“A crack of thunder, with flashing lightning, into the icy depths. A new swordsman is born.”
One Week Ago…
Several days had passed since Aōi’s return to the
Kirigakure no Sato. After having spent nearly a month away from the village, and then having to retrieve a relic from the depths of the ocean on his way back, he was given some days off for himself to properly make use of time that was solely his own, but this would be after, he would be tasked with yet another mission by the newly instated
Tenth Mizukage, his cousin,
Kuro Yuki. Aōi had returned to the village last week to drop off his two missions reports and to confer with his cousin who at the time were only in a temporary role as the village shadow. He had also bumped into the
Three-Tails Jinchuriki,
Hyogagetsu Hozuki to which he was surprised by the young boy's demeanor and kindness. He hadn’t seen him since that day after introducing themselves to one another. Aōi wished the youth well and hoped he’d been alright over the past few days, and worrying less for his brother's safety.
After helping Hyogagetsu care for the dog they had found prior, he took his leave and began to make his way up to the Mizukage office, which were guarded by two hunter-nin who did not move an inch, hair follicle or muscle. Clad in black with the only other visible shade was the pale white of their masks, adorned with the insignia of the
Hidden Mist Village. Aōi looked at both men, who appeared to not be paying him any mind, but he knew that's what they wanted him to think. Carelessly, he walked directly through the office door without stating his business with the Kage. Aōi’s reputation as a Chūnin level ninja preceded him greatly, that even the hunter-nin dared not question him and his loyalty to the country and his cousin. The last thing they needed to worry about with him is an assassination or coup d'etat. After the sun-kissed ninja had passed them and closed the door behind him, they both looked to one another as if maybe they should have stopped him, but were afraid of what was to follow.
Aōi just so happened to catch his cousin at his desk, closing the laptop directly in front of him and sighing as if he had been running around all over the Mist country like his cousin. He had leaned back in his chair when he suddenly heard his entrance into the room, placing his gaze on him immediately.
“What you don't knock or you don't believe in it?” Kuro asked sarcastically. Aōi rolled his eyes as he made his way to the desk, unfurling the papers and documents from within one of his ninja pouches upon his back waist. He calmly placed it down on the desk before his cousin before answering in the same kind.
“No, I just don't recognize you as a village leader. And I also don't believe in knocking.” he said with a sarcastic tone and smile. In reality he was happy for his cousin, and he was sure he would prove equal to the job. They both smiled to one another as Kuro took the papers and placed them in a noticeably
unfinished pile of work in contrast to the one sheet that has been stamped thus far. It would seem that the job has already taken its strong grip on the young Yuki’s attention.
“So, I got the information we needed from Shimogakure. They’re still dealing with that problem. I did some reconnaissance in the capital of the Winter District. Looks like the Yukigakure ninja dont travel that far for their heists and tactics, and only appear to be pressing themselves onto the Shimo village. I think they are looking to overthrow the leadership there and slowly make their influence stronger across the country and globe. No one knows how they’ve been able to go on this long without any resistance or assistance from outside forces. The Daimyo is requesting our help personally, and for us to keep quiet about the matter so that word doesn’t spread to the rest of the continent. Aside from that, I finished the task you gave me on the way back to the Mist.” Aōi then pulled out the scroll he used to secure the
Nuibari blade that he fished from the depths of the ocean left behind by
Azuresato. A perilous mission indeed but given the recent turn of events the Mist would need every relic they have at their disposal to combat the newly reared threat of the Shadow World.
Placing the scroll on the desk, he unraveled it and began to form a few hand seals to summon the blade out from the scroll, revealing its slender form and razor sharp edge.
“The blade is untouched and undamaged. Next time you want to send me to the depths of the ocean, just don’t.” Giving him a sly smile, knowing that he was probably the only one for the task, which he ultimately never really minded in the first place. Kuro caressed his fingers along the handle of the blade, surely trying to be careful of not harming himself due to the sheer sharpness of the mythical weapon known to sew its adversaries together like a badly stitched quilt. Upon these item returns, Aōi has successfully and unequivocally completed his missions to the highest of orders. Kuro then looks back at his cousin, seemingly with pride, but the Chūnin knows better as he's seen this look before, and knows it well.
