Deep Ground (Jounin Thread Upgrade) + solo Lava Training in first post.

Byakko felt the summoned swamp of the underworld start to drag him down-- the muddy waters lapping at his fuzzy feet and making his toes squishy from the mud. He just stood there, still for the moment as he knew struggling would only make one sink faster. But he was unusually calm.

It was then a chuckle once again escaped Byakko. "Fool. You think a little mud will stop me!?" he bellowed with pride.

At that moment, the spheres on his body began to glow and discharge electricity. From the ceiling, arcs of lightning also began to bounce off the walls as Boss BYakko channeled chakra for himself as well. "Raiton-- Royal Armor of Raiden!!" Byakko roared, causing a massive discharge of electricity to come down from the ceiling itself-- striking the tiger! He roared out again, feeling the jolt of lightning now surge into his body.

But it didn't cause him harm-- it energized him. Much like how Deus did-- Boss Byakko created a coating of lightning chakra, energizing him that made him stronger and enhanced his abilities. Despite his body now a lit with electricity coating his fur and body, Asura remained unhindered and unharmed by the strike. Controlling his chakra, the 'armor' protected and strengthened Byakko-- also allowing him to protect Asura just the same without being electrocuted.

The most important feature, however, was the fact that the moment the aura of lightning coated the tiger-- his feet no longer sunk into the swampy mud of the summoned quicksand trap. The armor was lightning, which was superior to jutsu of earth-chakra nature, making Deus' attack useless.

Seeing it, Deus looked shocked. He commands lightning as well?! the man thought.

It was at that moment, Boss Byakko charged. Literally. With one mighty leap-- he tore his feet free from the swamp as if it was nothing but water. Enhanced by his lightning armor, he charged forward, a mighty claw lurching forward to try and strike Deus.

The tiger was as fast as Deus was now-- if not faster-- with the power of the aura, and so Deus was forced to go into his own lightning chakra mode-- and soon took off into the air, attempting to avoid Byakko's claw strike. The swipe of his claw struck the ground, but so strong it left a clear claw mark so deep into the earth, it looked like a trench.

Byakko tracked the man with his eyes, seeing him even with his speed. "Coward!!" he roared in outrage of the fact he was forced to run. Furious, Byakko began to chase him, like a cat trying to catch a mouse.

However, as they fought-- the sound of the battle finally caught the attention of others. From the corridors that opened up into the cavern-- Iwa Deepground shinobi appeared, all wearing the same masks. They were very confused and surprised to soon see a giant raging white tiger rampaging in the chamber, along with their superior Deus fighting it.

"What the-- what is going on here?!" one of them gasped.

"Lord Deus!!" another called out.

Deus, moving across the ceiling and ground as the giant tiger was hot on his tail-- figuratively-- glanced to see the other shinobi finally arrive. "WHat are you fools waiting for?!" Deus roared at them, "Restrain this beast!!"

Hearing the command and the sound of reinforcements, Boss Byakko looked to soon see the arriving cavalry. They were soon pouring into the room like ants, attempting to get closer.

This is bad, Boss Byakko growled as he thought, seeing the reinforcements come. Even clad in his Raiton armor and his edge on Deus in a straight fight, more numbers meant more trouble. I can't keep fighting these guys AND protect the boy on my back. If one gets in one good hit, it could be the end of him.

As the enemies began to approach, he drew back one of his claws. "Fuuton-- SHOGUN TIGER CLAW!!" he roared again, slashing and causing the wind to rip apart again-- this time in all directions.

Deus was unable to resist the fierce wind style jutsu-- and neither were the allies he called for help as they were even less prepared. The sharp winds tore through the enemy ranks of shinobi-- others being tossed against the walls. Deus was among the latter as he rather of been thrashed against the walls instead of cut to pieces by the wind-enhanced tiger claw. Despite his skill and power, Deus was not prepared for Asura to have such a fierce ally, let alone with such raw power.

Once he had created greater distance between himself and the Deepground forces, Boss Byakko quickly tried to think of a way out. He couldn't simply run out of the chamber, the passageways all too narrow for someone his size to run out. He was boxed in this cavern, and so deep underground there was no real exit.

