What's this? A Training Partner is what!

Senshi walked into his usual training ground glad to see that no one else was there like had happened a few times. He was always awkward around people, his general loner personality just didn’t lend itself to socializing much. He generally preferred spending time on his own reading a book or going over scenarios in his head. Today though he needed to get some serious work in, he had conducted a spar against a chuunin to learn what he was lacking in and the Chuunin had made it very clear that he needed to increase his taijutsu capabilities if he wanted to stay alive. He had spent several hours in the library researching several techniques, had even brought some scrolls with notes in them to look over. He was by no means a taijutsu specialist though and knew he would need to work hard to get any of them down. He had found an easy D rank one that he would start with first, being as it was only five am in the morning he figured he would be able to get it down and enjoy the breakfast he had packed for himself.
 
The technique he would be focusing on was the Dynamic Entry technique, it was an interesting technique to the young Genin in that he would use chakra in a similar way as the Body Flicker to jump into the air and deliver what was effectively a super powered high jump kick to his foe. It was supposed to both increase his speed and strength when used, though generally was recommended only as an initial surprise attack. Pulling out the scroll he had packed he unrolled it slightly to show the notes he had on the technique ignoring the others that were written down around it. He could work on them later. Nodding to himself the boy stretched out doing a quick warm up run around the ground to ensure his body was limber enough to begin training. Once he was sure of it he jogged over to the training posts standing several feet back.
 
First he would need to perfect the jump. Standing still he charged some chakra to his legs and lept up and forwards. He did nothing more than this for several minutes ensuring that he knew exactly how much chakra he needed to flow into his legs before he moved on. As it was he was currently jumping just high enough to be level with the top of the training post, and he was landing slightly behind it every time. Once he felt like he had a good enough grasp on the jumping portion he began practicing Jumping forwards and extending his leg in a kick. He wasn’t aiming for the training post just yet, focusing mainly on getting the basics of jumping forwards at the accelerated speed with the kick added in. It was awkward for him to do so, and he biffed quite a few of his landings, planting himself face first in the dirt. After more then twenty minuets jumping forwards in a kick he was grumbling to himself about how many times he had landed on his face. He’d even managed to fall awkwardly to the side and smash his nose on the training post causing his nose to bleed.
 
He’d wiped away what he could but now his hands and face were covered in blood. Ignoring his irritation at this fact he continued to glare at the training post as the sun began to rise bathing the training ground in light. He really wished he wasn’t going through this awkward, clumsy, growing phase that he was currently in. It was causing quite a bit more trouble than he would like. Shaking these thoughts off he jumped back into practicing, quite literally. After about ten minuets Senshi was pleased to note that he was starting to land more and more gracefully with every leap. Maybe he would actually be capable of getting this technique down. Once he felt comfortable with how he was landing without the use of chakra to enhance his speed and strength he began to slowly add more and more chakra into his movements. He figured if he worked his way up to it he would be able to land more gracefully once he was moving faster than he was used to, much like how he had learned to do with the Body Flicker technique.
 
Now that he was reliably landing from the technique every time he began to target the training post before him. He was unsurprised if ashamed about how his first attempt he completely missed the post all together. It took him several more tries before he finally managed to land a hit against it. And then he found himself tangling awkwardly around it as he didn’t know how to land once he was suddenly stopped and he was face planting into the dirt again. Jumping up he grumbled to himself as he continued practicing attacking the post. More then three dozen tries later and he finally managed to land correctly after smashing his foot into the training post. He grinned to himself and began to add more chakra into the technique to get the strength aspect of it down. The first time he had directed to chakra into the wrong part of his leg and thus there was no addition of power to the landed attack.
 

Senshi could feel a large bruise forming in his shin where he had struck the training post, but he pushed the pain away for now. Focusing back in on his chakra he drew it forth before jumping forwards smashing his leg into the training post with the correct chakra enhancement. He was pleased to note a dent forming in the wood. His current strength plus the addition of his chakra was making him more  of a threat than he had ever believed he could be. Moving back to his starting point he charged his chakra and jumped forwards again, but in his haste he accidentally used too much chakra and found himself unable to land properly face planting into the training post again his nose started gushing blood and an obvious black eye began to form on his face. His hands quickly rushed up to cover his nose and try to stop the bleeding but all he accomplished was bleeding all over his hands.






-----Words: 1067
Request: 
Taijutsu: Dynamic Entry







(OOC: Sorry Reizo couldn't help but do a training post to learn something, this way I'll be able to teach you this as well in return.)

As usual, Reizo was up early. It was only 6 am when he was getting out of bed, and the sun hadn't even risen yet. Rubbing his eyes and jolting himself awake, Reizo jumped out of bed and quickly stripped and hopped into the shower to help him wake up. Today he had another exciting day of training ahead of him. This time, he wanted to master the art of blocking. He knew he couldn't rely solely on offense, but he didn't realize that there was a real technique used to properly block incoming attacks, complete with the use of chakra to minimize the damage done. It was an interesting concept that didn't seem very deeply explored at all, and Reizo couldn't wait to figure out how to do it correctly. His only problem: how could he learn how to block and ensure he was doing it properly if he had no one to practice with to test his defense against? He had hopes that he could find someone at the training grounds to help him out, as it wasn't like he could just produce a shadow clone to help. Reizo doubted even heading to the training grounds so early; oftentimes no one would be there at this early hour, so there might not have even been a point in going. Still, Reizo had the conviction that even if no one were there, he would be able to find something else to train. He had seem some scrolls about basic lightning ninjutsu, and some other basic weaponry and shuriken jutsu, maybe he could learn those in the meantime.

