Embers

[Takeo Lee]

That thought in his mind constantly itching and telling him to show he was more than capable of doing whatever the thing was at the moment told him to just cut this rock up, kicking it to pieces, something to show he could undo what he did. What it resulted in was a bit of a sour look that thankfully no one could see, as he stuffed his hands into the pocket of his hoodie and walked out of the way.     His body starting to bend into a pout suddenly shot up straight into proud, giving a heavy but slow nod in response to the cut. "I take great care of my weapon and it take great care of what I need it to in turn."     If no one else was around he might have given himself a facepalm. His statement sounded better in his head, but he wasn't about to let anyone know he was cringing on the inside. The display was likely taking enough attention that no one would have noticed, and likely no one but him cared that much anyways.     His eyes followed the stone being flung off the road by the Earth style jutsu, and it gave him a ping of jealousy. For all he could fight with the gifts he was given and the great amounts of training to improve them, he was terrible with Ninjutsu. He knew he had his own affinity, but it was poorly trained or implemented even in what he could use it for.     Slowly turning back to Kuroda, he rubbed at the back of his head, removing back hands from both pockets before stretching his arms above his head. "Right, well let's pretend I was. I'm more than happy to get us away from here, just in case someone else is in fact watching or someone else shows up and this gets awkward all over again."     Looking up the road for a moment, he started to point, then stopped and looked around for a moment, then back up the road. "Let's stick to this road for now. A few miles ahead we should get off it, because there will be patrols that will absolutely stop us and have questions you probably won't want to answer. So...."     Motioning with his head, he started off walking without looking back to see if the three were following.

NP: 15 Ninjutsu: 1 Taijutsu: 6 Genjutsu: 1 Technique: 1 Toughness: 1 Speed: 3 Stamina: 2 Chakra Pool: 17 Chakra Regen: 5 Health Pool: 320 Affinity: Wind Clan: Lee Items: Katana

aeron at thq

[Kuroda Uchiha]

    Kuroda nods silently at Takeo's prediction, and follows after them. Yagura and Hana fall into step behind Kuroda, though Yagura still looks at the back of Takeo's head with suspicion.

    "From I can't let you pass in my country to I'll lead the way real quick..." Yagura mutters so that only Hana can hear him. "If he takes us off the road, then we have no way to know if he's still taking us down the right path."

    "You're worried he'll lead us off?" she mutters back just as quietly.

    "Not sure. He could lead us straight into a military camp and leave us to the wolves." Yagura says. "Let's just say that if I get even a whiff of something being off, I'm putting an end to it."

    Hana grimaces, but doesn't argue. They had only just met the person, and they were very combative at first. Whether this Takeo Lee was friend or foe still had not been established. Kuroda, for his part, walked at a pace that kept him to Takeo's left side, but not more than a step or two behind.

    "If I may, I would like to ask a question." Kuroda says after some time had passed. "Did something happen that would make you jumpy about strangers from outside your country's borders, or is it just because we are Uchiha?"

---

WC: 225

[Takeo Lee]

He couldn't make out much of anything that was being said behind him, but he heard something from one of them. It wasn't really any surprise if they were suspicious of him, but this Kuroda seemed to have a handle on the other two and was at least behind reasonable enough.     In truth had it just been the two of them talking from the beginning, even his attitude would have calmed down quicker and been much more warm. The more boisterous of the group had definitely made him uneasy and only fed into his preconceived notions, right or wrong. The walk was otherwise quiet aside from the occasional muttering he couldn't make out, until Kuroda spoke up, his question catching him off guard as it was rather on point. "Yes and no. I was raised with it drilled into me to protect my own first, protect others second, but do so all the same. I'll save you the life story, you know enough about the war no doubt."     Finally turning his head a bit and motioning that they were about to walk off the path, he started walking off the road and through a fairly open area. "Ran into someone from another country recently though I can't say which one, just not from this one, just days ago. It was gruesome what I came upon."     He didn't sound sad, but annoyed, angry even, as his fists were starting to clench and his muscles so tensed he was walking unnaturally upright. "Bodies laying right out on the street, a man standing over another about to kill him. Guy was pulling his own bones out of his body using them as weapons like you would pull a sword out of a sheathe. The whole thing was unnerving......So yeah, I'm a bit on edge."

