It was an undisturbed afternoon with the prospect of gentle wafts and generous whiffs. The pleasant fragrance of salt and hope flavored the air, adding additional value to the beautiful weather. Being derived of heavy moisture, the promise of a good day seemed more real than ever. Its invisible presence was caught in the nets of various fishermen, woven in the rugs of studious women, notched under the knifes of chefs and cooks; the optimistic trails of serenity being echoed between hammers of blacksmiths and armorers. It was as if no wars were possible, as if no feuds could remain unresolved, and the world was finally at deep peace...

...but not for long.


Hands in pockets, feather-brained expression, Eishi was strolling through the village streets dreaming about something abstract and vague. His white hair was uncommonly dishevelled and his shirt appeared to be ineptly ironed. Every then and now the boy was letting out a noteworthy yawn, completely oblivious to the working people around him. Since he wasn't called to the large ten story building today, Eishi considered his life free of exploit, and as a direct result of that assessment he had decided to enjoy the day to the full extent of his energy, that is - sleep throughout the morning and take for a walk on a later hour.

As he passed the canal near the Siren's Den, he noticed a strange pattern in the sky. It was a sheepish cloud, clear as a baby's conscience, drifting slowly like a sleigh on a frozen fringe. "O-oh, I've never really seen one so pure before", exclaimed the boy. He crossed his arms behind his neck and stared at it for minutes, failing to notice the creeping shadow that approached from behind...
---

WC: 297

What a truly beautiful day, Hyugo thought to himself. The young lad, full of excitement was rushing through the streets of Kirigakure. After many years of training, he was about to go on his first ninja mission and on top of that it would be a solo mission. All he had to do was to reach the mission board in the administration building and choose his first task.
    Everyone around Kayate was working hard and that was adding to his motivation. The boy was happy that the city is striving to become a better place and no one was slacking off. The genin had decided to take a minor detour through the downtown area and more specifically the canals. He thought that in the end it would be better to avoid the busiest parts of the city in order to reach the administration building faster.
    While passing the canals, something caught his attention. A white haired boy was just standing, arms crossed behind his neck with his eyes calmly following the clouds.  Hyugo slowed down for a moment and took a better look at the boy. The spaced off boy was wearing a Kirigakure headband just like Kayate.
Not the best way to spend your time as a shinobi, thought Hyugo to himself. Usually he would ignore someone that was wasting time, but today was a special case. The genin was so excited for his first mission that he thought, maybe he should help someone else as well , on his way to the mission board. If he gave a minor push to the white haired boy, the boy would surely join him in the hunt for a job. Hastening his pace, Hyugo approached the other kid at shoulder length and gave him a slap on the back.
“This is no time for a shinobi to be yawning. There is so much work to do around the village, you should join me on my way to the mission board” suggested Kayate after giving him the wake up slap.

WC : 337

"Holy...", screamed Eishi who was interrupted in the middle of a very tranquil process (taking his time to relax and enjoy the scenery was surely a vital part of his spiritual schedule). "WHAT THE HECK, MAN?! WHAT THE HEECK?! Huh?"
His eyes fixated the black-haired boy who didn't seem able to hide his good mood - it was written all over his face. The bandana on his forehead proved that he was a full-fledged ninja - just like the Yuki representative - and his tidy accoutrements spoiled the rest - he was most definitely headed for his first mission.
"An amateur?", thought Eishi. "Well, I can see why you are so excited. Come to think of it...weren't you called Hyugo? You fit the bill perfectly. I've heard a lot about you at the Academy. Top of your class, coming from an orphanage, yet gifted and very promising. Heh, one of my class-mates was so in love with you before she found out that you were a jer...err, never mind. I didn't want to sound biased."
A friendly smile detailed the boy's awkward expression as he rose his hands before his face, trying to push the mistake away with closed eyes. If one looked hard enough, he could even see a rather large sweat drop on his brow - it was really a goofy situation.
"Come now, don't let me keep you from your destiny since I am not the boy you are looking for", said Eishi. "Go in good will and do whatever choirs you've gotta do. Oh, and if there's something for me on the board, you can...erm...tell them that I've overslept, right? That's surely believable. Heh-heh-heh-heh..."
It was getting even more awkward, so the white-haired lad was really looking forward to the end of this unexpected interaction...
---

