Training Thread: Kin & Guren

[Hotaru KoutaishiMissing-Nin (D-rank)]

One of the many bits and pieces to going about the daily life of a ninja, was training. This thought alone was just enough to…almost bring Kin to tears. Not literally. The genin was a hideous crier, and his looks were just to important to let anyone see any ugly side. But figuratively, on the inside he was practically dying. Everything before this was pretty much natural; all his talents were able to be done without any practice. Crafting puppets being the prime example of this. There was essentially just this knack for doing so since he could recall. It acquired for creativity, cleverness, and dangerous all mixed into one. With all things considered, those words could all describe the Akiyama.

Either or, the sad fact of training, even though unbearable, would have to be done at some point. Better to try and make a habit of it early, especially considering the upcoming Chunin Exams. At this point, Kin didn’t necessarily feel unready for it. Anyone could stumble across, by chance or actual skill, a weaker opponent. Or ways around certain rules to get an advantage over the competition. But there still was having to see the opposing end of this spectrum. There was a huge potential for a drastic difference in just overall power level. Who knew how many of these other shinobi have been training probably ages for this event? Yet here he was, just getting around to his first actual session of training.

So, he’d step into the training grounds after a few moments of hesitation, with his puppet, Sparrow, in tow. The particular area in which Kin had found himself in was an environment based on one that you could see within wind country; it was a mainly desert scene circular in shape, spanning a 50 meter diameter. At the exact center of this was a small 10 meter pond, with a few trees dotted around it creating an oasis within the otherwise barren desert landscape. The braided hair dude would walk up to the area of water without knowing what he would do really. Instead, he’d get distracted within his reflection of the water’s surface, lost in thought of where to actually begin.

WC: 368

[Guren ChinoikeCitizen Survived 2021 You've completed the Christmas Event of 2021 and qualified for the last reward, by partisan you are awarded this fancy badge!]

Guren, concluding his own independent training on field 10, had been deep in thought. Since posting the registration slip for the Chunin exams, Guren had reflected back on his time as a Chunin of Kumogakure. He had recalled how difficult the exams were, from the written portion to the spars. They had been brutal and his will power and resolve were truly put to the test. Yet he hadn't been sure if it was worth it. Fundamentally he didn't learn much, except that he had been ahead of his genin colleagues at the time. But besides that, he hadn't learned how to be a better leader from them. Interestingly enough, lessons like that took time on the road and by himself, where he was forced to learn how to live on his own. Then applying that knowledge to becoming a Jounin of Sunagakure made him more of a conscious leader. It was lessons like those that he'd reflect on when training. Every time he'd execute a move, he'd hold himself to the standard of performing it as perfectly as he could. Not to his own benefit, but so that he could be stronger to protect his village and those whom he cared for. Lessons like these were difficult to teach in the Chunin exams, so he had hoped that whoever found success with these tests, would seek him out for further development. Passing the exams was only the beginning of a shinobi's life.

Nevertheless it was time for him to head back to the Spire. Instead of teleporting back like what had more recently become the norm, he figured he would take the long way. With the exams coming up, it had become increasingly more likely that genin of the village would be doing some last minute training sessions. If they  were wise, they would seek out more experienced shinobi as mentors, yet this hadn't been something established yet. Though as he walked through the training grounds, he recalled asking both Seb and Suika to look out for genin to mentor. Although that day hadn't come yet, maybe it would come soon. 

In any case, Guren would finally reach field 6, the genin's own personal training grounds. And interestingly enough, there had only been a single shinobi there. But at this time of day, early in the morning, it was unlikely that most would be awake. Still though, Guren found it peculiar seeing one up so early. They must have had a striking level of determination. Guren would approach him, and this desert like field, passing by sporadically spaced trees until he'd near the opposite side of the pond from the genin's location. He'd shift his trajectory, now walking alongside the pond. The wind was still, quiet, and calm. Something around this particular moment of time had felt so...dead. Perhaps it was the spirit of the genin standing just 5 meters away from Guren. He'd stop once reaching this distance, calling out to the genin.

