[Graded][PB]Meeting of the Minds

[Zao]

Start of an Exploration Within one of the libraries that belonged to the scribes of sand and the village, space twisted and broke apart allowing for a white robed youth to step through the portal that had been created into sun lit room now. His bright blue eyes were such a light blue that they almost seemed to glow as a ray of sunlight reflected of them now as he took a few steps towards the wind to look out and judge the time of day based off the position of the sun. Having returned from his personal realm to the mortal realm he wasn't entirely sure that he had arrived early, on time, or late for his meeting with Li. The pair had worked together on a number of spirit related events but the pair had never been out on any type of mission or adventure together. That was until today, the pair had been discussing their desire to adventure out to the mysterious country of Juu to investigate how the chakra had changed the country side over time to include the the animals that lived there. From the last reports of those who had been able to actually get past the massive wall fought back those wishing to seek entrance, they even encountered spirit like animals that had been mutated by the corruption of the lands who had once lived there normally.

The tales were great about this land and it was one of the few places which the adventurer hadn't been able to visit, but with some of his interests satisfied after returning from the Land of Heaven Zao wished to finally visit and explore the country. Luckily he wouldn't have to make what could be a truly dangerous journey alone now as his friend Li had also wanted to journey to the nearby country for his own reasons. Traveling together was much safer and it was also good to have a second pair of eyes to look at and study hings. With a smile the man's lightly tanned face gazed at the sun now and nodded to himself in approval, having not lost complete track of time within his personal realm this time and having kept his yougn friend waiting. For once he was right one time. "Made it just in time, nice."

[Gara]

How many hours had it been since he last slept? Actually, when was the last time he ate? If he was being honest, Li could not remember how long he had been hidden away in the library. While it was not unusual for Li do this, as it was quite an often occurrence, Li was surprised when he heard the unmistakable sound of Zao’s arrival. He wasn’t supposed to meet Zao in the library for another four days. Had he come early?

Looking around himself Li sighed. He had walled himself in with books again. The tower of books reached the ceiling, and was four books thick. If one did not know better they would think it was a fancy bookshelf, or decoration, but, alas, it was just Li stacking books as he finished them. Li, despite not having moved for six days straight, smelled faintly of parchment, and leather.

After trying a few times to shift the books without sending them tumbling, Li gave up, and shoved them over. There was a large commotion, but Li could not be bothered by it. When he found Zao he bowed respectfully, and smiled. He had begun to consider Zao a good friend, which was rare for Li because of his anxiety. His tone was filled with respect as he spoke. ”Greetings Zao, I trust you have been well? I don't mean to be to forward, but is everything alright? I did not expect you for another four days.” Li still had not realized how much time had passed.

[Zao]

"Four days my friend? How long have you kept yourself locked away in this place while I was gone?" The white robed youth looked over at his good friend and tilted his head to the left side slightly now looking him up and down for a moment with a bright blue gaze before giving him a martial salute with his hands greeting him. From the looks of things the man hadn't even left the library since their last meeting over a week ago and one could tell from more than just looks but the young man was a bit to polite to mention it right at their first meeting. Instead he smile and simply shook his head as he continued to speak once more after the brief pause in his softly spoken words. "Today is our designated meeting day, Li-san. We really need to get you out of this library and I come with some updates!" Their was a bit of excitement as he finished the last part of his words now as from within his pristine snow white robe one hand disappeared for a moment before returning with a few books and two small scrolls.

"These were the only credible books and information scrolls that was able to obtain up Juu, but from reading them for myself before I returned I can almost already predict what you're going to want to do next!" Four chakra strings became visible from the man's four fingers on the slender left hand as the four objects floated over towards his friend allowing for him to grasp all or just one of the articles of limited information upon the mysterious land of Juu no Kuni. It had always been something on the man's mind even from a young age but those who wished to test the supposed dangers there were few and far in between and in truth the young man truly hadn't thought of himself as being strong enough to venture there in the past. But with his development over the past four or five years and the shared interest of his younger friend Li and his skills as a fellow jounin Zao truly felt much more confident in starting some exploration of the country and how it had been affected by the chakra that flowed within its lands.

