A loner trains alone (p)

Satoru sits on a bench at the edge of this village’s training grounds. He is as silent as usual. The particular bench he sits in was chosen due to the fact that it is most distant from anyone else in the area. While alone, he thinks most efficiently. His current path of thought is the question of what ninja art he will practice today. Around him, ninja of this village train with friends and acquaintances. There is an advantage to this method. Those who already know a jutsu are able to teach the same jutsu to another person. This way of practicing a technique is considerably faster than doing so alone. In Satoru’s case, a lack of company optimizes his thinking and allows him to progress further than he would if he had to socialize with another person. Satoru has yet to meet a training partner in this village who meets his liking. With Yuri being back home in Kumogakure, being alone is the next best thing.

“Some low level wind release technique, I guess. It is the only nature transformation that I am able to manifest so far. I have seen some higher level uses of wind release but attempting them myself would be pointless. My chakra potency is not nearly as strong as it needs to be for advanced ninjutsu.” Satoru rises from the bench and extends his left leg to his left while bending the right leg, stretching his left leg. The same is done with the right leg. He stands straight again. “That corner of the area looks secluded.” Satoru begins walking forward and arrives at a far corner of the training grounds.

Here, there are thick wooden poles with targets on them and cubes of varying sizes crafted out of stone. This ground is barren of grass, actually there is quite an amount of dust that is kicked up as Satoru walks. Looking down at his sandals, a thought comes to his mind.

“I read about an easy wind release technique in a book once. It allows a person to silence their footsteps by cushioning the soles of their footwear with wind natured chakra.” Satoru thinks, channeling his chakra towards his feet as though he were making use of the surface walking technique. Blue chakra surrounds his feet. This gathered chakra then takes on a white color. With this change, the dust in the area around the soles of his sandals is kicked up and dispersed.

Satoru takes a step forward and notes how it feels to walk while this wind natured chakra circulated under his sandals. When his foot drops, it is soft and has generous give though his foot never touches the ground. He can see with an above view that the shadow below his foot shrinks as he approaches the ground. “I must be hovering by the width of a hair.” He thinks, kneeling down for a better angled view. Chakra which takes a white color still envelopes his feet. Looking from the side, he is just barely able to see the gap between the bottom of his sandal and the ground. Dust swims around within this gap making the small divide look hazy and unclear.

He rises, stands on two feet, and repeatedly jumps directly upward. As an added measure, he runs towards a tree and proceeds to run vertically up its trunk. His footsteps are as quiet as they were when he was walking upon the ground. It is also noted that the surface walking technique appears to work unhindered by this jutsu. Satoru is able to run easily up the side of the tree and jump off of it from five meters above the ground. He has jumped in order to test just how sound-dampening this technique is, how effectively it is able to mask the sound of his sandals impacting the ground. Satoru continues to repeatedly run up the same tree and jump from progressively greater heights.

With every landing, he feels the cushioning of the wind beneath his feet. Most importantly though, Satoru hears no sound coming from his landing. He removes the chakra from his feet momentarily and jumps. He repeats the tree climbing and tree jumping test for a few trials. The sound of his sandals impacting the ground is audible and would surely alert anything able to hear nearby. Afterward, he focuses his chakra once more to compare the audibility. The difference between the two is clear and distinguishable, enough for Satoru to call this technique learnt.

“I have some time to practice something else…”

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Satoru walks towards the trees which define the edge of the training grounds. Their branches and leaves cover a large area and form an equally large shadow. Light pours in from the gaps and the rays of sunlight are seen as they streak across the air to make contact with the ground. All around Satoru, there are areas of light and areas of shade, perfect for practicing the jutsu which he plans to learn. Small animals scurry about above him in the branches of the trees. As he walks through this forest, squirrels scatter and hurry up the trunks of trees in order to avoid him. Those animals brave enough to stand their ground or protect their current positions remain where they are and closely watch Satoru as he passes by. These creatures are the foxes, raccoons, or vultures nearby. Surprisingly, Satoru does not encounter a hare in this area. When he thinks about the jutsu which he plans to practice next, a fast animal such as a hare would make great target practice.

