Expanding the Lightning

As the rain poured from the torrential storms that safeguard the Hidden Mist, a lone shinobi of long black hair stands in an open training field. The wraps covering his upper body absorbing every drop that slipped from the sky, his face stern and locked on to the blank and emptiness of the field in front of him. He raised his hands together in front of his sternum signing; Tiger, Horse, Ram and Clone. A puff of smoke a mere 2 meters in front of him producing an exact copy of himself, they looked at each other with cold piercing eyes as the thought of training their lightning with each other. The sky flashed with a bright blue light as lightning crackled through the sky, strange how the world itself began to show a physical manifestation of the electric atmosphere between Menma and his Clone. Simultaneously they leaped backwards from one another, putting 6 meters between them as they began signing. Monkey, Dragon, Rat, Bird and Ox, the final seal causes each of their right hands to be coated in the crackling lightning of the Chidor. Their facial expressions never change as they hold their cold composure, looking at each other with an icy stare starting their charge towards one another. Mere moments passed as their hands collided, the chirping of the electricity in their palms seized upon impact being replaced by the sound of lightning booming throwing them away from each other. They tumbled for a moment across the ground, catching their composure and making their way back on to their feet and once again staring each other down from across the field. Menma sighed lightly, displaying a small mist of breath, visible due to the cold temperatures in Kirigakure this time of year being the turn of autumn.

They stood back as they were in the beginning, looking at each other with the lifeless stare yet again. They began to sign the seals again, both extending their right arms straight down as the Chidori’s began to form again. The crackling lightning began to chirp the sound of a thousand birds. This time instead of charging at each other blindly they both held their stance and allowed lightning to grow bright and more violent in the palms of their hands. “Are you sure you won’t kill yourself with this training?” The Clone stated to Menma in a cold tone as he awaited a response, Menma’s eyes flickered with a slight anger at being questioned by his own creation. “Don’t question me, If this kills me then I was never worthy to be a shinobi.” his voice revealing his anger with the idea he could be so foolish as to kill himself. The lightning from their chidori began to strike the ground with raw bolts of lightning, the evidence of the power they were maintaining in their palms by the destruction around them. As two sparks of lightning lashed out, striking each other like the starting gun firing at a race, the two Menma charged towards one another yet again. Their palms slamming together, the lightning wildly whipping around them like violent thrashings from nature itself. Menma pushed with all his strength against his clone, who in turn was returning just as much force in an attempt to win the interaction. The light from the blue hued lightning grew exponentially bright as they poured their individual chakra into their hands, the chirping of both chidori was enough to drown out the sound of the rain and all the environment in the training field. Suddenly the chidori clash exploded sending the two shinobi crashing across the ground, tumbling and thrashing across the ground unable to stop themselves as they finally bounced to a stop. The Clone was able to refrain from dispersing, but nearly couldn’t stand after the collision of their lightning. They laid on the ground for a short time as they recovered, but then rose back to their feet and returned to their standoff in the fields.

They began to pant as they locked eyes, each resting their left hands on the sheath of their katana and their right hand grasping the handles. They both took a deep calming breath as they slid into a stance preparing to use the quickdraw technique on one another, with one quick dart towards each other drawing their blades at lightning speeds and clashing into one another. A slight crackle of electricity walked down the blade of their katanas as they unsheathed them, though this static discharged on contact with one another. Both shinobi locking eyes whilst stuck in place holding their parry of blades, not a movement could be made without one exploiting the other's attempt to gain an upper edge. With a push they separated landing with a 5 meter distance between them, this separation only lasting a mere moment as they darted back at each other. Menma dipped low, swinging his blade at the Clone’s shins, the Clone jumping, pulling his legs as high as he could, avoiding the attack and allowing him to land on the blunt side of Menma’s blade. He quickly spun around trying to swing his blade at Menma’s back, luckily having shared thought processes Menma was able to spin around and parry the strike. Though the clone had the upper hand as he was standing over Menma, who himself was pinned on his back with only his katana keeping the attacker at bay. As the clone began to break through his defense, Menma released the jutsu causing the clone to disappear in a puff of smoke. Menma’s body fell limp as he lay there on his back panting from the exerting himself in this spar.

Menma began to reflect as he lay there looking up to the crying heavens above, he remembered seeing the blue electric static that raced across the katana upon unsheathing them for the clash. The concept of imbuing chidori into the katana in order to intensify the cutting power of his blade, he remained on his back as he lifted his katana up in the air staring at the blade as lightning flashed across the sky behind it. He couldn’t help but envision his blade wrapped in the crackling power of the chidori, what applications it could have for him when thrust into combat. He clambered to his feet, thinking on his various knowledge of the chidori from studies as he began signing; Bird, Ox, Snake, Dog, and finally Tiger as his right hand became engulfed in lightning chakra, though he was unable to make it leave his physical hand and encase the katana in his hand. As he held tight the grip of the katana, the lightning would flick towards the blade and for a moment engulf the handle of his katana along with its hilt. A huff of exhaustion came from Menma’s lips as the lightning dissipated from his hand, the blade trembling in his hand as his vision began to blur from over exerting himself. He fell to one knee, trying to regain his composure as he looked out at the training field that seemed to grow darker.

