A-TRAIN

Enishi Kurosawa was a man of his word.

Yesterday, he promised to train the young man who acted as his gate guard when he arrived at the Hoshigakure gates. In his mind, it was simply his way of paying his thanks to the man, who he soon knew to be named Amikiri. Amikiri was a Genin and while he said he was rather experienced in Bukijutsu and Nature Transformations, he wanted to gain proficiency in another area. 

Fuuinjutsu... The Seraph pondered as he strode to the Water Gardens. Adorning his typical outfit, he didn't feel a need to show off to his underclassman considering that this would just be like a training session...and Enishi wasn't a very superficial man to begin with. However, he did bring more things in a scroll he gripped with his right hand as he walked. In this scroll was a helix of sorts — a spiraling scroll in the sense that within the scroll held an assortment of other scrolls. Enishi didn't think it was necessary since he predicted that Amikiri was a competent and talented shinobi to begin with; but, within the parent scroll was a hodgepodge of texts directly from Suguru's study in his house that held general descriptions of everything regarding Fuuinjutsu and Bukijutsu as well as some of his own personal notes he wrote distilling some abstract Fuuinjutsu concepts for recursive use. Of course that was only 5% of the notes he wrote as everything else were extremely private breakthroughs he didn't feel comfortable showing to other people unless he perfected his research, but the ones he had in the scroll seemed good enough.

It was a few minutes before noon when he told Amikiri to arrive. Thankfully the Training Grounds were rather empty today, so he just sat in the shade under a tree and leaned against it as he faced the lake scenery, awaiting his student for today.

Hmm...I should fight Ryumi again.

WC: 323

The Hyuuga had spent most of the morning preparing for this. Not to say he was obsessed with Enishi, but one usually did not gain the opportunity to learn directly from a Nova Corps member. Amikiri would be extremely grateful for this opportunity, and as such, did not want this to go to waste. He had started the day by eating a well nourishing breakfast, as well as getting into his usual attire for training. This included a basic dark green t-shirt, pants, and some boots. Nothing too fancy. Despite fuinjutsu being a relatively “tame” topic to study, especially when compared to things like bukijutsu or Dust Release, Amikiri knew that he was certain to learn some powerful fuinjutsu techniques today.

Before he headed out to the training grounds, Amikiri wanted to sort some stuff out. With his recent increases in strength, he had acquired some powerful new items and as such, wanted to keep everything organized. He withdrew one of his basic scrolls from Storage Displacement. Unrolling it on the table in front of him, Amikiri would set about sealing items inside of it. This included one Ice Steel, one Meteoric Iron, one Damascus Steel, one Corpse Storage Scroll, one book titled “Human Body The Ultimate Machine”, another book titled “A Study of KKG and DNA”, and ten senbon. The dark haired man stored the scroll inside of his Storage Displacement once more and proceeded to head out to the training grounds. Right before he exited the house, he would double check and confirm that he was wearing his Nise under his clothes. Today could quite easily turn out to be one with a bit of danger in it, so Amikiri did not want to be caught off guard.

Amikiri moved briskly, but did not run to the training grounds. He certainly did not want to be late and he would prefer to be early. His father always told him that early is on time and on time is late. The dark haired Hyuuga arrived at the training grounds a couple minutes before their scheduled time of noon. Fortunately today they were rather empty. Amikiri looked around, trying to find his teacher. Despite sitting under the darkness of a tree’s shadow, Amikiri recognized the man quite easily due to his orange-ish, red-ish colored hair.

The Hyuuga approached him and would give a slight bow. It was not very deep by any means, as Amikiri could already start to tell that Enishi was not one for grand formalities. The dark haired man then said, “Good morning Enishi. Or would it be good afternoon?” The Hyuuga pondered for a moment, before continuing on by saying, “Well regardless, thank you for taking the time to teach me today. I already have an elementary level of knowledge in Fuinjutsu with techniques like Basic Sealing or Armory Seals, but not much beyond that. Where do you think it would be best to start?”

WC: 489

Whilst practicing some mental exercises to sharpen his mental faculties for what would appear to be a rather rigorous day of demonstration, Enishi noticed footsteps approaching. Unfortunately, his senses weren't sharp enough to determine who exactly those footsteps pertained to, but deduction was equally as strong a sense. A smirk plastered on his face, he stood up as his student approached him and they both greeted each other respectfully. He was pleasantly surprised that Amikiri came a few minutes early, understanding that it was probably going to take a while for his student to learn the basics. Fuuinjutsu, by Enishi's biased perspective, was the most challenging field a shinobi could invest themselves in since it required studying, linguistic mastery, calligraphic mastery, and a perfect understanding of mutual balance and how that relates to the energies found in the natural world. Typically, a true Fuuinjutsu Scholar should take a year studying and practicing the basics before actually moving on to creating and replicating seals, but time was of the essence for shinobi.

