Finger Cramps

As the cold night born wind of kumogakure flew through the hyuugas black hair, he couldn’t help but feel lost. The kumogakure he had found when he returned felt… different from the one he had left. Was this because the village had changed, or was he himself the piece of the puzzle that no longer fit. He didn’t really know, He knew he still loved the place, that much was obvious it was home to his brother, home to max, home to amai, home to his former sensei and so much more.

But it didn’t feel the same. For better or worse he knew that. Letting out a sigh the boy would lay back on the cold black shingles of his apartments rooftop and gaze into the stars, after all the night sky was full of them. Over the years Komon had become familiar with the stars, often relying on them to guide him back from far away missions in unknown lands. Because even where the terrain was unrecognizable, all one had to do was look above them for a dose of familiarity.

It was almost comfortable to think of, the heavens always there to guide a shinobi home, “how poetic” The hyuuga would say to himself as he drifted to sleep on his rooftop not bothering to bring himself back inside to the shelter of his apartment. The summer air of kumogakures outdoors suited him just fine for the night. The sleep was a long and fulfilling one, and he was greeted by the morning murmurs of kumogakure undead army. A year ago it would have frightened him, the undead army of the great youka tau was to be feared after all.

But he’d learned in the last year that the unpredictable was what should be truly feared, and the zombies were about as predictable as anything could really come. They existed for one singular purpose. To feast on foreign invaders, they were essentially the white blood cells of kumogakure, mindless beast that exist to preserve the host. A necessary evil in Komon’s eyes as of late. Groggily rising to his feet the jounin would stretch his arms and allow a large yawn to escape from the lips of his mouth.

Then he’d take in the view around him from his rooftop, clear skies, a rarity in his village. Moderately warm weather, if he had to guess about 68 degrees fahrenheit. It was early morning and the rooftop was still wet from the morning dew, his clothes were soaked from it which was rather annoying, but he had to change anyways so it was no matter. With expert precision he’d swing himself from his rooftop into the window of his room.

It was a mess as usual long sleeve shirts and wrinkled pants laid scattered across the floor in a mangled mess, with only a few spots of the oak floor managing to peer out from underneath the mountain of clothes. Still waking up the Hyuuga would pat his lips while he let out a smaller yawn before pulling his shirt off from over his head, this would reveal the giant yin yang tattoo he’d received from kobayashi senshi months ago before the bijuu fight and the trip to hoshigakure.

The tattoo was supposed to bring him great power, but it had failed and robbed him of it instead, a little ironic considering symbol that it represented, balance. Where there was great promise, there was also the potential for great failure. That was the lesson he had learned on that day, he’d also worked hard to regain his power since then, as of right now he suspected he was just finally reaching it again… and it felt good. But the hyuuga was not content with being as good as he once was. He wanted to be better, and rightfully so, it was a common goal that all of humanity shared. The desire for self improvement.

Starting to wake up the jounin would slip on the vest that symbolized his rank, before covering it with his brown leather jacket and dawning his signature look. The wet shirt he had been wearing now laid in the mess of clothes beneath him, adding to the untidy mess that was his room. His outfit was missing just one thing at the current moment, the headband that marked his allegiance to the hidden cloud village. Currently it laid on his nightstand, Komon hadn't dared to leave it on his head while sleeping outside for fear that the morning dew may have caused it to rust.

After walking a few paces towards his nightstand he’d slip the the headband over his forehead and press it into place, all the while using his free hand to tie it so that it would rest in place without the need of his other hand. When he was confident he had accomplished this task he removed both hands and smiled at himself in the mirror. He was now fully dressed, and ready to face the day as a jounin of the kumogakure army.

The now 18 year old jounin would turn his body to pick up the massive warhammer currently leaning against his dresser. The large weapon was heavy, even for a jounin of Komon’s strength the thing felt like he was carrying a damned refrigerator. And Komon had carried a bijuu, so he knew what he was talking about when he said something was heavy. Propping the glorified mallet over his shoulder, he’d walk out of his front door and into the hallway of his apartment whistling a tune similar to one from snow white and the seven dwarves.

Maybe it would wake his brother up, that would be hilarious. But he didn’t have time to find out, he had people to see and things to do. And Komori was not one of the people he intended to see today. No he had set up a meeting with his former sensei Gamori the man who had taught him most of his early jutsu, and the first person to guide him and his brother on their path to the rank of jounin. He was a good friend and a valued ally, and the two were going to train to help Komon develop a new jutsu today.

