Powerful Guardians + Sage Mode

“I left the village for a little while. I went back home to visit family. I’ve just come back – though I did take a trip to that shrine you mentioned to me.” Reo said, not sure if he should mention the armadillo. He wanted to, but what if they thought he was crazy.

“Oh yeah? Do you feel like you have a better understanding of Iwa and Doton now that you’ve climbed that mountain?” The Jounin chuckled. He hadn’t told Reo that it would be on top of a mountain, not that he minded overly much. It was good training, after-all.

[Post 23: 101 Words]

“I do. I…I don’t want to sound crazy, but I actually met a strange creature at the shrine.” Reo spoke slowly and cautiously, watching the face of the Jounin for any reaction as he did.

“A strange creature? What was it?” The guard asked – voice rising in a curious manner.

“It called itself an armadillo. It was plated and..it jumped off the mountain. The strangest thing, though, was that there wasn’t a body in the crater at the bottom of the mountain.” Reo felt encouraged to talk – letting everything spill out. Sure, they would think he was crazy but there were worse things in life. Besides, he had already started. Too late to turn around now.

[Post 24: 116 Words]

“It talked and there was no body?” The Jounin asked, though his face was alight with recognition instead of cautiousness, fear, or anger – all of which Reo associated with someone thinking he was crazy.

“Yeah, it also had on sunglasses and smoked a cigar – which I found weird enough.” Reo said as he remembered about that. He had been so focused on the missing body and talking animal that he had forgotten its other anthropomorphized characteristics.

“You met Armatus the Armadillo Sage! That’s amazing Reo! There’s only a spotting every year or so of that creature. Did you sign a blood contract with him?”

[Post 25: 104 Words]

“A blood contract?” Reo asked, puzzled. He didn’t think he signed anything.

“Yeah, for a summoning jutsu. Armatus is the head – and the only one with the blood contract scroll – of the armadillo summoning creatures associated with Iwa. It is very rare for someone to be able to summon them…but, if you didn’t sign one then maybe he decided he didn’t want to be summoned by you for some reason.” The Jounin looked at the setting sun and then sighed as he opened the gate. “Anyway, head on in before it gets too dark.”

Reo did as directed and walked into the village of Iwagakure.

[Post 26: 105 Words]

He couldn’t help but feel like a failure. Armatus was some special summon from Iwa? Why had he revealed himself and not let him sign the blood contract? Reo couldn’t figure it out. He had to have said something that made him not want to work with him.

Reo sighed as he made his way to an inn. He wanted to make sure that he could get whatever rest he would be able to here. Besides that, he wasn’t sure exactly what else he wanted to learn here. There was the issue with Apollo and Ares, of course, but he didn’t know if anyone would have any information here.

[Post 27: 109 Words]

Reo walked into the tavern with the words “The Rock Crab” overhead. Fitting name for this place ,though Reo wasn’t exactly sure what a crab was. He was beginning to think that his zoology knowledge was severely lacking.

Once inside, Reo walked to the barkeep. It was a dusty place, though there were stairs leading upstairs. That implied that there was some sort of housing in the building. It was made completely out of stone. As many shinobi here were Doton users the stone would serve as defense for the building should a shinobi war break out. Reo had to admire the dual practicality.

[Post 28: 104 Words]

“You’re mighty young to be here alone. Someone send you?” the barkeep asked with a smile. Reo was unable to tell if it was real. Perhaps he just had trouble figuring out why a twelve-year-old boy just walked into his bar.

“No. I’m here looking for a room to rent for a few days. I can pay.” Reo slid some Ryo onto the bar. It wasn’t much but it was enough to cover a night’s rent for a room in this place, surely. The old barkeep eyed it with one eye. The other eye somehow trained itself on Reo. His long bushy eyebrows curled at the ends and caused Reo to shive slightly. He had never seen anything like it.

[Post 29: 120]

The barkeeps eye shifted to a stink eye – with one eye opened wide. He leaned forward and whispered to the young boy. “If you mess my room up.. I will end you, boy. And don’t even think about trying to sneak any alcohol while you are here.”

Reo nodded eagerly and turned to go up the stairs. He made it halfway before the barkeeper was yelling at him. “Room four, boy!”

Reo continued on his way, weaving in and out of drunk patrons until he made it to the stairs. He slowly made it up the stone steps. Reo walked until he found the room marked room number four.

[Post 30: 109 Words]

Reo opened the door. There was no lock – which was disconcerting to the young monk. He was a shinobi in a rival village – after all. He wiped the sweat off his brow as he climbed into the bed – throwing his meager possessions in a lump on the floor next to the bed. He was exhausted from going to the shrine and back to Iwa in one day. Reo lay there – staring at the ceiling and wondering what adventures awaited him. There was the possibility of being attacked here in Iwa – though he hadn’t run into any minions of Apollo or Ares since arriving in Iwa.

[Post 31: 104 Words]

Reo’s breath came in quick gasps as he opened his eyes. Cold sweat had formed on his forehead. It was dark both in the room and outside of it. Reo wasn’t sure what time it was but he knew he had been awoken by a sound.

He just wished he knew what it was.

The young monk crawled out of bed and began to look around. Seeing nothing immediately, he reached over and grabbed his trident. Then, he took a fighting stance.

And, he waited.

He waited some more.

After what felt like an eternity, Reo lowered the trident and stood up normally. The room was clear.

[Post 32: 107 Words]

“Hello, Young Man.” A familiar elderly voice said from somewhere below Reo’s knees. Reo jumped and his head hit the ceiling. He fell back down on his butt on the floor. “That was quite impressive. Not only did you wait for at least an hour after you heard a noise, but you then jumped so high that you hit your head. Not every ninja could do that, you know?”

There was a twinkle in the little Armadillo’s eyes – which could be seen as he was no longer wearing his sunglasses. Other than the lack of glasses, everything else was the same. This was clearly Armatus.

[Post 33: 105]