Amikiri quickly explained his understanding of Fuuinjutsu which aided a lot in figuring out his current skill level. "Well, you're right about having an elementary skill level...that's for sure." Enishi put a few fingers on his chin while thinking. "However, both Armory Seal and the Basic Sealing Technique are solid foundations, so you should already have an idea of how Fuuinjutsu works. Come, take a seat." The ginger motioned as he sat under the tree overlooking the river, hoping that Amikiri would sit across from him, still under the shade. From there, he'd swiftly unseal three tags from his scroll, placing them between him and Amikiri while he unsealed a special brush and ink as well. "As you know, Fuuinjutsu revolves around sealing and unsealing items into and out of objects. This isn't limited to just physical items, but anything to the practitioner's desire as long as they're skilled enough. Of course, there are multiple types of Fuuinjutsu and specific sub-categories that  I can demonstrate later—Juinjutsu comes into mind—but we'll be sticking to basic stuff for now and I can see whether you're ready for me to teach you useful techniques that are around your skill level." Enishi explained eloquently. Should Amikiri understand, he'd elucidate more on the things he just unsealed.

"So I have right here a few tags and a special brush and ink. Traditionally, Fuuinjutsu was practiced in a similar vein to Caligraphy, and I find that some of the traditional styles help in understanding the theory of Fuuinjutsu a bit. Even if we're trying to get you to learn this for more practical reasons, Fuuinjutsu is inherently a theoretical art." Grabbing one of the brushes, he dipped it in the special ink before drawing the Kanji for "Break" on it. "The root of Fuuinjutsu comes from the concept of 'Kotodama.' Every word—which we can draw as Kanji—carries spiritual power that quickly disseminates into chakra. So, we create Kanji through our chakra that draw on this concept to create seals. Alternatively, you can also use this special brush and ink that can construct seals if you create the correct Kanji. For example, I just assembled the Breaking technique in this tag, so if I put it against an Explosive Tag..." Enishi pulled out one of his to demonstrate the interaction, "the Explosive Tag seal breaks."

"Now, just drawing the Kanji for 'Break' on the tag using the brush won't do anything. What makes this an exercise I find useful for beginners is that it's mental training. You have to envision everything about the word and what you want the seal to do as you draw the Kanji. I have multiple tags, so I want you to do this ten times, and when you're done with the ten tags, we will test them to each Explosive Tag I have to see if the seal will wear off. This will also make you remember the physical motion of performing the strokes, so when you have to construct it out of mere chakra eventually while managing all the other information in your mind, it'll take a load off of your brain." 

Enishi then sighed after realizing he was talking way more than he had usually done over the past few months.

"Well, I'll leave it to you. If you have any questions or need help, just tell me. You're learning quite the tricky art." With a calm smile, Enishi would watch Amikiri get to work as he handed him the tags and equipment.

WC: 758
TWC: 1081

Hearing Enishi’s words, Amikiri was a bit more hopeful. He thought that a mere handful of fuinjutsu techniques wouldn’t be enough to grasp even the basics, but Enishi thought it showed a decent understanding of the fundamentals. That meant Amikiri was already a little closer than he thought he was.

As Enishi sat up, no longer leaning against the tree, Amikiri would join him, sitting across from him no more than a meter away. Then Enishi would withdraw from a scroll a few tags, similar to a blank explosive tag, as well as a brush and some ink. Amikiri was not too pleased by the site of the latter objects, as handwriting was not his speciality. His mother wanted him to learn calligraphy at one point, but fortunately his father convinced her otherwise after a few disastrous lessons.

Amikiri nodded along to what Enishi was saying. From Basic Sealing, Armory Seal, and Breath Seal, he understood the concept that Fuinjutsu seals were able to store basic objects. However, Enishi’s next comment made Amikiri realize the potential of Fuinjutsu. The possibility of storing chakra, or as Enishi phrased it, his “desires.” This opened the Hyuuga’s eyes to a whole new world of Fuinjutsu techniques he could create. Enishi’s mention of Juinjutsu intrigued Amikiri. He had never heard of this and would have to ask later on in the session. As Enishi took a pause, Amikiri would give a nod of understanding.

Enishi’s next explanation would start to give Amikiri a better understanding of the fuinjutsu process. While yes, the calligraphy, writing, and the shape of the seal itself was important, what was really important was what Amikiri envisioned the seal doing.

