Solo Training (P/Training)

Back to the training towers. It wasn't difficult to train with someone, no, what was difficult to train by ones self, however that was what Kuroda needed to do today. He knew he wasn't quite up to snuff with his teammates, and definitely wasn't strong enough for the Chuunin Exam, not yet at least. So, he was here to train, what he would train he knew exactly. He would need to work on speed, strength, and his chakra pool. Right now he was somewhat unbalanced in those areas, he had a good sized chakra pool, but his speed and strength hadn't changed much from when he was in the academy. So, how would he train? Speed would be first, he would be running up and down the steep stairwells of the training tower, aiming to get faster and faster through it. Then he would need to work on his strength, for that he would be using the weights in the top room of the tower to lift for awhile, and increase the amount of weight every few minutes. So now to begin training. It was going to be a difficult session, but he would do it, because he needed to. He needed to be stronger to participate in the Chuunin Exam and stand a chance, so, now was his time to prepare.

Right now he was at the bottom of the tower, ready to begin his training. From bottom to top the tower had several hundred stairs, and he would run them up and down them until he felt that he was decently fast at them, then he would begin his strength training, and after that, chakra training, yes, this would work. So, with a swift push off his back foot, Kuroda took off sprinting up the stairs. He remembered back to the academy, to days spent running in the training field to work on speed, true, he had done that, but he had only done what was required to pass, and didn't put much extra time into it outside of class. If he had, maybe he would be faster now, but in any case, he had done well in other areas, like weapon use and ninjutsu use. He panted as he ran, really, this was difficult after taking a break from speed training for so long, but he had to do it. His teammates he knew for a fact were both faster than he was, and had larger chakra pools, but then again, they had been shinobi for a longer time, and from the looks of them, had been in teams for awhile now. He wasn't about to let this go, he wouldn't fall so far behind that he couldn't participate in the Chuunin exam. He would make himself known for his abilities in the end, that was his goal.

His thighs were burning now, yeah, that was a familiar sensation, it was how he felt each day at the academy when he first started physical training. That meant that his muscles were growing through destruction and reconstruction, that was how it worked. He continued to run. Now he had just passed the first floor, and there were six more to go. The steep steps of the tower provided plenty of challenge for Kuroda, they were hard to run up quickly, and that was just what he was doing. The sweat began to run down his forehead, but he wasn't deterred.

In the past few days, Kuroda had been trying to figure out just how to close the gap between his teammates and himself, and so far, this was the only thing he had thought of. If there were other ways of training speed quickly, they hadn't come to him, but perhaps there were other ways? He didn't know, but really there were other ways, just less effective than this in his opinion.

For him speed was quite important, if his body was faster he could learn to react faster to incoming attacks, as well as throw his weapons faster. Everything was a system of balance between his speed and his strength as he was a shinobi was talented at using weapons for channeling ninjutsu. It took quite a lot of practice to get to his level of weaponry, but lately his skills were getting rusty from lack of training, this regimen would hopefully get him out of that rut. Now he was at the third floor, and he was climbing more quickly now, he could feel it getting easier even if he was getting tired.

Training like this often had to be undertaken when one was at full strength, and could tire someone out quickly, but Kuroda had the will to continue on even if he was tired. His feet tapped lightly on each step, just barely making contact before leaving for the next. He had lost count o fhow many steps he had ascended, but surely it was in the hundreds now. Now he was at the fifth floor. Faster, faster, and even faster still he went, in just the first ascent he was already noticeably faster than before. The muscles of his legs were bulging, pumped from the exercise. He wasn't going to stop after the first ascent though, he would do three more just like it, and each time he aimed to be faster than the last. Noe he was at the top and after a quick lap around the top floor, he run back down, careful not to fall. That was one, and he was still feeling the burn, surely a few more would increase his speed even more.

As soon as he hit the bottom floor he turned around and began to run back up, the burning returning almost instantly. It was simply pain, that was it, he could work through it with ease. The top seemed to come much more quickly this time, and the bottom quicker still. Run number three, now he was feeling good, he was loose, he was pumped, his legs were warmed up, everything was right.

He was able to make it to the top fo the tower in a matter of minutes this time, far faste rthan his previous time, and this pleased him, there wasn't really a better way to show if his training had been successful more than being able to make it to the top more quickly, and now that he was a thte top he could begin both strength and chakra training.

