Reizo Path to Chuunin Pt. 2

Mission:

A new day, and a new mission. This would be part two of his prerequisites to take the coveted Chuunin Exams. Reizo was shivering in anticipation. Today's mission was going to be a bit more relaxed than the last one. Reizo didn't even have to read through the whole scroll to know that. This time, they had decided to give him the entire mission briefing in full; there were no tricks and no gimmicks. It was straightforward: he was to report to the exam site and perform no fewer than three jutsu he had learned to prove that he had the chakra and jutsu capabilities of a Chuunin. This is going to be a piece of cake. I've been qualified for this almost since the day I became a Genin! The hardest mission is behind me already- stealth was always my weakness. With that gone and out of the way, I should be able to reach Chuunin. Combat and jutsu are my strengths! the Genin boasted in his thoughts. He had just left his house but was already halfway to the exam site, bounding with every step, full of energy.

Suddenly Reizo slowed, almost to a halt. While he had been so busy fantasizing about the future, he hadn't even thought about what jutsu he was going to show his proctors. He wanted to blow them away and leave no doubts that he belonged among the ranks of Chuunin. Maybe if I perform well enough, I can just skip the exams, Reizo chuckled to himself at the thought. That would never happen, not with this Raikage. Still, he already knew some strong jutsu, but he couldn't think of any he had perfected yet that would give him the satisfaction he wanted. He knew an A-rank level blocking technique, and while defense was very valuable, Reizo didn't think the jutsu would be very memorable, nor would it have the flash and pizzazz he was looking for. He wanted to wow the judges, not just earn their nod of approval. Reizo mulled over just winging it all. He was pretty good at that, plus he did have a high ranking jutsu in mind that he had been meaning to try out. It fit all the criteria he was looking for in his jutsu for the exam, so perhaps trying out there wouldn't be the worst idea. He needed a backup plan in case he failed to execute. In the event it failed, Reizo considered, he would probably just go with the block technique. Sure it wasn't the coolest jutsu, but it was still a very high level technique. Either way, he could maybe even demonstrate both.

Reizo regained his step, accelerating into almost a full on sprint. He would have all day to demonstrate his jutsu, so no reason not to at least try and practice the one jutsu he really wanted to show off. Reizo also wanted to make sure he showed some diversity in his jutsu, so he knew for sure he would show off his recently learned Raiton: Jibashi, Electromagnetic Murder. It would show that he was capable in ninjutsu, even though he hadn't chosen to specialize in it. Reizo listed and simulated his demonstration in his head just as he arrived in front of the building's entrance. He paced back and forth in front of the door, deep in thought, considering all the possibilities he had available. "Well... it would make sense to start with that jutsu first, I suppose, since I haven't even mastered it yet. It would at least give me the most amount of time to practice it and execute it. Then I think I'll show off my Taijutsu Style: Block technique. That'll assure the examiners that I have both a very strong offense, and an equally capable defense. Not sure how I'll go about demonstrating my block, but maybe I can get one of them to attack me. Then I'll close out with Raiton: Jibashi. Then any doubts they have about me being a one trick taijutsu pony will be erased. Then they'll have to acknowledge my strength and skill. Maybe I'll show off Senshi's Shadow Shuriken technique as well, to prove I can handle ninja tools proficiently too. It's not the strongest jutsu, but I think simply diversifying my jutsu couldn't hurt. Maybe I should warm up with that, it's very simple," Reizo was muttering to himself when a Jounin level examiner opened the door.

It was Yuki, the same Jounin that had handled his last exam. "Hello again, Reizo. Come in, better to get started sooner rather than later. You'll have all day to worry about your performance, no sense in doing it outside. It's cold out here," she would announce. She was dressed differently today- she still wore her Jounin vest, but she was dressed more for the autumnal season. She wore a short burgundy trench coat that she left open to show off her white Jounin vest. Her vest was layered over a black undershirt. She still kept to the black pants and black shinobi sandals from yesterday, but her indigo hair which had initially been unkempt was now tied back in a ponytail behind her. She looked even prettier than yesterday.

