Of Like Minds [P]

A day had passed and he’d had time to digest the one before it. Sitting in bed, Koutaku stared out his window, even as he heard the bustle of his family downstairs. He’d spent a fair deal of time in the library after training with Travin and the other events of the day, and it had been illuminating. There was a lot to learn from his clan and he would be glad to--someday soon hopefully--introduce his new friend to the Iouchiryo household, in hopes of showing Travin the hidden library.

Drawing a kunai--as he’d already dressed and eaten-- Koutaku glanced down at the weapon idly and twirled it once around a finger. Smiling to himself, he decided he’d go through his usual morning training. This time he’d leave the door open--as Shoko had--and see if anyone came along interested in training together. Hopping off his bed, the young man glanced about his room, and slung a few wires across it, retrieving a few pouches and supplies he’d forgotten, before opening the window and climbing out onto the roof. Shutting it soundless behind him, Koutaku turned and took a deep breath of Kirigakure’s salty ocean air.

As always it woke him up swiftly. Wiping the remainder of his drowsiness away, Koutaku ran his hands up over his face and his fingers back through his hair. A smile was all that was left behind, and with it in place, he Body Flickered off the roof and to another that was somewhat nearby--though across the way. When he reappeared he could scarcely see his home, but he gave a wave in its direction before heading for the Military Training Facilities.

Jumping between roofs, Koutaku made a point of utilizing his wire and shuriken on occasion to cross gaps, alter his trajectory, or otherwise maneuver among the rooftops. He was--one could say--very much in his element. With very little time passing since his departure, Koutaku arrived at the training facility and descended from the roof in a graceful swing from a host of wires, before flicking his wrists with raised arms and retracting each of them back to his person at a startling 140 speed.

A smile on his face, Koutaku performed a series of handseals as he entered the large building, dismissing his wire and summoning forth his training wires. He’d taken to marking the sets of wires he used so he could quickly retrieve them. The stocks didn’t care--and typically missed the marks due to how small they were--especially considering he always returned the wire before passing the building’s threshold.

Already sufficiently warmed up, Koutaku gave the other training shinobi a respectful birth and picked out a medium-sized room and entered it. Its door was far more noticeable than many others, and Koutaku made a point of not shutting it for once. It would be an open invitation.

Once inside, Koutaku stepped over to a pedestal in the far right corner of the room and began adjusting dials and sliders until he ended up with a layout he liked. Immediately after, the room adjusted to suit his needs. Small hills formed, as well as branches and what appeared to be trees composed of stone formed from the walls and floor.

Deciding to hold off on beginning, Koutaku hopped into a tree near the front of the room, about 7 meters from the door, where he sat down and took out a kunai. Stabbing the implement into the tree, Koutaku took a deep breath and focused on it intently. Quickly chakra rushed from his fingertips and into the weapon. He smiled.

Someday soon he’d be pushing past quite a few limitations….

Spoiler:

Do you ever feel like you're a cog in a great machine, being made into an idiot for someone else's amusement?

Goro sure didn't. He didn't have many weapons to speak of, or techniques, or anything else- for all intents and purposes, he was a paper ninja. True enough, the rank of genin had only been bestowed on him so he could continue research on otherwise illicit substances, but sooner or later he'd probably run into a situation that required more than just book smarts. Unfortunately, his reputation preceded him. Being known for a lack of discretion or any social awareness, especially with no real power to back it up, wasn't a boon. But, it was fine! Really! So what if nobody thought he was worth training? He'd just do it himself!

It's with this attitude that he made his way to the military training facility. His apron was filled with numerous small vials or other objects, and in his left hand, he was wheeling... A large tank of some sort. It was cylindrical in nature and very cold to the touch, with a reinforced nozzle. What could be inside? The person at the front desk took one look at him before frowning.

"You're Murata's brat, aren't you?" it was said with slightly furrowed eyebrows- and a look at his unusually colored hair and eyes.

"Yyyep!" he popped the 'p' and gave a thumbs up. His rubber gloves weren't super good in terms of fine maneuvering, but they were lab standard and approved, so they stayed on. The lady sighed and gestured with her head to the left.

