When the comforts of civilization begin to dull our senses, we must never forget that in the beginning, there was war. And war. And more war. Long before there were empires, there were humans consumed with greed and the hunger for power. Resources, territories, information—these were the forms of sustenance upon which we preyed. Today, we call such habits vices. Oh, how arrogant we have become! Are we not still impelled by those primordial emotions? Is the advent of war so far-fetched? But alas, for you to truly understand, we must dive deeper into this land’s half-forgotten past.
There was a time when might was the only law that humankind knew. Fearsome clans roamed throughout the land, seeking amenable grounds within which they could take root and opposing forces against whom they could test their mettle. Given the irregularity of nature’s bounty, certain regions appealed more than others, and dominion over such coveted territories became the spark that ignited the earliest inter-clan wars. These fierce, internecine affairs tended to conclude only when one side had decimated their competition into oblivion, and many clans of story were rendered extinct during this period.
The victors of war, having claimed their territories, often made truces with surrounding locals, offering protection in exchange for access to the yields of agriculture. Over time, certain communities emerged as more dominant than others, either due to numbers or sheer talent, and their rapid expansion would force smaller, neighboring communities to either collapse into their fold or be devastated. When the dust settled, humankind found itself divided into the five major territories that we are familiar with today. And was the bloodshed over? With our lands obtained and our bellies filled, were we finally content?
06/01/2023 June is for Juggin
We made it y’all, another month of OTA, and fresh off the press we have another promotion ready. Leaving behind the opening bonus sadly, we welcome the jugggggg! June is for juggin AKA working hard, so we are making it a double rewards month for every mission completed! Yes we said it's double rewards, now you all can really get into the thick of those builds if you work hard enough. And who knows what you might uncover in the process. AND all jobs are free to enroll no quest EXCEPT ANBU(Black Ops) roles.
The mountainous region that was Kaminari no Kuni stood tall throughout the test of time. Eventually, the mountains would spread further from each other and below was several feet of death waiting for its unlucky victims to plunge towards it. Whether it be land or sea that waited at the bottom Shinosuke didn’t know, nor had he any intentions of finding out. This samurai would not be venturing so far into the land to experience any of that; however, he would travel along its coast. The cliffs would hang above threatening to loose a rock or two down its side, but if you were careful, you could avoid being flattened by them. Opposite to the cliffs was an ocean as wide as you could see. Numerous boats and rafts coasted atop the waves eager to catch droves of fish and sea life for a profit with a net. [break] [break] The lone samurai crept towards the beach side watching the waves lap against the coarse sand. A thought had occurred to him as he recalled a recent memory when he entered the mountainous region. While traveling to get to the Land of Wind, he had seen some individuals flick across a pond without sinking. They couldn’t have made it all the way across as the first jump landed only a few quarters of the way into the body of water. Just to make sure he hadn’t gone completely insane, Shinosuke investigated the pond to make sure it wasn’t just shallow or his eyes playing tricks on him. Sure enough, the water sank at least waist deep meaning the two individuals he managed to catch a glimpse of had sprinted over the surface of the water. [break] [break] With a curious mind and the lack of shame to match, the man stomped his foot into the water only to receive the water across his robes. The armor underneath gave a small clank of a sound as he whipped around behind him to make sure no one had seen his small mishap. The armor itself, while slightly covered from his outward robes, was not exactly hidden. His two katana sat on both sides of his hip as a deterrent, much like the armor would be if anyone came close enough to see it. Without noticing anyone immediately, Shinosuke sighed and placed his hands on the sand and dropped to the floor, steadying himself along the way. Shinosuke’s legs would cross beneath him for a more comfortable resting position and his arm reached down towards them so his hand could tap against the armor that protected the legs. A steady beat would ring out and he would hum to the flow of it, currently in thought of how he could tame the water like the others did.
you can technically have as many notes here as you want. go crazy.
tranquility on the beach
[attr="class","itsover"]
“Patrol, Patrol, Patrol, all I do is Patrol.”