Reizo blushed when she called his name, embarrassed that he had been seen talking to himself. He still took her up on her offer to go inside and warm up and prepare his demonstration. "Like I said, you have all day to demonstrate your jutsu. I was assigned to be your personal proctor for the first two missions, so I'll be the only one watching you today. Good luck, I hope you succeed. I have strict rules and standards to adhere to, however. No pressure, but I've had over 300 Genin come through over the years, and I've never passed one. That said, you'll also one out of only 20 to make it to this stage, so I'll suspend my disbelief. Don't try too hard," Yuki would say, winking at Reizo. Surely she was only kidding, right? She hadn't passed any of the 300 Genin? She must be making that up. They probably have quotas they need to meet. I bet she told all 300 of those Genin the same thing, Reizo rationalized. Still, if all that is true... I can't hold back anything. Forget the plan, I'm going all out.

Yuki escorted Reizo into a chamber where just the two of them would be. It was a shoddy room- junk was strewn about and the wooden walls were in serious disrepair. He was supposed to demonstrate his jutsu here? It looked like the whole place would collapse before he even started. Yuki shut the creaky door behind her. "Now then, let's go. Hold on tight, you might feel a little dizzy or nauseous," Yuki would say, beginning to weave some hand signs. Ending on a Ram handsign, the whole room would seem to melt and spin, like they were inside a washing machine. Reizo felt his knees buckle as he lost his sense of direction. The floor even seemed to disappear, he wasn't sure what was rightside up anymore. After only 10 seconds the spinning stopped and the two were in an open range. Nothing but rocks and plateaus as far as the eye could see. The only remnants of the room they were once in was the dinky wooden chair that looked like it belonged in a centuries old school house. Yuki took her seat and gestured to Reizo to begin, noting, "For someone that has an awful lot to say when no one's around, you're terribly quiet in company. I can somewhat respect that- silence is a virtue in the ninja world, after all. Go ahead, impress me."

Reizo blushed again. So she had noticed him talking to himself. How awkward. Her last words were likely supposed to sound intimidating, but to Reizo they were nothing but inspiration. Impress her? I'm going to do way more than that, he thought. Something suddenly occurred to Reizo. He was able to summon Futachimaru- that alone was a Chuunin level jutsu. He could summon him, train with him a little, and even use Futachimaru as a way to show off his Block Technique. Reizo closed his eyes and bowed his head, raising his dominant right hand up to his mouth. "Okay, I'll start! My first jutsu- the Summoning Technique," Reizo said, biting his thumb immediately afterward, his eyes still closed. Reizo chomped on the pad of his thumb with his canine teeth, drawing blood. Reizo quickly formed the required hand signs; he had become accustomed to them and felt himself getting faster at them every time he used it.  Boar → Dog → Bird → Monkey → Ram; he weaved each one in rapid succession. Reizo slammed his palm to the ground, noting that it was certainly rock and not the wooden floor he had anticipated, expecting himself to still be in the room, just altered from a genjutsu. "Summoning Jutsu!" Reizo would call out, a puff of smoke exploding from underneath him as the jutsu was performed (R: 177/207 AP; B-rank Summon). As the smoke cleared, Futachimaru appeared. Yuki tilted her head in mild amusement. "I hope that's not your grand spectacle of a jutsu," she would say cynically. In her head, however, she took a keen note of the otter's chakra levels. It seemed all too familiar. Yuki quickly recognized that this was the chakra she had felt during the first examination. It wasn't a shadow clone, or Reizo himself that created the distraction, but rather this otter. It was a clever trick he had pulled, yesterday. The otter was strong, there was no doubting that in Yuki's mind. She passed Futachimaru off as a B-rank summon.

The otter was not pleased with Yuki's comment. "You're the one from yesterday. You dare insult MY pride, and my master?" he would threaten. The scene was almost comedic- a 3 foot something otter yelling at a Jounin in a position of authority. Yuki perked up a bit more, even more amused than before. This otter is quite the character. I was just starting to like Reizo too, seems like he's doomed to fail, though. Hidden rule #1, you attack me, I fail you on the spot. My authority, much like any senior shinobi's, is law. In this village, you obey your superiors or you don't get to think ever again, Yuki thought to herself, a sly grin finding its way on her lips. Futachimaru had already begun weaving hand signs, and despite Reizo's pleading with Futachimaru to calm down, the otter continued to fume, his anger coming to a boil. It didn't matter what Reizo asked him to do anymore, her actions were inexcusable to him.

