Tranquil Training

Training: Water Release: Water Trumpet

Water trumpet training[extra training from another topic]

After washing the expression off the younger shinobi's face with Ou Tsuba, Tamaki weaved three seals together and produced a dense mist from the surrounding water puddles left behind by the game.
A new element had been broached to the subject and the academy students reveled in the difficulty presented by zero visibility, Tamaki navigated skirmishes between them with his own water pistol while only managing to keep a portion of his hair dry.
Long into the day the game stretched until all participants were wanting for chakra, Tamaki gave off another round of Ou Tsuba's for the academy students he had run into before the mist dissipated.
Much to the beleaguered entertainment of the academy students, they all seemed to be good friends after the chance encounter and all had gotten in a good amount of control training.
They would all sleep well tonight, or so Tamaki reckoned.
Before going their separate ways Tamaki managed to overhear a conversation between two youths; one rather well dressed and the other wearing profoundly dry dark clothing, they were veterans of this game if not by level of judged saturation alone then by the content of their conversation, "...The adults play this game too; but with a higher level jutsu, something called Water Trumpet jutsu or something..."
Hungry for knowledge and patient enough to level with these youths over many days, Tamaki grit his teeth in determination and swallowed his pride.
His tone was overly casual and belied a greater desire or sentiment that greedily overstepped the barriers of age, "That jutsu, do you remember the hand signs or any of the theory behind performing it?"

The nicer dressed of the two was some what hesitant to reply but never the less he wore an swaggering arrogance that blinded him to the cause and effect of mature conversation, more of a back chatter then a polite one, "I'm an academy student, what do you expect of me; that my father hasn't rudely demanded already, a walk through?"

Not wanting to but heads with a potential noble born's son but still managing to play it off cool by using reverse psychology, Tamaki impugned upon the nicely dressed, stubborn young one, "It's okay if you don't know, just don't go making out like you know something you don't, okay?"
The young ninja obviously not well-versed in the subtler notions of gathering information rejected his own stubbornness and divulged the subject matter Tamaki wished to discuss; with little agitation Tamaki noted that he had wanted approval more than wanting his friends to know how tough he was in the face of an older adversary.
"Hey, I didn't say I didn't know it; my dad would kill me if he knew that I had taught someone something I, myself hadn't already learnt, okay?'


Not wanting to insinuate insubordination with the concept of conspiracy, Tamaki leaned in closer to the well dressed youth so as to begrudgingly accept what information the youth did seem to have.
"What are the hand signs then?"
Jesting through the bulwark design of a fragile and eccentric ego's want to be accepted, Tamaki nourished the desire to conform to a "cooler" state of being that was only some how attained by growing older.
"You can tell me, I'm a genin; a full ninja, I can handle it."

Torn between the stern reminder of his father's confidence and the more immediate nature of failure emanating from Tamaki's questions being unanswered,  the youth relented soon before long under his scrutiny.
"Okay, okay. Here's how it goes. You gotta take your head."
Tamaki nodded at the allusion towards his head, to show he was listening he continued to hear what was being said, actively.
"...And you gotta stick it between... "
Getting the gist of the message simply from the brattish tone, Tamaki took a swipe at the youth before preparing a Ou Tsuba to wash his mouth out.
Grabbing the younger person by the nape of their shirt was an easy task, so was keeping them in place to receive their punishment.
After what seemed like an eternity of water spouts to face the kid relented, "Okay, okay already, stop!"

Tamaki seemed content as he let him down from the thrashing he was receiving and curtly replied, "Okay, now, what gives; the hand signs, now?"
Fearing the reprisal of what another snide remark may afford him, he relented."Dragon, tiger, hare."
Tamaki had gained the means, now to crack open the what.
"Good, now explain the forms and functions of the chakra necessary to perform said jutsu."
Tamaki granted the young adolescent too much knowledge in the form of expectation as he just blankly and obstinately stared at Tamaki, confounded as much as he was disturbed by the proposition the young adolescent resembled a fish.
Shortly before making this comparison a stream of water jetted into his eyes, alarming Tamaki and throwing him off balance from the close-range, he stumbled backwards trying to regain his footing while rubbing at his eyes.
He had clearly been attacked and had lost a firm grip on the youth, who had run in the opposite direction at great speeds to rejoin his friends.
Sensing he had fouled his opportunity to derive the technique from an uneducated source, Tamaki decided to leave the gardens, lest the younger shinobi inform his friends of what had happened and seek revenge in numbers, a rebuttle was not exactly something he may reprise himself from with anything but distraction measures.

Walking along the cobblestone paths was the nicely dressed man and he swept his head back and forth slowly as if scanning the environment for something or someone, there was no rush it seemed as he continued to survey the paths like he had anything better to do that afternoon.
The patrolling man caught Tamaki's attention too late to envision the next enfolding chapter of the nicely dressed man's wrath.
He smiled shortly before putting his hands together in concentration and confrontation, dragon tiger hare.
Had Tamaki been dreaming or had this man plotted to use the Ou tsuba variation that the academy student had been talking about?
Before Tamaki could decide as to whether he was dreaming or not he was painfully shown the extent of both, the raging stream of water that jetted towards him was carrying him down the stairs he had just climbed in one continuously cold blind side.

He had been swept off his feet and completely saturated by the nicely dressed man whom now leaned over Tamaki with a disgruntled pompous expression, he explained, "That academy student was my son. He was vital in the sense that he prepared you for the thrashing I was going to give you, the first time you wet my nice clothes with Ou Tsuba. It's called Water Release: Water Trumpet Jutsu!"
His tone casually implied satisfaction and Tamaki's slow reaction was all the confirmation of success he had required, Tamaki had slowly risen to his feet and had gotten more then a gut full of water from his humiliation.
He began spewing aggressively, he slammed his hands together as he did so.
Dragon Tiger Hare
He put his hand in front of the water gushing from his mouth and began to force his chakra to mingle with it.
It precisely focused itself when the stream met his two fingers and poured forth in much the same way the nicely dressed man had projected the water from himself, from point blank range he began to expel huge amounts of chakra and the water gushing from him became a cone spray of a stream forming from his mouth.

It matched ferocity with the nicely dressed man and the expression on his face made Tamaki smile his liberating grimace of a smirk, the water pinched off after carrying the nicely dressed man approximately fifteen meters.
He had taken what he had been given, not because of something special within him like a kekkai genkai but because of foreknowledge, a demonstration and an untapped source of chakra within himself.
His hands rose to the task of the memories that had filled his thoughts as he walked away from the youths, and now had found purchase in reverse of being placated in defense of misdemeanors.
"Water Release: Water Trumpet Jutsu, was it?"

He did the three hand signs again and expected a violent washing away of this nicely dressed filth that had haunted him constantly, but it seemed he either had no chakra left to perform it or there were things he didn't know about it... like cooldowns.
The nicely dressed man laughed before throwing his hands up in mock surrender, he said in a sardonic remark, "We should invite you to our games of water tag. They're far more interesting than the childrens... but you aren't that much older now, are you?"
With that retort firmly hanging in the air, the arrogance and the kindly nature of the nicely dressed man was lost on Tamaki who, had now been thoroughly dehydrated from the excessive force of his throwing up, had now decided that, that was enough training for one day.



