1 Rebirth (Private) Tue Dec 19, 2017 11:54 pm
Mitsuo
S-rank
There was no sun that day, the day Konoha burned…
There was a darkness hanging over the Monkey King’s domain as he stood guard over the pool where his best friend lay, pacing back and forth and ensuring that nobody would come nearby except for those whom he had brought into help the Sword Saint of Konoha. Three elders of the Monkey Tribes surrounded the pool, their hands placed over the waters as they stirred the healing energies of the waters, a green glow surrounding the scarred individual within the pool. Eizo’s concern and impatience was palpable as he stopped his pacing and demanded that the elders work harder, not wishing to lose his friend.
Smoke filled the sky, fire everywhere, as a man laughed…
He had been unconscious for three days, Eizo not leaving his side for the entire time. He had no idea why a man who up until that point had been extremely healthy had suddenly collapsed and fallen into what appeared to be a coma, but he certainly wanted to ensure that he got out of it. It was why he had brought him to this place as soon as Mitsuo had collapsed, to this sacred place of healing within his own village. Mitsuo had only stepped place in the Monkey Kingdom once, and when it had happened that time he was distrusted, and just a small boy. Since then he had grown into a powerful and truly stunning shinobi, a man worthy of his partnership with the Monkey King. Eizo considered Mitsuo to be his closest friend, and he would do absolutely anything for the man.
Stone rained down upon the villagers below, causing carnage and death in their wake…
He had been through Mitsuo through the hardest times of his life, having first met him after the death of his father, when the head of the Sarutobi Clan had passed to him. Mitsuo had been in Sunagakure during the chuunin exams when his father had passed, an attack that had been orchestrated by the Missing Ninja Tame upon the village, though it had seemed as though Tame hadn’t been the one to attack at all as the Hokage Tatsumaru Uchiha had been the one who had destroyed half of the village and killed a quarter of the population. It had long been assumed that Tatsumaru had been a spy placed to destroy Konoha, but he was unable to completely succeed. Mitsuo had blamed himself for the death of his father for a long time, having not been there when he passed and therefore unable to save him. It was something that he had never been able to completely forgive himself for.
Were the exams a rouse? Were they created so that the Hidden Sand could strike?
After that Mitsuo became obsessed with finding the enemy within the village, becoming the Head of ANBU in Konoha and keeping every ear he had at his disposal to the ground in order to find out about whoever it was who had destroyed their village. His obsession caused his lover, Kimaru, to follow him into the ANBU as well, and the two of them became quite the notorious duo, taking down many high profile targets as they kept a lookout for the mastermind. It wouldn’t be until a few years later that he would finally begin to get a whiff of the person who he had been looking for, that person being found outside of their village. Mitsuo and Kimaru attempted to track him, the two of them going on their last mission together.
Rain crashed down around them, covering the tears of a saint…
The situation ended with the two of them being in an unideal position, and Kimaru was killed while Mitsuo was unable to get to him, the sword saint once more experiencing ultimate loss. His lover had been snatched from him, and he had chased that man down, murdering him in cold blood before using the technique he had hoped to never use on his lover, the Body Destruction jutsu. When he finally had a chance to look through the dead man’s effects he found him to be wearing light clothing and no village marks, or none that he had tied into a village that he recognized. But later on it seemed more obvious than ever when he had started to think on things. The light clothing combined with tanned and weathered skin, as though he had been exposed to the sun more than anyone ever should be. Was he from the sand village as well?
Darkness pooled around him, the man sitting cross legged and naked in the middle of the pool. He held his knees to his chest, hands clutching at his muscular and scared legs as he looked towards the...was it the ground? There was nothing there, but it felt solid enough as he sat on it. He stretched a leg forward and set his foot down, finding a solid place to rest it. It wasn’t giving way so he thought he would test it further by standing up, taking a few steps, and then looking around once more. There was something up ahead, though he wasn’t sure what it was. He walked forward for what felt like hours, making his way towards the other thing...the other person from what it seemed.
Perseverance was one of his most endearing traits, one of the things he truly prided himself on. He was never one to give up or give in, and it was because of that he continued moving forward. The person seemed to be two people, the two of them holding one another. He ran towards them, a beam of light seeming to highlight them. They were young, much younger than he, and they seemed to be in love, though that was difficult to tell except for the fact that he knew what it felt like to be there. He could almost swear that he was looking upon a younger him, the two men together looking much like he and his lover when they were young. It was something that upset him to see, as he had failed his love and it was difficult for him to see people in this kind of position.
