(OOC: Also training my Raiya jutsu here making the minimum word count 3500)

Zetsume jerked up from his sleep. Once again he is haunted by the memories of people he could not save because he was not strong enough. He swore to himself he would become stronger to save those he cared about, yet still he has yet to come up with a new jutsu. It was early in the morning when he woke up, the sun has just started to come up. Zetsume got up because he knew he could not go back to sleep after seeing their faces cold and dead again. It was bad enough he had to live through it once, but every night was becoming rather a bother to him. Zetsume got clothed and grabbed his Hishou, the bow his father gave him. He left for his backyard where he had multiple targets waiting. He used this place as a practice range, because it was so peaceful. There were many holes inside of the targets, they were very worn down. While Zetsume was practicing his shooting skills he noticed that his arrows seem to be moving to slow for his pace. Even with Shōmei Ar No (Lighting Arrows) active his shots seem to lose their speed and impacting power. He had to get stronger and must become faster in order to save those he cares for, which is roughly everyone in Kumogakure. Zetsume activated Shōmei Ar No (Lighting Arrows), shooting all of the arrows in a few seconds, each of them hitting bulls eye. The good part about practicing with chakra arrows is that he did not have to gather them up after they were shot for they would disappear slowly over time as they lost their strength. Zetsume looked at his bow and then the targets. For him to make a new jutsu would become difficult but improving one he knows would become a little less difficult. Once again he began to activate his Shōmei Ar No (Lighting Arrows), except from exerting the minimum chakra needed he poured more into the arrows, hoping to increase their size and strength but as he did the jutsu backfired and ended up shocking his own hand. Zetsume dropped the bow and hissed in pain as a lot of voltage just coursed through his veins. Made a slight sigh remark before trying it again. Once again he tried to use Shōmei Ar No (Lighting Arrows), except with amplified chakra and once again it back fired except the shock was much more painful. He could feel the shock go through his body as his muscles cramped and hit the ground. Am I to weak for this level of jutsu, he thought to himself while staggering up to his feet. Feeling slight defeated he went inside to eat. On this morning he cooked himself up some ramen with various flavoring. He liked to make it spicy, he never understood why he does he just likes it better when it is hot. By the time he was finished cooking and eating the sun had long been up. Zetsume grabbed his bow and headed toward the gates of Kumogakure.

He received a mission the day before stating that he would have to guard a Nobleman while escorting him to the Kaminari no Kuni Border. The walk was only that of 5 hours, yet he did not know if they would get attacked or if it would just be smooth sailing. He hoped for the latter. He knew very little about the Nobleman that he was about to escort many miles. From the data he collected on the streets was that he was born into a rich family and lived the normal spoiled life that one would if they had that much money. Other than that small detail Zetsume only knew his name. His name is Nobleman Duna. Zetsume heard that he becomes seriously angry with anyone who does not say Nobleman before his name as he saw this as a sign of disrespect. Though can a man like that even truely understand the meaning behind the word respect. Zetsume would only respect him until his mission was done, he cared very little about his meaningless existence and cared more about making a name for Kumogakure for always completing their mission.

When Zetsume finally arrived at the gates of Kumogakure he could not believe the things he was hearing and seeing. From the looks of it Nobleman Duna was wearing silk. Not really what Zetsume thought was proper for this trip but he could not gripe. He was already bald, Zetsume would have guessed his age was somewhere around 40, judging from the wrinkles on his face. He had a nice big belly, it also looked like he never misses a good meal. The man was demanding orders from his personal servants. It looked like he had four of them total. Two would push the carriage, while two would tend to all of his demands. From just walking up Zetsume could tell he would regret taking this mission for this man looks like he would make this trip take all day.

"Who are you? Do not tell me Kumogakure develops such weak looking ninjas. I thought the Raikage said I would get a proper escort.", he said while some food slid out of his mouth. How disgusting is this man, Zetsume thought before replying his rude question. "Sir, the trip is not that far. Due to so many recent missions I am the only one assigned to this mission but you have my word that I will die before I let any harm come to you.", he said why slightly bowing towards him. Nobleman Duna was smiling wide when Zetsume bowed to him, it made him feel superior, even though Zetsume could kill him faster than the servants could cry for help. Casting aside the idea of murdering him, Zetsume waited for his reply. After some time of thinking he finally spoke "Well I guess you will do, we do not have much time we must depart as soon as possible. Be on your guard though, if I die before i make it to the border, you will have failed and dishonored your village." With a slight nod from Zetsume they had set off toward the boarder. The company consisted of six total members. Zetsume, Nobleman Duna, and four servants. Not really the most intimidating but it made Zetsume's mind rest easy that with less people they would become harder to find if he was being hunted.

After a few hours worth of walking they were nearing the end of their journey. It would have taken much less time if the servants that were pushing the carriage for Nobleman Duna did not get tired so quickly. It was obvious that he gave no care for their health being. It was not until one collapsed due to dehydration that Zetsume told everyone to halt and rest while he looked for a source of water. After a few minutes he found one and led them all to it. The men began to splash in the river while they drank their fill. Though the Nobleman would not drink the water, and when Zetsume asked why he simply said "I do not drink water that other people have drank out of.". Zetsume had less pride than he did and took the time that was given to drink the water. As the cold water trickled down his throat a shriek of pain rang through the air. Zetsume quickly drew an arrow to face what caused the shriek. From what Zetsume could see one of the servants had been stabbed right through the chest, the ninja was of obvious skill to on purpose miss vital organs so the victim would suffer more. Without a moment hesitation Zetsume shot his arrow at the unknown assailant. The assailant simply used the body as a shield as it pierced the servants heart. Even though his shot missed Zetsume was slightly happy that the man no longer had to suffer. Worst enough he did not even know his name nor how he even became a slave. What a sad life he must have lived. When the body went limp from death, the ninja dropped the dead weight. Zetsume could finally analyze his target and he could not believe what he was seeing. Standing before him was a beautiful kunoichi, she was dressed in red spandex and have curves that must have been made only to tempt man to think only the wrongest of things. Her hair was long and black, eyes were bright green in the moonlight. She had two swords one was drenched in blood of the servant while the other was sheathed and rested on her hips. Zetsume drew another arrow and aimed it at the kunoichi before him when their eyes locked. Nobleman Duna and his servants were all hiding behind Zetsume. She held her drenched sword at the Nobleman Duna and said "Stand down Kumogakure ninja, our business is with him. If you and those pathetic looking humans flee now we will not hunt you down and kill you. But if you stay we will be forced to kill all of you." At that moment Zetsume realized that she was not alone and cursed himself for not being a senor type of ninja. He quickly turned around to check his back but it was far to late as another assailant appeared from the shadow chopping another servant who was in the back of the line. The other assailant slashed from a downward angle which made the body drop, Zetsume took his chance and shot his arrow.

The arrow had missed his target but not without causing some pain to the second assailant. It grazed the persons shoulder as the assailant jumped back hissing in pain. The assailant jumped into the moonlight and Zetsume could see the person. Now this shocked him more than anything. It was an exact clone of the first assailant. He could not believe that two beautiful creatures existed and looked so much alike. At first he thought it was just a clone but as the blood began to trickle down from her shoulder he knew it was no clone nor illusion. They had to be twins.

