New skills, old skills [solo]

Hayato was going to the training grounds again this time by his lonesome. He had a few things he wanted to try and he could only do them at the state of the art facilities provided to all Tanbogakure Shinobi.

He had chosen to walk the path of a bukijutsu specialist early in his shinobi career. The blade made the most sense to him; he had played with similar implements since childhood. He found that he was faster than most and had enough strength for the art. He had honed his skills following a stringent training routine after his graduation from the academy until this day focusing on raw speed and strength. He practiced arts from the wolf temple and learned many other techniques that allowed him to take on anything as long as he had a weapon. Yet he saw two flaws in himself that he wanted to shore up.

He was still getting used to casting ninjutsu while he wielded his sword. The multitasking required to manipulate one hand independent of the other was something taught in the academy, but most didn’t master it there. Many would use their hands together to cast a jutsu or at most simply hold a block or swing while they used the other hand for signs. Hayato was different. He wanted to be able to cast even more techniques while allowing his shadow clones to also be even more effective from range. He had read somewhere that there were many ways of replacing hand signs. In the end they were there to make manipulating chakra easier. A crutch. If Hayato was to be a true protector on Tanbogakure he needed to be able to cast jutsu without his hands at all. He decided that a sound based style could help him bridge the gap to being able to cast jutsu with nothing but his mind and his chakra.

Second, Hayato noticed that in the face of ranged jutsu he only had the option to run away or evade. With soft blowing wind, he knew that he could make these techniques easier for him to avoid, but he also knew the shinobi world was vast. He wanted to be able to block these non-physical attacks levied against him, and those he wished to protect. The best way he could think to accomplish this was an omni directional wall. He considered what he would use to create this wall for a couple of days. First he thought wind or possibly a ward of blades would be ideal. After much consideration he decided that water would be the best option. A blade wall would be faster, but had the risk of failing at blocking elemental attacks or having a disadvantage. Wind would do fine, but if his opponent used fire he would be at a disadvantage again. Water would have a disadvantage against earth, but if it was a physical attack he might be able to block it with his blade already. Thus the plan to create a water wall was created.

As he made his way into the training grounds he passed a number of other swordsmen who acknowledged him. He nodded back. Around the training grounds there were none more common than him. Even if they didn't know his name they knew his face. He had been coming practically everyday. He felt like he was more and more a shinobi of the rice fields as time had gone on. His dark blue ronin robes, straw hat, and daishou made him look the part. Many of Tanbo’s shinobi could be mistaken for samurai, but don’t be fooled, many have tricks up their sleeves.

Hayato made his way through the field to the long hallway containing private rooms for more generalized use. In the room he saw a training dummy, a heavy sack of rice hung up on a hook, and a small pool of water. The ground was made of exposed earth. On the far side of the room there was a machine that would launch shuriken. There was a lever on the riht side wall that could be triggered with a pull. The environment was simple, but it was perfect for a wide variety of training.

First lets try figuring out a system… he sat down and slowly worked out tones to correspond with the 12 basic hand signs, the seal of confrontation, and the clone seal. He started high and went down a semitone for each sign with the seal of confrontation and clone seal being so low they were almost imperceptible. Almost. This was the first and arguably the easiest step in the process from Hayato’s perspective. He was good at memorization and association. Now comes the much more difficult part...

He would start with easy jutsu first, and the easiest would be the transformation jutsu. All he needed to do was whistle a single sign. He started with a one handed sign for ram and changed into the form of an old man he remembered carrying the groceries for. His transformation wrinkled his skin and hunched his back. His skin tone didn’t change, but liver spots were added in spots. His height was reduced a few inches, and his hair turned a light gray. His ronin robes were replaced with a simple brown kimono. This was not an impressive feat of ninjutsu, but it was an important step in Hayato’s mind. He wanted to have a recent sensation of using the jutsu he was attempting to replicate with a whistle. The role of the hand sign was noted by Hayato. It felt like the way the chakra flowed within him and through his hand helped him manipulate his own inner energies. Next he would try it with his mouth instead of his hands. A whistle more low than high rang out as Hayato attempted to shift his visage yet again.

