Contract Search Obtaining Some Resolve.

[Akira Kazan]

It wasn't often that Kazan found his way this far north of the Hidden Cloud, but the northern shores of the lighting country were truly sight to behold. The Thunder Mountain range was a rather treacherous place to navigate through, but Kazan embraced that challenge whole heartedly. Over the last few months he had been through so many life changes, experienced so many new and odd things, and obtained strength the likes of which he had only previously imagined. Deep within the heartland, he gained one of the greatest allies he had ever met. Then, a few weeks later he came face to face with a monstrous beast of legends, that truly evoked fear into his heart for the first time. Instead of fleeing, his sworn friend and alley, Atlas, decided to forced him to face it head on. Somehow, this eventually lead to the two of them helping a dragon recover. As a result, Kazan was gifted a mythical strength only told about in legends. Then a few weeks after that, at the behest of Atlas and several lioness, he trained to master the use of natural energy and unlock his hidden potential.

Those that knew him well knew that he was both a decedent of the legendary Uchiha clan and a true master over the Fire Element. However, now he was much more, considering that he was now also technically a Dragon and A Lion sage to boot. This trip to the northern shore was a way for him to soak it all in and come to terms with what his destiny might be. As he walked down a path, leading out of the Mountain range, his scarlet colored eyes glistened with excitement. As he walked through a large field of grass, he eventually came to it's edge overlooking the side of cliff. In front of him was a beautiful view of the ocean, ever extending into the distant horizon. Glancing down, he noticed countless jagged rocks several feet before a sandy beach.

To the left, out in the distance he noticed rubble and ship wreckage washed ashore. "Hmmm. Must've been a storm I heard about some time ago." He thought to himself, as his eyes shifted back to the horizon. At this point, Kazan was basically just visiting the region on a whim, but it was also kind of to just reflect on things in general. After taking some time to soak everything in, he decided to walk down a pathway to the beach below. All the while, his mind began to fill with thoughts of his childhood. Never once did either of his parents take him to a beach; it was all work and no play with them. Their brutal ways and training methods had shaped him into the person that he was, and he kind of hated it.

As he continued down the path, leaving the grassy field behind him, he paid close attention to his footing. "I think that It's been a while since someone last came down this way." He thought, as his mind instantly flashed back to his child hood upon kicking a small pebble out from underneath his foot. One day in particular, his father was away on a mission and his mother had taken it upon herself to train with him. Kazan and her had gathered together on their land to practice fire techniques. That day she wanted to teach him how to further manipulate his chakra into shapes and forms after having previously converted it into a fire technique. Truth be told, Kazan was always mesmerized as his mothers unique skill over flames. To him, her techniques were like a beautiful piece of art, and while she had trained him vigorously to be capable of doing the same, he was just incapable of it. The reason this memory came to mind was the fact that after failing to do what she had shown him, she had recklessly fired off a technique in his direct. Had it not been for him backing up to quickly and slipping on some rocks, maybe he would've suffered a terrible burn.

Gritting his teeth in frustration, he kicked a few more pebbles out of the way as he continued down the path. After a few more moments, he found himself upon the beach had he previously looked upon from up above. Raising a hand to wipe the sweat from his brow, he let out a sigh of relief as he glanced around. There was a spot on the beach directly below the cliff he was standing upon earlier, casting a shadow down below clearly away from the jagged rocks he had noticed earlier. Walking over to that spot, he found a place to drop his bags and other personal belongings before beginning to remove his armor. Not only had this trip been long and strenuous, he was made it while dressed full armor. It truly was a sight to see a modern Shinobi dressed like a knight from a foreign land and ancient times, thought it was his signature look. After removing the outer layer, and pulling off his chainmail vest, he headed straight for the water.

Along the way, removing what was left of his clothing other than just his under ware. As he dove into the ocean, for the very first time in his life, he took a deep breath of air and completely submerged himself. Of course the ocean water was cold, but due to how hot the weather ways and how stuffy his armor had gotten along the way, he just didn't care. While within the water, he opened his eyes and stretched out his arms as if he were reaching for something. While under water, he paid close attention to his surroundings, but he couldn't help but take the moment to truly relax. As a few more seconds passed, Kazan stood back up and breached the surface of the water. Taking a breath of fresh air, he placed his hands on his hips and just let out a relaxing sigh.

