Making Strength out of Memory (P)

The sound of rain fell upon the Leaf village, the clouds above rolling past and bringing about wind along with the rain that made many villagers stay within their homes, as ninja heavily cloaked to protect themselves from the rain roamed around the village on last minute missions while scurrying around quickly to get out of the rain soon as possible. One ninja that was getting ready to go outside in the rain rather than stay inside was Vergil as he walked out of his front door as his hair immediately began to soak wet and stick to the sides of his head as he closed his door and walked through the rain while passing other ninja in the village towards the gates of the village. The gate guards that watched the village and the outside of it from above looked down to him as though he was crazy as he walked past the threshold though he could tell they knew what his intentions were by leaving the village as he was making his way to the training field. He would just give a backwards wave to them as he walked his way down the road to his destination through the tree and the many little droplets of water that continued to fall on him. Whether they understood or not this was the perfect setting for a certain aspect of Vergil's training and he wished to utilize it as best he could.

Vergil made his way into the training field as he looked around to see that more craters and burn marks had appeared across the ground along many different surfaces such as the cliffside, the rocks that lined the river, even the trees a little bit as he was starting to feel a little antsy about how hard the other ninja were training besides him. He knew it was going to be a challenge to make it far within the tournament that was coming up. It had been a challenge just preparing for it as he looked up to the sky, looking at the raining clouds above him past the tree's leaves he stood under, as he thought about all the events of his life that had passed that led him to the man that he was today. No parents anymore. No friends. No guidance. Yet he still was considered a good enough ninja to be able to take on the upcoming tournament to possibly make it to Chuunin. What would he do upon making such a rank? Would making such a rank give him satisfaction with himself? Would he want more? So much more it changed him as it had changed so many he knew around him?

These were thoughts he would need to push from his mind. There would be time for lamenting and regretting later when he was in the safety of privacy. For now it was time to get to work as he looked out over to the river and thought about how best to provide the training he was intending to go through. Many times throughout his growth his father had taught him that the Sharingan was the second most powerful tool an Uchiha possesses. The most powerful tool any Uchiha couldn't survive without was their mind as the Sharingan's power relied heavily on both an Uchiha's mentality. There were higher levels of power a Sharingan could attain including a level his father once told him called "Mangekyo Sharingan". The highest level of power an Uchiha could naturally attain by themselves that required, as his father put it, the loss of the closest person the Uchiha had in their heart. The thing was Vergil had no one like that. His father was dead. His mother presumed dead. He had endured a massive loss. So why was he not able to awaken his Mangekyo?

Being the case he couldn't he thus had to settle for the next best thing: Sharingan with a third tomoe. The maximum level an Uchiha could discipline their eyes to achieve through meditation or training. It took much in the way of discipline to unlock but, from what his father told him, worth the effort for all the tools that became unlocked upon achieving it. This was the perfect setting for Vergil to meditate, the constant rain engulfing the field in a sound so serene he could get lost within it, as he walked out from underneath the tree towards the cliff and hopped up it in order to walk up along it's rocky surface. He would flip up upon reaching the top as he eyed the spot that was perfect for meditating: a tree that was right by the edge of the cliff side which overlooked a great portion of the field as well as the forest and all of it's splendor. Watching all the trees sway and their leaves falling from them by the wind of the rain he stretched his arms and legs out before taking a seat underneath the tree and took a lasting look out to the view before him before closing his eyes and letting his mind float while his chakra within him swirled.

He took in a deep breath as he crossed his legs and put his fists together as he let himself sink into the sound of the rain as he could feel himself sinking into a deep state of hypnosis as he could feel his mind opening up to his latent memories as he opened his eyes slowly to see that he was now within his home again but the window outside showed that it was raining while he sat in front of the fireplace. He reached out to it, able to feel the heat radiating from the flames, as he noticed his hand was much smaller than before and he examined himself to see he was now younger. He could remember where he was, his 12 year old legs glued in their position as he couldn't move or get up, as this was a point in his life that he usually kept buried deep within himself due to the tragedy behind it.

A kid who he was friends with, another Uchiha who was known for being a prankster among their peers and the grownups, had gotten into an accident that wound up taking his life. Their name was Sayaka and she was known for being a brilliant tight rope walker but she wasn't a good swimmer. One time her and Vergil once snuck out of their homes to go out of the village and find a nice and high cliff, many hundreds of meters away from the ground level, that had an equally high cliff right across from it that was connected by one of her custom made tight ropes. She had hopped up to the tight rope and was balancing really well as she looked to Vergil and challenged him to get on the tight rope with her. Unlike Sayaka Vergil didn't have a passion for death defying stunts and lucky for him, yet unfortunately unlucky for her, she didn't take into account that being so high up made for a better terrain for birds to fly as suddenly a flock of crows would fly along and scare her to the point she lost her balance and began to fall. Vergil saw this happening and hopped up onto the rope to rush over and grab the rope with one hand, his feet falling off due to his inexperience, before he caught her with his free hand trying to hold her from what was, in his mind, certain death.

