Re: A Burst Of Fiery Passion! [Training / Open]

Wed Mar 30, 2022 8:02 pm

***Kaito's Stat Page has been updated with the mid-thread claims, but I cannot seem to post the code for it correctly. Please follow the link to his updated Stat Page.***

[Clone Kaito's Perspective]

Kaito's clone, in all of it's "Taijutsu: Elemental Barrier" glory, continued its assault on the young kunoichi before him. With the [70] speed and [70] power of his "Speed: Sparrow" technique, he was sure that it would make contact and display to the three fledglings the bridge of power that separated Kaito from the rest of them, but out of the blue Yusuke would come to stand by Sumiko's side and come to her aid. The Sarutobi got into very close proximity of Sumiko before the brown hair upon his head grew at amazing speed to encase the two of them in a solidified barrier of sorts.

'I've never seen that Jutsu before...' The clone thought to itself as his leg came into contact with Yusuke's "Needle Jizō" technique. The hardened barrier almost seemed to match the strength of his "Speed: Crane" perfectly and the two could come to cancel each other out as a ripping sound could be heard. Whether this was the hair or the clone's clothing, the clone didn't know, but it wasted no time in rebounding backwards one and a half meters behind and half a meter to the right of his currently position.The clone couldn't help but chuckle to itself as it dispersed the "Taijutsu: Elemental Barrier" that encaged it's body and recalled the words of wisdom it had imparted to Yusuke, Sumiko, and Hinoishi right before his attack. 'Expect the unexpected... I really should take my own advise...' As the hairy wall that surrounded Yusuke and Sumiko would begin to unravel, a smoke bomb was hastily thrown upon the ground, breaking open as thick black smoke billowed to encompass a 3-meter radius.

Sure enough, it would completely block the clone's vision of Yusuke and Sumiko as the two of them were hidden within or behind the smoke. Feeling outwards with it's chakra sensory abilities, the clone couldn't feel any abnormalities from within the smoke, but would surely have to keep an eye on those two once the smoke dispersed and revealed their location. It wouldn't have to wait long, however, as Sumiko would make an arcing jump backwards out of the smoke. The clone prepared itself for whatever was to come next, but it's ears picked up the sounds of the three genin's voices.

Yusuke would advise Sumiko to keep on her guard, followed by Sumiko revealing her hunch that the Kaito they were fighting was in fact a clone and that the real one was underground, and Hinoishi retorting that he had a plan. The clone couldn't help but be impressed. Both Sumiko and Hinoishi had deciphered his plan.

And they had done it relatively too!

The clone couldn't dwell on that, however, as when it came back to it's senses, there was already 3 shuriken heading in his direction; one to his left, one to his right, and one above him. The clone's eyes widened as it tried to decipher where on earth those had come from, and it went to step backwards and out of the way of the shuriken above it. As it stepped back, however, the clone felt a sharp pain begin to radiate from it's back.

'What the...'

Turning it's head to look behind himself, the clone could see Hinoishi standing directly behind him and the blade of a kunai piercing the skin of it's back. No blood spilled from the wound, but as it was just a Shadow Clone, the kunai would be more than enough to cut it's life short. The clone would look Hinoishi in the eye and smile brightly as to acknowledge it's defeat.

"Good job, Hinoishi." It said simply before dispersing, the remaining Chakra it had and its memories all flooding back to the real Kaito as quickly as it disappeared in a thick cloud of white smoke.

[Kaito's Perspective]

As the real Kaito was keeping tabs on what all was going on above the surface as best as he could, the chilling sensation of chakra and memories entering into his body ran down his spine. All of what happened to the clone in that rather short amount of time flooded Kaito's mind, and he would simply smile.

'So... they caught onto my ploy, huh...'

Kaito began to swim straight up from below the surface. He would make himself known with the realization that he had been found out, and would admit defeat. By all technicality, his three opponents would've made him bleed should the clone have been the real him, and now he would also be out of 3,000 ryō thanks to the bet he had made with the lot of them. But that was just a drip in the bucket for Kaito so he wasn't all too worried.

With the spar being over with, Kaito would now be able to gauge where the three of them would need some training in.

The real training could finally begin...

At [45] speed, Kaito would arise from the ground with his hands held upright into the sky as a sign of his defeat. What he didn't realize, however, was the kunai that Hinoishi had thrown at the ground to mark Kaito's location underneath the surface of the earth, nor did he see the explosive tag that Sumiko had placed upon the ground next to it. The metallic plate on the back of Kaito's left glove would knock into the kunai, knocking it ever so loosely from the ground and ready to topple over at any moment.

"Okay, you three got me! Great show of teamwork and your own personal skills!" Kaito could see both Sumiko and Hinoishi within a few meters of himself, but he didn't see Yusuke anywhere, so he made sure to say that statement and what he was about so say loud and clear. Within a few seconds he would finally rise completely from the ground and brush off the loose sand and gravel from his clothes. Just as he did that, the kunai would begin to topple over and would land lightly upon the explosive tag next to it.

"You three gather around me here and we will begi..." Kaito's voice was cut off by the sound of the ignited explosive tag next to his feet. He looked to his left and saw a circle of bright light start to erupt from it, and both himself and Sumiko were within range of the impending explosion. "Shit!" He exclaimed, not having time to make the hand seals for a technique to shield both himself or Sumiko. Without thinking, he maneuvered himself with his full [120] speed to stand in front of the kunoichi, facing the explosive tag as he didn't have time to turn around in the other direction. "Get down, Sumiko!" He yelled right before the bomb erupted to create a one-and-a-half meter crater in the ground where it had been. The kunai was launched at a horrific speed right at the Inuzuka's face, but he could only turn his head enough for the blade to cut deep into the skin of his face. He couldn't even bring his arms to be in front of his fact as he continued to hold them outwards or risk Sumiko getting possibly injured.

"Gah!" He winced in pain.