"Are you okay Yuki?", the first assailant said with a lot of concern in her voice. It seemed that she cared a lot about her sister. Zetsume made quick note of this inside of his head. "Yea, I am fine Taki, just a small scratch. We have been through much worst sis", she replied in a joking manor while holding her shoulder. Zetsume was in no position to attack, for he was surrounded on both sides. If he shot his arrow one direction more than likely the other will charge and vise versa. He already lost two men from this ambush, he did not wish to lose another. Damnit, what do I do he thought to himself while trying to analyze the situation and come up with a plan. He wondered how long they would wait and then the one named Taki spoke, "Listen, surrender him to us and we will let all of you live your life out. This man is not as noble as you may think. His gambling debt has become far to high and our employer said bring him back or bring back the ryo." Zetsume let out a small sigh as he gave a mean look of disappointment toward Nobleman Duna before putting his eyes back on the one called Taki. He was keeping his aim on her because the other one was already injured it would be easier to take her out once this one is dead. Zetsume went to speak but before he could he heard the one called Yuki speak, "Now now, ninja, this is a two verses one. You are a bit to cute for us just to kill, please walk away this is your final warning." Zetsume dropped his arrow and replied " You are right, this man is not worthy to live the life he does. I was thinking of killing him anyways. Seems you saved me the trouble, I do not care what you do to his servants they are mindless anyways."

This made the Nobleman furious that he was being betrayed so easily. "HOW DARE YOU BETRAY ME LIKE THIS, YOU GAVE YOUR WORD, YOU ARE NOTHING BUT A WORTHLESS PIECE OF SHIT!" he screamed while his own life was at stake. What he did not know was that it was Zetsume's plan, and it might work. The two girls look dumbfounded at this reply. They had really thought that he was going to fight them to the death. Yet, he surrendered the nobleman without much thinking to it. Taki laughed a little and replied to Zetsume, "Seems you are as smart as you are cute. I bet you would make a great husband."

"Just take him before I change my mind", he snapped back at them. He just had to wait for the right moment which was coming soon. Finally Yuki put up her sword and went to towards the nobleman but in that moment, Zetsume took his chance. Using his jutsu Shōmei Ar No (Lighting Arrows), he shot at her while her guard was down. Except she was much faster than Zetsume had predicted as she simply dodged it by rolling on the ground to the left.

"YOU FUCKING LIAR!", she screamed. Zetsume could her Yuki starting to charge at his small group left. He knew how he was going to take care of her. Using his second arrow from Shōmei Ar No (Lighting Arrows), he mixed that with one hundred arrow illusion and shot it at her. She had to drastically change her course in order to dodge all of them taking shelter behind a thick tree. The attack was intended to keep her back and it worked. He never even aimed the real arrow at her but instead in the path she was heading in, in case she tried to keep going. One arrow hit the ground while the other ninety-nine vanished when they came into contact with the physical world.

