Turnabout for the Future [p,nk]

But of course. Magical beasts were usually fickle, proud creatures. He had heard of one named Haeru, who had sucked in so much energy that he had become a god within the space of a single century! Such power and growth couldn't possibly have been made on a good foundation, so the panther Haeru had been stuck at the god level for the rest of his life, unable to ascend higher. See, Koz took legends like this as a sign for himself, as lessons to be learned instead of mere stories to be gawked and marveled at. Every tale held a moral, did they not?
This particular one was that of "foundation". If one's foundation was small or faulty, then one's cultivation would easily meet an early bottleneck. As a cultivator, Koz was careful that his foundation was not poorly made. He had to be better than all the failures in these legends! Getting to the god level meant nothing if he could not get past that. An early bottlneck in a person's cultivation meant that he was a piece of trash that should cripple himself and die in poverty. Such were the ways of the Ban Hui sect. At any rate, however, this was not heavy on his mind. 
What was, though, was the cultivation of the gentle fist. A while ago, he had succeeded in using the palm bottom to great effect, but after that, he hadn't done much. He needed to reach at least one percent of the laws of the universe, and through that, at least gain a small insight into the throbbing pulse of the world. Hm, wait... could it be that he had been approaching the wrong path this whole time? Hold it, back it up, hypothesize again. Maybe this had nothing to do with the throbbing pulse of the world at all, but instead, with the throbbing pulses of various qi. If he could use his qi to damage someone else's, how was that related at all to the throbbing rhythm of the world? Ah ha! A breakthrough. Suddenly, Koz's eyes were filled with happiness, and the smile on his face made it apparent that he had gained a valuable insight into the workings of "wielding something violent as if it were gentle". 

"Teacher, I believe I may have just developed another technique in the gentle fist. From this insight that I have, I think I now have a little bit more proficiency in it. However, I have nothing to practice on, as training dummies have no meridians." He had now altered his training strategy to using things to practice on, even though cultivators normally did all of this within their minds and souls. However, his teacher, being a shinobi, had no doubt tried something similar to what he was now doing in her past, and she was doing exceedingly well. He had decided to check out the merits of this training system for himself, but realized that training dummies had neither meridians nor dantians.

[TWC 3150]

"Well. I'm always glad to assist, though i'm sure you'll understand that I wont allow you to use the gentle fist on me. You can practice everything but the chakra expulsion technique that gives the attacks their full power. That you'll have to test on a dummy. " SHe knew too well the danger of the gentle fist style. Her years in the sec had had it's ups and downs, the major down being when it was time for those of her year to begin the challge that was Gentle fist. WIthout the power of the all seeing eyes called byakugan she was demoted to test dummy. It was a blessing that she'd developed touch skin, because for weeks at a time she enjoyed the joys of full strength chakra pulsed gentle fist bombarding her tenkaitsu. A shiver flowed down her spine at the thought.

Beneath her the white power of her chakra flowed more quickly, covering a distance of ten meters in a circle, with both she and Koz in the center. With her technique now flowing more easily, the time to test it's effects was on. The pwoerful suiton coated her shoes, flowing up her ankles in a spiral patern, hiding her form behind the white knife like peaks of her ressonant white water.

(1810)

Wait, was she giving him permission to hit her, or not? Koz was a bit worried about this, but he quickly made up his mind. Decisiveness! That was key to a good foundation. He would strike, but stop his fist. He knew that this was also a good way to train in the second stage of the profound truths, "wielding something violent as if it were gentle". Hmm, yes. He knew not what came afterwards, but he was sure that after he completely mastered this small part of the profound truths, he would come to have an insight as to what exactly it was.
Little did he know that the next level was the "impose" level for most gentle fist users in the sect, but Koz was destined to take a different path. Instead of going higher and higher into the levels of the martial arts and its profound mysteries, he would instead be stuck at the "wielding something violent as if it were gentle" level for the rest of his life. Although one might consider this to be a type of bottleneck, it actually opened Koz into a variety of possibilities, all of which led down a dark and difficult path. Would he have the strength to bear his power? Or would he fall to it in the end? 
Of all the elders, only Li Xuan knew of what Koz might be able to accomplish, as his path was similar to Koz's own. Truly, it was fearsome. 
"Very well, Teacher. In that case, I shall aim a blow at you, but I shall stop midway. This kind of conditioning will help me train in accordance with the profound mystery of 'wielding something violent as if it were gentle'! Be not deceived, however, for even if I wield something as a gentle attack, it is still as violent as it should be, or even moreso!"
With that, Koz readied himself, breathing in. Then... step forward! With that, he breathed out and thrust his palm towards his teacher's dantian, which he would normally target on any opponent. It was the prime target for any cultivator who knew his (or her) stuff to attack. Having already activated his byakugan, he could now see that the water that had spread out around them was interesting indeed. It was filled with his teacher's chakra, so it seemed, which was mysterious and profound indeed. What exactly was this water supposed to do? 
That aside, though, he stopped his attack mere inches from his target. With that, he could measure how the air between his palm and the surface of his teacher interacted. Ahh, very good. It appeared that he had gained sufficient insights into the mystery of "wielding something violent as if it were gentle". With that, he took a step back and bowed to his teacher. 
"Teacher, I thank you. That alone has given me valuable information. I think that in the future, if I had to fight with someone, I would be able to use a new technique in order to set back their cultivation."

[TWC 3662]

With a nod she'd take a defensive stance, pouring the full strength of her chakra into the suiton creeping up her legs. More quickly it would begin to flow, raising up her armored body. At her hips it would spread outward, flowing up and out across her chest. This was the true power of the resonant white waters. With their effect, which had grown outward well past where her student stood to create the field of usable senjutsu, she could much more effectively protect those around her. Her form was coated completely in moments as he struck at her, his attack spashing against the cloak of water, spraying small bits of white suiton against his fist. He backed up, bowing in respect to her position, and as she nodded back, not following the full expectation, her preference being much less official and seated in tradition then the boys, and as this happened her body would glow with a strange green energy. She flowed the power of the mystical palms into the cloak across her body, which had she been hurt would have healed the area completely within seconds.

"Good good. It seems my senjutsu does in fact work as I'd hoped. Unfortunately I still need to strengthen the actual speed and power of the technique to make it more usable, however this was expected. Senjutsu isn't something that one can simply pour endless power into in order to have the desired effect. I'll have to study the way in which it works a bit more I suppose." She was of course speaking to herself, her concentration pointed the boy's direction, though her eyes were not focused on him, or really on anything in particular. It would seem like she was explaining something to him, though she was really using his existence simply as a body to throw her ideas at without truely expecting response. She'd nearly perfected ressonant white waters, though getting its effects out where she needed them was still taking a bit of time, however that wasn't too terribly important. What needed true concentration was ensuring the power of her suiton would allow the true power of her medical jutsu to shine.

(2174)

Ah, but it seemed that his teacher was in intense cultivation as well. So, the waters around him weren't normal after all! This was what he had expected, of course, but that his teacher should also have such a strong and refined water system... she must have trained it quite a bit in her youth. It made him feel a little bit guilty for neglecting his earth system, but then he remembered that he had trained some jutsu in it already. Good, he needed to get his foundation first. He couldn't help but feel, though, that he needed to have more. Ech, what a sin. This greedy feeling was something he needed to cast out of his foundation. Better to take it slow, and use power as a role model rather than as something to be grabbed all the time.

However, what was most interesting was that he had gained a rather large insight into the workings of the gentle fist. Stepping back, he would inhale and then exhale silently, purging the impurities from his dantian and refining his spiritual energy. Hmm, yes, that was it. Breathe in, then out, and fill yourself with enlightenment. Let the world qi into your dantian, that it might become inner qi, the source of your cultivation.

