[center][u][b][color=black]Seijuro Kizaru Nandate[/color][/b][/u][/center]

[i]Stitch by stitch, piece by piece, little by little, the vessel was created for the one and only Seijuro Nandate. Almost twenty years ago he had been buried.. two generations of ninja had been born since, and they knew not the true horror of his actions. Only the stories of those who had lived through the terror of his existence were passed down to remind them of an evil that they had hoped to God was but an ugly nightmare never to be relived. [b]IF ONLY...[/b][/i]

The soil reeked of corpses and blood, staining the air. Rain had softened the ground as it began to pound even harder the closer Gokiburi approached the shallow grave. As he bent down to check the dirt, a cockroach scurried off of the mound of dirt as its master bent down. A mysterious hooded figure stood off in the distance and watched the events unfold. 

A crash of lightning struck less than a quarter mile away, the ensuing thunder shook the very air as the hand of the most notorious Shinobi to ever walk the land tore through the earth and wrapped its cold, dead fingers around Gokiburi's vile throat, crushing his trachea with enough force to send the message of dominance through to him, whereas if he truly wanted to he could have snapped his neck then and there, not like it would have killed the cockroach anyway. The brief illumination from the lightning showed a devilish grin across the face of the hooded figure in the background. 

[color=darkred][b][i]"AAAAAARRRGGGHHHH!!!!!!!"[/i][/b][/color]

His face emerged from the dirt with eyes lit on fire, his other hand erupting from the ground and lifting his body from the earth with force. As he rose to life from the depths of Hell itself, a black mass of shadows swirled around his being. Blood red chains from the earth surrounded his body, wrapped around his arms, legs, torso, throat, and one main chain lodged into his chest, anchoring his heart to the depths of Hell itself. 

He tossed Gokiburi to the side with violent force, as if he were nothing more than a rag doll. His arms twitched as he fought against the force of his restraints, which were already trying to drag him back to the grave. He looked down at his chest as he grabbed the chain coming from his human heart, his grip tightening around the chain as the ground gave way. He sunk several inches back into the dirt. The shadows arose around him with furious anger. He was not supposed to be here. The Heavens knew this to be true: Seijuro Nandate's soul was not meant for the living. 

He jerked his head up toward the mysterious figure. The fire in his his eyes bore down upon the man. [color=darkred][b][i]"Right here... do it. DO IT NOW!!!"[/i][/b][/color] Seijuro commanded as he shook the chain connected to his heart. For a moment the stranger did nothing, and Seijuro's living heart skipped a beat as for a split second he considered the fact that this man would let him plunge back into Hell. 

Gazing down at the dark twisted soul of Seijuro, the stranger's luminscent eyes full of dark glee, he waited. For a moment he watched as the chains dragged Seijuro, uncaring of the man's words. As his chest was about to slip below the earth, he fell to a knee and slammed his palm onto Seijuro's chest, fingers gripping the chain.

An aura of chakra surrounded the stranger and his cloak billowed back before the bristling sound of crystal forming filled the air. The light blinded everyone, but the stranger and Seijuro for a moment, and then all was still. The chains gave one last tug at Seijuro's soul, and then crumbled into crystal fragments.

The stranger lifted Seijuro from the writhing portal as it slowly closed, extricating him from the grasp of Naraka itself. The look on his face was one of pure adulation as he reveled in his ability to defy the very laws that held the world together.

[color=#525087][b]“Itan-sha Hōrei([sub]異端者法令[/sub] [i]Heretic's Decree[/i]),”[/b][/color] the young man said and then the portal closed.

Seijuro stood tall as he looked upon the man who had broken his seal with great curiosity. He eyed the man up and down for a moment, sizing him up. After a moment of silence he grinned like the madman he was. [color=darkred]"I can only imagine what Gokiburi promised you in return for this. Speaking of that little roach..."[/color] First he looked down at his body, a mass of body parts stripped together, the only true part of himself was the core that contained his heart, a true Shinobi Frankenstein. He flexed his arms, testing his grip before cracking his neck. 

Turning to the cockroach responsible for his revival, he motioned toward the flesh he was composed of. [color=darkred]"You know for a fact this will never do. Tell me [i]it[/i] was recovered."[/color] The cockroach motioned to the hideout behind them. Seijuro turned his back to the two and motioned toward the door. He made it two steps before bending over and throwing up all over the ground. [color=darkred]"It's been so long since I inhabited flesh.. so weak and full of flaws..."[/color] He gathered himself up and entered the hideout. 

There was a long steel table, the body of the Third Tsuchikage turned into a puppet was carefully laid out on display. Seijuro looked back to Gokiburi. He gave him a telling look as if to say [i]THIS is all you could bring me?![/i] He looked up to the wall behind the table, and looming in the shadows was a second puppet, and the fire in Seijuro's eyes came to life once again. 

[color=darkred][b][i]"AHAHAHAHAHAAA!!!!!"[/i][/b][/color]

The maniacal puppet master gazed upon his own masterpiece, his former shell of a self. The human puppet carapace of Seijuro Nandate loomed over him. He carefully retrieved his vessel and laid it down on an adjacent table. And so it began.. his flesh would be no more, and he would return to his former glory...

