Sento's Soggy Adventure

You know when you wake up really early and the rest of the world still seems to be asleep, not just the people but the entire ecosystem around you. Only a few faint sounds of crickets and birds to accompany you? Well that was what sento felt right now as he leaned against the solid metal railing on the balcony of his third story apartment, wearing nothing but his pajama pants and some slippers. The sun hadn’t risen yet and honestly he didn’t know why he was up at such a time, maybe it was because he was getting used to the routine early morning missions. All he knew was that before he had made gennin, waking up to a view like this was a rarity. But now it seemed to becoming more and more of a familiar scene, one of the many perks to his position as a gennin.

Still slightly tired his arms would instinctively lurch upwards as he felt a yawn approaching from the center of his body and projecting itself out of his mouth. In an attempt to wake himself up one of the raised hands would find itself pressing against his face and pulling down underneath his eyelids as if to force them open, while the other dropped to its normal position and the rest of his body made its way back into the bedroom behind him.

The bedroom would appear as if the young senju was a member of the military, which in reality he technically was. It was spotless, no dirty clothes on the floor but instead resting firmly in the hamper in the far corner. His shelves were free of clutter and his bed was already instinctively made from the moment he had rolled out of it, you could practically bounce a ryo coin off of the damn thing. Noticing the change from his dirty room during his academy days he couldn’t help but take a bit of pride in himself as he realized how much his position as a gennin was changing his lifestyle for the better, during the academy he had been lazy and messy. Now he found himself waking up at five in the morning and walking into a perfectly clean room.

It was needless to say a pleasant 180 degree flip in the right direction. But he couldn’t spend the whole day patting himself on the back for his self improvements, as much as he’d like to he desperately needed to get some training in and just hadn’t the time for such intensive self worship. Instead of just standing there his feet would move towards the dresser where his clothes were kept and would pry at the wooden cabinet, until it came open, revealing seven of the exact same outfit because every cartoon character wheres the same exact clothes every day and sento’s no different. But hell you gotta be sanitary about it. So here we are, with seven copies of the same exact outfit.

His pale hands would flicker inwards and reach out to the closest green hoodie and he’d tuck it underneath his armpit as he slammed the door shut and dropped the pajama pants, leaving him in his boxers. Then he’d slip the green hoodie on over his snow white hair covered head. Lifting the pajama pants up he’d toss them using only one hand across the room and watch as they landed harmlessly in the hamper that had been mentioned earlier. “Alright now I just gotta put on some pants”

As you can imagine his next step was to do just that, and it went off without a hitch. After all he had been doing it since he was a child and it wasn’t the most complicated of tasks. Now fully dressed Sento opted to leave his headband behind, the shine on the metal leaf symbol was beginning to fade as he went on more and more missions, things like dirt and mud staining it the longer he had it. He figured since he had no missions today and planned to do nothing but train there was really no point in exposing it to further wear and tear.

Exiting his room he’d walk out towards the wooden front door of his apartment. The journey there was nothing splendid and really not worth describing, as it was just another monotonous task one might come across in their own daily life. As he came close to the door he’d open it to reveal the outdoors world he had observed earlier from the balcony in his pajamas. This time he’d observe the slight difference from the several minutes he had been awake however. On the balcony the sky had been pitch black, but now it had been replaced with a grey tint revealing what seemed to be storm clouds approaching, now visible thanks to the sun that had surely risen but remained concealed behind the gigantic wall of grey that crossed the horizon.

“Well that’s just perfect weather for training” The young yellow eyed gennin would think to himself as he stepped onto the dusty dirt streets of Konoha. Still very early in the day Sento would note that not a single person occupied the path in front of him, a nice change of pace from his usual training hours in the afternoon where he often found himself pushing through crowds of people in order to get wherever he may be heading.

It seemed he’d be alone with his thoughts for the morning and honestly he didn’t much mind it. He was quickly finding that he wasn’t the best in social situations. The librarian was living proof of that. “So what should I learn today” The thought was a necessary one, and desperately needed to be answered, he hadn’t planned to wake up this early… Or to use the time for training and thus had done no research in the matter. He figured that the best way to run through what he might want to learn though would be to find out the strengths and weaknesses of his current techniques and figure out where he needs to improve.

