Prospective Talent (Shouten Li)

[Orochimaru]

Orochimaru entered the Sand village with a face that he had stolen from a Sand village Genin that would never return from his latest mission. The boy had been unlucky enough to run into the serpent while he was looking for a way into the sand village and would now be used for that very purpose. As he walked past the gate guards one of them spoke, "Kuno back already" Orochimaru whom was quite good at espionage smiled as the boy had done to him not even an hour ago and spoke the words the boy had spoken to him. "I was halfway to the destination of my mission when I realized I forgot my scroll with my puppets in them, the scroll I got now only has a few parts of the new puppet I am trying to build". He smacked his head in feigned abhorrence at the very idea of him forgetting something. It seemed as if the gat guard was fooled as he smiled back and waved Orochimaru through the gates.

Orochimaru had plenty of "talent scouts" out and about searching for those with talents that he could use to bolster his ranks. One of the talent scouts had gotten a message to him telling him that there was a child in Suna that he should meet with. As he approached where he was supposed to meet the child one of his talent scouts appeared and bowed before him, his ability to sense chakra was extremely fine tuned and he could distinguish a person no matter how they were disguised which is why Orochimaru used him as a scout. "The boy is over there my lord" Orochimaru walked up to the boy and spoke using Kuno's old voice. "Hey would you mind helping me train by sparring with me for awhile".

[Admin]

It had only been a day since Shouten's training with Masami Saito. He was simply walking around the village aimlessly. Oddly enough, it was easiest for Shouten to daydream when he was surrounded by people. These strangers in the village would not be seeking his attention or his company. He was free to ignore all of his surroundings excepting a bumped shoulder here and there. At least, he was until he was interrupted.

Hey, would you mind helping me train by sparring with me for awhile?

Shouten juggled with the idea in his mind. He had recovered from his fight with Masami, but he simply wasn't in the mood to do battle. He was not a blood thirsty child and today seemed like a good day to relax. Hopefully this Genin would respect that and go away.

"Eh, I'll pass. Sorry man, but I'm just not in the mood."

With that, Shouten began walking away from the stranger. His mind had already began to wonder what the fight would have been like. The kid had to be a Genin considering his age. That would mean he wouldn't do anything particularly spectacular. After all, Shouten was already exceptional for a Genin and he couldn't do anything spectacular. The kid was probably a Wind user, considering they were in The Land of Wind. That would've been good news, as Shouten primarily used fire jutsu.

There was an ulterior motive for turning down the kid. No need to reveal his techniques when the Chuunin Exams were right around the corner. At this point, every Genin was competition somewhere down the line.

[Orochimaru]

Orochimaru was disappointed however he was not here to push the issue he would make one more attempt to see the boy’s power before moving on. Using the child’s stolen face Orochimaru smiled a smirk of confidence. Anyone looking at this face would only perceive one message from it; I am better than you. “I get it” the boy’s voice matched his cocky grin exactly. “You already got your spot as the top genin to watch so why put it in harm’s way by sparring with a true talent”. This was Orochimaru’s way of testing if these children had what he was looking for.

He needed someone with a thirst for power, but not only that, also a drive to prove them. He would never be able to recruit someone who is content with their power and does not care to prove themselves; if this did not work he would start his search over again. However he would not give up entirely on the boy. He would sow a seed within him that would hopefully grow into the catalyst the boy would need to come and seek him. He waited for the boy’s reply as it would dictate what would happen next.

[Admin]

“You already got your spot as the top genin to watch so why put it in harm’s way by sparring with a true talent”.

Perhaps it was his nature manipulation of fire. Perhaps it was his pride as the leader of a clan. Perhaps it was sheer arrogance. Whatever the reason, Shouten was now obsessed with the death of the boy standing a few feet from him. He wheeled around to face him.

"Well now that you put it that way, yes. I will assist your suicide. Let's get to a clearing."

Shouten's words were absolute. He wanted this boy to offer no words of disagreement or, as a matter of fact, any words at all. He just wanted him to do whatever pitiful maneuver he could and then die. Forget knocking him out, forget making him forfeit. Shouten wanted to see his blood. Nobody challenged the pride of the Li Clan. Nobody challenged his drive to win. He had tried to have a peaceful day, but it just wasn't in the cards. In the depths of his inner monologue, Shouten began to fantasize.

He was standing there, in the scorching desert as the wind rolled through peacefully. The Loser was trying to form handseals for jutsu, but even that proved too difficult for him. Shouten mock-yawned to taunt his opponent into defeat. Then, once he had laughed enough at his opponent, he began to make his own handseals. Just as a meteor the size of the Leaf Village began to collide with his opponent, Shouten snapped out of his fantasy. He also realized that he hadn't moved. Awkward.

"Anyway, this way."

Shouten leapt off towards an open area to spar. The training grounds weren't too far from where they were.