After exiting the shower and drying himself off, Reizo dressed himself in a slightly different attire. This one was orange and blue- two colors Reizo thoroughly enjoyed pairing together. He had a short sleeved navy under shirt, and an orange cotton gi coupled with loose fitted orange pants. He still wore his usual blue shinobi sandals as that's all he had, and of course he was wearing his blue Kumogakure headband on his head proudly as he always did. Grabbing a one liter bottle of water and storing his lunch that his mom had packed him overnight in his bag, Reizo began his short jog to the training grounds. It was always more pleasant to jog in the cool air of the morning than the mid afternoon heat. The sun was just starting to rise as he made his way out the door. Arriving at the training grounds at about half past six, Reizo was pleasantly surprised to see a somewhat familiar face from the day before. Reizo was kinda embarrassed to have already forgotten his name. Crap, what was his name again...? Was it Max? No that was definitely the other guy. Damn why can't I remember it? I'm usually pretty good at this, Reizo thought to himself before composing a polite smile as he usually did.

"Yooo!" Reizo would shout to the other training shinobi, waving his right arm in the air frantically to draw his attention. It was unusual to see anyone else here this early, but maybe Reizo just never noticed him there before. "Fancy seeing you here, huh? This is actually perfect, I needed someone to help me learn this new defensive technique, would you mind helping me out? Maybe I could teach you something you haven't learned yet in exchange...?" Reizo would propose, losing his composure at the last moment in a bit of nervous laughter. "I'm really sorry, but I forgot your name," he would admit. He hoped that wouldn't dash his chances of having a training partner. Better to settle names early before it's several hours in and he has to fess up then.

Unprompted, Reizo would then go on to explain the jutsu that he had been reading up on these past few days, as well as the proper form that he had been practicing in his room. "The basis of it is focusing your chakra into your arms or legs so that you can protect yourself from a more powerful and possibly lethal attack. Apparently, it's usually performed by crossing one's arms in front of the body to absorb the impact, like so," Reizo would demonstrate, putting both arms in a cross formation in front of his chest, ducking his head slightly behind the cover of his limbs and bending his knees slightly to lower his center of mass to be closer to the ground. "It seems simple," Reizo continued, "but I have no clue if my form is good enough to withstand an actual attack or if my stance is stable enough to resist a blow. Would you be willing to attack me in order to help me work on my jutsu? I know we only just met, but it would be a huge favor that I'd be willing to repay. Please!" Reizo bowed at the last word as a sign of respect.

822/2000 words
Taijutsu Style: Block
Stat Points: -TBA at the end-

Senshi looked up at the shouted exclamation mildly surprised to the blonde boy, Shoyu Reizo whom he had met at the execution grounds when he was still an academy student. For a few seconds he mildly unsure how to act, he was the same rank as the other boy now but then again he had become a Genin first. That made him still a superior if less so in a sense. Senshi decided that instead of going to attention he would stiffen his posture a bit, the other boy was his senior after all and deserved respect for that none the less. He was still holding his bleeding nose, but released it just before the other boy began to speak again, it had at least stopped bleeding though he was covered in his own blood. He blinked suddenly at the sudden word vomit from the blonde haired boy, unsure initially how to react. He resisted the urge to reach up and fidget with the headband he too wore proudly across his forehead. He did however try to discreetly wipe his hands off on his pants.  Before he could respond to the request the other boy launched into a sudden rendition of the technique he was currently trying to learn. Senshi recalled having come across the technique when he was in the library searching for useful things to learn.
 
He recalled that it was one of the scaled techniques, in that one had to learn its base forms before making it stronger. Though the easiest version of it was a C Rank, Senshi had decided to focus on other things for now. As the other boy spoke he took in his appearance of orange and blue and began to sincerely hope that was just a training outfit. Reizo would be ridiculously easy to spot if he was on a stealth mission. Senshi’s own cheap durable brown pants, with black leather armor on the hips, and his black leather vest over the elbow length fish net he wore over it allowed him much better stealth capabilities and defense. Senshi remained silent for several moment, his brown flecked green eyes seeming to stare off into space as he recalled any other information he had on the attack. Finally he focused back in on the blonde haired Genin before speaking. “Of course I’ll help Reizo-Senpai, my name is Genin Kobayashi Senshi, I understand your not remembering my name after out meeting with Yamaguchi-Sempai in the Execution Grounds, I was but an Academy Student then.”
 
Pausing for a second, Senshi began speaking again once he was sure he had collected his thoughts appropriately. “I know the technique you speak of, while yes traditionally it is used with the forearms it is also possible for the user to block an attack with their shins. You could use your upper thigh but I won’t only recommend that if catching a kick on the inside of your thigh as the femoral artery is located there and damage to the knee is possible. I have been practicing a technique known as Dynamic Entry. It would be astoundingly beneficial if I had a true training partner instead of a wood post. I think it would be best if we started with just regular punches and kicks first as that would test your stance and abilities before I added in using the technique?” Once he had completed speaking Senshi blushed, he spent entirely too much time reading and when he did get a chance to speak about a technique he was always expounding more than was strictly necessary.
 

Shaking his head slightly he moved a couple steps back and planted himself firmly. He had not had a spar with anyone since becoming a Genin and as such he didn’t really know how much he had improved. This wasn’t a spar but he would be conducting attacks, he didn’t want to seem weak to his fellow Genin however so he directed his entire focus onto making sure he did everything as well as possible. He wasn’t a Taijutsu specialist on the other hand though, so he knew there would be flaws in his form. “If you are ready Reizo-Sempai, I will punch and aim for the center of your crossed arms.” Waiting for an affirmative, Senshi suddenly pushed off the ground as hard and fast as he could, while normally it took him a moment to reach his fastest speed with was a linear attack and this easier. His right fist lashed out suddenly aimed directly for the other boy’s forearms. He only hoped he wasn’t thought weak once he landed this attack. (Speed: 30, Strength 22)