Futachimaru finished his hand signs:  Dragon → Tiger → Hare, and announced his jutsu. "Water Style: Water Trumpet!" (F: 263/300 AP; Water Trumpet; Speed: 30)  Yuki's ears perked up at the jutsu. So he was a B-rank summon after all, she concluded. That's one of the strongest anti-unit water ninjutsu. Impressive, it's too bad I have to fail him for not controlling his summon, he seems like a nice kid. Yuki began weaving hand signs for Earth Style: Earth Wall, when Reizo Body Flickered halfway between her and Futachimaru (R: 167/207 AP; Body Flicker, Speed: 72). Reizo lowered his body and straightened his back leg, as though he were getting ready to push something heavy. Reizo raised his hands up to his head height, straightening his arms, and forming a triangle with his index fingers and thumbs. The water jutsu collided full force with the Genin, who managed to hold it back nearly effortlessly. Water gushed out from the sides around Reizo, but Reizo himself and anything behind, Yuki included, remained completely dry and untouched. Yuki paused mid hand sign as she saw Reizo hold back a B-rank water ninjutsu- one that nearly had the power of an A-rank- with relative ease (R: 127/207, Taijutsu Style: Block (A-rank)). The water stopped, and Futachimaru's eyes widened when he saw that he had essentially attacked Reizo. "Boss... I'm... so sorry. I didn't mean to- I didn't know you felt so strongly. I'll refrain from such assumptions in the future," he would say, clearly dejected as his head hung low. Reizo lowered his hands and relaxed himself. He began to walk back toward Futachimaru, and Yuki made sure to observe the Genin's hands. There was no damage to them at all, they were just a little bit wet. Even a B-rank defense would've forced him to take some damage. He has an impressive defensive jutsu for a Genin. That attack was certainly not staged- that was a full force Water Trumpet, Yuki thought, settling back into her seat. Maybe he's salvaged his chances just yet. However, he has to show me more than that. Having a strong defense isn't enough to be a Chuunin. Hidden Rule #2: you must show an equal display of both offensive and defensive capabilities, and they must be significantly above what a Genin can do. After all, you're here to show off your three best jutsu, Yuki confirmed to herself.

"Don't worry about it, Fu-kun. Please though, stop calling me that. Just call me Reizo," the boy would say, putting his right hand on Futachimaru's shoulder. Fu looked up to Reizo and their eyes met. Fu's eyes watered up, half in disappointment, but half in relief that Reizo was so understanding. It was a small bonding moment for the two. Then, just as soon as he had arrived, Fu disappeared in a cloud of smoke, Reizo having desummoned him. "Okay, I'm ready to show you my real jutsu now," Reizo would say, turning toward Yuki. It was time for him to unveil THAT jutsu.

Reizo had been working on the jutsu in practice, but he hadn't yet completely developed it. In this high pressure situation, however, it felt like the perfect environment to test it out and show just how ready he was to become a Chuunin. Reizo closed his eyes and began meditating, focusing on deep inhales and exhales, and gathering and releasing his chakra at the correct points. Daytime Tiger was a very potent jutsu, and one that would require extreme concentration and physical prowess.

For ten minutes, Reizo just stood there, gathering his chakra, his arms at his sides and his legs spread apart slightly. Nothing seemed to be happening around him, but within his mind and his body, Reizo was activly trying to stimulate every cell in his body with his chakra, with mixed success. Yuki recognized that this was going to take a while, so she pulled out her new book - "Make Out: Paradise"- to read in the meantime. She had expected Reizo to slow down the pace of the exam. The Genin were afforded the whole day to demonstrate their abilities, and Reizo had already blown through the first half of the mission in about 5 minutes. Yuki slumped back in her chair and became absorbed in the novel, the first of the trilogy.

