A Run down a Mountainside (Training)

The sun slowly peeked over the mountains in which Taro had been stay recently. It had been mere weeks since he had left the village hidden in the clouds. The image of his mother being killed was still seared in his mind. As he got up he rolled back up his sleeping roll and packed up the tent that once stood around him protecting him from the slight rain that had been coming down over night. Now that he was all packed up he prepared himself for a bit of light training. He half considered practicing his chakra use, but thought better of it and finally decided to work on his speed and reaction time, which granted that he was a Jounin was severely lacking in both those departments. The only thing that remained to do was start setting up an obstacle course to progressively get faster.

Luckily the mountains that Taro had camped out in were populated by tall strong spruce trees. Though that would not nearly enough Taro planned to make some of his own modifications. Making a few quick seals the trees started to grow with a wild abandon. In a sixty five meter radius a lush forest grew. Granted the rapid growth sapped the chakra right out of him, which forced him to take a quick breather. After recovering his breath he quickly marked a starting point where after navigating through the forest he would return to this point. Looking down to his mark in the dirt Taro sighed. He then set off at a good clip moving through the dense underbrush. To test himself he started to ascend up into the canopy of the trees. As he moved swiftly he observed the small white flower that had bloomed due to his wood manipulation. These flower reminded him of his mother. She had been killed by a group of hooligans who vandalized her store and laid waste to Taro’s life in one fell swoop. These flower reminded him of her as she had always liked white flowers. Shaking his head a bit as he ran and jumped taro noticed that his thoughts had encumbered his movements. So for the rest of the course he kept his mind clear. Once he reached the edge of his transformed forest he did a quick U-turn and started back towards his starting point. He finally reached the point and collapsed on the ground. The entire running about had been tiring. Propping himself up he crawled over to his stuff and rummaged around in it and pulled out a canteen filled with life bringing water. Taking a few sips he smiled and looked up to the sky. Despite the tree’s canopy being really dense a slight bit of the morning sun filtered through. It seemed like it was going to be a pleasant day, which made it all the better for training. Sighing he got back up and ran the course again. After completing another “lap” he found that he had improved his time by a bit, but not nearly enough. So he in turn ran it again and this time only tied with his last time. After this last failed attempt to get any faster Taro decided to take yet another break as the vast amount of chakra used to make the forest and the constant running. His break also opened up a perfect time to have breakfast. Opening his pack he grabbed a flint and steel. He proceeded to build a fire; gathering wood was not a problem as it literally came up out of the ground.

Taro then got out the bacon and eggs he had recently stolen from a farmhouse. Plopping both in a frying pan he allowed the food to sizzle quietly in the serene air of the forest. The delicious smell of the breakfast made taro’s mouth water-he had not eaten for the past day. Once the food was done He wolfed it down and returned to his mark on the forest floor. This time he had a new plan to make himself move faster and decrease his time. He decided to use his wood manipulation ability granted by the almighty Senju clan. This would allow him to move through the forest with ease and agility that a person without the Senju clan’s power could not, because in fact the very woods would bend to his will. As he ran at a tree stairs would present themselves. Now was the time to start this new time trial. As he ran straight up at a tree a wooden pole would extent from the tree, which Taro would grab and use to swing up into the tree. Where he would be caught by a platform that had grown from the tree. He was now halfway up the tree, which just so happened to be the best way to get through the trees. This was, because it was above the dense undergrowth and below the lush canopy. He was moving as fast as his body could take him through the woods until he finally made it to the out side of the circle of lush trees. That was when he chose to take a different path back to the center of the woods. He jumped down to the bare ground and quickly turned back into the woods, but this time he went straight through the under foliage. Though as opposed to the first few times the foliage itself parted as if someone was controlling it, which in fact someone was.

