A Cold Memory [Training/Flashback]

[Learning: D-Rank Konowari Secret Technique: Air Dash]
[Required WC: 300]
[My WC: 333]

It was cold in Yukigakure. Letony was excited to learn, but he would never reveal this. He opened the scroll he found containing many of his clan’s secret techniques. He mused over the figures of black in specific poses and forming specific hand seals. There were also instructions to go with each caption. Letony spotted one technique in which he could learn quickly. It was called the Konowari Secret Technique: Air Dash. Letony pondered the effectiveness of such a technique. He wondered how his ancestors creatively applied it in combat. It was as though the Konowari were sky people. The technique is what Letony would analyze; trying to decipher its strengths and weaknesses. He was extremely calculated but need to try performing this himself. At this age Letony was familiar with his Wind Natured chakra; roughly twelve years old. The old man he lived with made sure of this throughout their many sessions of training.

Letony stood just outside the wooden house; the old man had wandered off long enough to not stifle his attempt this time. This is a technique he has practiced before, but each day he approached it as though he was learning right from the beginning. This accelerated his progress. Snake. Tiger. Ram. Letony creates the hand signs as the snow falls slowly towards more snow on the ground. He would focus his wind natured chakra at his feet; using his clans innate ability called Razor Massacre to shape the raw chakra into a solid surface. Letony completed step one; as he took a step in mid-air which lands directly on the solid surface he created. His other foot did the same thing; keepings his balance. The next part was a bit more difficult. He had to precisely release the wind release at this feet to accelerate his movement in a particular direction of his choosing; whilst casting another compressed surface to catch himself. He would complete said action in that moment; officially learning the complete Konowari Air Dash.

[Learning: E-Rank Tree Climbing]
[Required WC: 100]
[My WC: 115]

Letony would be alone once again outside the wooden house of his upbringing; easily refining the chakra at the soles of his feet to complete his next attempt. He would use the generic shinobi skill of tree climbing for the first time. He would dash at the building; running as quick as he could after focusing his chakra. He managed two steps his first try; ending up falling into the snow a few feet. He would not give up so easily; and reset his original position before trying again. He would do this roughly fifty times until he could walk comfortably up the side of the house. He easily learned the Generic Tree Climbing technique.

[Learning: S-Rank: Wind Release: Pocket Collapse & Maya's Mercy]
[Required WC: 2,400]
[My WC: 2,596]

The old man’s dead body seemed to fester, after it had been removed from the small wooden cabin in Yukigakure. It left a subtle but acrid odder, which seemed to meld with the existing smell of raw wood and a soot infested fireplace. Small particles of dust and ash floated about the barren cabin. Now completely vacant, seeing as Letony decided to leave the moment after he hauled the body from the depths of that small shack. He drags the old bastard by both his legs; aggressively allowing his head and appendages to collide with whatever he could. The body glided across the snow; leaving a trail of blood, which Letony quickly rectified. He didn’t want to waste any time; there was simply too much at stake for him personally. Letony knew nothing of his origins besides what the demented terrorist of an old man had told him. This information, which was likely mitigated to ensure full control of the child boy before he learned his potential. This inevitably caught up to the old bastard regardless of his attempts to filter the young boy’s mind. Letony became aware of this manipulation; biding his time and training in secret to thwart the oppressors mighty and old hand. Fully geared, fed, and ready to travel; Letony walked intently in the direction of the village center through the blisteringly brisk air. He retained his stock gear; which suited him well in this desolate cold. It always seemed to get warmer as he entered closer to the village gates; it was probably the increased density of the human population in the area. While continuing to walk; Letony would be abruptly recognized by his unique clothing. He was approached from a small stand, which sold a wide variety of Yukigakure delicacies. The man spoke to Letony so suddenly; he cringed slightly. Afterall, Letony had committed a murder and hid a body prior to this happening.

“Hey! That outfit you’re wearing. Unmistakable. Nice to meet a fellow Konowari,” the man spoke suddenly; revealing himself from the delicacy stand to face Letony’s side. It couldn’t have just been the clothes; Letony mused to himself, inclining to not respond immediately, but entertaining the idea he would wait. Afterall, this pertained to his goal. “Not much of a talker huh? Why don’t I be straight with you. I sensed your chakra,” the man smirked slightly.

“Impressive,” Letony spoke this without a single hint of enthusiasm, “What can you offer me?”

Letony would get straight down to business; only wanting to know what he could gain from this encounter.

“What I can offer you is freedom. You see…,” the man become quite blunt, “I noticed you long before you got here. I’ve been checking on your whereabouts periodically from the time of your conception. I only long to see you reach your full Konowari potential,” the man relaxed slightly. “Conversely, I could turn you in for the murder of your caretaker,” the man whispered and glanced in Letony’s eyes.