WC: 315
TWC: 612

“Yes, I’m Hyugo, nice to meet you. And who would you be?” the young genin was quite surprised that he was recognized by a random shinobi. Actually if you thought about it, the fact that he was recognized by another genin was not that strange. After all the two boys were the same age and rank. Most likely the white haired one attended the academy at the same time and was in a different class. It was more than obvious that Kayate’s abilities were far superior to those of any other kid in the Academy, but he was not aware of the fact that he was famous for it. If he was a bit more outgoing, maybe he would also manage to recall the name that was attached to the feminine face in front of him. The white haired lad was lucky that Hyugo was in an euphoric mood, normally he would not care to ask for the name of someone who had such lazy aura around him. However the words of the other genin managed to irritate Kayate. Why was he so unwilling to work? There couldn’t possibly be anything better to do in the middle of the day. Surely he wanted to go on a mission as well, but something was stopping him.
Mission accepted, thought Hyugo to himself and even nodded. He was going to help the other boy and point him in the right direction.
“There is nothing to be afraid of. I’m sure that there will be an easy mission that even you can handle for the sake of our village” Kayate blurted out. Maybe he should have picked his words better. Oh, well. There was not point to regret it. After all he was probably right, the white haired kid was probably not confident in his ninjutsu or preparation and therefore was scared to put his life on the line. Now Hyugo only had to explain that there are missions that would not endanger his life and the boy would be motivated to work again. Right?

WC: 346
TWC: 683

Eishi was bedazzled. He didn't expect that particular outcome, and thus was uncertain if the feeling he got from it was related to anger or irritation. Either way, the white-haired boy's pride was stung, and he wasn't entirely sure if he could let it slide off that easily. "Everybody deserves one", Eishi reminded himself, "even jerks like this smelly guy".
"R-right. I guess you haven't heard of me then. Name's Yuki Eishi - one of the best. Top grade of my class, complete honorary A's in theoretical studies and ninja practice. I'm also holding the record for most...err, well, that's not really of any importance. But judging from your looks, you must be entirely new to this ninja business, huh? First mission ever? Heh, they are always fun to do. Just don't let your hopes be birds, ya know? People usually get disappointed when they experience action first-handedly. It's tougher on the field than in the classroom, I can tell you that. Although my awesome missions were - so far - a complete success. But you will learn. So why don't you go now? It's already late, and I am certain there are patrols to be kept and kittens to be rescued. Can't expect something different now, can you? Practice makes the master."
Eishi winked and spun on his heels, making a complete 180 degree rotation before walking away slowly in the opposite direction, hands behind neck, eyes closed, content smile more evident. Why bother? It was a perfect day with no need of a nerve waste. And this guy...he was simply overconfident. Too overconfident. Was there such a thing? Why not. Whatever the reason, it couldn't possibly lead to anything good.
---

WC: 298
TWC: 910

Hyugo did his very best to endure the long-winded speech of Eishi. Kayate decided to not respond immediately. Calmly he took another look at the white haired genin and tried to reassess the youngster. From his words it sounded like he had seen everything and he knew everything that there is to know regarding the inner functioning of Kirigakure. That was most definitely not the case. As Hyugo did not have much interest in the other students at the Academy he had no idea whether Yuki was lying about being at the top of his class or not. What he knew for sure though was that this boy did not have much more experience than Kayate. Okay, maybe he had completed a mission or two, but not more. So what was he going on about, acting all high and mighty?
“Oh, your awesome missions were complete success, but you are still scared to go on another one so you waste all your time strolling the streets? You sound quite disappointed yourself if I might so.” Hyugo did not have all the time in the world to stand in the middle of the street and argue with another genin about the worth of the missions, but he wasn’t going to let him go easily.
“I’ll be honest, I do not believe anything that you have said, so are you up to a small challenge?” Kayate paused for a moment to hear some sort of a response, although he already knew that the boy would eventually accept.
“If you really had straight A’s in theoretical studies you will have no trouble competing with me. If you win, I will admit that you are more experienced than me and let you waste the rest of your life, however should you lose – you will be following me to the mission board!” Once the glove was thrown, there was no going back. Hyugo was going to prove to the other genin that he was not in a position to take it easy and that he should work harder than this to become a real shinobi. Now it was up to Eishi to decide what to do. Was he telling the truth earlier? If he really believed in his knowledge for the shinobi world, he would certainly accept Kayate’s challenge. The challenge would mostly cover theoretical subject, but Hyugo would only reveal the details if his opponent accepted.

