The Grind [p/nk/Folin]

Koz was in deep meditation at this very moment, focusing on the profound mysteries of his martial arts style, the Gentle Fist. These were quite interesting indeed, but Koz was making very little progress. So, in spite of all of what he was doing, he decided to start gaining insights into a different type of profound mystery, the profound mysteries of bodily enhancement. Hmmm, it looked like he had reached a bottleneck there, too. In that case, he needed to return to the basics and strive to become stronger until the bottlenecks in training no longer meant anything at all to him.

Strive! Train! Reach the martial peak, and stand above the rest!

This was Koz's goal as a cultivator.

As it so happened, he was sitting and meditating in a rather quiet part of the training grounds, not getting involved with all the sweaty shinobi sparring or exercising near him. The greatest part about being raised in his sect was that he could do all of his tempering internally, rather than having to grunt and sweat in a filthy way like the rest of these ninja. As of this moment, though, he focused on absorbing world qi from the environment around him, and visualizing the samsara, and the yin and yang. Cycles of life and death, and of rebirth again. This was what constituted Koz's training:

Breath in the air, and turn the air into spirit.
Turn the spirit back into air, and release the impurities from his body.
Turn the spirit into nothingness, that was the foundation of true cultivation and power.
Turn the nothingness into Dao, the way.

Only when he had achieved true Dao could he be recognized as someone who was travelling towards his peak stage as a martial arts user. Only then... would he achieve his true goal!

[304]

It was a rather lovely day within the village of Konoha, and an even better day to have off from work. The job of an anbu was rather time consuming and tiring at that, but it was all worth it on days like these when Artemis could take in all it was that she was protecting. Walking in her normal attire, the girl casually walked along the village with a basket of fresh fruit that she purchased from the market, enjoying the fresh air of the warm sunny day, the the joyous laughter of children playing tag along the streets. The anbu couldn’t help but laugh to herself as she shared in their joy.

The girl continued to walk along until she made her way to the training fields. It may have been perceived as odd by some, but she enjoyed visiting this part of the village since it usually contained a lot of Konoha’s up and coming youth; the very future of the village. Upon entering the fields, she could spot a lot of the the youngling sparring with one another, some training by their lonesome. Her walk was steady as she handed fresh pieces of fruit to those who looked as if they were taking a break from their tedious training. As she handed an apple to one young kunoichi who was resting near a tree, the anbu spotted a lone wolf near the edge of the fields. The boy sat peacefully down, doing much more than just resting. “Thank you miss!” The youngling replied to her and Artemis simply smiled in response.

Intrigued by the young boy who was meditating, the girl slowly made her way to him, enjoying the sun that blessed her with it’s brilliant rays of warmth. Whether or not the boy had picked up on her normal sounding footsteps, she would approach him and take a seat about a meter from where he meditated. The girl would simply continue to watch him rather creepily until she was noticed with a feint smile on her face. “Hi there.” She would come to say once he would acknowled her presence, or once five minutes had passed. “Fruit?” She would reach into her basket and pull out an apple, offering the boy a little mid-training snack.

It was well within his means to defeat any initiate from the sect now, but he felt like it was never enough. As one of the custodians in the sect had often said, "why stop at the first level of the sky, when you can go to the ninth? When you reach that high, not even you silhouette will brush the others who are left on the ground." Inspirational sayings like this, surprisingly enough, were actually true. If he reached the martial peak of the world, who would be able to challenge him? That was not to say, though, that getting powerful quickly was the answer. No, he well knew that it would take much time and effort. Koz was in no hurry. As someone who practice internal training, he had more time than any of these filthy heathens around him. 

He focused once again on creating a profound vein, as the world qi entered his body in a beautiful, strange thin stream of energy, the natural world elements accompanying it. He sent it once through a small cycle around his meridians, and then into his dantian, so that his energy channels might process it into inner qi. From world qi... to inner qi... to power... then back out into world qi again. This was yet another cycle.

As he breathed outward, he opened his eyes as the cycled finished. 

Ah...?

Why was there a girl standing there? Offering him fruit, no less. Koz had heard a variety of tall tales during his time in the sect about women. He had heard how some were foolish, some were salacious and still others... deadly. However, she didn't look like someone who would harm him. The fruit though, was not something he could accept. His mind was focused on one thing, and one thing only: training! Until he completed the learning of his next technique, he would not eat. However, the fruit did present him with another opportunity...

Taking the apple, Koz threw it up into the air. As it descended, his eyes would narrow slightly.

Focus!

He moved his arm and his body as one, using the gentle fist to fuse and reflect upon the Profound Truths of the Wind. Even though the martial arts style itself had nothing to do with the actual wind element system attribute, the concept of "fusion" in martial arts allowed him to emulate things like the Profound Truths of the Wind Element.

Palms Revolving Heaven!

The sphere of pressure generated around Koz knocked the apple directly back up into the air again. As it fell, Koz neatly caught it in his left hand. With that, he noted that it had gone in a sort of cycle... one that he had created. Hmm, he could gain more proficiency with this than he had thought. There was now something shaping itself in Koz's mind...

He bowed slightly to the girl.

"I thank you for this insight." 

[TWC 793]

Artemis was flabbergasted as the boy took the apple from her hand. Not to eat, but to throw into the air as some sort of target for his jutsu. She wasn’t angry, but mildly intrigued to the way he used the fruit she had offered him. With the apple now in the air, begging for it’s life to land safely, the boy launched an open palm towards the poor object as what seemed like pressurized air sent the little apple further into the sky prolonging it’s free fall time. Artemis began to clap in excitement “Ooo! Very impressive!” She exclaimed with utter joy for the ninja. She loved to see the future of Konoha improving themselves, even if it meant putting poor fruit in harm’s way.

