A Sapling in the Forest (Private, Seth & Taro)

Taro let out a light-hearted chuckle as he watched Seth slice the log. Though he did not expect such a quick reaction time on Seth’s part-he definitely had instinct and could think on his feet. Taro wanted to put Seth’s instinct to the test. He remembered a time when he himself lived on instinct alone along the country borders. If Seth’s instinct was strong it would serve him well in his shinobi career. Taro intended to test how strong Seth’s will really was both as a Senju and as a person. Instead of resorting to some evasion method like the previous two times Taro would go on the offensive. Though he knew that it was breaking the very words he had spoken earlier about not attacking Seth directly, but he believed that it was vital for a Shinobi to adapt to changing conditions in battle. Granted Taro would not go in with the intent to kill, merely disarm and possibly shock. So with Seth now charging for the third time that spar Taro flashed the tiger hand seal to activate the Earth spear jutsu. Once the tiger seal was formed Taro quickly focused his chakra into his whole right arm making it become as hard as a sword, if not harder-now taro’s arm could hold its own in a fight against a sword without getting shredded and sliced to bits. With the Earth Spear jutsu active Taro would charge at Seth; his right arm leading so as to catch the blade and toss it aside if Seth made his move with his sword. Taro’s superior speed would, in all likelihood, allow him to catch the sword and with his strength throw it aside. Although if Seth did not chose to make an attack with the sword Taro would just grab for the sword and throw it aside all the same. Even though he was facing a student Taro felt his pulse quicken as he neared Seth-it was still a battle. All that remained to be seen was if Seth would stand up to the charging Taro or would he run? Seth’s reaction would tell Taro a lot about Seth as a person.

Spoiler:

Seth saw as Taro's arm turned a strange color, He watched as Taro changed to the offensive and charged. As they neared one another Seth swung his sword for a slash to Taros stomach, Then Taro caught Seth's blade with this Seth immediately released the sword and drove his knee up to Taros face, If Taro were to defend Seth would slap an explosive tag on to his master. He wouldn't set if off just jump back and wait for the next move, If taro tried to remove it tho Seth would form the Tiger seal and watch the tag ignite at the bottom.

Taro met Seth in a clash near the center of the grassy clearing. The earth spear jutsu he had used allowed him to grab the blade of Seth’s sword. Though as he moved to yank the sword from Seth’s grip he felt no resistance as Seth had let go of the sword-a surprising turn of events to say the least, which caused Taro to release his grip on the sword as well, thus allowing it to fall to the ground. Taro, while being so utterly focused on snatching Seth’s sword away without messing up Seth’s hand or harming him, had allowed for a momentary lapse in concentration. In that brief lapse Taro was too late to fully notice and react to Seth’s leg move up towards his face. Taro only had time to defend himself by feebly throwing his right hand in front of his face. The hand only acted as a slight cushion-Taro was still hit with the brunt of the force of Seth’s knee right in his face. Upon impact Taro felt his nose move in a most unnatural way followed by a sharp spasm of pain. He then felt the knee pull away and a hand slap down on his right shoulder, which left an exploding tag on his right shoulder. The hit on his right shoulder snapped Taro out of his pain induced stupor. Coming to his senses Taro would attempt, with his full speed, to grab Seth’s hand as it pulled away from Taro's right shoulder. Despite Taro’s slightly discombobulated state he would still have a fair chance at grabbing Seth’s hand considering the speed gap between them as evidenced throughout the spar. If he did grab Seth’s hand he would try to quickly move in with his left arm and grab further up Seth’s arm so he had a firm hold on Seth. At this point, assuming Taro was able to overpower and out speed Seth, Seth and Taro would be linked in such a way that made it almost impossible for Seth to create a hand sign as Taro would be holding onto Seth’s left arm keeping Seth from making hand signs or from moving his arm in general, but also barring Taro, himself, from moving as well. If a deadlock was reached Taro would speak: “You have done well thus far, for a kid that is. I suggest we end here, for now, as you can see we have reached a stalemate of sorts and it would be detrimental for both of us to continue on the path we are on.” Granted Taro could have attempted to force Seth’s arm or throw him aside and possibly rip the exploding tag off, but it was not worth risking it in a spar-especially with a student.

Seth felt the hand that cushioned the blow to Taro's face, He had no time to react as Taro grasped him in such a way that Seth couldn't form a hand seal. With this Seth felt it was a pure stalemate then he listened to his sensei, Seth then responded accordingly "Yes Sensei Taro, I would agree on our stalemate although you could beat me from here." He paused for a moment. "If you release me you can take the explosive tag off your shoulder and we can end now." Seth then waited for Taro's response.

Taro let out a sigh; the spar was over for now. Seth had done well as a whole-in fact he had excelled. He released Seth and drew his arms back to his side. In drawing his hands back to his side Taro grabbed the explosive tag that was on his shoulder and tossed it back to Seth. “You did a good job and it is beside the point that I could have beat you. I feel confident that after you master those basic academy jutsu you will be able to pass those genin exams with ease. Otherwise, you have an interesting fighting style, where did you learn it?” The fighting style Seth had used during the spar had been one of particular interest, as it seemed to allow Seth to flow better in battle. While waiting for Seth’s response Taro's mind relaxed a bit and he started to think about where he would be sleeping that night-there was no way he was sleeping in a tree again.

Seth was released from Taro's grip he then reached down lifting his fathers sword, Seth listened to his master as he slid the sword into its sheath on Seth's back. "My Father taught me that, It's a ancient Senju fighting style." He sighed he hadn't thought about his father in a long time. "It's too bad tho I haven't fully completed it tho I have at least 2 more levels, But my father died and I can't have him teach me." He paused a second. "Oh well I will teach myself." He then smiled as he looked at his Sensei.

Taro returned Seth's smile with his own; it was good that someone was keeping up with the traditions of the Senju. “Now, I should be on my way. I still have some…matters…to attend to. Next time I see you I hope you are a genin. Farewell for now Seth Senju and good luck...Oh and keep up with your training” With those words said Taro Body flickered away towards the village to continue his search for a place to sleep for the night.
[Exit, Taro's spar word count: 2337 = +11 Stat points +23 JP]

Seth listened to the wise words of his Sensei Taro then he began his run. He was running towards his home talking to himself "I will pass! I know it. I will be a Genin then one day a true Senju clan member!" Seth was jumping as he left.

[Exit]

(Word Count: 959 Words)

Approved Taro's listed Stats and JP

Approved Seth for +4 Stats and +9 JP