[center][b]Ito Tazaki - The Exploding Blade[/b][/center]
[center][b]Land of Rain and Land of Wind Border, Sandy Mesa Area - Morning[/b][/center]

Ito had always been a morning person. He woke up at the crack of dawn and slept extremely lightly, even for a ninja. It was raining heavily, but the sun glared through, resulting in a shimmering rainbow and bright haze. However Ito didn't have time to meditate upon the beauty of nature.

A ninja from the land of the wind struck was unleashing a hail of blows against Ito using a blade cloaked in wind style chakra, a jutsu he had been caught off guard by before. However having ascertained the reach of the technique Ito was able to float just outside of it, being caught only by the spray of rain it created. He calmly waited for his opponent to overextend, and place himself off balance.This opportunity came as his opponent made an aggressive lunging strike. Ito slid past the attack, as fluid as water, and into extreme close range and then unleashed hell. First a solid blow to the jaw connected with his opponent, spinning him further off balance. This blow was followed almost instantaneously by a water shotgun technique from his other hand, that tore holes in the unfortunate enemy. Ito finished him off without hesitating by drawing and decapitating the staggered opponent in a single motion, using the Shibuki's razor sharp cutting edge. 

Lately there had been an increase in this kind of fighting for Ito. An increase in the number of burgeoning clans meant more competition. More competition meant more desperation and when desperation set in morals went out the window. As such many of the new ninja clans were turning to bandit activities to 'supplement' their income. It made travelling more dangerous for most but so far most of the clans who had to resort to this behaviour were the weaker ones who were being pushed out of business. Not the opponents Ito was looking for. 

Ito was quickly growing bored of these encounters. He didn't understand why the seven swordsmen weren't using their name to its full extent. A company with their reputation should be able to quickly gain political and economic influence through organised activity on the battlefield. However the nomadic nature of many of the members, and the lack of the binding influence of the clan meant it was difficult for them to mobilise or coordinate. This problem wasn't helped by the fact they didn't have a 'leader', or any infrastructure at all to speak of. They were just good at fighting and perhaps little else. 

Still a hunger for fighting with his life on the line had been growing, deep and hot in Ito's stomach. He set out looking for Rachi, his current travelling companion. Rachi's sellsword nature would hopefully mean that he's be game for hunting bigger prey.