NP: 15 Ninjutsu: 1 Taijutsu: 6 Genjutsu: 1 Technique: 1 Toughness: 1 Speed: 3 Stamina: 2 Chakra Pool: 17 Chakra Regen: 5 Health Pool: 320 Affinity: Wind Clan: Lee Items: Katana

aeron at thq

[Kuroda Uchiha]

    Fortunately for Kuroda, it seemed that Takeo was able to be open to a conversation. He could sympathize with the idea of protecting one's own before strangers - the Uchiha did this quite zealously both during the war and now with their patrolled borders. But the second part of Takeo's description caught Kuroda's attention.

    "...I've heard of that. It's a Kekkei Genkai, like our Sharingan." Kuroda says, thinking back to rumors he'd heard during the war. "Years ago, near our southern borders there were conflicts with the Land of Water. Not many, but enough. We Uchiha were never fighting that close to the coastlines, so we never encountered it. We did hear a lot thought."

    Kuroda grimaces.

    "Shikotsumyaku... The Dead Bone Pulse." Kuroda recalls grimly. "It's the Kekkei Genkai - a bloodline trait - of the Kaguya Clan - the rumors say that the Kaguya are a brutal people, and more so in battle. If the person you encountered was one of them, then they are a very long way from home. I've never met one of them, so I have only the rumors to go on. But you've confirmed the rumors had some truth to them."

    Kuroda thinks for a few moments.

    "This is too far for the Land of Water to travel to start trouble - whoever you met must have been a rogue shinobi." he says with some confidence. "Running into that kind of person certainly makes our initial meeting more understandable, now that I have some context."

---

WC: 246

[Takeo Lee]

"It was gruesome. The sounds it was making, the look of it, unnerving."     All this talk of war went a bit over his head truthfully, as he was a bit too young to think much of it while it was happening. He didn't know much about the other lands due to how sheltered he was within his own country, unlike these Uchiha traveling. He protected his village, only left when he needed to get something for it, and most of the other Shinobi he interacted with were from the Land of Earth. "I don't recall him stating a name or a clan, but it sounds like you know what I described at the very least. I can't speak about his brutality in battle, and things didn't exactly go his way, but he was certainly a brutal killer."     Scratching at his covered face, he looked back to see how close the other three were, and honestly just to also get a look at them once more. He didn't want to admit it, but he felt incredibly uncomfortable with the three of them following behind like this, but was doing his best not to show it. "They seemed to be some sort of mercenary from what I gathered. They were targeting and killing people when I found them. Kept referring to his target and specifically killing them. I just barely managed to save them, and was too late for the others when I showed up."     Stopping suddenly he started to look back and forth. There was not much in the way of obvious markers without knowing what you were looking for. Bending his knees he suddenly sprung straight up into the air in a strange display of looking around as he did so, landing back down with a thud. "Right, haven't had good luck with those from other countries. Easier to ask for forgiveness than to dig more graves."     Turning to his right he started walking again, turning to let his scythe scrape against rock as if marking it.

NP: 15 Ninjutsu: 1 Taijutsu: 6 Genjutsu: 1 Technique: 1 Toughness: 1 Speed: 3 Stamina: 2 Chakra Pool: 17 Chakra Regen: 5 Health Pool: 320 Affinity: Wind Clan: Lee Items: Katana

aeron at thq

[Kuroda Uchiha]

    "Kekkei Genkai are unique from clan to clan - for those that have one anyway." Yagura says. "Some are similar, like our Sharingan sharing similarities with the Hyuga Byakugan, or the Hiteigan. There are a couple more minor ocular Kekkei Genkai out there, but don't come close to the power afforded by the Sharingan and Byakugan."

    The three turn with Takeo, with Hana glancing at the rock Takeo's scythe had slid against.