Reizo was still trying to focus his chakra correctly. If he had understood the scrolls regarding the Daytime Tiger jutsu, he was in fact, not supposed to use his chakra in the actual attack. Still, the use of chakra was imperative in hitting the necessary speed and power necessary to create a punch strong enough to deliver the energy he needed. After showing little progress in over half an hour, Reizo started to doubt himself. There was no way he was going to be able to master this jutsu in a single day. Had he completely overestimated his abilities? An A-rank Taijutsu wasn't something he could just "wing it" for, as he had thought so arrogantly before. Still, he had nothing but time to at least make progress on it. Worst comes to worst, Reizo decided, he could just use Ration: Jibashi and hope that would satisfy the requirements. Even if I use Raiton: Jibashi, what would my third jutsu even be? Leaf Hurricane? That's too basic... do I really not know any stronger Taijutsu? And I'm supposed to be specializing in it? Tch... I guess I really do need to learn this. I haven't studied any other Taijutsu recently, I'll have to make this work. I still have 16 hours to learn this thing. I don't think I've ever spent even half that training in one sitting before, so maybe that is enough time to get this jutsu down, Reizo calmed himself. He didn't even realize that he had already shown his highest level of Taijutsu Style: Block, and so he only needed one more jutsu to display. Even if he showed Raiton: Jibashi, however, odds were against him that Yuki would advance him after showing a B-rank summon and a C-rank ninjutsu. Defensive maneuvers were important, but it was still a jutsu for self-defense, and it really didn't seem all that impressive, even though it was an A-rank defense how Reizo had used it.

Reizo decided to sit down to better rethink his plans, his meditations, and to relax himself. He was getting too stressed out over the whole process. He knew his own abilities, and he knew in his heart of all hearts that he was good enough for Chuunin. All he needed to do was convince Yuki that he was worthy of the title. It would be easy enough, Reizo had the right physiology and mentality to do it. The Genin crossed his legs Indian style and put his left hand into his right hand, open and relaxed, in front of his stomach. Whenever Reizo went through a difficult period or a roadblock in his training, he would get in the habit of putting himself in this position. It was easier for him to clear his mind and think about all the things he had done that had lead him up to this point. Reizo wasn't even focusing his chakra anymore, at this point he was just gathering his thoughts and silently praying for the strength to overcome this obstacle as well. He wasn't particularly religious, but when things got tough, he always found strength in the unknown. It gave him something to believe in, hope.

In his mind, Reizo was dwelling on the past. He believed that the answers to the future, lied in the past, and that by looking into who he was, he'd be able to see what he'd become. To an outsider it might've seen rather pointless, but doing these mental exercises were really helpful for someone like Reizo; he had a lot of energy and had good focus, but had trouble planning properly. Once he had a plan, though, everything made sense to him. He saw the ninja world much like a game. He had his attributes, his strengths, his weaknesses, and his own "game sense" or intuition to guide him. Whenever he put training or combat into terms like this, it all became lucid. Since he was a child, Reizo always excelled at games and at figuring things out; training was much like this. He just needed to figure out the right combination and hit the proper execution and he truly believed he could do anything he wanted. The only thing he felt that ever limited him was his own body, but training that would come with time.

Reizo reflected on his previous Taijutsu training. Up until now, all of his Taijutsu training had been purely physical. He recalled learning how to fight when he was just a toddler, learning hand to hand combat from his father, until he was reported missing in action. He remembered his growth and his inspiration and motivation to become stronger. He remembered all the frustrations and shortcomings he had come across through his Academy days, yet he worked through them and persevered. He remembered when he graduated from the Academy and the taste of victory and the satisfaction of finally making it- that all of his hard work had paid off. He remembered every time before today where he had gotten into his meditative stance, and how he had worked through his problems each and every time prior. There were times where his meditation wasn't enough, but in the end it always worked out, even if it wasn't the way he had planned or hoped. This time would be no different. Reizo promised himself that even if he failed, he wouldn't let it be the end or succumb to his failures- he would power through it just as he always had in the past. Reizo mulled over these thoughts for over half an hour, yet Yuki didn't even seem to notice this. Either that, or she simply didn't care. Reizo had regained the inspiration and the motivation and drive he needed to work through this ordeal. What did he have to lose? Even if he failed, he knew he would still succeed. He had the perseverance and resilience to see it all through to the end, and that was what he felt was truly important. It was a quality that few possessed, and all of the shinobi that had that quality that Reizo could think of, had been successful. The will to never give up trumped all other ambitions, in Reizo's mind.

Reizo finally opened his eyes, having concluded that in order to use the jutsu, he would need to put in the time to not only understand the Daytime Tiger and how to perform it, but also practice the motions. Reizo had memorized the hand sign he needed to perform. It was somewhat foreign to him, but he recalled that many of the hand signs were derived from meditative religious practices. Still, just knowing what to do was but a drop in the water of the level of strength and execution this jutsu would require. He would need to stimulate every cell in his body and use no less than 100% of his full power to perform it correctly. Should he mess up, it could leave him seriously injured or at the very least fatigued. Reizo wanted to make sure he got it right on the very first try after preparing all of the correct motions. He didn't want to add chakra in until then.

