Sanyu has felt lost for quite a while. After Musashi left the village and he was not allowed to accompany him, Sanyu quickly realized that he didn't particularly do much within the village. He wasn't much of a teacher, and once he achieved the rank of Chuunin he kind of just... stopped going on missions. Of course, if any danger would rear its head in the village, he would drop everything to protect his home that adopted him, but the relative peace made him lazy. Lazy to him, at least, most people would see him working hard at his farm, but farming isn't his profession, just a hobby. He was coming to the realization that he wasn't being a productive member of this village's task force, and with what seems to be a major drop in population, his role was all the more important. So, to get back into the groove of things, Sanyu took up a mission, one that seemed easy enough to do alone.
This mission was basically an escort mission. A researcher by the name of Gin wanted an escort to what he believed to be ancient ruins out in some of the less reputable areas within Lightning country. Of course neither Sanyu, nor the researcher Gin, was aware of what danger lurked within these ruins. The two set off, along with Gin's assistant, Ryuji, out of the village utilizing Gin's research passport. Leaving the village didn't pose too much of a problem this time, as he wasn't planning on traveling to a different country, though Sanyu wondered how the village actually kept track of that. What was stopping him from saying he was just going to the lands surrounding Kumogakure, and then just going further? Those darn ANBU and their tricky tricks, following Shinobi in the shadows to make sure they follow the rules, why can't they do that while also helping out during missions?
The journey to this ruin wasn't difficult, the occasional attempt at robbing the group wasn't difficult to handle as most bandits or low lives in these areas weren't trained to use chakra and were therefore easy targets. However, Sanyu began to see potential issues within the duo he was travelling with, specifically with the assistant, Ryuji. It was subtle, but throughout the trip Ryuji would make comments about how rich he would become after finding treasure within the ruins, before correcting himself and saying "they." Gin paid no attention to it, but Sanyu felt as though the man was planning something. When Sanyu mentioned it in private, Gin seemed almost insulted. The two had worked together for years, Gin taking the man under his wing when he had no employment options, so they were close both professionally and casually. Gin was highly protective of his assistant, and any attempt to caution him was met with swift denial and demands to move on. Sanyu kept to himself after that, focusing on protecting the two while also keeping a close eye the assistant.
The rest of their travels was uneventful before Gin announced that they had arrived. Sanyu, of course, was unimpressed. He wasn't expecting a large abandoned castle, but the ruins didn't look like anything, just a single house surrounded by nothing but dirt. Gin was sure he found something worthwhile, even though neither Sanyu nor Ryuji was convinced. However, Sanyu followed dutifully as it was his job, ignoring the complaints from the assistant. As they got closer to the single, destroyed building, Sanyu's connection to nature drew him down. Deep underground, the roots of the few plants and trees in the area twisted around what seemed to be large hallways, rooms, and corridors. When Gin got to the home even he was disappointed to find nothing, but noticed Sanyu moving away, looking around as if he was discovering something himself. Sanyu came to an area where the roots did not touch, and realized that while all the dirt had seemed to be natural, it had caved in on something underneath at a certain point. Like a large burial mound. Sanyu grinned at the researcher and his assistant, making a comment on how they were lucky he came along, and effortlessly moved all the dirt to the side with his mastery over earth ninjutsu.
Underneath the tremendous amount of dirt was a long flight of stairs that ended at a door that was several times his height. Excited, they climbed down, and as they got closer to the door Sanyu began to feel slightly uncomfortable. His connection with nature was telling him to turn back, but when he brought up this gut feeling he was ignored. Though he didn't want to venture forth, he couldn't leave the two to their own devices, if anything were to happen to him it would be on his head. So he followed. He wasn't certain how the door would open, being so large, but when they reached it they found a much smaller, normal sized door in the larger door. Seems that the towering door was merely decoration as the group entered.
Upon passing the door there were several more flights of stairs before they came to a fascinating scenery. Gin mentioned that the architecture didn't match most of what is in Lightning country, in fact there wasn't much like this anywhere he travelled. He couldn't chalk it up to age either, many of the areas he went to had stone that were much more eroded than these, so this area was a fascinating find. As they reached the bottom of the stairs they came across their first surprise, a pressure place stepped on by the assistant, shutting the door and causing a rumbling sound on the opposite side that sounded like a landslide. Evidently, the reason the door was hidden behind all the dirt was due to this trap. Sanyu couldn't really move the dirt without opening the door, which would cause a potential cave in, so they'd need to find another way out.
That wasn't the last trap that the party encountered during their trek through the ruins. From spike traps, to boulders rolling down a once thought safe stairway, the party faced many trials and tribulations. At one point Sanyu wanted to give up, but Gin theorized that the amount of traps meant that something very ancient, valuable, and fascinating lore-wise had to be somewhere deep in the dungeon. Though some of the walls had murals and writing, they were severely damaged and faded, Gin was only able to get a bit of information from them. There were examples of groups, some with taller people and shorter people, Gin could only assume it was some sort of school. They also showed abilities that seem like the jutsu used by shinobi. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough to put the clues together. Some portions looked intentionally damaged, however, as if they were hiding something. Something that Sanyu was feeling more and more as they reached a large room.
This room was even more destroyed than the rest, what appeared to be tables, books, and bookshelves thrown around the room. It almost looked like a battleground, within what now clearly appeared to be a place of study. The only thing seemingly left untouched was a large statue of a man holding a book. On the back of the book appeared to be a large red jewel on the cover. Gin and Ryuji were ecstatic, though Sanyu was skeptical. Sure, the place was full of traps, but this seemed far too easy. Sanyu stayed on alert as the pair used their tools to try and pry the jewel from the statue.
