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Post by Mason on Jul 2, 2012 22:41:21 GMT -5
Iwagakure Outskirts Just outside of Iwagakure is an immense landscape of mountainous and rocky terrain. There is a small valley to the right of the village, and various small pine forests lining the outer-border of the nation. |
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Post by Mason on Jul 2, 2012 23:06:53 GMT -5
Kentetsu's eyes were closed, his feet crossed, his hands together, and his mind and body at ease. Meditation was a normal thing for him, and he was usually seen doing so within the village or out here upon many of the rocks. Particularly today, Kentetsu sat upon a large boulder, his mind shut off to the rest of the world, yet his physical embodiment alert and ready for anything. As he sat there, meditating, he found himself gathering both chakra and natural energy, initially becoming more focused and powerful as he continued on.
Akumei would be on her way now, and Kentetsu was to surprise her with a new training form today, something she had never done before and, hopefully, would get a hold on to. He had always known she was the prodigy of the Shozen clan, but she had never shown light in this particular form of combat. No matter, today would surely teach everyone something.
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Post by Big Guns on Jul 2, 2012 23:45:37 GMT -5
Akumei wandered down the rocky terrain, taking a swift glance around the landscape. Using her natural affinity with Doton and her sixth sense jutsu, she already knew her grandfather was out here, he was always early, after all. In contrast, she was always late, and made no exception for this session. She sighed solemnly to herself, awaiting the completely predictable training session her grandfather had in store for her today. No matter what he said, what he promised, he hardly ever kept his word, she highly doubted today would be any different from a typical Monday.
Akumei turned her head, averting her eyes to northwest, sensing his presence directly behind the small rocky mountain on top of the boulder. She performed a single hand seal, her body began to twirl, sinking within the earth's grasp, leaving a small crater with the ideal size to submerge her through the ground, voyaging underneath as if an underground submarine, leaping out of the rocks in front of the boulder her grandfather should have stood. She spun gracefully, landing upright on her toes as she looked up.
"Go on. Entertain me, granddad."
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Post by Mason on Jul 3, 2012 0:45:44 GMT -5
Ignoring her obviously late and abrupt arrival, Kentetsu remained in his meditation pose, his eyes closed. He made no sudden movements, and didn't seem to be affected by the loud arrival Akumei had made.
"The art of channelling natural energy, melding it with your own chakra and producing desired effects has been a favoured battle component for the Shozen clan. Your ancestors heavily believed in the art of Senjutsu and the potential that was shown through the younger generations. Although not many had grasped it in our clan, I have decided you are the one to relinquish the title of the Sage of the Shozen." Kentetsu said gently. The Sage of the Shozen was a fairly impressive title only given to the single member of the clan whom had mastered their sage mode, as well as being the only one in their generation to gain a complete sage mode. Kentetsu was thought to be the Sage of the Shozen by his parents, but unfortunately could never complete his sage mode.
Only three other Shozen members had been given the title of Sage of the Shozen, but that was long ago. Akumei was unfortunately soon to be the very last of the Shozen, and to master sage mode would be her call as the clan's prodigy.
Kentetsu finally opened his eyes slowly, peering to his granddaughter. "I'm not certain if the importance of this title or art is clear to you, but I must let you know now that it will not be easy, nor will I accept for you to give up. Akumei, you are one of the last Shozen, and I have decided to pass this art down to you... It will not come easily, and the training is not going to be 'fun'... But I hope you understand, that this is.. by my standards.. your destiny." he said, looking at her with the utmost sign of seriousness and affection.
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Post by Big Guns on Jul 3, 2012 1:10:00 GMT -5
Akumei listened to what the old man had to say, and intriguingly enough, he had caught her attention the moment he mentioned Senjutsu training. She hadn't thought in her lifetime that Kentetsu would allow her to learn Senjutsu training, especially with the strict discipline and patience it required. She didn't know where to begin, much less what to say. She stood there, awestruck for a good minute or two. She assessed him, narrowing her eyes after the allotted time was up, as if testing him to make sure he was serious. Of course he was, Kentetsu was never much of a clown, and always pretty blunt and straight-forward, yet still remained one of the nicest people she had ever known.
