Snake, don't Snake.

It was another lovely day in Hoshigakure. It was not as sunny as it normally is, but that was not always a problem, especially since it was constantly sunny the majority of the time. It was near the end of the summer in Haven Country, and yet another day that Masashi was busy with something that prevented him from enjoying the warmth. The Uzumaki Genin was preparing for an expedition of sorts, so that would require gear that he normally didn’t carry around. ‘I suppose I should get used to carrying more weapons.’ Masashi thought to himself as he loaded his new weapon pouches with the equipment he picked up from the ninja shop in Hoshigakure’s market district. ‘I am a shinobi after all, and walking around without any form of weapons will just be asking for trouble.’ After gearing up, Masashi looked himself over in the mirror. He wore his brown leather duster that reached to his mid calf. Underneath the duster was a black bodysuit with what looked like a fitted purple breastplate. He wore plate greaves on his shins, fingerless gloves on his hands, and wore his Hoshigakure hitai-ate traditionally on his forehead. He had also put together a large backpack with gear essential for travelling: a small tent, a bedroll, fire-starting material, and rations for a few days travel. He would supplement that with foraging and hunting while on the road, if there wasn’t an inn or other such locale on the way to where he was going. Once he was fully packed, he hoisted the backpack onto his back, advised his butler that he would be going on an expedition and would be gone several days, and left his home, heading towards the front gate.

He had been researching in the Kozai Yuki National Archives. That was nothing new though, he was always researching. That was the life of one who was dedicated to learning and improving current practices and procedures. That day’s research trip was to learn about sentient races around Hoshigakure and its bordering countries. The primary reason for this was fairly simple: Masashi was looking for an assistant. He did not particularly trust many of the shinobi in the village, primarily because he did not know many of them but having a companion that he could summon at a moment’s notice for aid or advice was of great interest to the son of Countess Himari Akari. The other reason is because of something he had read the day before, about enhancing one’s power using Nature chakra. There are two ways of enhancing oneself with nature chakra, through either mastery of Ninjutsu or by signing a summoning contract with a sentient race of animals. Since Masashi would never be a master of Ninjutsu, acquiring a summon contract would be his only option of acquiring this power, if only to study what it does. Since he had now chosen how he would acquire that power, it was time to figure out if there was any sentient races that he would be able to find and sign a contract with. The Archives, being the center of all information in the village, was Masashi’s first stop because if there was anything to do with summoning and different races, it would be there. Unfortunately for the Uzumaki Genin, there wasn’t a whole lot of information in regards to specific races that accept summon contracts. There was a little information about different races in Haven Country itself, but none of them really stood out to him. He had almost given up when he had found mention of a race of serpents in Shadow Country, on the southern border of Haven Country. Masashi liked reptiles, snakes especially. They can be graceful animals and deadly if underestimated. ‘I think I found what I’m looking for.’ He thought to himself. ‘If only it told me where in Shadow Country they were.’ Based on the fact that source of information being referenced was more recent in nature, Masashi had strong reason to believe that he would be able to find what he was looking for. It was just a matter of getting to Shadow Country and looking. With that, Masashi had left the Archives to begin his preparations.

Walking out of the main gates at the entrance of Hoshigakure, Masashi immediately made his way southwest. He had a long trek ahead of him, as it was a significant distance from Hoshigakure itself to the border of Shadow Country. His travel route was to reach the border of Forest Country as quickly as possible so that he was not walking in a desert for the entirety of his trip. This would also allow him to supplement his rations with any plants or animals he found. Haven Country was relatively scarce in the open deserts, and Masashi was not particularly skilled in foraging in deserts. He would then follow the border of Haven and Forest countries until he had reached where they met with Shadow Country. It was at this point where Masashi would set up his base camp. As he had never really travelled into Shadow Country, it would be nice to have a safe location set up from where he could begin his search. At least here, it would be easier to maintain, and simply travel back here every night. Not that the Uzumaki Genin was expecting to be in this environment for a long period of time, but it never hurt to be prepared.