The first thing that came to mind was his wood techniques, after all it was his clan's kekkei genkai and what he had primarily focused on once graduating from the academy. It was with most certainty his greatest asset and the three techniques he had learned that relied on wood release covered a wide range of capabilities. Wood cutting for one gave him a great close range defense option, and could ward of weaponry and tai based users. While the wood clone technique allowed him the ability to deal with multiple combatants at once, and foo dog heads worked both defensively and offensively. After running through the three techniques in his head he’d make a mental note. “Alright guess I can take a break from wood release”

As he broke his concentration momentarily he’d begin to realise that the sun was rising and day was breaking. The empty streets were still for the most part vacant but farmers and traders could be seen emerging from their homes to tend to their crops and ready their shops before the crowds of Konoha began to emerge throughout the day. And as this was happening he could hear the distant clap of thunder rolling in with the storm clouds. Hearing this reminded him of a trick his father had taught him as a kid and he turned to face the stormcloud in the distance waiting in anticipation to use the skill. Mere seconds later he’d see a flash of lightning and watch it vanish in silence, patiently awaiting the accompanied thunder as it happened while also counting out the seconds it would take to happen. He made it to six before the loud boom rang in his ear, which told him that the storm was just over a mile away, and would reach the village relatively soon.

With the new information in mind he began to make plans for dealing with the weather, he didn’t fear the rain, in fact he typically found comfort in it… all aspects of the outdoors allured him in an almost instinctual way that he often credited to his clan's connection with nature. Now he would abandon the previous concept of the boring and monotonous method, where he’d individually run through all of his jutsu’s pros and cons and weigh them out to see what benefited him. This time a simple idea would pop into his head instead. “If I’m gonna get wet anyways, I might as well learn some more water techniques”

He could now see the rain and hear the patter of the droplets hitting the dirt road, not particularly wishing to get wet just yet he swiveled his head and his yellow eyes would focus on a canopy that appeared to made of straw that overlooked some ragged looking shop on the left side of the street. Figuring it would make as good a cover as any the senju would begin to jog through the street until he reached the safety that it provided, racing against the rain as he did so. He wasn’t superhuman that was for sure, and he’d make a mental note of it as the sprinkling rain began to splat against him a couple seconds before he made it to the cover in front of him.

Here the senju would stand slightly drenched, his white hair soggy and drooping down, instead of being in its usual spiky state. And hundreds of little spots would rest on his green jacket, causing the fabric to appear darker wherever the raindrops had hit, in response he’d shake his hair much like a dog would in a futile attempt to dry it before hearing a slightly annoyed groan originating from directly behind him. It appeared he wasn’t the only one who had sought the shelter of the canopy. He of course turned around to meet the face of the person he had obviously just sprinkled with water from his hair intending to apologize and came face to face with a rather elderly man.

Before he had the chance to apologize however he felt a cane slap into his rib cage. “Watch what you're doing you damn kid!” Sento’s hands would instantly clutch the place he had been struck in some kind of attempt to alleviate the pain while the rest of his body instinctively hunched over in pain. The man had knocked the wind out of him in a single blow, and he couldn’t help but take note of how effortlessly landed the blow. He’d address it later but first intended to express his growing displeasure with the behavior of the elderly in the village. They all seemed to be just straight up assholes.

“What the hell is with you old people these days! He’d say as he gasped for a fresh breath of air. His legs would crouch as he did so and he’d find himself lowering his ass to the ground and laying flat on his back in an attempt to restore himself to proper breathing patterns. “how in the hell did you swing so fast! I couldn’t even see it coming” He’d shout out as soon as the previously mentioned breathing patterns were restored. His eyes which had been closed ever since he had laid flat on his back would open after the conclusion of the sentence and would be greeted with the wrinkly image that was the elderly man’s face. This time however he had a little bit more time to inspect it and could clearly make out the Konoha headband that rested underneath his long grey hair. He’d also see that the man was reaching out a hand that appeared to be offering to help sento up off the ground. The other hand was resting on his cane. “Get up you crybaby, is this what our gennin are made of these days. Letting an old man like me get the better of them?”

