[Senju Kazuto]

Silence was disrupted in the deep of the forest. The sounds of a distant combat spurred the birds that nested the trees. The distant sound of rushing boots scrapping at the forest soil that conveyed a message of rush, of chaos, of meeting the enemies that were assailing an important territory. It wasn't theirs of course, no matter how much right of conquest they could claim. The group of rogues and bandits that had made their lair deep in the woods of Hi no Kuni, that had their influence spread like a cankerous growth, enough to project its annoyance to threaten a project that was critical for the village. Hiding as he awaited the time to move, Kazuto felt a pang of shame, for a job left undone. He had thought that the Aburame had been enough to silence this band, enough to make them retreat and scatter and let the garrison that had manned the still ongoing construction to defend it. In theory that should've been enough but now he realized that whom he had slain was little more than one of the lieutenants of that entire group. The Senju was no stranger to dealing with insurgents, malcontents, traitors and rogue elements. But this time he was sure that he would be successful, as now, as the main body began to deal with one problem, he would go to excise the disease from its very root. Cut off the head and the body dies, they said, and as the last of the group of traitors made their way, a single shadow rose from the perch of branches above. It had to be close, the location he was seeking, all he had to do was now to follow the trails left by his enemies and confront the dangers of that unknowable bastion. With that, he began, a first step ahead and another as he jumped from the branches, following the trails that had been left behind, footprints, fires that had been out down, as he readied himself for what would be a difficult task.

-tag- Ren -words- 354 -notes- --- -music- ---

MADE BY VEL OF GS

[Ren]

The Hidden Leaf Village was determined to have their waterways constructed in the near future, but since they had been facing some difficulties, they decided to send two teams of Shinobi to ensure that the construction would finish in their predicted schedule, without any serious incident to disrupt or claim the lives of the workers there. One of the groups was composed by Shigure and Kazui, who was contributing to a village's mission for the first time since she had returned, and the other group was composed of Kazuto, who had also been responsible for assisting with the first stage of the construction in the past, being already familiar with area and its geography.

The objective of these two missions was to cut down the evil by its root, a massive operation using high ranking shinobi. As Kazuto arrived in the scene, he started looking for any clues or evidence of the presence of their enemies. He decided to check the place he had previously visited, but it seemed untouched, for he could still see the markings of his fight with the Yamanaka and the Aburame. But this was a small area of the potential hiding spots for their enemies, there was much more land to cover, and they were bound to be found, sooner or later.

---

<sup>Word Count: 220

Senju Kazuto</sup>

[Senju Kazuto]

The Senju saw the familiar sights of his last battle. The scars of battle that had remained in the wake of fire that had consumed both the Yamanaka and the Aburame and his endless swarm of beetles that he was a hive of. He jumped down, his knees absorbing the shock from the landing before he began to walk as he observed his surroundings. His steps crunched the soil beneath his feet. Going to a knee he would place his hand on top of the soil, scooping up a tiny bit with his fingers, spreading it in his hand almost in a ritualistic manner. He took a breath of the ground, finding the notes of wilderland and smoke in it. He looked around, trying to gather clues, the direction of the footsteps, broken branches and bushels. At the very least, he noted, they took the charred remains of their deceased. Unless animals in the forest decided to move away with the carrion and scrape whatever they could salvage from the carrion left behind. Pressing his hand on the ground, leaving more than his hand print, he raised to his full height, and began to press on, his body shrouded by the suit he wore for missions of this occasion, slowly moving to stick to the shadows, his steps dead silent, his touch on bark muffled, the brush of leaves quiet as a whisper. Silence kept him company, save for that of animals that stirred the branches above him, as he continued to follow the trail. These rogues and bandits weren't exactly what he could think military discipline, but he had seen them before having set up a watch tower, an advanced force and speaking of a boss, whether or not that had been the traitor Aburame was left to be seen, he suspected it was not. Carefully then, he carried on.

-tag- Ren -words- 321 -notes- --- -music- ---

MADE BY VEL OF GS

[Ren]

Kazuto analyzed the grounds of his previous battle carefully. Being the ANBU Captain for so many years gave him a type of insight a lot of other shinobi lack, so it was safe to assume that those woods in particular had been pretty much untouched by humans ever since the fateful battle against the deserters from the Hidden Leaf Village, which ended up claiming their lives. There were signs of wildlife there, yes, and the natural flow of nature as it should, but as he continued to look around the place, carefully to remain as quiet and stealthy as possible, he would eventually notice some clues. They were not necessarily new, as the trails were old enough to pre-date his battle. But at the time, he had no reason to further investigate.