What that jutsu was Komon had no idea, but Gamori had been pretty insistent on them meeting to do it, so he suspected that his former sensei had put quite a bit of thought into whatever it was they were about to learn. It would be a while before he found out however, as Gamori's apartment was on the other side of the village hidden in the clouds, yah the hyuuga had a bit of a walk in store for him. Walking on to the street he’d look to the sky again once more taking in the rare cloudless sky, it resembled that of hoshigakures desert climate more than the snowy peaks of kumogakures mountains.

It was off putting and strange, but also a welcome change in the everyday routine of kumogakure. Komon was still whistling the tune as he walked down the dirt path of kumogakure across the village when he spotted a somewhat familiar face, one he hadn’t seen in a long time walking into a familiar location, a place he hadn’t visited in a long time. The Hidden Cloud’s Diner.

Amai…

The boy would think to himself as he watched the girl he had known so long ago return to the place she worked. He’d stopped going to the diner when she had stopped showing up, he knew she had been going through a tough time after he mother had fallen ill and died, and the two hadn’t ended on good terms.

“I’m going to have to go and talk to her eventually” Komon would say making a mental note to return to that diner one day and confront her. That was one relationship that he absolutely needed to repair. But he had a previous arrangement at the current moment and Komon wasn’t one to be late. “Another time Amai” He’d say quietly to himself before walking out, not knowing that the girl had spotted him through the window of the diner, and was watching sadly as he walked away from her yet again. Whether Komon meant to or not, the boy always seemed to be falling short of his goals, and letting those around him down.

But if there was one person he had never disappointed it was his former teacher, and once again he’d arrive on time to meet his sensei. This was going to be the first time the two had met since they shared the same rank and Komon was honestly not entirely sure on how he was supposed to greet him, should he give a low bow like he had used too? A hand shake? He had no clue, and as he walked up to the door he would knock several times to alert the man of his presence.

Soon Gamori would open the door, and all Komon’s worries of the formality of their greeting vanished when the man gave Komori a hug. “It’s good to see you again Komon, I’m glad you made it back from the war in one piece. How did Komori fair? Is he all right?” The man would ask before spotting the white jounin vest strapped across Komon’s stomach. “And when did you get that fancy new jacket? I guess were equals now huh kid?” The man would say as he berated his former student with a series of questions.

“Komori made it out fine, I lost a few friends and some genin in the war, but most of them made it out fine as well” Komon would say assuring his teacher that he and his brother were in perfect health. Then he’d answer his sensei’s question about the new rank and jacket. “Me Komori and two other shinobi were promoted in hoshigakure for taking down two of the tailed beasts, it was a great battle I’d love to tell you all about it but It’s kind of a long story and I think it may be classified… Honestly I’m not entirely sure” He’d scratch the back of his head as he awkwardly said that last part before pausing and considering his next words.

“So what’s this new technique you wanted me to learn? You seemed pretty excited about it in your letter!” Komon would suggest as he handed over the envelope the man had sent him. Gamori’s eyes would light up as he opened his mouth to speak. “Yeah! I was doing some research on the hyuuga clan for the village when I was reading about the clan’s famous defensive rotation techniques… I also remembered your affinity for the lightning element and how quickly you seem to learn these kinds of things. Long story short, I have a theory and I think your the perfect person to test it, I think if this jutsu succeeds that it will be a brand new powerful defensive S rank lightning technique” The aging man would pause before looking Komon in the eyes. “So what do you say? You interested? Wanna give it a shot?” He’d say asking the same question twice without realizing it.


Komon would blink a couple times trying to process what the man had just said, a powerful lightning S rank, Hyuuga defensive techniques, Why was his sensei even researching these things, the man wasn’t a hyuuga, he had no byakugan or the bloodline of Komon’s distant clan. No, But the man had always had a thirst for knowledge where most had a thirst for power, in Komon’s eyes Knowledge and Power were one in the same, it was what made Gamori a great sensei, he had never had the most powerful jutsu, in fact in pure chakra Komon had probably surpassed him early in his chuunin rank. But the man was calculating and innovative where most shinobi were just brainless fist waiting to punch.

