Fandom Naruto: Seiryūden

[Seraph Darkfire]

Caillte Leanaí

He could feel it, the energy that exuded from Shin was terrifying, yet it excited him and spurred his fighting spirit on. A smile split his face "Of course I am!" he shouted with a laugh "But this is fun!" when Cale and Shin reached each other, Cale turned pulling his left hand back and increasing his momentum as he thrust forward with his right. At the same time, he built up and released the senjutsu chakra in his right arm. The ground around him rippled and was torn apart as he thrust forward.


"Forbidden Fist!" Cale yelled, imbuing his shout with Senjutsu chakra at the same time, mixing his Monkey Yell into the attack. At the way they were moving, they were going collide either way, Cale thought it would be best to strike with his strongest abilities. Stun and Strike, that was the Monkey Style.


Somewhere in the back of his mind, Cale wondered if their audience would be alright, but the part of him that could hold back, for fear of harming others, was more concerned with defeating Shin. Cale was determined to clash with Shin with every ounce of his strength, he owed him that much. A strong opponent deserved a strong resolve.


Cale would show him the results of his five years of training.


@The Architect

 

[Pariah Stark]

Shin Uzumaki

@Seraph Darkfire

"I will show you humility," Shin said in the moment before impact.


Monkey Yell itself was nothing for his Blocking Technique Absorption Seal, which acted as a barrier around him and absorbed the senjutsu chakra effortlessly.


Shin thrust his bark-clad fist into the strike Cale threw at him. The ground trembled at either of them, but their combined might made it crack and shake. As the senjutsu pushed its way into Shin's arm, he layered on his seals, containing the natural chakra with his Adamantine Chains. The attacks merged together, creating a giant sphere of golden nature chakra sealed in a fiery ball of Cursed Chakra. While the two were locked in their mutual strikes, Shin forced his sealing chains onto Cale, branding him with the Adamantine Seal and slowly suppressing his natural chakra. Meanwhile, the eight visible chains that trailed behind him now circled in front of him and behind Cale, seeking to wrap the Monkey Sage in their grasp.


With his right hand, he formed a half-dragon seal, resulting chakra surrounding his hand before he shaped it into the form of a claw. While forming seals with his hand, he kneaded chakra in his stomach to spew it out through his mouth as Water Release: Water Severing Wave. The pressure from this blast alone was strong enough to shatter rock and cut through trees, and he was blasting it at the Monkey Sage that was bound to their colliding attacks and surrounded by chains strong enough to seal a tailed-beast. Every technique was calculated, every close range blast only brought Cale closer to this monster named Shin and any attack to attack him from a range was absorbed effortlessly.


Meanwhile, Hayate noted, "The Niseringan is one thing, Ghost... but that's a Rinnegan." Hitori glanced over at Hayate, realizing the Clan Head had figured out that the Leaf had manufactured a Rinnegan of sorts. Ghost kept his pink eyes fixated on the battle in front of them; none of the men were worried about collateral damage despite the field being reshaped. Ghost answered Hayate, "It's an anomaly. In our experiments, transplanting Senju DNA with the Niseringan Seal resulted in a rejection of the DNA. Normally an autoimmune response kicks in and the subject dies in a few days... but not Shin. When he lost Samehada, he was so upset he demanded a new arm despite knowing it could kill him. So far, he's the only person to survive the treatment. We can't manufacture Rinnegan, Hayate... Shin Uzumaki is just one-of-a-kind." Hayate shook his head.


"Tch, like we needed ANBU Intelligence to tell us that," Hayate replied. Hitori took this moment to add, "It's not complete, anyway. He can't use other bodies or other paths. We never even considered he'd unlock it..."


Hayate replied, "And, the story goes Orochimaru never even considered what his experiment would become. History..."


Ghost cut in and said, "There's no stopping Shin. Not then, not now. You objected to a Cursed Child being a Jinchuuriki, too, and now she's the strongest in the world and in full control."


Hayate shook his head, "Control is an illusion. I wouldn't expect someone with a fake dojutsu to see it."

 

[Seraph Darkfire]

Caillte Leanaí

Cale was amazed at such strength, at the abilities Shin possessed. He wanted to fight him more and more, every time he clashed with this man, he learned more about himself and about fighting. He knew he was losing, that was extremely obvious, but he didn't stop grinning and laughing. This was truly fun. His tail whipped underneath him and grabbed Shin's leg. He had the full intent to pull Shin forward and unbalance him. At the same time, further back, the crumbling remains of his earthen tail suddenly moved, reaching towards his staff and flinging it towards them.


With his free hand, he grabbed it, pulling it into the swirling clashing energy of their fight. Using part of his remaining Senjutsu chakra, he flooded the staff, reestablishing the connection with it. The chains that bound it's energy were powerful, but not as powerful as the chains binding Cale at the moment "Grow" he said and the staff doubled in size just as he moved it in front of his face to protect himself against the Water Severing Wave that attacked him.


"Wooden Monkey Style: Rotating Chimp!" he laughed as he used his momentum to push forward, imbuing his movements with the last of his Senjutsu Chakra. Even if he was beaten to a pulp, even if he died, he would push Shin to the ground. He was going to lose. He could feel it. His Sage Mode was going to run out before he could defeat Shin and the staff wouldn't remain it's size. The chains that bound it were still suppressing whatever chakra he fed it. However, if he could at least knock Shin down, it would be a personal victory for himself.


Even in their last fight, he'd landed some good hits, but he'd never once knocked Shin to the ground. This time was going to be different, even if he had to die.


