Miki stopped at the gate of Konohagakure, turning to give it one last look before she went on her journey. She didn’t know when she was going to return, but she was knew she was going to come back a much better shinobi for those she swore to protect. The woman took a deep breath and turned away from the gates, walking away from the first time for the first time. ”I don’t know why you’re even bothering with this silly little trip. You won’t be able to subdue me no matter how hard you try. You’re just now powerful enough girl. Kurama would laugh demonically. Miki wouldn’t reply and shrugged off the foxes comments. They couldn’t affect her anymore. Not after what had happened at the sanctuary. ”You’ll learn to eat those words.” Would be all she would say as she tugged at the straps on her backpack to secure it tightly to her back. The woman’s travels would bring her to the land of Iron. Years ago her grandfather had left their small little village in order to learn a secret technique from the samurai that inhabited the place. It was said they had a bukijutsu style that used a person’s own powerful spirit to fight. If there was going to be anything that would help her with showing Kurama who was boss, it was going to be this bukijutsu technique. The only person she could think of to teach it to her was her grandfather, but her family had lost track of the man after he left for the land of Iron. Miki’s parents always assumed he had died as a result of the journey, but Miki always had a feeling he was around.
The gates of Zaishin came into view after Miki had been traveling for quite some time through the Land of Iron. She was impressed by the gates that had been erected by the samurai. They weren’t known for their use of Chakra for every day things like the shinobi villages were, so it was interesting to see a structure built by hand. ”Who goes there!?” One of the samurai protecting the gates would shout at Miki as she approached closer. In response Miki would raise her hands up with her palms facing the samurai in the most nonthreatening manner she could muster. Regardless of the demeanor she tried to put off, it seemed that the samurai were already on edge from her presence. Perhaps they were able to tell she was a major threat if need be.
”Please do not be wary. I am a Miki Shiratori, genin of Konohagakure. I’m in search of my grandfather, Ryouichi Senju. Our family records indicate he came her years before the shinobi wars to receive training from your village.” The guards would shuffle momentarily as they relayed the information to each other. Each guard would pass along the message until it was brought to a man standing on the very top of the gate. The samurai in red armor would jump from the top of the gate and land directly in front of Miki.
The other guards around the man would point their weapons at Miki, putting Miki on edge but she would keep her hands where they were at. The red armored samurai would take another step closer to Miki, putting him directly in her space. ”That’s a name we haven’t heard for years.” The way the samurai said it, Miki couldn’t be sure if that was a good thing or not. ”A girl named Tamiko Senju came here not long ago to seek him out.” The man would make a sudden movement that made Miki sure this was where her journey was ending. Then he would unexpectedly pull out a mask and hand it to the girl. From what her father always said, he carried a mask just like that from his anbu days.
Miki would reach out and gently grasp the mask in her hands. ”Tamiko was his daughter, but she died within our village as she was suffering from some sort of chakra virus.” Miki thought back and couldn’t remember his father ever mentioning having a sister, but it was clear she had an aunt and perhaps a whole family they didn’t know about. What happened to Tamiko sounded awful, but she was happy the woman was able to be taken care of by someone before her end. ”What of my grandfather? What happened to him?” She would ask, slowly putting the mask away in her backpack before resting her hands at her sides.
”Unfortunately that is not an answer I know. Perhaps you would be able to get something out of the old man at the academy. That’s the last guy that saw him, but Tamiko tried for her final months to get something out of him and he never would.” Miki would nod softly, she understood. ”You have to let me in. I have to see this man and find out what happened to my grandfather. It’s the only way.” Miki would say, determined to get through this gate no matter what the man had to say. ”Open the gates!” The man would shout after a pause between the two. The woman smiled, surprised by the welcome reception of the samurai. ”If you ever find your grandfather kid, tell him he still owes me a drink.” Miki would smile brighter at the large man before taking off into the village to pursue her destiny.
With some help from the other locals in the village, Miki would finally find herself at the courtyard in the Distant Sun Quarter of Zaishin. The courtyard contained both the school and dojo for the village. The woman would go into the dojo, the building being much smaller than the buildings in Konoha would make it easier to find the man. Fortunately, an older man was standing directly at the center already teaching a course. This had to be the man, he practically looked older than any person Miki had ever met before. The woman would walk to the back of the class, not trying to interrupt as the lesson was taught. It was interesting for her to watch how a samurai taught Bukijutsu as opposed to how the shinobi taught it. Shinobi always thought of it as a tool, but the samurai taught it as an extension of their spiritual selves. They taught the bushido.