Foot prints, the same as the Aburame, the Yamanaka, and the other person, but not limited to that. There were at least two more, and they were heading North, further away from the construction, and leaving the woods. And after combing the place even more carefully, Kazuto could be confident that these footprints were the only new thing he could find in those woods. But it was a start.

---

<sup>Word Count: 204

Senju Kazuto

Mission Count [4/40]</sup>

[Senju Kazuto]

The trail began to lead away from the original site of the battle. As it did he stopped and crouched by the footprints, noting their age, the dryness of the soil. Rain had not muddled them by a design of destiny and luck. He kept on going, his instincts and experience combining as he followed the only lead that he had. The forest had seldom felt as quiet as it was at this moment, almost as it was the long breath before the storm. Wind began to swept over with the cold edge of a bitter autumn that made him shiver through the fibers of his suit. Wind forced the cloak that shrouded him against him and he stopped as he found the trail starting to dilute until there were only two sets of footprints. These seemed fresher to him, the earth slightly more damp. He looked at the trail again as the wind continued to howl and moved on. His steps silent in the whirlwind, his eyes looking around for more signs of any encampment, any base, anything that would tell him that he was falling into an ambush, willingly, but an ambush none the less. As he walked, he passed next to a tree, his hand pressing against the bark, leaving yet another mark before moving on forward.

-tag- Ren -words- 230 -notes- --- -music- ---

MADE BY VEL OF GS

[Ren]

It was hard to keep track of that trail, even to someone as experienced and skilled as Kazuto. At times the Senju had to stop and take a close inspection at the terrain. The weather had erased parts of the trail as it moved always from the woods and into the fields, thus making Kazuto have to search harder and around the area, until he could finally resume pursuing such a faint trail. It was a hard job, one that a less experienced shinobi was certainly to fail, and as such, it was time consuming.

The sun would move in the horizon, and a number of hours would've passed and little progress made. Well, that was at least until he noticed a suspicious object near one of the very faint steps. Upon taking a closer look, Kazuto would notice that it was a piece of bandage. It was no longer white due to the time and the dirt, but there was something precious there for a tracker: dried blood. Now, it was hard to determine to who it belonged, but it gave Kazuto options. He could continue to try and pursue the trail which was getting older and more faded, or perhaps he could try and investigate the object, perhaps there was more around, or perhaps he could make some use of it.

---

<sup>Word Count: 226

Senju Kazuto

Mission Count [6/40]</sup>

[Senju Kazuto]

Damn it. He thought as he reached a point that the tracks seemed old, fading. A dead end if there was any. He looked around the soil, finding little else but broken twigs and sparsely grown grass that had, for the most part, remained in patches, dried and yellowing, looking like the hide of a sickly animal. He stopped as his eyes caught on something that broke the strange monotony of the soil, a single dot of dirty white, stapled with blood that had dried. He couldn't tell when this had fallen, but it wasn't precisely fresh as the torn shred of the bandage had been exposed to the elements. The dried blood had browned looking more like rust rather than the vivid red vitae. Kazuto observed the clue he had picked up, rubbing his thumb on it to see if there anything he could elucidate from this morsel of a trail. It was his best lead as far as he could tell, but the trail also remained. There was no reason why he couldn't do both, he thought. His free hand began to weave hand signs, the sound of crunching bark was heard as a facsimile of himself emerged like a growth that was quickly propelled, landing on both feet before turning to its creator. A tip of his helm was all the indication the doppelgänger required before it moved to follow the old trail. As he heard the vanishing steps of his clone he continued to ponder on the dried blood upon the parchment. It had been discarded, hurriedly so. Its significance could be that which he gave it, yet he held to it. A hand went to a pouch, plucking kunai. Quietly he punched the self healing mesh of his glove, nipping at the skin of his hand that held guarded against the cold, retrieving a small amount of his own blood. Quickly making another set of hand seals he'd press his hand on the soil, as formulae spread and a haze of white smoke enveloped him before revealing the form of three wolves that stared at him. Offering them bandaged, the wolves began to sniff its scent before raising their snout to the air as they tried to capture a scent.