------Words This Post: 771
Total Word Count: 1,838

Techniques Conducted so far:
Taijutsu: Dynamic Entry - 1,061/1,000

Reizo couldn't help but giggle a little at how Senshi talked. It was so formal and respectful, it was almost too much to handle. Still, Reizo wasn't one to dictate how people addressed him, but he did like to poke fun at others' mannerisms. "I would be delighted to engage in physical confrontation in order to properly ascertain my defensive capabilities," Reizo replied to Senshi's request, overly exaggerating and mocking his somewhat verbose style of speaking. "You don't have to be so... strict around me, you know that, right, Senshi-kun? It's perfectly fine to call me Reizo-kun or just Reizo. I won't stop you from addressing me as Reizo-sama, though," Reizo teased. "After all, we are equals now," Reizo would say, flicking his own headband up with his right thumb, as though he were tipping a hat. He would then drop his bag casually and toss it to the side, walking several feet back to position himself so that he could take the incoming attack. Admittedly, Senshi seemed stronger than Reizo because of his size, so he was a little nervous as to if he could take the incoming punch.

Reizo gathered the chakra into his forearms and crossed his arms in front of his chest as he had demonstrated earlier, and lowered his body closer to the ground. He bent his knees and widened his stance ever so slightly so his feet would be a little more than a shoulder's width apart, pushing his left foot back a little so he could leverage himself into the ground in case the blow was particularly hard. Reizo closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, bracing himself for the attack that was yet to come.

Reizo dug his back heel into the ground, and yelled out in confirmation for Senshi to unleash his attack. "Ok Senshi, I'm ready whenever you are!" Reizo gulped and he was a little nervous and shaking, but more importantly he was excited to finally be able to test out his own moves and abilities against someone that was seemingly his equal. Reizo still didn't know or couldn't remember whether Senshi was a Taijutsu specialist like himself, but judging by his size, Senshi likely was either a Taijutsu or Weaponry user, meaning he wouldn't be a stranger to physical skirmishes.

Senshi dashed forward and projected his attack to be aimed right where Reizo held his arms. The first thing Reizo noted was the boy's speed. If he wasn't a Taijutsu user, at the very least he moved like one, although Reizo did have to question his huge windup into the straight attack. Reizo kept his eyes open to ensure that he would properly react and block the attack; he had been in fights before and was accustomed to resisting the urge to flinch. As the attack came in, Reizo braced his arms with chakra just as he had been studying to do. The attack collided, and the force threw Reizo off balance, but he still managed to hold his ground, sliding back only a couple of inches, kicking up a small dirt and dust cloud around his ankles. His arms initially throbbed at the impact, but once he redirected his chakra appropriately, the pain subsided and Reizo didn't even feel like the contact was anything that powerful. In fact it felt like he hadn't even been hit at all. Once the momentum subsided, Reizo would lower his arms.

"I think I have the hang of it. You seem like a strong guy, but after the initial momentum of the hit, I barely felt anything at all!" Reizo giggled again. He didn't mean to sound condescending or insulting to Senshi's strength, but shortly after saying it, Reizo realized how it could be construed. "I mean, I think I got the technique down, maybe you could try hitting harder?" Reizo asked, again realizing he probably wasn't making the situation better if it had been a full attack. He figured that it would be best if maybe he just shut up and prepare for the inevitable follow up attack. "Let's see if I can block your Dynamic Entry," Reizo plainly stated, his face getting more serious, the giggling immediately halting. "If you haven't already learned Leaf Whirlwind or Leaf Gale, I could teach you those. There are some other slightly more advanced Taijutsu I know that maybe you could learn too," Reizo negotiated, hoping to repay Senshi's favor of helping him master this blocking jutsu.

1565/2000 words

Senshi cocked his head to the side slightly, he was confused why Reizo was giggling, but he did recall that he had thought the other boy odd when he had met him and Yamaguchi-san at the Execution grounds. At Reizo’s words Senshi gave a small smile, he too had undergone the same discipline training that Senshi had experienced. Maybe he had found a kindred soul after all that he could relate to. It went completely over the boys head that he was being mocked. His general lack of socializing in itself but also his young age had led him to sometimes being a bit dense in social situations. At the other boys next words Senshi’s head again cocked to the side slightly. He was confused but understood that maybe grandstanding all the time wasn’t needed among equals. Senshi watched the bag fall before speaking again. “Oh…. Uhmmm. I apologize Reizo-San, I am unused to working with others of the same rank. So far I have not been assigned a team so my last four D Rank Missions I have had to complete alone, dealing only with the Chuunin’s and those directly involved with my mission.”
 
Thinking that he had solved his social awkwardness issue, Senshi felt a small bit of pride in himself. He had even addressed Reizo familiarly like he did with his family. He had never actually been able to do that before and it felt oddly freeing and nice to know he could relax slightly when he was out and about instead of only having his home as the safe place to do it in. Senshi watched the other boy prepare himself, taking not of his form and the way he positioned his arms. Pulling into himself Senshi sent a small pulse of chakra out using his chakra sensing ability out of curiosity. He was surprised at the feedback he got. Reizo was certainly quite a bit stronger chakra wise than he was. He would need to be careful and give the other boy a healthy amount of respect. He must be Ninjutsu or Genjutsu user with such strong chakra. It showed well on the other boy that he was interested in learning Taijutsu techniques to make sure he was still a threat in a close range fight.
 
The wind up before the attack was a testament not only to Senshi’s non taijutsu specialization but also in that he wasn’t used to fighting anyone just yet. He had never had to worry about someone reading his movements and therefore dodging them. As such he had yet to develop to ability to get rid of any of his tells. Not to mention he had been exaggerating himself slightly to make sure Reizo knew where he was aiming. The entire point was for Reizo to be able to block the attack and test himself after all. Senshi felt a sudden burst of pride after his fist connected with Reizo’s forearms sending the other boy sliding back a few inches. He really was getting stronger if he could make someone who was blocking his attack and fully braced for it slide backwards. Senshi’s sudden pride in himself was crushed and he immediately bereted himself internally. Of course he wasn’t as strong as he thought he was. Reizo had been a Genin for longer, it hadn’t been his strength that had made such and impact but instead the momentum behind him. Senshi pushed away the feelings of doubt in his abilities instead focusing on the fact that he would just need to train harder. He would be sure to add in a few more strength exercises to his routine to make sure he could be on par with other Genin.
 
Senshi nodded at Reizo and moved back slightly farther than he had been before, “If you’re ready Reizo-Sempai I’ll initiate my attack.” Senshi reverted back to his formality without thinking, he was more focused on trying to think of better ways to improve his strength and couldn’t help his natural instincts. His voice was also fairly distant sounding as he spoke, his mind lost in thought. Before he could attack the other boy spoke and Senshi paused himself. “That would be most appreciated Reizo-Sempai, I have been meaning to learn those two techniques for a while now. I am not a Taijutsu specialist, but I would like to be able to still be a threat in close range battle should and enemy be able to negate my weapons attacks. If you were wanting I know a basic lightning jutsu, two medical jutsus, and a useful weapons technique. As I am unsure what your specialty is I do not know how to best offer my assistance in repayment for learning those two techniques from you.” Pausing Senshi waited for Reizo to give him to okay to initiate his attack. Once he did the boy reminded himself of everything he had been practicing earlier.
 

Moving suddenly Senshi dashed forwards jumping up as he moved and extending his leg out in a high kick that was clearly aimed for Reizo’s head (Speed 40, Strength 32). Senshi could feel the chakra coursing through his legs as he launched the attack. He was certainly curious to see how the older Genin handled his newest move but knew that without further practice it probably wasn’t as good as he could fully make it. Plus with that block ability he was under if he would actually even phase the other boy. He hoped so, he certainly wanted to know that all his hard work was paying off in some way but his own doubts in his abilities didn’t allow him to wish for such a thing lest he be disappointed in the end. 

------Words This Post: 955
Total Word Count: 2,793

Techniques Conducted so far:
Taijutsu: Dynamic Entry - 1,061/1,000

Senshi continued to address Reizo with the senpai honorific, but Reizo decided to pay it no mind. It was likely just how he was raised, and who was Reizo to question that? Reizo shook off any sensations that he still felt in his arm from the block and looked directly into Senshi's eyes. He wanted to make sure Senshi understood the complete terms of the attack. Reizo had a very serious expression on his face: his eyes narrowed and his brow furrowed, indicating his will and intent. "Hit me with your Dynamic Entry, and this time don't hold back. I want to see the strongest attack you can give, got it?" Reizo demanded. He took his training and his work very seriously, and he wanted to see just the level of power this other Genin was able to deliver. Senshi had mentioned he'd already been on a few solo missions, of which Reizo was a bit jealous. He himself hadn't gotten around to completing missions just yet, as he wanted to focus on improving his own physical abilities and learning an array of jutsu first. He personally wasn't even sure if he was physically prepared to take the missions, even though mentally he was confident that he could carry any low ranking mission he was given.

Senshi then spoke about his own training and his small arsenal of jutsu he had developed on his own as well. Reizo snapped out of his serious demeanor for a brief moment to address what Senshi had brought up. "Hmm, you're lightning natured as well? Perhaps we could learn some things from one another just yet. I'm not familiar with any at the moment, most of the scrolls I've seen seem beyond my own ability at the moment. If it wasn't immediately obvious by the jutsu I know and the one I'm training, I specialize in Taijutsu. I think a strong body and a strong mind are the most important things a shinobi can have. No need to rely on one's jutsu or tricks should it have to come down to it," Reizo would reply, showing a slight bias to his personal philosophies, honor, and pride. "But enough talk," Reizo would continue, "Show me EVERYTHING you've got in this next attack." Reizo emphasized how much power he wanted to see behind this next attack.

Reizo would distance himself from Senshi in preparation for the next attack. "Remember, don't hold back," he would remind Senshi once more. Reizo was back into his serious, combat ready, expression. He exuded confidence and sternness. He let his instincts and intuition take over and kick into overdrive as he braced himself to endure the next attack. "Come!" Reizo commanded, even his voice seeming to develop into something more mature and confident, like a different person had taken control of his body when in combat.

Reizo would take his defensive stance, the same as before, immediately after announcing he was prepared. Senshi's increased speed took Reizo by a bit of surprise, but it was still easily reactable. He was faster than Reizo in this brief moment, it was a speed Reizo could only achieve when using an advanced Taijutsu technique, and now he was witnessing someone do it to him for the first time. It almost made it seem faster, even though that could not be the case. As soon as Senshi dashed, Reizo already had his arms in place, crossed in a T formation where the impact of Senshi's Dynamic Entry would be. He focused his chakra just as the two collided, Reizo realigning his block appropriately to absorb the most force. This kick definitely had more power in it than the previous attack, and it knocked Reizo back a little further, causing him to slide about a foot backward. Still, Reizo maintained his balance, and once the momentum had stopped, Reizo forced his arms apart and pushed Senshi away. The attack was almost entirely absorbed (DR -20, Health 13; +1 overall to attack), but it still gave Reizo a small sensation of pain, enough to trigger his own instinctual response.

As soon as Reizo pushed Senshi off of him and immediately gained balance, but while Senshi was still caught in the air, Reizo delivered a retaliation attack. His mind was flying with immediate actions, and Reizo didn't even realize what he was putting into action before it was too late. He hit back with great force, sweeping his leg back around to hit Senshi in the back with a Leaf Whirlwind attack (Speed 45, Strength 29). Upon throwing the attack out, whether it should hit or not, Reizo would feel immediate regret and snap back to his usual self, his combat intuition leaving as soon as it had come. Once Reizo had realized what he had accidentally done, he apologized. "I'm so sorry, Senshi! I didn't mean to do that... it was purely on instinct! Please forgive me for my rash decision," he cried out. Reizo had to hold back the emotion in his voice, he didn't intend to do any harm, he valued life greatly despite the environment the village fostered, especially those of people he considered his friends.

2427 total words
Used: Leaf Whirlwind
Trained: Taijutsu Style: Block 2000/2000 words

As Reizo shook his arms, Senshi felt a slight bit of pride and faith in his abilities restored to know that he had caused that feeling. Maybe with a bit more work he would be on the older Genin’s level. At Reizo’s sudden serious expression Senshi felt his body tightening more to the position of attention. He intellectually knew that Reizo and he were the same rank but it was hard to get rid of such instinctual actions so suddenly. He felt that small feeling of faith in his abilities wither at the other boys words, he hadn’t been holding back with that first punch. It had, had every ounce of strength his body possessed. He knew he wasn’t quite as strong as his older brothers but he had thought he was approaching their level. Maybe shinobi were really just so much stronger, he knew his father had made several comments about how Senshi was much stronger than his brothers had been when they had been his age. He had regularly being tasked, when he was home, to help move things around due to his budding strength. His mind snapped back to the now and he resolved to perform the technique as best as he could. He would not disappoint his sempai, as it would reflect badly on his family.
 
If only Reizo knew just how easy the D Rank missions were, there was certainly no point in conducting them with a team. Though possibly the thievery mission he had just been on would be much more dangerous if they hadn’t have been completely untrained civilians. Senshi nodded to Reizo’s words, thinking for several seconds how to respond correctly before his work. “I only have two learned well enough to truly use right now but they are extremely low level. An E Rank medical technique known as Lightning Style: Shock paddles and then a D rank known as Lightning Style: Cramp Technique.” Senshi paused for a second sending out a pulse of his chakra to make sure and the nodding. “From what I can feel of your chakra you would be able to easily use both techniques.” Blinking in surprise, Senshi couldn’t believe someone with such high chakra was a taijutsu specialist. He certainly needed to work much harder than he had been if he ever wanted to compete with that. “My own specialty is weapons, thought currently due to a lack of funds I haven’t been able to buy the weapon I need to truly use most of the techniques. It is why I have been so diligent in completing missions.”
 
That was only partially true as Senshi would have been completing missions regardless of the needs for funds simply to support his village. But he really did need to save up so he could commission his father to build him the weapon he wanted to learn to wield. Senshi nodded as the two boys separated he would ensure to give his best showing of the attack that he could. Once he initiated the attack he was pleased to see how much more affect just visually that it had on his opponent. He had sent him farther back then before and he hoped that was indicative of the added strength he had been able to add to the attack with his own chakra. He was surprised to see his opponent start moving towards him but his hands flash just barely landing in the final seal of the Keiren no Jutsu, when the other boys leg connected fully with his arms and hands allow him to try and release the cramp technique into the other boys leg. He had been working on performing the technique as quickly as possible and this was one of the scenarios he had developed for it being useful. Take a hit to give back a slightly debilitating hit back. However he had been wholly unprepared for just how much it would hurt to take a hit like that. It had felt quite like when his older brothers punched him in the arms.
 
And the speed the other boy had moved at, while very easy to follow and given him enough time to do something about it he was still surprised that anyone even vaguely his level could do that. He was sent skidding back across the ground his posterior and lower back dragging against the ground for several inches before with a flip of momentum he threw his legs over his head and stopped his body. One hand instinctively reaching for his weapons pouch when he heard the other boy’s sudden apologies. It seemed that the instinct of sparring was in the both of them, both wanting to be able to react as quickly as possible had clearly been training in their techniques. Removing his hand from his weapons pouch, free of any weapons Senshi stood to his full height. He could feel a distinct level of pain in his wrist where the technique had primarily caught him and trying to ignore it as he responded his hands flashed through the seals hare, ox, finally landing on monkey before the fingers of his right hand alighted with blue flame like chakra. He spoke, at the same time jamming his fingers into his wrist blood suddenly pouring down it as he had to penetrate the skin at least a quarter of an inch before he released the Chakra: Anesthetic jutsu into his system completely nulling the pain of the sprain he felt. He would need to remember to stop at the hospital to get that looked at.
 
“It is of no consequence Reizo-Sempai, we both reacted on instinct. I hope I didn’t actually hit you with the Cramp Technique, if so it will wear off fairly quickly. That technique you used, was that the Leaf Whirlwind? If it was would you mind describing exactly what you did to perform it? I would greatly like to learn to do that. Your strength was greater than my own while you performed it.” Senshi could recall how the boy had kicked high first, and he knew from his own studies that the technique was meant to be a succession of kicks where the High kick was typically a feint. He had taken the high kick though which is probably what had prevented him from receiving a kick at his lower back area, which would have hurt a great deal more. Thinking it through Senshi was sure that he could perform the technique. His mind whirring he briefly forgot Reizo was there as he turned moving at a quarter of his speed moving to make a high kick, but then dropping his leg partially through the kick to aim low. It seemed that, that was how the technique was originally intended to be performed but perhaps rechambering his leg quickly would actually be better. Repeating the motion, this time Senshi kicked high with a fully extended leg before drawing it back with a burst of chakra and aiming two quick successive low kicks through the air.
 


He clearly needed to add a bit of chakra to his legs to speed up the technique but he thought his form was at least decent with the first attempt. His attention returned to the here and now and he dropped his leg suddenly giving Reizo a slight bow. “I apologize Reizo-sempai I got excited and attempted the technique without a proper explanation. I am paying attention.”