“What else do you want…?” he asked begrudgingly. Kuro smiled and immediately sat up back into his chair, appearing to be serious for a moment, interlocking his fingers and resting his chin on them as he spoke to the younger Yuki.
“Aōi, I need you to locate Isamu Chinoike and the Kiba blades.” the dark-skinned ninja immediately raised his eyebrows at the prospect of this task, had he just become the new errand boy for the Mist?
“Kuro. I just got back, why not send me to search for them when I was already away from the village?” he asked, which indeed was a good question. “We just discovered his hideout and location, we have sent word to him for return but he hasn’t responded. We fear he has gone rogue and given the state of affairs we are in and the necessity of our artifacts being under our control, it is imperative we get those swords back and you are the most capable of getting them. Most of the Jonins are tasked with missions, same with the other Chūnin ninja. Furthermore, this is an opportunity for you.” Aōi then looked back at Kuro after that ominous ending to his words, furrowing his eyebrow further he was now more invested in this task more than he was twenty seconds prior.
“What kind of opportunity?” he simply asked, with Kuro responding with a sly smile. The two would go on to discuss what Kuro had planned for Aōi, and much to the Chūnin’s surprise, he was
very pleased with the result with the final bits of the conversation. Without hesitation, Aōi began his search for Isamu with a swift
Body Flicker.
Two Days Later…
Finding the location of Isamu wasn’t the hard part, it was the
planning of the approach, cutting off any chances of resistance and shortening the length of a battle, should one come to pass. He had arrived to the outskirts of the hideout within three hours of leaving the Mists Gates, and arrived within an hour and a halves time giving him time to scout the surrounding area, understand the terrain and more importantly, ascertain as to whether or not the Jōnin level ninja had hidden any traps or defensive mechanisms in the surrounding area. Prior to leaving he asked for the barrier team to accompany him on the mission but they would be late as they still needed hands to help with the rebuild within the village. Appearing barren, he began to plot his approach, and simply reasoned within himself how to best confront him and potentially fight should the user of the
Ketsuryūgan turn hostile on him. As an added measure, he placed a fūin tag on a set of trees loaded with multiple ninja weapons ranging from kunai, to shuriken and senbon, all pointed directly at the entrance and is set to activate should a ninja cross into its invisible barrier radius. Next, he would place explosive tags upon the surface of the lair, in the key points being the corners so that upon explosion, the entire ceiling would crumble from the middle going outward. Aōi would then finish his preparations and begin to make his way into the deep, dark and damp den of the Chinoike.
Prepared as he’ll ever be, he crouched down and gathered
Hyōton chakra in his hand and placed it on the ground, charging the ground with his chakra and began
freezing the minerals and earth together while fusing it with the forming ice from the moisture of the soil, creating sharp ice pillars directly underneath the surface of the ground. He did this three more times and they would all be directly in the face of the entrance. Looking up, he entered the lair of the beast. Finding nothing until he traveled farther into the less bleak entrance way of the cave. As he got further in, he could hear sounds of squishing flesh, and organs, cutting of bone and the stench of iron from the amount of blood that may have potentially littered the walls of the cave, but it was too dark to tell. He was certainly in the right place, some would however disagree as most ninja would never find themselves being caught alive here, seeing as anyone who entered never returned of the same status. Rounding some corners, touching the walls and floor with a similar ice technique he had used outside as he covertly and silently made his way forward so as not to alert the inhabitant whom he was bound to find in a matter of moments. Shrinking his chakra signature down to the size of a dot of ink on a blank white page. Eventually, he came upon a lit up room with a number of candles littered across the walls, floor and the long desk that a hooded figure appeared to work at, finally giving the visual of what the Chūnin had been hearing for the past several minutes of him being present within the hideout.