“Alright… Lets give it a shot” Komon would say to his former master before signaling Gamori to lead the way to his indoor training ground, the two had used it several times in the past, like the time Komon had learned bedrock coffin and earth wall. It was designed for destructive jutsu and the perfect place for Komon to train, the training grounds always ran the risk of being crowded and impossible to train in but here the two had the place to themselves.

The pair would make their way down the wooden hallway of Gamori’s apartment before finding themselves in front of the familiar iron door. “This place had to have costed you a fortune” Komon would say wondering how much an academy teacher could possibly be getting paid. But hey this was youka’s village and the man did take pride in his soldiers. He supposed Youka appreciated men who made good soldiers and compensated them accordingly. Gamori seemed to confirm his suspicions when he responded. “It certainly was not cheap Komon”. Before popping the iron door open and motioning for Komon to come in.

Komon of course would obey and walk into the earthen arena that very much resembled a pokemon stadium. And taking a seat in the middle of the room in front of his sensei. “So walk me through it, how does this supposedly all powerful S rank technique work in theory?” He’d ask the man. Gamori like a true teacher would walk over to the chalkboard that was built into the walls of his arena before drawing a dome. “So when a hyuuga defends themselves they create a thick wall of chakra from the momentum of their spinning. This makes it a taijutsu, because it’s powered by their bodies own motion” The sensei would say before taking a pause. “But I expect you already know this, you are a hyuuga after all… What I want to do is turn this into a ninjutsu, and you with your exceptional control over lightning ninjutsu are the perfect candidate for such a task. Instead of creating the force by spinning, I want you to spiral lightning around yourself in the shape of a dome, essentially mimicking the taijutsu with a ninjutsu.”

Komon blinked twice, and let a pause linger. “Sensei that was too many words spoken at too fast a speed” He spoke honestly, he had barely caught a word of it. “Can you explain it again” He’d say quizzically awaiting his sensei's re explanation.

Gamori would let out a slightly annoyed sigh before pointing back to the dome. “Hyuuga spin make strong shield. You spin lightning make stronger shield” He’d say as if he was speaking to a toddler. Komon would squint as if he was offended before saying. “Ok, ok you jerk I get it now” and standing up. “So instead of doing this” He’d mutter while making a spinning motion before coming to a stop. “You want to eliminate the need to spin all together… for a faster defense?”

“THATS EXACTLY WHAT I MEAN!” Gamori would shout in an estatic voice. Clearly excited that his former student finally understood what he had been trying to say. “But it’s all going to come down to your ability to bend that lightning to your will and form a dome, it’s a tremendously important part of the technique” Komon would nod in agreeance, it was certainly going to be important for him to be able to do that.

“I think a good way to start would be to simply try and add my lightning nature to my protection of eight trigrams technique so that I can get a feel for a lightning dome, once I’ve gotten the taijutsu down I can try to form it into a ninjutsu. Think you agree?” He’d ask his long time friend and sensei genuinely curious as to whether the man thought his idea was a good one or not. Gamori was wise, considerably more so than Komon, and he trusted the man’s input.

“Yes, I think that’s a good place to start” The old sensei would agree while nodding his head yes and taking a step back, giving the stone floor to Komon for his first attempt in the process of learning this jutsu. “Once we get a good amount of work done we can head over to that old diner you used to love so much and grab something to eat” Gamori would joke. Obviously not aware of the real reason his old student had visited the place so much. Sure the waffles where a huge part of it… but Amai had been the reason he kept coming back.

“Yah I’d Like that very much” Komon would say before getting into the signature hyuuga taijutsu stance with one arm extended forward and the other arching behind his back. “Lets get this started” He’d spout before shouting “EIGHT TRIGRAMS PALM ROTATION” In a rupture of speed the hyuuga jounin’s body would begin to blur as it spiraled in motion in the center of the room, in a manner of seconds a blue forcefield would being to emerge around him and his sensei was noticeably amused by it, throwing a loose rock into it and watching it ricotche and clatter back into the wall behind him.

“Alright so you can use your hyuuga jutsu, big whoop, so can every other hyuuga ever! Show us something new Komon!” His sensei would shout, clearly egging the boy on to do more. An odd sounding laugh would emit from the spinning blue sphere before it Komon would begin to attempt the addition of lightning to the technique, mentally preparing himself for the inevitable accidental electrocution he was most likely about to either give himself or his sensei. “Gamori Sensei you may want to shield yourself” Komon would warn as he began to draw upon his lightning nature.