As Enishi finished his instructions, Amikiri would nod and pick up the materials. The Hyuuga first looked closely at Enishi’s depiction of the Kanji for break. He studied it closely and tried to remember the pattern for every stroke, sweep, and curve. Amikiri wasn’t very good at calligraphy, so he was trying to make sure that wouldn’t be the point of failure for this exercise. Amikiri also thought of Enishi’s other wisdom. Yes, the calligraphy was important, but it still only served as a medium for the greater purpose of implementing your willpower through a chakra effect.

The Hyuuga quickly pulled out a sheet of paper and set on top the tags in front of him. Amikiri then draws the tip of the brush against the ink block, gathering a sufficient amount of ink on the brush. While some calligraphy required the calligrapher to put lighter strokes in certain places and stress differently with certain points of the brush, Amikiri felt that a uniform strong approach would create the easiest medium for the application of his chakra.

Using his own paper, Amikiri would do a quick practice drawing of the Kanji for break. He was out of practice and it was only on his third attempt that he considered his drawing to be passable. It had been many years since he had last tried to dabble in calligraphy, so the intricate strokes were all very difficult. The Hyuuga would then draw the Kanji twice more. In his opinion, it was important not just to get something right, but to not get it wrong. When those two additional attempts were also successful, he felt confident that he could combine both calligraphy and his attempts to channel chakra through it.

He then set his own paper aside and refreshed the ink on his brush. Now, he would close his eyes and think for a second, reflecting on exactly what he wanted this seal to do. He did not want it to destroy the explosive tag in front of him, simply to weaken the chakra of the tag itself. The dark haired Hyuuga thought back to his extensive training with his Byakugan and recalled how every human had Tenketsu points, where chakra flowed through them. Through Gentle Fist and Gentle Blade techniques, Amikiri had learned to stem the flow of chakra. Now, he must take a similar, but more drastic approach. It was like instead of limiting a Tenketsu point, he would be completely destroying it. Only the Tenketsu point though, not the muscle and fiber it was contained within.

Using this approach, Amikiri would open his eyes. He held his right wrist with his left hand and performed a couple circular motions, stretching and loosening his wrist. The Hyuuga then thought of each different stroke in the Kanji he was to draw as a different Gentle Fist strike, and each letter giving the explosive tag its sinister purpose as a Tenketsu point. The Hyuuga furrowed his brow in concentration and set his brush down on the paper. He moved slowly and deliberately. Each stroke was as precise as the strike of his Gentle Blade, purposely covering the letters on the Explosive Tag to help Amikiri’s metaphor. The Hyuuga would finish the symbol and look upon the tag with anticipation. The letters hidden under his Kanji would slowly start to fade away as his Fuinjutsu Breaking technique did its job.

A small smile would spread across Amikiri’s face. While he started to learn Fuinjutsu Breaking more than a year ago, this was an advancement he simply wasn’t ready for. However the smile would quickly fade. As he had remembered earlier, it was not about getting it right, but not getting it wrong. And so he set about the nine other Explosive Tags. With each one he would take care, making sure to completely expel the influence of the chakra from the tag. By the end of it, Amikiri felt no need to completely cover the writing on the explosive tag with his own Kanji. His metaphor was starting to lose purpose and he was understanding the fuinjutsu as it was, not with his own twist applied to it.

Amikiri would look up from his work and say to Enishi, “Well, I think I’m done. Now comes the nerve racking part.” Amikiri would chuckle lightly and jokingly say, “Will they or will they won’t blow up?”

WC: 1012
TWC: 1501

The gentle rustle of leaves overhead provided a soothing backdrop as Enishi observed Amikiri's meticulous process. His ice-blue eyes, sharp as a hawk's, tracked every nuance of the brush strokes, every flicker of concentration that passed over the Hyuuga's face. The air around them seemed to hum with latent power, a testament to the chakra channeling into each carefully crafted seal. As Amikiri completed the final tag, Enishi couldn't help but allow a slight smirk to grace his features at the Genin's nervous jest. "Well then," The Wraith began, his tone carrying a hint of amusement, "let's put your handiwork to the test, shall we?" He reached for the first tag, holding it between his thumb and forefinger with the delicacy one might reserve for a fragile artifact. With his other hand, he produced an explosive tag from one of his combat pouches. Time seemed to slow as Enishi brought the two tags together. The moment of contact was electric, a brief surge of chakra that rippled through the air like a heat haze. To the untrained eye, nothing would have appeared to happen. But the Sage of Pleiades, with senses honed by years of practice, saw an intricate dance of twin energies as Amikiri's seal began to unravel the explosive tag's implanted chakra. The bold, black strokes on the explosive tag faded like ink washing away in the rain.