@The Architect

 

[Pariah Stark]

Shin Uzumaki

@Seraph Darkfire

Shin saw it all. Each movement. Every change in direction chakra had. But, more than that, Shin saw that Cale was enjoying their fight. It was an oddity. Shin fought in the last Great War, fought powerful shinobi from each village and fought for his life over a sword that didn't even belong to his land. Yet, Cale was unique. Cale fought just to fight. Just to enjoy the thrill. Cale didn't care about his life, Shin's life, or the implications of their fight; he just wanted a fight that pushed him to his very limits. In every move that Cale made, Shin failed to find a single piece of malice or motif. Without a purpose to fight, Shin couldn't predict the strategy Cale would use. He could predict Cale's movements, he could even see his tail moving at him, but knowing 'how' he would fight, the moment after the moment he could perceive, remained a mystery.


Shin saw that Cale was going to continue a full frontal assault despite his disadvantage. So, Shin decided to put some distance between them. The fist that was locked with Cale's sprouted into a giant buckler of wood that embedded itself in the ground and prevented Cale from sneaking his tail down to trip up Shin. The Uzumaki then ripped his wooden arm out of the buckler, letting it regrow as a solid piece of wood while the hand he channeled chakra into before now grabbed the final jet of water from his mouth and with it transformed into the giant head of a dragon. This was shape transformation alongside elemental release, and required water to be present before it could be used. The first attack was just a facade for this second one. All the water spewed from the first attack rose up again into the body of a great dragon, now wrapping itself around Cale with its head being thrown at him. The maw of the dragon crunched through wooden construct Shin previously made.


With the buckler formerly blocking him and his dragon acting as a distraction, Shin brought both of his hands together to create a Ram seal. As he did, three large, red torii fell from the sky and onto Cale, trying to pin him down as the water dragon attempted to hold him in place. Shin shouted, "Gate of the Lower Gods!" These torii were designed to hold jinchuuriki, and in fact, were capable of immobilizing the four-tailed beast for a short period. Shin just needed to stall Cale out longer; the Monkey Sage couldn't maintain his form much longer. Most importantly, Shin wasn't getting knocked down any time soon. Cale had power, but he lacked discipline. While he may have mastered four fists, he seemed to have no idea how to use them in combat. This was the difference between Cale and Shin; one was a veteran forged by war... the other was an orphan raised in solitude.

 

[Seraph Darkfire]

Caillte Leanaí

"Grrr!" Cale struggled against the forces holding him away from Shin. He pushed his body to the limit even though he could feel his body losing it's Sage form. The ground cracked under the pressure of his feet pushing and the red torii slid forwards slightly. The overwhelming strength of the Gorilla flowed through him. He used everything he had, his fingers dug into the ground as he continued to push forward.


His tail was swinging the staff wildly, blowing pieces of the water dragon away from him to clear his vision. He could feel that it wasn't enough, yet he continued to push and struggle. Then he felt as if a lighting bolt had gone through his mind and his sage mode completely failed him. Not only that, his eyes were now vacant, rolled up so only the whites were visible.


He'd pushed himself to the point where he'd actually blacked out. His body went limp, though his position didn't change, his fingers were still buried into the ground, his feet still in their last point of struggle. The staff slipped from his tail and hit the ground softly. Cale was a being of pure determination, had he not passed out, he would have continued to struggle until he died.


@The Architect

 

[Pariah Stark]

Shin Uzumaki

@Seraph Darkfire

"He's like a child," Shin said aloud. "He has great power, but no idea how to use it..."


Shin walked over to the now-captured Cale, his body encased in three torii with only inches dug into the ground from the struggling. Impressive, to say the least; the four-tails required seven gates to lock down. Shin saw that Cale was out cold entirely, then looked over his back to the few that stood behind him. His cousin Hitori was almost sure this is how it would play out. While there weren't other Sages in the villages, Shin could go toe-to-toe with jinchuuriki of the nine-tails and hold his own. Cale might have been powerful, but he wasn't a true beast. Ghost knew his limits, too; in fact, it was his division that helped make Shin who he was today. Ghost wasn't particularly content with how much power this single man had or that he had to answer to him, but it was better he be an ally than an enemy. Hayate, however, had a slight snarl. He had no idea that Shin was capable of this. Wood Release from Senju Cells? The Rinnegan? A Cursed Child, nonetheless? Shin was an embodiment of everything that the generation that gave birth to the Daimyo. And, apparently, the Uzumaki and the ANBU knew about it all along. What else was being kept from the other clans?


"I can feel the disgust in your chakra, Hayate," Shin said. He raised his head before he added, "You were brought here to see this power. We didn't need you to observe for your Byakugan - we wanted you here. Hitori will explain it later, but I'm going to tell you now; the best way for you to learn was for you to see it. Now you have. This is the measures we have to go to for that witch in Kiri... war is brewing, don't let your pride blind you to it." Shin kept his eyes fixated on Hayate. His purple Sharingan and partial Rinnegan saw clearly enough to keep perfect contact with the Clan Head's own potent Byakugan.


In a moment, the tension was over.


Shin grabbed Cale with his wooden arm, then poured regenerative chakra into him. This was another trait of a Cursed Child of the Uzumaki. While they weren't stronger or faster like some clans, they could heal themselves overtime. Hard as Hell to kill, too. With the monkey man still bound by the torii, Shin said, "Wake up; I didn't give you that harsh of a beating." The chakra would invigorate Cale; it wasn't natural energy, but it was derived from it. Not only that, it healed whatever damage the Sage sustained in the battle. Shin and his chakra reserves were still strong. Cale, however, nearly depleted his.


Meanwhile, Ghost replied, "these eyes might be fake, Hayate, but that man fought in a war where you never saw the front lines and has beat a tail-beast and a Sage. I don't need any special eyes to see what's in front of me." Hitori looked to Ghost; it wasn't like Ghost to defend Shin, or even speak out to anyone from a Clan. With both Hayate and Hitori intently focused on him, Ghost added, "if Kiri has him scared, there's a damn good reason for it."