He held on to the tight rope for dear life, his fingers slowly losing grip strength, as he held on to Sayaka with the adrenaline of fear keeping his grip around her hand strong. She was scared as well, holding onto his hand with both of hers, as she looked all around the nearest cliff for something to try and grab onto. She took a deep breath and used her legs to start swinging back and forth along Vergil's hand towards the cliff, Vergil doing everything he could to hold onto the rope as she did so, before she put all her core strength into swinging upwards towards the tight rope and letting go of Vergil's hand in order to land on the tight rope with both feet. Vergil was impressed to see that until he felt his grip of the rope shatter completely as he began to fall but she then quickly got down, keeping her whole body on the rope, as the roles were now reversed and she grabbed his hand while keeping him from his death.

She, being the most skilled at this, was able to keep a better grip of everything as she used her balance as an advantage and shimmied over to the edge all while carrying Vergil with her. What she didn't know was, all the while carrying him, a portion of the tight rope was growing weaker and snapped causing it and them to fall. The snap happened in the center of the rope so they were now swinging towards the bottom side of the cliff as Vergil quickly grabbed onto the rope and swung as Sayaka held on as well. The rope would wind up hitting the cliffside hard as Vergil braced for the impact and made it out almost entirely unharmed but, unfortunately, Sayaka would take the blow a bit more harshly as he looked down to see that she had hit the back of her head and was knocked completely out. Her grip on the rope completely relinquished she would fall as Vergil was too high up to catch her and all he could do was watch as her body fell down towards the raging waters that were below.

Seeing the death of the girl he considered his best friend was heartbreaking for him and he had stayed antisocial for days as he spent all of his time in his home with his parents trying to calm him down and help his sadness. Today was one such day while Vergil sat in front of the fireplace and he noticed the door to the living room open as his mother walked in and sat beside him as Vergil had an out of body experience and watched the scene as he watched his younger self sit completely still while his mother whispered softly to him. This was where Vergil lost himself and, even though he loved his parents with everything he was, the loss of his friend was so detrimental to his psyche he never saw other peers his age the same way. He used to be incredibly thoughtful towards others that he went to school with as well as seniors in need of help. Nowadays Vergil could see just how empty he had become towards the world, an empty mind accompanied by an empty heart only drove to deeper regret due to his parents deaths, as now was the time for him to find his soul once again and become a better man.

He could feel his mind warp as he was shrouded in darkness and he could feel the droplets of rain around him once again as he could hear the leaves of the tree above him collecting water and gently dropping small puddles of rain on him here and there. He opened his eyes slowly as he could feel hot tears running down along his cheeks as he took a deep breath and rubbed his eyes clean of his tears while looking around where he was and got a good view of the whole land in front of him and he was reminded just how beautiful the world was. The protection of the world and it's inhabitants, the fear of failing once again and losing even more people who were important to him, while growing all the stronger was the entire reason why he became a ninja in the first place. Feeling as though his mind was clear enough and his chakra was high enough for him to continue with his training and he got up onto his feet and blinked his eyes a few time while summoning forth his Sharingan. He hopped down the cliff to land next to one of the training logs before once more pulling out a tag with writing along it's paper before sticking it to one of the logs.

Vergil stepped back towards the river, the rain falling upon him heavily, as the shine of the tag had engulfed the log completely before dissipating in shine to reveal a second Vergil watching the original. The original Vergil was now standing atop the water with his feet separated and soles of his feet shrouded in chakra as he got into a fighting stance that resembled the Hyuuga's fighting stance except his back hand was closed into a fist and his front hand was open palmed and sideways while facing away from the clone. The water around Vergil swirled around him as he focused his chakra as he could feel it coursing out of him more than it had ever done before as soon he could feel himself becoming lighter as his chakra burnt hotter within him ready to be used. Flexing his hands, cracking his knuckles, he got low at the knees as the clone prepared for whatever Vergil had planned before Vergil brought his hands together and formed a few hand seals.

Taking in a breath he got out a few kunai as he blew out a watermelon sized fireball before tossing in the kunai and the ball of fire separated into tiny fireballs to surround the kunai all while they began to fly towards the clone. His Sharingan predicting what the clone was going to do he would jump up soon after launching his flaming kunai attack as he saw the clone jumping rather slower than Vergil had ever seen him move before bringing a foot around above him downward to try and slam the clone down back into the flames. The clone looked up just in time to get it's arms up and catch most of the kick as it was launched downward back into the path of the kunai as they all stabbed into it and spread the flames all over it. The thing was that the river was directly below them which meant that as soon as the clone was hit with the kunai it hit the river and was immediately relieved of the fire.