"Senjutsu training? I... I don't know what to say. That's... really something. And it's powerful, yeah?" Akumei finally choked out a reply. What more could she say? She was always looking for ways to better herself, but Senjutsu was just about the cream of the crop. Learning this, if she were to stick through it through thick and thin, would be highly beneficial to her in the end. It would give her the power to protect the village she swore in her duty she would protect. The political portion still needed a fine adjustment. She beamed an ecstatic smile, bending her knees, leaping up on the boulder in front of Kentetsu, she placed her right hand on her hip.
"Great. When do we get started? Like now?" she asked. Well, she was never one for mannerisms from the start.
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Post by Mason on Jul 3, 2012 1:24:47 GMT -5
Kentetsu eyed his granddaughter, knowing she was excited by the news. Letting a small grin whisper across his face, he nodded and got to his feet. "Yes, yes, we will start now." he said, looking into the distance at the mountain tops.
"First lesson of Senjutsu." Kentetsu started, something in his voice changing from it's usual gentle demeanour. Suddenly, he launched off of the boulder, performing various flips in the air, impressively in fact. Landing behind Akumei, he circled his arms, pointed his fingers and jabbed Akumei three times in different portions of her back. Akumei would feel a sudden clenching pain, as if her spine were constricting.
"Harnessing natural energy." he said. The pain would soon subside into a gentle relief, and Akumei would be able to relax easier. "To harness natural energy, you need to be relaxed, concentrated, and ready for anything. This is why I've been teaching you so many concentration techniques. In battle, you don't have much time to relax; know this feeling I just gave you, and use it in conjunction with your concentration skills. Slowly build and focus your natural energy into your body as if it were chakra." he explained thoroughly. "Once you believe you've gathered what natural energy you can, concentrate on channelling it into your chakra pool."
Kentetsu wasn't planning to see Akumei do this; channelling natural energy was a skill that needed to be developed over many training periods. Melding it with chakra was a whole different story, but he had to at least see what she was capable of.
If she wasn't able to do it, she'd simply fail to do anything. If she was on the right path, but not quite there, her chakra would emanate off of her and create a glowing sensation.
But then again, this was just one part of a whole multitude of lessons in learning sage mode. They still had a long way to go, and this was just the beginning.
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Post by Big Guns on Jul 3, 2012 12:12:23 GMT -5
Akumei's brow raised noticing the drastic change in her grandfather's demeanor. He then leaped up, jabbing her with three concise, accurate finger punctures into the back. It was obviously his Nerve Point Jutsu, applying direct blows to various pressure points in her back. She gasped, her eyes bulged as her back felt as if it were compressing. She couldn't move a muscle, and was somewhat afraid that if she did, the pain wouldn't be eased in the slightest. Her body trembled, she wanted to lash out against her grandfather so much for using such a cheap shot.
Then the pain began to subside, her body began to feel buoyant. It was an odd transition, but it worked. After the light therapy was done, she began to feel at ease, as if floating among the clouds reaching a soaring new height above all else. She sat down, crossed her legs, her hands resting in her lap. The serene daytime breeze, the warm luminosity of the sun basking her skin felt all inviting and natural, for a time being. She inhaled deeply, taking in slow, rhythmic breaths.
Well, that was boring.
"Are we done yet? I don't feel anything though. Am I supposed to glow or something?" Akumei complained childishly, folding her arms. She opened her auburn eyes, averting her gaze toward the wrinkled face of her grandfather. For a good two minutes, she meditated, yet felt nothing. Of course, Senjutsu training was one of the most tedious processes in the world, it was nothing short of unusual, but even still, with an attention span that painstakingly short, this might take a while. Good thing Kentetsu was the one with the patience.
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Post by Mason on Jul 3, 2012 13:00:03 GMT -5
Kentetsu chuckled rhythmically. "It's not that quick, Akumei." he said, going over to her and helping her stand up. "Obviously lesson one isn't going to take it's place until you understand the practical side of Senjutsu." he said, backing up, giving a good distance in between the two Shozen clan members.
"For this exercise, I will give you ten seconds to go all out and attack me with everything you have in burst power. Use ninjutsu, taijutsu.. whatever you want. I'll use nothing but the natural energy around me." he said, closing his eyes slowly. "Begin."
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Post by Big Guns on Jul 3, 2012 14:42:07 GMT -5
Akumei stood watching Kentetsu, somewhat dumbfounded. Before it truly processed what he had requested of her, she choked. "Are you serious?" which was more of a rhetorical question, as it was rare that he not be serious. She suddenly beamed a cheek-to-cheek smirk.
"Now, that sounds like something down my alley. You'll regret making me go all out, granddad," she smiled deviously, performing a single hand seal. Doton: Rock Hard Fist. she held her hand up to her face, which began to coat itself in many thick layers of compressed Doton chakra. Within a few seconds, her hand had completely taken the form of a large golem hand, nearly the size of her own body. She leaped up a good meter in the air, performing another hand seal.
Doton: Ultra Heavy Weight! with one hand as her body weight increased exponentially, the speed of which she swung her arm downward in a vertical arc was not only astounding in speed, but its sheer destructive power would easily crush and desolate the boulder they were standing on into broken fragments of bedrock. Crushing a human being would be no sweat.
Just as Kentetsu would likely predict, Akumei would start out strong, using sheer strength and brutality to wear down the opponent before dismantling them in the final swoop. With a straightforward attack such as this, Kentetsu would likely be able to counter accordingly, especially if natural energy was on his side.
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Post by Mason on Jul 3, 2012 15:29:12 GMT -5
Oddly enough, Kentetsu's eyes remained close. He heard the gathering of the chakra, and inside himself, felt the natural energy beginning to surge; he was calm, even in the face of absolute destruction. Keeping his eyes closed, keeping the natural energy in tact, Kentetsu simply side-stepped, inching away from where Akumei's attack was to land. Her rock hard fist, along with the double weight from the latter technique, made contact with the rock and not Kentetsu; in fact, Kentetsu was directly beside the impact, literally a centimetre from the destruction zone. The boulder underneath them cracked with absolute ease, Akumei's attack easily destroying it. Kentetsu then doubled over and stood behind Akumei shortly after the impact. Performing a single hand seal, but keeping his eyes closed, he swung his arms around and went to go hit Akumei in the back once more.
Yet this time, there was a catch. Unbeknown if Akumei would catch it, but during the gathering of his natural energy to dodge the attack, he also channelled enough to form a layer of chakra around his body to better enhance his attacks; if he made contact with Akumei, she would most likely go flying a good distance.
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Post by Big Guns on Jul 5, 2012 12:33:32 GMT -5
Akumei's golem arm arced down in a vertical display of power, completely abolishing the boulder into a smoldering backlash of fragmented rock crust. She turned back, her head turned looking over her shoulder, eyes already averted behind her as Kentetsu began his assault. Akumei decided to tank the attack, converting her body into a steel framework, her skin began to quickly glow with a silver lining, glistening off of the sun in white specs. As Kentetsu's attack approached, Akumei readied her stance, ready to bulldoze straight through the attack and send Kentetsu over six feet under the ground.
She clearly underestimated just how potent the attack was. Despite taking little physical damage, she stumbled back, somersaulting forward by catching her fall, handspringing up, she turned around completely, glaring ahead at her grandfather who stood poised, dignified. She growled to herself, clearly faulting herself for misjudging her grandfather of all people. "Like hell you're getting away with that."
The Rock Hard Fist on her hand began to dissolve into dust, releasing the technique. She performed a string of hand seals. "Doton: Fissure!" She slammed her hand against the ground, and twisted it. The earth beneath her began to crack and split apart in a crooked line heading for Kentetsu. Were he to stand there, he would fall in, so logically he would be forced to move. She held up her Koton induced, delicate fingers, ready to barrage her grandfather the moment he was vulnerable, which would hopefully be right after he noticed and was forced to move.
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Post by Mason on Jul 7, 2012 23:50:51 GMT -5
Kentetsu took notice to the fissure nearly immediately. He knew he had to move or fall into the doom that awaited him. Jumping into the air with a surprising strength, Kentetsu landed just away from the technique's demise, somewhat closer to Akumei, yet just out of melee range. He noticed she was beginning to plan ahead; something he was looking for. Now he simply needed to push her to a point in which her concentration would become apart of her strategy. He needed to get her to see that relaxing during a battle instead of rushing into the next strategic attack was, by itself, it's own rewarding tactic.
Kentetsu had the perfect plan. His fingers began to form themself into a silvery pattern, and his hands began to look exactly like Akumei's. He was using the same technique as her now; it was time to decide which strategy would win. Relaxation in battle, or strategic outward maneuver. Kentetsu launched himself forward and threw punches and palm thrusts at Akumei's core, hoping to knock her off of her balance, unless she was prepared to enter hand-to-hand combat.
