A Destined Meeting? (Open Thread, Training)

WHACK

The sound of Marcus' fist making contact with the wooden training dummy reverberated in the small clearing. He clenched his teeth, ignoring the slight pain from the blow. His durability had increased substantially since becoming a shinobi. He had been good at taking abuse before, but now he had gotten past the point where most regular people could be accounted at. His hard work and disappointing early life had also given him the stamina to endure the pain that was inflicted upon him, both of which translated to a good skill with taijutsu. Being able to take a blow before dishing one out wasn't the most practical approach, but it was because the approach wasn't practical that it could work for him.

His fist came back into the standard stance for the Arhat Fist as his rear hand shifted to an open palm, the attack coming in at a slight angle to crash into what would be the chin of a regular man had the dummy been made of flesh and blood. Another solid hit, one that echoed in the quiet of the clearing yet again. A couple more blows followed, one to each side of the ribcage and another couple to the abdomen to damage the internal organs. Finally, the medium sized combo would be finished off with a rising knee to the diaphragm of the dummy. Ripping away an opponent's ability to breathe was always a good tactic in a fight.

Marcus came away slightly out of breath, the combo being the end of his warmup for the day. A slight sheen of sweat glistened on his skin. The young genin wore no shirt, exposing his toned muscles, and had on a pair of loose fitting white trousers today with a belt to hold them up. His feet were bare to better toughen them up and his numerous pouches of weapons and various other tools sat by a nearby rock within his line of sight. It was always best to be prepared, after all. What I really want is someone to practice against, he thought as his fingers interlocked behind his head, the genin taking a break from his training session.




Learned Arhat Fist


1/110 stamina used

Learning this jutsu:

chakra flow:

“Oh? I was not expecting others to be present but given the public nature of this training field I suppose it does make sense.” The voice came from behind, a soft and feminine one more akin to the gentle persona of a housewife than a ninja yet, belonged to a ninja it did. Long grey hair, decorated with a few black patches, reached halfway down to her back, on account of the warrior’s ponytail it was tied into.

She took one step forward, then a second and then a third, an overly long wooden sword resting upon her right shoulder, before coming to a stop. Her features, alert and sharp due to the eyes, were decorated with a simple soft smile aimed almost exclusively as the dark-haired man before her. Yamamoto had been intending to practice a rather interesting jutsu she discovered in her studies and thought this was a lovely opportunity to give the training grounds a visit.

“I suppose I shall simply go elsewhere….or do you have no issue with the company?” Unflinching smile, soft tone of voice and a relaxed posture.

“In fact…Taijutsu user? How about we have a little duo practice? I’ve always wanted to test my blade against a Taijutsu user.” Her expression changed instantly; a switch flipped inside her. The elegant smile faded, her eyes going wide as a hungry glint filled them. She was even more alert now, excitement and energy burning through her body.

A female voice reached Marcus's ears as continued his slow pace around the clearing near the dummy, arms still above his head as he caught his breath. The genin turned his upper body slightly to see if it was someone he perhaps knew from the academy. Simultaneously his sensory abilities would kick in to get a read on the woman and when he realized he didn't know her, his entire body would turn to face her. His arms dropped, hands going to rest on his hips as he examined her. She had a bokken resting on her shoulder, insinuating that she was also here to train a little bit.

She made a few comments about her purpose and debated whether she should leave or not. Marcus opened his mouth to reply when she noticed what he had been doing and made a comment about that as well, noting that he had been practicing taijutsu against the training dummy. Then, without waiting for a reply by him, she proceeded to ready herself by getting into a stance of some sort. It appeared to be more aggressive than anything else. A woman who didn't take no for an answer? That almost never ended well for a man and, for some reason he couldn't explain that had nothing to do with the all powerful being dictating his every whim, Marcus felt like this was going to be no different for him than it had been for the other men he knew in similar situations.

Before readying himself, Marcus would cock an eyebrow at the woman who hadn't even bothered to introduce herself before getting ready to try and beat him up with a big stick. "Right, well... I don't have an issue testing myself against anyone," he began before his arms slid down to his sides. A formal bow would follow, as one should do when they were to engage a comrade in a friendly bout. Once the bow was completed, he would continue.

"My name is Fujio Marcus. A pleasure," he finished, setting himself into the stance of the Arhat Fist. He had been practicing that style earlier and it was the freshest in his mind so that was what he chose. Not the best for defense, but he also hadn't seen what this woman could do with that bokken of hers yet. There was really only one way to find out, and that was to get beaten by it for a little bit.




In use:


Sensing, .5 upkeep


1.5/110 stamina used

The first level of the training grounds, it wasn’t usually the kind of place for the Queen to frequent and yet here she was anyway stolling out in broad daylight like it was no big deal and without apparent bodyguards at that.

The truth was that some members of the Royal guard were likely not too far behind her but for the moment at least she had given them the slip. She was considered to be an X-class ninja, one of only a handful in the entire world so it wasn’t like she actually needed them for much. Anything strong enough to be an actual threat to her would just steamroll through them anyway.

