Block, Counter, Breath (P, Training)

As he is walking towards the entrance of the training grounds, Renji would be deep in thought about his next jutsu that he wanted to learn. “ahh, I went through all the scrolls I have in the house!” Renji would shout aloud to himself out of frustration as he begins to shuffle through the papers in both his lower jacket pockets. “but I need something..”

Completely lost in thought about his next jutsu and not paying attention to where he was walking, Renji bumps hard into the back of a man standing in the middle of the street. Renji would bump the man so hard that they both would end up losing their balance and falling over to the ground, Renji landing sideways across the man’s back, and the man’s duffle bag landing on Renji’s back.

Both men would jump to their feet brushing off their jackets while they do so. “Hey watch where you ….” Both men would start to yell to each other before making eye contact and realizing that they in fact know each other.  Upon making eye contact, a shocked look would overcome their faces, “ Jeb ‘Lefty’ Netero, Is that you?!?” Renji would yell at the top of his lungs. “haha, haven’t Seen you in some time I see ya made Genin” Lefty would say pointing towards the headband on the young shinobi’s head. “you really should watch where you are going. You coulda killed someone. What have you been up to though?” the man would then ask Renji giving the young shinobi a thumbs up and a smile.

Lefty was a friend of Renji’s brother, and one of the few friends that Renji had growing up. While in the Academy lefty and Renji’s brother would work together a lot, and were on the same team for a little bit. However, Lefty was never able to fully master the clone jutsu and dropped out of the academy before graduating. He would then go on to have a fairly decent career with a local paramilitary group where he now still works, helping in the war efforts.

The two men would stand there in the middle of the street catching up for about thirty minutes or so, it had been years since the two had last seen each other and they would have plenty to catch up on. Finally, Lefty would ask Renji where he was headed. “I was on my way to the training grounds, trying to learn a new jutsu though I don’t know what to learn. Care to help?” Renji would say, ending his question with a big ear to ear smile. Of course lefty couldn’t turn down his best friends little brother’s request for help, so he accepts and the two men would head off to the training grounds a short distance away.

Finally arriving at  the training grounds, the two would walk to a nice clearing with a few trees off in the distance and a huge huge tree stump in the middle. Wasting no time, Lefty would immediately drop his things and would assume a fighting position. Seeing this would remind Renji of the old days when lefty and Renji’s brother were in the Academy  and how lefty was always super serious when it came to taijutsu, the nostalgia would cause a smile to come over Renji’s face.

Seeing the smile would tick off lefty causing him to preform a flying front kick to the side of Renji’s face. The kick would catch Renji off guard and sends him flying back ten feet and he would land on his side and continues to slide for another two feet.

“take that smile off your face, you are here to train. And you are training for a war. Whenever someone takes up a fighting stance opposite you, You should automatically assume they are your enemy. Never let your guard down again. For it may be the last time you do so. Also, no byakugan for thr duration of this training, if you can learn to use these moves with out your byakugan, it will make you that much better when you do use it.” Lefty would finish his short speech with an even more serious look on his face then when he had begun.

Seeing that this wasn’t going to be a walk in the park, Renji would pick himself up from the ground and this time around he would be ready and assumes a fighting stance almost as soon as he sees lefty take up one. ‘no byakugan, this is totally going to be kick in the butt.’ Renji would think to himself as he is getting set up.

Lefty would wait for Renji to get fully set up before saying “ok good, now for this round. I want you to knock me out, you have an hour.” He would say with the same serious look on his face as he sets his watch for an hour. No soon that lefty was done talking and setting his watch, he would charge straight at Renji, not even giving Renji a second to process the instructions. Once he got to Renji he would set up for a head kick with his left leg.

Still processing what lefty had just said Renji would almost instinctively raise both of his arms to block his head from getting kicked off again, his right forearm taking the brunt of the attack. “no way I could block that kick of his so easily. He had to have taken something off.” Renji would think to himself as he successfully blocks the head kick attempt and did not feel much pain.

No soon as Renji blocks the head kick, Lefty would pull his leg back, returning it to the ground almost as fast as he had shot it out, and pivots to hit Renji with his other leg. Just like last time Renji would block this head kick attempt, with his left forearm, this time with a bit more confidence. As Lefty returns his foot to the ground, Renji would try to take advantage of this opportunity and begins to set up for his own strike, driving his foot into the ground to begin his movement. But before he can even get off a strike, Lefty would throw a hook aimed right for Renji’s gut. Unable to get his arms down in time to protect himself, Renji would shoot up his right knee, letting the strike impact the side of his thigh with a thud. ‘that was close.’ Renji thinks to himself as he decides to just stay on the defense and hope that lefty tires out before the hour is up.

Lefty would push the envelope, pushing Renji back a step with every successful block attempt Renji would make. He would keep Renji on the defense for the remaining time of the  hour, never even giving the young ninja a chance to get off a strike. Once the hour was up  Renji would be almost completely spent. Seeing this, Lefty’s expression would turn back to friendly and he would exit his fighting stance.

“so did you get it? Did ya get what I was trying to drill into you and that you seemed to had gotten in the first thirty minutes but I wanted to make sure that you never forget so we kept going another thirty minutes. So did you catch what I was trying to teach?” Lefty would ask as he walks over to where Renji was now sitting trying to catch his breath.  “..um.. I’m not sure, I thought you wanted me to beat you, but all I ended up doing was blocking your attacks for an hour straight. I’ll tell you what after that, I feel like I  can block any strike now, that’s for damn sure!” Renji would say half jokingly.  “My arms are so sore tho…. Oh and why were you holding back.” Renji would say as he continues to catch his breath.

“so you noticed that haha. Well I was trying to take some off my strikes so that I didn’t kill you, and so that you would be able to get the point of this training. Any idiot can throw a punch or kick. But the key to being a real taijutsu practitioner is understanding and knowing how and when to block. Like I said you can really die out there. So being able to defend your vital spots is clutch. It could one day be the difference between life and death” Lefty would say.

Lefty’s words would cut deep into Renji as this was really the first time that he had thought about the possibility of death while out on a mission. Up until now he had only saw the war as a means of getting out of the village and seeing the world. He had never even realized that every time he would leave the village he would be putting his life on the line. Sitting there on the floor still catching his breath Renji would make a vow to take his training more serious and not waver in his journey to get stronger.

Sitting there Renji would be overcome with positive emotions and jumps back to his feet reinvigorated and ready to get back to training his block technique . He would tighten his headband and jumps back five meters away from lefty and then assumes a gentle fist fighting stance. A serious look on the young shinobi’s face.

Lefty seeing the determination in Renji’s eyes would jump into position as well, assuming his own fighting stance. A small smile disappearing from his face as he does do. “ok so Renji, I’m glad you are finally taking this serious. let’s see if you really did get the technique down. I want you to block my attacks. Don’t let me hit your chest or face. If I do, one thousand push ups. You have ten minutes.” He would say, as sets the alarm on his wristwatch. This time Lefty gives Renji some time to digest the rules. Once both men were ready they would begin their fight.

Like the last time Lefty would charge in towards Renji. This time Lefty would try to catch Renji off guard with a lighting fast left jab to the right side of Renji’s face, followed by an even faster side kick towards Renji’s left mid section.

Renji would have no problem blocking the jab. Simply brushing it away with an open palmed right hand as he takes a step back with his right leg. ‘he must be still taking some off.’ Renji would quickly think to himself while blocking the jab. The side kick wouldn’t be as easy to block. Taking the step back with his right leg would leave Renji in an awkward position to block the kick conventionally. Not wanting to have to do a thousand push up, Renji would gather up all his strength into his front left leg, pushing off the ground as hard as he could,  getting his leg up just in time to block the attack with his shin. The impact giving off a loud bang. Renji knew that if that kick had collided with his midsection he probably would have been knocked unconscious.

Renji would still feel the pain in his shin from the kick but doesn’t let it show and would continue to fight on through the pain for the remainder of the ten minutes until the timer finally goes off with a very loud buzz.

Immediately upon hearing the buzzer go off renji would collapse on the floor in a heap of sweat and pain. But one thing was for sure, he had definitely gotten down the taijutsu block technique .

Happy with Renji’s progress Lefty would come over and takes a seat next to were Renji is laying down at. “so what ya think. Do ya wanna learn more?” Lefty would ask Renji with a smile on his face. Renji wouldn’t be able to see the smile as he was still laid out on his back on the floor fighting to catch his breath.  This was the hardest he had ever trained and boy was he feeling it, every muscle fiber was sore twice over. But thinking back to his earlier vow, Renji would sit up and gladly accept to continue training.  

It was still rather early but the sun was starting to go down. It would probably be dark in another hour or two. Lefty would wait a few more minutes for Renji to catch his breath before standing back to his feet. Seeing Lefty stand up would cause Renji to do the same in return.

“ now that we have the block down, let’s move on to the next move, the counter.” Lefty would say as he dips his arm down towards the center of his body and makes an outwardly circular motion with his hand. “through using this technique you can not only block your opponents attack but it also allows you to instantly take up the offensive, now let’s see if you got the basic mechanics down.” Lefty would say to Renji , before demonstrating the technique one more time to ensure the young ninja got what he was asking him to do.

Renji would make sure to pay close attention both times that lefty demonstrates the technique. Renji would note to himself how it looked very similar to a block but instead of taking the brunt of the force with your arms, you would simply brush it off essentially redirecting the force of their punch and leaving you in a very advantageous position. Once it is Renji’s turn to preform the technique he would think back to the demonstration, going over it in his head a few times before giving it a try. Now finally ready, Renji would first shoot his fist out in front of his body, as if blocking an attack, then he takes his outward fist and lowers it down towards the center of his body and swings it outwardly and back up as if throwing off a would be attack.

Renji would almost perfectly replicate the move he had just seen Lefty preform. Seeing this causes lefty to give off an approving smile.

“good, now when you are going for the counter move, if you block the attack with an open hand opposed to a closed fist, you should try to grab the target so they can’t get away. Just a tip tho,  do what you want. Now let’s see if you can counter my punch.” Lefty would say. Once he was done speaking he would get into a fighting stance. Seeing this, Renji would gather himself as well, raising his hands in front of his face in preparation of the coming strike.

Once they both are ready, Lefty would take a step toward Renji with his left foot, before shooting his left fist at Renji’s face.

Seeing Lefty’s foot come forward would be A sign to Renji that Lefty was about to strike. As lefty’s fist is about to close in on Renji’s face, Renji would shoot his own left hand out and down,  making contact with lefty’s forearm. Renji would then making a circle with his hand. He would throw Lefty fist harmlessly away. Leaving Renji inside of Leftys defense and able to land a strike if he wanted. Renji would settle for a simple flick on Leftys head with the hand he had not used to block the attack. “got ya.” Renji says as he flicked lefty on the forehead.

Happy with the progress that Renji had made up until now, Lefty would decide to call it a night. “say, it’s getting late and I  have to be up early tomorrow for a long day of preparation before my group heads back out on Sunday night.” Lefty would say as he is looking down at his watch. Before continuing on “It was good seeing ya kid and when I see your bro I’ll be sure to tell him to watch out before ya catch up and pass him haha. Hey I wanted to ask you something. You probably just graduated, Why was you making such a big fuss about what to learn earlier? Seems like your doing good for yourself.”

Renji would then explain to Lefty about the events of his Genin exam and the unimpressed look that the proctor had when he showed his gentle palm technique. “…yea and after I blew out half of the wall he looked as if it was nothing out of the ordinary.” Renji would say as he looks down at the hand he had used to blow out the wall. “I have to get stronger so that no one makes that face again!, so that I can do my part in this war and protect my teammates.” Renji would continue on to say.


Seeing that this was really bothering Renji, Lefty would make an attempt to come up with a solution. He tells Renji to use Saturday to meditate on all his problems. Telling the kid to make sure to take deep breaths and to clear out his mind of all the clutter and that they would meet up again on Sunday before Lefty was to leave, and he would show him one last technique. Once he was done talking Lefty would pick up his bag and heads for the entrance to the training grounds, disappearing into the darkness of night a few moments later.

Now alone in the training grounds, Renji would contemplate calling it a night himself, he had learned two new jutsu was tired and it was well pasted mid night by now.. No one would surly fault him if he decided to go home to get some rest and come back tomorrow to start again fresh.

Just as he is about to head for the entrance and make his way home, Renji quickly Remembers the look on the proctors face and thinks to himself  ‘no I have to start now!’. He would then turn back around to begin this new meditation training that Lefty had spoke of. Besides with both parents dead and his brother out of country, why go home to any empty house right?

Renji would walk over to the big tree stump. Now standing in front of it, Renji could see that it was at least ten meters high. ‘at least I wont have to worry about people bothering me while im up there, they shouldn’t even be able to see me.’ He would think to himself as he activates his tree climbing jutsu, and walks up to the top of the tree trunk.

Once on top of the trunk Renji would see that the tree was as least twenty meters in diameter. Renji walks over and sits directly in the middle of the stump hoping that his position will provide better privacy while he meditates. Renji would then cross his legs and closes his eyes. Taking a deep breathe Renji would begin to try and clear his mind of all the clutter, all the worry, and all the fears. He would try to rid the expectations from his shoulders and just go to a place of clear mindness. He takes another Deep breathe, still trying to empty his mind, but he is having trouble. For some reason he just can’t shake that look on the proctors face. A third deep breathe, Renji is starting to clear out his mind of all the BS. Another breath, his mind is starting fight against him less. Yet another Breathe and Renji Is now starting to kind of feel a calming soothing feeling come over him. It would take Renji about an hour or two of deep breathing before he was finally able to push all the worries from his mind. He now no longer cared about the face the proctor made at his jutsu. Even if he did not have it yet, Renji was now more sure than ever that he was going to be just fine. The more Renji breathes the deeper he would fall into this euphoric Trance like state.

Renji would continue this form of deep breathing and meditating all through the night, and through the next day. He would not move once not to eat or use the bathroom. Renji doesn’t even notice all of the various ninja around him down below. Renji had finally gotten To a place of tranquility mentally that he had never felt before, and he did not want to move and Risk losing that.

As Saturday turns to Sunday, Renji is still up on that tree stump doing his deep breathing and meditating. Renji wouldn’t notice it but with every deep inhale that he was taking, he was slowly increase both his lungs strength and capacity.

Sunday would pass by much as Saturday did, Renji just sitting up there on that tree stump breathing in as hard as he can, and exhaling just as hard, all the while focusing in on his meditation.

Finally at around five in the afternoon, Lefty would show up with all his stuff packed and ready to go. He would not have found Renji up on that tree stump had it not been for Renji’s super loud breathing that he was doing. At this point, you could hear his deep breathing almost as soon as you walk into the training grounds.

Walking up to the tree, Lefty would drop his bag, and with little effort, jumps up to the top of the tree, landing only a few feet away from where Renji was seated.

“Omg, you look like death, and you smell just as badly. Have you been up here this whole time?” Lefty would say in a rather loud voice as he fans his left hand back and forth in front of his nose.

Hearing lefty’s voice was all Renji needed to snap out from his meditation trance. “yea, I was only going to stay out here for a few hours. But once I hit that euphoric state I just didn’t want to leave or move. I definitely will be incorporating meditation into my training” Renji would say back to lefty in a happy and excited tone.

Leftys expression would switch to serious “good, so you where able to achieve the meditation trance. That’s perfect, I can now show teach you this new jutsu.” Lefty would say as he takes a few steps back away from Renji.

Now standing a full five meters away from Renji, Lefty would spread his legs shoulder with apart, and making a peace sign with his left hand, he would yell out “seven heavenly Breaths: First activation!” with that Leftys eyes would turn white like when renji uses his byakugan but minus the veins. Lefty would also begin to give off a yellow  aura. Renji’s eyes would light up as he sees this.


Looking up at Renji lefty would say “now Renji, imagine if you could fight while in that trance like state. If you could push your body to the same limits as one pushes their mind. That’s what the seven heavenly breaths method is. And with further meditation one can…”Lefty would cut off  his statement there, instead choosing to show the young ninja rather than tell him. And with that Lefty would again make the peace symbol and yells out “seven heavenly breaths second activation” and with that his body would expand a bit and his muscles would become way more defined. He would then pick back up where he left off “..one can further push their bodies past the limit. Currently I can only activate the second breath. Now then enough of me, let’s s if you can do it. Just like you did with the meditation and add the peace sign and you should be good.” Lefty would say as he stands back and gives the floor to the young shinobi.

It was now Renji’s turn, and honestly he was a bit nervous. Lefty wasn’t to clear on the instructions and Renji assumed that he wouldn’t get it, at least on his first time through. But still he decides to forge on and give it at try any way. He would try to model himself exactly after what he had just witnessed Lefty do. First taking up a shoulder  width stance, then he would think back to how he felt while in his trance like state. How freely his mind was moving and working with out any cares or worries. ‘here goes nothing!’ Renji would think to himself as he makes the peace sign, and then in a loud and clear voice shouts “seven heavenly breaths: first activation.” It would only take a moment, before the physical changes would start to overcome Renji, first his eyes. His eyes would change from their normal black color to white. Next , a faint yellow aura would begin to build around the shinobi, first starting down by his feet but slowly intensifying with each and every pulse it would make until it completely engulfs Renji. Once Renji was completely engulfed in the aura, his hair would stand up straight blowing in the wind a but and reveling his headband.

It would take the young shinobi a second to process it, but once he realizes that he had successful gotten the seven heavenly breaths on his first try, it  would send Renji over the edge emotionally. He would, still in seven heaven mode, begin to jump up and down in celebration,  able to jump high than he has ever jumped before. Seeing the kid so happy and filled with joy would even cause the steel faced trainer to crack a smile while still in his battle stance, breaking his own rule.

Renji would jump around and celebrate for another few moments before Lefty would reach out and grabs his shoulder spinning the young shinobi around to face the man.

“Renji I really am proud of you. You’ve come a very long way in only a weekend. I look forward to seeing how you grow. Both as a man and a shinobi. I will certainly tell your brother to watch out for you when I see him. Hell I better watch out before you surpass me in taijutsu. ” Lefty would say with a big ear to ear smile as he makes the Shaka sign with his right thumb and pinky and deactivates his seven heavenly breaths jutsu. Seeing this Renji would follow suit and does the same with his pink and thumb, using his gloved left hand to make the hand seal.

Looking down at his watch, Lefty would begin to make his exit, walking towards the edge of the stump. As he  gets to  the edge of the tree stump, Lefty would turn back to renji and says “well it’s time for me to be off. But hey, once all this waring is over and I’m back for good, I’m going to open me a taijutsu school. Make sure you don’t get yourself killed before then. It’d bad for business if my first student went and died on me.” He would finish his statement with a smile as he jumps down off from the stump and grabs his things to leave.

Renji would not watch as Lefty makes his leave from the training grounds . Renji knows full well that this could be the last time both men saw each other with the current state of war. If Renji wanted to keep his promise to Lefty and not die in this war, than he needed to train and become harder, not watch his sensei  leave and become an emotional wreck. Renji would instead return to his training, and make sure that he saw this war through. Now with an even greater fire inside of him, Reni would sit once more to continue meditating. His mind much more clearer now then when the weekend had first began.


Exit

WC 4,667
Claiming

23 stats

Taijutsu style block
Inside to outside block
Seven heaven breathing method

Approved remember to
List exactly which level of seven heaven breathing method