Enishi nodded approvingly, but his expression remained neutral as he repeated the process with the remaining nine tags methodically. After testing the final tag, the ginger leaned back, taking a moment to gather his thoughts before addressing his scholar. "Your technique shows promise, Amikiri," he began once again, his voice carrying experience's approval."You've grasped the fundamental concept quickly, which speaks to your potential. However..." He paused, ensuring he had Amikiri's full attention as the word hung in the air, pregnant with unspoken critique. "There's room for refinement. Your chakra control, while adequate for basic seals, needs honing for more advanced techniques. The Breaking technique you've just learned is but a single brushstroke in the vast canvas of Fuinjutsu. In fact, this is the most basic Fuuinjutsu Technique to learn." Enishi's gaze sharpened further, a silent challenge in his eyes. "To truly excel in this art, you must learn to manipulate your chakra with the precision of a master calligrapher, each fluctuation as deliberate as the most delicate brush stroke."

The Wraith stood, brushing off his clothes as he did so. "Before we delve deeper into Fuinjutsu, you have to master a technique known as Chakra Suppression. This technique isn't just about stealth; it's about having complete dominion over your own internal chakra network. Essentially, Chakra Suppression allows a shinobi to temper and conceal their chakra signature. It's a testament to one's control, and it's essential for more advanced Fuinjutsu techniques." Enishi stopped, turning to face Amikiri directly. "For instance, there's a technique called Invisible Seals, which allows one to create Fuinjutsu marks that are undetectable to the naked eye. But, without mastery of Chakra Suppression, such a technique would be beyond reach." He analyzed. "But honesty, I don't think it will be that hard for you to learn. Chakra Suppression is typically an ability that most shinobi should learn by the time they're a Jounin, so it isn't impossible, it just takes some practice. First, you must understand that it's not about eliminating your chakra, but rather about controlling its emission—think of your chakra as a flame. Right now, it's burning brightly, visible to any sensor in the vicinity. Your goal is to reduce that flame to a barely perceptible ember, without extinguishing it entirely. To start, close your eyes and focus on your chakra network. Visualize the flow of energy throughout your body. Now, gradually begin to restrict that flow, as if you're slowly closing a valve. The key is to maintain a delicate balance—restrict too much, and you'll cut off your chakra entirely. Too little, and the suppression won't be effective."

Enishi was confident judging by Amikiri's learning ability that just verbal instruction was enough for him to learn the skill, since it wasn't hard, just rather abstract.

"A word of caution: in the beginning, you might feel a sense of discomfort or vulnerability as you suppress your chakra. This is normal. Your body is accustomed to a certain level of chakra output, and altering that can be unsettling. Push through this discomfort, and you'll be able to quickly adjust to it."

Enishi sat back down in satisfaction, honing in on his own field of chakra sensory to observe Amikiri's progress with the skill in question.

WC: 770
TWC: 1851

Amikiri sat there quietly, a slight tension in the air as Enishi prepared to test the Hyuuga’s first seal. Explosive tags certainly were an interesting way to start things off. Fortunately, if anything were to have gone awry, Amikiri’s Nise would’ve done a sufficient enough job protecting him, and he was also certainly fast enough to have avoided it. Amikiri assumed that Enishi likewise was capable enough of a shinobi to be able to deal with an Explosive Tag gone wrong. What was most fortunate of all was that Amikiri’s new fuinjutsu technique worked and he was successfully able to render the first explosive tag no more than a piece of paper. However there were still nine more to go. Amikiri would sit there as Enishi reviewed all ten of them, with the tension decreasing and Amikiri’s confidence increasing each time.

At Enishi’s initial compliment, Amikiri would smile and give a nod of gratitude. However his nod would quickly be cut short by Enishi’s remarks on Amikiri’s chakra control. As Enishi explained more about the role of chakra control in Fuinjutsu, Amikiri’s nod of gratitude would shift to a nod of understanding. In his time as a shinobi, the Hyuuga had always been fortunate enough to possess a large quantity of chakra reserves that the minute details of chakra expenditure frequently went unnoticed and uncontrolled by himself. Now, this vast reserve of chakra was not some boon or great genetics, but came from the greater part of a decade of hard work in the fields, of many long days with little rest or relaxation between them.