He watched him work before he fully entered the room, visualizing everything inside before allowing himself to be given away. He saw no weapons, just....jars of organs and hung dead bodies as if they were butchered meat waiting to be cured and processed. He also saw a desk of tools farthest from the room from both men, but the
“scientist” would get there first assuming he hadn’t already been made, which he was operating on the assumption that the Chinoike knew he was here already. Figuring that he had already done the best he could with what little planning time he had, he finally entered the room and stood some meters directly behind the
Jashinist. His mind clear and ready for a conflict while the pale haired eel faced the bastard before him still toyed around with his science project. It was slightly annoying, to go through all that preparation for….this.
“Is this really a ninja of fame…?” he thought.
“Do you mind passing me that tool over there on the desk? If you are just going to stand there plotting to kill me, I'm surprised you haven’t done it yet since you’ve gone through all this trouble.” he finally spoke. Still focused on his project, without turning around to even acknowledge Aōi’s very face. The Chunin placed his hand on his hip and rolled his eyes.
“Tch…no.” he responded. This then made Isamu stop. Placing his experiment down, almost suddenly, it was a massive change from being so enamored with what he had previously had him preoccupied. Slowly turning around revealing his face, the blood red eyes of the famous Ketsuryūgan. This would be his first time taking a gaze upon it, and he would study his every move as best he could should he attempt to make use of those eyes that day.
“You are awfully….arrogant. Aren't you? Did you come here to offer me your blood, foolish young ninja…?” he continued. Beginning to cackle softly to himself as if he had already won, Aōi just stood there with a blank face, fully aware of the situation he was in, the level of danger that preceded the man before him and the reputation as a killer in the world of Shinobi. The Unkillable, Isamu Chinoike. He however didn’t come here to
‘offer’ anything to Isamu, but to remove him from his ranks of the
Seven Swordsmen, and take back the
Kiba blades.
“Yeah, listen. You're not getting any blood today.” Suddenly, a mist style kunai appeared in Aōi’s hand while his other remained on his hip, without even so much as moving a muscle.
“What's going to happen however, is that you're going to relinquish the Kiba blades back to the Hidden Mist Village. Under the orders of the Tenth Mizukage, Kuro Yuki. Any response other than complete compliance will prove to be your downfall. Choose wisely.” he spoke plainly and clearly, so his words were not to be misunderstood or taken out of order. A sly grin encroached across the eel’s face as Aōi finished talking. He then bled out into a maniacal laugh, almost in a mocking statement to the young Yuki. But it was quite the opposite, he was impressed. Sincerely, astounded at the level of bravery he displayed. But it wasn’t bravery, this was just a ninja performing his duty and executing his mission to the best of his abilities. The pale haired Chinoike slithered over to the desk with the tools, collecting what he had originally asked for, while also digging into the drawer underneath it for something else.
Pulling out a familiar set of swords, both covered in bandages, tying them both to one another, he held them up for the Yuki to see.
“The Bloody Mist can have these back. I simply have no use for them anymore.” tossing the blades to Aōi,with the Chūnin swiftly catching it closely with his empty hand at the handles, never losing eye contact with Isamu for a single second.
“I do not ever intend to return there. There is nothing left except the promise of pity and sorrow leading to an excruciating death. Given the recent attacks, wouldn’t you say that the Continent is falling into a lost cause?” he mused. Appearing to lose the aggression and now simply seeming to try and come down to
‘eye level’ with the Chūnin, finding a middle ground in which they could both agree.
“You don't think that eventually all of what we know will be swallowed up into the great unknown, these Shadows that now seem to plague our world. Do you think we have the means to stop it? The fake peace will wear off and the uneasiness among the nations will surely resume once more, and you are going to lay your life down for such an ideal?” he then now seemingly did in fact pose a question to Aōi, who was listening intently on the words he heard. While there was some element of truth, this was the truth of a cold blooded killer who enjoyed nothing less than the mutilation of his enemies and the guzzling of their fresh lifes fluid. He paid it no mind, but kept the question ringing in his head. He had no intention of answering his question and just simply walked out with the swords swung over his shoulder as he whistled his way out of the cave. Isamu just stood there laughing, only to then return back to his work.