But Byakko knew exactly what to do. He gathered chakra, and began to growl as a light glow came from his maw. "When you hit rock bottom-- only place left to go is up," He commented in his own amusement and raised his head towards the ceiling. "Raiton-- PROTON ROAR!!!" Byakko bellowed, and with that mighty roar to the ceiling, a brilliant, blinding flash of lightning erupted from his mouth.

The roar was so powerful it literally lit up the entire cavern as if the sun broke through, and shot upward. A loud crash of earth and scream of energy echoed through the entire cave system as the blast ripped into the earth and beyond.

Back on the surface, it was near midnight and the entire village was at peace--- till suddenly the ground trembled, swelled, and in the middle of the roadway--- a brilliant beam of lightning shot out of the earth, skyward into the heavens, along with Byakko's mighty roar into the night sky. People were startled away, terrified as the ground was torn apart.

As for Byakko down below, his roar finally ended. The entire group of Deepground soldiers could only hesitate as they slowly opened their eyes to what happened. Deus too had been blinded, but upon opening his eyes, he saw it.

Byakko's roar, being a form of Raiton, had the power to easily penetrate the earth. As a result, his roar got stronger in the presence of it. Forcing his roar upward, Byakko had literally ripped open a hole in the earth. Above Byakko, was now a giant, cylindrical hole three times his size. The earth still glowed and hissed from the intense heat of the lightning roar-- but it went all the way up, the sky visible from them a good mile under. He had created an escape route out of Deepground.

"Later, losers! BAHAHAHA!!" Byakko roared, and with that, gave a mighty leap of his legs and launched himself upward.

The tiger landed with his front and rear paws parallel to the freshly made surface of the hole he made-- and immediately began to sprint upward. Jumping and pouncing from one side to the other, he was ascending his way up the hole, attempting to reach the top! Still unconscious, Asura miraculously was still secure on Byakko's back-- perhaps due to the natural static result of his armor. Regardless, Byakko was sure to keep the boy secure as he proceeded to scale his way upward out of the caves.

Deus looked in alarm, now understanding what the tiger was trying to do. "Stop them!!" Deus ordered. "We cannot allow them to escape!" he shouted, and formed a hand sign, attempting to seal up the hole himself.

Boss Byakko pounced and darted around the whole, each push of his rear paws propelling the large, mighty tiger up higher and higher through the hole. His speed was impressive alone as he ascended, but the length of the hole itself was almost a mile in comparison underground. At that time, Byakko soon saw it-- the parts of the stone around him starting to form protrusions and stone pillars.

Pieces of earth began to shoot out from the walls, attempting to bar off his path of jumping and moving upward. LIke webbing, the earth was attempting to close up the hole.

It was Deus and possibly other ninja aiding him in casting the ninjutsu. They were trying to seal up the hole, preventing their escape. However, Byakko's lightning aura was being far more useful as one pillar of earth barred his path. "YOU'LL HAVE TO DO BETTER THAN THAT!!" Byakko roared and charged.

He literally ran right into the pillar, causing it to crumble. The armor merely made the earthstyle useless as he charged right through it.

(Late so next part tomorrow)

Boss Byakko's Lightning Armor jutsu allowed him to be immune to all forms of Earth Release-- so as the pillars tried to hit or bar his path, he just charged forward! WIth a roar, he charged his way through, causing the stone to crumble like dried clay.

Below other Shinobi joined Deus, forming the same earth-hand sign to try and seal the hole.

As Byakko sprinted and jumped along the edges of the hole and avoiding direct hits of the stone 'bars', he soon saw a more pressing matter. Up further at the top, he could now see the main entrance begin to grow smaller. THey were now focusing their chakra to cause the exit to shrink-- slowly sealing it up. Now landing on the wall of it-- Byakko charged straight upward in a straight out run! His eyes were on the cloudy skies above as he charged forward. Even with his enhanced speed, it was going to be close as he sprinted with all his might, full aware of the silent Asura on his back. For that moment, the giant tiger felt as strong an attachment to him as he felt to his own cubs.

"YOU WON'T STOP ME!!" He roared and with an extra burst of power from his limbs, he jumped for the shrinking hole, putting everything he had to make it.