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Post by Big Guns on Jul 8, 2012 0:15:34 GMT -5
Concentration? Wasn't a word in Akumei's vocabulary, which Kentetsu was already more than aware of. Akumei watched and prepared as Kentetsu landed upright in front of her, closing in on melee range. She grinned, it was going to be interesting now. Akumei was a Taijutsu expert... but so was Kentetsu.
"Getting up close, eh? Come on granddad, I really don't think you wanna scuffle with me!" Kentetsu's concentrated, scrutinizing attacks were precise and dead on, each thrust with its own agenda. Akumei's entire arms converted into a silvery, glistening structure, combating her grandfather's calculated techniques with her own headstrong, rapacious, irregular full chops with her hand, colliding with Kentetsu's steel frame with her own. As the sparks flew back, they both clashed further head on. In the end, it would prove that Kentetsu's style, being more refined, would slightly outdo Akumei's own. Realizing that if the close-combat continued, she would end up taking a major hit, as his nerve point jutsu was stealthy and deadly, she knew all about it, and went to great lengths to counter it. After all, she had her own style, that she believed was just as, if not more, potent than his.
She performed a single hand sign, leaping forward, she went for an unorthodox shoulder tackle to his chest, with an attempt to throw him off guard.
Dynamite Exhibit! While her body was turned, the left side completely hidden from his view, she stealthily pulled out two explosive tags, flicking them off of her fingers, attempting to capture him with a mild explosion on his legs. If he didn't notice, she would immediately back-flip away, assessing his current situation from afar as more than likely, unless he noticed and could counter accordingly in the next few miliseconds, his legs would be blown, but if he did, sharing the same Kekkei Genkai as her daughter, this was one of the few styles that would virtually not effect him too much.
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Post by Mason on Jul 8, 2012 14:53:55 GMT -5
Kentetsu attempted to side-step from the tackle, but was slightly grazed by Akumei, causing him to stumble, yet regain his balance quickly. He didn't notice the epxlosive tags until they were nearing his legs. He performed a single hand seal with one hand and focused his chakra into his legs, while his protective Koton layer coveted him. Kentetsu didn't portray any emotion on his face at the moment, but on the inside he was smiling.
Doing a full 360 degree so that he was a little farther away from his granddaughter, but still facing, he kept the handseal in place.
"Ninpou; Mukekaeruchani!" he called out. The explosive tags erupted, yet instead of exploding on his legs, the explosion appeared just before Akumei, flinging dust and gravel up at her to momentarily blind her.
Kentetsu jumped behind a earthen rift created by Akumei's previous earth-fist technique. He was completely hidden from her view now, and while she was blinded, he performed the Kage Bunshin seal.
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu." he said quietly. Suddenly, about 60 Kentetsu shadow clones conjured from thin air. Kentetsu performed a few more quick hand seals. "Doton; Moguragakure no Jutsu!" he said, suddenly burrowing underground and out of sight, leaving only his clones to face Akumei. They quickly gathered around her, making a circle and trapping her in. What was she going to do now?
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Post by Big Guns on Jul 8, 2012 16:40:23 GMT -5
Akumei back-flipped from range within 5 meters as Kentetsu dropped back, leaping behind a rift to conceal himself from sight. The explosion occurred, catching her fairly off guard, throwing excess dirt and debris in her face. She merely shrugged it off, wiping her face with her hand. She rubbed her eyes as she looked up, standing before her were 60 real copies of her grandfather, circling her from the core, attempting to trap her inside. Akumei assessed her options in her head. She could theoretically create over twice the amount of clones Kentetsu had. Kentetsu was old, his stamina and body were more brittle than before, these shadow clones hardly an exception. However, she decided to go with a more flashy route.
"Cute parlor tricks, but one or 60 of you makes no difference to me!" Akumei performed a string of seals. "Doton: Arijigoku! [Inescapable Hell]" On the ground below the half of Kentetsu clones in front of her, a giant conical crater formed. The ground inside began twisting and distorting, which would begin applying pressure to sink in the clones, trapping them underneath the ground where they would begin to suffocate. Normally, this jutsu was designed for use of one person, but with Akumei's Ninjutsu expertise, she created a B rank technique into an A rank, with the capacity to sink over 30 people at once. Should the Kentetsu clones sink or not, she would go from there. She encased her entire body in a layer of Koton, forming a single seal.
Doton: Ultra Lower Weight With the heavy burden the steel framework cost her, she was able to triumph this disadvantage with her weight modifying jutsu. She flipped forward acrobatically, her red kunoichi outfit swaying in sync.
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