Landing on one of the highest roofs somewhere in the village known as Kumogakure, the larger than normal black bird shifted out of its form to take on the shape of a woman with raven hair, amethyst eyes and a simple black dress. The road trip, while done in her bird firm, had been long enough for her to require a moment of rest as her wings-now-arms was starting to feel the strain quite well. Even if she felt no strain on a spiritual level, she had yet to recover completely from the whole ordeal. So Laïs sat down on the roof, one knee bent up to rest her arm in a casual way, gaze overlooking the crowd in the streets.

She had no clue if she had the rights to be here, bearing no sign of affiliation nor having come with any allies or friends, but her curiosity to know what these 'Chuunin Exams' were was greater than her fear to get caught. She had heard the talk about it in Iwagakure, where she had been recovering after her runaway from the Land of Demons, but had not the slightest clue what these 'genin' and 'chuunin' were supposed to be. Ranks and shinobi organisations held little meaning to her as a wanderer who had lived a sheltered life in a remote village of the Land of Demons. Whatever these exams were supposed to be, it was obviously popular. The sheer amount of crowd walking through the streets was almost overwhelming her senses. Most of them expressed a negligible amount of power, but there were a few others that were different. Much like surfers sticking head and shoulder above the waves they rode, so too did those few spikes of power seem to stand out with head and shoulder. An odd sensation for the Jugo who had never sensed anything peculiar as this before.

That said, she considered herself to have no qualms with these power surfers. They were pursuing their own desires and duties, and she was following hers. From her vantage point, she could see most of the crowd move towards a specific area where she assumed the whole ordeal around the exams would occur, and seeing as how some were carried outside on a gurney the exams had to be rather rough to deal with. Her curiosity piqued, she decided she'd have to take a closer look once she had rested some more.

---

410

160/170:

It was strange to be in Kumogakure, despite her past as both an ANBU of Konoha and even during her time as a rogue shinobi, she had only once set foot in Kumogakure before and that was not long after the death of Raikage Reika, a most tumultuous time in the hidden village of the cloud, almost comparable as to what Sunagakure went through by her own hand.

Yet, now Lamya was here, in this strange village with so many even stranger customs, but the place wasn't without its charm. It's shinobi seemed to value strength and lots of even the younger generation had lots of potential: strong physiques, strong will, but still every shinobi she saw seemed to miss something, something crucial, something mallable, something... dark.

Walking down the streets, the kunoichi calmly allowed her senses to screen over all she passed, having dressed up in rather plain and unassuming shinobi attire complete with a shortsleeved purple vest, spats and regular shinobi boots, Lamya's only discerning features were her pale skin, golden eyes and the two boney horn-like protrusions that rested nestled within her jet black hair. The more she walked around, the more frustrated she got with the people around her though. The chuunin exams themselves might've perhaps held some interesting subjects, but for now the exams themselves would not yet truly show the potential of the contestants.

"So...utterly disappointing," She'd hiss over her breath, letting her senses go full throttle for just a single moment in her frustration, accidentilly letting her raw chakra slip out visibly, as a dark, purple shimmer covered her form for but the slightest of instants. However, this appeared to be enough to make the people around her feel the cold pressure that came from within her core, the dark, icey feel of her chakra sending shivers through many spines and hearts. "These sheep, wondering around so pointlessly...not seeing the beauty of pain, chaos and despair...it's so frustrating that peace has made them so soft and so gullible."

Calmling herself, looking around to see if any shinobi might've felt that force coming from her, Lamya walked on through the street, seemingly glad that there were no konoha shinobi around at this time, or the situation might've gone completely sideways. For now it was without a doubt best to keep in touch with the associates she brought into the village, it was never bad to plant some drones in a village with a new and surprisingly powerful kage. Yet even this raikage was still but a pest compared to the ambition Lamya carried...they all were, after all.

446

The idea of indulging her curiosity suddenly froze as a massive power entered her senses. The presence easily crushed the feeble flow of the civilian's chakras and seemed to devour those few that rose up with head and shoulders. It was so strong Laïs briefly held her breathe, feeling shiver run over her spine and see how the hairs on her arms rose up. It was much like a dark vision cloaking her normal senses, and the impression the sky had turned dark was almost real. Swallowing hearably, Laïs' eyes scanned the crowd to see where it came from, instantly rising up as she did so. She wanted to know what sort of demon bore the aura of the seven hells itself, assuming some sort of Summoning had taken place to allow its presence on earth. However, she found no such thing. Instead, she could see how a single woman absent-mindedly waded through the crowd, her very presence forcing the mass of people to step away in unspoken terror and agony.

Wishing to know what sort of demon she was, Laïs jumped down the roof, grabbing a nearby pole to break her fall and swinging down with a somersault before landing neatly on her feet. As she rose, she dusted of her dress and mingled with the crowd to shadow the entity with pallid skin and protruding horns. Even from the distance of a few meters, she could feel her heart race, the Beast within instinctively buckling against the terror that walked so casually through the streets, but she wanted to know what demon she was. Her calm nature could not be that of Wrath, and what more would a demon this powerful ever want from someone else? As she ran through every sort of demon she ever heard about, she quieted down the Jugo blood and moved closer, acting in a casual way as good as possible. As she neared, she heard the strange woman mutter that sounded like a gospel to her ears.

"These sheep, wondering around so pointlessly...not seeing the beauty of pain, chaos and despair...it's so frustrating that peace has made them so soft and so gullible."

Licking her canine as her heart suddenly raced for a completely different reason, Laïs considered it the perfect opportunity to move next to the mighty demon, chiming into her personal conversation.

"I know, right? The sheep forgot the slaughterhouse at the end of the road. I guess peace made them deaf for its chorus of agony. Tell me, when will demons throw off their glamour and bring hell on earth once more?"

It wasn't that Laïs cared much for what the demons wanted. Earth, hell. All life had something to suffer. She was merely looking to learn more about her own abilities. Grow stronger. Evolve into something beyond the mundane. If she could achieve that while helping the devil rule the world, then so be it. Both would have what they wanted, right?

---

505
Total: 915

Even if it didn't exactly come as a surprise, Lamya could feel the hint of rather unnatural or more precisely real natural chakra closing in. At first she thought about the possibility that Kumogakure; with it being one of the major hidden villages, would surely have the great likelyhood of having a few sages roaming around in it, yet as she tuned in her senses a bit more, the kunoichi finally understood that this natural chakra was too...pure to be like the essence of a sage. It was more refined and yet also more subtle compared to the rather crude nature of most unsophisticated Sages and senjutsu users.

As she was almost lost in that train of thoughts, the voice coming from next to her, recanting what she had said earlier made her shift her eyes a bit, looking at the form of the person walking next to her. Her golden eyes, adorned with thin, slits as pupils looked upon the child with the impertinence, the very gall to talk to her in such a friendly and casual manner, but than again, as she did not bear any of her usual marks or clothing that signified what or who she truly was, she dismissed the idea of disciplining this crude and bold child. "Demons...heh, is that the new name for monsters such as myself, who do not wish to see a world as bleak and bereft of fun as this one," A soft chuckle escaped Lamya's lips, as she turned her face towards this strange girl, the corners of her lips turning into a rather devilish grin. "To gain power, to control both life and death and to add to yourself until you have found who you truly are and who you truly want to be, that is what is called fun. If we should become monsters, demons or even gods to reach our goals, nothing will stop me from seeking the enjoyment of the road I travel."

Right in front of them, a drunken man was stumbling around, yelling at people, spit and bits of food flying out of his mouth every time it opened. It did not take long for the poor excuse of a shinobi to turn around after his gaze followed a couple which he had been yelling at an instant earlier, at which point his eyes met with those of Lamya and also took a gander at the girl walking next to the kunoichi. "You both look like some tasty bitches, lemme feel you up will ya, I'll be gentle, heheh."

