2 Village hidden in the grass part 2

(Kaz Taberu)

.................

(Two years later)

A twelve-year-old Kaz rushed across a thick branch and spun into the foliage. Gasping, he took deep, calming breaths to slow his racing heart. He focused on his chakra masking himself, leaving a shadow clone to rush ahead. He was on the verge of panic. His pursuer had the distinctive red and white cat mask of an Anbu.

Why the hell was an Anbu even here? What did they want in the hidden grass village? His short, athletic, blue-haired clone dashed away, immediately followed by a tall figure with a cat mask. The menacing figure's dark black cloak swirled around him and his sword glinted as it caught a ray of sunlight.

He swallowed, as he finally got a good look at his enemy's chakra pool. Kaz swallowed hard, gaping at the pressure the man put off. The Anbu wasn't on the level of zosui, but he still had at least fifty times more chakra than Kaz did. Damit, but that could be said of almost everyone. Most people surpassed him in chakra,and so Kaz was forced to make up for it with skill. Kaz took in a deep, steadying breath. He could do this, this is what he was training for.

Heart racing in his chest, Kaz lept from his bush at the ninjas back, his kunai raised. The sharp point gouged into the ninja's back, but the figure puffed into smoke.

Damn a shadow clone? Kaz thought, he rolled on the rough bark and only just deflected two shuriken aimed for his torso. His attacker made themself known, as a massive ball of fire tore up the branch. He lept to the side, only just avoiding the fireball. His heart thudded wildly and his blue hair whipped around his face as Kaz performed a backflip off the branch.

Kaz hit the forest floor and slid several feet, leaping to another low hanging branch just in time to dodge several kunai. I will show you a fireball, he thought nervously.

Spotting movement on the forest floor, Kaz drew several Kunai with paper bombs. His knuckles brushed the pommel of a familiar pronged kunai, giving him courage. What would Minato do?

Minato would take this Anbu down in second's Kaz thought. Kaz took in a calming breath,you can do this,he is just an anbu. He flung the paper bombs and drew a handful of shuriken.His kunai laced paper bombs stuck into the hard earth at the hem of the anbu ninjas dark black cloak.The anbu leapt straight up into the air.

With a deafening boom showering small fragments of dirt and rock,the figure was launched higher still by the blast. With the flick of his wrist, five shuriken flew towards his airborne target. Kaz weaved his signs, focusing on his airborne projectiles.

" Shadow shuriken Jutsu." He focused his chakra on the spinning blades. The blades blurred and split, becoming double. The figure with the cat mask screamed, falling from the air, nearly a dozen blades stuck in their chest. Kaz grinned in excitement. Had he actually done it? Kaz took in deep breaths and cautiously approached the unmoving corpse.

The prone corpse lay in a shallow dried-up creek bed, sprawled on the rocks, the shuriken perforating its body. Crouching low, he pulled back the mask with a shaking hand. The dark cloak billowed and turned to smoke, replaced by a stump.

Heat washed over him, and he whirled. An inferno of blinding red flames bore down on him. Pushing aside his fear, he let his training take over. Kaz weaved his signs. Tiger → Boar → Ox → Dog → Snake.

He appeared on a nearby limb, replacing himself with the trunk of the waist thick branch. The fireball struck the ground, creating a pillar of flames and swirling smoke on impact. Panting for breath and pushing down his fear, he turned to retreat. That substitution jutsu took most of his chakra reserve. Where was the village ninja? Hadn't they seen the flare?

His rapid retreat was cut off as his pursuer lept to the branch in front of him. "Where do you think you are going?" asked the man in the cat mask, his voice cocky and self assured. Kaz swallowed,his palms sweaty on the hilt of his kunai.

Distracted by the opponent in front of him, Kaz sensed the real enemy too late.His legs gave out as a stabbing pain shot through his body.He knelt there, staring down at the foot of bloody steel protruding from his gut.His vision blurred, but he could still hear the malicious chuckle of the enemy ninja.

"Foolish boy, did you think you could really kill an Anbu by yourself?" asked the man in the cat mask.