The nicely dressed man eyed him with little suspicion yet superseded Tamaki's desire to return home to rest after training, the nicely dressed man formed hand signs Dragon, tiger, hare,  Same as before, thought Tamaki duly responding to the learned experience of habit.
Tamaki formed the same hand signs, a second behind his predecessor.
The nicely dressed man paused; perhaps waiting for Tamaki, before conjuring a stream of water from his mouth matching the ferocity of the last miniature tsunami that had confounded Tamaki before.
Matching his enthusiasm, Tamaki brought his hand to his mouth as he strafed right to dodge the older man's jutsu, they clashed somewhere between themselves equally.
Tamaki enfolded himself; devoid of a large amount of his own personal chakra he would have to change tactics, in complex forms of concentration.
After the abysmal draw between the Water Trumpet Jutsus Tamaki put his hands together in a tiger symbol, drawing from the water displaced by his own conjuring of water jutsu he used his chakra to convert said water into a fine mist.
The fine mist began to suddenly increase in density and opaqueness, until neither combatant could see ten feet in front of themselves adding an element to their game not even the nicely dressed man had suspected Tamaki capable of performing.

The nicely dressed man assessed his situation through the low visibility, his nice clothes dampened by the deluge of play had thoroughly resounded within him as some kind of crass debasement of fashion and so threw off his nice robes to reveal the attire of what appeared to be a nicely kept shinobi outfit.
Where did this guy go to the tailor, or rather, 'who' was this guy's tailor?
Tamaki had snuck up behind him close enough to gaze upon the readiness of his opponent and figuring diversion to be the best bet he created two clones of himself, they ran parallel, left and right of the nicely dressed shinobi and continued to run deep into the mist.

Dispensing childish games the nicely dressed shinobi sensed the childish maturity behind the vocabulary of the youngly man dressed in black, sensing a cloning technique had been established and presuming their incorporeal nature he didn't waste his chakra on them, only a couple of shurikens to chase them into the shadows.
Tamaki prepared the Water Release: Water Trumpet Technique, Dragon tiger hare.
Sensing his low reserves of chakra he was determined to make this his last attack as he put his hand to his mouth a stream of water began to spray towards the nicely dressed shinobi's back before becoming a more powerful stream.

Taking him by surprise; completely ambushed in the expanses of the mist, his back sorely took the brunt of the water as it collapsed around him in pressurized bursts.
Tamaki watched as the water swept the nicely dressed shinobi away and tapered off the stream of water by pinching his fingers together; pressing index to the pad of his thumb, he had dispatched the nicely dressed man, for now.
He was about to remark casually in a smart allec tone before the nicely dressed shinobi pressed a kunai to his neck.
It had been a clone that he had hit, sensing inspiration from his diversion he relented a pitiful surrender, his arms in the air and his palms flat open showing no discourse to potential threat.
The nicely dressed shinobi, "The nicely dressed man hired me and his son to teach you a lesson."
Tamaki's reply was simple, short and yet ironic, "Thanks."
The splendidly dressed shinobi dropped his kunai sympathetically, "You can't be more than sixteen, and hell, that was impressive you learning a B rank jutsu like that on the fly, you must have enormous chakra for a common genin, I must say it was rather unusual playing tag with you... being an adult and all, I usually play that Ou Tsuba's with my son."

Tamaki smiled and turned around to face his would-be assailant, the innocence of untarnished bashful pride evident on his young features, he panted a reply in short breathes, "I think I'm at the end of my rope."
The nicely dressed shinobi replied, "And well deservedly. Go. Just don't use what you've learnt on the academy students, okay?"
Tamaki nodded in affirmation before to his surprise leaning over into  bow of respect, lowering his eyes to the other man's feet Tamaki felt a simple but remarkable feeling of accomplishment.
He strode home with a warm quantity of tiredness and boyish ignorance, both filled his head as he slept that night.

Claim: Water Release: Water Trumpet
3350/3409
17+stat points

Doton Training
Steam aggressively hissed in the small expanses of the room, the paintings had gone to slime and the carpet was greedily sponging the water.
None of these things made the aesthetics of the room pleasing, the acrid smell of the refined refurbishments going up in smoke was enough to dizzy him.
Tamaki would have to do something about the dark smoke billowing past him and up the stairs to the second story, the air was getting hard to breath and Tamaki only had his cloak to cover his mouth.
It dawned on him that he could use the water to displace the smoke by evaporation, he did the necessary hand mudra for The Hidden Mist Technique.
The water sprung from the floor into the air and began to buffet the darker, thicker smoke out the windows by filling the room with more gaseous compounds then it could hold; gently sifting the bad smoke from the breathable mist.
In zero visibility Tamaki rose up the stairs and began to yell, "Anyone still alive up here?"

A drawn out silence before a cough alerted Tamaki to the presence of a small child perhaps the age of seven or eight huddled in the corner crying, rather than ignore the plea for help Tamaki utilised the Ou Tsuba with a monkey hand sign to douse the small flames gathering in the room.
Tamaki instructed the young one, " Go down stairs, through the mist and then outside, okay?'
then settled on clearing the second floor with grim determination.
The water spouts from his mouth were subduing the mitigating circumstances little by little, Tamaki silently hoped for assistance from the outside world but that hope was tarnished by the vox populi being little more than religious zealots, fate had not blessed him with many shinobi onlookers.

The inn where Tamaki was staying had burst into flames and he had hit the ground running as far as he was concerned, awaking to vile plumes of acrid smoke Tamaki had flushed the room with Ou Tsuba.
Wetting his clothes so they wouldn't burn Tamaki raced out the entrance, departing the fire death trap of a building he wrapped his cloak around his face and exited the area.
He had had enough of fire and desired to retire to the water gardens to get some training done, his body still tired from yesterday but resilient enough to learn to cope with the growing stresses of becoming a shinobi.

The gardens were as tranquil as ever as Tamaki approached, unsure as to the occupancy of the gardens he was sure to dwell only in an unoccupied position.
The cobblestone spread out beneath his feet as his thoughts took flight flying around the space above his head, he dwelt amongst the hidden ways and soon lost contact with the outside world.
Not caring for what they; the outside world, could contribute however useful, Tamaki knew the solitude of training was his to bear alone.
He leafed through his father's journal and dwelt upon the sketches of jutsu under the dotonl earth, persuasion that his father had mastered, it seemed he was a master of both suiton and doton chakra.
More obscure matters scatterd themselves through the manual with descriptions of mingling chakras with one another; alien concepts to the young Tamaki that did nothing but fuel his childish imagination.
Forever designating the prescribed notions of learning another element, Tamaki absolved himself to master the Doton version of chakra, to compliment his water chakra so that he may overwhelm his adversaries at a young age.
 
The earthen element of chakra was deeply rooted in the soil beneath his feet, just as he found an affinity towards water as an element he would have to find earth as a companion to express his chakra in new and profound ways to confound his fellow shinobi.
Not quite sure where to start he questioned his position in the universal scape of things, he was a little piece in a large puzzle.
The Hoshigakure Village city alone was quite remote compared t the bordering village's countries and he found conflict to be a far off dream in such a place, he hadn't met very many of the shinobi of the village but he was certain that they would be splendid in comparison to his young fawning ways.

The chuunin exams were a far off hope and he would have to show his individuality by the diversity of his jutsu, it wasn't a simple exposition of skill like the academy.
He would have to bring his own element of fighting to the ring and learning a new field of ninjutsu was the primary concern for the young shinobi known as Tamaki.
The plants were well developed in the area Tamaki had chosen for his training, the gnarled roots riddled the gardens and was left without being pruned for many a day.
He fiddled with the leaves of the plants before considering the nature of the combination of suiton and doton that it would require to create solid life based structures, a grand mix that the young genin could scarcely comprehend let alone unfold in practice.

