The Tower's End [Closed]

The endless cycle came forward and back no matter what you tried to do to stop its flow. From his previous location the crackling of lightning followed as he flickered through the expanse of the sky until he landed with a thunderous blast in front of the start of the forest. As he stood he slowly dusted off flecks of dust and decayed earth off of his form, amber eyes slowly taking in the view from the ground. A heavy sigh left his lips as he returned his hat onto his head and slowly began his adventure into what was once known as the Black Forest. He remembered fondly the creation of this space of forest that had once stood as an ability of one of his closest friends and mentors. Now it had been reduced to a sycophant's playground and one he would soon fix. His last encounter within this forest was with the one that had created this forest, their battle being something he wish he could have finished to the end. Yaju stopped a few meters into the forest at what appeared to be a stone walkway, not new from his memory. It hadn't aged too much and yet as he looked at it all he could see was the pus and rot that had been plagued upon it. He had wanted to set this place free, to rid it of the decay and pus for good. This was not the reason he had been here however. His steps continued in silence as he pushed through it containing his anger and resentment for the failure he had spawned upon his home.

The black forest stretched for miles upon miles until he stopped at the borders in which became the mountains of the village. It was quite ironic how if one looked at the topography of the village it had been split into three key areas. The Black Forest. The Dragon Ravine. The Mountains. Each an area the Sannin of the village called their domain. The only one that had not been tainted was the area of the Mountains...his home. He failed them all. Misaki. Kurokon Shikyo. Even the oddity of the group, Alice. The only person he failed more than them all...was her. He shook the though of Akihana from his mind as he deviated off the path toward the only landmark of the forest- The Tower of Heaven. The tower itself was only known to many as a structure that tried to defy the power of God and those that sought to shackle people, but to Yaju it was simply another memory of the past that shackled him. As one foot stepped in front of the other he became closer and closer to a side of the wall none ever thought of. See the tower had no entrance. No exit. To those that simple gazed upon its entirety they simply saw a tower. But to those privy to its secrets...to the Brotherhood of the Sannin...They knew what this place held. The towers base had become corrupt with the embrace of ivy and vines, black and disgusted as he raised a hand to them.

With a simple touch they began to melt and contort away from him as red flames flickered from his fingers to strike against them. Seconds passed as they wilted from life, no longer being able to sustain under the amber flames. With his hands touching the chakra laced cobblestone, he pushed a few blocks in before the tower could be felt shaking. Stones turned in upon themselves as a door slowly began to form in front of him and into the darkness he went. He knew the path from him and after a small moment he held his hand up to form a contrail of fire that would light his path. As he stepped deeper the stones began to move and twist back into shape, leaving him alone within its depths. For many this would be a death trap that would swallow them whole, but the tower remembered this feeling. The chakra that resonated from the male proved his only source of safety as he walked the desolate hallway. The sound of talking between three people played in his mind as he walked. The three discussed things that normal friends would. New jutsu, discoveries, things of that nature. He only knew that originally with two others. Phantom of them and a small child moving through this tower with mixed emotions and smiles.

How long had it been since he thought of all of this? Months? No years. The flames licked and flickered for a moment until he had found his destination. A thick slab of metal stood between him and his destination," Tch... Of all the things to stop me from gaining access...Got dammit Kurokon," of course as he cursed the man, a thought came across his mind. Placing his hand against what looked to be a chakra reader he would smile. In his forgetfulness he was put into this...a guardian to the secrets of this place, his friends last bastion. Gears began to crank and grind to life as he lifted his hand from the device, dust met his face as air finally breathed into the enclosed space for what seemed like an eternity. A loud cough escaped his lips as he waved and batted away the dust and flicked his wrist for the flames to seek shelter in many of the candles and oil lanterns around. As the room began to fill with light the first thing that had came into his sight was a familiar set of tables. Tables that were used to fulfill a myriad of objectives. Touching his stomach the male couldn't help but laugh for a moment, recalling the first transplant he had gotten...The bijuu that had been sealed inside of himself...the creation of life he had made.

All of these memories came into him like a floodgate that had been opened finally. "I can't believe it has been years since I even thought of this place...The memories here. Almost feels like i'm coming here for the first time again," speaking to himself he ran hands against books and papers alike. Documents of genetic mutations, bloodlines, anything that the mad doctor had done or found out laid here. The male had not been interested in anything like this because it had been Kuro's forte, but maybe it was time to find out what the male had such an interest in. Setting his hat onto a decrepit table, Yaju would pull up a semi functional seat and begin to peruse through documents left and right. The stacks of paper were flipped quicker than he thought originally, care being put in place so that he didn't rip or corrupt the data on each sheet. The information that he collected on any bloodlines he had came across, even one's Yaju didn't inherently know about baffled him yet something...didn't sit right with the male. All of this was here...and he knew about it. A small frown overtook his features as he went over things in a rush, his mind taking in as much as he could before slamming the book he currently had down and sighing," I don't know how you did all of this old friend," to which he could only hear the late male say "Over time."