The air is cool under this shade. Being alone, Satoru is very comfortable here and so he begins to think. “Though I am a member of the Nara clan, I never did learn my clan’s techniques. I read extensively about how they are performed but never felt the need to rush learning them. No reason not to work on it now, I guess.”

He reaches back into his memory, attempting to draw some information taken from what he has read in the past. Questions posed by himself rise to aid his search. How does the rat hand seal help with the chakra control necessary for the shadow imitation technique? In what way is my chakra supposed to be used? Do I emit my chakra or use it as fuel to propel some yin release energy? Is yin release itself another nature transformation of chakra that I can express?

“Zero answers…” He exhales. With no information of his own to draw from, Satoru turns to experience which he obtains from watching others. In the past, he has watched his father perform shadow imitation jutsu while hunting for sport. “I know my father told me that the shadow imitation jutsu was originally developed as a technique used to trap deer while hunting. Maybe I can imitate whatever I remember him doing when using the jutsu.”

To start off, Satoru looks around and eventually finds a bush of average size. This shrubbery is not too large yet not too small. It is large enough for Satoru to kneel behind and be completely hidden. He does this as a first step to recreate the instance in which he first witnessed his father perform the shadow imitation jutsu.

“We were kneeling behind a bush about this size.” He thinks, lowering himself so that he is completely hidden. There are sparse gaps between the leaves of the bush but the area is not bright enough for anyone looking at the bush to tell that Satoru is behind it. An animal will not be able to recognize his presence by sight. “And we were hunting deer. Here though… I do not expect to see any deer. What kind of animals roam around here?”

Satoru sits back quietly without moving as he waits for some animal large enough to cast a reasonably sized shadow to show itself. This takes little time. Minutes later, a fox scurries by a few meters in front of his position. Its fur is some color between orange and red along with a white-fur underbelly and paws. The speed of this creature is not so high that it is untrackable. Satoru’s eyes follow it with ease. Given a stone, he would be able to strike the fox with a swift throw quite easily.

His next idea comes to him like a bullet. “When using the shadow imitation jutsu, the user’s shadow is extended in some direction. It then comes into contact and merges with the shadow of some other living thing. As long as the two shadows are merged and as long as the caster continues to pour chakra into the jutsu, the target is forced to imitate the caster as though the two were mirror images of each other. So, when sending my shadow forward, I think that I should perceive the action as an extension of my own body.” Previously sitting, Satoro moves so that he is on one knee and one foot. The bush continues to hide the entirety of his body. The next time a fox scurries by, he will make an attempt at performing the jutsu.

“Ok, so I have some time to figure out how to manipulate my shadow in the first place.” As a first attempt at moving his shadow around upon the ground, Satoru concentrates his chakra within the core of his body. Knowing that yin release is outside of the five basic chakra natures, he does not bother attempting to generate it as he would with wind release. “What I do know about the concept of yin is that it is the dark half of the natural duality that is yin-yang. In terms of chakra, it is based on the spiritual energy which governs imagination… and I have no idea what I’m talking about. I read this stuff in a book once but never did take time to contemplate or test it in depth. I know that it has something to do with imagination though.” Then something clicks in his mind. He remembers his father’s words as he explains how using the shadow imitation jutsu feels.

In his father’s words: “When I move my shadow like this, I don’t think of it in terms of using my chakra for some application. Every jutsu is different in how they use chakra. For this particular use, it helps not to manipulate your own chakra as you would manipulate your body. The shadow is less an extension of the physical body and is more an extension of the mind. It is important to remember that yin release, the basis of this technique, is chakra which is able to create form from nothing but imagination. You will use your mind much more than you will use your body. You have to see your shadow move on its own. Your imagination is stronger than you think. Just concentrate your chakra in the center of your body and expect what you see in your head to become reality. Then it will happen.”