"Those're the genin-approved training rooms. Just... Don't flood the halls with poison gas or whatever and we'll get along fine." she acquiesced. He nodded enthusiastically and left with the knowledge that she almost definitely found him annoying. She had a fair point. He'd find him annoying, too. He proceeded down the aforementioned corridor, wheeling the tank behind him.

...Oh?

Curiously, one of the doors was left open, but there were definitely noises coming from inside. He glanced inside, careful not to stick his whole head through the door. Someone, evidently a weapons user, was practicing already. Goro doubted he'd leave the door open by accident, but... At the same time, caution was a good idea. Maybe he could ask the older shinobi for help?...

After a moment's consideration, he walked into the room, deliberately making noise so as not to startle him by accident. The layout appeared to be a hilly forest of some kind, and he could work with that.

"Hello!" that was a strong greeting. Yes. Good job, Goro. He waved with his free hand as he continued to talk. "How interested are you in progressing the art of science?" Stopping a few meters away from the stranger, he let the tank come to a rest, its label becoming visible for all to see.

HIGH CAPACITY - LIQUID NITROGEN CONTAINER (30L)

This training session had the potential to go disastrously wrong very quickly, but at least it'd be fun.

WC: 508
Total WC: 508

By the time someone entered the periphery of Koutaku’s awareness, the chakra around his kunai had doubled, then tripled, and quadrupled in density. However, it was formatted in a rather strange fashion, layers interspersed with fine entrances and exits where chakra could flow freely between them in specifically controlled currents. Taking a small portion of his attention off the task as he glanced down towards the chakra signature he’d picked up on Koutaku smiled slightly and tilted his head curiously at the newcomer.

‘Well hello there,’ he thought as he noted the young man’s rather quirky appearance. Green hair, brightly colored eyes, goggles, an apron even, and were those laboratory gloves? Standard issue.

Fascinating.

“Greeting,” he replied, a bemused expression on his features as he took in the rest of the stranger’s words. Glancing to the side to read the container, Koutaku’s eyes widened fractionally before his small smile became an outright grin. Already he had so many questions and frankly, he adored having more queries than conclusions.

“Now, I’d love to help. However, names would be prudent first if we’re to communicate effectively, don’t you think? I’m Iouchiryo, Koutaku. Just Koutaku will be perfect though, and I have to ask...where in the world did you get so much nitrogen?”

Leaning forwards in his perch in the nest-like formation of branches of his stone tree, Koutaku was clearly intrigued. Furthermore, despite having turned a fair degree of his focus onto the newcomer, the kunai before he continued to grow more and more luminescent. Strangely, its existence in the world seemed to become more concrete somehow the more time went on.

Spoiler:

Goro's expression became nearly manic at the other shinobi's apparent interest. Was this someone who'd tolerate his tangents? One way to find out!

"I'm Tanaka, Goro! Just call me Goro, I guess." a beat. He looks down at the tank he'd brought in. "Oh, the nitrogen? It's available for civilian purchase with proper licensing! I got this from the R&D department. I suppose you could also make it yourself..." Goro puts his hand to his chin. "Normally, you'll need a cryo cooler, but it's possible to simulate the conditions with ice release, wind release, or clever application of fuuinjutsu. I'm pretty sure this batch was frozen with helium."

He glanced at the kunai. Hmm... "If you're up for participating, though, it's advisable not to use chakra within fifteen feet of unknown chemicals. Chakra and its correlation to more physical sciences isn't fully understood yet, after all!" He stops wheeling the container, letting it rest on the floor. Goro slides out a clipboard and a ballpoint pen from his apron. "Right now, I'm studying the applications of using liquid nitrogen offensively. Obviously, I can't just pour it onto you, but if you know any solid clone techniques, that would work as well."

He taps the clipboard with a gloved finger. "There are three trials I had in mind today, if you're up for them. I have some hollowed-out smoke bombs with me- we'll be using those to test the expansion ratio of the substance by pouring the nitrogen into them and completely sealing the container. This would be best done behind one of the stone trees, as the pressure would likely cause them to explode fairly quickly, and liquid nitrogen can cause extensive tissue damage on exposure."

Goro looks at Koutaku for the next part. "This trial is completely optional- if you can create shadow clones, I was going to pour varying amounts of liquid nitrogen onto its skin to measure... Well, measure how fucked up it gets. If it doesn't dissipate, it should develop blisters within minutes- however, that's according to cryotherapy treatment. In higher doses... Hm..." he trails off awkwardly, evidently very deep in thought. "Food for thought, I guess."

"The final trial would mostly be seeing liquid nitrogen's effect on various substances- mostly pliable materials such as leather, rubber, y'know. In theory, it'd be useful for disabling wind jutsu and the like, but I'd probably have to do a separate study on that..." he pauses again, this time looking a little sheepish. "In short, that one's mostly for fun. But there are some cool things you can do with it, so... Y'know. You might find it handy!"

"Buuut... Yup. Whenever you're ready, I guess we can start off with whatever trial interests you the most. As long as I record all the results, the order doesn't matter."

WC: 469
Total WC: 977

Opening his mouth to respond to the initial explanation, Koutaku found that Goro kept going. The shock did something to him, it shattered a series of masks that Koutaku typically kept on around others, and so his expression went from one of bewildered confusion and shock at being cut off and back to a faintly amused cast. Though Goro didn’t know him nearly well enough to truly tell, a burden that Koutaku always carried easied and for the first time in a long while he well and truly relaxed.

The excited voice of Goro, who Koutaku had decided he liked, continued on in a rambling, tangent-filled explanation. It was crystal clear how passionate the man was about chemistry and the sciences, and that was something that the Iouchiryo found immensely admirable. As Goro mentioned clones and began to wind down from his long-winded, but very informative, series of explanations, Koutaku performed the three necessary handseals for the technique in rapid succession. One hand blurring through the motions, two clones appeared at the base of the tree a half-beat later.

“Physical clones like these perhaps?” He queried with a smile. That expression however was filled with a far more genuine bemusement than before. It would be as if he’d been playing at the emotion before, whereas now it was entirely natural and without the least bit of dishonesty behind it. That done, Koutaku addressed the issue of chakra and chemicals.

“Actually, that’s something of a misconception. Though it’s not widely circulated to the public, or even the primary body of shinobi, the interaction of chakra with natural chemicals is perfectly safe so long as one is careful. The practice of maintaining significance is mostly employed for the layman as anyone with sufficient control of their chakra has little to fear from the interactions as chakra is primarily just a medium for the user’s will.” Shrugging slightly in his seated position, Koutaku gestured and one of his clones, Kou walked past Goro and circled him, as if getting a better look at the Chemist.

As if synchronized, Kou--the clone now on Goro’s right and walking away, spoke in its creator’s stead. “Besides, if there were a truly dangerous interaction between inert or already moulded chakra, then experimenting with shadow clones would be asking for trouble.”

Koutaku picked up the thread of his clone’s explanation, a lopsided smile having formed on his lips. “After all, Shadow Clones are just very intricate chakra constructs. Facsimiles of their creator, rather than truly individual entities. No offense.”

The clone next to the tree, Taku, shrugged, whereas Kou just smirked back at its creator and in a flick of its wrist, threw a shuriken at the man. Koutaku, utterly unphased, whipped wire upwards in a blurring ‘S’ shape, and then back downwards as he twisted his wrist in several dextrous motions. The wire, in turn, caught the shuriken by its small hole, and then pulled it aside where it thunked into one of the earthen tree’s branches.

Pushing up from his seated position, Koutaku  took a step forwards into thin air, activating the surface walking technique as he did so, and casually slid--with just a heel in contact with the ‘tree’ behind him--down the stone trunk until he reached the ground and continued walking forwards. The kunai was no longer on the tree where he’d had it stabbed into the stone. Instead, it was in his hand, and yet it would seem that he’d never picked it up.

Likely much to Goro’s relief, there was no chakra around the implement.

“Now, if we’re going to be testing, I should reformat the area. This was more for training, which I’d be glad to do if you’re interested.”

He said the words with a smile as he passed by Goro’s left side, opposite where his clone had originally passed the man, and then shut the door to the training room. Koutaku didn’t want anyone barging in, this Goro fellow would be plenty he figured.

Snapping his fingers as Koutaku turned back around, one of his clone’s responded. It was Taku who had, up until this point, been laying with his back against the tree with his arms crossed. At the unspoken command, the clone turned, and vanished in a Body Flicker, his silhouette blurring forwards and around obstacles until he arrived vanished from site due to the obstructions.