Turning back to the beach, he got out of the water and began setting up his camp upon the beach. First, he found a large rock and wrapped a wire around it, only to string it to another; creating line to dry some of his clothes. Next, he set up his tent in the shade under the cliff, and then dug a small hole for a fire pit. After that, he gathered his weapons and tools only to set them about in some convenient and easy to grab places. From there, he went searching through his bags for clean set of clothes; a tan cloth shirt and set of trousers to match. After changing into them, he tied his fiery red hair into a loosely braided ponytail, and decided to walk the beach for a while. Before leaving, he grabbed his bearded axe named Hellfire's edge, and tied it to his side.

As he walked, he felt the different textured sand all throughout the beach between his toes. While this wasn't what he had imagined it felt like, he didn't bother to give it a second thought. Earlier he had noticed wreckage on the shore line and was curious about what all he might find. After a short wild, and now a couple hundred yards away from his campsite, he had come across some of the previously noticed wreckage. Upon closer inspection, it seemed as if bits and pieces of someone's house or shack had been scattered about. As he continued to look around, he noticed large pieces of lumber nailed together that looked to be apart of a wooden ships hull or something similar.

At this point, he could only really speculate about what he had come across. There was so much junk scattered across this section of the beach, it could've been a number of things. The only thing for certain though, was that the local wildlife had found some use of it. Every so often, he would lift a piece of junk and notice a small crap here or there. Other times, he'd see a seagull land and peck at something within the sand and then, there was even a small octopus. As he noticed that one small octopus in particular, he kept his distance and just watched it from afar. "Those things a pretty cool looking." He said out loud to himself.

After a short while of exploring, he began to gather small pieces of wood to take back to camp for a fire and head back. "I still have some canned meat back at camp, but now that I'm on the beach it'd really be nice to have some fish or something." He thought to himself. While Kazan did have wire that he could attach to his spear, he didn't really have any bait or a hook. If he wanted fish, at beast he'd have to try a more primitive method and give spear fishing a try. Chuckling at the thought, he actually considered it; but he wanted to at least eat something before possibly wasting his time.

[Word Count: 1515]

 

[Ninpocho Admin]

You've found Slug! Do you accept?​

 

[Akira Kazan]

Upon arriving back at camp, Kazan came to an immediate halt as he noticed a giant, strange, slug like creature hanging overhead from the bottom of the cliff. "What's... that thing...?" He thought, as he dropped the wood he had carried back and immediately reached for his bearded axe. Almost immediately, the creature turned it's head in recognition of Kazan's presence. "Oh! So you're the source!" It shouted, as it propelled itself from the cliff side and crashed into the sand beach below causing a huge cloud of sand scatter all throughout the area.

Taking a step back, while simultaneously drawing his blade, he sighed and relaxed as he sudden realized something. Once again, he had come face to face with another talking beast. "I've done nothing wrong, nor am I the source of anything. What are you and what do you want?" Asked Kazan, being as direct as possible. After asking the question, he began to place the handle of his axe back into his waist strap. The last two times something like this had happened, his life had changed drastically. Either something similar would happen, or perhaps he'd have a new story to tell that no one would ever believe. "Hmmm. I sensed a small trace of natural energy and came looking, but you're just a human. You're not a sage, are you?" The Creature asked, accurately guessing the recent accomplishment Kazan had made.

"I might be. Is that a problem?" He asked, cautiously while still trying to understand the creatures motives. "Oh No, not at all! But show me!" The creature exclaimed. For a moment, Kazan's interest as to what was going on had been peaked. "I'd rather not. I consider the art sacred, and I cannot simply flaunt the power without cause." He stated, initially turning down the creatures request. After saying this, Kazan watched as the slug creature seemingly pulled back and gave off a shocking expression.

Slime, or mucus, began to excessively drip from the creature. "So, you say you can do it, but you refuse to show me. Hmmm. Well, let's see if I can force it out of you!" Stated the creature, as it quickly spun around and slung a large chunk of it's mucus directly onto Kazan. With no time to react, all he could do was raise his arms in a defensive position as the mucus covered him. Immediately, he felt a weird numbing sensation, followed by stinging burn. "Natural Energy will neutralize it!" Shouted the creature, as it watched Kazan attempt to shake off it's mucus.

Unable to shake it off, he formed hand seals and performed the Water Shark Bomb technique and had it target himself. As it landed directly upon him, and exploded with a large burst of water, sending him directly into the sand. The pain Kazan had felt from the mucus seemed to only spread instead of being washed away, causing him to immediately raise to his feet and place his hands together. If what the creature said was true, then gathering a large amount of natural energy was the only way to get this stuff off of him. Within a single second, Kazan's very form began to drastically change.

