Ode to the Flashbacks!;

[Messatsu!]

An attraction, a strange one, one that Ji failed to understand what exactly it had been that drew him closer and closer to Kaminari no Kuni - The Land of Lightning. Something within him, something left behind from his late father pulled him unto Kaminari's soil against his will.

Confused, Ji aimlessly bolted through the thick & moist forestry unable to pinpoint where he headed as, for a moment, it seemed his mind lost sight of his true objective. Nevertheless, his head whipped left and right, eyes moving to and fro, looking for any clue that could've explained the knotted pressure in his stomach that continued to twist and coil with each fleeting second.

"This pressure is bothering me but, it doesn't actually hurt,. Wha-what is this feeling? I don't understand. "

Suddently, the column of seemingly endless trees ended, forcing Ji to stop and land at the side of a cobblestone road. He looked to his left, his right, and straight back ahead before his chin sunk into his chest and stared off into the ground. Childishly, he kicked the dirt out of frustration, thinking long and hard about the burning desire within him to 'accomplish' something - an impossible task perhaps?

"I feel like i'm supposed to do something, but I don't know exactly what that something is. I wish mom were hear to help me, she'd definitely know what to do in this kind of situation. "

Huffing a sigh, the index finger of his right hand slowly made its way into his nose, digging out unwanted mucus.

[KEITH]

With the information of Kumogakure within my grasp, I made my way to the location near the gate where we would prepare for our entrance. My comrade, Chae, who had been so eager to get there had, ran off ahead of me, to the position I told him we would plot it. I wanted to enjoy more of the scenery of this country; I knew I couldn’t be here for long, so I had to take in whatever I could. Eventually, I found myself to have stumbled upon a cobblestone path which would bring me to a young boy.

I had stood [10] meters behind him, and for a moment, I would watch as he kicked up the dirt and proceeded to talk to himself, as if someone as was there. It seemed as if he had been lost, though he could have also been some sort of trick made by another Kumo-nin who had watched the crimes we committed. Someone could have been trying to pick me off by testing my compassion for another soul, but I wouldn’t let them get me. Nor would I let paranoia consume me.

“Child. . . .”

My voice had been dry and a tad bit raspy, but I still spoke anyway. I wasn’t trying to alarm the boy, so I had spoken in a calm and mellow tone.

“Where have you come from. . . And who just might you be. . . ?”

I was causious, just like anyone would be in this sort of situation. I needed to stay upon my toes for even the slightest thing that was out of the normal, my mission depended upon my survival. I slowly removed my steel fox mask away from my face, in case the child might have thought it was a bit freightening. There was a chance that he had simply wandered off into the forest. . . And, not dangerous at all. I had been taking a serious gamble with this boy, curse my heart of gold—or should I say two hearts of gold?

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[Messatsu!]

A hand (Ji's right) raised up against his stomach, feeling the power within him that hadn't quite been his own. Unfortunately the time he wished to spend discovering the mysterious about his origin's and innate power fell short as a voice called out to him from his immediate rear. Thus far, since he had been thrust into this new world, he was unable to determine whether or not strangers sneaking up behind him and calling out to him was nothing more than a frightening coincidence, or a custom he failed to understand.

Regardless, he pivoted upon his heels and soon faced the man properly. Lofting a brow in tandem with holding his stomach, he answered.

"I'm not from here, this world I mean. I was born and raised in a place called Mount Youbin, far far away from here. My names Ji by the way, and I'm looking for something in this area but I'm not exactly sure what, you think you could help me?"

[KEITH]

I watched the boy react to my words, it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary; he simply turned around to face me, with a hand placed upon his stomach. As he had spoken, I carefully listened to his words, making sure I had understood them all. I wasn’t too sure about what he spoken of though. He wasn’t from this world? What could that mean? And, just what exactly was this place called Mount Youbin? Was this boy high on something?

He even went as far as to ask me, a completely stranger to him, if I could help him. He must’ve been some naïve child to just believe some stranger would be so willing as to help him. But, I could humor his question a bit—I was also curious about him. Many children within this world was trained as shinobi, was he one as well? I had to ask.

“Nice to meet you, Ji. My name is—Hanzou. You know, a kid like yourself shouldn’t be wondering out here by yourself. Nasty shinobi could be lurking about here anywhere, trying to rob or kill you.”