WC: 407
TWC: 1090

"A challenge?", Eishi's ears perked with interest. How horrible. The day was going so well before he met this cocky fellow who appeared too agitated about something - a distant thought perhaps? No matter. The Yuki knew himself quite well and the only thing he couldn't fight was his own unappeasable curiosity. Perhaps one day this very same characteristic would happen to be the end of him, but hopefully, it would not be that day; no, definitely not here and now. However, the boy had to admit the crafty slyness behind Hyugo's words - instinctively, the dark-haired fellow managed to find a weak spot in his opponent's worldview which he shamelessly decided to exploit, no sign of pudency whatsoever. And to think that was their first face to face meeting - was kind of amazing. "Perhaps the rumors about him were true after all", thought Eishi. "He is good. Perhaps too good. I guess he was really paying attention in class. Oh well. We'll see about that, wouldn't we?".
"A challenge, huh? Alright. I accept. If you win, I agree to come with you to the mission board and carry on a manual task with you. But if you lose, you will leave me alone. And also, you are going to give me a little trophy to commemorate my victory. I am looking at your white jacket - always wanted to have one."
Eishi smiled. There was no way Hyugo would agree to that. Perhaps (in the aroused doubt) the white-haired genin could learn more about the challenge's conditions before refusing them. Then he could continue his stroll with a clean conscience - undisturbed, unworried and most importantly - unbothered.
"What say you?"
---

WC: 286
TWC: 1196

Huh, my jacket? Hyugo repeated it few times to himself. He was quite surprised that the other boy choose this as his prize.  Well the genin was planning to go all-in on this challenge anyway, so putting something like his jacket as a bet was not a big deal.
“Okay then, you’ll have my jacket as long as you win. As for the challenge – let’s have a little quiz. In order to have a fair competition, the questions will be completely random. We will take turns to stop random passersby and they will ask us something that they believe every shinobi needs to know. You can ask them to think about a question regarding shinobi history or something like jutsu descriptions or chakra nature principles. They can ask us anything as long as it is connected to the life of a shinobi. You can choose whoever you want and set up his question however you like. The first one who fails to answer his opponent’s question – loses. Let’s give it a try, I’ll start first” Kayate ended his long explanation and looked around. A middle age woman was walking towards them. The brown haired boy waived at her and smiled.
“Sorry for bothering you. We are doing a small challenge to test our knowledge as shinobis. Would you be so kind to ask us anything that you think one young ninja should know about the history of shinobi” the genin was trying to make it look not completely random, but after all his choice was exactly that – random.
The woman blinked in question few times, but in the end she gave the two kids a kind smile.
“Okay here is something I always thought it was important to know about our village. Many, many years ago, during the era of the Third Mizukage, Kirigakure was known as “The village of the bloody mist”. This name was mainly given to the village due to the harsh genin exams. In order to graduate from the academy, the young students had to kill one of their classmates.
This is something that we need to remember so that we do not follow the mistakes that were made by the Third Mizukage.” the kind lady gave them a short history lesson before asking them the question.
“So, my question for you lads would be: What was the main event that made the village to give up on their graduation method and change it to a more humane one?” that was her question. Hyugo only gave her a nod in response to show her that he found the question interesting.
Kayate knew the answer very well, but it was Eishi’s turn to answer. Hopefully he would not lose in the first round.

WC: 463
TWC: 1553

"That's easy!", Eishi laughed for this specific time period was one of his favorites. He loved reading about the Third Shinobi World War and everything that surrounded it, starting with the life of Uzumaki Naruto - the legendary hero who saved the world from the destructive jutsu of Uchiha Madara and his associate - Uchiha Obito. The real threat however was Kaguya for she was the goddess behind the curtain, pulling the strings on her mortal puppets, orchestrating the demise of their free will. After falling to their blows, she was eventually taken care of, leaving Uzumaki Naruto in a fight with his childhood rival - Uchiha Sasuke - for the fate of their comrades. Naruto - at the cost of his arm - emerged victories and thus ushered the world into an era of peace. He himself became the Seventh Hokage of Konoha, married Huyga Hinata and...but that was a different story.