His vision was growing blurry, the pain overwhelming. He collapsed on his face, the blade rattling violently in his gut. Kaz screamed as the sword cut more flesh. He passed out for a moment, waking to the ring of steel.He passed out again,and then he was being carried. His eyes water as he jostled on his carrier's shoulders. A large black-haired figure dressed in a white medic's robe carried the much smaller Kaz on his shoulder like a sack, rushing through the forest..

The man was saying something, but through the burning agony in his chest, Kaz couldn't focus. He passed out several times, and then he was lying on his back, staring at the ceiling of a small hut. Pain shot through his entire body, an unbelievable sense of burning agony in his gut.

Through blurry eyes, he took in over a dozen horribly wounded ninja. He lay on the floor, blood oozing from his terrible gut wound. Karins' mother was working with a tall dark-haired ninja in a white doctor's coat,and wearing a slashed hidden cloud headband.That medic was a rogue hidden cloud ninja? Kaz thought.

Karin's mother was leaning over each patient in turn, allowing them to bite her arms. She had bright red hair, which was straight, chin-length, and parted to frame both sides of her face.Was that medic the one that saved him from the anbu?

Who even is that guy,Kaz had never seen him before?. Karins' mother wiped sweat from her brow and moved on to the next ninja. She glanced up, noticing Kaz. Her face paled in worry and she took a step away from the other still wounded village ninja.

The unfamiliar medic beside her stepped in and slapped her hard. " Heal them first, he is last."The medic said, his tone cold."But he has a gut wound!" stammer Karin's mother furious."Yes,we both know that most gut wounds can take hours to kill their victims.Now focus,heal these chunin first."The medic Demanded.

"Don't touch her you bastard!" Kaz shouted angrily.The medic ignored Kaz and gesture Karin's mother to continue. Anger washed over Kaz, but that was immediately replaced by the horrible pain in his gut. It felt like an eternity of horrible racking pain until all the ninja were healed.

His vision was blurry, but he could sense Karin's mother's life force slowly fading as her chakra flowed into patient after patient. By the time she reached Kaz, her chakra pool was dim and nearing empty. In all his years, he had never seen her so drained. Her chakra, usually appearing so vibrant, was like a dim flame in his eyes.

Karins' mother collapsed, unable to even cross the room. Her chin length red hair was in a mess and her face was white as alabaster. Kaz could only faintly sense her chakra signature as it pulsed weakly. Uncaring,the medic ninja dragged the unconscious woman across the room and dangled her arm onto his bed. Kaz tried to sit up, but the pain in his gut forced him to stay still.

Kaz sealed his lips, not wanting to drain her anymore. His eyes water from the pain, but he refused to drain the last of her life force. He could see her dwindling chakra. If he took anymore of her chakra to heal himself, she would die. Pain racked him and he open his mouth to scream, as the medic put a rough hand on Kaze's gut.

"Bite her fool." The medic said, forcing him to bite down on her arm. Chakra washed through his body, flowing from Karins' unconscious mother. His wounds knitted together, slowly. The horrible sword wound in his chest drew a large amount of chakra.

Kaz wanted to let go as he could sense her chakra pool reaching empty.The medic grasped his jaw, forcing Kaz to bite harder on her teeth scarred arm. His wounds closed, leaving only a scar as the last of the chakra enter him.

The medic released the iron grip on his jaw, allowing Kaz to spit out her arm. Karins' mother flopped to the floor, her chakra completely drained. Kaz stare at her body, horrified at what he had just done. His stomach clenched, an ocean of despair filling him.

He glared at this rogue ninja with murder in his heart.The man snorted, his expression uncaring. The small grey triangle in the top right of his vision flashed, startling him. He thought about the icon and a small page appeared with three blinking squares and a message stenciled in white letters.

(You have absorbed fifteen chakra points from a chunin, rank 5. You have devoured a piece of your target's chakra. Please select one of these two abilities to add to your store.)

[Mind's eye of kagura, rarity, S. This is an enhanced sensory talent, select for more details.]

Kaz focused on the second icon. [Uzumaki bloodline, rarity, A. This is a body enhancement talent, select for more details.]