Gamori didn’t need to be told twice as he propped 3 earth walls up from his earthen ground floor. “Copy that Komon, now get to work” He’d say encouraging his prized apprentice. Komon like his sensei also didn’t need to be told twice, taking the lightning nature from his center mass and pushing it out into the dome that surrounded him at first the technique seemed to work and the blue dome faded into a soothing purple essence, it crackled and moved smoothly for a few seconds before it went wrong. The jutsu seemed to overload and the electricity quickly turned into blinding white light before creating a loud boom.

Komon was blinded for a few seconds and when he finally regained his sight he found that he was collapsed on the floor unscathed, looking to the side of him where his sensei had been he saw a mountain of rubble where his teacher had been. Panicking he’d shout “GAMORI!” Before running over and tossing the rubble aside, rock after rock the mountain grew smaller and he finally made out the head and chest of his former master. The man was breathing but clearly unconscious.

“Oh thank god” The hyuuga would say as he fell over and began to breath heavily, he was going to have to catch his breath while he waited for his sensei to regain consciousness, and they were both going to have to be a hell of a lot more careful while developing this technique. Several minutes passed before he heard Gamori gasp for air clearly in shock. “So that was a bit more powerful than we were expecting right?” Komon joked, as he got up and offered his teacher a hand, in order to get the man up off of the ground. “Come on we clearly have quite a bit of work ahead of us, I think we’re gonna want that food sooner rather than later.” The words he spoke were true, and Gamori obviously agreed as he let out a cough, “You pack one hell of a punch Komon, I could definitely use a little bit of rest before we get back into the swing of things.”

With that the two would exit the room full of rubble and make their way into the much cleaner living room of Gamori’s apartment. Komon would grab the mountainous warhammer that he had left on Gamori’s couch and put it over his shoulder not daring to leave the ten thousand dollar piece of equipment just lying around while the two weren’t here. Not that there were many thieves in the village who’d even be able to lift it but hey, why take that chance when one did not have to.

“Let's go sensei I’m starving, all this spinning really works up an appetite” The hyuuga would jest while strolling forward into the streets of the village hidden in the clouds. The sky was still clear and the roads were still made of dirt, as to be expected as roads dont often change the material they where made of over the course of a few hours. But the sun had shifted and it was now full afternoon with the sun glaring straight down on the inhabitants of the cloud village. “I hate this summer heat, I’m definitely more of a snowy weather kind of guy” He’d say to his sensei. Gamori would laugh in response, before retorting “I can’t empathize with you there, I find the summer heat delightful” The jounin would say “Maybe you’d find it more appealing if you’d ditch that ridiculous leather jacket” the older man would joke pointing to Komons signature brown leather jacket. “Not on my life” Komon would say only half sarcastic, the jacket was his fathers and one of the few momentos he still had of the man. It’s sentimental value was worth much more than any discomfort it may cause in the heat of kumogakures summer.

The walk to the diner wasn’t long, in fact Gamori lived rather close to it compared to Komon. And as the two walked up to it Komon couldn’t help but feel anxious. Was he really about to talk to Amai again after all this time, it had been months, maybe even a year since the two had spoke. What would he say, what would he do. Honestly the boy had no clue.

But as the pair walked through the glass doors Amai was nowhere to be seen. Had her shift already ended? That was all that Komon could think of as the reason why she wouldn’t be at her usual hostess station, she usually greeted anyone that walked through the door. Hell that was how her and Komon had met in the first place. Had he simply imagined seeing her earlier, had she not actually came back? His eyes locked with the new host, a large fat man with a gnarly beard.

“Table for two?” The man would ask enthusiastically. Probably not genuinely, and most likely because his employer told him he had had to. Komon would simply hold up two fingers not bothering to answer the mans question with words as it was a waste of time and energy to do such a thing. Right now he was more concerned about finding Amai, he’d built this moment up too much in his head for her to simply not be here. The fat man would know what it meant and begin to guide the pair of two across the restaurant Gamori was trying to make small conversation but Komon was hearing none of it, and simply saying “Uh huh” every time he heard the jounin pause.

