Kenjutsu Academy: Infusing is hard

'Polished simplicity'were the first two words that sprung to mind when one entered the swordsmanship academy of Kirigakure.  One of the higher points in the village, on a slight uphill from the ninja academy, the mist was even more of a constant around the base of the school, dulling out the colors of everyday life just a bit more.  Hayate suspected it was intentional – the art of kenjutsu had long been inextricably woven in the fabric of the hidden village, and the setting reinforced the ties in a very strong way.  But entering the facility was a sudden shift, the well lit room seeming even more so by its sparse, clean organization.  Plain white walls surrounded  a perfectly even wooden floor, only interrupted by blue practice mats covering the floor in a far corner.  Various equipment was stored on racks, spaced among the walls to never jut out too far.  The building seemed to Hayate as if it were a mighty grandmaster itself, unconcerned with appearing impressive because it was calmly sure of its own strength, and seeming even stronger for it.

The patter of shuffling feet trying to gain an advantageous position and the occasional 'clack' of wood to wood contact floated over from two pairs of experienced adult sparing partners all the way across the building to where Hayate and 4 other teenagers/young adults stood in a half circle around their instructor.  However, the sounds weren't loud enough to make it hard to hear the confident Kunoichi.  If you didn't count her large brunette ponytail she was the same height as most of her students, but the way she walked and talked like she owned the place gave her a bigger presence than her stature would suggest.  She held her sword of choice – a medium sized single edge blade that grew wider as you progressed to the rounded end, known as a Cleaver Falchion (link), in front of her as it gave off a faint glow.

“... and then your chakra network extends through your hand into the sword, as if it were a part of you, infusing the blade.  Now, steel is already pretty hard, so it only improves the toughness a little by itself, but you already know how essential it is for a swordsman to treat the blade as part of their body, so it shouldn't surprise you that this is a crucial step in your learning.  Once you master this, not only will you be more in tune with and aware of exactly what you and your sword are doing, but you can also manipulate the chakra inside the blade.   To, say, sharpen the edges beyond even the finest tools with the Flying Swallow technique” The faint glow of the sword seemed to expand slightly and coalesce, forming an actual visible millimeter thick skin around the blade.  “or even use a swing to propel a cutting wave of chakra itself”  The instructor turned to her left and, holding the blade above her head, performed a downward strike.  As the blade swung, the coating extended from the tip behind it, as if a layer of viscous liquid was being shaken lose.  But at the blade reached parallel to the ground, the crescent of chakra separated from the blade, continuing on to form another clean slice in the already scarred chest of a practice dummy.

“Of course, that's still a ways away.  For now, try to circulate the chakra through the entire blade as if it were your arm.  You'll definitely feel it, but a faint glow will also give away your progress.  Now get to it.”  She made a shooing motion, indicating for her students to spread out and try the technique.

TWC 619

Hayate took his place at the end of the row of students, who had spread out to have about a meter or two between each. They wouldn't be doing full swings just yet, but they did need SOME space. He drew his spatha into his left hand, a nd concentrated on what the instructor had said. The instructor that was currently watching them all intently, arms crossed. Still, if you couldn't perform under pressure, there was no point even learning the combat skills they taught here. Students were screened early in the process, and only a certain percentage even got to take the lessons. Still, it was the chakra control parts that were the hardest, the most different from the normal techniques. Nowhere near the complexity of forming the advanced ninjutsu, but the techniques they did use had to be perfect, quick, instinctive, powerful, and as natural as breathing. In melee there as no time to stop, focus, to craft in your mind.

So he began what was sure to be the start of a LOT of practicing, even after he actually got it. Hayate pictured an image he saw in school, of the chakra pathways running through the human body like tubes of light. He imagined simply pushing that pattern further, like his army was growing longer. He could feel his chakra building up, straining at the hand/sword border, but resisting, pulling back, not breaking the plane. Hayate himself resisted a sigh. Of course, it wouldn't be that easy, it never was.

A few more efforts in, and he could tell it wouldn't work this way. Your body's chakra networks were what they are, you can't normally just change them. So what was he missing..... Well, if you're stuck with the chakra network you have, maybe just keep that? And then just add to it instead of trying to change it?

Hayate snuck a peak around at the other students. Two of them had a faint glow only at the base of their blade, one had a slightly glowing handle, and Hayate and the other had nothing. The instructor uncrossed her arms and pointed at Hayate “Hey! Concentrate on what YOU'RE doing.” as she walked over to the one with the glowing handle.

