Journey to the land under the snow

Kiru walked along the snowy ground, his footprints leaving soft imprints in the endless blankets of snow. His long azure coat floated in the breeze, the black shirt he wore was not quite enough to keep out the cold. It occurred to him that he could button up his coat to make himself a bit warmer. He decided against this simply because the cold numbed the pain in his arm, which he still wore a small band around to make sure he didn’t move it too quickly. It had been broken a few days prior by a demon of a man, Youka Tau. The medical devices used on him were advanced, and had helped, but it would take time to heal a crushed arm. Kiru had failed to stop the menacing ninja, and the village of Yukigakure was only safe due to the timely intervention of their leader, Maku Jemuz. If Maku hadn’t shown up, Kiru and his friends would likely be dead. The fight had ended with them all being saved by Maku, and Kiru getting his arm crushed by Youka’s pure strength. Kiru felt utterly useless. There had been nothing he could have done. He was too weak to defend those he cared about, and had failed his team when they needed him most. The young ninja had finally reached the gates of the village; an endless sea of snow was all that could be seen beyond the gates. Kiru took a deep breath and walked outside.

He wasn’t running away from the village per say, as much as he needed a place to train and get stronger without interruptions. He had to be powerful enough to defend those he cared about, but not so much that he turned into a demon along the way. The only item he had brought with him was his sword, a long silver katana held in a midnight black sheathe. It had been an expensive purchase, and he barely knew how to use it, but he would find out soon. The most important thing to do in the sea of white he was currently traversing was to not forget where you were going. Losing your way was a good way to freeze to death from lack of cover. Thankfully, the boy in the aqua coat knew quite well where he was going. He had finally gotten a lead on the ancient creatures he had been searching for. Kiru himself was part of an ancient clan, which specialized in a power that allowed him to create chains of energy from his body. Kiru had learned there was an ancient species of creature that had a similar ability, and he intended to find it. What he found curious is the fact that these creatures lived way out in this frozen wasteland, rather than the near the island of Shimagakure. His clan had originated from that island, so he figured that’s what the creatures would be near, but his evidence actually pointed to a mountain several miles from Yukigakure. He had to investigate, because if anyone could make him stronger, they could.

He finally reached the forest near the borders of the country he was in. The snow seemed to barely hang onto the branches of the trees, and it was silent. Kiru couldn’t even hear the sounds of any animals around. This wasn’t good. Usually he should be able to hear at least some of them, but it was as if he was in a empty room miles underground. Odd, even the snowstorm behind him couldn’t be heard. He slowly looked around, his hand grasping the hilt of his sword. He noticed in the sky above him a slight shimmer. Was it some sort of genjutsu? Who would put an illusionary tactic around this forest though? Something was going on, and the young ninja intended to find out what.

It didn’t take Kiru long to find the culprits. One sat cross-legged in the center of the clearing, and two others were sharpening weapons near the first man. Kiru could tell from their scratched headbands that they were missing-nin, ninja that had left the village they were trained in. Kiru’s sensei Kira was actually a missing-nin, though he hadn’t questioned her about it. These guys were obviously preparing some sort of attack, and the only village near here was Yuki. Could he really fight them though? His arm wasn’t fully healed and he could get seriously hurt or even killed. He had to stop them he realized. He already failed the village once; he wouldn’t do it again. He could just run in and attack them, but that would probably end badly, they probably knew how to use their swords better than he could use his. He would have to be clever. He preformed several hand signs, molding the chakra inside his body. Then he blew air into his palm, adding his chakra to it. The air began spinning until it was a dense ball of air. He smiled at his handwork, and he shot it forward into the clearing. Normally, it had the power to tunnel through rock, but he had purposely lowered its strength so he wouldn’t injure anyone. He knew Maku would likely want to question them. It blasted into the ground below one of the men, sending him flying. The small blast kicked up snow, making a perfect cover. Kiru ran into the self-made blizzard, unsealing two chains from his wrist. They wrapped around the man in the air, and Kiru slammed him down, knocking him unconscious. Next was the man he hadn’t directly attacked. Kiru rushed out of the blizzard, the other man had a look of surprise on his face. He clumsily swung his sword at the young ninja, but Kiru ducked the blow, and wrapped the chains around his torso. Kiru spun, and threw the man at a tree, knocking him very unconscious. The man who had been creating the genjutsu barrier hadn’t noticed him, so all it took was a quick blow to the temple of the missing nin. Kiru had successfully beaten all three men with minimal effort. He should be back quick enough to collect them for Maku.

