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Naniyori stepped off of the road once more, onto the colorless dirt of the area that made up the outside of the village. The sand was a dark ground of course, but that was something that became blurred in a shinobi's mind after so long, due to the wandering nature of their lives and it's constantly changing surroundings. To see a desert with the real sand, the thing that these wet clay and dirt grains resembled so closely, would be nothing short of odd for any shinobi not from the desert, after so long when he had spent with the strange grains of their endless brown sea. Sure, the dirt had a texture much like any other, but it was wholly different...the dirt always seemed alive with the lightening in the hidden village of clouds, and more so with something that electrical atmosphere, making it very similar to a constantly changing world. It was almost like to tell there was a chakra about the village, and in it he was reminded of the natural chakra of the world, which ebbed and flowed as if it in itself were one of the living substances of the world around them. It was possible that there was something about it that made the world alive, and that they were being watched, but that was what made the outside world much more unbearable to hidden cloud shinobi than the village that they lived in, even when it was rapped in eternal twilight. There was always a sense of presence in the village hidden in the clouds, of something being alive and responded when things changed in the world, bu elsewhere there was no life...there was simply dirt, and then the lives that covered it. There was a distinct difference that any hidden cloud shinobi could tell, and to some, it might have been a driving force to believe that their village was superior to that of the pathetic shinobi that they were constantly at odds with. Naniyori didn't feel nearly that way though, looked at the musty wet dit'...he had long ago cast aside the living atmosphere of the village, and spent a great deal of time in the world that was so much different. He had become accustomed to green, to life, everything living flowing around him whether it was aware of his presence or not, unlike the area around the village where things were different. In the Hidden Cloud village, many shinobi were mindless fools, and they spent their entire lives unaware that they were surrounded by such an encompassing presence, too ignorant to be able to sense things around them appropriately, constantly aster with the thunder of life. Every creature that bore the lightening within them was aware of every other creature of the same nature, if they were near enough, but they always forgot that there was the essence of the village itself in everything, ready to crush any unwary travelers or shinobi if they were so lost in the midst of their special home. There was always something that one could feel around them, and Naniyori had long ago become aware of this, taking it as one of the most important things to note if he were to become a permanent resident of this village, spending his life there. He was now born a hidden cloud ninja, he had once felt the bitterness of being a heartless wanderer, and eventually he had grown beyond that to someone who understood the world around him, and to whom the nature of death and the loss to the world's cruel self meant nothing. Even now he remembered, that when he had first left he had been very lost...and when he had thought of laying down to die, the countryside had seemed to begin to move, and he found himself being sucked in. It was possible that he had simply stepped into the wrong side of nature, but more than likely, it had been the spirit of nature itself at work, drawing in life to sustain itself once more. None would ever think of it, but nature may have been the biggest devil of all, absorbing all the energy of those who lost their way in life while serving others. If they lost purpose, or lost their desire to fight and kill any longer then it would turn against them, and only a stern will would appease it once more. That was why a shinobi would not have to fear the world around it, and would continue to strive to devour the lives of others, while a shinobi of lesser constitution might simply vanish, its existence becoming meaningless as it died. Naniyori had no intention of ever becoming a part of that cycle, and in fact his awareness may have given him part of the aversion to the world that he had, even as a shinobi, to never step foot within the world without a care. It probably had its humble beginnings in the depths of time, just like every other spirit...many people had said that the nature was a living entity. Naniyori didn't believed that literally; there was no cause, when the Earth was still rich with life and covered by those who inhabited it and who continued to further their growth of life and rebirth, continuing on until their pathetic race would run it's existence's course and die out. But, Naniyori had heard the story once, and whether it was true or not did not matter; there was merit, and the possibility that resided within it that the story had an impact and had once upon a time been true, or some part of it. Once upon a time, it had been said that universe died, from the torture that it endured during the early years of creation in which the earth was born. The attacks that still happened today in the way of supernatural events that no one could explain were probably the spawn of the hatred that still remained. The spirit of the world had wept for all that it lost, and in doing so cried itself to death, sending the vengeful and spiteful spirit into the the universe. But the universe had no use for such a terrible tragedy, nor could it accept one with such repercussions easily. So the Earth itself, in longing for peace in the oblivion that once existed, had transformed it's malice into an intangible form, one it could sustain...and that power was still present. The humans could praise the earth, still harvest the grounds that made it up, and prosper there on it's behalf, but the Earth felt no peace because of the strain of eternity. So, taking the spirits of the Humans it despised as it's own weapon, the universe's pain began to gather the vengeful and the hateful spirits of human beings, and turn them into malicious spirits similar to it in nature, which made up the demons and ghosts of the world and with the ability to return to the Earth to wreak their revenge. That was their reward for ruining it in life, was to have their own souls ruined and turned against their loved ones in death. It was a disturbing compilation that Naniyori had heard from a fading shinobi, one who was old and ready to lose his life to the many beasts that wandered the world, but would have gladly given his life due to the nature of his life...constantly fighting in the name of his country and village. That man had decided to return to the earth, unsatisfied, so that his life might be subsided by that small amount. That was what he had said- those who died in the wars, losing their love of battle and choosing a death rather than an eternity of fighting, would give their lives and in doing so, choosing to no longer wreak havoc upon the corpse of the world, give it a small semblance of peace. When enough lives had chosen not to wreak havoc, but to pay with their lives for the boundless slaughter...then the world itself might be purified. Naniyori had seen an obvious flaw in this though, although he had not parted a dieing man from his peace. The truth was that the only thing that changed a man was a his own convictions, and that conviction was something that was left lacking from the occasion. A shinobi's death, if what the theory said was true, would merely be as one suffering feeding on another; giving