A deep cut and a scar would sure be better than getting impaled all together like his clone had been a few moments prior.

The kunai cut deep into Kaito's face, starting from the edge of the red warpaint on his left cheek and extending over the bridge of his nose before stopping just below his left eye. The kunai also slashed the cloth above the right side of his face and the cut sure did hurt like crazy, but no matter.

Once the rubble from the explosion had all settled and the kunai launched from it embedded into the bark of a tree five meters away, Kaito would turn around to ensure that Sumiko, who he had moved to shield from the blast, was okay. Should she have ducked like he said, he would kneel down in front her as to make sure she hadn't been cut up or hit by the blast, but if she had continued standing he would look her in the eye and look over her observantly. He would also smile lightly, knowing that the rather harsh cut might freak her or the others out.

"Don't worry about this cut. I've got something to take care of it here in a moment, but are you okay?" Once he was assured that Sumiko was alright, he would stand up and look around for Hinoishi and Yusuke. "Yusuke! Hinoishi! Are you two okay?" He would ask, trying to his best to redirect the focus he had on his cut away to concern for the other's wellbeing.

AP Utilized - Kaito:
AP Utilized - Kaito's Clone:
Items Utilized:

[Word Count (Post) - 1,462]
[Word Count (Total) - 4,982]

Thu Mar 31, 2022 11:33 am

As the battle between the four ninja was raging before Daiki he got out a book from within one of his pockets and opened it up to begin reading a few words. It wasn't that the battle wasn't interesting to him. It was just that he was trying to hide his jealousy from behind the pages of his book. Of course he realized he was just the student in the presence of these well trained warriors but he was also impatient in that he wanted to improve and get to their level as quickly as possible. They had been controlling fire and wind as though it was nothing to them all trying to beat a guy who had managed to create a doppelganger of himself that was flesh and bone unlike what he had been trying to learn in the academy. He had been struggling with being able to make illusory clones and this dude had managed to make one that could actually fight alongside him. No small feat Daiki could certainly tell as he wondered if he'd ever get good enough to be able to summon solid clones as well. It was actually why he was reading his book to begin with as it was a textbook he had borrowed from his class in order to study certain jutsus and how to perform them.

As he read his mind wandered, his imagination running through the words on the pages as though they were a road he was fated to travel upon, the techniques that were written within the book soaking into his brain as though it were a sponge. He could suddenly picture himself knowing and being able to perform these techniques as though they were always meant to be his. Then his imagination went deeper as he could now picture himself up against the one he had always wanted to defeat the most, his silhouette once more burning an image deep within his mind as his buried anger erupted from his core, and he assumed a stance against this ghost of his past that had been haunting his present and would continue to belittle him in the future. 'Do you think that just because you've gone to a few classes and learned a few jutsu that you're now a match for me? It seems that while your body has grown your mind still bears the ugly naivete you had when you were six.' The figure assumed a fighting stance as Daiki had heard enough and charged at his target while directing all his hatred bearing chakra into his fists.

He directed a punch directly at the shadow's face but the shadow proved too quick as he merely sidestepped the punch strong enough to cause a whoosh of air to blow away from his fist. With a slap the shadow sent Daiki flying back face first towards a nearby wall but with great athletic skill he managed to flip around as his feet cushioned his stop before he used them to propel him off the wall at high speed towards his target once more. This time he would bring his hands up in order to form a few hand seals before two more of him would appear out of nowhere and aim their own punches towards the confident shadow. The shadow didn't even dodge this time as he knew the two clones were simple illusions before he brought his hand around and gripped the real Daiki by the neck and shoved his face into the ground. Daiki was getting frustrated; not only was he reliving yet another defeat at the hands of his greatest enemy but he was having difficulty fighting this guy within his own imagination? The figure gave a slight menacing chuckle as he mashed Daiki's face into the ground a bit more.

'You seem to have forgotten already, young buck. No matter where you go my soul will always be there as the unassailable wall you'll never climb over. You'll have to become so much stronger than this if you ever hope to defeat me.' As the figure spoke two irises of a dark and evil crimson color appeared from the man's head as the black pupils of the Sharingan melded together to make the most sinister Mangekyo Daiki had ever seen. 'Even in your dreams, your thoughts, your prayers... you will never defeat me.' Daiki was furious as he had been forming a few hand seals with one of his hands hoping that his plan would work. 'We'll see about that, asshole.' With a puff of smoke Daiki disappeared, his form being replaced by a log that had been sitting in a corner of the room he had come to know and fear so well, as the figure was actually a bit taken aback as Daiki descended upon him from above with a fist poised and ready. The shadow managed to jump back and out of the way but as Daiki punched the ground right where he had been it split apart and quaked due to the fury and raw power of his punch.

Rocks blasted up from the ground all around the room as the shadow held his gaze on Daiki watching him closely and calmly all as Daiki was watching the figure himself with eyes that were on fire with his rage. A large rock soon fell between them, blocking their line of sight from each other, as Daiki took his chance and rushed at the rock in order to give it a strong kick causing it to shatter before the shadow's eyes. This surprised the shadow a bit as he had to put his focus into dodging all the small pellets of stone that were soaring towards him like bullets. That was more than enough for Daiki to capitalize as he focused his chakra into his feet and started to run around with a great burst of speed, his legs moving him quick and agile over the split ground and around the falling debris, as he grabbed another large rock and instantly was able to direct his chakra from his feet into his fists before tossing the rock at the shadow from behind with a roar.

It seemed as though he had finally managed to land a hit upon the shadow due to his target still being in the air and focusing on dodging the other rocks still but then they brought their hands up and clapped them together as a sudden wall of wood erupted from below the ground and surrounded him in a protective barrier shielding him from everything. 'Oh no you don't!' With a mighty leap into the air Daiki directed his chakra once again back down into his feet, propelling himself off the twenty-foot-high ceiling back down onto where the wood sphere was, as he directed the heel of his foot down with more strength than he'd ever mustered before. 'Heavenly Kick of Pain!' His heel clashed with the wood as splinters immediately erupted from the surface before it all gave out and away from his foot revealing a opening for Daiki to fall into and pursue his target... or so he thought as he fell into the sphere to find that it was hollow with no one inside it waiting for him.