As Enishi stood to explain the next stage of their training, Amikiri rose in accordance. Amikiri was immediately intrigued by this Chakra Suppression skill. The Hyuuga had known the Chakra Sensory skill for quite some time now and for a long time he had wondered how someone would counter it. Amikiri was yet to figure out any applications for the memorization of someone’s chakra signature, so he hadn’t spent much time trying to memorize others. However, the ability to protect himself from someone else would be critically useful. As Enishi explained further and mentioned Invisible Seals, Amikiri’s eye would widen slightly. That technique could be extremely useful. Against someone who was skilled in Fuinjutsu, the ability to hide your seals from them could be extremely valuable. Especially for someone like Amikiri, who wasn’t as able to hide his seals underneath his clothing and armor, as he was very interested in the application of his seals to his armor and weapons.

The Hyuuga would give another nod, this time of both understanding and gratitude as Enishi remarked on Amikiri’s quick ability to learn things and that the Hyuuga likely wouldn’t have much difficulty with this skill. Amikiri furrowed his brow, thinking deeply as Enishi started to explain how Chakra Suppression wasn’t the complete closing of someone’s chakra network, but a precise control of it. Amikiri didn’t want to get too ahead of himself, but this should be relatively easy to learn. His Byakugan granted him an excellent insight into his chakra network and granted him a new perspective on these types of things. While to most, chakra was a feeling of sorts, to him, it was a viewable, actionable thing, much like the blood flowing through his body.

Amikiri would patiently listen to the rest of Enishi’s instructions before starting his own practice. While Enishi would sit back down, Amikiri would remain standing for this practice. He closed his eyes and chose to keep his Byakugan inactive. While his Byakugan being active would’ve certainly helped, he had gazed inward at his own chakra network enough times before to know what it looked like. The Hyuuga also thought that he might not have been able to fully suppress his chakra with his Byakugan active, even with the very minor chakra toll it exerted upon him.

He imagined each Tenketsu point within his body. Enishi had chosen to use a metaphor of a flame, but Amikiri had always felt it more apt to think of his chakra network like a river of sorts, like water flowing through his body. Amikiri furrowed his brow, focusing on an individual “drop” of chakra as it started to flaw through his chakra system. He tried to trace it’s path through his body, limiting it’s flow as it passed through each Tenketsu point in his body. It was easy going at first, but as the drop of chakra became less and less potent, it grew harder and harder to track. Not only that, the human body certainly had lots of tenketsu points. As Amikiri continued to try and follow it, he eventually lost track of it. The individual drop of chakra grew back close to it’s normal size. While it may have seemed futile to try and control a tiny section of his chakra at a time, Amikiri knew that once he mastered one drop, he could master many.

Amikiri would try again, focusing on another drop of chakra. This time, he could control it just a bit further. As he continued this cycle, each time he was able to managed the individual flow of chakra further and further, until it reached the point where he had complete control of one individual drop of chakra. Now while that sounded good and all, it unfortunately still left Amikiri with the rest of his chakra flow to control, a river compared to the minute drop he had been controlling. The Hyuuga then tried two drops at a time. What was difficult is that one was ahead of the other in his chakra network, meaning one might be passing through a point while the other wasn’t. Eventually, Amikiri mastered two. And after that, four. And after that, eight. And after that, sixteen. To the outside observer, it looked like thirty-ish minutes of Amikiri just standing there. However to Amikiri, and Enishi was likely capable of picking up on this, the Hyuuga was slowly learning to control the flow of chakra through his system and as such, suppress it from the knowledge of others. Amikiri gained the ability to control his entire chakra flow, creating a state of suppression. The Hyuuga opened his eyes wide and smiled. At that moment, his concentration broke and his chakra network flared to full operational capacity again.

Amikiri would look at Enishi and say, “I hope I didn’t bore you, but would you say that was a correct usage of Chakra Suppression?”

If Enishi were to say yes, Amikiri would want to push things one step further. He applied a Breath Seal to himself and, using the Invisible Seals technique taught to him by Enishi, he would render it completely invisible. At first Amikiri thought he was unable to use Breath Seal, but then he remember that the seal was invisible. He activated his Byakugan and saw the seal, fresh across his skin, invisible to the naked eye. After a few moments, it vanished even from his chakra vision. The Hyuuga had experienced this in the past and it still seemed to be true. His body had some sort of limit to how many seals he could place upon it. The Hyuuga might have to experiment with this further in the future.

Amikiri would sit down next to Enishi and say, “Well, what’s next?” He would jokingly add, “Hopefully you don’t run of fuinjutsu techniques too soon.”

WC: 1237
TWC: 2738

Enishi merely nodded at Amikiri's questions, allowing him to apply himself further in his training.

