Contract Search The Kazekage's Hat

[Raizo]

He stood before a stone door. The door blocked the entry point of a crypt, and the crypt was located on the Ryuzaki Estate facing towards the cliffside overlooking the sea. This location was the site over various crypts and shrines and severed as a rather hallow location for the Ryuzaki Clan. This is where Konungr and Vulcanus were laid to rest, along with their primary spouse and various other important figures of the clan. Also within this area was a holy shrine dedicated to their great ancestor, Legatus, "The God Eater". The shrines within were used for not just worship or remembrance, but some were specifically used for the two holy rituals of the clan; The Trials of Legatus and The Blood of the God Eater. All warriors of the clan must go through Trials of Legatus to secure their standing as a warrior.

Raizo had not only reached the point of needing to complete his trial but honestly had surpassed the threshold. Having left the clan's estate to join Suna seemed to have thrown off his timeline a bit, but with the current state of the world and the upcoming Sennin Games, it felt like he could no longer ignore his duties.

While most endured their Trial of Legatus in the Shrine of Legatus, his father had told him that his trial would always take place in the crypt of his grandfather, Ryuzaki Saito. Saito was the Konungr before Raizo's father, Oga, and was given the moniker "The Emporer of Luck" due to seemingly having been blessed by the gods of fortune. Even in the most dire situations, Saito seemed to have found a way to overcome and succeed. Placing his hand upon the stone door, he would release a small amount of chakra, causing the door of the crypt to begin to hum at a low frequency as several glowing runic designs would appear upon it. The door would slowly, and on its own, begin to move opening the threshold and allowing Raizo to enter.

Looking around, he would see the tomb of his grandfather, a stone coffin with the visage of the former head of the clan carved upon the top of it. Within the room, there would be various shelves, statues, and works of art either depicting Saito or his various accolades. There would be books and other written works, some from Saito while others were from those who chose to either write or document the life of Saito. The only other thing of note was an old, dusty, straw hat that rested on a shelve next to an equally old and dusty book.

All of it was strange. His grandfather had passed before he ever got to know him, but from what he heard, the man was gentle, compassionate, and fun-loving, which all seemed to be the exact opposite of his father. The one other key thing he knew about his grandfather is that while he was known for his luck, he apparently died at the hands of a circumstance of what some would consider unlucky, something that his grandfather apparently laughed at and merely stated "well, everyone's luck runs out at some point". Again, it was strange. On one hand, he wished he could have met him, especially since his grandfather sounded more like the leader he was striving to be, but on the other hand, he could not see how such a man could have raised Ryuzaki Oga nor could he see how someone could laugh at a bizarre death. There was one more thing he didn't know;

"Now how the hell am I supposed to start this trial? I know I have to find the "heart" and "consume it", and I know my father said that when the time comes my trial would be held within this crypt... so what am I missing?"

Looking around, he hoped to find a clue, and while nothing stood out to him, he would continue to find his eyes going back to the area of the old straw hat. Approaching it, he would feel a strange sensation, one that seemed to be drawing him forward, and without hesitation, he would... push aside the old hat and pick up the book next to it. Blowing off the dust he would notice that the book was one of Saito's journals.

"Maybe this will help me figure out what I need to do?"

He didn't believe that, but he was interested in learning a bit more about his grandfather. The old straw hat, having been moved, now rested upon the shelf a little bit more haphazardly, not in position where a slight bump, jostle, or gust would send it crashing to the ground. Raizo wouldn't notice, as the hat was the least interesting thing in the room...

for now.

WC - 794/1500

 

[Raizo]

Laughter filled the crypt as he continued to turn through the pages of his grandfather's journal.

"I wish I could have met him... there is no way his life was half as entertaining as he wrote about" he would exclaim with tears of joy rolling down his cheek.

The exploits of Ryuzaki Saito were humorous, heartwarming, intense, dramatic, sorrow-filled, and yet always came back to being humorous. No matter the situation or obstacle, it always seemed that the man knew what to say or do... or that things would happen in a way that it made it seem like he did. Either way, it was truly an epic life lived by someone who, at least on paper, seemed to be rather amazing.

The laughter would subside but the tears would not. At first, they were rolling from the intense bout of laughter but now find themselves still tumbling down the side of his face. His expression would change as his face would crinkle.

"If you were so lucky..."

His heart and mind both knew he didn't want to say or think the continuation of that thought, but that didn't stop it from rolling out.

"...why didn't you live long enough to see me?"

The question, just having the thought, felt like a knife was twisting in his gut. Not only because he felt the pain brought on by the question but the guilt of being selfish enough to think it. He knew his grandfather most likely didn't want to die and miss his life, and that is where the guilt of having such an intrusive thought would come from. The proud future Konungr now sat in a fetal position on the ground of his grandfather's crypt. He was no longer a child but he hadn't fully experienced life as an adult, and in this moment his age would do something it rarely did; it would show.