Upon Aōi’s return to the surface, he was greeted by the barrier team he had sent for prior to his leaving of the mission. Having already performed the proper preparations for them, all they needed to do was just execute. Walking up directly to a member of the team, towering over him, as he spoke.
“He’s at the lowest level. Bury it.” was all he said, before walking off. There were six men on this team and they each went to the key points of the outer hideout that were previously marked by Aōi at his arrival. Using the tags, they explode each and everyone, collapsing the ceiling down on top of the Chinoike, properly burying him underneath multiple tons of rock and rubble. Even if he survived the blast, he would have been trapped down there as if it were his tomb. The team were given specific instructions to place a seal over this area, disallowing the rocks as they fell to be moved under any medium or circumstance, and now functioned as if they were magnetized together.
They would further carry out their orders, with Aōi looking on from atop a tree as they worked, unraveling the Kiba blades from their bandages, revealing the edges. He held one out and pointed it towards the evening sun, thinking back to what Kuro had said to him the day prior.
“This is an opportunity for you to become a Swordsman of the Mist. I need someone I can trust, and I trust no one more than my own family. Especially with those artifacts, given the times we are currently in, there is no telling what will happen next. So upon the completion of your mission, you will be known as a member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, wielder of the thunder swords, Aōi Yuki.” he smiled as he thought back to that moment. A goal of his finally accomplished, he now looked toward what was next.
Four Days Later…
Sweat beaded off of the young Aōi’s face, as he gasped desperately for air as he trained rigorously for the last couple of days. Turning the
Screaming Blood Forest into an arctic play ground of sorts, with the scenery littered with fallen and felled trees with crushed boulders either split evenly in half or cut horribly like a newborn butcher. Snow and ice covered the ground, hearing the creaks of the frozen earth beneath his feet with every step taken, every action he took. The weather itself was a byproduct of his raised chakra, causing snow to fall in great amounts, and allowing the temperature to drop to negative zero levels. This however, did not hinder him, it never did. He however, today, needed a moment.
Dropping the Kiba blades, with his hands drenched in sweat from holding the handles tightly while practicing his sword forms. With the blades being twin swords, much like his own pair, he’s able to easily use them conventionally as a swordsman. What is giving him trouble, is combing his chakra and infusing it into the sword to
produce the lightning. Having been out in the wild and nature for some days now, Aōi managed to get the chakra flow correct, but needed to find a way to sustain the lightning he produced. Standing to his full frame, and taking a look at the scene around him of his causing, he felt incomplete. Even with all this progress he has made in the short order of days, he still felt it wasn’t enough. He was not satisfied. Looking around at his surroundings, then taking a look up at the sky, seeing it beginning to clear, meaning his chakra would soon be running out. He only had one more attempt at what he had been doing, with what little chakra he had remaining, he was focused on proving to himself that this training was fruitful.
Picking the blades back up again then throwing them up in the air, he began to weave the hand seals
Ox → Dragon → Monkey → Ram, to then clap his hands together and begin to telepathically link himself to the Kiba swords. Before he fell to the ground, they would begin to float behind Aōi statically. Lowering his hands, he began to charge the remainder of his chakra into his hands, forming it into Hyōton chakra and entering a stance, he was now ready. Taking off deeper into the forested area that he hadn’t destroyed yet, he would begin to gesture his hands and arms with the Hyōton chakra and raise
razor sharp ice pillars as he ran fast, avoiding them as they came to then charge the floating thunder swords with lightning and spin them with lethal velocity to then slice through the pillar of ice with precision and accuracy. Through this, Aōi never stopped moving at the speed he traveled, trying to simulate the feeling of a high-speed battle as he propelled himself forward faster with his control over the winds, while holding the thought process he has throughout such a situation.