Vergil dove into the water as the clone was pulling one of the kunai out of it before grabbing the clone by it's leg and tossing it back upwards and out of the water. Putting his hands together and gathering his chakra to his feet he flipped in the water to point his feet downward and kicked his feet as the chakra propelled him quickly up and out of the water like a torpedo. The clone was now devoid of kunai thanks to the force of Vergil's throw as it was suspended in the air while Vergil was soaring at him like a bullet. Taking a defensive state itself the clone stuck it's hands out ready to catch Vergil to possibly try a counter attack but Vergil seemingly positioned his body straight and twisted himself out of the way of the clone's arms before bringing a knee into the clone's side. The clone would let out an audible grunt as Vergil brought a forearm around and smacked it in the face causing it to start flying towards the ground while Vergil fell slowly back towards the water. The clone would flip and catch itself from the full force of the ground it had momentarily been flying alarmingly towards as Vergil landed daintily on the surface of the water and got back into his original fighting stance while his clone watched.

The clone charged one more, bringing up it's hands to form a few seals, as Vergil was able to see it's body start forming afterimages behind it during it's charge. It was using the flicker movement technique once more as Vergil's Sharingan was able to keep track of the clone with a more refined focus as, to him, he could see the clone moving at a slow enough speed that the flicker movement didn't even seem to be affecting him. Blinking a few times his eyes kept a good track of it moving before he planned how to counter what the clone was going to next do and thus readied his fists to attack. Just as the clone was closing in on him Vergil pushed forth his back fist and slammed it into the clone's chin as the strength behind the punch and the speed that the clone had been running caused it to fly upwards and away from him. He watched the clone flip and land a bit of a ways from him as he was surprised by how well he was able to track the clone's movements. He looked down into the water at his reflection and he could see his Sharingan…

They still both showed only two tomoe within their irises which confirmed that he hadn't quite awakened his third tomoe just yet but he could definitely feel a difference within his movements and his reactionary tracking. Taking a moment to catch himself as the clone continued to watch him he stretched out his legs and started to rotate his shoulders before stepping off of the water and facing his opponent. He got back into his stance and waved to his clone to come and attack again as the clone this time tried a different tactic and formed a couple of hand seals, Vergil's Sharingan able to track the hand seals with ease and see that it was going for a fireball, as the clone blew out a ball of fire the size of a large boulder as Vergil was surprised by the size and thus ran to the side as quick as he could only to be met by an incoming kunai zooming through the fireball directly towards him! Being that it had just gone through the fire he couldn't risk grabbing it due to heat coming off of it so he would need to roll out of the way as the fireball would just barely graze the bottom of his boots as Vergil got back up onto his feet.

The clone was already in front of him, it's hand raised to swing down another kunai upon Vergil, as Vergil jumped to the side and started dashing towards the cliff as the fireball was exploding in a fiery blaze along it. The clone gave chase as Vergil hopped up along the cliffside and hopped over the edge as he watched the clone was not far behind as it soon hopped the edge completely with kunai at the ready. It would flip in the air while tossing two kunai after Vergil as Vergil hopped up in the air. He kept a close eye on the clone as the clone would then throw two more kunai at the kunai it had just thrown and Vergil would hear a steel on steel collision sound as he looked down to see the clone had redirected it's originally thrown kunai to be aimed at him once more! It would be Vergil's turn to take in a deep breath, hand seals forming all the while, before blowing to let out a giant ball of fire towards the kunai and the clone.

He would see the kunai within the ball of fire he had made with the Sharingan as they would melt away while his clone ran forward to get out of the way of an oncoming fire death. Vergil flipped over and tossed his own kunai after the clone as the clone jumped up towards Vergil while completely side dodging the kunai and the two would continue their fisticuffs from within the covered in rain and wind air. With every kick Vergil tried to land upon the clone the clone would have a counter by delivering a punch yet Vergil was skilled with his Sharingan enough to be able to keep up with each punch and kick and block it effectively. It wouldn't be long until they both reached the ground as Vergil dive kicked the clone in it's chest and caused it to fall towards the ground as Vergil flipped and charged straight towards the clone upon landing. The clone would land on it's feet and charge forwards as well before the two clashed while holding onto each other's arms they were about to attack each other with.

The two would struggle against each other in a battle of strength, the water of the rain dripping from each other's hair hanging over their glaring eyes, before Vergil brought a knee up to hit the clone square in the jaw before using it's body to jump off and back in order to get some distance and take a moment to catch his breath and rethink strategies. The clone was crouched low on the ground while rubbing it's chin as Vergil took in gulps of air while crouched down himself in order to give his legs a bit of relief and allow a bit more strength to recover within them. He closed his eyes for a moment as he listened once again to the rain falling down around him, to the leaves of the trees rustling due to the light wind accompanied with the rain, as he felt his mind opening up once again as soon his chakra was rising within him once more and he felt he was ready for one more big clash as he stood up and focused his chakra within his mind before opening his eyes and everything was suddenly changed.