Slowly the boy morphed into a new form. This time he was the sitting image of Mine, the bartender that was found behind the counter at Taika’s tea and bathhouse. It worked!! Hayato was excited by his success. Though he was quick to criticize his second usage of the transformation Technique. It was much slower of course and not nearly as exact. He was lucky that he and Mine didn’t have extremely different physiques. Hayato focused on the feeling of using the whistle and the difference from how he signed the first jutsu. Hmm maybe it was potency… Hayato had learned to think more analytically about his jutsu after his training with Yamato and Mori. They both had a lot more experience, and he felt he gained a lot by engaging in conversation with them, especially Mori. His explanation of the ninjutsu amp had really brought into perspective the different attributes of individual jutsu. With this new insight Hayato knew that the problem was most likely the amount of chakra he used to perform the jutsu. The hand signs guidance made it easier to perform the jutsu than with the whistling, and this made sense. With one handed seals, one needed to use more chakra if the jutsu was of a higher tier. Hayato nodded to himself.

This level of success was enough to convince him to try another technique. The transformation would end returning Hayato to his rightful body. Next he would perform the body flicker jutsu with a whistle. He remembered this time to include more chakra at each step of the jutsu. One tone, not at all similar to the last, rang out from his lips like the beginning to a song. Then Hayato appeared at the other end of the room with a cloud of dust. Perfect… He had cracked the code of using hands free jutsu. Yet he was not satisfied.

It was time to try a more powerful jutsu. He would step up yet again only one level. The next jutsu was the spirit gun technique. This was starting to become a favored technique by the boy. This was probably because it felt like a very proper shinobi technique. It was discreet yet powerful. If he used it in the correct way it could be a decisive blow to any unsuspecting enemy. Launched as a counter jutsu, it could pierce through an opposing jutsu and continue to the target. It could be launched under a table during negotiations or other tense situations with limited cover. It also consisted of only one new hand sign when you combined the last two jutsu. Hayato whistle 3 tones making sure to bring forth more chakra than he usually used for the task.

hmmm this wasn’t as hard as I thought it’d be… The bullet sat at the tip of his finger like it had many times before. Be points the jutsu at the dummy in the room and let it fly by pressing this thumb to his index finger. The bullet pieced into the wooden dummy but not through it. Hayato nodded again, but there were still two additional levels of jutsu to work through.

Hayato thought about what other jutsu he could try with the whistling, and he could only really think of the hidden mist jutsu. While that would certainly work he decided he wanted to try it with the water wall idea. That would of course require learning the water wall jutsu first. He needed to start developing it from the beginning. This meant first deciding on the hand seals necessary to perform it. Hayato reached into his weapon pouch and pulled out his encyclopedia. Hayato skimmed it quickly until he found the water jutsu section. After looking through it he determined that snakes and tiger signs were common. One could go with a rat or ram or dragon sign as well to start. He let his intuition make the decision. He settled on: tiger snake rat dragon. He then thought about how the jutsu would work very clearly. He had the image of a circular wall of water rising up from the ground. He closed his eyes and really pictured it.

Tiger, Snake, Rat, Dragon! He had to think the signs through and focus hard. He tried to use his chakra to manipulate the water in the small pool. He needed to lift it and force it into a rapid circular flow. The water started to rise into a long line rapidly. The jutsu was a success until it wasn’t. The water quickly fell back into the pool even though it had risen to an impressive height. There are way too many variables in this… Hayato wasn’t sure what needed to change first. Was the circular motion not strong enough? Were there not enough hand signs? Did he need different ones?

Hayato was a bit stuck on where to start with this, but he had learned that starting was more important than starting at the right part. He decided to tackle the chakra theory first. First he would simply use a Tiger hand seal and attempt to circle the water in the pool slowly. He held the sign and manipulated the water as best he could. At first the water wasn’t moving fast enough for the effect he needed. The answer in Hayato’s mind was more chakra. He poured more of his energies into the action of rotating the water faster and faster. Even tally he created a small whirlpool.