Forcefully slamming the journal on the ground, he would growl with anger and agony, "YOU SHOULD BE HERE TO SHOW ME HOW TO DO THIS DAMN TRIAL!"

The forceful slam was enhanced by his emotions, emotions that caused his chakra to respond and his mind to not be quick enough to limit it, which would result in a burst of chakra emitting from his hand and rattling through the crypt. Two things would then occur;

A small compartment from the tomb of Saito would open revealing a strange crystalline object. Upon appearing, the crystal would begin to pulse and throb with a faint light in response to the chakra emitted by Raizo. While he wasn't certain, something within him knew that this item had to be the 'heart' that the Trial of Legatus called for, so now all he had to do was figure out how to consume it. Surely he wasn't meant to fully eat the thing? Then he would remember that the carving of Saito upon the tomb's lid had an opening where one might find the heart on a human--maybe, just maybe, he was meant to put the item there.

Before he could do that, the second thing that occurred directly after emitting his chakra burst would be that the old straw hat would begin to shake and eventually fall from the precarious ledge it was perched upon after being disturbed by Raizo earlier. The wide brim of the hat would make it resistant to a sudden fall, so instead the old hat would come floating downward. Maybe it was a gust, maybe it was reverb from the impact still impacting the area, or maybe it was just a strange twist of luck... but the hat would come gliding down on top of the exposed crystal.

For a brief moment, he would wince with hesitation that something might happen, but within that moment there would just be silence.

"I don't even know what I thought would have happened," he said as he reached his hand out to remove the hat.

As soon as his hand reached out, there would be a explosion of chakra-like energy that would fill the room. The blast would be concussive in nature, but not nearly as damaging as a bomb or attack. Instead, it was concussive enough to push back at him and cause items around the room to jostle and move, but that would be the extent. A light would pulse outward from the center of the blast, as time seemed like it was slowing down. Then suddenly, the light would implode back towards the source of its eruption, the hat. Everything would return to normal and silent as it was before.

"Well... that could have been good, right?"

Probably not.

There was hesitation now, as he wasn't sure if the odd reaction was a result of him attempting to get close to the area or not. This time, he would not rush in and would just wait. And wait.

And wait...

But nothing further would happen. Letting out a frustrated sigh, he would pick up the old hat.

"Did he actually wear such a thing? Could this have been a favorable style choice at that time?"

Glancing down he would notice that the item he believed to be the 'heart' would be gone, but before he could question it any further... he would hear a voice.

"The wide brim helps in Wind Country with that damn sun and little shade."

"Yea, that is reasonable."

"So you really goofed up, huh kid?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean... why the hell am I a hat?"

It would be at this moment everything would go silent as Raizo would take time to process that question. It was odd. It was out of place.

Actually... who is talking to me...

His eyes would scan around the room before returning back to the straw hat. Looking down at it, suddenly eyes would appear at the top of the hat as the voice would continue.

"I think I was supposed to end up somewhere else.... BWAHAHAHAHAHA"

"How can a hat talk!?"

"How can you shoot fire out of your hands... magic or some such nonsense!"

"Well it has to actually do with chakra manipulation--"

"Ehhhhh, I think I nailed it with the magic thing, kid."

"Wait, just who or what are you?!"

He would question the hat within his hands. And even though he asked that question, there would be another thought that would come to his mind immediately about who or what this was.

"Are you my gr--"

"Kid, listen, let's not try to think about this too hard. Put me on your head and let's get to work!"

"Work?"

"Oh yeah, this is your Trial of Legatus, right? I gotta put you through the grinder to make sure you come out a competent warrior... and now some jackass talking to a hat."

A rather unamused look would etch itself across the face of Raizo as the hat would only respond with boisterous laughter.

"BWAHAHAHAHAHA THIS IS GONNA BE FUN!!!!"

"You know... I actually already have a hat."

The hat would stop laughing. While it was only eyes, one would be able to sense the expression that might have been made at this time by the item if it had an actual face; it was a look of worry.

"Huh... well, what kind of hat is it?"

"It's like a floppy, green and white, sort of in a diamond shape that slopes upward to a point."

"Well, does it look like this?"

The straw hat would suddenly become a hat similar to what he described but missing much of the details of the exact Kazekage hat he was talking about.

"Close... but not really."

"Hmph... take me to this damn hat and I will be that hat, but when its time to get serious I will always be this hat right here."

"What should I call you? Sa--"

"Kid, you are really making this more complex than you need to do. Names? I'm a hat. Just call me..."

And this is how Ryuzaki Raizo found the Kazekage's Hat.

WC - 1293
Total 2087/1500
Using Discovery of Contract of Your Choice Card to Find Tsukumogami

 

[Ninpocho Admin]

You've found Tsukomogami! Do you accept?​

 

[Raizo]

Yes!