Reaching out his hand towards the girl next to the kunoichi, Lamya's reaction was much faster than his, a single finger pricking through the clothes he wore, a stain of red liquid appearing on the lower right side of his chest and as Lamya pulled her finger out of his chest, the stain started to gush with blood. The drunken man's chest heaved as he gurgled and wheezed heavily, his eyes rolling backwards as he took a few steps away from them and fell to the ground with a few last twitches in his muscles. "Filthy animal..." It was all the woman said, as she flicked with the finger she'd used to prod straight into the man's chest and pierce his heart. The single droplet of blood which had remained on her nail slipped off of it and dropped to the ground as she walked on again. "Now than, do tell me...how is it that your nature chakra feels so different from what I'm used to sense coming from sages or senjutsu practicioners...it feels so refined, almost as if you'd be born with it."

632/1078

The woman with the monstrous area seemed bemused at her hinting towards demons, almost taking it as a compliment for the fact she simply wanted the world to be less... dull and predictable. A thought Laïs shared with her mostly due to her Jugo nature, but it was what she said after that devlish grin of hers that made Laïs smile in kind. She would not be able to find a better definition of the 'fun' she was looking for herself - the power over life and death, and add it to yourself until you found out who you truly are. Those words... she had never heard words as pure as these.

"A road you seem most experienced in, unlike myself who is still setting the first steps on the pleasurable road of blood and decay."

Their sinister conversation was interrupted by a drunk stumbling about, the very epitome of disgrace, as he first yelled at a couple and then proceeded to make them the target of his spiteful state. Laïs didn't minded so much his drunken state. She liked to drink as well, but his disdainful attitude simply ruined the mood. There was no party to be had like this, and what he said after that completely ruined all chances for him. She wouldn't have minded kicking him somewhere in a heap of trash, but considering the foreign area as well as her lingering weakness as she was still recovering, it might not have been the best of options. Fortunately, the demon next to her already took care of that in a most unsual way.

One poke was all it took.

Laïs could only blink at the display of power, another shiver slowly crawling over her back, her mind wondering why, by the 72 Nobles of Hell, she was lingering around a person as dangerous as the golden eyed woman. The man gurgled, dropping dead where they stood, the entire scene making Laïs bite her lip in admiration while all together forcing her to rub away a drip of blood running down her nose. Why did it have to be now that she got all excited from such a display?

Still holding her hand under her bleeding nose, her eyes darted to the woman next to her as she inquired about a thing called 'nature chakra' she seemed to be able to sense, continuing with a reference towards Sages and Senjutsu. Laïs had no idea what all of this meant exactly, but as she searched for a handkerchief to staunch the bleeding she tried to remember why the words sounded so familiar. If she remembered well, her father's teachings had spoken about auras, chi and chakra. All in all, they were very similar in principle despite their different explanations. He had once stated as well that her aura was so different from the mundane people - a persistent silver flow around her body, like a waking flame. She had wondered what it meant, but he had offered no answer.

"I do not know what a Sage or Senjutsu is, but my father was of a similar mind that my aura... chakra is different from most humans. I assume it is either innate to the Beast within me or a byproduct of occult research. I'm born with the first, was taught the second."

Finally finding a handkerchief, she used that instead of her hand to take care of her bleeding nose, resisting the urge to think at the cold calculated way the pallid woman had killed that man.

"What is this Sage and Senjutsu you speak of? Is that the power that allows you to have fun as you did now?"

---

619
Total: 1534

Looking up from where they had been walking, Lamya noticed that the two of them had actually walked quite a bit, as she could see that there had gathered a small crowd already quite far back in the street where she had terminated the disgusting drunkard with his most unwelcome manners and uncouth behavior. With them having reached what the Kunoichi believed to be the more shinobi-controlled areas of th hidden village, which meant that if necessary they should've been able to find their way to a more secluded area. "Your father did, hmm?" The rogue shinobi wondered about it, what a man would be teaching a child in such a case. It struck her as rather odd to be mentioning chi and auras, weren't those just the same things as chakra leaking out and thus betraying one's power? It boggled her how a man would be talking about such things and not be either a priest or a shinobi themselves, maybe even a sage of some sort."Your father seems to be a rather knowledgeable person, though it looks like you still have much to learn about the truth and reality in this world."

The kunoichi's brow frowned a bit when she heard the girl talk about a beast inside her or something about research, it was both rather intriguing and on the other hand perhaps a bit vexing that this child might've had a more natural and even more powerful form of a sage than the snake sage herself. However, a mere sigh calmed down her mind and removed her worries, even if this child might've carried the potential to be an even greater user of senjutsu than herself; the greatest sage to have ever hailed from Konoha, a descendant of the Great White Snake sage himself, chances of this child actually surpassing her in every way was probably near impossible. After all, if she reached her goal, none would ever be able to even come close, let alone surpass her.

"Senjutsu is the way to use the innate power of nature, to draw upon the energy surrounding you rather than using your own," Suddenly standing still, the Kunoichi closed her eyes and started to draw in the nature chakra surrounding them, though somehow she could feel a strong pull coming from the girl, as if she made it harder to gather the nature chakra, prooving to Lamya that this child was truly special, to absorb nature chakra without even trying and to pullon it even when the snake sage was forcing it, very special indeed. "Sages on the other hand, are those who have gotten into a contract with an animal or species which will grant them easier access to nature chakra and the power to use it. However, even among sages there are ranks,
from the imperfect sages who still show many aspects of the species they're bonded with when transforming, to the perfect sages, who either retain practically all their human features or simply choose the very appearance of their form."

Even if her eyes and her white skin didn't yet betray which creature Lamya had alligned with, she simply decided to show a little hint of it, yet not by using senjutsu, but by employing that other great talent of hers, her medical ninjutsu. A soft shudder went through her skin, as her left arm became covered with white scales and the nails on her fingers more or less began to resemble claws rather than her finely manicured tips. "Would you be able to guess which kind of creature I might have command over or would you be interested in seeing the difference between an imperfect and a perfect sage?" A simple question, but one with reason. Lamya had been an imperfect sage long ago and with immense training had managed not only to perfect her senjutsu and sagemode, but also to activate the dormant cells of her heritage. Because of this, she would've been perfectly able to show the child both forms and evidently the difference between a mere beginner and those who truly mastered the power of a sage. "I can show you what it means to stand before a god."

709/1787

"He is, indeed. Most of his knowledge comes from journals which have been passed on in the family, along with his own personal research. Despite that, he never talked about sages or senjutsu."

They were no shinobi. Or at least, not that Laïs knew. They had certain occult abilities, the Summoning of demons being among them, but they had never mentioned anything of the sort that she could easily associate with the abilities of a ninja. As such, sages and senjutsu were unmentioned words. At this poins, she wondered if her parents had been masking such information from her on purpose, something that occurred quite often, or if they truly had no clue of its existence.

A good walk further, the demon explained what these Sages and Senjutsu were. Senjutsu, if she puzzled with it long enough, sounded much like the universal energy her father had often talked about. As long as one remained connected to the universe, one could achieve superhuman feats. Clairvoyance, aura reading, 'seeing' without eyes, just to name a few. It was a strange concept, but it was the closest thing she could find that fit in with the description the demon next to her gave. She suddenly halted, so Laïs did as well, curious to see what she was about to do. She closed her eyes briefly, and Laïs could feel an odd sensation around her. A sort of pull, but not quite. At first she thought the demon was sucking in air, but that wasn't it. The soft wind remained unmoved, and the people didn't seem to be affected either, yet she was fairly certain something was taken away from around her. It confused her, and all together confirmed the entire 'universal energy' association.

"That... what you just did. My father calls it being connected with the universe. He said I was a natural at it, found it magnificent. It's how I sensed your crushing presence, blotting out the stream of people, but if... that is senjutsu, then you too can sense the people, don't you?"

The explanation on Sages still left her clueless, though. She had never seen her father work with animals unless to dissect them, extract venom or try out new infection he cultivated. Did that mean her father was no Sage despite having senjutsu? Or did he simply never mentioned it either? Was he one of those perfect Sages, perhaps, or was it so that rather than animals, he made use of the demons he could summon? Questions surfaced, but no answers came despite the difference in perception this demon held about the occult lore she was fed as a child.

Continuing the intrigue, the demon asked her a question. What animal was she associated with, meaning she was not only able to use senjutsu but also a Sage. Her appearance changed somewhat, revealing scales and claws along the pale countenance and the golden eyes. The whole picture resembled a snake or a mythical dragon, as those were the only concepts she could recall that would fit that description.

"My guess goes to snakes or dragons, but I wouldn't mind seeing the differences in Sage ranks as you state it."

It made her wonder... was the black bird form she used for travel anything close to this Sage form? It was an animal, alright, and it made use of the occult lore of shape shifting which was often attributed to shamans of a tribe, but it was obvious and crude compared to the meticulous change in shape the demon had shown her. It was obvious Lamya had a much better control than she had, as Laïs was unable to shift into something in between or manifest anything as precise as just feathers or wings or talons. Perhaps after seeing this Sage mode, she would find an answer.

---

645
Total: 2179

"Hmm, I would love to read those journals," Of course Lamya would've loved to read journals pertaining to information, certainly if said information was in one way or another linked to the reason as to why this girl was so good with senjutsu that it seemed to be natural.Perhaps if she had the information on whatever clan or family this kid belonged to, the kunoichi would be able to activate the dormant sage powers within herself, the cells which were already imbued with the power of a sage due to her ancestry. The very thought of being able to not just grow, but to greatly expand her power was a tantalizing promise. "After all, knowledge is always pretty much the basis of power and the very nature of knowledge always presents the opportunity to expand one's power, pushing it to greater hights."

The facial expression and the words uttered by this child were rather satisfying to Lamya, seeing how this natural seemed to be so enamored with just a mere show of bodymodification, yet at the same time it also showed the lack of knowledge she possessed, as this small localized transformation had only a little to do with senjutsu. However, this presented the kunoichi with a great opportunity: to teach this girl the many ways of chakra and how to use it, perhaps even more so... she could turn this willing and curious child into a valuable piece for her own goals. After all, those who had some talent, those who had some sort of quirk were much more interesting than the average, run-of-the-mill shinobi. She had always thought that way and wasn't averse of examining those with talent, even if it usually was with the intend of benefitting herself with this talent.

"Yes...but only if I concentrate, if I don't I will at most be able to see, hear and smell things much easier. However with some concentration, it isn't impossible to sense other people's chakra, no matter how great or small their reserves truly are," Oh how gullible could this child be, not realizing that flattering Lamya only made her want the child even more. She had trouble refraining herself from licking her lips and pushing down this child with the intent of dissecting her, yet luckily managed to prevent her arms from reaching towards the girl and simply smiled a bit. "Snakes predominantly, but in the end...it is the snake that is the closest to the dragon and it is the snake which has the potential to become a dragon."

Looking at the way towards one of the training areas that Kumogakure had, Lamya dragged the child along, letting the scales revert back to her regular skin, though her eyes' golden color and snake-like shape remained, as they were part of her bloodline and thus a born feature only held by those of her family with the largest concentration of sage-cells.

When they finally arrived at the training area, the kunoichi made sure that there were no onlookers, before motioning Laïs to keep her distance a bit. "First of all, if you have the same power as I have, you should be able to do something like this in some way or another," She began with the imperfect sagemode, one she hadn't used in a rather long time, with her legs bundling up together and forming into a long purple, scaled tail, while most of her visible self got covered with a variety of tiny purple and white scales, though her head remained largely unchaged, save for the now obvious enlarged fangs and her grown nails. "This is the Imperfect sage form, what do you think...does it look in any way familiar?"

633/2420

She would have loved to read the journals. It somewhat surprised Laïs. Not so much the statement that knowledge formed the base to achieve power, but rather the fact someone was interested in what they would hold. She had found little else than strange symbols and explanations in it. Demon Sigils, as her father had called it, which allowed the Summoning of demons. These demons generally performed certain actions, or bestowed certain powers upon the summoner, but they always requested life force in return. Another part spoke about Seals that allowed the occultist to protect himself against outside forces of all kind. Ars Goetia, the book was named, and was easily one of her father's most prised journals. Other journals held mostly research on cures and infections alike, and one of them was mostly a collection of tales of occult experience. She had found them confusing, but considering her parents were dead, she guessed that she could still return to collect them. Maybe.

The woman confirmed her findings both on the sensing and the snake or dragon similarities. That's to say, she confirmed the snake and confided her its potential to become a dragon. Either way, the woman seemed rather pleased by her answers, as a flicker of predatory interest appeared in her eyes as fast as it vanished again. Laïs wrote it off as her imagination, considering the woman had already an intimidating aura to begin with. Instead, Lamya lead them to a training area of sorts, allowing the markings of the snake to disappear before she explained that, if they were anything remotely alike, Laïs too should have a similar ability. She folded her arms, waiting for Lamya to show her the imperfect form, and observed her change in hopes to understand what she had meant with the similar 'ability'. As she saw the woman become half a snake, did she not only understand what she had meant, but did she also remember a few of those 'mythic creatures'.

"You look like one of those mythical creatures now.", she said, intrigue apparent in her eyes. "Half woman, half snake. They bear several names, like ah... the naga, the lamia, the gorgon. There are probably others as well, but my mind eludes me."

She titled her a little as she looked at the details of white and purple patterns that had formed. If she would have told her father she actually met one of these mythical creatures, monsters of the mind as he called them, he would never believe her. Actually, she still had it hard to believe herself as she had never given them much thought, but seeing the woman as a half-snake right here was... mind-boggling enough to shake her scepticism concerning her father's teachings quite solidly. Was his occult lore an actual rarely perceived truth..?

"I can alter my physical shape, but it's nothing as intriguing as yours. I mean, I can't maintain a humanoid form. It's either this pretty body, or the form of a black bird. It has its uses, but its hard to keep control of the form."

To show what she meant, she called upon the animal form granted by her Jugo blood. As her skin darkened, her body changed into a cloak of black feathers before her legs turned thin and clawed and her arms grew wings. As her body shifted to a shape closer to the ground, little changed in her actual size. Eventually, she became a larger-than-usual black bird, beady black eyes watching Lamya's reaction as it cawed once enthusiastically.

"See? Not the same.", she cawed, her bird-like voice sharper and shorter in sound.

---

620
Total: 2799

150/170:

"Mythical creatures, hmm?" The rogue shinobi really had a hard pressed time to refrain from laughing, she actually never thought about that at all. Yes, in a way she had been a monster long before she'd left Konoha and apparently her sage form of back in those days only seemed to prove that statement to be true, yet as she said, this was but her imperfect form, one she rarely, if ever even used again after having reached the very pinnacle of senjutsu itself. She had long become one of, if not the most powerful sage in the hidden village of Konoha and there was no doubt that she probably also belonged to the greatest sages to currently roam the earth, a power or rather a gift not even her own godlike uncle possessed. "Hence the name Lamya, my dear. Back when I was still but a fledgling, I took on that name as my pseudonym, the mask behind which I operated, but now I am so much more than just some faux-mythical being...I am the snake that devours the light."

Reverting back to her usual self, Lamya took notice of Laïs' own shape and form, applauding the child when she took the form of a carrion bird, black as the night, with sharp beak and piercing eyes. There was no mistaking it now, even if it seemed different, this girl possessed a powerful connection to the nature chakra swirling around them. "Most impressive, I am truly astonished that one could turn themselves into such a useful form, I'd say you are truly worth my applause and admiration for such an interesting display." Licking her lips with the tip of her tongue, while looking at the girl in her rather peculiar form of a bird, the rogue shinobi clapped her hands once more and braced herself to show the girl the explained difference between the two types of sages, by showing a form she rarely ever used and those who witnessed it also rarely got to tell the tale.