OK, OK, you can do this. Hayate instead imagined a similar chakra network to his own within the sword. Now all he had to do was bridge the gap... After a short burst of effort, he felt the chakra crossing over from his palm into the path he imagined in the sword. But while the chakra flowed freely in his body, it was like pushing cold molasses through a stirring straw in the sword. The chakra didn't want to follow the pathways he tried to force it through, it wanted to deflect and spread and go just about anywhere else.

He focused again, visibly exerting himself, trying to gain control. The chakra narrowed, it pushed a little harder, but was no easier, and he once again had to stop. Fine, lets let it go the way IT wants to then. Hayate simply imagined the same start of a chakra network in the sword, but no other path besides that entryway, and poured his chakra into the handle. The handle glowed slightly where he touched it, but while the tight paths of chakra did flow faster and easier taking their own path, they spread and grew more and more disperse, and the light faded long before it hit the blade.

He was concentrating on his experimentation hard enough that he didn't notice the instructor walking towards him until she was right in front of him. Of the same height, she looked at the glowing sword handle then back at Hayate, directly into his eyes. “Alright, it looks like you have half the picture. Now here's the other half.”

WC 641   TWC 1260

The Kunoichi continued “You felt for yourself how to get chakra into the blade. And you've seen that you need to control it into tight pathways, or it just disperses too much. But I bet you've notice by now that just doing that isn't so easy, right?”


A smile came to her face, making her look more vicious and feral than happy. She certainley had an edge to her. “Do it again, with the paths, but loose ones”.


Hayate took up his spatha, holding it at the ready, and focused. He didn't force the chakra into tight paths, but rather just corralled it into loose, wide paths. Circulating the chakra got harder as he did so, but not as much as when he originally had the tight paths.


Just then, the instructor suddently struck his sword. It rung for a second, vibrating... and when it did, the strangest thing happened. Within the loose paths, the chakra seemed to gather by itself, with very little  chakra around most of the area, and more of it occupying a tight, winding path within the looser path he had formed.  It felts like getting the perfect tone from a tuning fork. As quickly as it happened, the chakra dispersed again.


Hayate looked at the sword in surprise, letting the chakra stop, and his instructor actually laughed. “You saw it that time, didn't you? The sword is like an arm of its own – just as you can't change your chakra paths, it would be folly to try and use anything but the swords natural leylines. You'll have to feel it out a little at a time, but once you get used to the path, it should flow just like it does in your arm” She gestured from his sword up to his shoulder.


It was certainly an eye opener, but Hayate couldn't help but wonder if maybe she should have just should have fully explained everything at the start, instead of making them try in vain without crucial info. He supposed there was some lesson in that as well, but maybe he'd think about it later.


For now, he focused, forming the loose pathways again. He started narrowing it right at the start, trying different paths until one just seemed to work. He inched forward, burning the path in his mind. The flow got a little smoother, a little easier with each tiny bit of length he mastered – but after focusing for so long he had to stop and let his chakra relax and rebuild when he was only an eighth of the way up the blade. Still, it was starting to glow, and that was progress. After a few breaths he went back to work, while the instructor went to talk to the last student, the one who still didn't even have the handle glowing.


Millimeters, centimeters, - he slowly worked farther and farther, as progress got easier and easier. With only a few more breaks and pauses, he was able to get a REALLY faint glow along the entire blade. Hayate smiled genuinely – it was a big accomplishment, to him.  Though even the instructor admitted mastering this alone wouldn't increase their combat power by much, it was a point of pride to be more connected to the sword, and to open up the possibilities that lay beyond.


The sensei gathered the three of them that had the entire blade lit. “So now you have the basics. But thats entirely too faint. Even at the brightest it wont act light a light, but you have to focus the paths more, tighter, and get the chakra flowing just as strong and fast as in your body. And you have to be able to do it the moment your hand touches the sword. So same as always, practice, and refinement. Now, Off you go.”


The lesson was over for them, and no doubt the other two would get it soon enough – as mentioned, the academy only let those who already had an aptitude even attend further than an introductory class. The three were free to stay and practice, or find their favorite practice spot – once they got the lesson, the instructor was done with them, and expected them to perfect it and return, to put in as much of their own effort as they were willing and dedicated,and not just limit themselves to defined class time.


All three boys went over to the other side to practice a few more times – and secretly check out the others progress, and note who was farther. One stayed – he always did – to practice at the academy, while Hayate and the other sheathed their swords to pack up and go. Hayate had no doubt in his mind he would be exhausting his chakra many times this week. More importantly, his practice before class and all that heavy forcing of chakra left him famished, and he would need to refuel before going farther.  As he left the academy, visions of spicy udon spurred him forward.

wc 842 twc 1260   2102

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EXIT
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Claims
2102 wc
2000 for 10 stats and Chakra Infusion Skill
  100 for a Basic Scroll

Approved