Before he became the eminent figure of legend, Naruto was actually a loser. He was a very noisy ninja, unpredictable and rather ungifted. After making a scene, he was sent on a C-rank mission to our lands that ended to be a high A-class task. There (or here) he fought Momochi Zabuza to whom he almost lost his life. But the real trouble wasn't really the Demon of the Bloody Mist, it was his companion - Haku, a distant relative of Eishi, one of his predecessors.

What was Hyugo thinking? Was he underestimating the white-haired boy? Didn't he know that Eishi was a Yuki representative? Asking him a question about his clan history was simply insulting, so after giving the right answer, "...because Momochi Zabuza slaughtered an entire class", the sleepy genin decided to exact revenge. He looked around, his eyes stopping on a careless kid, currently playing with a ball. "Ohayo", Eishi greeted. "Do you have a second, boyo?".
"Huh?", the brat sniffed. His nose was wet and glancy.
"Would you mind sharing your wonders with us?". The kid didn't understand a thing.
"Just...question the ugly one about something.", Eishi explained the simple rules of their game.
The kid burrowed his brow.
"What's your name?", he asked Eishi after some time of consideration.
"Eh!", the genin blinked awkwardly. "No, no...erm...ask the boy behind me. Come on. Something that fills you with anxiety."
"With anxy?"
"Yeah, whatever."
"Papa said that black flame is bad for us", the kid finally decided to speak. "Why is black flame bad for us?"
The genin grinned. "That's a nice boy!", he ruffled the kid's hair. The boy's face distorted and he started crying, running away. He thought that the genin were making fun of him. "Hey!", the townspeople shouted for the kid was shoving everybody's aside. "What's wrong, Ginki? Hey, Ginki! Blast it! Why is that little piece of ... crying again?!"
"So.", Eishi turned to face Hyugo, completely ignoring the situation. "You heard the mister. Why is the black fire bad for us? Or - if you want me to clarify - why is the black flame jutsu forbidden in Kirigakure no Sato? That simple question won't throttle your mind, would it?"
---