Did that last one mean he could have the same gifts as the Uzumaki? Kaz glanced down at the corpse of Karins' mom. Anger and shame filled him in equal measure. Anger at this medic ninja, and shame for taking her life. She lay there like an emptied sack of potatoes, no one still in the hospital giving her corpse more than a glance.

None of the ninja she just healed caring of her death.Kaz clenched his fists, glaring hatefully at the medic as he walked over to the other injured and began tending to their wounds.Kaz wanted to get up and attack the man,more than anything, but he was stopped when the monster of the hidden grass village enter the room.

Taking in deep calming breaths, Kaz clenched his fists, bunching the thin blanket between his fingers.Kaz needed to bide his time. Right now, he was still too weak to fight Zosui and win.Sure, he could attack him,but that would merely be a futile gesture.As for that rogue cloud medic,Kaz was going to kill him in his sleep.

Kaz glanced at the two insistent blinking icons in his vision.Each one pulsed brightly,demanding him to choose one.If he chose the Uzumaki bloodline, then he might turn up like that, a dried up corpse, used and discarded.Kaz shudder at the thought and made his choice.

[Congratulations, you have added Mind's eye of Kagura to your store. See the sensory tab for details.]

He willed the triangle on the top right of his vision to open. Just like that, he had a list of tabs all greyed out, with only one blinking softly.He poked at the greyed out tabs with his finger. When nothing happened, he willed them to open. Nothing happened.

Then he willed the blinking icon to open. The tab opened, and there was a massive list of greyed out bars, with only one near the top blinking. He focused on the ability.[Warning, you have fifteen out of one hundred chakra points needed to unlock mind's eye of Kagura. Collect more chakra points to select this talent]

Kaz let out a sigh.This weird ability in his vision was finally doing something. But now he was more concerned about how to tell Karin about her mother's death.Figuring out this ability could wait until later.

Kaz rose slowly, expecting his chest to burn in pain. He took in a deep breath, glancing down at his well-defined stomach under his tunic.The pain was gone, and so was the horrible gash, but the blood was still there, as well as the rent in his tunic.Kaz crouched next to Karins' mother, anger, regret and horror filling him.

This world he was in,no matter how hard he tried, people who he cared about kept dying. Just like his mother so long ago, he hadn't been able to save Karins mother.His hands shook as he fumbled to pick her up. Despite still being shorter than her by a head, he was able to sling her body on his shoulders.

The man in a white coat finally took interest and walked over, adjusting his gouged hidden cloud headband."What are you doing?Leave her body here,it could be useful for my studies."The man said as though Karins' mother was just an animal.

Kaz snarled, "I'm going to tell you this one time.If you don't get out of my way in the next five seconds, I'm going to kill you." Kaz said, his gaze promising a horrible death. The medic ninja took a step back, realizing that Kaz was extremely serious. Despite the kid being only twelve, the medic knew he wasn't joking.

"Zosui won't be happy if you throw away such a valuable resource." The medic said, holding his ground."She is not a resource, she is my friend!She was a member of the village, she deserves to be given a proper burial." Kaz shouted, his rage mounting.

The medic scowled, clearly weighing his options. He paced, eying Karins' mother like a toy that was just stolen away. Kaz's vision swam,his rage burning hot. He was so furious he was willing to kill the medic right in the hospital. Lucky for the medic, he smartened up upon seeing the murder in Kaz's eyes.

"I'm going to tell Zosui about this." The medic said, leaving the emergency room in a huff.Surprisingly, he didn't have to struggle once Karin's mother was on his shoulders. The training logs Zosui forced him to carry were much heavier.Bitter resentment filled Kaz as he carried Karins' mother from the hospital.None of the other wounded she saved bothered to help him at all,they just watched him carrier her out.

He was too angry to give a damn about the other village ninja and the medic that was going to Zosui. He pushed his way out the door, bumping several of the other ninja in the process. Kaz glared at them, making his way out the door. Seeing his murderous glare, they moved aside, allowing him to pass.

The other genin and chunin of the village were usually weary of Kaz, as he was one of Zosui's elite students. With that came resentment, and even fear. For this reason, most of them avoided Kaz like the plague. Probably to avoid Zosui. Right now he was happy for their resentment, as they were too scared to stop him from taking Karin's mother's body.

