The memories (open)

[Chigokai Yuna]

Ziren stood alone in the Forest of Death. Nowadays this seemed like the only place in which he can gather his thoughts in peace. Strangely enough, he has had a lot of memories here. Not a lot of good ones. But still memories.

He sat down and meditated, thinking, reflecting on things. It wasn't that long ago when he himself hid away from everyone when he had cut his own arm off. Further down the time, Yukio helped him out when Jirosho appeared. Even further back than that was when he once fought someone else here, when he learned who he was. Of being a Chigokai.

Now opening his eyes and looking around, it kind of reminded him when he once went face to face with the mercenary that had pursued him throughout the years. The man that killed his parents, paid to do it by Jirosho, Ziren's own brother. The mercenary has a lot of blood on his hands, the caravan that took Ziren in when he was young, that died in a "forest fire." Who knows how many other people that man has killed.

The scar that wrapped around Ziren's right arm was a constant reminder of what happened that night so long ago. Lately, he has been having nightmares, of the mercenary. Ziren isn't afraid of death, no. He's afraid that he'll be powerless to stop the mercenary once again... But this time its different. Ziren himself has grown strong and won't let that ever happen to anyone he cares about, which is everyone in Leaf.

He knew that day would eventually come. But for now, they will have to deal with the Frost Ninja. Handseals made, and a crystalline beast came out of the ground. Obsidian Dragon. Ziren jumped up onto the back of it. The dragon walked around.

Ziren had nothing really on his mind of why he was here. He guessed to just get away from everything, even if it is just for a moment.

(331)
(MFT)

 

[Uchiha Izura]

“It’s not often that someone comes to this part of the woods.”



Izura’s voice rang out, as he stepped out from seemingly thin air, walking onto a nearby tree branch. Space-time ninjutsu. A rather convenient method of travel, and one that made detection by others….rather difficult.

“Training, I presume?”

He hopped down from the tree branch onto the ground rather casually, and for a brief moment Ziren might’ve been able to see the bandaged sickle and chain holstered at his side, along with assortment of small pouches and storage scrolls. But upon closer inspection, a stone headband, a cloud headband, and a sand headband, all hung from his belt like a collection of trophies. Or perhaps mementos.

No matter- the headband worn around Izura’s waist was unmistakably that of the Leaf, with the symbol of the Uchiha clan clearly stitched into the back of his shirt.

Izura was here for a rather casual reason himself- it was one of the few places in Leaf where total seclusion for training purposes was rather easy to achieve, and the devastatingly dangerous wildlife provided enough challenge for a higher ranking shinobi to hone their skills.

“It’s a good idea, with war on the horizon.”

 

[Chigokai Yuna]

Ziren heard the blood flow before the voice. But he had to admit it, the sudden appearance of blood flow coming out of nowhere surprised him a bit. The Obsidian Dragon stopped and looked over at where the voice came from.

"It is often for me, kind of like a home away from home at times. Good to collect thoughts and reflect on things."

He seen those headbands were hanging from his belt, along with one worn around his waist. This was rather... Ziren didn't know how to react to this. He noticed the Uchiha clan logo, but it'd be best to ask questions. It's not everyday that he comes across someone with multiple headbands. The first thing that came to mind, was he Frost?

If that is the case, Ziren will have to tread carefully. "Tell me. Are you Stone, Cloud, Sand, Leaf, or Frost?" Ziren said the last Village's name coldly, no pun intended. With the confrontation of the Frost shinobi, Ziren has been careful of anything he does, even moreso, staying away from the ANBU branch and a lot of people that are in it, save for his sister, whom he has promised to himself to keep all of their identities a secret. He guessed that during his time of being part of that branch has taught him one thing. To be ready and prepared for anything. And also be wary of the situation at hand.

The man then talked about how this place was the perfect place to train when war was just around the corner.

If this guy was Uchiha, he would do well to not look in the eyes, but instead, found himself looking at the headbands that he wore.

"It is, but who are you?" Ziren asked. He hopes that this man was of the Leaf. Someone who is willing to help out with the war.

