The Lost Temple

Just as Rin figured would happen the knives he had obtained seemingly vanish with small golden lights before reappearing in the mystery guy's hands. The boy's eyes never left from the man as he drops the sensing fields for it can be draining. He could feel his body starting to burn with effort from the strain. If anything Rin could detect a spike of chakra if this man builds up. So far the genin has been keen on when the katon chakra builds up as it normally indicates preparation of an attack. And fire always hurt the most.

The ghost speaking of how choices holds consequences is something Rin understands. In a sense this construct is designed to defend this temple and Rin was basically deceived into plundering a sacred site. Technically Rin could run, and probably should have. However if this man dies or vanishes judging the rate of chakra was being lost then the knives will be left unprotected. There will be no defenders and little places nearby that would allow a good hiding spot. It will be found again, and Rin hopes to obtain the knives so that they don't fall onto the wrong hands.

Honestly Rin couldn't argue against that, and if this guy is a ghost from the past then he probably doesn't even know what Konoha is. Makes it harder to persuade the defender. Still with a flick the man threw one knife at Rin. Even without the sensing to enhance his sight Rin can still focus on the knife. Using the twin divide's stance, Rin nimbly shifted his weight onto his left foot while twisting his body as the knife tears a cut on his pants and even nicked him on the thigh. It stung, but Rin's immediate attention shifted as the man had quickly closed the five meter gap. Seeing the hand going for his diaphragm Rin attempts by matching the speed with his wakizashi. By quickly reaching with his right hand Rin would stab into the man's forearm. Barely missing bones, but still would sever some nerves that allows movement to that hand as Rin's blade goes straight through.

Despite Rin's effort he could not hold back the strength of the monk's as the hand continued to strike. The damage from palm itself was not quite as bad to steal wind from him due to the leather vest protecting Rin's chest. Still Rin felt it as he stepped back. Only the monk wasn't letting up as he immediately followed up by stepping to his left and attempted to swing his other knife. Rin would try to lean back as he quickly brought his katana up for a diagonal slash aimed for the monk's abdomen. The knife still cuts through the vest as it bites into his flesh underneath. Drawing a red line as Rin hissed from the wound. Should his wakizashi had been successful once the monk had his knives back Rin would quickly wrench the blade free.

That is of course before Rin slash again at the man's right wrist same that he had wounded before. Rin may hit the bone as his wakizashi would bite deep into the monk's wrist. His chest ached from the strike along with the new cut. Rin would take another step back putting the monk barely out of his katana's reach as he focused on the monk. Anticipating for the man to keep going, yet strangely Rin was surprised when he asked his name, and was he addressed as a young man? Rin was only twelve, but then again he can't argue that this combat was not meant for children. “Rin Uchiha sir.” Rin responded as he held the wakizashi close to his chest with his body turned to narrow himself. “What is your name?”

Spoiler:

The parry was so smooth that it would have looked almost fake to one who wasn't trained in the art of combat. The man's left hand swept around to parry away the wakizashi as his right hand drew back momentarily at the blade's approach. This parry would pop Rin's wakizashi inside his guard, leaving his side exposed. Rather than land the initial palm, a twirl of his fingers would find the knife in a backhand grasp before a quick jab buried the blade into the side of Rin's bicep. The man left the knife in the arm, letting go as soon as it had run through the young man's muscle. He continued with his step to the left, though he would not pursue an additional attack so as to continue with his questioning. To the man's surprise, he addressed him with an honorific rather than treating him as an enemy. What an interesting young man, were all of the "Uchiha" as respectful as this one was? He was not familiar with the clan name, after all.

And then the boy asked what his name was. The man said nothing, simply staring at the young warrior in front of him. He would not reveal his identity outright, though he had no issue giving a hint. It was the least he could do for someone in their final moments. "This land, is MY land." The statement was intentionally short, for any who could not glean his meaning did not deserve to know the truth. He was troubled however, as he could feel that he did not have much time left. It was unlikely he could catch up to the other two in time himself. That meant he would need to get some from somewhere else if he wanted to be able to perform the duty he was created for. "You're a brave one, or a foolish one, but whichever you are, you will die in a way only a select few have. Be honored." To himself, he would say a silent prayer for the forest. Hopefully this next trick of his would be able to help with that, too.

The man backed up a few meters, his hands coming together to string together a long string of ten seals before his hand came down and slammed on the ground. "Kuchiyose no jutsu: Isobu!" A massive summoning seal spread out along the ground, easily encompassing a twenty meter diameter from the mystery man. The man waited for a couple seconds with his hand on the ground, the beast not answering his call. If Isobu was not answering, it could only be because he was imprisoned. "Someone managed to get you, Isobu? What a shame," he said, standing to his feet. That effort had required a good portion of what chakra he had remaining. There was no doubt now; he was out of time.

"Rin, was it? Today luck was on your side rather than mine. Take that knife, and hide it from whoever hired you to take it. Whatever their reason and whoever they may be, no good can come from a person hunting for these weapons. Use the fire as an excuse, and tell any who ask where you got that blade that you wrested it from that sad excuse of a guardian in my temple before someone else fled with it." He waited for the boy to get the meaning behind his words, that he was allowing him to walk away with his life. "If you understand, then run. Now."