The insight, though was that he didn't have to be physically strong to cause lots of damage to an opponent. The gentle fist was something that attacked the opponent's meridians and dantian, which meant that it targeted the internal organs. Now, as any good cultivator knew, this meant that it had no defense against it. There was no way for a person to develop their inner organs to counter such an attack. Even a person's brain had the consistency of whipped cream (maybe a little more stiff). 

So, with this insight, Koz knew that it was his inner qi he needed to train before his physical strength. Still, this meant that not only could he train his martial arts style, but he could also train up his ninjutsu as well. Sooner or later, he would have a breakthrough in insights when it came to ninjutsu, and his power would skyrocket.

This time not bowing (doing it too much was rude), Koz would speak to his teacher after she was finished with her monologue. 

"Senjutsu, teacher? What is this? Even if I cannot use it at the moment, I would like to know, just in case I encounter someone with this Senjutsu as well, and am forced to do battle with him. After all, as Lao Tzu said, 'better the Mount Tai you know than the Mount Tai you don't know.'" Unknown to Koz, he was also the one who said "Two tigers cannot share one mountain". This, of course, was not true, especially if the tigers were mates. However, Koz was merely quoting proverbs, so that didn't matter much on what he said. However, if his teacher knew how stupid Lao Tzu had actually been, then Koz would be in a lot of trouble!

[TWC 4169]

"Senjutsu is called the sage arts. They are techniques learned through the combination of nature chakra and ones normal chakra, granted by those you have a summon contract with and require sage mode. This technique particularly makes use of both my ninjutsu and medical jutsu skill. "In enphasis of her technique she'd activate the strength of her senjutsu against him, the white water becoming like glue to his feet. should he try to take a step he'd find his movement stopped completely unless his strength was ninety five. Were it to be higher his speed within the water would be lowered by ninety five unless of course his speed was over one hundred and fourteen, at which point it would only be lowered by twenty. The hold would only happen long enough for the boy to see the effect before his movement would be released fully by the ressonant waters that continued to flow across kira's body.

"The other effect is it allows me to cast medical jutsu as if im touching them solely because they are within my ressonant white waters. Senjutsu is an incredibly powerful tool you see. THrough this I can protect my allies in incredible new ways, making team combat with me a terrifying strength. " She considered for a moment before drawing the cloak to climb slowly up the boy's leg. An outstreatched hand would assure him it was safe in the event her explanation did not do enough to worry any fears. She knew the boy trusted her as his teacher, and as such didn't expect the gesture to be needed at all, however it was generally in her best interest to make sure. As the cloak coated his body he'd feel a strange tingling sensation. She cast the mystical palms jutsu once more, this time targeting him, and as it began the white water would glow with a green light as he felt any previous damage simply disappearing at the hands of her medical ninjutsu.

(2505)

Wait... nature chakra? So, with enough training, it was possible for human beings to actually use raw world qi instead of turning it into inner qi? This was a huge revelation for Koz, and he knew exactly what to do when he got such an insight. After his teacher had finished reeling off about her medical skill, Koz would nod, and take up a meditation position. Little did he know that now, his teacher had used some kind of method to glue him to the ground! Although, to be fair, Koz didn't really notice, as he was now deep in meditation. The very idea that human beings could use raw nature qi in its original state was a revolution in how cultivation worked to Koz. He knew very well that in his current, weak state, he could never achieve that state, which was why he needed to reach for it, just like any other cultivation goal. What was most interesting, though was that merely by finding out about this, he had gained insights into the profound truths of the gentle fist! Compressing the qi within his dantian, he meditated carefully about the gentle fist. While the name of the style was indeed "gentle fist", he realized that there was something else about it. The methods of the gentle fist, and the use of qi in taijutsu attacks... these martial arts techniques were not merely restricted to the fist! It was not apparent on the surface, as Koz was now in meditation and training, but inwardly, Koz was extremely excited. The information his teacher had just given him had shown him a valuable insight: not everything was as it seemed! Even things that seemed as if they could not be used could actually be turned into a potent tool by a good cultivator with great talent and sense. 

