A Shadow's Reflection

Levi had found himself some sort of wall to sit on. He needed a moment to look back at things and how they all went. Wondering if the journey he took so far had been the right one. The Nara had lived a much longer life than a lot of other people in his line of work, so he was aware he had no reason to complain. He witnessed the death of others many times which was why he held on dearly to his own life. He didn't take anything for granted as he knew everything could be over in a blink of time. Even more so since he had experienced more life and death situations than he ever wanted. 

A big part of his life he had spend as a shinobi of Konohagakure in the Land of Fire. Serving in a special task force and even becoming the second in command. He was born and raised in Konohagakure no Sato as part of the Nara clan, he knew a calm and peaceful childhood. Just like most of his peers he enrolled into the Academy where he would learn the basics. Levi always wanted to see more of the outside world instead of being cramped up in school. Some time after becoming a Genin he was put in a squad that would be send out on secret missions, the sort of things no one else wanted to do as they didn't want to get their hands dirty. His dream of getting to see more of the outside world had finally come true that way.

Unfortunately all things come to an end, especially the good ones. His time at the place where he learned about camaraderie and friendship didn't last long. To put it shortly, on one of the dangerous missions every member of the team was killed during an ambush, except for Levi, making him the sole survivor of his squad. After he had made it out alive he was scarred by the loss of his teammates and friends which caused Levi to decide that the life of a shinobi wasn’t for him. He wasn’t fit to follow orders not knowing if you make it out alive or not. So he decided to run away, as far away as possible.

Running away had brought him to all kinds of different places which eventually led him to the Land of Iron where he came across his current companions Taishi and Ryal, and a crazy bitch called Alice. Upon meeting the small crew his life was already threatened by the maniac calling herself a woman. Capable of using the same hidden techniques as Levi she only spared his life after he pledged his loyalty to her. Left with only one choice the Nara decided to become part of the band of misfits. It would also be the place where he would run into an interesting ashen haired man. Soon the trio existing of Levi, Taishi and Ryal were left alone after Alice decided to do some "bonding".

Still in the Land of Iron and it being now just the three of them, and Ikki the minion of Alice, they were in need of some money which was why they decided to pay a visit to some bandits residing in a big building and sitting on some cash. It was also the first time they would work together and see how well their teamwork would be. All of them were able to show off some of their skills as they took out every single one of the bandits inside the building. Once the mission was over the four of them decided to temporarily split up as Ryal left with Ikki and Levi and Taishi would hang out in the Land of Iron a bit longer.

It was then that the grey brute and the short Nara would share some of their past with each other. Besides getting to know one another they also took the opportunity to teach Levi a couple of useful techniques so he could grow stronger in case they would run into anything dangerous. Having both an affinity to earth it didn't take them long to make progress. But they were aware that their peace wouldn't last forever as they were soon going to be summoned by Alice again. Before he could come to grasp with the situation he ended up in a place different than where he was before.

This time it wasn't the Land of Iron anymore, but the Land of Wind. Every member of the crew was summoned by Alice and were now standing in front of the crazy bitch. She was in the company of a far greater threat than she could ever pose, The Ragdoll. At that time Levi didn't know who he was yet, but the scarred individual had introduced him as Kenshin Uzumaki, the new Kazekage of Sunagakure. For a long time the village was under the rule of Kumogakure but it seemed that the Ragdoll had taken care of every single one of their forces and made it his own. 

The man known as Kenshin Uzumaki had offered them power if they were to join him. While the four of them were separated from Alice, the little maniac had formed an alliance with the scarred man. And since the three of them were technically her subordinates it was kind of decided they had now an extra superior. In contrast to her female boss, Kenshin left the decision completely up to them. If they wanted to walk out of there they were free to do so. But it wouldn't matter much since Alice wouldn't allow her minions to walk away just like that. They were marked by her so any time she wished for them to appear she would only have to summon them. Which was why Levi agreed to the offer and decided to follow the Ragdoll in search for power. 

As they were told by Kenshin there were already a couple of his accomplices running around in the village. Levi met one of them, had a short talk with him before they parted ways. It was all before the war in Sunagakure happened. The short Nara didn't have the opportunity to spend a lot of time in the Land of Wind as he escaped the moment the joint forces of Kirigakure and Konohagakure arrived at the gates of Sunagakure. He wasn't sure how but he was able to escape before the fighting took place. Up till now he was still unaware of how everything had happened and who was still alive of that time. They hadn't been summoned by Alice so he started to believe she was no longer amongst the llving.

Anyway, back to the present time. Once he had made it out he started traveling together with Ryal and Taishi again to where they were now, Moon Country. He had experienced quite a lot of hardship but Levi was glad he was still breathing. But he had grown tired of all the running and he saw the time coming for them to finally find a place to call home. It didn't work out in the Land of Fire, neither in Iron or Wind and he doubted it would in Moon Country, a place completely abandoned and destroyed. Which didn't leave the three misfits with a lot of remaining options.

