A Thousand Hands [C]

[Axcel]

Akuseru stood in front of a sealed off area within Konoha. Similar in size to the Uchiha district, this area was said to be the site of a civil war prior a shinobi from Yuki no Kuni had risen to the rank of Hokage. Now it was deserted, with this sanctioned off area having become a razed and unspoken of. Akuseru had spotted a symbol that resembled the one tattooed on his shoulder in passing one day. He had visited this area ever since to think, though he has yet to enter.

Ever since his return from Mizu no Kuni, Akuseru had been doubting whether becoming a shinobi of Konoha was right for him. The Hokage himself was the one who enlisted him, having discovered the boy just two years ago in the countryside. Prior to joining his accelerated program, Akuseru was genuinely happy. He had grown up with his grandmother and lived a simple life in a small community deep within Hi no Kuni. He hadn't been exposed to the money or power governed society, having been raised among people who did everything they could to help one another out of their own generosity. Now having waged war, his happiness had been replaced by stress.

It wasn't until years after his grandmothers passing did he encounter the Hokage, who took a special interest in him after noticing the mark of his father on his shoulder. Akuseru did not know much of his origins, only that his family was once considered heroes before a tragedy fell upon them. Villainized by the people who once adored them, they became prosecuted until they eventually scattered and disappeared. When the Hokage had risen to power, them along with with their history had been banished.

Promised with the power of being able to help and save others, Akuseru took up the Hokage's offer and enrolled in his special program. Now within the year of his graduation, he was leading a team of which had members that outranked him. The Hokage had kept his end of the deal, yet he desired more. No longer an ignorant country bumpkin, Akuseru sought the answers to his questions.

"Why?" A vague question directed at the presence he felt nearby. Why was he chosen and what was known about him that he wasn't being told of?

[Comatose]

The air still smelled of blood and soot here, strong enough to irritate even the most hardened shinobi's nose. This place, the site of the initial coup d'etat was locked to the outside world to spare them from how horrifying it had been. If one looked closely, peering under any sort of charred rubble, they would see flesh and bone still left decomposing. The tragedy of the war had fallen on my own shoulders, something I had done in order to rise to power, and no matter how much I told myself it was the right way there was a feeling of remorse. No one was exactly sure how many shinobi died in that time period, but it was enough to see the streets empty and roles unfilled even to this day.

My hand reached the boy's shoulder, squeezing slightly as I passed him by, sighing. I wasn't always such a cold individual, having been much like Akuseru in my own youth - carefree, young, and ignorant. I could understand his plight on a deeper level than he could really have known up until this moment.

"Why?" I spoke after stopping in front of him, my back turned to him.

"Because we are one in the same." My hand lifted up out of my sleeve, a sheet of paper falling off of my arm to reveal a similar tatoo much more faded than his.

The meaning of this brand was unknown to even me, research into it only getting as far as explanation as to it being the symbol of a clan. This information came as a shock to me originally, especially when I had come across Akuseru himself, because it had meant we were related someway. Though it was far more likely we were cousins than brothers, especially due to the difference (or his lack) of Kekkei Genkai, he was the first individual I had met of my own family besides Oyaji.

"I was just protecting you from the inevitability. Even if you had stayed where you were it wouldn't have mattered - your true self, the fact you were a shinobi, it would have all came closing in eventually. At least in this way you were prepared for the life you would have to eventually lead."

[Axcel]

Wide eyes fell upon the Hokage's faded tattoo. Akuseru found it all hard to believe. They were of similar lineage? The kage of Konohagakure and him, a country boy, shared ancestors? It was all to surreal and the thought of their connection was difficult for him to wrap his mind around. Then the stories he once believed to be exaggerated tales were true. His veins coursed with the blood of legends.

"Inevitable. . ." Akuseru muttered to himself as he listened to the Hokage go on. He spoke as if the life of a shinobi was to be his destiny and that there was no running away from it. Whether or not he was taken brought into Konoha to be trained under the Hokage's accelerated program, his hands would have eventually found its way to a kunai pressed against another's throat. That was his fate according to the Hokage and Akuseru believed every word.

"What can you tell me about my family? My. . . clan?" Akuseru knew that they shared a bond through the marks they bore, but he hadn't the slightest clue. Unaware of the Hokage's own fruitless research, the white haired boy hungered for answers and his leader was currently the only possible source. His parents, clan, and their traditions—he wanted to know it all.

With their newly discovered relation, the Hokage had cleared any of Akuseru's doubts. He was born to be a shinobi—a weapon forged through generations in order to act as Konohagakure's sword.

[Comatose]

Speaking on the past was always awkward, as no one who had such a colorful past as I wished to talk about it, but I saw the necessity in easing the young shinobi's mind. My hand raised to the back of my neck as I recollected, sighing a bit. Those who likened the idea of being a leader to be easy didn't really understand what went into it. Situations like these tested ones ability to lead past any sort of half-measure or fluke, there was truly a right and wrong way to go about this.

"At it's height our clan included some of the most powerful members of Konohagakure, seeded into every vital function of the village - before even it was an actual village. Back then things were a bit different, there was no Hokage, and no real governing structure. Konoha was simply a group of like-minded individuals lead by those they considered to be the strongest, and for many generations that included people of our clan. That's not to say anyone from our clan was better, or different - as far as I can understand everyone was rather mundane. The difference lied in their application, or their will to continue to grow stronger. I guess that's why they call it the will of fire."