Not just drawing in the nature chakra around her, but litterally consuming it at a breakneck pace, absorbing the power around her and making her own chakra and pressure reach its peak, Lamya raised both of her arms a bit, the palms of her hands turning upwards, at which point she shimmered with a radiant darkness coming from her own chakra.

Her black hair turned thick and silver in color, swaying like snakes on her head. Her eyes turned almost clear, losing their golden color in favor of yet again the silver akin to her new hair and her skin seemed to darken slightly, around her chest and back, a black spiny corset seemed to appear, but apart from that she seemed to be rather normal: no undesired appendages, no unforseen extremities, just a change in color and perhaps a few additions, but she was still fully recognisable as Lamya, though without a doubt this form seemed much more practical and less cumberson to use. "I do rarely use this form, since I do not really rely on senjutsu as much as most want to think I do...it is but a useful way to strengthen my already large repertoire of techniques and abilities."

548/2968

Chakra: 325/370

Lamya. Her name was Lamya, much like the mythical creature. Her father had once said nothing happened by accident, everything was destined to occur. A simple, incomprehensible step within the greater scheme of things. She had taken that with scepticism, but this time she couldn't help but wonder what it meant. What did it mean when a being like her, carried the name Lamya, was 'spiritually gifted' despite her calling it senjutsu, and had a far better control of this shape shifting than she did. Was this a hint towards something greater? Perhaps. If it was, Laïs knew she would be able to learn a lot, but... what would it mean for the mythical being in front of her? What value could a small fry like her even mean to something which had outgrown humane comprehension?

Still, while no answer came, the applause for her bird form was strangely heart warming. Lamya was astonished by her form despite that hers was far superior. Or rather, she had a much better control over it. Even the potential of this imperfect form opened many more opportunities and options than her crude bird form. Partial transformation had plenty of uses. As Laïs transformed back into her human self, black feathers slowly growing back to bodily hair and clothes, she thanked Lamya for the complement.

Somewhat impatient to see what this perfect form entailed, Laïs found the perfect Sage form somewhat underwhelming despite its power. She had felt the strange thug in energy again, this time with such undeniable power she mentally braced herself as if she was walking in a storm. Lamya didn't change form, only changing in colour, turning hair and golden eyes into a vivid silver. But that was it. She had somewhat expected a bigger or scarier snake form for some reason. Likewise, hearing she rarely used the Sage form as she used senjutsu to empower her spells was... strange. How did that even work?

"I had somewhat expected more snake or dragon. Is this perfect form... stronger than the imperfect one?", she asked with a puzzled look, still not quite sure why less change was supposed to be more perfect in form. "And what do you mean with empowering abilities with senjutsu? Does it allow you to... say, heal or deaden flesh faster?"

The idea was intriguing, but was it feasible? She knew a way to channel energy in her strikes so it caused certain degeneration of the body, but those were generally limited to where she could touch the target. If senjutsu allowed empowerment would that mean she could, say, destroy a whole arm in one strike? Then again, was that even a fun thing to do? Seeing the terror and the pain on the face of others as she destroyed body cells with a mere touch was quite... delightful.

Dropping the memories of malevolent delight, Laïs wondered what Lamya was really about. She had not really shown much compassion when she killed that one perverted drunk, and the cold-blooded calculation reflected in her eyes seemed almost off-worldish. The words that she was 'the snake devouring the light' also sounded... dark. Like she stood as an opposite to anything good in this world - devoid of chivalry, empathy or heroism.

"Sorry if I'm prying, you don't really have to answer since it's a bit personal, but... what does a person with such power and a crushing aura as yours do in a place as this? Isn't this place ... too boring, too mundane?"

The question was out of her mouth before she really could stop it, her curiosity urging her to ask anyway in hopes the lamia would have other intriguing things to show. If anything, much like the crows and ravens, the black bird named Laïs was quite fond of secrets and magics, even if she mostly took them with a grain of salt. And if one animal was as enthralling as it was secretive, the snake perfectly fit the bill.

---

676
Total: 3475

The woman's hands slowly caressed her silver hair, which strangerly seemed to react to her touch by wriggling slightly, almost as if she had a whole nest of miniscule snakes sprouting from her head. "Theoretically, there's no difference in power between imperfect and perfect sage,
yet the less changes the body goes through when using senjutsu or nature chakra, the more attuned you are to wielding and mastering said chakra," Placing a finger against her lips and closing her eyes for a moment, the rogue shinobi seemed to be deep in thought. "Quite frankly, you could also argue that the less changes your body goes through, the easier it is to control it. After all, it took me almost a year just to figure out how that damn tail worked in my imperfect sage mode, so naturally I prefer the form with less changes." `

Just thinking about the grueling practice she had gone through just to become a sage made the woman shiver, it had been already a decade ago, but just the thought was enough to remember the most agonizing sorts of training and practice she had to put up with with her ancestor; the White Snake Sage.

When the question came as to how senjutsu would even manage to enhance other powers, Lamya had to think it over carefully, given that even now, in some aspects it was hard to tell as to were it was her own innate sage nature and the strengthening coming from the sagemode itself. "Sagemode simply allows for better and faster activation of the cells, thus magnifying the effects of many jutsu that have something to do with the body, such as taijutsu or medical ninjutsu, Thinking about it, why she had never bothered to combine senjutsu with medical ninjutsu for her Shin Saisei technique was simply because at this point her medical ninjutsu outstripped her actual senjutsu, but for other jutsu it wassimply a good boost to the overall power of the jutsu. "Also if I were to classify a jutsu that I use as A rank, like for instance my most powerful Water Slash jutsu, if I'd use that while in sagemode, it's rank actually gets boosted because its capacity drastically increases, perhaps not in general strength, but more so in intensity."

It was hard to explain some things to someone who seemed to even lack the very basic knowledge of chakra, treating it like some mystical or spiritual power, though perhaps the latter was more or less close to the reality or rather the gist of the entire thing. "Also, just so you know...it's not because I don't change into a snake or a dragon in this sagemode that it's impossible for me to do so. If I so wanted, I could've shown you a form that would rival even the greatest of summons or even a tailed beast if necessary," That ofcourse was not exactly a lie or even exaggerated, Lamya had her Yamata no Orochi jutsu after all, though she prefered having a clone to use it, due to its limitations, it was still a tremendous force and a jutsu that was enough to completely eradicate the ANBU headquarters in Sunagakure, not to mention months before that it proved to be a great enough challenge to the last Kazekage to call upon nearly her entire ANBU force, a testament to Lamya's scale of abilities and power.

"Hmm, what I do here?" Well that was an odd and unexpected question, but still perfectly within range to be answered honestly by the rogue shinobi. "I'm simply looking for interesting talents, people that are worthy of my attention and who prove to be valuable for my own goals and desires...simply speaking, I'm looking for those willing to follow me, those willing to stand beside me and those willing to bow down before me and be beneficial to me. However, those that prove to be more valuable, could also end up being my students and learn from my experience to grow in power themselves. All I do is so I can benefit from it, I make deals to fulfill the desires of others, yet never forgetting my own desires whenever a deal is struck, would that answer your question?"

720/3688

Laïs quietly registered the answer the lamia gave her concerning senjutsu, its power and its empowerment. It sounded so alien, and she honestly understood almost nothing of it. Her parents had never mentioned anything of this sort when it came to occult power. Occultism, as she had come to understand it, were gifts on their own. Aura reading, alchemical transmutation, astral projection... every ability was a power on its own. While its utility was undeniable, not once had it been mentioned to her that she could enhance cells to execute... jutsu.

Lamya completely lost Laïs the moment she mentioned jutsu and their ranks. An A rank having S rank power? She raised her eyebrow questioningly at that reference, as she had never heard of anything like that. Her father tended to divide things in 'lesser' and 'greater' Summon, or 'beginner' and 'advanced' techniques, but never in ranks. Since she had already made the connection that the two of them talked about the same thing when it came to senjutsu vs occultism, she assumed it would not be very different on terms of techniques. Her shape shifting power, which she now labelled as a 'crude sage form' would probably have a rank on its own. All it took was to know which rank to even remotely be able to assess her power compared to Lamya's. A triviality as it currently stood, until Lamya mentioned her reasons for being here.