The world suddenly shifted, his mind rushing back into reality, as he felt a sharp pain within his mind causing him to drop the book he had been reading down onto the ground and grip his head in agony. He found himself sweating and panting as though he had been running for miles without rest as a sickening voice spoke from inside his brain. 'You've grown stronger... good. Continue to grow and try again when you're actually ready for me. Don't worry. I'm very patient as you well know... I'll be waiting.' With that the pain subsided as Daiki collected himself and wiped his sweaty hair from out of his eyes before looking down at the book on the ground from his vantage point atop the log. It was going to be a very long time before he could actually take on his biggest threat and cast out the powerful figment from within his mind. He would need to continue training if he was ever to get there. He hopped down from atop the log and grabbed his textbook in order to put it back into his pouch before bringing up his hand to his forehead and healing it with a bit of his chakra. 'I feel exhausted... but rest can wait. I need to keep getting stronger.' He thus hopped back up atop the log and crossed his legs before bringing his hands together in order to work some chakra through his body and train his control. 'No matter how long the road or how hard the wall... I will break it down... just you watch, Hokuto.'

WC 1,492; TWC 3,182

Fri Apr 01, 2022 9:58 am

Yusuke had listened to sumiko's words and taken them to heart. She is a sensory type after all huh? He thought as he pearched himself on the tree branch. Yusuke found it was strange how Kaito had gotten under ground perhaps it was an earth technique ? He hadn't gotten to that section of the jutsu encyclopedia yet. Of course the young Sarutobi was focused on fire, but earth techniques certainly interested him. Hiding after a well timed smoke bomb, and using a clone, was a crazy maneuver that would fool most people! The applications for other, more mischievous, means came to mind as well. Yusuke almost snickered but he returned his focus to the battle field.

Honestly he had no idea what the Uchiha boy Hinoshi was capable of. While he had told him to get a hit in on Kaito to prove his suspicions, he hadn't expected much more than a distraction. He was already weaving the signs for his Fireball jutsu ready to fire it haphazardly into the billowing smoke, but it was quiet. Yusuke paused his signs as he was unsure if there even was a target for his attack. When the smoke started to dissipate he seemed to see Kaito surrendering. Yusuke was a little suspicious and disappointed. He had felt a surge of chakra within him. He was already thinking about his next jutsu, and he was ready to fire it off. He wouldn't do so willy-nilly even if he was excited to see if he could manage it. Given this was a spar, and there were already some tricks afoot, he wasn't sure if trusting the enemy was a good idea. In the end, he decided to believe that Kaito was being real here. He should also trust in his fellow sand shinobi right? The older boy even complimented their skills and teamwork. Maybe we figured him out? Yeah it's over Yusuke dropped down from the tree and started to walk over when he saw the accident. An explosion which reminded him of demolition courses in the academy, one of his favorite days, was set off very close to Kaito. Shit! His mind thought that if Kaito was aware of the explosion he would probably be safe, but what about Sumiko? He rushed over to the explosion site.

As he got into range and the smoke and rubble cleared He could see Kaito wrapped around Sumiko. Yusuke noticed the academy student looking distressed, but he didn't have time to focus in it. He then called out to see if he and Hinoshi were safe. Yusuke reporting in! I was pretty far. I'm fine. He didn't want to answer for the Uchiha boy so he l would pause and let Hinoshi call out his on status.

You look a little messed up Kaito did some rock cut you up? Are you and Sumiko okay? Maybe I should call a medic? Yusuke crossed his arms and scoffed. He cursed himself that he never took the time to learn his mothers medical techniques to be able to help with this situation. That task rose up to the top of his todo list. Next time I'll be ready to help out. He resolved himself and waited for the other to answer in turn.

His mind drifted to the list of jutsu in his back pocket, and the technique to move under ground, and how Kaito managed to execute the jutsu so fast, but that would all wait until everyone was accounted for and safe.

Just then something struck him. The academy kid is here too! HEY! ACADEMY KID! YOU ALRIGHT TOO? Yusuke called out mostly to make sure that he was accounted for too. It wasn't fair for a bystander to get caught up in the spar as much as he had. Yusuke had to at least make sure that all the Shinobi here where alright. The ones in training and the ones taking their first steps.

WC:658

Mon Apr 04, 2022 9:04 am

A Burst Of Fiery Passion! [Training / Open] - Page 3 3b3f31e1d36feb10d91678899e38914e

~Quickly, the trio had begun to gain traction on the Inuzuka which began with the analytical prowess of the young kunoichi who managed to burn her grey steel-like gaze right through the metaphorical haze that Kaito sought to distract his true intentions with. Either way, each party respectively began to find their niche and the battle would surely pick up the pace. The kunoichi felt a bright grin appear on her face as Hinoshi had verified her suspicion to the very point of actually pinpointing the exact location where the Inuzuka was located. Hinoshi also managed to subdue the clone with relative ease which she had either attributed to being a means of getting them to feed into overconfidence or perhaps they had a bit of an element of surprise due to being able to crack open his plan quickly enough. Sumiko wasn't entirely sure of what exactly Yusuke was planning but, it would appear that the duo was very effective in maintaining the attention of their opponent. With the spar raging on, the girl could feel a familiar warmth that pulsated through her chest and ebbed through every muscle fiber and osteoblast. This strong vigor gave the kunoichi an overwhelming sense of strength and stamina as if she had completely restored her passion to be victorious.~

(Thought)
" I will NOT be caught slacking again! I am not a princess in the tower. . . I am the dragon that eats the princes!"