So long forgotten was the crisis of his bedding area being on fire, Tamaki had already resumed his practical principals of training; his concentration and whole dedicated will was dedicated to learning.
A sandwich and a drink of vital essences for the recovery of vitality and chakra had comprised his entire lunch and he was seldom wanting for something; as he had acquired some ryo for the missions he had completed.
The wealth that had afforded him his small comforts of food was dwindling in his pocket, a small amount for delivering a package and over watching the efforts of a guard had done little to sate the young shinibo's desire for adventure.
The fires raging through the city's central had swept over the pace of residence he had found within the city and forced him to retire deeper within the city's folds that lied impervious to the flames.
He had quelled the blaze alone, ever waiting on his companion.
He felt the solidarity of the earth underfoot and singularly pondered on how to unlock the innate promise of conforming the soil underneath foot into practical applications of jutsu.

He sent his chakra down into the dirt to mingle with the soil underfoot, finding no purchase he resembled a stationary obelisk with his hands together gathering chakra.
No memories of the future invaded his pouring out of his cool chakra; more suited to the task of bending water, he found small traces of suiton in the earth that bent to his will.
Flexing his incorporeal muscles he seeped more of his chakra into the soil, splitting beneath the cracks of the cobblestone he found purchase.
His chakra dwelling amidst the darkness of the silence of the earth he found, in time, that his scattered will was echoing; resounding, beneath him in caverns of dirt.

A budding flower of chakra above an expanse of empty dirt began to waver, not soon before his concentration was broken by a familiar voice.
"I sense your chakra, are you trying to connect with the earth?"
Uncertain of his situation, Tamaki broke his concentration and focused on the new comer.
"Just getting a feeling for my surroundings."
The nicely dressed shinobi stepped into view with a gesture of acknowledgement, he riddled Tamaki with questions, "What could you possibly mean by that?"
"You're only a genin, what could you hope to achieve by looking below yourself?'

Keeping to himself much more than anything he closed his chakras, the lower ones just gaining a register of the task.
Tamaki replied seldom to reveal the nature of his training to anyone, he resolved to strike up conversation with the nicely dressed shinobi, "Wouldn't happen to know anything of Doton Chakra, would you?"
Perhaps touched by the extreme measures Tamaki embraced to acquire his knowledge, the nicely dressed shinobi relented and gave a short synopsis of how Tamaki had been gathering his chakra and that had alerted sensory ninja like himself to the prospects of jutsu being used, "Every time you use a jutsu, it flares up on our radar and this conspiring to learn a new element has registered high on our register, you're a genin with the chakra of atleast a chuunin, what have you to say to that?"

Startled by the revelation, Tamaki could only find in his defense a couple of words that resembled a bluff, "I'm not going to suppose I'm anything special, I'm only training for the chuunin exams."
Smile ear to ear, the splendidly dressed shinobi opened his arms wide in reciprocation of good will, it hadn't been years since a genin showed such promise, he asked, "Tell me, when you train, do you feel as though you haven't scratched the potential you are capable of?'
Tamaki, though frustrated a the indomitable resolve of the older man relented, "I have enough chakra to do the Water release: Water trumpet jutsu at least several times before tiring."
Nodding in affirmation, the splendidly dressed shinobi planted his feet by spinning on his heels a quarter of degrees he had already been standing before performing hand signs.

The earth ruptured and groaned under him as a segment of rock started to rise where he had been standing.
Rising him high into the air, Tamaki exclaimed, "So, you do know doton!"
The splendidly dressed shinobi nodded, "With these techniques you can alter the battlefield itself!"
Dimly sensing the chakra necessary for the jutsu he waited patiently atop the earthen spire, calling out despite himself, "How do you manage to use both water and earth?"
The splendidly dressed shinobi replied, "It's just something you learn through practise."

It killed him not to know the ability of earh manipulation, but it had been far from forgotten as the adversary he had come to know was displaying the element that was putting him in his place.
Rather than fairing the knowledge that he had yet to know he pressed upon the indications that the splendidly dressed shinobi had showed to share the knowledge.
Like hurricanes the chakras that were swirling around him were like the unsundered rifts of knowledge he had yet to learn, he resolved himself; even though being a thousand miles away mentally, to learn doton. 
He didn't know where to begin but the splendidly dressed shinobi said, "You must be unmoving as the rock yet reciprocal enough to bend the dirt beneath your feet to your will".

Tamaki imagined he would tell him stories of he he had conquered his own insurmountable tasks, angry and despondent Tamaki listened to the false safeties of the older, splendidly dressed shinobi as gospel.
Opening his eyes to the possibilities Tamaki reclaimed the notion that all that was, was simply in need of explanation before his tutelage.
He was without explanation other than this man who uni-formally shaped the landscape of the water gardens, he felt as though he was empty of significance as though despite his best efforts he could not perform on the doton scale of events.
He felt as thought his chakra could not cut through the earth present as the splendidly dressed shinobi had done, at least to the scale that had been represented.

The splendidly dressed shinobi dashed up the outcrop of rock that had raised Tamaki on a platform, holding a piece of paper in his hands much to Tamaki's bemusement.
He put it in his hands, "Now, focus your chakra into the paper; a simple test of chakra application. If you've water chakra, it will dampen. If you've raiton chakra it will crumple, if you've fuuton chakra it will cut in half, if you've doton chakra it will become dirty, if you've katon chakra it will smoulder,... such and such"
Tamaki took the paper into his hands and focused his chakra into it, flowing it through out the paper.
It slowly began to dampen then gain a dirty pigment to the white perfections of the paper, a semblance of two chakras present; water and earth.
The splendidly dressed shinobi took the paper from Tamaki's grasp and studied it with caution, much to his surprise the chakra paper responded with two possible complications; both water and earth.
The splendidly dressed shinobi remarked with some surprise, "It seems you qualify for two types of chakra, both suiton; water, and earth; doton."
"The paper itself only detects basic elements, advanced elements such as Wood and Lava are combined efforts of two basic forms of chakra, I hope you know that you qualify for Mokuton; wood."

New knowledge to Tamaki, this would open his eyes to a new venture of jutsu he found written within the confines of his father's book that had been otherwise inaccessible.
Deeper and deeper into the training Tamaki dwelled.
As they both pushed their way through the thick undergrowth of the gardens, the splendidly dressed shinobi  kept Tamaki spellbound with stories of his amazing bravery during the wars of the shinobi villages and of his escape from Kirgakure's forces.
Showing Tamaki a deep, jagged wound on his right arm, the splendidly dressed shinobi recalled how he was almost overcome by Kirigakure's forces.
"They attacked me from all sides, and one of them managed to slice through my fighting arm," he said.
"Urgh" Tamaki shuddered, looking at the deep scar. "I bet it bed alot?"

"Mmm. It did," the splendidly dressed shinobi  said rubbing over the scar. "I was lucky to escape alive.
Many common folk and ninja died in the battle, many more were captured. Like those before them, they will fall under the influence of Kirigakure's interagationalists. "
The splendidly dressed shinobi's eyes grew sad as he remembered the fortress under siege.
Inside, they were starving to death.
Outside, beasts who were once friends and neighbors were lining up in heavy armour and horned helmets waiting for their new masters to order the attack.

