Starring:
Date: September 7, 2012
Summary:
The Jinchuuriki of Kirigakure is returned safely after her sudden disappearance, and the man responsible appears before the Mizukage to explain why he has done this service to the Hidden Mist… And what he expects in return.
"Broken Memories Pt. 3 - The Beast of Blood Explained"
Administration Building - Mizukage's Office - Kirigakure
Yuge was at his desk, much as normal, he was busy at work, paperwork, orders, etc. The room was empty, other than Yuge at the moment as he was dealing with the report about Tsun being found and escorted to safety to be checked out by the med nins. Considering everything that had happen and her being gone suddenly, there was going to need to be increased security. It's just a matter of figuring out exactly how that was going to be organized.
Yuge is alone. And then he isn't. The door is knocked upon and then opened without waiting for a reply or admission of entrance. A man enters who is one of the Chuunin of Kirigakure but may not come to the mind of the eyebrowless-Mizukage as being anyone of note immediately. He has probably been seen around, though. For now, he walks in with a dazed expression, stands there spacing out into thin air and then says distantly, "Mizukage-sama, a visitor for you." The Chuunin has a Seal Mark on his forehead that wasn't there any previous time he was seen. Now, he kneels down, tilts his head back, and his eyes gain a black spiral symbol in each. Then a projection of dark-purple light rises from the spiral pupils. The twin light beams merge, and then… A man appears where the beams meet. A towering man in a black mantle with red clouds. Upon his face is a black ceramic mask without eyeholes and a red question mark emblazoned upon its surface.
Yuge has some time to adjust to this, and then an incredibly deep voice speaks. "Sandaime Mizukage… We meet at last. Both of your predecessors were acquainted with me, though they were not always aware of such. For many reasons, I have found the need to keep my relationship with the Hidden Mist a secret. I have come not just to introduce myself to you, the most recent Mizukage, but also to inform you of the circumstances of your Village's Jinchuuriki having vanished originally and her recent return. Will you listen to what I have to say?"
Yuge would stand at the bursting in Chuunin, although any sort of protest or scolding died immediately apon seeing the seal. Eyes narrowed, he'd study the man that basically burst out of one of his shinobi, watching the mysterious figure. After the speech, Yuge would slowly sit back down. Considering the entrance and the fact that the previous Mizukage knew this.. person.. There was no reason to exactly be alarmed. Then again, he wasn't exactly at ease either. After but a moment, Yuge would nod, motioning towards the seat across from him. "I am indeed interested in that information. Would you care for a seat? We can dismiss the chuunin as I believe this is information just for you and I, hai?"
The masked man says, "I would ordinarily oblige your request, but I am not physically present and this man will not remember anything he hears, sees, or otherwise experiences when this conversation is over. I am rather gifted with Seal Techniques… Particularly those that influence memory. This Chuunin will leave here unharmed but also with a complete absence of memory of how he got here, why, or what happened in the hour preceding his arrival." The man indicates the flicking light beams shining from the Chuunin's eyes as evidence he is not really here. The masked giant seems to simply be 'floating' in the air… Though given it's a projected image, he might well be standing on solid ground on the >other< end of this transmission. Wherever >that< is.
"I have taken the liberty of returning the Hidden Mist's Jinchuuriki, Kaguya Tsun. She was abducted by two ninja who intended to teach her how to control her Bijuu — or so they claimed. However, if that was their honest intention they would have come to you to gain your approval, correct? Instead they lured her away with lies and promises and then attempted to keep her from returning home with brute force when she realized they were useless and mere abductors."
"I am known to all of the Five Kage as 'Fuu Ka'. You may have heard of me as one who recently made an attack upon the Hidden Leaf. But I have a proposition to make to you — one I could not make to the Leaf due to the beliefs of their leadership. I would like your permission to properly train the Shukaku's Jinchuuriki in how to master the aforementioned Tailed Beast and gain its power. Not only will this grant the Hidden Mist a powerful and >reliable< weapon, but it will also prevent her from being abducted again — not even by another Jinchuuriki as was the case this time." Fuu pauses to let that sink in."
"The two ninja responsible for this abduction were Akuu Goh, formerly of the Hidden Leaf, and Nikumari Mushi, the Jinchuuriki of the Land of Waterfalls and formerly a ninja of the Hidden Waterfall. What their true purpose was in abducting Tsun, I do not know. But they likely wished to subvert her loyalty — she is still young and impressionable. That is how they managed to wisk her way to begin with. I have several secure training facilities that Kaguya Tsun can travel to and yet be able to instantly return to the Hidden Mist via various jutsu I possess for any missions or other tasks that may be assigned her. She will stil be your Village's Jinchuuriki. I have explained to her what I desire as compensation for her training. I can tell you as well. It ties in to what both Kaguya Mitsuo and Shirayuki Hikan were told but that likely was kept from you due to the volatility of the information."
Yuge would give a small nod, studying the figure at both his answer about the chuunin as well as the conversation started about the Jinchuuriki. Both names were jotted down on a paper before him. They would be dealt with another time. After the pen was set down, Yuge would nod again. "I believe you, about the safe locations and a true training ground for Tsun would indeed be appreciated. I would also have the information that deals with Mitsuo and Hikan, if you would be willing to explain to me. The more information I have, the better a decision I can make. I am sure you understand this, hai?"
