to Find the Village We Go!:

The boy had finally reached his destination, Matatsu smiled as the Village Hidden in the Mist came into his view letting out a sigh of relief after his long journey. Though as he drew nearer to the village something else caught the boy's attention, a large crowd was gathered on the outskirts of the village surrounding a platform. Matatsu's interest was spiked, 'what could draw such a large crowd to a single location like this' the boy thought to himself as he began his approach to the crowd. Once he was among the people gathered he heard faint whispers traveling amongst the crowd however that all came to a stop when a man suddenly appeared on the stage. Matatsu's heart rate spiked higher than his interest into why the crowd had gathered, he had not seen anyone that moved that fast since his father had passed. The man spoke but his words were lost on the boy, as Matatsu could not hear anything over the sound of his heart beating rapidly within his chest. 'Could this be the one' the boy thought as he tried to push his way through the crowd, his mind trailing back to the last words his father had spoke to him. The crowd thinned, apparently some were not happy with what the man had said, that did not matter to the boy his eyes were fixed on the man as were many other's. The boy became less interested in the crowd and more concerned with the man, he had a presence about him and though Matatsu could not place his finger on what it was he found himself drawn towards him. The man approached the arch behind where he stood and soon a film of murky water filled the archway, and just as fast as the man had appeared he was gone through the water. Questions began forming in the boy's head as he wondered what was going on, 'Shit why didn't I listen to what he was saying' he thought to himself cursing under his breath. The boy stood in the middle of the crowd as more whispers began filling the air, the boy's eye was caught by others walking into this water that the man had created disappearing just as the man had done. Still more seemed sceptical or possibly afraid, the boy neither knew nor cared he pushed his way through the crowd and made his way to the Arch. He needed to find this man or else he may never find the answer he sought, it was possible that this was the very reason he had been drawn to the village of the most in the first place. Without any delay once the boy had made it to the archway the boy took a deep breath and stepped through the water, whatever lay waiting for him he did not know but with any luck he would be closer to his destiny.

The boy felt himself being pulled through, the pressure too much causing the boy to cry out yet there was an absence of sound, it also revealed that he did not need to hold his breath whatever this liquid was it was no ordinary water just a vast emptiness. The boy's thoughts began to race as he wondered just what it was that he was standing in, it was like murky grey water yet he could breathe as if it was air and no matter how hard he tried he could not produce a sound. Suddenly the grey water parted and a world formed around him, the sudden shift from the water to the ground beneath him nearly caused the boy to fall, however luckily for him he somehow managed to remain on his feet. The boy looked around to find that there was no one within his sight, the forest that surround him though similar to the one he had journeyed through to reach the village of the mist and yet it was dark and void of life, not even a leaf among the fogged filled forest. Matatsu did not know what it was that he would encounter in this place, nor did he know where the other's that had gone through the portal in front of him, including the man that had made the portal, had gone. The boy would look around him trying to find some kind of sign as to where he was as he continued to curse himself for not listening to the man's words, Matatsu did not recognize anything in this place but he found himself standing on a path or sorts and figured that the best thing to do would be to follow the path and see just where it lead. With any luck he would find someone amongst all of this, and if he did not he could only hope that he would not be lost in this place for the rest of his life.

---

~833

The morning was turning into afternoon in Kirigakure as Jiroubou was at home packing his gear. He had spent the good part of the past months doing nothing but enjoying his freedom from the fathers at the Kaguya temple. He had enjoyed all the free time and training time he had gathered but last night was the first night he realized he wasn't on vacation. He looked over to a paper on his table which was now all crumpled up and worn down. He did not want to think about the things that would happen if the words of that paper were what he thought they were. It was his wake up call to get back on track and grow stronger like his fathers had wanted. The white haired boy had made a small pack of essential supplies which he was going to take with him into town and try to find somewhere he could train. He was quick to swing the pack over his shoulders and leave his abode in the lesser districts. He would make his way to the courtyard through the alleys and back streets. as he walked he would let bone extend from his finger tips and scrap on some of the brick walls which left small scratches and helped him to relax as his bones sharpened. He would soon reach the courtyard where it seemed that a huge crowd had gathered around what seemed to be some sort of portal. His curiosity got the best of him and he would begin to walk through the crowd towards the portal. He could see a procession of people had made a line and were entering the portal. Maybe what's in that portal might be the opportunity I need to get myself back on track. What could possibly be on the other side that I cant handle. Maybe even the fathers won't be able to find me on the other side of it."