But like any good expedition the pair were trying to first gather as much reliable information about this mysterious place and the many dangers that were known and those that were assumed to come with it. Then they would have to make many trips and in order to that they would need to find a safe staging area within the great wall of the country that the man could establish a space-time marker. To explore and document and even bring back samples of the plants and animals from the region to study would be of great use to men such as Li and himself in their study of chakra and its true history and origins.

[Gara]

Li’s eyes bulged slightly as he realized how long he had been hidden away within the library. His face turned a light scarlet color as he laughed at himself self-mockingly. When Zao mentioned what he had found, Li’s eyes grew large with excitement. He took everything from his friend, and read through it fairly quickly. ”Interesting! If this is correct, then the flora, and fauna, have mutated beyond belief! Zao, my friend, we must depart post haste! Li’s body was very nearly vibrating with excitement. The things they could find, collect, and bring back to the village was limitless. Li had not been so excited since he began to train Tenkujutsu as a child. To him, Juu no Kuni was like the promised land. It held secrets very, very few people in the world knew, and Li wanted to uncover them all.

[Zao]

The white haired youth looked at his younger counterpart now, shaking his head lightly from side to side now as he couldn't help but have a genuine smile come across his thin lips now as the knowledge hungry jounin instantly dove into the couple of hand written books and the information scroll. Though he currently refrained from telling the Suna-nin how he had been able to come into the possession of such rare books as sometimes one had to do things that they weren't proud of but in the name of science and possibly being able to gain a deeper understanding of chakra through what had happened in Juu Zao was willing to walk a rather gray line. After a short while had passed the man had managed to skim through the majority of the information that was contained within the books and scroll, while it was all the information that he had been able to obtain through his normal information brokers it still wasn't a large amount of knowledge by any means. But when it came to place like that any information that could help them plan their journey and prepare them for the dangers there was worth the price.

"Yes, from the current understanding of the area that chakra has had a tremendous affect on the countryside to include the plant and animal life. Perhaps even affecting the landscape itself. We won't know much before actually getting inside the outer protective wall that surrounded the country's border. " Zao would reply in turn now to his partner's words expressing his interest as well and letting him knowledge that this was truly just the tip of the ice berg when it came to information on what was really going on behind that wall. "Though I must say my young friend, please go shower and clean up first." Half teasing and half serious towards Li the man lifted his right hand to point at him as he spoke since he was honestly able to smell the man from a few feet away. Was this how he was when he had been younger keeping himself locked up in libraries just like this one simply wishing to spend the days studying and learning about everything he could. Shaking his head now he spoke again towards Li. "I need to collect a few things myself, I should be ready to depart within the hour."

As the man finished his sentence about needing an hour or there about to ready himself for the journey, always ready to set off on an adventure, he couldn't help but think about what strange and unusual things lay hidden within Juu. One of the facts that he had discovered that intrigued him the most was how the wildlife had been mutated or corrupted by the excess of chakra allow some of them to evolve to a stage that would almost classify them as a spirit according to some. This was something that he couldn't wait to see first hand an if at all possible he wanted to be able to acquire a few specimen to bring back along with other types of chakra affected lifeforms. The young man's bright blue eyes seemed to almost glow as the excitement could already be seen within them as he thought about everything that might lay in front of the duo on this journey.

[Gara]

Li’s face burned with embarrassment as he bowed, and lept out a nearby window. He knew that he did not need to worry about asking Zao where he wanted to meet; the man always seemed to know exactly where Li was. He knew that, once Zao had taken care of everything that he needed to, he would find Li, who would be ready to depart. Li had arrived at his apartment within minutes, and took a shower so hot that it left his skin dark red. Once he felt completely clean, Li not only stored Tyrant within Spike, but climbed into the puppet himself. With a few hand seals Li’s senses linked up to Spike’s, and he was easily able to maneuver down the stairs of his apartment complex. Truth be told, unless he was going to the library, Li always traveled within the confines of Spike.