Talent.

Now that... was interesting, if only she knew what 'talents' those were. Much like every other demon, every question only offered more questions. Every answer required a bargain, every bit of power shared was a deal to uphold. Demons never gave something for free, and as she had expected from the aura this woman expressed, Laïs had never assumed once this demon would be any different. In fact, it had come to a point where Laïs wondered if Lamya was not actually one of the 72 Nobles of Hell as their powers were great enough not to require a Summon to appear where they wanted to be. These demons often pulled strings in the mortal realms, commanded legions of demons or were even worshipped by others in one form of another.

Placing a hand on her thigh, a wry smile playing on her lips as she tilted her head a little, she eventually asked Lamya, "That, it does. Assuming that I would have an ounce of talent that might intrigue you, what exactly would be your price were I to seek your tutelage to grow stronger in senjutsu, master my own ah... 'sage form' and learn how to empower these... jutsu you speak about?"

Not that she could say if Lamya considered her worthy, but she guessed she'd never know if she'd never ask. Demons were privy on their secrets. Snakes were too. But if this one was seeking talent, it meant it needed some sort of assistance to whatever dark goal it harboured. A future it wanted to see turned into reality. Laïs looked about her for a brief moment. A future that made things less of a bore, perhaps? A world of decadence, lust and corruption? A world in constant strife and war? What was it this greater demon was looking for?

---

551
Total: 4026

It was obvious that despite the rogue shinobi's rather basic explanation on the reality and true nature of senjutsu, that the girl was hardly capable of understanding anything of what Lamya was saying. Most, if not all of the snake sage's words seem to end up only confusing the child even more, which was quite a pity, given that it meant she'd have to fully educate the child or rather indoctrinate her into the ways of the shinobi, something which could take a lot of time and effort. On the other hand though, it presented the missing nin with an unpresedented opportunity. After all, it was harder to convince a true shinobi of how poisonous and wretched this world was compared to a person who did not even seem to grasp the basic concept of what a shinobi truly was. "Perhaps it is best not to focus too much on the concept of senjutsu, chakra and the likes when you have obviously been raised in an entirely different environment,"

The rogue shinobi chuckled for a moment, combing her thick, silver hair backwards with her right hand and looking straight at the Jugo child with her intense silver eyes. "For the moment, I reckon I also better stop using thise sage form, despite its abilities, it also makes me easier to track by those with similar abilities and powers, which is something I could really avoid for now," True to her words, Lamya's hair quickly grew black again, losing its thickness and yet again turning out to be silky smooth. Her eyes turned back to their regular golden state and her skin lost the darker gray complexion which she had in her perfect sage mode, turning her back into her regular self. "You underestimate yourself and your heritage, of that I am certain."

Moving closer to Laïs, the kunoichi calmly placed her hands on the Jugo child's shoulders, showing no hostility or any sort of malicious intent. Somehow it was a bit annoying how ignorant this kid could be to her own innate talents, but Lamya refrained from acting upon or even showing the fact that that annoyed her, simply waving it away as a result from some sort of sheltered upbringing. "You have a gift, a gift that with my help, could become your greatest weapon, and all you need to do, to gain said power, is by being loyal to me. I'd say that is but the fairest of deals you could make," The rogue shinobi laughed for a second and smiled rather wickedly at Laïs, her lips curling upwards in a rather diabolical grin. "As to seal this deal, I guess we could exchange names as a courtesy and sign of mutual understanding."

With her smile softening, the kunoichi let go of Laïs and took a step back. "My name is Orochi Risu, The snake sage Lamya and the Devourer of the Sand and the Sun."

497/4185

"You have a gift, a gift that with my help, could become your greatest weapon, and all you need to do, to gain said power, is by being loyal to me. I'd say that is but the fairest of deals you could make,"

Feeling Lamya's hands rest upon her shoulder, an inkling of a memory stirred in the back of her mind. A memory of care and warmth, a gesture of trust performed by a familiar face she no longer could remember. She had been but a child back then, but at this very moment it felt not different. Even at the age of 21, compared to this demon, she was but a child in need of guidance in her search for power. The weight of those hands upon her shoulder, the weight of the Snake's words... it felt much heavier than she had ever experienced.

She had felt the Snake's oppressive aura and seen how she could kill with a single press of her index. The power she held was tremendous, and while she only requested 'loyalty' for a piece of that power, Laïs knew that this price was far greater than mortal minds could ever grasp. Demons always asked for life force or loyalty, and not a single mortal had ever been able to unbind that shackle as this loyalty entailed serving them even when the mortal shell had perished. Laïs eyed Lamya with a hint of worry when she laughed, as if only know aware of the maw of the beast she had willingly jumped into, then as she presented herself as 'Orochi Risu', she grinned.

"I'm Laïs Crowly, and I guess I'm a budding carrion crow sage? No titles though, unless you want to use the one I was given by terrorised kids, but I'm more interested in how you got yours, to be honest. Is it related to that faraway Land with lots of sand?"

A runaway occultist monster under the tutelage of a great demoness. This promised to be a most thrilling experience. Laïs couldn't even imagine how this training would go. Would she be a patient teacher or a harsh one? Would it entail murder and mayhem, or would she encourage study and research? How did one even improve upon senjutsu? And would senjutsu be the only thing she could be learning? The young woman truly had thrown herself into the rabbit hole now, not knowing what would ensue. And she, much like the Beast Within, liked the lack of control.

"Since this sealed the deal, how do you expect to be addressed and where do we go from this point out?"

At school, it was easy. Attend class, call them 'teacher'. A boring repetition of a youthful life when the world offered so much more. She somewhat assumed this new teacher would not hold such a tedious approach to things, but that didn't quite provided an answer either as she had no clue how exactly senjutsu was taught to others.

---

511
Total: 4537

"Yes, yes you are, a crow...a bird known to spread a message of fear and terror," The rogue shinobi finally showed her true colors, not by killing some poor sod, not by unleashing her full force, but simply by looking straight into Laïs' eyes with her own golden eyes, which seemed to shine almost feverishly, her lips curling into a sly, snakelike smile. There was no eagle to soar from above to snatch the snake, all that would soar in the skies were crows, crows that abided by the word of the snake. Lamya was very amused by that idea, so much so, that her sly smile turned into a nearly demonic and sardonic grin. "Do as I say, heed my words and in return, I will make you a force to be reckoned with, a being that would make the people tremble in fear and awe. You will be my student, one of a select few to which I will devote my time and knowledge..."

Her smile instantly vanished, quickly exchanged for an expression of confusion which only lasted for a moment, as she apparently got a bit sidetracked by her own thoughts. "Hmm,
yes...yes, the Land of Wind is indeed where the village hidden in the sand used to be, but not anymore. Soon, the entire nation will have a new name and from the ashes of the old, something new will rise," Yes, Lamya could already envision it, a nation heeding but a single creed, a single law, that of knowledge. She would create a haven for those who were cast out by society, a true paradise for knowledge and discovery and with that knowledge, he would find what she so desired: a way to transcend not only humanity, but anything and verything that ever was and ever will be. Her uncle wanted to become equal to Kaguya the demon rabbit of the moon, Lamya's dreams were bigger, she wanted to completely surpass that legendary figure of ancient history.

"Hmm? How to address me, I reckon master or Lady would be most befitting my status," The woman's eyes grew dull and cold again, losing the feverish glow she had moments earlier, though at the very least, she did not look down upon Laïs, her interest had not diminished now that the young woman had decided to accept her deal, on the contrary, she was very keen to see what the strange young woman's current abilities were. "Well, since we're here at a training area anyway, why not just test out your mettle?"