That was all the motivation Jiroubou would need to push himself in line to enter the portal. As it got closer to his turn he could peek inside and see that it seemed to be almost entirely of water as if an ocean was being held back by whatever force made the opening. When it was finally his turn he would extend out his left arm to test and pierce the veil but was immediately pulled through by strength unimagineable to him and soon he was engulfed in the murky gray water. He stood shocked as he finally got his arm back and he opened his eyes to see the world around him was nothing but water and his body would start to adjust to the strange atmosphere as he could still breathe somehow and he didn't feel as soaked as he thought he should for standing where he was. He would look around and only see a path that lead deeper into the murky world. Jiroubou would start to walk a few steps forward and see some sort of figure standing on the path before him. Jiroubou had no idea what this world held and would put his left hand behind his back as he extended bone from his finger tips in case he needed his bone shrapnel technique. He would calmly walk forward at a normal pace as the shape of the figure seemed to become more and more human. It made Jiroubou feel a bit better but not off edge yet as he got close enough to tap the person on the shoulder and try to appear as normal as possible. He would try to point down the path and kind of give a quizzical look as to ask if they were going down the path as well.


630

The dreams of Miyamoto, Watsuji bore no good-will. The boy who had been needlessly bludgeoned by a member of the Kirigakure forces had since been laid down in the comfort of Uchiha, Kirei’s home. The more experienced shinobi of good heart had taken up a role something like an older brother for the stalwart but less practiced samurai. As he dreamt he saw many things, but nothing very sensible. A strange island, an aged samurai warrior lashing out at him, and finally great pain, as though he had been sliced to ribbons. These dreams persisted in different variations and orders throughout the entirety of the night until the morning came and suddenly the boy launched upright in a fit of heavy breathing. His body ached the pain of the last week catching up to him after his first full night of sleep.

Knowing just how much of a fuss he had likely made when he lurched out of bed, he quickly glanced around to see if he needed to make an apology. Kirei was nowhere to be found. Watsuji stood, finding his things piled neatly on a table next to him. As he dressed himself, he fought through the bruising that had spread across his body from the night before. Watsuji’s head would hang low this day, shame washing over him. He was not sure whether this had been some sort of hazing by a stronger shinobi or if the words of Hideyoshi had held weight all along. Was the ancestral tanto correct to judge shinobi as killing machines destined for treachery? His thoughts raced as he attached his belt and his weapons to his waist, a white Katana hilt sticking out of a longer scabbard upon his right side, the diamond studded black hilt of his katana to his left. The blue and white robes were still dirt stained and smelled slightly of blood and sweat, so instead he dawned the extra white T-shirt he already owned and planned to purchase a new set of robes on his way to explore the village.

A note from Kirei lay out in the room, as if scrawled down in something of a hurry. The blue eyes traced over the few lines of text quickly and with new information, Watsuji’s plan for the day took a different path. He left the dorm and secured the door behind him, walking into the street with his hair in a bundled up ponytail upon his head. The same as usual. He felt exposed without robes, they were something he felt truly completed his appearance and gave him symbolic beauty on the battlefield. He would obtain a nice pair of black and gold robes before venturing to a strange island off the coast. Visions of his horrific dreams would flash like a shock horror film as he noticed spiders crawling about and a mansion looking over the wooded areas. He gazed upon an archway filled with a chalky grey liquid that stood up somehow in its own, defying gravity. Seeing large spiders creeping all around in the tree lines, Watsuji remembered Kirei’s note and took a step into the great unknown, the portal closing behind him just as he did.

His eyes took a moment to adjust to the new surroundings, but his heart might not have ever recovered from the sight that unfolded before him. His tanto pulled itself from his pocket and levitated in front of him for but a moment before distorting and seemingly creating a static ripple in reality before a being climbed forth from the ripple, and the tanto fell to the floor. It was the same visage he had in his dreams, and it matched the paintings throughout his home village of the founder. Miyamoto, Hideyoshi stood before his great grandson, staring down at him through a study mask. The dead walked in these lands. The forest was silent as the samurai spirit gazed around in his ornate armor, analyzing the strange spiritual forest surrounding him. Life had been returned to him with such a quickness, he had no idea this was going to happen next.