The furry bottled up in Letony like the moon enhanced tide of a great tsunami. He would grip this anger within his chest, and express it through hardening his face, “I just want to know who I am!”

Letony was younger than twenty five at this age; he would be around fifteen years old, so he did not know how to manage his emotions as well. This man was clearly stronger than Letony was; and held on to information which could place his life in jeopardy. Letony was smart enough to know not to fight this man, but to experience what he has to offer. There was no reason for this to be malignant; although shocking at first to Letony. He did not express this well.

“I see the first offer is hitting home then. Now relax. You’re in good hands with me. I am truly Konowari,” the man flashed a brief tattoo covering his right arm before proceeding. “Take these instructions, and travel to the Sunagakure Ruins. This experience shall be the utmost enlightening.”

The man handed Letony a map with detailed instructions about the Konowari’s secret hideout; containing information of how to access this location safely. Letony felt admiration, he could not properly express this however, and remained silent as he took the map. “I’ll be seeing you again… soon enough. You won’t be able to find me. I’ll find you,” with that last remark the man formed a hand seal; using the Konowari Air Dash, unbeknownst to Letony. The man was now a great distance away, and Letony could tell this on basic instinct and the nature at which the technique was performed. “Was that Wind Release?” Letony questioned himself, intently analyzing the new map he was given. He would need to sneak out quietly and so he did by unknown means; able to evade the security at the border by only inflicting one casualty. With his gained prowess he managed to hide the remnants of his actions; leaving the village and beginning his journey toward the Ruins of Sungakure.

Letony’s basic survival instincts, taught to him by his childhood caretaker, paid dividends in reaching the Sungakure Ruins. He was forced to hunt for food or wild edibles. Letony had to learn different materials for constructing the perfect shelter versus his environment. He spent many nights traversing the tundra of Yukigakure’s outskirts; mostly feasting on polar bear meat and using snow for water. Letony grabbed fresh edibles wherever he could. Upon reaching the ocean separating Yukigakure; Letony would use his subterfuge skills in order to gain access as a stowaway on a boat, headed directly for the adjacent continent. This is where he would arrive; his map continually stored in his garments and retrieved as necessary to traverse this entirely new environment. Letony seemed to be capable of adapting to this climate with ease; it was a vast improvement and converse from the frigid Yukigakure. His hood would collapse from his head as the sun shined directly in his face. There were no clouds, but strong winds. There was no forest, but endless sands. There was no snow, but a dry heat that could dehydrate a sponge. Letony ensured all his basics were covered. Food. Water. Shelter. The provided reprieve from the cold boosted his energy and focus. He would locate the approximate coordinates on the map; scanning the horizon and deducing that the Ruins of the Konowari’s hideout were likely buried under the sand. This would continue to be an interesting journey for sure; Letony could breath and face new experiences without a filter. The weather alone was a joyous experience; however, Letony did not express this physically, he simply did not have the capacity to express positive emotions.

Without the map; Letony would have died traversing the desert, wandering endlessly until a sandstorm would seal his demise. Luckily, he did. He held the map with both hands at each extreme; pulling out the full of the map. He made small marks to keep track of the area he covered and his current location on the map throughout his journey. He removed one hand from the extreme of the map to point at his current position and the mark which indicated the location of the Konowari hideout. He was only about a hundred meters from the intended location. Letony could tell this because the map contained a legend and distance. It was extremely detailed and could only be written by the Konowari themselves. This affirmed his motivation as he returned to his steps, which impacted the sand creating small craters of footsteps where there were none. This created a trail that the young boy didn’t have the capacity to realize in his infancy of shinobi skills and tactics. He was missing one basic, foundation. Cover your tracks.

As Letony approached the one hundred meters mark; nothing had changed in the scenery from before. It was just as when he left the dock; nothing but endless sands. He reevaluated his prior thoughts; thinking that the Konowari hideout must be buried below the sands. “Where do I go from here? I wonder…” Letony pondered momentarily as he devised a plan to enter the compound. “There must be something here that can lead me to my birthright…. I haven’t come this far for nothing,” anger started to creep up on the young boy until he noticed a slight elevation in the sand covering the mark. It took a while for his eyes to adjust and retain the coalescing scenery before him. The elevation was only about four or five inches beyond the norm of the entirety of the remainder of the sand. Letony quickly deescalated his body toward this intriguing and unique rarity of elevation; hoping to find the pinnacle of his efforts. He returned the map to his person as he used his other hand to brush over the small elevation. Beneath was a stark realization.

Symbol:

Letony witnessed the same tattoo on the Konowari’s right arm that he met prior. His eyes widened, “at last… I have found you… Konowari.”