'Fools.'
Sanyu felt a chill run down his spine as the jewel popped from the statue and into Ryuji's hand, just as the ground shook. Sanyu grabbed the two and tried to usher them out of the area, before creatures rose from the shadows to obstruct their paths. These were clearly made from some sort of jutsu, but they were different. Though Sanyu could fight and destroy them, it almost felt endless. During this time Ryuji realized he wasn't being attacked, as he held the crystal in his hand. While Sanyu was working to protect them, Ryuji began to run, his goal being reached. He can go off an sell both the jewel and the story of this place, and how the researcher and brave shinobi lost their lives so that he could spread their story. Sanyu was too occupied to stop him, and as he was starting to be overwhelmed, he brought up a wooden dome around him and Gin, attempting to buy him some time. On the outside of the dome the creatures brought their arms upon the dome continuously, until the ground below the two crumbled.
Sanyu let him and Gin fall, keeping his head cool until he could see the bottom. Throwing his hands together, he used Supreme Aqua Realm, though using his affinity with wood ninjutsu, created a large bed of flowers instead of a dome of water. Breaking their fall, though it wasn't without a bit of pain, Sanyu began to take note of what surrounded him. While Gin seemed to be having a bit of a panic attack, Sanyu noticed another room similar to the study room above, though this one seemed quite well taken care of. The lack of dust meant that someone was cleaning the room, but there wasn't any sign of life. Unfortunately, Sanyu also couldn't connect with the natural energy he had grown so accustomed to controlling.
'Do you wish to be safe?'
Sanyu heard, or thought. It was as if a strange voice had spoken directly to his brain. Because of the method of speech, he couldn't pinpoint where the voice came from, but it continued. 'I can help you, save you, just open me up.' Sanyu was confused by this statement. He turned to Gin to see if he had heard it as well, but it seemed as though he had fallen asleep. Odd. Sanyu continued to look around, before noticing the book on the pedestal. Closed, and giving off a strange aura. Sanyu didn't have the ability to see chakra, but it was almost like this book was giving off the energy used to fuel his own jutsu. "Open me up." The voice said, and the only thing around to open was the book. Sanyu felt drawn to the book, in ways that he should have known better against. He came up to the book and placed his hand upon it, feeling a jolt of energy run through him.
'Open me, and sign your name, then I will be yours.' The voiced wormed its way into Sanyu's subconscious, making him feel as if he needed the book to survive. While Sanyu contemplated his choices, the creatures began crawling down the walls. Unsure of his options, he ran back to Gin, brought his body to the book, along with the man's supplies. Sanyu grabbed some ink and a quill, and attempted to sign his name into the book, but the ink kept disappearing. 'Ink is not a permanent binding agent.' The voice whispered. Sanyu knew what he had to use, but something about this whole situation felt off, but he didn't have the luxury of thinking things over. Sanyu pricked his finger with the quill, using his blood in place of the ink to sign his name. However, this would not be a good thing.
Once his name was signed, the voice fully invaded his mind, and Sanyu had a lot of information dumped right into his brain. He was discovering the story of this place, the book, and why the creatures were preventing them from finding this place. The creatures weren't protecting the book, they were protecting the outside world from the book. Long ago, this ruin was similar to shinobi run academies, but these weren't teaching future ninja. Wizards, warlocks, witches were a few of the names people used to describe those who went to this strange school, but they liked to call themselves 'Magicians'. Among these magicians was a young boy who once owned this book. As he grew his affinity with "magic," what we now call chakra and jutsu, expanded. But he felt unfulfilled, so he went deeper. Similar to dark sages of today, he began working to manipulate the fragile "magic" of life and death, something strictly forbidden by the school. He wrote all these teachings, along with the general knowledge learned in this school, in this book.
When he was discovered, however, the school aimed to kill him and destroy the work he had done. Placing a powerful spell on the book, he copied a form of his own consciousness into the book itself, as well as charging it with a significant amount of chakra. He had hoped that one day, he would find a naïve person that he could convince to make a pact with and begin corrupting them so that he may continue his work, even in death. The school was destroyed in the battle that followed, and with very few magicians alive, they sealed the book in the ruins, and used their lives to create a spell that would endlessly create guardian creatures to deter anyone from finding the book. Unfortunately, they didn't foresee how more common chakra usage would become, and in turn, allow those of a much stronger cut to venture into these ruins.
Now, the book had its puppet, and though it couldn't remember the name of the magician whose consciousness it mimics, it kept its goal in its mind. Sanyu, now having information force its way into his brain, easily undid the spell to create these creatures. He looked at the researcher that lay below him. 'Kill him.' The voice, now louder and stronger, tried to command Sanyu. However, the book didn't have full control over Sanyu, and though he struggled, he was able to resist the urge to kill him. Sanyu grabbed the researcher, and slowly made his way out. On the path he noticed the jewel that Ryuji had attempted to take, and an unconscious body. The body was warm, so he was still alive, but the ruins were coming down. Though Sanyu kept a lot of himself in the pact, the book had corrupted his soul just enough for Sanyu to simply leave the assistant there to die under the rubble, without any remorse, and grab the jewel instead. He would later tell Gin that nothing came of the expedition, beside the jewel, and that Ryuji had died to the creatures that attacked them. Cold, uncaring, he collected his payment, and went on his way to begin his research.
[Using 'Discovery of Your Choice' Card for Tsukumogami]
[WC: 2434]
[Also Using for RP in 'Rebuild Your Build' BL/CA Swap to Magician]
