here before they come back with more people. Whatchu wanna know?"

2290

Atsuhiro wasn't quite sure what to think as he watched the man eat the apple he had given him. The look on his face showed Atsuhiro everything he needed to know, however, and that was that the man clearly appreciated the gesture. He didn't know much about this man, or anything at all for that matter, but it seemed like he was an alright individual. Atsuhiro would take a bite out of his own apple, smiling as he did so and enjoying the taste briefly before swallowing. He would listen as Ryu would speak, pursing his lips at the statement. He had told him that he had time for one question, which was an interesting thing. Atsuhiro had already asked him a question, so he supposed he probably missed it, but if he only had time for one he supposed he would likely have to make it count. He still wanted to know more about what gangs were in charge, who mostly took care of the fighting rings, since he didn't really know any of the top guys there besides the booker and the other fighters, or how this man was related to them. He wanted to know about why those men were fighting him, what he was carrying around with him and why, and why he was wearing an eyepatch. Those kinds of stories were generally quite amusing. Atsuhiro would look around and see that everyone was staring at the two of him, or at least that was what he thought was happening at first, but he would quickly realize that wasn't exactly true. They weren't staring at the two of them, they were specifically staring at him.

Atsuhiro could see a look of fear and shock on the faces of each villager who was gawking uncomfortably at him, something that he didn't particularly like. He couldn't figure out why they were all staring as though they had seen a ghost, but then he realized something, remembering something that he had heard a man whom he had fought say. He was a Silver Eyed Devil, which was an interesting description of his specific power, but possibly one of his favorite that he had ever heard. He remembered that the majority of the people in this village had likely never even seen the Byakugan before, and that they had only ever heard legends about the amazing legendary power. Atsuhiro was positive that he was the only Hyuga in the village, and it made him realize very quickly where all of that shock and fear was coming from. The villagers didn't seem to react in the same way that the other's did, however. The thugs didn't seem as genuinely afraid as these people did, and Atsuhiro wasn't quite sure why not. He knew that the men whom had seen it when he had fought them were shocked, but they didn't quite seem afraid either. Each of these villagers looked as though they had seen a ghost that had told them it was coming to murder them and each and every member of their family. He gritted his teeth and spoke loudly enough so that each of them could hear; "Go back to your lives people, there's nothing to see here..."

When he spoke it seemed to shock all of them to continue with what they were doing, though more quickly in an attempt to get away from him. He noticed that nobody was very close to him, except for the man whom he had just fought off the thugs with. Now that he thought of it, even the apple merchant had been shaking when she handed him the two apples, and he was pretty sure he had paid less than he was supposed to. He didn't like the special treatment, but it was a part of the fear and respect that was given to legends, a fear and respect that was rightfully given to Atsuhiro and the members of his clan. He would smirk and shake his head before taking another bite of the apple and looking back towards the man in front of him, deciding he knew the question that he needed to ask if he only got one. "I get one question, eh? Very well...Who are you exactly?" He would wait and listen intently to whatever the other man said to him, waiting until he had finished talking and answering his question in whatever manner he chose to close out with; "Well, if you're ever around the cages...ask for The Silver Eyed Beast Hunter. I look forward to seeing you again." He nodded and took his leave, heading back towards his compound to get ready for the night's fights. He was going to continue to raise his reputation and see where it would get him no matter how many fights it took to do so...

{Exit Thread}

3026

Perception E1 -> C 2375
Endurance D -> D1 325
Speed D -> D1 325
1 word discarded.

Ryu would watch the man for a moment. His eye observing him while he considered what the man was capable of. His teeth digging into the apple with a crunch as he ate the juicy treat. Fruit in Suna was a wonderful delicacy. The man was kind for replacing the one he had destroyed. Still his mouth would simply chew it down to mush before swallowing it and feeling the cooling sensation on his throat. He had offered the man one question and yet he seemed distracted. Ryu had grown far to use to eyes on him watching with concern and worry for someone like him. Concern for the kind of power he had at his fingertips. He had never used it against a civilian and yet they could sense from his demeanor he wasn't like them. Ryu was a thug and they avoided him. However the other man would have it far worse he realized. The Byakugan was something of legend. Even if it faded when he wasn't using it somehow the idea of a hyuga in Suna was frightening. If they heard it they were of course going to be afraid. A pity that fear ruled so much so easily.

Still the man would smirk and continue eating his own Apple as Ryu looked to him. He had offered the man one question and when he spoke, he accidentally spoke two. While Ryu was tempted to only answer the first one, he opted not to irritate the man needlessly out of pettiness. After all the man had proven to be of interesting character. Still it was a debate on how he answered the man. Did he lie? Come up with some cover name and hope the man forgot about it? Perhaps he tried to impress the man with some self obtained nick name like the Jackal of Suna. No, he doubted the man would care anything about nick names or titles. He picked a fight next to a stranger after all. Still Ryu would watch him before his lips parted and he spoke up. His tone a little quieter so as not to be overheard. After all he didn't care for his name to get around the main village much. The eastern slums were fine but not the main or the western.

"Name is Myugan Ryu. I own a bar in the eastern slums called a Hounds heaven. People around here just don't want a business in the slums to succeed I guess."

That was a sufficient enough introduction he figured. He did own a bar and he wasn't a shinobi officially. Not for years now. Such a thing would of made things much simpler in life for him. Besides he was far stronger than he had been back then. His power had only grown since he decided he was done getting pushed around. When he rose up with his own willpower and challenged the way things were. Still the man mentioned cage fights and his fighting reputation name. Ryu grinned to himself as the man walked away and both went on about their business. He would certainly be finding the man soon. A cage fight just sounded too good to pass up on.

2831
exit thread

Quick learner perk 10%
Name: Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet (土遁・土龍弾~ Doton: Doryūdan) 1350/1350
Name: Lightning Release: Dragon Missile (雷遁・竜ミサイル ~ Raiton: Ryū Misairu) 1350/1350

131 wc tossed out