“The problem with that explanation is that it bases ninjutsu on mental imagery. I have always been used to understanding ninjutsu in terms of the application of chakra to perform a task. Chakra is a mechanism, a versatile tool. How am I supposed to ‘imagine’ the jutsu doing what it does and watch it happen like magic?” Satoru rants in his head. “I’ve heard of yin release and yang release but have never seen them used in action aside from the shadow imitation technique. The imagination influencing reality as easily as my father described simply doesn’t make sense to me. Isn’t there some way to mold my chakra into yin energy and exert it through the ground? That would make much more sense to me…. Though my father’s explanation gives me the best grounds to start with. After all, he actually knows the technique. If I trust his method and just go ahead with his account, I should get somewhere at least.”

After getting over his gripes about how his father explained this jutsu in the past, he closes his eyes in order to best visualize a new scene. His thoughts are of images. Satoru sees himself kneeling where he is now behind the same bush surrounded by the same trees. He forms the rat seal in his head as well as in reality. He sees his shadow extend forward with a thin extension from the main body. Its progress forward is slow but noticeable. At times, it stops and recedes. When this happens Satoru starts again from scratch, seeing his shadow move in as natural a way as he is able to move his body. Every time the shadow dies on him, he is able to see it grow thicker at its base the next time he attempts to extend it. Progress is made with every try. Though Satoru often resets whatever he is imagining, the duration of time that the shadow is able to move about grows considerably in a matter of minutes. Eventually, Satoru is able to see himself along with his shadow as it snakes about upon the ground with ease. All of this occurs without the concentration of chakra so no yin release causes his shadow to move in reality.

He opens his eyes and watches another fox dash past the area in front of him. He eyes its shadow as it appears in the sunny areas and is lost in the already shaded areas. He imagines without closing his eyes that his own shadow reaches out for the shadow cast by the fox and the two merge to become one elongated pitch black part of the ground.

Without realizing it and even to his own surprise, Satoru’s shadow darts across the grass. It travels with considerable speed towards the shadow of the fox. However, the fox continues in its own direction and Satoru’s extending shadow stops some meters past the animal’s previous position. He immediately makes sure to continue feeling whatever it is that his chakra is doing so that his shadow does not revert to normal. This feeling should be kept in memory and normalized so that casting the jutsu becomes easier with time.

The first thing that Satoru notices after cementing his current form of chakra manipulation is that his shadow is pitch black upon the grass. He is able to see the difference between his manipulated shadow and the shadows cast by the leaves and branches above. In those places where there is only natural shadow, the grass is visible and it is noticeably green. In the place where Satoru’s shadow covers the ground though, there is no sign that grass is beneath. What is more, the speed of the shadow feels largely out of Satoru’s control. It simply moves in whichever direction he imagines it moving. By noticing that he has been able to manipulate his own shadow, imagining it happen is easier than prior. He can cause his imagination to impact the movement of his shadow without needing to close his eyes.

“Now that I can manipulate my shadow’s movement and direction, I should master it's speed.” He thinks, bringing his shadow back to its origin. “It should not be difficult. Now that I have tried, imagining this jutsu in order to manifest it in reality is much easier than I thought it would be. In fact, I do not believe that I need to close my eyes to initiate it.”

He makes a second attempt, his shadow growing and stretching forward. This time, it moves very slowly as Satoru still has limited control over the jutsu. Gradually though, its speed increases. He is able to maneuver it around the area with a great degree of control. It snakes out in front of him and turns around the base of a tree. From there, it makes circles around two more trees before coming around behind him. For a few more meters it stretches to his right. After that, Satoru notices that the shadow he is manipulating grows thinner and becomes more difficult to stretch. The shadow stops as it is about to snake around yet another tree. Satoru is unable to move his shadow any further than this, its limit has been reached.

“I guess this jutsu has a range limit.” He thinks, bringing his shadow back to him by way of the track it has already made. It quickly swirls and shrinks back to its origin.

What is noticed next is that Satoru is exceptionally exhausted. Beads of sweat form upon his forehead and his breathing begins to become heavy. He releases his hands from forming the rat seal which was held throughout the use of the jutsu. His right hand rises to his head and wipes the sweat from his temples. After a moment of rest, Satoru’s breathing becomes normal again and his fatigue becomes less apparent.