Vergil's eyesight was highly improved suddenly as he blinked a few times to see if he was just imagining it until he looked over to one of the trees nearby and saw that he could tell the tree was moving much slower and, better yet, he could see where the leaves were going to be blown next. Blinking his eyes more, however, he soon discovered that his Sharingan was blinking out of it's improved state every now and then back to it's original state as he closed his eyes and rubbed his eyes softly to try and get them relaxed. He then opened them again to see that the clone had clearly had enough time to rest as it had charged after Vergil again with fists raised as Vergil cursed at himself for seeing that the clone was moving as fast as it had been before he got his hands up. He hopped back and flipped backwards on his hands as the clone charged and continued to attack him before he would use his hands to propel himself off the ground in order to try and get in a better position to defend himself as he started to fight back.

Taking a defensive stance Vergil caught multiple punches that the clone was throwing before kicking it back down towards the ground as it flipped over onto it's feet while Vergil flipped over and landed on his feet before he blinked and focused chakra within him once more and gathered his chakra into his body in order to get ready for another charge. As soon as he did, however, he felt his vision shift once again as he blinked a few times just as the clone was starting to run after him once again. His now more powerful vision allowed him to see every movement the clone was going to make before it even made it's moves! He shifted his head to the side in order to avoid an oncoming punch at the last second before, out of the clone's vision, he drove an elbow in it's sternum and the clone stopped dead in it's tracks before Vergil quickly swung his body around and kicked the clone away by landing a foot square in it's face. Even Vergil was amazed by his reaction at it as his mind seemed to be acclimating with his newfound vision and allowing him to make split second actions that ended with devastating results.

He flipped around in the air as he recovered from his kick and landed upon his feet just as the clone was pulling out something that Vergil wasn't expecting him to which was the wooden sword that Vergil had made a good while ago. That's when he remembered that he had his sword tucked away behind his back as he pulled it out and faced off with the clone by keeping the blade along his left side, gripping the blade while his hilt was forward and ready for his right hand to grasp and use, as the clone did the same thing. The rain around them fell mercilessly as Vergil was secretly glad the clone opted to pull it's sword out as this gave him the perfect opportunity to have a sword battle and give him the chance to get some katana blade training in as well. If he was ever going to be worthy enough to wield his family's Yamato blade effectively he would need to know how best to utilize his family's techniques. Facing off against himself with such skills provided him with the perfect opportunity for learning such things.

The rain water dripped off of Vergil's hair as he watched the clone closely with his improved vision as he thought that the next move he should commence with was another charge forward, this time with blade at the ready, as the clone kept the same stance Vergil had as Vergil separated his feet and got low to the ground as he brought his right hand around in order to have it hover over his wooden blade's hilt as he watched the clone do the same. Vergil had lost track of how much longer the clone had before it disappeared in a haze of chakra but he knew he didn't have much longer as this next time they were setting up each other to clash was probably going to be the last. He could feel his chakra surging forth as he called for it and the clone saw this happening and decided to do the same thing as both was soon shrouded in an electrical aura that was dark in nature as Vergil squinted his eyes as he wondered about why his chakra possessed such a color before he saw the clone's feet shift and his Sharingan allowed him to notice the clone was about to charge.

With a shift of his front foot Vergil charged after the clone, the clone charging at a slower speed than Vergil, as Vergil could see each individual raindrop during his charge which meant that he was actually moving faster than even the torrent of rain could keep up with. Was he really getting that fast? Could he get faster potentially? More training would be required for this but for now his focus needed to be on the clone as he came upon him and placed his right hand upon the hilt of his blade. He stopped himself just in front of the clone as the clone swung slowly upon Vergil as Vergil brought his own blade around faster than the clone and the tip of his blade made contact with the clone's forehead before suddenly the clone dispersed into chakra that fluttered and disappeared into the sky. Vergil looked confused for a bit as he stood there with his sword raised from his swing as he stood up and put the sword away. The clone's time limit must've ended just as Vergil was about to strike and this was proven as he looked down to see his tag was intact, mostly wet but not damaged, as he picked it up and put it into his pocket.

He stood there and looked up to the sky as he watched the rain continued to fall, the crimson in his eyes disappearing and the sapphire in them returning as his eyes returned to normal, before he walked over to the edge of the cliff and looked down to the field. Bringing his hand up to his face and turning it's palm to his eyes he gazed upon the callouses within his fingers that he had developed through his rigorous training before bringing it up through his hair as he gave himself his usual slicked back style. A few loose strands of his hair would hang down but not at all enough to cover his eyes as he hopped back down the cliff to be next to the river as he wondered what he should do next. Even though that battle with his clone had left him a little sore from all the hits that he had to endure he wasn't feeling tired enough to call the day quits and go back home to rest. He still had a bit of stamina in him to continue training as he walked over to the large tree above the training stumps and began to do some pull ups with one of the branches.

He pulled his body up and down as he took in slow and steady breaths and felt the strength of his arms had indeed grown due to all the training that he had put his body through. A good and strong sword was only as good as the arm wielding it and he had to make certain that his arm and body was as one with the strength of any blade he wielded. Taking that into account he decided that after his pull ups he would go on and go for a little jog around the field as he hadn't had a good running exercise for a while. He lost count of the number of pull ups he had done as he thought this and ultimately dropped down to the ground and took a look at the river as the rain was making the water's churn a bit roughly which was going to make having to run across it very difficult but as long as he kept a good pace it shouldn't provide too much of a problem.