It was becoming quickly apparent that this man had some form of military background, although Sento guessed it was long behind him and that he was simply wearing the headband for nostalgia purposes. And in response sento would reach up to meet the man's grip, and would feel his body being lifted up before he felt himself landing firmly on his feet now once more standing face to face with the man. He was about to ask him if he was a retired shinobi before he was interrupted by another loud clap of thunder, and flashing light in the sky which no doubt originated from a bolt of lightning.

The pause was enough to make him hesitate and the old man that he still didn’t know the name of took advantage of that very hesitation before electing to speak before sento even had the chance to start. “then I guess I’ll just have to whip you into shape, Training ground 7, 2 hours… Be their if you want to learn a thing or two, or not if you're content with senior citizens beating the shit out of you” Sento was still shocked when the man finished his sentence and frankly at a loss for words, simply watching as the man turned around and vanished at the nearest street corner.

As the image of the man disappeared Sento remained still for a second trying to process what had just happened. First he had gotten physically assaulted by a senior citizen, then he had fallen to the ground, and then the man had offered to train him out of the blue. Still having not decided on what kind of jutsu he figured this was pretty much a call from the heavens, and who was he to deny such a call. Whatever this man was willing to teach him he’d learn, after all the growing bruise on his ribcage was living proof of the man's inherent skill, and Sento could use a bit of finesse in his shinobi training.

There was just one problem that desperately demanded his attention in such a plan. The only training ground that he actually knew the location of was training ground three, the one near his house. And the man had asked for him to meet him at training ground seven, without so much as giving him directions to the location, almost assuming that Sento would know where it was. Frustrated the white haired senju would let out a sigh, as he observed the streets that were quickly filling with puddles in the middle of the thunderstorm, and came to the realization that he was going to have to do some sight seeing in the weather.

To a normal gennin this might have been unappealing news, but to sento he simply perceived it to be another great adventure, a memory that would surely last, and a challenge that he would strive to complete. It was his nature.

Taking a deep breath he’d sprint with his arms waving wildly into the massive downfall or rain that seemed to be stretching across the entirety of the village, blanketing the streets in liquid and puddles. His clothes would instantly get drenched, as he continued to patter across the street, and his eyes would focus on a fire escape with a low hanging ladder in the nearby alleyway. The yellow eyes would follow the metal structure to the top of what seemed to be a six story building and could instantly tell that it would make a great vantage point for the village, allowing him to see far in every direction and maybe spot the training ground he was looking for.

Frantically he’d turn the corner to the alleyway and utilizing the lightweight technique would jump higher than he was previously capable of. Grabbing onto the ladder and pulling himself onto the metal structure. Then he’d find himself climbing up five flights of metallic stairs, freezing as he did so, the weather obviously not letting any sun through to meet him. Nevertheless he’d power through the grim circumstances and find himself standing triumphantly at the top of the massive building. The view was a lot less promising than he had initially hoped for however, the heavy rainfall not allowing him to see as far as he had imagined in his head.

Instead he guessed he could only see about 80 meters in any direction, and as he paced around the top of the building he thanked the lord that he could see two training grounds that appeared to be different from training ground three, one was a barren field and the grass seemed to be yellow, probably due to lack of downfall, which this storm would quickly fix. The other had a greener turf to it, and had a pond in the center, probably a training ground that water element specialist frequented so that they could effectively use their water techniques, due to a large water source being in the area.

“Could one of these be training ground seven?” The senju thought to himself as he scratched the back of his head which was covered in currently drenched white hair. The odds certainly weren't in his favor, come to think of it he knew that there were at least eleven training grounds in Konoha, and given the fact that he knew this wasn’t training ground three, and that they were two different training grounds below him he had a three in eleven chance at the absolute best, that one of the given two would be his destination. The man had given him two hours to find the training ground and he was guessing he had already wasted an hour. He needed to find a way to save time, and he needed to do it fast.

Thankfully if this was a cartoon mere seconds later a yellow glowing lightbulb would appear above his head as wooden branches began to sprout from his body and reach towards the floor before detaching from him and taking the form of a human being, and the features beginning to match his own. The wood clone technique was a useful one, no doubt and through his mental connection he’d tell his clone to head towards the training ground covered in yellow rotten grass, while he headed towards the lake. Whichever one ended up in the right location would just learn the technique, wood clones were much more durable than shadow clones and could therefore endure rigorous training in Sento’s place, and the knowledge of what they have learned would then transfer to him due to the whole telepathic link thing they got going on.

Thankfully it seemed that the clone would not be necessary as he grew nearer to his training ground he could see a giant black number seven engraved on a large wooden sign resting outside of the training ground. It appeared that Sento would once more luck out in his endeavours. And he would desummon the clone before it had the chance to arrive at whatever training ground it was heading towards.

Slowly making his way to the clearing he’d take note of the man sitting in the soggy grass in what appeared to be a criss cross applesauce stance. He had one hand extended however and in it was a watery orb. Sento was about to ask the man what it was before he heard the elderly man bark an order in the familiar harsh tone he had used earlier. ”Sit!” Sento not wanting to take another hit to the ribs would of course listen and drop his ass straight on the turf in alarmingly fast manner that honestly kind of hurt him.

The two would sit silently in the rain for what seemed to be about half a minute before the elderly man spoke again. “This is the Water Dragon Whip jutsu, a technique that many water style ninja have learned throughout the ages. Would you like to learn it… Uh, What's your name again..” the man would ask. In his head sento would sneer, “Well maybe you’d know if you had asked me instead of smacking me with your cane” but aloud he’d be significantly more polite. “The names sento, and yes I’d love to learn it. The response was short but sweet, and sento was sure it had served it’s purpose.

The man would simply nod before extending his palm outwards and signaling for Sento to reach out as well. Sento would let out a slight hum as his fist opened into a palm, before tapping into his water nature, allowing the flow of chakra to find itself traveling to the now opened palm, and being ready for what he was quickly catching onto as the man's training method. The elderly man would then let the orb that he had created rest in sento’s hand and Sento would have to struggle deeply in order to keep the bubble of water from bursting. Judging from the difficulty of chakra control he was guessing that this jutsu was at least a B rank ninjutsu maybe even an A rank.

“So what do I do next? What is this jutsu supposed to do” The ever so curious gennin would ask. After all, all he knew so far was the technique's name, and that he had a watery orb in his hand. And he had no desire to be out in this weather for an extended amount of time, it would surely lead to some kind of cold. Which he wondered why the man was willing to risk, age often brought a weaker immune system.

The elderly man would then speak. “Well considering the jutsu is called water dragon whip, I imagine you’d try to make a whip… Oh and my name’s hotai, by the way. Thanks for asking” The man said with a bit of sass, which Sento was realising seemed to be the man’s default personality. “Alright, I can do this” The gennin would think to himself, guessing that the technique would be a lot like suiton suidanha, a jutsu where he had to blast water outwards, the only difference would be maintaining control over the chakra so that he could manipulate the stream of water.

Extending the water nature that was currently keeping the orb in tact he’d attempt to create a branch of water that would spout from the orb, at first his attempt seemed to be working but he’d quickly take note of the ripples traveling across the orb that signaled his growing lack of control over the jutsu and brought the chakra back to a position he could maintain. The bubble bursting would make forming the technique much more irritating to him and was an event he would much rather avoid entirely. This time he’d focus more on control and less on results as he went for another attempt, and would watch as slowly but surely a small stream of water began to rise from the orb, increasing his concentration he’d let the water circle around his own body much like a hula hoop before going back into the orb it came from.

Surprised he had gotten the technique down a look of shock would manifest itself onto his face. “DID YOU SEE THAT! I DID IT!” Sento was obviously proud of himself and was making no attempt to hide it, this however seemed to annoy the his ancient teacher more than it pleased him and he simply turned his back to sento before leaving the training ground. “Maybe I picked the wrong student… Damn kid can't even say thank you” Leaving sento sitting by himself in the rain, and feeling relatively bad about how he had treated the man.

Growing tired and realizing how much time he had spent training, while also in desperate need of a change of clothes sento would find himself heading towards his ever so comfortable home, through the pouring downfall in search of shelter and warmth. He had, had enough adventure for one day.

WC: 4060
Requesting: Water Dragon Whip + 20 Stats

Approved.