more strength to it's malice, and taking away the chances the world would have peace. Every death by that means would merely make it more likely that the world never reached that point, and would make it harder for the earth to reach it's end...something that Naniyori did not want for anyways. Thus, he had allowed it to transpire, because then the shinobi's life would feed the life of this truly remarkable realm. No, in the grand scheme of things, the war between shinobi was wholly was insignificant. If the world was merely manipulating men into spirits, creating it's soldiers, then those who chose peace striking down their ranks would do nothing to harm the one in charge, the thing that had created it all; the original malice of the universe. It would take a peace of equal proportions to that malice, a "blade" in the form of unequivocal understanding itself to choose to put an end to the war and purify the suffering of the world's creation. But this tale was only known by the wisest shinobi, and no blood drunk men, so they would never have the true idea of how they might fell the "evil" that had cast it's shadow over the world for so long. Besides which, it would take a unity in the world that would never come about, and that none of their combatants would even be capable of comprehending; a unity not dissimilar to a kage, a warrior that had consumed hundreds of lives and forged them into one legacy, in order to prove their worth. Only when all of the human race was consumed, and all of the Earth's inhabitants to boot, would the blade be strong enough to cut through the darkness that had been so strong, it had become a dimension encompassing hatred. And then, all would simply have been reduced to naught, with that single body, all the chakra in the universe combined into one thoughtless entity, and the point that the Earth's embedded hatred had been working towards would be reached regardless of the intentions of shinobi who had come before it. Things would exist in their two truest forms; the uttermost mass of empty existence, in the form of a barren Earth as it had been before the conception of humanity, and a pure chakra body that held no attachments to the physical realm at all. Then things would stay like that for eternity, or they would choose the alternative option; to fuse, and restart everything from the beginning. The Earth would gain it's life once more, and in time animals and life would prosper again; for a time. Then humanity, or something of a similar nature would manifest, and in time it would all come to pass again, an endless cycle that mocked the very rights and lives that everything and everyone had lived, all of them having never accomplished nothing. Something like that, Naniyori could hardly believe, but the pains in the world were a reminder of it's potential...

Naniyori then looked at the sky, in it's pale, moon filled reflection of his inner feelings. It was true that as a shinobi one never bore a full heart again, but to most their empty spirits moved and there was proof that they had once again returned to the potential of feeling, awakening their chakra; the core of being. They even had the capacity for love and devotion, things that were only given to humans and not to training shinobi, until they graduated. But then the spirit was wounded by the life of pain, signifying a loss of something else, of which he could never be sure. A shinobi's chakra formed around their body according to their personality in a way, and an indication to their true selves might be found merely by where it lay. Then again, he'd heard a rumor of those whose wounds in life were similar to their spirit; and perhaps there was something to that. One who was missing an eye might not be capable of true insight, and might be easily blinded with pride and their own resolve for power. They could gain a great deal of strength, but they would never be able to surpass others in the area of battle comprehension and strategy. Or at least, they would never be able to see the devotion that was required to their work to foresee what might happen in battles. They could strategize, but they might not see all the alternatives, in the way that foresight might have helped. They were still well aware of the present however, and were often masters of their surroundings, and the battles that they engage in until they fought someone of a higher train of thought. Or someone who had simply written off all but the tangible from their lives; those warriors would still possess the ability to defeat someone like that in their raw area of expertise, having been set on even playing ground. Those two battlers, locked together in heated combat might be a spectacle that even Naniyori feared to see, and that he would eventually fall away from, having no intent for death. Although, with the placement of his wounds, those that he felt most closely to the heart, that hardly compared and he still had the comprehensible ability to defeat anyone who he was faced that had such a hole- one that marked them as foolish and blind to the coming future. Although someone who's wounds resided near their midsection, in a sign that their torso might be compromised was an easy sign of their weakness physically and in the feel of brute war. Those people were often intelligent, brilliant even, and were far prepared for the future in their battles, often having their foes come to a battlefield that they had prepared instead of the other way around. It was this type of person, he knew, who often won things in a bit of a drawn out manner, as he experimented and employed more things than most shinobi who relied on brute force would in battle. However, when compared to one who's eye was removed by example, they were extremely mismatched, due to the previous foe's tenacity. If they were able to avoid the frontal, then their deviousness would still often prove unsuccessful in crushing the enemy's spirit, and the one whose eye was removed would be able to overpower his opponent when he continued his assault. Only if the one who had a wound near their torso was willing to accept that their attacks would probably fail, and who had prepared exactly for that contingency would have a chance, but a human of that nature tended to be far too smug to do something like that and accept their loss. The biggest reason for this was because a shinobi who had reached that point, had to have defeated countless others who were just like the opponent who was so tenacious, and overcome them all through it's intelligence. The world of shinobi was dog eat dog after all, so it wasn't like there was an easy walk to becoming a true shinobi, and they would have to have survived encounters to that point. Naniyori had been short by comparison to other shinobi in his youth, and had often found himself on the wrong end of their deadly glares, before silencing them in an endless battle simply to prove that he was capable of living. He knew what it was like to struggle endlessly just so his existence wasn't for naught, and it was for that reason that he would never accept being return to the nothingness. No, more than that...he was created like that, as a shinobi, and that was why he knew what his scar on his chest meant for him, and any others like him. It was the missing heart, still prominent like the growing shinobi's before graduation, that showed that he had regained no sense of morality, or of longing and pride over their work and their intelligence, nor had he solidified himself into the role of an endless warrior who would live and die on the battlefield. If your wounds resided over your chest, you were free to make the most decisions, ignoring everything that drove the mindless shinobi that roamed the world. But you would be driven by logic, driven by instinct, and driven by all the things that powered