Earthen Path[Kaito]

Yusuke seemed more than ready to get right down to training with Kaito. He showed a rather exorbitant amount of charm, which Kaito chuckled at, before pulling out his own copy of the Jutsu Encyclopedia. Even though it hadn't been long since their last training session together, the book had definitely seen a lot more use from the last time Kaito had come into contact with it.

'He's been keeping up on his studying and training...'

The Inuzuka watched on intently as Yusuke formed some very familiar hand signs. Right underneath the pair of them, an earthen wall began to form. It would raise up to be ten meters in length, five meters tall, and two meters thick. Kaito would allow himself to stand upon the "Earth-Style: Wall" as it formed and continued to stand upon it with crossed arms as Yusuke continued to flip through his book.

'A B-Rank Earth Wall, huh... Not bad for a newbie.'

Once Yusuke found what it was he was looking for, he would turn his book over for Kaito to have a look. Kaito obliged and hopped down from the wall, landing in a crouched position to absorb any impact before rising back to his full height. The Sarutobi explained that he wished to learn both the "Earth-Style: Rock Shelter" and "Earth-Style: Earth Pillar Spears" techniques. Kaito himself knew how to use the "Earth-Style: Rock Shelter" technique, but he did not know how to use the "Earth-Style: Earth Pillar Spears".

"So the good news is, I know how to us-" Before the Inuzuka could finish what it was he was saying, Yusuke had already flipped to another page of the encyclopedia and began to comically push himself closer and closer to Kaito. Kaito only shook his head and punched his fist downward upon Yusuke's head. He didn't hit him hard though, just enough to leave a small goose egg upon the boy's head. "Our first lesson is going to be in personal space." Kaito glared at Yusuke for a moment to garner his reaction before laughing. "I'm just playing, Yu. I know you're more than ready to get things going. I, for one, am glad to see this. With rumors of a Chūnin Selection Exams afoot, we all need to train as much as possible..."

Kaito readied himself and turned around to stand two feet to Yusuke's right side. He would allow himself to create a single "Shadow Clone" and he ordered it to stand eight meters in front of them. As the clone backed away to the position that the real Kaito designated, the real one slowly performed the "Tiger" -> "Boar" -> and "Snake" hand signs before crouching down to the ground and slamming both of his open palms upon the grass below.

"Earth-Style: Rock Shelter Jutsu!"

A half-sphere of stone erupted around the two Sunagakure Genin to form a dome five-meters in radius. He made sure to leave two sets of peepholes to correspond with the height of their respective eyes, but Kaito didn't bother to look up outside of the shelter. Instead, he directed his attention directly to Yusuke.

"This technique here is called the "Earth-Style: Rock Shelter". As I was trying to say earlier, out of this and the "Earth-Style: Earth Pillar Spears" technique, this is the only one that I know. I wouldn't mind learning the other Jutsu, however, so we can learn that together here in a bit This shelter though is solely defensive. Clearly it can hold a lot of people and objects inside of it, which means it is a must-have for us Earth-Style users. It is also really stout, so depending on which level you use this Jutsu at, it can be nearly indestructible. That, however, is where my clone comes in." Kaito looked out of his peephole and directed Yusuke to do the same from his. "Okay! Use a basic Stone Pistol Jutsu!" The clone did as directed, hurriedly forming the hand signs for the D-Rank version of the "Earth-Style: Stone Pistol Jutsu". At [60] speed and with a decent [60] health to them, a total of five bullets were shot from the clone's mouth. They hurdled ungidedly into the barrier. They would be way too big to fit through the peephole, as this was something that Kaito had planned for, but the stones did nothing to really hurt the shelter with it's vast [65] health.

Once the assault was over with, Kaito would look back over at Yusuke.

"See what I mean? Those rocks had nothing on this shelter of ours. Now on the other hand, I would like to show your what can happen should it get destroyed." Kaito looked back outside of the peephole towards the clone. "Now hit us with the best "Taijutsu: Elemental Armor" enhanced "Speed: Sparrow" that you can! Make sure to amplify it as well!"

The clone nodded and performed the hand signs for the "Taijutsu Amplifier" technique. It then took a running start towards the shelter, and as it did, an aura of Chakra erupted from it and loose rocks and stone from the earth around it began to encase it in an earthy-like armor. Once the clone was two meters in front of the half-sphere, it would leap one meter into the air and twist its lower body to the right. As it got within kicking range of the shelter, it would untwist its body and hit the shelter with a truly tremendous [80] power.

"Step back to the center of the dome, Yusuke." A loud crashing and cracking sound erupted from the dome as the leg of the clone connected with it. Large cracks formed from the location the clone's leg made contact on the outside and within a few minutes daylight could be seen from the point of impact. The rest of the dome too quickly began to fall in upon itself. "Okay! Jump clear!"

Kaito would jump back through an opening in the wall behind him that had formed as the shelter began to crumble down to the ground. He would make sure to land five meters away from the shelter itself, and by the time Yusuke would join him the shelter would have all crumbled down to nothingness. Kaito would give his clone a thumbs up and the clone would return it before dissipating and returning all of the its Chakra back to the real Kaito. He would again direct his attention over to Yusuke.

"And that, Yu, is only one example of what can happen should you use that technique and it get destroyed." The Inuzuka would pause for a moment to grab the drink flask out of his pouch and take a swig of the water inside of it before replacing it back into his pouch. "Now I wanna see you do it."

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Kaito looked on as Yusuke prepared to attempt his own version of the "Earth-Style: Rock Shelter" jutsu. He had no doubt in his mind that Yusuke could perform the technique. Hell, the boy could probably perform the technique better than even himself.

'His knack for chakra control is really nothing like I've seen before...' Kaito allowed himself to feel outwards for Yusuke's chakra signature as the boy performed the "Tiger" -> "Boar" -> and "Snake" hand signs, and he didn't like whatever it was he felt. In fact, homing in on the signature almost made Kaito physically sick. It was surely different from when he had previously been around the Sarutobi.

It was darker... colder...

With narrowed eyes, Kaito began to ponder to himself.

'What in the world did he do to himself?' The boy was about to open his mouth and question Yusuke on his actions regarding the new feel to his chakra signature, but for the first time in a long time his other self spoke to him...

'Hypocritical as always, Kaito...'

Kaito closed his eyes with a sigh. Of course, his other self would have to speak up at a time like this.

'What do you mean by that?' He asked inside his head, having a full-blown conversation with the darker half of his personality.

'I mean what I said. You're hypocritical!' A figment of Kaito's dark half met the Inuzuka's eyes. It appeared as a black silhouette reminiscent of a wolf standing upon its hind legs, and it had deep crimson red eyes. 'You can't stand the sight of someone who has obtained true power, can you?' Kaito was taken aback by what the other him said. The other Kaito must have noticed this and laughed. 'You're just pissed off because you couldn't find true power yourself. That's why I was created in the first place!'

Kaito tsked.

'You are so damn full of yourself, you know that? Can't I show a bit of concern for m-'

'Its not concern, you dumbass! Its jealousy!' The dark Kaito allowed themselves a moment to calm down before letting out a sigh and wrapping an arm around the real Kaito's shoulders. 'Just remember the reason I'm here is because you need me. Not the other way around. And don't question the child about how he obtained that power of his. Instead, embrace it. Let that power take grasp of him and use it to your own advantage.' The dark Kaito began to walk away into the pitch-black darkness of Kaito's subconscious. 'He just may become a powerful asset in the future...'

Kaito shook his head from side to side as to shake away the other him from his subconscious before opening his eyes back up. As he did, he could see that him and Yusuke were again inside of an "Earth-Style: Rock Shelter" dome, this one of Yusuke's creation. As Yusuke was saying that Kaito should possibly become a teacher, Kaito allowed himself to feel walls of the dome with his hand. It sure was sturdy, much more than his own in fact.

'This really is impressive..'

Kaito could feel his blood begin to boil a bit, but he couldn't tell if it was jealousy or if he was just getting hyped up that Yusuke was getting a good grasp on their training.

'Maybe the other me was right..' Kaito quickly shook his head from side to side again. 'No! I'm not jealous! I'm just happy for Yusuke, damnit!' Kaito couldn't help but slam a fist into the wall of the dome before snapping back to reality. He looked back at Yusuke, who wore his typical happy expression, and Kaito chuckled.

"Ah, I could never be a teacher, Yu." Kaito said with a slightly forced smile. "Sure, I may have the mental capacity to do it, but that would mean being cooped up in a classroom all day. I need to be out in the field... I need to hone my skills and put them to good use to protect the village itself and its people... That is why I strive to become the Kazekage someday." As Yusuke allowed the "Earth-Style: Rock Shelter" to crumble around them, Kaito would change the subject. "You did an awesome job with that Earth-Style: Rock Shelter though. A fantastic job, really."

Yusuke would immediately decide to move on to the next section of their training. This would involve the "Earth-Style: Rock Pillar Spears" technique, something that Kaito himself was unfamiliar with still. He would take a glimpse into the Jutsu encyclopedia that the Sarutobi had brought with him and practice weaving the hand signs for a moment as Yusuke performed the technique himself. He seemed to do a decent enough job of creating the spear, even if it did appear more blunt than sharp, but Yusuke seemed a bit displeased with his creation. He would then invite Kaito to give it a whirl, to which Kaito obliged full-heartedly. He would make sure to stand clear of Yusuke before closing his eyes and focusing his Chakra into his gloved hands.

"Bird -> Dragon -> Monkey -> Boar..." Shooting open his eyes, Kaito slammed both of his hands upon the ground at his feet. "Earth-Style: Rock Pillar Spears!" With [65] speed, a total of ten pillars would rise from the ground, covering a tight five-meter raidus around the Inuzuka to form a defensive wall of sorts. The spears were also shaped to be reminiscent of pikes rather than spears, and rose from the ground at an outward forty-five-degree angle to stand one-meter in length each. He looked at Yusuke with a slightly competitive smirk before focusing his Chakra into the Jutsu again. " Let's see what one of these things are made of, huh?" Without awaiting a reply from the other boy, Kaito would focus his chakra into the spear directly in front of him and launch it from the ground and into the air at [65] speed. It hurdled through the air as though it had been thrown like a javelin, arching at the maximum height of its angle and sticking harshly into the ground a whole twenty meters away. The spear had enough force behind it to actually stick a whole two meters into the ground itself, more than enough to acutely kill a person in combat should it come down to it.

"Geez!" Kaito exclaimed, looking back towards Yusuke with a bit of excitement on his face. "Someone could really do some damage with that if they practice enough!" Kaito would immediately allow the other spears to crumble into nothingness; their purpose having been served. He would then address the other techniques that Yusuke had wished to learn. "But moving on with the training, I myself do not know the Tearing Earth Turning Palm technique. I do know the other two Jutsu that you desire, but first I want to focus on that one I don't know." Kaito motioned to borrow Yusuke's encyclopedia again and flipped through a few pages until he came across both the "Tearing Earth Turning Palm" and "Moving Earth Core" techniques. "Here we go." He said, inviting the Sarutobi to stand next to him so they can look into the book together. He would make a point of focusing the boy's attention to the "Moving Earth Core" technique. "In order to learn the Great Moving Earth Core that you saw me use the other day, you must first learn how to use this technique here. The Great Moving Earth Core is a much more advanced version of this technique, and as the saying goes, you must learn to walk before you can run. But lets get started first with that Tearing Earth Turning Palm technique before we move onto that..."

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Kaito watched on as Yusuke would well the Chakra up within his body before performing the necessary hand signs and slamming his hand upon the earth. Suddenly, the very ground beneath their feet would begin to shake violently and start to crack and shift.

After completion of the Jutsu, Yusuke would look to Kaito with much excitement.

"Great job, man. That Jutsu will sure come in handy one day." Kaito would crack his knuckles, now even more excited. "But now its my turn..." Kaito quickly began to form the "Boar" -> "Ox" -> "Serpent" -> and "Snake" hand signs before slamming an open palm upon the earth. In much the same manner that Yusuke's attack worked, the earth one meter directly in front of Kaito began to shake and splinter with [65] speed and [65] power. Unlike Yusuke's version, however, Kaito's utilization of the technique covered a larger 20-meter radius.

But that was the difference between Yusuke and Kaito, and Kaito wanted to keep things to where he would be the top dog...

He just had to...

Once Kaito was finished performing the "Tearing Earth Turning Palm Jutsu", he would turn towards Yusuke and smirk.

"Hmph. How did you like that, Yu?" Just as Yusuke was responding, he would toss his book onto the ground next to Yusuke and begin to form the "Hare", "Ram", and "Snake" seals. "Moving Earth Core!" A 2x2 meter cube beneath Yusuke's feet would sharply rise from the ground at [60] speed, coming to an abrupt halt once it reached a total of 40 meters. Kaito knew that it was a bit of a mean trick to pull on Yusuke, but Kaito also knew that the Sarutobi learned best from doing, not being shown. If the boy wanted to get down, he would have no choice but to pefrom the same "Moving Earth Core" technique that Kaito just used.

"How's the weather up there, Yu?" Kaito would ask his friend with a bit of a laugh, one hand placed upon his hip as he shielded the sun from his eyes with the other. "My book should still be on the page that has the Moving Earth Core on it, and I know that you learn best by actually doing the thing that you're trying to learn, so if you want to come back down from there, you know what you've gotta do."

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Yusuke was able to lower the earth down with his own version of the "Moving Earth Core" technique, something that Kaito had no doubt about. The Sarutobi would seem to get a bit too big for his britches, however, and this made the competative side of Kaito come back to light.

"The C-Rank version might've been a piece of cake, but now comes time for two of the single most powerful Earth-Style techniques in my arsenal. There is one more, an S-Rank, but this is not the time or place for that monster of a Jutsu." Kaito would turn to the right before cracking his knuckles in preperation to perform the last two techniques that Yusuke needed to learn. The boy would then ask the Inuzuka if he wanted to join him for food after.

"I can totally go for some grub once we finish up here. I know just the place to go too, but pay close attention..."

The Hound of Sunagakure would slowly perform the "Hare" -> "Ram" -> "Snake" -> "Hare" -> "Ram" -> and "Snake" hand seals in succession, allowing the Chakra to build up in his hands before slamming them down upon the ground before him.

"Great Moving Earth Core!"

The entirety of the training ground began to shake and rumble ominously a mere second after Kaito slammed his hands down. With [75] speed and power the ground five meters in front of the duo would begin to sink down towards the center of the earth. It would become the shape of a 10x10 meter square, but while the original "Moving Earth Core" that Kaito had performed only went up 40 meters in total, he would allow this "Great Moving Earth Core" to sink as low as it possibly could; 200 meters in total. This would only be the second time since learning it that Kaito had found himself using it, and he felt really good about it's performance. He would look over at Yusuke before continuing.

"That, my friend, is the difference in power between the normal  "Moving Earth Core" and the advanced "Great Moving Earth Core". If you remember correctly, I was able to use it and the "Swamp Of The Underworld" to capture those missing-nin trying to scale the cleft wall and break into the village. While that is not the only combination that can be used with this technique, it is by far one of the most effective. But now I am going to perform the last technique on your list." Kaito would take a total of twenty meters back. "I definitely recommend stepping back a bit unless you wanna get caught in the quicksand."

In much the same manner that he performed the last set of hand seals, Kaito would now do the same for the "Boar" -> "Tiger" -> "Ox" -> "Dragon" ->"Monkey" -> and "Bird" hand seals.

"Swamp Of The Underworld!"

The dark brown swamp would begin to form three meters from the edge of the new hole in the ground, expanding outwards to cover a 15-meter radius. It would begin to create a waterfall effect as it poured down into the hole. Once it was done, Kaito would direct Yusuke to walk with him to the swamp's edge.

"And that, Yusuke, is the "Swamp Of The Underworld". It has the potential to drown an oponent and is very good for the shaping the terain to one that only you can use. I mean that literally, as for whatever reason nobody other than the user of this Jutsu can use that muddy earth for other Earth-Style based attacks." Kaito would pause for a moment as he turned to his best friend. "A true power move in deed, and once you successfully perform both of those techniques we can go grab some food."

Kaito would wait for Yusuke to successfully perform both of the Jutsu he had presented to him, giving him pointers and other helpful tips along the way, and once Yusuke was ready, he would wrap things up and walk with Yusuke back into the village to get a bite to eat.

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