The days when she needed to use a place meant for gennin to train had long since passed but she still liked to come by here every now and again just to see how the current generation was doing. That made her sound almost as if she was much older but in truth she was barely over twenty, it was very likely that out of all the currently active kage she was the youngest in service.

She was pretty famous as all things went but right now she was at least trying to be a bit less conspicuous so there was a chance that the people here might not recognize her. She wasn’t wearing her full suit of plate armor which she used when going to battle and on missions. Nor was she wearing her Raikage robes or her usual priestess attire which she donned for religious events. There were currently only two vestal of Hakkin in the entire village so that would have made her stick out like a sore thumb.

Of course this was still Ryuko Shuizu Von Rose we were talking about here. The richest woman in the entire kingdom of thunder. Even dressed down in a more casual light pink and white dress, her outfit was still more expensive than an entire year's salary for your average gennin. Not to mention she was still wearing her crown the Arch Angel's Tiara. Together they gave her an air of refined elegance as she quietly took a seat at a nearby bench and silently watched the proceedings. She’d entered the field as stealthy as possible so she was interested in how long it would take before anyone would notice her presence.

[1]

“Oh? Is that you Gyo-san?” And suddenly, the switch was flipped back to the off position. The almost crazed, obsessive and energised look in Yamamoto’s eyes had faded away, replaced instead with the shackles she put on herself. Soft smile, a gentle kindness to her eyes and a generally peaceful aesthetic took over her form. Perhaps it may have come off as cowardly for her to retreat away from the challenge she had issued but...Yamamoto had no desire to reveal her true self to so many people at once. There was her opponent, Gyo and that new arrival sitting on the bench, who the Kunoichi had pretty much opted to not even bother taking into account.

“Apologies Marcus-san. I will have to retract my earlier challenge.” She bowed ever so slightly in apology before rising back to her full height and turning to face a nearby training dummy. It was not the one Marcus had been using, oh heavens no that would be rude, but it was relatively close anyway. She gripped the wooden blade firmly, holding it at her waist to simulate it being sheathed. She closed her eyes, drawing her consciousness inwards, sealing away her awareness as she pushed out everything else, until there was nothing in her third eye except the training dummy.

Chakra snaked out through her body, spreading down her veins into the muscles of her arms and legs. The metaphorical firing pin locked into place, her muscles tensing and burning with the building up energy. Then, she brought her sword into her consciousness. Her chakra snaked out through her fingertips, extending down the length of the blade. Feeling its construction, analyse the materials, put your chakra into the gaps between the particles and enhance it.

Her eyes snapped open, and in a single viper strike her arms snapped forth, the taut spring of her muscles rebounding as the energy within was released. She struck with her full speed, blade meeting, or possibly exceeding, the majority of stimuli, in the animal kingdom.  The impact of her blade on the training dummy resulted in an audible cracking sound, the wooden training sword having buckled slightly under the stress it had been exposed to, despite her chakra enhancing its hardness.

“Hah……” She exhaled, the energy fading from her blade as she switched off her newly learned Jutsu’s effects. It was a satisfying result of her training but it...was not enough. She needed someone, anyone, to push her further...further and further….

used jutsu, current stat boosts, current stamina and learned jutsu:

Marcus shifted his attention towards the first newcomer after his opponent, apparently named Yamamoto, decided to shift her own towards the same source. The newcomer was good at shouting, though he must not have too much experience with shinobi duties if he did not know what the beginning stages of a spar looked like. This Yamamoto woman hadn't even bowed or given Marcus her name which was disrespectful in his mind. But, none of that really mattered to him at this moment. No, at that moment he sensed the fourth person to find their little clearing.

And she terrified him.

Her chakra signature, while not particularly good or 'evil', was astonishingly massive. Marcus had never sense a signature like hers before in his entire life, not even close. The magnitude of it astounded him and Marcus found himself stunned in place as Yamamoto made her way over to the training dummy. He held the stance he was in for a few seconds before snapping out of the trance he had been in a little bit and turning to stare directly at the newest addition to their little party. Yamamoto's tricks on the dummy and her apologies to him had slipped past his mind entirely, disrespect forgotten.

Slowly, Marcus would approach the woman. As he got closer and got a better look at the details of her face, his eyes would widen. The puzzle pieces, few though they were, clicked into place within that mediocre brain of his. This woman had just barely entered his sensory range, but when she had there was nothing else he could focus on. And now that he knew... well, this wasn't exactly an occasion many people got too often.

At four meters from her person, Marcus would drop to one knee, left knee on the ground. His left fist punched the ground and his right hand rested atop his right leg, head bowed in a sign of complete respect. There were not many people with the level of renown this woman possessed, her exploits legendary within the village and likely outside of it as well.

"I am honored, Lady Raikage," he said with utter deference. The achievements she had under her belt and the martial prowess attributed to her were the levels of skill Marcus hoped to achieve one day. From what he knew, she was intelligent and wasn't particularly lacking in anything like most people were. He doubted he would ever have the same mental capacities to be considered anything more than average, but he could work on his body and improve that to a point people considered impossible. That was his goal, anyways, and here sat the living representation of what every shinobi should aspire to be. Truly, this had to be a destined meeting. Otherwise, why would such an important person take the time to be here of all places?




In use:



Sensing, .5 upkeep

2/110 stamina used

Finally, she was free from that prison with her father dead they had no reason to hold her any longer. She would take a look at the sky and smile. She was well taken care of but she didn't get a chance to walk around freely, she had asked where the Kage was and had been told she was around the village somewhere. She would make her way toward the training grounds, it seemed this village had three of them, but she would head to the lowest level one. She still was not sure what she was allowed to even do in this village. She was free and not a shinobi of any nation but she felt a very odd vibe in the village. Everyone seemed super worried and cautious, she wondered if maybe this village had picked a fight with someone, and many seemed to be crying or in mourning. She was unsure if her father had anything to do with this but that was not her concern he was now dead and she would never get her revenge on him.

She would come into the training g ground and see what appeared to be a spar happening, it was quite interesting watching them fight but that was when she saw the person she knew she was looking for. Ryuko was here watching the genin of her village train, at least she seemed to care about her village enough to watch the future generations. Kaida would leap into a tree close by her and give a light wave to her and smile at the genin, if they noticed her they would see an almost pure white hair girl with very white skin, someone clearly not from this area.

"Well it feels nice to finally be free, two years being held captive because of my scumbag father was not too fun but it let me train a lot. You would be shocked by what I am capable of in a fight now. When you have nothing but training for two years to do it helps your growth quite a bit. So, being held for two years I figure you owe me at least a minor favor, I know this village has some technology that allows sound jutsu to be used I would like to buy it, or you can donate it to me if you really feel bad holding me for two years of my life."

She would smile if she got it for free so be it if not she had plenty of funds, it appeared when her father died he had left her a small fortune. Money in blood was not something she liked but she was not going to refuse that man owing her anything and she would need the funds to get geared enough for combat and train.

Ryuko blinked in surprise that some of the people training had spotted her faster than she had been expecting. Of course if she had really wanted to stay hidden she could have tried a bit harder rather than sit out in the open but still it was impressive nonetheless. Of course it probably helped that to a sensor like Marcus she would seem like a Christmas tree lit up in July.

At first glance she didn’t have the most raw chakra in the village but that didn’t take into account that she almost alway was walking around with as much nature chakra as she could hold as well or the energy of the entity Rafaela with whom she shared a body with. Heck even her shield strapped to her left arm in it’s more compact buckler form had some chakra stored inside of it.

Appraising Marcus as he approached her she started analyzing him. Her mind was almost always whirling away calculating something or other and this was no different. Given enough time she’d be able to learn all sorts of things about him just from the way he moved and spoke while in her presence. He seemed a bit on the older side as gennin went but she was well aware that looks could be deceiving. Honestly even if he was older than her she wasn’t about to hold that against them. Not everyone advanced at the same rate and not everyone was cut out to become a Chunnin or a Gennin.

The fact that he was out here on the training field on his own initiative spoke well to his character. She had nothing to really base this on yet but her intuition but she had the feeling that like she had been once upon a time he was a diamond in the rough. The type of citizen that with a bit of polishing would make for a fine ninja that she would be happy to have in her forces any day.

“Please be at ease. There is no need for such formalities here my good sir.” She said hoping to get him to relax a little. This was just a training ground, not the audience chamber of the royal palace and She wasn’t the type of monarch that went around demanding that people bow before her everytime she passed by.

Looking past him for a brief second to the other two that were training she caught a glimpse of Yamamoto using chakra flow. It brought a shrug of nostalgia seeing as that was the first Jutsu she had been taught upon arrival to the village. The fact that Yamamoto could do it seemingly without a Jounin instructing her first was inspiring.

Honestly if she didn’t have her own students already she would have been tempted to snatch this crew up on the spot for herself. Considering recent events, maybe she should ask her apprentice Tamwyn to take them on in her stead. Having people to mentor had done her a world of good as she transitioned from her role as Jounin to Raikage and Queen, maybe it would help him recover from his experience in Moonspire.

“You know tis wasn’t too long ago that I was the one working here in this very place to get stronger. People used to tell me I’d never be more then average and yet look where I am now. I guess tis goes to show that you never know how far you can get if you try hard enough.” she said trying to sound encouraging.

“If you don’t mind please tell me your name and skills, soldier. I’m afraid I can’t train you personally but I have a couple scrolls for some personal techniques I created that I could pass on.” she offered. It wasn’t anything too spectacular since she’d come up with most of them when she was a gennin herself but they’d come in handy more than once over the years so she figured it would be something to help him on his way, the same as many others had helped her along hers.

