First Step to Power

Vēdros arrived back home, yet he could still feel the blood on his hand. Less then an hour ago, he had discovered a fellow student stealing from the academy. When confronted, the boy admitted to stealing scrolls, to run away. As his thoughts shifted to that event, he pulled out the three scrolls that the boy had stolen. They were marked with the seal of the academy, and Vēdros opened each one, scanning over what they said. One one was Genin Exam structure, stating the required tests, and the two of them were the lessons packages: one having the Genin exam requirements, and the other having two more advanced jutsu. Everything needed to taught, to prepare the Kirigakure no Sato's academy students to become Genin. Having just enrolled in the academy three weeks ago, they were still going through all the preliminary instructions, they have not even got into any of the basic jutsu. 

Vēdros looked down at his hand, amazing clean for having been doused in blood. The Bù zì had been in control then, when he struct down his fellow academy student, no... the traitor to Kirigakure. Clenching his fist, he felt his blood start to sing with anger again. They yoke us onto these weaklings. Unable to become a true shinobi for the "Village of the Bloody Mist", the fear what must be done. These words pounded in his ears, his inner, other self giving thought to the words that lurked within him. "Yes, the do not have what it takes, to become the Mizukage's living weapon, to serve as his spear." His minds made up, he grabbed the first scroll, unraveled it. "I do not have time to deal with them, no student can do what must be done."


{WC: 292}
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"Bunshin no Jutsu, Art of the Doppleganger," Vēdros read, "commonly refereed to as the Clone Technique. Though a basic, E-ranked jutsu, the true power of the Bunshin, is in it's versatility, in it's varies combinations. While intangible, it can provide it's user with the element of deception, if used correctly. Each copy follow's the user's actions, and have no independent use. Most importantly, it can be mixed with various nature releases, to create tangible clones, capable of independently assisting in combat, reconnaissance, and other missions. It utilizes the following hand seal combination: Ram → Snake → Tiger."

Putting down the scroll, Vēdros studied the diagram. Throwing his two part cloak onto a chair, he went into his bathroom, and grabbed the mirror from there, angling it so he could watch. Focusing his chakra, he followed along, "Ram. Snake. Tiger!" Focusing, he willed a clone, a copy of himself next to him. As he watched, a faint image of himself appeared on top of his own image, until it slide off to his right. It was a faint, translucent version of himself. Shifting his hand into a crude blade, he slashed at the clone. He noticed it did not follow his actions, as his hand made contact, the clone disappeared in a puff of smoke. Growling in anger, he reverted his hand, attempted again, pushing his chakra even further, "Ram. Snake. Tiger!" As soon as he finishes, another image appears, this time more solid looking. Though this one was better, it still looked white-washed, an amateur artist's attempt at a portrait. Growling, this time he had a spike grow from his arm, piercing the white-washed clone, causing it to disappear, just as the spike disappears back into his arm. He noticed the clone this time seemed to react, seeming to grow a spike of it's own.

Vēdros stretches his arms, as he looks back over the scroll. He is following the instructions correctly, he just seems to be having an issue with properly forming the clone. He goes back in front of the mirror, giving his body a moment to replenish it's stamina. Though he was still learning to control both his chakra, and his Kekkei Genkai, his bloodline did allow for his body to quickly regain it's stamina. Once he felt his reserves was full, he resumed his practice. Focusing his chakra, he gathered it, all of it. As he did he focused, aiming towards his goal. Creating the hand seals, he called out, "Ram, Snake, Tiger, Bunshin no Jutsu!" As he watched, a new clone appeared, a perfect copy of himself. Moving his hand, the clone followed suite, it copied his grin as one appeared. Shortly it disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving behind no trace.

Vēdros looked back over the scroll, which he had read multiple times now. "Two Bushin's can be made at a time, flanking the user on the left and on the right." It would seem only once single facet was left of mastering this jutsu, for the purpose of the Genin Exams. Once more, he stationed himself in front of the mirror. Focusing, this time on the image of two clones, he cried out, "Ram, Snake, Tiger, Bunshin no Jutsu!" He watched as two images flanked him, one on the left, and one on the right. He moved his arms, both of them mirroring his own actions. A laugh escaped his lips, ended almost as quickly as it began, as both his arms had blades grow from them, and he ended the clone's by blade. He walked to his bedroom, the blades receding, until his arms were normal. He crashed to his bed, having done enough for one night.