Shadow Country wasn't really what he had expected it to be. The desert slowly ended as the forests from Forest Country helped to maintain the water table in this area. It was more grassland than anything, punctuated by the occasional small cluster of trees. Nothing really stood out to him as a location where there would be a collection of snakes or similar reptiles. 'Of course it wouldn't be an easy expedition.' Masashi thought to himself with a chuckle. He set up camp on the border of Shadow Country, Forest Country, and Haven Country. Once that was done, he began his search. He was expecting to spend at least two or three days combing the country, looking for these potential allies. Over the course of the first two days, he covered roughly fifty percent of the country, mainly the western half, working his way east towards the mountains on the border of Tornado Country. During his search, he had come across all manner of plants and insects that were not common to Haven Country. He was familiar with a couple because of what he had read in scrolls from the Archives. He would collect some of the plants, as well as seeds if possible in order to grow them when he returned to Hoshigakure. ‘May as well kill several birds with the same stone.’ Masashi thought to himself, as he carefully stored the plants in his pack. The space that had been taken up by rations would be replaced by the leftover plants that Masashi would collect and bring home.

Unbeknownst to Masashi, he was being observed by something. In fact, they had been watching him ever since the young Uzumaki had crossed the border. They were curious at the moment, mainly because they were not entirely sure why he was there, and while some of them wanted him gone, the majority decided to let him be, and see what brought him to their land. As they were familiar with the plants native to Shadow Country, they understood why he was collecting the different specimens that he had.
 
Eventually, Masashi made his way to the foothills at the base of the mountains on the border of Shadow country and Tornado Country. The sheer height of the mountains blocked out most of the sun for a good portion of the day, leaving the entire section in low-light conditions. ‘I guess this is the shadowlands.’ Masashi thought to himself as he moved around the area. There was a few caves of varying sizes that Masashi had noticed as he was moving along. ‘Caves are going to be the last area I look through.’ Masashi thought as he finished looking over the rest of the Shadowlands. ‘Knowing my luck, that’s most likely where they’ll be. Either that, or I’m terrible at looking for things.’ With no trace of any reptiles in the foothills of the mountain, Masashi had no choice but to start searching caves. Since he had no way to see in the dark, he spent some time preparing torches to make his search easier. It was a calculated risk, because while it would allow him to see in the dark caves, it would also light him up like a target. ‘It’s a risk I’m going to have to take if I want to have any chance of finding them.’ He thought to himself as he lit the first torch and entered the first cave he had found. It was a series of three small caves, each around the same size. There was nothing spectacular about them, other than they would make a decent shelter from the elements.
 
The next cave system he had come across showed more promise. It was a winding path with several openings at random intervals. Each entrance seemed to branch off in multiple directions, almost as if it were designed to bewilder those that were inside. Before he had gone too far, he would make markings to show him the way back to the entrance of the cave. ‘Better to not get lost and die in here.’ He thought to himself as he made his way deeper into the network of pathways. All of a sudden, he came across a pathway that even the light of his torch could not illuminate. Sticking the torch into the darkness caused the light to disappear while it was there, while pulling it back would cause the torch to glow again. “So there’s something here.” He said out loud, to no one in particular. He was of course, not expecting the response that came after. “Indeed there is, human.” The voice didn’t sound entirely human, but that didn’t really make a difference in the grand scheme of things. ‘Well okay then.’ Masashi thought to himself, looking around automatically for the source of the voice. “Who are you, manling?” The voice asked again. Its tone was completely neutral, making it difficult for Masashi to make out its intent. ‘Nothing to lose right now by being honest.’ He thought while he decided what to respond with. Speaking into the darkness, Masashi said, “I am Masashi Uzumaki-Akari, son of Countess Himari Akari, Genin of Hoshigakure. I am seeking out the race of snakes and serpents that live in Shadow Country in order to sign a contract with them.” There was a long pause. Suddenly, the darkness that blocked his path didn’t seem so dark anymore. Masashi took this as a sign to proceed. He still required the torch of course, but at least he could make his way. It wasn’t much longer before the darkness solidified again, preventing Masashi from going further.
 