Hours would pass before the class would finally end for the old man and Miki would continue to wait as the students shuffled out of the building. ”What do you want. You’ve been standing there for too long.” The old man would say to Miki, surprising her slightly. The way he had been teaching, Miki assumed he never noticed her come in. Ah yes… I was told you could maybe help me find my grandfather, Ryouchi Senju. At the mention of his name, the man’s eyebrow would go up in interest. However, it would quickly go down as he approached Miki, turning his walk into a rotation around her. It was clear he was examining her.
”Another woman came her not long ago seeking him out. She was not ready and nor are you.” Miki would almost immediately clench her fists. ”And your journey ends.” Kurama laughed in the background of Miki’s mind. ”W-What do you mean I’m not ready?” The girl would say, taken aback by the pure suggestion. At the same time she was frustrated, but she tried her best to not show this as she didn’t want the man to think she wasn’t ready even more so. ”You. Are. Not. Ready.” The man would put in a matter of fact way as if that were enough explanation. ”Now leave me alone.”
The woman left the building in a rush, feeling as if the journey really had ended for her at this point. She had come all this way just for some man to tell her she wasn’t ready to continue. How was she supposed to know when she was ready if he wouldn’t even explain anything to her. It frustrated her, but she had to find some way to prove that she was ready for whatever it was the man had for her.
Her frustrations would take her to the local inn and bar. It didn’t seem like the busiest place, but she expected that given the samurai’s isolationist attitude toward the rest of the world. There wasn’t a lot of travelers here, she was sure. The woman would sit at the bar, thinking back to Konoha and all the people had had met during her time being a shinobi. After some drinks she would ask for a room and go to it, pulling out her container of ale from Obei. This was sure to help her with how she was feeling. The girl would take a sip of the potent oni Ale, sighing at it’s familiar taste. She missed Obei. She missed everyone. The more she thought about them, the more she realized she couldn’t fail her. She was too close to losing control of Kurama and she couldn’t let that happen.
With a few more sips, Miki couldn’t help but pass out in her bed. The next morning, she would awake with an early start. The woman would immediately leave as early as she could to go back to the Dojo with the old man. Without saying a word she would join the other people in the class, sitting on the heels of her feet as she waited. After all the students had sat, the old man would hobble into the room. For a moment his eyes would rest on Miki in the class, sticking out like a sore thumb to the man. However, he would walk to the front of the class and begin the lesson even though she were there. The young woman would take this as a sign that he approved of her being there.
That’s where Miki would begin to learn the 7 tenets of Bushido. The first of the tenets being integral to yourself and the people you deal with. It was learning that words are equal to acts as if you break your word as bad as directly harming someone. Just saying something was as strong as a promise. It was the ability to always follow through on your word. These teachings would come over the next several days as the old man taught the students.
Each day would have different tasks for the students to achieve for them to move onto the next step. However, those who were unable to pass by the end of the few days were immediately removed from the class until the next cycle. Though stressful for most of the other students, Miki had been taught at an early age to always be honest with everybody. It was an important thing her mom always taught her. No matter if she broke something in the house, failed a test, or even broke a promise, her mother would want her to be completely honest about that. Lest she hurt other people by lying.
The teachings of her mother were what she would use to push herself to excel past he limits. No one in the class knew how they were able to pass the test. All they really knew was that the old man would tell them when they had. That last part became particularly stressful to Miki as it seemed the man continuously overlooked her even though she felt she was passing whatever test it was. The more it seemed she was overlooked, the more confused the woman got. What was she missing?
It wasn’t much time before the last day to pass came. Miki was particularly nervous that day as she knew she didn’t have the time to be waiting around for the next couple of months until the next class began. She had to pass or she was going to let down the world. Perhaps the jashinists would really take over if she couldn’t be powerful enough to face them and destroy them. As the last few days, she would go to the class and begin meditating. The woman would focus on all of the things the old man had said while they were being taught and mix that with her mom’s teachings.
