Onwards and Upwards [Open; Training]

Genin!  Finally!

Kaane tottered down the sloped road from his house, having just finished a celebration with his father over his accomplishments.  While he was somewhat miffed that he had turned into one of their…”clients,” for the exam, the joy they both shared overrode any punishment he might have gotten from dear old dad.  Even if it had set him back a good five years in the art of making good first impressions, it was all well worth it.  The headband replacing his usual scarf around his neck was testament to that, the grey material and silvery metal quietly rustling against his pale skin.

He had been told to take the rest of the day off and actually attempt to have fun doing something other than surveying and preserving bodies for once.  But in his excitement, all he could think about was training.  And there was one technique he had in mind as a sort of right of passage he very much needed to take if he were to ever be a successful ninja, much less pass the Chuunin Exams.

Shunshin.

By the time he had reached the field at the foot of the hill he was already somewhat tired, but utterly devoted at this point.  He already knew what to do.  He just had to do it already.

Only one seal was required, the ram, which he performed and held for but a few moments, summoning his chakra to his legs as he leapt ahead, fully expecting to get it on the first try.  His feet left the ground as he was propelled forward.  He had jumped more than he had ran, sending him flying a few meters forward, as though he was merely utilizing some amateurish jumping jutsu rather than the shunshin, before skidding into the moist grass below.  He took the expected fall with as much grace as he could manage, rolling onto his feet and regaining his balance.

Obviously this was going to require a lot finer chakra control on his part.  Although simple in nature and intent, the devil lay in the details of its mechanics.  He had read that it wasn’t just a fast run of some kind, more of a glide powered by one’s chakra flooding their legs all at once.  It wasn’t quite a taijutsu technique or even a stance for sprinting, and it definitely wasn’t teleportation despite its appearances.  It occupied a strange middle ground in between the two, relying on both his natural speed and the speed of his own chakra to propel him forward at once.

He knew he would find the correct balance and form.  But for now he would have to experiment.

Instead of leaping forward, perhaps he could just run as fast as his legs would allow him?  He had a feeling it wouldn’t work, but it might give him some ideas on how to proceed from there.  The record of the jutsu he looked at wasn’t exactly too helpful on the subject...he’d have to find the sweet spot for himself.

He held the ram seal, and this time took his time pushing his chakra into his legs, saturating them with the strength it would give his muscles.  Though he wasn’t the strongest in regards to his chakra reserves - not just yet, anyway - he knew it shouldn’t have taken much for the jutsu to work, but he wanted to get used to the feeling of focusing his chakra to his legs and calling it at a moment’s notice.  He practiced it a few times over, knowing the speed at which he could perform the jutsu was far more crucial than the actual speed he would be granted by Shunshin itself.  He inhaled and exhaled in a meditative pattern, letting the unmolded chakra recede and then flood back into his legs with a rush of vivacity, allowing the process to become faster and faster each time.  It felt almost like he was stretching, working out his tenketsu like this.  But it felt damned good to have one’s chakra network in fit shape, just as much as the rest of the more mundane parts of the body.

Eventually, after a dozen or so repetitions, he committed.  Holding his chakra in his legs, he began to expel it out into his muscles with a controlled stream, meaning to send them working overtime.

He dashed forward, leaving a disturbance in the air where his body once stood.  As he rushed onwards through the field, running significantly faster than he normally did, he still felt like he wasn’t going fast enough.  He was moving at a ridiculous speed of course, the still air and mists surrounding him were buffeting his face and sending his hair whipping wildly, but it wasn’t the almost-faster-than-light, effortless movement he knew the Shunshin was capable of.  Not to mention, his legs were getting tired pretty quickly.  He was fit, but no body was meant to take this kind of labor upon its muscles for an extended period of time.

Kaane made sure to run himself down slowly to a stop, rather than try to halt all at once, panting somewhat from the exertion.  He sighed as he took off his trench coat, a black t-shirt on underneath as he let his skin breathe for a few moments.  He stretched a few minutes afterwards, not wanting his muscles to ache too hard in the morning from that little jaunt.  

In the middle of a split, he thought back to what the jutsu had looked like when he saw that Chuunin perform it during his academy days.  His eyes obviously couldn’t register the ludicrously fast movement, seeing nothing more than a fading afterimage before the same Chuunin was 25 meters in front of himself only a moment later, ready to land a serious kick on his sparring partner.  But he did know he was fine with getting involved in a taijutsu scrap moments after using the jutsu without looking out of breath, and the ability he had to stop himself with ease hinted that running his legs like a windmill probably wasn’t behind his agility.  Obviously something more than extensive training was at work here, something worked within the jutsu itself, how it was to be properly performed, that made it far more useful than just a fast run.

Conservation of energy...how would he go about doing that…

He sighed in deep thought as he bent over backwards, touching the ground behind him while maintaining his feet’s position firmly on the ground.  So, the least amount of possible footsteps and chakra expenditure would be worthwhile.  But there was more to it than that.  He couldn’t just jump or run forward, both resulted in failure.  There had to be another factor leading to the ridiculous speed of the Shunshin than just raw strength and agility; it was a ninjutsu, after all.

He bent his arms, allowing his legs to lift off the ground as he performed a slow backflip up to his original standing position.  The first thing he noticed was a tree, sitting right in front of him.  Oh that took his memories back, back when he had to learn how to latch onto trees and walk upside down and jump around on water and all that jazz.  It was slowly becoming easier for him to manage both, of course, being matters of simple chakra control.  As a matter of fact, he had always wondered if the chakra he supplied to his feet could do more than supply a firm grip or a solid surface to stand on.

Wait, that was it!  His feet were what would come into contact with the ground at all times, especially if he had to perform a shunshin along the ground rather than using it to jump into the air.  To conserve more of his energy, couldn’t he just use the chakra beneath his feet to reduce the friction they experienced, allowing him to essentially slide whichever direction he wished after he provided himself with enough of a boost to move as fast as he wanted?  It certainly would explain why it was a technique able to be performed with such ease, and with little cost to one’s musculature.

Taking a ready position, he turned towards the emptiness of the field and held the ram seal, summoning a large amount of chakra to his legs.  He knew that he couldn’t activate this frictionless motion he had planned without first pushing off from the ground with all the might he could muster, otherwise all the energy would be wasted and send him faceplanting.

He could already feel the chakra molding correctly, ready to be used.  He infused his muscles with his chakra and pushed forward, at a near parallel angle to the ground, the excess pushing out behind him, functioning somewhat as a rocket might propel a payload.  The extra degree or so of elevation he would receive would give him just enough time to put on his new pair of chakra soles, sending him gliding with ease along the grassy ground as a heavy wind followed in his wake.

Within less than a second, he had reached the maximum range his chakra would allow him, still in the same position as before, holding the ram seal.

He smirked as he pretended an invisible opponent was standing right next to him, finishing up his successful shunshin dash with a pivoting knee straight to the small of his imaginary enemy’s back, sending him sprawling to the ground in agony.