He bounded off of trees, rocks and other surfaces performing the same thing over, and over and over again, successfully slashing through the icy pillars, until he ran out of chakra. The blades would immediately stop spinning, lightning discharge began to dissipate and become unstable while his telepathic link to the swords were broken. Coming to a screeching halt in his run, he lost his balance, tripping and falling to the ground, into the hard ice and snow. Picking himself back up, resuming his tired and out of breath position from before, he looked back on the damage he had caused this time and seemingly was more satisfied with the results. Falling to the ground onto his back, he had left a wide path of destroyed ice, rock, trees along with a cleared path from his foot race with himself. Streaks of lightning still seeped from the incisions in the earth, the sheer heat generated from the electricity caused the ground to quiver. Flashing as the scenery would soon come to a calm, the snowy storm would eventually subside, being replaced with a soft rain that appeared strong enough to carry on deep into the night.
“I guess I might have overdid it today….heh. All in a day's work I guess.” he would think to himself before prying his body from the cold, wet earth. Limping back over to his fallen swords, as he picked them up and began to make his way back to the village with an uncanny smile upon his face.
Present Day…
Aōi could be found in much calmer straits today. After spending the day prior to resting his body after a busy and strenuous week, of mastering a new jutsu while also learning the ins and outs of his new tools. In the bright morning cast over Kirigakure, the sunlight was a bright contrast to the bleak days that they had just put behind them. Meditating on the porch of his home, barefoot and without his headband on, dressed in a dark long-sleeved shirt and pants. Without his headband on, it allows his dreaded hair to flow freely in the blowing wind. Without his uniform on, he expected to not be called to any missions today, still requiring rest from his physically taxing training. He held the blades softly as they rested within his hands, minimally applying a small leak of chakra imbuing it into the sword, slowly continuously to learn and bond with the flows of his own chakra to become a true extension of the sword in front of him. Safe to say, these blades were in good and capable hands. Small streaks of harmless electricity cracked from the sword, leaking out onto his lap and porch. His eyes still closed, he lost focus for but a mere moment, then quickly realigned his mind to then repair the break in the stream of lightning that surged up and down the sword.
Suddenly, a hunter-nin arrived just before his doorstep, in front of his porch kneeled, with his head down. Without opening his eyes or breaking his concentration, Aōi knew who it was and was instantly disinterested in whatever he had to say.
“If you're here to give me something to do, I'm busy. Find someone else, Jushiro.” he said flatly. Not bothering to wait for the hunter to inform him of what was required of him. Jushiro often was the hunter who informed Aōi of sudden changes within the village due to their past relationship and his reputation among the Hunter Corp, they wanted little to do with him due to his attitude. Jushiro sighed and leaned against Aōi’s home.
“C’mon man, make my life a little easier please. Lord Mizukage needs to see you.” He replied.
“For what?” Aōi responded.
“If I knew, I still wouldn’t tell you.” Jushiro retorted. This earned him a single eyed glare from Aōi, with Jushiro giving a look back, although it wasn’t as visible through his mask. Both men then laughed, and Aōi would then re-bandaged the swords he held and seal them into his new tattoo on his hip.
“You want something to drink before I leave?” He asked his friend, he intended on leaving shortly so that he could find out what his cousin needed while also planning out the rest of his day around it potentially. “No, I gotta head out somewhere, this was just a pit stop. I also heard about Isamu, we’ve been trying to find him, how’d you get him so quick?” he posed, sounding truly impressed with Aōi’s recent efforts. The shinobi got his sandals on and hopped off of his porch standing in front of Jushiro.
“Was given his location, just approached it cautiously. I wasn’t told what to do with him after, but based on the way he was talking, it was better we make him a tomb within the country instead of allowing him to roam free outside of it. That was just my line of thinking.” he said as he began to walk down the road towards the
Mizukage Office. He waved to Jushiro as he walked away, with the Hunter nin taking his leave with a
flicker himself. The new, and young swordsman was now on the move.
Location: Aōi’s House → Mizukage Office
Posting Order: Kuro Yuki → Aōi Yuki
Post Time Limit (PTL): 3 Days
Skip Points: lll