 

[Seraph Darkfire]

Caillte Leanaí

"GAH!" Cale woke up swinging, knuckles immediately aiming to strike Shin's body that was directly in front of him, then he paused and made a slight face before sighing "Aw man, I lost again" he said before standing on his own feet and pushing Shin's hand away from him. He shrugged "Oh well" he said softly as he began to stretch, using his tail to pick up his staff "I should have listened to King Enma" he said tapping his head three times "Tactics, he said, to fight someone you have to use tactics" he then ran his fingers along the circlet on his head to check for damages before nodding and looking at Shin.


"I've never been good at the thinking in battle stuff" he said shrugging once more as he tested his body, not feeling in pain "Natalia was always the one who beat me when we fought too" he cracked his neck.


"Alright, I feel better..." he then rubbed his stomach "I'm hungry though" he turned with a smile "Guess I'll come back some other time then, maybe I'll go find Nat and get her to teach me that stuff" he scratched his head as he looked around at the damage they'd caused and made another face "Hmm, the Forbidden Fist did more damage to the surroundings than my opponent, I need to focus it more"


"Monkey Palm was sucked up too..." he began to think. Strategy in battle was not his strong suit, but if it was after the battle, he did reflect on the things that went wrong.


He'd completely ignored everyone there. Since his fight with Shin was over, he assumed that they were done with him so he was free to do as he pleased. King Enma had taught him everything that he could learn about the Forbidden Fist, he needed to learn on his own.


He touched his stomach again "Well, food first, then I can figure out what to do next" he began to walk, intending to leave. Compared to their last fight, Cale's reaction was much more tame, so he wasn't a complete loss when it came to learning from his past.


@The Architect

 

[Ilstead]

Hikaru Uzumaki

Hikaru watched on as everyone began to concentrate and push their chakra to the soles of feet. He watched as they pushed and pushed themselves but everytime they started climbing, their minds either were to focused on not falling or trying to keep the flow of chakra steady. Hikaru decided to try it on his own terms.


Hikaru would stand with his hands in the sign of the rat. He would close his eyes and start.


Hikaru would start with slowing his breathing in hopes of concealing his presence like a shinobi should. He wanted that to be second nature just like he wanted his chakra control to be second nature. Practicing the two hand in hand would help him focus.


Secondly, Hikaru would start to focus on the chakra flowing in him, concentrating on just knowing how it flows through him like water through cracks in the earth.


Third, he starts to push the chakra down his legs, past his knees and into his feet. Once he feels it in the tips of his feet he starts walking forward.


Hikaru gets the tree and opens his eyes and stares at the tree. He slowly takes one step, two steps three and four....


Now he is sweating just on the first try but he is giving it his all. He probably gets like twelve steps up before he has to come down because his chakra flow is strained from all the focus and the hinderance of holding it.


He falls on his are as he comes down and whines a little before chuckling whilst looking to his teammates. He hopes they would laugh at him as he can laugh at himself but they seemed focused as he was.


Hikaru gets up and starts once again.

 

[Pariah Stark]

@Hellkite @Edward Valentine @KaiaWolf

While his teammates tried relentlessly to run up the tree, Ichir? continued to focus his chakra around the pebble. Every step they took became a moment longer he could hold the pebble. The fact was, holding a pebble using chakra was a fairly simple task. The concept was the exact same as walking up the tree, but it required concentration. Time and time again, his teammates continued up the trees, making more steps, but slowly and only in additions of one at a time. Meanwhile, Ichir? was holding two larger pebbles in each hand, extending his arms with them and simply concentrating. Could he run up a tree? He didn't know. It took a majority of his concentration just to keep the rocks in his palms, but he knew if he could keep doing it while splitting his focus, he would get better at it.


"Hikaru," Ichir? said aloud, "You seem to be getting this quick. You get up the tree farther than Kyouka." Breaking the silence of their training, Ichir? was forcing himself to think and talk - splitting focus from the rocks. And, for now, it was working. They stayed steady in his hand. "What's it like?" he asked. "If you can't get past your sixth step, how does the fifth one feel? And the fourth? It is like walking on ice and slipping or is it like when you do too many push-ups and you fall down on the last one?" he continued on. These were good questions, sure. Ones he would probably have answered just by trying the actual practice himself. That, however, wasn't the point. He needed to distract himself, and this was how.

 

[Ilstead]

Hikaru Uzumaki

Hikaru was a little taken back by the question of Ichiro. He wasn't expecting to get questions from either of them but none more than Ichiro. He kinda stared at the boy with a blank gaze for a few moments.


Hikaru shook his head to gain attention and looked back his way. He spoke up after clearing his throat.


"I uh....."


Hikaru was still feeling after being stunned.


"Uhh....I don't know. Its not like anythings changed. Im just focusing on the chakra in the soles of my feet and then adding some more. Then I wait till i know I have a steady stream and I take the steps."


Hikaru looked away in thought and then back to Ichiro


"I continue walking because I know nothings changed. The height is in my head and the only thing distracting me. If I can get past that then I think Ill be able to do it. I don't think its suppose to be hard, but it heads up that way because keeping a steady stream of chakra whilst walking up a tree obviously takes practice."


Hikaru turned back to the tree and started to focus his chakra in his feet. He would resume his practice and start up the tree again. One....Two....Three...Four....Five....Six....


Hikaru would climb to twelve again and then jump back down to start focusing and start over again.

 

[Hellkite]

Kokuro watched as her pupils trained. Hikaru seemed to be grasping the skill the fastest, although the other two both seemed determined. She climbed to her feet and approached.


"Keep at it." She urged. "Once you have the knack, it's becomes easy as breathing."


She glanced over at Kyouka.