A third figure appeared, he could see his footfalls as he appeared out of the shadows. Where the figure stepped, a golden trace would appear, showing his path, his hand at his hip as one of the men in the embrace broke off and stepped away, leaving the second along. He couldn’t help but to think of what had happened to himself and his love, reaching out towards the man who was left standing there as the figure approached him, drawing a blade as the golden trace fell from it and the blade plunged into the man’s heart, a splash of red and gold pooling on the ground as the first figure turned and ran back to him. The man made his way towards the scene, reaching a hand down to touch the slain body, but unable to touch it before it faded into sand, the entire scene around him turning to sand…
He hated sand…
It was his only defeat. Out of the sand came two younger figures, one of them clearly him when he was seventeen years of age, and the second figure appeared to glow blue with with the shape of a turtle glowing from his chest in green. As he saw him something inside of him cracked, some of the darkness around him seeming to ripple as well. He was angry in an instant as he saw the man who cheated in order to hand him his most shameful defeat in his life, and the only one that he had ever had up to this point.
Masanori…
He hated sand so much…
He watched it, the blow that should have ended Masanori’s shot at the Chuunin Exams. He still didn’t know how he managed to avoid it, it literally didn’t make sense. The proctor called the bout before he had taken a strike, at a point where Masanori should have been declared the loser. He still didn’t know what had happened. Could it have been the sand proctor? He saw the image on his headband before the three of them faded into sand once more, showing up beneath his feet as he began to sink into it. He fought it as hard as he could, but he all he could do was struggle as he was sucked into the abyss…
Nothing was worse than sand…
He didn’t know how he would be able to get out, the struggle still consuming him, but it came to him in an instant, treating a seal in one hand and placing it into existence. It pulsed, turning the sand around him into glass, which he shattered. The glass cut into him, but did not bleed, fire instead coming from the wounds around his body. He didn’t know what was happening, examining the flaming cuts on his arms and torso, shocked at what was happening. He wanted it to stop, but he had no idea what he could do in order to actually stop it.
The cuts on his body cracked and began to expand across more and more of his body, light and fire shining through more and more of his body. He didn’t feel hot as he thought he would, the flames not seeming to burn him at all but instead giving him a cooling sensation. He felt as though everything about him was changing, and purpose was being injected into him.
The last of his skin vanished, everything that was him being stripped away and changed. As his change seemed to be completed, something else happened. He saw his lover, standing in front of him as he remembered him. Kimaru smiled, reaching out and touching his cheek before stepping back and to the side. His Father came next, placing his hand’s on the spot where his shoulders had been and nodding before stepping back, standing on the opposite side from Kimaru. His Mother kissed his forehead before taking a stand beside her husband, and his brother playfully punched his shoulder before joining them.
Ukiyo Senju ran up and gave him a big hug as he felt something happening, something covering the flames on his feet and hands first, and working their way up his legs and arms. It seemed to be...dark scales? Everyone he loved stood in front of him as the scales overtook him, turning themselves into a familiar set of armour that he had worn for the majority of his life, the Shadow Armour of the Sword Saint encasing him. The scales ended up at his neck, his face still engulfed in the flame as he looked ahead of him at a shape that was forming. He felt the need to reach out and grab it, closing his hand around it as it formed in his grip.
The item in his hand was the mask that he hadn’t worn since the day he had killed Synn Karisuma and the majority of the Karisuma clan. He remembered the beauty of the scene that had unfolded there. Where there had once been hot, coarse sand now lay beautiful smooth glass, glistening in the moonlight. Nothing could be more beautiful to him. He saw the shifting silvers and golds of the mask, the blood red streak across the bone white of the background reminiscent of his position as a dealer of death. He was a reaper of souls, and it was time for him to reap those whom had destroyed his life.
As he donned the mask once more, his mind was steeled…
“The truth has eluded you this long, Mitsuo Sarutobi...What makes you think you will find it?”
Perseverance was one of his most endearing traits, one of the things he truly prided himself on. He was never one to give up or give in, and it was because of that he continued moving forward. The person seemed to be two people, the two of them holding one another. He ran towards them, a beam of light seeming to highlight them. They were young, much younger than he, and they seemed to be in love, though that was difficult to tell except for the fact that he knew what it felt like to be there. He could almost swear that he was looking upon a younger him, the two men together looking much like he and his lover when they were young. It was something that upset him to see, as he had failed his love and it was difficult for him to see people in this kind of position.
”You were too weak, you let him die, you should have saved him...but you failed him.”