He was beyond eager to begin his journey to the lost lands of Juu no kuni, but knew that they would need rations, and other supplies, so Li went shopping. He bought many things, even considered a new weapon, or two, but in the end he only bought what was absolutely needed.

[Zao]

As the fellow jounin had disappeared to take care of himself the man let out a light hearted laugh now and collected up the books and scroll before opening a portal to toss them into his personal realm after having already marked them with his fuuin that would allow for him to recall them at a moments notice if need be. Quietly he walked back to his two story home and entered through the back court yard before then moving into the house to also take care of himself having been gone for some time and prepare. Within the time of about half an hour the man emerged from the nice home wearing a fresh set of white robes and a tan color pack upon his back now before then pushing off with his legs to leap up into the air and meet up with his comrade.

"Almost ready, Li-san?" A soft and friendly voice would call down from above the puppet user now as Zao had found the man relatively easily due the method and modes of travel used by Li as the man preferred to utilize his puppet as a taxi for the most part. This was something that was an odd quirk about the young man but the scholar had simply accepted that it was part of the man and never bothered to really question him about the matter, just letting it be. From the roof top the man descended gently landing upon the soft sandy ground as he looked up at Spike and shook his head lightly. "I'm ready when you are mate, but are you going to travel in Spike again?" He teased at the jounin a bit now as he adjusted the straps of the backpack which contained a few items for the journey including notebooks, storage scrolls, food and rations. Though the man could have easily of just stored this within his personal realm sometimes he like to just be normal, in the sense of the word for what ever that meant for someone who could manipulate space and time.

After adjusting the straps and straitening out the fine cloth robe he would return his bright blue gaze onto the large puppet of his friend, simply waiting for his signal of being ready to travel. While the man didn't have a marker in Juu yet he had a number of permanent markers that would cut quite some time off their initial portion of the journey and would allow for them to reach the famed giant border wall around the country. While the country itself was interesting, the wall was truly the first interesting thing that they would come across and one of the largest of obstacles which they would have to find a way through or around in order to make entrance to the country. And of course a wall of this magnitude was not normal by any means either...

[Gara]

The glowing blue eyes of Spike focused on Zao as the man descended from above. ”Not only do I have a bed in this thing, but I can carry all of my supplies in here as well. Plus, if I don't ride in Spike, he has to walk beside me. I still haven't bothered to learn the puppet sealing inscription. I should really get on that…but yes, I am ready.” Li’s voice came out of Spike’s mouth much deeper than normal. As he spoke, Li had Spike begin to walk towards the village gate, not thinking that Zao could port them not only out of the village, but probably out of the country. As Spike walked Li yelled “oh shit!” out of nowhere. He had totally forgot to tell Zao about Spike’s upgrades. ”Zao! I totally forgot to tell you! I made my first Tsukimogami!” Even though his voice deeper coming out of Spike, all of the excitement was still there.

Though he was excited about telling Zao of his accomplishment, Li’s mind was racing through the information Zao had gathered on Juu no Kuni. It was rumored that chakra had not only mutated the plants, and animals, but had changed the land itself, and one of the scrolls Zao had presented claimed that it was not merely a rumor. That it was true. This, if proven correct, would change Li’s whole outlook on the way chakra interacts with the world around them. Other than the mutated lands, the scrolls, and books, spoke of increased spiritual activity in the area, and that there was supposed to be a massive hydra within the waters of Juu no Kuni.

[Zao]

"Oh course, seems I need to tutor you on that sometime." A genuine laugh managed to escape from the young man's lips as he turned toward the puppet that was now beside him having to look up to see the creations head due to the height difference between the pair now. Zao couldn't help but tease at the fellow jounin about 'tutoring' him like the slightly younger jounin was a kid or something. Shaking his head lightly the man began to walk side by side with Li within his puppet as the pair advanced a bit outside of the market area during which time he heard that the fellow Suna-nin had managed to create his first Tsukimogami. "Congratulations my friend. What kind of spirit was it?" Anything about involving spirits immediately interested the white haired man as he turned his bright blue gaze upon the puppet once more now, truly interested in what kind of spirit his friend had encountered.