Kaane sat down for a moment immediately after he completed the move, sighing in contentment with a small smile on his face as he rolled and stretched his arms gently.

“Chuunin Exams, here I come!”

WC: 1628

Training:

Hmm...what was there to try next?

Indubitably, there was really only one logical choice.  Now that he had begun to understand the workings of a technique every ninja should know, he had to move on to the one thing he knew all Kirigakure ninja mastered at some point in their lives.  With his natural affinity for water chakra, it was practically meant to be.

Kaane set his sights on the Hidden Mist Technique.

Thankfully, the grassy park where he often came to train contained a small lake that he knew was over the next hill from where he was standing.  While he was aware one could create the effects of the jutsu without existing water, he was also aware of the ease of using the pre-existing element in its purest form, as opposed to going through the pains of creating it himself.

He got up from his position, feeling well-rested enough, and bounded up the ridge to reach the top.  The lake was mere meters away now, ethereal fog clouding its surface and giving a feeling of eerie ghostliness to it that would unsettle most outsiders.  To Kaane, however, it was home.  A cold, wet, but worthwhile home.

The jutsu only required one hand seal, a modified tiger split in half, one hand held high above the head, the other held in front of the body as a normal seal would be woven.  Ultimately, it was supposed to result in a thick mist that could blanket an entire battleground and even fool the legendary Sharingan, as per a story a Jonin had told his class, in an effort to get he and his fellow students to realize the value of even the most insignificant of jutsus when used strategically.  Its obvious utility combined with its rite of passage status among Kiri students and Genin, meant he simply had to learn it.  No better time than now to do so!

For a few moments, however, he merely studied the mists forming on the lake, understood how it moved, felt the coolness of the water droplets caress his face and arms with a chilling comfort

Hmm...what was there to try next?

Indubitably, there was really only one logical choice.  Now that he had begun to understand the workings of a technique every ninja should know, he had to move on to the one thing he knew all Kirigakure ninja mastered at some point in their lives.  With his natural affinity for water chakra, it was practically meant to be.

Kaane set his sights on the Hidden Mist Technique.

Thankfully, the grassy park where he often came to train contained a small lake that he knew was over the next hill from where he was standing.  While he was aware one could create the effects of the jutsu without existing water, he was also aware of the ease of using the pre-existing element in its purest form, as opposed to going through the pains of creating it himself.

He got up from his position, feeling well-rested enough, and bounded up the ridge to reach the top.  The lake was mere meters away now, ethereal fog clouding its surface and giving a feeling of eerie ghostliness to it that would unsettle most outsiders.  To Kaane, however, it was home.  A cold, wet, but worthwhile home.

The jutsu only required one hand seal, a modified tiger split in half, one hand held high above the head, the other held in front of the body as a normal seal would be woven.  Ultimately, it was supposed to result in a thick mist that could blanket an entire battleground and even fool the legendary Sharingan, as per a story a Jonin had told his class, in an effort to get he and his fellow students to realize the value of even the most insignificant of jutsus when used strategically.  Its obvious utility combined with its rite of passage status among Kiri students and Genin, meant he simply had to learn it.  No better time than now to do so!

For a few moments, however, he merely studied the mists forming on the lake, understood how it moved, felt the coolness of the water droplets caress his face and arms with a chilling comfort he had come to know so well.  He knew this mist better than he knew himself at times.  It was constant, unchanging.  It muffled the intricate feelings of one’s soul as much as it muffled sight and sound, leaving naught but a quiet respect for the haze in their stead.
It was time to draw that into himself.  

Making the odd tiger seal, Kaane quietly whispered “Hidden Mist Jutsu” to himself as he pushed his chakra out of himself, flailing its tendrils about among the area.  He would waste no time recalling that feeling of the mist, using his thoughts and will to mold his energies into a watery form.  He felt his natural affinity meshing with that of the lake and the fog sitting before him, flooding it with his essence.  

This next part was crucial; his energy was in the air, now he needed to thicken it into a tangible mist.  He focused hard, every cell in his brain devoted to turning his surroundings into an impenetrable, heavy cloud.  His eyes were closed, concentrating on the area immediately surrounding him to begin with.  He was only putting out a miniscule amount of chakra now, to keep a connection with the chakra already in the air as he molded it.  He hoped it would be enough to manage what he was hoping for.

Kaane opened his eyes to see nothing but a white haze, his visibility severely diminished, and even his hearing affected by the massive amounts of water droplets in the air distorting and dampening the chirping birds sitting in the trees, undoubtedly somewhat confused as to why a heavy pocket of mist was forming before their very eyes.

When the genin decided to take a few steps forward, however, he saw that it truly was all it was; a mere pocket of mist surrounding him.  He released his handseal, expecting the jutsu to disperse almost immediately.  But strangely enough, it seemed to stay put for the most part.  If he had waited for a few minutes, it probably would have started to thin out some, but his chakra was remaining self-sufficient, maintaining the mist for him.  After having been molded with the tendencies of mist in mind, it hung low, oppressively cold and unnaturally energized in comparison to its surroundings, due to the chakra making it up.  

But Kaane had to try this technique once more, in order to make it actually large enough to threaten a person's grasp of the battlefield.  Once again, he performed the split tiger seal, speaking the name of the technique with much more authority than before.  After managing to perform it successfully, at least on a small scale, on his first try, he knew he could ace this jutsu with a larger area to work with if he gave it his all.

He went through the motions, taking a moment or two to call to mind the nature of water and mist themselves before applying the feelings, thoughts, and associations he had with all of them to his chakra.  He then expelled them outwards, with a quiet hmmph in protest as his chakra reserves reluctantly granted him what he knew he needed.  He had been inefficient at first, and wasted a decent amount of it just to create mist in the small space surrounding him.  But now that he had performed it, he had a good idea what amount of energy it would take to form a respectably thick shroud to cover the land.

He turned around, looking at the empty field, as he expelled chakra into the air over it, watching from his vantage point on the mound as a fine, then thick, then utterly impregnable mass of fog overtook the field, as far as the treeline he could see about 40 or so meters away from him.  He cut off the flow of chakra as soon as he had reached that utterly impregnable mark, smiling to himself giddily as he thought how dangerous he could be in there.  He could have the upper hand in seconds...such was the power of Kirigakure's ninja.  Such was the strength that had won his loyalty as a child.  Such was the raw domination of a conflict that he would soon someday dish out, if ever the Mizukage required it of him.

Such would soon be Kaane.  For now, merely, a much happier Mist Genin than he was before.

WC: 1449

Training:

His chakra was relatively depleted at this point from the amount of work he had been doing with those two ninjutsus he had just perfected.  He'd need at least a few hours worth of a break before going back to try some more.  All that was left within reach was taijutsu.  But while it was a mundane art to him, it was still a skill he desperately need to work on, at the very least.  If he had no weapon or chakra to rely on, some ability in the field could easily save his life.