Tamaki tried to peer over the bank of the doton jutsu hoisting him in to the air.
He lowered himself over the edge, but the bank was stepper than he thought.
Within seconds he was sliding out of control towards the waters of a well.
He grabbed ut to save himself.
Tamaki's hand closed around tree roots that snaked out of the earth.
Hanging there he was amazed to see what had saved his life was not a root at all.
It was a rope.
An old piece of rope covered in mud, hidden against the dark earth of the bank and the tree's spindly roots.
If he needed further confirmation that he was o the right track, the rope provided it.
Gripping on to the rope and wriggling in mid-air, Tamaki got another surprise.
Deep within himself he felt a tugging, his chakra grasped at the earth he thought to himself.
Tamaki wormed his way down the rope until, almost on the ground, it suddenly went slack in his hands and he landed clumsily by the earthen structures beginning.
Tamaki thanked his lucky stars that it had not given way higher up, "A rope saves the day."

Age and elements had taken their toll on the rope but it had saved him from a nasty fall.
Tamaki felt an odd compulsion to take it with him.
He coiled it into a tight circle and gripping it in his hand, started down the path.
He ought to have been frightened, but somehow the water gardens themselves seemed scarier than the unknown possibilities ahead.
The earth underfoot was slushy and the light filtered down the entrance, and there was a faint glow of sunshine at the other end.
He hurried along, stooping to avoid the muddy ceiling of the splendidly dressed shinobi's jutsu, and pleased the area of influence not being too wide he passed the doton jutsu with little hindrance.
From below he felt rather than heard a curious scraping.
Something was trying to dig down and get him.
He skidded and shuffled in the mud present from the mixing of suiton and doton as fast as he could.
Tamaki's heart seemed to be pounding in his ears.
To his relief the path came out dry and land was won.
He emerged, mud-stained but triumphant, and looked at the nicely dressed shinobi.
What he saw rooted him to the ground.
The man had made good going, but like Tamaki he was glad the earth had not uprooted his position.
Even as Tamaki spoke, the water began to boil around him, he preserved himself through the lesson through sheer zero visibility.
Tamaki preformed the Hidden Mist Technique to lower the visibility between the two, the water evaporating before them both to obscure them.

Rather than keeping still, Tamaki redoubled his efforts.
Looking around, Tamaki saw the reason for this.
The splendidly dressed shinobi had formed more handsigns procuring more of the earth to rise beneath them both.
Like islands forming beneath their feat, the chakra cost carrying along the jutsu was unbeknownst to Tamaki but it seemed to drag on like it was a slow jutsu consisting of a low rank jutsu.
"Who dare ford the waters I protect?'
The splendidly dressed shinobi's wordswere accompanied by huge clouds of steam and a dank odour of soil.
His voice had a menacing, rasping tone.
"Feel the fear. You have transgressed on my domain and I shall destroy you. "
"B-but I am only here to train."
Tamaki offered in dull reply.

Neither Tamaki nor the splendidly dressed shinobi could see where either might have gone.
Peering nervously around, Tamaki left the shelter of the wells he had sought refuge behind.
"Help, somebody help!"
"Tamaki, where are you?"
 The call came from nearby, the voices of the academy students he had played Ou Tsuba tag with.
"Look kids, here!"
Giving his position away to the nearby students and the splendidly dressed shinobi alike, Tamaki ran towards the voices of the younger generation.
In the eerie silence that followed the high pitch whistle Tamaki dared, the academy students looked and opened their eyes.
Laughter snickered down the path towards him and what he saw made him feel sick.
Towering above the ruined water gardens was a monstrous nicely dressed man.

A thought of poetry crossed his mind, "Beware the silken ways
By evil spinner spun.
Yellow orbs that hasten days
Destroy when serpent comes.
Some may perish, some feel pain
Tribulations not in vain
Three will tread these paths again
To save the precious one."

Normally, he was not afraid of these sorts of things, but this was far from the ordinary bath tub variety as you could get.
Two earthern spires loomed over the water gardens and his experience of doton was very nearly life threatening, the splendidly dressed shinobi overviewed the mist in the area from his high vantage point not being able to exactly locate Tamaki.
Tamaki ran into one of the academy students, who offered the explanation, "That's Valek; the nicely dressed shinobi, he often comes here to train the ninja of the village, you seem to be unlucky today, today he's training us to learn a new element."
Beyond his possible explanation for such radical training methods, he was out of breath by the time he replied, "This is ridiculous. "
"I've run into him before. He's quick and deadly"
"If he catches us in a clearing we're dead. Follow me!"
The academy student darted lithely through the gardens, twisting and turning in an intricate maze that would throw off any potential pursuer off the scent.
Several times he stopped to let the other academy students catch up. But as soon as they arrived, puffing and panting, they were off again, a dappled specter amidst the foliage.

Tamaki was amazed by the professionalism exhibitted by the academy students, and wondered how the splendidly dressed shinobi had tested them prior to his intervention; born survivalists, on his side he wondered how he could fail.
"I think we've gone far enough."
The academy student suggested.
Tamaki stopped, and looked back.
There was an instinctive rapport between the two ninja.
"Yes, you're right."
Tamaki said.
He listened for any sign of pursuit.
There was nothing.
Not even a bird call broke the silence." We must get our bearings and find a way out of here."

Tamaki went on, cleaning the sweat from his brow on his forearm and sliding his arm back to his side.
As the academy student and Tamaki drew closer to the splendidly dressed shinobi, Tamaki saw the vegetation  were abstract apostles of what they had been.
Deformed by the teramorphing of the splendidly dressed shinobi, the roots stretched between rising expanses of earth and shot through the soil like speckled veins of fat through meat.
Tamaki pinned his headband to his forehead. It was worn with age be he could still decipher some strange script round the rim.
It was the symbolic representation of the village hidden in the stars.
He had Sensei Valen to thank for his headband and honorary establishment of being made a full fledged shinobi.
For the second time that day, Tamaki was transfixed by the nicely dressed shinobi, "Come out little shinobi, you should be learning Doton!"

Tamaki and the academy student stood silent - helpless bystanders in the war of nerves unfolding in front of them.
Tamaki's eyes flickered from his accompaniment to where the voice of the splendidly dressed shinobi had shot from, calculating distances, weighing up chances.
It was a stalemate.
Finally Tamaki made the decision for himself, "Run," he shouted.
With himself chivvying everyone along, they soon put a safe distance between themselves and the splendidly dressed shinobi.
As they ran Tamaki noticed something strange about the gardens.
Although night was closing in, the tangled boughs were lit as clearly zx if it were day.
Stranger still, their shadows seemed to have multiplie, but the academy student, dragging Tamaki by the arm, barreled him over the ridge.
"Don't stop".
Tamaki had little choice.
The ground fell away sharply beneath him and once over the edge, he had little hope of climbing back up.
Neither did the others.
Propelled by Tamaki's energy, the two slithered helplessly down the bank of straggly trees.
The found themselves standing in a dry, sandy gulch.
Above their heads the stars blotted out by ten evenly spaced moons whose radiance cast a web of shadows over the landscape.
In the conflicting light, the rectangular, white block of a walled city stood out, set near he bottom of the gardens.
 "Look there,"
Tamaki said, pointing at the buildings of the surrounding city village, the companions made their way to the walled city in silence.
Two gigantic pillars of stone greeted them near the entrance of the water gardens.
Looking beyond , they saw a smooth avenue of white houses slashed by dark alleyways.
The whole place had a still, silent quality.
When the duo started to explore, Tamaki saw why.

Everything Tamaki looked at in the city was made of stone.
Even the creatures who had been running in all directions, were frozen in flight.
On every face was an etched expression of horror.
There were faces of animals and faces of people, all artfully sculpted into masterful renditions of the original.
Tamaki remarked upon the sculptures, "Encased in stone, eternal forever more. Quite the hand to have gotten such features. "
The essence of Doton chakra were like imprints left by an apprentice sculpture, and Tamaki felt their impressions much like the signature of water left behind by his suiton techniques.
He was becoming more familiar with Doton chakra as this encounter progressed, remarking upon privately the effects of the slick earthen element.