A flicker of approval crossed the Sage's features as he observed Amikiri's rapid progress. The Hyuuga's natural aptitude for chakra manipulation, no doubt enhanced by his Byakugan and his clan's innate talent for understanding the intricacies of the chakra network, was evident in the swiftness with which he grasped Chakra Suppression. "Impressive, you've not only grasped Chakra Suppression with remarkable speed but also taken the initiative to apply it to the Invisible Seals technique." Enishi started, his voice carrying a note of genuine appreciation. "You have a very strong sense of intuition. What makes it impressive is that your intuition doesn't purely derive from crystallized experiences, but you possess some different level of it—something more...adaptive and innate. I think it will serve you well in the future." He couldn't help but smile seeing such a display; true talent was something that came sparingly, so it was only more necessary for it to be harnessed and cultivated as soon as possible.

The Wraith's ice-blue eyes narrowed slightly, a hint of curiosity gleaming within them. "I noticed the fluctuation in your chakra network as you applied the Breath Seal. It seems you've encountered a limitation in the number of seals your body can sustain simultaneously. This is a common hurdle for Fuinjutsu practitioners, one that requires both physical conditioning and refined chakra control to overcome. You probably can't perceive it well because they're so tethered to my chakra system, but I have about eight seals on my body. Typically, that would be a suicidal endeavor for most people, but it was mostly through practice that I was able to consistently maintain that many complex seal formulas on my body. That, and also the fact that the Archives provide plenty of documents on Fuuinjutsu that address this topic as well. Perhaps someday I can show you a few of those documents if you really want to devote yourself to Fuuinjutsu." Enishi pondered. They were written in such an abstract nature that only those who had plenty of experience or love for the art could truly understand. "Though...I've also seen documents for Iryojutsu in the Archives...though I'm unsure if they're in the Restricted Section or not... Well, I don't know if you'll ever delve into that specialization, but I'll tell you what: let me know if you want to have access to more restricted books in the Archives, I'll try to see if I can pitch in recommendations and such to the managers." 

Anyway, Enishi realized he was digressing from the topic at hand, as Amikiri would shortly after tease him on his expertise as a teacher. Well, he couldn't have that. "As for what's next, don't worry—the world of Fuinjutsu is vast and complex. We won't be running out of techniques anytime soon." A slight smirk played at the corner of his mouth, acknowledging Amikiri's jest.

"I think you'll like this one, as this is one of my most used techniques in battle—one that will serve as an excellent stepping stone to more complex seals. It's called the Seal of Absorption, an A-rank combat-oriented Fuuinjutsu." Enishi noted, his voice taking on a mix of excitement and gravity. "This is the purest form of Fuuinjutsu as it essentially revolves around nullifying enemy attacks, then potentially redirecting it if you have its complementary seal—the Seal of Redirection. I won't focus much on the latter, as I think the former is far more valuable in a combat scenario, especially if you specialize in Bukijutsu like yourself. I've used this technique dozens of times before, and I would consider it one of my favorite seals for that very reason." With practiced ease, Enishi's hands flowed through a series of hand seals: Tiger, Dog, Ox, Dragon, Boar, Rat, and finally, Tiger again. "These hand seals are crucial as they're the key to shaping the chakra correctly for this seal. Once mastered, you'll be able to place this seal on a target with a mere touch. Typically, you would want to preplace the seal on yourself before an important fight so when the time is right, you can activate the seal when the time is right."

Enishi's eyes locked with the Hyuuga, ensuring his trainee grasped the gravity of what he was about to learn as he outstreched his hand in the form of a palm so that Amikiri could see it. "So the seal this time appears to be in the form of a black diamond wrapped in stylistic chains—a fitting symbol for its purpose. Once you place the seal on something that possesses chakra, and when consciously activated by the entity bearing chakra, it creates an invisible chakra field around the user. Though, I suppose your Byakugan will be able to see it, so I suggest you activate it now so you can see the expelled chakra. The field can essentially detect and absorb incoming chakra, whether it'd be from the environment or from an enemy jutsu, rendering it harmless and converting it back into raw chakra as the seal dispels. For example...!"