His mind at the moment was set on learning a kicking combination he had seen used in that Chuunin fight his memories had brought back to him.  He himself had asked what it was; apparently it was called the "Leaf Whirlwind," or something of that nature.  Leaf.  Hnngh.  Though he knew it was below Kirigakure to bow down to their Konoha neighbors (below himself, for that matter), he supposed stealing a technique or two from them wasn't all that bad.  

Oh well, back to the task at hand.

He would need some sincere leg stamina for this.  His time as an academy student helped him build up some strength in the area, but he would need a lot more for taijutsu to actually be useful in combat.  His head turned to a tree nearby; the perfect target for his needs.

Thankfully he was smart enough to know that hitting solid wood hurt like hell.  So to begin with, he performed a high, reverse roundhouse kick with his right leg at half strength reaching just around the height of his neck, so as to utilize his muscles instead of the flat of his shin to hit the wood.  He could build up to deadening his bones to blunt force trauma another day.

As expected, even at half-strength, the resistance provided by the unyielding tree trunk was slightly shocking.  And as he repeated the kick, slowly forcing it harder and harder until he found himself whacking the tree at almost full force, it became clear to Kaane that even with his physical training at the academy, it truly did hurt as much as he thought it would.

The toll was mounting; his quads were beginning to burn, and he could tell he wouldn't be able to do much more without getting a serious hematoma the next morning.  But after he finished with his dominant leg, he switched to his left, performing the same kick albeit with a bit less grace.  It took a little less time for the same nagging soreness to overtake him.  

But at the same time, these high kicks were only half of the Leaf Whirlwind; they were supposed to be feints, almost, a simple beginning strike opening the way for a devastating low kick to the abdomen. This, at least, was the easier of the two to practice.  The finishing blow was a side kick rather than a roundhouse; he could hit the tree with his foot rather than his more vulnerable leg.

Still, sending shocks up his body would get painful after a while if he didn’t quit after a reasonable amount of attempts.  So, he made sure to limit himself, practicing with each leg, but remaining cautious of how many he performed.  Even so, he somehow knew his legs were probably going to be useless come tomorrow.

He might as well get some good taijutsu practice in before that happened.  Now that he had practiced what his kicks would feel like upon hitting a solid target, he could practice them against the air and follow through with each.

He took a stable fighting stance, holding his fists before him to protect his face.  Immediately, he launched into the first phase of the Leaf Whirlwind variant he was learning, a roundhouse with his right leg, currently behind his forward-facing left leg.  He would practice this a few times, getting a feeling for the balance required, before he moved onto the next phase of the kicking combo.

After performing the roundhouse again, he would follow by planting his right leg to the ground and using the momentum to power an even stronger reverse roundhouse with the back of his left leg.  His balance was a bit wobbly and his form was sloppy the first time around, with his head dipped towards the ground and not monitoring his imaginary opponent.  But he took hold of these issues and worked to rectify them, performing some more repetitions of the two step process until he was confident he was acting through them perfectly.

Finally, came the last addition to the Leaf Whirlwind combo: the dangerous low kick, that would take advantage of his opponent having to block high in order to get him where he was most vulnerable.  He went through the motions of the double high kick, before ending with a forward thrusting kick with his right leg to where he imagined his enemy’s gut or crotch would be.  Once again, it took a few tries, but he managed to correctly execute the combination without losing his balance or faltering in his stance in general.  After all, even when on the offensive, it was imperative that one not lose control of himself in the fray; it could take whole minutes in a taijutsu brawl to gain an advantage, but only mere fractions of a second to lose it.

Kaane wasn’t finished however.  He knew full well that the Leaf Whirlwind was more of an umbrella name for any sort of kick meant to force an opponent to lose sight of his midsection or legs.  He would have to be versatile and quick thinking in order to use it; after all, this base variant wouldn’t be useful all the time.

To begin with, he merely reversed the order of his kicks from right-left-right to left-right-left, meaning to take advantage of an opponent whose right side had grown weak for some reason or another (considering the first combination of kicks would hammer on the opponent’s left, instead).  It was a bit strange, leading off with his non-dominant leg, and it took him a few tries to even keep his balance while performing the first kick of the three-kick assault.  Ultimately with perseverance, he felt somewhat comfortable managing a left leg roundhouse to the head, though he would probably need a lot more time and vigilance to be truly ambidextrous in battle.

The right-legged reverse roundhouse and final low kick with the left followed suit, building off of each previous kick with practice until performing the reversed sequence was like the process of writing calligraphy: smooth, elegant, and agile.  He realized he could even chain the two together without much hesitation, being able to bring his right foot down in front after finishing the low kick in order to then flow naturally into the left leg roundhouse, being behind the right after the first combination was finished.  To the observer, it would truly look like a whirlwind of kicks, one performed after the other with ease.  Well, at least, until his body told him forcefully that enough was enough.

Kaane panted as he realized how tired he was from all of that, sweat dripping down his pallid brow as he bent over, hands on his knees while he caught his breath.  He could already feel his muscles burning; even something as simple as a short combination of kicks could deplete him if he used a ridiculous amount of chakra or bodily energy beforehand, like he had done wasting on the shunshin.  Even a D-ranked technique like this.  That alone registered in his mind as a valuable lesson.

But still, he thought he was able to manage one more variant before he called it quits.  It was one he had thought up himself, though he doubted it would be too useful considering how intensive it would be on his balance and would depend on being performed at a ridiculous speed, to prevent his leg from being caught by his opponent.  Still, it would be worth practicing and using if only for the surprise factor against an unaware enemy.

Firstly, he used his right leg to side kick up high into the air, about where an antagonist’s head might be, in order to catch him off guard with the sudden initiation.  Then, he immediately plant the leg on the ground before following with a left-legged reverse roundhouse, aimed for said antagonist’s left kidney.  It was a considerably less…”flowy” version of the leaf whirlwind, but it would get the job done if time was of the essence and he needed an enemy floored as quickly as possible.  

After reversing the legs he used for each part once again, he was once again forced to realized how tired he was.  His burning legs and grumbling stomach told him it was time to quit for now, before he seriously hurt himself and undid all of the training he’d already managed.  He would be back again to train, but for now, all he could think of was his dad’s self-proclaimed “best barbequed beef in the world” and his warm bed waiting for him after a hard day’s worth of being a Genin.

WC = 1550

Training:

The next day heralded a slight change in the weather; the mists had thinned out in the afternoon, and the sun was finally able to greet the Genin as he rushed back to his usual training spot, with a few new jutsu in mind.  He winced somewhat as he alighted upon the grassy field, his sore legs reminding him of his excessive workout yesterday.  But since when did anyone get anywhere worthwhile complaining about a little after-workout burn?  He had it in mind to do some less kicking-intensive jutsu today, with a particularly easy one he had heard about to start off with.

He wasn't particularly fond of the idea, but he couldn't deny its utility.  And as a ninja, surprise and flexibility were always of the essence.  At the very least, it would be a little less weird with the gloves he wore almost 24/7 to protect him.