The woman would focus on what integrity really meant. Not that it was just being honest, but that it required more to it. It required being able to say and immediately follow through on that word. For Miki it was learning to be honest about the things she was comfortable being honest with as it would hold her back the most. It was accepting that death was the end of her life eventually but realizing that the truth of that was she could choose how she died, a failure or a savior. Miki couldn’t let herself become a failure. There was far too many people in this world counting on her. At that very moment, Miki would say to the world ”I will not let you down.” As she spoke that truth in her head, her entire body would faintly glow, barely noticeable to anybody in the room. Except for the old man it seemed as she would walk to where Miki was sitting. The man would place a hand on her shoulder before saying, ”You pass” and walking way.
The first trial ended up only being the easiest one as the old man only seemed to have no end to his imagination for these tests. In the weeks that followed, Miki would go through the second and third virtue states. They were rather simple ones for the woman given her religion with Evergreen. Many of the same concepts applied when paying respect to the universe as the samurai put it. Courage itself was something Miki always had. Her parents taught her she had to face the fire and run towards it when people were in danger. Those who ran toward the fire would surely be able to save the world.
The fourth week would consist of lessons and tests on the fourth virtue. However, as each week went by, the number of classmates Miki had dwindled. At this point there was only four of them left when she had begun with perhaps thirty. The woman chopped it up to whether or not the person had lived experience of the virtue states. The people who had longer lives and were more matured seemed to have an easier time. Miki was thankful she had been able to travel so much to learn things from so many people. Without them she would have never made passed even week one.
The fifth week came and the old man announced that it would be the final week of his lessons and those who passed would move onto someone who had learned the virtue states even passed him. Miki was surprised there was such a person out there in the world. The old man had so much knowledge to share, it seemed impossible anyone could know more than him. Regardless of that, Miki took the training as seriously as possible. The woman wouldn’t let herself fail this time. However, the virtue of compassion was something Miki already knew well. The woman always felt a connection with the living things around her. Anytime another person was sad or anyone died, Miki would be upset by such things. As the week came to an end, Miki would be the only student left.
At the end of the week, the old man would dismiss the other students before approaching Miki. ”A long way you have come.” He would say to the young woman kneeling before him. ”Yes sensei.” Miki would say as she bowed to him. Before she could say anything else the man would state, ”You’re ready.” The woman would say nothing, not entirely sure what the old man meant by that. The words hung in the air for what felt like way too long before the man would speak again. ”You’re ready to meet your grandfather.” At that, Miki’s eyes opened wide. It was time for her to finally meet him? The woman had almost forgot that was the entire reason she had come up here.
”R-Ryouichi? H-He’s the one you were talking about?” Miki caught on rather quickly, earning a nod from the old man. ”A long time ago he went to Yukigakure after I taught him all I knew. There he was able to find his enlightenment. I’ve never been able to find it myself, but if there’s anyone that will be able to show you. It’s him.” The old man would explain to Miki, catching her off guard further. Miki knew her grandfather was able to use Bukijutsu but she didn’t know he studied it to that extent. ”Miki Shiratori, Granddaughter of Ryouchi Senju, you must find him and you will find enlightenment. You will be able to save us all.”
Miki would pack her things the following day. The woman thought she was almost finished, but it began to feel like she had only begun. Fortunately, the fox had become quieter and quieter with each virtue state Miki had learned. It felt as though he knew what was coming. Miki was going to show him how powerful she truly was. Hell she had the potential to be more powerful than Masato one day. That was something Miki didn’t doubt whatso ever. With everything packed, she would go say a final good bye to the old man. Once she said her final good bye she was off to where Yukigakure used to be.
Weeks passed as Miki went into the icy tundra that was the land of snow. While she was traveling she really couldn’t understand why Ryouichi would ever pick a place like this. Whatever the reason was, she was sure it was a good one. As she walked along she would be interrupted by a violent feeling coming from some part of the world. Not long after was she being called to go to a Jinchuriki meeting.
– Insert Jinchuriki event here. –
Once the meeting was over, Miki found herself back in the little wood tent she had created to keep herself warm. The woman would stand up once again and push the wood back into the earth surrounding her. She had to find Ryouichi and soon. The woman would put use a technique to allow her to fly to make herself travel faster through the icy tundra. After some hours more of traveling, Miki would eventually find a small village with perhaps four houses, a small farm, and what seemed to be a dojo. The woman would land in the center of the area, looking around to see if anyone was around. Her sensory powers told her somebody of considerable power was in the area of the dojo.