Notes:

Stats: Same

Used:

15 points for being alive

Sage Mode (10/60)

Sensing

Summoning: S rank (failed)

Stamina used: 108/120

Swift as Rin might be the boy did not possess the strength to resist the sage's parry. Making Rin's guard closer to the left side exposing his right arm. Before Rin could retaliate, or rather as Rin was about to slam an elbow at the man's face the boy was suddenly stabbed into the bicep. The blade bit deep as it cuts through the muscular tissue and thankfully misses the bone. Still it hurts a lot and Rin grunts as he resisted the urge to cry. It wasn't the first time Rin got impaled by something, but it still hurt. Which of course would thwart any attempt to counter.

Rin does not drop the wakizashi, but he does retreat his right arm by turning his body to the side and keeping his right arm behind him. With his katana on his left hand poised into a defensive angle across his chest. Instead of pressing the attack as Rin anticipated, the man spoke of how this was his land. This was the Land of Fire, after the Fire Disciple had claimed and stretched his borders at the center of the world so to speak. With there being a temple designated for the Fire Disciple and of how these knives once belonged to the same man. “Hononi?”

If this ghost was of Hononi that would explain how powerful this man really was. To go solo against a powerful figure such as the Fire Disciple was one nobody would pass up. Or at least Rin thinks before the sage backs up quite a few meters and tries to summon something. Rin wasn't using his sensing ability for fear of pushing his pain threshold to the limit if it hasn't already. Even so Rin could see how big this summoning was to wager it was a powerful one. Rin didn't think the ghost was willing to expend so much energy just to take him out. The genin was waiting for something to come out, or whatever this Isobu was that Hononi spoke of. Only nothing happened, which Rin can see disappointment on the sage's face.

The man spoke of either Rin was being stupid to have stayed or being brave. In the boy's mind stupidity would be believing that Rin could beat this sage on even ground. Bravery is when one is afraid yet still holding the willpower to stand tall. In this case Rin would be the brave one as it was like looking straight at death's face as it grinned and stared back at Rin with its hollowed eye sockets. The crawling chill around Rin's body is a fearsome sensation, but even so Rin was resolved. Still the Fire Disciple was allowing Rin to escape with his life and spoke of keeping the knife that is now in Rin's arm. To which Rin was surprised that the knife was still there, but Rin dipped his head that he understood.

In his silence Rin would leap up to the tree where he came from as the blazing heat from the nearby fire presses on Rin's face. The boy retreats to his kunai that is still anchored on a branch which Rin retrieves into his thigh holster. Sheathing his katana, Rin formed the half tiger seal and with chakra surging through his body Rin leaps off for a straight line. A couple of seconds later Rin traveled a hundred meters as he had to land on a thick senju branch to catch his breath. Fatigue was starting to wear down on the boy before he formed the half seal again. A couple of seconds later Rin travels a total of two hundred meters before he comes to a stop.

High on a senju tree Rin takes a moment to carefully get the strap of his bag over the hilt of the knife. It aches and still has that burning sensation as Rin slings his bag around. Taking out his medikit he opens it to take some grain alcohol, bandage wrap, and some soothing cream. Rin takes out a kunai and bites down on the hilt because he knows this was going to hurt. Prepping the wrap by dowsing it with the alcohol and small amounts of soothing cream. Rin was quick as he takes the enchanted knife out and sets it down on his bag. His breathing was becoming ragged as blood started to pour out, but Rin quickly takes the wrap and starts to dress the wound. His teeth biting onto the metal as he grunts in pain while making short work on the wrap. The wound burn with a cold sensation as the grain alcohol cleanses the wound and clots it up. Thankfully the sensation didn't last long as the soothing cream dulled out the pain. Pinning the cloth with a safety pin from the kit to keep it from unwrapping itself.

“Now what do i do with you…” Rin asked himself as his hands was bloody as the wakizashi started to slip from his fingers. Catching it with his left hand, he puts the blade away into its scabbard. Now what to do with this knife as Rin picks it up. Noticing how light his head was feeling due to blood loss and fatigue. Rin wagered he would need to eat something soon. Grabbing one of his old shirts from his bag, Rin used it to wipe his blood off before reaching for his canteen and strip of jerky. Once he drank some of his water and ate the jerky Rin takes the knife into his hip pouch with the kunai and shurikens.

Rin has no idea where Masuyo took off, but he wagered to head back where Taichi had stayed behind. Afterwards Rin planned to just head home. This was above his pay grade anyways, and frankly Rin can't help but feel this was a big setup of something big. So packing up his stuff, Rin will depart to retrieve Taichi and hopefully Masuyo is there with Sera.

Body Flickered x2 -10
Speed: C > B

Stamina: 17.5/40

The man said nothing when Rin tried to gander a guess at who he actually was. Instead, he continued on with the conversation as if Rin had never said anything about it. However, the boy was not completely stupid. When he was told to turn and run, he turned and ran. The man turned back to his temple and rushed over to it, knowing that he had very little time remaining. There was one more trick that he had put in place so long ago that he needed to utilize now more than ever. One more trick to deceive whoever had hired these people to raid his temple. His eyes drifted to the forest that was burning. He had no way of stopping the inferno with the little amount of chakra he had remaining. Sadness settled into his eyes as his form began to shimmer slightly, becoming less real with every passing moment.

He touched a stone on the outside, a hidden seal reacting to his chakra that cause the two stones beneath it to fall back into the temple. The third stone had a false top in it with enough room inside to place four weapons the size of his knives. He placed the three he had on his person inside of it and then clapped his hands. His Sage Mode wore off as he sacrificed the last of his senjutsu to sate the cost on his body and buy him some more time. A couple seconds passed, and then the inside of the false top stone flashed a bright white. The knives inside were gone, the seal managing to remain intact due to its safety from the elements. With a sigh, the man turned and rested against his temple, watching the forest he had loved as a child burn in front of him. "Hmph. What a waste..." he muttered as the last traces of his chakra disappeared from existence. All that could be felt and heard afterwards was the crackling of the fire and the heat that came with it.






Back where Yami and Taichi were at, Rin would find the young boy unconscious with a sack filled with silver next to him. On it was a note that read "The boy passed out and I got a bad feeling about this when that massive surge of chakra hit us... I'm sorry, here's payment for your troubles!" And indeed, Yami was nowhere to be seen. The sack contained 400,000 ryo worth of silver inside of it, enough for each participant to get 100,000 ryo worth each. Just where had that old man run off to?





Chakra ghost died, the knives have been transported to other locations.

The rising smoke from behind Rin was thick and the smell was near suffocating. Even so the boy pressed on. When Rin finally arrived his heart felt like it had dropped upon seeing Taichi laying flat on the ground. “Taichi!” Sliding down from the tree that he was on using the magnetism to a certain amount to allow sliding to the ground level. Rin rushed over to Taichi and immediately checked for wounds that might be visible. Surprisingly there wasn't any puncture marks, cuts, or really any sign of physical trauma. No defensive cuts on the arms and all tools were accounted for. There wasn't a struggle from what Rin could see, and it would seem that Taichi just collapsed.

Rin had noticed the bag as well, but he ran through every conclusion and searched for it before the boy picked up the note. His eyes widened upon seeing the amount of ryo that Yami had given them. But the silver and the fact that Yami had ran can wait for another time. There was a raging forest fire nearby and unless Rin does something this fire could spread over to Tanzaku Town. Potentially endangering the citizens there as well. “Dammit Masuyo this is the worst time for you to run off on me…”

Picking up the bag of silver and putting it inside of his bag. Rin grunts in pain as he picks Taichi up and over his left shoulder. The good shoulder that wasn't injured. Baring his teeth, Rin carries Taichi out to the main road where they had came from. Once he readjusted Taichi on his shoulder, Rin takes a breath before jogging his way back to Tanzaku Town.

---

About an hour and a half later Rin finally arrives at the main entrance of Tanzaku Town as his breathing was raspy and dripping with sweat. Just as Rin was about to pass the gate the boy slowed down to drop to one knee struggling to keep Taichi up. He was immediately approached by the town's security/guards as they immediately spoke to him. “You alright kid? What happened?” Rin couldn't catch his breath to speak clearly, so he pointed at the column of black smoke before uttering a single word. “...fire…”

The guards immediately understood as they spent maybe ten minutes rounding up people with pickaxes, machetes, and a safety blanket that Rin guessed was to protect them from the fire. Lead by a small group of guards, this guard heads out to stop the fire from spreading further. Rin was allowed to stay at a nearby hotel for the night after paying 100 ryo. After a while the men and women who left to deal with the fire came back after the fire was extinguished completely. Over the course of the night Rin was hoping that Taichi would wake up soon, but unfortunately not.

The next morning after Rin had rested, bathed, and eaten his breakfast whether Masuyo and Sera came back for them or not. Rin had already decided how to get Taichi home for he certainly wasn't going to let Taichi stay here. Certainly doesn't have the stamina to carry Taichi all the way to Konoha. So Rin took out his blanket and placed Taichi onto of the blanket. After measuring something, Rin took out his kunai to poke some holes in his blanket along the edges. Maybe an inch from the edge itself. Rin bought some rope from the market so while he used his steel wire to more or less tie the blanket wrapped around Taichi. Then Rin would connect the rope into the top part of the blanket, mid section, and the bottom of the blanket before trying them together to form a sort of harness. Just in case, Rin took out one of his sweaters and tucked it behind Taichi's head to serve as padding for the trip.

Rin made sure to give Taichi some water from his canteen in slow and thin doses. Just to be sure he is hydrated and alright in general. Refilling his canteen and restocking on food supplies, Rin finally left Tanzaku Town with the harness over his chest and dragging Taichi behind him. The blanket was thick thankfully so unless they run over something sharp the blanket should be fine for a while. Regardless, Rin travels back to Konohagakure which he should be arriving by tomorrow morning or midnight at the earliest.

Spent roughly 1,500 Ryo on supplies including a night's stay at a hotel.

[Possible Exit]