433/4618

A messenger of fear and terror. That didn't sound too bad, Laîs thought to herself. She had been taught a different symbolism on black birds by her parents, but in many cases ravens and crows were almost always associated with a darker world - The Otherworld, the world of gods or a world at war. Where they gathered, death was certain to be found sooner or later. As if they had a nose for such things. The extent of that fear was revealed when Lamya's golden snake eyes looked straight into hers. She had done so before, but this time it felt as if a world at chaos revealed itself in the glint of her eyes and the demonic grin that went with it. Laïs instinctively took a step back as she felt that exact fear well up in the depths of her own soul. She blinked a few times as Lamya's words suddenly broke the demonic illusion that had been spun by the demon-snake's intent and aura, and slowly breathed again once she had done speaking. Loyalty. The price she had to pay already showed how difficult a road this craven raven had agreed too. Yet, to be the herald of fear, chaos and pain sounded tantalising all together.

She brushed upon the Land of the sands, and its destruction from which something new would arise. She had the feeling this demon already knew what would rise, and though Laïs could not share in the vision Lamya beheld, her intuition told her the 'messenger of fear and terror' would find a rook there with her name on it. A first unspoken gift from her new master, her lady... her mistress? Titles that fit Lamya far better than the dull 'teacher', indeed, even if that would technically not be incorrect either. Her only trouble now was that she requested to spar, and while Laïs would be all about morbidly shredding someone to ribbons or turn it into a gangrene death puppet, she had yet to recover from her extensive exhaustion when she had escaped the Land of Demons. Even if she could take long walks and fly around again, she had yet to find the strength again to put up anything akin to a decent fight.

"I'd love to, but I'm still recovering from my excessive exhaustion when I escaped the Land of Demons. I'm fine with casual physical labour but my muscles have not recovered enough yet for a decent spar. If you insist though, I'll show you what little I have."

What was the worst that could happen? A longer need for a rest? Pain? Wounds? Blood, and the waking of the Beast? The worst she could imagine would probably not be anything like that, but rather the disappointment of her new teacher. Laïs shook her head.

"Never mind my silly talk. Let's dance."

---

490
Total: 5027

It was obvious that the child from the Land of Demons would be far from a match for Lamya herself, but that would not be any reason to prevent the rogue shinobi from at the very least finding out where the young woman was standing at at this very moment. After all, how could the snake sage even think of trying to train and strengthen this interesting new subject, if she did not know the limits of the child, if she had no idea of her full potential? It was simple, she had to draw out the child's potential simply by forcing it out in combat and how she'd do it without killing the young woman by accident was quite simply as well: clones.

However, using shadow clones in this case might've proven to be overkill as well, given that those would still outclass almost every shinobi around on their own. The woman had to think about what to choose, given that her arsenal of jutsu was without a doubt quite vast compared to regular jonin or even higher ranked people. "I guess I could simply test your skill with the most basic of clones in my repertoire," The rogue shinobi smiled and placed her hands together, ready to make a bunch of handseals in preperation of her clones. Looking at the ground around them, the woman showed a smile of both amusement and apparently being quite content of the chosen grounds inate wetness. This was the hidden village of the clouds after all, second only to Kirigakure when it came to rainstorms throughout the year. "Let's go with a few water clones to test out your skill, shall we?"

From the ground, water started to well up and take form, until after a few seconds had passed by, there were now three extra Lamyas standing between Laïs and the real deal. Though without a single doubt weaker than the original, these clones would still be able to pose a moderate threat to anyone of genin level, so they were the perfect partners in this little test. "Indeed, let's dance... attack the girl."

The three clones looked at each other, nodding calmly as one of them stepped forward, with the other two taking position at the left and right of the Jugo girl. The one who calmly walked towards Laïs, suddenly grinned and rushed towards the young woman, throwing a rather vicious left hook, followed by a backward roundhouse aimed for Laïs' chest. In the meantime, the real Lamya got down on the ground and started to calmly observe the fight, allowing the chakra surrounding her to invigorate her again. "Show me exactly how far your current skill reaches, Jugo girl."

459/5077

Chakra:217/370

jutsu used:

"I guess I could simply test your skill with the most basic of clones in my repertoire"

Lamya had said this with such a casual air in her voice, Laïs was already confused at how normal she considered this. Clones..? How exactly did one make clones out of themself? Was she talking astral projection? No. She was not. Out of the moist ground, three figures were formed and took on the shape of, well, Lamya. Clones, indeed. She had done so with such little effort, Laïs wasn't even sure what to think of it, considering this some sort of magic or miracle by its own as she had never seen or heard of such a feat before. It was as magnificent as it was daunting.

Each of them moved to take their position, quickly surrounding the Jugo. The looked calm. Calculated. Their, or rather, Lamya's obvious experience in combat situations apparent, and daunting enough to raise Laïs' heart beat in a matter of seconds. These clones... those were not the same level of power as the teenagers at school she easily beat up. They weren't even the power of the few adult civilians she knocked flat with her fury. These clones were... beyond that, still. Trained. She could feel the disadvantage in power, and it made her anxious. It also made her grin in anticipation of the chaos that would swallow her.

Much like the three clones prepared themselves for battle, so too did Laïs prepare herself. A basic stance, as she shifted her legs and moved her arms to offer a modicum of protection to her torso, the opening of a dance called capoeira. As she felt simple leg sweeps would not suffice, she channelled chakra through her limbs and into her feet and hands, hoping that she could outlast the battle with the middle clone long enough to gain the upper hand in the long run. It was a technique she had willed into existence, much in line with the occult teachings of her father, and inspired by her father's love for infections. Where he needed to proceed carefully with his experiments, she had somehow created an occult power akin to it - one that had sown quite some terror in the village once.

Ready to rumble, she nodded at the clones, who nodded at each other. The middle clone stepped forwards, grinning suddenly and rushing towards her with such a speed she could hardly believe it was real. Caught off guard by the inhumane speed, the left hook hit her perfectly and the roundhouse connected cleanly, kicking her away like a ragdoll. Rolling over the floor, Laïs could only blink in surprise at how fast everything had happened. Coughing as she recovered her wind, she stood back up, dusted her clothes off and rubbed her face there where the hook had hit.

"Wow...", was about the only thing she could utter. "No idea where you got your training, but it's making me jealous."

That said, it was her turn to play now. Laïs ran up to the middle clone and lead in with a jumping spinning crescent kick, aiming for his head. Hit or miss, when possible, she'd land on her feet again and continue to pivot so to follow up her first kick with a sweep at the clone's legs, the intention being to trip it. While she pivoted, her arms were stretched out, not only to keep her balance during the execution of this combo, but also to possible brush her chakra infused hands over its skin so the decaying energies would leave their mark. Eventually, if she succeeded at tripping the clone, she'd try striking the muscle in its upper arm so as to make its use harder. If she'd fail, she'd assume a defensive stance as she'd try to analyse its movement in turn.

---

657
Total: 5684

140/170:

The middle clone could only grin when her hand connected with Laïs and when it seemed that her kick was allowed to run through without any hassle and hit its target. Even though the clone had expected some sort of resistance, she was still quite surprise by the lack thereof, so much so that she looked into the direction of the real Lamya, but was only meet with silence and closed eyes, so after a nod towards the other clones, she simply thought to continue her little lesson for the Jugo child. However, despite the clone's apparent domination, the two other clones who were keeping an eye on the little spar, noted that the child had a rather astonishing recovery rate and resilience. "Don't let her actual strength or speed fool you guys, she is still a shinobi," Even with her eyes closed, it seemed Lamya was still able to follow what was happening a few meters away from her, all the while calmly meditating and opening herself to the influx of nature chakra. "Continue...I tolerate no tardiness, not even from myself."