With that knowledge the woman went over to the tiny building and the closer she got the more familiar feeling the chakra signature seemed to get. The woman almost felt as though she knew who this person was. Regardless of that she would keep a hand on her katana as she entered the building. ”Ah I knew you would be coming.” A man kneeling in the center of the room would say as she entered. Miki would release her grip on the handle as she recognized the voice immediately. ”Grandpa!” The woman would run toward him as he stood up only to have her hug him from behind. ”It’s been so long!”
After hugging the man for as long as she could, they would break apart long enough for him to explain himself some. Apparently, he came to Yukigakure to help rebuild it after it had been destroyed so long ago and in doing so he found his own spiritual enlightenment. Doing so allowed him to protect the village and give it a chance to properly grow again. Though he didn’t believe it would ever be the same size as it once was, he was healing the world and that was what he felt his true purpose in life was. The man said he would help those who still lived here and he followed through on that and in doing so he was able to find true loyalty to the innocent people of the world and to nature.
Ryouichi immediately agreed to teach Miki in order to help her learn everything that there was about spiritual enlightenment. The man believed in her ability to save the world if he taught it to her. Not only that but once again he would help someone he loved tame the Kurama, the real reason he wanted to help his grand daughter. It had been so like but he remembered Ivi well and missed her almost everyday of his life. Miki was unaware of the connection between Ryouichi and Kurama, but Kurama recognized him immediately. This resulted in a stirring in Miki’s stomach the second she had laid eyes on her grandfather. The damnable senju were always living for longer than they should was all the fox could think. Of couse he would run into Ryouichi again after all this time.
Over the next week Ryouichi and Miki would spend much of their time together for Miki to learn the last two virtue states. At this point, Miki was making good on the her word to the world. She was gaining as much power as possible so when she had to face the Jashinists, she would be ready to take them on and take them out. In order to do that she had to finish out this training and pass whatever tests that were left. That would be how Miki was able to accept being completely honest and sincere without needing to promise anything. Her word was her bond and she would uphold that bond for as long as she lived.
In the later end of the week, Miki would begin to focus on the loyalty she had to her family, to her friends, to Obei, and to the world. The woman had been tasked with one of the biggest responsibilities in the world, to hold Kurama and to use his power to save the world. Her duty to the world was the only thing she could focus on now. The woman would have to overcome all ego in order to save the world. She would save the world no matter what it took. As she meditated on this, Miki’s entire body began to glow purple as a full suit of Samurai armor would begin to cover her body. The woman would begin to stand, opening her eyes to reveal them glowing with an almost blinding light. It’s time for me to kick your a** fox.” Miki would say internally, receiving no answer from the fox as he prepared for what was to come.
The woman would prepare over the next few days for the fight by meditating on everything she had learned. She wanted to be sure that when it came to it, she was going to be able to fight the fox with her own will. Then the day came, the day that would determine whether or not she was going to be able to save the world or not. Miki would go with Ryouichi far out from the village that he had created to ensure none of the few innocent villagers would be caught in any sort of backlash from her internal struggle. Together they would create a large building for her to meditate in while she sat within a foo dog circle in case Kurama began to take control. Ryoucihi was prepared to take him on by himself if he needed to.
The woman kneeled down in the middle of the circle, closing her eyes and focusing on entering her mind. Within moment the woman would appear directly in the meadow the contained the fox’s box. ”I hope you’re ready girl. I won’t hold back and I will kill you if I get the chance.” The woman would say nothing to the fox as she began to float upward toward the large seal on the front of the box. ”Bring it fox.” Miki would say as she pressed her palm against the seal and pushed her chakra into it. As she did so the seal would crack as if it were shattered glass before it would explode. The cage would fracture next before tumbling down and releasing the fox.
The fight would begin with Miki immediately summoning a wooden statue as large as Kurama to fight alongside her as she activated her sage mode. In the same instant she would activate her first Virtue State. From there the fight would rage on between the two. Both of them demonstrating their raw power as each flung techniques and strikes with talons and blade. For once Miki knew she could beat the demon. The woman would activate more virtue states as time went on until it came to a point she would activate the seventh virtue state.