-tag- Ren -words- 386 -notes- --- -music- ---

MADE BY VEL OF GS

SPOILER: Click to show

Jutsu Used:

NAME: Moku Bunshin no Jutsu [Wood Clone Technique]
RANK: B
CHAKRA USAGE: Low
CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu/Kekkei Genkai
ELEMENT: Mokuton [Wood Release]
DESCRIPTION:
A clone that is created by altering the user's own cells with chakra with the 'tiger,' 'dog,' and 'snake' seals. It has more endurance than the normal shadow clones and doesn't disappear when hit by the enemies' attacks. Moreover, since it has the ability to merge with plants and trees, it is also great for reconnaissance missions. They have the ability to travel far distances from the user and are able to communicate with the original. The clones can be as simple in function as a wooden dummy for use in the Body Replacement Technique.

The basic concept of the Shadow Clone Technique also applies to the Wood Clone Technique. However, the chakra-composed shadow clone and the cell-based wood clone are completely distinct techniques. By directly touching the wood clone with their hand, the user can absorb the information it gathered or change the shape of the clone. Because clone is made up of the user's own cells, transformed into vegetation when it is changed into a seed and ingested into the body or left on a target, it can be used as a transmission device of sorts.

The user can use these to track their target as the seeds respond to their chakra only. This and all other uses make this technique extremely convenient and a perfect clone technique that only the most powerful and fully developed dōjutsu will able to see through. The clone is only as strong as the user makes it. If the user is fighting or pre-occupied the fighting power will be diminished. The user must be still for the clone to fight at its fullest. (The clones ability wise are as strong as Shadow Clones, however they are more durable.)Though this clone technique is quite potent, as it's basic level, only one fully formed clone may be created at any given time.


NAME: Kuchiyose no Jutsu [Summoning Technique]
RANK: C
CHAKRA USAGE: Very Low - Very High depending on summon.
CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu [General]
ELEMENT: None
HANDSEALS: 5
DESCRIPTION:
One of the most common and beneficial techniques in the known shinobi world. Simply drawing blood and releasing a mass of chakra from one's extended hand is capable of calling an animal or otherwise to one's location. As a Space-Time Ninjutsu, this technique is capable of instantly displacing an intended summon from wherever they may be to the requested location, though there are obstacles that can prevent this. To use this jutsu, one must first make a contract with whatever they are summoning, living creature or not. Both the size and the stamina of what a shinobi calls upon increases the demand of chakra they must spend to perform the jutsu.


Summons:

-Enhanced sense of smell; their one and only role is to be used for tracking, using their noses to help find the way. With years of experience on most of the pack, they collectively are very skilled at tracking.

[Ren]

Fortunately, Kazuto had the Wolf Contract at his disposal, and with their keen sense of smell, even a faint clue such as the piece of bandage could prove itself quite useful. But before summoning his wolves to join him on the mission, Kazuto worked on creating a Wood Clone of himself, who would then start following the old trail, a difficult labout, but that could still prove quite useful to the man, since he could split the work.

With that step completed, the summoning technique was executed, and after a brief poof of smoke, three of his wolves appeared beside him. The Senju would offer them the bandage, and the trio would take turns sniffing on it. Once they seemed satisfied, they started sniffing around, and after but a few seconds, they seemed to have picked up a scent and started heading its way at a moderate pace, constantly stopping to sniff around again, to make sure they were on the right track. Despite their incredible sense of smell, the blood was old, and so was its trail.

Oddly enough, the foot trail the Wood clone had picked up seemed to be going a different way from the scent one, as if the group had split at that point of their journey.

---

<sup>Word Count: 215

Senju Kazuto

S-Rank Count [8/40]</sup>

[Senju Kazuto]

The wolves were quick at their work, the scent they had caught picked up immediately, as the trio began to spread, their noses hovering over their ground as they began to lead him to a trail, just as old as the one that he had come from. As the wolves continued he looked to the trail in the opposite direction as his wood clone moved into the other trail. Quietly he wondered wether or not the group that had come through here had split, in an attempt to divide their enemies should they reach into this point, a weaker force against their stronghold, whatever that was, would be easier to deal with. He wasn't much worried about the clone. He had made it strong enough to deal with most threat a Jonin would face, with sufficient chakra to fight and even detonate itself should the time come and if it were to be destroyed, its memory would allow him to get whatever information they had recovered after what remained of chakra returned to him. Following the wolves he would take a look to the ground, the footprints were hardened and somewhat faded. If there had been blood here at some point, they it had dried and its color mimicked the nuanced variations and hues of dirt. Yet even as the wolves stopped for a brief instance, they continued sniffing, finding a new spot of trail. Kazuto's sight drifted to the bandage still in his hand, the blood stained cloth being the only solid lead he had. He wondered if there was anything more to it. Ripping it in half he would keep one half inside one of his pouches, before observing the half in his hand. He didn't note anything out of the ordinary, he moved pressed some of his chakra into it, he didn't think anything would happen, but at the very least he could scratch a possibility from what he had found.