It was something he tended to do when he was focusing on something else entirely, and right now that was exactly what he was doing. The hyuugas byakugan activated as he looked for the familiar chakra signature, next to his own brother there wasn’t a signature in the world he knew better. And there it was, in the back of the kitchen in what looked to be the break room. He’d let his eye flicker back to normal before pardoning himself from his sensei. “Gamori Sensei, forgive me but there’s something I have to do” The hyuuga would say before hurdling over the counter and into the kitchen.

Several staff members tried to intercept him on his way, none of which he recognized, the diner must have redone their staff since he had last been here. “AMAI” He’d say loudly as he burst into the back room with a smile on his face. And for a moment her face seemed to be happy as well before a tear rolled down her cheek and she got up and slapped him. “What the hell were you thinking Komon!” She’d shout angrily and with a shaky voice. “You left for a fucking war and you didn’t even say goodbye! How am I supposed to react to that!” She was angry, and Komon for the first time realized the full extent of what he had done.

Her hand came back again and slapped him a second time. “You could have died you asshole!” She’d say as she began to push him out of the kitchen. “Do you know what that was like? Do you Komon!” The boy was speechless, but he knew he had to do something when the third slap came swinging his way he caught Amai’s arm by the forearm. “Amai… I’m sorry… I was an idiot” He’d say aloud. “I didn’t think you’d want to talk to me after our fight… So I left without saying goodbye, and it was the most stupid thing I have ever done in my eighteen years on this earth” The boy would pull her in closer and wrap his arms around her.

“I’m so sorry” He’d whisper in her ear, as she sobbed on his shoulder. A few moments would pass, with nothing but her sobbing to fill the air before she finally responded to him “You better be” She’d say between sobs, seeming to have forgiven him. After a few moments of standing there Amai seemed to regain her composure and the two would move to a table to catch up. Over the course of a few minutes Amai would tell him all about how she had become a medical ninja shortly after her mother had died, in a quest to prevent the same from happening to other children. She’d graduated top of her class in the academy, and was now a chuunin.

It was a lot to take in, the last time the two had met she hadn’t even been a shinobi. Now she was the rank he was when he had left for war. “That’s amazing” Komon would tell her, genuinely meaning it. The girl was holding down a job at a diner, while being a full time medical shinobi at the same time, and she’d already reached the rank of chuunin. “I honestly don’t think I could manage your schedule, It’s much easier just focusing on one thing, and being a shinobi just always came naturally to me.” He’d say before noticing the clock, he’d been in here for almost twenty minutes.

“Uh oh” He’d mutter before standing up. “Amai, I’m here with a friend and I’m afraid I’ve kept him waiting for quite a long time” He’d hint hoping for her to allow him to leave without actually asking for it. Amai would give a sarcastic eye roll, her eyes still noticeably pink from the earlier years. “Go on, leave me again” She’d joke. Komon would let out a small laugh before following up. “I’d like to see you again, tonight, when you get out of work” He’d suggest. “If that’s Ok with you”

Amai would smile before agreeing. “That sounds like a plan, pick me up at 7” She’d say. Komon would smile before turning around and speaking without looking back. “Looking forward to it Amai” And then the pair would separate for the time being, both returning to their daily lives. Amai to work, and Komon to lunch.

Gorami sat at the table which already had their food, the sensei knew Komon’s favorite food and seemed to have ordered it for him. “So I finally see why you used to love coming here so much… Who’s the girl” He’d say, while pointing in the direction of the kitchen. Komon’s cheeks would slightly blush at the mention of the girl. He hadn’t even talked to Komori about her much less anybody else. “Just a friend for now sensei” Komon would say rather honestly before digging into his food, and stuffing his mouth full of waffles.

“Whatever you say” Gamori would shrug as he to began to dig into his food. The pair would converse for a while before the two both came to matching empty plates and payed for their food. “I guess it’s about time we got back to work on this jutsu” Komon would suggest before standing. “Probably a good idea” The aging man would retort before leading the way out of the diner. But Komon was not in nearly as much of a rush and would pause at the front door before turning and waving goodbye to Amai.

She’d let out a giggle before returning to work, after all she still had to pay the bills and couldn’t spend all her time messing around, she was on the clock.

The walk back to Gamori’s house wasn’t much of thriller, still the same dirt road, still the same sound of the groaning undead, still the same summer heat that Komon was so un-fond of, and the same antisocial people roaming the dirt road. Not much changed, except for Komon himself his face was gleaming from his recent trip to the diner, his reunion with Amai had gone much better than expected, and left him feeling energized. Now more than ever he was determined to figure out this jutsu.