What did he have so singularly burned into his mind, you ask?  Quite simply put: learning how to give his opponents an enema.  With his FISTS.

The actual act of the...insertion, he knew, was the easy part, even the most incapable of Kiri's citizenry could manage it.  The hard part was actually getting behind his opponent safely and getting the drop on his weak spot.  And so more than the actual technique itself, Kaane began to practice utilizing his natural agility to circumvent his opponent's attack to counter with the most overpowered ability known to shinobi-kind.

He used a small boulder as his analog.  It was stationary, but it occupied a space about as large as an adult, enemy shinobi might while leaning forward for an attack.  In many ways it was preferable; he wasn't exactly up for perforating the lining of someone's colon for real any time soon.

He practiced a few different methods of getting behind his enemy, beginning with a simple mock parry into a sideroll.  Deflecting an imaginary attack at his front with a kunai he had taken out of his bag, he would then immediately roll off to the side of the boulder standing before him, before scrambling to his feet in a low, feral stance.  At this point, he would reverse his momentum after flipping his kunai's blade towards his wrists and clasping his hands together in a manner similar to the tiger handseal, launching himself towards the rock with a youthful spring.  Of course, he wouldn't actually hit the rock, wanting to forgo four stubbed fingers to add onto his sore legs.  But the general idea was successfully executed.

He leapfrogged over the boulder instead, once again landing crouched over and nearly on all fours, before rushing forward with his kunai held in his hands forward this time around rather than making the tiger handseal, to practice this technique's more destructive side.  The initiation he had used, he assumed, might be a decent way to counteract opponents who were attacking excessively low or bum-rushing him like idiots.  Just jump over them, push their backs down with his own weight, set them off balance, expose their backside, and then wham.

With a slight spark and a clash of tempered metal against rock, Kaane jammed the kunai into a slight crack in the boulder he had noticed just before he made the connection.  He smiled, hoping the rock would burst into a hundred fragments from striking this obstinate obstacle's weak point for massive damage.

Unfortunately no such thing happened, even as he retrieved and withdrew his kunai into his weapon's pouch, yawning as he took a few moments to limber himself up with some stretching.

But someday, that rock would explode from his prowess in taijutsu, he just knew it.  Soon, there would come a day when he wouldn't even have to do anything, he'd just have to look at rocks for them to blow up.  

"No stone, rock, or pebble shall stand a chance against my prowess...I shall be the GOD OF ALL BOULDERS!" he proclaimed loudly, before kicking the boulder with all the strength his right leg could muster.

It took him about five whole minutes to stop reeling in pain from his appendage's unfathomably powerful protests afterward.

WC: 701

Training:

TWC: 5328

Claiming:

26 Stats;

1000 years of pain;
Shunshin;
Hidden Mist;
and Leaf Whirlwind.

I'm continuing the thread but I'm claiming this all just in time for a BUNGLE IN THE ARENA JUNGLE SON

After nearly dying, Kaane came to his senses and remembered another valuable technique he had come to practice.  He was getting somewhat tired of learning D Ranks, wanting to move onto something that would actually help him get an edge over his enemies in combat.  But this was a necessity, something that would help him diversify his defensive capabilities, which were as important if not more than any ultimate jutsu he would ever learn.

The Water Replacement technique was essentially the Substitution technique with water.  Easy, plain and simple stuff, meant to keep him alive longer with minimal energy expenditure.  What wasn't to love?

And so to practice it, he walked out to the lake he was standing by, the same one that had helped him perform the Hidden Mist Jutsu for the first time.  But instead of standing by it, he let his chakra flow to his feet and walked on it instead, wanting to have as close as proximity as possible to it in order to practice.

He knew first and foremost that grabbing water wasn't nearly as easy as grabbing a block of wood or a rock.  Switching places with enough of a volume of water to leave an illusion was going to be tough, definitely.  But he was more than up to the task.

To begin with, he thought of the water walking jutsu he was using right now to stand on the surface of the lake: it allowed his feet a sort of hard surface with which to stand against the water, but it was applied to his feet sort of like a coating, something that bent, moved with the countour of his feet.  It was flexible.

What if he applied that sort of flexible hardness to his hands while replacing himself with water?  

With some concentration, he managed to create the same layer on his hands as he used on his feet, and then dove them towards the water.  Of course, instead of diving under the water and acting as cups, they merely remained on top of it, as though he was placing his hands against a solid floor.

He had no idea why he thought that would work in the first place, but hey, at least he tried.

It took him a few moments of thinking but then he remembered; the technique had a string of seals he had to perform before anything else.  He had also read that the range of this technique was at the very least 40-50 meters or so, the maximum range of which was impossible for him to utilize the pure speed of his body to replace himself with.  

It was probably just like the regular substitution technique, except using his chakra to keep the water in a sort of containment long enough for it to take an attack under the guise of his afterimage before dispersing.  It was a solid gameplan, one that Kaane was ready to try.

“Tiger, Boar, Ox, Dog, Snake,” he muttered as he performed the handsigns, preparing himself as he gathered chakra within his body.  He thought of water itself, how it flowed and became whatever it was contained by, the feeling of being wet, having water rush through his fingers as he moved his hands through it...all of it came to mind as he molded his chakra, feeling the very essence of it become what he felt throughout his body.

He then expelled it just as he would do with a substitution technique, forcing it towards a spot on the surface of the lake Kaane was focusing on about 25 meters away.  Using the chakra, in the blink of an eye he would bring it back to his position as he himself leapt away, using the afterimage he would leave behind to disguise his deception.

He would have at least, if he had remembered to take the place of what he had just substituted.  Though he had moved out of the way in anticipation, he still wasn’t fast enough, allowing for the water to soak his right leg completely.  Not to mention, it ruined the shape of himself that his chakra was keeping the water in, destroying the illusion before it had a chance of forming.

It was almost a success, but it required a little more reaction time on his part.

Once again, he went through the seals and grimaced, concentrating harder on how he would escape the water taking his place, instead of the act of summoning water to his position which he already had the hang of.  Just as he expelled the chakra welling within him towards a spot about 30 meters in front of him, he leapt backwards, using the split seconds he was given to use the space the water would take up to theoretically hide himself from the eyes of an enemy.

He barely was able to see an afterimage of himself, holding the snake seal, preparing to jump backwards.  From what he could tell, the objective of the technique had been fully completed.

The chakra would only hold the form of the liquid for a few moments before dissipating, but it would be all the time needed to set up a counterattack and turn the tides of battle.  He couldn’t help but look up at the impossibly clear sky and smile, truly satisfied at having learned it so easily.

He saw a bird soaring high in the blue yonder, something that made his smile grow just a tiny bit wider.  How majestic of a beast.  How glorious, how elegantly it glided forth on its journey to some elsewhere Kaane might never know.

How extravagantly it began to drop its load that, judging by the slight breeze and his ninja intuition, was heading right towards him.