It was another day where the Genin found himself patrolling, since that day he encountered that random man with the gem in his chest Fuma-Sama has kept a constant patrol of the areas outside the village. But Xio wasn’t too worried about anything, the young shinobi had new found credentials in the village he couldn’t wait to live up to those expectations. He was dressed in his usual mission attire as he made his way down a path he didn’t usually take because it was unfamiliar to him. After a short walk Xio found himself at one of the various coastlines of the land of lightning, it wasn’t a busy place, but it had a few boat ports with boats to fill them.
“Looks like development is even reaching the coastline, I’m sure pops don’t know about this I’m sure he’ll want to get some product out.”
The view was beautiful, blue water, brown sand, the Kami boy felt a little tranquility as he stepped on the beach. He took in his surroundings there weren’t many people but there was one that stood out a little among everyone else. ‘I wonder.’ From distance Xio watched as the man stomped on the water as if he was trying to go through it or something, Xio would let off a light laugh as he started to make his way over to the robed man.
“Ayooo what’re you trying to do, discipline the water??”
Discipline the water? The samurai was not particularly amused by the attempt at a witty remark. With his embarrassing attempt now revealed to all the samurai got back up and whipped around to face the boy approaching him. He seemed younger than even he and had a particular way of speaking that was foreign to him. He was also seemingly confident enough to just boldly approach a stranger. The language wasn't anything serious as he could understand him but just wasn't used to it back home.[break] [break] "No I wasn't trying to force the water to do anything, more so force my legs. I'm not exactly sure how you all seem to do it around here. Where I'm from I don't get to interact with those of your talents. You're all very quick and nimble from what I can tell, running up walls and what not. I was trying to walk along the water, but I can't understand what allows you to do that."[break] [break] He took another stab at it and gently placed his right foot along the surface of the water that just swept in. It was gliding above the water and as he stepped down it abruptly splashed again giving no results. The man placed his palm at the top of his head and shook his head side to side with a frustrating sigh. He was trying to be patient with the new ideas and techniques he came across, but he still had some impatience left in him.
you can technically have as many notes here as you want. go crazy.
tranquility on the beach
[attr="class","itsover"]
The older man turned to face Xio as he questioned his motivation behind his fight with the water, amused by his response the lad took a step closer.
“I figured you weren’t from around here, but you don’t know how to walk on water either?”
Xio could dissect by his attire that he wasn’t from the land of lightning, but he couldn’t guess he was this foreign. The Kami would move in the direction of the coastline adjacent to his new associate peering out at the open sea for a second before taking a few steps onto the water while a light coat of chakra supported him at the base of his feet.
“Well you see, when your dealing with gravity chakra can help you a lot.”
Speaking with a clarity the genin would turn back to his associate while standing a few feet away from the shore.
“I’m not sure if you’re experienced with chakra control but if you are it’s a pretty straightforward feat to accomplish. Unlike walking on flat land, when attempting to walk on water you need a median to resist gravity in a sense. Naturally we sink cause we weren’t made to float.”
Sighing lightly he would lift his leg up showing a bit of chakra focused at the soles of his shoes.
“You see it doesn’t take a lot to do this once you’ve you got a basic understanding of how it works. This little bit of chakra is enough to resist gravity a little and trick it into thinking I’m supposed to be floating with the chakra as a median.”
placing his foot back on the water beneath him the Genin would continue to advise his associate.
“So if you’re not picking a fight with the water, step back on to the shore stand and focus your chakra into your feet. If you have enough chakra you should be able to step on even the shallowest of waters without a problem.”
Although the genin just met the older gentlemen he didn’t have any problem showing him how something so simple worked. And plus since his last interaction with a man of his demeanor didn’t end so favorably, but from what he could tell he didn’t seem anything like the last.