 

[Uchiha Izura]

A slight smile crept across Izura’s face.



“Well, it depends on who’s asking, Ziren. Some might see a traitor, some might see a war hero, some might see a criminal, some might see a friend…”

The A.C.M.E hostel’s database had been raided a couple years ago, compromising a copious amount of data, descriptions of almost every shinobi in the Leaf included. Although it was never disclosed who specifically had done it, and the former anbu sennin Takeshi kinda swept the whole situation under the rug. And mysteriously, the database reappeared untouched a few days later, as if nothing had happened. Chalked up to nothing more than an internal security test.

“But in this case, you have no need to worry. I am a Leaf shinobi. The extra headbands- I usually keep those sealed away in a storage scroll. This was little more than a small test, is all.”

His eyes then sparked with intrigue.

“Ah- but that does in fact still leave the question- who exactly am I?”

He crouched down, picking a flower off the ground and examining rather casually.

“My name is Uchiha Izura. Leaf Jounin. Your hokage made some rather shady deals before coming to power as leader over the whole village. He even recruited a former missing-nin like me, on account of my contributions during the Leaf civil war. It’s…..rather interesting, is it not? What shinobi do behind the scenes…”

It was a rhetorical question, and the shinobi simply began to pace towards the dragon, seemingly unconcerned. For a moment there, his heartbeat, his blood flow, perhaps his entire presence save for faint traces of his chakra signature, disappeared entirely as he walked through the dragon like it wasn’t there. Once he emerged on the other side, that incorporeality ceased, and his presence returned once more.

“And in this case…..I’m planning to strike back at Frost. I am evaluating people with a certain set of skills, and so far you have me intrigued. Blood sense? Quite the interesting ability.”

[OOC Note: I wrote this operating under the pretense that the ACME database would at least have very basic information on your character. It would make no sense if absolutely nothing, not even mission records, were mentioned. That being said, if you feel I encroached on knowing too much, let me know and we can figure something alternative out.]

 

[Chigokai Yuna]

Ziren's bloodified eyes narrowed as he watched the man say his name as if it was familiar to him. Then he described who he was. He swears, if this guy is always this shady, he will have to watch his back around him.

Then he said that he had the headbands out as a test. "What sort of test are you conducting? Tell me, were those headbands belonged to the innocent, or from people who were a threat to others?" The Leaf, being allied with Cloud and Sand, and some of the Stone villagers living here, as from his talks with Kenshin, knows better than to just say threat to the Village. But rather a threat to a greater number of people.

Then the man finally introduced himself. Uchiha Izura. He claimed to be someone that worked behind the scenes for the Hokage. Takeshi. He was not surprised. In fact, he knows only of one branch that could do that and be perfectly fine with it. Ziren himself had been a part of it for quite a while before his argument with the current Hokage. He looked down at his left metal arm.

"You think I don't know about working behind the scenes? It's the hard life that sometimes needs to be accepted. But other times, it'd be wise to shine the light in the darkness too."

Then the Uchiha walked towards the Obsidian Dragon, and through it as if he was like a ghost, the blood flow stopping for just a few seconds before returning back again. Though this isn't the typical run of the mill shady shinobi Ziren has met, if what he says is true, then he will need to listen to him.

When Izura said that he will strike back at Frost and that he was studying people. One of which, was Ziren himself. Why? Because blood powers, that's why. He bit the inside of his mouth. He has heard of one other person wanting his powers, and it was a crazed scientist that wanted to experiment on other people.

"It is nothing really. Kind of useless when fighting against human puppets. Believe me, I speak from experience of fighting one." It was true of what he had said. "Why is it that controlling blood, or just having a sense for blood intriguing?"

 

[Uchiha Izura]

“Tracking skills. I believe you have a power that we could use. Blood trail analysis, being able to sense the blood flow in another person. While my tracking is more visual in nature, yours doesn’t require sight. And that in and of itself….is an advantage. What my eyesight would not cover, your blood sense might. And vice versa. The sum is greater than the parts that make up the whole.”

Izura himself knew what it was like to rely on senses other than sight- for two years of his lifetime he had been rendered temporarily blind. Being an Uchiha, he thought he had been done for. The visual prowess of the Uchiha was their pride. Losing it was often devastating for a shinobi. But he had endured during this time, and it had even reduced his reliance on his bloodline’s powers.

“These headbands? They belong to people who never existed. I have a way of…..convincing people to live in a fantasy of sorts.”

Although he was being vague, he wasn’t lying. Izura’s mangekyou had the power of Kotoamatsukami, an immensely powerful genjutsu that allowed such subtle mind control as to implant memories, experiences, and even ideas into the target’s mind, all in an attempt to shape how they perceived the world. It required a moment of respite and concentration, but theoretically it meant that Izura could make most people believe whatever he wished them to.

He smiled, remembering a fight long ago with an individual wielding the human puppet kinjutsu. It was a distant memory by this point, but he still remembered it nonetheless.

“As for the test, you passed. It was nothing more than seeing if you would recognize the small details on a person. Something vital for tracking. I am well aware of your past military records. I was simply curious as to whether or not you had retained ANBU’s skills, or if time in the medical branch has weakened them….”

 

[Chigokai Yuna]

Even with down playing his own blood line, the Uchiha thought otherwise. Then he went on to talk about how he had those of people who never existed. Ziren sighed, shady people speaking in riddles. One thing he will never truly understand.

He didn't have anything to say to the man until he brought up one thing. About Ziren being part if the ANBU. He showed no emotion and said, "I've been in the Main Branch for a long time, only just got picked up by one of the other branches. The Medical Branch." He studied the situation. Now that he thinks about it, he will need to go to Maki, and see to it that they erase the records of any and all people who are ANBU, mainly to keep a safe name of those in the Branch.

Huh, even outside of the Branch, he is still thinking like an ANBU and looking for the best interest of the ANBU.

"My skills are mediocre, and only thing significant about what I can do is take lots of damage, only to heal right back up from it." Another skill he has learned in the Branch, a lot of enemies have fallen because they believed that their opponent was weak, especially when they undermined themselves.

 

[Uchiha Izura]

Izura appeared unconvinced.

“Playing the innocence game? The ANBU indoctrinated you well, I see. This isn’t some interrogation. But if you really didn’t have the skills I think you do, I doubt you’d be here whimsically in this part of the Forest of Death. Someone lacking the proper skills would die here rather easily.”

Izura looked around at the surroundings. His eyes flared to life with the sharingan, the tomoe pattern swirling into position.



“As a matter of fact, this part of the forest is particularly known for it’s giant, man-eating snakes. They could attack any moment now.”



Sure enough, an uncanny tension was in the air….someone, or something, was watching them with predatory intent. Izura's right hand brushed the handle of his Kusarigama, before grasping it. He then began to spin the sickle part of the weapon rather rapidly in a vertical orientation, readied at his waist. The bandages covering the blade came undone as he did this, revealing the worn weapon's freshly sharpened edge. It looked well used, but also well maintained.

“Seems your summon disturbed the environment just enough to piss them off….they’re highly territorial, you know.”

Sssssssssss~

The hissing noise of a large snake could be heard, just beyond in the treeline.

 

[Chigokai Yuna]

Man, this guy isn't letting up at all. With a sigh, Ziren said, "Not playing any games. But you believe whatever you think bud." Ziren said, dismissing the statement. "And as for hanging around the Forest of Death, that was something I had done a lot of times. Even when I was much weaker than I am now. I found it, oddly enough, as a place where I can just relax and reflect on things when all other places seem crowded." That part was actually the truth, as in which he has been around in this area, and the most trouble he has ever had was a bear attacking him. Safe to say, that Ziren, even in his younger years, managed to beat the bear.

He noticed the eyes change to the Sharingan, in which, he averted his eyes fast, wondering if he was quick to avoid the eyes. He then mentioned giant man-eating snakes. The man, then had brought out his weapon, the wrappings that were on it fell off, showing how sharp the weapon actually was.

Then, the man talked about how the snakes are very territorial. And, as if on cue, one made it's presence known. Ziren focused on the noise from where it came from. Listened to the blood. It was big, but nothing he can't handle.

Hand seals were made, and he had performed his clan's ultimate justsu. Blood break. Just by listening to the blood flow of the snake, pin pointing it down, he heard the blood flow stop as a whole, the Chigokai binding justsu doing its job on the snake.

Once he was done, Ziren just listened to the blood flows all around him. Listening for any with adrenaline running in them, as an indication of anything hostile coming.

"You know, it wasn't always like this, of the creature's acting this way. They might sense how tense a lot of people are, in the Village, that tenseness passing on over to the wildlife."

 

[Uchiha Izura]

Izura’s sharingan pattern left his eyes, and he re-holstered his kusarigama. A glint of excitement crossed his face as he noticed Ziren restrain the snake in the treeline beyond.

“You do notice the details. At least…well enough for my purposes~”

He turned, walking away from the direction of the snake, before casually jumping up to a nearby tree branch.

“I will speak with Lord Hokage about….ideas for your next assignment. Suffice to say, I will note that you did indeed restrain the snake…..one that I intentionally led here beforehand.”

He smiled. Izura was certainly quite the enigmatic one. He let Ziren avert his eyes, even though Izura himself knew that with such extensive use of the Eternal Mangekyou, he had reached a level of sharingan power that effectively made it so he did not need to use eye contact to cast genjutsu on others. It was quite surprising for the target to catch someone off guard with a sharingan genjutsu that didn’t require eye contact. He knew the pointlessness of that defense, but he didn’t bother letting Ziren know. Some secrets were better left untold.

“Whether your humility in professing your ability level is real or not, your skills suffice.”

 

[Chigokai Yuna]

Ziren could tell that the snake was near dying, seeming as the lack of blood flow means no oxygen and that is fatal to all living beings. He released his justsu that was on the snake, and listened to it's blood flow as it moved away. He turned to halfway face the Uchiha. As he talked about purposes and whatnot.

"What purposes do you propose?" Ziren was a bit curious on why this man had plans for him. He then talked about how maybe after the war, he'll have another assignment. And then he talked about how he was the one that brought the snake here.

Ziren rubbed the back of his neck, man, looks like I can never get a break, can I? "How long will this assignment take? Because I'm thinking of taking a break and roaming the world after this whole ordeal with the Frost is over."

This man, he sure is the cloak and dagger type of person, that's for sure. He let out a sigh as the man said that Ziren's skill is just enough. No matter how much he had down played it, he guessed that he was dragged into something else now.

 

[Uchiha Izura]

Izura sighed. Perhaps Ziren wasn't as perceptive as Izura had hoped. Nevertheless, it was a learning point. Focusing on one goal so intently to the detriment of maintaining false appearances wasn't exactly a good thing. Luckily Izura didn't necessarily need Ziren to put on a show. Tracking using his bloodline limit was the more lucrative option.

"As I had stated before- the mission involves striking at Frost. As soon as the war is over, I have no doubt you can have your....vacation."

He began to walk away, towards the tree line.

"Expect to be drawn for a mission soon..."

And with that, Izura left the area, walking into a tree as if he were a ghost, before disappearing entirely...

[Topic Left]

 

[Chigokai Yuna]

The man corrected Ziren. He himself did a face palm, for having a brain fart moment. So busy trying to convince the man that he wasn't part of the ANBU branch, in the past time, that he had fumbled over his own words. And then he talked of having a mission soon.

Ziren sighed, well, if that is the case, then he will need to show this Uchiha that he can carry out this mission and not fall under pressure.

He seen the man disappear into a tree, leaving the Chigokai and the Obsidian Dragon alone. "That dude sure is weird. But if he is willing to fight against the Frost, then I guess I don't mind him."

Ziren rode his dragon to the outskirts of the Forest, before jumping off of it, and it poofing out of existence. He walked back into the Village, thinking about the weird encounter he had.

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