"You're thinking about it too much." She said, addressing all three of them. "Don't try to force the chakra into holding you to the tree; instead just imagine it sticking there of its own accord. Then the only trick is getting it to unstick so that you can take the next step."

 

[Hoax]

Thinking too much, huh? Alright, then maybe all that needed to happen was a change of focus. If it was supposed to be so easy, why not treat it like normal walking? Just with a bit of extra effort, perhaps?


Staring up at the tree, Kyouka took a relatively confidant step up, then another. Her legs got shaky on the fourth, and mild anger bubbled up out of annoyance, making her fall back to the ground.


Taking an long breath, she tried again with more vigour. Stepping quickly, she tried to focus on the top of the tree instead of keeping her chakra totally balanced.


While almost falling off twice, the blonde managed to get up to seven before having to jump down, leaving a kunai embedded in the tree as a marker. As long as she could get past whatever marker was currently set, Kyouka figured that would be a good way to start.


Jumping in place a few times to release any tension in her legs, she started off again for attempt after attempt. It took a few tries to get past her record again, but soon enough was steadily passing each one a few steps at a time. It had been a slow start, but a start nonetheless.


@The Architect @Edward Valentine

 

[Pariah Stark]

Shin Uzumaki

@Seraph Darkfire

"Cale," Shin said, "As I recall, you wanted to learn about shinobi and to share your own knowledge. Here in Konoha, we have a system where a powerful shinobi called a Jounin trains new, young shinobi called Genin. I'm not for sure what Enma told you about our world, but we've set aside a team for you to train. They're all twelve or so just learning to use their abilities. One girl as wild as you are and another girl that knows everything you could fit into a book about shinobi. Oh, and I'll have someone check in on you from time-to-time to help."


Shin smirked.


"I predicted this fight would end like this, so around this time, they should be eating at a popular place called Yakiniku Q. Food you've probably never tried before, but I'm sure you'll like it. You can't miss it, either; it's near all the other businesses and has a huge green sign that's lit up," he explained. It was just before lunch, so it may have been a little early, but nothing too early for barbecue. The thought actually occurred to him that Cale might find it odd that they cooked their own food after ordering it, but then he began wondering if the monkeys even cooked at all. Too many questions, too little time.


"Oh, one last thing," Shin added. "Genin squads consist of three Genin and a Jounin. You're not a Jounin, but you're easily as strong as one. So, the last Genin of your squad will be my son. Don't disappoint me; I expect one of my kids to surpass me some day."


Shin let his smirk get wider. Hitori and Ghost rolled their eyes at his confidence. Hayate wasn't exactly appeased, but to the very least he was glad they shared this with him. Hayate was a serious man. Once Cale took off, Ghost radioed in someone using in earpiece and the scene at the arena was over. After a brief moment, Ghost pulled his radio off his belt and examined it. After turning a knob on it, he muttered, "We need to get back now. Every channel is unresponsive; someone is jamming the signal."

Meanwhile...

@Hanarei @LeSoraAmari @Hellkite
​

Koujin

​

Koujin, a tokubetsu Jounin, was assigned to meet up with Team Five consisting of Satoshi Uzumaki, Tsukiashi Inuzuka andTaura Miyamea, and take them to Yakiniku Q for an early lunch. So, the group of shinobi sat around a burning hot barbecue pit as their first order of an appetizer plate arrived. Consisting of several different meats and vegetables that could be seared, the food was meant to be made into a shish kabob while the grill was warming up.


"I have no idea who your sensei is," Koukin explained to the group. They were curious, especially given that Koujin wasn't a well-known shinobi or even a full-fledged Jounin - not to mention, he outright said he was just an intermediate until their real sensei arrived. "All I can tell you is that Shin himself assigned me to pick you up and that this would be a special case that couldn't be announced at the ceremony yesterday," Koukin added before he started to slide sliced beef down his hardened wood stick. He chuckled lightly, being a relatively passive man, before finishing off with, "and, I was told we couldn't miss him once we saw him."

 

[Hellkite]

Taura picked at the vegetables on the appetizer plate as Koujin spoke.


"So we've got the special case, have we?" She raised an eyebrow. "Not sure how I should feel about that."


She paused to pop a chunk of seared green-pepper into her mouth. As she chewed she made a vague circling gesture with her hand, as though she wanted to say something else. She swallowed her food.


"What did Shin-sama say to you, sensei? Just that our team-leader was hard to miss? Huh."


Taura fell silent, turning the matter over in her mind.


Someone they couldn't announce at the ceremony... maybe some hot-shot ANBU? But why would that stop them announcing it?"





Taura glanced at her new team-mates.


"Thoughts?" She asked. "About our new sensei, I mean."


@The Architect

 

[Hanarei]

The Inuzuka girl had arrived with a pout on here face, something that had vanished with the notion of food. She had practically drooled looking at the food as her mind had ventured from her earlier warriors. Her long brown hair appeared partially disheveled, it was quite thick and looked almost uncut reaching down upon her back. Her hazel eyes looked almost as if they were glowing red gazing into the firepit. The markings of the Inuzuka clan was painted nicely on her cheeks. Despite her clan markings though, no puppy was anywhere to be seen. Her salivating mouth was wide open as the appetizers finally gave her the sweet relief she desired.


As soon as the prying hands of the servers were away, Ashi darted at the food, her hands grasping at the meet as she started scarfing it down like some beast. She stuffed her mouth eating quite carelessly, evident she hadn't eaten that day in her haste to meet up, something she arrived to very early. The girl didn't seem to think in the least bit of being proper as she devoured her food. She wasn't well known for using much as far as manners go when she really wanted something.


She turned her head, still stuffing her mouth as Taura spoke up, her words partially muffled as she still continued to eat. "Thatsh not really fair we had to... shhhow up and 'eee washent even 'ere for ush. We shhould 'uh ben doing shhtuff by now as shhhinobi!" She spoke out as if to state her frustrations about waiting, although in a rather obfuscated fashion, not taking a break from chewing on her food. She stood up finishing chewing up her piece as she lifted her arm up in the air.


"I'm going to show em all I'm the best Shinobi in the world! Just you wait. Everyone will know Ashi Inuzuka is going to take everyone by storm!" She stood in place for a short pause, her small body seemed quite frail for the tough words she put out in great enthusiasm. Her eyes darted down looking upon the food, plopping herself back down as she started stuffing her mouth with more food. "Thish meat ish 'eally good!" She spoke happily, partially wiggling in place full of energy.


@LeSoraAmari @Hellkite @Seraph Darkfire

 

[LeSoraAmari]

Satoshi sat upright as he listened carefully to everyone speak. His eyes fixed onto the selection of foods before him, he decided to pick up a piece of meat and ate it. Koujin, the tokubetsu jounin that had met Satoshi and his teammates seemed quite nice, although what he said made Satoshi quite concerned to say the least, "A special case?" He said as he quickly finished eating the meat that was in his mouth. Continuing, he added "I hope this doesn't end up being a disaster. But, I'm sure there is a reason for us having the 'Special Case' as our sensei" he stopped speaking when Taura spoke. Looking at the genin, he spoke calmly and with a kind tone, "Honesty, I'm not sure what I think. I guess I won't know how I feel about it until I actually meet our sensei. But I'm quite worried, the whole 'special case' thing doesn't sit well with me for some reason..." He chuckled slightly as he then turned to Ashi, the girl from the Inuzuka clan. In truth, Satoshi was curious as to why she didn't have one of the clans dogs with her; but he dismissed that thought and moved on. Picking up another piece of meat and eating it in one gulp, he spoke once more "I'm just curious to see who we've got" he spoke aloud with a happy tone in his voice. The boy was eager to meet their sensei and then start doing whatever as soon as possible, he just wanted to get moving.


He turned his head to the wall behind him to check on his katana that was placed up against it, sheathed in it's scabbard. He then turned back to face everyone present, and waited.


@Hanarei @Hellkite @Seraph Darkfire

 

[Pariah Stark]

@Sha @SwiftThunder @DreamBeat
​

Haya wasn't designed to take a beating. Kyoden, genin or not, eventually started putting his wear and tear on the puppet. While it may have given him a few cuts, the facts came down to Kyoden having trained with his tonfa up close while Hayato was didn't even use the Puppet Technique before today and at that wasn't necessarily knowledgeable in taijutsu or even puppet-based taijutsu. Hayato would have felt bad for the damage being done to the puppet, but this was real combat simulation and now Juro would know how much of a beating Haya could handle. While Hayato became more vigorous and intense, getting into the groove of things with this new technique, Haya jammed up and began to malfunction. The blunt blows from Kyoden began to damage its joints and it wasn't responding to Hayato nearly as effectively.


Hayato, in response, slowed down his usage and tried to use more precise, clean cuts, but that simply allowed Kyoden more openings at a close range. Hayato could have easily knocked out the genin at a close range despite his ninjutsu specialty. This wasn't Hayato. This was a puppet.


He also noticed Suzume throwing shuriken at him, but this went about as well as the kunoichi expected. With another deep inhale, Hayato released another Wind Release: Great Breakthrough, however, this time it was more controlled and precise. It wasn't a huge burst like before; instead, it was enough to stop the shuriken mid-air and nothing more. Hayato glanced over to Suzume and shook his head, "take a lesson from Kyoden. He's tried various methods to attack, and he's actually getting somewhere. Doing the same thing over and over...? That'll get you killed." Hayato spoke in a very matter-of-fact voice. He still gave no regard to the exhausted Juro and if anything was considering stealing one of the other puppets in the seals after Haya broke.

 

[Seraph Darkfire]

Caillte Leanaí

Cale's ears perked up at what Shin was saying. Training the young ones, they wanted someone like him to train their children, Shin's own son none the less. He thought about the knowledge that Shin had predicted his victory. He snickered 'Well, at least we both have the same level of confidence' he thought before looking at Shin "Alright, it could be fun" he said grinning "Fortunately, I don't like to hold grudges" Shin could rest at ease knowing Cale wouldn't take his anger on his child.


He scratched his head "Teaching kids huh?" he said before making a face. He'd tried teaching before, only Monkeys though, and since leaving the mountain, he hadn't found anyone to teach his fighting style to. His nature of fighting wholeheartedly tended to have him harming those who were weaker than him. He then raised his head and shrugged "Don't get mad at me if someone gets something broken" he said before flexing his legs and leaping out of the destroyed area.


He made his way towards this Yakiniku Q, his mind slowly forgetting the children he was supposed to look for and focusing on the fact that he was going to get something to eat. He grinned as he stepped into the place, his nose being filled with the scent of food, all kinds of food. Shin had been right, there were lots of food here that he'd never had before, he could tell.


Cale cocked his head as he looked around "Food" he mumbled before a young woman walked up, his tail flicked back and forth, catching her eye before he shook his head "No, not food, I'm supposed to meet some children known as Genin here?" he asked cocking his head.


She pointed him towards where a man and three children were sitting and eating before he nodded "Oh...places like this need money..." he then grinned and snickered to himself "Shin Uzumaki and the Hokage said to leave the money to them, so I can eat whatever I want...so...bring me everything" he then turned and headed towards the table.


He was going to eat his fill at the expense of Shin. He walked past the four people there and sat down. setting his staff directly behind him, near his tail. With surprising speed, he snatched up food from the grill and fed himself, even as more food was being brought. Some of the food he ate raw before realizing that it didn't come cooked. He supposed that is what the grill was for. Quickly, he laid out the food and began to cook it.