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[color=Black][b][i][u]Yesterday[/u][/i][/b][/color][/center]

The bodies of two deceased Shinobi lay in the woods, almost a day old each. Three young Chuunin wandered through the woods in search of them. A third body would have joined the first two, but it had been removed to become fodder for Jaakuna's revival. Seijuro had been lying in wait, a trap for whomever went to discover the fallen Leaf Shinobi he had slain. And so he was right, three young Chuunin grew closer and closer. He overheard its of an argument as one of them stormed off. He stalked his prey, a Dokugami clan member, as the child came upon the murderous scene. A rustle in the trees. The sound of a sickle protruding from Seijuro's wrist. That was all Mizuki heard before his death. Blood gushed from the child's neck as his life was taken from him without a sound. 

Moments later the other two showed up. Seijuro was eyeing them up and down before he froze in place. [i]An Uchiha... what luck... two Kekkei Genkai for the taking from one haul...[/i] He thought to himself as he eyed up Kyo. He scanned the girl that was with him as he prepared to strike again. He dared not move as he laid eyes on Senna. Memories of Saya and Namine and his childhood flooded his thoughts as pure hatred arose within him. His Killing Intent poured out of him like a flood of boiling anger, and the girl sensed it right away. The two young Shinobi fled on the spot, a vicious grin creeping across Seijuro's face. He could have killed them both then and there, even if the Uchiha looked quite strong. He knew at that moment that this girl had to be the granddaughter of Saya Akizakura. She was a spitting image. This meant that her mother survived as well, and the puppet master devised a plan to draw his prey to him. 

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[color=black][b][i][u]Present Day, Jonin Exams in Konoha[/u][/i][/b][/color][/center]

A hooded figure with a tattered cloak entered the scene of the Jonin Exams, eyeing up the contestants from the various villages. He noticed several Iwagakure Shinobi that stood out to him amongst the familiar faces of the Leaf ninja. The figure hung to the back of the crowd where they blended in with the rest of the Shinobi, doing nothing of note to stand out from anyone else. There were several Iwagakure Shinobi already causing a scene, drunkenly harassing a diligent member of the Senju clan. Even the two ninja trying to keep to themselves were made note of. The boy who flew in on a ball of air was quite the scene as well. The cloaked one held its hood over its face as the gust of wind from the ball ruffled its tattered cloak. All in all, nothing escaped the gaze of this hooded figure. 

[center]_____________________

[u][b][color=red]Kyotoumaru Uchiha[/color][/b][/u][/center]

Kyo and Senna arrived just in time it seemed. The Hokage was emphatically anticipating the arrival of all the Shinobi to participate in the exam. And yes, while it was quite the sight to see, Kyo felt a certain uneasiness about the atmosphere of the exam. It wasn't the drunken Shinobi from Iwagakure, it wasn't the two Iwa-nin casually sizing them all up from the sideline. No. It was something else entirely. Something just felt off about this day that he couldn't quite put his finger on. 

Senna looked up toward Kyo as they walked together into the stadium. She barely paid attention to where she was walking, her mind was focused on how Kyo was feeling. She could feel his unease and couldn't help but have it run off on her a little bit. She wondered what he was really thinking, what his true thoughts were. 

Just as she got carried away in her own thoughts, she brushed up against a hooded, cloaked figure. "Oh, sorry, I just-" she hesitated as she looked at the cloaked figure in passing. Kyo put his arm on her shoulder and ushered her onward into the crowd. She paused, for a moment the entire world was silent as she focused on this man. Nothingness. Not a thought, nor a feeling, nor the sense of anything emanated from this figure. Just a complete void of anything. It reminded her for a brief moment of the feeling she got when Mizuki disappeared without a trace in the forest. 

The moment was lost on her as her and Kyo made their way to the center of the crowd. The Uchiha silently acknowledge the presence of one of his clansmen, Date, as he made his way through the crowd. Kyo had spotted an acquaintance of his, Shizuka Ichimi, bothering some of the Iwagakure contestants. Kyo wasn't one to directly involve himself in these matters, so for the moment he sat back, idly awaiting the Hokage's next announcement. 

[center]________________________________

[u][b][color=lightblue]Kaijin Otsutsuki[/color][/b][/u][/center]

Kai was not late, he had been observing the entire time. He stood off to the side of the crowd on the outskirts, easily noticeable by anyone doing the same as he was. His face was stern and unmoving, barely even blinking as he watched the crowd as a whole. He made no effort to hide his presence from anyone, nor did he make any attempt to engage another in conversation. 

The drunken Shinobi from Iwagakure and her kin were preying on the naive Senju of his generation. Another one of his generation, whom he recognized as Shizuka, made his flashy entrance on his ball of wind. The ensuing gust ruffled Kai's ghostly white hair and his matching attire. Even by this, he was unmoved and simply gazed onward. 

Two other Shinobi were observing the whole escapade of the exams unfold just as he was, though they were making small commentary to each other about the event. Another Iwa-nin observed his drunken comrades as well, seemingly judging them. There were a pair of Uchiha amongst the crowd, one of whom was accompanied by an attractive young girl at his side. A few others of note were scattered about the crowd, but the final one of note was the grim-reaper looking character that was doing his best to blend into the crowd. It was he that Kai made the biggest note of, despite his relative lack of presence.