His eyes widened as he realized the damage that his trenchcoat would take if he tanked it.  His dad just had it dry cleaned!  And it was moving so fast that he couldn’t make it out of the way in time!  

His hands had never wove seals faster as he completed the sequence for the water substitution, setting his eyes on a spot of it a few meters away from himself.  He just barely got out of the way in time, watching his afterimage get hit with the deadly bomb, landing with a sickening splat as he saw what could have been before the chakra keeping the water in place dissipated.  

“That was close...too close.”

WC:1080

Training:

Now that he had finished completing a decent repertoire of D-ranks, he realized it was just about time to move onto something a bit higher in skill level, something that would put him further along his road to becoming Chuunin.  Suiton: Snake’s Mouth was the ability he had in mind, though he knew it was going to be an interesting challenge to attempt.  

An ability that he could maneuver himself, that would follow his opponent until eventual self-destruction, sounded just about right to him.  But he wasn’t quite sure how to start; though the technique was but a lowly C rank,  it was still beyond what he was used to.

“Need some help?"

Kaane smiled at the telltale sound of his father’s voice echoing across the vale, turning around with a sly look on his face.

“No, and nobody asked you to goof with me either, this is important ninja stuff!” he replied with false annoyance, his smile becoming genuine as he walked towards him off of the water.

His eyes were better able to see the tall, yet muscled man in a plain, brown tunic approaching.  Despite his pale color and wrinkling face owing to his advanced middle age, he looked more like a sprinter than a mortician, owing to his long years of training and field work as a Shima field medic, and his exercise routine; and considering his jonin-level prowess with ninjutsu, he probably could be deployed at a moment’s notice.  But nowadays, the only true reminder of his former self was a kunai he kept sheathed at his side at all times, both for self-defense and a commemorative talisman of his days as a Shima shinobi.

“Well...son, I’m afraid to say…” he said as he suddenly stopped in his tracks.  “You’re already goofed on.”

Out of reflex, Kaane whipped around to see his real father standing there while the water clone now behind him dissipated into formlessness.  He attempted to leap away, but was already caught by his dad’s ferociously powerful bear hug.



“Can’t let that happen out in the field now dumbbell,” said Nakano as his son squirmed in desperation, before finally accepting that he indeed probably would have died if it was anyone else who had done that to him.


His dad chuckled some as he let go, Kaane rolling his eyes as he tried to shrug it off.  Before he come up with one of the witty ripostes that defined their odd relationship, Nakano cut him off.  “So seeing as you left half of my ninjutsu books on the floor and left only one open to the exact page of the Snake's Mouth Technique, I imagine that’s what you’re going for today, mm?”

 It sometimes legitimately infuriated him how his dad was always one step ahead.  But then again he was the jonin, and Kaane had barely become a ninja in the first place.  He could only grumble a muffled affirmative.

“You’ve got the seals down?”

“Monkey, Rat, Dragon, Tiger, Horse, Dragon, right?”

With a slight wag of his finger, Nakano corrected him: “It’s Monkey, Rat, Tiger, Dragon, Horse, Dragon, but almost.  Now, let’s see what ya got.”

Somewhat put on the spot, Kaane would only nod and attempt it immediately.  After a long while of working in a field where explanations tended to be either overly extensive or truly sickening, he had learned simply to do as he was told without question.

Performing the seals, he would then realize in his haste he had forgotten to think of his aimless chakra.  Though the seals themselves helped him mold it, directing it consciously was another part of the jutsu entirely.  As he was facing the water, he focused on it, directing his chakra towards it in what he hoped was a swirling motion meant to create the whirlpool-like power of the Snake’s Mouth Jutsu.

The water’s surface was disturbed, bubbling in a localized area like a hot spring, but otherwise nothing occurred.

“Yeah…” said Kaane sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his neck, “I didn’t have any time to practice it yet.”

“Well, I’ll show ya how it’s done, and you can follow my lead.  Alright…” Nakano said as he cracked his knuckles, rolling his wrists and casually warming up and stretching his hands.  Before he performed the seals in such a blisteringly fast manner it amazed even Kaane.  He had seen his dad use some medical jutsu in the mortuary, but he never did these seals so proficiently.  

Noticing his amazement, Nakano could only chuckle: “Relax, it’s not that big a deal.  You’ll be right as rain with seals if you put enough work in bud.  Now...where was I...right.  Suiton: Snake’s Mouth Jutsu!”

No sooner than he finished the title, the water about a dozen or so meters out in front of him erupted into a swirling vortex, forming the body and head of a menacing snake.  It was quite something to behold first hand; he could barely contain himself with excitement, knowing that this is what he might be capable of.

However, he didn’t expect the snake to immediately dart towards his position on the lake, the hissing and gurgling of rushing water heralding its inevitable approach.  Kaane leapt to his right in an attempt to dodge, only for the snake to follow in his path, gaining on him.  He felt his sandalled feet touch the water, and his instinctive control of his chakra take effect as he entered into a double backflip in an attempt to gain speed and evade the snake by outrunning it.  But as he launched off the second flip just to see the water beast closer than ever, he knew he only had one recourse.

With the string of handseals he had just learned, he performed the Water Substitution Jutsu just in time for the snake’s maw to crash down on the water he had replaced himself with, appearing slightly off to the side of the rapidly-devolving curved pillar of liquid he had avoided getting swamped by.

Nakano smiled as he congratulated his son with a nod: “Well done; anyways, I think you get what this jutsu’s about then, right?  Keeps your opponent on their toes, makes them worry about both what you and the snake are doing.  As long as you hold the last seal and keep it maintained with your chakra, you can keep your opponent on the run long enough to set up your next attack, after you get him in the position you want.  That simple really!”

Kaane, while still panting a bit from the exertion, also nodded in return.  “Right.  So...my turn?”

“Be my guest.  Just remember, the water inside has to be churning and roiling, spinning at high speeds.  It’s what gives it both its form and power.  Otherwise you’ll get what happened last time.”

With another sign of acknowledgement, Kaane performed the seals at his own pace and focused on a spot of water in front of him, building up his water-natured chakra within him.  He thought of his dad’s words; the need to create a spinning vortex spiraling upwards, the feeling of the energy of a whirlpool inverted and molded into a dangerous (for a C-rank) jutsu.  

An exertion of willpower later, and the chakra he had condensed within him left his body, slipping through the water beneath his feet to a spot about 5 meters away from him.  There wasn’t much else he could do but wait for the jutsu to succeed, while his father looked on.

He saw the spot of water he was focusing on beginning to bubble, before erupting into a glistering spiral, soaring into the air with the head of a snake.  It maintained itself for a few moments, remaining stock-still as it did so, before promptly plummeting down into nothingness along with his ego.

“Hmm...almost,” said his father in a pensive tone.  “You had the first part down, you got it going and gave your chakra form successfully.  But remember, you have to feed some more into it to keep it stable.”

“What?  But…I mean it should be fine, I had the image in mind, and I forced enough chakra into it to make it go!  It was perfect!”