OOC Note: If you choose to allow the Keiren No Jutsu: Cramp Technique to hit, lets say due to lack of full amount of time it only gives you a cramp for one post instead of two since you were moving much faster and interrupted the technique just as he was completing it.


OOC Note 2: Used information Gained from book Jutsu Encyclopedia to recognize the Leaf Whirlwind technique.

------Words This Post: 1,243
Total Word Count: 4,036

Techniques Conducted so far:
Taijutsu: Dynamic Entry - 1,061/1,000
Taijutsu: Leaf Whirlwind - 312/625

As Reizo swung his leg around to strike Senshi, immediate regret washed over him. He saw Senshi attempt some hand signs, but the kick was much too quick for Senshi to complete all the needed hand signs he would need to complete for his jutsu to take effect. Senshi had admitted to being a weaponry specialist with a lightning elemental nature, and so Reizo thought about what jutsu Senshi was attempting. Well I know he's got lightning nature. A weapon wouldn't have been of any use there, so that leaves basic ninjutsu or genjutsu. Maybe even a medical or sealing technique, Reizo surmised. A medical and sealing jutsu probably wouldn't have been of much use either, and Reizo didn't recognize the jutsu as an Academy one or as any of the ones he had known. A weaponry user probably wouldn't be predisposed to using Genjutsu either, so Reizo came to the conclusion that it was a ninjutsu, and likely a lightning based one at that. After apologizing for striking Senshi, Reizo went about inquiring if his assumptions were true. As he was about to speak, however, Senshi brought up the jutsu on his own.

Cramp technique? So I was right in thinking it was a lightning style jutsu. That could've been troublesome had he managed to get all the hand signs completed. I guess having so many hand signs to perform it must be quite a downside. It seemed to take far too long for him to complete in order to make it of any use in that situation, Reizo thought. Reizo then decided to take Senshi up on his offer to teach him how to use the Leaf Whirlwind, on one condition. "I'm willing to teach you how, as long as you agree to teach me the Cramp technique. It seems like it might prove useful for incapacitating opponents, judging by its name, even if it has a decently long start up in hand seals," Reizo observed. Noticing Senshi attempting to do the Leaf Whirlwind on his own, Reizo would smile at the struggling Genin as he tried to perfect it so quickly. Reizo noticed that Senshi's issue was with his form and approach, rather than the speed and power- the opposite of the challenges Reizo had faced when developing the technique. Reizo supposed it must've had to do with his experience in Taijutsu when compared to Senshi, who was clearly a bit more able-bodied but still rough around the edges.

"Don't worry about being so formal, it's fine," Reizo would say, consoling Senshi for his apology. "The way I learned the form for the Leaf Whirlwind was to go high with a round house kick, and then follow through with all your momentum, and hit low immediately afterward with the other leg. This would give you the fastest response given your momentum, and, I found, is the easiest way to keep your balance as well. As long as you completely follow through on your first kick, you'll have plenty of speed and power to put into your second kick. Yes, the first kick can be used as a feint, but if you throw your strength behind it and follow through it shouldn't matter. Just pretend your target is about  six inches further away than he is, and you'll pass through like he's not even there," Reizo would describe and explain. He would then demonstrate exactly what he meant. Pushing his weight onto his right foot, Reizo would lift his left leg into the air and perform a counter clock wise round house kick so that he'd hit with his heel. Then after a clean, slow motion follow through he would use that same leg to pivot onto the ground and lift his right leg up as he crouched close to the ground, and swept low with his right foot in the same direction, hitting his imaginary target with his shin.

After demonstrating, Reizo would see if Senshi could perform it, and then ask about the Cramp Technique. "I only got to see a couple of the hand signs of the Cramp technique. I'm assuming by its name that it locks up or stuns someone using lightning chakra, right? Do you think I could see you perform it for real this time?" Reizo would ask. Reizo knew he would have to perform a slew of hand signs and for sure focus his chakra in his hands. He had never actually tried to tap into his lightning natured chakra, but he knew from previous tests in the Academy that he was predisposed to the lightning nature. This was made all the more common in Kumogakure as well. Reizo was already thinking about the hand signs Senshi had been attempting. He had definitely seen Snake and what might've been Dragon as Reizo had delivered his kick, but Reizo couldn't determine how many other hand signs there were, and he couldn't see any prior hand signs should there have been any. Senshi had noted that Reizo's chakra was particularly potent, so he hoped that it would mean the technique would come naturally to him. Reizo, of course, was aware of his particularly strong chakra. Having strong chakra control and power was very important if you couldn't have an incredibly strong body. He wasn't as large as Senshi, so it was only natural for him to be slightly weaker physically, however his chakra strength more than evened out their differences. Having a strong chakra also meant Reizo could attempt more powerful jutsu that would benefit everything else: his speed, strength, and his jutsu quantity and capability. Reizo waited to see how Senshi would perform the Cramp Technique before even attempting to guess the remaining hand signs himself.

3380 words total
Training: Cramp Technique 301/500 words

OOC: Aki and I concluded that 5 hand signs as the jutsu required would've taken too long to complete given the speed difference, but since it's just a training thread it doesn't really matter to me if it works or not. I can change the post if you really wanted it to hit. Just something to keep in mind in real battles in the future: one's speed is also directly correlated to how fast they can perform hand signs according to Aki, although it's still all relative and there's no true rate per speed difference as to how many hand signs can be done in a given time.

While yes the hand signs were a bit of a drawback, preparing the jutsu and then striking with taijutsu techniques would allow the user of it to surprise an opponent. It really wasn’t a jutsu meant to be used in an instant. Senshi realized he should have chosen another technique, his inadequacy with sparring had shown through in choosing the wrong technique for the moment. A fast replacement or body flicker would have possibly allowed him to avoid the damage. Especially since he and Reizo seemed to be about the same speed, so Reizo’s reaction to his attack would have allowed Senshi the time he needed to complete the technique. His hands were fast and nimble due to the amount of training he had put into working through his hand signs constantly. At Reizo’s words Senshi pushed his thoughts away focusing back in on what was going on around him instead of allowing his mind float in the clouds. “You are correct, the long seal sequence is a hindrance however the technique is more meant to be a surprise. During my studies on it I encountered several stories of shinobi’s preparing the technique and then attacking with taijutsu while keeping it charged in their hands. It served as quite a nasty surprise to their opponents when struck with both a fist and the lightning style chakra.”
 
Senshi paused as if in thought, he was debating admitting that he had used the technique wrong due to inexperience. He didn’t want to seem weak in front of the older Genin but then he had learned that showing his inexperience so someone who was an ally was not necessarily a bad things. Deciding the just bit the kunai so to speak he began talking again. “It was actually due to my inexperience in combat that I choose to use that technique. I should have used a body flicker or replacement instead. It was a useful learning experience that I will be sure to remember in the future.” Feeling like he had accomplished something just by admitting his mistake, and knowing that the shame of his inexperience and the sprained wrist would allow him to remember this moment for a long time to come Senshi went to practicing the technique Reizo had used against him. He was definitely not a close range fighter, despite his obvious build and musculature. His family being blacksmiths on his father’s side, and samurai’s or even shinobi in rare cases on his mother’s side had lent to the boy being bred to be large and brawny despite his personality preferring to keep a bit of distance between himself and his opponents.
 
It was one of the things he had always struggled with in the academy, and he had done his best to avoid the taijutsu only spars. It was telling now that he was a Genin, and he regretted not participating more when he should have. As Reizo spoke Senshi nodded, this made sense. He should have realized from his own brief skimming of the technique that you could make all of the kicks devastating. Even if normally the first was a feint by making it an actual powerful attack if it did connect then it would be capable of causing just that much more damage. When Reizo began to perform the technique Senshi felt his eyes watching as much of the boy’s body as he could. Taking in when his muscles twitched and how he moved for the round house kick. He wasn’t surprised to see that Reizo was clearly more skilled in taijutsu just by evidenced how his form flowed much smoother than Senshi. He actually noted that if he turned his right foot seven degrees to the right he would gain much more stability while performing his own round house kicks. Once Reizo had completed showing him how to move the younger boy copies the movements he had seen. His weight distributed primarily on his right foot as he swung around pushing off the ground with the right foot he felt his chakra charge into his muscles.
 
He struck through the air spinning and bringing his other leg around to crash through his imaginary target. As he landed in a crouch from the surprising increase in speed his chakra had afforded him he turned to Reizo a small grin splitting his face as his eyes lit up in excitement. “Was that correct Reizo-sempai? It felt much smoother after watching your demonstration. I even noted a way to improve my own form, you’ve quite obviously practiced extensively to be so advanced.” Senshi didn’t notice how his voice had risen slightly in his excitement or that he had spoken faster than would be considered polite. He had never had someone to show a new technique to or to take the time to sit and teach him the way Reizo was assisting.  At Reizo’s words Senshi’s smile turned soft as he delved into his memories recalling the first time he had tapped into his lightning style nature and learning the Shock Paddles technique. He vividly recalled the feeling his chakra turning static. “To start if you’ve never used your lightning chakra before you’ll need to delve into your chakra and feel for a kind of spark. Sort of like someone just touched you and you get that static shock. Once you do grab hold of that feeling and push it throughout all your chakra and focus on channeling that.”
 
Senshi paused bringing his hands up as he then continued to speak, “Then as you channel that feeling you will perform first bird, then snake, then dragon, then horse, and finally ox hand seals. As you form the hand seals allow your chakra to flow through them and shape itself accordingly. I had to work very slow through this part to ensure my chakra formed appropriately the first few times but once you get a handle on it you will be able to do it almost instinctively.” Senshi ran his hands through the signs as he named them, but channeled no chakra this time. He didn’t know if Reizo knew the chakra sensory technique to follow his chakra flow as he did it but cautiously assumed he didn’t for now. “The cramp technique is in essence merely a small amount of electricity that when it makes contact with someone will force whatever muscle you’ve touched to effectively cramp for a short while. It does wear off fairly quickly since you use very little chakra. Of course, I’ll perform the technique on my forearm so you can see how it cramps the muscle Reizo-sempai.” With that Senshi brought his hands up again performing the hand seals slowly and systematically, this time however he brought forth his chakra charging it through the hand seals as he did so. Once his hand landed on Ox, a small amount of chakra charged into his right palm.
 
Taking a breath Senshi’s showed Reizo his left forearm relaxed before making contact with his right hand. The sudden shock and pain from the technique surprised the boy despite the fact that he knew it was coming. Pushing the feeling off he looked at his arm to see the muscle obviously straining out against his skin as it locked up. He help him his right hand and wiggled the fingers freely and easily before showing his left hand and proving he could barely force movement of fingers causing them to move slowly and almost spastically. “As you can see it can be quite the hindering technique to give yourself a momentary advantage over your opponent by preventing them from using their bodies as effectively. If you want you can practice the technique on my upper arm and we can see if you’ve accomplished it. If you do my bicep and triceps muscles should bulge out. Oh before you do, I was wondering if you knew any more of the basic taijutsu techniques. I could teach you Shadow Shuriken in exchange for your teaching me it?” After he had finished speaking Senshi extended his arm to allow Reizo to use it as a training aid. While He himself had hunted a Rabbit down and killed it to practice on, frankly Senshi figured it would be a waste of time to do right now. Plus his arm would recover completely in a few moments. Senshi did take a second to admire the muscle he was starting to put, on the outline of his bicep and triceps was already visible.
 