“So what do you think went wrong with that technique, if I can’t control it with taijutsu… I don’t have much hope of converting it into a ninjutsu, don't you think?” Komon would ask concerned, maybe his teacher had an answer he wasn’t expecting. An outsider's perspective was almost always helpful and refreshing. “Any ideas on how I can control it better Gamori Sensei?”

The old man paused for a second, before touching his finger to his chin in the stereotypical way to express that he was deep in thought. “When you added the electricity to your technique it was purple for a while, but just before it exploded it turned into a blinding white. Did you pour too much of your lightning nature into the jutsu and overload it?” He’d ask his former student concerned. He’d thought he’d taught the boy proper chakra control, and was pretty sure that was a mistake one of his student’s wouldn’t make.

“No, I used the amount that would make sense, I can't think of why I’d lose control like that” Komon would retort quickly defending his expertise on lightning nature. He was almost 100% certain that the amount of chakra he’d used would have been the right amount. But Gamori quickly exposed his mistake. “Well, maybe you didn’t account for the spinning motion supercharging your technique and failed to cut back to make up for that?”

And suddenly it all made sense to Komon, that was exactly what he had failed to do. His hand would smack into his own face as he hid from his own shame. “I don’t know how I didn’t think of that” The hyuuga would say genuinely embarrassed. It was such a simplistic mistake, one that a student of the great Gamori should not have made in the slightest.

“Lets give it another shot, in the stone room” Komon would say as he began to sprint ahead towards Gamori’s apartments. The lunch had already set them behind schedule and the two had a bit of grinding to do if Komon was going to learn this complex S rank technique in time for his date with Amai tonight. He still had to get home and change out of the dirt covered clothes he was currently wearing after all.

“Let’s go Gamori! I got people to see and things to do!” Komon would shout with an enthusiastic tone. Gamori would follow a few seconds behind and the two would make their way into the mans apartment and down the wooden hallway, returning to the rubble filled stone training arena that Komon had nicknamed “The Stone Room” Once more taking place in the center of the room Komon would pause before trying the technique again. “Hey sensei, maybe its a good idea not to be in a room until we know I’ve gotten this down… I could have killed you last time.”

Gamori paused for a second before nodding and agreeing. “Wise words from a wise apprentice” He was being sarcastic of course, and took several over exaggerated steps backwards before closing the iron door. “Do your worst jounin!” He’d shout mockingly from behind the safety of the iron door. His voice was muffled but still loud enough for Komon to get the point.

Allowing himself a brief moment of concentration the hyuuga would find himself getting back into the infamous hyuuga taijutsu stance, first bending both knees to a ninety degree angle and extending his dominant arm forward, while arching his weaker arm behind him. Taking a brief and powerful breath the hyuuga would exert all of his force into his right leg, pushing off of it and marking the start to his powerful spin.

Within seconds his body would become blurred to most low level shinobi, thanks to a speed he had spent the majority of his younger years developing. Seconds more and the blur of his body would be surrounded by a beautiful blue aura, it was pure chakra coming to his defense as he exerted it from his body and sent it into the cycle of his spin. These were the parts he had down to a science, the parts that presented no risk. But what came next, that was the scary part. The hyuuga would grit his teeth before summoning the courage to attempt the jutsu once more.

“HERE GOES NOTHING” He’d shout inaudibly as he was spinning fast enough to distort his speech. The words sounded more like the noise of a helicopter than actual speech patterns. After his warning Komon’s lightning nature would begin to pour out from him, his body acting as the center point and would begin to spread around the blue dome his eight trigrams palm rotation had created. The dome would turn purple to signify this action and the hyuuga would watch in both satisfaction and worry at the same time weary of it turning into the blinding white light it had chosen to last time before it exploded.

But this time he had payed more attention to the chakra he had expelled, and as a result the white light and the following explosion never came, much to Komons relief. Happy with himself he’d slow his spin to a halt and watch as the purple dome around him vanished into thin air. “Did you see that?!” He’d say looking to the iron door. “It worked!” He’d say astonished. “It really worked!”

Gamori yawned sarcastically. “No I completely missed the blinding purple ball of electricity in my training arena.” Before laughing and following up “Good job kid, now do you think you can figure out how to do that without spinning? Thats when this jutsu really becomes an S rank. It’ll become fast and effective, the perfect shield against other S rank techniques” Gamori would stress the importance of the next step of this technique, and Komon would listen intently.