Taking a low stance while putting his hands down along the ground as he dug his feet into the ground while taking a look at his route around the field before charging forward from his crouched position and took off into a run all along the length of the field as he could see he certainly did get faster as the rain was moving slower than he was. He took in his breaths equally without having to speed up in order to keep from draining too much of his stamina as he ran. Within his mind the motivations of what had made him want to become a ninja and he used them as his motivations to grow physically stronger as a ninja. Running over the raging river with his chakra infused feet also helped him in his control of the chakra within him as his legs grew in strength from the many laps he ran all along the field. He was definitely going to need a shower after this even with all the rain showering him already for he could tell all this cold air along with the rain was increasing the possibility of him getting sick.

Stopping himself short of the river upon his hundredth lap he looked over to the big tree that the training logs sat underneath as he took in a deep breath and walked over to the logs while cracking his knuckles. He stood underneath the tree as he looked up and saw the rain as it dripped through the leaves of the tree and down to him as he thought about what a beautiful sight it was before he got into a stance and began to pummel one of the logs with his hands and feet in combos while trying to keep the entirety of his body moving. He kept his breathing controlled and cool under the pressure of his training as he could feel his body was losing stamina more slowly as he did so which was something for him to take note of later. He wasn't all that good at taijutsu as he mostly always trained with a sword but he knew there would be times when he wouldn't be without a blade so having skills out of other specialties was an added bonus.

After a few minutes of log punching he would hop back and away from the logs before landing on his feet a good bit away while feeling his adrenaline dissipate and what was left of his stamina very slowly returning to him. He stood up and rubbed his arms and shoulders while rolling them in order to get some feeling back into them before walking over to the entrance of the training field while looking back around to see that the rain was about to finally give a break to everything as a little bit of sunshine was making it's way through some clouds in the distance. He took a slow stroll through the accompanying forest that held the road that lead back to the Leaf village, the rain still churning away against everything around him though the trees above him shielded him from the water's wrath for the most part, as he walked up to the gates that a couple of ninja were still standing guard at as they waved to him upon his return and he waved back tiredly. Everyone that was on the streets of his home village were running still heavily cloaked back to their homes or places of work as he made his way back to his home.

Taking his keys out of his pocket to put in the keyhole of his front door he stopped as he looked up to see that the rain had turned into more of a shower as he shook his head at how perfectly timed it all was before stepping inside and closing the door behind him. He would remove all of his sopping wet clothes and place them by the fireplace before forming a few hand seals and blowing a small stream of fire into it to allow the roaring flames to help dry his clothes for him to use the next day. He could tell from the way his body was reacting that as soon as his head hit his bed he was going to be knocked out. Taking that in stride he made his slow way over to the bathroom as he turned the faucet of his shower on and he stood beside it as he felt the heat and steam coming from it soothing his chilled and wet body. He stepped inside and began washing up as he scrubbed away the muck and grunge he had developed from his fight with his clone as well as the cold rain that had been stuck to him for some hours.

Afterwards he would step out of the shower and dry himself off before brushing his teeth and wiping the steamed moisture that had developed on his mirror so that he could look himself in the eyes. With the remainder of his chakra he summoned his Sharingan forward as he had to focus due to how little of it he had remaining. First his iris would change from blue to a bright crimson as a black circle would form inside around the pupil. Then he saw the tomoe spin into existence, all together to make one tomoe, before slowing down to get into their positions with one... then two... then finally three as he was happy with himself for having achieved this sought after goal that only skilled Uchiha knew how to use and use well. He had given himself a powerful tool. Now it was completely up to him on how he was going to use it. He would blink his eyes a few times afterwards as he allowed his chakra to relax and he saw his eyes revert back to their normal color as he made his way to his bedroom.

He would lay down onto the bed as he moved the covers up over him while watching the clouds outside slowly separating to show off the sun. He knew he was going to need to sleep for a while as he closed his eyes and immediately felt himself falling into a deep sleep. He would wake up later and feel so sore for everything he had put himself through today but for now he would enjoy the peaceful slumber as dreams would flutter through his mind of happier times in the past. The day would carry on for everyone outside as he rested, ninja removing their cloaks as the rain was finally calming down and allowing them to carry on with their day, as the sun shined into Vergil's room yet his body and mind was unaffected by the light due to how deep of a slumber he was in. For several hours he would sleep, the sun sinking into the horizon after a while to be replaced by the moon and the stars, as midnight would roll into Konoha as Vergil continued to sleep through the night as he dreamt of happier times.

Three days later...