Applying pressure to the small stone from which the Konowari symbol had been engraved created a chain reaction. The sand beneath him would fall abruptly a short distance below; ensuring this hole was complete and intended. It was just wide enough to fit the entirety of his teen body through and a structure of some kind seemed to hold the remaining sand at bay from falling behind him. From the thin light which pierced the hole he fell through; he could see with decent acuity the official Ruins of the Konowari. Letony was now in an intricate maze which prompted him to view the reverse side of the map. It was exactly as he suspected, as he tilted the paper into the beam of light shining through the hole. There was a Genjutsu imbedded within the item; which released upon entered the compound revealing the secrets of this intricate maze. There were several rooms which Letony took note of from the map. There was Vayu, and Maya’s Temples; still fresh with archives and books. The Konowari Secret Training Facility was where he would travel first, however. The remaining rooms were the Weapons Storage Vault, and Central Intelligence Unit.

This entrance would cater to the immediate needs of Letony as he prepared to enter deeper. He would grab a torch out of many torches along the walls of his current position. There was a flint to even ignite it and that is what Letony did before he traversed the area between him and the training facility. When he entered this part of the tomb; Letony took a moment to absorb the significance of the moment. If the scenery wasn’t enough to absorb already. Inside it appeared much like the space of Sasuke and Rock Lee’s first combat encounter. There were pillars from the ceiling down to the floor and two stories; one being the bottom floor which was the bulk of the training area and the second being the balcony from which clan members could spectate. This gave Letony a massive insight on many of his clan’s customs. The map detailed a secret compartment within this room containing all the Konowari’s techniques and abilities. This would require the man’s own Konowari blood to unlock; essentially making it impossible to access by other means. This was one technique used to safeguard the Konowari’s Hiden. Letony removed a small shuriken lodged in a nearby pillar. He would need to cut himself and aim the blood directly in the center of the room. One the floor there was a massive depiction of the Konowari clan symbol painted in full color. The middle of the symbol also being the epicenter of the room. Letony performed this action and watched as a transition occurred not unalike the first. This, however, would decline one of the pillars farther into the room’s floor; reaching below head level of Letony. This revealed a collection of scrolls inside it at the top; precisely leveled enough for Letony to view by simply standing six feet tall. He would remove the entirety of the collection and sift through the techniques; until he found which techniques he wanted to learn. Letony was also enlightened of what innate abilities he possesses. The information was detailed down to the sciences; exact hand seals and bodily stances. It detailed the process of molding chakra towards these efforts as well. Letony fished for what he wanted; and would take on the extremes of most of these techniques, those being of the S-Ranked level. He filtered the scrolls, until he contained each scroll with the jutsu, he would now attempt to learn.

These read: Maya’s Mercy, and Wind Release: Pocket Collapse. Letony began with the prerequisite technique toward Maya’s Mercy; the Konowari Kai. He was already quite skilled in Genjutsu, and with the guidance of the scrolls at his disposal; could perform the technique within two days of being within this tomb. The remaining week would be spent practicing the Maya’s Mercy technique in his clan’s former training grounds; how it felt nostalgic and new at the same time was an indescribably feeling. Letony’s frustrations with Maya’s Mercy would be quelled momentarily each time by attempting the Wind Release instead. It was fair to say he practiced both techniques in the same progression. Another week passed by; and it was as though time stood still for him. He could perform these techniques; however, he did not master them yet.

This was the case until Tomb Raider’s tracked Letony’s steps in the sand; leading to the entrance. By this time Letony was quite developed as a shinobi; he discovered he had sensory skill. This would alert him once the men reached close enough to the entrance of the tomb; as it was vast inside. No doubt if they entered carelessly, they would become lost and trapped without a map of the compound; but they were experienced at their occupation. This meant they could possibly have tools or possibly be desperate. Regardless, Letony would test his new might against these individuals; and ensure this place was to never by discovered by an outsider. Letony returned to the entrance to see the men standing above the hole he fell through. He needed to patch it and kill these Raiders; cover the etched rock again. These men were smart because they didn’t enter. The later reason being the Genjutsu which they cast into the maze through sound. Letony preemptively had Konowari Kai in effect and would now use Maya’s Mercy to eliminate its effects; as it was too powerful for Konowari Kai alone. He perfected the technique in that moment; his opponent’s thinking the boy was simply lost in the effects of the Genjutsu which was supposed to draw him toward the user. Letony would take this opportunity to catch the two Tomb Raiders off guard; slicing them with a weapon he retrieved from the Weapons Storage Vault before initiating his S level Wind Release. The pain inflicted from the katana would stun them momentarily as they bled out; Letony creating the hand seals for the technique after gaining enough distance to prevent interruption.

“Wind Release: Pocket Collapse!”

The technique distorted the fabric of space time with an intense suction; reeling in the Raiders who were not shinobi but possessed the ability to perform Genjutsu of a high degree. They were extremely weak; and already weakened for the gruesome outcome that occurred. Letony could feel it. He could feel that this was his own mastery of the technique. His progress was made.

[Complete AND To be continued…]