WC: 530
TWC: 1726

Black flames? What was the boy referring to? No, that was not the question that Hyugo had to ask himself. It was more than obvious what the kid meant. There was only one jutsu that produced black flames and that was the so called “Ultimate Fire Style Jutsu”, the one that only the most talented Uchihas could use. Yes the black flames had to be a reference to the Amaterasu. This was an extremely advanced technique that a genin like Kayate would not have the pleasure to witness with his own eyes. It was even less common to see someone using it in Kirigakure even though the Uchihas were a scattered clan nowadays.
“Why is black flame bad for us?” What a strange question. There were hundreds of reasons for why Amaterasu was “bad for someone”. The whole Uchiha clan could be considered bad or evil as they used their hatred as main source of power. However Hyugo was quite fascinated with this clan himself as not many knew that Uchiha’s so-called “Curse of Hatred” was born from their love for a friend or family. Love which becomes overpowering hatred once they lose the person they love. These loses awaken Uchiha’s Sharingan and later awaken their Mangekyo.
Amaterasu was one of the jutsus that required an awakened Mangekyo Sharigan in order to be used and as every other Mangekyo jutsu it inflicted severe damage to the user, eventually leading the user to blindness. Was this the reason why the black flames were bad for the kid? No, he was not an Uchiha and he had nothing to do with Sharingan. Was it because Uchiha’s kill their own in order to obtain their eyes and an eternal Mangekyo? Again, the boy had nothing to do with this. What was the reason then? Why was the boy warned by his father to stay away from the black flames? There had to be a reason that is connected to Kirigakure and its villagers.
Hyugo looked at Eishi when he faced him.
“Why is the black flame jutsu forbidden in Kirigakure no Sato?” Ah, now the dark haired boy could understand what they meant. Yes, it was strictly forbidden to use this jutsu within the village and there was very good reason for this. There was an event, years ago that caused massive damage to the village and left most of its villagers scarred.
As Hyugo was an orphan, he did not have parents to warn him about the jutsu and pass him the story, but he was well aware of the laws and he spent his time trying to find out why they were established.
“Ah, there was a story that I have read long ago. How did it go again?” Kayate mumbled while trying to collect his thoughts.
“During the rule of the Thirteenth Mizukage or the so called “Age of Hikou”, there was a huge battle between an Uchiha and the young Mizukage. The Uchiha, whose name was Hao burned the Mizukage toghether with the entire village of Kirigakure to ashes with his black flames of Amaterasu.” That was pretty much the story, however the genin wanted to add something.
“Therefore now we have the so-called “Amaterasu Emergency Procedures” and Wardens in order to avoid another destruction of the village due to this jutsu.” That should have covered the question.
Now, who should Hyugo stop and ask him for his question. The white-haired boy’s question was regarding the more recent history of the village, unlike Kayate’s last one. Maybe the dark haired genin should also stop a younger passerby.
Hyugo looked around quickly, the streets were rather lively, but nobody was catching his eye. The boy had to stop someone generic looking.
A young man in his mid-twenties was walking down the street, proudly wearing his Kiri headband on his forehead and his chuunin jacket.
“Heeey” Hyugo shouted while waving at him. The chunin slowly turned to the young boy and stopped.
“Hi, we are having a small competition to test our knowledge about our village and the shinobi world as a whole. As you are a more experienced ninja than us, would you help find out who is more knowledgeable?” Kayate asked after he quickly closed the distance between them.
“Sure…” Answered the older guy
“Nice! It will take a minute. We take turns answering strangers’ questions. It’s his turn to answer so could you ask him something about the current Mizukage that you find interesting in her life or job?” Hyugo’s explanation was quite vague so that the other guy could quickly formulate a question.
“Okay, so it has to be a question… Hmm…” the chuunin put a finger on his chin and looked like he was really thinking hard about this.
“Probably you have already been in her office once or twice to complete a mission” Hyugo looked at the ground and smiled, while the experienced shinobi talked.
“Kages are busy, but they always have the support of the villagers. Many people love our Mizukage and many help her every day. There are two particular girls with unique abilities that work extra hard to help her every day. Everyone who has been to the Kage’s office has seen them multiple times there.
So, what are their names?” That was pretty simple question, but the two girls were pretty cute and Kayate had heard many rumors about them. The question was not that bad on second thought. They were interesting characters so it was expected that Eishi had heard about them too.
“ I know who you are referring to, thank you. I won’t take up more of your time, you can go see them” – Kayate sent off the chuunin with a wide smile.
“Someone like you, who has completed many missions surely knows the Kage office inside-out” Hyugo wanted to poke some fun at the white-haired boy even though he suspected that Eishi had already remembered the names of the girls.
“Good luck boys, I’ll go have a look at their pretty faces as I have been summoned by them for a mission” said the older guy and went off.

WC : 1038
TWC: 2234

...he knew quite well who the chuunin was referring to although he had never completed a single mission before. The only reasonable explanation for this was...well, there were a couple of reasonable explanations actually. Either Eishi had underestimated Hyugo's experience for the genin was no stranger to shinobi business or Hyugo was a hidden pervert who was on the lookout for beautiful girls with big gamps. Possibility number one dictated that the Yuki overlooked a mistake. No big surprise there. However, his opponent didn't seem to react on what (in the provided case scenario) would've been an unjust deprecation of his ninja skill. Was he that coldblooded? It sure looked like it. Then again, there was always the second possibility, and the second possibility wasn't really a sparing one for it presented Hyugo in the middle of a whole lotta' shakin', so to speak. "I sincerely hope that you are just as uninterested as you appear to be, mister I'm-too-cocky-to-let-the-cool-people-chill man."


"You must be talking about The Twins - Mica & Celia. Sure. They are nice enough folk, too busy though. Can't really say that I know them well. Got their stuff to do, I got mine. No questions asked, no answers given. Jeez, paperwork seems so dull..." Eishi shrugged, letting his mind circulate around that thought for a moment. His gaze strayed towards the sky in search for the pure cloud he observed earlier, but sadly, the delicate sheepish thing had already moved on. The game had to follow its example. Eishi nodded. "Come. If we really want to be challenged, we must consult with the pros. Asking random people about the shinobi's way of life can't really test our mettle now, can it? Nor it can improve our potential. So I've got an idea, and hopefully, it will set this debate clean..."


