Basic Training

When Zeo had asked the question If Ise knew the value of Chakra Control, Ise had nodded, saying, “I learned a little bit about it at the Academy, Why do you ask?” I had asked, looking at the blue-haired shinobi with curiosity. That was when Zeo had begun to demonstrate something to Ise while also explaining it in words. He made two different bubbles while forming a hand sign that allowed the chakra within the bubbles to make them have different shapes. The first bubble had taken the shape of a star, while the other bubble had taken the form of a ring. Once Zeo had finished demonstrating, Ise could only say, “That’s amazing!” That was when Ise had a thought as well. “Does chakra control also have to pertain to whether your bubbles can cause explosions, like what we were talking about earlier?” Ise had asked, more than likely asking a very important question.

Then again, he truly didn’t know if that was the case, or if that was a completely different aspect entirely. It was still worth asking though. Then shortly after, Zeo had directed him to the pond, telling him that he wanted Ise to walk on the surface of the water. That was when Ise had remembered something. “Oh yeah! It’s like the tree climbing technique, except instead of walking on a solid surface, you’d be using your chakra to stand on the surface of the water, which if I remember correctly, is much harder than walking on a solid surface.” He added in the last part quickly. “I actually practiced a little bit of the tree-climbing technique by using the tree behind my house. If it’s much harder than that, then it’ll take some doing, but I more than likely can get the hang of it eventually.” Ise had said, beginning to step in front of the pond.

Ise had begun to quickly gather his chakra steadily to the soles of his feet, wanting to use that collected chakra to stick to the surface of the water. Ise had inhaled deeply while gathering his chakra and then exhaled. After his exhale of breath, he slowly began to walk on the water’s surface, while attempting to maintain the chakra he gathered as a balanced flow, while also not trying to exert too much. From the looks of it, Ise had seemed to be great, which made him grin. “Hey, look I’m doing-” and then suddenly, the young Uchiha had randomly quickly sunk to the bottom of the water, easily losing his focus. He flailed a little as he went down into the water, quickly surfacing back up. It was a good thing that he knew how to swim. “Darn, I almost had it,” Ise had grumbled, annoyed at the fact that he lost control the moment he got excited that it was working. Honestly, if he didn’t lose focus by getting excited, then chances are that he’d still be standing on the surface of the water.

WC 500

The guy loved to talk. It wasn't so much as a bother but it showed how much he was thinking and not really listening. It wasn't in offense it just made Zeo sigh internally at the long way this kid had to go. The question to his jutsu was simple. "Yes," he explained, "Chakra control has far less to do with building chakra and more to do with how the jutsu operates with it. Its not a simple fireball here that just burns whatever you attack. The more complicated jutsu, like clones or jutsu that follow a certain pattern of behavior, requires more precise chakra control to control it properly. Its how i control my bubbles. If i didn't they could explode precariously,"

For Zachary, while he had a natural affinity for chakra control, it was the biggest part of his training as a shinobi. While tree climbing was the most basic of basics, the goal was to modulate your chakra on the fly, and why walking on water was fundamentally harder. It helped control how much chakra you used at any given time and when to unleash it. If Isamori wanted to develop, that was the best way to start.

Zeo watched as he finally walked into the pond to try to walk. He waited a few moments and saw how he got confident to stand---

--- SPLASH!!

The sigh escaped him and he frowned a bit as he soon saw the fiery spirited genin drop like a rock into the water. The kid lacked focus. He had to close his mind, and focus on the task in front of him. Walking on water was like balance in general. It was the body's natural means of keeping one upright. It would become second nature after a while. Kind of like riding a bike.

"Your trying to stand on a constantly moving surface with very little mass to begin with," Zeo explained, "You need to adjust your chakra properly to meet that same changing condition. It's not the same as tree climbing. Not by a long shot."

It was then he had a rather... cruel idea. He had to block out destractions to do it better. With a simple hand sign, he willed more of the stray bubbles gently towards the water. They would soon hover around the general area where the Genin would be trying to stand on.