[Orochimaru]

Orochimaru smirked as he was glad to see that his tactics had indeed worked out. This was good as there was nothing he hated more than incompetent scouts. He watched as the kid stood dazed in his own world not wanting to blow his cover by seeming too eager. This child was supposed to be some amazing genin, he had to play the part of a fellow sand shinobi trying to enter the top spot but not knowing if he is ready for it. As the kid came out of his trance Orochimaru wiped the smile off his face and went with a look of regret and trepidation.

They stepped into the training grounds that were nearby and begun to square each other up. Orochimaru knew that the kid he was now playing as was supposed to be a puppet user, and though he was partnered with Sasori for a while in the Akatsuki, he only knew the theory behind puppetry. He pulled out the scroll of spare parts that the boy had mistaken for his puppets. He remembered seeing a lesser form of fighting that had sprung up in the leaf village before his exodus; he took the scroll and whipped it around. He released the contents of the scroll all at once not knowing what exactly was inside. Most of what came out was useless junk. However the useless junk would come in handy when hiding the few blades that were flung at the genin as well. He got lucky as he seen a cloud of purple smoke explode toward the boy, as the creator of this scroll was a genin he was sure that the poison wouldn’t do more than cause some minor discomfort.

[Admin]

Luckily for Shouten, a frontal assault is what he expected from a puppet user. It was time for him to debut his newest technique. Shouten created a few short handseals as the cloud of poison and blades rushed towards him.

"Sand Village Art: Mirage Blade."

Shouten whispered his words as to catch his opponent off guard. Luckily for him, the cloud of poison should shield him from the Genin's vision. He would now be able to use the Body Flicker without hindrance. Just as the boy finished his final handseal, he disappeared from his current position in a cloud of smoke. When Shouten reappeared, he was directly behind his Genin opponent.

Sword drawn, he made to slash at the boy's back. He didn't want to use a potentially fatal slash, so he held back his strength a bit. Still, if the attack connected, his opponent would surely be feeling a lot of pain. Shouten's thoughts were clouded with only one word.

"Die."

I mean, what an ignorant move. They hadn't even agreed to start. The young man just assumed Shouten was ready and attacked. Very dishonorable and cowardly. This was not helping to calm Shouten's rage. It was as if he were begging to die.

[Orochimaru]

Orochimaru stood silent waiting for the boy’s next move; he knew this was not all it took if it did he would have to kill his scout. He heard the sand shift behind him and spun around just in time to jump back and avoid the slash the boy had aimed his direction. The attack was almost perfectly performed and anyone of genin level would have most likely been hit with it. He held his breathe as he dashed into the poison smoke looking to conceal him. Within the confines of the smoke he opened his mouth wide and begun to retch, soon a full sized sword dropped from his mouth and into his hand. As the poison drifted away from him he dropped a scroll to the ground to make it seem as if he had summoned the sword from the scroll and not from inside his own body. He dashed at the boy with amazing speed swinging his sword in a beginner’s sword fighting slash. Nothing that should give the boy a problem.

However this was only step one of a three part plan, by the time they reached step three the boy would lose this sparring match. However, He had already sealed an invitation to the sound village; this was merely a formality to see how far the boy would push himself and how strong he truly was. Orochimaru wanted to see if he could cultivate this child’s rage into something more.

[Admin]

Shouten was quite shocked. No average Genin should be able to dodge his technique so perfectly. He also shouldn't be able to dive headfirst into a cloud of poisonous smoke. His eyebrows would have hit Mars if they didn't have to stop at the top of his head. Still, the boy did not lax his fighting stance. Perhaps all puppet users are immune to their own poisons. It sure would be an idiotic move to be vulnerable to your own techniques.

Sure enough, Shouten's opponent came charging out of the cloud of smoke. He was quick, but not too quick. His form was also quite weak. The young man raised his sword to parry the blow and, if it worked, he would follow up with a stab through the chest. At this point, Shouten was fighting for blood. It felt strange.

"I'm not normally this violent. What is it about this kid's chakra that's making me so angry? If I don't get it under control, I could kill this kid. What the hell is wrong with me? Is this what it means to be a ninja? I need..."

Shouten cut his thoughts off. Whatever was bothering him would have to wait. He was in fighting mode, and even the slightest distraction could leave him dead. Were all sparring matches going to be like this? Was he going to end up killing one of his other allies in the village? Granted, this kid was asking for it, could Shouten really do it? Could he send another soul from this Earth? Yes. That wasn't even a question anymore. He was raised from birth with a murderous intent. He had never seen life in this new way before. Perhaps he should rethink his clan.

Perhaps that was an idiotic idea. Whatever Shouten's mind made up, for now, this Genidiot was to die.