Miyamoto, Hideyoshi:

“It has been some time since you had to think for a moment about how you respond to me, hasn’t it boy?”

---

717 |

Matatsu searched the area for any signs of others within the misty dead forest, but to no avail. When he looked behind him the male saw that the portal he had just come through was now gone and only a pathway leading the opposite direction, "How odd," Matatsu mumbled to himself. Matatsu knew he could not stay here forever but at the same time he did not know where to go, after a few moments of contemplating his next move the young male decided that he had a fifty fifty shot at heading the right way and headed down the path in the direction he was facing when he entered this strange place.

The sun while still in the sky casted very little light among the dead forest, and the rolling mist seemed to only dampen what little lumination that the sun was providing. Noises could be heard in the distance and the male got the feeling that something was out there watching him, yet when he looked there was nothing. "Stupid idiot why did you not pay attention," Matatsu cursed himself as he continued walking down the path trying to recount anything that he might of heard the man say before opening this world, but unfortunately he could not remember much. Something about skills and destitution, a village somewhere out here, and something about nightfall. The male racked his brain searching for an answer, anything that could give him more details about what he was doing, but despite standing right there as the man had been speaking his brain seemed to of ignore the words of warning. "Hello, my name is Matatsu and I am a flipping idiot that runs through a portal with no idea what I am doing," the male mocked himself out loud as there was no one around to hear him. As his feet moved beneath him, the young males mind began to wander. The male began thinking about how disappointed his father would be if he was to see him now, wandering in some strange land with no clue as to what was going on around him. This place was dark and unknown most likely to weed out those that are weak and do not belong, the male was not weak in his mind and this place did not scare him yet he was beginning to wonder if he did belong here.

The male did not even realize that he had stopped moving, until he felt something tap his shoulder. Turning quickly on his heels the boy would at first take a defensive stance, however considering the fact that whatever had tapped him was close enough to do so and not alert him to it's presence it felt like a waste as the person could of easily killed him without alerting him. He came face to face with a pale man that looked to be around Matatsu's age, upon the forehead of this man bore the mark that Matatsu recognized. The two dots of the Kaguya, a very well known clan of the Mist village, after a quick size up of the man a thought popped into the young wanderers mind. 'Perhaps this man can help me find this village?' However his hope of help from the man was quickly dashed as the man pointed down the path with a quizzical look upon his face, 'Damnit so much for that, this guy is more clueless than I am' the male thought to himself as he began to wonder just how the man got so close to him without alerting him. 'Maybe that portal does not appear in the same location' the young wanderer thought, as that would explain why there was no one around when he came through the portal despite people having entered it in front of him.

"I guess you don't know where we are suppose to go either, huh?" Matatsu stated with a shrug of his shoulders before looking down the path, "I am heading that way you are welcome to join me." He added as he turned to continue his journey down the path, only this time instead of the empty path that laid before them just seconds before now stood a young boy and a man in complete armor that reminded Matatsu of the stories his mother use to tell him of the samurai of the iron country. Matatsu did not understand what was going on, however the sudden appearance of the boy and samurai only confirmed his earlier assumption that the portal dropped its travellers off in different location throughout the forest. Matatsu was not sure if the two figures were worthy of his trust any more than he knew if the man who had appeared behind him could be trusted, but nevertheless if they could help him find this elusive village then he would welcome them. "Hello there, I do not suppose one of you might know where this village is that we are suppose to find?" He called out to the boy and samurai as he approached them slowly, however keeping a safe distance should they prove themselves to be a threat.

---

~859

Hideyoshi of the Miyamoto was a famed samurai warrior with a heinous amount of blood on his hands. In life he was a handsome, stone-faced man of tall stature. Now, as a sort of phantasm he was  a decaying corpse within a suit of armor. Only a fraction of his former strength had been returned to him in this strange realm, but even so, his power was far beyond that of even a B-Ranked shinobi or samurai. His presence in of itself was legendary and Watsuji was dealing with a mixture of awe and fear as he gazed upon the looming form. Suddenly, he shook that feeling of fear and responded to his ancestor in the same tone as usual, refusing to allow this cruel and impossible man to command fear into his heart.