Seeing Kaida approach the queen was actually slightly startled though she didn’t allow it to show on her face. She had thought the girl had left the village ages ago and wasn’t expecting to see her still sticking around. She’d been furious when she’d found out that Ken’s daughter was being held captive and ordered Shimiko to let her free over a year ago and yet here she was saying she had only just been freed now with Ken’s death.

She wanted to attribute this to an honest mistake on Shimiko’s fault. Her friend had gotten side tracked with a pregnant and having a kid but she also felt partly responsible herself for not following up and making sure her order had actually been followed. She’d been pretty busy with transitioning to taking over the country but that was hardly any excuse for her negligence.

“Just to be clear Ms Kaida, are you seeking some Resonating Echo Speakers?” she asked just to be sure. “If so I would be more than happy to provide you with a set.” If that was all it took to buy the girls forgiveness that she would consider herself fortunate since they were rather cheap.

She was a bit concerned about the statement that Kaida had nothing to do but train for the last two years. Shimiko had been holding her hostage but she was supposed to be getting good treatment, well at least good treatment as far as being a political prisoner went. She should have at least had access to books and newspapers so why hadn’t she been taking advantage of them?

“Now that you’re free Ms Kaida what will you do now? If tis pleases you we would be more than happy to welcome you as an official citizen. Not to boast but I like to think we take quite good care of our people here in the Kingdom of Thunder.” said Ryuko. She had spent a lot of time building up the public infrastructure and was quite proud of what she had managed so far.

Some rules wanted nothing more to expand their power and lands but Ryuko had no intentions of trying to conquer the elemental nations. If you asked her why she would tell you it was far more troublesome than it was worth to make an attempt. She was for the most part content to build a country that was comfortable for its people to live in. The smiles of her citizens was worth more to her than any amount of ryo could ever provide.

[2]

Analyzing Marcus, Yamamoto, Gyo and Kaida 1/2

“Hmmm…...I will see you some other time Gyo-san.” Too many people. The peace and quiet that Yamamoto had been hoping for was disturbed by the increasing number of guests but that was not the only why she wished to retreat. The arrival of the Raikage was the other reason and while it was not due to any personal distaste, Yamamoto simply did not feel comfortable training in front of such a...important person. insecurity perhaps? Shyness? Perhaps. Taking advantage of everyone’s attention being focused on the Kage, Yamamoto employed her enhanced speed to take her leave. She dashed out of the training area and made her way back home.

(Left thread)

Marcus sensed the first newcomer heading over towards the Raikage as well, with a fifth person managing to find their way to this small clearing. My, this certainly was turning out to be a crowded area today. The first newcomer, Gyo, paid his respects to the Raikage as well before the Raikage told them that such formalities were not necessary. The first woman, Yamamoto, had decided to flee the clearing for some reason. Seeing the Raikage so suddenly and casually probably had different effects on people. The weight of celebrity caused some to feel uncomfortable, so maybe that's why she had left? Marcus had wanted to see what she could do and her departure left him feeling a little disappointed. He had been looking forward to a good spar when she had made her initial appearance.

The fifth newcomer decided to camp in a tree above the rest of the small group, addressing the Raikage more like an equal than as a subordinate. Marcus didn't recognize her at all, but he could sense that she had some kind of special chakra. A kekkei genkai of some kind? Her chakra was similar to most in that it wasn't particularly dark or light, but the chakra she possessed almost made Marcus feel cold for some reason.

You're pretty interesting, Marcus thought after his initial sensing of her chakra. She was one to keep an eye on, and for more reasons than her chakra. Marcus wasn't one to gawk at women, but he found this newcomer attractive. He supposed he could say the same of the Raikage, but to be quite frank, he was more intimidated by her than any other adjective he could muster.

Marcus stood, doing everything in his power to prevent his knees from shaking as he did so. He turned to the other person here with the weakest chakra signature, this "Gyo", and nodded at him in a greeting before turning back to the Raikage. "M-my name is... Fujio Marcus, m'lady," he managed to spit out. There was a slight quiver to his voice, the shock of seeing the Raikage still having not completely worn off.

Realizing that he was sweaty and mostly unclothed, Marcus would continue quickly. "I'm sorry for my appearance, I was training and hadn't expected... well, I hadn't expected YOU," he said, slightly abashed.

"I'd like to say I'm decent at taijutsu and I am a sensor type as well. I can utilize fire and wind, but ninjutsu isn't a specialty of mine. I know only a few useful ninjutsu, honestly," he finished, the quiver in his voice finally gone. Was simply seeing the most powerful person in his village really that shocking to him? He had never reacted like this to someone before, but Ryuko... He could tell just by sensing her chakra and knowing her reputation that deference and awe were the appropriate responses to have. But they still surprised him nonetheless. It was most certainly an interesting day.