His mastery over the Senju ability allowed him to make it back to his starting point in a personal record. He was getting better, but it still was not good enough: he knew he could go faster and faster-so that was what he intended to do. Once he reached the mark again for the fourth time that day he had a sure course through the woods all built out in his head: it would work like clockwork, but it was then that he noticed that he could not take the same route again. If he took the same route he would have it all planned out in his head, which way was fastest and that would not do from then on he would have to alter his path or at least alter the landscape. Sighing yet again he proceeded to alter the trees. There now stood, where the old beaten path he had taken before, a new landscape of forest. The trees would be in different places and at different angles. It would allow for him to better think on his feet and react quickly. Off he went through the forest, but it was getting rather easy as the trees parted as he ran through; basically this mindless speed training. Once he completed another lap he returned back to his camp as now he wanted to practice his attack speed.

With a few quick hand seals a small humanlike dummy rose from the ground. It was the prefect likeness of a human being except it was wooden. Extending his right hand a small root grew up into Taro’s hand. The root rounded out into a pole so that it was about five feet and six inches in length. The root was broken of and could now be used as a weapon, which would be perfect to use in his attack speed training. Stepping back so he was about five feet away from the dummy Taro began. He delivered one swift blow to the dummy’s chest, which was followed up by a hit that would have discombobulated a real person, but only made the practice dummy swing around a bit from the hit to the left side of the head. He continued to execute a flurry of attacks each faster than the last. Finally as his energy waned his attacks started to slow. At this point he dug deep and pushed himself to at the very least get back up to the speed he had been at when he started. Sure enough his speed increased, but it was only for a short amount of time until his fatigue took over. It reached a point at which Taro could not keep up a very good clip in attack speed. At this point he decided it was time to stop: there was no point in pushing himself too hard. Besides he still had to get some traveling in before sundown. Gather his chakra Taro started undoing all the changes he had made to the landscape: he did not want to be followed. Especially seeing as he was supposedly dead. Once all the trees and foliage had returned to normal Taro started on his way. He was bound for the village hidden in the sand. He had heard much about it, but had never visited it once before in his life, which was something he decided to remedy with this trip. The only thing that remained to do was to get his gear into his pack and start on his way. After a short few minutes Taro had his gear all packed off and ready to go.

Fully prepared to get going Taro began his journey, but that didn’t mean he would have to stop his training. In fact this would the perfect opportunity to continue his speed training with some weight on his back. The way to the desert was all the way down at the bottom of the mountain range, which meant Taro would have to get to the bottom of the mountainside he was on. He started down the mountainside, slowly at first, but with each step his speed increased. At first it was fairly easy to dodge and weave in between the trees, but as his momentum starting getting the better of him it became harder and harder. Brush would scrape against his face leaving claw like marks on his face, but as of yet he had not run into any major obstacles. In his peripherals he could see the blurred landscape of the mountainside ripping quickly by him at break neck pace. Every once in a while a large tree would seemingly appear out of no where, but they were easily dodged. Finally after what felt like forever Taro reached the bottom of the mountain. He had a few open welts on his face from the branches hitting him, but otherwise he had made it down the mountain unscathed.

All that remained now was to set up camp for the night, because at this point night had descended. With it came a gust of cold wind that went straight through Taro sending a shiver down his spine as if someone had been watching him. Sighing a bit he took the heavy pack off his back and removed the contents. He slowly put up his tent and started a small fire on the edge of the desert. It was a lonely existence as a Missing ninja, but it was one he had chosen for himself. All the people who lived in villages were bound by the rule of their Kages and higher ups. What kind of life would that be? While his dinner roasted of deer roasted over the fire Taro reflected on the fact that, as unfortunate as it was, his mother’s untimely death had allowed him unparalleled freedom. As a single tear cascaded down his face he stopped himself: he didn’t have time to be crying. He had more important things to think about: like how he was going to get into the village hidden in the sand without being pegged as a missing ninja. He did not intend to cause trouble so he hoped that would be enough. A plan slowly formed in his head as he chomped on the cooked thigh of a deer he had killed two days previously. Though his thoughts were interrupted by the beauty of the sky all around him. On the edge of the desert he could see all the heavens. It was a truly beautiful place. Before Taro fell back into a light repose his mind wandered to the absurd idea that he just make a house here and live out by the desert for the rest of his life, but the idea was quickly swallowed by the abyss that is sleep. (2063, +10 speed, +20 JP)

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