The boy took a bow and thanked the girl, even though she had done nothing but offer the boy an apple. Though, she did wonder why he hasn’t just eaten the snack like all the other ninja she had offered fruit too? It’s not like she was the wicked witch trying to knock out Konoha’s ninja force one person at a time with a deadly poison, but it probably sure appeared that way. “Oh no need to thank me!” She said modestly, still seated on the soft bed of grass beneath her. “What is your name?” she asked, partially intrigued by the boy. “My name is Artemis, it is a pleasure!” She would follow up if the boy had replied, placing her hand out in order to shake his hand.

The girl would promptly raise herself from the ground stretching out her arms and legs as she eyed the boy with interest. “Say, how about we have a little spar? I know meditation is good and all, but some physical training is always important too!” The girl cracked her fingers and waited for the boy’s response. If he agreed, she would back up a bit, letting there be five meters between them before they started. Her main interest here was to help improve the boy’s potential, but she would try to get some practice in herself, maybe work on a technique or two that she had been wanting to learn. Specifically, her Feint jutsu. It was a technique that she had been trying to master.

If the boy had agreed to spar, and Artemis now standing five meters away, the girl would initiate the start by pulling out a kunai and launching it at the boy’s center at a basic speed of 35. The attack was merely an opportunity to see how the boy would react, and see what he had to bring to the table.

Hm, so she wanted a spar? He now knew what kind of girl Artemis was... one of those really peppy and strong willed ones, who was always looking for a fight. It was most likely that she would dominate him too, and he almost backed out. However, it was worth sparring her, he thought, if only to trade pointers and postulate in mid combat. Yes, that was what the true experts did. Even though he wasn't quite on their level yet, he could certainly have a try at things. It didn't hurt to spar, he thought, he just had to remember that his physical training was actually also his meditation. The transformation of inner qi was important to him.

"A spar?" Koz stood up, dusting off his clothes. "Very well. I thank you for this opportunity! Let us take this time in our spar to trade pointers, though I am sure that you have more experience than I." With that, he would note that she was already throwing a kunai at him. From the speed that she was throwing it at, he was able to tell that she was a fair bit stronger than he was, at least physically. Hmm, so he was at a disadvantage. This meant that he would have to fight a bit differently.

As the kunai drew closer, Koz's byakugan would have activated already, and he would stretch out his hand with a speed of 40, reaching under the blade and pivoting his wrist, seizing the kunai in a reverse grip. Ah! Not bad, he thought to himself, keeping a close watch on Artemis. Most often enough, a weak attack like this was merely the introduction to a stronger chain of attacks. In a bit, he'd be able to deflect attacks again, so he'd be good.

Artemis let out a giggle to the boy’s words. “Me? Experienced? Nonsense!” The girl was too humble for her own good, but she did probably have more than the young boy who just seemed to be starting out his path to becoming a ninja. Surely though, she could learn a few things from the boy as well. Only the conceited could believe that they couldn’t learn from others, whether they were more skilled or less. The young anbu operative would put those five meters between the two and continue with her actions.

The kunai now headed towards the boy with the dark haired kunoichi watching his every move, intrigued as to how he would react. Would he deflect it with a projectile of his own, roll out of the way perhaps? No, neither. It was an odd thing to see but the boy’s eye suddenly changed as veins surrounded them. Living in Konoha for so many years, and coming across so many ninja, the girl could identify it as none other than the Hyuuga clan’s Byakugan. She was quite familiar with it due to one of her squad mates back in her Genin days being from the Hyuuga clan. Though, while she’s seen it in action, she hadn’t ever really had the chance to square off against a member of the Hyuuga clan. It looked as this would be her first little taste.

With the boy’s byakugan now active, the boy showed excellent hand word by catching the kunai while it was in motion, and holding it with a reverse grip. “Oo!” The girl exclaimed, rather impressed. Maybe she was going a little bit too easy on him? She’d test the boy a little more before she would decide to up the difficulty level. With a sudden jolt of moment, Artemis would head towards the boy at a speed of 40, forming a set of hand seals at twice the speed waiting for the boy would act once more.

She didn't seem surprised that he had activated his byakugan. Had she been... expecting it? He knew that certain experienced fighters were indeed capable of such things, but this meant that he had played his cards too quickly. Ah, he was still only a child, despite his appearance and his proficiency with cultivation and the Dao. Of things in this world, Koz had little experience. As the female moved, Koz would move at a speed of 40 as well, flipping the kunai in his hand into a forward grip as he moved his arm at a speed of 40 as well, drawing it back and bending his elbow, all at the aforementioned speed of forty. This being done, without interruption between the last series of motions and the upcoming one, Koz would throw the kunai (point first, of course), at the incoming Artemis. Those handseals, though, were spun pretty fast relative to Koz. No time, he thought, to make mistakes. 
As soon as the kunai left his hand, (travelling, of course, at his maximum throwing speed of 60), thus meaning that it would meet her at about halfway between them, Koz would bend down and scoop up a rock at the speed of 40, taking a short step back. At the same time that he would scoop up the rock in his hand (this would be moments before the kunai would reach Artemis), he would form a tiger handseal with the hand that was picking up the rock (the same hand that he had thrown the kunai with) at the speed of 40, the rock would begin to shift. If Artemis deflected the kunai (which she probably would), by the time she got halfway from the kunai to him, the rock would have turned into a rock section cane, three feet long and with a health of 100.