“I am still your master, Hideyoshi. You will give me the respect I deserve, you stupid fu-” a strong fist slamming into Watsuji’s face would ricochet him against a tree and back to the ground.

“You will learn now, boy.” Hideyoshi drew a worn and bloodstained katana from his sheathe and attacked Watsuji directly. The young samurai avoided it and drew his mother’s blade, matching his strike and deflecting it. All the while the two would hold nothing back. Though his swordsmanship was quite good for his novicehood, blow for blow each block would wear down at his stamina, Hideyoshi simply being stronger than Watsuji. The ancient warrior knew he could not kill his soul bonded partner, but was planning to hurt him quite grievously as the battle continued, sparks and clangs flooding the senses of any who looked upon it. They had completely missed the words of the approaching shinobi. This was much deeper than it could have ever seemed. “You will not stand much longer unless you learn what you must, and do so quickly. You have my power at your fingertips and not just the tanto. Think harder, fool.” Hideyoshi was genuinely trying to help now, but with his own disapproving tone. Anger welled up within the small blue haired boy as he roared in anger, his strokes becoming more potent as he channeled his strength, sapping a bit of power from his ancestor and increasing his own. Mind was consumed in anger and blankness as he swung with the full borrowed power of Hideyoshi, barely missing the samurai spirit’s head and cleanly slicing a large, thick oak tree straight through with no hesitation.

As the tree toppled the boy stood panting heavily, absolutely fatigued. Hideyoshi turned to the approaching character “You will speak with me for now, shinobi. He must regain his composure. I must know our whereabouts. This land is not part of the living world, this I can tell you.” Watsuji looked over at the the two and panted out “The village we seek...it wouldn’t be that one, would it? he pointed to a gateway just slightly beyond the fallen tree he had just cut.

---

502 | 1219

Matatsu was not sure if the pair heard him or not and he was shocked when he saw the samurai punch the kid hard enough to knock him into the tree that was behind him. Matatsu was extremely glad he kept a safe distance from the pair in front of him as they pulled out their blades, though it was not towards him it was towards each other. It seemed that they were having a disagreement with each other, normally Matatsu would of stepped in to help the younger boy against the samurai yet this boy seemed more than capable of holding his own against the samurai as he match him blow for blow. Matatsu did not know what the two were fighting about but he could not turn away, so he just watched in awe as the sound of metal clashing against metal filled his ears and sparks flew into the air around them. The boy let loose an attack that sliced straight through a tree, but from the looks of it that single attack took the last of his strength as he looked fatigued and breathing heavily. The Samurai then turned his attention to Matatsu and spoke as the boy tried to catch his breath, "I do not know where we are, there was a portal and I was told to look for a village" Matatsu stated but it was the boy who then responded rather than the samurai.

The boy pointed out a gateway to a village that stood beyond the tree that he had sliced in half, upon it's sight a feeling of dread instantly came over Matatsu. He had seen these gates before only hours before, yet they were different they looked as if they had been destroyed in some kind of war yet Matatsu could still see the sigil that they held. It was that of the Village Hidden in the Mist, that he had just seen before entering this strange world. Now it laid in ruins along with the wall around it, Matatsu did not know if what he was seeing was reality or if that portal he had gone through was nothing more than some kind of Genjutsu but he was not going to find out by standing where he was. The sun was almost gone from the sky and he remembered the warning of not being in the woods at night, looking to the boy and the samurai Matatsu spoke "I think we should check out the village, there was something about being in the woods at night in this place and I really don't care to find out why the man warned against it." With that said Matatsu would step over the fallen tree and pass through the wreckage of the gate, he did not know if the two would follow or not, nor did he pay much attention to it as his focus was on that of the ruined village. He was not sure what the actual village hidden in the mist looked like, however if he were to take a guess it would probably looked like this although hopefully not as destroyed. Ruins of buildings were all around and rubble filled the streets of this village, it was hard for the boy to imagine anyone living in this place yet there was a fire in the distance that caught his attention perhaps there was life in these ruins after all. Matatsu would stay on his guard as he drew closer to the fire source ahead of him, weary of what he might find his only hope was that he was not walking into a trap.