Not only was he interested in the encounter between the shinobi and the spirit but also he wanted to know how this spirit would affect Li's combat prowess as well since if a fight did break out the two men now only needed to understand one another's strengths and weaknesses but how to blend their own fighting styles together in the most efficient way. After the puppet user would explain about the battle and the type of spirit he had managed to seal away the pair would finally have exited the market area and would be in a more isolated portion of the village now. "Guess we should probably get moving along my friend." The man lifted his right hand now as it seemed to almost glow faintly with a thin coating of chakra and with a simple slash of the hand a three meter rift was torn through space opening into a portal that would allow the two men to instantly traverse several hundred miles, cutting that completely out of their journey. While it would not allow for them to directly travel to the great wall of Juu it would place them on the border of Wind country inside a small hidden cave were the man had left one of his specific destination seals to allow him to travel around the country's border in case of emergencies.

"It's a bit tight my friend but I think you should be able to fit Spike and yourself in. This will take us to the western most part of Suna's border allowing us to cut a few days of our journey to Juu." The white robed youth went ahead to explain his actions to the man as he motioned with his left hand, gesturing for Li to go ahead and he would follow last. A hint of excitement appearing in Zao's almost glowing blue eyes now at the thought of finally being able to explore the country which had so many legends and rumors about it that sometimes it was hard to decipher the myths and truths concerning the country. But in time the scholar would determine these for himself...

JutsuShow

[Open Space • Specific Destination]
B-Rank Jikukan Ninjutsu
Prerequisite: [Fuuinjutsu: Destination Marker]
After channeling a large amount of chakra through his body, the user will picture the location of one of their [Fuuinjutsu: Destination Marker] Seals. Once the image of the area is in his mind, The user will force this chakra into their hands and rip space in front of then, creating up to a three meter diameter rift that connects to the Fuuinjutsu. This allows User to transport themselves instantaneously across vast distances. The rift only remains open for a single post or until used, whichever comes first.

[Gara]

Spike’s head shook side to side in exasperation as Zao teased Li about tutoring him. Li knew that it would not take him long at all to learn the puppet.sealing technique, but had never bothered to since he primarily traveled around inside of Spike. He could not deny, however, the utility of being able to seal his puppets inside of scroll.

When Zao asked about the spirit, Li’s heart began to race. He was silent for a long moment as he remembered the battle. ”It was a storm spirit, and had really interesting abilities. It nullified Ninjutsu completely. Spike here is now able to mimic it’s nullification power...to an extent. Li’s tone, though distorted by his ventriloquism technique, was unsure, as though Li still did not fully understand how the nullification worked. When Zao opened his portal, Li’s eyes grew big, and round, though Zao could not see him. ”I keep forgetting you can do that....”

[Zao]

Zao just silently shook his head an a few moments later the two men and the puppet that Li was within had both completely vanished from any type of sensing within the Sand village now as the duo passed through a short break in space before arriving on the western side of the mountains that could be found in Wind country. Just outside the entrance to what looked like a man made cave the large puppet followed by the white haired youth stepped through a large portal of fractured space revealing the two jounin. From the previous desert view now to a somewhat arid climate on the slope of a mountain range one could look off towards the horizon out to the west and be able to see greenery from the edge of the forest line and the distinguishing feature of the border of Wind country. A gentle smile still could be found upon the young man's thin lips as he glanced around having not used this marker for some time now as he observed their surroundings. "We should only be a day or two journey to reach the edge of Juu from here." He would speak in a calm manner towards his friend as he turned to look left and up at the man hidden within the large puppet.