He shot through the hole, the speed of the closing picking up and finally... Byakko got through, the closing hole just missing the tip of his tail as he shot forward.

The shot th rough the hole followed with a large 'shockwave' as Byakko jumped right into the open air of the surface! From around the area, the sounds of shouts and screams could be heard as they saw the large tiger emerge from the earth. Byakko was in the air for a few moments, then landed with a loud thud that thundered across Iwa.

They had landed in the market district of the village-- several buildings around and possibly people in line of danger. People were up, alarmed by the giant hole that ripped through the village, despite it just closing up, but both shinobi and citizens were up and looked to the giant tiger.

"AH! Its the same tiger that attacked Iwa before!" someone shouted.

"Get the Iwa guard to stop it!" another shinobi ordered to his comrades.

Byakko growled as he looked around. "Drat... Deja Vu, it seems. " he said. The good news, they were free from Deepground's base, but now they were among Iwa and once again Byakko was viewed as a rampaging monster. And they were not wrong Seeing more shinobi appearing upon the building tops, he had no doubt some of them might of been from Deepground, and more would come to apprehend him and Asura. "Time to go!" Byakko growled.

With a mighty leap, looking like a flash of lightning, Byakko jumped upward over the buildings of Iwa. He jumped over a good block with one bound, landing on a street, with one paw, then jumped over the next, proceeding towards the south of the village.

As many of the shinobi yelled after him-- Byakko kept his mind focus on the task to get Asura safely out. He could clearly hear  the sounds of confusion and shouts from behind him, but Byakko pressed on. Though still in the neck of the woods, the true danger had passed. They had escaped from the hidden Iwa base of Deepground. As Byakko ran, he made his way to the forests south of Iwa, the only place he could think of where he could stop, hide and put Asura down.

From above, upon one of the mountainsides that overlooked Iwa-- the lone ninja Ravana watched as the events transpired. He saw Byakko emerge from the earth and run, easily spotting Asura upon his back.

"Heh... looks like the kid made it, afterall. I was right to bet on you kid," he said-- and with that vanished in a blur of speed.

---

Back in Deepground, the shinobi there had sealed up the hole, but their target had gotten through as the night sky was now gone from view. Deus looked up at the hole. Despite his feelings or thoughts, he remained as cold and stony-faced as before, not showing any true emotion to the fact that Asura was out of sight.

"Lord Deus," a masked shinobi said, approaching him and stood in attention. "I'm fraid to report the target has fled Iwa. We lost him, sir," he informed.

"Yes, I gathered as much," Deus said, observing the damage that Asura and his summoned beast caused. The more he looked over it, the more he realized in his actions were well founded. He could tell Asura was powerful-- even too powerful for his own good. Still though, Deus didn't even seemed too worry. "It doesn't matter. One obstacle is removed-- as this lose end will be dealt with. I think I know of a way to keep things under control for the time being," he said.

Turning away from his soldier, Deus turned and went to one of the hallways leading out of the cavern

The soft sound of thunder reached his ears as he was there. His eyes were closed, having been in the sweet supor of slumber for a while now. Exhaustion had tugged his body down as he soon began to regain a sense of consciousness. He felt the softness below his back-- thinking for a moment it was his bed, but it wasn't. It was wet and leafy. Moving hs hand, he felt it-- it being grass instead of a mattress. Slowly, Asura opened his eyes. Three things he saw that brought him into attention!

One, the dark overcast sky above as dark as night, save for the soft flashes of lightning in the distance. Two, the strange view of the trees around him, the bows softly outlining the sky--

And third and most obvious, the large face of Boss Byakko looming down at him.

"About time you woke up, cub. Was starting to get worried," the tiger said in a rather calm voice-- very unlike Byakko.

His droopy eyes soon blinked and he became more awake, seeing Byakko there. "Ah... What? Boss Byakko," Asura gasped. Slowly he pushed himself up from the ground. While he still felt tired, he had the strength to move around for a bit, at least to sit up. "What happened...?"