Off to one side of the tunnel though, was a room that was lit to the point where his torch wasn’t actually needed. That surprised the Uzumaki Genin, considering how far below the surface they likely were. In the middle of the room was a dark grey stone pedestal, 4 feet tall with a flat square cap three feet square. Upon the pedestal sat a snake. It had a striped pattern of black and white stripes traversing the entire length of its body with the exception of the head, which was white with a black triangle along the top of its mouth. It wasn’t possible for Masashi to tell how long its body was due to the fact that it was currently coiled on the pedestal, but it was at least several inches thick, and its head was standing about a foot above the pedestal. It looked over at Masashi as he entered the room, its forked tongue tasting the air. “And why should we agree to make a pact with you, Masashi Uzumaki-Akari?” The voice asked, a hint of amusement in its voice. Masashi wasn’t sure how to respond to that question at first. “I’m a researcher.” He said to the snake. “I’m always looking to improve my knowledge, and how it can benefit those around me. Any help you provide me that makes me stronger will make you stronger, as I will be looking for ways to make you stronger as well.” The snake considered his words. “Knowledge is power.” It said finally. “That is respectable. You have piqued our curiosity, and we are willing to allow you to sign our contract. We have other secrets that are ours alone for now. While you have shown promise in your journey of our land, you still have far to go. Until you have proven yourself, you will go no further into our home. You are welcome to come this far as often as you like.” Masashi nodded. “A fair compromise. I accept your terms.” The snake nodded as well. “Very good. I am called Orochi, the guardian of the Contract Scroll.” With that, Orochi moved his body off the top of the pedestal, revealing a scroll lying there. It was 2 feet long and roughly four inches thick. The part that was currently unfurled showed rows of empty space. ‘Most likely spaces for someone to sign the contract.’ Masashi thought to himself. “You must sign your name, as well as a print of your hand, on the scroll in your blood.” Orochi instructed Masashi. The Uzumaki Genin approached the pedestal and drew a kunai, pricking his right thumb and using his cut digit to first write his name on the scroll. He then applied blood to the rest of his hand, which he then pressed onto the scroll, leaving his hand print on the scroll underneath his name. With that, the scroll rolled itself up. "Very good." Orochi said to Masashi. "You will now have the ability to summon me and my brethren should we be needed.  There is a specific summoning jutsu, requiring a blood tribute and five different hand seals in this order. Boar, dog, bird, monkey, and ram. You then touch the bloodied hand to any surface and one of us will be summoned, provided you have been deemed worthy to summon them. You may also attempt to summon a specific serpent should you know them, such as myself. Again, it may not work if you are not deemed worthy." Masashi nodded in understanding, having listened intently to the directions and committed them to memory. "Thank you Orochi, I will show that your trust has not been misplaced." With that, the snake resumed its original position on the pedestal, and Masashi made his leave. It took almost no time for him to get back to the entrance of the cave, almost as if he intrinsically knew the way in and out now. 'I just signed the contract and I've already acquired that much insight to their home.' Masashi thought to himself with a smile. 'It seems I have made the right choice.'

He returned immediately to his campsite, packed everything up and made his return trip to Hoshigakure. It did not take as long because he did not need to conserve energy at this point, since he could simply rest up when he returned home. It took him a day and a half of almost constant travel before the main gates were in sight. Wearily he passed through them and made his way home for some well-earned rest. Tomorrow was going to be a new day full of research.
 
[EXIT]
 
WC: 2624

Claims:
13 stats
Serpents of the Shadowlands Summon Race Contract (2000/2000)
168 WC towards mastering Genjutsu Release (No Handseals, 500/500)
456 WC towards [url=http://naruto-role-play-rpg.forumotion.com/t27394-body-replication-jutsu]Body Replication [/url](456/3000)

Proof of Genjutsu Release Progress: here

Sss-sss-sss-sss-super job. Approved.