As he would try to balance and stand on the water--- at certain moments, Zachary would mentally trigger the bubbles-- and cause an audible pop! While harmless having hardly any force, the pop was as loud as a popped baloon. Loud enough to rattle a person if they were not focused.

WC: 449

Ise had never been the kind to teach others, not to mention that he also wasn’t one to pick up things as quickly, despite him being an Uchiha. However, he knew that someone’s genes had nothing to do with being a great ninja. In fact, there is always something different about each skilled or well-known Shinobi. It could be their style of jutsu, what they specialize in, or even perhaps having very distinct Chakra Control, which Ise had come to learn. Ise had quickly gotten out of the water, not caring that he was soaking wet. All that mattered to him at this point, was being able to overcome this one obstacle in his path. Ise had listened carefully to Zeo’s words, making sure he heard them, which actually was very unlike him. This was the side of him that was filled with serious as well as indomitable determination. It was like he had changed all of a sudden.

He once again began to gather chakra at the soles of his feet, stepping into the water. His serious expression having not faltered. It was then that Zeo had also formed bubbles, surrounding him as he stood in the center of the pond while attempting to stay focused on himself, while also attempting to adjust his chakra to the change in condition. At first, Ise had even paid attention to that aspect, now with this new sudden determination, he was managing to stay on top of the water’s surface. He waited for the bubbles to pop, and when they did, he didn’t even flinch once, like he would normally do. The loud balloon-popping sound from the bubbles filled his ears, however, nothing had changed. With a slight smile, Ise had said, “Told ya, I’d be able to do it. Sure, I didn’t get down the first time … but that was because I was careless,” Ise had begun to explain.

“You could probably guess this, but I have an attention span of a peanut … most of the time. But, when I’m truly focused on something, I can get it done. Just like this,” Ise had said, keeping his smile on his face. He then walked on the surface of the water casually, able to reach the solid ground, releasing the hold on his chakra once he had made it to the solid earth. “But, man! We should do that again sometime! Should probably up the ante though and make it even more challenging, eh?” Ise had said to Zeo while holding his happy-looking grin on his face. “But we can do that some other time! Do you have anything you could teach me? A jutsu possibly?” Ise had asked him, returning back to his normal cheerful self. It was probably confusing for Zeo to see this sudden change in Ise, since they had just met one another, however, to Ise himself, it was moreso habitual often than not. When the going got tough, he would swing back even harder. That was just the way he was. He just tended to lean more towards the goofy side more. If he could be that determined all the time, then chances are, he really could achieve his goal one day and become a well-known shinobi of Hoshigakure. The real question was though, ‘could he actually do it?’

WC: 554

Zeo's ruse about the popping bubbles didn't have the attempted effect he hoped-- but that was a good thing. It showed this guy was willing and able to actually focus when he wanted to. "At least you can admit to it," Zeo commented as he let the bubbles go, no longer letting them pop out of friendly jest. "Look concentration is the cornerstone of ninjutsu. Even under pressure, you have to be able to focus your mind to the task at hand. "

With that, Zeo formed a few hand signs, preparing for a "Body FLicker technique". That exact show of chakra control offered him more control of how he disappeared and reappeared as he cast it. A blur of speed could be seen as he vanished-- only to appear on the water in a splash, as if the water itself produced him. Body FLicker adjusted in many different visual ways, often working with chakra nature or surrounding elements.

"Body Flicker is a good jutsu to learn. STill, I can't promise I know other jutsu to suit, fire style was it? We really are kind of polar opposites in jutsu preferences," Zachary said, a bit disappointed he couldn't help this genin further. "But I'm more than willing to help you train whenever you have time. " he said as he walked along the water's surface.