Using:


Sensing, .5 upkeep


2.5/110 stamina used

Kaida watched as one of the ones that had been fighting choose to leave the area, maybe they were shy she had no idea but she would give a gentle wave to her. It appeared the Kage as an apology offered to get her some of these resonating speakers, she would smile and give her a thumbs up. She also began to speak about her being free and what she wanted to do. For sure she wanted to speak with the other village leaders to get a grasp on the world, she had been in a bubble of sorts for a long while and given very little information as to what was happening in the world. To join the village that held her hostage for two years seemed laughable but they also had never treated her poorly, until she had a chance to speak to other leaders she would not throw her hat into any nation.

"I am grateful for those resonating speakers and will accept them, I cannot give an answer if I will stay in this village though. One thing my father taught me despite being a horrible man was to find out what's happening in the world. I have a plan to rid the world of anyone like my father no matter the village. If you kill innocent civilians in masse you must be killed, your village must hand you over for punishment and all the villages must agree to this. This is my goal, to make sure evil cannot ever control the world. If you want I can give you a taste of my skills, after all, you have never seen my abilities as I trained in Shimikos tower."

She would leap down from the tree and smile at the pair of men, both had given her looks that made her know what they thought of her. She was attractive and she knew it of course, but she was also from a father that was quite a monster in battle and would show strength breeds strength.

"So, you both seem to have interesting skills, one has sensory so if you do you should be able to tell I have quite a bit of odd chakra. The name is Yuki Kaida and I will be both of your opponents, with it being two versus one I think it is only fair I get a bit of distance from you both. Now let us give the Kage a good show, show me the power of the Kumo village and impress me enough to want to stay."

She would leap back from the pair and wait to see their actions, as she did she would begin to create a massive amount of water as she would suddenly bellow out a huge wave of water out of her mouth. She did not aim for her foes however only aiming to fill the entire area with water. It easily filled the area with water several meters high as she would stand atop of it with a smile. Suddenly she would use hand seals and the air would start to become bitterly cold as the water she stood upon instantly froze, the air, however, was also cooling. Any plant life began to frost over as the trees also began to look as if its branches were becoming heavier with ice beginning to form on the tree branches. She would motion for the two to bring it, her face holding a wide smile as she had many fun plans for the pair, she did wonder just how they would handle this.

Stats and Jutsu:

Ryuko had been in the middle of speaking when she was approached by a well built and well dressed blond man. Gyo seemed like he was the younger of the two men currently present at the training fields to the point that she would have been mildly surprised if someone had informed her the truth about him being the oldest.

She noted that he had given her a standing bow. That was still more formal than what was needed for the setting but it was still better than him falling to his knees. She wasn’t someone so important that her citizens should be groveling at the mere sight of her.

“Hail and well met good sir. That was some impressive use of the Jump step technique.” she said complimenting the jutsu he had just been working on. Often she was misattributed as it’s progenitor when in reality all she had done was simply dust off an old chakra control exercise taught to members of the Hakkin faith and polish it up a little.

She’d hoped it would become more widespread among the village but surprisingly she didn’t see it in action too often. This was the village hidden in the clouds after all, you’d think being able to fight in mid air would be a bigger priority. She would have been tempted to mandate it at the academy if it wasn’t a touch too advanced.

She was a touch sad to see Yamamoto leave. She wasn’t sure if the other girl was being shy or if her presence here was hindering her training since she was currently serving as a rather large distraction despite her efforts to be casual about the visit. She’d wanted to see what the current batch of gennin was up to not be in their way.

“Relax Marcus, I don’t bite.” said Ryuko with a light laugh after hearing him stutter so much. She knew that some of the other Kage’s from the other villages had a reputation for being hardasses but none of that should apply to her. She wasn’t quite as laid back as her predecessor Nariko but she had her own reputation as being the nicest member of the Thundercats which should have counted for something.

‘In the ninja world we have a saying. To Expect the unexpected. A tall order to be sure but one must do their best to be ready for whatever curveball life throws them.” She advised. As the Raikage she herself spent hours each week researching possible people she might run into out in the field and how to best counter them, but even she couldn’t account for every x factor or the unknown.

“I can only use lightning and non elemental ninjutsu myself.” she admitted as she reached into one of the two supply pouch hanging off her belt and pulled out a small scroll offering it to him. That much was fairly public knowlage so it didn't hurt to be open about it. The fact she could also use the poison element when in sage mode however was conveniently omitted. That was top secret info she only gave out to people who needed to know like her students.

“This is the Calm mind technique. Tis very handy for focusing, allowing you to perceive things you wouldn’t otherwise be able to. At your level you might not be master this skill quite yet but tis should come in handy before the time you’re ready to take the chunnin exams.” she said. At least when it came to Taijutsu like that she was a bona fide master. She had more she could have given him but she was reluctant to hand out anything too dangerous to a gennin.

“I’d love to pass you the Dragoon Drop and other Dragoon skills as well but I’m afraid one must be a member of the church of Hakkin to learn those.” she said with a shrug as if to say it couldn’t be helped. Her primary fighting style, the Ballad of the Dragoon was the church’s pride and joy and not something to be casually handed out to nonbelievers.

