Black Cloud Memorial

''Beautiful, truly beautiful."

I walked amongst the crowd as just another man, just this once. The monument that stood above us all bringing an odd sense of inferiority to my being, was this how it felt to be human; inferior and powerless? The will these men must have had were powerful, I had no doubt about that, but for our village, our little, dusty vista to take a stand against a powerful force was truly remarkable. I supposed a reminder of what our villagers could do would do my cause some good.

''Excuse me, child."

I beckoned to a young man in front of me, my hand patting him on the shoulder as I slipped past him and toward the pillar of tribute, which I made sure to never pull my eyes from. It held a list of names, but what I appreciated more about it was the uplifting feeling it gave me. If the men of the past could do such an unfathomable feat back then, to what level could a God's inspiration bring them?

''Anything."

The strong female voice in my mind mused, the prospect of power and notoriety making her arc up. But as I calmed myself and came closer to the monument, I saw some familiar faces; all the same man. And he appeared to be here to pay tribute, too, his faith in humanity wasn't as high as mine, I'd imagine, but he still felt the need to come here and exercise his faith, or his compassion. Of the two, even I couldn't guess.

''Ares," I spoke above the crowd, my dark blue hand erupting out of the crowd. ''Have you come here to appreciate the Will of Man, too?"

The crowd and all that went on within it laid before my eyes, but I more specifically focused on Shiju as he approached the monument per my request. While he stood before me, contemplating with a stoic's poise, the same questions that arose at Iwagakure's gate came rallying forth once more. His hand had been tried and ever since he had been strangely cooperative. Nothing about him screamed that there was anything to fear from him. For him to have been the liar I thought he was, things just didn't add up.

!

But suddenly, in a surreal twist of fate, I caught a brief glimpse of My Lord's image from within the crowd. It took but a few fleeting moments for me to precisely locate him, and by the time I did he was already calling out toward me. His voice, easy to distinguish amid the rabble, came to me just after Shiju remarked about the monument.

"Lord Apollo," I stood attentively while speaking, bowing my head in condolence before continuing. "By some miracle fate has brought me here to meet with you," I waved my arm to reveal Shiju. "..and with guest.

I thought back to the times where "Shiju" had blatantly lied to protect himself. Frankly that was all I knew him to be good for.

"I have been showing Shiju our nation's landmarks to better affiliate him with our history." My eyes cut toward Shiju in a suspicious glare while a grin folded over my once stale expression.


"Shiju is an excommunicated shinobi from, what village was it?" I turned to face him once more, along with the rest of my duplicates.

Lord Apollo?!

Masuyo merely observed as Ares' referred to the new presence before him as Apollo. Masuyo registered 'Apollo' as a strange name in his own eyes, yet, still deemed it interesting. Within seconds, Ares introduced the two as well as explained their reasons for visiting the respectable monument. Masuyo looked directly into Ares' eyes as he looked into Masuyo's own and fluently gave his response.

"Originally, Amegakure, however, due to inner family issues, my brothers and I all left the village and never turned back. As they went wherever they are, I myself migrated to Tonzaku Gai. . ."

He answer both Ares' question and Apollo's initial question simultaneously with a single answer, yet, continued to speak in response to Apollo's following question.

"As for knowlege of this village, or even the country, outside of what Ares told me thus far, very little if anything at all."

Feeling that he answered both of their inquiries in full, Shiju turned back around to face the monument as he continued to reflect and dwell upon the destruction he caused to Kami no shima.

"Only a monster could ever have the gall to attack a city populated with innocent civilians. "

For a moment, Masuyo paused as a question snapped through the frameworks of his own mind.

"Question, were you two also involved or maybe witnessed the entire ordeal? "

''Family matters certainly are important, I can attest to that."

I assessed, my hands readjusting my cloth wrap as the boy continued to prattle his nonsense off. Tiring, he was, but I had to endure it for now. Catching the general outline of his answers, I glanced back at him and gave a nonchalant shrug, my fiery eyes looking him up and down. ''A monster, though? I can agree with that, if I were to encounter another man who wished harm on my village and its people, I would carve into them the symbol of our people; our power."

''But I trust nobody would be stupid enough to harm a village housing a God."

I smirked as I spoke my words, the off-to-the-side look I shot at Ares showing that I was enjoying this interaction. And as he continued on to explain the extra security, I simply nodded, pleased with this course of action. The fleshy creature before me was certainly dishonest from the looks of things, but Ares mentioned something that made my blood boil and my diaphragm expand.

"As I discovered him, he had already lied to our Guard Captain about his prowess as a ninja, and aimed to enter Iwagakure giving the impression he hadn't any."

''Disgusting."

I groaned grumpily to punctuate what was said, my eyes ablaze as they narrowed on the man. Who did he think he was, lying to an official? But most of all, where did he think he was? I would strike the boy down if I didn't feel I could teach him a lesson from this, and the final question he had asked showed me that he at least had the capacity to learn.

''Correct, I was here during the attack. I was out of sight, mind you, as I preferred. The butchering was horrific, I can admit that, but to take on an assault head-on wasn't my place as a God, no, you fleshy beings need to learn to exercise conviction.