Taking in a deep breath as he walked through the village at night Vergil was on his way once again through the gates of the Leaf village so that he could get to the training field. Today he wanted to practice with his Sharingan a bit more as well as learn a few more techniques that he'd heard about from other ninja in passing. One that was considered strong enough to be a B rank level technique, which he didn't yet possess, and another technique which was an A rank technique which he knew was going to take every level of fortitude he had within him to achieve. Taking this into account he walked into the training field he was so familiar with now, taking off his jacket and vest and hanging them along the branch of what was becoming his favorite tree, as he walked over to the river that flowed through the field's center. He had trained his chakra so many times before already so this sort of training had become the norm for him as he formed the tiger seal and gathered chakra to his feet as he stepped out into the middle of the river and stood in one spot while keeping his eyes closed so that he could concentrate.

After a few minutes of doing this procedure he would hop off of the surface of the river and land upon the grass of the field to get down upon his back before doing a series of sit ups while his mind thought back on how to best go about this day's training session. There were a lot of ways to go about getting a good training session but he always found the go to best way to gain strength was to create a chakra clone and go to town on it as usual. Well what wasn't broken didn't need fixing, as they all usually said, so maybe he'd involve himself in some more of that kind of training. Thus after completing his sit ups he kipped back up to his feet and started to stretch out his legs and arms before walking over to the logs once more and pulling out a tag to place along the trunk of one of the logs. Before he did, however, he got out the wooden sword that he had tucked away in one of his jacket's pockets and held it in his left hand as he stuck the tag on one of the logs.

In a flash the log began to change as Vergil stepped back and picked up the wooden sword that he had brought along from the tree before rolling his neck around as he heard a satisfying crack. He would also crack his knuckles as he turned to see his clone once again back and facing off towards him with sword already in it's hand as well. He would take in a deep breath of the peaceful air of night, looking up to the stars as he figured this fight was about to disrupt such peace, before getting low into a stance and looking over to the clone while preparing the chakra within him to rise to it's zenith in order to provide him with the power for a long fight. It wouldn't be long before both his and his clone's Sharingan activated, staring directly into each other's eyes that were brighter than the moonlight, before charging towards each other with their wooden swords in hand ready to go.

Their swords clashing with each other and causing a current of air to flow across the field due to their strength Vergil took the opportunity to try and land a punch along the clone's stomach as soon as the two had made contact which resulted in the clone blocking with it's knee it would manage to get up in time. Vergil then jumped up and flipped over the clone as the clone tried to hit him by getting a foot in the air but Vergil would deftly pull back and dodge it before landing on his feet behind the clone and ducking down to go for a sweep kick. The clone would wind up jumping to avoid it before kicking behind it while driving it's sword into the ground as it held on to the hilt of the sword to support itself as it stayed in the air as it kicked. Vergil was impressed to watch the clone pull off this move as he kicked himself off to the side to avoid the kick and flipped over to the river before slowly standing up along the river's surface. He would watch the clone right itself as it stood to watch the original Vergil with it's Sharingan before the clone charged after Vergil and the two collided swords once more.

The water would churn upon their impact as the two would involve themselves in a sword battle that would take all the knowledge that they had between speed and strength as the water continued to churn more and more from the strength behind each sword strike. The wood would even set off sparks from the pressure as they would float away in the wind and be the only source of light between the two besides the large moon that rested high in the sky. Soon after their multiple clashes Vergil would hop away and off the river before making his way quickly up the nearby cliffside before gripping the edge of the cliff and flipping over onto his feet in order to skid himself a little bit of a ways away from the cliff while keeping a low profile. Afterwards the clone would soon hop over the cliff side into view as it flew over and was unable to notice where Vergil was just as Vergil threw up a kunai to greet the clone. The clone would notice the incoming kunai before it was able to get up it's sword in time to deflect it away before landing in front of Vergil.

Vergil would thus raise his sword up to defend himself with as the clone would bring the sword around and catch the falling kunai with it's free hand in order to have another weapon to use along with it's sword. Vergil would see this coming and drive a knee up to the clone's kunai hand as he would catch it in the wrist and cause it to drop the kunai and make it fly into the air once more. All the while his sword would be down by his left side, blade facing his back, before getting into a low stance and placing his other hand along the hilt of the blade and waiting for the clone to go for a strike before he would grip the hilt tight and bringing it around in a hurry to meet the clone's wooden sword at the same time. The speed and strength behind the strike would be too much for the clone's grip to handle as it would let go of the sword and be forced to have to duck it's head back in order to dodge the stroke.

The clone would then flip back and away from Vergil just as Vergil jumped back and put the sword back into his left hand as he gently held the blade part of the sword. The clone would flip onto it's feet before reaching up and catching the sword that had been knocked out of it's hand and assuming a defensive stance while Vergil looked at his hands. That move was not so bad even though it wasn't executed properly he would need to continue practicing it to make certain he got a good grasp of it's technique and skill. There wouldn't be much time for that but at least he now understood the basics behind it to know how best to utilize it at a stronger proficiency. This would take a while for him to do but he knew that if he was going to get to such results as quickly as possible he would need to learn the other technique that he had planned to learn while here. This technique was known to apply major focus in the body's natural movements, make it stronger and faster for a brief period of time, as well as improve a person's visionary reactive prowess and make them better able to see each attack that may come their way.