As he kneeled, his exhaustion getting the better of him Menma began to see his dream in the dark shadowscape that had become his worn vision. He saw himself holding an anbu mask, his ultimate goal standing right before his eyes, the strive to become that man far outweighing the weight he was feeling from limitations. He reached deep within, standing against the odds as his sight cleared and he could again stomach signing the seals once again. Bird, Ox, Snake, Dog and Tiger. The lightning in his hand enveloping the grip and hilt with ease this time, the loose streaks of lightning licking at the blade of the katana. He began to envision the blade engulfed in the sporadic and untamed lightning, the thought causing the lightning to begin climbing about halfway up the shimmering edge of his katana. Though for every inch the lightning would climb it would back step a half inch, he was fighting an uphill battle as his vision began to shimmer once again from all the stress he had put on it today. As the peripherals of his vision began to darken, the lightning began to retreat back to his hand no longer encompassing any of the katana as he could only see the static light of the lightning in his palm. To be an anbu, to work in the shadows of the mist, this was the ultimate dream of Menma. He would never be able to complete this if he couldn’t even push himself to the limits, he refused to give up no matter if it killed him from exhausting his very life. The lightning began to arc more violently as his vision fought back the darkness around him, the blue engulfed the hilt in a raging storm of lightning sending stray whips of energy shredding the ground around him. “DAMN IT!” The shout as Menma pushed forth a rage from deep within, the lightning swallowed the blade of the katana as he stood with the static of the blade continuing to maintain its shaky composure. He looked at the blue wild lightning that was his katana, he knew he hadn’t completed the jutsu as he had still not controlled the raging electricity and instead it was mostly using the steel as a conduit. He continued to focus on the lightning blade trying to shape the sporadic arks into a more refined application, the massive bolt began to slender down more resembling a blade now despite the jagged structure it still maintained. Menma began to envision the blade beneath the lightning, its thin and razor blade was nowhere near the jagged appearance of the lightning bolt figure he currently held in his hand. With a moment reflecting on the katana, the lightning began to draw into itself and within a few minutes it changed appearances looking more as though the katana was simply glowing neon blue as a chidori does. Menam lifted the blade up near his face looking at the glowing blade, the sounds of the coursing electricity bringing a smirk to his face beneath the wrappings. He flicked the tip of the blade downward towards the ground, the lightning throwing an ark that whipped across the ground as he held lightning in his blade. He began scanning the training grounds in search of a target, taking note of a small roughly 13 cm thick tree growing alone by the edges of the grounds. Menma without a second thought began running at the selected target with certainty he could cleave it in two with minimal effort as the chidori engulfing his blade would split it before the blade ever struck the bark. Within moments, Menma had made it to the tree swinging fluidly with his weapon and in a mere instant he sheathed the katana. As it slipped into the sheath the lightning receded until it was merely engulfing his hand, though upon releasing the handle of his katana it dissipated as though never there. He turned his head ever so slightly to see the tree laying on the ground perfectly cut and showing slight smoldering from the lightning's intensity. Menma collapsed to the ground, his knees on the ground as he slumped over himself breathing a little erratically. His right hand showed signs of burns, a common effect from uncontrolled lightning release.

He sat there with a smirk on his face despite the toll on his body it had taken, he was happy with what he had accomplished here today. Though he was not done, he leaned back allowing himself to fall on to his backside and crossed his legs. He lifted his right hand still smoking from the burns, he began practicing signing with just one hand. He rested while practicing the technique, allowing himself to gain some form of respite as he continued mapping through the various hand seals. After a time he began to feel comfortable with the exercise he had undergone, so much that he stood back on his feet and began using his left hand to sign the following seals; Monkey, Dragon, Rat, Bird and Ox. The ending seal causes his chakra to begin molding into lightning within his chest, and with time moving through his right arm expelling itself from within and manifesting as a chidori in his right palm. After a moment he allowed the jutsu to dissipate from his hand and began thinking of the next he would try, settling on creating another clone as he had done upon first arriving. Menma began signing with his left hand yet again, this time signing; Tiger, Horse, Ram, and Clone. After a moment his chakra flickered but he was able to create an exact replica of himself standing across from him as they both looked at their exhausted selves. Menma decided to take another crack at one handed signing and his newest jutsu, he began with his signing yet again; Bird, Ox, Snake, Dog, and Tiger. He drew his katana with his right hand as the lightning engulfed the blade in the glowing neon of before, he was happy to see the jutsu come forth yet again but this time with more ease. The clone took a moment looking at the blade before deciding to try it for himself, he used his left hand to sign the corresponding seals as he drew his katana creating the same glowing katana Menma was holding.

The two couldn’t help themselves, as they began to spar with their lightning blades. They clashed creating ark flashes and parrying one another with each strike, with luck Menma was able to deflect the clone's blade and drive his katana through the heart of the clone making him disperse in a puff of white smoke. The feeling of being stabbed rushed into Menma’s mind as all the experiences his Clone had became his own experiences, the lightning dropped from his katana as he sheathed the blade and took a seat on the ground. His exhaustion was returning as he sat on the ground, he was lucky enough to not experience the blurred vision from before as he attempted to catch his breath.

Menma decided to call it a night, he turned heading out of the training facility with a sense of growth about him.

(WC 2,401)