”It’s time to show you what I’m truly made of Kurama. To show you I’m not as week as you say I am.” The woman’s sharigan focused on the fox as she sent in her wood statue to attack. At the same time the woman would use the strongest technique of the virtue states, summoning a titan the same size as Kurama and the wooden statue. The statue would go to restrain the creature while the titanic suit of armor would use a large gunbai to strike Kurama down. At the same time Miki would user her blade to create wooden dragons that would rupture from the ground. The fox was out done at this point. Each attack would land, slamming the creature into the earth below them. The fox coughed before laughing. ”Maybe you do deserve my power then.” He would admit to Miki as he panted, being unable to get up as he continued to be restrained. At the same time his chakra would begin to be drained by Miki’s statue and the dragons. ”I told you I was more powerful than you made me out to seem.” The woman panted herself as both her virtue states and sage mode ended at the same time.
The battle field would settle and it would be quiet for some time as both Kurama and Miki caught her breath. ”I need you Kurama. We can’t let this Jashinists win. I know you don’t like me, but surely you can’t want to see the death god return like that. He’ll kill us all, even you.” Miki would break the silence and the tension. Kurama’s eyes shifted, looking at where Miki stood. ”If Masato were here I’m sure he would agree that you are deserving.” Kurama would say, earning a smile from Miki. ”But I want to be freed. No more damned box that holds me back. Allow me to go around the meadow and explore this place. When you need me, I’ll be here. Kurama demanded. Miki would nod in return. ”I will no longer hold you in a cage again so long as you do not try to take control or break free of this place. If you try, I’ll end you before you get the chance to escape.””Deal.”
With that Miki had finally mastered Kurama by coming to a mutual understanding that Miki was strong enough to control him and was as strong as Masato. The woman would return to the room that contained Ryouichi. She would smile and stand to face her grandfather only to find him gone. The woman would look around confused as the plan was for him to stay there in case anything went wrong… unless something else went wrong. The ground around her would begin to rumble, almost like it was confirming that something had indeed gone wrong. Miki immediately stood from her seated position only to realize how weak she actually felt after fighting Kurama. She could tell that she wasn’t going to be able to fight if something was happening. This wasn’t good.
The woman made her way outside toward where the rumble had come from only to find Ryouichi was in a battle himself. It seemed that the Jashinists had hunted Miki down to try and end her or perhaps take Kurama. The woman leaned against the door frame of the building as she watched her grandfather fight against a group of around twenty other shinobi. Could he hold them all of? Almost immediately after she had thought that, one of the techniques would make it through Ryouichi’s defenses and send him flying through the snow. Miki would cry out and attempt to get to her grand father, being unable to get much farther before she would fall to her knees. The man would suddenly release a large wave of chakra to throw the jashinists back before he would get back up. The man would take one look at Miki and smile before running into all of the Jashinists and taking them on. He would manage to take them all out before his wounds would take him down to his knees.
At the sight of him falling, Miki would push herself to run farther until she would get to her grandfather. As she came to him, he would fall into her arms. ”Miki you have to stop them. They cannot be allowed to summon the death god. You have to protect Evergreen’s world. That’s her will. That’s why you have Kurama. You have to save us all.” The man would cough and sputter throughout his speech as she held onto him. As soon as he was finished talking he would smile and close his eyes. Only a few more moments would pass before the man would peacefully pass away. The woman would cry out loud as she held the now dead corpse of her grandfather. At that same moment her sharigan would swirl into place, forming a butterfly in each of her eyes. She’d yell out no as she brought her head down into Ryouichi’s chest.
A few days would pass before Miki would leave the small village, she told them she would make sure the jashinists would never come back. Now that she had said it, it was her bond. It was time to tackle them head on.
▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅ ▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅ 「 C K R A : :x3,900 // 3,900 」tab「 S T M : :x3,120 // 3,120 」tab「 E X P : :x111,200 」tab「 両 : :x100,800 」 tab「 Konohagakure 」tab「 S+-rank Genin 」tab「 Senju / Uchiha 」tab「 Blood / Buki 」tab「 Kyuubi Host 」
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