That was finally enough for basic speed, but Hayato was certain that speed wasn’t the only problem. He needed pressure to make the water more powerful as well. This portion was going to need more quality of chakra if he was to be the one ejecting the water and more control if he was manipulating a water source. Hayato started with the image of squeezing the water and shooting it upward. This time he used all the hand signs he had come up with. With the new image, he was able to eject a larger amount of water upward with much more power than before. The wall wasn’t as thick as he thought it should be, but at least it was a better result than the first time.

Next Hayato wanted to try ejecting the water for the technique from his mouth. This time he weaved the same signs, but started gathering chakra in his stomach instead. He focused on increasing the pressure before he spewed it from his mouth towards the ground. The water erupted forth and pushed upward in a rumbling torrent. The wall was still missing a few features that Hayato had in mind but it was getting better. Shaping the chakra into a semicircle was the next step to be done, but it was also rather simple with the other features handled. The problem that he was having was fine tuning the thickness. Is it the hand signs… Hayato shook his head. Let’s try a few more times…

Hayato would correct the shaping with this attempt and try pumping out even more water with even more refined chakra. Tiger, Snake, Rat, Dragon! Hayato mustered everything he could while keeping every piece of the puzzle in mind. The water needed to be created from highly refined chakra so he created the most chakra leaden water from his stomach and pushed it out to the ground. Next step was forming it into a circle, and pushing highly pressurized water upward. The water shot upward as Hayato pumped more water out of his mouth. This wall was high and thicker than before. Finally he just needed to circulate the water for a while. He focused on setting the movement pattern for the water. Hayato had performed each step well enough to produce a powerful looking effect. After a little while, the water fell Alright!!! Hayato clenched his fist.

It wasn’t perfect, and it took a lot more chakra than it most likely needed to. He would fiddle with the hand signs a bit more at a later date. That seemed like the last step to optimize the chakra usage and control. It was time for him to combine the new technique with the whistled hand signs. He whistled four different tones and focused on the steps used to create the water wall. Water filled his mouth and shot forth. It roared upward from the ground once it made it there. Hayato tossed a shuriken in a parabola to activate the automatic shuriken machine lever. The machine positioned across the room launched a shuriken into the water wall. Hayato drew his own shuriken to launch in case his wall didn’t hold, but it did. The shuriken launched towards him had been harmlessly deflected away.

I did it… Hayato said as the roaring of the water stopped. He had made a massive improvement in a short amount of time. He was starting to think he had some kind of innate talent for ninjutsu. Regardless, he was proud of himself this time around. Hayato collected his shuriken and reloaded the shuriken he used in training. He gathered all his things before he left the room for a few minutes. He walked down the outdoor hallway to gather a mop. He came back and slowly ran it back and forth over the soaking wet edges of the pool. The rest of the water would soak into the earth.

Once Hayato was certain he had left the training room better than when had found it, he decided to walk home for the day. The young shinobi felt himself growing more and more powerful. He was covering more and more of his perceived weaknesses. As he went along. He was certain that now he could protect allies and himself and even if his body was paralyzed he would still be able to make hand signs. With a bit more practice he would be a deadly weapon for Tanbo. He was starting to wonder if the peaceful village would have the need for his skill one day. He hoped not, but somewhere deep within the young man he knew that he would need to use his training.    

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EXIT
WC:2682
Claiming

+ 1358 to finish whistle trigger Whistle Trigger [142/1500] -> [1500/1500 ] with 25% discount previous thread
+ 1125/1125 Water wall with 25% discount

+ 11 for finishing lightness skill [739/750] -> [750/750] with 25% discount 986 previous thread
+ 13 towards Quiet Footsteps [17/250] with 25% discount (doing this so I can unlock this jutsu with my reamaining banked wc on the character sheet)

remaining wc: 175
+ 175  towards Snake's mouth [175/750]-> [218/1000] with 25% discount

Approved