It was then it came back to him, having woken up. He remembered Deepground, the attack, Deus... and Roku's death. Asura then became silent, remembering it all, and feeling his heart ache. FOr a moment, he wanted to believe all of this was a bad dream... but it wasn't. Roku was dead and Deus had tried to kill him. The last thing he remembered was trying to desperately summon Byakko from inside of the stone coffin jutsu-- and then he blacked out.

"Oh... right..." Asura breathed, falling back onto his back, the memory weighing him down in every sense of the word.

Byakko didn't need to read minds to tell Asura was suffering of a great loss. The shinobi chasing him was clear enough. From behind his mask, no one could see the sense of concern on the tiger's face-- but he was sitting down, just hidden behind the bows of the trees, Asura nestled between the space of his front legs and paws.

"You are presently outside of Iwa, to the woods to the south," Byakko said in a soft growl. "You lost consciousness after you summoned me, so I got you out of those caves on my back. We made it out but... the village is looking for you," the tiger said.

Asura didn't know what to say. He rose an arm over his forehead, listening carefully. He felt his muscles ache, as the wounds he suffered soon returned to his sense of awareness. it was a long silence as Asura laid there, unable to bring himself to answer the large tiger.

Byakko growled softly, able to tell that Asura wasn't willing to reply. "I do not know what transpired in those caves that would cause this-- but I fear time is short. I will soon be called back to Blood Vale Jungle. I got you as far as I could. Your wounds don't look serious, so I hope you will be able to go on your own."

Asura's wounds from battle didn't seem fatal or hindering his ability to walk, but the true damage was to him in his chakra almost completely gone, and his sorry weighing him down.

"Asura, I hope when the time comes, you will tell us what happened. For now, rest while you can. But when you can get up-- leave the Earth Nation as soon as you can." he said in a soft growl. "Return to Blood Vale Jungle. There... there you can find safety if you so wish. Asura... be well..." the tiger said softly.

Suddenly, smoke erupted from Byakko-- and he vanished. His summoned time had expired, causing him to be returned to the jungle where he ruled. As the smoke cleared and the distant thunder echoed through the trees, Asura soon was left with the unhindered view of the stormy sky. He was now all alone.

He laid there for a while, motionless as he looked up to the sky. A small raindrop fell upon the leaf of a nearby tree, followed by another, and soon more joined in. The soft sound of water falling filled the air and soon the sky opened up to reveal a steady rain. It soon became a downpour as it fell around Asura, the cold rain licking his aching body and wounds.

In his mind, he couldn't help but see it all happening, as if his life was flashing before his eyes.

His Master. The time they spent together, the training he had taught him, the compassion he showed him well beyond just being an apprentice-- and the love he felt for him as a true family member did. His uncle, his master, his father figure...

It was a reality he didn't want to accept, but it happened. Roku was dead.

As the rain fell around him and pattered against his face, a single stream of water not of the rain fell down his cheek, and continued to fall, accompanied by the ragged breath Asura tried his best to contain. THe rain drowned out his sorrow, his sobs and his tears under its relentless fall.

Back in the village...

The storm raged outside as Aki soon returned to the shrine. She heard all the commotion of the large tiger from months ago-- and also the fact the village was looking for Asura. She was not sure what was going on, but she tried her best to stay calm. Why they wanted to look for Asura was confusing, as she just saw him hours ago. That, and no one had seen Master ROku.

Still, Aki continued her work as she soon went to tend to the Jiin shrine in the estate and opened the door.

To her surprise, the candles of the shrine was lit, including a new one-- one used to honor someone after they died. In the room was someone she knew-- someone dressed in red with the same red hair.

"Asura...!" Aki gasped.

Turning around, Asura looked to her. He didn't say a word at first, but soon saw her, and felt her presence. "Aki..." Asura said.

Aki closed the door behind her and approached Asura with concern. "What is going on? The entire village is in an uproar. Roku is missing and the shinobi are looking for you! What's happening?" she demanded, but also scared and concerned.

Asura however never removed his solemn look from his face as he had his eyes cast down. It was an hour after Byakko had saved him and left him in the woods. Even at this late hour, everyone was busy trying to recover from what happened. The fact that Asura wasn't speaking made Aki even more anxious.

"Asura... what is going on? Please, talk to me!" she said, approaching him closer till they were face to face. He could see the tears in her eyes, concerned what was happening. She knew Asura better than anyone, and she had never seen Asura so sullen before.

Finally, he looked to her. "Aki... I wish I had more time, but I don't. I can't even say much... but I came back here, to pay my respects... and to say goodbye." he said.

Aki's eyes were wide with confusion. "Goodbye? Wh-what do you mean? Why are you saying goodbye? I--" she asked but was soon silenced by what happened next.

It happened so fast-- as Asura moved forward and took Aki in his arms, wrapping around her and hugged her to his body. She gasped as she felt his body against hers, but his hug was nothing but sincere as he held her, his head on her shoulder as he hugged her. She was speechless, witnessing this gesture-- a part of the depths of her own feelings and his.

"Thank you, Aki... You been more than a servant to me," Asura said, his tears hidden from her view. "You been more than a friend to me, as well," he said, "So thank you... I don't know what will happen this point forward... but I couldn't leave. I couldn't without saying this to you. Thank you..."

Tears swelled in Aki's eyes too, unable to comprehend what was happening, torn by her emotions to hear Asura's heartfelt words and the fear of what was transpiring that night. "Asura... What--"

CRASH!!

Aki turned in the hug to soon see several masked Shinobi-- and all of them wearing the Iwa emblem on their masks-- come crashing through the paper walls of the estate and windows! Three in total soon were there, breaking in and ending the touching moment.

Aki was in front of Asura, as if unconsciously protecting him.

"Asura Jiin. You are under arrest! Surrender now and come with us quietly." one of the ninja said.

Aki's expression was surprised, but Asura was calm and glared at the ninja without fear. Aki couldn't speak, trying to understand why Iwa shinobi was after him-- but he didn't give much time for her to ponder that.

"Never," Asura said simply.

At that very moment, knowing the ninja was soon to attack-- he grabbed hold of Aki's arm! In a not-so-gentle motion, he threw her into a twist-- as if one did in Judo to throw an enemy. Using the twist and motion, Asura threw Aki as quickly and as far as he could into one of the enclosed paper walls of the buildings.

She let out a short scream as she was thrown out of the room and through the window-- which ended up with her rolling on her side out onto the grassy ground of the Jiin training grounds, outside of the shrine.

However, that one move was all the opening the ninja needed as they charged.

The sick sound of blade stabbing flesh was made as the lead ninja in the mask charged and his sword stabbed into Asura's chest. The second one came, stabbing him in the back, further pinning the ninja down. Asura was stiff in pain as he was struck, his body feeling weak.

Even though he was struck, he groaned and looked to the ninja in front of him. "I... have a message for Deus," he spoke, his breath becoming shallow. "Tell him... I'll be back. And when I do... I'll be coming for his head."

At that moment, the spots where they struck with their swords suddenly seemed to give off fire.

"CRAP--!!"

KA-BOOM!! The shrine room suddenly exploded with a powerful flash, knocking the two shinobi who had stabbed him away with a painful blast, and burning them in the process too. The explosion messed up the shrine, knocking over the candles and leaving a large area of destruction among the shrine.

The two shinobi were injured from the explosion, but both alive. The third had been knocked back but relatively unharmed. "Shit-- he was a fire chakra-clone," one of the ninja said, looking around.

From outside, Aki saw as the shrine area was on fire. She too realized what happened. the Asura she was talking too was a clone. Though his words were likely no less real than the original, as she knew how clones worked-- a pit soon appeared in her stomach as she saw him literally go up in flames. Something horrible happened that night, and Asura was in the middle of it.

---

***
As the rain continued to fall around him, he had done exactly what he had to do. He knew it was too dangerous to return to Iwa. Not now, not after what happened with Deus and Deepground. At the same time, he couldn't leave not without paying his respects to Master Roku at the shrine. Though Asura was never religious as much as the Jiin were-- he had to honor his master properly as his clan would. It was the least he could do.

As he made his way further along the forest, he soon felt it. The return of the Pyro Clone's memories no different as it was his own.

And a lone tear fell from his eye as he soon remembered the fact Aki was there as well. He had a chance to say goodbye to her, which made the risk worth it. He was lucky to get her out of the way before his Pyro Clone went up in flames. Literally.