-tag- Ren -words- 334 -notes- --- -music- ---

MADE BY VEL OF GS

SPOILER: Click to show

Summon SA:

-Enhanced sense of smell; their one and only role is to be used for tracking, using their noses to help find the way. With years of experience on most of the pack, they collectively are very skilled at tracking.

[Ren]

The hypothesis of a group splitting up in an attempt to divide their enemies at a certain point was something worth considering, but it was too soon to confirm if that had been the case, so for now, all he could do was to keep on following the two tails he had identified so far, and see where they would be leading him to.

The wolves were good at finding the faint traces of smell, and picking up the trail; they were progressing at a faster pace than the clone, which was struggling more to find the old trail, and in a short spam of time, Kazuto would find himself further away from the clone, and eventually losing sight of it. Still, he had prepared it well enough so that there was no point or reason for him to be too concerned about it; worst come to worst, he would recover some chakra and gain valuable intel.

As Kazuto followed the wolves, he would turn his attention to the bandage, saving half of it and pressing his chakra against the other half. Nothing happened from it, further indicating that this was just a normal injury, and not some sort of elaborate trap or anything. The wolves would continue their tracking for a couple more hours, and after moving around five kilometres northeast, he would see a dangerous bog on the way of the trail. That was a more challenging terrain, that was certain.

---

<sup>Word Count: 245

S-Rank Count [10/40]

Senju Kazuto</sup>

[Senju Kazuto]

Nothing. That was what the Senju got from his little bit of experimentation with bandage. He knew it wasn't likely that there was anything more than just a poor sod's blood. He kept the bandage at hand just in case the wolves lost their trail. Soon the vegetation of the forest that had accompanied even after the trees became less and less prominent gave way to what seemed to be a bog. As the wolves stopped to receive order from him, he crouched next to the, placing his hands on the top of their heads one at a time to commend them from the good job so far. They weren't done and with a tip of his helm, the wolves continued, following the trail as they did the best to navigate the bog without touching the dirty water. As he followed them, his eyes would glance concentration of muddy liquid. Thankful for his mask to allow the scent to be filtered and the air to reach his nostrils with a modicum of cleanliness. The wolves didn't seem to be bothered, their sharp nose concentrating on following the trail and helping their master to track down their quarry. Either way he knew that bogs had an awful reputation, more often than not being the site of a battle that had gone wrong. Bodies could be find here in different stages of decay, and one didn't need to look far. They would be careful in their step. An ambush was always a possibility here. For the clone that threaded the other path, it seemed that each step took it through a more precarious and difficult location. The road, if that could be called, was almost akin hiking a rather steep and dangerous mountain. As the facsimile of the Senju moved on, it wondered if anything would happen at the end of his trial.

-tag- Ren -words- 321 -notes- --- -music- ---

MADE BY VEL OF GS

[Ren]

The wolves seemed pleased when Kazuto pet them for their good effort, and that seemed to have renewed their determination to find the source of that smell. Navigating the bog was challenging, and that also made them waste more time than they would like to, but the waters looked really dark, and it would be risky to act recklessly, especially because the place was a good spot for an ambush.

But as he progressed through the place, one of the wolves would move further from the pack, and grab something from inside the water with tis paw. When he pushed them to the surface, the first thing Kazuto would see was a Leaf forehead protector on a decomposed body. Only the upper half of the body was there, meaning they had been likely split by a blade. If anything, it seemed like something in this path was strong enough to kill a shinobi, so they needed to be extra careful.

Meanwhile, the clone continued to struggle to follow the road, but he was being somewhat successful at a snail pace. The road was going around and further away from the bog where Kazuto was, heading towards a hill. But after a long time in this pursuit, the clone would identify a watch tower further up the steep hill. He was still in a good position as to not be identified, but one thing he noticed was that the watch tower had a good view of the bog. And it seemed to be occupied.

---

<sup>Word Count: 256

Senju Kazuto

S-Rank Count [12/40]</sup>

[Senju Kazuto]

An eerie silence accompanied the wet steps of his boots. He took care on find secure footing, he took care to make sure that he was in no way or form about to slip. As one of his wolves would move away from the pack, the Senju turned his head as the wolf began to sneeze at the water, as if curiosity had taken hold of the beast, before it prodded with its paw, using its jaw to wrench something from the water, until the wolf turned to Kazuto after discovering a grim remnant, taking a step away as the Senju would stare at the body, the headband shining wet, dirtied by bog water. Body bleached of all color that made him think of curled milk. Decay and entropy had begun to take its course on what remained of the man. And by the fact that half of its torso was what remained it told him that a battle had been here or that someone had dumped the corpse here. He couldn't do much for it, but he would be remember to recover it when whenever the mission had ended. With that in mind, he would turn to the wolves, expectantly waiting for his command, only receiving a nod from him before they return to track the scent and move forward. In the other trail, the clone would finally reach the end of the treacherous road, doing its best to keep itself well hidden as before the simulacrum, a watch tower rose, piercing the dark sky. The clone would see that there was presence that indeed, it was inhabited and that it had a commanding view of area. The facsimile of a man faced a conundrum now. It could release itself, giving its creator information of the watch tower. If there was final base this was likely it. It could also accomplish the same objective, trying to infiltrate and in case it didn't work, detonate. Fulfilling the same process and probably be able to damage the tower or thin the herd if possible. With that in mind, the clone would begin its infiltration, keeping itself close to whatever cover it had available, as the tower loomed on ahead, its hands forming a seal.

-tag- Ren -words- 378 -notes- --- -music- ---

MADE BY VEL OF GS

SPOILER: Click to show

Jutsu Used:

By Clone:

1 Jutsu Prepared.

SA Used:

By Summon:

Summon SA:

-Enhanced sense of smell; their one and only role is to be used for tracking, using their noses to help find the way. With years of experience on most of the pack, they collectively are very skilled at tracking.

[Ren]

The clone would ponder on which course of action would be more beneficial to the mission, and then decide to proceed with the infiltration, knowing that if anything went wrong, it could dispel itself, or explode, and the information would be passed along to the original, so it was worth the risk. The clone would be careful and try to approach as stealthy as possible, while also preparing and holding a jutsu after the needed hand seals. Covering near the boulders on the hill, Kazuto would notice two man standing near the entrance of the watch tower, both carrying spears, and looking quite sharp. As he approached it, however, he would notice another man coming out of the tower, he would speak something to the guard, which Kazuto's clone could try to eavesdrop if they got a little closer.

Meanwhile, Kazuto and the wolves would continue to make their way through the bog, pursuing the faint scent that they could follow. They were closer to making it out of the bog, maybe another half an hour or so. But at the very least, it seemed like they were still in the clear, and avoiding the natural dangers presented by the terrain.

---

<sup>Word Count: 204

Senju Kazuto

S-Rank Count [14/40]</sup>

[Senju Kazuto]

The Senju carried on, the bog treacherous as the wolves trailblazed a path as they cared not to fall into the water and to following the scent. Taking longer than more than what he had preferred but still managing to traverse this accursed location. He had expected more than just the stench of the bog and the appearance of a body that had been left behind who knew when. He was still wary about his surroundings. Occasionally taking a glances for the odd disturbance of the brackish water, more often than not the slithering of a critter, or the bubbling of gases that had been trapped under this environment. He would begin to pick the pace as the end seemed to be in sight, hoping that they would not be the the s The clone on the other hand continued its steady advance. Moving between boulder to boulder, noting that it had not been discovered yet. Peering over one of the massive stones, the facsimile of a man was able to see two spearman by the entrance, their mouths moving as they began to converse. Narrowing its eyes he would focus on their exchange, trying to interpret their words by the position of their voices, the subtle movement of muscles beneath the skin as he tried to get enough information without having to risk its safety, at least until the clone needed to detonate.

-tag- Ren -words- 244 -notes- --- -music- ---

MADE BY VEL OF GS

SPOILER: Click to show

Jutsu Used:

1 Jutsu prepared

NAME: Dokusho [Reading]
RANK: D
CHAKRA USAGE: Very Low
CLASSIFICATION: Taijutsu
ELEMENT: N/A
DESCRIPTION:
For as far as the shinobi can see, this jutsu allows an ANBU operative to read lips. This technique allows the user to understand speech by visually interpreting the movements of the lips, face and tongue when normal sound is not available. This rare skill proves helpful when they cannot get too close to their targets and need to retrieve important information.

Jutsu Used:

By Clone:

1 Jutsu Prepared.

SA Used:



By Summon:

Summon SA:

-Enhanced sense of smell; their one and only role is to be used for tracking, using their noses to help find the way. With years of experience on most of the pack, they collectively are very skilled at tracking.