A Seeker of Knowledge: Training For Training

It was storming overhead, the gods choosing to crush the hopes of a sunny sky on this morbid evening. With sheets of rain falling in rapid succession and the cover of blackened clouds, a figure dashed around the side of the famous Kinzoku Castle, the residence of the Hebikage, the Shadow of the Snakes. The shadowed figure continued to dash around the wall, until he hit the corner. He peered around to see two guards stationed at the main gate, two guards that were responsible for the area in which he was standing in now, but thanks to the storm, he could easily slide by unnoticed. That figure was Lee Akuma, and on this night, he would begin making his mark on the Shinobi world. His eyes flashed, and a sly grin crept across his face, revealing two small fangs. He ducked back behind the western wall in which he had been peering around. He looked to the roof, checking for any other patrols. A flashlight beamed from the darkness above the roof, indicating a man was patrolling. He waited for him to begin walking to the opposite side of the building, and set his plan into motion. Focusing chakra into his feet, he began dashing up the side of the castle.

(End Prologue)

He dashed across the western wall, only having a few minutes to get to where he needed to be before that patrol on the roof circled back around to his position. Covered by the shadows of night, and the grey of the clouds that hung on the sky, Lee was confident he could accomplish his task. The rain stung the front of his body, as he ran upward into the storm. He had reached about the fourth story of the castle, and was that much closer to his destination. He let the chakra loose in his feet, and grabbed onto the ledge he aimed for. Hanging by his fingertips, he grimaced as a cramping pain shot through his left forearm. The window above was the one he aimed for, and he needed to get inside. Using a surge of energy, he lept up onto the windowsill, and peered into the dark room. Books on shelves lined every intricate wall, scrolls and novels piled in corners, desks covered with ink and parchment. He had found the library. Taking a kunai from his belt, he carved a small hole in the window. He then reached inside, nicking the glass with his arm, causing a trickle of blood. The smell of blood filled his nose, and his nose perked up with the metallic scent. While his arm was inside, he reached for the lock, and unlatched the window. He then withdrew his arm, lifted the window, and jumped into the darkened room. He found a small candle on a desk to his left, and lit it. He then used it to find a few more candles, and slowly but surely, every wall and corner became poorly illuminated. The flickering of the candles revealed the true magnificence of the library.

He immediately began scouring the library for what he was looking for. Anything he could find would help, he needed any new information to discover how to control it. Anything. He began to look frantically, throwing books out of their place after discovering they weren't helpful to his cause. He began sweating, running out of breath for how fast he was tearing through the forests of books. "What if they don't have anything?" he thought to himself, beginning to panic as fear of a castle patrol noticed the carved window, or the candlelight. Just as his fears were almost realized, he snatched a book that caught his eye. "The Demon Inside" it read on the cover. Just as he looked for more books like this one, he noticed the sign on the shelf. It read "Forbidden" in big, bold letters. I looked for more. There were several nearby books that raised his eyebrow. "Jinchuuriki of the Past," and "Weapons of War: Sealing the Bijuu" were among them. "Perfect," he said satisfyingly, before throwing the three books in his bag, and climbing back out of the window, after extinguishing the flames of the candles.

The alarm was sounded as he ran down the side of the castle, as the patrol on the top of the building saw me. His heart quickened, as he had been discovered. He knew that if one of those Jounin ANBU guards had caught him, he wouldn't be able to win a fight against one of them. He hit the ground and ran across the street below into an alleyway. In the dark of the alley, and the pounding of the rain, he was invisible (unless of course the guards had some kind of chakra sensory). He hid under the dawning of the building behind him, protected from the rain. He pulled out the books from his bag, and quickly began reading them. As he read them, his knowledge of the monster inside of him began expanding, as he could quickly memorize every bit of knowledge he retained. The bijuu was a creature made of chakra with immense power, and the villages before the last Great War had sealed them inside of hosts in order to attempt to harness their power and use them as weapons. It appears, Lee had been Arashi's most recent attempt at that. Lee, now knowing that this thing in him was simply a massive form of evil chakra, he began chipping away at the power source. Eventually, after a couple of hours, he seemed to be able to chip away just enough to use to his advantage.

Word Count: 947/750

Training complete, Chakra cloak mastered.