Tamaki and the academy student had evaded the splendidly dressed shinobi for now, but there was always next time to prove himself.
The descriptive uses of Doton Chakra had been informative in their own right and Tamaki had felt an affinity towards it towards the end, when the splendidly dressed shinobi had raised two spires.
He was watching closely and had gotten a feel for Doton chakra.

WC: 4020/4000
Claim: Doton Chakra.
20+ stat points

Approved

Exiting from the water gardens, Tamaki looked over the scene of mist and disruptive earthen structures, he would have to say that the nicely dressed shinobi had been more destructive than he had ever been.

Returning to the scene of his last occupation, Tamaki surveyed the scene alone.

Doton had forever altered the landscape of the water gardens, and Tamaki had only every ventured this place when it was safe.

The splendidly dressed shinobi was no where to be seen as he entered the landscape, he was relieved to find himself alone.

Feeling the resonance between himself and the water and the earth, was a new feeling for Tamaki; a dual complicity to manipulating the elements, and he felt he could push through to achieve more between them both.

The water mixed with the earth in an unusual manner, more water than earth resulted in a flexible feeling while more earth than water resulted in a limber more solid form of chakra.

He quickly felt the affinity for both chakras as he put his hands together; slamming his palms together as described in his father's journal.

A primeval mixing of both chakras would result in a new affinity, or, so the books had said.

The strong and unyielding content of the earth was mixed with the suiton chakra to make it a soluble compound; a malleable material, and he felt the shift between the two chakras yielding into a third, unfound element.

The life he felt springing from his chakra was unprecedented, it was growing and changing by itself.
Like a seed springing from the soil a small branch of a plant broke through the soil.
Tamaki absent mindedly brushed it's leaves with his hand, and shaped the slender branch into a blossoming flowering fruit.
The lemon hanging from the end of the branch was testament to the fact Tamaki had broached something entirely different from the usual Doton and Suiton chakra
Carefully using his chakra, Tamaki fueled the growth of the plant with his energy.
It sprouted and bloomed forth into a magnificent tree, unknown to Tamaki this was a third element he had managed to scratch from the two supplementary elements he had proffered.

Tamaki consulted his father's almanac for clues as to his new found generated power.
There were few remarks towards an advanced element; Mokuton, wood, that could only be accessed by those within the Senju clan.
Whispers of The Many Handed had even passed down to the clueless ; such as Tamaki, and their skills were numbered in the elite many.
Only through tough discernment and capable chakra sculpting had he ventured into the sacred woods of the Senju, his chakra actually giving life to another form of life.
He sculpted a flute of wood from the extending branches of the tree, he plucked it from it's perfect sculpted grace and put it to his lips.

Tamaki began to widen one of the holes his breath went through with a kunai as he trilled a simple melody on the simple wooden flute.
A high E note was the first of many impossible impromptu melodies that he worked his fingers along, the sturdy pipe keeping note and pace with his lithe fingers perfectly.
The tune was melancholic and called for an accompaniment, a stringed instrument perhaps twanging long and lonely and keeping in time with the music.
A symphony sprung from the young ninja's fingers, encapsulating the very moment he had discovered or rather grown inspiration from the gardens itself.

He panned the environment with an expression of guilt, no one had heard this beautiful thing but himself and a sparkling tear found itself falling onto his shoe.

Tamaki had fallen into a deep despair as he turned, the only audience to the single most beautiful act of his young life was the animate figure of the nicely dressed man who had sprung from nothing.

His nice clothes contrasted with the moment as he started to walk slowly towards Tamaki, expecting something more perverse than the simple hand on his shoulder, "That was beautiful, you really should have been a musician rather than a shinobi, really."


Tamaki's eyes began to well in the corners, he had created life and it had created him in a beautiful way and the only witness had been someone who had rued the day he had met Tamaki.

His chakra swept into the soil between the two in pinpricks of dots, bamboo sprouted suddenly from the yielding ground betwixt them.

Separating the man from himself the lush green growth that suddenly sprung into being was dazzling as it was slender, it's thick outcrop of branches con-fuddling the hands of the nicely dressed shinobi.

In his outburst he had sprung to life more wood, and it was early morning when the mourning wood was the strongest.

The nicely dressed man composed himself liberally while Tamaki recoiled, there was a significant difference in the chakra he was summoning to the chakra he was predisposed to.

The wood flexed in the breeze and like brittle shards they snapped, causing a slight miscalculations to his plans.

Tamaki struggled to express the new found chakra within himself and sprouted many small saplings in his path as he stumbled backwards, evading the nicely dressed shinobi in a blossoming of flowering plants.

His chakra absent mindedly mixed Doton with Suiton and sprung wanting vines of mokuton from the earth below his feet.

The nicely dressed Shinobi was hacking through the plants and vines with a kunai.

Each impact and slice shuddered through the plants and reverberated within Tamaki; the creator of these animate plants, a pain of loss with every metal biting into his natural array of defense.

"You have quite a secret there, hiding the wooden techniques within you like that. "

Tamaki was confounded by his assertions, but as was evident he was springing wood like it was an element he was born into.

Perhaps the more obscure texts in his fathers books had referred to this secret element, Mokuton, and he was the humble vessel of a profound power he had yet to establish fully.

Claim: Mokuton Element.
1000/1018
+5 stat points

Wood Release Cutting

Hacking left and right at the fragrant grasses springing before him, the splendidly dressed shinobi was advancing towards Tamaki.
With every blow Tamaki felt a reverberation of chakra being shewn short of its mark, he stumbled backwards in his retreat and fell rather than walked down the path.
Every advancing remark seemed to slight Tamaki more than the cutting down of his mokuton he was rapidly caring for, his voice came a little more pathetic than he would have liked to have sounded; a squeak rather than the roar he was expecting, "What gives Valek?"

Stopping at the familiar name, Valek; the nicely dressed shinobi, grinned before saying, "I thought the Senju were restricted exclusively to Konohagakure?"
Tamaki's reply was just abysmal as his first squeak, "I travel."
In the dim, narrow light that was dawning over the area, countless fountains were streaming water adding to the ambience of the now placid situation.
There at the centre of the closest one was a lily pad, the water brimming the edges and the bud lay lay unopened.
The nicely dressed man; Valek, leaned closer over the edge, "This plant almost looks alive," he whispered.
The plant suddenly quivered to life under Tamaki's hand, blooming into a beautifully fragrant lotus he took it in his hand and brushed the vibrant purple and yellow petals.
It was a romantic gesture to wade out into the waters of a lake to acquire these particular flowers where Tamaki was from, the notion did well to humble Tamaki as he affectionately put it back into the water.
The nicely dressed man; Valek, reached into the waters and plucked it from the stem before placing it on a royally embroidered silk handkerchief.
He put both into Tamaki's hands, while musing, " Take this to a man and he will pay you handsomely indeed."
Not wanting the advice to be taken impudently the remark slid into a reflexive retort, "How much, where and whom?'

Smiling; obviously pleased ,the man pointed down a path. "His name is Henpecked Hao, and he loves to eat these flowers, if you bring him one, he may share with you what he knows about taijutsu... though, you should beware, he is hard to get along with at the best of times; and that's when he's sober," he thought to add after a moment of consideration.
"He lives in a shack deep within the water gardens, he's what you'd call... a vagrant."
There seemed to be a sentiment attached to the words the nicely dressed man; Valek, was saying, but, Tamaki did not pick up on the underlying challenge in the task until he had already found himself in over his head.

Moments later.

A bottle spun from the dark expanses of a corner he had just been about to turn, it smashed and peppered the boardwalk he had been about to cross.
The shining reprimand of being empty and hollow was scattered piece by piece, both here and there, mutterings and rolled slang that resembled curses followed by another spinning bottle.
This time the trajectory of the foreign object had been more personal, he was staring down the bottom of the bottle seconds before he raised his hands up to protect his face.
A single branch of wood shot out of is hand and pierced the bottle, thin enough and fast enough to simply skewer the soft bottle rather than push it away and block it.
The heavily woven thread of the drinking flask began to pour out a few drops when Tamaki heard a high-pitched disgruntled voice, " That was not empty."

The man Tamaki saw was unremarkable, he resembled a ropy bone man who had long passed his prime.
Around his forehead he wore a white handkerchief; like a chef, and wore a white singlet and blue shorts.
Before Tamaki could say a word in reply, the man hiccuped and burped loudly stumbling as he wobbled to his feet.
The man was obviously drunk or inebriated by some means as was evident by his behaviour and the bottles near empty being thrown around were aspects of a disruptive spirit.
Hen-pecked Hao had another bottle in his hand which he was generously paying attention to between words, "What's this, caramel sake?"
"No... wait, who are you?"
He expertly tossed the bottle of sake at Tamaki half full, spiraling sticky liquor spread out in a star fashion as it careened towards Tamaki.
Tamaki fashioned the ram hand sign on pure instinct and a branch of wood; as he had hoped, sprung out of his palm, breaking it off from where the chakra exposed itself in his hand he held the long branch as a katana and swiped the bottle from the air deftly.
Henpecked Hao was slow to realize the defensive maneuver and angrily pointed out, "You should stop moving around so much... so, it's a fight you want?'
Tamaki sighed at the presumptions, the man had jumped to conclusions without thinking about the ramifications of his actions and had acted brashly in his stupor.
Tamaki spoke clearly and consciously, slowly as to be understood, " I'm not here to fight you, I'm here to deliver a lotus under the direcction of Valek, here."
He proffered the silken package containing the flower which was aromatically pungent in it's dying stages, it was still a wonderful bluish purple and had a wonder fragrance perfuming it.
Henpecked Hao visibly drooled at the prospect of having a lotus to eat, though the process of consumption was up to some debate within Tamaki's mind; he had a wealth of gardening knowledge and everything that he'd ever read had told him the flower was poisonous to some degree.

He hurriedly passed on his charge so as to no longer bear the brunt of a drunken man's wrath, Henpecked Hao spoke first in the eerie silence that lapsed, "It's even in the nicely dressed b'stds handkerchief, glad you found me, I had just run out of flowers in this particularly nice slice of paradise. Exhausted my supply if you know what I mean?"
Tamaki nodded conspiratorially so as to not anger or be late him as he greedily began to pluck the leaves off the flowering bud.
The green leaves fell away to reveal a vibrant neon jewel that shined in the sunlight, he one by one plucked the petals off and put them in his eagerly waiting mouth.
He began to explain, "They're marvelous hallucinogenics when treated with care, but, they do tend to drive the user insane, haha what insane, no not me?'

Tamaki was growing uncomfortable and ventured a swing of his wooden blade in the distracted man's direction.
Not putting a great deal of force into the one handed swing, Tamaki found that the man'ss reflexes were amazing despite being drunk and he was fast as well.
Henpecked Hao's arm nimbly swatted the wooden pole aside with enough force to send it clattering to the cobblestones, "What are you doing, are you crazy?'
The question had put Tamaki off guard, so had the display of immense strength and speed exhibited by Hao and he only slightly paused before forming another hand sign in preparation.
"No, I'm not crazy Hao, I just don't trust drunken vagrants who throw things at me... at least, the first I meet them I mean."

"A healthy respect to have for one so young."
Now he was being praised by the man who had been berating him, this had been a roller coaster; or at least what he thought one would have been like had he actually ever been on one.
Before long, Tamaki began to notice the ground slope gently into an incline split by a spring fed stream.
It was towards this Henpecked Hao motioned for them both to go.
Not sure why, Tamaki conceded for due payment of course being truly neutral as he was.
Along the way a clump of weathered stones blocked their path, forcing them to ford running water.
As the slope leveled out, their progress became harder.
The stream turned into a wide-flow that wound its way between ever thicker clumps of vegetation.
Soon the clumps turned into islands and once fresh water curdled into a stagnant mass.
Tamaki would have tried to find a way around it, had not Henpecked Hao pointed insistently at a large hillock that rose from the morass.
The two travellers tried to keep on dry ground, using the islands as a path, but they were unreliable.
It was impossible to tell whether they were solid earth or jumbles of floating debris that had grown a deceptive green mat.
More then once, Henpecked Hao was fooled by the camouflage and fell through into the algae covered water.
Eventually the companions gave up trying to stay dry and wades through the swamp itself.
It was an unpleasant journey.
The water grew steadily deeper, oozing upwards from their knees to their waists and then to their chests.
For awhile, Henpecked Hao carried the lotus above his head and was picking off pieces to eat with the water almost to his neck.
Wisps of evil smelling mist rose into the air, swirling eerily between the trunks of tall trees.

Tamaki felt a tingling sensation on his forearm.
He looked down and saw a fat, slug like creature clinging there.
A smear of blood oozen from the point where it met his flesh.
More of the things had attached themselves to his arm.
He was about to bite one off when Hao stopped him.
"Don't touch it! It's a leech. If you pull it off, its teeth will stay embedded in your arm. This place is crawling with germs and bacteria. If the leeched don't suck you dry, gangrene will set in before another day is out. The only way is to burn them off."
Even as Hao spoke, he checked his own body as well.
They were covered in slimy creatures.
"How are we going to burn them off here?" Tamaki asked looking at the sodden ground.
"Everything's so damp."
Hao shook his head, then searched about for a lump of rock.
He gathered together the driest twigs he could find and began to make a spark with katon.
"Fire and oil mix well boy, learn that atleast!"
With some difficulty, he got a small blaze going.
He plucked a few reeds and thrust them into the sputtering flames.
When they began to smoulder, he blew on them until their tips glowed red, "Give me your arm,"
it hadn't been a question.

Tamaki held out his arm.
The leech still gorging greedily as Hao touched the reed's hot tip against it.
The swollen creature sizzled and dropped away, leaving a set of tiny punctures to show where its fanged had gripped.
Hao burnt off another seven leeches from his upper arm, then ordered him to strip off.
Tamaki did so and was aghast to see leeches hanging in clusters all over his body.
One by one, they succumbed to Hao's hot reeds.
When Tamaki was given the all clear, Hao gave the reeds to Tamaki and he went to work on the drunken vagrant; Henpecked Hao.
"Now" Tamaki said, picking up a white, clover shaped leaf from the ground.
"Find as many of these as you can and rub them over your wounds. The juice will take away the pain and stop them going septic."
Tamaki formed the ram sign and speared himself some of the leaves while gauging the depths of the waters by prodding his wooden poles into the water; judging which step to take ever time was becoming quite the task.
Tamaki helped Hao look, his practised eye picking out the tiny plants with ease.
They had both smeared themselves with juices and were preparing to climb the hillock, when a large gust of wind came over the bank.
Both cold and refreshing as it was fresh air, the two beleaguered gentlemen strode onto firm ground once more.

Hao waved Tamaki over to what appeared to be a chest, which he opened to reveal more bottles of sake.
"You must be kidding me," Tamaki's exasperated tone was belying the great treasure he felt he deserved to uncover but instead was robbed of by an alcoholic's obsession.
"Assuredly not my friend, this stash of booze is now yours. In thanks for your procurement I fathom I can share with you my secret stash. There's no way you can drink it all, you teetotaler."  

"How do we get back?" Tamaki moaned, in a grim monotone.
The delighted and daydreaming Henpecked Hao began to muse, "You know, in my youth I was quite the drunken boxer you know, won plenty of fights; people would come to me to train them! Can you believe that?"
Tamaki could not and would not believe his ears, he simply wanted a straight answer from the delirious drunkard, he formed the ram hand sign and a piece of wood slapped itself across the man's face.
Or so, Tamaki had intended but Hao had slunk to the ground in a heap resembling a bag of potatoes and swung his legs in a helicopter motion before swinging himself up into a handstand.
His balance suprised Tamaki and when he swung his feet forward to rebalance his vertical stature the force behind his feet was suprisingly a match for Tamaki.
The counter acting force of the blow threw Tamaki a short distance back in recoil, before forming another ram sign. I can't beat this guy at taijutsu, he thought.
The piece of wood in his hand branched another long sickle like blade fashioning what appeared to be a wooden long handled scythe.

Tamaki swept it left and right and Hao dodged, swinging his hips comically and flexibly allowing his centre of gravity to shift from his hands to his feet flawlessly and artlessly evading each attack.
Changing tactics, Tamaki threw the scythe to the left of Hao before he could venture that way and formed the three handsigns for Water Trumpet jutsu as fast as he could.
He ducked and spun to the right and blasted water towards Hao from point blank range, the water slicked underneath his feet and threw him violently to the ground where Tamaki continued to press down upon him a sobering shower of moss green water.


"The exit, you mean the clean and safe way?"
Tamaki seemed repugnant when he replied, "Yes... why didn't we go that way to get here?"
Hao shrugged, and Tamaki had decided he had not sobered him up enough before blasting him again with a Ou Tsuba.
"Well, to begin with; and like, believe me when I tell you this... but you look like a limp straw kid... all death and gloom."
Tamaki's reply was ruthless, "And?"
"And You totally had to prove yourself to be a dude... man I haven't seen a dude take so many leeched in a long time, good show dude.



Tamaki shook his head and continued up the safer incline followed by a ladder to a more familiar part of the water gardens.
There was small shack, presumably Hao's, which now housed the splendidly dressed shinobi Valek, he stooped out of the doorway holding both an apple and a bottle of sake.
"How was the trip through the aqueducts?"
He chucked the apple to Tamaki who skewered it with a wooden spike before taking a bite thereof.
"Did you know about the leeches; I probably should have mentioned the leeches?"

"I've had it with you mad men!"
"What did you expect after wetting me the way you did, a walk in the park perhaps?"
Not being one for expectations, Tamaki left Henpecked Hao to find Valek who laughed merrily like seeing an old friend, "Yelped like a kipper he did when we were getting the leeches off; nothing compared to when he discovered them in the first place."


Walking along the watery paths, he dipped his clothes in the water to remove the excess moss that had accumulated on his cloak.
He flushed his pants out with Ou Tsuba before noticing the holes in his clothes from using the wood release, he would have to be more mindful in the future if he were to be using the volatile element.
To Tamaki's delight, the marsh was clearer beyond all this.
Instead of the dank slime, it now flowed with a channel of fresh water.
There was a slender tree laying in his path and he mended it to stand tall and straight, although it was now covered in slime and moss, there was just enough room for him to squeeze past.
Tamaki fought desperately to keep his eyes open.
He was helpless against the fatigue that was coming over him.
Soon he was dreaming while walking uncorking the bottle he had pilfered as a reward from Henpecked Hao, absent mindedly swigging the sharp material, it began to burn his mouth and throat and sear out any tiredness he had been feeling.
He felt funny just from the first few sips, darn; had he done something to it, god forbid he actually bottle the essence of the lotus flowers he ate, the damn drunk.
It was light and heavy in his head and his heart began to dully beat in his chest with new vigor, it thumped twice before he fell over and threw up the content of his stomach.
He had managed to keep his bile down while travelling in the aqueducts but nothing had prepared him for the stomach stripping experience of fiery sake to a inexperienced stomach.

He cried from the force before groaning to his feet, it had grown darker since he had first began his adventure in the water gardens and he began to wonder if some unseen entity was lurking in the dark.
Following him was Henpecked Hao, he was breathing hard trying to catch up with Tamaki who had gotten a head start.
'"I forgot to mention, that you should only drink one cup after dinner."
Tamaki replied weakly, "You suck."
"Don't worry about it dude, I will teach you drunken fist. Come back tomorrow with that bottle after a big breakfast. Just don't hit me anymore with your sticks, okay dude?"
Tamaki woozily nodded in affirmation then continued to his way home before having a grand idea.
His few steps away had upset his stomach and it was more his tummy's idea than his own when he Ou Tsuba'd his stomach's content out like a fountain again.

WC: 3086/3000
Claim: Wood Release Jutsu
15+ stat points

Approved, but Tamaki I did notice that you updated your stat page with the stuff here before it was approved. In the future, please make sure to wait until a moderator (or a trial like myself) approves the training or the technique/stat claims BEFORE adding it onto your stat page.

Okay, will do so

Getting home in the dark while drinking had proven an unfavorable misadventure.
He puked in the bushes outside the inn that had was dark by fire the last time he saw it, it now fully recuperated from its little incident.
Sleep had offered immense solace for his tired and leeched flesh. The warmth of a hearth and a filling meal of rice and fish garnished with fresh tarragon.
If eating had been training, he was doing it. After his meal he downed a refreshing glass of cold water, the contents of his stomach were swimming and he felt queasy about seeing Henpecked Hao today.
Getting home in the dark while drinking had proven an unfavorable misadventure.
He puked in the bushes outside the inn that was darkened by fire the last time he saw it, it had now recuperated from its incident.
Sleep had offered immense solace for his tired and leeched flesh. The warmth of a hearth and a filling meal of rice and fish garnished with fresh tarragon.
If eating had been training, he was doing it. After his meal he drank a refreshing glass of cold water.
Because the contents of his stomach were swimming he felt queasy about seeing Henpecked Hao today.



He had brought the bottle of expensive looking sake with him, for sentimentality's sake mostly but he couldn't imagine actually drinking the contents of it any time soon.
His breathing was slow and repetitive and had come under his control by the usual lack of something to focus on.
Thoughts were a comfort that had not accompanied him on this journey thus far, he made his way down the streets leading to the water gardens and nothing unusual caught his eye.
The weather had been overcast over Haven city and within the walls there was a still wind playing with the flags scattered over the embassy.
What year had it been?
A good year regardless.
Calm, walking and thinking of lunch Tamaki had arrived.
An open hoodie, regular long pants; both, black and a plain insignia on a t-shirt consisted the entirety of Tamaki's attire.
His mood grim, he lost the motivation to contort his facial muscles into anything more than a small and painful, slowly spasm of a smirk.
He had not expected to see so little of anyone in all his life, one that day in particular he had seen so little of himself in the reflection of the waters.
Strength lined his jaw and his arm muscles had doubled in size; barely fitting them within his old clothes, and he even felt heavier from all the food he had been eating.
Training had miraculously transformed his hormone rich body from the young lean figure, into an athletic and mature caricature and he noted a feeling of extra vitality.