    "Yes, so taking a guess at the person you described wasn't difficult. I can say with absolute certainty that you encountered a member of the Kaguya Clan." Kuroda says as well. "It's a very much unique Kekkei Genkai - there are no others like it. But it sounds like you drove them off; that's not an easy feat, if what we know about them is true."

---

WC: 136

[Takeo Lee]

"I do, but I do at least know what clans and bloodlines and the lot are."     Pulling out his weapon he gave it the usual spinning flourish as they were walking directly towards what looked to be an overgrown part of the path. Giving a quick slice then another in a V shape, it came down and opened the path back up,. Given how sure of himself Takeo was going this direction, it was odd how unused it seemed to be, with far more foliage, vines, and the like as if no one walked here in years.  "Your clan has the Sharingan, this much I know. I don't know much about it, besides you can use it for Genjutsu, and I've heard of it copying techniques."     Spinning his weapon once more he put it away again behind his back just as he got a face full of spider web, quickly wiping it off and spitting as if he had got a mouthful as he was talking. Grumbling under his breath he picked up the pace. "My clan are known for taijutsu, likely no one in any land you travel to that are better at it. No special traits in our blood however, just hard work and a few secrets."     Looking back over his shoulder at the three once more, he made a motion with his head then brought up a hand to his face, making a motion to keep quiet. "Straight shot from here, mostly, but we need to be a bit more careful and a a bit quieter till we get past this territory. A few less than friendly folk live nearby."

NP: 15 Ninjutsu: 1 Taijutsu: 6 Genjutsu: 1 Technique: 1 Toughness: 1 Speed: 3 Stamina: 2 Chakra Pool: 17 Chakra Regen: 5 Health Pool: 320 Affinity: Wind Clan: Lee Items: Katana

aeron at thq

[Kuroda Uchiha]

    Kuroda nods at Takeo's description of the Sharingan's abilities. There were more, of course, but those were the most famous known abilities. What few people understood, and what Kuroda had not yet experienced himself since his Sharingan has not yet manifested, is that the eyes had two specific abilities - Perception and Hypnotic.

    Perception Eye allowed Uchiha to break through Genjutsu cast upon them more easily, as well as being the primary way they are able to copy the Jutsu of their enemies. But there was more; the Perception ability allowed them to have predictive vision - Yagura and Hana had once described it to Kuroda as seeing a blur in the air - and that blur was always the path that was going to be taken by enemy weapons, Jutsu, or the enemy themselves. The Sharingan, when mastered, is able to see a projection of what the enemy will do.

    This predictive ability only really accounts for five or so seconds before the actual act itself is carried out - but on the battlefield, that five seconds on seeing what the enemy will do before they do it is what made the Uchiha so deadly.

    The Hypnotic Eye, as Takeo pointed out, was indeed powerful in that it made casting Genjutsu easier on their chakra reserves. It enabled them to cast more powerful Genjutsu more often.

    Both the Perception Eye and the Hypnotic Eye could be specialized. An Uchiha could become incredibly powerful even if they mastered only one or the other. Few ever mastered both abilities. They walk, listening to Takeo and keeping vigilant eyes on their surroundings. At one point - to Hana's amusement - Takeo hopped into the air like a frog, clearly making this his way of checking the path forward.

    "Less than friendly just to us, or less than friendly to anyone that passes by?" Yagura asks. "If there are bandits on this route, we should take them out."

[Takeo Lee]

"Less than friendly to you for sure, but they are very territorial, and not fond of people staying in their territory for long."     Looking around the path was becoming a bit more narrow than he had remembered it, a very odd makeshift wall on either side of them that looked as if it had been placed there no more than a week ago, still showing the grooves of where the ground had moved and settled. This was clearly a jutsu, and given what he had just told the others, he now knew without a doubt they needed to move just a bit quicker. "I'm not sure if you are familiar with the Ameyuki clan, but they have their own Kekkei Genkai involving a type of mud release."     There was no one in the immediate area that made themselves known, but there were at least a dozen eyes on them no doubt. The moment they stepped a foot onto this ground it was the equivalent of setting off a thousand alarms. "We need to move a bit quicker, and make sure we in no way seem as if we are posing a threat. They've reshaped the path since I last came here, which is either a very good sign, or a very very bad sign, and I'd rather not learn the hard way which it is."     Making a motion with his head he started a bit of a job, then a run, motioning again to make sure the other three were following. This was the first time he was clearly a bit shaken strangely, and wasn't just saying something dramatic trying to scare the others for the sake of it.

NP: 15 Ninjutsu: 1 Taijutsu: 6 Genjutsu: 1 Technique: 1 Toughness: 1 Speed: 3 Stamina: 2 Chakra Pool: 17 Chakra Regen: 5 Health Pool: 320 Affinity: Wind Clan: Lee Items: Katana

aeron at thq

[Kuroda Uchiha]

    "These people sound so fun." Yagura says, his tone dripping with irony. "But we've fought the Ameyuki a few times. Their Mud Release Kekkei Genkai is somewhat strong - but also not terribly difficult to counter. Against the Sharingan, it proved largely unable to fight back hard enough to claim victories that weren't ambushes."

    Kuroda nods.

    "That said, the Ameyuki should probably be avoided if we can manage it." he says. "I'd rather not stir up more trouble than we have already."

    "Kuroda, you know you're just going to jinx us." Hana says, wearing a wary grin. "The more someone says they don't want something to happen, the more likely it is."

    Kuroda snorts a laugh.

    "I'll keep that in mind, and blame you for bringing it up if it does happen." Kuroda retorts playfully.

    The knowledge that the path had been altered puts the three Uchiha on alert, though Hana and Yagura refrain from activating their Sharingan, lest they use up Chakra unnecessarily.

[Takeo Lee]

"They aren't so bad, but they don't know us so they aren't going to roll out the welcome mats."     It wasn't too surprising to know they fought with them if they fought anywhere near this country, let alone in it at any point in time. They were tenaciously defensive of what was theirs, be it country, family, or their territory, even more so than he himself was if possible. He had ran into them a few times accidentally in less than positive circumstances, and made a point to either make friends or avoid them ever since. "Well then you know how hard they fight and likely how territorial they can be. This is one of their trade paths, so as long as we keep moving along and more importantly past it, they should leave us alone."     He looked around every time he mentioned them, expecting to catch one out of the corner of his eye glaring at him, or simply watching, but never saw anyone. It was more unnerving knowing they were likely there and he couldn't see them than if there were a dozen glaring down on them. "They are, as I've said, territorial, but they aren't aggressive. They'd prefer to be left alone, but better safe than sorry." Putting up both arms he stopped, making sure it was clear he was stopping them and trying to do so immediately. Looking at his feet, then around himself he gave an incredibly loud sigh. "Okay something happened here, recently,  and they are angry. I didn't notice it until now but there are partially buried footprints all along this path. Forget what I said and just run, we are almost out of their territory anyways."     Making a motion with his hand to move, he started sprinting straight ahead, not waiting to see if the others were doing so, but not going full speed as to leave them behind either.

NP: 15 Ninjutsu: 1 Taijutsu: 6 Genjutsu: 1 Technique: 1 Toughness: 1 Speed: 3 Stamina: 2 Chakra Pool: 17 Chakra Regen: 5 Health Pool: 320 Affinity: Wind Clan: Lee Items: Katana

aeron at thq

[Kuroda Uchiha]

    The three Uchiha didn't need to be told twice. The moment Takeo began to move, they too were in motion. It took only a few moments for them to catch up to Takeo - and once more Hana and Yagura's Sharingan had been activated.

    As they leap from the ground to the trees, and branch to branch, Hana and Yagura's eyes whip side to side, up and down, with every turn of their heads. Kuroda kept his eyes locked forward, knowing that if anyone attempted to flank them, Hana and Yagura would see them first.

    "Takeo, What did you see?" Kuroda inquires hurriedly. "What changed about this route that has you spooked?"