Hours passed as he sat in silence going through pages upon pages of information. The man notated everything he had done with his medical expertise even about doujutsu such as the Sharingan. There was a time in which Yaju was more than willing to give up his Byakugan in exchange for the power that the Sharingan had itself, but thanks to the sway of Viper Uchiha he decided against it. Shaking his head at his own mistake he sat the papers down and pinched the bridge of his nose. All of this just brought back memory after memory and yet he felt it. The cold sting of isolation and being alone. He had nothing left in the world, nothing that he once had that was his own. He had his student yes, but how would they react to seeing that their master was one of the living again? Would they accept him into their arms once more? Or would they cast him aside as a specter and continue living their own life? All of these questions haunted the males head before he stood up, casting the thoughts from his brain. Grabbing the material he would begin to seal most of it away for safe keeping, choosing to bring it with him so he can safeguard it. These were things he'd keep or share depending on who it was, but for now no one needed to know.

It felt as if hours passed before he had been done, a final glance over being given of the place before he sighed and shook his head," All good things must come to an end I suppose." He knew exactly what that meant for him...and this place. It was time to finally put to rest that which held his friends final memory. As he left from the room he made sure to leave the door ajar as he placed multiple explosion seals in the room, so what would soon come to pass nothing would be missed. As he walked out into the quiet forest his eyes turned to face the still opened hidden door and in that moment he slowly began point into the hall way. With a stiffled breath he released a wild torrent of silver inked fire into the hall way, the flames licking each individual brick that went into making the building. Within moments the flames hit the room filled with seals and an enormous BOOM filled the tower and the forest as the structure began to crumble. The flames within the tower shot through its roof as he looked up to the fire, but his work was not done. Moving from the burning building he made his way toward the center of the forest and with a bite of his thumb summoned one who he had not seen in quite some time.

In a golden blaze of fire a towering Kitsune stood over the sage, looking down with a look of bewilderment and...what could be described as happiness. The fox turned into her human guise and slapped the ex-kage before hugging him as a mother would a son coming home after being gone for so long. No words were exchanged as he hugged the woman, and after a passing he would break the embrace," My Goddess...I need your help in sending the memory of my dear friend off with a bang...will you assist your chosen?," to which the nine-tailed woman nodded before turning to her true form. Nine tails thrashed within the air as she unleashed a wave of golden fire around them, but not before Yaju join in with her. As he slowly put on his hat, the guise of man was released to give way to the guise of a true sage. Nine tails flowed from his form as he released a blast of silver inked flames to join with the fox's golden ones. Within an instant the flames kissed and licked against the entire area, taking with it the two as well. They were unharmed as they stood with the flames and he stood underneath the fox. Watching with a blank expression as he could feel the last vestigates of his friend slowly leaving this mortal coil.

The forest burned and raged for what seemed like ages, the fires being contained to where they were only within the expanse of the forest until it was nothing but barren land. As the flames slowly began to die down, the male released his sage mode and looked at the barren ground as dark clouds overtook the skies and released its somber tears. The world sought befitting to cry for the male as he pulled his hat down and stood in silence. He felt like raging and yelling at the sky itself, but instead under the guise of rain and thunder he gave one last sound of happiness. The howl shook the sky as it continued to pour, slowly putting out any last flames. His cry would not be heard under the crashing of rain and lightning, but for him and his Goddess the sounds would ring in their ears. After minutes of yelling his voice slowly came unto silence as he lowered his head and whispered," And with this shall your soul be committed unto eternal rest. Wait for me my friends...," the words floated on air as he turned around and began to walk out of the flattened earth toward his last destination. For a moment the fox walked beside him before disappearing in a plume of smoke and fire, feeling that their sage needed time to themselves.

[Exit]
2,158 words
Claims:

1 destroyed forest and all its contents
10 stats
869 words to finish off http://naruto-role-play-rpg.forumotion.com/t40736-sage-art-sensoryrevamp?highlight=Sage
1,289 toward http://naruto-role-play-rpg.forumotion.com/t32126-fuinjutsu-chakra-barrier

Approved

(1 less forest in the world)