~ This caused the girl's face to pull into an intense glare as she squeezed the kunai in her hand, waiting for the opportunity to turn the Inuzuka into a pincushion. If push came to shove, she knew that her mother would be able to patch the guy up to be as good as new being that she was a rather notable medical ninja during her time of service. Sumiko immediately noticed Kaito's hands popping out from the earth a little ways from her and Hinoshi but her ears perked to the sound of submission that followed his reappearance. Sumiko was skeptical as she was sure the other two were about the validity of his surrender. Shinobi were agents of deceit just as they were associated with destruction. Even with Kaito completely resurfacing and brushing himself off, Sumiko remained poised for a counterattack while simultaneously extending her sensory technique to its' max in order to survey the area around them for anything out of the ordinary but everything seemed to be calm. The smirk grew as she realized that they had in fact won this spar but then she felt her attention skewed as she finally pinpointed where Yusuke was. Her tiny head tilted towards the boy in the tree who seemed concentrated, telling of a jutsu in the works. With the long distance between them, the kunoichi noted it to be more than likely a projectile jutsu, and given his own jutsu history, it would more than likely be a Fire Release technique. Sumiko started to call out to Yusuke but noted that he had figured it out for himself.~

~ Sumiko felt a sense of achievement and finally released that new surge of energy which prompted her to revert her sensory back to its passive state and relax her muscles. As soon as the girl was vulnerable, the unexpected happened. All the girl heard was Kaito shouting to her "Get down, Sumiko!" and her blood instantly ran cold. The girl snapped her head towards the direction of his voice only to see a blur that was the Inuzuka and the split-second pause following the kunai's hilt and her paper bomb's union. Using all her 32 units of speed to immediately crouch down in a protective manner and release her wind technique, Sumiko couldn't do anything but shriek as the sound of a violent explosion quickly overlapped her scream of panic. She heard an ominous buzzing sound followed by Kaito's mild wincing of pain which prompted her to look over at what was going on. She had been saved. . . yet again. Sumiko immediately felt a strong surge of conflicting emotions. On one hand, she was grateful for the Inuzuka's selflessness as she was sure that being caught by that kunai and the explosion would have taken her out of commission but on the other hand, Sumiko couldn't help but wonder how the boys thought of her given the fact that she had been covered not once, but twice. . with the second being of her own doing. She refused to be a damsel of distress and seen as weak even if that might have appeared to be the case.~

A Burst Of Fiery Passion! [Training / Open] - Page 3 5cec9932ca4d8d35cc6d29730983bfbc

~ As the dust, debris, and ringing of her ears had settled from the explosion Sumiko's face was blank as the conflicting emotions raged beneath the surface. She made eye contact with Kaito who now sported a rather nasty cut across his face which caused fresh blood to ooze onto his slightly scuffed face and a few droplets connected with the shoulder of her blue kimono. It was the eye contact that had pushed the kunoichi's conflict to its' peak thus causing her face to turn cold as she looked away.~

I am fine. . . Thank you for saving me. . .

~ Sumiko muttered these words to Kaito before he stood to check on the others. The girl had but a moment to stand up and collect herself before Yusuke had swooped in to check on her too which caused the girl's eyes to narrow. To her, it was clear that she was fine considering how obvious it was that Kaito had come to her rescue and while she knew that he would be just as worried for anyone else. . . Sumiko's pride simply was much stronger than her logic. Her eyes snapped to the boy before her arms folded securely across her chest as she responded.~

"I'm not the one you should be worried about. . . Kaito is the one who stood in the line of fire."

A Burst Of Fiery Passion! [Training / Open] - Page 3 Da79a0e8bed65e2093664f7964055e42

~ Her response was curt, calloused, and dismissive in nature which would easily give way to her strong suggestive want to divert attention from herself. Her wish was granted as they began to check on each other but the girl was completely silent as she attempted to make sense of what had occurred. As much as she wanted to blame her insufficient prowess on mere time and experience due to her being recently graduated from the Academy a few months ago; it simply didn't sit well with her. Her team was comprised of shinobi of similar experience and yet they seemed to handle themselves in an efficient manner. She realized at this moment that her focus had been pinpointed on being the best academic student that the Academy had ever seen and while she managed to excel as one of the distinguished graduates of her class. What good was the knowledge if she needed others to bring her plan to fruition. . Sumiko had pushed herself too far into the role of support which is exactly what she didn't want to be as such a thing was expected of a kunoichi.~

(thought) "This is embarrassing. . . I need to do better."

~ WC: 1,180 ~

~ TWC: 4,182 ~

Wed Apr 06, 2022 10:40 pm

Hinoishi watched as Kaito emerged from the ground,Hino's Sharingan still active. Hino accesses the damage and runs towards Kaito. making direct eye contact with Kaito. Hinoishi's Sharingan displaying directly infant of Kaito Hinoishi activates the Sharingan genjutsu. if Kaito is caught he will see everything normal but smell the nice spring flowers, he will feel his pain go away and his panic and guard will begin to drop. Hinoishi does this to put the Inuzuka at ease instead of using his ability in combat. Hinoishi would allow Kaito to move freely. as Kaito stands he will feel strong powerful and any stress he might have had dissipates. if Kaito does not fall under the genjutsu Hinoishi will say "Kaito I'm gonna place you under medical genjutsu, look into my eyes." if Kaito listens he will feel the same effects as previously mentioned.

Hinoishi taks to kano again, "Kaito you are under my genjutsu you should feel fine, I will keep you under genjutsu as long as you request it, but for now,... I think it's time to play up" Hinoishi laughs a little with an ear to ear smile. the first time any of them have seen Hinoishi express any true emotions outside of the spar. Hinoishi talks again, " in all seriousness it's fine but you should be in fine condition to teach us some jutsu right?"

wc-226

Thu Apr 07, 2022 12:42 am

Kaito could see the mixed emotions rising and fading on Sumiko's face. He smiled faintly, but just below the surface lay a feeling of sorrow for his pupil. She had done her best, as Yusuke and Hinoishi had done, and they all had a part in Kaito's defeat. Was she embarrassed that Kaito had come to her rescue, perhaps, or was it something much more rooted than that? Before Yusuke or Hinoishi would make their appearance, Kaito would nudge the young kunoichi's shoulder with his own.

"Don't sweat the small stuff, Sumiko. This type of thing could've happened to anyone." Kaito said gently before pausing impressively, remembering when not too long ago he and Arantima had been attacked by a missing ninja at these very training grounds. "But you know, using your wind-style to move Yusuke's fire-style along faster was perhaps the most impressive thing I've seen today. I wouldn't have thought to do something like that myself." Kaito placed a firm, yet delicate, hand on the girl's shoulder. His smile grew bigger. "I'm not just saying that to make you feel better either. I truly mean it. You've definitely got the mind of a strategist. Use that. Hone it, and I guarantee it'll make you that much better than any other ninja in the entire village. "

As Kaito finished his pep talk, Yusuke and Hinoishi were just entering the scene. Yusuke would ask if he should call a medic, and Hinoishi wanted to put Kaito into a genjutsu to help the pain of the cut run its course. Kaito chuckled, holding up his hands before him and waving them meekly.

"No need for any of that, you guys." He chuckled. "I appreciate it. Really I do, but all I'll need is this..." The Inuzuka formed the "Boar" > and "Rat" hand seals before placing his left hand upon his face. A vibrant green light emitted from his open palm. A light wooshing sound also came from the source as Kaito allowed his own chakra to heal the cut over the course of a few minutes. "You see? I've already got a few tricks up my sleeve. While this is about all I can do in regards to medical ninjutsu, however, it is something that I recommend you all have as a backup just in case. It may not do much, but it'll patch you up for a short while and you never know when you may need it out in the field."

After Kaito could feel that the cut was healed, which would mean that it had completely scared over, he stopped focusing his chakra into the technique. The green light dispersed and he reached his hand into his item pouch to reveal a brown leather wallet. From it, he would remove 3,000 ryō in total and hand Sumiko, Yusuke, and Hinoishi 1,000 each before stuffing the wallet back into his item pouch.

"1,000 ryō each. As promised." The boy would place his hands upon his hips and look at the three genin before him with a rather stern look upon his face. "Now; I know you wanted to have me teach you some techniques, particularly you Hinoishi, but before we do that I would like to give you all my assessment on your performances in that spar." Kaito would pause for a moment as he gathered his thoughts and replayed the spar in his mind. "For starters, I must say that you three really do have teamwork and communication down to a tee, and that is a must for any team in this line of work." He looked over at Sumiko. "Sumiko, you were the first to discern that I was using a shadow clone. You relayed that information to your teammates and also helped to set up a counterattack, which worked a bit... too well." He chuckled, trying to make light of the whole situation. "As I told you earlier though, your backing up of Yusuke's fire-style with your own wind-style jutsu was nothing short of genius and the most impressive thing I've seen today. Excellent work."

Kaito would then turn his focus to Yusuke.

"Yusuke. You too did a fantastic job in that spar as well. You almost had me with your little ploy there at the very beginning. If it wasn't for the fact that I could feel you kneading chakra with my sensory abilities, I would've easily fallen for it. But you do have to be careful with stuff like that. There are a fair share of shinobi who can sense even the slightest hint of someone molding chakra, so from now on do your best to analyze your opponent and ascertain what skills they might have. It may just save your life someday. " Kaito paused for a moment to let that sink in. "Also, I do want to point out your use of that... hair barrier technique. I'm not too sure what it's called, but that is a very impressive jutsu to have in your arsenal, so keep up the good work."

Lastly, Kaito would turn his gaze over to Hinoishi. The Uchiha really had done a good job in taking care of his shadow clone, but there was definitely something that Kaito needed to address.

"Hinoishi..." He said, trying to pick his words wisely. "You did just as good a job as Sumiko and Yusuke. I mean, you did put my shadow clone into a hell of a predicament with your use of that shuriken tactic. It was amazing really, but there is one thing that I need to address." Kaito's eyes narrowed slightly, as to help the words he was about to say stick with the kid. "While I do think it was good idea to ride Sumiko's wind-style technique to help yourself get the jump on me, I personally do not recommend such drastic measures being taken in any sort of situation going forward. You see, not only could you have gotten injured from Sumiko's technique alone should you have miscalculated your jump by as little as an inch, but you also could've gotten killed by Yusuke's fire-style jutsu as well. Personally, in that situation, I would've used shuriken to help block off any other potential exits like you did with my shadow clone in the later half of the fight. If you had, the fight just might have ended in your favor much earlier than it had. Other than that, fantastic job with communicating to the others that my clone was in fact a clone. I don't know too much about that Sharingan of yours, but it and you... scratch that... all of you will surely be valuable assets to our village."

With Kaito's assessment coming to an end, The boy would change his stance to one of an eased posture. He would allow a few moments for the others to let his words sink in as he grabbed from his item pouch his drink flask. He would offer the others a sip and allow them to drink from it should they accept before taking a sip of it himself and splashing some of the water from the flask upon his hand. He would rub the water on his face to clear the sweat and dirt from it before sealing the flask back up and placing it back into his pouch.

"Alright, you three. You all wanted to learn some jutsu today. Yusuke and Hinoishi, you both asked about me teaching you earth-style. I can do that no problem. Sumiko, is there anything in particular that you wanted to learn? Earth-style? Sensory techniques? You name it."

AP Utilized:
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[Word Count (Post) - 1,269]
[Word Count (Total) - 6,251]

Sat Apr 23, 2022 4:43 pm

The wind that gently blew across the training field was nice and cool yet surrounded by the noises of the other training ninja as Daiki had been reading from his book before being interrupted by the man in his head causing him to drop his book in pain. As he went to pick up the book he heard one of the trainers shout out to him asking if he was ok and he felt a little embarrassed due to sweating even though he hadn't done anything. He didn't want to look weak in front of the others but he simply smiled to the ninja who asked him if he was ok and waved. "I'm fine. Thanks for asking. Just a little headache." He was lying but it wasn't as though they knew it was a lie as he picked the textbook back up off the ground and thought that he was only in the way of these ninja. He hadn't been paying attention to how they were all fighting since his head had been completely inside the pages of the book but he could tell they were all very much more experienced and powerful than he was. Thus he felt he was in the way of their training but, then again, this training field was supposed to be meant for everyone to train in as he decided to not hop back up onto the log but rather practice his chakra control by going up a nearby tree with only his feet.

He had seen it being done by his teacher in the academy when they had hopped up onto the ceiling in the middle of the classroom and started teaching class while walking along the ceiling. It was a very simple concept as the teacher had taught them but he could tell it was very hard to learn for newcomers to the ninja art as it required persistent usage of a person's chakra reserves in order to not only walk along perpendicular surfaces but also along the surfaces of water. This could prove to be a very useful skill to the right user as it could allow him to not worry about the terrain he would possibly fight another ninja upon if it happened to be a large body of water. It wouldn't really be an ideal terrain to fight on, regardless, as there would be the possibility that the ninja in question would be a water jutsu user but he would at least be able to dodge effectively.

He thus was standing by a pretty thick and tall tree as he looked up at the leafy and strong looking branches as he put his textbook away back into his satchel before laying it at the base of the tree and bringing his hands together in order to form a hand seal that allowed him to channel his chakra throughout his body and into the soles of his feet. It was hard to do but he felt he could do it after a few tries though it was going to take a lot for him to learn how to walk up a tree without using his hands. He focused his chakra into feet, feeling them act akin to suction cups as it was a bit harder to lift his feet off the ground, as he walked forward and put his right foot on the sturdy wood of the tree. He then lifted his other leg in order to put his foot onto the trunk... but he felt his hold on the trunk was too lax as he fell in a heap back onto the ground smacking the back of his head atop the dirt. He rubbed his head in pain, trying to soothe it a bit, as he climbed back up onto his feet feeling a bit embarrassed.

He had hoped none of the other trainees saw that being too focused on their own training but he didn't let the fact that he embarrassed himself keep him down for long as he looked up the tree once again while focusing his chakra into his feet once more. He closed his eyes as he did so, as if that would help out with his concentration in some way, as he could feel his flow grow just a tiny bit stronger which is what he wanted since he could tell the reason he fell was because he was lacking in chakra strength. He tried again as he opened his eyes and placed the sole of one foot along the tree trunk before bringing up his other foot in order to stick it to the wood and walk up. He was actually surprised that he was walking up the tree though it required a great deal of concentration behind his every step which meant he didn't have a lot of time to celebrate this accomplishment... especially after he felt his foot slip off the trunk and he fell once more to the ground. He was, however, high up off the ground enough to twirl his body around and land upon his feet this time as a bit of dirt kicked up around him from his less than graceful landing.

This was starting to get a bit more than a little frustrating as he thought that he had more control over his chakra than this but evidently that wasn't the case. He thought that maybe he was getting distracted by the other group occupying the field but he felt that was just as excuse as he would have to utilize this sort of jutsu in the midst of battle in the first place. He tried again, focusing his chakra into his feet once more, before trying to walk up the trunk again this time at a sprint. He had thought that maybe he needed a running start in order for him to at least reach the first branch that was up the tree. He actually made good progress before he felt his foot slip and he was forced to jump for the remainder of the distance as he reached out with one of his hands and caught the branch. He hung from the branch for a little bit, looking down in order to see that he was hanging quite a few feet above the ground, before he let go and this time managed to land in a more controlled fashion.

He got back up, dusting off the dirt from his back and pants, before looking back up the tree and wondering if he should continue training his control or move on to something else. Quite frankly he felt he had made some excellent progress with the training seeing as he could go up higher in just three attempts but it still wasn't perfected as it was supposed to be for other ninja. He'd come back to it later, he decided, as he thought about what he could try doing next. He had always been interested in the medical qualities of chakra and how it could be utilized in order to help a person with their problems either in body or even in mind. He had always wanted to be of help to people in more ways than simply protecting them from danger but also healing them should any danger befall them and they were unfortunate enough to fall victim to the danger.

However in order for him to learn such ways to do so he'd need better control over his chakra as medical jutsu usually required immense fine tuning of one's network. He knew he wouldn't be able to accomplish such a task in one day but as long as he kept up his training in chakra refining it wouldn't be long before he could grow to an acceptable level for such a task. He thought that maybe it was a good time to call it a day as he walked back to the entrance of the training field and looked back at the ninjas in training. Maybe they would be his shinobi partners one day where they would all start doing missions together and even training together. Right now though he still felt he would only get in the way of their progress thus he left the training field as he made his way back to his home. He thought that maybe it would be a good end to his training day if he stopped by a restaurant to pick up something good to eat. What it would be was a mystery as he had always had meat of some sort in order to provide the protein for his body's growth in strength. Maybe he'd switch it up today and get some veggies.

He thus walked along the paths that led back into and through the village as he looked around at the potential stop and eat spots that hung around the way and saw that there was a restaurant that offered BBQ as well as vegetables which he couldn't have asked for better of a place to eat than that. He walked in and hung out for the next few minutes to an hour, enjoying some DIY grilled BBQ that he would place on the grill that was in the center of the table that he ate as well as some vegetables to let their juices soak in the meat to make it sweeter, before he left with a belly full of food and a satisfaction that can only be given after a hard days worth of training. 'Maybe I'll swing by the training fields again tomorrow when they're a bit less crowded but for right now I should get home and do a bit more exercise to get all this food digested.' he thought to himself as he continued along the path towards his apartment.

