The Samurai of the east are warriors trained since birth to be ready to fight and to die for their master. It is said that the most disciplined of their soldiers are capable of taking on hundreds of foes with blades that could cut the very air around them.

Among these elite warriors were the Orochi; samurai who were capable of using the ancient techniques of the ninja clans that long been thought of as myth and legend but only those chosen as the empresses personal guard were allowed to learn such secrets. Crafty Dodger was one such individual.

Ever since he was young, the queen selected her best generals to train the changeling in the ways of the samurai and the shinobi until he became the perfect living weapon for their ranks and in time he rose to become the empresses most elite general. He was renowned for his cleverness and tactics when it came to defending their borders from outsiders despite others seeing his methods as cowardly but the empress favored deception and cunning over brute force and strength of arms.

The orochi was sitting near a bonfire with a fellow changeling, playing a game of shogi while the rest of the army was busy with their daily tasks. His opponent had been sweating bullets for what seemed like hours as he had been outmatched move for move 'til he was on the very brink of losing.

"I win." Dodger finally declared as he placed one last tile piece on the board. The officer challenging him could do nothing but cry out in frustration since this was his tenth loss in a row and the others who had been watching simply laughed before returning to their duties.

"Truly, you are a fox my friend." The officer said humbly while bowing his head in shame.

"The key to any victory is deception." Dodger replied while putting away the board and game pieces when a scout suddenly came rushing through the camp covered in twigs and mud.

"Sir, an urgent report!"

"Speak."

"Enemy troops were spotted in the everfree forest. I believe they are looking for the hidden village."

"A scouting party."

The orochi then turned his attention to a map leading to the hidden village and began to formulate a plan as one of his officers offered to send a group to intercept the enemy.

"Sir, my men can stop them before they find the village."

"No. A large number of troops would only show the enemy that they are getting close, I'll handle this myself."

Dodger returned to his tent to grab a bow and arrows along with several other tools including a set of throwing knives dipped in star spider venom and sacks filled with poison powder. As a final touch, the orochi placed a fox shaped mask on his face before bowing to a small shrine lit with incense offerings.

"Ancestors, watch over me." He whispered before vanishing in a puff of green flames.

Everfree Forest

The scouting party was a hundred elite mercenaries hired by the king to search the everfree forest for the hidden village and Princess Luna but the only thing that awaited them beneath those trees was death.

The troubles began when the group made camp by a small creek as night began to settle upon the forest. Dodger had noticed one of them filling their water flasks and using the shadows of the trees to his advantage, he crept close to the unsuspecting victim and with one swing he sliced his head clean off his shoulders and tossed it to the camp.

The sight of the disembodied head startled the mercenaries as it rolled towards them with bits of blood staining their armor and in the dim glow of the campfire they spotted the one responsible standing firm with his bloodied sword pointed straight at them.

"This is your only warning, leave this forest or suffer the same fate!"

The orochi warned them only to be met with laughter and smug grins as the rest of them simply stepped over the head of their comrade and gave chase. Dodger quickly vanished into the forest without so much as leaving a trail when his pursuers followed him deeper into the woods.

"Fan out! He couldn't have gone far." One shouted to the others as they began to spread put amongst the trees, unaware that they had already fallen into the samurai's trap.

Using his ninja skills, Dodger had stealthily hid himself among the branches of the forest and because of his body beign slightly lighter than average he was able to move while barely making a sound as he began to draw his bow on the first target.

The second the arrow was let loose the mercanaries heard another of their comrades fall as it struck him in the back, killing him almost instantly. They began to panic and frantically looked around to see where the shot came from.

"He's in the trees!!" Another shouted after spotting a shadowy figure dart above their heads. The ones armed with crossbows began firing aimlessly at the canopy before another was struck in the neck with a kunai as blood began to spout from his throat followed by an agonizing gurgle.

"Shit! He's toying with us!!"

"Alright just stay calm! He can't pick us all off!"

For a moment, things began to quiet down as they moved deeper into the forest with only feint beams of moonlight to guide their way. One of the mercenaries spotted the orochi's helmet sticking out behind a rock and quietly signaled for the others to surround it as they prepared to attack but the moment they charged in they found only the helmet resting on a twig. A dummy used to throw them off the trail.

"Well it's not a total loss." Said one who was reaching for the helmet to take as a souvenir.

"NOO!!" Another cried out as the helmets removal set off a trap that sent a bag of poison powder crashing down upon them. At first, the powder seemed harmless until the mercanaries slowly began to choke on the air around them and each gasp for air seemed to hasten the process. The others who were lucky to escape the trap ran off in a panic while throwing aside their weapons in hopes of running faster only to end up as pin cushions for the arrows that came flying from the darkness of the trees.

The last merc watched horror as his comrades were killed off one after the other leaving him standing in a field of corpses. It was like something out of a nightmare, all around him were bodies foaming at the mouth with blood shot eyes from choking on the poison while others were pinned to the trees and dirt with arrows and knives while the one responisble for these brutal killings stayed hidden.

"DAMN COWARD!!" He cursed with his voice echoing around him.

"Show your face!"

The merc suddenly felt a chill crawl up his spine as he heard the footsteps of leather sandals approaching him and as he turned around he saw a lone samurai standing before him with his katana glowing in the moonlight. Both stood silently before each other without exchanging a word and as the clouds blocking the moon began to disperse, the merc saw a glimpse of the changelings glowing green eyes and was instantly frozen with fear.

"There is no escape..." The orochi whispered before taking one step forward. His opponent came rushing at him, screaming like a wild animal with his weapon raised high in the air.

"SHINÈ!!"

With one quick draw of his sword, the samurai cut through his opponents torso as if it were made of paper and spilled his guts all over the forest floor killing him instantly. With the enemy defeated, Crafty Dodger flung off the excess blood staining his sword and vanished into the night leaving the remains of the slaughtered mercs to be devoured by the forests scavengers.

End.