Jiro's Training - Set Two [T]

It was a warm day in Konoha, and the afternoon sun filled the training arena. Birdsong filled the air, and if one was quiet enough, they could hear it echoing off the walls. It was quiet now, just the way Jiro preferred it. The Nara was back at training today, since the day prior had been filled with escorting an old lady around town, and well... that sort of job just doesn't get you gains.

Jiro had two techniques in mind for his training today. One, the Leaf Rising Wind, and two, the Dancing Leaf Shadow. Used in conjunction, they made for a powerful combination, one with even greater potential beyond itself if it could be mastered. He stepped onto the training field, making his way toward one of the large upright logs. If he was going to specialize in only Taijutsu, he had to make the endeavor worth it, and that meant putting in the effort. As much as he loathed being made to work hard, this was something he did of his own volition.

Once at the logs, Jiro starts doing his warm up stretches, touching his toes and doing back bends, stretching out his back and hamstrings. His legs would receive extra treatment today, for the Leaf Rising Wind kick required optimal flexibility. His aim was to be able to kick directly upwards at his opponent's chin, after all. Once his legs were warmed up with toe touches, he started using the log, lifting his heel up high above his head and groaning at the pull in his groin. This was training too, he thought. In reality, he'd need to be able to do full splits comfortably to properly execute this technique. But he was getting there, slowly but surely. Jiro alternated legs, making sure that each was stretched equally. He'd learned early on that he always needed to train both sides of his body. It was rare for an opponent to only attack on your dominant side, and he had to be prepared to change the position of his body at any moment, and have his techniques come out just as powerfully.

Soon enough, he felt his groin fully make contact with the log, signaling that it was time for him to move on to kicking practice. He went to find an apparatus where he could adjust the height of the target, setting it just above his head level and stepping back, readying his stance and leveling his eyes on it. Then, in one smooth movement, Jiro drives his heel upward, smashing it into the target. It had decent power, but he had to keep drilling it. He needed to make sure his form was perfect before he moved on to the weighted dummies. Again and again, Jiro kicked at the high target, letting his legs get used to using such power at that level of extension. It was easier to activate your muscles when your limbs were close to your body, but kicking at that height, you start to lose power quickly. It was his job to make sure he kept optimal impact force when the kick connected, so it would do the job of launching an opponent airborne. He kept these things in mind as he drilled the kicks on each leg, sweat dripping down his face and chest.
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WC: 555

Jiro went on like this for a while, until he felt as though his form was solid. After so much repetition, his body would know what to do. Moving away from the apparatus, he once again found the stack of weighted grappling dummies, reaching over and grabbing one up off the top. They were closest thing he was going to get to a human body, without an actual sparring partner. Besides, who would want to let him kick them into next Tuesday on repeat? Jiro carried the dummy out to the middle of the field, where he stopped before heaving it up with a yell and throwing it into the air. As the dummy began to descend, Jiro launched his leg upward in the same motion he'd been practicing, sinking heavily into the bag's body before kicking it up and back in a small arc. Hardly a noteworthy performance. 'It needs a stronger impact,' he thought, picking it up and getting it ready again. Lifting it up, he gave the dummy another toss, this time really focusing on the speed and power of his leg as he made his kick, watching as the dummy was noticeably knocked back. There was no sinking or pushing feeling in his leg, and the arc distance had about doubled. 'Alright, just like that.' Jiro repeated this training, each time focusing on honing his accuracy, speed, and power, trying to make the dummy stay airborne as long as possible. He would need it to be, in order to train his next technique.

The Dancing Leaf Shadow, he knew to be an aerial maneuver technique which mirrored the opponent's trajectory perfectly, allowing them to essentially move in their opponent's shadow. This sort of technique could prevent Jiro from being targeted head on after launching his opponent with Rising Wind, and gave him the opponent's back as well, creating a vulnerable position that he could exploit. The ideas that came to mind for follow up attacks were endless, but Jiro knew he couldn't get ahead of himself. He'd need to master this airborne maneuver before he could even think about adding combos onto it. And the best way to learn would be with his body.