The Genin stood back up on his feet and began to go through the motion of the jutsu. To an observer, it very much looked like he was going through motions akin to Tai-Chi. Reizo would appear to gather his hands up through the core of his body, and then strike with one punch. Reizo would do the same, but use both hands. He would repeat this quick burst of energy and power in a strike over and over again, trying to thrust his momentum outward. He wanted to mimic this sudden thrust for Daytime Tiger. It would require a ton of power and energy to be able to throw his weight into a single blow, especially considering his small size. Still, Reizo knew he had the strength to perform the jutsu, he just lacked the discipline to utilize his full body strength for one single attack. He needed to work on that first in order to ensure the jutsu was correctly performed.

The blonde haired boy struggled to understand how he could possibly get his full strength to manifest itself in a single attack. If he could manifest his strength, the rest of the jutsu would fall into place, but Reizo heavily struggled with this one part. Overcoming this barrier would at the very least allow him to focus on the finer details of the jutsu itself, but learning to use his whole body for one attack... it was difficult.

Two hours had passed, and Reizo had started to make some progress with his attacks. He managed to accelerate his punch to a speed where a pocket of air could be felt and even seen to the naked eye. Still, it was only a small bubble of air, but it was definitely progress. Reizo recalled his training of the Leaf Whirlwind and how he needed to use his chakra to finally complete the amount of power that the jutsu had needed. He hadn't been doing the kick wrong, but it was the addition of chakra that granted him the full power of the jutsu. He was pretty certain in this case, however, the actual jutsu would require a much higher base of understanding without the chakra infused just yet. A small blow of wind wouldn't create the huge vacuum and the following explosion that he knew the jutsu entailed. Reizo paused for a brief moment and glanced over at Yuki, who was still engrossed in her new book. She seemed to be at peace and Reizo didn't want to bother her, so Reizo didn't bother to ask. He simply walked about 30 meters to where one of the rock pillar plateaus was, and tested the amount of power the air his punch generated had. He surmized that he would need to be able to at least match the power of his regular punch in order to properly execute the level of power needed for the Daytime Tiger.

The rock pillar was about 15 meters in radius and 40 meters in height. It was pretty large, but nothing extraordinary. Reizo remembered that the specific motion he needed for the vacuum wasn't necessarily a punch, but rather the combination of an open palm and the punch itself. The open palm would at least increase the radius of the blase. First, he tested how strong his regular punch was. Walking to just a few meters to the left of the center of the pillar, Reizo wound up a full punch with his right fist and fully extended, striking the rock while stepping in with his left leg, pivoting with his hips to gain the most momentum. The rock face cratered and crumbled to show a dent measuring about 5 meters across and a meter deep. That was the extent of his bare naked punch. It was far larger than Reizo had thought he was capable of, so he was proud of the progress he had made since he became a Genin. Next Reizo stepped 10 meters to his right and attempted to do the same thing, but with the technique required for the Daytime Tiger. He put his left palm about a foot in front of his face, and struck it with his right fist in a quick, hammer-like fashion, pivoting using his right elbow, his arm becoming a pendulum of sorts. The wind that was produced was certainly bigger than that he had achieved with just his punch alone, but when it struck the cliff face, Reizo was sorely disappointed. The attack had at least shown some apparent damage, but it only barely caved the surface in, and was only about a foot across and a few inches deep. It looked like something he would've made in the Academy after continuous training and punching the same point over and over again.

Reizo hadn't noticed Yuki move, but when he backed away to try again, he was startled when he saw her in her dinky wooden chair, reading her little novel, out of the corner of his eye. He quickly relaxed himself and refocused on the task. Getting a grip on himself, Reizo tried to call his energy back and stimulate every cell in his body, just as he had done prior to his meditation. This time, he was succeeding. All he needed to do was relax and imagine the energy and chakra flowing from one point to another, all throughout his body. He directed it all to his hands, but still refrained from releasing his chakra all out. He didn't feel comfortable attempting the full Daytime Tiger just yet. He needed to convince himself that he was able to create a crater using the air that was at least comparable to that from his fist. Reizo closed his eyes for a brief moment as he moved back into the stance to practice the jutsu. After recollecting all of his energy, Reizo released a stronger attack, this time actually grunting quite loudly from the effort. He hadn't intended to, but it was an unexpected byproduct of the amount of force he was directing into his attack. Reizo didn't even notice how oddly quiet the whole trial had been up until that point. Aside from his attacks on the rock face, he hadn't said a word and neither had Yuki for over 3 hours. There was no wild life around, just crag and wasteland.

