Kicking a Tree

News that the Chunin exams where going to start in just a week spread around Kirigakure fast and Hanzō Hyūga wanted to make sure that his son wouldn’t disappoint the clan once again, even though he was matched against Azure, someone he had already beaten; He knew that it was time for more rigorous training. It was probably too late to even consider training Ninjutsu or Genjutsu, so he knew that he will have to train his Taijustsu once again. So, He woke up Hinoki late in the afternoon, to make sure that there were no excuses that had no energy for Training. As usual, that meant that breakfast was long past and he had to settle with a cold plate of Takoyaki and cold ramen. Hinoki lazily got dressed in his usual floral shirt and knee length Bermuda pants, knowing fully that protesting would only get him a good beating. His pre-prepared instant noodles where stored carefully in his backpack with some training weights and some other miscellaneous training equipment that he might need. The Weather was pretty good for a Kirigakure day and even the mist was pretty light. Taking in a deep breath, His Father thought it would be best to start with some basic roadwork.  His fighting style depended on him heavily being faster than his opponent and managing to close the gap with a good punch or kick. If even though the gentle fist does not need to hit hard, it still needs to hit always.  Putting his mind to it, “Two laps around all the islands of Kirigakure should be a good way to start it.” Hanzō told Hinoki as he looked him straight in the eyes, making sure that he was understood. He lay down the backpack behind the door of his house, put on the weights and started his roadwork. It was basic training, usually done for someone who was new to Taijutsu and needed to develop his body for it, but due to Hinoki’s eating habits, it was something that he had to do regularly to keep in shape and combat the excess fat.

A few hours later an exhausted out of breath Hinoki made it to back to his starting point, his clothes all wet trough with sweat. Yet, He knew that this was just the start. His father wasn’t really pleased with the time he took but he allowed him to take a quick lunch break and a minute of resting, knowing the pushing further would probably kill Hinoki, being the lazy bones he is. Knowing that his body will need some time to digest the food, he thought it would be best to resort to a familiar training in their training ground, something which only after Hinoki managed to awaken his Byakugan he was able to use, as it was a training area specifically for Hyūga to train, not failures; as Hanzō liked to put it. “Do the Leaf Catching Exercise but this time, 20 in each hand.” He ordered. “With the Byakugan, Of course.” He added drily, knowing fully the extent of his son’s idiocy. Hinoki placed himself in front of the lone gurgitation oak tree that lay in the courtyard, its sole purpose to serve for this training. He put himself in the eight trigrams stance. He already had grasped the concepts of the basic Eight Trigrams Stance’s techniques and this training served more to hone his speed than his stance. Activating the Byakugan, He gave the Tree a good kick and a shower of leafs began slowly falling. He took a deep breath and focused his ocular attention on the leafs. Loosening his arms, he began focusing on a leaf and grabbing it, then turning his attention to another and doing the same. He had learnt the trick of the exercise some time ago; One had to focus his attention on one spot and strike there, not trying to hit everywhere at once as with enough speed, it would seem like it. He surprisingly made short work of the exercise, managing to complete it in his first attempt. “Now. Put on training weights on your arms and do it again” His father’s voice echoed in the courtyard as he did so. Hanzō now saw that his son had the speed needed, but strength is something is quintessential when one is fighting with Taijutsu. Why Incapacitate a foe with a thousand hits when you can Incapacitate a thousand foes with a thousand hits?

This time toiled on much harder, his hands now much less responsive, a Deja-vu to that rainy day when he was faced with banishment from the clan. After nearly 20 consecutive attempts, he finally managed to do it, probably more due to sheer luck than skill. “Your hands are still too feeble. Take a minute’s rest”- At this Hinoki instantly lay down under the tree, out of breath and removed the weights from his hands.  “After that, Do a 100 push-ups.” Hanzō turned to go away, heading towards the Dining room. “After that, go back to that hill of yours. Your legs are too weak. I want that tree trunk with a good indention by tomorrow. You know how this works, Son.” As he left, the dinner bell ringing throughout the house. Hinoki was surprised by his father calling him Son, usually it was more in the lines of “disappointment” or “failure.” Not wanting to lose the momentary approval his father had shown, He lay down on his stomach and began the 100 push-ups.

In about an hour and half’s time, Hinoki stood at the doorway of his home as he made sure his Rose tinted glasses were clean. Satisfied, He slowly made his way to the hill where he managed to activate his Byakugan. If he could activate his Byakugan there, He could certainty kick that tree hard enough to leave a good indent in a tree, right? He was in an overall better shape than he was the last time he was heading there. He also had a good reason. Maybe his Father will begin to acknowledge him finally? “All I have to do was get Chunin by winning a single fight, right? Then I am going to make sure that I’ll do anything to win that fight and if that means skipping a good nap and training, then so be it” he thought defiantly to himself. Finding himself at the base of the hill, He took a good deep breath and started marching up the hill. It took him some time and he nearly fell down twice, but he made it on top of the hill and came eye to trunk with his old nemesis, The Tree. Setting his backpack to one side, he removed his flip flops to keep them from flying off when kicking and put himself in a good position on the right side of the willow. It wasn’t as thick as the tree in the training courtyard but it wasn’t no stick either. Thankfully he wouldn’t be using his arms this time, as they were heavy from the repetitive strength training. His legs weren’t much better but at least they were responsive. The first kick landed with a loud thwack and pain shot through Hinoki’s leg. Shutting out the pain, Hinoki envisioned the tree as his opponent. As if to provide comfort, He activated his Byakugan. The Enhanced Chakra and speed flowed through his body as another loud thwack sounded as another kick hit the tree. He wasn’t going to let a tree beat him. Fuck that.

[End of Part 1]
[1282]
[Trained: Leaf Whirlwind] [1250]
[Claiming 6 stats]