"Listen closely boy, you have one purpose in life. To serve, to be a obedient dog of war." Noc, Zerefs father looked down at the beaten boy no older then eight. "Beyond that, you are nothing, just a tool, a weapon made to be pointed in a direction and unleashed." The boy looked at his father with hateful eyes, but only spoke two words. "Yes father."

Zerefs father trained him, taught him how to survive, kill, fight, at least up until his death partly at Zerefs hands. Since that day Zerefs only goal was to get strong enough to never be under someone else's thumb, to never be used for the purpose his father tried to turn him into. As of now Zeref was a shinobi of kumogakure, even without his father it seemed fate wanted Zeref to be a weapon, someones weapon, Zeref would only be a pawn of the higher ranks of the village for so long, for now he needed to be a pawn to be able to get stronger till the time was right.

Zeref allowed his mind to wander as he continued to meditate from his past, to his present and then to plans for his future. He had already started to plan his rise to power, it was only a matter of time until he reached his goals or died trying. Zeref would leave a body in his wake if needed, what ever suited his needs the most, he was able to mold to fit any role only time would tell what he would become.
"Damn it boy, again, this time do it as I ordered!" The words came from a harsh older man, Zerefs father Noc. Zeref a mere boy of ten, his upper body bare, dripping with blood, sweat and rain, stood up picking up a steel blade. After a moment Zeref lunged at his father aiming to pierce him through the stomach. In response Noc side stepped, bring the hilt of his own sword on the back of Zerefs skull knocking him down. Zeref laid face down in the mud, blood dripping from the back of his skull. "Pathetic, useless, and weak. You should of died instead of that woman, at least i had use of her."  The woman he spoke of was Zerefs mother, just another tool in Nocs eyes. Noc started to walk back towards the house leaving his son in the mud. Hearing him speak of his mother always pissed off Zeref. At the mention of her Zeref rose to a single knee breathing heavy, he drove the blade into the dirt and a split second later a steel spike erupted just in front of Noc slicing his cheek. "Tsk, can't even kill me while my back is turned?." Noc twisted and flung his blade at Zeref catching him in the collar piercing through his back.



Zeref was sitting on his rooftop in a meditative like position, allowing his mind to visit his past, from when he was a child, this only stopped when a ravens caw caused him to open his eyes. Standing in front of him stood a small raven with a small scroll on his leg, a mission sent to him. Zeref reached forward and grabbed the message from the raven 

A young group of kids were playing in the mines when it caved in. The village has called you to help support the rescue mission. Report to the mines and get the kids out.

Zeref tossed the small paper and stood up, another mission sent directly form the village, odd. He quickly left his rooftop to head down to street level. Zeref walked out of him apartment, his sword on his back, his kunia hanging on his hip, three on each side, and his gauntlets on his hands. His attire did not match that of a shinobi, but of a mercenary, of a born killer. Although he looked out of place, the villagers paid him no mind, some even waving to him, he has made himself known with in the village, taking on missions, and joining a squad, word has spread of him quickly. To Zeref it was only a matter of time before he caught the eye of the kage, a genin who was quickly moving up through the ranks. In the less than a month Zeref was mere days away from becoming a chunnin without the need of the exams. Zeref turned down a road towards the gates.

754

Zeref arrived at the mines fairly quickly, he could see a group of shinobi digging away at the mines, trying to be careful not to cause another cave in in the process. Zeref walked up to the one yelling and pointing. "I'm here to help in the rescue efforts." The older man, a jounin turned and looked at Zeref. "Ah, Zeref, glad you are here, a lot of our doton users are away, we figured you would be here since you are one of our best now." Zeref knew he was known for getting a mission completed quickly but it was odd to hear that it was spreading as quickly as it was. Zeref nodded before speaking. "No problem, I already have a fairly good plan to get them out." The jounin smiled putting a hand on his shoulder. "I knew you would, you will make a great leader some day."Zeref nodded and turned away from the jounin walking towards the caved in entrance of the mines.

Zeref did a few hand signs and slipped into the ground using the Double suicide technique, traveling under ground he popped back up with in the mine, leaving the tunnel he dug intact. Zeref looked around, it was dark but he could see a dim light ahead of him. He moved towards the light, as he got closer he was able to make out three small figured huddled together. "Hey, you kids alright." Zeref spoke with a soft voice, making sure not to scare them anymore then they were. One, the oldest kid, spoke. "Y-yeah. We're ok, are you here to get us out?" Zeref thought that was an odd question, of course he was here to get them out, he ignored the dumb nature of the question. "Yes, just follow me, and we will be out in a second." Zeref lead the kids to the tunnel he created, and one by one let them enter following after all three were in.

Once they got to the end of the tunnel dug by Zerefs jutsu, he lifted one up at a time, handing them to the rescuers on ground level. Zeref was the last to climb out, and was met with a hand from the jounin, helping him to his feet. "Good job Zeref, in and out in a matter of minutes." The jounin patted Zeref on the back with a smile, one that Zeref returned. Something was off, the mission was easy, there was no need for Zeref to be here. Maybe it was good training sure, but to leave the kids in there and wait for Zeref or another genin was odd. Zeref nodded watching the kids be returned to their parents. "Yeah, it was fairly easy, I just wonder how someone their age ended up causing a cave in." The jounin shrugged at his question. "Who knows, these things happen, I mean the mine is really old, they shouldn't have been in there anyways." Zeref looked back at him hiding his true thoughts. "Yeah, I suppose you are right. If you excuse me, I have a busy day ahead of me." The older man smiled lightly. "Of course, good luck, and thanks again." Zeref turned and walked away, putting his hand in the air in a slight goodbye.

553/1307
557 extra.
Using 450 to train strength n from D2~> D-3,
taking the extra ryo for the remaining 107