In contrast to the weather outside, the building's interior was shady and cold. Quiet moans could be heard from the neighboring rooms, beds covered in rumpled sheets as if trying to hide corpses from the afterlife. Without much of a sound, Eishi opened the window and gestured Hyugo to follow. He knew that the dark-haired boy was confused, but there was no time to explain. He was either coming or losing.


"Psst. Old man Akrifa", Eishi whispered. "Are you alive?". No response. "Pssst!", the boy tried harder. "Old man Akrifa! I am here to ask you something."
One of the nearby beds stirred into action. It appeared empty at first but then it moved.
"Wha'da'ya'want'ya'troub'whippersnappers?!", a hoarse voice protested. Eishi sighed in relief. So he was alive after all.
"Sorry for disturbing you, sir. I was lying in the hospital proper some days ago and couldn't help but overhear your extensive lectures on...well, basically everything that has to do with chakra, ninja training, foreign politics and such. So I brought a friend with me. Can you ask him something really, really hard? He loves answering questions, and - as you are going to see - he is capable enough to present himself in good light."
The old man crossed his arms grumpishly. He was annoyed and - judging by the signals that his body language provided - it was more than likely that he was about to dismiss the stranger's offer. But then again, he couldn't hide the distant shine of a tiny spark behind his left eye. No, it was all an act for in reality the geezer was more than eager to break the boredom.
"Ignore the tubes", Eishi whispered to Hyugo, conspiracy woven behind a carefully risen hand. "They sustain his life for old pa' seems really, really old. I've heard he doesn't really need them, but loves toying with the needles. It's almost as if he is playing with his own systems."  
"Okay then, ya'troub'whippersnappers, I'll cooperate. Lemme see now...hmm..wha'waz the name of the Sunagakure no Sato's shinobi who sat next to Haruno Sakura during her first chuunin exam? Or was he a Konohagakure no Sato's shinobi...can't seem to remember that bit."
Holy...
Eishi blinked. Just what kind of question was that? The white-haired genin was not remotely capable of answering it and for a second he felt thankful that it was Hyugo's turn to try. But pops...pops was either insane or a lore beast. Or both.
---

WC: 756
TWC: 2482

Seconds became minutes, minutes became hours, hours turned into what seemed like an eternity. Hyugo's blank face provided unequivocal evidence that the boy was caught off-guard. There was simply no way that he could know such a fine detail from the very distant past. Heck, the answer to that insane question, the question that old man Agrifa pulled out, would be news even to academicians who studied the history of the world, and the chronicle of Uzumaki Naruto's team 7 in particular.
"The geezer must be mad. There is simply no way that anybody could know the right answer. Agrifa is just trying to make us look stupid. Well, it works for me, but I am getting out of here as soon as I win this game."
Then the sound of distant footsteps could be heard echoing across the floor. Somebody was approaching from the long corridor. Wood creaking. They were opening doors, one by one. Based on the distance, the shinobi had less than a couple of minutes (at best) to finish the race.
"Come on, you idiot. Do you know the answer or not?"
The white-haired genin was getting nervous. He didn't want to get caught in here, in the middle of a break in. All unauthorized access to the hospital was punished severely by Kirigakure no Sato's government for it presented a risk for the well-being of its patients and war veterans.
Steps getting closer.
"Answer him!"
Sound of a nearby door being opened.
"Fine then. I am getting out of here."
Eishi pulled Hyugo's white jacket and almost ripped it from his back.
"Good luck. Was fun."

Before nearby door was opened, Eishi was already "flying" through the rooftops and old man Akrifa...old man Akrifa was loudly snoring in his comfortable bed.
---

WC: 305
TWC: 2787

[Exit]

Training:

1. Endurance from D-0 to D-3 for 1175 words and 150 ryo.
(2787 words - 1175 words = 1612 words)

2. Speed from E-3 to D-3 for 1475 words and 150 ryo.
(1612 words - 1475 words = 137 words left)

Total ryo deduction: 150 ryo + 150 ryo = 300 ryo