Taking this into account Vergil would stand up in an attentive stance before cracking his knuckles and taking a deep breath, calming his body down and making all the adrenaline within him calm down as his pulse calmed down as well. It was now time to put his skills to the test and make the technique in question come out. This would take extreme focus as Vergil closed his eyes and kept track of the clone by way of sound as he was able to tell the clone hadn't moved as Vergil was taking a moment to himself in order to gather his strength. He would continue to take in breaths, trying to call upon the chakra and the strength within him, as he could feel his calmness begin to change the flow within his body to something more peaceful. He could feel what had been spent of his strength and stamina returning as he stood there before starting to feel something changing within himself. He opened his eyes with a renewed sense of motivation before taking a step forward towards the clone that would turn quickly into a sprint.

In a flash Vergil was upon the clone, it's Sharingan proving ineffective to Vergil's speed, as it barely was able to get it's sword up and block the incoming attack that would wind up causing the clone to skid back and away due to the brute strength. Taking a few steps to readjust itself the clone looked up to see Vergil once again upon him with his blade at the ready as all the clone could do was block the incoming attack with his blade once again. The strike would cause the clone to skid back once again as it slipped past the edge of the cliff and fell down to the ground below before flipping over and landing square in the center of the river. It would look up upon doing so and see the sight of Vergil's silhouette along the center of the full moon, his Sharingan glowing bright crimson along the blackness of the night surrounding them, as the clone saw no other options but to do what Vergil had done before and try to calm down. It would take in it's own breathing exercises, Vergil flying through the air towards it with blade raised high, before the clone looked back up to Vergil and got it's blade ready to fight.

The clone would meet Vergil's advances with his blade with it's blade and catch him while holding it's strength firm as Vergil was impressed by how well the clone was able to pull out the technique so quickly as he flipped off and away from the clone as he looked around to notice the clone had pulled out multiple kunai that hovered in the air around Vergil ready to strike. Vergil noticing the kunai flying towards him would notice each individual kunai with his renewed senses, his Sharingan going back and forth between each individual one as they shone brightly against the night sky, before he noticed an opening that he could hop through before jumping upwards straight past a slew of kunai as the clone watched and was ready for him to do something of the sort. The clone jumped up to greet Vergil as it brought it's blade down upon Vergil's soaring form as Vergil caught the blade with his own and was forced back through the air, flipping as he did so, before landing on his feet along the length of the cliffside.

The clone would land along the surface of the water and watch Vergil as he stood along the surface of the cliff and watched the clone closely with blade at the ready. The two would stare each other down as Vergil took yet another breath to keep the technique going as the clone looked up to the sky as the moon only rose higher to signal midnight had fallen onto the field and the village. It was soon going to be a long night as Vergil took his blade in hand and decided that now it was a good time for Vergil to try his LAI technique once more to see how much it had improved. He would thus hop off the cliff and let gravity take it's course as Vergil soared downward towards the clone as the clone took it's blade and got itself ready for whatever Vergil had planned for it in terms of an attack. The clone would then catch Vergil's blade with it's own once more as Vergil would do something the clone didn't expect to see which was letting the blade go upon contact.

Vergil ducked low as the clone had swung it's blade around as Vergil's blade soared into the air away from the two before Vergil twisted around and kicked the clone in it's sternum as it was forced back along the water's surface as Vergil assumed a crouched stance while watching his blade slowly fall down from above. The clone caught itself quickly as it charged towards Vergil once more with blade at the ready before Vergil tipped his palm upwards and caught the hilt of the sword once more before bringing his sword quickly around to meet the clone with all his force as the clone was taken aback by the speed as all it could do was duck out of the way as the air was sliced from the wooden sword's fierce swing and the air whistled loudly as the clone was forced to step back and get as far away from Vergil as it landed along the far edge of the river in order to watch Vergil once more. Vergil had to admit that his swing was so fast he would've been surprised if the blade hadn't moved too fast for anyone to see besides someone that could detect faster.

Vergil felt that this match, or more specifically the technique, was drawing to an end as he could tell that his vision was acclimating to the world a lot more slower than before as Vergil got down into a crouched position once again as he began to gather his strength and chakra into his legs to supply his body with one last burst for one last strike. The clone would take the hint and get into a crouched position itself as the two would stare upon each other for one last silent stare down as the wind rustled a few leaves past them and the crickets began to chirp once more due to silence falling upon the world around them. The two would close their eyes to listen to the serene sounds around them as one of the leaves that had been blown to rest high above them started to fall towards the direct center of them due to lack of wind. The crickets, feeling something amiss, would once again stop chirping as the leaf fell completely and came to land upon the surface of the river between them which would become the cue for the two to open their eyes once more, their Sharingan's shining fully crimson, before their legs propelled them towards each other.