Lifting the dummy up, he let out a strong yell and dished out his most powerful rising kick, launching the dummy high into the air. Quickly, Jiro jumped up as well, trying to match his body's trajectory precisely to that of the dummy. But the power of his jump was too strong, and the dummy started careening downward before Jiro had reached the climax of his arc. It fell right into his stomach, knocking him out of his trajectory and earning a startled scream from the boy as they both came crashing to the ground. Jiro lay there dazed, staring at the sky, watching the clouds roll by lazily. '.... What a pain,' he thought, with a heavy sigh and a grumble. Then, he rolled himself up slowly, carefully getting to his feet and picking up the dummy.

Again, he launched the body double into the air, appearing behind it a moment later, focusing keenly on adjusting his own movement as the dummy began its descent. Once again, however, Jiro found himself losing momentum and botching his landing, earning yet more hard knocks as he tumbled along the ground. The boy cursed as he got up again. 'Come on,' he thought, gripping the dummy and yelling loudly as he gave it another solid kick into the air. In a flash, he launched himself into the dummy's shadow. He could feel it this time. His body was more in sync with the dummy's movements, his trajectory shifting on a dime. He felt he was starting the get the hang of it, and started to get excited - but too much focus can be a bad thing. Jiro had been so attuned to the dummy's movements, he had lost awareness of his own position, and realized moments too late that he was about to go head first into the dirt. Yelping, he quickly protected his head and formed his body into a ball, trying to mitigate the damage. Even so, once again he found himself flung out on the ground, dizzy and dazed. "Man.... I really gotta learn how to stick that landing.... ugh."
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WC: 718 / TWC: 1,273

A freeing experience to walk freely within a Shinobi Village when you have been on the other side of the law for the vast majority of your life. Hiroya was out exploring the village in its enterity, his connection with his Father Aokidanza allowed him a freedom that many wouldn’t be allowed. Though it wasn’t like Hiroya was messing around or abusing this privilege, his goal currently was to familiarize himself with the layout of the whole village and get a good idea of who was who within. If his father decided that his would be his bastion against the world then he would need to get a good read of the area and people in it to figure out what best way to utilize and improve their foundation.

That is why Hiroya was now within the Training Grounds where many shinobis trained to enhance and sharpen their skills and techniques, there were plenty of promising folks in this area and with a trained and experienced eye Hiroya started thinking of various training regimes that would improve their efficiencies in getting better than they were now. For now he was simply mentally forming the outline of what each person he watched needed to do to become a better version of themselves, that was both in physical aspect and mental. It was one thing to be strong physically but if you couldn’t keep yourself calm and collected an opponent will jump on that opening like a starved wolf seeing an injured deer.

Interesting enough there was a young man of average height and black hair, wrapped in many bandages that gave that appearance of a person who trained in the physical specialities like taijutsu and bukijutsu. Hiroya watched the boy attempt a series of kicks that took him into the air but there seemed to be a part missing and it came to how to land properly. While Hiroya was more focused on the art of weapons he knew enough about close quarters combat to be able to help those who wished to improve themselves in that path.

He was about 5m from the boy as he jumped to his fullest height and used the technique called Lightness Skill. It allowed him to control his descent and ascent as he wished using the littlest of platforms and he used it to do a couple of flips and twists and gently put himself down. “I believe you are needing this specific technique young man.” He would say his voice old but filled with life, a gentle and kind tone that felt as if you were speaking with your grandparent.

[Using Lightness Skill for 15 ap]
WC: 437

Jiro eyed the old man suspiciously as he came closer, his eyes following him as he leapt into the air and watching him almost enviously as he maneuvered himself gently back to the ground. Carefully, Jiro stood up and dusted off his trousers. "... It does look useful," he admitted, crossing his arms over his chest. He had never seen this old man before, though that was hardly surprising. There were many people in the village he had never met. But he did think it was odd to find a man his age at the training grounds, and not at an izakaya somewhere. "I don't know what brought you here, Jii-jii. But if you came out of your way to show me that, does that mean you're willing to teach me?" Jiro hesitated a moment with his words, mulling them over. He could use a skill like that... and if he wanted any chance at learning it, he should probably try and be respectful.