A third figure appeared, he could see his footfalls as he appeared out of the shadows. Where the figure stepped, a golden trace would appear, showing his path, his hand at his hip as one of the men in the embrace broke off and stepped away, leaving the second along. He couldn’t help but to think of what had happened to himself and his love, reaching out towards the man who was left standing there as the figure approached him, drawing a blade as the golden trace fell from it and the blade plunged into the man’s heart, a splash of red and gold pooling on the ground as the first figure turned and ran back to him. The man made his way towards the scene, reaching a hand down to touch the slain body, but unable to touch it before it faded into sand, the entire scene around him turning to sand…
He hated sand…
”You only hate sand because you associate sand with failure...it was in the sand that you met your first defeat…”
It was his only defeat. Out of the sand came two younger figures, one of them clearly him when he was seventeen years of age, and the second figure appeared to glow blue with with the shape of a turtle glowing from his chest in green. As he saw him something inside of him cracked, some of the darkness around him seeming to ripple as well. He was angry in an instant as he saw the man who cheated in order to hand him his most shameful defeat in his life, and the only one that he had ever had up to this point.
Masanori…
”He didn’t cheat, Mitsuo. He was simply better than you...they’re all better than you. You aren’t worth the sand in your boots…”
He hated sand so much…
He watched it, the blow that should have ended Masanori’s shot at the Chuunin Exams. He still didn’t know how he managed to avoid it, it literally didn’t make sense. The proctor called the bout before he had taken a strike, at a point where Masanori should have been declared the loser. He still didn’t know what had happened. Could it have been the sand proctor? He saw the image on his headband before the three of them faded into sand once more, showing up beneath his feet as he began to sink into it. He fought it as hard as he could, but he all he could do was struggle as he was sucked into the abyss…
Nothing was worse than sand…
He didn’t know how he would be able to get out, the struggle still consuming him, but it came to him in an instant, treating a seal in one hand and placing it into existence. It pulsed, turning the sand around him into glass, which he shattered. The glass cut into him, but did not bleed, fire instead coming from the wounds around his body. He didn’t know what was happening, examining the flaming cuts on his arms and torso, shocked at what was happening. He wanted it to stop, but he had no idea what he could do in order to actually stop it.
Be reborn in fire, Mitsuo Sarutobi. Allow it to reshape you…
The cuts on his body cracked and began to expand across more and more of his body, light and fire shining through more and more of his body. He didn’t feel hot as he thought he would, the flames not seeming to burn him at all but instead giving him a cooling sensation. He felt as though everything about him was changing, and purpose was being injected into him.
The Sword Saint has died, as was overdue, but he will be replaced...reforged…
The last of his skin vanished, everything that was him being stripped away and changed. As his change seemed to be completed, something else happened. He saw his lover, standing in front of him as he remembered him. Kimaru smiled, reaching out and touching his cheek before stepping back and to the side. His Father came next, placing his hand’s on the spot where his shoulders had been and nodding before stepping back, standing on the opposite side from Kimaru. His Mother kissed his forehead before taking a stand beside her husband, and his brother playfully punched his shoulder before joining them.
The Dragon inside of you begs to be released, Hellfire Drake...it is time to embrace it…
Ukiyo Senju ran up and gave him a big hug as he felt something happening, something covering the flames on his feet and hands first, and working their way up his legs and arms. It seemed to be...dark scales? Everyone he loved stood in front of him as the scales overtook him, turning themselves into a familiar set of armour that he had worn for the majority of his life, the Shadow Armour of the Sword Saint encasing him. The scales ended up at his neck, his face still engulfed in the flame as he looked ahead of him at a shape that was forming. He felt the need to reach out and grab it, closing his hand around it as it formed in his grip.
Embrace your destiny...become what you were ment to be...take your revenge against the ones who took everything from you…
The item in his hand was the mask that he hadn’t worn since the day he had killed Synn Karisuma and the majority of the Karisuma clan. He remembered the beauty of the scene that had unfolded there. Where there had once been hot, coarse sand now lay beautiful smooth glass, glistening in the moonlight. Nothing could be more beautiful to him. He saw the shifting silvers and golds of the mask, the blood red streak across the bone white of the background reminiscent of his position as a dealer of death. He was a reaper of souls, and it was time for him to reap those whom had destroyed his life.
Sunagakure no Sato must burn…
As he donned the mask once more, his mind was steeled…
Eizo saw as the man finally began to stir, the healers stepping back as Mitsuo Sarutobi awoke, standing up inside of the pool and looking towards Eizo with a fierceness in his eyes that he hadn’t seen in a long time. There was a new fire burning inside of him, a dark and cold flame that was unlike anything he had ever seen from Mitsuo before.
“Eizo...We must prepare for the road ahead...We make for the Village Hidden in the Sands...My tormentors lie there, and I will put them to rest for eternity…”
Eizo moved towards Mitsuo, putting a hand on his shoulder, and the two of them teleported off into the night, the two of them making their way to meet their destiny together...
{Exit Thread}
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Wrath of the Helldrake - 2250