Mastering the Mist (Training)

Maku awoke and prepared himself for a day of training, Once again he would set out to make his body tougher.  He needed to improve his capabilities to endure pain, so he would be able to continue fighting even after receiving damage.  His chakra was now powerful and more than satisfactory for the moment, so his physical resistances and strength were what needed to be dealt with now.  Collecting himself and leaving his residence, Maku was ready to strengthen his resolve.  It wasn’t long before he interred the jungle where he had spent so much time and energy.  Setting up his camp, Maku walked outwardly so as he wouldn’t damage any of the area immediately surrounding his camp.  Maku started off his training exercise by creating 20 earth spikes and going through the ritual of summoning the Rock Lobster.  Once his customary training partner was produced, he detailed his intentions.  The plan was to spar but just using customary taijutsu instead of his regular abilities.  By fighting with just his physical body he would accomplish his desire of making his body stronger.  Maku would also get a little more experience fighting up close and personal, something that was pretty rare and unfamiliar to him.
 
                The sparring session begun as one might expect.  Maku was punched and beat around.  The lobster pulled most of his punches so as to not hurt Maku enough to send him to the hospital.  Maku attempted to fight back but even when a punch landed, he was convinced he did more damage to himself than he did to the crustacean.  Its shell being so hard after all, and Maku having not done much strength exercises in life.  They spared in this way for around 45 minutes, when Maku had to call it quits.  His body bruised and sore, he didn’t think he could take much more.  Returning to his camp, he found some medicinal herbs that where around the jungle and relaxed some.  Knowing he needed to continue training, but for now he would give himself a slight break.  Better to rest for a minute and train for an hour, than train for a minute injured and have to rest for a day.  Once he was satisfactorily rested he headed back out into the forest to find some large rocks.  Once he found a couple he lifted them and brought around 10 back to his camp, it would be here the next part of training would begin.
 
               
                 Once he had a large selection of rocks of varying sizes and weights, Maku took to lifting them and arranging them in different arrangements.  This workout not only helped his strength and endurance, but it also was good finesse training.  It helped promote balance and problem solving skills.  As because the rocks were in no way linear in design it was a challenge to maintain stacks in a sturdy manner.  Overall Maku had created 14 different formations when he stopped.  Each formation had taken strength and endurance, but also some mental abilities to.  Once he decided he was finished, Maku created earth spikes to destroy the formation and move the rocks away from him.  Completing another section of his training, Maku looked for something else to do to get a good workout.  Going for a jog seemed a bit boring but it was something to do after all.  It would at least get his blood pumping and his body moving.  Perhaps the scenery would be good for him and help make the day go by faster.  Starting out into the woods, the jog started uneventful and simple enough.  But you never know when opportunities would spring forth from nowhere.
 
                While running through the woods Maku spied a monkey.  Thinking back to one of his first missions to capture a monkey that was destroying the village, he had the idea that it might be good training to try and catch the prime ape.  They were pretty fast, and this one was small so it would be harder to do than it looked.  Beginning the chase, Maku started off by clapping really loud and shouting.  This was done in hopes to scare the little mammal into running away farther and faster.  It seemed to work perfectly to.  Because as soon as the sound died away the monkey was gone through the branches.  It was all Maku could do to try and keep it within eyesight.  It was going up and down through the branches, using the abundant vegetation to hide itself while running.  Maku being larger didn’t have an easy time falling through.  He could feel the branches and brambles cutting his skin as he went, but largely ignored it.  Ducking and weaving, he almost grabbed the monkey twice before they hit a clearing.  Once In the clearing the monkey was down from the tree and sprinting with Maku attempting to catch up. 
                Following closely behind, Maku had the advantage in the clearing, while the monkey was fast, its true abilities was that of moving through the trees.  Bending low as he ran he scopped up the moneky concluding the chase.  However knowing that he only got it because of the clearing, Maku tossed the creature forwards so it could make it to the trees.  Letting it have the advantage, Maku continued on his pursuit of victory.  Once back in the trees, he was getting close but unable to make the final grab.  Whenever it looked like he’d be able to there’d be a branch or limb in the way that would prevent his hand from closing around the monkey.  If he chose to use jutsu this would be a simple matter, but without it, it was rather difficult.  Nonetheless through persistence all things can be achieved.  And because of persistence Maku did catch the monkey in the trees.  Simply letting it go Maku relized he was far beyond where he thought hed been.  Over a good amount of time being lost Maku finally made his way back to camp.  Setting up for rest Maku slept, knowing that the next day would be another good chance to grow stronger. 
               
                Waking in the jungle was always a pleasant, and frightening experience.  First came relief that you had not been eaten while you slept.  Then came the aching sensation from sleeping on the ground.  Then you appreciated the beautifulness of the area.  And then you wished you where home because lets face it, cooking breakfast at home was way simpler, and with less bugs.  Nonetheless Maku prepared his food and prepared to go back to training.  Once he was thoroughly fed and ready to begin, he once again walked out of the camp.  It was important to not destroy the place where you slept after all, however it was not likely he would sleep out here again.  Ideally he would return home after he was done with today’s training exercises, and even then there was some amount of hope that it would not take all day.  Once he was suitably outside of the camp, Maku once again used his mastered earth spike jutsu to create around twenty spikes.  Once his arena was set up Maku prepared himself for some pain, because that would be the only way to strengthen his body far enough to be a viable ninja. 
 
                Taking a wide stance Maku prepared for what was to come.  He dulled the ends of some of the spikes so as to not hurt himself to bad and then summoned them forth to hit himself.  He would cast the jutsu take a defensive stance and wait the three seconds for the spike to shoot forth from the ground.  The spike crashed into his crossed arms and knocked him back several feet.  Standing and taking the stance once again, Maku would do the same thing.  Allowing this to go on for quite some time.  The goal was to obviously not be thrown back so far by the spikes, and to hold his own ground against the attack.  COntunig to do this Maku realized that he probably would never be able to truly hold his own against the spike until his physical strength improved.  Accepting this Maku continued to summon the spikes but now instead of hitting them head on, he attempted to bend with them.  Twisting and turning Maku still absorbed some of the impact but now he also, tried to be more flexible and absorb some of the impact.  This was more up his ally, Maku accepted that he would never be a front line style shinobi, but that didn’t mean that he shouldn’t still be able to take a punch. 
 
                training was rough not necessarily in the difficulty, but instead how much damage he takes while doing it.  Taking a rest for awhile Maku reflected on his actions and how he could better improve his skills.  Breaking This style of off a spear he decided for some target practice.  Launching it at trees, Maku continually made himself new spears to throw.  This was good exercise as Maku never did do much with weaponry.  The skill never seemed to mean much to him, being a genjutsu specialist.  Though he could appreciate its uses.  He wasn’t able to throw the spear very far, but it was something.  Maku even thought about selling his blade, and just using the spears.  However it wasn’t nearly as sharp as the steel so perhaps it would be better to wait.  Perhaps if he could develop the skill farther it would be worth it, but as it stood it wasn’t.  At the least having it as a backup weapon that could be pulled from anywhere was a useful thing to have in reserve. 



(From this point on, I’m training hidden in the mist)

                Feeling pleased with all of this training Maku went on to practice a new skill.  Finding a source of water Maku was set to master the hidden mist technique. It was jutsu that would allow him to create a dense mist and then hide inside of it.  By doing this he could remain hidden from his enemies and launch his attacks uninterrupted.  As a genjutsu user, the applications where obvious.  Though the goal was to use the moisture from the air, Maku knew he needed to start by creating the mist from a reliable water source.  As all things required baby steps to achieve greater.  By puling water from the pond he found, Maku would then use his chakra to spread it out into the air.  Once spread out through the air, he infused his chakra with it.  By doing this his presence would be masked.  Hiding was a bit cowardly he supposed, but nonetheless effective.  Coward was only a word, where as death had a permanent ring to it.  Instead of this he would be labeled whatever, as long as he was the winner in the match.  Once the water was fully in the air and the mist was created Maku moved on to the next step.
 
                Now that the basics where up and going Maku worked on concealing himself in the mist.  This worked out pretty well overall.  Hiding in the mist would be an effective skill.  Now that he could hide he practiced walking silently through the mist and moving to where he needed to be.  Maku thought that the combination of the mist and hiding like a mole would be a good combination.  Because of that he practiced it.  At first he would hide in the mist, and then under that cover he would sink into the ground and move away.  Also thanks to the sensory power of this ability, Maku would be able to tell where his opponent would be, and where to launch his attack.  Utilizing this combo a couple more times, it also occurred to Maku that he could even send out spikes in the mist.  Surely all that time training for the water chakra release ability was worth it.  The combos with earth for hiding and sneak attacks where endless.  Moving on, Maku knew he would have opportunities to practice these combos later.  For now it was more important to master summoning the mist from the air, so its uses wouldn’t be limited by location.
 
                Releasing the mist he let it dissipate into the air and disappear.  Now Maku focused on the moisture in the air.  Being in a jungle this wasn’t so hard as there was always a fairly decent amount of humidity, ideally this would make grasping the concept of this skill easier.  Reaching out with his hand, he filled his finger tips with chakra.  Using this he grabbed and formed the water in the air to create a light mist.  The harder he concentrated and moved his hands the more he could gather and create.  Of course in combat he would need to use the hand signs to be faster but for training this would do.  Maku experimented with making the mist thick or thin and how far it went out.  Now that he had that down, he moved on to forming the mist with hand signs and will alone.  Using the three signs in rapid succession he concentrated and formed the mist.  It was very thin though and wasn’t really good to hide in.  Because of this Maku knew he needed to find a work around to make it more useful to him.
 
                Breathing in and out Maku got an idea.  Breathing in and out produced moisture, and there would be a larger amount when he breathed out.  Because of this the next time Maku prepared the signs, he focused his chakra network to run through his lungs and finding the moisture in there.  Because of this, he would be able to expel the mist from his mouth.  Giving it a try it seemed to work perfectly.  Opening his mouth after the signs Maku produced a large quantity of mist that blanketed the immediate area.  This helped cover him and enough room to maneuver in.  Then by simple focus he made the mist so think that it would be nearly impossible for anyone simply relaying on their eyes to find anything.  The mist however was quick to disappear, because of this Maku knew he had not infused enough chakra into the mist to hold it steady.  Understanding his mistake Maku walked back to camp to pack up his things.  Now that the physical stuff was done he could finish practicing this skill after he packed up and got ready to return to the village.  It only took a moment to prepare his things, and then he got back to work. 
 
                Once again, Maku performed the needed hand signs, and then sent a flux of chakra to his lungs.  In this way he knew the water molecules leaving his body would be infused with a piece of his chakra signature and grant him the cloak of mist he needed.  Breathing out another large blanket of mist, Maku once again made it incredibly thick to hide himself away.  Releasing it, Maku practiced this way several more times until he was comfortable that he could produce the mist from his mouth on demand.  While he knew other probably didn’t need to use their mouth to expel the mist, it still was effective and did the same job.  Having sufficiently mastered the hiding in the mist technique, he knew he was closer to gaining greater power.  The hiding and attack was his thing after all.  Perhaps it was finally time to go see the leader and seriously ask for that chunin promotion.  Maku felt that he was up to the challenges that being a chunin would bring him.  Or at the very least, wanted to have the opportunity to try, if he failed so be it, but he needed the opportunity to try.
               
(Word Count = 2624, 13 stat points, 26 jp, 1011/1000 for mastering hidden in the mist technique so that is now mastered.)

All Approved!