Kaz closed his eyes once outside and felt for the familiar chakra of Karin. Within moments, he found it, her distinctive chakra burning brightly in the north field. He paused. Wait a minute, something was wrong.

His chakra pool was now at least ten times larger than before? Confused, he compared his chakra with Karins. His eyes widen. Before, his chakra was not even one tenth the size of Karins. Now he guessed he had a chakra pool one ninth the size of hers.

How did his chakra pool grow so much? Did this have something to do with getting chakra points from Karins' mother? He walked through the village, noticing the curious yet uncaring glances of the other villagers.

Walking to the boundary of the hidden grass village, Kaz spotted Karin overlooking the fields. Karin wore a blue shirt, grey pants, a hidden grass headband, and a tool pouch. The girl's expression darken as she spotted who Kaz was carrying.

She rushed over to Kaz, her eyes tearing up. He glanced away from her face, unable to meet her eyes in his shame."What happened? Why doesn't mom have any chakra?" Karin asked, concerned, grabbing her mother's pale white hand.

Kaz tried to speak, but he couldn't. How could he tell her it was him that took the rest of her chakra? " There you are girl, I have been looking for you." A familiar angry voice said.

"Why do you need me?" asked Karin, her face paling, taking a fearful step away. "Since Kaz took all of your mother's chakra and killed her, you are now the village healer." said Zosui, crossing his arm across his brown kimono. The mans arms bulged, rippling with muscle, his dark black hair draping down his back, and his pupilless grey eyes intense.

"You killed mom?" Karin asked, looking at Kaz, horrified. Kaz glanced away, shame, anger and sadness washing over him in equal measure. "They forced me to bite her and take her chakra."Kaz said, tears flowing down his face.

" Come with me girl, we have more wounded to heal." Zosui said, ignoring Karins' tears." I won't do it!" Karin shouted, running away. The escape attempt was futile. Zosui blurred forwards and swept Karin's feet from under her. Kaz turned just as Zosui grabbed Karin's wrist and started dragging her, kicking and screaming, back towards the hospital.

Around them, villagers watched on, their gazes unconcerned as Zosui dragged Karin away. Kaz met their eyes, hoping one of them might help Karin. " Hey let her go, you bastard!" Kaz shouted, stepping in front of Zosui. The man paused but didn't release Karins' wrist.

" Do you know what happens to weapons that try to cut their owners?" Zosui asked, his voice dripping with malice.Kaz swallowed,taking a fearful step back. Despite his chakra pool growing by at least ten times in size mere minutes ago, Kaz couldn't compare to Zosui.

The mans chakra roiled, his presence overwhelming. He swallowed, his chakra a mere pittance in comparison.If Kaz had a chakra pool that could fill up a cup, then Zosui could fill up several buckets' worth with his chakra pool.

"Can't you just let her be a ninja? She can help the village by protecting it!" Kaz pleaded,hoping the other villagers would see reason. He glanced around at first, the smug man in the white medic coat and the other villagers watching, his gaze pleading.

"No,she is worth more to the village as the healer."Zosui said, tugging a struggling Karin angrily."Let me go!" shouted Karin, hitting Zosui on the arm with no visible effect.

" You can go cry over your mother after you finish healing the wounded. Now get out of my way, Kaz!" Zosui shouted, the ground cracking as he released his chakra. Kaz swallowed. He wanted to help her, but none of the other villagers appeared willing to help.

"What about my experemints?" the medic asked, smiling at Zosui.

"Uzaki, you will need to earn your keep before i give you people to experement on.If you impress me with your work i will find interesting people for you." said Zosui.

Uzaki nodded and turned, his white lab coat billowing as he strode away. Kaz watched Uzaki walk away,rounding the corner towards the hospital.If that man tried to experiment on Karin Kaz would kill him, he thought.

" Karin, come to the field by the waterfall after.Thats where I'm taking your mother."Kaz said, adjusting his burden. He was angry, angry at the others, but most of all, angry at himself for being too weak to stop Zosui. He met the eyes of the other village ninja, his gaze demanding they do something.

