_________ POV Ken_________

So acquiring the scrolls wasn't all that difficult in the end...

Well, I can only hope that they are scrolls with techniques and not just mission details. There should be something here though, how many mission detail scrolls can they even have anyway?

I'll be able to discern them as soon as I get someone to read them for me... The problem is finding someone willing enough to do so.

Travelling back to that village on the border won't take me long if I just take a straight line and don't try to find any Shinobi tracks.

I think I had my eyes on someone that should be capable enough to read shinobi techniques...

Out of everyone in the village, his chakra reserves were the greatest. Even comparable to some chunin, I think.

Well... Better get to it, I should be able to convince him to help me... If he's talented, then I might even recruit him... He's a bit older, but it should be fine.

I should be able to train just about anyone into a professional killer. I wasn't exactly a spring chicken when starting my killing spree either.

Age doesn't matter much in this job, only limits the ones without imagination. I was 21 when starting my worldwide killing spree in my past life... They only managed to catch me at 42.

Well, I'll see if I can salvage a warrior out of him. Building a small organisation would help me quite a bit in this world.

I especially need information. I need the organization to act as my eyes in this world. The more I 'see' the stronger I am.

It will take a while to build it up... But I should be able to do so.

Now... Let's see how he responds to my invitation...

_________ POV Narration_________

It wasn't a great month for Tosho Jotomo.

Especially the last two weeks. Ever since the incident at the bar where he had harassed a stranger carrying a blade.

Not only were a few teeth on his mouth loosened, but the other villagers also started to hate his guts after that incident.

He was the common village drunk, he worked all odd jobs that he could find in order to fuel his alcohol addiction.

But all of that was ruined due to one stupid mistake on his part.

He couldn't even blame the swordsman that had briefly visited their village, as he hadn't escalated the situation either, merely pushing him away with the sheath of his sword...

But that incident led to the disaster that was unfolding in his life currently. Due to being deemed a troublesome individual, no other citizens were willing to give him any jobs.

No one was allowing him to help in any fields, no lawns to mown down with his scythe, and no fences that needed fixing.

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So, he was now stuck drinking away the last pennies he had. His pouch was getting lighter and lighter every evening.

He wasn't even allowed in the bar anymore, so he had to buy his drinks and get drunk in the field, all by himself.

'And I was set up to have such a nice future...'

Tosho could still remember the time when he had gone to school... The Shinobi Academy...

Tosho was initially born in Kumogakure, the Village Hidden by Clouds. He was young and hopeful when he finished his studies, he had been top of his class once...

Only to be instantly thrown into a war the second he graduated.

Still wet behind the ears and forced to kill people for his village... His luck hadn't been good though, running into a Chunin in his first confrontation.

He was heavily injured and forced to flee to the Land of Iron. By now, he had completely integrated into life there, long since forgetting most of his techniques.

Very few he could still remember, only those that he could use in his daily life and for convenience.

His country had never looked for him either... Why would they ever care about a mere Genin missing during a war? He was likely just written off as dead and forgotten about.

As an orphan, he didn't have anyone to return to, no one to miss him...

'I worked so hard back then... What the hell happened to me?'

He was now laying in a field, drunk and dizzy while staring at the starry sky with glazed-over eyes.

Once dubbed a talented child, now nothing more than a 31-year-old waste of life...

And, just as he was mulling over those thoughts, a shadow seemed to cover his face.

Tosho blinked a few times, confused. Then he noticed a small figure towering over his head, staring down at him as if he was nothing more than a bug.

Tosho was instantly alerted, but he couldn't get up, his body refusing to respond to his commands.

So, he was stuck there, eyes wide open, staring at the red dot on the mask of the figure in front of him.

'S-shit... It's him.' Tosho instantly recognized the person standing over him, but he was too dizzy to do anything.

'... Is he here for revenge?... I guess I was nearing my end anyway...'

And just like that, Tosho closed his eyes, waiting for his death to come swiftly.

"... You seem... Tired?" Instead of drawing his blade and slicing his head off, the figure spoke.

A raspy voice seemed to scratch at Tosho's ears, as his eyes cracked open again.

He could see the figure tilting its head slightly, its black locks flowing in the wind as its blood-red armour shined in the moonlight.

"Heh... Didn't think you'd be chatty... If you don't want to kill me, then what do you want? Come to laugh at me?"

Tosho scowled a bit, he wasn't really a fan of the situation. But he couldn't exactly move yet either...

It was a miracle that he could even think straight with how drunk he was...

"... So noisy. So helpless... So pathetic..."

Ken reached to his back, took out his long blade, still sheathed, and stabbed it into the ground right near Tosho's head.

The former child soldier didn't even flinch, only narrowing his eyes once more as he started to regain feeling in his body, the fear sobering him up effectively.

"Wha-" Tosho's words were interrupted by Ken's own voice.

"Do you really want your end to be this pathetic...?" Tosho's eyes widened in shock when hearing those words, it had been a while since he had heard someone express such disappointment towards him.

"..."

"Is your silence a sign of you giving up? I guess you were nothing more than a drunk at the end of the day... The world won't miss you."

Ken's raspy voice ground at Tosho's ears, and his eyes filled with rage when hearing Ken's tone and words.

Ken then unsheathed the katana at his waist, bringing it over his head, preparing to decapitate the drunk Tosho.

"... Like hell! I won't give up this easily!" Tosho's voice sounded out as his body seemed to tremble in rage.

Ken's sword came down slower than his usual speed, as Tosho rolled out of the way in an almost practised motion, making Ken smile under his mask.

"... I guess you weren't such a waste of time after all."

That was the last thing Tosho heard, as Ken appeared in front of him and slammed the hilt of his katana into his chin, knocking him out instantly.

Ken then grabbed his blade, pulling it out of the earth and placing it back on his back, and sheathed his katana once more.

The Blind Swordsman then walked over to his unconscious new recruit and grabbed him by the collar, dragging him off into the night.

'I will start by training him a bit, after he's more familiar with me I'll be able to talk him into being my 'eyes' from now on...'