Humans save for the one that had separated them in the first place; they would not be driven by their petty feelings, and their emotions that had been cast off when they lost their hearts to their transformation through training. When a shinobi slew their opponent, they felt no remorse and accepted it as the best way to preserve themselves and become stronger. When Naniyori, or any shinobi to his nature killed someone, he knew that it was the most logical course of action, and he would not allow anything to persuade him otherwise. After all, a foe left today would come back tomorrow, stronger and with that indeterminable strength that came with vengeance. Naniyori could never feel it, but he would be able to determine it logically to a point. Even if he never knew what was in the mind of someone who had lost their dearest friend, or whose life was encompassed by destroying another, he could understand the hate that resided there, and he knew that it was one of the best driving forces in the world. He would simply overcome it thanks to it's weaknesses; like any true warrior would be capable of doing. Someone who struck with vengeance had a dull sword; they did not focus, they did not comprehend the greatest scheme when they were directly before the one who had driven them mad. The greater the time between the defeat and the return even, the stronger the resolve to kill the one who had brought about the emotions, and the more clouded the vision when they returned. All that hate released at once made the ability to strike and do damage incomprehensible in comparison to what Naniyori per say could do, but they could not keep their teachings and their understanding in check at all. They lunged forward with tear filled eyes, and he simply moved. He remembered the swordsmanship that he had learned, the fighting style he had crafted, and they shunned the skills they had been taught for that opening strike, imagining that one rage-filled slice being able to cut through the darkness with their emotions poured into it. That was the sort of opponent he loved cutting down the most, because they were ignorant...they were filled with wrath...they were everything he could never be. The driving force behind those people made him, a shinobi bereft of his heart's content, the deadliest killing machine, even to those whose bodies bore much greater power than his own. Because he had unlimited focus...

Naniyori looked towards the raised walls in the distance, recognizing the strong, hard, solid cement that made up the very smallest parts of the village. He could have no love for any place and called it home like others did, but he had once forged himself a home. He had made it in the outskirts of Hidden Cloud, where all shinobi of the Mayaniri lived at some point, and it had been the place where he trained and raised his skills. He had even met his master near it, but he would never betray that secret to most, whereas his master had learned it during their first meeting. It was the place where he struck out from, where he used as a shield, and that was what he felt a home to be without any pathetic sentiments attached to it. He still remembered when he walked in it, and he pictured himself looking around in his mind. On the floor there were mats, the same that covered a fairly badly furnished home. Looking up the wall, he saw that the sky was visible and as such, the half full moon that always graced his favorite day of the night with it's presence had given him light at all times. The walls themselves were tall, mansion like and capable of keeping out most anything, with the hole in the roof even being slanted so that a spying person overhead might not understand that there was something in the midst of the hidden home in the trees. Looking at the lower portion of the wall, he saw more of the equipment he had arranged to take from his clan, scattered against the walls that were forming his home. That was why it had stood; there were would all around it, making it blend in with its surroundings. No skills that a weak shinobi like those who dwelled near him knew were able to find something since that, when it was created and cast from wood in the first place, and it had been one of the most excellent places for him to hide his home one would probably ever find. The place had been littered with a bit of dirt, something that looked like a an unkempt person's home, except for everything that he had made from the items he acquired from the village when he went home. He had even made, a training scarecrow out of wood and such and it's straw inside strung together with rope, allowing it to stick in the ground outside. He had remembered it, and used it for his basic hand to hand...which he now forgot why for, having long since cast off hand to hand as not his main ability. It had been exactly like he said; a warrior's training home, prepared to aid him in his quest for power, and the obliteration of all shinobi who crossed his path at the time, when he had appeared as a victim to some. Now it was merely an empty husk of rotting wood, and he had not been there in some time. Most of what he had he had taken from there, and now placed in the village. Hidden Cloud...a place that he no more called home than the previous place of residence he had. It was a barracks in a way, filled with many warriors all ready to give their lives who were put through habitual training instead, and experiments by the quack doctors that Naniyori had long since found to be the most dependable of all of Hidden Cloud. Their ANBU's assassin skills were powerful, but they was easily the one who held the longest grudges, and that was something that clouded their judgment. It was similar to the shinobi with a wound for their eyes, and he knew that while primarily a good use of a warrior, as someone to send forth and eliminate the target without any second questioning, there was also that obvious flaw that would never fail to catch him in a pinch when the time came. Their swordsmen weren't even traditional shinobi, and while dependable in that right alone, they had already made themselves clear. They were unstable in more than a few ways, quick to tip their hats to anyone, and would dodge out of a fight if they thought that they had no more chance of winning with ease. They were not assassins like ANBU, nor were they ones of significant war-power like Jounin, so their fickleness was a weakness that the village could not easily endure. At least, he placed little dependency upon the warrior to stay at his side when the need came. The Raikage was a leader who lacked all characteristic leader traits; he would not necessarily stay behind for any of his subordinates, he was away from his men more than half the time and never get them detailed instruction when he wanted something done. He asked that they come at his beck and call, and nothing more, even to the need that they prepare for their next fights...only that they still be at his whim. A man with a thirst for power, and no use for it, was as good as sand in a broken hourglass. It would simply slip away as time went by, and Naniyori was attempting his best to repair that break before time was too late; although whether he could without ruining the Raikage's wrath or not, he couldn't tell. There were so many causes in the village, so many people of their own eccentricities that he could easily live with them, but he would never be sure if he could stand at the end of all things, his blade next to their against the enemy. But for now, he would rely on them, and assume that when he had brought the world it's peace, they were still there to enjoy it in the same manner that he was. But ultimately, the idea of wounds, the world, and all of that was mere speculation. Something that a shinobi in trianing shouldn't have focused so much time on.
