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I shook my head as I watched the boy's struggle. It was almost adorable, the way that the human being would struggle against any sort of adversary, even their own weak bodies, when given the chance. The boy should have known better than to attempt to rise, but when he fell down again, I shook my head, turning my body completely to face him instead of simply letting my eyes linger upon him. With a soothing gesture, I spoke, the words just as soft as before.

"Rest and be at ease. I require nothing of your actions. You must simply recover." With the words spoken, a smile that never reached my eyes displayed upon my features. The perfect countenance of pure joy lay resplendent upon my face, no matter that it was completely fake. I was, after all, a natural born liar, a man talented at getting what it was that I wanted. I had long used my ability to deceive to splinter, destroy, and conquer any and all of the things that I had wanted. It would be no different in this situation.

Despite my actions, the boy seemed more inclined to struggle for a few more moments before simply nodding his head towards me. When he spoke, a small chuckle escaped my lips, the pitched sound echoing through the slums. It was not a malicious chuckle; nay, it was a sound of pure mirth, completely unfaked. So this boy would have me be his master? That was fine. As I had said, there was a way to use everybody. I would simply need the time to find the best way to use this boy.

"You may call me Oketsu-dono, if you would like." Nodding my head towards him, I'd turn around once more and continue my walk towards the village. Of course, the Satetsu cloud, and the boy resting upon it, would follow. That was simply the way things worked.

So, this was the slums, then? The rest of Takigakure restored to glory, but here in this place, the wreckage was still clearly visible. It was here, in this place, that I found myself reminded of the War that I had witnessed. It was here, in this place, that I could remember what had been, where this village was destroyed. It was here, in this place, that I could take a vow to myself never to let the destruction of this village pass without the spectre of Vengeance claiming its just desserts.

I walked through these slums, these buildings wrecked and shattered, aged with time, and I shook my head. This part of town would have once led to a hidden path, kept secret by the members of my family, the Odou, who had once been like royalty within Takigakure. As a child, I had taken that path and learned the forbidden arts of my family, secrets stolen from Sunagakure no Sato and claimed as my family's own. My family's, not this villages.

I could still remember when I had asked for reacceptance to the village, a runaway Genin who had slaughtered members of Sunagakure, members of the famed Zantetsuken bloodline... I remember as they spoke, claiming that gaining a Zantetsuken would be good for the village. It was for my blood that I was 'forgiven', for my blood that they would have used me. I found myself scoffing at the thought. I, who was as a God, to be used as a simple soldier in this village's foolish little wars.

It was good, then, that this village was destroyed. It was good that it had been brought back from the brink of annihilation and restored, its streets empty beyond the other fool with him I had battled the Sanbi with. This was a place which could be twisted into my image. This was a place that I would finally be able to call home. As my mouth twisted into a vicious smile, I heard a rustle of movement. My head turned, letting the glowing blue eyes resting in their sockets stare as a pile of rubble collapsed in upon itself.

It would have been natural for items to eventually grow weak with time and to collapse... but I had a feeling. An inkling of an idea that there was somebody there, and I found myself filled with rage. Someone would have thought it possible to come into my new home? Someone that I had not given permission to? The other Sanbi-blessed idiot beside, I would allow none to enter my presence without first asking me to grace them. I extended my hand, and I released my chakra, letting it fill all of the metallic debris in the area and watched as it all crumbled into dust.

It was as this dust moved and shifted that I saw the pale, outstretched arm, and I shook my head. So the fool had died? It was the least that he deserved for being inside of my realm. I began a brisk walk over towards him, my short legs carrying me the distance as briskly and firmly as the could. As I moved over the debris, I let my hand fall, and with it did the Satetsu that had been born. However, I had not lost control over it - that was only a fool's assumption. Instead, my Satetsu would find itself burrowing under the debris and, in just a moment, the iron sand would have gone underneath the body and pushed it out and upwards, through the rubble and into the open air.

It was then that I would be able to view the body. Judging by appearance only, it was a teenage boy, though slim, who wore a loosely fitting, striped black and white shirt. His body, incredibly thin and frail, spoke of someone who only just found enough food to survive. He held in his hands a teddy bear, an obvious remnant of his childhood. My face twisted, hatred covering every portion of my body as I stared at this... weakling. It took all that I had not to simply rip the body of this insolent fool to shreds...!

I was, however, more practical than that. If the child still lived, there was always the chance that he could serve some greater purpose for me. As it was, he would be a waste, even for a corpse. I shook my head in disdain but leaned down and pressed my head against the boy's chest. Did I hear a heart beat...?