Ryuko sighed as Kaida declined to give an answer one way or the other about staying in Kumo. The girl had some wanderlust in her wanting to see what else the world had to offer. The Queen couldn’t quite blame her for wanting to get out there and seeing more after being confined for so long but at the same time she hoped the girl's curiosity wouldn't get her killed.

“You almost sound as if you are going to run off and join the society.” Ryuko said in a neutral tone that indicated she wasn’t joking. Considering how some saw the Society as terrorists it wasn’t something to make light of. The queen was thinking of potentially working with them but at the same time she didn’t necessarily want to add more people to their ranks either, at least not until they purged their more undesirable and extreme members like the mad scientist Menza at the very least.

“I have some advice for you Ms. Kaida, provided you care to hear it. That said it can wait until after your match.” Some things she wanted to pass along to the ice user were not the kind of thing that should be spoken about out in public. Considering the biased perspective she wondered if the girl would even believe what she had to say but she had to at least try.

“You can go ahead and spar with her without worry if you’d like. I can easily heal any minor injuries and will step in if things look to be getting too serious.” Ryuko said as she took a large step back to give the gennin more room to work with. She almost wanted to tell Kaida to go easy on the boys but she refrained not wanting to hurt their pride too much. It was a good thing she hadn't bought the speakers yet already otherwise they wouldn't have much of a chance.

[3]

Analyzing Marcus, Gyo and Kaida 2/2

The Raikage handed Marcus a scroll, explaining that it contained a technique she felt would be able to aid him in his endeavors to become a better shinobi. He extended his hands out to take the scroll, making sure to not drop it or anything clumsy like that. "Thank you, Lady Raikage!" His reply was earnest in its enthusiasm. After all, how many people got a technique given to them personally by the kage of their village? Especially after only one meeting, AND as a genin? Marcus felt as though he had burned through every scrap of luck for that year in the last few minutes.

She also mentioned something about a church and dragons, neither of which were something Marcus had heard of in his time in the Land of Lightning. He'd ask about the church later, a way of showing his gratitude towards the Raikage taking such an interest in lowly genin barely able to qualify as a shinobi. The rest of her attention was paid on the woman with the cold chakra signature, responding to her requests and comments. Apparently Kumogakure had done something to this strange woman, this Ms. Kaida, that Marcus wasn't privy to. He pocketed the scroll as the woman started talking about being their opponent, a surge of dread running through Marcus at the thought. If the Raikage hadn't been here, this woman's signature would have been the most potent out of any other there which didn't bode well for Marcus and Gyo. His supposed ally's chakra signature was comparatively weak to the others there, Marcus included, and he didn't think Gyo would be much help in a spar.

Especially with the amount of chakra this woman was starting to gather after the Raikage stepped aside to allow the match. "Move!" This word was all he could get out to warn Gyo as Marcus himself wove a half tiger seal to initiate the Body Flicker technique. He didn't activate it immediately, instead preempting Gyo to the tree she had vacated where he would proceed to get to a sturdy lower branch that wouldn't get slammed by the water. There he would utilize the Body Flicker technique to give him a burst of speed good enough to leap away from the tree as the water crashed into the area around them.

He had detected another jutsu being used, this one utilizing an element he did not recognize, though it intensified the feeling of coldness he got from her chakra signature. As Marcus jumped off the end of the branch he would swivel in the air while inhaling a deep breath of air. Chakra infused this air inside his lungs, transforming it into a decently powerful wind style ninjutsu that was quick to use. A bullet of quick moving air burst from his lungs in midair, directed at the woman who had decided to make them her sparring partners without so much as an introduction. Seriously, why were so many people so hesitant to do that? It annoyed him a little bit but that really wasn't what he should be concerned about right now.

The jutsu he used had the secondary effect of propelling him away from the woman and preventing his fall from happening naturally. Instead he would linger in the air a few seconds longer, just enough time for the torrent of water to settle before landing on its surface with chakra coating his feet to prevent him from just falling in and drowning. He also began weaving further seals at this time so his fall wasn't just wasted time. If she stayed at her current location without dodging his attack, this would place them about fifteen meters apart from each other. But what he landed on hadn't been water. Instead, he found ice under his feet. Meters upon meters of ice, all the water she had just created having been frozen instantly by the immense chakra she was emitting even now. He kept the chakra on his feet to avoid slipping, noting with distaste that this cold was getting to him a little bit.

Him being a member of the Fujio clan meant his body temperature was higher than most, so having this much ice around him only made the cold that much more apparent to him. He said nothing though, having brought his hands together and weaving a few seals in preparation for another jutsu he had planned while falling to the ice. This ice and the strange chakra she had made him think this was due to some kind of kekkei genkai. An ice type bloodline? Perhaps fire could melt that, and there was only one way to test his hypothesis. Another inhalation was followed by an eruption of fire as Marcus launched the Great Fireball jutsu at this woman, hoping it would melt the ice below it as well. If she did have a kekkei genkai, he didn't want her to have so much of the element all around her if he could help it.