The clones each chuckled softly, hearing the real Lamya's words and noting the humor in it, but not acting any further on it. Alas for the clone who had taken the initiative, the fact that she was being distracted made for a perfect opening to the Jugo's retaliation, assaulting the clone with a swift crescent kick to the head. Unable to reform her stance in time or to put up a proper defense, the clone got hit where it hurt: both her head and her pride, stumbling a bit to the side, holding her hand against her face for that very same reason. "What is this?!" The clone seemed obviously surprised by this instant counter, could not believe what was happening, thus in her own befuddlement was ill prepared against the leg sweep and the gangreen like result of Laïs' hands touching the clone's skin. With an agonizing scream, the clone 'splashed' out of existence.

"Guess it's our turn," The clone on the left laughed and rushed towards the Jugo girl from the back, aiming to hit the back of the girl's legs while sliding across the ground. The clone on the opposite end decided to create a single jutsu powerful enough to drain her entire chakra reserves and pop her out of existence after it's use.

A multitude of water projectiles taking the form of sickles had been formed and thrown towards the Jugo child from up front, intended to strike her right on the chest. "Show us more!!"

443/5520

Chakra: 237/370
Chakra #1: 0/35
Chakra #2: 0/35
Chakra #3: 35/35

jutsu used:

Distracted by their conversation - would this have counted as a monologue? - the clone was hit by Laïs' full combo and splashed out of existence. Laïs was surprised about this, but quickly shrugged it off as, of course, the clone had been made of water and so would only return to water. She simply had not expected the clones to disappear like they did. Being given little time to recover, her senjutsu senses picked up the movement of the two other clones. The one in front of her was doing something odd with his hands, whereas approaching feet stomped the ground behind her. She would have loved observing the effects of the hand seals, but since she couldn't see what would happen behind her, the Jugo followed her beastly instincts. Twisting her body, she swung her arms and legs as she jumped up, dodging the first clone's sliding attack. As the clone slid under her and she flipped horizontally through the air over it, their gaze locked for a brief moment, the thrill of battle apparent.

Laïs landed behind the clone, wishing to make use of the opportunity to strike it, but was instead greeted by the water sickles the second clone had been molding. In an instinctive reaction to get away, she lurched backwards to dodge the sickles so as to allow them to pass over her. It didn't quite have the effect she had wanted. She could feel one of the sickles cut her left shoulder and a second one ripping open cloth and flesh across her stomach before she lost balance and fell on her back with a yelp. Not out of danger yet, she swung her body from the ground up to land back on her feet, feeling a brief moment of respite when she spotted the last remaining clone.

Despite the wounds, Laïs grinned, the insanity of the Jugo frenzy flickering behind her amethyst eyes and betraying the fact that she was not about to give up yet. No. If anything, the rising insanity would only urge her to move on to the point where she'd either be victorious or drop in defeat. Her wound would mean little once she was in the grip of this bestial dance.

"Where is your friend?", she asked the last clone as she did not hold the knowledge on the workings of a chakra clone. All she could say with certitude was that she could no longer sense the clone that had thrown her the water sickles. "I want to return her the favour for that little trick of hers, but if she isn't coming out to play you'll do just fine."

While she had no idea if she could mimic the water sickle technique - those hand seals were such an odd ritual to copy - she knew she had some needles hidden in her sleeves and a little trick she had figured out based on the concept of astral projection. A projection of herself that could trick the eyes despite having no actual body. As she ran up towards the last clone, Laïs' skin seemed to grow briefly a darker shade before five clones manifested themselves around her. Having the six of them now run up, each of them attacked the last clone one by one, alternating their kicks and punches. At the same time, Laïs jumped up, her body throwing a gliding shadow over the ground as she blotted out the sun. Seemingly soaring through the air, she threw a first set of three senbon, then another three, with the intend to hit the clone. Even if Lamya's clone, superior in speed and perception, would not be fooled by her own clones and the senbon, Laïs  hoped to keep her busy long enough for the budding Crow Sage to land behind the clone and strike from the back with her infection-infused legs.

---

658
Total: 6342

OOC: A murder of crows :>

110/170:

Them Senbon:

It was apparent that Laïs wasn't used to shinobi or their tricks and schemes, let alone the basics of ninjutsu. When looking at it, Lamya truly did wonder how this child even would function when outside of her sheltered and secluded land. However, she instantly decided that this was likely just a false thought, she was sure that Laïs in one way or another had already been part of this shinobi world, even if she herself did not yet realize it, after all... what the child described as magic, summons, all sorts of strange things, was in fact no more than various forms of chakra manipulation.

Even if the Jugo girl had some spunk and at the very least a basic knowledge on how to behave in situations like the one she had gotten herself into, it looked like she was not yet up to snuff to fully dodge the incoming barrage of water-based projectiles. Even the last remaining clone couldn't refrain herself from grinning when noticing that Laïs made at the very least a rather interesting effort to try an avoid getting hit by the sickles, even though said effort proved to be highly futile, forcing the young woman to end up with ripped clothes and a few cuts an bruises to match up with what at this point would've probably been her own thoughts on what she was going through.

"I'd say at the very least, that was worth a shot," The last remaining clone laughed and readied herself, knowing fully well that if there was any time for a retaliation of sorts, that would've been the appropriate time to do so. Again it seemed that Lamya's mindset was perfectly accurate on the matter, especially when the clone managed to see a shimmer in the young woman's eyes, something akin to the feverish gloss that would appear in many eyes belonging to those fallen into insanity and the madness of battle. It was to say the least, a very intriguing sight. "What will you do now, it's just you and me... no more tricks, no more fiendish schemes or tactics... let it all out and show me that you're worthy of praise, girl." The clone's words were harsh, but true. Lamya would not take on anyone as a student or associate if they did not live up to her standards and for now, Laïs seemed to be capable enough to at the very least hold her own against a few minor clones, a feat not at all bad for someone near the lower end of the genin ranks, especially if said aforementioned clones were those of a near omnipotent shinobi as Lamya herself.

Finally, the Jugo girl had seemingly steeled her nerves and her ressolve, using a technique Lamya knew all to well and thus by extension her clone just as well; the clone technique. It was a simple derivation of the transformation technique, allowing for a handful of shadowless forms to appear, without substance or strength, but in most cases enough to at the very least distract an opponent for even the briefest of instants.

The clone was no exception, though knowing the technique and knowing how to execute it was one thing, in the heat of battle, one was always prone to make a tiny slip up when confronted with a sudden increase of opponents and as such, the clone instantly took a defensive position when the shadowless forms approached her, thus making her lose her grip on the situation and missing the intent of the Jugo child completely. The distraction was made complete by a handful of senbon hitting the clone right at the moment that she realized to have been making a grave error, diggin into her seemingly real flesh and obviously hurting the clone at the very least enough to distract her a second time.

Enraged, she swung her arm around at the shadowless forms, yet it was already too late, as in just a mere moment, the water clone could feel the budding Crow sage's feet dig into her back, propelling the clone forwards, forcing her to skid a bit over the ground before she could get back up again. The clone seemed confused and distrought, her back hurting a lot more than she thought it should've been doing, with black spots appearing all over it. However, before the clone could do anything, the snap of two fingers could be heard throughout the place, with the water clone suddenly dissolving back into her base element, a puddle of water left in her wake.

"Excellent, Laïs," The real Lamya slowly stood up and opened her eyes with a devilish grin on her face, obviously content with what she had been shown so far by the young woman. "Though you'll need to learn much, you already show a glimmer of hope and potential...for that, let me at least heal your wounds for now."

With that being said, the Snake sage pulled three strands from her hair, which instantly transformed into three tiny white snakes and placed them upon Laïs as she approached the girl, envelopping her in medical chakra that calmed the senses, dulled the pain and healed the flesh wherever necessary. "Making you stronger looks like it's going to be a lot of fun."

903/6423

Chakra: 232/370

Jutsu:

Her diversion seemed to be successful, allowing Laïs to kick the clone in the back. Much like the first clone had disappeared after her combo, she had somewhat expected the second clone to vanish as well, but this was not the case. Instead, it looked annoyed and confused. Steeling herself for a counter attack, the snap of fingers preluded its destruction. The woman blinked, tilting her head curiously as how the clone had disappeared in a splash of water and tried to relate this to the second clone that was nowhere to be found. Did that one splash into water for some reason as well?