He felt right within himself, there was a deep seated contentment that rested within.
The peace was disrupted however and Tamaki stirred from his inner consternation.
It was Henpecked Hao, in usual fashion a bottle in his hand and a bemused expression.
"Ahh yes, Tamali was it? How are you wooden master?"

A bit forward for Tamaki's taste and wrong.
"It's Tamaki. What is it Hao?"
He burped then covered his mouth very rudely, smirking he said, "Are you ready to learn drunken boxing?"
Nervously showing the slender bottle he kept in his jacket pocket, Hao eagerly showed him what to do with it.
Had the circumstances be different perhaps he would one day have an actual sensei, rather than vagrant street thugs who picked on children.
He would have to make do, which came as a sharp surprise to him how ready he felt for what was to come.
Tamaki broke the silence,"No thanks, I don't like to drink Hao. Go home, You're drunk."

Tamaki threw the bottle at Hao rather than to him, it spun in the air between them before the drunken master suddenly sunk quickly into the ground.
A look of blank surprise greeted his face as his startled expression gave him little time to react.
Suddenly very nice hands grasped from the earth beneath his feet and pulled him down.
He was neck deep in fine rich black dirt when he noticed the nicely dressed man; Valek, and Henpecked Hao standing beside his head with subtle smirks on their faces.
"Get me out of here!" came Tamaki's voice in a sharp tone.
His arms and legs had been immobilized, his entire body from the neck down had been neutralized.
"This is Hiding Like A Mole, And Head Hunter Jutsu."
"You will have to learn them if you are to keep up young brussel sprout."
They both spoke in different keys and decibels but both put across a condescending note through out their speech, making it obvious they were talking to someone much younger then them.
They both planted their feet and the ground became softer around his neck.
The dirt had become like sand from the use of their chakra.
The rich soil dampened and Tamaki regained the use of his hands, which he used to pull himself out of the hole they had made for him.
Practically being crushed alive did things to enliven the spirit towards notions of rage, yet Tamaki was their inferior so he did not retaliate.
Simply learning the lesson given, he tested his limits.
Spreading his chakra into his feet and into the ground was a simple solidification process.
"You have to move the dirt with your hands when your down there. Here. We'll help."

The ground suddenly gave way beneath him, prepared for it this time Tamaki spread his body weight so he sank slower.
Once under the ground the sand began to push him forward as he applied his own doton chakra, he swiped the fine silt out of his way.
He became aware of a fine sensation of detection coming from above him, dimly he could sense what was going on above ground.
Not quite sure how to get out of the ground he was sure was going to suffocate before a section of earth beneath him began to shift unsteadily.
He lost his footing as he was thrust upwards breaching the soils precipice and floundering for air, Valek had used doton to raise the earth like he had the other day.
Breaching the earth resembled breaking the surface of the water when swimming, he gulped air greedily.
"You're going to have to take a bigger breath next time, the sand stops you from losing all your air down there."

Tamaki nodded in affirmation, regaining his breath after some time.
Ready to try again he took a lung full of air and spread his chakra out through his feet and into the earth, softening the soil to the point he would be able to move through it.
His knees sank into the earth before his waist, then his chest and head finally dissipated below the surface.
Immediately he got the sensation of footsteps above the ground, even a few loud stomps probably from Hao's drunken stumbling.
He noted both the nicely dressed man; Valek's, and Henpecked Hao's position and deftly evaded them.
Silently passing through the earth, Tamaki found the capacity to exert enough chakra to loosen the soil so that air could pass through to him.
Like a mole he grabbed the sand in front of him and pushed it behind him, he was gaining speed when suddenly the earth began to shift again.
Dodging to the left he solidified enough of the dirt beneath his hands to push his arms and head out of the dirt making a small hole.
"Just like a mole, how entertaining. You can use this jutsu in conjunction with your hidden mist jutsu to completely evade your enemies and know where they are while the flounder around in the mist. "

"I'll try." Tamaki responded to the nicely dressed man; Valek, whom had thought of this combination by himself as he was the only one who had seen him perform it before.
Tamaki clapped his hands into the tiger hand mudra and expressed his chakra into the surrounding waters of the wells.
Projecting a fine haze into the air, precipitation began to collect on his forehead and he wiped it away before thickening the density of the fog to envelope all three of them; Henpecked Hao, Valek the nicely dressed man and Tamaki.
Then he sank his chakra into the dirt beneath his feet, it growing up to meet his vertical form he soon disappeared completely.
Tamaki's head was the last thing seen of him as he travelled further this time then any of the last, escaping the field of vision of the two indefinitely he travelled along the roads of the water gardens at a speed similar to his running pace.
If he ventured to far to the left or right he would tunnel into the rocks of the wells or if he dug to deep he would start to flood the cavern with water from the aqueducts below.
It was slow and steady progress from there, he had mastered the jutsu well enough to use it on command and he was confident in his abilities to escape now.


Much deeper down the paths of the water garden Tamaki found many tinier footsteps scrambling overhead, though he could detect them he could not see what they were doing.
He poked his head out of a hole that suddenly appeared in the middle of a game of water tag, he deduced this by being sprayed in the back of the head by one of the would be combatants.
Tamaki quickly ducked back down  into the soil and swam a short distance before collapsing the earth again and sticking his head out.
The youngsters had made a game of seeing where he would next appear and more often than not they hit there mark with Ou Tsuba.
More of a fun annoyance than anything, Tamaki continued to appear and disappear shooting his own Ou Tsuba with the monkey handsign.
Soon the entire water gardens would be riddled with tunnels and holes he thought to himself and spoke to no one about it, things like infrastructure and integrity did not interest him by rote of subject.
"We're slightly disappointed you didn't invite us to play sooner."
"Had I had the thought to involve you in my training, I would never get anything done." Tamaki said sadly, more so to coax their enthusiasm out of a dire situation that may result in more Ou Tsuba's regularly hitting him in the back of the head.
"Now, I have to return to finish the rest of my training for today. Good bye all."
They all used Ou Tsuba as he formed three non descriptive handsigns, dragon tiger hare.
He used the water trumpet jutsu to wash away the assortment of genin and academy students he had been playing tag with, a regiment of tiny soldiers washed down the drains thought Tamaki much to his amusement.
Tamaki discerned he would return the way he came, sinking back into the soil he made his way along his belly, pushing dirt behind him like a mole as he sifted through the softened sands he heard or rather felt impressions of footsteps above him pacing in circles.

He went to pierce the surface and grab at the legs of the person directly above him but in his haste some sand pushed him further out; including his had.
Valek quickly jumped away from the position as the inexperienced hands grasped for his feet; more of a shock then a suprise, he laughed heartedly at the half stuck Tamaki sprouting from the ground.
"Hey Hao, maybe if we water it, it will grow haha? "

"Very funny Valek, maybe if I water you you will grow haha very funny."
Tamaki threatened Valek with the monkey sign while Valek drew his hands together into the dragon hand sign, clearly outmatched Tamaki resigned to spill the contents of his mouth at his chest rather than at Valek; who would use the water trumpet jutsu as a simple disciplinary measure.
The standoff gave Tamaki time to wriggle out of the earth with fresh dirt on his clothes, perhaps Tamaki would Take Valek's offer up on the free bath.
But for now Tamaki had finished his training, "I bid you both farewell, Valek and Hao; have a good afternoon."

Claim:
Hiding like a mole

+10 stat points

WC: 2070/2000

Approved