Straightening out his clothing and readjusting the straps upon his travel pack now the man left his left wrist to glance down at his other companion, as the wide sleeve of his rob slide up on its own its revealed what looked like a golden thorn bracelet that went from the wrist and wrapped around the forearm up to almost the elbow but only a few inches could be seen from it. 'It seems that Toge is still resting, he's almost like a child taking naps all the time." Zao couldn't help but shake his head and smile now before lowering his arm after checking on the spirit vine wrapped around his left forearm and pointing towards a faint trail that led down the mountain side where they currently found themselves. "We can take this down and then head mostly due west till they would come into contact with the famed legendary wall that stretched the entire perimeter of the country that was now just ruins of a great civilization.

"There are so many different and interesting rumors about this strange place. I've even heard that some of the animals have been drastically influenced by the chakra that is affecting the entire country. Perhaps we'll be lucky enough to encounter and capture one to bring back with us." The scholar really couldn't help but think of what might lay ahead for the pair of shinobi and what new research and experiments that could be conducted. Though he knew that right now their primary mission was to first find a way into the country be it through or over the majestic and ancient wall and then find a relatively safe place to put down a space marker that would allow for them to move back and forth with ease between their homeland and this so called 'cursed land'....

[Gara]

Li listened intently to the man beside him, and followed his lead. As they were walking, Li climbed out of Spike, and sat on the puppet’s back. Li loved leaving the deserts.of his home, not because he hated his home, but because it made him appreciate the beauty of the desert even more. He loved the different colors of the forests, and the mountains, but nothing could equal the vastness of the desert in Li’s heart.

”I don’t.know about you, but I plan to tame at least one of these rumored mutated animals. If I could get something so unique to follow me my name would be legend. Everyone would know who I am.” Li laughed loudly, and smiled brightly. He could only imagine what laid within the walls of The Land of Curses. ”What do you think caused the high density of spiritual activity in the area? If it’s true I mean. From what I’ve heard, and what was in those scrolls you found, Juu no Kuni is almost like a spiritual plane in the material world. It would be quite a wonderful place to train Tenkujutsu don’t you think Zao?” Li went on and on in his excitement, and was speaking a million miles per hour. He just could not contain himself.

[Zao]

Zao had turned taking in a glimpse of his young friend and laughed lightly himself at the actions of the young jounin at his side who had finally exited the puppet but still remained upon its back. While Li was a little strange the man was straight forward and passionate about a number of things that he was and the two had become rather close friends before the white haired scholar had decided no to reenlist back into the shinobi ranks. But that hadn't affected their relationship to much only making it a bit harder to work together as Li obviously had missions that were often assigned to him but any time the pair could they would try to get out an adventure through the world. "I too would like to capture a specimen of the local wild life within Juu to bring back and study. From what I've learned they've mutated to an existence between animal and spirit, most likely from the flux of chakra that permeates everything within the massive walls. It's like the walls act as a sort of barrier holding off of this within...maybe I get a sample of the material that makes up the wall..." The last portion of his words were spoken more as a thought aloud then actually part of his reply.


The question next spoken to him by Li was something that the young man had truly been racking his own brain thinking up several possible hypothesis about the reason why but he would never truly be sure until he was able to work on several experiments that he had been planning and live within the country to observe the ecosystem within its walls. "Hmm, I've been pondering upon that very question my friend by I have yet to actually come to an answer. It seems like that is something we will have to search for during our future expeditions within the walls of the country. But I feel like the answer has something to do with the advanced chakra techniques the former civilization of Juu created. What I wouldn't give to get my hands on even scraps of the scrolls that contain information about those techniques." Zao replied in a more serious tone as this was something he wished to personally know and their were so many other unanswered questions left by the people who formerly inhabited the lands there and their technological and chakra based advancements were much greater than those of the outside would even by today's standards.