I always hated that phrase, likening the whole of the village's progress to a simplistic notion as if it didn't need to be driven. Even this was evidence that our ninja were nothing but human, necessitating 'pep talks' and emotional pampering. Again, perks of a leadership role no one spoke of.

"A group of individuals, shinobi especially, are only as strong as their founding ideals. Our clan fell because eventually, everyone had different ideas of what was right and wrong. Eventually, it simply wasn't a clan anymore, because there was nothing to bind anyone together. That's how I can come from Yuki no Kuni and you Hi no Kuni."

The right and wrong, the ethics of what I was telling young Akuseru eluded me. Should he be told the whole truth or just a fraction of it? Was it wrong to lie, or was it necessary to keep him? I didn't know - no, I didn't care. He was a particular instrumentation of Konoha - a part in my grand symphony. That blood of his, much like Aneun, made him a strong and worthy instrument to be guided into proper use.

These days I could hardly tell if I was myself at all or a product of what I needed to be. Had I always been this cold? My arm flexed and my hand closed into a fist before I pointed out into the desolate distance, to a random pile of rubble that was of little consequence.

"Soon there will be no trace, you understand? We'll be the only generation to know this happened because of a coup de'tat. Soon it'll all be rebuilt - and the history of this place rewritten. Soon we'll be the last one's to remember of our clan. That's what happens and how the world needs to move on. That's why we have to make the most of what is and continue to build Konoha before we're gone."

I turned upon my heel to face him before closing the distance, my hand reaching for his collar before I lifted him from his feet briefly, shoving him down - my breath hastened. We were all still too weak to protect everything we had worked for. It wasn't nearly enough. Power and much more if it, it's what we needed.

"You can't be a fucking kid forever Akuseru. The next time you joke around you might end up dead, or maybe Aneun will die, or Jack, or Sarutobi. ."

He was weak.

[Axcel]

Akuseru followed each and every word that came out of the Hokage's mouth eagerly. After living his life not knowing a thing about himself or where he came from, the boy had grown to accept that he was nothing—a nobody who was born to be an insignificant cog in this world of shinobi. He had accepted it and even learned to enjoy it. Yet upon hearing about this clan he belonged to, no matter how much of a blur their history was, he immediately knew he had been lying to himself. Greatness was what he wanted and it was what he would strive for.

"I guess that's why they call it the will of fire."

Akuseru fell in love with the phrase the moment it was uttered. Though its true meaning was lost to him, something about the words stirred a fire within the boy. He had hoped to find out more about their philosophy, culture, and history in the future. The Genin had never felt a sense of belonging prior to now. Sure he was a shinobi of Konoha, but a relatively new one that had been thrown into a team who had far more years under their belt than him. Mistakes were commonplace and his leadership constantly doubted. He felt like an outsider among even his closest allies. Yet now he knew that his own blood played a vital role in Konoha's development. Akuseru was no outsider—he was finally home.

The air grew more tense before the Hokage continued to speak. What was once cool empathy had been replaced with passion. Like their ancestors, their time on this world was limited. Simply by being a shinobi their life expectancy had been cut dramatically. The boy nodded as he listened. They didn't have the luxury of time and needed to ensure every day had ended with progress.

"I understa—," Before Akuseru could acknowledge the Hokage's wisdom, the had found himself caught off guard and lifted into the air. His own eyes met with the Hokage's, and in them he saw a fire not unlike his own. For a moment he wondered what drove the Hokage. Perhaps it was the will of fire he spoke of—it was in his blood after all. Before he could dwell any longer, Akuseru found himself thrown onto the ground.

"No! I would nev—" He protested immediately, though as the cutting words sank, so did the boy's head as he stared at the ground in defeat. "Y-you're right. . ." Akuseru had grown complacent. Having become a shinobi without the years of foundation most had been building since childhood along with leading two Chuunin had ballooned his ego. Despite the constant errors and mistakes, he thought himself above many of his peers. It was only a matter of time before it was his fault Jack and Aneun were dead.

"I won't let you down...!" His voice rang with confidence as he jumped back to his feet. If Akuseru wished to honor his ancestors and elevate Konoha into a new era of prosperity, then he would need to follow this man who shared his blood. 

"Your orders, my Overlord?" He was not just the Hokage anymore. With Kiri under his control, he had given himself the title of Overlord. The Genin had taken a knee before the Overlord for the first time—a courtesy that had never been demanded of him before. He was committed to his fellow clansmen and fully ready to carry out his duties.

[Comatose]

It had seemed if Akuseru was sated with the explanations I had given him, a true and loyal soldier. He didn't question anything I had said and I didn't give him any reason to. Besides, wasn't it I who had given him food and shelter? Wasn't it I who had clothed him and gave him a new purpose in life? When I brought him to Konoha he was nothing more than a lazy whimsical boy, but now I could see his development, his ascension into greatness. With a nod I eyed his kneeling form, my arm extending as if pointing out to the wreckage of this place.

"When this place was destroyed we didn't clean up to well." I had checked it thoroughly.

"So, there could still be things here that may lead you to more information." I had made sure there wasn't.

"For now, that's all I have you do, to find evidence of our heritage, and discover who you were so you know how to be better." There was nothing substantial left to discover.

I grew tired from the explanations and the recollections they gave me, dwelling on the past often providing nothing but headaches. So, with a simple bound my wings grew, taking me to heights that allowed me easy exit of this place of painful memories. Of the main trio of Team Akuseru only Jack was left who needed a tightening of the leash. It wouldn't be long before he'd be in line with the rest.

|exit