"There is a great deal of history to go over… And so much of it deals with legends and things that might be considered 'unbelievable' if not personally witnessed, that simply detailing it all would leave you less obliged to consider what I say as valid and more to consider me a lunatic. I will thus attempt to give the basics." There is a pause as Fuu gathers his thoughts. Then he says, "The legendary Sage of the Six Paths, the founder of all Ninjutsu and the one who discovered the existence of Chakra itself, and how to use it, is known to have had two sons. The younger was the ancestor of what would become the Senju Clan. The elder was the ancestor of what would become the Uchiha Clan. However, there was a third son before them both. The >Eldest< son. He was still-born, and discarded in the snow. He was born >dead<. The shock of the icy cold caused him to inhale and cry. Having taken his first breath, he lived."
"How a newborn infant survived in the dead of winter is unknown. Most people never knew he existed at all. All that is known is that he survived and eventually grew to adulthood. He did not inherit the power of the Sage of the Six Paths. He did not inherit the Sage's 'eyes' or his 'body' as the Uchiha and Senju ancestors did, respectively. Instead he inherited all that the Sage rejected. All the pain, all the sorrow, all the hate, all the emptiness… And because of how strong the Sage was in all areas, these feelings, when focused in one body that bore his Kekkei Genkai of the Rinnegan but was unable to wield it… Became a new power. The power of Munashiigan — Void Eye."
The masked man continues on. "I wear this mask because I am a direct descendant of the Eldest Son of the Sage of the Six Paths. My eyes possess that terrible power of destruction. The mask I wear is specially designed to contain my Kekkei Genkai enough to keep me from killing myself and everyone around me in an instant. There are only two remaining in this world who possess my blood. Only one has shown signs of having the same eyes as me, and his time in this world is limited. The same is true for me. Sadly, the Eldest Son did not truly die when he should have, all those centuries ago. The Sage, his own father, sealed him away in a cave known as Ankoku Cave, on the northern border of the Land of Fire. He died but remained as a ghost, using one of the Sage's tools to gather power that he could one day use to break free."
"He succeeded in escaping that cave, and that is when the Twilight Village in the Land of Rivers was replaced with a Void, and why the battle at the Valley of the End occurred. Uchiha Madara attempted to capitalize on the weakening of Konohagakure's ninja after their battle with the Eldest Son. But he was battled and defeated by the Hokage. However, the power that the Eldest Son was gathering still exists. It is all the wickedness of humanity from the very beginning of human existence up to the present in a living, physical form. I call it the Beast of Blood. I have it, and I control it."
"But I will not control it for much longer. I am over 130 years old and I am well beyond my natural life span. I will die soon, and then the Beast will be free to wipe out all life on this planet by driving all life to kill all other life. It is essentially a self-aware Genjutsu of such enormous power and malice that it can seize the minds and hearts of all things with the capacity to feel aggression and act upon it, and force them to kill all other things until no life is left. Plants might survive. Maybe micro-organisms. Any animal life higher than that will be gone." Fuu Ka takes quite awhile to continue after that. Then he finishes by saying, "I need powerful guardians to keep anyone from interfering when I attempt to take the Beast with me to Hell when I die. If there is any interruption from those who covet its power as I once did, then that is the end for everyone. I have children in this world. They do not deserve an end like this."
Yuge is respectfully silent as Fuu Ka goes over all that he had to tell of the past, leading up to the present. A thoughtful silence is held for a moment longer as he contemplates the full implications. A slow nod was given then, tentative acceptance, mayhap. His attention focused on Fuu Ka then. "Alright. I consider what you say true, simply because to ignore what I see before me would be foolishness itself." Leaning back slightly in his chair, Yuge would give a nod. "Very well then. I do hope you understand my reservations and the request for the information. I will act apon the information that you have given me about both of the kidnappers. You are also able to get the resources I have available at my disposal for your conflict with the beast in taking it down too. We will have our top shinobi prepared to defend against any potential hostiles." Yuge gave a slow shake of his head. "I do not wish the world to die, just like you.."
Fuu nods his head enough for the gesture to be noticed across this long-distance projection, and then says, "I appreciate your cooperation. Your predecessors were more reluctant. Even Shirayuki Hikan, a better man than his teacher, Kaguya Mitsuo, eventually becan to covet power — to grow destructive and paranoid. I was to blame for some of it, as I attempted to keep him in the dark about powers such as the Beast of Blood — to modify his memories so that he could maintain his focus on the good of this Village and the people of his country. Instead it made him suspicious of the missing time he was experiencing. I wish I had foreseen how he would react, but I did not. Eventually, Hikan was made aware of my existence and what I had been doing. That is when Hikan decided to step down."
"And that is why I am here now, telling you the whole truth from the start. Deceiving people who I want to help, or that I want help from, is a foolish idea. I have done too much of it in my life. So here, at the end… It does my old heart good to see that just being open and straight-forward has turned out for the best. It is enough to give a cynical man like me hope for the future." Fuu Ka pauses in his speech then. A moment later he says, "This jutsu is almost expired. Kaguya Tsun's training will be provided, so that she can master the One-Tailed Shukaku. She will hopefully become strong enough to stand at the side of the other Mist shinobi when the time comes. The Beast of Blood possesses incredible power that can corrupt any heart given time. I have been corrupted several times over already. The only thing keeping me sane now is focusing on my love for my children rather than all the pain and darkness I have witnessed in my lifetime. At the end, I may be swayed by the insidious whispers and attempt to claim the Beast's power somehow. Not only must there be strong ninja to keep away others who seek this power, but there must be someone present who can strike me down before the Beast takes full control of me. If it dies in a mortal body, it dies for good."
The image of Fuu Ka flickers several times. Then he sighs and says, "There is much work to be done before that day. Thank you for your time, Sandaime Mizukage." Then the projection from the Chuunin's eyes goes out. Moments later he slumps forward, nearly falling on his face, before regaining awareness. He catches himself and looks around in dazed confusion, opening and closing his mouth a few times before finally asking, "Err… Mizukage-sama. …What am I doing here?"