"How goes your training?" With his inquiry, he'd squint his eyes softly in an attempt to discern who this boy was. But this was to no avail, as Guren was unfamiliar with his identity. What a shame, the kazekage had tried to make it a priority to know each of his genin on a personal level. Though as of lately, they seemed to be multiplying. "Standing at Training Ground 6 means you are a genin. But who exactly, I am not sure."

WC = 575

[Hotaru KoutaishiMissing-Nin (D-rank)]

There was a stillness within the little pool of water. No sign of movement rippling the surface or within the reflection of the clear, aqua blue water. The only thing caught within it’s mirror like shine was the one standing before it; Kin. More specifically, his eyes had taken a notice of the fact that his hair was slightly messed up in the front. That’s what he got for doing this right after getting up, huh? Well that, was certainly a no go. It was a down right shame that the noble born didn’t have a brush on his persons, because boy oh boy did it look bad…in his eyes, at least. In reality, the only particular thing off with the well kempt head of hair jutting forth from the man’s scalp were the two small yet extravagant loops which dangled around the ear area. Even then, there wasn’t anything too off with how they looked, only a little bit off center; the left side was slightly uneven and had a miniscule amount of excess hair within it’s locks. However, it was still enough to drive the adult practically mad at the mere sight of it.

Keeping his composure though, the Akiyama heir would go about doing an attempt to fix this problem. Taking both hands, he’d proceed to pull the two pins out from his hair which kept it locked in the flawless positions they were in. Then Kin would dive in further, lightly putting his one hand on the top of the water’s edge to wet his fingers a bit, but not completely dunking it to the point were it would be dripping. From there, this same hand would then raise, being pressed against the small strand; intricate fingers going about the meticulous process of detangling it. Each one slowly and carefully pulling apart any potential knots, and further deducing it’s size by an extremely small fraction of what it once was. As this process was coming to an end, the pitter patter of footsteps were heard making their way to a spot behind the boy, a voice calling out to him once the previous sound came to a halt. Placing the pins back in the now fixed piece, he’d then turn around to face the newcomer…

…to be faced with the face of the Kazekage. Being of a somewhat, lowkey royal family, Kin was fully aware of the formalities when greeted by someone of higher caliber, so he went about doing so. Full pausing on the task before, he offered a bow to the man standing before him, offering the words ”Lord Kazekage. It’s a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance in person.” After this exchange, the posture of the genin would go back upright, the spine becoming fully and perfectly aligned once more. ”The name’s Kin Akiyama, and I just got here not too long ago so things haven’t started just yet. I’m rather at a loss for what to do if I’m being honest. But with that being said, if I may ask, what brings you here?” The comment would be directed about the one made that this area was meant for the genin of the village to utilize to their best abilities.

WC:  540
TWC: 908

[Guren ChinoikeCitizen Survived 2021 You've completed the Christmas Event of 2021 and qualified for the last reward, by partisan you are awarded this fancy badge!]

And once again, another person bowing to Guren. It was always awkward to him since he never knew what to do during this time. And so he'd simply fold his arms across his chest and await for the genin to rise. A proper and former address had followed, it seemed as if all genin that he had met held themselves to high standards of respect. This was a testament to the practices taught at the academy. Following this, the genin would introduce himself as Kin. A name that resembled that of a man Guren held in high regard. Thus, this genin would already have high standards to live up to. Yet his last name struck a chord with Guren, as it was characteristic of that of a noble family in Sunagakure. Yet for someone to come from a privileged family, the boy seemed to be well mannered and not snobby. Hopefully he was the same to his colleagues. And he would go on to admit that he only just got to the training grounds. And understandably so considering the time of day. He seemed to be without a focus, unsure of what to work on. That was something Guren could somewhat relate to during his time as a lower ranked shinobi. Without a mentor, it was difficult to understand where you should focus your efforts. This was exactly why he had hoped some of Sunagakure's shinobi would take rising genin under their wings. He would need to do the same.

When questioned about his presence at the genin fields, Guren would offer a half smile. "Well it's the season of Chunin exams. I wanted to see just how our genin were preparing. That and I was doing some training of my own not too long ago. Regarding your lack of focus, maybe I can help. What are your capabilities?"

Guren thought back on the files he had reviewed on the genin of Sunagakure, and he vaguely remembered seeing Kin's. However he could not recall what his proficiencies were in. But if he could help the boy, he certainly would. This was something he personally looked to do for every genin, no matter how much time spent it would mean. Besides, investing in the village's future was the only way to ensure it. And genin, were undoubtedly the future.

WC = 386. TWC = 961

[Hotaru KoutaishiMissing-Nin (D-rank)]

During this exchange of words, a close eye on the Kage’s body language would be examined. This was to get a baseline in regards to how he ran things, and just the overall demeanor of the guy. Obviously, the title was passed down to him for some reason, but sometimes those reasons may be iffy depending on who they were given from. There were always doubts when it came to politics, which was quite shocking given his family’s status. Many would dine in the lavishness and luxury of the scandals, secrets, and general affairs of it all. But, since the fall still had happened within his lifetime, Kin was reluctant into falling into the ploy that is conflict such as that. Sometimes, yes, it was indeed necessary. That still didn’t change the fact that many lives were lost on that sad day.

The puppeteer wouldn’t ponder on this for too long though, replying just solely on instincts alone ”My area of expertise lies within my art: puppets.” In this moment, the genin would push forward the construct which he had made quite a while ago. The wooden puppet was made like a bird, two wings folded inward and it standing roughly around 3 feet tall. Along the wing’s edge were bits of metal, and if one had decent recognition skills, they would be able to almost immediately recognizing four of the “feathers” there actually being kunai. Running along the top end of the wings, all the way up the sides of it’s neck were stripes of gold, the same metallic yellow being present in the bird like beak as well as it’s eyes.

To add onto what was said, Kin would also echo ”I would be forever grateful for any help I could get, especially given the upcoming exams.” Even though there wasn’t really a sign of it within the voice, upon saying so, his left eye would slightly twitch as well as the same corner of his mouth; further implying that there were butterflies in his stomach because of this. Of course, if asked though, being as prideful as he was, the golden shinobi would never admit to this fact, especially to someone like the Kazekage. There couldn’t even be the potential for someone to have the thought that he was weak or anything like that. That’s not how he wanted his legacy to be.

WC: 400
TWC: 1308

[Guren ChinoikeCitizen Survived 2021 You've completed the Christmas Event of 2021 and qualified for the last reward, by partisan you are awarded this fancy badge!]

Guren would take a moment to admire the craftsmanship of this sparrow like puppet that Kin displayed to him. In a relaxed yet intrigued posture, his eyes would scan over all of its visible intricacies. Truthfully he was no expert in puppetry. He had no experience with them actually, aside from knowing a former genin who was a puppeteer. Guren had only assumed that Kin had built this puppet, based on his choice of wording. And the level of attention to detail that Kin had paid when building the puppet had to have been remarkable. It was sturdy, robust, and well equipped. Guren would refrain from showing any immense amount of interest in the puppet though. It looked great, but its functionality was key.

"You know Kin, I'm curious. I wonder just what this puppet can do. And what you can do with it." Guren said as his voice trailed off.

With flick of the rings upon his fingers, a tiny drop of blood would form from each hand. At the same time the Chinoike formed a few series of hand seals, causing two blood clones to form on each side of him each two meters away. 

"I'm willing to help you train, but I'd like to see how you fair against two clones of mine. You know, to make the numbers even. You and your puppets, versus these two clones. What say you?"

WC = 234. TWC = 1195

[Hotaru KoutaishiMissing-Nin (D-rank)]

It was all very intriguing of how the day was turning out. And it had only just begun too. This was no mere, run of the mill run in with the kage, no. This particular set of circumstances would lead to a sparring session between the two standing within the training area. Albeit, it would merely be a puppet vs clones, but still, a test of combat prowess no less. It was the last thing that would’ve been expected to happen, yet still here it is. Seeing a mere sliver of the power behind the man who runs Sunagakure was rather awe inspiring. It would appear that he too had some tricks within his arsenal utilizing blood from the looks of how the clones were made.

Kin couldn’t help but smirk at this. It left him in a state of being shocked to the point where he couldn’t speak for a brief moment, but, after that would slowly pass, his eyes would lock onto Guren’s and he’d say ”It sounds like a challenge then, Lord Kazekage. A tedious one, yes, but one I’m willing to accept.” With that being said, a similar flick of his index and middle finger on his left hand was made, two chakra threads to be produced from the tips of these fingers. They would stretch out until eventually reaching the back of Sparrow. The bird like construct would then seemingly come to life, it’s wings beginning to unfurl from it’s body while it would proceed to levitate 2 meters off the ground.

Once this was all set, the Akiyama shinobi would then proceed to bow his head, signifying that he was ready to begin.

WC: 283
TWC: 1591

Mid Thread Claims:

Skills/Techs-
880 words to Great Fireball, (was previously 120/1000 from here, now completing it)
500 words to Fire Piercing Darts, completing it
Will be claiming the other 211 words at the end

Stats-
15 total, all to Vigor

[Hayato YukiCitizen]

Mid thread claims approved for Kin

[Guren ChinoikeCitizen Survived 2021 You've completed the Christmas Event of 2021 and qualified for the last reward, by partisan you are awarded this fancy badge!]

Proud of Kin's willingness to spar, Guren would bow his head slightly at the same time as Kin. And now, it was time to begin.

"Well then, Kin. Let's dance."

With that Guren would dash backwards, allowing the available battlefield between the puppet and the clones to garner more space. If Kin followed Guren's lead, then the field should open up even more. Nevertheless Guren, now at least 10 meters away from Kin, would allow his clones to flourish here. Understanding they were dealing with a puppet, they'd forgo the use of any genjutsu. And because the puppet was of limited durability, they'd also aim to subdue and not destroy it. Though if any destruction happened to said puppets, Guren would not mind fronting the bill to have them repaired. In any case, the battle should begin with the clones 5 meters apart from the puppet. 

The clone to Guren's left, the puppet's right, will be referred to as Luren. The clone to Guren's right, the puppet's left, will be referred to as Ruren. Luren would begin to battle off with an elegant flow of handseals with his left hand, Dragon  → Tiger  →  Hare  →  Ram. Following this, he'd expel a conical jet stream of water (15 meters in height/width/range by end of range) from his mouth towards the direction of the puppet. Ruren would lift his hand to chest height and form some seals of his own with his right hand, Ram → Snake → Horse → Dragon. He'd extend his fingertips outward and towards the puppet, producing a cone shaped wave of lightning (10 meters in height/width/range by end of range) that would travel towards the puppet slower than the speed of the jet stream. It was a simple start, but could prove difficult for Kin and the puppet to adjust to. Guren and his clones had no plan on taking it easy, but also did not look to completely overpower the genin. It was through adversity and challenges that shinobi grew stronger, so he had hoped that the puppeteer could adapt.

WC = 345. TWC = 1540

Calcs:

[Hotaru KoutaishiMissing-Nin (D-rank)]

”It’s on, Lord Third.” Kin would say with a smirk, indicating that their spar has officially begun.

Mimicking the Kazekage’s own movements, the genin puppet user would also move back from his original positioning, landing at a spot that was 15 meters behind where he was just moments ago. Before the two clones made up from the Kage’s own blood could act though, Kin would swiftly maneuver the two threads connected to Sparrow to send it flying backwards, essentially bringing the construct with himself. It would make it out just in the nick of time too, landing on his left hand side a meter in front of himself as the duo would finish weaving their respective seals. After which, the streams of both lightning and water would be shot forward, but to no avail. Both Kin and his puppet were safely out of range for both techniques. A split second would rush by as the blasts would then start to cease, allowing for Kin to make his own move, sending Sparrow forward, past it’s original spot, until it would get a meter beyond the Guren twins.

If Sparrow had made it past these two, it’s wings would then completely open up to it’s full length, the bottom “feathers” could now clearly be made out to be kunai instead of the etched material like the rest of them were. With another flick of the fingers, these same throwing knives would shoot out backwards towards the clones. A total of 10 kunai tied to the ends of wire, 5 on each side, would make it’s way hurdling towards Ruren and Luren. Had they been hit, the damage dealt wouldn’t be too significant, but it would still definitely leave a mark.

WC: 271
TWC: 1862

The Goodies: