The Wise Elder Vidav (Sennin Reborn Quest)

The screams, the roars, the heat of the hellish flames….

… all were brushed away with a single flash of fire. And then there was nothing.

Asura panted as he saw it all vanish before him. The moment he brought his Tengan back into action, it all vanished, as if it had been a bad dream. The heat, the lighting, everything about the horrific being he saw was gone, his own sweat created by his own anxiety and fear.

His breath soon calmed down as he pieced it together. Slowly he drew a hand to his head and ran his fingers through his hair. “Ooooh… DAMNIT!” Asura swore in self-disappointment and kicked a loose stone into the cavern. “I HATE GENJUTSU!” his voice echoed off the walls with his exclamation.

His mind calmed down, realizing what happened… and soon his senses opened up.

To sense the person that stood a few feet behind him.

Asura’s eyes widened but he didn’t turn around. He could sense the person behind him in the dark cave, who just waited there. Through the corner of his eye, he soon saw a single person clad in a robe from head to toe. He looked like a dark enough omen as it was, so Asura didn’t move or speak.

“Hello there,” a gentle voice purred from the cloak. “Can I help you, young man?”


The kind tone of voice loosened Asura’s nerves as he slowly turned to get a better view of the stranger. The robed figure was a little shorter than Asura. Though clad in violet robes with fringing of gold on the edges. He soon saw, however, two white ears stick out from the hood, and the shadow of a tiger-like face. His feet, bare, were tiger paws as well. Despite cloaked, his voice seemed anything but threatening.

“Y-You’re Vidav?” Asura asked, perplexed by the change in situation.

Reaching up an arm, the figure revealed a white pawed hand from his robe sleeve and reached for his hood. He slowly drew it back and revealed the face of a white tiger, marked with black stripes. His face was calm and tranquil as he looked up to Asura, and showed a smile to the young shinobi. “Hmhm… Indeed, I am.” Vidav answered and nodded his head to Asura.

Asura was still short of words as he worked out what happened. Under the Genjutsu, Asura didn’t notice the real one, and had an illusion act as him. “You… I mean, You don’t seem…?” Asura studdered, unsure how to get the words out.

A soft chuckle escaped the tiger, this time out of mere amusement than any cruel jest. “Let me guess. You were expecting some sort of terrifying blood-soaked warlord? Ah, the ghost stories my kin spin about me…” he sighed and shook his head.

“Um… so you’re not gonna kill me?” Asura asked, straight to the point.

Vidav blinked his eyes at Asura. “Heavens, no! I am not fool and know who you are. You’re the young man who formed a contract with our tribe.” The white man-tiger stepped forward, his robes shifting around him as he extended a hand. “Welcome, my friend. It’s Asura, isn’t it?”

Asura hesitated for a moment as he saw the paw. Still, the gesture was honest enough. Asura reached his hand and shook the tiger’s paw. He would of expected the tiger to be quite old, but his grip was strong and so Asura squeezed as hard. “Yes, it is. Nice to meet you, Lord Vidav.”

Withdrawing his hand, Asura glanced around the cave. “Um, so what was all that about?” he said with a point of his thumb back to the back of the cave, referring to the Genjutsu he was trapped in. “I mean… why the Genjutsu?”

Vidav let out a soft chuckle. “Ah, forgive me… but there were two reason for it.” He raised a paw and a single finger with a claw. “First, because it’s fun to mess with naïve youths who come poking around. Haha… When you’re as old as I am, you get your laughs where you can.”

Asura frowned at this, but didn’t hold as much hate for Vidav over Chigatsumi and Bloody Mist. Vidav reminded Asura of some of the elderly he knew back in Iwa. There was an air of respect to them he was compelled to honor, even with their silly jokes. Asura merely rolled his eyes to be a victim of the prank.

Vidav raised his second finger, and his tone this time was much more resolute. “And second, was to test your own capabilities. You hardly would have been worth my time, if you couldn’t get through that little display of smoke and mirrors,” he said with a soft poke of his claw at Asura’s chest.

The shinobi’s gaze lowered to the floor. He let his guard down and caused himself to fall prey to the Genjutsu—if only for a few seconds. “I’m sorry… Genjutsu isn’t really my strength,” Asura replied with a bow of his head.

“Not to worry. That little jutsu drove many of my enemies scared, though I did tone it down a bit,” the tiger explained and brought his paws behind his back. Now at ease, Asura noticed the small white tail that swished behind Vidav as they talked. “Either way, you broke through it. Now tell me, why have you come to see me, young cub?” Vidav asked.