To his dismay, they all looked away, unwilling to help.All they saw when they looked at Karin was a tool, a way to heal themselves.Karin nodded her head, tears rolling down her cheeks, looking over her shoulder as she was dragged towards the hospital.

With a heavy heart, Kaz carried Karins' mother all the way to the waterfall, slowly making his way to the small clearing overlooking the falls.His footsteps were slowly drowned out as he approached the thundering falls.

A single maple tree perched on the edge of the cliff, its leaves swaying gently in the soft breeze.He gently rested Karin's mother under the tree in the shade.He just knelt there, staring down at the woman that had taken care of him for years now, tears streaming down his face.

Rising shakily to his feet, he weaved hand signs, his fingers shaking as he did his best not to mess up.Even though earth affinity was his speciality, it still took him a while.His vision blurred. It took him nearly ten tries before his shaking hands allowed him to create a hole under the tree for the body.

Why did this keep happening to him? Just like his mother all those years ago, he wasn't strong enough to save Karins' mother. He punched the dirt, gritting his teeth. He was useless. If only he had killed that Anbu.Then he wouldn't have needed healed, and Karins' mother would still be alive.

He sat there underneath a tall, thick maple tree,dwelling in his sorrow and regret.A crow flew down from the sky and lit in the branch above him.The limp branch shook as the fat crow shook itself, settling. It cawed, its beady black eyes eying Karins' mother hungrily.

Anger filled him,and he flung a kunai unexpectedly. His knife took the crow in the eye, pinning it to the tree.[You have absorbed a portion of your victims' chakra, you have gained one chakra point]

Despite his foul mood, it faintly excited Kaz at the new discovery. Even so, he shouldn't let his temper get away from him like that.If he ever attacked Zosui out of anger like that, the man would kill him.He waited for several hours, but still Karin was absent. Hating the sight of the buzzing flies flocking around her pale body, Kaz decided to put her to rest.

Slowly he lowered Karins' mother into the grave, and cover it with dirt, not wanting Karin to see her mother covered in flies as her body rotted in the to hot sun.When Karin finally showed up it was around sunset,the burning rays of orange light bouncing off the clouds.

Karin approached slowly, shuffling down the path; her face gaunt and bags under her eyes.Karin crouched next to him as he sat by the mounded grave. The mist of the waterfall cooled the air, making it much more pleasant than in the clearing.

" I'm sorry Karin."Kaz said, a lump catching in his throat."It's not your fault. It is Zosui's fault. When I get bigger, I'm going to kill him."Karin said, snarling her cheeks red in anger. She raised her arm, wincing in pain. Her sleeve fell down to her elbow, revealing fresh bite marks all down her arm. Her once clean arm riddled with red bite marks.

"No, you're not. If you attack him, he will kill you."Kaz said firmly.He crouched next to the grave watching Karin solemnly. She whirled on him, her red eyes flashing in anger."Why not! He is the one that killed mom!" Karin shouted, stomping her foot threateningly.

"Because I'm going to kill him first."Kaz said, putting his foot down on the matter.Karin eyes began to water. She hugged him fiercely, her head pressed against his chest. "Thank you!"

Kaz patted the top of her head, his fingers tangling in the young girl's bright red hair, his heart going out to the girl.Her body shook softly as she sobbed,squeezing him tightly.Everything was not all right, and it probably never would be, but Kaz vowed to do whatever he could to keep Karin from the same fate as her mother.

.....................

Five years later, and present day.

{MC: 17years old}

Kaz adjusted the headband on his right arm. The small triangle floating in the top right of his vision going mostly unnoticed. Progress was slow, as hunting small critters gave nearly no chakra points at all.

Willing the store to open, he examined his chakra points. Despite five years passing, he only had fifty-five chakra points. The squirrels and birds in the region were getting smart and avoiding him. Not to mention, anything smaller than a crow didn't even give a full point.

For example, a year ago, he had the brilliant idea of crushing a beehive with a rock. All that got him was stung seven times, and not a single chakra point, despite killing the whole nest of yellow jackets.

Killing squirrels worked, well, sort of. Ten squirrels for one point of chakra. At first, that made little sense, but as he thought about it, he wondered if the intelligence of the creature mattered. Crows were smart, and they gave one full chakra point. Squirrels, on the other hand, were complete morons. So it kinda made sense that crows would give more points.