WC: 226

Ise could only help but widen his grin at Zeo's comment while rubbing underneath his nose with one of his fingers from his left hand. After the blue-haired shinobi spoke once more, he had begun to form a few hand seals, and within a moment later, he went out of sight, which made Ise shocked. He was looking aimlessly for him, until he turned, seeing that he was now standing on the surface of the pond. "Oh wow! So, that must be the Body Flicker technique that you mentioned earlier!?" Ise had asked the most obvious of questions, unable to help his childish side. He just couldn't help but be psyched every time he saw a jutsu being used. However, his reaction would be different if it were to be used against him. It was a good thing though that Zeo didn't seem like the type to go around hurting someone without probable cause. Besides, all they were doing was training, right?

When he had heard Zeo's newly made statement, Ise had smiled and said, "Hey! Every little bit of help I can get will be useful! It doesn't matter if the help you give me is big or small! So, don't sweat it!" The young Ise had said, speaking from his heart. He wasn't the kind of person to complain about such things, even though he did act childish. One could even say that was a very good aspect for someone to have. His mother had told him that respect is earned - not given. That included not just him giving people respect, but also others giving it back in return. It was an unavoidable two-way street that everyone would cross. ”At any rate, that jutsu can come in handy! It can definitely make me much faster!” Ise had said, however that was when he had come to realize something. He couldn’t tell what hand seals Zeo had used.

With a nervous chuckle, Ise had said, ”Speaking of which, could you tell me what those hand seals you used for the jutsu? I … couldn’t tell what hand signs they were,” Ise had admitted. It was probably better to ask though rather than end up using the wrong hand seal. Doing so could have very bad effects, either being the jutsu wouldn’t activate at all, or something potentially dangerous could happen. That would be something the young Uchiha wanted to avoid at all costs, and surely, Zeo understood that better than anyone.

WC: 424

Zeo had only made one. Was he that way? He just gave a calm nod and looked back to Ise . "You just use the Ram sign. That's all," he explained matter-of-factly.

His ability to focus seemed a bit lacking still, but he didn't lack enthusiasm. That was something. He could only hope he had some decent people looking after him. His own squad didn't even form yet, but if the were to go at things alone, it could be disastrous for him.He worried if he could still act this way after he would dive head first as a shinobi, especially with people around who had a dislike for shinobi like the land of Haven did. While they were star shinobi, the people itself were divided against them.

He didn't bother to say that to him. Why discourage him?

"Just study hard and try to use your head a bit more okay? That will save your life more often than you think," Zachary explained.

Deciding to take this chance to renew his own training goals, He soon drew out his Jian blade from behind. Using the same concept of chakra control that he justt showed to Ise moments ago, he focused into the blade he held. The blade began to glow, caused by him infusingg chakra into the object he touched. He was trying to learn how to use that technique, to use chakra control better to use weapons and tools better. While not his specialty, it was far more capable when he would be trapped in close quarters.

WC:259

Body Flicker

Isemori had felt kind of dumb, not realizing that Zeo had only used one hand seal in order to use the Body Flicker Technique; once again laughing nervously. Then again, Ise could tell that Zeo was much faster at weaving signs than the young Uchiha was, which was of course to be expected. Ise had grinned and then said, "Alright! Time for me to give the Body Flicker Technique a try!" Ise had said. He inhaled and then exhaled just like he did before when he was using the surface-walking technique. Then shortly after, he brought his hands together, creating the Ram hand seal. A cloud of smoke around Ise had formed where he stood, and then about a few meters away from where the first cloud of smoke appeared, another cloud of smoke had been formed, revealing where the young Uchiha had appeared.

"Alright! I did it!" Had said, showing his excitement for fervently this time, however, when he had seen what was left of the cloud of smoke, a confused expression had appeared on his face. "Wait a minute ... my body flicker created smoke, but yours didn't. In fact, you just disappeared and then reappeared on the water. What gives?" Isemori had asked Zeo why that was in his own words. It was clear to the young Uchiha did not know the reason why he wasn't exactly able to perform it the way Zeo had done it. It only showed just how much Ise still needed to understand, as well as learn.