It made sense, if he wanted to make this an S rank, it was going to need to be more effective than the B rank he originated it from, and quick deployment had no downside. “I can certainly try and give it a shot, but I think it would be a better idea to move to an open field. No telling what could happen and I do not want to destroy your apartment Gamori Sensei” He’d say giving a slight bow before turning to leave the apartment.

Gamori agreed giving a slight nod before following suit and the pair once more made their way onto the dirt streets of kumogakure. Komon had never noticed it before but the two were an odd pair. Komon with his grey eyes, scarred face and giant glooming warhammer, and Gamori with his aging face full of wrinkles and torn and stained jounin outfit. The man looked like an old monk, and Komon looked like a young soldier.

They would make excellent main characters to a fictional novel appearance wise, the hyuuga would think to himself as the two strolled towards training ground 5, the place Komon had met senshi kobayashi, reizo and max for the first time. He smiled at the memory, there were very few fond memories that the hyuuga had of this village from his time during the chuunin exams, it had been ripe with horrors. But he knew that he would always hold onto the memory of meeting those three.

Aside from his brother there were no shinobi in the village that Komon trusted more than the three of them, and he couldn’t imagine how he’d feel if he ever lost one of them. It would probably be similar to the pain of losing his parents, an emotion which he wished to never experience again. Good friends were hard to come by and he treasured the ones he got to keep.

After several minutes of walking the familiar training ground came into view, a clearing in the middle of a large forested area. Odds were some of Senshi’s many booby traps still rested in the area. “Watch your step, Gamori, this was Senshi Kobayashi’s training ground” The jounin of course had no clue who that was, but Komon’s warning was enough to make him raise an eyebrow in concern.

Finally the two found themselves standing in the middle of the clearing, with nothing but the sound of chirping birds and groaning zombies to break the silence of the beautiful summer day. “Alright, time to brainstorm” The grey eyed, scar faced hyuuga would suggest. It was about time the pair began to come up with an idea to convert this taijutsu into a ninjutsu. Gamori would interject “Well I guess we should choose some handseals, after all, most ninjutsu use them” It made sense to Komon to start here, as he flashed back to all the time he had spent repeatedly making the hand signs to all of his jutsu so that he could cast them instinctively, a practice that he had picked up from the sensei standing in front of him. “Yah, I guess that’s as good a place as any to start” He’d say in agreeance.

The hyuuga would then begin to create a random mashing of handseals, the symbols and the order themselves didn’t much matter, like all jutsu the handseals just served as a trigger for his chakra to form a specific jutsu. The jounin then chose 3 hand signs at random, first boar, then tiger and lastly ram. He repeated this several times ensuring that he had committed the pattern to memory, after several minutes the hand patterns became almost reflexive, each signal smoothly transitioning to the next.

“Alright, I think I got that down sensei, should I give the jutsu a shot or do you have any last minute advice that may be of use to me?” He’d ask, wondering if his former master had any wisdom to share at this moment. Gamori nodded, taking a breath before beginning to speak. Remember, you’re not spinning with this technique, so stopping your momentum to stop the jutsu isn’t going to work out for you. Make sure you have an idea on where to send this chakra once you’re done using it, before it going into it alright?”

The old man would say, making sure that Komon knew he was going to have to have some form of idea on how to stop the rapidly spinning jutsu if he succeeded in creating it. “Yah, I guess that’s a good point sensei” The young jounin would respond before almost instinctively getting into the hyuuga taijutsu stance. Knees bent, dominant arm sticking out straight forwards, and the weaker arm arching behind him. Then he remembered that the whole point of this jutsu was in order to convert the hyuuga defense from a taijutsu to a ninjutsu.

“Oh right” The grey eyed hyuuga would say. Allowing the temporary confusion to subside and standing straight up. “The hand signs first” He’d narrate as he began to weave “Boar” His hands would clasp “Tiger” Again they’d mash “Ram” And finally he’d reach within himself to call upon the chakra residing within him. First starting with pure chakra as it was less destructive and easier to guide. And he guessed it would take a couple tries of this in order to apply the lightning element.