For a moment, Asura forgot why he came till he was reminded. He straightened up and looked Vidav in the eye. “I… I was told that you might be able to teach me new Jutsu,” Asura said in hesitation, unsure how to explain his situation. “I wanted to expand my studies as a ninja, and while training is fine but…”

“… You thought you could learn from my expertise,” Vidav finished for him with a nod of his head.

“Not that I would presume… Boss Byakko and the others spoke highly of you if you were willing to teach me. I would be grateful if you were willing to share your wisdom,” Asura said and bowed his head deeply to Vidav in respect.

For a moment, Vidav said nothing. Slowly he rose a hand to his chin and scratched his whiskers slowly in thought. A light hum escaped him as he looked at Asura. Slowly, the tiger approached Asura. As the boy straightened up, Vidav began to pace slowly around Asura and eyed him up and down. The older tiger’s eye looked at his body, his stance, his expression and his eyes.

After a moment, the tiger made another round—this time to lightly poke Asura around his body. The pinch and tickle of the tiger’s paw made Asura’s body fidget, but he stayed as still as possible. “Um… why are you examining me like a piece of beef?” Asura dared to ask, in hopes the tiger was not reconsidering eating him.

Vidav chuckled at Asura’s words, but poke lightly at his biceps, abs and arms. He tested his muscles, but also was sure to look over his stance, and general appearance. “No, I am not… just checking something,” he said. No longer pacing, he just stood there and looked at Asura in the eye. “Hmm… you are indeed strong, and thankfully you got a sense of intelligence too. You’d have to be to see through Genjutsu at all.” Vidav said.

“Um… thank you?” Asura said, unsure what he was looking for.

Lowering his paw, Vidav gave a soft smile. “You are a rarity indeed, but then again, this would be the first time I ever considered training a human.”

Asura’s expression brightened at Vidav’s words. “So you mean I… “

The elder tiger raised a paw to silence Asura. “First things first… Let’s get out of this dreary cave and rejoin your friends. I’m sure the Raksasa brothers are probably betting when you get out or not.” Vidav said and turned to leave. “Come, we can discuss this in a more pleasant setting.”

Asura soon ran after Vidav as he walked out towards the cave entrance. At ease with the company of this noble-seeming tiger, Asura couldn’t help but like this new friend he made, and potentially a new mentor as well.

By that time, Bloody Mist and CHigatsumi were sitting on rocks outside the cave—till they saw the two silhouettes of Asura and Vidav emerge.

They were surprised to see Asura so soon—even more surprised to see Vidav emerge as well beside him. “Hello, boys,” Vidav greeted with a smile. His hood was up but his face was visible to them.

As if before a high ranking general, both tigers jumped to their feet and stood erect before the sage-like tiger. “Master Vidav! “ They said in unison.

Asura blinked to see how they behaved in front of Vidav. Though he seemed elderly, kind and calm compared to many of the other tigers he met in the jungle, they seemed to be almost frightened of him. Asura bit his tongue to keep from laughing out loud. “Wow… you gotta tell me how you keep them in line like that,” Asura commented with his restrained laughter.

Vidav didn’t hesitate and chuckle at his words. “Oh, I know these two, too well… They are quite a pair of trouble makers,” Vidav said in an endearing tone, “However, it is that very duplicitous nature that makes them so formidable as a team. Don’t you agree?”

Asura nodded and saw as the two tigers seemed to tremble slightly in the presence of Vidav. “When will you two grow up? You tried to scare this cub with exaggerated tales of me?” he asked.

“N-No, Lord Vidav!” Bloody Mist replied quickly.

“We only say the best about you, Lord Vidav,” Chigatsumi chimed in.

“I’m sure you do,” Vidav said, with a hint of sarcasm. He turned his head to Asura. “I apologize if they gave you unnecessary stress. Besides, my ravaging days are long behind me,” he said, “Anyway, why don’t you two go ahead to Boss Byakko and tell him that I agreed to train Asura. We will join you shortly.”

“Y-yes, Master Vidav,” CHigatsumi said… and with that both brothers vanished in a blur of speed.

Asura shook his head at the brothers’ behavior, but soon was distracted as Vidav turned to Asura. “Come with me, Asura. Let’s have a little walk,” he gestured.

“Um, yes, Lord Vidav,” Asura replied and followed the older tiger down the from the mountain.

Asura kept in pace with the slow stride of the older white tiger man. Though clearly capable of much, Asura felt he was in the company of a great elder of a village, and felt the need to be attentive to him. “So, young Asura,” Vidav said as they walked down the path towards the jungle. “What sort of training did you hope to learn from me?”

Asura wasn’t sure what to say as he thought of his question. “I honestly am not sure. I just felt unsatisfied with my growth. Like I know I can do more,” he said.

“Then let me ask you this—why do you desire to grow stronger? What is your reason for it?” Vidav asked.

Asura stopped as he thought of the answer. He knew one reason—to avenge Master Roku. “Do I need to give you one answer?” he asked.

The tiger turned around and looked at Asura from behind his hood. “Of course not. I understand there are many reasons. I can assume what might drive you, but what is your true goal as to why you wish power.” Vidav lectured.

Asura paused for a moment, but he understood it. He knew what he truly wanted. “I want to grow stronger, so I can blaze my own path in the world. I learned of the great sages of six paths and other legendary powers who used their might to do incredible things. I encountered great adversaries with great powers, like the Rinnegan.” Asura explained with a tone that gave way to the weight on his shoulders, “ In short, Lord Vidav, I wish to obtain a great power to do great things—on my own. To be remembered for my own strength and my own actions.”

Vidav listened intently to Asura’s words. “Interesting. I can see you have great motivations, but say you do have this power. What would you do with it? That is the big question.” He asked, his weight of words showing his focus on Asura.

Asura looked down, and realized his answer to that easier than the previous one. “I want to obtain freedom. Not simply for myself, but for others oppressed as I was…” he admitted.

Vidav was quiet for a moment, but then he gave Asura a grin. Like how a cat would appear after he caught a bird, the joy on his face was clear. “I see… I am glad to hear that, Asura. You have great determination and a worthy goal to achieve,” he said proudly, “I can say for certain that you are capable of learning Senjutsu. ”

Asura’s eyes widen when he heard that. “Wait… are you kidding me? Senjutsu? As in Sage training?” Asura gasped, “I didn’t think it was possible to teach it to someone.”

Vidav smirked. “But of course. We tigers, while we may not be as renown as the toads or monkeys of your land, are well aware of the power of Sage Jutsu.” Vidav had a gleam in his eye, one of great confidence, and one that Asura might recognize in himself. “And if you are willing to bear with this gauntlet of training, the results will be beyond your imagination. Do you accept?”

Asura was stunned. As he thought it over, it became more apparent why sage jutsu was so special—and why so many were called Sages. It was the stuff of legends. If he truly wished to accomplish his goal, such an opportunity would be a blessing. “Y-Yes, sir! I’d be honored,” he replied.

Vidav gave a kind smile at his answer. “Very well. We need to bring lord Byakko up to speed, but he should be okay with this. After all, this will involve teaching you great secrets of our tribe. But I get the feeling for you to live among us, he has great faith in you… even if he doesn’t wish to show it.” The tiger said.

Back in the field where Boss Byakko was, the tiger looked upon Asura and his friends, including Ravana before him. Vidav stood front and center before the giant tiger. “Sage training? Him?” Boss Byakko asked, his tone skeptical at best. Should they could see behind the cat’s mask, the look might have been doubt and surprise. “This is… interesting, but do you think he can do it?”

Vidav nodded. “While rough around the edges, I will admit—he has the potential. Still, I am aware this is not something we should give easily,” he said, and bowed his head to the tiger. “I have no doubt he is in our best of confidence; however, it would be wrong to not ask for your permission, Boss Byakko.”

“Heh….” Byakko scoffed. “The last human couldn’t handle Sage training. Isn’t that right… Ravana?” The tiger looked to Ravana, who cast his gaze away from the group.

“Heh…” Ravana scoffed, unwilling to answer it back.

Asura turned his head to Ravana, baffled. “What?! Wait a minute—you tried to learn Senjutsu? And failed?” he shouted.

“It was a major pain in the ass. It just didn’t interest me as much,” he replied.

Vidav didn’t comment on the matter and returned to Boss Byakko. “That aside, I think we both can agree Asura is a better character than he is, and with more potential. More important, it would mean intrusting him with our techniques and treasures of our land. That said, does he have your blessing to proceed?”

Asura waited quietly and simply awaited the giant tiger’s judgement. The tiger loomed his head over Asura’s direction and blew out a hot breath of air in his direction. “You are right about him being a better sense of character….” The tiger said, and then sighed. “Very well. He is already a part of our tribe. Should he succeed, I have no doubt he will do us proud as the first Tiger Sage. “

A smile came to Asura and he bowed his head to Boss Byakko. “Thank you, Boss! I promise I will do you proud!” Asura said with excitement.

Vidav watched Asura with amusement. To see such an eager pupil made him feel alive, and more so… the tiger would look forward to train and work with Asura as well.


Thread End

Total word count: 6488

Unlocked Nature Control --- Earned 450 AP.