Nakano chuckled some as he walked over to his son.  “Yeah, well, obviously not yet bud.  Have you been able to practice different variants of these kinds of jutsu yet?”

“Uh...not quite yet, no.”

“Alright then.  Tell me, do you ever see Chuunin or other Genin use these kinds of jutsu and wonder what makes their animal imitations act as though they were alive, even though they have nothing close to an actual body?”

“Umm...not really, never, I really haven’t.  Like, ever.  But If this explanation has anything to do with the life insurance companies we deal with, I’m out.”

“Ha, only half of that phrase is needed.  Because quite simply...your jutsu is life.  Your own life given a different form.”

Though Kaane was about to speak up, he was silenced by a gentle hand on his shoulder.  “Your jutsu fell apart because you weren’t in it.  And though some jutsu you can fire and forget about, you can’t with techniques like this.  Remember, this is your chakra, it has to be connected back to you somehow.  Especially if you want this to survive long enough to chase someone around.  Though ninjutsu is made for combat, it’s also an artform.  It’s your life, your soul in every construct you create.  Just remember that when you try again,” he said, finishing with a smile as he began walking away from him again, as if to survey his next moves.  “Also you better remember it, because you can’t move your legs anymore.”

“Okay….wait what!?” yelped Kaane as he realized his legs were rooted to the water beneath him, muscles frozen in a standing position.  “I thought we agreed on no medical ninjutsu being used on me after last April Fool’s!”

“Number one, that was hilarious no matter what you say, and number two, I actually did this for a reason.  Now defend yourself!”

Before the flustered Genin could react, Nakano had performed the seals for the jutsu, a large snake of water forming twenty meters away from Kaane’s position.  Within seconds, it was closing in on him fast.

It would be folly to try a substitution jutsu when his legs were all gummed up like this, and dodging of course was utterly impossible.  While the young ninja knew he needed to defend against this jutsu with his own, he just hoped it would actually work this time around.

He had fractions of a second to remember everything he had been taught; the nature of the water composing the snake, connecting it to his chakra, giving dead, inorganic matter pseudo-life.  Easy.  Totally easy, not ridiculous at all.

Still, it was his only hope to avoid the otherwise inescapable impact.  Weaving the seals for the jutsu, he built up chakra in himself faster than he had ever managed to before.  Something about the fear of the impending pain was forcing its concentration and transformation into the water nature into overdrive, which in the heat of the moment Kaane was grateful for as he forced it out into the water right in front of him.  He made sure to leave a small amount of it in a trail leading back to the tenketsu in his feet, holding the dragon seal in order to maintain it as it formed.

Kaane’s snake broke the surface of the water almost immediately, its frothy, white ridges cresting as it rose to face its enemy, its liquid fangs dripping and glistening with the light of the early afternoon sun.  

Nakano’s snake, meanwhile, had stopped in its tracks, the rushing water it was comprised of sounding almost like a reptilian hiss.  The two jutsu golems stood off and stared each other down for what felt like whole minutes, but the overwhelming, whirling, crashing ambience the two jutsus created were soon broken by the mortician’s voice.

“That’s what I’m talking about!  Now let’s see how you control it!”

Nakano’s snake immediately ducked and curved around to Kaane’s left, attempting to move around Kaane’s snake’s base in the lake to attack him directly.   It prevented the two from crashing into each other, leaving him wide open.

Once again, he had basically zero time to react.  What he had wanted to do initially with his jutsu to defend was no longer a possibility...but there had to be something else.  Though his dad was at times demanding, he would never drop something on him that he couldn’t handle.  There was a way out of this, undoubtedly.

His mind went back to his father’s words about having to have this jutsu be connected to him at all times in order to be successful.  What if...he just cut off the dangerous part of the jutsu from his dad’s control?

Thankfully, he knew exactly how to do it, and his snake responded immediately to his will.  With its highest speed, he used the watery automaton to strike at Nakano’s snake’s midsection, its maw chomping into it in an attempt to disrupt the flow of chakra to its head.  

At first it didn’t seem to work, the rest of its body flying towards Kaane unimpeded.  It would soon be mere inches away from him if it didn’t stop soon.  But within a few moments, it became clear something was wrong with it.  Its momentum halted, no more than a few drops of water splashing on the Genin’s pants before it devolved and melted into formless water once more.

Both jutsu, having returned to the lake from whence they came, he was able to catch a clear view of his father clapping heartily.  “That’sa boy!  Now...I think it’s time to go a little bit more in-depth with this whole ‘living jutsu’ theory, if you don’t mind…”

WC: 2327

Training:

Nakano once again closed the distance with his son as he tapped the same spot on his shoulder before, unfreezing the boy’s legs. “We’ll start with clones,” said the medical-nin with authority, with the air of knowing exactly what he wanted to happen before it even came to pass.  It was that one uncanny thing about him, in Kaane’s eyes; everything always seemed to go as he planned, and in the rare cases proving otherwise, he had at least two or three contingencies at the ready to rectify the situation.

For the moment, however, he was more focused on how tired he was and a little afraid at the daunting prospect of learning advanced clone jutsu.  “Clones?” he asked, stretching his arms above his head to take in a deep breath.  “I mean I do know the regular clone jutsu already...you mean shadow clones and stuff?”

“Pretty much bud.  But before that, we’ll start with something a little simpler for you to work off of.  But really, this exercise isn’t even about you learning how to clone yourself so much as you understanding what I meant about living jutsu.”

Kaane nodded as he continued on with his explanation.  “As you know, you’ve got a chakra network inside you.  It’s what enables you to use jutsu in the first place, by expelling it from varying tenketsu in your body, with different elemental natures, intensities, etcetera ad infinitum.  But with advanced clone jutsu, you do something a little bit different.  Unlike with illusory clones which are just images of yourself, you actually have to recreate your own chakra network, replicate your body’s system as closely as possible, in order to give your clones physical form with the life force you give them.”

“But there’s like...hundreds of chakra points in the body…”

“You don’t need to know every single one.  You’ve seen diagrams before, you know what the general look is.  But perhaps more importantly, you know exactly how your chakra feels inside you,” finished Nakano as he playfully poked his son’s chest where his heart, and the central reservoir of his chakra, resided.  “That’s really all you need.  So without further adieu, let’s get down to it.”

The medical-nin clasped his hands together in the tiger handseal.  Almost immediately, the water at his side began to swirl and rise up, taking a second or so to form fully-fledged copies of Nakano.  They then sprung into action, one using Henge to transform into a caricatured enemy ninja dressed in black from head to toe before they engaged in a mutual spar with each other.

“This is the Water Clone Jutsu.  The clones are weaker than normal shadow clones you’ve heard about, but they still have their uses.  And in regards to what they can ultimately do, they’re only slightly less versatile than their counterparts, as you can already tell.  All they need is a mental direction from you, and they’ll follow it to the best of their ability.”

After the blisteringly fast jonin-level brawl, the clone in Nakano’s likeness delivered a powerful kick to the other, sending it flying and dissipating into water once more, before it itself fell back into the lake it was born from.

“Perhaps, more accurately...your ability.  Though they’re made of water, they’re more made of your lifeblood than anything else.  They’re like an incomplete reflection of yourself.  They have your style of combat, your general abilities in Suiton, your thought processes, even your personality to a degree.  All they’re really missing is a complete physical form...after all, a body made of water isn’t exactly the greatest to have.  Funny story, I met this Hozuki Genin this one time, had a real penchant for completely melting anytime he sneezed-”

“You told me this story a hundred times alreadyyyyy thooooooough!” interrupted Kaane, a slight bit of exasperation in his voice.  “Either up your coolness factor or help me make more of me!  We need more of me in this world already, even if you never seem to agree.....”

“Pfft...my boy as always...alright then, just make the Tiger handseal, and move some chakra throughout your body.  I know you used to study your face and body a lot to get better at regular Bunshin, so we’ll skip that part.  But you need to do the same with your insides as well.”

With an affirmative nod, Kaane closed his eyes and held the tiger handseal, an audible clap resounding as his hands met each other over his chest.  He would begin by focusing on the mass of chakra his hands were just over.  He felt its vibrations, how it hummed the song of his life within him.  He felt it resound throughout his body, flowing like a river to the rhythm of his calmly-beating heart.  
With an exertion of will, Kaane gently pushed it into his hands, feeling his tenketsu in his arms, then his hands, and fingers, become saturated with his life essence.  It was a familiar feeling, but odd when focused in on it so heavily; he could really feel the tingling sensation, the held-back vivacity within his appendages, driving him to an excited peak.  It was as if it was begging to be melded into jutsu, ready to go at any point.  But he knew he had to exercise patience.  There was more of his network yet to explore.

He eventually retracted back his chakra, as slowly as he had forced it into his hands, and returned it to its source.  With a fresh batch of his power, he let it rise through his neck and up to his head, slowly flooding his lungs with it as well.  A feeling of cool wetness overtook his trachea, gentle zephyrs of mist exiting his nose as he exhaled.  His head was somewhat affected internally as well, the pulsing of his chakra almost on the verge of giving him a headache.  But through it, he felt the pathways that supplied the brain with chakra...the many, many avenues for genjutsu attacks as well as their release.

Once again, the Genin returned his chakra to his central core, before pushing it gently downwards, travelling through the pathways in his abdomen.  It would soon access his legs, sinking farther, farther, farther, until it finally pooled around his feet, already currently using chakra to keep him standing on top of the water.  Thankfully he had been mindful of it, making sure the chakra he was busy concentrating on didn’t interfere with the vital process.  At the same time, he felt, once again, how it inundated his chakra points and vessels, maintaining his constant vigilance.

As he brought the chakra back to his heart once more, he opened his eyes.  He wasn’t quite sure how long he took doing that, but at the very least his dad’s face seemed satisfied from his miniature meditation.  “I feel ready,” Kaane said quietly, a determined look in his eye.  He was going to get this, no matter what.

“Good.  Now try projecting what you felt inside of you, the flowing of your chakra, and infuse it with the water nature, as though your chakra were like little streams inside of you instead of pure energy.  Then expel all of that into the water; keep your mind and your heart focused on what you felt then.  With time bringing all of that to mind will be second nature, but for now really think hard on the structures you were just sensing.  Just do that, and you’ve already done the rest.”

With one more silent nod, Kaane closed his eyes once again as he released chakra into his body, filling up each one of his tenketsu with his energy.  As his dad advised, it wasn’t a whole lot; it was just enough to fill up a human-sized body of water completely and still have enough excess left over once sent out to power his real body.  He once more made a mental note of how the chakra felt, where it was, what kind of structure he was working with.

And then, once he felt comfortable enough, he expelled the chakra he had built up, attempting to keep the structure they formed intact.  He directed it to his right side, pushing it into the water beneath the spot he was visualizing.  It took a few moments, but the water began to rise up, swirling as it worked itself into a sort of an amorphous blob.  It was writhing somewhat, as if it were desperately trying to appease its summoner’s desires, before falling apart and hitting the lake’s surface with a splash.

“Not quite,” observed Nakano.  “Try again, but be more mindful of your body this time.  Though the chakra network structure is important, you have to remind yourself of your outward form as well.”

“Right,” replied Kaane as he shook himself off from the attempt before trying again, forming the tiger handseal.  This time, in addition to focusing on how chakra flowed through his body, he thought of his appearance as well.  The little details, like the drops of water he had noticed staining his trench coat, the sweat dripping down his face from exertion, the way his hair was tossing about in the breeze; he had become far more aware of himself since his time as a student.  And it would serve him well today.

Once again, he flooded his entire chakra network with the essence, refining his knowledge of it with experience.  Turning towards his right, he imagined himself standing there, with the network he possessed and his exact appearance.  It was getting somewhat taxing on his mind thinking of all this at once, but he knew his dad could do all that and more.  He had to prove himself to him; there was a time in his life when this jonin, a once-great ninja in his own right, had thought his son shouldn’t have even learned ninjutsu, much less become a shinobi.  To Kaane, it was less a move of protection and more of him being seen as weak by his father; he had to prove himself, especially with him inspecting his every move.  He was a shinobi in name already.  The headband sewn into his scarf was proof of that.  Now, it was time to show it to someone who truly mattered.

The inspiration he needed to keep moving forward was there; that was all he required.

He expelled his chakra from his tenketsu, hoping it would maintain its core essence as it drew water around it.  It wasn’t squirming now so much as it was merely wobbling some; the stability of his jutsu was improving, there was no question about it.  And it seemed to have become stable enough to hold itself up.

But the mass of water soon began to shake and quiver violently, as though it were on the verge of exploding.  

“Hold up with the chakra infusion bud, you’ll destabilize the clone if you throw too much into it!”

Kaane stopped immediately, before watching, relieved, as the elliptical blob began to stop its quaking, settling down, slowly, before beginning to take a more human shape.  The swirling waters at first looked like nothing more than a kid Kaane’s age made entirely out of liquid, reflecting the blue of the sky and the shining sun above with a mesmerizing gleam.  But soon, its surface began to settle, and similar to the illusory effect of the normal clone jutsu, it took his exact appearance, mimicking the smile of amazement on Kaane’s face as he beheld his first success in advanced cloning.

“Hehe, that’s what I’m talking about.  How’s about you give it one more go, just to get it down pat?”


Kaane nodded and focused on the clone itself.  He had heard that they shared a mental link of some sort with the summoner.  So he gave it one, simple command: Dispel.

The clone thankfully listened and allowed its internal chakra to disperse, its watery form following suit.  With one more formation of the tiger handseal, he put everything he learned to work.  Chakra network, check, personal appearance, check, focusing on the water he wanted to use for his jutsu, check.  

Functional clone?  Check.

“Brilliant.  Now like you did before when dispelling it, just try to control it some.”

As his dad was often wont to do, he cut his son off before he had time to question by throwing the kunai sheathed at his side directly at the clone.  It was far enough away from him that Kaane was in no immediate danger, but his clone definitely was.

Dodge was the only word he could think of to send the clone, but it seemed like it knew how to do the rest.  With a slight sound of gushing water, it sidestepped out of the way of the kunai before taking a stance: the exact wide, hunched stance that Kaane would take in ranged combat.  Its right hand was even barely touching the weapons bag on its right hip, just like he did.  It was mimicking his tendencies uncannily, even with the slight smirk of constant amusement on its face.

“You’ve noticed?  Hehe, now I think you get what I mean by living jutsu.  Everything you create has a little bit of you in it, and nothing exemplifies this more than clones like these.  You’re looking at a reflection...not even a reflection, a perfect copy of you.  If a water clone like this could talk, it’d talk like you.  If you want it to fight, it’ll fight like you.  If you need it to make a jutsu, it’ll make a jutsu the way you do.  If you need it to complete a task, it’ll complete a task just as you would.  Clones might be the oldest trick in the book, and they don’t deceive or work on every enemy out there...but I think they teach all ninja the most important thing about being one.”

“Huh?” Kaane asked.

“How to know yourself.  The reason why I and my former squadmates are here today is because I knew who I was in the field.  I knew why I was a medical ninja, and I knew what was required of me at all times.  Self-awareness, bud.  It’s been the key for me.  And now, it’ll be the key for you.  Oh, and look out behind you.”

He barely said the phrase “look out” before Kaane did a complete 180 and leapt backwards on instinct alone.  There was the water snake that he had just learned to create, large as life.  How it had formed silently without his knowing, he had no idea, but it was safe to say he needed to do something about it ASAP.

It was then he realized he had committed a grievous error; he turned his back to his real opponent!  His clone was still facing his dad and knew exactly what he was doing, but now Kaane didn’t.  

He would only have seconds to formulate a plan as the snake suddenly came barrelling towards him.  His father’s speech came to mind...like he had always said, he wouldn’t do anything without leaving Kaane some room to wiggle out of whatever nasty training situation he had concocted.  There had to be something…

If you need it to make a jutsu, it’ll make a jutsu the way you do.

A jutsu...that’s right, a jutsu, his clone could do jutsus!  And if there was one he could use to help him get out of the way of this snake and his father undoubtedly preparing an attack, that would be positively smashing.

It only took mere fractions of a second for the plan to come together after that.

With a mental word, his clone, once standing still, began channeling its chakra as it formed a split tiger handseal.  The Hidden Mist Technique would begin settling in.  

It was then that Kaane would make his own move.  As the water snake and a concentrated stream of water coming from his father’s mouth were about to collide on his position, he once again performed the water substitution jutsu.  This time, under the cover of the mist, his position would be unknown.  So he hoped, anyway; his dad never seemed to use high-level techniques around Kaane, even though he knew he was jonin-level in his prowess, he was extremely good at keeping his tricks a secret, even from his own family.  

Regardless, the young ninja was ready to go on the offensive.  He had teleported directly behind his water clone to grab onto it.  Unsurprisingly, it felt wet, though it had a hard consistency on the surface due to the surface tension binding it to its form.  But he wasn’t there to appreciate how cool his clone looked up close; having it perform the transformation jutsu, it would turn into a kunai.

What he was planning was something he had seen a particularly talented student at the Academy perform to show off in a spar a long while ago, that he had always wanted to try.  Shadow Shuriken Jutsu he called it, something or other.  He’d used it to fool his opponent into thinking there was only one shuriken heading his way when there was in fact a second following right behind.  Though the edges on it were blunted, preventing it from inflicting serious damage when it struck the hapless opponent’s chest, if it weren’t, it would have undoubtedly be a fatal hit.  A simplistic, perfect form of deception.  Why he had thought of it now was beyond him, in fact, one could say it was a moment of divine inspiration.  But he had a feeling it might work.

Grabbing one kunai and throwing it in his dad’s direction, he would soon follow up with the transformed clone, attempting to have it follow in the wake of the first.  Combined with the muffling silence and obstructed vision the mist would impose upon his dad, he was positively sure he wouldn’t notice the second heading his way.  He had then instructed the clone to utilize a little surprise tactic once he came within range of Nakano.  It was a long-shot, fooling a jonin with a parlor trick, but with all this happening within seconds, he hoped it would be fast enough to catch him off-guard.  Even if it failed, it was sure to set him up for another successful attack, and finally gain the edge in the ever-evolving arms race between father and son.

Both kunai would race across the water’s surface, the first’s slight whizzing masking the sound the second was making as it sliced through the chakra-enhanced fog.  As soon as Nakano was within sight of the kunai-clone, standing still to its perception, strangely enough, it would wait until it was barely passing by him to turn back into itself, attempting to land a kick to his dad’s chest with the momentum of the throw aiding it.  Only for it to pass straight through him.

Kaane was listening intently all the while; he heard the sound of water splashing, and assumed his father had dodged off to the side.  He couldn’t tell which way; the mist his clone had made was a bit too thick for that.  But being made of his own chakra, he was able to thin it out enough for him to make out farther in front of him..  Only to see his dad apparently rushing towards him.

To Kaane, he had dodged the attack.  But he sure as heck wouldn’t expect it a second time.

Reaching in his weapons bag, he found two shuriken, hiding them in the palm of his hand, feeling their points press into his palm slightly.  If he threw both at the same time, with one just underneath the other, then it would look like only one was thrown from Nakano’s point of view.  He didn’t have time to calculate all the numbers and possibilities in his mind, but he knew his throwing technique was good enough to handle it.

Transferring both shuriken to the crevice between his index and middle fingers, he would take a moment, waiting between beats of his heart to keep his pulse from screwing up his aim, before throwing them both at once.  One shuriken followed behind the other’s arc successfully, disguised by the latter’s shadow just as effortlessly as he had seen it the first time back in the Academy.  He was already mentally chalking one up; that jutsu nearly got him hurt facing the same guy who used it.

He soon realized the error of his ways, however, as both shuriken passed through the Haze Clone’s immaterial body, before it faded out of existence just as it reached within CQC range.

It was at this exact moment, Kaane knew.  He fucked up.

The real Nakano, swimming undetected in the lake, reached out from beneath the surface just under Kaane’s feet to drag him under, inundating him thoroughly before allowing him to float back to the top with a laugh.

“Pretty slick maneuver there, who the hell taught you that!?”


The soaken-wet Genin merely pouted in response.  “I had you that time!”

“If I was one of your friends at the Academy you probably would have.  Thinking on your feet like that...sheesh...either new Kiri’s really good at teaching shinobi or you’ve got a knack for this bud.”

A slight smile found its way back onto the young ninja’s face as the pair hugged tightly.  

“You think mom would be proud too?” asked Kaane quietly into his dad’s shoulder.

“I’m sure she would be, Kaane.  I’m sure she would be.”


WC = 3604

Training: