How To Train Your Earth Dragon

The weather along the craggy border between countries of Haven and the Earth, thank in part to some ninja strength sunblock Satomi has managed to avoid losing his prized porcelain skin to a much less appealing dessert tan from his frequent visits to the place he could most connect to the earth. Though nature had taken its toll on it, his original circle remained visible in the hardened soil. The mounds of dirt that once stood as a testament to his perseverance and determination were now little more than a smattering of dust scattered to the arid wind. Only the scar Satomi had carved deep into the land remained, the very crevasse he now stood at the edge of. It was both a warning and  proof to him as he stared its dark depths, a reminder of how dangerous over-training could be and yet it was a proof that one day could a great shinobi—perhaps even legendary.

It had been several days since Satomi had finished the remainder of the scroll that had been completely engrossed in; additional more research only further collaborated Satomi's theory that they were the memoirs of the third Tsuchikage. Only that the child would be left unfulfilled as the scroll would end abruptly, never giving him the closure he desired. He had spent days sorting through the archives in Hoshi  looking for anything that suggested that it had ever been finished, but his search would ultimately be fruitless. Even so his bound with the earth felt stronger than ever, something that even Miyamoto had noticed during their training sessions. Even if it wasn't a kage at all, the subject of the unattributed scroll had given Satomi the drive he needed to prepare for the second portion of the chunin exams, even after the first portion was a bit muddy. Something that he would giggle about when thinking back on it, the look on their faces as they honestly thought he would let them drown. For a moment though, he could remember even questioning it himself. But that was silly, of course he would never harm another!

Satomi returned to his podium of earth at the center of his fractured circle, his poor golden a frizzy mess as it blew in the dry breeze. His hands quickly flashed a series of hand seals—Horse → Dog → Bird → Ox → Snake.

“Earth Release: Earth Dragon!” Satomi announced to the heavens, his cry joined in harmony by the fearsome roar of an equally fearsome beast that itself rose to the heavens. The genin's own chakra surged through it's stone scales, fortifying the dirt and stone into something stronger than it could ever be on its own as the dragon circled overhead. Satomi's whims were its whims as the boy conducted its movements through the manipulation of the chakra that flowed through it. Having a dragon was admittedly something that Satomi had always thought would be awesome, and well, he wasn't wrong. Only he felt that the hand seals were not only cumbersome, but also took away from some of the epic feel of being able to summon your own dragon. That was another reason he made the long trips out to the far arid lands, he was going to teach his dragon to come called by voice alone. Without the words of a powerful earth release user to guide him, the task felt impossible even to the boy who nearly killed himself to even achieve the jutsu in the first place.

Today wouldn't be any different, he would spend half the day practicing his control over the beast and the latter half of day in fruitless attempts at baiting the dragon from it's rest with his chakra alone. No  matter how much he tried he just couldn't seem to direct his chakra in the same meaningful manner that he could while using the hand seals, his chakra not able to be properly focused on the task. The genin was visibly annoyed, grumbling as he kicked a pebble off the edge of his platform into the abyss below.

“This is a million-billion times harder than it was to learn the jutsu to begin with!” Satomi's arms flailed in frustration before they dropped to his side with a disappointed sigh, taking note of the sun sinking beyond the horizon. “I guess I'll try again tomorrow.”

If he could say anything from all his training it was that the trek to and from his private training grounds had done wonders for his cardio and speed, the same trip taking noticeably less time than it use to as he bolted through the forest. The only reason he had to stop this time was for a water break, even in the shade of the forest he was really feeling the heat today. It was during this pit stop that he felt something strike him on the head, a rather large seed coming to rest in his hand as he reached out to catch it. His deadpanned expression saying more than words as a familiar mocking call echoed overhead before the culprit made herself known, the crow landing on Satomi's extended arm before helping itself to the seed it had dropped.

“Shouldn't you be, y'know, sleeping or something?” The kid sighed. “I don't have anything for you today.”

The feathered pest seemed rather content as she was, adding to the boy's annoyance for the day. Mumbling he gave the bid a gentle pat on the head as he continued towards home at a walking pace, the crows appearance an indication that he wasn't far from the village anyway. It wasn't only Satomi's jutsu that had been growing stronger, the bond between the boy and the bird had swelled as well. The pair weren't best friends by any means, but they at least understood the mutual benefits of having each other. The genin had discovered that he could very vaguely understand the bird through the changes in it's calls and even slight differences in body language. He wasn't sure exactly how this came to be, but it lead to a unique ability in which to gather simple intelligence and in turn the greedy birdie got its favorite treats right from the Furukawa kitchen. It wasn't exactly a strong foundation for an alliance, but the pair appeared to be content with the agreement.

The night wasn't particularly different than any other night, Satomi would spend time helping his father in the restaurant before they would head home to have their own supper and game of Shogi. Their weekly game had unofficially been moved to daily as his father continued to test his child had the same penchant for strategy that his mother had. Though Satomi's determination was a valuable asset in training, it often led to short sighted decisions that led to his down fall and ultimate loss against his father in their games. Lately however the boy seemed to be able to coup better with these short sighted ambitions and had been able to think for the long term, which allowed Satomi to claim an additional victory at an increasing rate.

These lessons were something that Satomi would often forget once he left the Shogi table and while he was out training as another day of disappointment would come to be. If there was nothing else to be gained from his failure it was an appreciation for the role hand seals played in being a conduit in which his chakra could be manipulated and properly distributed for activating jutsu. Yet to have to return with little to show for it other than more frustration, the young genin was feel that he was batting way out of his league.

Over the next couple of days, as the second chuunin exam lurked on the horizon, Satomi's anxiety began to make itself visibly apparent. His bright and cheery aura replaced by a gloomy cloud, his crystal blue eyes a duller, almost gray pool of disappointment. He couldn't even enjoy the time spent with his father or their nightly game. Of course Takatoshi wouldn't be a good father if he had let it go unnoticed.

“A'yo, Sato.” It was almost a catch phrase by this point as he reached out to gently lift Satomi's drooped head with a single caring finger. “I may not know much about dat jutsu and ninja stuff, but I can tell when mah kid is down in tha dumps, y'know?”

Satomi wouldn't fight the attempt to raise his head, his dim gaze meeting the affectionate gaze of his father. The child would silently make his opening move with an apathetic sigh, even the subtle click of the game piece seemed to echo the boy's distraught attitude.

“Y'know, sometimes ya need ta take a step back from tha game.” His father would move a piece of his own to counter. “Ya need ta plan for tha future fo' sure, but ya should look ta win in a few moves as possible. It's what I've been tryin' to show ya with all these games, each time ya've been quicker to have me against the wall.” Takatoshi smiled softly as he watched his child nod and move another piece. “One, two moves less, ya've gotten real good!”

It was tough, but his words would slowly reach Satomi was the game of Shogi continued with his father doing most of the talking that evening. His words leading to a small spark that seemed to reignite Satomi's cheery demeanor, one should never underestimate the power of a parent's ability to shine light even on the bleakest of times. On the other side of the table Takatoshi realized that he had just found himself in a dire situation, his eyes scanning the board for a viable move. At least any move but the one he would be forced to make before giving up with a hardy burst of laughter.

“O' Sato! Well played!” Takatoshi praised his child as he slid his pawn forward in his only available move. “Ya got me again! At this rate yu'll be able to beat me without moving a single piece.” The boy's father teased, mussing the child's hair as he had many times.

Satomi would return to training the following day with his spirits partially restored by his father's pep talk. It took some time for his father's words to sink in the previous night, but as he laid in bed staring at the ceiling an idea would be forged. He already knew how to summon the Earth Dragon with the maximum needed moves, but was also well aware that he was unable to do the same without any hand seals at all.

“What if I start with one less hand seal?” Satomi spoke to no one in particular as there was no one out there with him to speak too, it was just easier to think aloud. Standing front and center atop his earthen stage, he began to build his chakra into his hands as he formed each hand seal in sequence—Horse → Dog → Bird → Ox--

It was there he stopped as he focused his chakra and guided it with each seal, the ground rumbling to life as it had many times as he forged his bound with the earth. It was however trying to follow a map without the final destination, without a direction for his chakra to follow the tremors soon subsided as his jutsu faltered and ultimately failed to give rise to more than a few angry dessert varmint rudely awoken from their nap. Still, it was progress, proving to there may be some validity to his hypothesis and warranted another try. His chakra was already a mass of surging potential as he set up for another attempt, again neglecting the final hand seal as he focused all that raw chakra into the jutsu. The ground once again stirred and shook violently as his chakra infused the dirt and stone.

It was a similar story with his proceeding attempts as well, just a whole lot of noise and very little substance. The sun would set soon and Satomi was growing ever more exhausted, he would have to call it quits soon or risk the wrath of that scary hospital nurse again. Neither were the preferable option as Satomi allowed himself to sit and lounge in place as he watched the twilight settle in, the faint glimmering of the stars already beginning to break through.

“It's going to be another beautiful night.” Satomi released a wistful sigh, his aching body signaling that it was ready to go home and crash. Satomi knew his body well though—how could he not after as much time he had spent training—and he knew there was a little more left as he stood up. “Become a mountain and rise to the stars, Satomi.” The genin would whisper, already forming the seals as he had been with one fewer. “And you, Earth Dragon. You rise with me!”

As Satomi's determination flared so did his chakra,  the pillar of earth he had been using to conduct his jutsu from exploding the child. Bracing for the inevitable impact with the ground, he was left questioning the rules of gravity as he suddenly found himself falling up. It wasn't initially obvious to the boy, but his call had been answered as he was seated right between the eyes of the massive dragon of stone and earth on a course for the moon. It indeed would take a moment or two for his tired mind to register what was going on as he slowly turned around to pat and feel around at the rough scales under his fingers. He clung for dear life, his heart pounding as he was offered a bird's eye view of the setting sun. It would have been breath taking if he hadn't already lost it to the unexpected dragon ride.

Armed with proof that it could be done, Satomi's glow of confidence returned brighter than ever as he grew more intimate with the nature of his chakra and how to control it—at least for this one particular jutsu. It wasn't a task that would grow easier with each step however, on the contrary the difficulty on increased by several magnitudes which each success. As the amount of time before the second chuunin trial fell into mere days there was a moment he questioned whether or not it was even worth mastering; even just being able to use a single hand seal to summon the beast of the earth felt like enough of an accomplishment. Satomi was stubborn though and unfortunately his determination had already been proven to be self-destructive, that volatile combination ultimately lead to the genin to shun the very notion. He had put so much of himself into mastering this jutsu, giving up would make it feel like one big waste of time he could have used in preparation elsewhere.

Standing atop a pile of ruined remains of his perch, Satomi was now back to where he started. Without the first seal acting as an origin point to gather his chakra, he felt lost all over again. Now he had the destination, but didn't know where to start. His chakra swirled and surged through his body as he looked out over the dusty terrain, the faint light of Hoshi a small glow over the treetops in the distance. Overhead the stars were already twinkling as the small child again found himself fighting exhaustion and the nagging urge to just give up, it was a fight he knew well by this point.

“Who knew a dragon would make for such a tough opponent.” Satomi chuckled as a knee threatened to buckle on him. “Maybe I am ready.” Satomi grinned as his dwindling chakra found new life and suddenly plunged deep into the earth beneath as the boy found a less physical focal point, rather than directing the chakra with seals he concentrated on his spiritual chakra to guide it to it's destination. The genin of the earth stood defiantly as he brought forth a new powerful seismic shock, the ground grinding itself to pieces in the accompanying tremors. “I know you're there, I can feel you stirring in the depths!” Satomi called out below, the jutsu seemed every bit as stubborn as the child. It was all playing out in his head as he pleaded for the dragon to come to him. The met him blow for blow, just as determined to return to rest. Already worn out from training throughout the day and dangerously close to running out of chakra, Satomi had a moment of clarity. “'Be one with the earth.'” The child whispered as his mind calmed, the ravenous dragon growing calm as the two locked eyes as he reached out to the beast. The imagery may have all been in his mind, but the effects were felt in the real world as the wide spread tremors became concentrated at a single point under the earth. “Together we are stronger; a bond forged of the essence of earth, body, and spirit.” The pair would settle their difference and find the purest of harmony in one final call to action. “EARTH RELEASE: EARTH DRAGON!”


Satomi was too tired to even want to lift his arms if he needed a hand seal, but such would no longer be the case as the colossal dragon of fused earth breached the surface, it's horn-like protrusions tearing through the ground like the fin of a shark before the several meter monster erupted with explosive force to arch high over its summoner. A triumphant cry was shared by both beast and boy as Satomi cheered and jumped around, his numbed body would probably pay for it in the morning. What did he care though, he did it! He actually did it! The night however would not go down like the first time the boy met his dragon, he would survive the night intact and in good spirit. Unfortunately that meant there was no mysterious delivery to the hospital to hasten his trip home, one day he'd find the person who was kind enough to save him so he could thank them. Sure he probably could have taken the dragon back to the village, but something told him that might have sparked more suspicion than it was worth and he sort of wanted to keep it a secret. Regrettably Satomi dismissed the jutsu only to watch the life stripped from the majestic beast before it began crumble and descend on inhibited towards the ground, a wave of dirt and debris washing over the child as the dragon's partially eroded form impacted with the ground with a heavy thud. It saddened him for a moment, but they would be seeing each other again as he would definitely be practicing this one right up to the exam.

Approved