Instead, I opted to meditate and find the answer in myself. For all the pain it caused, it allowed an insurmountable spirit to brew in the afterglow of bloodshed; the Will of Stone, something that I shall bestow upon all who will listen."

Huffing contently, I felt the few remaining embers of Astraea's will blow away from my mind, the relaxing feeling that it left me with a stark contrast to how livid I was prior. ''Ares, I do not have time to explain the attack to him. I fear that matters of mind and spirit probably aren't to his liking, could you explain it to him in my place?"

"As it is told, the Bakudon Gai Massacre took place at the behest of Kouketsu Uchiha, who cooperated with other village entities in order to orchestrate an attack on the Chuunin Exams. Those rumored to have been involved with the massacre tend to change depending on who tells the story." I paused to turn toward the memorial.

"Outside of Kirgakure's involvement, Kumogakure has been held at fault for some time, along with our neighbors in Sunagakure."

"In some circles, it has even been said that the First Tsuchikage, Uekyuchi Kikkawa, co-conspired with Kouketsu to act out an elaborate scheme that would rid the world Hidden Villages all together." For a moment the idea of such a plan coming to be overcame me as being plausible.

To put faith in such a farfetched idea was ridiculous when left to folly of mortality. That was a task only a God could undertake.

"Whatever their motive was," I continued. "..their plan was halted by the First Tsuchikage so for him to align himself with a man of that cloth seems unlikely." So it seemed. I had met many men, and to each of them I could attribute a flaw.

For a scheme of that caliber to realize itself, it needed the correct hands. I'd heard much of Kouketsu, but nothing that likened him to a God.

"Earlier you spoke as if you knew of Kouketsu," I called to the traveler Shiju. "What do you know of him and his deeds?"

"I don't know him at all, other than stories I've been told that stretched across the lands from mouth to ear, namely regarding him 'blowing up' Konohagakure several years back."

I sighed quietly as our guest finished his explanation, a sharp look directing itself at the back of his head. ''Alright, Ares." I groaned, my hand cupping my chin in deep thought. ''Are you sure we can trust that answer? From what I can tell, he doesn't seem to be the most honest creature." Speaking as loudly as I would any other time, I felt my eyes travel to the boy yet again, gauging his reaction.

''Boy, what is it that you really wanted to come here for? Information about our village? To see our architecture? Do you not know how rude and suspicious that is, considering how charitable we have been?"

Pacing around to look at the man face to face, my arms crossed and my brow low, I began shooting him a venomous look. I wasn't one to put up with betrayal, but striking somebody down in front of an important monument wouldn't be good for my image or my soul. But there was something about this boy; this ignorant child, that made me uneasy.

''Ares, watch him carefully. As for you, child, tell me of your involvement in the war. And choose your answer carefully, you have the eyes of God watching you."

I demanded, my eyes watching him ever vigilant, much in the same way that I expected of my associate. I wouldn't let him out of my sight for one moment, at least not until he quelled any suspicions I had. It was for me to direct the course of our interactions, not him, and if he thought he could simply displace my interest.. he was in for a big surprise.

"Damn, not good!"

An eyebrow quickly raised as Apollo sighed quietly in response to Masuyo's answer. Apparently they'd been able to snuff out each and every single lie that spilled from Masuyo's parted lips, but how? Perhaps it had been from the visual ninjutsu used by Ares or just carried an overabundant amount of experience in dealing with liars. Needless to say, Masuyo needed to answer Apollo's most recent question without fail, otherwise the two on edge ninja could've easily gotten the drop on him given the positioning of each party involved. As the two finished speaking, Masuyo's head leaned towards the ground while his eyes closed to concentrate and gather his thoughts. Thereafter, he sighed and uplifted his head in Apollo's direction and answered his question not even a moment later.

"My involvement in the war? nothing! During that stupid and needless war, I was off doing things that were important to me, namely obtaining every ounce of power that I could in order to find and rescue my sister who'd been abducted by Amegakure forces. . ."

He paused, feeling the bottled emotions momentarily resurface along with the truth.

"I was dealing with my older brother who betrayed said sister along with the rest of his family and friends. While that war waged on, I simply existed elsewhere, away from the war and the attention of everyone involved. "

Realizing his tone and emotions, he caught himself and quickly seized and buried them once more. He wanted to continue yet, a feeling overcame his body as the world around him spun out of control. As a severe case of dizziness set in, he helplesly dropped to a single knee where he then coughed. His right hand reached up to 'catch' it, and as he did, trickles of thick blood began to seep in-between his fingers.

!!!

It finally happened, after all those abnormal years spent on Mount youbin, the toll of rapid aging caused by its differing laws of time and space finally seemed to have caught up to him. His opposite hand, free to do whatever it pleased, reached inside his robe and retrieved a cleaning cloth. With careful movements, he wiped away the blood around his lips and hand as he nearly struggled to get back to his feet.

"A-as for being here, learning this place's history and culture, not its architecture, was just a bonus. I came here for potential answers, that's what I do and will continue to do until I find those that took what mattered most from me."