He wiped his brow, watching Yota till the soft earth with a hoe, his mind lost in thought. He was crouched on the roof of a small hut, using the height of the building to overlook the northmost edge of the village.In the eve of the building's roof was a small person sized pocket of shade,perfect for loitering.He scowled to himself, bored with the day's guard duty.

Despite being seventeen, they did not choose him to go to the hidden leaf village for the chunin exam. Zosui had refused to let Kaz go to the hidden leaf village. Kaz scowled,he should have refused and went anyway.Such rebellious thoughts were fine,but he knew the price for disobeying orders.

Lately, all Kaz was doing was patrolling the same boring stretch of forests and hills.All he needed was the opportunity to kill some ninja and get chakra points.Once he gained enough,he could fulfill his promise to Karin and murder Zosui.

Sure, animals gave chakra points, but they were getting smart. Sometimes he would go days without seeing a single animal that he could kill.He turned as he heard soft boots on gravel. Speaking of the devil.Kaz, cooled his anger, hiding his emotions behind a mask of calm confidence.

Zosui walked along the path next to the building Kaz was on,heading towards the fields. The man waddled like a duck as he trampled several rows of tubers. Zōsui had fair skin, black hair that was combed back and reached shoulder length.

Wearing the hidden grass forehead protector, dark brown-grey kimono like shirt with cream outlines, black pants, and a white robe tied around his waist, Zosui gave off the impression of wealth and status amongst the village.

Kaz remained in his vantage, masking his chakra as best he could to avoid the man's chilling gaze, reflecting on how poorly the man aged. His hair line was receding and his cheeks were so sunken it looked like he never ate.

Kaz reached into his tool pouch, his fingers touching the handle of his three-pronged kunai.The seal on the handle of Minatos kunai was a constant reminder of Kaz's promise all those years ago.Even now,fourteen years later, Kaz still hadn't deciphered the seal on the hilt.

He needed more sealing jutsu. The script on the kunai was still far too advanced for him to decipher.Kaz shifted in his hiding spot, the awkward angle making his legs ache.Zosui turned and glanced up,having heard him.

"Kaz, how is the watch going?" Zosui asked, his expression cold and dispassionate. The vegetables were still as boring as they were when he asked yesterday, but Kaz didn't want to piss the man off today. He wished Karin was still here. She at least made this tiny village tolerable.

"There is still nothing."Kaz said dryly, glancing around the empty fields, and across the rolling hills studded with trees to make his point."Do a patrol of the nearby forest, report if you see anything suspicious."Zosui ordered, his commanding tone brooking no argument.

Behind Zosui was another man dressed in the white lab coat of a medic. The medic had to be around twenty-five, with long black hair and a wiry frame.The man still wore his gouged, hidden cloud headband.

Kaz scowled,killing that man out was proving harder than initially planned.Kaz brushed the scar on his neck,that was from several years ago when he foolishly attacked that medic, only to realize he was at least jonin class.

He shook away that bad memorie and rose from his crouch,leaping from the roof.His muscular legs propelled him forwards, easily covering a good portion of the field.Kaz was determined he would not let a few failures deter him from becoming a powerful ninja.

He still could remember the day when Zosui told him of the yellow flash dying in battle with the nine-tailed fox. The man sealed the nine tails away, saving the village hidden in the leaves all by himself.That was thirteen years ago now.

Exited for the chance to leave the village, he rushed to the forest. To the north, overlooking the tiny village, was a tall mountain that had a spectacular vantage over the entire valley. Reaching into his tool pouch, he pulled a Kunai with wire and flung the weapon for a branch.

His throw stuck perfectly, and he used his momentum to pull himself up into the tree. Wind whipped through his dark blue hair,cooling him.The soft soles of his boots struck wood, and he lept off, catching a branch and flinging himself at the sheer face of the mountain.

He focused chakra on the soles of his feet, and without pause raced up the surface of the mountain. He laughed excitedly, the hot summer wind ruffling his light brown robes.His emerald green eyes locked on the top of the cliff,finding his perch.