While they majorly ate fruits and vegetables, Monkeys were by no means herbivores. They'd also learned how to cook some food, though eating it raw wouldn't make him sick. It did taste better when cooked though.


His eyes flicked over the four people sitting with him as he fed himself "Students huh?" he asked "Hope your ready to get hurt" it wasn't a threat or a warning, just a matter of fact when with him. Cale hurt people, it was why he fought only strong people. Most of the time, they could handle getting beat, and Shin was the only one who could dish out more than he could.


He wouldn't just make Shin's kid strong, he'd make these three kids the strongest shinobi in this village, even if he had to send them home black and blue.


He made a slight face, realizing that he was being quite somber. Getting beat by Shin had bothered him more than he'd realized. He shook his head and smiled as he looked at the only other adult with them "Am I training you too? You look a little weak, but I could beat you into shape along with these kids" he said snickering.


@The Architect

 

[Pariah Stark]

@Hellkite @Edward Valentine @KaiaWolf

"That won't work for me," Ichir? replied to Kokuro. He knew she was directing it at Kyouka, but he still felt the need t make the comment.


Ichir? dropped the rocks from his hands, then walked up to one of the trees surrounding the area. "I have two kinds of chakra; I have to focus on keeping them separate before I can do anything," he explained. He then closed his eyes and poured his chakra into his hand before placing it on the tree. It didn't take an elite sensor to feel the chakra around his hand, especially given his lack of fine chakra control. "This is regular," he said. He then put his other hand on another tree nearby, and focused his Cursed Chakra into it. His regular chakra fluctuated and was thrown off, but the results from his Cursed Chakra were far more notable: when it seeped into his hand, it began ripping off the bark of the tree and some of its living wood on the inside. "This is the other... if they mix, then nothing works right," he explained.


The genin stopped channeling his chakra, opened his eyes, the turned to the rest of the group. "Every time I use a jutsu, I have to make sure I use the right chakra or it won't work right. I can't just let it 'stick there of its own acco?

ANBU

​

"?Kokuro, you are needed," said a member of the ANBU from a corner of the training grounds. Or, it appeared to be a member of the ANBU. Shin designated certain lower-level shinobi, often Chuunin, to wear ANBU masks and deliver important messages. It was a system set in place to emphasize a message carried by those with the mask while also making the Konoha ANBU appear larger than it actually was. None of that mattered now; Kokuro could tell that if the shinobi delivering the message to her was going to her, then he was obviously of better use retrieving her than actually helping.


The shinobi was holding a variation of the Hare hand seal and subsequently had Ichir? paralyzed. He wasted no time interrupting and even keeping the Genin from continuing his speech. After he made his initial introduction, the shinobi released his hand seal and lifted his hand, showing Kokuro the same seal she bore on her tongue as a kanji on his palm. While Ichir? was extremely irritated at being paralyzed, even he knew what that mask meant, and he kept his composure.


"The Jounin Station had its entire comms brought down. Several Clan Heads, the Hokage and Shin went to address an important affair this morning. They kept their location and purpose unknown. Two Hy?ga children from the main branch have been kidnapped and four of their estate guards were assassinated. The remaining guards claim it was Kumo-nin, and if they have intel about our skirmishes with Kiri in the East, then they see this as an opportunity. The Hy?ga have sent their own team to retrieve the group headed North, but there is another split going West. It is a small, three-man squad meant to be a distraction, but we believe at least one of them is part of the new Kinkaku Force - a guard using his Byakugan noted their armor. Ayaka Uzumaki has already been sent out, but she will need back-up. We can't let the Byakugan and the Nine-Tails potentially fall into Kumo hands."


The ANBU then lowered his hand, then lowered his head. He launched himself backwards into the woods in what would appear to be a Body Flicker to the Genin. Kokuro, however, saw him darting away clear as day. This was a real problem. Kumogakure was a former ally of Konoha after the first Hy?ga Affair, but it appeared they were trying it again. Times had changed. Not only that, the Kinkaku Force wore Lightning Release Battle Armor - if it really was one of them, then they would be able to effortlessly give Kokuro and Ayaka a real problem. Sending Ayaka was a double-edged sword; sure, she was a powerful Jounin and Jinchuuriki, but she was just that: a Jinchuuriki. If she was overpowered, the nine-tails could change hands easily. Or worse: Kurama could be freed. Ever since the death of Naruto, the beast had fell back into hatred.


This is what it meant to be on the brink of war. These were the dangers that this upcoming generation would face.

 

[Pariah Stark]

@Hanarei @LeSoraAmari @Hellkite
​

Koujin

​

Upon seeing - no, sensing - Cale, Koujin realized exactly what Shin meant when he said that their sensei would be impossible to miss. The man was half-monkey, had chakra Koujin hadn't felt in his life, still had the residue of Shin's Adamantine Chains seeping off of him and had some of the oddest behavior he had ever seen. This man was no doubt the Jounin in question. Although, Koujin had no idea who he was - he'd never seen the man before in his life. He also wore no Leaf forehead protector and bore no Konoha symbols. Was he really a Jounin?


Koujin pulled out a scroll given to him by Shin. While he wasn't allowed to read the contents inside, it actually contained information regarding Cale's shinobi information. Formally, he was in fact a Konohagakure Jounin. He had a registration number, ID, and even bank account Hitori had a little money invested in. From here on out, Cale would have to do missions to get paid like every other Jounin. None of that mattered this very second, however, it was mostly just formalities. It did contain information on each of the Genin as well, but that was something Cale was likely to overlook. Either way, Shin made sure the group was prepared for them.


"No, you won't be training me," Koujin said with a slight chuckle. "I'm pretty sure my style wouldn't work with yours anyway," he added, "I was just watching them until you showed up. And, I needed to give you this." Koujin handed Cale the scroll, then returned to his food. "But, if this is on Shin's tab, I might just stay a bit longer..." he noted. Satoshi, Shin's son, knew quite well that Shin could easily afford all of this and more, so it was no issue.


"Oh, and if you're their sensei, I was to remind you that you're supposed to learn just as much from them as they are from you - or, something like that. So, you might want to hold off on those beatings - that's not really how shinobi work," Koujin said. He was holding a shish kabob in his hand, waiting to bite into it. He was also paraphrasing what he was supposed to tell Cale - the general gist was that Cale needed to learn the shinobi way and these Genin needed to be made into unique, powerful shinobi. Eh, it made sense at one point. "Oh, one last thing," Koujin added before he bit into his kabob:


"Who the Hell are you?"

 

[Hanarei]

Her enlarged canine jutted out as she paused her chewing, hearing Satoshi speak up. She let out a defiant 'hmmph' in response to it. She was upset that they hadn't met their sensei yet. Her excitement for starting her training had made it hard for the spunky girl to even sleep. Having this detour of food only partially quelled her distress that they hadn't met their sensei yet. There was nothing more that she wanted to do then to begin her training as a Genin. She fully intended to prove herself as being a great shinobi.


The girl looked over, her eyes fixating over as what appeared to be their supposed sensei showed up. She looked at him, glaring in part at his appearance. A notable frown was etched on her lips as she stared over at him as he made the comment directed towards Koujin. She looked back and forth, her attention shifting as her mind raced trying to make out the situation. Her eyes shifted back to Cale looking as if she was about to pounce. The comment Koujin finished finally caused her to spring to action, dropping the piece of beat she was chewing.


"He's late is what if he is! We were suppose to get training, and yet we haven't done any of that yet! I showed up on time... we all did, why did he have to come late and make us wait when we can be kicking butt and all that?" She spoke up, finding her feat pointing to him. She crossed her arms shaking her head. "He doesn't even look like he is strong himself, I didn't work hard to just get paired with someone who doesn't care at all 'bout showing up at time! As if i can believe I'd get hurt when he does that. " She spoke crossing her arms a bit defiantly, looking away.


She wasn't known for being all that elegant with her words when she was frustrated. She was far from the patient type, specially when it came to things she was excited about. The fact he showed up so late only made her more uneasy, the mentioning of him being 'special' only lending her to think she might of been paired with some under-qualified slacker. I did my part enough to deserve an actual sensei... I didn't grade the best but I still got through, are they really trying to give me the scraps and not give me any chance at learning to become the best shinobi there ever was? She looked to Cale with sharp questioning eyes. The last thing she wanted to find out was she wasn't trusted enough to even receive proper training as a Genin.


@The Architect

 

[Sha]

@The Architect


Juro wasted little time before sitting up with a few beads of sweat still lingering about his forehead. His breathing was quick to steady despite how warm the whole of his body still felt. Glancing over his shoulder to the distinct clattering of a puppet his eyes fell upon his teammates engaged in battle with Hayato-sensei. Kyoden was hammering away at Haya with his tonfa which caused a shiver to crawl down the Genin’s back. Juro’s creation had been damaged before; however it was never to an extent such as this. The clattering sounds distinct to a shinobi puppet were now intermingled with the blunt clashing of metal on wood. Feeling a bit dazed from the sudden and immense release of chakra (the feeling no doubt enhanced by the beating Haya was receiving) he glanced away from the ensuing fight just as Suzume threw her shuriken.


First he noticed the blanket of bells had been stopped just short of hitting the ground and immediately felt a sense of failure wash over him. The feeling was short lived. It was then when a shimmer caught his eye: Something was floating in the air behind Hayato and just a few feet from Juro himself.


It was the golden bell.


His eyes widened. He dared not look back to the fighters out of the irrational fear that his eyes might incur his sensei’s attention. Standing slowly, both out of a fear to make sudden movements and a general disbelief that it could be so simple. Not wanting to risk notifying Hayato by unsealing another puppet or connecting his inferior threads to the bells, Juro determined to bring himself to the bell and grasp it with his own hands instead of bringing the bell to him. The golden orb remained stagnant having been left floating in the air where the cloud of bells once hung.


The bell wasn’t incredibly high up. Juro stood just beneath it before jumping a few feet into the air. He grasped the bell with his right hand before dropping back to the ground and managed to land on his feet. Juro looked at the bell for a moment in disbelief before raising his eyes to his teammates and sensei. Holding it between two fingers he held it up. His eyes had softened and a light smile of genuine happiness pursed his lips, peeking above the collar of his robe.


“That took longer than a minute, didn’t it?” Juro called with an air of disappointment not entirely abated by the excitement in his voice.

 

[Pariah Stark]

@Sha @SwiftThunder @DreamBeat
​

Once Juro actually spoke, Hayato had realized what the Genin managed to do. The entire time, Hayato neglected Juro due to his near lack of chakra; the young shinobi couldn't even tether a chakra thread if he put his heart into it at this point. So, his Jounin-sensei completely disregarded him as a threat. However, Hayato had forgot the purpose of this training exercise entirely: to get that golden bell. At this point, he was hyper-focused on keeping Kyoden and Suzume at bay, and he let his guard down. The result was a golden bell for Juro and a dinner for the Genin.

'That little mother fucker,' Hayato thought to himself.

