Understanding [P]

Makashi was already deep within the training grounds before the sun even rose that morning, training with a vigor and resolve that far exceeded his previous trainings.  That was because Makashi had much to accomplish before it was time to go to Sunagakure.  The man had already learned that a large contingent of chuunin led by a village leader was already en route to Suna, so when Makashi realized this he knew that he had very little time to get ready for the exams.  Exams that he had otherwise opted out of in favor of receiving private tutelage to jolt his career forward, but he decided that being there in the exams in place of Mako would be better now.
 
Makashi found himself in a dense forested area with tree's surrounding the area, he had much to accomplish before these exams.  The man now stood shirtless, beads of sweat dripping down his body, his sword Shaddoutsa, placed in the ground nearby.  He held his hand out before him with the palm facing the sky, as he concentrated the lightning chakra into it, bolts of uncontrolled lightning began streaming throughout his hand shooting out everywhere.  The bolts would dance out and sting his skin where the sweat was, he would bring his other hand up and wrap it about his wrist in an attempt to control the feral sparks more and more, but doing so accomplished nothing.  Blue sparks of electricity crackled about growing more intense by the second.  So when Makashi felt them reach their maximum point he would release the wrist with his aiding hand and charge forward, racing toward a tree still standing.
 
Makshi knew that trees did not conduct electricity well, as wood was insulated, which was exactly why they were his chosen target.   If he could manage to damage the tree with this technique he had been working on he would know that he was making progress.  So as he placed his left leg out to initiate the run he would let his right hand fall back as it trickled with the overwhelming electricity.  Then pushing his right leg out and guiding himself with his left hand and arm he would rush forward until he hit maximum momentum raising his electrically charge palm forward he would strike the tree with all the force he could muster.  As the chakra enhanced lightning connected there would be a large crack and a bright light equivalent to a lightning bolt hitting the surface of the earth, as Makashi would watch as all of the chakra would dissipate into the tree causing no harm apart from peeling the bark off of the tree and splintering some of it.
 
The man fell to his knees exhausted, having performed the technique more than fifty times this morning to no avail.  He knew he was beginning to get off on the right foot, having been able to do more damage to the tree than when he had started but still unable to actually do actual damage.  Makashi knew the technique was called Lightning Blade and needed to fine tune such an ability to the point in which he would be capable of splitting a naturally occurring lightning bolt in two, and as it stood he could barely strike a tree.  He usually did not have this level of difficulty when performing Ninjutsu, having mastered his clan's shadow techniques in short order and having little difficulty using his lightning element to enhance his sword, but this technique was different it was pure unadulterated lightning, channeled to a fine point within his hand.  He knew that he wasn't creating enough energy, and knew that the energy he was creating was not potent enough.
 
The man would stand and reach into his pocket producing a thin white cigarette and place it between his lips, he would them grab a gold lighter from his pocket, an heirloom handed down generations between the Sarutobi Nara,  and as he looked at it he wondered why his cousin dd not receive the fire starter, and he did. Using his thumb he flipped the lid open and struck the flint as a lazy hot fire began to blow in the wind.  Placing his cigarette into the flame and inhaling he could feel the rush of the nicotine calming his nerves.  He would close the lighter with a sharp metallic ring and place it back within his pocket.  Pondering what he needed to do to reach the next level of using the technique.  Looking up into the sky he would see that the sun would be rising soon and knew that he had only one more chance to test the technique before his sparring partner would be there.
 
The boy's name was Enyo Hiyu, of the Hiyu clan,  and would be his private student for the next few weeks.  Makashi had picked him out of the group of genin available seeing the potential the boy might have.  Makashi had to prove to the leaders he was capable of teaching, having never taken a genin squad, instead preferring to work solo and let his skills show for him.  Makashi agreed to these terms, to both test himself, and he realized that he could practice these techniques with a partner, and speed up his understanding.
 
Makshi walked back to where his sword was sticking out of the ground and would take a few more drags of the cigarette. He would close his eyes and hold his hand out before him with the palm facing upward into the air.  Placing his left hand around his wrist to steady his arm, he would begin flowing the electrical chakra into his hand.  He then realized something as he began doing it, with his sword the lightning flowed in a stream and current because the weapon's natural folded steel allowed for that to happen naturally, however in the palm of his hand it had no other place to go, so when the lightning entered there it would either travel away or discharge due to the nature of electrical currents.  So when he had performed it earlier he realized that he was only striking with a quarter of the maximum force due to the fact that what lightning he had in his hand at the time was simply the amount of lightning he could produce at that second, instead of a steady stream of constantly growing lightning that would travel in a current.
 
This time instead of just forcing the bolts into his palm and letting them stop there he would widen his hand and make all of the electricity flow in a current through his fingers and back to his palm, in an attempt to store the energy in his hand instead of just trying to collect as much as he could.  So when the lightning began flowing through the man's whole hand and back to his palm the result would be surprising.  As the bolts of electricity no longer shot out and discharged instead it would grow and grow steadily until there was no longer a perceived limit of how much he could hold within his hand.  The lightning hummed within his hand and shot out in many different directions as it began to grow uncontrollably, shooting up and down all of his fingers and back into his palm, he now knew the amount of energy he held in his palm was many times more powerful than he originally anticipated, and it continued to grow.  Unfortunately Makashi had not thought about how to discharge it himself, and did not set up a ground which he realized he should have done before, so now he just held a ball of exponentially growing energy.  He knew that as it was he risked breaking his hand whenever he connected with the source he wished to connect with, or worse.  So Makashi would begin his sprint holding the hand before him, aiming for the same tree, instead of letting his hand fall behind him he would hold it and wait to release it until the last second in an attempt to minimize backlash from the ball of lightning that was growing far too powerful and could no longer control it.  He would let go with his left a meter before the tree and draw back lashing forward with his right and upon connection with the tree the resulting destruction would be massive.  a dozen lound thunderous cracks would sound and the light in the area would be blinding forcing the man to close his eyes or risk damaging his eyes.  The area around the point of connection would splinter and shatter sending small chunks of wood flying off,  as all of the lightning would proceed to blast forward into the tree not only breaking off the tree but causing bolts of electricity to flow upwards through the thick trunk of the tree.  The bottom 10 meters of the tree reduced to splinters and the remaining top half becoming charred and burnt.  Makashi would withdraw his hand immediately after impact just in time to avoid any damage but would still be tossed backward from the explosion about 15 meters and would force himself to roll sidelong to protect his vitals. 
 
The thunderous sound would cease moments after he was launched and the sound of the top of the tree crashing to the ground would soon follow.  The lightning bolt created would go up into the sky and would be visible for miles of anyone nearby, and the sound would be deafening as if standing nearby when a massive lightning bolt crashed.  Makashi would cover his head with his hands having bruises, scrapes, and cuts covering his body from the blast and the splinters.
 
After a few minutes reorienting himself to the massive explosion, and letting the ringing die down in his ears, he would look up to see the damage.  He witnessed the tree he struck demolished laying on the ground and the trees surrounding it were charred as well.   He had been blasted back near the are where his sword sat and where he kept a bag of healing supplies and food.  He pulled out the bandages and began applying them to each cut and scrape discovering that nearl all of his torso had been damaged somewhere having to wrap himself up and covering himself all over.  Wrapping the entire length of his arms and his torso and neck applying a few bandages to his face.  He would then stand and grab his supplies and weapon taking a seat by a tree relaxing and smoking several cigarettes while he waited for what would be an obviously confused Enyo to come to the location.

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As Enyo was waiting he would begin to hear the faint crackling of lightning as if it were a cat o nine tails striking the brazen skin of a chained slave who didn’t know his place. Enyo would walk towards the sound as if a moth pulled in by the illumination coming from lit kerosene in a lamp. As he did so the crackling would ring out louder, until it soon went silent and for quite some time it stayed this way. Enyo kept walking in spite of this and this is when he would see a man who had his shirt off smoking a white object that seemed to carry more than just paper.

Enyo would sit there and watch the man as he vigorously trained, it reminded him of someone who fought with purpose. He wasn’t sitting there training for the sake of being an exceptional ninja for his parent, no, it was way more than that. He had a point to prove, it was as if he were trying to replace a big hole that was left by someone. It was truly an inspiring thing to see, Enyo began to wonder if that was his teacher right there since no one else was in these training grounds.He didn’t doubt it and he would have no objections if that were to be teacher.

Intently watching this shinobi Enyo would see the man get up as if he had an idea, he still had more energy to show. Was it this paper stick that was giving him strength? Enyo thought as the man took several more puffs beginning his training once more. As the electrical surges of chakra became more visible to Enyo he could see that this man had lightning chakra as one of his natures. Then, something amazing happened, the man continuously kept the surge of lightning chakra going through his sword. Enyo knew it was due to the conductivity of electricity to metal, but even through chakra. That was fairly interesting.

Enyo would then see the man sprint towards the tree he was using as a training dummy and then he crushed it with some sort of lightning attack. It seemed to be dangerous for the user as well because as soon as he did so there was an explosion. When Enyo seen this he seen some shards of woods coming directly for him, hopping into action he would then just narrowly escape the shards be pivoting to the tree on his right he was gripping onto as he watched this man train. After the crackling sound calmed down he would peek his head from the side of the tree to see that the man laying there looking at what he caused. It wasn’t because he was remorseful but more like him being amazed by what he just did.

It took him a few minutes to come back to earth before he reached in his bag for what seemed like medical supplies, he bandaged himself up and took a seat while smoking more of those paper sticks. This is when Enyo would erupt from the tree with amazement, “That was truly amazing.” Enyo said walking towards this man who would shortly become his teacher.

Despite the fact that Makashi had known that his new student would have ended up witnessing his attempt with the Lightning Blade technique.  The most intense lightning technique, which epitomized the strength of lightning ninjutsu.  So the point to prove his capability was also quite important to the chuunin. 
 
Makashi could accurately sense the location of Enyo as the boy had no way of concealing his chakra signature.  So when his newest student would erupt from the tree line Makashi would not be taken back, fully expecting the boy to show himself. 
 
Makashi would laugh, causing him to wince from the injuries sustained to his ribcage, his arm would reach up and clutch the large bruise. He would be smiling now that Enyo had seen him, in his pitiful state following his most recent failure using the raikiri lightning blade.  Makashi had a talent with the raiton element but apparently not as much as he would have liked to have.
 
"Well, Enyo, I am Makashi Nara, but you can call me Mako.  I have been in search of a student when I came across your information.  Enzo Hiyu, top of his genin class, beloved eldest son.  Blah, blah, blah, but when I saw you I noticed a fire, a fuel that pushed you to reach far beyond any perceived limitations.  That was exactly the kind of person I needed."  Makashi would state pausing for a moment to take a deep drag off of the cigarette in his mouth.  He would then place both hands against the tree trunk and hoist himself up, until his back was leaning against the large hefty tree. "I have received permission to take you under my tutelage, and train you, partially because I needed to prove my capability as a trainer, but also because I need someone who will push me to my limits.  Do you understand what I am saying?"  Mako would pause to give the boy a moment to respond.  After the response Mako would proceed to cut him off and inform him of exactly what he was looking for in his new student.
 
"We have a very short period of time to train, and a vast amount of ground to cover with this training.  We will be covering every aspect that a shinobi will face in his daily life.  Including survival, espionage, infiltration and most importantly combat.  I hope that you informed your parents that you loved them before you left because you will not be seeing them for quite a while, and if you fail, you may not see them again.  The Hokage and your parents are fully aware of my planned training and have both agreed to it.  This will likely be one of the most difficult tasks you've ever undergone so if you have any doubts whatsoever this will be your last chance to back out now."  He would state plainly, his eyes taking a cold appearance, forewarning the boy that he meant every word he said.  Letting Enyo take all the time he needed to decide.
 
After deciding Mako would inform the boy of all that his training entailed. "For the next month, we will spar day in and day out.  I expect you to fight me to the full extent of your capability.  In addition I haven't packed any supplies apart from medical supplies that might be needed, so you will be expected to feed yourself and find your own water.  I will not be holding back.  If you survive you will have the skill needed to advance you to chuunin and we will begin the work. Enyo Hiyu are you prepared to become my student?"

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Seeing the man laugh was something that truly marveled Enyo, a man who could take a straight up explosion of what seemed to consist of crackling lightning and splinters of wood. The man would then whince right after to prove that he was human at the very least to Enyo, the man would then begin to speak.

He stated his name as Makashi Nara which Enyo engraved in his mind, “Mako you say? That’s a weird nickname to have for you name. It seems like it would be Maka, but nevermind.” Enyo would say looking at the man’s many features, he could see that Mako was at the apex of physical condition, most could only hope to get to that level. Enyo decided he would accept this man as a teacher, he was truly a role model and one that could look after him, nursing him to become a great ninja like never seen before. Maka would then speak of having permission to guide him in order to prove his abilities as a trainer and he needed someone to match him as a partner in order to push him. “Well, as I am now there is no way I could compete with you.” Enyo would say, but leaving no time for a response in between he would continue to speak. “But, I can very well give you my all. So, I do understand what you are saying and would be hap-” Enyo was then cut off by Mako who seemed to be in a rush to get things started.

Enyo didn't mind, he just took as the man wanting to begin the training faster as they didn’t have a lot of time. He didn’t know what was to happen in the future, but something was on the horizon. Enyo would then listen to what the man had to say before adding his own input, “Well, as long as it doesn’t mess up my beautiful face I’ll be okay.” Enyo would say at the mention of this being one of the most difficult things he has done so far in his life. Enyo would also notice the man’s eyes becoming void of all cheerfulness showing that he was completely serious about what he was doing. Another admiration that could be seen by Enyo, someone who was fairly passionate about what they were doing is something Enyo wanted to instill in himself.

“Sparring, something that I love to do. I believe things must be done in combat because shadow training can cause bad habits and leaves the person’s sense of time management while fighting dull. I will happily embark on this training journey and I will strive to become greater. Just don’t feel bad if I surpass you.” Enyo would show a rare smile. He would then begin to run towards the man at the measly speed of 10 charging the man with his left arm cocked back for a punch at full power. Had the man just sat there Enyo would punch him straight across his left cheek causing some bruising.
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Makashi would wait patiently while leaning upon his currently sheathed sword.  The handle in his hand with the bottom of the handle in his palm and the end of the sheath on the ground supporting the majority of his weight.  His other hand removing the old cigarette from his mouth and placing a new one in his mouth and lighting it with the old one and dropping it onto the ground.  He took one step forward with a slight limp and stepped on the butt putting out the red hot cherry.  Makashi was in no way impressed by the boy's bragging, whether it was a defense tactic or whether from some misguided form of overconfidence.  He knew the boy came from a clan that favored tradition and liked to place the clan first, but to someone like Makashi who was an example of interclan relations he always put the village first and regarded bragging as weak and annoying.
 
After waiting until the boy accepted his request to become his personal student and training partner Makashi would then speak.  "Protecting your face will be on you, in the field of battle or in a survival situation like the one we will embark on there will be no room for narcissism or arrogance.  It will not matter who is better, or who exceeds whom.  For the next month we are equals, i expect you to fight me that way, because I will be treating you as such.  Rank does not matter in these situations, we are teammates.  If you are so confident in yourself then it would appear that we should go ahead and start the training." Makashi would say solemnly, he would then begin to dash forward at the unaware boy.  His hand bringing the blade up to his waist while his right hand wrapping around the handle with his left wrapping around the  sheathe.  Makashi would then begin an attack, in the Iaijutsu style as he would reach the boy on his sprint he would swiftly remove the blade from the  sheathe and attack at Enyo from an upward angle with the sword swiping up from Makashi's left.  Aiming for the boy's chest, nothing fatal so the swing would be slower and lighter without his full concentration allowing himself the chance for a counterattack would Enyo have the gumption to strike back.
 
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(Full force spar, you can use anything you know at full power, you can additionally use anything you might claim in the topic at a power of 5 to show a lack of mastery, we will fight until a hit is claimed and then proceed to the survival portion)