".. I'm Jiro," he said finally, straightening up a bit and looking the old man in the eye. "If you're willing to impart your knowledge, I would appreciate it... Please," he added, bowing his head to the old man. He wasn't really one for decorum or social niceties, but he understood that there were some situations where it was better to respect your elders. Lifting his head, he continued to explain. "The Chuunin Exams are not far away now... I want to be ready. If I can master my landing, I'll have a lot more options when I go to create combos."
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WC: 265 / TWC: 1,538

“Sure I can impart my knowledge, after all that is what the elder is around for.” Hiroya said with a smile, the young man seemed willing to learn and spoke of the Chunnin Exams that were coming up. “So you will be taking part I assume. I assume you are a taijutsu practitioner.” Hiroya said as he rubbed his chin while he looked over the young man in front of him. He wore bandages on his arms and legs, he had black hair. “Anyways lets get to learning shall we?” Hiroya said as he readied himself once more to use the Lightness Skill technique. “First you will need to circulate your chakra through your whole body to make it as “light” as possible, this will allow you to move it more easily and as you wish while in the air.” Hiroya did as he was explaining so that the young man could sense what was happening, “Then once its been circulated properly you will use it similar to the tree walking or water walking technique and that will allow you to use even the most minute object as a foothold for your movements.” Hiroya said as he approached a tree nearby and plucked some leaves which he jumped and scattered into the air, from there he used the Lightness Skill to use each leave as a foothold to jump around and move in the air.
 
“With some practice I believe you will understand how to use this quite quickly and with ease.” Hiroya said as he returned to the ground. “If you are a Shinobi of this village I believe that should be enough for you to see to be able to learn it.” He said as he begun to head on his way out of the training grounds. Whether or not the young man could learn what he showed would be up to his own ability and effort.

[Using Lightness skill for 15 ap]
[Exit]
 
WC: 319
TWC: 759
Claims: 700 WC towards training Bonus AP at a rate of 4 for 100 wc: 28 AP 
AP: 962 > 990

Jiro watched intently as the old man demonstrated again. As soon as he mentioned using chakra, Jiro felt a sinking feeling in his gut. He was balls at using chakra. But he was able to at least stick to surfaces, and even use his family's secret jutsu.... even if it was only in its most basic form. Maybe he'd be able to pull it off.

When the old man finished, he didn't stick around. Jiro just stared at him open mouthed as he turned and walked away, without so much as a goodbye. 'I didn't even learn his name,' Jiro grumbled internally, crossing his arms and mentally going over what he'd seen again. Right.... so he had to circulate chakra through his body. Jiro closed his eyes and focused. He tried to feel his chakra, gradually circulating through every inch of his skin, through his muscle and tissue. He gave an experimental jump, his eyebrow quirking as he tried to determine if he felt any lighter or not.

"Might as well try it bigger," he muttered, before giving a huge leap into the air, rising an astonishing 45 meters into the air. 'If I fall like this, I'm taking damage,' he reminded himself, his eyes focused as he started to go down. 'Come on,' he thought, adrenaline surging through him as he activated his chakra and let it surge through his body. He felt his velocity shift, and he seemed to start floating more than falling. He angled his body and shifted his trajectory, seeing a feather that was floating near him and stepping on top of it, using it as a platform to leap down to the ground, his feet touching weightlessly. "Holy shit," he chuckled, patting his body to make sure he was still in one piece.

Well, that was enough training for the day. Jiro collected his things, and headed on out.

[Exit]
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WC: 315 / TWC: 1,853

+18 Stats (16 Strength, 2 Speed)
* 750 WC for Dancing Leaf Shadow (C) -> 1,103 left
* 750 WC for Leaf Rising Wind (C) -> 353 left
** 250 WC for Lightness Skill (C) -> 103 left
103 to finish training Leaf Gale (B) [Previous Link] -> 0 left

* 25% facility discount
** 75% discount, trained by Hiroya