[Orochimaru]

The shock in the young Genin’s showed that he was able to tell that his attack should have hit. He was glad that the boy could see talent. He liked his subordinates to be able to recognize talent and where they stand on the totem. Shouten knew that the amount of evasion that Orochimaru implemented was beyond that of a Genin. Orochimaru was impressed; maybe the boy was starting to get an inkling of whom or what he is fighting. Orochimaru felt his blade touch Shouten’s and in the few seconds their blades touched he felt the power and technique and understood that while the Genin’s skill with a blade was remarkable for his age he could out maneuver the boy. However that was not part of the plan, as their swords collided Orochimaru gave way and allowed himself to be parried causing his sword to fling out of his hand.

This was the beginning of step two of his plan, as his sword sailed away from him he stepped forward into the blade. He held the blade between his arm pit and the side of his body; this would keep the boy from being able to move blade at all for quite some time. He would then take his hand and twitch the fingers making it seem as if he was manipulating chakra threads. His sword swung around and came back toward Shouten stopping right at the back of his head, this would be the beginning of the second part of step two, and this would be when he really saw what Shouten was capable of. “I cannot do it; I think this is as far as I can take it”.

This was the last part of step two. He would see if Shouten was reckless enough to finish off someone whom he thought was an ally who had given up. Either way he had another step planned for the future, either way this fight would be ending soon and their engagement would turn into something else completely.

[Admin]

Shouten's entire face when chalk white. His mouth was cartoonishly hanging open. How could he have failed to consider a puppet ninja's ability to use chakra threads? His sword was stuck, caught between the boy's armpit. A move that no regular Genin would ever attempt. This kid was something more than he was letting on. A lot more. Still, Shouten may be a hot head, but he's no fool. He knew when a battle was lost.

"Alright. You got me. That was actually a pretty good match, but I know your secret. There is no way in hell you're actually a Genin. Tell me, are you like the famous Copy Ninja of Konoha? Are you some sort of Jounin prodigy at such a young age? If so, you should feel bad picking on Genin like me. If you're not a Jounin, you should be. You're faster than nearly anything I've ever seen and that blade catch? Priceless."

The hatred died down once the fight was over. Shouten sighed a breath of relief. He didn't enjoy his anger and luckily it only came out in vicious fights to the death. Still, Shouten's mind was buzzing out of control. Perhaps this man was keeping his true identity a secret for a reason. Could he have been sent to analyze Shouten's skills? It would explain why he was so eager to battle and why he was clearly holding back against him. So much strength for such a little kid. The young Li's jealousy was hitting maximum levels.

[Orochimaru]

“My secret huh. You are correct I am not a Genin. However, comparing me to a two bit prodigy like Kakashi Hatake is laughable I was a legend before he was born. I am much more than a Jounin, I am Orochimaru one of the three legendary Sannin. Also I appreciate your compliments, you are pretty good yourself that body flicker slash is pretty good however I know a way to make it better."

He opened his mouth wide, wider than any person should have been able to open his mouth. Orochimaru stepped out of the mouth of the fake body he was wearing like a suite. He decided to show himself to the boy as a sign of trust. “Your talented, yes you’re very talented but you will never be as great as you could be. I could make you better than you could have ever imagined. I could teach you a lot”.

OOC: Sorry it’s short I could not think of anything else. That is why it took me so long.

[Admin]

Shouten's face was simply unequipped to convey the exact emotion he felt watching a man explode from the mouth of a child. It was the most horrific thing he had ever seen. Everything about it made him question his life. Was this a standard jutsu in the Hidden Leaf Village? Was this a standard jutsu of higher up ninja in general? How could he be sure Masami Saito wasn't a completely different man altogether, just waiting for the right moment to burst out of the current "Masami's" mouth? The boy's mouth was actually agape. It would have been funny if it weren't the most horrifying thing ever.

Then Shouten began to analyze the man's words. He was Orochimaru, one of the Legendary Sannin, an S-Rank criminal. This same man complimented his skills. Was he really talented enough to impress Orochimaru of the Sannin? No. It had to be a farce. It had to be a trick. Perhaps this was all Genjutsu. The Sand Village had to be aware that this man was in the village beating up small children. Yeah, it wasn't Genjutsu. That was only a hope. This was truly Orochimaru standing before him. The Li Leader was willing to bet money that he only came to spy on the talent of the Sand Village.

Shouten considered the other ninja in his village worth mentioning. Sabaku no Gaara. If he weren't still terrified, he could chuckle. Gaara could never be in danger and it didn't matter who you were. He was just that good. Damn it, now his mind was rambling.

"I need to focus. How the hell can I get out of here? He revealed himself to me too soon. If I decline him, he could kill me! God damn it, where are my team mates?!"

It was too early for Shouten to die, but he had his Li honor to consider. There was no honor in betraying his village in search of power. His vengeance could wait. His father wouldn't want it to come at the price of his soul.

"Orochimaru-sama. I respect you as a ninja, but I cannot leave my village. I have my clan to think about. I also have to consider..." Shouten had to stop himself from mentioning the names of his team mates. If this were the same S-Rank criminal Orochimaru, they could be killed if it meant Shouten would leave the village. "...my team mates."