“This jutsu eats through my stamina very quickly. If it is not well managed, then it may become risky to use in battle. I should make sure that I keep my use of it short and purposeful.” Satoru thinks, putting his hands together to form the rat seal once more. “Now, to complete this jutsu, I should be able to capture another living being by their shadow. I will make some movements and, if they mimic them, I will consider this jutsu learnt.”

He sits back and waits silently in order to hear some creature coming close. Whatever his target is, it should be around the size of the fox if not larger. Satoru reasons that a human would be a much better target to practice this jutsu with. However, should he successfully land this jutsu on a female near his age group, he may not be able to help himself from performing some perverse action. Physical desires aside, there are a plethora of potential animals which would make sufficient targets for this shadow imitation jutsu. Satoru simply waits for one to come his way.

Shrubs russell to Satoru’s left side. His head turns quickly to see the source of the noise. To his delight, a bear rises from a bush some five meters away. The bear stands on its hind legs with its arms raised. Then the bear begins to charge forward, letting its forward legs down and running with speed. With Satoru sitting down, escape will be difficult as this bear is now charging towards him as quickly as its front and hind legs will move. Satoru does not move a muscle aside from performing the ram seal as his shadow quickly darts towards the shadow of the bear. His eyes do not leave the creature so that, should this jutsu fail, he is able to read the bear’s movements and move accordingly.

When the two shadows merge, Satoru relaxes. No evasive action will be necessary. He stands up and the bear, now just a meters away, also stands on its hind legs. The two are close enough to allow Satoru to feel the wind from its nostrils as it breaths. Satoru takes multiple steps back, increasing the distance between himself and the bear in front of him. His shadow extends as the distance between the two increases. The limit of the jutsu’s range however is not nearly reached as the shadow connecting the bear to Satoru keeps its thickness for the duration of the jutsu’s use.

“This jutsu is a success. And its initiation as well as its manipulation both feel so natural.” He thinks, raising his left arm and then his right arm. The bear performs these exact movements in real time as Satoru performs them. As a second test, Satoru moves his right leg forward and sets is perpendicular to his main body. The bear also performs this action. Finally, Satoru puts both arms out to his sides and waves them about frantically. He also makes sure to keep a detailed track of his movements to ensure that the bear follows them precisely. Satisfied with this jutsu’s effectiveness, Satoru relaxes his chakra and releases his shadow. It returns to him.
It is very likely that this creature is frightened by the show of unnatural occurrence as it quickly turns to leave the scene.

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Satoru has an idea of what kind of jutsu he will practice next. Having read up on and studied multiple wind release techniques from books around his house, the information floats around in his mind. This training session is beginning to have somewhat of a format consisting of Satoru attempting to recall something he has read and attempting to fill in the holes where he lacks some knowledge. Through intuition which comes from having the wind nature affinity along with an intellect for the application of chakra to complete tasks, Satoru is seemingly able to teach himself a plethora of jutsu. All ninja who learn things on their own are able to do this and that number is by no means small. In fact, during his days in the academy, a number of Satoru’s classmates proved to be fast learners. Perhaps he is able to self-teach because he has watched those fellow students do the same.

“I am going back to wind style this time.” Satoru thinks, looking around and finding a suitable location to practice further. He begins to walk in this direction. “What I have in mind is of higher level than either of the two jutsu I have already learned today. But after having gone through learning the Quiet Footsteps technique as well as the basics of the Shadow Imitation technique, I feel as though my chakra has been energized. I can test the potency of my chakra this way. Should this jutsu be executed successfully, then I know that I am ready to learn techniques of its level. If I fail, then I know that more work is required before I attempt to move ahead.”

The area is a separate training grounds location. The ground is mostly bare. In some spots, brown grass grows in clusters though the soil does not allow for the grass to get very tall. Some dust rolls across the ground as a gust of wind breezes by every so often. This location is prime for testing the jutsu which Satoru plans to grasp. With fifty meters of free and open space ahead of him as well as to his left and to his right, there is nothing to cause him to hold back in any way.

“The Dust Cloud technique is performed by blowing a large amount of dust from the lungs out into the immediate air. The particles are probably created by first creating dense wind natured chakra in the lungs and combining it sparsely with my regular chakra to create small impurities that are more dense than the compressed air. Upon exhaling the dust cloud, it takes on a large size. The dust obscures the vision of those inside of the cloud by irritating the eyes. An added effect of the jutsu is that the dust easily travels through the target if they breath it in. By choking on the material, the target is slightly deprived of air and will feel strong fatigue with prolonged exposure.” Satoru runs through what he knows and what he is able to theorize about the jutsu while beginning to regulate his breathing in preparation for a first attempt. His breathing is deep and drawn out in order to stretch the lungs by repeatedly inflating and deflating them.

Satoru finally begins to gather chakra in his lungs after some time preparing. With every breath inwards, he brings chakra from his extremities into his chest in bulk. As the chakra travels, it is thinned out as it takes on a wind nature transformation while still in the body. In doing this, Satoru hopes to decrease the volume of chakra he must compile in his lungs. He already has an idea of how great the density should be for this first attempt. The volume, of course, will remain relatively the same as his lungs will expand to be as large as possible. Mass is the only variable that may vary. Satoru envisions the end result and attempts to scale down the cloud that will be formed but faces difficulty doing this. Having no experience at all with handling wind release this way, he is largely in the dark. Trial and error will be abundant in this training exercise.

After gathering chakra to an acceptable point, Satoru leans forward and spews forth the gust of wind dormant in his lungs. Dust accompanies it as it flies forward for a short distance. Immediately, he notices that the range of this jutsu should be much larger than what he has accomplished. Not only is the volume less than it should be, so too is the density of dust within the cloud. Satoru is able to see straight through it, his vision only partially hindered by looking through the cloud. He does not stand within it, peering through the entire cloud length and is able to see buildings in the distance.

“As is to be expected, my first attempt is far off from where the finished product should be. The volume is too small and the dust is not thick enough. That means that both my mass and density were off. And of course, if density is off, it is due to an incorrect mass. I have already decided on not changing the volume of my lungs. If I fix the amount of chakra I gather, the problem of density will also be solved. I must wonder though, do I have enough chakra within me to pull off this jutsu correctly?”

Satoru prepares once more to perform the jutsu a second time. Before its execution, his preparation is run through again. He breathes in and out slowly, drawing long breaths. By now, the dust cloud in front of him has already dissipated. The thin dust that was part of his first attempt at performing the jutsu simply shrinks into nothingness, being more chakra based than made of actual rock. A breeze also has a hand in blowing away the dust cloud.

His deep breathing is stopped. On an inhale, Satoru extends the breath to gather air in his lungs. Chakra is channeled from all extremities to the lungs, most of it being changed into wind natured chakra on the way. In sparse locations within the volume of the lungs, Satoru’s basic chakra mixed with wind chakra is collected in greater density. These are to become the dust that gives the jutsu its purpose. This time around, Satoru makes sure to create more of these higher-density pockets in order to increase the amount of dust in the resulting cloud. Also, a greater amount of chakra is gathered to multiply the mass of the air held within the lungs. This time, the cloud will be much larger.

He performs the three hand seals which go with this jutsu: horse, monkey, and bird. Satoru ceases to take in air, holding it in as his hands remain connected in the bird seal. Before letting the air go forth, he evaluates his current build of this jutsu.

“I have gathered more mass than before and also increased the number of nodes of dust that will be created when the dust cloud forms. That is mass accounted for and thus density should follow automatically. So, the dust cloud should be bigger this time and there should be more dust. Even if this is not a successful test of the Dust Cloud jutsu, I should be making progress. I’ll be happy just with a larger radius of effect and a greater hindrance of visibility.” Satoru thinks. The air he has collected swims around in his lungs, swirling as wind natured chakra does. He takes care this time to charge its velocity so that the jutsu is cast in a more rapid fashion. After all, a victim is not meant to have time to avoid the cloud before it is completely cast.