​

"Quite a bit, but I lied; the first team never even got the bell," Hayato said, withdrawing Haya from the fight and pulling the puppet back to them. Once Haya was within visible range of Juro, the real damage was highly evident. Entire joints were broken and worn down. What would have been normal use was far from it. Hayato was working the puppet harder than Juro ever did and he had it fighting as if it were a Genin itself against Kyoden. Some parts of Haya might not be salvageable while other parts just needed a fine-tuning. Particularly, core parts of its body had decent dents caused by Kyoden with outlines that easily matched up to his tonfa. "But, fair warning, in a real combat situation, what you just did would have gotten yourself killed. You went behind enemy lines with no chakra - no escape plan. Actually, the moment you used up all your chakra tossing my bells to the ground would likely have been a death sentence for you," Hayato explained. He was being really bitter about his loss, but he wasn't wrong. He just didn't like that his genin had this victory the way they did.


"Anyway, a promise is a promise, but I'm going to let you all in on a little secret," he said once he noted that Kyoden and Suzume stopped their aggression. "Once you get your forehead protectors and become Genin, you're considered part of the Konoha Regular Forces. Any member of the Regular Forces is considered an adult inside Konoha regardless of age, so the only rules that you have to abide by are your Clan's. With that said, who wants to go try some Sake at Shushuya now that it's legal?" Hayato asked. He was a little bit bitter, so seeing his genin get tipsy on sake might be enough to dull his irritation. He also hoped Juro upgraded his puppet; Haya didn't last long. Of course, Hayato fighting with Puppets made him significantly less deadly, but it was far more fun for training purposes.

 

[SeaTea]

Kyoden could hardly believe it when Haya had suddenly vanished from his vision and he connected line of sight to Hayato before turning to see Juro with the very bell all three of the genin had been fighting to take, and Juro was holding it as if it was the most simple task in the world. With Haya no longer bearing down on him, Kyoden happily collapsed to his knees and began inhaling as deeply as he could as the noticeable rush of adrenaline was finally tapering off and he could feel all of the cuts, marks, and gashes that he had gained over this skirmish. He used his tonfa to prop himself up on his knees while he remained still and tried to gather his thoughts from beyond the reach of exhaustion. Kyo managed to force the blood rushing through his hear to quite as he saw his sensei speak.


The critique over the strategic falterings in what he thought was a purely tactical exercise almost ticked Kyo the wrong way, but then again, that was what their sensei was for and what he would continue to do as long as they studied under him. In the end, Kyo was fine with simply being able to complete this first test; only barely so however, and that was with his entire new team at their relative peaks. It was slightly frighting, but inspiring at the same time for him. They had been humbled something hard, but now it stood to reason that they could become that much stronger now that they had finally become genin.


'Finally a genin, finally.' The thought was still fresh, but no longer a foreign one as a smile started to spread across his face. He brought himself to stand with a feeling of vertigo before steadying himself. The smile got wider at their sensei's mention of their forehead protectors; mostly a symbolic gesture in his mind, but that meant everything to him, and most likely his team by this point. Kyo sheathed his tonfa gently and walked closer to his team, almost forgetting his exhaustion.


"With that said, who wants to go try some Sake at Shushuya now that it's legal?" Kyoden's grin maintained as he crossed his arms, hoping to appear non-chalant, really hoping and failing to stop the burning feeling from the gashes in his arms. "I will happily drink a toast to us sensei, and take any amount of food that comes with it. You're still willing to cover all of us yeah?"


Kyoden cast glances to his teammates who were as roughed up as much or even more so than he was. He felt thankful that he and Suzume had managed to combine enough to engage with a jounin, and Juro for being the ultimate linchpin in grabbing their objective.


Kyoden's thoughts began to be clouded with guilt as he regarded Haya, who was actually more pock-marked than Kyo had thought before. Apparently he had landed more than a few good blows on the puppet. 'There wasn't much I could do at the time.... still, it probably took a while for him to make that.' Kyoden made it a point to find some way to ask for Juro's forgiveness. More doubt began to creep into Kyo's mind thought back and analyzed his own interactions with Suzume and the rest of the fight and criticizing his own performance. All the while with these thoughts, Kyo's grin was maintained to his team as he enjoyed the relatively quiet moment in the clearing.


@The Architect

 

[Hellkite]

Kokuro listened as the ANBU spoke, nodding once in acknowledgement before the masked figure departed. She sighed, starting to check that her equipment pouches were filled and secured correctly, as though in preparation for a long journey.


"Well, it seems that I'm needed." She spoke in a calm and level tone. Almost too level. The threat of war weighed heavily on her mind. "I could leave you here to train, but..."


She made up her mind.


"I think you three might benefit from some hands-on experience, even if it is only day one."


She gave Ichiro, Hikaru and Kyouka a stern look.


"But you must all understand that for this mission, you will have to follow my orders without question." Her gaze lingered on Ichiro for a moment too long. "This is going to be real, no training or drills. Potentially," Kokuro crouched to check that her kunai was securely fastened to her thigh, still looking up at them. "A fight to the death."


She stood once more, now resting a hand on her hip.


"You will keep your distance from the fighting until instructed to do otherwise. Use your heads; that way even a Gennin might, with some preparation of the battlefield, stand up to a stronger opponent."


Kokuro glanced up to the sun. It seemed only an hour or two from its peak.


"Well. I suppose we don't really have time to hang around." She turned away, before calling over her shoulder; "You have five minutes to gather your things, then meet me at the gate. Don't be late."


Then she vanished with a body-flicker that to the Gennin would only have appeared a blur.


Kokuro found herself standing beside the village gate, leaning against the wall and waiting for her team to assemble.


So, we're up against the Kinkaku. She thought. And Ayaka's involved as well. This could be messy if I'm not careful.





She adjusted her eyepatch slightly, and shifted slightly further into the shadow of the wall to avoid the sun which beat down upon her.


The first priority will have to be a rendezvous with Ayaka. From there we can hit the Kumo-nin. I'll take the Kinkaku; I can go toe-to-toe at least for a while with my lightning release. Ayaka can handle the other two with the kid's help, and if I'm still fighting by then the four of us'll bring down the Kinkaku together.