481

Naniyori sighed, having wasted far too much time while he was waiting for the fleeting danger to pass, and looked at the map again. he'd already seen a number of the places that were suggested on the map, three in fact, but that didn't mean that there wasn't more to pay attention to if one was being wary. Looking at the number four, one of the least beautiful kanji in the world, or so experts say, Naniyori laughed a bit humorously and thought about what it truly meant to be something that was so strange that it was considered with low regard and deemed ugly or worthless. It was a term that made no sense to apply to a number, something that could not change it's form and that people used daily, being something that reach into infinity and beyond while revolutionizing the world so that everyone could speak a unified language in a way. That was the power of numbers, and although naniyori may not have understood the minds of those who gave such inconsequential things their values, Naniyori couldn't help but think that such a job and such a belief was superfluous and only showed how the one who had given it it's rank in beauty must have felt, trying to impose themself upon something that would never change and in doing so make something that would give them memorability in the world. It was pathetic to think of such insignificant pests trying to adapt their form of belief into a widely accepted idea such as that, and more surprising was the fact that many people believed it. Even so, if people thought that the number four was weird, then it would be a way of expression that fit the fourth location on the map, the home of the not so prestigious akamichi clan that was said to pass down wide girth amongst their family. Naniyori wondered how those who kept themselves in such bad shape could prove to be such a well respected ninja clan, but he was one to know that there were a great many amazing things in the world of the shinobi and it wasn't wise to go around trying to figure out why each one happened to be successful in the least. Even so, now that he thought about it he recounted a tale he'd heard that involved their clan having a secret weapon, something that amplified their already tremendous amount of physical strength into that which very few people in the world could compare with. On top of whatever mystery this was, something that likely had to do with their large and gluttonous habits, was the fact that they were well known for their body enhancements jutsus, and an amount of strong physical power that was hard to determine from all of the flab that seemed to build up on the fatsos. They were said to be able to enlarge their body and then harden and propel it with chakra, or extend only body parts at will in order for them to catch things and do things that would require a giant. Even solid boulders rarely had a consistency that could handle the attacks of this clan, and Naniyori had to admit that the stories of their physical strength alone were impressive beyond what one would expect from such vicious and powerful guys who seemed to be just so large. It was a reason to make them one of the feared clans of the Hidden Leaf village, if not quite as prestigious and talented as the Hyuuga and their very adaptable martial arts and special eye blood line techniques. They were the best partner clan for one of the others that held sway in the village, though not nearly as adaptable in their fighting style and much easier to meet in the overall style in which they used. Their supreme taijutsu was usable by many shinobi, and there were techniques of various forms that were arguably as strong as those which they used in battle. Their partner clan however, the Yamanakas, had skills that were very difficult to come by and excelled at both emotional and mind altering jutsus. Unlike the ninjutsus of the Nara clan, which were quite formidable and allowed them to tkae over an opponent's actions and strike without much of a resistance, and the Achimichi clan's large and powerful taijutsus which were able to crack boulders and the like, the Yamanakas were capble of powerful genjutsu, one of the most effective weapons on the battlefield. It was said that they had the ability to alter the emotions of an opponent, making it hard for the opponent to keep a calm head in battle, and even going so far as to make them possibly love the user, lowering their guard completely. It was a terrifying aspect of their jutsus that made them extremely powerful in long range combat. Of course, with such varying genjutsus that carried such wide areas of effects, it was idiotic to think that they were good for close range combat like the other two and it was best to never let an opponent know you had a Yamanaka with you if you wanted to combat the enemy safely with their skills. One of their best known and most basic techniques was the body switch technique, which allowed them to suppress the soul of their opponents and take over their bodies for a short period of time in order to use them in powerful tactics. It was much easier to get information from the enemy personally when they were unaware that it was you, even down to the chakra signature, and you were able to be one of their allies in the heat of a conflict, or otherwise. The jutsu had a few draw backs of course. Obviously, when the body was taken whatever damage was inflicted to the soul or to the body would reflect upon both, and thus they were twice as vulnerable. Further more, the original host body could not move, being empty of a soul, and that made them victims to the opponent's attack if they were not successful with their initial ability and didn't have backup. Finally the ability was well known to have shot forward the user's soul, so if it was a failure in capturing the body of a powerful enemy then the soul would take several minutes returning to it's original host, and they would be completely vulnerable. Luckily most of the Yamanaka clan were capable of using a more advanced jutsu that involved switching the targets in an opponent's mind, making them their own worst enemy in the long run. naniyori had heard of it's uses in battle before, and could only assume it worked in the way that it had been described to him. First the user made a handseal, forming it in the direction of the enemy. Then they shot forth a powerful amount of chakra that was similar to a genjutsu, and which caused the mind of the user to nearly change completely, taking friends for foes and visa versa. It was a much more effective jutsu that not only allowed the user to gain a companion in the battle that was actually comprised of the enemy's own ranks, it also allowed them to keep their soul in their body. They no longer had to send their soul forth from their bodies and as such, didn't keep themselves open so that they could still fight while their target became a useful tool themselves. It was an effective idea to put them with the other two clans, the Nara with their impressive intelligence at the lead, and that explained the reason behind the three clans being easily labeled four five and six on his map. After all, they were close knit units that were practiced in strong genjutsu, ninjutsu and taijutsu that were all clan specific, carried in their kekigenkais and as such even then they were capable of skills far stronger. While their weaknesses may have been greater, as a unit it meant that they could cover for one and other in considerably easy fashion. Naniyori had to admit that it was a formidable cause of why fighting like that would be much wiser