---

~2301
Mission -2000
Speed, Perception, Endurance, Reaction to E-1 (-75 each) -300

Malaise. Throbbing, aching, soreness. Watsuji remembered only a few of these sensations from the training he was committed to over the last few years. It was that feeling but entirely negative. He didn’t feel achievement or anything similar. There was no satisfaction or pride to numb it at all. The young man had glassy and reddened eyes by now, a telltale of just how tired he was. He wanted nothing more than to be rid of this cruel demeaning ancestor. Hideyoshi and Watsuji had fought hard before they were interrupted by the newcomer. It was unknown to either of the two what might have transpired if they had not been stopped. Watsuji knee he had run out of strength with his final attack, but he had no way of knowing whether Hideyoshi might have still attacked after that point. Hideyoshi, the samurai spirit, had no idea of the extent of the strength Watsuji possessed or the extent of his mortality in this strange dimension. Either way, it came as a stroke of luck.

Hideyoshi followed behind his descendant and the new arrival. They stared out at the revealed village gates in awe, whether or not Watsuji was aware of it or not, this was definitely the ruins of Kirigakure no Sato, the village hidden in the mist. The powerful samurai spirit looked upon it with a smile hidden by his helm. He loved to see thisnlebel of destruction and destitution suffered by the shinobi centered society. No matter what the vengeful samurai decided to say or lead others to believe, the hate of his heart would never be staunched. He wanted to see them all dead and he found the fact that his own wielder chose to mingle with the shinobi repulsive. In that way, he had begun to view the naive and childish Watsuji as a mere tool. By infiltrating the shinobi village and learning what he could about the dealings of each one as an a friend, Hideyoshi could conjure a more sinister plot to see that society toppled.

His body was also in a great amount of discomfort. He knew, as repulsive and disgusting as he felt, that he looked even worse. Where skin should have been, there was not. He had been resurrected in a strange way in this place. Though, the unease he felt about the whole thing was odd for a man of his resolve and power. He knew within, however, that this was no place he could allow his soul-bonded bearer to die. Speaking was as painful as moving in this deteriorated body. Bones were exposed where they should not have been, his insides felt like a pit of fire. Perhaps it was maggots eating him from the inside out. The pain would not help with the foul mood and negative disposition of the walking corpse warrior.

Everything about the samurai resounded who he was before his death. His armor, which was the noisiest thing on the path toward the ruins of Kirigakure, was of irreplaceable value. It had adorned his body for an innumerable amount of suns and moons. Without the supreme craftsmanship of the Miyamoto, the number of scars on the worn and decrepit body would have been doubled in number. It was ornate, he had even instructed that in spite of clan traditions, his armor be forged from the unique meteorite used in the creation of the sacred weapons of the clan. Nobody stood opposed to the powerful reign of Hideyoshi Miyamoto.

His impressive height had not diminished, nor had his ridiculously stoic demeanor. At a riveting six feet and four inches tall, Hideyoshi was known to be a hulking and terrible foe on the battlefield. Not many who faced him on the battlefield ever returned to tell his tale. Most of his legend was told by his own people by word of mouth. Ironically, with the fact that the samurai were now horribly diminished, Hideyoshi’s constant pressure to wage war on the shinobi rather than integrate caused the downfall of his own people. Even worse, he did not seem to care in life nor in death. Still he was idolized, and feared.

And so, it would come as no surprise to anyone who knew him when he stood before the wreckage of Kirigakure no Sato and began to cackle. His laughter grew louder and more sinister as it went on until it silenced. In his mind flashed a shinobi headband, the last thing he saw before he died. His smile turned into a straight face once more and he spoke to himself imperceptibly. What he said will remain a mystery for the time being. The words being far too telling and foreboding. Watsuji and Hideyoshi would enter the mysterious village, a small boy and hulking giant of a man.

There was nothing in this strange place a shinobi needed to fear more than Miyamoto, Hideyoshi.

Exit Thread

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819 | 2038 (2,000/2,000)

Redeeming this mission for a C-Rank jutsu  (Swordless: Void Echo)