These marvels had to be recorded down somewhere and Zao hoped that at least some of them were still intact within the depths of the capital city deep within the country. Though the pair were a long way from such a place as it would take time to slowly understand just the outer reaches of the country let alone begin to traverse the dangerous lands that one found moving deeper into the country of Juu. But that was truly the ultimate goal of starting this adventure was to one day walk within the capital city and treat it like an archeological find in which he hoped to be able to not only advance his own understand of chakra but increase the strength of Suna in the process. "But yes, if things are as we've learned from the limited information then out Tenku skills will come in rather handy in such a place. As they should be more closely related to spirit's with their chakra now and if that's true then our technique will affect them just like they would a spirit." The white robed man would reply to his friend's last question as their feet allowed for them to continue descending down the mountain slope and into the forest which grew from sparely vegetated to a bit more dense portion that barely let the large puppet maneuver through its thickness. "I can't wait to see just how the wild life has been changed by the strange chakra that inhabits the entirety of the country..."

[Gara]

The path that the men traveled was not a particularly rough one, so Xiao Li did not have to pay to much attention to where he was going, and simply immersed himself in thought. He had not been intending to do so, and had more than likely come off as rather rude, but he was imagining just what sort of things had caused the mysterious mutations within Juu no Kuni. Xiao Li let his mind run wild with speculation, and imagined all of the creatures that he had read about growing up. As he was imagining things, an old poem came to mind, and without thinking about it, Xiao Li began to recite it.
"Fee Fi Fo Fum.
Ask not whence the thunder comes.
Ask not where the herds have gone.
Nor why the birds have ceased their song.
When coming home, don't take too long.
For monsters roam in Albion.
For between heaven and earth is a perilous place.
Home to a fearsome giant race.
Who hunger to conquer the mortals below
Waiting for the seeds of revenge to grow." He spoke in a low, eerie voice without intending to, caught up in the memory of his cousin reciting the poem to him while he was younger. With a shake of his head Xiao Li brought himself back to reality. To him Juu no Kuni was the promised land. He was not sure why, but Xiao Li felt as though Juu no Kuni was calling to him, as though it was calling him home. Everything within his body was telling him that he absolutely had to get into Juu no kuni, and the closer he got, the stronger the feeling got. "Something calls out to my blood. The closer we get to Juu no Kuni the stronger the feeling gets. I am starting to wonder if wanting to enter the country is my idea or not."

[Zao]

Zao had shifted his gaze over towards his traveling companion, his actions were a bit weird and that was saying something as Li could sometimes be a rather awkward fellow but this was even a bit off for him which caused a bit of concern to form in the back of the white haired scholar's mind. But he shook it off as simple nerves about venturing into the unknown which was the strange country of Juu. Their was so much that could be learned about the effects of chakra mutation and the ancient technology left behind by the civilization that once ruled over the lands of Juu was bound to be extraordinary by even today's standards.

"Not your own idea? Something wrong my friend?" His blue gaze left the barely recognizable trail before them and landing upon the puppet riding friend of his whom he had known for a few years now, both having been jounin together before Zao had decided to not re-enlist back into the ranks. Exhaling slowly he expressed some concern for the younger man now as he turned his gaze back to the trail that went up and down over a number of hills and valleys. But at this moment they were coming to another hilltop and as they were able to gaze out to the west something came into view. It was a massive wall that blocked out the horizon from left to right seeming to stretch on forever and it appeared to almost touch the clouds from their point of view. "The wall of Juu..."

[Gara]

"It feels....as though I am going home for the first time in my life." Li's voice was low, as though if he spoke to loud something terrible would notice them. He did not know why he felt as though Juu was calling to him, but he was both excited, and terrified, to find out why. It was not long after he spoke that they crested a hill, and saw the massive wall that surrounded Juu no Kuni. It looked as though it went on forever in either direction, and even though they were still quite far away, the wall looked as though it stretched into the clouds. The wall of Juu no Kuni was magnificent, and inspired awe within Xiao Li. "I never thought that it would actually be this massive. I was sure that the stories had exaggerated the size of the wall. This is going to be one hell of a climb." Xiao Li started laughing as he leaped from the back of his puppet, and landed on the ground. As soon as his feet touched the ground however, Li cursed to himself, and jumped back on to the puppet. After activating the mechanism to open Spike's back, Xiao Li dove inside of his puppet, and began to rummage through everything that he had brought. He had quickly found a very large scroll, and a small, nondescript book, and then, once again, leaped out of his puppet, and on to the ground, though this time he also brought Tyrant with him.