{WC: 616; Learned: Bunshin no Jutsu}
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"Henge no Jutsu, the Transformation Jutsu. A priceless jutus, useful in all aspects of being a shinboi. By gathering one's chakra, and continuously emitting it around one, a shinboi takes a form not their own, whether it be animate or inanimate. The transformation technique is considered to be among the more difficult E-ranked techniques, since it requires constant emission of chakra while mentally maintaining the form. On top of that, interacting with the environment puts mental strain on an inexperienced ninja. An experienced user will be able to produce an exact likeness while under this strain and maintain it, while an amateur's will have obvious flaws, or will quickly dissolve once the strain becomes too much. It utilizes the following hand seal combination: Dog → Boar → Ram."

Vēdros was back at it the next morning, determined to finish the Genin Exam scroll, and move to the advanced jutsu as well. After the events of last night, it was clear if he stayed in the academy, he was going to never achieve his dream, was never going to become the Kage's spear. Standing in front of the mirror once more, he closed his eyes, deciding which form to take. The Bù zì whispered to him through his blood, and he could once more feel the boy's blood on his hand, feel as his hand sliced through meat and bone, the feel of snapping the kids neck. Opening his eyes, he performed the seals: Dog → Boar → Ram.

In a small puff of smoke, Vēdros was looking into a copy of the boy's face. The overall details were spot on, the clothing, height, the look of his face. There were two glaring mistakes. The boy's hair was a dark brown, yet the image in the mirror had light brown, with orange streaks mixed in. The biggest was the eyes, which were an orange-red, untouched by the jutsu. Running his hand through the hair, the jutsu seemed to flicker, and the orange spread. The boy's face twisted into a mask of rage, and Vēdros released the jutsu. He could feel the blood dance in front of his eyes, conjuring an image. As the Bù zì showed him, he performed the seals: Dog → Boar → Ram.

Once more, he was looking at an image of the boy from last night, but this time it was different. It was him as Vēdros has last seen him. His eyes and hair were the exact same shade now, though the left eye was not able to be seen. A gaping hole was in the left cheek, and Vēdros could feel the blood in his hand tingling, knowing that it had caused that hole. Reaching the hand up, he felt the hole, which seemed to be real until he tried to push his finger into it, where it was stopped. This whole time, the jutsu never flickered, staying a perfect image of the dead boy. Releasing the jutsu, Vēdros grinned. He was ready for the Genin Exam.


{WC: 502; Learned: Henge no Jutsu}
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"Kawarimi no Jutsu, the Substitution Jutsu," Vēdros already was digging into the third scroll, giving his body just enough time to recover it's stamina, "sometimes also called the Body Replacement Technique. With this jutsu, the user replace their own body with some other object, generally with a block of wood, the moment an attack lands. This creates an optical illusion, making the enemy think the attack was successful. From this, the user can use the lapse in the enemy's attention to attack or flee from the battlefield. For more advanced users, they will commonly used advanced Bushin, or will commonly attach an explosive tag to the object used. It utilizes the following hand seal combination: Tiger → Boar → Ox → Dog → Snake."

Vēdros looks around, trying to see what object should be used for him to test this on. Choosing the chair, he goes back over the jutsu, making sure he understands it. Going into his academy welcome kit, he grabs one of the training kunai. These were dull variants of the actual shinobi tools, not capable of causing more then a brief bruise. A smirk broke out, that the kid last night thought this was enough to kill someone. Though it was non-lethal, it was going to have to do. Moving the chair one meter from him, he tossed the training kunai up into the air, performing the hand seals, "Tiger. Boar. Ox. Dog. Snake."

As the kunai started to fall, Vēdros attempts to switch place with the chair. As he realized he was not switching places, he quickly snatched the kunai out of the air. After looking over the scrolls again, he got back into position, and tossed the kunai up into the air again. Performing the hand seals, "Tiger, Boar, Ox, Dog, Snake" he had switched places. As the kunai struck the chair though, Vēdros realized it had not taken his form, so he growled and snatched the kunai off the floor. Going into his kitchen, he grabbed a sharp, large knife. If he was going to do this, he was going to have to do this correctly. Once more, he got in position in front of the mirror, this time tossing both the kunai, and the knife into the air, performing the hand seals, "Tiger. Boar. Ox. Dog. Snake."