than the single man's skills style that the village hidden in the clouds used. Then again, they were a village that had fiercer warriors and who trained much harder, making them vicious in battle, sometimes enough so to make up for a full team if they were separated. He came from the proud bloodline and was ready to put his life on the line to prove he was the best. Naniyori was just about to fold the map when he noticed another destination on the map that he hadn't seen before; number seven in the book of Konoha, the village hidden in the leaf's very own bug wielding clan. Naniyori nearly laughed, realizing that he hadn't seen them before in the guide and that they were a quite useful clan in doing so. he knew that he'd heard of another clan of the village hidden in the leafs before and now that he thought about it, he remembered that there was a story about those who used teh destruction bugs, a swarm that absorbed chakra from the opponent at a rate that made even the strongest chakra users wish that they hadn't met. It was Aburame clan, one that had held an actually very considerable amount of sway in the wars before the great village. Naniyori remembreed hearing how even though they received almost no acclaim, in honesty the clan was one of the most adept at war and were very useful at swarming the enemy and destroying their opponents without ever getting a shinobi of their own harmed. That was because they attacked with swarms and swarms of destruction bugs and overwhelmed their enemy's attacks, even though they had no particular skills of their own. Since their ammunition was living creatures, the bugs could easily reproduce when they had some downtime and that would easily restore their weapons, making them capable of wielding and fighting with enemies for days on end whereas the enemy might lose kunai and all sorts of valuable fighting tools as the situation progressed. Moreover, even if they were unable to remove the enemy's weapons from the picture, the insects fed on chakra and in doing so were able to feed on their enemies, so any fallen shinobi became a meal that made the swarm much stronger and using certain jutsus like ninjutsu became nearly worthless against him. That was why it was that these bug handlers were so well known, and Naniyori wondered why it was they received so little respect by comparison to their other clans and the village itself. It seemed like they were always in the shade, and he wouldn't be a little surprised if they had built up a bit of resentment about it overall. Naniyori smirked, realizing now that they were the closest in the village to the wall that was displayed on the map, that separated into the Uchiha's home, the one clan that held the most say in matters of the past; or in reality, the least. He imagined that because the head of the Hokages in the beginning had been part of a clan that despised the Uchihas that there was resentment, and even if that wasn't true it seemed like they were segregated from the village. If they hadn't been nearly destroyed by one of their own, then they all might have ended up fighting against their own village and giving the Hidden Cloud what they were looking for. But there had been no signs of a rebellion and as such, even now he wondered why it had so befallen their clan that all but a few of the pantywastes that were left had been destroyed in that fateful night. The Hidden Cloud had a number of uneasy shinobi in their ranks, but not clan was dumb enough to pull such a large massacre, or an incident like that unless they wanted to be purposely segregated and punished for disturbing the peace of the village that had taken all of the min. It was the way of the hidden cloud to be fierce and strong and no rebellious actions would be accepted, unless the enemy wanted a window of opportunity to attack. With such a thought hanging above their heads, Naniyori and the hidden cloud refused to let clans sslip up; it was an action that would cost them dearly if they were to ever try such actions.

Naniyori folded teh map closed, having taken enough time for his little tourist trip from training in order to find out a bit more about the hidden village of the leaves that lay ahead. Deciding that it was time to practice, Naniyori realized that he would have to have some room since the closed in nature of the forest was something that they did not train well for in the hidden village of the clouds, and so the shinobi let a smirk cross his face as he grabbed his sword, slicing in a large arc around him as a number of trees were felled. The shinobi turned again, doing the same to another row, and made sure that he had a space wide enough for his basic training to take place. Once he was done, he placed the sword on his back and realized he would have to clear out the tress and logs that he had left laying on the ground in such heaps as they were, and the fact that they were so large and messy meant that they would be in teh way of his training. Bringing his hands together, Naniyori smirked and struck a few of the basic necessary ones before opening his mouth. "Kage Bushin no Jutsu!" He shouted, causing a puff of smoke to appear before another one of the clones appeared, this one being solid and made with the exact same amount of chakra as him. Turning, he realized that there were three more, making for a total of five of him, exactly as he intended. The three quickly went to work on a tree while the original Naniyori and himself began hoisting a large tree up onto their shoulder to take away, and Naniyori was quickly reminded of the usefulness of such a simple jutsu. The lightening clone was made for being struck and using a counter against the opponent, but if they simply used a kage no bushin jutsu and made normal clones, they could be put to such tasks as manual labor. Realizing that clearing things out would take too long with this normal jutsu, Naniyori sighed and put his hands together, performing a string of handseals once more as he built up the chakra of the five selves that he had crafted, before striking the final one which was almost exactly the same as before. "Mass Replication technique!" The five shouted in unison, a sign of the intelligence of the man and his five clones who quickly acted as one. A number of puffs of smoke filled the area, making it nigh unviewable until the wind quickly blew it away, revealing nearly a couple hundred of himself. Naniyori smirked, and the clones immediately went to work while the original stood in the midst, thinking over how useful a technique that had been originated and put into practical use right here in the village of the hidden leaves truly was. He'd heard that using the mass replication technique, one could experience things much faster than they would normally be able to, and they were all capable fighters even if they only had a portion of the user's chakra to help them fight with. Naniyori also knew that with the excess, far surpassing the original five that the normal kage bushin no jutsu could make, it would be much easier for one to file out and cover a wide area, learn intelligence from the enemies, and do things that allowed the original to analyze his opponent and understand what their powers were. Naniyori had never experienced such a skill first hand, but with it's proper use he now realized the applications of such a technique and how one whose skills weren't as pathetic as the ninja of the hidden leaf could use it. It was only a matter of time until he was caught in battle himself, and when he was he would be able to use them in quite an effective method, even if it meant that he would have to be much more creative and avoid his opponent whereas he normally liked to get into head on, close combat with his broad sword and unique techniques. Naniyori sighed, watching the are clear out, and nodded as one of them looked at him, before turning and shouting to the others that it was time to dismiss. The number of shadow clones that had existed struck simple handseals, and then they disappeared in a puff of smoke befitting the loss of so many clones, filling the air with a wide array of smoke. Noticing a deer that roamed the woods of the village hidden in the leaf, Naniyori smirked and quickly made his way to it, having leaped into the branches so that he could be concealed easily. The moment he was close enough, the shinobi leaped down, grinning as it bucked in surprise at his arrival. "Now! Inner Decapitation Technique!" Naniyori said, striking a single handseal. A moment later, he was staring down at the deer, whose head was sticking futily out of the ground. It let out a few squeals, and Naniyori sighed as he struck the ground with his sword, allowing a crack big enough for it to escape from. The moment that creature reared to charge at him however, Naniyori brought his hands together, knowing a useful skill for easily escaping a difficult situation when it came into play. This was one that, when combined with the Inner Decapitation Technique, was quite effective at stopping the enemy from avoiding attacks and capturing them in the ground. "Body Flicker Skill." Naniyori said, watching the beast charge at him. It snarled fiercly, making a normal and casual deer seem much fiercer than it normally was, but as it rushed through the place he had been standing Naniyori was gone, having masked his presence with a number of leaves before leaving. Back in teh open ground where he had cleared the woods a bit for him to train, Naniyori sighed and rolled his next, cracking it so that he wouldn't die from boredom after all of the useless training he'd been doing. These techniques were far too simple for someone like him, and he wanted to learn something that involved much more compression, power and discharge. Sadly the most effective technique that he could think of immediately was the Chidori, and that was a technique that only someone like Kakashi Hitashi had been able to use, so it was out of the question even for a lightening user like himself. Thinking of the man who knew one of the most effective techniques, ironically, brought about the thoughts of the worst and Naniyori shook his head as he thought of the skill. "One thousand years of pain...what idiocy IS that?" naniyori said, remembering that it was a skill that involved using the fingers to jab the opponent in a place that was foul for both the user and the abused. It was a skill that he was fairly sure that he would never use, especially with the ludicrous nature of it, and Naniyori practically shuttered at the thought. It had even been said to have felled the kage of the wind village, or the village hidden in the sand and Naniyori didn't want that explained to him. It was a techique that was meant to humiliate the one it was used on, and Naniyori was sure that it did just that, but he had far too much respect for his opponents to use such a technique.Thinking of the physical jutsu of the village, Naniyori was reminded of the one that was said to have been used by one of the Uchihas after stealing it from one of the other students at his Chuunin exams. "The Peregrine Falcon Drop, huh?" Naniyori said thoughtfully, ignoring the fact that it was a simple maneuver as far as physics went. He could easily apply the motions of the body, rapping someone in a lock that caused both of the combatants to descend at the same time, the victim having their head driven into the ground in the end, and it required almost no chakra to use. It was a simple application of physical force, and Naniyori was fairly sure that he had become capable of using physics when he was able to wield a blade that was far exceeding the usual limits of a human body with such ease. While he was on the subject of that telltale eye technique that the Uchiha used however, he was reminded of some of the other abilities of the Uchihas. He wasn't well versed in the fire style, but there was a technique that was easier to use than some that revolved around the use of the flames of one's will and a bit of chakra infused as well, and he knew just how to go about it. He'd seen the handseals before, and with as much time on his hands as Naniyori had lately, Naniyori knew that it would be easy to try perfecting the skill on his own for use in combat. He was near the source of the technique after all, so why not try giving it a whilr to see how useful it would be to him and his multi-range style that he was attempting to develop. It wasn't good to focus only on long range or up close combat, and that was why such an ability would be useful. Naniyori drew his hand to the side, having become tired of the inactivity of his body before he brought it to the middle, feeling as if the chakra flowed with every action that he took. Naniyori clapped his other hand to the original, and began into the long string of handsigns required, although it would be easier to do once he was sure that he had applied the right seals correctly. Leaping into the air at the end of it, Naniyori noticed some of the trees that his clones had left laying on the ground, and seeing as they were the least likely to catch fire, he quickly aimed at them in order to remove the trash from the battlefield. "Fire Release! Blooming Great Flame!" He shouted, firing a blast of the heated element onto the trees, striking the three of them with different techniques that caught fire and began to burn away at the foliage that had been blocking his training grounds. They weren't near anything dried and easily burnt, so the fire quickly died down, and once Naniyori had landed on his feet he smirked, turning to practice some more with the closest side of the forest to his back for safety. Working on his taijutsu once more so that he wouldn't stiffen his body and ruin the day's training, Naniyori began throwing a number of punches and kicks, attempting to get back in the rhythm. As he did however, he realized that he wasn't feeling the swing that he meant to, and it felt like he needed something more complicated. The sky was the limit on most techniques they said, and in this case Naniyhori chose to take it literally as he cracked his back, then flexed once to ensure he was prepared before leaping into the air. "Shishi Rendan!" Naniyori shouted, throwing a number of blows before finishing by raising his leg, and bringind down a powerful kick that would have done considerable damage to any real target. Luckily the only thing beneath Naniyori was the ground, and as he crashed into it, denting the earth itself, Naniyori began to breathe from the exasperation and thought about the technique that had occurred. It seemed to be a simple physical combo that would be made up of a number of martial art strikes and kicks, but as a shinobi he realized that it infused the basic use of chakra into the attacks, making it exceed what a normal person could do once more. Obviously the one who had developed the technique was trying to strike with a level of basic strength that he could not achieve, and did so by putting some of his own soul's power into the attack. That was why it was a powerful taijutsu, even though it only struck an opponent in a fashion that resembled