Fur would erupt from every possible hair follicle all across his body. His once fiery red long hair, had now turned into a massive mane as his face began to shift in apperance, taking one a more distinctive lion like apperance. His hands and feet began to change as well, with his nails growing sharp points and the palms of his hands and feet turning began to resemble the paws of a lion. Lastly, a slender tail began to morph from his spine and extend out, with a crimson red tuft. Kazan had indeed entered into his Sage mode, or at least an imperfect version of it in which he preferred. Though, it was enough to cause the mucus from this slug creature to begin to dissipate. "What is wrong with you?!" Kazan roared in anger, as he completely adapted to his animal like instincts.

"The Felines!" The creature exclaimed, as he leaned forward to get a closer look. "What's wrong with your form though? Can you not incorporate Natural energy fluently enough?" It asked, as it continued to examine Kazan directly. "No! That's intentional! Why? Wait, no! Don't be Angry! I just wanted to see!" He said, giving Kazan no amount of time to properly reply. By this time, Kazan was growing a little impatient with the creature, but even in this imperfect form, his mind still held more power than his beast like instincts.

"Well Slug, now that you've got what you wanted, will you leave me in peace or will you continue to attack and harass me?" He asked, showing that he was still in control and possessed both logic and reason. Still, Kazan had failed to answer any of the creatures questions. Truth be told, he was more than a little annoyed. "Hmmmm... No, I won't do it again! But, just please tell me why would you intentionally take an imperfect form?" The Creature asked, but with a much calmer tone of voice. Glad that the creature seemed to be calming down, he took a deep breathe as he dispersed all the natural energy he had previously gathered, causing his form to resort back to normal. "I take an imperfect form out of respect and admiration for a dear friend of mine. Doing so also helps me better understand and appreciate what I am now apart of." He said, finally answering one of the creatures questions.

After telling the creature that, their conversation would cease and an awkward silence would befall the two of them. Several moments would pass, as Kazan waited for the creature to reply. Though, now he had begun to think that the creature was either waiting for a better explanation or more of a story. Folding his arms, he watched as the strange beast crept just a little closer towards him. "I like that answer, but I wonder how many other humans think like you." The creature stated, as seals began to form on the sand beneath both of their feet. "I'd like to place my bet on you, please form a contract with me and my kind! I'm sure the others would approve!" It stated, as it lowered it's 'head' down towards one of the seals, as if it were motioning for Kazan to hurry up and sign.

Taken back by this, Kazan hesitated a little. "Might as well." He thought, as he raised his right thumb to his mouth. Biting it, just enough to draw blood, he bent over and placed his hand down into the seal upon the sand. As he did this, he watched as his name began to form and the seals began to fade. "When you're ready to learn, just summon one of us! But be kind!" The creature would say, as it huge puff of white smoke would fill the area. As it cleared, Kazan noticed that the creature had not only disappeared, but had failed to exchange names with him.

What in the world was going to happen next?

[Slug Accepted]

 

[Akira Kazan]

~* A Few Days later *~​

It had been a few days since Kazan met that slug creature and formed yet another contract. Truth be told, he had no idea what would happen from here on out. Although he had formed a contract, he had no idea what qualities they could possibly see in him. They seemed a little too eccentric for Kazan's taste, but had it not been for fate the opportunity to experience what they could offer him would've never presented itself. Still, the last few days on this beach had been more than just relaxing. The warmth of the regions coastal region in comparison to the normal weather of the inland proved fruitful in both easing his mind and soothing his aches.

In the last year, he had taken several vacations and ventured all across the lighting country. Normally those trips were to hunt and test his basic survival skills, but this one was different. His mind had been growing steadily uneased at the state of the village. While everything was holding together rather nicely, all thanks to the Raikage and the Anbu Sennin, doubts of his own branch and the medical branch began to creep into his mind. He had never experienced the village going through what it had recently gone through; the holy war, the retirement of a Sennin without a clear replacement, and the sudden disappearance of another Sennin entirely. There was no doubt that the other remaining figure heads within the village were overwhelming stressed with the sudden increase in work load that they were facing.

At the very least, they were handling it well. Though, as he was just a Jounin and no one of real importance, he wasn't privy to any of the behind the scenes decision making taking place. Still, these days he preferred to work alone, just as he preferred the solitude of these vacations he had begun to take. Why work with a squadron when chances were, they were still getting use to manipulating their chakra and had only obtained a suitable rank do to their new found strength. Of course there was still those who had earned their position and perfected their skills with an untold amount of time and dedication. But, Kazan didn't want to get in their way; he had lead teams, gone on countless missions, and carved his own path. Right now was the perfect time for those who had made this their life's career to take advantage and shine, while leaving their new peers in the dust.