Xiao Li laid the scroll out on the ground, and then pulled out the small book and began reading. After a few minutes of careful studying, Xiao Li began writing out a seal on the scroll, and then formed a few quick hand seals. A small cloud of smoke appeared around Tyrant, and then the puppet had disappeared. "Awesome! It worked! Now for Spike!" Li unrolled the scroll even more, and then drew out another seal, and sealed Spike within the scroll as he had done to Tyrant. After rolling the scroll back up, and putting the book away, Xiao Li strapped the scroll to his back, and then looked at Zao. "Sorry about the hold up, but I am ready when you are friend."

[Zao]

"Indeed, this is my first time actually seeing it personally. " Zao responded to his friend, still unable to take his eyes off the majestic wall in the distance that truly divided the country from every external source or force. What had happened to those who had such man powerful, intellectual advancements, and even technological advancements that put them far ahead of what most were capable of today? Had their advancements been the true cause for their earlier demise? The young white haired scholar had so many questions about this place that he wanted answers for and he could only hope that their expedition into these strange and foreign lands would help enlighten him to these answers. This massive wall had been there for such an unknown amount of time that the vegetation had reclaimed it covered now from top to bottom in thick vines and foliage that shielded what the actually wall looked like to the outside world.

When he noticed that his friend retreated back to his puppet the white haired man gave him a slightly confused look, but when the man returned with a scroll and a small book the slightly older man of the two couldn't help but be a bit intrigued at just what his comrade was up to. Almost instantly as the sealing formation began to come to life upon the scroll Zao's keen eye for fuuin kicked in letting him know that this was a version much like his own puppet sealing technique as he gave a gentle nod of his head as he had moved closer to examine each brush stroke from Li at this point. It had seemed that the man had finally started learning about the sealing arts and had even put quite a bit of time into it just judging from the angle of the strokes and the consistency contained within the ink markings.

Soon the fuuin formula was complete and he watched for the first time his friend seal away the object that had always been a barrier between himself and the world since they were younger shinobi at the range of chuunin. Shaking his head with a smile that was contained a gentle feeling to it the man actually brought both slender hands together in a short applauded for the man now. "I think that his is truly a first my friend, I've need known you to go without your puppets." Zao spoke freely to his shinobi in arms as he dismissed the brief apology given by Li with a simply wave of his soft looking left hand as he refocused himself upon the wall in the distance and without another word stepped forward on the last part of their journey to the wall.

Everything within the nearby area of the wall grew quitter as the wall itself seemed to only grow taller and taller as they continued to travel closer now, unsure what would truly be waiting for them on the other side of the gargantuan structure that was the only thing impeding them from advancing directly into Juu. They would soon arrive at the base of the monolithic construct and their first true test of this journey would begin there with the wall itself...

[Gara]

Xiao Li laughed nervously as he scratched the back of his head. "Trust me, if I could climb this wall inside of my puppet I would. However, not only am I unable to, I do not think it would be very practical. Honestly, I kind of feel naked now." His tone was one of embarrassment as he spoke. Xiao Li's body language also showed how nervous he was, considering he looked like he was strung out on some form of drug. Xiao Li was twitchy, and continuously looked around side to side. He really did not like being out in the open. As the two men grew closer to the wall Xiao Li began to feel a sense of calm wash over him, and his body completely relaxed. Everything was eerily quiet, to the point where Xiao Li had to remind himself to breathe. It was so quiet that Li felt as though there was some kind of enemy laying in wait for them, though it just made him even more excited to climb the wall. "I can't believe we are actually here. I have literally dreamed of coming here, and now I am here. No matter what happens, our lives will never be the same once we get to the top of this wall. I can feel it." He was not sure how, or even why, but Xiao Li had a feeling that everything was going to change once they reached the top of Juu no Kuni's wall.