the attacks of an ordinary man; albeit at an increased pace. The Shishi Rendan would be useful in a hand to hand battle, the thing that he would often try to avoid if he could help it, and even so he knew that with such a skill it would make his job much easier than it might otherwise have been. Deciding to begin through the repertoire to ensure he had learned everything fully, Naniyori pulled his hands together, beginning a long string of handsigns once more as he he brought them to an end, grinning. Before he said the chant however, an epiphany hit him. he was about to use the shadow clone jutsu, but if he could infuse his clones with special chakra then they could be even deadlier. Considering the fact that the clone was always the closest to the enemy, and that the enemy often had an advantage because the clones only had a fraction of the user's chakra, it meant that by infusing them with a special power he could possibly turn a disadvantage into a weapon that he could use in order to defeat opponents more easily, even if they were to try and destroy the shadow clones and put that much of a blow into the user's stamina. Still grinning as he considered it, and bringing his hands together as he focused his chakra in the way that he intended to bring about the clones, but harder, Naniyori released the inner power he thought was necessary. "Exploding Shadow Clones huh...Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naniyori shouted, copying himself into two more forms as he looked at the clones he had created. As Naniyori stood, checking the two with a palm raised to his chin for any flaws in the design, he realized that it would simply be something that had to be put to the test. Naniyori smirked, nodding and pumping his fist as the second suddenly gave him an odd look before feeling a pain in its back. The second turned around futilely to see the other shadow clone had stabbed it in the back. As the second began to fall however, it suddenly burst into an explosion, causing the blast to capture the other shadow clone in it and make both of them go down together. Naniyori skidded to a halt a short distance back, blinking a few times as he paused, and then laughed a bit triumphantly. "I see. I simply put too much energy into that clone for my own good. Even so, that was a perfect technique. Next time I'll either have to simply dismiss it normally, or make sure that I stay far away from my own shadow clones so that they don't strike me as well." Naniyori grinned, nodding in satisfaction as he once more proved the competency of a shinobi of the hidden cloud, the most proud village in all of the five that existed throughout the countries. No matter what the village of the leaves said, or their country, the proud fire nation that had won so many battles do to their elite shinobi that came from teh village, it was the skill of the hidden cloud to surpass their opponents and become so almighty, and it was their pride that they were easily able to flaunt in front of their enemies so often. A hidden cloud ninja never accepted defeat, and they never took a moment to doubt the power of their village. It was the lightening coursing through the world, the charge that gave everything life and energy that coursed most strongly in the village hidden in the clouds, and the clouds that blew overhead of their village were signs that they would remain concealed, and strike with the best efficiency. They were the true shinobi, who lay most concealed in the world and who struck without ever being seen, more than any other village. They were the proud and the honorable, and the ones who could crush their opponents with their sparking will any time they united. They were the thunder that scared the animals in nature, and the lightening that struck the opponents dead. Now that he was done studying the different styles of the leaf village, Naniyori felt it was time to practice some powerful water jutsu so that he would be ready to use them from his repertoire when the time came in battle that he needed to unleash the waves. More importantly, it was teh sister element to lightening, and when combined the two made entirely new attacks whose powers were far beyond the previous ones, making for a combination that few shinobi ever survived. Someone who could use the lightening and water jutsus at the same time, would become a legendary shinobi in the village hidden in teh clouds, and that was why some of their most respected Raikages had reached the position that they were in, and that they were now known for even after they were dead. There was one basic attack that would project the water forward, allowing Naniyori to strike decisively with the water, and that was the skill he would try now. "Water Fang Projectile!" Naniyori said, raising one hand above his head and the other in front of his face, causing the basic handseals of the water style to form. The water that ran in the stream near the village that he had used before began to form now, even though itw as only a small amount, and spun in circles. Once it was wready, naniyori smirked at the culmination of the training with it that they had undertaken, and watched as the whirlpool shot forward in a drill like attack that would be capable of piercing many defenses. To add to it, he sent an electrical charge through the water, and watched as it's power increased exponentially, exactly as he had envisioned it would. When a lightening user combined their skills with that of a water user, or a technique based with the element that was no where close to it on the wheel, then it became much stronger. Naniyori had developed and practiced a jutsu now that would be extremely useful now, even if it wasn't one of the middle elements that was made from the fusion of other elements. That was something that required a bloodline, and Naniyori was sorry to say that the bloodline of the Mayanari clan did not possess such powers in it's arsenal, even if it was still an extremely strong clan in it's own right. Thinking back to the earlier portion of the day when he had read the map, Naniyori now thought of what techniques from the great houses that it listed would be capable of being used by him. Even so, he sighed as he realized that it was nearly impossible to think of one that did not involve a bloodline trait, and he sighed defeated. Just as he did however, he remembered the last bit of the map that he had glanced at. That was right, there had been the bug users! Grinning as he searched the forest with his eyes, Naniyori waited and calmly scanned for any movement. Finally, he noticed the thing he had been intending to find, and quickly let his hand shoot out to grab one of the destruction bugs that were so popular in the hidden leaf. "All that I have to do is use this, and a few more and I can create a genjutsu that revolves around the fear of bugs that many people possess. They taught us how to counter it when we were younger, but I imagine I can apply that training into using a genjutsu. Lets see, what was the name of it...hm...ah yes. Bug Paranoia Jutsu!" Naniyori shouted, throwing his hands into the seals quickly. As he did he formed a genjutsu around the area, and watched as the illusionary bugs formed. He was unafraid, knowing that they were a part of his own genjutsu, but in battle it would be quite effective, and he grinned as he let the illusion fade quickly enough. It was well that he knew that it was a useful skill, and in time he was sure he could use it to confuse his enemies in the midst of battle, before delivering a final blow.