Using his bloodline, he felt his hearing improve, as he shifted his ears into a larger set. Using this, he was able to hear the kunai and the knife as they went up into the air. Focusing his chakra, he closed his eyes, and he waited until he was confident he was going to be able to sucessfully perfomr the jutsu. As the pair of knifes start to fall, he was still focusing. When the pair was less then a meter from him, his eyes flew open, changing places with the chair. As he watched, the knife was the first to reach the chair, now a perfect image of himself. It stabbed into the shoulder, causing the illusion to fade, until it was just stuck in the wooded back rest. The training kunai bounced off the other side of the back rest, and clattered to the floor.



{WC: 532; Learned: Kawarimi no Jutsu}
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"Ki Nobori no Shugyō and Suimen Hokō no Gyō, the Tree Climbing Jutsu and the Walk on Water Jutsu." Vēdros was reading the last part of the second scroll. "Both these jutsus utilize the same principle, and have been lumped together into the Chakra Adhesion jutsu. Focusing a fixed amount of chakra to the bottom of one's feet, one can attach their feet to a tree, walking up it like it was solid ground. If the stream of chakra is too weak, the user will lose their footing on the tree and fall off. If it is too strong, the user will be pushed away from the tree, causing the tree to break around the point of contact and the user will fall. The same is used for walking across liquids, though it requires a higher amount of chakra control, as liquid is a moving substance, and one must match it's flow. Once one has mastered these two, walking up a tree, wall, or across water, becomes second nature, and is automatic. It does not utilize any hand seals to activate."

Throwing his two-part cloak on, he walked out his house, to a small stream, which was surrounded by some trees. "This seems like as good as a place as any." Focusing his chakra into his feet, he runs at one of the trees, planting one of his feet on the trunk, and starting to run up it. Before he got half way up the tree, he jumped off. He was not actually sticking to the tree, like the jutsu was supposed to. Focusing more chakra into his feet, he tried again. This time though, as soon as his foot touched the trunk, he felt pushed off, and there was a dent where his foot was touching. His fist shifted grey, as he punched the dent, causing an even deeper one.

Calm himself down, the blood singing in his ear to destroy the tree, to break it into pieces, he focused again, fine tuning the amount of chakra in his feet. As he ran at the tree, he kept focusing on the amount of chakra at his feet, as he started to scale the tree. When he was finished, he was hanging upside down from one of the branches, perfectly attached. Smirking, he sent a surge of chakra into his feet, breaking the branch and propelling him from it, doing a flip mid-air, landing on his feet. Pushing off, he rushes at the water, until he is dashing over it, not once losing his footing. He stood in the middle of stream, watching as small ripples spread from him, in tune with the flow of chakra.

He slowly decreased the amount of chakra in his feet, and he started to slowly sink into the water. As he increased it, his feet rose back to surface level. This time he put a sudden burst of chakra into his feet, and the surface of the water practically exploded, throwing Vēdros into the water. Using the jutsu, but focusing on his hands, he pulled himself to the surface, then focused on his knees and feet to get back standing on the surface. Remembering something he had read in the scroll, he pushed off. Some were so talented at Suimen Hokō no Gyō, they could skate across the water, using their chakra to propel them.

His first attempt, caused him to almost fall in the water, his other foot never moved. He realized, it true secret to mastery, was quickly releasing the chakra gathered, and then quickly regathering it. The second attempt caused him to skate for a little while, until he suddenly felt a tug on one of his feet. After more several attempts, he skated back to shore. As he walked home, he left a message with the academy, requesting to take his Genin Exam. He also ran the scrolls back, putting them back in place before anyone realized they were gone.



{WC: 660; Learned: Tree Climbing/Water Walking Technique; Chakra Setchaku Jutsu}
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Final total:
WC- 2,603, 12 Stat points
Learned: Bunshin no Jutsu; Henge no Jutsu; Kawarimi no Jutsu; Tree Climbing/Water Walking Technique; Chakra Setchaku Jutsu

Approved