Little time was left to ponder the situation as the Snake Sage moved again and complimented her. So taken into the battle she was, that Laïs had all but forgotten that Lamya was still around. Adrenaline still running, Laïs turned around slowly, eyes still scanning for the second missing clone while Lamya's words settled into her mind. Satisfaction. A glimmer of hope, and healing. Pulling three strands from her hair, she transformed them into snakes and rested them upon her. She could feel the regenerating energy course through her body, gently suppressing her own tainting technique as they calmed her senses and restored the wounds.

She smiled wryly when she heard that it would be a fun thing to train her. She liked that thought, as having fun and fighting were a perfect fit to begin with. While she was slightly weary of the snakes resting on her, their cool touch and natural seductive allure were welcome. So was their healing, as it made the woman think how healing could make battles - and thus the fun - last even longer.

"I'm glad you liked the show.", she replied, taking another moment of silence as she enjoyed the healing of the snakes and carefully attempted to stroke one of them with a single finger. "These copies were strange. I generally can't sense my own projections, but I could clearly sense yours. Why's that? And why is it that the second one disappeared while I had yet to confront it?"

It probably had something to do with those sickles. Did it change its form somehow? Was that a possibility, or was it something entirely different still? There sure was a lot to learn in this new world with this new person, as it seemed that the occult lore she had been given by her parents felt... lacking. Perhaps incomplete, or perhaps simply lacking in perceptions. Different perceptions, then.

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Spoiler:

Lamya's expression changed from a calm and collected one into one of confusion when hearing Laïs' many questions, making it just all the more apparent how little she knew about how the world worked and how much training she'd actually need. Surprisingly for Lamya, this meant she more or less had to be taught the absolute basics of the shinobi as well. It was amazing how sheltered some people seemed to be and in Laïs' case this was painfully obvious. "It's all about chakra, as I stated before," The woman chuckled softly, noticing that there were no more wounds to heal or bruises to take care of for her three temporarily formed snakes, which as their job was done turned back into their original form and shape: that of mere strands of hair, floating away on the flowing breeze that surrounded the area. "Just like those hairs imbued with chakra revert to their original form after completing their task or losing all their chakra, the clones I made from my own life energy or chakra, simply revert back to water when that energy is used up. If they use too much chakra, they vanish, if they get hurt too much, they vanish...it's that simple."

Waving with her left hand, the woman simply beckoned the child to watch her clearly, to make note of what she was about to show Laïs just to make her at least understand the basics. "I told you that those with sage power or senjutsu are able to discern someone's chakra, but that's not all...when you're trained well enough, you should be able to know how strong those who's chakra you sense truly are. Ofcourse, in some cases, you wouldn't need senjutsu to truly know such things or to actually feel someone's chakra. However, you are a special case, you are so attuned with senjutsu, nature's chakra and the powers of a sage, that it all comes naturally to you and you simply might even be overly sensitive to the chakra of others."

Suddenly, the rogue shinobi seemed to be staring into the sky, her face showing an absent expression, as if she was looking for something, deep in thought or even meditating, at the very least, she seemed to be somewhere else with her mind than where she was standing at that point. "Hmm, seems Sarutobi Mitsuo is also in this place...so are all the kage except for the tsuchikage, two chakra signatures beyond mine, that must be the mizukage and this new Raikage I heard about...interesting," With her eyes regaining their color a bit and her expression finally showing something else than absolute blankness, Lamya smiled and tilted her head to the side, turning her face towards the Jugo child. "I want you to experience something, look at it as a definitive proof of what I had been saying about life energy and chakra. Try opening yourself, silence all your thoughts and focus on the world around you...try to reach as far with your mind to...hmm, let's say that area over there."

The woman wondered if it was smart to show this girl just how sensitive she'd be to chakra when focusing fully onto it, but perhaps there wasn't really any other way. After all, what the child had detected earlier, how she had found lamya so easily was simply the shinobi letting out a fraction of her full force, just a shinobi feeling agitated was already sensed by the girl, so why not see the reality of things in a new perspection. "I'll let you sense my full life energy or chakra, feel it, sense it and acknowledge it... it'll be the first step to mold you into what you SHOULD be and not what you could be."

Lamya closed her eyes again, reaching deep within her to fully let out everything she had, this meant that she would probably be noticed by many more people than just this child, but perhaps it might be enough of a warning to those kages held up in their high sky place. Slowly, but certainly, the snake sage's chakra became visible, a prism of colors turning into a heavy black and dark purple aura. Her chakra became so heavy that the ground beneath her shook and tore apart when it was reaching its maximum output, there was no doubt that this might've been not just a terrifying but perhaps even an overwhelming experience for Laïs. Lamya remembered it well, that day when she got confronted with her uncle's full power, how she felt herself suffocate and nearly fainted just from feeling the massive amount of chakra he had. If there was one thing she knew, it was that the darker one's own desires, the less emotion one felt, the more dreadful one's chakra could feel and though not yet at her uncle's level, Lamya was certain that the child would either cower in fear given her extreme sensitivity or simply at the very least realize that her earlier assessment of calling the rogue shinobi a demon was an understatement.

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It's all about chakra, life force. She understood that, but... not really. Her father had once said the whole universe was made of one energy as well, but that had sounded a strange concept in a world where everyone and everything was different. Now this woman was saying something alike, wasn't she? The clones were made of her chakra. A limited amount that gave them a limited lifespan and resilience, but... Did stories not have it only a god could create? What was it that her mother had once said?

"We are all gods in our own way."

Laïs had believed her mother to have said that jokingly, but had it really been a joke all this long? The more she listened to Lamya speak, the less the Crow sage was sure about what she had been taught all this time. She really felt out of place in this world. And it would only become worse when Lamya explained her the world of chakra through an experience. As requested, she silenced her own thoughts as good as possible and allowed her mind to reach out to everything around her. At first, little revealed itself, but as the seconds ticked away, she could sense the movement of the people behind her and the aura that was in front of her. Then, as she seemed to lose herself into the greater picture of the universe, she could sense the buildings and the animals. Lastly, the plants weaved themselves into her conscious and even the road and the air she breathed. It was an unusual experience to 'see' the world without eyes.

"I'll let you sense my full life energy or chakra, feel it, sense it and acknowledge it... it'll be the first step to mold you into what you SHOULD be and not what you could be."

She had no sense of time or place at this moment, the words drifting somewhere on the edges of her consciousness. She heard them, but registering them was a different matter completely. Only slowly came she to the realisation that it were the words of the Snake sage, and too late did she sense the Beast's instinctive desire to pull back the immersion within the Sage's natural sensory. A colourful presence nested itself within the picture that her Sage senses registered, and turned the whole thing into a living nightmare when the prism became a torrent of black and purple. The earth shook, as if an earthquake was taking place, and threw Laïs' senses out of balance. She had to escape this... opening of herself, but all she could do was open her eyes and experience the odd sensation of being blinded by the real world while her senjutsu senses still revealed everything around her like a blooming flower. Panic took over and Laïs' face paled, but as Lamya's aura expanded and swallowed the world around her, all she could do was stumble and fall back with terrified eyes fixated on the source of this chakra nightmare.

"Please... Stop.", she whispered in between gasps, urging her sage senses to tone down. But even then, when they had returned to the natural state of mere intuitive senses, the damage could not be undone. What had been seen could not be unseen, the monstrous chakra imprinted in her mind forever. "Devourer of the Sun" was an understatement. "Demon" was an understatement. She had no words left to describe this... goddess in person, this "Nemesis of all Reason". How could one even reach that state of power, a state she was supposed to become?

"What... are you?", was all she could ask for her mind could no longer understand the entity in front of her.

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OOC: [x] Nemesis of Reason - flavour text fits you :P