Kaz lept as he reached the top, landing on a large bolder softly. The bolder perched on the edge of a cliff facing his village. Despite not being allowed to go to the chunin exams, Kaz knew he was far advanced for that test. Brutal training on a daily basis for years forged his body into a weapon.

At first he thought Zosui was a sadist, but now he could see what the man was trying to do.That didn't make Kaz wasn't to kill the man any less.Kaz grinned,at his pace of chakra growth,it was only a matter of time before he would be willing to challenge Zosui.

Heart still thudding from the run, Kaz crouched on his rock and focused on hiding his chakra signature. So far, the only thing he was good for was being a simple guard dog.Having the ability to sense chakra was immensely useful,and yet the only thing he was doing with it was sitting and watching.

With nothing else to do, Kaz pulled the three-pronged Kunai from his tool pouch and examined the seal on the hilt. It was lucky for him those two Uzumaki women were nice. With their help, he had learned a lot about sealing jutsu.

Even so, he was a long way off from deciphering the seal on Minatos kunai.The seal was still to complex,and so far he didn't know what half of the symbols meant.If he was ever going to decipher the seal and learn minato's special technique he would need to learn more sealing jutsu.

From his perch, he could see most of the valley. Kaz stood, stretching his back. His muscle was lean and dense, lacking the bulging quality of body builders. His bright blue hair framed the sharp lines of his face, bracketing his intense emerald eyes.

Annoyed at the whipping wind, he fastened his hidden grass headband around his forehead, tying back his blue hair from his emerald green eyes.Lost in thought, he almost missed the scuff of boots on bark below him in the canopy.Breathing deeply, Kaz focused inwards and pushed his senses outwards.

It took him a moment of concentration. He froze,his mind reeling from the massed chakra below. Those were not chakra signatures he recognized. There were at least fifty of them, and they were moving fast.He rose to his feet, adjusting his headband on his forehead.

Should he go down and fight them? No, that was idiotic. They would slaughter him if he went in alone. Heart racing in his chest, Kaz focused chakra to the soles of his feet and rushed down the surface of the rock, hiding his chakra signature.

Unlike Karin, he couldn't fully suppress his chakra. Well, at least not until he earned enough points to buy the mind's eye of Kagura.Counting Kaz, there were only fifteen ninjas in all still in the village. That was because a group of genin including Karin, left for the leaf village.

He wondered if they would stand a chance against such a large invading force. Leaves rustled, and boots scuffed bark ahead of him.At least, the only person he cared about was already gone from the village.Maybe they would kill Zosui and that rogue cloud ninja?

Kaz grinned at the thought.He could just sit back,relax and watch them burn the village to the ground.On second thought he should help?When that monster Zosui killed all the attackers, he would hunt Kaz down and kill him for abandoning his duty.

Moving with purpose, Kaz rushed between two trees before leaping to a low-hanging branch.Something blurred through the air towards him,gritting his teeth, he pushed himself to the side as several kunai stuck into the branch he was leaping to.

How didn't he notice his attacker? They must be able to suppress their chakra.A woman appeared in front of him, holding a short sword in one hand and several shurikens in the other. Kaz reached into his tool pouch and grasped two kunai.

With a simple glance, he took in a familiar headband.His heart beat quickened and both anger and fear filled him.She wore a headband from the village hidden in the clouds, a green flak jacket over a dark black shirt, and blue cotton pants.

The woman widen her stance, her blue sandals scraping the tree bark.These were the people that killed his mother all those years ago.Kaz clenched his Kunai hilt hard,his fingers sweating in the heat.

"Even hiding your chakra signature you can't sneak past my senses."The woman said, standing tall, ready to fight. Her bright hazel eyes focused on him, and she turned up her nose, sniffing disdainfully, clearly unimpressed.

"And what if I was just trying to draw you out?" Kaz asked, hurling both kunai at the woman's face.She deflected both weapons with ease, but the momentary distraction allowed him to close the gap.

A new Kunai in hand, he lept and slashed at her face. Caught off guard, she scrambled back. He batted her sword aside and stabbed her chest,his blade gouging fabric and flesh.. There was a poof of smoke and a log appeared with his knife embedded in the wood.