The two would clash with each other, blade against blade, as Vergil would stop just past the clone, the clone doing the same, as they both held their swords in post slice positions as they both stood in such positions for some time as Vergil felt that his slice had hit head on. He would get confirmation of this as the night would soon and suddenly be shrouded in light as he turned to see the clone being reverted back into a tag through a big splotch of light. Taking in a deep breath Vergil would toss aside his wooden blade before picking up the tag to keep it from sinking down into the river's water and stuffing it into his pocket before walking to the ground and collapsing onto the surface. He was shocked to feel how tired his body was from the techniques that he had been practicing as he would lay on the ground and look up to the stars with a look of satisfaction and tiredness.

Taking the time to himself in order to catch his breaths and help his tired body regain a bit more of it's stamina, his Sharingan disappearing to allow his stamina a chance to recover, he would stare at each star and make out their many formations in his mind as his mind wandered back to times before he had become the person he was today. All the sadness he had to go through, all the death and tragedy of his family, all the blood and sweat and tears that he had put into when it came to his training to become a ninja. It was all quite a tiring affair that more cluttered his mind than helped it grow and mature. At least that's how he saw it. He closed his eyes and listened to the wind as it whistled past his laid down body and blew a few leaves around as one of them would land into the open palm of one of his hands. He opened his eyes and slowly brought the leaf forward to his eyes as he would hold the leaf in between him and the moon, the leaf's edges frayed and torn in places, as he would see individual rays of the moon shining through the green of the leaf.

Taking a moment to allow nature to show it's beauty to him he would let go of the leaf to allow the wind to blow it away from him before taking his time to sit up and watch the waters of the moonlit river continue to churn through the field with reckless abandon towards a destination Vergil wasn't quite certain of. He had never followed the river to find out. Maybe out to the ocean? To a sewer line that lead to an ocean? He would shrug before getting up slowly to his feet and feeling that his knees were giving out from him standing he would make his way quickly to the tree that held his jacket and vest hung for him to take once again as he collapsed with his back along the wooden trunk and sat on the ground allowing him more time to hear the serene sounds of nature from all around him. He had to admit it was certainly calming to hear all the crickets chirping and the wind whistling along the trees as he closed his eyes and allowed his body to rest for just a little bit though it would prove long enough for a vision to appear within his mind.

A memory of the past where he was sitting in this exact spot but not alone as he was having a picnic with his parents as they all watched individual young aspiring ninja come onto the field to get a bit of training in afar from where they sat as they enjoyed freshly made sandwiches that his mother had a talent in making. They would laugh and play games as they ate, Vergil having one of the most happiest moments of his life in that time, as his father would also teach him a little bit of shuriken handling and throwing to give him the starting tools necessary to be able to be a ninja in the future. This day, unlike most days where Vergil wasn't able to hit the target in the intended place he needed to hit, he would hit the target dead in it's center as Vergil's father would congratulate him and his mother would celebrate by pulling out a few of her spectacular desserts for the family to enjoy.

Vergil would open his eyes upon the vision finishing, the night sky bearing down upon him once more after he had just envisioned the place in broad daylight, as he took in a deep breath and tried to get up once more before getting his clothes off the tree and placing them around him as he walked off the field with his sword and tag in his possession. He walked slowly and tiredly through the forests of the road that lead back to the village gates as he noticed that a few of the gate guards were playing a card game while others were standing watch, as he walked past the threshold of the gates and made his way through the village streets in the direction of his home. The villagers passed him without much interaction other than a head nod of greeting toward his destination as he would nod back yet keep his eye on the goal which was his house which contained his bed. Soon he would be enjoying a peaceful sleep once more. Peaceful and relaxing sleep. Making it to the door of his house he would take his keys out and unlock his door before walking into the house and closing the door to lock once more.

He walked through the dark halls of his home, taking off his training gear and placing it along the seat of his bath tub with every intention to wash them the next morning, before making his way to his bedroom and sitting the sword along the doorway before making his way to his bed and collapsing into the warm and soft sheets. He would move his pillows around, wanting to allow his body to completely sink into the fabric of the sheets, as soon he was surrounded in satin that glistened in the moonlight that shined in through his bedroom window. He would wonder for a moment just what kind of dream he was going to have, if any, upon him closing his eyes and fall into a deep slumber like always. What would he do for tomorrow? More training? More missions? It was uncertain to Vergil at that time but what was certain was the sleep that was slowly making it's way into his mind. Pure sleep which would lead to pure bliss.

{Exit}

(WC 10,008)

(Claiming 50 stats (15 to speed, 10 to strength, chakra, and stamina, and 5 to health), Sharingan 3rd tomoe, Iai Beheading, and Body is a Weapon)

Bump.

Correct me if am wrong (which I may be.) But when training Sharingan, I was left with the impression that you couldn't train other jutsus with it.

I had confirmed with others before posting. I was worried based off my memory of the old rules but they said that with the new rules you're allowed to claim both stats and jutsu with Sharingan training.

My bad, I thought you were doubling up on word claims.

Approved, sorry for the hold up!