"Watch out Taki, he is a genjutsu user. Do not let his mind tricks fool you. Kill him!. her sister screamed from behind the trees. Taki began to charge at the group. Zetsume fired the remaining three shots of his Shōmei Ar No (Lighting Arrows). All of them would have hit home, if she was not deflecting some with her sword and dodging the rest. She was closing the gap to quickly, Zetsume had to think of something. He began to use his Shi No Yoake (Dawn Of Death). Before he shot it, she was in close range, but not close enough for an attack. He decided to use the shotgun form of this jutsu since she was getting closer. As he shot the arrow spread off into one hundred different arrows all flying toward Taki, before he shot it however he yelled "One hundred arrows illusion". Any experienced ninja would have known that he did not need to call the jutsu before using, yet he hoped that this would foil her into thinking that it was an illusion and it seemed to work as she yelled "You mind tricks will not work on me Ninja." She kept running at them as thirty five arrows pierced her body. Throwing her a couple of feet back from the impact. There was so much blood and her body was swiss cheese. Now Zetsume could focus his attention to the remaining ninja hiding behind the tree, Yuki. He could hear her crying slightly as she began to scream and charge at the group. Zetsume had already used Shi No Yoake (Dawn Of Death) just moments before and it would take some time before he could use it again. He had to move to the next jutsu he had in mind. He used the jutsu Fire Arrow. Zetsume shot all five of the shots she easily dodged them with her speed. She was closing much faster than her sister did. Zetsume noted this as because she was angry that her sister just died before her eyes. Before Zetsume could notice she was within striking distance of the Nobleman Duna. Zetsume figured he would try his Raiya to hit her. At first he was hesitant because he knew that if he could not make the arrows right with his chakra that it would backfire only hurting him. In his moment of hesitation, she began to swing her blade madly at the Nobleman. One of her swings killed another servant by slashing his throat. He bled out in seconds crying in agonizing pain. Zetsume began to mold the chakra in his left hand which was holding the bow. As he was drawing back the dense raiton arrow, she swung again. This one would have killed Nobleman Duna, yet his servant proved his loyalty by jumping in front of the swing. The blade lodged in his chest he wrapped his arms around Yuki. It appeared this one had some fight in him. Zetsume whispered "Sorry" as he shot out his new jutsu. The sorry was not for killing Yuki, but he knew that he would have to kill the servant inorder to hit her. The arrow shot much faster than he had anticipated. It pierced both of their chest. It hit the servants heart while it seemed to have barely missed hers. Though the gaping hole in her chest was still a significant wound she was still standing. Her breathing got heavy, as she raised her sword only inches away from the Nobleman Duna. "YOU WILL NOT STOP ME NINJA! HE IS MINE", without thinking about it he drew another arrow from the dense chakra and shot it out. This one flew faster than her swing could, this time the arrow hit her in the head decapitating her. Her body fell over on top of the Nobleman, as blood from her neck where her head used to be poured onto him. He screamed from how much blood has been spilled and it looked like he was throwing up. Zetsume dropped to one knee, he used a lot of chakra in a short amount of time. His body was not used to this kind of combat. While on one knee he began to dig with his hands. The Nobleman Duna noticed this and asked him why he was doing it, Zetsume's reply was short and simple "Even enemies deserve a proper burial." Amazingly the Nobleman Duna himself, began to dig with Zetsume. They were using their hands since they had not thought of bringing shovels.

After half an hour they had dug six nice holes. They filled the holes with the bodies, and Zetsume said a small prayer. It seemed the Nobleman Duna helped out of respect. One jumped in the way of the blade that would have hit Nobleman Duna. This made him gain much respect for the servant. The party that had originally started off with six members was now only down to two, Zetsume and the Nobleman.

"We must leave now, the carriage will have to stay here. Grab your valuables and lets go. Also I am not your servant so do not expect me to carry them for you. Our journey is not much further, I am sure your feet still work.", Zetsume said while he took a sip from the river. The Nobleman did not speak as he gathered his valuables. They once again set off toward the Kaminari no Kuni Border. While they walked they talked about various things, it seemed that this whole ordeal hurt the Nobleman Duna. He seemed to have changed and had more respect for others. At least that is what he was showing Zetsume, and for all he knew the nobleman will probably avert to his old ways in no time. Though he liked the change in the Nobleman.

When they arrived at the Kaminari no Kuni Border, they were greeted by many people who were eagerly awaiting his arrival. It did take much longer than anyone had hoped but that was due to many factors that were unavoidable. They were shocked at how much blood was stained into his clothes, and asked if he was okay. He would say yes, but mentally he was a changed man due to this journey. They all thanked Zetsume for his dedication to the mission and everyone shook his hand. Never before had he been thanked to such a magnitude, it slightly warmed his heart. After shaking the Nobleman's hand, he set off to Kumogakure.

While on the walk back he stopped by the burial site of the victims due to this mission and gave another small prayer for them to rest in peace. He never did want to kill a woman let alone two. Especially two so beautiful as these two were. Yet, they had forced their own fate to be put into motion. They could have simply left them alone and lived normal peaceful lives with children and husbands. Though this world was not always so nice that he lived in where fantasies like that were real. Zetsume knew that in order to live one must be prepared to take a life to save one. He let out a small sigh before walking again. In his hands though he could feel his power increase with his new jutsu, this new found power made Zetsume feel like he could protect people he cares about. Though he knew that he would have to get much stronger before he could ever face the dangers that lay ahead of him.

Jutsu training for

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Mission

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