The dust swirled as a strange man walked towards Naniyori, he carried no discernable crest, but dressed in pure white robes trimmed with black. To be honest in the appraisal of this man hel looked much more like a Samurai then any type of shinobi, his clothes were impractical and his footfalls much to loud to be the muted steps of a propper shinobi. He carried himself with a feirce pride or maybe that was arrogance? For all intents and purposes this seemed to be a samurai with a problem who had come to hire a ninja for some dirty job that his honor would not allow him to complete himself. His face was veiled from view by the low brim of the straw hat that he wore, flowing from the back of the hat though was a possible irregularity in the guise of the samurai. Instead the usual close shaven or top knot this man wore his hair tied behind him in a long horse's tail. He was walking in the direction of Naniyori muttering to himself in angry undertones, his voice would place him in the middle of his years of his life. He clomped forward his heavy wooden sandals imprinting the grass with each step. As he came even with Naniyori he streched out an arm in frustration to knock the boy out of his way. "Move it, worthless b*****d." It was as the man raised his arm to brush the shinobi out of his way that the movement of a tanto released from his sleeve of his other hand on the far side of Naniyori occured. In one motion the man moved to strike Naniyori out of the way while at the same time slashing at him with the short sword in his other hand. Would Naniyori be able to read the movements of this strange drifter through the confusing swirling of his robes?

His laugh was gruff and harsh, but it slowly evened out into a voice more beffiting a young man. His body strightened up as he rose to his full erect height. "My name is Gekkou Koujin, formerly of the Village Hidden by the Moon Ex member of the ANBU group known as Moon's Shadow." He bowed in greeting still hold his blade outstreched in his right hand. "My friend Watari informed me that there was a prodigy emerging in the village Hidden in clouds, a kid who can master any justu that he sets his mind too. I came to meet this kid, he's still a bit rough at the edges, but he could be great...possibly. I'm here to test your potential and that's all I'm going to say for now. ready? Scatter Senbonzakura! " he unseathed a blade at his hip only to have it to shatter into thousands of small glowing framents of metal. They hung suspended midair as the two faced off with each other. The glittering display moved forwards towards Naniyori before rapidly accelerating at him in two prongs looking to catch him in a pincer movement. He still held the other blade in his hand at the ready.

In a nearby tree, Koukon sat crouching down as he watched the two. He had been given a mission from Hidden Cloud to keep an eye on Naniyori. He had been stealthily following him for days. Up until now no unusual activity could be reported. Koukon pressed his index and middle finger against the ear piece he had been given. "Copy that. Target sighted. He appears to be exchanging information with a potential target. The suspect has identified himself as Gekkou Koujin, a missing nin from the Hidden Moon Village. Says he's from their 'Moon Shadow' faction. Run a search on a possible lead. Name: Watari. It could be a possible alias. Standby for more info......Wait! Suspect is engaging the target. Requesting back up from the Silver Drifter division." Koukon muttered, his voice barely a whisper of the wind. He scratched the back of his head, shaking up his spiky red air as he watched the two carefully. Koukon was actually quite surprised he had been given such a high ranked mission. He only wished his brother was with him but alas, Keimei was on a month long mission in Water Country. He made a single handsign to prepare for things if they made a turn for the worst.

There was nothing to report so Koukon remained silent in the trees. Without warning a veil of darkness swept over Koukon plunging everything within into an unrelenting night. This caught Koukon off guard but he wasn't helpless. 'The Miyanari clan isn't the only one who can fight in the dark' Koukon's vision had been progressively deteriorating since birth so nothing much really changed. The only difference was that he had to rely entirely on his clan's sense of vision. This vision was based on heat. To Koukon it was as if he was looking at the world through permanent infrared goggles. The only thing that concerned him was his loss of hearing as well. For now he couldn't do anything. Hopefully he would remain undetected.

As soon as the darkness began to envelop him, Naniyori twisted his arm, throwing his sword to the side and away from the enveloping darkness. Once he had, the shinobi began to strike a number of handseals, grinning. "Substitution Jutsu!" He shouted, causing himself to switch with the sword, in turn appearing escaping from the blow he would have taken, whether he knew it or not. Once he had completed that, Naniyori continued with the handseals quickly, activating the Flickering Light style that was one of the many arts of the village hidden in the cloud. Skidding to a halt as he pulled forth a kunai, attempting to make up for the sword that he had let go of for now, Naniyori waited patiently to see the actions of his opponent, knowing that it was still too early for him to make a move back. His opponent obviously had a number of skills, and while he was unsure of the abilities his enemy was using, without either sight or sound he would have only become able to react to smell and touch, two things that made his clan art difficult. Even as he was writing them off however, Naniyori smirked, lifting the bottle of saki he held from earlier. Opening the bottle quickly and splashing it around the area, Naniyori grinned, muttering quickly. "Sword Art: Heavenly Blade..." With the art activated, Naniyori waited in darkness for his opponent's next move.