Enishi suddenly placed the seal on his neck as it activated immediately, a spherical aura of chakra quickly expanding from his person. If Amikiri had his Byakugan activated at this point, he'd see the perfect intangible bubble of chakra surrounding Enishi. "You can see it right? It looks like a bubble surrounding us but it's completely intangible. This field will follow me no matter where I go, and no matter how sudden the chakra employed within this range is..." Enishi would quickly draw a kunai and infuse it with Lightning Release, making it roar thunderously as he attempted to slash at himself with the electric blade. But before he could draw blood, the field immediately compressed upon the lightning, converting it to mere chakra as it was absorbed harmlessly into the seal on Enishi's neck before the seal would break, leaving the kunai just inches away from his neck with zero chakra imbedded in it. The ginger lowered the now uncharged kunai, a satisfied glint in his ice-blue eyes. "As you can see, the seal is incredibly versatile. It doesn't just protect against ninjutsu; it can nullify chakra-enhanced weapons as well. The seal can absorb nearly anything besides Genjutsu and maybe some Sensory fields,  and even when the other technique overpowers the seal, the seal will reduce the chakra quality of the opposing jutsu and leave it far less potent as a failsafe of sorts. However, it's a one-time use seal before it needs to be placed again. That's why I preplace multiple of these seals at all times to ensure that there is little downtime. Also, I know this is rather obvious...but this seal can only absorb chakra, it can't absorb—say—the extended force of a blade or punch. By no means you should rely on the seal." He examined, reminiscing on the times back in the Nova Exams where Morio caught onto this fatal weakness of that seal, using primarily physical based techniques to lock the Jugo scion out of using the seal as a countermeasure.

"Anyway, let's see how you do with practicing like one. Like I said, I think this will prove to be quite useful in battle for you. There's a more advanced version of the technique called Spellbinding Seal which requires a slight deviation, utilizing Boar -> Monkey -> Bird -> Tiger -> Ox -> Dragon, but the concept—the Kotodama—is the exact same, just more potent. I don't think it will be hard for you to learn that as well."

WC: 1273
TWC: 3124

As Enishi would compliment Amikiri’s new skills, the Hyuuga would give a smile and a nod of thanks. Enishi’s praise was certainly high and to Amikiri there was more than what was at the surface. While it was at the detriment of his speed, the Hyuuga recently found himself focusing more and more on his chakra control as of recently. Amikiri was starting to realize that as his knowledge of his techniques grew more advanced, the rate of his depletion of his chakra only grew more alarming. As such, he wanted to combine his relatively large chakra reserves with a more refined sense of control.

Enishi’s next comments were very interesting. It seemed that the Fuinjutsu expert also suffered from a similar limitation as the Hyuuga did. However, after much training, it seemed that Enishi could overcome it. What was even more intriguing was what Enishi said about the Archives. The Archives possessed an inordinate amount of knowledge, with some of it being restricted and beyond the access of a normal shinobi. It seemed that with his rank of Nova, Enishi was able to access it. The idea of access to further and more refined Fuinjutsu knowledge provided quite the motivation for Amikiri to ascend to become a member of the Nova Corps, something that could hopefully be achieved in this upcoming tournament. The topic of Iryojutsu mentioned by Enishi was something that Amikiri took note of. While not a specialization of his at the moment, it could very much be handy in the future, especially if he had to operate alone far away from Hoshigakure.

As Enishi started to explain their next fuinjutsu seal of discussion, Amikiri would pay close attention. As the name would suggest, Seal of Absorption allowed the user to absorb the attacks of an opponent. Similar to how Enishi put it, it was incredibly simple, yet incredibly effective. It would easily slot into Amikiri’s arsenal and let him build a very strong defense to match his Dust Release offense. Something even more intriguing though was the idea of a complimentary or “partner” seal of sorts. Being able to use one seal to channel the effects of another could be incredibly powerful, so Amikiri made sure to take note of that. The Hyuuga nodded at Enishi’s remarks about handseals. Thinking about it, handseals played an especially important role in a Fuinjutsu user’s skill set. As Fuinjutsu seals required the technique to be perfectly prepared, thought of, and executed the moment it was placed, the handseals and chakra control process were extra essential. There was no option to re-calculate mid jutsu usage, you had to get it perfectly correct the moment you applied it. Fortunately, with pre-placed fuinjutsu seals, you could have as many tries as you wanted.

As Enishi stated he was about to demonstrate and subsequently placed the seal on his neck, Amikiri would activate his Byakugan. A bubble of chakra expanded outward, completely enveloping them. As Enishi continued explaining the technique, he would catch Amikiri off guard. The Nova member withdrew a kunai and attempted to slash the lightning-infused at his own neck. The Hyuuga observed the bubble of chakra rapidly compress on the kunai, completely extinguishing the lightning coursing through the blade. All the was left was a simple kunai with no more chakra in it than a rock. Enish would give Amikiri the important tip that the seal wouldn’t work against physical attacks, something he would need to watch out for. Amikiri also made an internal note that the seal seemed to cover much greater of an area than was necessary. If something was to enter the seal’s area and exit out the other side without coming close to the user, it still might trigger the seal to be completely used up.