After unlocking his door and stepped inside, taking off his satchel and tossing it at the end of the bed, he closed and locked the door before walking over to his punching bag and started throwing a few lefts and rights in order to get his arms some work. This was where he knew he would have to channel the majority of his offensive training as he didn't really have any interest in any of the other offensive disciplines such as Genjutsu, Ninjutsu, etc. He had seen his teacher use fire style once in order to form a ball of fire from within the depths of his body but he wasn't interested in breathing fire. Being that he had devoted a majority of his life growing up using weights in order to train his body's physical attributes his interests did thus align with Taijutsu disciplines as he was a lot stronger than the majority of his peers. After a while of punching the bag, watching it swing after his every punch, he stretched out his body and started doing other physical exercises in his home throughout the rest of the day. After doing this for a while he would then enter his bathroom and brush his teeth of the food he had eaten an hour ago before walking back out and getting himself some water to drink. He would take a shower later but as long as he still had some energy to burn it was necessary for him to continue training for as long as possible and get out as much of his training as he could. He hadn't done some pull ups in a while. Maybe he'd do a few of those before turning in.

WC 1,923; 5,105

{Exiting}

Claiming: 50 stats (10 in vigor, 15 in chakra, 10 in speed, 15 in strength), Clone Technique, Gen Release (Mastery for extra 250; no handseals), Transformation Technique (E rank), Tree Climbing/Surface Walking, Substitution Jutsu, Fish Spit, Discipline, Thousand Years of Death, Mind Read, Fear Pull, Hangover Cure (E rank), Miracle Wrinkle Cure, Sensory Deprivation, Cat Eyes, Ventriloquism, Fuinjutsu Breaking (E rank), Fuinjutsu Lock (E rank), Mark Seal, and Basic Medical Ninjutsu (E rank). All tech claims are at E rank and are 250 apiece except for basic medical ninjutsu which is 350.

Sat Apr 23, 2022 9:18 pm

Yusuke was happy to see that Kaito was alright. The scar on his face would probably be able to heal eventually. Perhaps he would ask his mother about it later. Sumiko had a scathing reply to give him for worrying about her, but Yusuke took it in stride. His mother once said “If a girl is mean to you it means they like you.”

Just another beautiful girl taking their shot with me. I’ll play it cool~ Did you see how fast Kaito is? I had no doubt he would get away more or less unscathed, but you couldn’t react to his clone’s kick earlier right. I think it’s only natural that I would be more worried about you than him. He simply gave a sound reasoning without his typical flirtatious spin. Can’t fault me for worrying about the princess right?~ He added that spin so as to not break his character too much.

Putting him under a genjutsu might be a step too far, but that was a kind in a way. Hino-chan Yusuke clapped his hand on his shoulder. He wanted to feel out the newcomer. Hinoishi was a fellow sand shinobi, so he could be trusted at least a little, but he hasn't quite felt out his personality yet. Who was Hinoishi? So far he seemed a little blunt and to the point. Yusuke felt a seriousness coming from him. He wasn’t sure about the boy yet though.

Glad you're alright! Yusuke shouted over to the academy student once he heard his reply. He was a bit sorry that the kid got mixed up in all this. He wanted to reach out and include him in the group, but he had started to leave while Kaito was starting to recover and give an assessment of their sparring session.

Yusuke kinda wished that he had been able to show off his new jutsu, but he was happy that they would get to training faster now. He perked up escaping from the cloud of distress that had covered the group before when Kaito started giving them their assessments. Oh so you caught me putting my hands behind my back huh? Next time I’ll try to work up to that behavior so it’s not so obvious! He smirked. Yusuke wasn’t happy that Kaito figured it out and evaded his ruse, but if Kaito could’ve been fooled so easily he wouldn’t live long. It was probably for the best that it didn’t work. Yusuke preened at the compliments to the group's teamwork and communication. He also felt that the group did well for not knowing much about each other. He flashed both Hinoishi and Sumiko a big close eyed smile. The mention of the hair thing made Yusuke laugh It’s called Needle Jizo. It hardens and lengthens the user’s hair with yang release. I was covering me and the princess in a steel vest of my luscious locks. Yusuke swept his hair back unnecessarily. Found it while poking through the library. Been working on a couple of hair related techniques. They're pretty surprising huh? And I’ll never go bald for sure! I could show it to any of you assuming that Kaito isn’t already bald under his headwrap.

Even during the academy Yusuke had a particular interest in Ninjutsu. It was, in his opinion, the best use of one’s chakra to cause a real physical effect on the opponent or environment. What could be cooler than shooting fireballs from your mouth or raising a mountain or causing a hurricane? He was spending a little time in the library, a rare thing for him to do, looking through the available records of ninjutsu. The academy was teaching them basics about ninjutsu but not a lot of actual ninjutsu. It was left to shinobi parents to pass on more advanced techniques.

In the section of accounts of shinobi from old times, he read of a Shinobi from the mist and a shinobi from the leaf who could each use their hair as a weapon. By strengthening it and expelling it from their head or lengthening it and giving it shape they had each made a jutsu that could compete with any nature release. Yusuke, having a great interest in not only ninjutsu but his own hair as well, was immediately inraptured with the idea. There wasn’t much recorded on how exactly to perform the jutsu, but based on the effects, an example from a teacher, and the teachings of the academy, Yusuke was able to get the jist of lengthening and hardening his own hair. By sending Yang chakra, the energy of the body from his center to his hair follicles he was able to learn to grow his hair faster. Using that same principle he could grasp how to reinforce his body and jutsu with chakra. This was a helpful practice for his development during the academy. He spent a portion of his time after school that was devoted to training on mastering the jutsu. Each time he trained a little bit of time was devoted to this practice. Finally a while after graduation his training had started to bear fruit.

Yusuke snickered and then listened to Kaito’s other critics. It seemed like despite not having any super crazy off the wall jutsu to show off the princess came out on top. That’s our princess always perfect~ He smirked. Next time I’ll get the top spot!. Yusuke was happy that Hinoishi was reprimanded for his rash plan. Yusuke was sure that his fireballs weren’t going to hit, but their explosion could have been useful for something. It also could have prevented him and Sumiko from acting again since he was in between them and the enemy.