Levi would look up to the sky, witnessing the many white clouds and the beautiful, clear blue sky. The sun was out and reaching its peak as it was still early day. The Nara was enjoying the warm touch of the sun on his sking and closed his eyes for a while. He would then reflect on his heritage. People wouldn't give it to him but he was actually a member of the famous Nara clan. Originally based in Konohagakure no Sato the clan had produced many geniuses throughout the years, one of the most notable being that of Shikimaru Nara. Compared to him Levi was just a small fry and wouldn't even make it into the history books.

The Nara have a unique ability with their chakra that allows them to manipulate existing shadows in various ways using closely gaurded hidden techniques, this can range from elongating them to trap targets, to making them tangible for weapons. Even though he was a member of said clan he wasn't as talented in the hidden techniques as most would be. Which made him think it might have been about time time for him to start training and improve his use of the shadows. The circumstances couldn't be better with the sun out, allowing his shadow to come out effortlessly. 

Levi would jump down from the wall and walk over to a nice spot under the burning sun. After he would form the seal of the Rat he extended his shadow to reach a distance of 50 meters. He used to be only able to extend it twenty and then thirty meters but after time and practice he was finally able to reach fifty meters. He even got to the point where he could split the single shadow into a maximum of five, which of course would put a bigger strain on his own body. But the Nara would ignore the pain and fatigue and kept going. If he couldn't at least do this much he wasn't worthy of the name.

After practicing the Shadow Imitation Technique he would move on to another hidden technique which the Nara were famous for, the Shadow Sewing Technique. Levi formed the correct hand seals, those being Rat followed by Bird, and the Nara would create tendrils from the shadows around him, which he could use to strike at any target. His limit was no more than eight, each one of them being three meters in length, and roughly three inches wide. All of his tendrils could be manipulated in accordance to his own will so long as the hand seal is maintained, their main function to pierce into a target and constrict them, in a manner similar to a sewing thread.

Once he was finished working on his hidden techniques he would reflect on his time training together with Taishi, the grey brute. During that time he learned a lot on how he could use his ninjutsu. The Nara was aware of his affinity but never really took the time to expand on it. So he was glad that his companion was able to learn him a thing or two. Levi felt that there was still some more energy left in the tank and decided to try out some of his Earth elemental jutsu. He would change his location and position himself somewhere out in the open where there was a lot of place he could use to practice.

First up would be the Hiding like a mole technique. This would allow Levi to flow his chakra into the surrounding earth, turning it temporarily into a fine sand. He would then sink into the ground and travel through it, allowing him to move freely. Using this jutsu he would be able to pinpoint where he was, despite being underground. While he was underground he would be able to sense what was happening on the surface. He would release the technique and crawl back up and out of the hole he created. The next one he'd perform was Earth Release: Rock Pillar Spears. Levi would form the Bird hand seal before touching the ground. Soon the Nara created a few rock pillars that would protrude from the ground. His current limit allowed him to make six of them. 

This would continue for a while until he was completely out of breath and his chakra had been depleted. Laying down with his back on the ground he would stare up at the sky which was still perfectly clear. A beautiful blue complemented by the white clouds. The glowing sun still at its peak and softly touching his skin. He was certain he would end up with a tan from being out in the sun for so long. He would reach for his flask of water to replenish his thirst. After all it was important to stay hydrated. The bottle pressed against his lips as the liquid made his way down his troath, followed by a sigh of relief.

As he was catching up his breath he wondered what his two companions were up to. Maybe they were out there training somewhere as well, or they were enjoying their afternoon sleep. In Taishi's case it wouldn't surprise him if the grey brute was out hunting again. It was almost time for them to eat so it wouldn't hurt if he would bring back some delicious meat like last time. Abandoned as the Moon Country was, it would allow the three of them to take whatever they would find for themselves. No one they would have to share with except for their own crew.

Levi would reflect once more on all the different places they could possibly travel to. If it were up to him he would try and avoid the major villages in the larger lands, hoping to avoid anyone who would be hostile towards a small group of missing nin. Of course the short Nara was aware there weren't too many people out there who would be welcoming a couple of rogue ninja. The only place he'd know of that would be friendly towards them was Sunagakure but he wasn't too sure how he'd feel about returning after leaving so soon.

It would leave him with not a lot of options left. Either they would return or they would have to travel to a place they hadn't been before. There were quite a bit of smaller countries in the world, Moon Country being one of them so it wouldn't be that out of the ordinary to come across something similar. And who knew, maybe they would finally be able to settle down somewhere safe. The three of them would deserve it after all the shit they had been through, all the dangers they had encountered. There were far more bigger monsters out in the world than the three of them.

But even they weren't innocent. They had taken lives and the likes of that. It would be too easy to claim it was out of self defense but still, survival of the fittest. It it was between someone else and Levi, he knew which one he would pick. But fortunately for him there hadn't been too many scenarios which had forced him to make such a choice. He decided not to think too much about it and focus on the present, no use in worrying about something you can't help. After he had enough rest he would stand up and go look for his two companions to see what they were up to. The short Nara had a feeling something was about to change sooner than later. 

(Exit)

(TWC: 2500)
Claims:
- 2500/2500 Shadow Imitation Field Technique
- 25 stats

Approved