Thankfully, his wind style ninjutsu didn't need any hand seals so he would be able to get the fire style attack off without too much of a delay between the two. Still, his hand speed wasn't the greatest so his opponent would likely be able to reply in kind. That was one reason he chose the fire style attack, as it wasn't something most people could take without suffering some damage. That meant that even with the delay between attacks, it would still have some effectiveness.




Using:


Sensing, .5 upkeep

Body Flicker C rank, learned

Wind Release: Drilling Air Bullet C rank, learned

Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique C rank, learned

"Water" Walking, 1 upkeep


19/110 stamina used

Yui smiled as she watched the pair, they were already quickly learning to fright effectively with each other, this was good as it meant she could have a bit more fun, but she also had to show off her own strength. She had never sparred with anyone before this point so she had to see how strong she really was, and now she could test her mettle against those around her age. As she saw him rise into the air she figured now was as good as any time to practice another Jutsu she had wanted to learn for a while. As she would suddenly have a large circle form around her of water from her mouth, this would come to meet and collide with the fire. It would be completely fruitless against her water of course as she continued to smile. This was a new technique for her and one she really wanted to learn. Sometimes it was a good idea to have a defense for when she needed to actually shield herself from attacks like this fire one.

"That was a wonderful combo you two did, however, it won't work on someone like me, you are the first real fight I have ever had. So I must say very interesting strategies and it could have worked against a lesser foe."

She would focus for a moment as she thought of another attack that seemed quite fun to use, she would begin to remember exactly what the book told her of its use, it was easy compared to the other ice techniques she had learned before but they would certainly work good against these two. She would quickly begin to go through her hand seals as ice in the area began to form the shape of swallows before suddenly launching fifteen of them at both the men. It would be interesting to see what they would both do, of course, if she suspected it could kill either she would halt her attack. She was not here to kill either one but to test her strength as she had no measure to know what her power was compared to yet.

This was a lot of fun to her as she was clearly smiling, having a battle with others made her feel something inside, was this why her father fought all the time this thrill of combat, the thrill of being on the hunt. No, she was not her father but she could not deny she felt excited fighting, maybe too much so.

Stats and Jutsu:

Marcus cursed as he sensed the woman utilizing another water type jutsu. Water was literally the only element he couldn't reasonably deal with, and she happened to possess it. Even worse, she apparently had a kekkei genkai that was basically just frozen water that did more things. Was her other element wind? He detected it within her chakra signature, like a gentle breeze brushing across his skin. His wind jutsu and fireball attack were cancelled out by the wall of water she summoned, though it appeared to have dampened the power of the defense somewhat. Taking two attacks like that head on was sure to do that much, at the very least. While she couldn't see what was happening, Marcus would take advantage of the situation to try and break the defense open.

He heard her words being spoken and was weaving hand seals even as she spoke. He could sense her building up the same type of chakra that had created this ice. What was he supposed to call it? Ice Release? Either way, his fire jutsu hadn't done much to melt the ice that had been created so he could only assume it carried over the strength against fire that water had in the elemental circle. That was... well, that was bad for him in this context. By the time Yui was wrapping up her words and preparing the attack, Marcus was breathing in yet again.

Gyo was also doing something if Marcus's sensory skills hadn't been dulled recently, though he couldn't sense any kind of elemental chakra being used. Just stay back for a little bit, he thought despite knowing his thoughts couldn't reach Gyo. Fire chakra infused the air he had inhaled and, once again, Marcus would fire the Great Fireball jutsu at Yui. Thankfully, her monologue had given him the time required to get the jutsu off and aimed well. His last attempt had been more clumsy, having been started before he even had proper footing and a good aim. The fire, much to his delight, actually managed to do something to the jutsu she was attempting to use. A bunch of ice needles had risen from the ice beneath their feet and had started to form something as the fire hit them and melted them in midair. A few of them managed to escape and head towards Gyo, but the ones that had been focused at Marcus had found a gout of fire in their way powerful enough to actually melt the ice.

Small amounts of it can be melted it seems, but I have to use a larger jutsu in order to do so. That could be problematic, he thought with some distaste. Thinking on his feet, Marcus would concentrate chakra into both of his hands and folded both across his chest in a 'x' pattern. Twin slashes of air would fire from his hands as he swiped both of them across his body, aiming for Yui. The technique he had used was called Wind Release: Slash, and each one he had utilized generated small blades of wind before concentrating into one blade each.