After Kaito finished his review he talked about getting to the training. Right! I wanted to learn how to use Earth release! I’m sure that’s the next lesson my dad is going to teach me so if I can show off some cool earth jutsu then that’ll really knock his socks off! He swung his arm and clenched his fist, but then he felt he owed an explanation. So, He took a deep breath before he gave his spiel. My father is a shinobi of the Sarutobi clan. He supposedly moved here to marry my mom waaay back in the dark ages. That makes us the only Sarutobi around that we know of so he wants to make sure that I live a long life to plant the roots of the clan here in the sand village. So, He gave me a list of jutsu to learn that could maybe save my life. Only after I complete this task will he let me learn the clan's secret techniques. Another step on the list I suspect is earth release. That’s why I wanna learn it. Phew! He let out a long sigh after he rattled off on a lengthy explanation. Perhaps he shared too many details about himself, but they would learn these things about him if they worked together in the future.

So, with that said, I want to learn these couple techniques first. Yusuke pulled out a list of jutsu on a scroll and a large book. It was labeled as “Jutsu Encyclopedia” It had a couple of colorful tabs hanging out of it and seemed well worn in some places and brand new in others. Yusuke began laying out the scroll and flipping through the book, holding it upside down and outward so that other people could read it. Those paying attention to the book would see a few scribbled notes next to certain techniques, and circled and highlighted areas as he flipped through. The notes and book seemed very carefully organized. Some of the techniques labeled and highlighted, were techniques that Yusuke clearly did not know. Some were techniques that he shouldn’t be capable of learning as a genin. Water and lightning techniques are over represented for those keeping count. He finished flipping and stopped on a page that seemed to cover a few non-elemental techniques. The hand written scroll finished rolling out, and it read:

Learn These Techniques

Cat’s Eye

Genjutsu Release (no hand seals allowed!)

Chakra flare

Body Flicker :heavy_check_mark:

Debuff Bolt and/or Minus Field :heavy_check_mark:

Ninjutsu Amplifier or other amplifier

Temporary Paralysis or another D-rank Binding jutsu :heavy_check_mark:

Basic Item Sealing and/or Storage Displacement

Summoning Technique

Basic medical jutsu (Maybe ask your mother)

Learn One of These Important Skills:

Chakra Sensory

Chakra Suppression

One Handed Seals or Whistling Seals

Chakra Infusion

So here’s the list my dad gave me. If you don’t use ninjutsu then the amplifier jutsu will not be very useful for you. I’ve been working on all of them, but I’ve only finished mastering a few. They aren’t a big deal. It won’t take very long if we work through them together. Maybe, we can go through these first to help get all of us up to snuff as shinobi? I’m sure that Kaito-ni here knows most of them already! Yusuke gassed Kaito up, giving him a big smile before he looked at each of their faces to gauge their reactions. If any of you all know these, let me know!Yusuke stated. I learn best from demonstrations~ Yusuke announced his learning style, and pointed to the basic medical technique with a wink towards Kaito. Then he thought about something else important.

A-And I hope I‘m not usurping your training session Kaito-ni! If you want to do something else or if we all wanna just do our own thing then that’s A OK with me. Yusuke added quickly. He slipped in his nicknames for everyone easily like he’d been calling them all that way for years. Yusuke was a convincing boy with plenty of charm, but he wasn’t pushing them towards his agenda this time. He’d let them do what they wanted no matter what was decided. In the end the shinobi’s path involved others. Those others help you gain strength, and learn. One day you will be alone against the enemy. Maybe only for a few minutes or maybe a few hours. Maybe in combat or a scout or a medic. In that moment you will only have yourself to count on, and Yusuke knew that he wanted to have everything he could in that moment.

I will go with the flow, but I think that these skills are pretty important. My dad wouldn’t have picked them if they sucked! Maybe You guys have some techniques you want to add to the list? I’m sure Kaito has some techniques he’d think are important to learn as well? Maybe that clone move you did? With that, he would stop and open the floor for discussion. If they were ready and agreed Yusuke would demonstrate the jutsu on the list that he knew and watched each person give them each a try before seeing what Kaito had to offer

WC:1822
TWC:2480

Sat Apr 23, 2022 9:47 pm

Approved

Sun May 01, 2022 12:22 pm

~ Even with her prickly response towards Kaito, which was intended to push him away, his response seemed to be unwavering and even encouraging. This caused a quick smirk to form on her face before dying down to a serious expression. She knew that failure was a part of learning but she couldn't help but to want perfection. Kaito's compliment over her thought process, however, was something that the girl couldn't downplay. A grin formed on her face before she raised her hand up to push back her black hair behind her right ear. Kaito was right in the fact that she favored strategy over physical strength but she could already feel herself getting stronger from this interaction alone.~

" That's right. . . but I am grateful that you are so fast. . . I would have a hard time explaining to Lord Guren why you suddenly became Suna barbecue."

~ Sumiko chuckled a bit before gently nudging him back just as the Hinoishi and Yusuke had been entered into the conversation. Her hearing the critic from Kaito was slightly interrupted by Yusuke. The girl rolled her eyes as he seemed to be adding context to her previous statement to worry about Kaito. Her grey eyes settled on the boy as he explained why he had come to her first and not Kaito; all of which was sound until the last portion about protecting the princess. Sumiko mere scoffed before shushing him and focusing on Kaito again only to hear that he would still be open to training jutsu.~

(Thought) " He isn't tired from all of this??"

~ Sumiko thought to herself as she kept silent and listened closely before looking over at the list of jutsu and techniques that Yusuke had presented, some of which were skills that she wanted herself. She'd look from the list and back at Kaito before nodding.~

~ WC: 307 ~

~ TWC: 4,489 ~