Ise had realized that Zeo had just started doing some form of his own training, using his blade that had been strapped to his back. Ise seemed like he didn’t hear Zeo’s comment from earlier, but he actually did. He just couldn’t help but wonder why his Body Flicker was different from Zeo’s.

WC: 307

Zeo lowered his sword as he saw Ise attempt body flicker, but his question that followed was a general one. He could understand why he was curious about why it was different. "Body Flicker is not what people would call a complete jutsu. It takes into account one's own chakra nature, environment, and other factors to provide the visual show as body flicker allows a change of location. It's not the same as true teleportation." Zeo explained as he stopped focusing on his sword and the glow stopped. "If you focus a bit more, body Flicker will appear whatever better suit your situation. "

If he would try again, say on walking on water, the water splash would take effect for example. Or if he wanted, it could just be a blur of speed. It was all situational.

Once more, he raised his sword. He remembered the technique he read and wanted to try it. His practice at chakra control was good, but this involved chakra infusion-- a skill normally handed to chunin or jounin. He was nowhere near that rank but his skill was improving. As he focused his chakra into his sword again, he looked to the water. He knew the sign he had to do for it as well.

He placed the sword back into his sheath and focused. With a hand gripped on the sword and a focused hand he pulled it again.

It was then the water from the nearby pond jumped upward and right for him. With his drawing of the sword, the water collected and joined along the edge of the sword! The water acted as if part of the katana, and moved along with the blade. Zeo felt the added weight of t he water, but his momentum gave it life to move on its own. With a few swings, he saw as the water added a bit of length to the sword he wielded-- the water acting as an extra cutting edge.

As he did, he soon saw another target, a large wooden log that was used for training for climbing on. With a focused gaze, blocking out Ise for a moment, he drew the sword back and gave one large sweep of his sword. "HAAAAAA!!" he shouted.

The result caused the water-enhanced sword to shoot its water outward as a curved watery sicle that traveled and slashed through the log plank! The water shot through cleanly. For a moment, nothing happened, till suddenly the weight of the log gave way-- causing the object to topple and land with a loud thud upon the training ground.

Zeo lowered his sword arm-- now feeling heavy for the forced swing. He didn't have the physical strength for most swordsmen, but he felt a sense of accomplishment to master this jutsu. A water enhanced sword jutsu used to help add power to weapons and attack at range if need be.

"Wow... So that is the water sword jutsu...River Cutter/ Kawanagi " Zeo panted.

WC: 500

Suiton River Cutter

Ise had tilted his head as Zeo had begun to explain why his body flicker jutsu was different than the blue-haired shinobi. "Hmm. I didn't know that there was a jutsu like that!" Ise had said, tilting his head in the opposite direction this time, while placing one of his pointer fingers on his chin. "Well, I guess I just gotta get more focused then!" Ise had said with a determined grin, forming the Ram hand sign once again, however it was the same as the last time he had performed the technique. The cloud of smoke had formed from where he was and where he would reappear. You gotta keep trying!  Ise had kept telling himself in his head as he had kept attempting the jutsu, trying to just disappear and reappear in a blur of speed just like Zeo had done.

This had gone for what had seemed like forever. It may have seemed that Ise was carelessly using his chakra without thinking, however, he still kept that in the back of his head. Every shinobi knew that if one were to use up all of their chakra that they would end up killing themselves, which was why it was considered important for any Shinobi to learn to control their chakra. There was also the fact that certain jutsu also used different amounts of chakra - sometimes small amounts, and then others would call for an extremely high cost of their Chakra.