One blade was to assault Yui from the left and one from the right. Hopefully it would be enough to at least destroy the wall of water or, in the best case scenario, force the stronger kunoichi to move from her spot and take them a little more seriously. He was glad that Gyo had some knowledge of ninjutsu however, as he had done something to his hair to make it grow around him like a porcupine's quills. Marcus was going to have to learn that one, because that looked incredibly useful. He kept his sensory skill up and running all the time, though he had to note with some distaste that he had used up more than a third of his chakra. His body was starting to get a little tired though not quite to the point it impaired his ability to fight at full capacity. He could do this. At least, he hoped he could. Since Marcus had hopefully dispatched the birds for the most part, Gyo wouldn't need to almost kill himself doing stuff. Marcus wouldn't acknowledge the "sensory man" comment in the middle of the spar either. That was one problem he had; he got way too focused on his task when it came to sparring.



Using:


Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu 5 cost, B rank power to melt the birdies as they form.

Wind Release: Slash C rank/ learned x2. These also have B rank power.

Sensing, .5 upkeep


34.5/110 stamina used

She was really impressed with Gyo, despite him clearly having a lower chakra pool and now l.ikely being very near total exhaustion from so much use he had formulated a very good plan. The lion's mane was something she wanted to learn herself as she smiled and began to mimic the handseals quickly as she would begin to form the same sort of jutsu as he did. She would quickly surround her body in hair just as he had but instead of going for the offensive version he did she had another idea, with her inside of this hair they could not see her as she began to make her protective hair even stronger, she needed to make sure it could deal with fire boy even with her water shield she didn't want to take a chance. She would use one more handseal the boar sign as she made her hair even denser, that's when she could feel the Jutsu make an attempt to break the hair, but with the strength of her hair she would be fine.

"I think we should stop now, one of you is low on chakra and could cause severe damage to yourself if you push further. I could fight more but I would need to use very dangerous jutsu and this was just to test out my power I know have a good grasp on how strong or weak I am."

She would wait to see if her foes would stop the attack she was sure they would before she would drop her hair jutsu letting out a sigh of relief, so this was what a true battle felt like. It was exhilarating for sure and facing more than one foe was quite tricky if you were not trying to actually kill them. She had plenty of power but had a big flaw and that was the ability to not seriously harm her opponent, something she would work on in the future.

"Thank you both so much for the chance to test myself, and sorry if it seemed so sudden but that was my first battle and it taught me a lot about my weaknesses and what I needed to focus on. Gyo you had an impressive set of ideas, as you grow stronger you will be a formidable foe for sure, I can see great things in both of you and wish you both a happy and strong shinobi life. Sadly you won't see me around for long I need to head off and explore the world now that I have tasted my freedom and see just what is happening in the world."

Jutsu Learned:Lions Maine, Needle Cloak and claimed Resonating Echo Speakers Given my Ryuko
-Exit Thread-

Stats and Jutsu:

The woman basically ignored Marcus's attacks, something which annoyed him slightly but what could he really do about it? She then asked to call a halt to the bout, her reasoning being that if she continued then she'd likely have to use some stronger techniques. The implication there was that the two of them couldn't handle that amount of power and, well, she was probably correct if he was being honest with himself. Gyo seemed like he was okay with the plan and Marcus noted that his chakra was running low. He had started to cheer her but there was no way he should still have the energy to do that. Marcus formed a hand seal and made to dash to the tree with the Body Flicker, getting there just in time to slide and catch Gyo as he fell so that he didn't hit the ground. He grunted with the impact, glad he had trained his body to be durable rather than fast or strong up to that point. Even still, his ribs would probably be bruised after that little stunt.

"Falling out of trees isn't the best way to maintain good health," he muttered to Gyo, small amounts of pain and irritation lacing his voice. Then this Yui woman made sure to compliment Gyo on his performance specifically while ignoring Marcus, only including him in the general gratitude she showed for the experience. The Kumo genin got to his feet after nudging Gyo off of him, eyeing the woman with a bit of annoyance now. Gyo used one defensive technique, used a trick, and that was impressive? But Marcus breathing fire, launching blades of wind, countering one of her jutsu and ultimately coming close to cracking her defenses wasn't?! The nerve of this girl! She had to have done that on purpose to irk him!

Then it dawned on him: she had left him out of purpose to get a rise out of him. Women only did things like that if they liked you, right? Managing to keep a flush from his cheeks at the thought, Marcus would clear his throat and wipe the annoyance from his face before responding to Yui's comments. "Yeah... you were a tough nut to crack, that's for sure. I can't believe how much water you made without even dampening how much chakra you've got, that's a little insane to be honest," he said, genuinely impressed. With that though, he would bow respectfully to Yui as well as the Raikage who sat watching impassively nearby. Then he would bow, a little less formally, to Gyo as well.

"I think I'm going to take my leave, this exercise left me a little tired. Thank you all for the experience, it's taught me much about myself despite its brevity." He focused on Gyo then. "I think you and me should probably get together sometime and talk, or train a little together. You do make things... interesting," he said. With that he would turn his head and give Yui a grin before winking once at her, gathering his belongings, and leaving the training grounds. Hopefully she would come back to the village in the future. He wouldn't mind getting to know her a bit better, either.



Exit