The forest was still quiet a little further down, but the sound of animals and the wind in the trees was at least there. It didn’t take the boy long to find the place mentioned in the texts. At the base of a small hill there were several odd looking rocks. They looked almost completely circular, and were sitting in a perfect circle themselves. He walked into the center and bent down to examine the ground. The snow was really powdery in the center, as if it was moved often. This shouldn’t be possible, however, because no one would hang out this far into the tundra. Digging it up, he found a hole in the ground. It was small, and almost looked natural. Kiru unsealed on of his chains and placed the blade into the whole and turned it gently. He could hear an almost gentle “click” and the ground began opening up. It sounded like metal, and opened in a circular path. Kiru, having no idea this would happen, was immediately dropped down it. The fall seemed long with the young ninja looking for a way to catch himself, but it was almost complete darkness. So instead he looked down, so that if he could roll at the right moment he wouldn’t hurt himself so badly. He was a lot closer than he thought. Suddenly a bright light lit up below the boy, nearly blinding him. He landed on something soft and bouncy, which saved himself from injury. He looked around the dark cavern he had fallen into. The light that had blinded him so was the mushroom below him, which is what he landed on. It was almost translucent, Kiru being able to see streaks of light like veins underneath its “skin”. The mushroom itself was light and springy and was likely put here for the purpose of catching visitors. The rest of the cavern was lit by a bluish glow. This was partly because of the big mushroom below Kiru, and partly because of the vines sticking to the sides of the cave. Oddly enough, only the ones closest to him were giving off light. Perhaps they were meant to light up as he moved, to lead him through the cave?

He bounced off the mushroom and sure enough, the lights moved with him. He moved slightly forward, and the cave was lit a bit more. The boy smiled. Kiru thought this place was pretty awesome. The temperature wasn’t even cold. The cave was neither hot, nor cold. It was like it had been made into the perfect temperature. The young ninja decided it was about time to explore and began moving through the cave. His previous thoughts had been mostly right. The vines did glow when he moved by them, but only if he went a specific path.  They did appear to be leading him somewhere. Trusting in the plants, he followed their bluish glow. He couldn’t tell how big the cave was, nor could he tell how far below ground he actually was. If the creatures he thought made this place, then it was possible they had a way to disorientate his sense of time. The only way to find out, would be to ask the owners of this cave when he found them. So he trekked on through the cave, its hard floor seemed almost out of place compared to the spongy walls covered in vines. He started to notice that the cave was lighting up a bit more. It was as if he was reaching a source of light at the end of this cavern tunnel. A little further and he could feel a air flow through the cave. For there to be flowing air though, he would have to be heading to a really large cavern, or outside. Kiru really doubted he was heading outside so it had to be a large cavern.  Finally he could see light. The gold-like glow was at the far end of the tunnel, and seemed to almost call to him.

Reaching the end, he was rewarded with a sight like no other. Brilliant gold flames lit the cave, coming from a source at the very top, almost like a man-made sun. At the bottom of the cavern he could see a whirlpool, spinning lazily in a clockwise direction. All around the cave was pocketed with holes in the walls, which were likely where the creatures here lived. Speaking of the creatures, Kiru thought they were rather amazing. There had to be hundreds hanging around the cavern. They were either flying to get somewhere, or floating in the river, or even sparring with each other. The creatures were some type of dragon. They seemed to come in a variety of shapes, colors, and sizes. They all had chains located on their bodies. Some had them wrapped around their back, others around their legs. Their legs themselves were also odd. Their back legs had four digits, and seemed meant for walking on all fours. Their front legs, however, looked a lot more flexible. Their front legs seemed to usually have five digits, and could grasp and handle what they wished to hold. Kiru imagined this was so they could throw and use their chains.

 The two biggest ones seemed to be guarding a cave at the far side of the cavern. That would likely be where the leader of these dragons was. That would likely be a good place to introduce himself, he thought, so he began climbing down to the cavern floor. That was when they started noticing him. They all began landing on perches, watching him with interest. They all appeared to have a keen interest in him as he moved through the long expanse of cave, and it was a little unnerving. When he finally reached the opposite ends of the cavern, he found the two large dragons giving the young ninja a toothy smile. They spoke to him, their voices booming, and almost commanding. “So a new one has come for the training of a sage?”
Kiru was confused at this, and expressed his confusion. “What do you mean? What’s a sage?”


They didn’t answer him, only giving the boy a knowing smile, and pointing the way into the cave. Kiru entered uneasily. He didn’t know what the guards had been talking about, so he was a little uneasy about what he was expected to do here. He reached the main area of the cave, and nearly gasped in surprise. The leader of the dragons was pretty huge. He was almost sixty feet tall, and looked pretty old. His scales were a dark gray, and appeared to have a long white beard. More large dragons were in this cave, and they all had their eyes on Kiru. The leader spoke up, his voice betraying his size. It seemed to fill the cave, and was directed at the young ninja. “We felt your arrival. I myself can feel your urge for strength. I am afraid though, you have not quite the experience or strength needed for the training of a sage. Though, as you are of Uzumaki descent, we would be happy to ally ourselves with you, should you agree to follow our teachings. Shall you agree?”
Kiru was almost speechless, but he didn't hesitate in his answer. “Yes, I will follow your guidance. I hope you will find me a good pupil.”
The leader smiled and then gestured to a dragon Kiru hadn't noticed, as it was a lot smaller than the others in this part of the cave. It had begun moving, so Kiru figured he had to follow. It led him to a small scroll, with which he guessed was what he had to sign with his blood. He did so without hesitation. He smiled, he had finally made it. He knew they wouldn't make him strong overnight, but he could still feel this was the right place for him. He almost felt like he was at home.

(Words 2,344, Journey to summon area complete)

Approved