History Revealed [p]

Age : 32 Posts : 1178

Since he had come to the Temple, Hiruzen had not exactly been feeling very much at home. Feeling partially responsible for the harsh treatment the guardian of the passage had received, it had been hard to enjoy himself. On his tour through the temple, the monk had been telling him a lot of stories ranging from the founding of the temple, the founder and the teachings they passed onto all new monks that started their new life in the temple of Raijin. While Hiruzen was not feeling very happy right now, he was still very interested in learning more about this temple. If there was one thing that could match his combat prowess, it was his eagerness to learn more about the world. To him, there was no such thing as useless information, for everything eventually turned out to have some significance in this world. What one person considered to be useless, another would find useful. Hiruzen had come to realize this a long time ago, learning jutsu people considered to be useless and using them in ways no one would ever have believed if they had not seen it with their own eyes. Continuing to follow the monk, he was eventually shown every single room that did not have restricted access. Learning that the temple was incredibly old and was built hundreds of years before the founding of the villages, he was told that the current head of the temple had been a descendant of the founder, Kazuhiro Shukuya.

Figuring that he would be meeting up with the head of the temple or someone else that was a powerful figure within the boundaries of the temple, he kept following the monk, his eyes going all over the place to pick up as much as he possibly could. Whether it was just because he never felt safe after the attack of the assassin or just because he wanted to be prepared for those he was about to meet, he felt more secure with his activated Sharingan than without it. Using it to memorize the things he saw more accurately, there was so much to be seen that the Hidden Cloud did not have. Noticing several forms of architecture that shared similarities with the Hidden Cloud and something that pre-dated the rise of the Hidden Cloud, he came to understand that the monk that guided him had not been overselling his story when he told him that the Temple had been around for almost a thousand years. When the two finally reached a large library, he was taken into a separate section, a place that was not accessible to every single person that came to the temple as a visitor. For some reason, Hiruzen felt like this had been the point to the entire journey, for him to get to this room. Once he entered the room, the monk locked it behind them straight away, making him feel slightly uncomfortable. Guiding him towards a chair, Hiruzen took a seat while the monk took an old lock-box from a shelve and placed it on the table.

"Your grandfather used to come here a lot to spend time with our late leader, Hideo. They tried to find ways to defend the temple from unwanted guests by merging Shinobi Ninjutsu with our own abilities. He, together with our former leader, are responsible for the training Gankotsu received, the defenses set up in the narrow passage and more. When Hideo died, your grandfather locked up everything they had been working on in a large box and stored it away. It has a lock that has a strange design that seems to make no sense whatsoever. He asked us to lead you to it, claiming you'd know what to do with it.".

Taking a look at the lock, he saw several parts that were made so that they could turn in any direction, aiming to create some sort of symbol. Being advanced beyond numerical locks and simple seals, the colors on every single part of the lock did not make any sense at all. As he focused his eyes on it, it seemed that the colors on the moving parts were just something to distract those that did not have powerful ocular powers like the Uchiha or Hyuuga. The more he focused, the more the colors faded away, showing a pattern of different colors and shapes underneath. Figuring that it was because of some illusion linked to a seal, it was most likely intended to be opened by an Uchiha, his grandfather was known to be clever like that. Thinking about what they might form, he just started moving the pieces to try and create something that actually made sense. Looking down on the puzzle, the monk had no idea as to what Hiruzen was doing. After all, he could not see what Hiruzen saw. After turning the thing several time, he saw something that seemed somewhat cliché, yet fitting, given the location he was in. Continuing to turn the parts until they made up the symbol for body and mind, the black and white Yin Yang. As he completed the symbol, the lock glowed brightly for a moment, no doubt shutting down some sort of internal seal as the mechanism allowed the box to be opened. Opening the box, he found a lot of old scrolls that had been in the temple for a long time, or so it would seem. Wondering why he had been left alone with this stuff, the only thing he could really think of right now would be to look into it and find out what this was about.

With the monk eagerly watching over his shoulder to see what his response would be like when he opened up the scrolls, Hiruzen could not help but feel a little bit creeped out. As a Shinobi, he hated it when people stood behind him, never having enjoyed it when his teacher stood behind him whenever he made a test. During his early years, some people believed that he was cheating on tests, which was why they would often stand close to him to try and catch him in the act, though no one ever did. Ever since his time in the academy, the people of the Uchiha clan knew that Hiruzen was beyond other Shinobi of his age, already being at the skill level of a Chuunin when he was still in the Academy, which he had finished a year earlier than the others even after being put in an advanced class. There was no doubt about it that he was perhaps one of the few Shinobi that had it in him to make an actual difference in the world and change the way things were going for the good, or for the bad. With the lock opened, he had proven to the monk that he was here for a reason, that he was not just some stupid, useless kid. For the first time this week, Hiruzen felt like he had achieved something very few would be capable of. If he got back home and told his grandfather that he had managed to open up his old lock-box, he would no longer be able to doubt his skill and intelligence. Requesting some time alone with the box and it's content, the monk told him he'd be back in an hour, giving Hiruzen quite some time to do his thing.

So far, the little test he had been through at the narrow passage with Gankotsu, the mysterious lock on the chest and the story he had been told by the monk had given him a lot to think about. Whether all of this was some sort of test that had been set up by his grandfather or if he was actually just here for the sake of not being around the village and getting himself or the clan in trouble during the hard times they found themselves in did not really matter much to him. Any test of skill that made him work his body or his brain was welcome. For now, he would go through the scrolls his grandfather and Hideo had left behind after the former head died and Hiruzen's grandfather returned to the village and spend all of his time on maintaining the Uchiha clan. Whatever was in there, it was certainly worth reading through. He had proven to himself and others that he was smart enough to pass any test that was thrown at him, so there was no doubt in his mind that he would encounter something he would not be able to work out on his own. With that thought in mind, he started going through the scrolls until the monk would come back to pick him up.

Age : 32 Posts : 1178

1462 words used [600 Needed]
End of Training