Raising up his arm, he wiped the single remaining tear from his eyes, the rain still falling from the sky as he attempted to reach the road. Though he doubted he could travel it, it wouldn't be far before he reached the boarder of Iwa.

It was clear now to Asura he could never return, not as he was now. Despite his words, returning to Iwa now was only a means to get himself killed. If he didn't cross the boarder by sunrise, he would likly be discovered. However, the rain did well to cover his tracks and allow him to reach the general road. He probably wouldn't walk on it, as it would leave his tracks in the mud-- but he could follow the side of it to the path leading to the end of the country.

ALl the while he had the sullen, sad look on his face. He almost appeared half dead -- or so he felt that way , in the depths of his heart. He felt broken, his inner fire just a soft simmer that the easiest of winds could put out. His steps were slow, but he moved towards the boarder in a straight line.

As he made his way closer, down the forest trail-- he soon saw someone. A white among the brown and green of the forest and trees. Leaning against one of the trees, his back against it and his arms folded across his bare chest, was a certain white haired man-- Ravana himself as he also had his long nodachi sword behind him.

"Heh... well was wondering when you would get here," Ravana said, sporting that same stupid grin on his face, his eyes glowing white and his demeanor cocky as ever. He did get a good look at Asura, seeing the young man's sullen and sad expression as clear as day. "You look like shit, kid," he said bluntly.

Asura slowly dragged his gaze up to Ravana, seeing the man and not in the moment able to handle dealing with his general personality at the moment. "I am FAR from the mood to deal with your crap, Ravana," Asura said rudely, the weight of his words holding back the pain and anger he had over Roku's death. "Not now. Just leave me alone..."

Despite Ravana's greeting, he could tell exactly how distraught Asura was, and yet he was holding up well enough to do what a ninja had to. "Heh, give me some credit. Despite popular belief, but I am not blind," he said in a sarcastic reply, tapping the side of his head. "Besides, kicking my student when he is down is not my style."

Asura wanted to throw a Fireball at him, but didn't have the chakra to even muster that up anymore. He just let out a sigh and tried to just swallow what the man was saying without losing his temper any further than he had that night. "What are you doing here, Ravana?" Asura asked.

Reaching up, Ravana rested his arms behind his head as he leaned against the tree. "I actually had my fill of Iwa and was about to take off. Been a nice town but I had reaped the best out of it," he said, either ignorant or playing ignorant of the events that happened. "Think is slept with every single women there-- save that girlfriend of yours, haha! Made some husbands man, but hey their fault. Tasted every wine and food they had and found some decent shinobi to fight. I'm good of this place, so its time to move on. "

Asura really did hate Ravana's bragging of his hedonistic lifestyle, even worse than he was a rogue ninja. But at that moment, it did occur to him. He was now a rogue ninja too-- leaving the village and now wanted for attacking Deus. It wouldn't of mattered as Deus would of killed him, had he been loyal or not. While the circumstances might be different, Asura realized the fact that now Ravana and Asura had something in common now-- they both were renegades.

"Well... good for you," Asura said softly, glancing away from Ravana as he carelessly bragged of his conquest. "Where will you go?"

Ravana looked up to the sky, seeing the thunder and lightning in the distance. "East probably," he said, "Some places I still wanna go, and swing by Boss Byakko for a bit. Saw him here. YOu had something to do with that?" he asked.

Asura glanced away further. "Rather not talk about it..." he grumbled.

A soft chuckle escaped Ravana as he stood up fully and stretched after leaning against the tree. "Ahh... well fair enough, kid. " he said and turned his back to Asura. He slowly began to walk down the forest trail. "Either way, nothing left here. A man can't learn anything stuck in one place, can he?"

Ravana proceeded to leave, as Asura watched him go-- but then Ravana stopped and looked over his shoulder. "Hey kid-- what are you waiting for?"

"Huh?" Asura said, genuinely surprised.

"What? Do i gotta write you a fucking invitation?" Ravana said with a cruel jest, and turned to Asura. "Unless you got something else you need to do in this dump?"