As the Sun finally rose, Kazan got ready and decided to walk down the beach for an early morning stroll. As he glanced out into the distance, he noticed a strange figure emerge from the ocean and collapse onto the beach. Upon seeing this, and realizing that it was a person, he took off running. Several seconds later, as he came upon the person, he noticed it was a man with jet black hair and black leather jacket. Of course, the man was soaking wet but one of his more noticeable features was that his body was covered in chunks of ice. In fact, as he laid collapsed upon the beach, his right hand was even frozen to the handle of a giant bladed cleaver like weapon. "How is could he be covered in Ice on a day like this?" Kazan wondered before attempting to wake the man.

Sadly, the man was out cold but at least he was still alive. He had many questions about this man and what had happen, but for now all he could do was attempt to carry the man back to his camp and lay him beside the campfire. After doing this, rather than waiting on the man to recover, Kazan decided go grab his spear and head down to the waters edge. "Maybe he'll be awake in time for lunch?" He asked himself, as he began to slowly walk into the water. There, he would wait patiently until he'd spot a fish within his range.

A couple of hours would pass, and after spearing several fish, he'd call it a day and begin to head back. However, as he approached his camp he'd see a sight he really hadn't expected to see. The man that he had carried to his campsite was now awake, with his back turned to him, leaning over the fire. "Hey! Are you alright?" He'd shout, as he began to pick up pace. As he got closer, he came to a sudden halt only to toss his spear up into the air, take hold of it, and thrust it towards the man. This was in retaliation towards man suddenly jumping up, taking hold of his giant cleaver and thrusting it towards Kazan in a threatening manor. "Who the hell are you?" The man would ask, as he and Kazan both deadlocked with a blade pointed at each others face.

"I'm the man who probably just saved your life, now lower your blade." Kazan would state, with authority. "As if that matters, punk. I asked who you were." The man would reply, in a taunting manor. Angered and now agitated, Kazan would reply. "I'm Akira Kazan, Jounin of the Hidden Cloud. Now lower your blade." He'd tell the man, with an aggressive tone. With that, the man would begin to chuckle at his reply before rolling his wrist and slinging his blade over his own shoulder. "Ahhh. I don't remember anyone with that name. You must be some new rookie." He'd reply, with a smirk and cocky attitude.

His comments about Kazan being a rookie were a little aggravating, though he had to somewhat let it go. The man had said he didn't remember anyone with that name, and based on that Kazan could only assume this guy was probably one of his brother in arms. "I'm far from a rookie, stranger." He'd say referring to the fact that the man hadn't introduced himself. "Stranger? What, you don't recognize me? I use to be your boss kid. The name's Sude Sairasu." And with that statement, this trip had gotten a lot more interesting.

[Wc: 1000+] [To be continued]
[NPC: Sude Sairasu Has Entered The Thread]

 

[Akira Kazan]

That name was somewhat unfamiliar to Kazan, only because he had heard something about it in a book a long time ago. Still, this man had claimed to have once been Kazan's boss supposedly. "What does he mean by that?" Kazan wondered, but failed to hesitate with his reply. "That doesn't ring any bells, sorry." He'd say somewhat questioning this mans words. However, before he could ask any more questions 'Sude Sairasu' would reply. "That sounds about right. Of course those assholes would try to erase me from history." He'd tell Kazan, as he watched Kazan lower his spear. "Tell me kid, is Akira Saito still around?" Asked Sairasu as he swung his blade around and plunged it's tip into the sand beside him.

That name was a little more familiar to him, but Kazan knew nothing more than what was already public knowledge. "That man retired about a decade ago, I think. I don't know much about him, but the text books the academy made us study mentions him. I mean, he was one of the Raikage at some point." He'd tell him, as he to would spin his spear around and shove the bladed end into the sand. With his other hand, he'd raise the line of fish he had speared earlier. "Listen, you look like you could use some food. How about you tell me more about yourself and help me understand why I found you washed up on the beach." He'd say, trying to show some sort of hospitality to the man. In truth, Kazan's curiosity was piqued. The man had named dropped a past Raikage and claimed to have once been his boss. Who exactly was this guy and what was his story? Strange things had been happening to him a lot lately, perhaps this was just another story for him to one day share.

Sairasu would raised a single hand to his stomach, as he looked and nodded in response to Kazan's suggestion. "Sure...." Sairasu would reply, as he watched Kazan begin to prepare some of the fish. First, Kazan would reach for his waste and draw a small knife before beginning to descale some of them. Sairasu would attentively watch him, though Kazan would notice out of the corner of his eye. It was evident that neither of the two had any trust in the other, but it was to be expected. "So, what did you mean earlier by once being my boss?" He'd Asked, in an attempt to make small talk. Sairasu would then decided to sit down and lean back, while still maintaining his view over Kazan. "You really never heard of me? Shit, I use to be the Main Branch Sennin." He'd declare, before continuing. "If you dig deep enough, you'll probably find out about me, but just know that I was forced into retirement and made leave the village." From the look upon his face, one could easily tell that he was aggravated at the thought.