The air pressure struck the cliff face with great force, the sudden explosion of sound and the sediment from the destroyed rock finally attracting Yuki's attention. The crater that was formed was even larger than that of his initial punch. In just one attempt, Reizo had figured out what took him over 3 hours to learn. It was this type of explosive knowledge gain that made Reizo so special. It was like an innate talent or intuition he had- his "game sense", where things just all made sense once he figured out some small detail. Reizo found the resolve he was searching for; he believed he was now ready to try the full Daytime Tiger. Yuki pulled out a bookmark from her coat, and crossed her legs to observe. She knew full well that Reizo was about to show something off. She had been intrigued by the sudden growth of strength in Reizo's taijutsu, but more interesting was his sudden change in composure and resolve. This was the look of a shinobi. Now it was time to see if he had the power to match the resolve. Yuki put her book away, tucked inside her trench coat.

Reizo was breathing a little heavier now, his training finally coming to a peak. He finally was able to show off his jutsu, despite being slightly fatigued from these past 6 hours of straight training. "Sorry to keep you waiting, but I've figured it out now," Reizo would say, with a mild grin on his face. Yuki smiled and realized that it would be best to get out of the way from the impending jutsu. Just as Reizo had stepped back to where they had originally been, 30 meters back out of the way, she had followed suit and done the same. Reizo begin to grunt and even yell a little as he focused his chakra, stimulating all the cells in his body in the process. Sand, dirt, and dust began to circle around him in a large radius around him. The wind and debris forced Yuki to shield her eyes with one hand, but she made sure to continue observing. Just what type of jutsu was he about to demonstrate? Yuki wondered. Whatever it was, it had a lot of power behind it. Reizo's chakra became a visible aura around him, encircling him and creating a chaotic tornado of chakra, wind, and debris with himself as the focal point for all the action. Reizo lowered himself into the proper stance, his left palm in front of his face, just as he had practiced. In an instant, his right fist snapped against the back of his left hand and a huge gust of streamed forward in the direction of the plateau he had been practicing on. The enormous explosion of energy forced Yuki to stand and brace herself, the chair splintering and being tossed and tumbled into the wasteland. She was now peaking out between both arms with one eye, trying to get a glimpse of the jutsu that was unfolding before her. This power... where did he get it from? Only a few hours ago he was struggling to even produce a modicum of this chakra, and yet now he seemed to be on a totally different level. He had completely fulfilled one of the purposes of this stage. It wasn't just to show off a set of jutsu, but it was also to demonstrate how one thinks and learns and incorporates their jutsu. He would make a fine Chuunin, so long as he passes the third hidden rule. Yuki's personal Hidden Rule #3: A Chuunin must show a diverse skillset of jutsu, and prove to be able to correctly apply them, Yuki thought to herself, as she struggled to even hold her balance in the face of all the gusting wind.

Reizo's eyes widened at the results of his training. Still, he had only fulfilled one part of the jutsu. The vacuum of wind slammed into the pillar. It was even larger than the pillar itself, and had completely decimated the surface of the bottom half, sinking in and almost bifurcating it. Reizo then formed the appropriate handsign that resembled a tiger. The manifestation of a tiger emanated from Reizo's person. A huge tiger head engulfed the vacuum wind stream that had come about from the initial strike. The tiger sped along the path and soon collided with the crag 30 meters away. This completely destroyed the bottom half of the cliff, causing the upper half to become airborne. "Dayyyytime TIIIIIIGERRR!" Reizo yelled a furious grunt over the whipping sounds of the wind, causing the tiger to explode, engulfing all of the area in front of Reizo in roaring wind and debris. The ground seemed to even part as it was impacted by the jutsu, and the cliff face the jutsu had collided with had been all but completely obliterated by the jutsu (R: 87/207 AP; Daytime Tiger).