What was interesting was that externally, he was aware of what his teacher was doing, but since he was so hyped about this new insight, he barely noticed it until his teacher's energy started to enter him. Hmm, it didn't feel bad. No, in fact, this was even better for his cultivation! He'd use this temporary state to try and get as far as he could. Now, where was he? Right, not all gentle fist techniques used fists. Kozan focused now on that aspect of the unification state called "fusion". After all, there were elements of the profound laws of wind in the gentle fist style, which was surprising. So, it was possible to actually add profound laws into a mere martial arts style. Come to think of it, this was pretty damn obvious. It was a martial arts style using chakra. Whoever had created it probably had a wind attribute system withing his dantian. 
Now... before he could develop an attack, he had to set up a foundation. This was an advanced one, of course, so the foundation would have to be ever the more intricate. Outwardly, Koz would begin to move one of his arms in a horizontal arc, and the wind around him would begin to stir along with it. Profound Truths of the Gentle Fist! 

[TWC 4695]

It would seem that once more the boy had gone silent, taking time to concentrate on the internal thoughts of both his training and what she'd explained. She wondered if the boy truly could understand the words she explained. Could this genin truely grasp the concept of the jutsus that she had worked so hard to understand and create? It felt impossible. A child so young couldn't possibly understand the subtly by which she shifted chakra within her core in order to create the odd and terrifying strength, however considering.... How old had she been the first time she trained powerful techniques? She wasn't much older then this boy when she left the village, seeking out the truth behind her mother's blood.

Her mind drifted back to the days of her youth, her thoughts coming in flash backs to painful for her to allow to continue. As each scene filled her mind she began to lose strength over the power of her chakra, the weakened healing technique only meant to show the boy the effects becoming increasingly stronger. The green energy of her medical ninjutsu began to glow brighter every moment, small tendrils of blue seeming to raise up from his skin as the power of nature energy infused ninjutsu continued to cause the technique to gain power. THe boy would notice the slightly pleasant feeling of the medical ninjutsu become more dense, almost feeling as if the power of the technique were weighing him down. As the power shifted from about thirty or so to it's full natural power the blue became more noticable. Strings of pink and red wove themselves through the cloak, the strengh growing once more.

"If you would like. I was given permission to do missions within the village hidden in the leaf. I'd gladly come with you to take care of some of the important things the village needs. Goddess knows I need the money. I have to purchase an incredibly powerful Fuinjusu booster soon. Actually. You may find it useful also. The effects of the jutsu enhance your physical form by huge margins. Have... Actually now that i'm thinking about it. Are you aware of a jutsu's effect to increase your body directly?."

(2875)

Wait, what? A person could use things that were different from pure world qi to enhance themselves? This was most fascinating. Opening his eyes, he would remain in the meditative position, but obviously not be meditating.

"Teacher, I was only partially aware of this! So it's true... it's not just the sage art of pure world qi that can make a person stronger! I've heard of things in legend, but this is a great insight. It will allow me to follow a much easier and stronger path of training. If the margins are indeed as huge as you say, then I can certainly come up with something, even if it is not on par with your, Teacher." 

What was most interesting was that his teacher's chakra was getting heavier. Wait, was this.... Profound Truths of Spiritual Pressure!!!?? No, he wasn't ready to get into this yet, he was still focusing on a single path. But he put it in the back of his mind, as this was something he could revisit later. A power that pulled on the body... but Koz had a different idea. 

What about a power that pulled and gripped the soul?

Anyways, this was not Koz's priority at the moment. Better to master one technique a thousand times than to practice a thousand techniques only once, he remembered. This was absolutely true, and would give him the foundation and the path to the Dao, the true martial Dao that a cultivator sought. 

"Thank you for the insight teacher. I shall certainly take this idea... into intense training! If you will excuse me, I may need some time to come up with the appropriate method. I am truly sorry if this interrupts you, but I promise that the next time we meet, I will not disappoint you! Teacher, thank you!" With that, he started to meditate again.

[TWC 5005
2000/2000 for 8 trigrams 64 palms
3000/3000 toward revolving heaven
25 stats
exit]