Once Enishi finished explaining the properties of the Seal of Absorption, Amikiri would chuckle, saying, “That was certainly quite the demonstration. I’ll make sure to take note of that drawback, especially for my own Nova Exams. I don’t know the skill sets of any of the fighters there, but I’m certainly one of them will specialize in physical attacks.” Enishi would explain one more seal, the Spellbinding Seal to Amikiri. It seemed very similar to the Seal of Absorption, just a more powerful version. And as the name suggested, it seemed to have the same drawback as the Seal of Absorption did, only being able to counter chakra based attacks.

The Hyuuga would then practice the two techniques explained to him by Enishi. First, he started by using Fuinjutsu breaking upon the two Armory seals on his Sealing Bands. It seemed that there use was running short compared to the vastly more useful Seal of Absorption and Spellbinding Seal. He started with the Seal of Absorption. He formed the handseals and touched his hand to his right shoulder. The black diamond started to form, but fell short, fading away as Amikiri’s first try clearly wasn’t up to par. After a second attempt, the Hyuuga would then use an amplifier technique he had learned maybe a year ago, as well as the Invisible Seals technique taught to him by Enishi. He would then give the Spellbinding Seal a couple of attempts and on the fourth attempt, he managed to correctly place it on his left shoulder. He amplified it in the same way as the Seal of Absorption, but seemed unable to make it invisible. It seemed that technique did not work on S-Rank techniques.

At this point, it had started to grow rather late in the day and unfortunately, Amikiri was assigned a shift at the guard post. The Hyuuga would give a bow of respect to Enishi, before saying, “Thank you very much Enishi. I unfortunately have an assignment at the gates soon, but this lesson was beyond valuable. As thanks, I would like to give you this.” Amikiri would reach into one of his pockets and withdraw a scroll. From within, he then took out something quite strange. He took out a small cylindrical cake carrier, of which a beautiful strawberry cake rested within. He would cut Enishi a slice and hand it to him on a plate, saying, "I know it may seem a bit strange, but it's a slice of cake from my mother. It tastes phenomenal, but recently I've also found it's helped me focus a little more, especially when studying Fuinjutsu. I recommend eating it sooner rather than later, unfortunately it loses its flavor quite quickly."

As Amikiri started to walk away from Enishi, a thought raced across his mind. The Hyuuga turned back and said, “I found your mention of Juinjutsu from earlier very interesting. If you ever manage to find the time, I would love to understand them more, even possibly see a hands on demonstration. I’m trying to learn as much as possible, especially in preparation for the upcoming Nova Tournament.”

The Hyuuga would give another bow, this one very shallow. He would then turn and walk at a brisk pace, moving to the walls of Hoshigakure to take up his role as a gate guard.

WC: 1185
TWC: 3923

Using 1 A-Grade Firework to boost everyone's WC by 50%, up to 2500 extra WC

[exit]

Claims:

Amikiri Guhin wrote:

WC: 1185
TWC: 3923

Using 1 A-Grade Firework to boost everyone's WC by 50%, up to 2500 extra WC

[exit]

Claims:

Approved

Enishi accepted the slice of cake with a bemused expression, the corner of his mouth tugging upward slightly at the unexpected gesture as he thanked his student graciously. The mention of its focus-enhancing properties piqued his interest – perhaps there was more to this simple dessert than met the eye. "Juinjutsu, hm?" He considered Amikiri's parting request as he balanced the plate in one hand. "It's a darker branch of Fuinjutsu, but understanding it could prove valuable for the tournament. Come find me after your guard duty sometime – we'll explore that topic when you're ready." Enishi said as he handed Amikiri two addresses, the contents of them to be revealed at a later date.

The Wraith watched his student's retreating form with quiet satisfaction. Today's training had revealed promising potential in the young Hyuuga. As the setting sun cast long shadows across the training ground, Enishi glanced down at the cake, its strawberry topping catching the golden light. "Your mother's quite the baker, Amikiri," he murmured to himself, taking a small bite as he began his own journey home. The sweetness spread across his tongue, and he could already feel a subtle sharpening of his senses. Perhaps there was something to be said for mixing the mundane with the mystical after all; though, it probably functioned as some sort of decadent food pill. After finishing the cake, the Wraith headed off in the shadows of the Hoshigakure evening. 

[EXIT]

Initial TWC: 3361

Due to the effect of the A-Grade Fireworks, my TWC is increased by 50% to 5080.

Due to the effect of consuming the Strawberry Cake that Amikiri gave me, my TWC is doubled to 10160.

Claims (Applying 25% Max Stats Discount):

3000 WC towards Orochimaru's Juinjutsu [3000/3000]
3000 WC towards Shinzabansho [3000/3000]
4060 WC towards 3rd Tomoe Sharingan in right eye [4060/4500]