”Hmmm, I think I sort of understand.”[break] [break] As the waves settled on the beach, the young samurai took a glance at the waves once more. The way the boy seemed to explain it, you had to control the output of the chakra you used. Shinosuke was a bit foreign to this idea however, his chakra was not as controllable as others made it seem to be. He never trained on wielding his chakra like a tool, it was unruly and powerful like the waves further from the beach. This technique seemed to be like the waves closer to shore though, calm and controlled. The armored individual took a step towards the water once more, stopping before the wave crashes. [break] [break] ”Here goes nothing I suppose…” [break][break] The samurai’s foot slammed into the water with chakra engulfing his body. Instead of it being controlled and tranquil, it was violent and explosive. Water thrashed around the young man’s chakra engulfed body and threatened to splash anyone around him. Concentrating on focusing it all into his foot, the chakra seemed to flail around less than before allowing the water to settle somewhat and surround his ankles again. His concentration continuing, the chakra would seemingly form around his body in a tighter fashion and seep towards both his legs. As the man lifted his armored legs again they almost coasted along the rock of the waves. He wasn’t stable by any means but he could coast on the waves without moving around. The samurai quit focusing his chakra and expelled it all together, slightly annoyed at the amount of concentration this simple trick required.[break] [break] ”I appreciate the help and knowledge you bestowed upon me but I’m not sure if I’ll be focusing on this too much at the moment. While useful, I’m not sure how much running on water will help me improve upon my combative abilities. You have however, opened my eyes to a greater focus and concentration I could improve upon. For that I thank you trickster.”[break] [break] A sly grin would present itself on the mans face as he turned to the boy, purposely trying to poke some fun at him. These illusionists seemed to always surprise him with their different tricks.
Watching the iron-clad man reattempt the simple feat after he had got a fresh set of advice to work with was interesting for Xio. ‘He’s def no shinobi.’ he thought. This was one of the first lessons he had to learn to control his chakra as a kid, but I guess this guy was proof the entire world wasn’t on the same accord. The man’s chakra flared up causing Xio to take a step back as it threw a little water in his direction, he would shield his eyes a little. ‘I think he’s getting it.’ He pondered as the apparent samurai’s chakra seemed to settle down after a little after a few seconds. Xio would let off a few claps as the water slid beneath the man’s feet.
”I appreciate the help and knowledge you bestowed upon me but I’m not sure if I’ll be focusing on this too much at the moment. While useful, I’m unsure how much running on the water will help me improve my combative abilities. You have, however, opened my eyes to a greater focus and concentration I could improve upon. For that, I thank you, trickster.”
Xio would offer a smile as the man thanked him for his services, he would give him a slight head bod in recognition of his thanks.
“Well, you’d be surprised unc, it can come in handy when you least expect it you never know where your might will be tested ya know.”
The Kami boy spoke with a bit of playfulness in his tone as he felt little hostility from his newfound companion. ‘Dad always, teach one ya reach one.’ He contemplated. Tucking his hands into his pockets he would look back towards the dock watching as men ran back and forth across the water unloading the ships in a uniform fashion. This seaport wasn’t as busy Xio hoped but he knew he could probably still get some numbers from the dockers out there.
“I’m guessing they don’t have many shinobi where you’re from? And if you don’t mind me asking you have a name iron man?”
watching the working men on the peer, Xio questioned his new comrade lightly.
”Mmmm…”[break][break] Although the young man was generally instinctive and impulsive, he was actively making an effort to slightly change that behavior. More importantly, he was beginning to take his first steps towards one of his many goals. The “musha shugyō“, as his father had put it, was a journey of sorts that men took on in order to improve their mind, body, and souls. This journey was more famously known as the warrior’s pilgrimage and Shinosuke had improved both mind and soul with the simplest of techniques. He lowered into a squat and outstretched his right arm with the point of his index finger grazing the surface of the waves. Exactly as done before, his arms erupted with a volatile roar encased in furious chakra. The coating would focus itself into the tip of his finger causing a decent strain that would plaster across his face. Pushing down, the water would warp and sink along his finger until he quickly rose to full height.[break][break]
”I imagine this same concept could be applied to more than just the water, correct?“[break][break]
Shinosuke had almost unintentionally ignored the boy next to him while he was pondering the applications of such a technique. He had heard the dialogue initiated but it hadn’t completely registered in his brain yet, almost like it was processing one thing at a time. He turned towards the boy with a puzzled look and then almost snapped out of the trance he’d been in for the past minute or so.[break][break]
”Oh my bad kid, no there’s not many of these ‘shinobi’ around where I’m from and I’m not exactly sure you’d be welcome. At least where I’m from, they speak of you all as though you’re a nuisance.” A flash of a slight grin and Shinosuke would glance down at his armor. It’s not as though him knowing his name would bring any harm as he couldn’t possibly know him or his family but still the samurai hesitated for a moment. ”I guess you could call me Shino for now. What about yourself, you seem pretty capable for someone possibly younger than even I?”
”I imagine this same concept could be applied to more than just the water, correct?“
At first, it seemed like Xio’s words fell to def ears as the man seemed enarmed by his newfound ability trying to think of other ways to apply it, ‘just like when I was younger.’ He thought. Ignoring the fact that he’d seemingly been talking to himself for the past couple of moments, which wasn’t odd at all.
”Oh my bad kid, no there’s not many of these ‘shinobi’ around where I’m from and I’m not exactly sure you’d be welcome. At least where I’m from, they speak of you all as though you’re a nuisance.”
The man would flash a grin causing the lad to tense up a bit, ‘a nuisance?’ Xio pondered in his head. Without much thought, the boy’s hands slid from his pockets as he watched the armored man’s movements closely. Despite not feeling a bunch of hostility, the kami was always taught to be safe rather than sorry.
”I guess you could call me Shino for now. What about yourself, you seem pretty capable for someone possibly younger than even I?”
The tension released from his body as the man finally revealed his name, the young shinobi would nod his head for a moment before he would lift his right hand pointing to around his neck.
“My name is Xio of Kumogakure no sato.”
After he spoke his hand would drop to his side, he wasn’t sure which part of the world Shino was from he’d heard stories of Samurai but he thought with the development of ninjutsu they’d been lost.
“All that armor, I guess you’re protecting yourself from the nuisance you could encounter on your journey… What are they against ninjutsu?”
While glancing down at his armor, Shinosuke had not seen the sudden stiff and tense posture of the boy at all. When his eyes rose back to him he could see the nod of affirmation and the point to his neck.[break][break]
”Xio? That’s a rather unique name I don’t think I’ve heard of yet.” The boy would further inquire about the samurai’s upbringing and even his means of defending himself. Once more the man’s eyes flicked away as his mind attempted to capture pieces of his past. “Are they against ninjutsu…? I would say it’s more like they’re against what it’s become through the way you all use it. Through chakra you guys manage to create extraordinarily crafty techniques that seem useful, but then turn around and use them on each other for war and personal gains. I’d like you to imagine that our way of using chakra is a much more raw and pure version that’s primarily utilized for self defense and theatrics. While also just as deadly as your techniques, they’re considered more of an art form or piece of a religion. While there’s of course outliers in our “society” that do use them incorrectly, your abuse of chakra is a commonality. If it wasn’t, then why do you all keep your most powerful and creative techniques secret from each other? This would be because of your fear of others using them against you and the possibility of you needing to use it yourself against others. Most of our teachings are open to all of us to learn, but unfortunately not to you.”[break][break]
Shinosuke’s ramble had gone far enough. His hands reached up and clasped behind his head as he let out a drawn out sigh. ”At least, that’s what my father would say word for word. While I do share some of the same insights as my father, I’m not entirely convinced just yet. Sorry for the essay I just spewed out but I’d like to learn more about you all and the world in general so I travel often. What would you make of my father’s idea of you Xio?”[break][break]
Shinosuke wasn’t dumb, he didn’t expect the kid to fully listen to every bit of information he’d just spewed out at him but hopefully he listened to some of it. He himself as a child did not listen to every teaching his father attempted to instill in him especially when he disagreed, but Shinosuke had higher expectations of Xio. He calmly and confidently approached Shinosuke even though his weapons and armor were not explicitly hidden. A relatively obvious foreigner in all aspects, yet the boy had approached anyway without much of an issue. He must’ve seen some type of combat before to be that confident in his abilities, or possibly he’s just a kid after all. Shinosuke awaited a reply nonetheless.
“Are they against ninjutsu…? I would say it’s more like they’re against what it’s become through the way you all use it. Through chakra you guys manage to create extraordinarily crafty techniques that seem useful, but then turn around and use them on each other for war and personal gains. I’d like you to imagine that our way of using chakra is a much more raw and pure version that’s primarily utilized for self defense and theatrics. While also just as deadly as your techniques, they’re considered more of an art form or piece of a religion. While there’s of course outliers in our “society” that do use them incorrectly, your abuse of chakra is a commonality. If it wasn’t, then why do you all keep your most powerful and creative techniques secret from each other? This would be because of your fear of others using them against you and the possibility of you needing to use them yourself against others. Most of our teachings are open to all of us to learn, but unfortunately not to you.”