There was a room at the top floor already filled with the things he needed to train. Heavy sandbags, punching bags, punching dummies, weights, dumbbells, weighted balls to throw, and plenty of strap on weights, which, in hindsight, could have been useful for his speed training. That aside, he was ready to train his general strength now. Stretching, he walked over to a hanging punching bag. It was rated for high level taijutsu users, but he would be using it today, obviously he wouldn't cause damage to it, but it's massive weight and thick bag would increase his strength more quickly than a regular punching bag. With a huff he assumed his battle stance, fists raised in a strong guard and legs in a wide stance. Quickly Kuroda unleashed a strong punch upon the bag, though, this only proceeded to hurt his hand, so, it was true, these bags were stuffed with rock... It couldn't be helped. Pulling back his other fist, Kuroda punched the bag again, ifgoring a pain that shot up his arm from the punch. Another, and another, over and over, one and two, he punched the bag, throwing in a kick from time to time, noticing as the pain began to go away and the bag begin to give way under his fist.

His fists were starting the bruise but he didn't mind, he knew he was developing the muscle in his arms, and that was enough. That was his goal. Suddenly, he unleashed a barrage of punches upon the bag, pushing its outer skin further and further in each time, ten punches, twenty punches, thirty punches. It was at one hundred punches that he stopped, panting, to check his progress. Now his arms were bulging, just as his legs had when he had ran up the stairs. Yeah, that was it. And now that he had the rapid movement down, he needed to work on his slow muscle movement, those muscles used in long and arduous feats of strength. He headed over to the weight bench, grabbing the bar in both hands and pulling it off it's rest. Immediately he dropped it at his feet, rubbing his hands together in preparation for the training. Currently the bar had sixty pounds of weight on it, plus the twenty of the bar itself, a good benchmark to start at he figured. Grabbing the bar, Kuroda lifted with his legs, slowing pulling the bar and weights up, then, with his arms he pulled it up to his chin, the over his head, then back down. He did it once again, this time, holding it with his arms at a ninety degree angle for several seconds before moving it to the top of his head. The third rep had him holding it for even longer.

After five minutes of this, Kuroda change the weights, adding on another twenty pounds total. He felt that he could definitely lift that, and once they were in place, he resumed his training. The first rep was predictably more difficult than before, and it took him a few tries before he could get it all the way up and hold it there for a sufficient amount of time. However, after ten or so repetitions of the movement, he was feeling it becoming easier to do. For this set weight he kept at it for a good twenty minutes. Pulling it up, holding it at an angle to build his biceps and build muscle in his forearms, then over his head, holding it before bringing it back down. Then, thirty pounds was added. Now it was up to 140 pounds total, and, it took him awhile to hold it at an angle without dropping it. This really was getting difficult, but it would be worth it if he was getting stronger. Stronger meant that he could fight hand to hand with less issue, as well as throw and handle his weapons with more force. Fortunately he could take a break form physical training when he worked on his chakra pool. This was the physical energy needed to form chakra, but he needed the mental and spiritual energy to match it. But until he thought of just how to work on the mental and spiritual side of things, he would be lifting weights. His arms were getting tired, but the weights seemed to be getting lighter, which obviously meant he was getting stronger.

Kuroda's heart was thudding in his chest and he was breathing hard. The sweat was really coming down now, and his arms were feeling like they would fall off at any second, but he persisted. It had been forty minutes since he started lifting the weights, and now he was ready to finish. He would change the weights on last time, topping it off at 180 pounds, twice as much as he had started with. Now, was the last stretch. This was it. Grabbing the bar he pulled, but the weights didn't budge. This would be difficult. He crouched, and made a second attempt, trying to lift with more force, and yet, it barely budged. He would need a bit of extra oomph for this. Charging the air around him with chakra, grasping the metal of the weights in his influence. With his slight boost, Kuroda grabbed the bar, and this time, he was able to lift it, and, cutting off his jutsu, he held it over his head. One, two, three, four, five seconds. Then, with a great heave, he tossed the weights onto the floor, cracking the stone.

Panting, he sat down, grinning to himself. Strength training was complete, and with it done, he could move on to other things, specifically, mental training to expand his chakra reserves. Thinking, he considered the options to how to train this. Physical training was easy, just work out, but mental trianing was far harder. He was sharp enough to not be challenged by mental problems, though, perhaps he didn't need to do mental problems to expand his re serves. Perhaps he could just meditate? It was a simple solution to it, but it could be effective. Mediation allowed one to calm their mind while expanding it at the same time, it let one empty their minds of the clutter and focus upon what needed to focused upon. Yes, it would be effective, and that was what he needed. Slowing his breathing, he crossed his legs and sat up, closing his eyes. In his lap he put his hands into a meditative sign, the sign of the ram, which would often be used for focusing chakra for jutsu.

He breathed in deeply, slowing his heart from his previous training, he felt it slowing down, returning to a beat which was just below his usual resting heartbeat. So began his meditation. This was another part of the academy which he remembered. Entire afternoons spent just sitting and thinking on nothing but the meditation. Everyone started off with only a small amount of chakra, but once you managed to meditate enough you could muster the power to perform jutsu. It was what he was trying to do right now.

His breathing slowed even more, as did his heart rate. His mind was blank, but for the thought of expanding his chakra pool. For ten minutes he sat there, breathing, thinking, concentrating and meditating, and yet, he didn't know if it was working. He needed to test it, as this was getting boring. He slowly uncrossed his legs and opened his eyes, rubbing the back of his head. Meditation was boring, but, working with jutsu wasn't. And if he worked with jutsu enough he could easily expand his chakra in a way he could measure it. He stood, brushing himself off and nodding to himself. Chargint he air around him with chakra, Kuroda prepared to use his newest jutsu. "Weapon Suspension Jutsu." With a surge of chakra Kuroda grasped the weights around him, willing them into the air. One by one each pieces was lifted, and with each piece lifted he felt more mental and physical strain. This jutsu was similar to his own Kekkei Genkai, except that it was a lightning element jutsu, not magnet element. Putting his arms out, Kuroda moved the weights as though they were on the chakra strings that puppet masters used, they flew around him, some falling to the ground when they went out of his zone of influence, others, staying with in it and soaring as though on feathered wing. Now this was how you trained, experience beat meditation at any time. He felt his chakra getting depleted, but it was at a slow rate, and, cutting off his chakra from the area around him, he cancelled the jutsu, letting the weights fall to the ground. Now he would work using other jutsu.

He pulled his large scroll off of his back, whipping it open and putting a hand on one of the seals. From it, five shuriken burst out and with the nible hands of a weapon user, he caught them, tossing them in front of him. He was careful to toss them horizontally to make sure they didn't land on their edges and dull them. They were going to be conductors for this next jutsu. With those out, he put his hand on a different seal, and from it came a folded shuriken, one that was far larger than the normal ones on the ground. Holding the middle ring in his hand, Kuroda let it unfold, revealing a Fuma Wind Shuriken. These wer a big harder to wield than the normal ones, but they were far larger and harder to dodge, and if one could use a Shuriken Shadow Clone jutsu with them, well, that could be devastating. But this time it would be used as his base for his jutsu. Charging his hand with chakra, he let it flow through the Fuma Wind Shuriken, sending an electric aura around it. "Raiton: Weapon Arc Jutsu!" From each of the four tips of the weapon, a bolt of lightning jumped, flying at the shuriken on the ground, as well as the weights. Each of the pieces of metal was electrified and exerted an electric aura of its own. The electricity appeared blue at the point, perhaps it would change color in the future though.

With a devilish grin he folded the shuriken back together and cut off his chakra again. This cause the lightning to recede back into the Fuma Shuriken and then dissipate from that completely. That was it. He felt that his chakra was improved from before, both meditation and practice were able to expand his own reserves more than either could alone. He pulled out his scroll again, unraveling it and walking to each shuriken. After gathering them he put them on their seal, and with a hand sign, sealed them back into their scroll. The Fuma Shuriken shortly followed in its seal. Tossing it back over his shoulder, Kuroda closed the scroll and headed for the stairs. That had been a successful training session, and now it was late afternoon. He was in need of food, and now was just the time to get something to eat. Of course, he would need to go home first and see if he had any mail from his teacher or team, or if he had a new mission, but, those things aside, he thought today had been quite successful, and that training could get him closer ot the level he needed to be to be a Chunnin.

{End}

{3017 words}

{15 stat points}

{30 Chakra Points}

Approved for 15 stat points and 30 JP