A moment later, the room began to change, blast walls forming, as well as what appeared to be reinforced glass for a viewing area. On the sides several trees and hills remained, and the tree Koutaku had originally been sitting in also persisted throughout.

Satisfied, Koutaku walked back up beside Goro and gave the Chemist a friendly pat on the back. “However, I’m sure there are plenty of yet undiscovered combinations of natural science and ninjutsu that could be quite helpful to the clever shinobi.” Smirking, Koutaku tapped his own temple with the blunt side of his kunai.

“So tell ya what, I’ll help you with this since you’re so keen and we’ll both learn a bit. Then perhaps you learn some other techniques, as by the looks of you you’re fresh from courses. At the very least you’ll need a solid arsenal before you can really lean on your chemistry, and for that you’ll need a proper kit of techniques and a bit of experience so you can earn ryo in the village.”

He paused a moment to let Goro digest his words, and then finished his proposition with a proper query. “Deal?”

Spoiler:

Not surprisingly, Goro had a lot more to add. The resulting tidal wave of words, if parsed, seemed to be contesting many of his points. It's unclear if Goro hates being wrong or is too proud to back down. "Agree to disagree, Koutaku! Even the slightest variation in chakra concentration, be it from infinitesimal elemental infusions or fluctuations, can drastically skew test results to the point they become unusable, especially in already volatile chemicals. Even if you know it's safe to use chakra carefully around certain chemicals, it's extremely important to treat every solution as if it's dangerous. Not following proper lab procedure's how you end up losing a few layers of skin, and possibly your eyes." 

Goro might be an idiot sometimes- okay, a LOT of times- but lab safety was paramount. Usually. "Everyone's chakra is different, after all, and unless large scale studies are performed, making projections based off of individuals is very difficult. Perhaps in the future, these studies can be progressed, but with the current political climate, secrecy is more valuable than non essential information." he scratched his nose, rubber glove not doing a ton to stop the itch. Bugger. 

"The shadow clones, specifically, are often used for tests such as these, as they are solid once created- in other words, they have no upkeep. Their chakra oscillations are identical to the user while they're active. Techniques that must be actively maintained, on the other hand, have much more room for error, especially given that their strength can wildly fluctuate based off of any number of factors- any medications the user may be on, any long-lasting jutsu, or any bloodlines." 

He would wait patiently as Koutaku did... something with his weapons. It was impressive, but Goro didn't know if he was the best person to appreciate it; his interest in weaponry lay almost solely in how well he could destroy it. The room shifted in response to the other shinobi's various button presses and lever pulls. Blast walls and plexiglass- festive. He'd listen politely at his offer before tilting his head. Technically, he wasn't fresh from the courses- he just didn't really learn anything since. That, however, was excruciatingly embarrassing to admit, so he'd sit on the information. 

Hmmm... "Sure, why not?" he placed the clipboard on a nearby table that had spawned purely for the author's convenience before placing some empty smoke canisters on it as well- they appeared to be marked at various points to represent fill lines. After a second, he hoisted the thirty liter tank on top of the table, leaving the trolley untouched on the ground. 

Funneling was difficult, given that most plastic funnels would crack under the temperature difference, but he'd managed to procure a steel funnel with a bit of sweet talking (and two weeks' worth of salary). "These canisters hold about 250 milliliters of material, but for our purposes today we'll be pouring in 50 milliliters, 75 milliliters, and 100 milliliters respectively. The estimated expansion ratio of liquid nitrogen is roughly six hundred ninety six times. So... Let me open the door and stand back for a second." 

He slid open the glass door with his foot, dragging the table over slightly so it'd be easier to chuck the canisters in and slam the door as quickly as possible. Goro clicked open the first container, placing the funnel over it, and unscrewed the liquid nitrogen tank's nozzle. 

Almost immediately, vapor began to rise from the piping. He tilted the container over slightly- he'd had enough experience with rapid measuring to get exactly 50 milliliters. Afterwards, he clicked it shut as quickly as possible and threw the canister as violently as he could behind the plexiglass. The door slammed shut with all the force of his non-impressive musculature. 

...