I proceeded slowly toward the boy, closing the [10] meter distance down to merely [5], I didn’t want to invade his personal space. I still wasn’t sure if this was a trap or not, or if this boy was truly some type of monster luring me to him. If that was the case, then it was surely working. I don’t really know why I would try to get closer to him; perhaps it helped my story out a bit.

“You see, here in Kaminari no Kuni, there is a village of evil shinobi known as the shinobi of Kumogakure. So, you should be more careful. But, what is it that I can help you with, Ji?”

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[Messatsu!]

Hanzou? To Ji, it sounded like an interesting name, one he -for some unknown reason- appealed to. Nevertheless, he listened to the entirety of the mans words as he expressed an odd sense of concern for Ji regarding passing shinobi attempting to kil or rob him. Unbeknownst to Hanzou, Ji had been more than capable of handling himself in a given fight. Flinching not even an inch in reserve once Hanzou decided to step forward, he continued to speak softly, showing a great deal of respect.

"A village of evil shinobi?! where is it? My father fought for peace in not just his own homeland but everywhere and I promised mom that I'd follow in his footsteps. Please, show me the way!"

More eager than ever, Ji stepped forward as well, fist bawled with an expression that longed to bring peace to any place that'd been tainted by those like AU-2. Having heard about the story from both his mother and Namyeol respectively, couldn't possibly have stomached the thought of continuing on home without helping those in need of a hand.

"I'm not a shinobi exactly, but I've got all the skills I know from one of the best!"

[KEITH]

Lips curled into a smile as the boy had spoken, I was intrigued by what he had to say, even though he had just been a child, he had some spunk, and that was admired. He talked about his father being a protector of peace, but I hadn’t heard of a shinobi trying to do so since the great Uzumaki Naruto who had saved the world from the clutches of Akatsuki. Maybe his father had just told people that for fun, someone going around trying to preach about peace to the people of this world would only come out dead. It’s not like true peace existed, but it can come sometimes, but it will only be as ephemeral as an hour that comes once a day.

Regardless, I would continue to humor the boy as he went through his emotions and gestures. What was he really capable of, was it my place to test this child? We did need all the help that we could get with Kumogakure, and maybe this child was some master level shinobi, I mean, he was able to travel to Kaminari unharmed, right?

“You know, I am actually heading there with a friend of mine right now. We want to liberate this village of all its evil shinobi, and make sure it is never able to stand again. And, at the same time, take their wealth to give to the poor of my homeland. But, do you think you can really help us out, Ji?”

I looked him deep into his eyes, in actuality, I did deem all of the other shinobi villages evil, who needed to be taken down and their villages policed. You couldn’t really trust other people from other villages, which is why they will always need a careful eye watching over them. I reached into my back pouch, and drew out a Kumogakure headband, and held it before me to show to the boy.

“The shinobi of Kumogakure bare this symbol, memorize it if you’re going to follow through.”

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[Messatsu!]

Hearing that Hanzou and his unnamed friends had already made their way to converge upon Kumogakure's location registered as music to Ji's ears, so much so that it caused a smile to sprawl across his face - ear to ear.

Ji nodded eagerly as Hanzou continued to speak after he recovered and presented to Ji a native Kumogakure headband, told that all shinobi within said village assumed that symbol.

"Yeah, I'll be glad to help just point me into the direction and I'll find my way there! If they're truly evil, this is something that my father would want! "

[KEITH]

I continued to close the distance between me and the boy after he fully agreed to be, all that was left for me to do was to tell him the location of Kumogakure. I didn’t really know of the boy’s ability, or if he will actually follow through with the plan at all, but there was always that possibility he could be useful. Regardless, it wasn’t really my place to doubt the kids. I withdrew my world map, showing him the location of where Kumogakure was from this very spot, and briefed him on what I would need him to do.

His job would be to take out any Kumo-nin wearing the band, and if he saw someone fighting the Kumo-nin already, he would surely be one of my men. When the enemies had been wiped out, attack the tallest tower within the village, for I would be there.

---

[Exit.]

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[marvolous.]

Circa: 25 EXP.
Gene: 17 EXP.