So here he was guiding his own chakra into the shape of a dome, no lightning, no taijutsu, just his mind bending the powerful force to his will. And for a while it seemed to be going well with a few setbacks, for one the blue chakra was spinning in the shape of a cylinder, two it was only about 3 feet off the ground, barely shielding anything higher than his waist, hell his entire upper body was completely exposed.

As if to illustrate this Gamori Sensei would pick up a stick and throw it at komon’s torso watching as it bounced off. “Wow what an effective shield, I’m sure glad you’re my prized student” He’d say sarcastically before signaling for the hyuuga to stop. “This obviously isn’t working, we're gonna have to go back to the drawing board to figure out what you’re doing wrong, no need to keep wasting your chakra” He’d say as he took a seat on the stump of a recently cut down tree, probably from some gennin practicing weaponry, as the tree looked like it had been cut by a katana with that clean of a cut.

It reminded Komon of his training sessions with Senshi, when the behemoth of a man had made him practice his slashes and cuts. In senshi’s eyes one could never have done too much training, and the two had often spent their morning unleashing their weapons on the poor vegetation of Kumogakure. Komon smiled as he reminisced on the memory of his friends. “I really have to meet up with them soon” Komon would think to himself as walked over to the stump his sensei was currently sitting on.

“I can’t figure this out” Komon would say in dismay, it should have worked. He’d practiced the formation of all kinds of ninjutsu, granted most of them were offensive. The only real defensive ninjutsu he had ever really bothered to work with was bedrock coffin, which was basically the same jutsu as this but with the earth element applied rather than the lightning element, and it stayed still rather than being in motion.

As he made this connection in his head he would put it together. He needed to move imagine the lightning dome as he would have bedrock coffin. Start from the bottom and build up, rely on the momentum from the spinning lightning to create the roof of the dome. “Nevermind sensei I just had an idea” The grey eyed hyuuga would exclaim before taking several steps backwards noticeably more confident than before.

Returning to the center of the field Komon would once more weave the signs he had created for this jutsu. “Boar” He’d shout first as his hands followed, “Tiger” The word slipping in after his hands. “Ram” He’d shout. Finishing the last of the hand seals. Now purple electricity would form a ring around hims starting low, just like he had planned. It would stay low like this for a few more seconds as Komon toyed with it, ensuring he still had full control of the jutsu so that he didn’t get another disaster like in the stone training room of Gamori’s apartment.

When he was confident that his control over the lightning was reliable he’d begin to raise the jutsu up off of the ground, forming the lightning dome his master had envisioned. “THROW SOMETHING AT IT” Komon would say ecstatic that the ninjutsu shield was actually working. Gamori in response would pick up a stick similar to the one he had thrown earlier and would sling his arm forward, launching the wooden thing at Komon’s new ultimate defense.

This time however instead of hitting Komon in the chest, the wooden twig would disintegrate on impact with the shield. The grey eyes of the hyuuga would light up as he saw it, this thing that the two had created, it was surely the most powerful jutsu he had ever brought to life, and something he could use to defend against even more powerful attacks. Now…. He just had to figure out how to stop it.
Gamori had warned him that he better have a plan for expelling this jutsu and Komon had listened. This rapidly spinning lightning wouldn’t just come to a halt at least not yet, he wasn’t used to the jutsu enough to simply turn it off, no it was going to have to be redirected, which is why Komon had a fourth hand seal in mind for it, “Boar” Komon would mouth as his hand formed the boar seal once more.

As he did so the spinning lightning would take the form of a hundred lightning needles and spray with force directly behind him, shattering several trees into the ground as they did so. The shield would disperse as this happened leaving only a grinning Komon Hyuuga and a proud sensei on the field. “We did it” Komon would say in triumph as Gamori smiled in return. “You did it” The man would mutter in return “I just watched” He’d say while genuinely laughing.

“Come on let’s get you home Komon, you’ve done enough for one day” The former sensei would assure him. Komon would follow him, both tired from his training and ready and eager for the plans he had created earlier in the day. With that the two would walk away from the training field leaving several fallen trees in their wake.

--Exit--
WC: 7765
Claimiing Nail Bomb and Mastered Nail bomb (No Hand Seals) 7750/7750
Nail Bomb = 8000, mastered Nail bomb = 8000
Max stat discount on 16000 = 12000
Using 3500 WC from christmas event = 8500
And 15% discount of up to 5000 words = 750 WC
8500-750=7750

Approved