The name Setsuka Yuki had built quite a reputation among the myriad of Land of Water circles, to include those of the highest stature.
“Boy genius,” they’d say.
“The Prodigy,” whispered during private encounters. It seemed the young souls reputation preceded him in ways similar to the historical giants. And truth be told, it was a station backed with merit, for he held the rank of one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen and Jinchūriki, a position of high reverence even amongst the other Lands. To achieve such feats at his age deserved the utmost admiration and respect.
Even so, with the times being what they were, his remarkable standing would help the young soul little in his soon-to-be endeavors, for a sickening darkness of rage cast itself upon the boys adversary. Whilst a Genin in rank, Setsuka was far from your typical recent Academy-graduate Shinobi. In terms of skill, he was narrowly approaching that of his older half-brother, Sumato.
Six Years Prior
A white room, devoid of crevices or creases, as though going on for infinity. Inside sits a young boy, tapping on the ground with a pen impatiently. His white hair glows in the fluorescent light, its silhouette hectic and unshapely. Undoubtedly this is the small frame of the infamous Setsuka Yuki; the Three-Tails host.
Tap. The pen, forged for calligraphy, taps its bronze tip against pure white light. A ladle of craftsmanship, the metallic spout pours forth ink. A pool of black forms at the sandaled feet of the crisscrossed kid.
Tap. Another hit of the pen’s tip against the floor, sends the ink sputtering out in all directions. Moving as though having come to life, black snakes of liquid turn at sharp angles. They form zig-zagging patterns across the floor, finding foothold in the invisible crevices. Soon, the center of each wall, including the floor, is covered in what can only be described as black screens.
Tap. The final hit of the pen against now black floors springs these screens to life. Blue light, static like a retro human television set, now illuminates the darkened space, framing the black squares. Forming blue veins, the light spreads out like roots, interconnecting each screen into a singular network.
This... this was a
test.
In every direction, a twenty foot screen plays a different scene, altered to project images from the boys 'advisors'. Each frame of footage playing out an entire day of Setsuka's life, while it appears to be fast forwarding to the naked eye. Another screen plays a series of disasters, scenes of destruction, death, and victimization. Every screen plays scenes like these, reminders, details, memories, cases, a constant stream of information, projected for Setsuka to observe. To learn. To integrate into himself.
Every single frame, every moment, every detail, is recalled, projected, re-observed, and cataloged. Scarlet pupils blur, until the entire eye glazes over a pure white. Setsuka's other senses as well are activated to their prime, hearing every detail, recalling every sensation. The noise of it all soon overlaps, fading from detection, becoming white noise, static. Absent-mindedly, the boys tongue clicks in his mouth, reciting a list of demonic incantations - as if his body become enthralled by some kind of
spirit. With every sense stimulated in such a way, the tapping of the pen comes to a stop.
Suddenly the first screen turns off, having caught up to the present. Another follows, then another after. Soon, every screen turns black, and the blue light that frames them retracts its roots. The room itself fades to black, before the screens suddenly lose their form, splashing to the floor. White light emanates through the puddles of ink, growing so bright that it burns it away all together. Like the lights turning on after a film has ended, Setsuka once again finds himself in a white room, devoid of crevices or creases, as though going on for infinity. Tired eyelids close rapidly, blinking as they adjust to the light.
The Present
“Huh?”
Setsuka says, rubbing his scarlet eyes. He moves his neck from side to side, causing an audible crack from the vertebrae inside, before swinging his shoulder around in a circle, stretching the muscle. Having just witnessed the lives of what were once Shinobi fade away, Setsuka become immediately attentive at the sudden appearance of Sunagakure's
Kazekage. Scratching the back of his head with his index finger, Setsuka watched the actions of his malevolent foe- noticing their attempts to avoid any long-ranged attacks by using the bodies of those around himself.
Interesting. Setsuka was truly amazed, but regardless, he knew it was no time to gawk.
With everything going on, the Sand District was in the throes of total unrest. Frantically, squadrons of elite Shinobi race through the streets unaware of who is friend and who is foe, ignorantly following the orders of their superiors to condemn and fight those they know nothing about. Among the chaos, Setsuka goes completely unnoticed. This is a usual occurrence for the bland looking boy, but in this instance it is their lack of affiliation that causes them to be ignored. Though racing around in a hurry like everyone else, anyone who passes the two individuals remains unsure where their affiliations lie. Neither rebel nor royalist can place them, and so opt not to attack them lest they conflict their own orders. It would be wise for anyone with a purpose to move in this way, as it is by moving in squadrons that Shinobi accidentally identify their loyalties to this conflict.
Regardless, the Kazekage's Elite Force arriving at the scene is a simple enough feat. The barriers, and the signatures behind them, are both immediately observed by the boy detective. He is unconcerned about the structure of the barrier itself, being of a class all on his own in terms of chakra potency. The signatures behind the barrier are of interest, as the child suspects that they are somewhat powerful due to being Shinobi, due to being Jounin-class. As such, the arrival is of no surprise to the child, and his expression reflects as much.
Having observed the hand-seals of his opponent, Setsuka immediately sprang into action. Casting the Ox → Rabbit → Ram fluidly and without fault, the child called upon his unique and powerful Jutsu; Ice Release: Emperor Time Technique. Suddenly, the locomotives of all living things began to slow down, like a sub-par variation of hypothermia. Frighteningly, below freezing atmospheric temperatures and absurd pressure overtook the immediate vicinity - causing everything around the boy to halter and come to a halt. Time did not slow down for Setsuka himself, however; he remained at normal speed. With this, he quickly boomed toward the red-haired assailant and, with his Nuibari, went to sever his achilles tendons - by weaving behind him and slashing at his desired target, before zooming back to his front and using his blade to carve through his fingers in an attempt to remove his ability to weave hand seals - all whilst he was still in the middle of casting his technique to escape the barrier. So many fluid movements and attacks caused crystals of ice to overtake portions of Setsuka's short frame, forcing him to weave to his opponents right with fluidity. Creating a good few meters of distance. Unknowingly, this would've allowed the boy to avoid the explosives that might've headed his way had he not sprang into action. After this, Setsuka would deactivate his technique - and his actions caught up with reality - as a coat of steam enveloped his figure.