Kazan would stop for a second, only to glance at Sairasu. A brief silence would fall between then, before he looked back down at the fish before him and continued to descale them. "If you were forced into retirement and made leave, then you must've done something unforgivable. You're probably lucky to just be alive. But, you speak of the past and yet you look barely older than me. Why is that?" Asked Kazan, trying to gather more information about this guy. So far, this 'Sairasu' had claimed to have once been a Sennin over the village's main branch and he seemed to have knowledge about a past Raikage. Things kinda just weren't adding up. "Lucky? Bullshit! I followed Akira Saito's orders and got screwed over. He used me to obtain more power over the country and the council dismissed me for following his orders. If anyone is lucky, it's those nimrods who once ruled over the village. Fuck those guys. I wish they had the balls to try and physically force me out. But no, those cowards had to be all political about it." He'd reply with a snarky attitude. "As for why I look young, it's because I'm only thirty seven but I... well lets just say I was frozen for a while.... Don't worry about all that. It's complicated." He'd tell Kazan, as Kazan now began to gut the fish.

"Frozen? huh. Tell me, what year do you think it is?" Kazan would ask, as he slowed down. "Hmmmm....." Sairasu would hum. "Or, what year did you become 'frozen'?" He'd ask, wondering exactly what Sairasu meant by that statement. After rephrasing his comment, Sairasu would immediately reply to him. "Sometime in the year thirty five. That was about two years after I had been stripped of my rank." With that, Kazan's left eye brow would raise as he turned and looked towards Sairasu. "That would be about thirty years ago. If what you're saying is true... well, you've missed out on a lot." At that moment, Sairasu would sigh in reaction to Kazan's statement. "Who's the Raikage now?" Kazan would now be focused on preparing the fish for them once again.

"A woman by the name of Shinrya Kitsune holds the title." He'd reply, as he got up and walked over towards his tint. There, on a the ground, he'd bend over and pick up several sticks he have shaved down. After that, he'd get back on task and begin sticking the sticks into the fish; in one end, and out the other. Sairasu would think about what Kazan had told him, and that would spur as a little frustration within him. "Great, another woman huh? Tell me, does she expect to be paid missions payments for doing her job like Kiyo did? The nerve of that old hag." He'd state, out of pure resentment towards a past Raikage. "I don't know what you're talking about, but Lady Kitsune has been a godsend. The village has never been this prosperous." After saying his peace, he'd approach the campfire with the skewered fish in hand. One by one, he'd stick one end of the skewers into the sand and lean the fish towards the flame.

"You seem like you have a lot of anger and resentment towards our village, but from what I can tell those who you feel betrayed you are probably long gone. So why hold onto it?" Asked Kazan, as he stepped back and little and took a seat in the sand opposite the fire as Sairasu. Kazan's question was more so to understand the thoughts and emotions of this man before him. Of course he didn't really want to take his word for it, seeing as everything Sairasu was telling him could be a lie. But, something about it seemed a little to authentic. "Why hold on to it? I gave them my blind loyalty and they fucked me over. I wasted years of my life serving that village, and the moment I finally obtained a Sennin position, I was shat off a cliff and thrown away by some assholes who came out of the woodworks. Then, what little legacy I was building was wiped clean off the slate. Wait till it happens to you, kid. Then you'll see if you could live with it." He told him, somewhat giving him fair warning. You see, as rash and rude as Sude Sairasu was, he served the hidden cloud village with the utmost loyalty.

Now one in cloud ever commanded him to do so. It was his own free will that he sacrificed his body, mind, and soul to the betterment of cloud. So what if he was an ass about it along the way? It didn't change the fact that he followed his orders and did as he was told. He didn't bully his was into his former position, or make shady deals behind the scenes to ensure his ascension to the rank. No, in fact after years of undying loyalty, his superior recognized his hard work and in return, gifted him the position. He actually earned it, and was proud of what he had accomplished, until the day came where the temporary head of the village sent him on a mission that changed the whole course of his life. "Hmmmm..." replied Kazan, as Sairasu continued. "Tell me, what would you do if this new Raikage.... Kitsune was the name, right? What if they ordered you to assassinate a political rival and kidnap that persons child? Would you do it?" Asked Sairasu.

[Wc: 1400+] [To be continued]