Asura was about to speak, his mouth opening-- but then he shut it. He had no reason to stay. He had no home, or place to go. He knew he had to leave. Even though the advise to come to Blood Vale Jungle was a plan-- it was the only plan he had. At least Ravana, despite his disposition, he was the one person he felt he could trust. In the end, it was he that taught him how to reach the jungle to sign the contract

"No. There is nothing here for me..." Asura admitted, hanging his head low.

However, it was then he saw something enter his line of sight. A fist Asura looked up and saw Ravana before him, outreaching his own fist to meet Asura. it wasn't a punch-- it was a gesture. No different like the one Naruto had done to him-- back in time when he faced Kaguya.

Ravana said nothing, a somewhat kind smirk to his face as he held his fist out, waiting for Asura to answer.

Despite every desire to punch Ravana in the face, he got the message loud and clear. The pain in his heart seemed to lessen as he raised his fist and met it with Ravana, the two fists clashing together. Firm but gentle in its intent.

"Thanks..." Asura said.

In that moment, Ravana wound his arm around Asura's shoulder, almost head-locking him as Ravana let out a laugh. "Kid, I'm gonna show you how to live life to the fullest, mark my words! Hahaha!" he bellowed, dragging Asura forward.

"GHa!" Asura struggled to get loose, but soon Ravana settled to just keep his arm around Asura's shoulder, urging him forward.

Despite Ravana's tough love approach-- Asura had one ally to believe in. It was at that moment, the two crossed the boarder, leaving Iwa behind as Asura began a new chapter in his life. He would train to become stronger, learn of the world beyond Iwa-- and work to get the one thing now that burned in the depths of his soul.

To avenge his master.

That next morning...

Rain still poured over Iwa as the results of the event that night were visible. Buildings broken and destroyed from the rampage of BYakko. In iwa's main circle-- Deus, acting in behalf of the Tsuchikage as he was nearby acting in respect. Deus spoke out to announce to the general public. "It is with great regret and humility that I have come to inform you of the events that had transpired last night. It is a tragedy to all those who risk there lives for the sake of our village. However, we have lost yet another Shinobi."

A picture of Roku was on a relief wall, along with his name to be inscribed on the monument in Iwa. Many of the Jiin clan was in attendance, including Aki as she listened to Deus' and the Tsuchikage's speech.

"He was a good man, and a hero to Iwa. It is even more tragic that his death came from not just one of our own-- but also his student," Deus said.

Aki gasped, hearing it. Murmurs also echoed around the Jiin and rest of Iwa. She couldn't believe it, but that was the spoken word.

Deus had pinned the entire event, including the death of Master Roku, on Asura. Now dubbed a Rogue ninja by him, he now was a criminal to the state of Iwa. The Jiin clan would be appauled to hear that one of their own would kill another of them. Even worse, that any ninja from Iwa would betray them. Killing one's master was a heinous crime.

"At this moment, Asura is now an enemy of the village. He shall be updated to your bingo book, and he will be wanted dead or alive." Deus said, annoucing it to the other shinboi. "But for now, let us act to honor the memory of this brave shinobi, as Roku the Red. May he forever be remembered as the stone remains strong upon the earth." he spoke.

As everyone had their own mixed feelings of the news, Aki among them was in the most doubt. Tears streamed down her face, but she couldn't believe Asura would ever murder his own master-- the man he respected so much.

It was set in stone now. Asura was now a rogue ninja to Iwa-- and from now on would be hunted for the bounty placed on him, by all nations if he was not careful.

Still, while this chapter was closed-- the secrets of Iwa and Deepground still remained, and their machinations would shape Iwa in the dark ways they sought to do. All in their own time...

And Asura was the only witness they needed to eliminate. To tie up that loose end.

THE END.

END OF TOPIC!

Treasure Roll at end. Now Jounin Level

Rewards: >
+6,000 Ryo
> Experience +45% (x1.45)
> Action & Reaction Gauge = 3

Treasure roll for Special JOunin: +3

Enemy Jounin difficulty. X1.25– Experience & Ryo 150 x Rank/Size [Green Section]

Ryo +938

Add additional 25% to 45%--70% exp tallied in story scroll.

The member 'Enjin' has done the following action : Dice

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'Treasure Dice' : 58, 33, 43