He leans forward and exhales with ferocity. His lungs are emptied quickly and his vision is almost immediately obscured. The cloud if formed just in front of him, his body on the edge of the area of effect. It is indeed larger than the previous attempt. Satoru looks left and right. He notes that its width is greater than prior. From the ground, the cloud is also taller, taking up more vertical space. This makes for an overall greater volume dust cloud.

Arguably more important than volume is the density of dust in this jutsu. The difference between the first trial and this second trial are apparent at just a glance. Where before Satoru was able to see almost clearly the buildings in front of him, he now is barely able to see his hand as he extends it into the area in front of him. His entire right forearm is immersed into the floating dust. Satoru moves it left and right. He is still able to track its movements though with great difficulty.

“I know this jutsu is supposed to be able to cloud a person’s vision granted that they do not possess and utilize a vision-enhancing dojutsu. So I should not be able to see my own hand in front of me, or at least it I should not be able to track it as consistently as I can now.” Satoru also watches the suspended dust swim around and past his hand and arm. The particles are fine, float well, and do not seem to sink to the ground. Every aspect of this attempt, Satoru is thoroughly happy with. Compared to his first attempt, this dust cloud is an improvement in all ways. This dust cloud is larger than before. Its vision-hindering properties are stronger. The dust Satoru even finds to be finer than before. Evidently, the more he performs this jutsu, the more improved it becomes. In repetition, he finds progress. “When this dissipates or is blown away, I am going to try again.”

A period of time passes during which Satoru leaves the area in order to get something to eat somewhere around the village. With his chakra replenished, he is then able to practice ninjutsu further and returns to the training grounds he has left from. The dust cloud has dissipated and has been blown away by the wind since Satoru left the scene. With the air around him clean once more, he begins to prepare one more attempt at performing the dust cloud jutsu. As before, the factors which determine the jutsu’s effectiveness will be improved upon. With a final execution of the technique, Satoru will be able to label this jutsu as learnt and usable.

He breathes inward through his mouth while performing the three hand seals used for chakra control with this specific jutsu. The horse, monkey, and bird seals are formed in quick succession as air moves into his lungs. Chakra also flows from the rest of his body into the lungs. On the way to his core, Satoru’s chakra experiences a change in nature and takes on the wind property. Once in the lungs, the chakra swirls as wind does, blending with the air that Satoru is breathing in. In many small locations, Satoru concentrates some of his regular chakra in order to create the components which promote a greater number of dust particles to exist in the resulting cloud.

Finally, before he blows forward, Satoru quickly makes sure that all preparations have been made. This check happens almost taking no time at all as Satoru holds the bird seal and executes the final stage of the jutsu. In front of him, the dust cloud forms. It possesses adequate volume and Satoru is pleased with how well it blocks him from seeing anything in front of him. He extends his arm into the dust cloud and waves it around. Tracking its movement is more difficult than it was with the previous attempt and this fact satisfies Satoru. He determines that he has completely learned this technique and that it is officially under his belt.


“The Dust Cloud jutsu will give significant aid in battle. From my understanding, the air which circulates around this dust cloud actually provides flames with additional oxygen off of which it is able to sustain itself. Along with that, the chakra infused dust particles in the cloud are fine and thus the material has a very large collective surface area. Fire should burn powerfully within this jutsu. So due to the aid that this dust cloud gives to fire release techniques, maybe I should consider fire as a second nature transformation for me to look into.” Satoru discusses further training in his head as wind carries the dust cloud into the air. It disappears as the dust is thinned out and rendered sparse. With that, Satoru turns in for the day, deciding to return to the hotel room he has rented in this currently foreign village. A good night’s rest will refresh him for further training the next day.

(5,531)

[Enter and Exit]
[Claims: 27 stats (Making 40 chakra to learn the B-rank), Quiet Footsteps, Shadow Imitation Jutsu (C-Rank), Dust Cloud]

Approved