‘Sheesh.’ He thought to himself as he tried to gather his thoughts around a response.
”At least, that’s what my father would say word for word. While I do share some of the same insights as my father, I’m not entirely convinced just yet. Sorry for the essay I just spewed out, but I’d like to learn more about you all and the world in general, so I travel often. What would you make of my father’s idea of you Xio?”
Shino elaboration on his comments calmed the Shinobi a bit, without him knowing he kind of sounded like one of the cultivation elders of his clan. ‘What a prejudice tho. But without information, there’s only space for the assumption.’ The Kami pondered for a moment as he tucked his hands away in his pocket, it was clear there wasn’t much hostility here, only a lack of information.
“That’s a lot I’m not going to lie. Being as though I probably haven’t seen as much life as you those opinions of how most people view chakra have been cultivated over time, and kinda make sense.”
The young shinobi would sigh lightly under his breath as he thought of all those days, he sat with his dad going over family history.
“Despite that being the case, I do have a little bit I can weigh in on your father’s opinion if you’re willing to listen.”
Xio hadn’t expected to be going into some deep dialog while out on a simple patrol, but his father was always in the back of his head, ‘if they’ll listen, then talk.’
“The way chakra is used around the world varies depending on who you’re talking about, especially shinobi. Not everyone who takes on the ranks in a village’s military is there to develop techniques of mass destruction, similar to where you’re from chakra was first used to aid and entertain us but things evolve over time.
The implication that the dangerous techniques we develop are anything different than your own because it’s ‘pure’ is kinda hilarious. You’re techniques are literally based around that sword I can assume, that was made purely for killing, wasn’t it? How could anything about that be pure?”
As Xio spoke he remained calmed and composed as he usually did with his voice never leaving its monotone pitch, he was excited to exchange ideas with someone who was foundationally different from himself because he had questions about his foundation as well.
“Like Shino, I haven’t known you for long, and I managed to teach you a technique that has nothing to do with violence. It’s just something that could aid in your travels across the world or might change the way you look at similar situations where controlling your chakra more finely can be beneficial to you in ways you would never guess.
The hidden villages have been around for around 16 years pretty much and this is what the bases of becoming a shinobi are about. They’ve made an academy where they teach things like chakra control, respect for others, and the pursuit of maintaining and keeping the peace our kages have ushered in recently. And I can’t say this has made society perfect or the peace that has been cultivated will last forever. but I can say not everyone who wears a shinobi headband is abusing chakra because that problem existed before we did.
And I know that you guys have dangerous people, or people that have defected from y’alls teaching in order to pursue their own endeavors. And I know you all have techniques that are more deadly than others that you don’t want the average person to get a hold of because the idea of power can corrupt any man when its randomly placed in their hands right?”
Although young Xio sounded like an old man, he spent countless hours questioning his father on why their clan chose to align with the village of Kumogakure instead of becoming their own village. And these were the type of responses he got, stuff about togetherness and understanding the benefits of being around different types of people.
“Shit, I feel like I’ve been going in for a minute I’m almost done.”
He would say before offering another grin to the iron-clad man.
“I ain’t gonna say your dad should get out the country more, but he probably should get out his country more because the world is gradually changing all over. I can’t speak for everyone in every village because I don’t have the experience to back it up, so I guess most of what I’m saying is an assumption mostly but what can we do?”
As the genin was wrapping up he couldn’t hope but to laugh a little as he left a little room for the man to formulate his own opinion on what he was saying. Despite being 16 he had pretty good self-awareness and always wanted to leave space for people to think he was spewing straight bullshit at the end of the day. He never wanted to feel like he was dictating to anyone, or they had to believe him because he was right it was always an option with him.
“But without all those words I think It’s some bullshit humanity for the most part is generally evil if you think about it, and I wouldn’t say purely evil like bad intentions. But greed gets the best of most people, and helps to have people that want to create order even if it means secrets… don’t you think?”