Kaz lept back away from the substitution, his heart thudding wildly.Sweat trickle down his brow as he focused.Crouching, low, he examined the trees, noticing a faint trembling and an explosion in the distance.

"Not bad, but you will need to do better than that to beat a cloud ninja." The Woman said, her voice coming from seemingly everywhere.Even her chakra signature was faint,hard to notice.

Calming his breathing, Kaz focused and pushed out his chakra. There, he sensed her,rolling he deflected a shuriken just before it would have struck him.A melodic laugh drifted to his ears, chilling him to the bone.

The woman rushed from his blind spot again, but Kaz was ready this time. He rolled forwards and sprung to his feet, flinging a series of wire threaded knives around the woman.Now in a narrow hallway of wire with nowhere to run, the woman widen her stance, her expression turning from playful to serious.

Her long dark hair dance around her face,framing intense hazel eyes as she lunged for him.Kaz sidestepped the thrust couching her elbow under his arm and twisting violently. Bone snapped, and the woman stumble backwards, her sword clattering to the ground.

Biting off a scream of pain,she threw a kunai with a burning red paper tied to the end.Kaz gaped, that would hit them both.Desperate, he threw a shuriken and deflected the paper bomb to the hard dirt between them. The woman's eyes widen in horror as she realized she couldn't retreat through the surrounding wire.

Desperately weaving signs, Kaz focused on his chakra. Adrenaline pumping through him, he slammed both hands to the ground in front of him.

[Earth style, mud wall!] Just like in Zosui's vicious training, his mud wall rose before the fireball struck him. The paper bomb went off, and the woman was tossed like a rag doll head over heels.

She crashed into his wire fence, collapsing in a heap. Kaz shook his head, his ears ringing as leaves and pine needles rained around him. Leaves litter the small crater, the explosion filling the air with the scent of pitch and burning leaves..

Kaz walked over to the woman cautiously, noticing she was still breathing.He held his knife to her throat,pushing down the thrill of victory."What are hidden cloud ninja doing here?" Kaz asked coldly, his heart still racing from the excitement.The woman's face was drenched in blood and her skin peeled from her face in blackened flakes, but she still cracked a smile. Her singed hair stuck in clumps, still smoking from the paper bomb.

"Your village is hiding a known criminal. The hidden cloud will burn it to the ground!" said the cloud ninja in a raspy voice." What criminal?" Kaz demanded curiously. The woman smiled and spit a wad of bloody fleme at his feet..

" Go to hell." croaked the woman, reaching for her tool pouch with a mangled hand.

Kaz drove his knife into her neck, opening a large rent for blood to spill into a puddle on the dirt. The liquid spurted, covering his hand in sticky warmth. He took a step back as a filmy blue haze lifted from the body and flowed into him.

The triangle shaped icon pulsed, flashing in the top right corner of his vision. He focused on the icon.[chunin, rank 2, worth five chakra points. Please select between one of the two options to add to your store.]

{Water clone, Rarity common, difficult rank, C.}

{Earth style mud wall, Rarity common, difficulty not applicable. Warning, you already possess this ability. Congratulations, water clone has been added to your store. A new tab has been unlocked. Select the clone tab for more details.}

Kaz growled. Only five points? And it forced him to take the inferior water clone technique.Everyone knew that shadow clone was better. At this rate, he would need to kill eight more chunin to buy the mind's eye of kagura.

And why didn't he get the option to choose the jutsu from killing this opponent? Maybe he needed to kill people with Jutsu he didn't already have?He dug through the woman's vest, taking several kunai to fill his toolkit, as well as shuriken, and lastly there was a familiar small black book.

It was called the bingo book. Kaz knew what it was, of course. It was a book of criminals all over the five nations, rogue ninja with bounties on their heads. The ground rumbled. He glanced towards the village and decided he didn't have time to stop and read.

Slipping the book in a side pocket of his flak jacket, Kaz rushed towards the village.Kaz had a good idea of who the criminal might be.There was only one it could be,that medic ninja that joined the village five years ago.He went by the name Uzaki,a name that sounded made up in Kaz's opinion.