Even from behind the glass, the sound of something breaking was loud enough to make his ears ring. The canister had violently exploded from the internal pressure, leaving bits and pieces of shrapnel across the area. The largest piece was the cap, which had  left a sizable crack in the plexiglass and was lodged partway through. Hm! 

"Measuring this is going to be fun." no it wasn't. He re-sealed the nitrogen with a soft hum. "To be honest, I'm not sure if the 75 milliliter and 100 milliliter trial is necessary after that- with the smallest amount, it already detonated extremely quickly. Maybe lowering the amount would be prudent...?" he wasn't actually listening to any responses at the moment, having been firmly transposed into his own inner world. 

Nearly incomprehensible scribbles became visible on his clipboard as Goro eagerly wrote things down. It's unclear if it's some kind of code, another language, or if his handwriting genuinely is that irredeemably bad. 

WC: 790
Total WC: 1,767

The young chemist, his peer if he were being entirely honest, had a solid point. Though a truly iron will would hold chakra firmly in its grasp and make it unwavering, unchanging, the energy was perhaps too responsive at times. Besides, most shinobi did not have that level of control, they couldn’t make still the ever-changing nature of chakra and their own mind, let alone both at once.

Koutaku, no, not just him, the Iouchiryo—his family, his clan—they weren’t like normal shinobi though. Yes, they were not like the Hyuuga, the Kaguya, or any of the other clans so ’fortunate’ to be born with power. At least, not on the surface. There was something else that ran through the veins of the Iouchiryo though, something…other, but Goro didn’t know that, so Koutaku let the man talk and kept the truth to himself.

For now at least.

Listening intently, Koutaku nodded along almost dutifully as the Chemist explained his philosophy, and hinted—if you read between the lines—at where it came from. They lived in different worlds, but that was nothing new for Koutaku, it had always been that way. Only recently had he let someone into that world with him, someone who had not been born to the wealth of knowledge that the Iouchiryo possessed.

Perhaps in time he’d have another brother to share that bevy of wisdom with. It was hard to say. It was also hard to say anything. Koutaku had to admit that Goro was somewhat overbearing and seemed to have a tendency of getting wrapped up in his own head—as it were. Still, he understood what it was like to be different, strange even, and to feel alone or out of place.

He couldn’t help but feel that Goro had felt the same way sometimes. Even if he was no wrong, there was no harm in hearing the fellow out. Besides, mixing with those of differing mind and opinion was always valuable as far as he was concerned. Of course, when Goro did agree to his proposal, it pleased Koutaku, it m meant he had someone else with which he might consistently train, and that was something he considered quite valuable. Maybe this Chemist would serve as a valuable asset to him and Travin at some point. Then again, maybe not.

After the room had shifted, Goro—really without further input from Koutaku—continued with his rather intriguing ramblings as he prepared an experiment. Taking precautions of his own, Koutaku made sure to stand well clear of the theorized blast zone. He truly was glad he’d altered the room’s layout for this. It would have been far more dangerous if he hadn’t.

Glancing at Goro, and then the tank of liquid nitrogen with a newfound respect, Koutaku let out a long slow breath before turning to the genin beside his new companion—if such a respectable term could apply to a mad scientist such as Goro.

Then he noticed something curious as he watched Goro writing on his clipboard. Was it code of some sort, perhaps a form of strange symbology or a foreign language that the Mad Chemist used to obfuscate his workings from rival shinobi or scientists. Perhaps it was just bad handwriting, either way it perplexed Koutaku for a moment before he discarded a cipher or code as likely possibilities—he knew a huge variety of those, if this were one it was new and devilishly complex. In that case, it was likely symbology, a created language, or bad handwriting.

It was time to do a bit of testing on that front to find out.

“Goro, I have to ask, what are you writing there?”

Spoiler:

Mid Thread Claims:

Approved

@Goro Tanaka
DM me when you make claims.

Gimme dat mid thread claim too, please. Putting this thread on hold until I get meds fixed~

Putting 1,750 words into learning med spec secondary (from the 25% advanced military discount or whatever, I'll link the specific village upgrade if i gotta)

but gonna leave the stat claiming till later bc uh... it's uneven

@Goro Tanaka
Approved. 

Make sure you re-state this all at the end.