The wind died down as Reizo relaxed his muscles, his hair settling back into place almost perfectly lock for lock on his head. Yuki finally managed to lower her guard as well, as the jutsu subsided. Small debris and sediment was still falling around the two, but for the most part the calm had returned. The only indication that anything had happened was the now scarred earth from Reizo's jutsu, showing a trailing cone that expanded to a huge crater where the pillar had been, and extending as a cone even further beyond that for a few meters. Reizo was pretty exhausted from the jutsu and had put his hands on his knees, nearly doubling over. Yuki was actually about to complement the Genin when a large shadow loomed over her head. Some of the larger boulders from the cliff face were now hurtling toward the pair. Most would miss and crash with a loud thud on either side of them, but one in particular was about to crash onto Yuki. She prepared her hand signs for some other type of Earth jutsu, but Reizo was already in action with his own, having noticed it before Yuki from his perspective. Yuki thought she was about to have to fail him, once again, and bitterly disappointingly so, but Reizo was able to weave the handsigns for Raiton: Jibashi just in time. "Lightning Style: Electromagnetic Murder!" Reizo called out the name of the jutsu (67/207 AP; Raiton: Jibashi). Lightning sprung forward from his hands and connected with the boulder that was about three times the size of the Jounin. It quickly danced around the entire surface of the missile and dismantled it into smaller and smaller rocks, until it was nothing but pebbles and dust as it was about to meet Yuki. Once again, Yuki had stopped just before the final hand sign. This kid is really pushing his luck today, but he proved himself more than capable of competing at the Chuunin level. And with that last jutsu... he fulfilled all three of my hidden rules. He recognized an applicable situation for both completing the trial and a proper usage of a fairly advanced ninjutsu. That and his summoning proved he's more than just a Taijutsu specialist, and yet his Taijutsu prowess took the most presence in this trial. He'll be a fine shinobi, for sure, Yuki concluded.

Exhausted, Reizo was brought to his knees. He had to ask about the results. With that lightning ninjutsu, Reizo had figured he had performed all three jutsu as necessary, and wanted to hear Yuki's comments. "I've performed my three jutsu now... was that- was that good enough? Do I pass? Surely none of those 300 Genin have ever done THAT before," Reizo asserted. He was eager to hear the results. In almost all cases, Reizo was a harsher grader of himself than any observer. He had passed in his own mind, so he knew he almost certainly had to pass in Yuki's. Still, there was a chance that Yuki had intentionally been failing all the past Genin to keep up some sense of ego and reputation, which worried him. It might've been a game of politics after all, not one of merit. "Well you're certainly right about that. No Genin has ever come close to making me fail them multiple times in one trial. But... none of them have ever impressed me with their jutsu in quite the same way, either. Plus you were able to pick yourself up out of those poor circumstances. You advance," the Jounin responded.

Those last words were the best things Reizo had heard all day, and he nearly collapsed from the sudden rush of energy despite his weakened state. The wasteland seemed to twist and turn just as it had when the two had been transported to it at the start of the trial, and Reizo immediately fell over, unable to actually keep himself upright from exhaustion. The two were back in the dinky room, but the chair was still missing- it had truly been blown away from Reizo's jutsu. Yuki opened the door and gave Reizo a final proposal: "You're truly the first Genin I've ever passed. You have no idea how long I've been waiting for this moment. Would you like to join me for dinner to celebrate? You must be hungry too, it's been nearly 7 hours. Just be aware that although I can give you my strongest recommendation, ultimately whether you pass or fail is not on me. You'll be notified tomorrow," Reizo's stomach grumbled at the mention of free food, and he gladly accepted the invitation, nodding at Yuki's warning. The two headed off together into the night, which was strange to Reizo as the wasteland he had just performed in still had the sun out. Yuki made sure to keep her space-time jutsu a secret from Reizo, however, as they made their way back into the heart of the village for dinner.

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6442/6000 words
Jutsu Performed:
Summoning Jutsu: B-rank Summon (Futachimaru)
Body Flicker
Taijutsu Style: Block (A-rank)
Daytime Tiger
Raiton: Jibashi

Mission Rewards:
3000 Ryo
7 AP
10 Stat Points
Permission to do Part 3
400 Ryo: Complete 2 D-Rank or higher Missions
600 Ryo: Complete 2 C-Rank or higher Missions

Jutsu Learned:
Taijutsu Style: Block (A-rank) 1000/1000 words
Daytime Tiger 4000/4000 words[/b]

approved