He wondered if he would one day look like his father and older brothers, with their large broad shoulders and clearly distinguished muscles. Most of his family comments on how his features took after his mother being softer than the hard lines that built up his father and brothers. Senshi was unsure of this since while his mother was tall, he was already hitting the growth spurts his brothers hadn’t reached until their twelfth years. Plus he was already stronger than both of them, though not as strong as his father yet he hoped to surpass him one day and bring pride to his family at his strength.






 
OOC: Yea like I said on the chat it was mostly to show his inexperience but still showing he had basic skills to react. I didn’t expect it to hit, plus it allowed him to show off a technique that Reizo might be interested in learning, thus developing our plot line to trade techniques ^_^. I just wasn’t sure if you wanted to let it hit or not.






------Words this post: 1527
TWC: 5,563
 

Techniques So far:
Taijutsu: Dynamic Entry - 1,061/1,000
Taijutsu: Leaf Whirlwind - 683/625

Reizo nodded in silence as Senshi described the Cramp Technique in detail, including its uses and drawbacks. So Reizo was right in thinking that the long startup was a problem, but it seemed that ordinarily it wouldn't be, as it wasn't intended to be an immediate counter attack but rather a supportive jutsu to aid in an assault. It was intended to be a little bit of an extra kick in addition to a punch or hit, not a standalone jutsu. Reizo flexed his hands and wrists, thinking about tapping into his elemental chakra for the first time. Senshi then brought up how his inexperience had contributed to his decision making, and how he hadn't picked the right jutsu at the right time. "Some things just come with time, but if you really want to know, jumping is a bad decision in a fight. You always want to remain as grounded as possible. You can't properly move when you're in the air, meaning you're an open target to attack. If you are ever forced to go into the air, always have a way to cover yourself on the way down, never jump without a contingency plan to make it back down safely. This could mean prepping hand signs as you go up to launch a jutsu, or having a shuriken or kunai ready to provide suppression. Of course, this wouldn't have mattered had I not been so reckless and cheap, so I'm sorry once again," Reizo conceded. He really enjoyed talking about combat more than anything else, and specifically theory crafting scenarios that could happen in a real combat experience.

"If there's any takeaway from this, it's that you should always be aware of the fact that your opponent will try to hit you and punish any mistake you make, even if you might not think of it as a mistake at the time. Always be prepared for the next step, and don't let your opponent dictate the pace of the fight," Reizo continued, referring back to his own training. Reizo then observed as Senshi flawlessly executed the Leaf Whirlwind. He wasn't jaw-dropped shocked that Senshi had mastered it so quickly, but it was neat to see that it only took one demonstration. Reizo gave himself credit for being the teacher in this situation. "That one was perfect, I'm impressed," Reizo would congratulate Senshi.

Reizo would then be sure to listen to Senshi as he described how Reizo should go about finding his inner lightning chakra. A spark, huh? That doesn't seem too difficult if I focus my chakra in the right places. I feel like something like that should come pretty naturally, Reizo thought to himself. Before Senshi could even outline the required hand signs, Reizo clapped his hands together, closed his eyes, and began focusing his chakra- his chakra visibly appearing to mold and flow around him. Reizo could feel his chakra as it surged within him and around him, and then he felt a small jolt- barely noticeable. Reizo sought to expand that jolt with his chakra, and upon hearing Senshi list out the needed hand signs, Reizo followed in tandem with Senshi's demonstration, opening his eyes to mirror Senshi as he performed them. As he confirmed the Ox seal as the last, Reizo directed that small spark that had grown within toward his hands. Lightning crackled as he pulled his palms apart, narrow streams of lightning being pulled across his finger tips, severing into independent streams around each hand when he pulled them to about a shoulder's width apart. Reizo quelled the aura of chakra that had surged around him, and focused on maintaining just the visible lightning that danced ever so delicately around his fingertips. Senshi seemed willing to be the subject of Reizo's jutsu, but the Genin wasn't having any of it. "I already hit you once, I'm not going to do it again, sorry to disappoint you," Reizo would calmly say, somewhat wryly.

Reizo decided he would tag himself with the jutsu, raising his right palm and slapping himself on his left bicep. It stung quite a bit more than Reizo was expecting it to, and it left his left arm feeling numb and unable to flex or move properly. The pain tingled up Reizo's arm and pulsated, causing a constant ache in the affected area. Reizo noticed the effect was very similar to the one that Senshi's self-inflicted wound had caused, and he recognized that he had virtually mastered the jutsu and figured out how to access his lightning chakra on his first shot. Reizo deactivated his jutsu and then started rubbing his left arm trying to null the sensations going through it.

Reizo thought for a moment and considered the other jutsu he could teach to Senshi. He figured that since he had just taught the Leaf Whirlwind, perhaps he should bring up the compliment to it, the Leaf Gale. "Okay, I think I should teach you the Leaf Gale as well, since it's the complimentary jutsu to the Leaf Whirlwind. They're very similar, but the Leaf Gale is more designed to be a counter attack to a rush-down type attack, or to break an opponents foundation on the ground. It's very similar to the Leaf Whirlwind in form and style, but the Leaf Gale is just the low sweeping part of the combo. The trick is that you want to use your opponents own momentum against them, and cause them to do damage to themselves and knock them on the ground. I'd imagine it's a very good defense against a Body Flicker type attack, provided you can react in time to execute it," Reizo explained. He wanted to learn more about this Shadow Shuriken jutsu. It would be the first weaponry based jutsu he would learn, and it sounded really cool too. Reizo proceeded to do a slow motion demonstration of the Leaf Gale: a simple and quick crouch into a low sweep, pivoting on his right leg as he swept counter clockwise with his left leg. He wanted to make it clear that the attack was a rear sweeping attack, and thus was slightly different than the Leaf Whirlwind.

4460 words total
Trained:
Taijutsu Style: Block 2000/2000 words
Keiren no Jutsu: Cramp Technique 608/500 words