Don’t give up! Keep going and stay focused![/color] The young Uchiha had thought to himself as he continued performing the body flicker technique a few more times. It was clear that he was determined to make the desired effect he wanted for the jutsu, and eventually, after five more tries, Ise had actually been able to do it. He formed the Ram hand sign, and instead of a cloud of smoke forming, he had disappeared in a swift blur of speed and then reappeared about a few meters from where he was. The young Uchiha had panted, slightly worn out from using all that chakra while performing that one jutsu. “I did it! I finally did it!” Ise had then shouted out loud, excited at the fact he had been able to successfully do what Zeo had done.

It was then that Ise had looked over where the blue-haired shinobi was, who was doing the same thing with his sword from earlier, however, Ise had actually been able to see the jutsu that Zeo was training in action. The water from the pond had collected towards the blade, then with a swing, a water sickle had been released from the swing, quickly slicing through one of the log planks. At first, it didn’t seem like it didn’t do anything. Ise was about to say something, until he noticed that the log plank had started to give way, eventually falling to the ground making a loud thud. “Oh wow! That was awesome!” Ise had said, more than likely catching Zeo’s attention once again. Before Ise could say anything else, he had noticed finally that it was getting dark outside. “Oh crap! I didn’t realize what time it was! I was so focused on my training that I forgot my mom wanted me to be home at a certain time for dinner!” Ise had said, finally remembering. “Thank you for helping me train! We should do it again sometime!” Ise had said while waving goodbye to Zeo. Who knows? Perhaps they would even be teamed up to do a mission together at some point? Then again, Ise was pretty sure that he was in a different squad.

WC: 608
TWC: 4,505

Spoiler:

The training went on for a bit longer, both of them either learning their own jutsu or learning from one another. While Ise was a bit of a wild-card and even a little annoying to Zeo, he could tell the guy wasn't bad. HIs optimism was a bit over the top but enthusiastic and gave Zeo a good reason to smile a bit. He had been self-reliant and a lowner for a while now, it was nice to open up again with another person. WHile Zeo had wanted to focus on his own training, he couldn't help but watch as the kid also jump around with a body flicker. It was interesting how he actually tried when he was properly motivated. Was it he just was bluffing? Was the whole overly eager confidence all just an act?

Zeo couldn't tell if that was the case. Nothing he did was not without earnest, just didn't know when to stop talking and think when it was at the cost of proving himself . Or something like that.

Zeo had long since resheathed his sword behind him. Soon evening had passed and even Ise finally realized how late in the day had passed. THe last bits of the sunlight was about to fade into the horizon west of them. Zeo watched as he had insistently tried to perfect the body flicker jutsu. It was a handy trick, there was no doubt to it. Still it was a simple C rank jutsu. WHile good, there was a whole world of techniques to learn and explore. He didn't comment on it, but smiled to see him learn how to master something simple like that.

Quick to talk, Ise soon realized how late it was and how he had to get home to his mother. A pange of nestalgia and pain was in Zeo's heart at the mention of his family. He must of been a genin who lived with his parents. He tried hard not to let his sorrow show at the prospect to be so close to his parents-- when his family was long gone and he was alone now. As Ise gave a hasty goodbye, Zeo was speecheless as he just casually waved goodbye to him as he left. "Yeah. Sure. It was fun," he said softly as the kid ran off.

He felt oddly sad now that he was gone. The guy was bright. A little annoying but he had a warm aura that Zeo somehow appreciated. As night fell he looked upward to the bright stars that shown over Hoshigakure. For what time he had left before he would return back to his apartment and home, he looked up at the sky and watched as the stars glimmered in the heavens, comforting him as he drew closer and closer to becoming a capable shinobi-- with the hope to learn the truth in the back of his mind.

END.

WC: 486
TWC: 4090

Jutsu learned

Chakra Infusion Skill (+ 984to it to 1500 total to learn with max stats)

Suiton River Cutter (750 WC with max stat bonus)

Summoning Jutsu: Wandering Oasis (MR) (B Rank use-- 1125 with max stat bonus)

Water Shuriken Upgrade from C to B ( WC: 413 to upgrade with max stat bonus )

Remaining : 928 WC going to Summon Contract WIP