Preparation for the Chuunin Exams

Before he was able to slam his elongated wooden limb into the ground Sera unleashed a timely, well matched Raiton technique that shot forth at a speed he himself was incapable of meeting. Not that it mattered as his technique was not long for the bad match up, but he still had to nail the landing, it was going to be a close call with these orbs of chakra he knew to have enhanced control after launching. Thankfully he had restrained Nao, with his downward facing arm he began to grow additional branches towards the incoming orbs in hope of defending against them.

It was a hopeless matchup, but his extra branches were able to buy him just enough time to land safely before having his wooden limbs blasted to smithereens. Landed roughly on the ground he got up coughing with his hand up.

“That’s quite enough for now. Good teamwork you two. Here, huddle up and let’s review.” He would wait for the two of them to approach before continuing, his demeanor relaxed as he thought eagerly of enjoying a nice hot cup of tea at home.

“Alright, I want to hear your thoughts first. What went right and what went wrong?”

Used:
- Wood Release: Smothering Binding Technique x 2 | Upkeep 20 → 10

Chakra: 235 / 320

Success! Sera mentally cheered as she watched her lightning spheres obliterate her teacher’s wooden defenses. Although she wasn’t great at defense, her offense felt validated. Partially at least; it had taken several attacks before one finally hit after all.  As the dust settled it appeared that Nao was uninjured as well which let Sera breathe a sigh of relief. It was a risky maneuver and if he was hit by her attack it wouldn’t have been fatal, but still not great.  Before she could prepare a follow-up attack, her teacher called a cease-fire, instructing them to gather and discuss the exercise. Taking a sigh of relief, Sera would approach the two of them, stowing her bow on her back once more.

“The two main benefits we had in the fight were my lightning and Nao’s eye sight, or sensory abilities.” She looked over at him with an eyebrow raised. “I’m not exactly sure what it was, but his ability to locate you was crucial to me being able to attack with lightning. Speaking of which, the fact that you utilized only earth and wood techniques and I had their natural weakness was a lucky boon.” She exhaled and then took another deep breath before continuing.

“On the other hand, you’re ability to block my arrows took one of my greatest strengths out of the picture completely. And when you created terrain that blocked my vision, I was severely handicapped. I’ll need to brainstorm ways of getting around that issue. It appeared that the forest made combat difficult for Nao as well, but I’ll leave that to him to describe.”

Although a ton had gone wrong, and she wouldn’t say that they necessarily “won” the spar, Sera felt that she had learned a tremendous amount out of the experience.

As the dust settled, Nao would find himself free of the restraints of the tree arm Tōri had possessed and the man would call him and Sera close to him before asking what had gone right and what had gone wrong. Nao pondered the question for himself as Sera answered first, after she had finished he would speak up. "I would say that if it wasn't for Sera, I doubt this would have ended the way it did. Today proved that my biggest hindrance is range, the fact that I have very little to offer in both offense and defense at a range was what went wrong for me. While I also still need to improve my physical side of fighting, I also need to think about and work on being able to attack at more of a distance." Nao would pause as if thinking about something more, "I think the only thing I really did right was get captured. By keeping you occupied with me, if left you open to Sera's attack, which by all accounts is what ended this spar." Nao would add with a small emotionless smile, he wasn't speaking badly about himself, only the truth. He had a long way to go before he would be ready for the Chuunin Exams, especially if he was to fight others that could easily fight at a range like Sera and Tōri could.

As the three of them recovered from the spar he listened attentively to their answers, glad to see that there was no pride or stubbornness getting in the way of the truth that was at hand. Nao and Sera both adeptly put forth the shortcomings they ran into while pointing out the others' assistance. He fully expected someone to miss the mark in the response, however slight it might be or to be frustrated with the outcome. With no scolding required Tōri couldn’t help but smile, having such promising youth in their ranks with the capacity to trust one another so readily would serve the village and these young genin in the coming years.

“That is well put, the both of you. The qualities I was looking for today were perseverance and trust. The scale and complexity of the jutsu I displayed are outside the normal purview of what genin are expected to encounter.”

Pausing, he turned his head and looked at Sera. “Yet despite that I saw you think on your feet after repeated obstacles.”

Now turning to Nao he added, “And for seemingly your first spar with Sera you were able to put well placed trust in her with those final moments there.”

Facing them both he Tōri delivered some final remarks. “If your reaction time had been quicker Sera you could have decimated my forest with a raiton technique of the complexity you displayed to allow you Nao a straight shot with that remarkable speed you were able to achieve. That’s where teamwork practice like this comes in. Honing this ability to react as a unit is what it really means to be a part of a team.”

Reflecting on one's actions was always a positive thing to do after an exercise, but it wasn’t always easy to admit one's faults. Nao and Sera both did an excellent job in the exercise fighting against a jounin, but it still stung a bit to have their weaknesses on display. Tori acknowledged their faults, but also praised their strengths, even giving them credit on what they did properly. The next time they attempted this, they would be stronger and better prepared, and what more could you ask for? Sera would wordlessly nod along with Tori’s commentary until he had finished. She would turn to Nao and with a smile, offer up a high-five in companionship.

“It was our first time working as a team, but it wasn’t too shabby. Next time will be even better.”

Sera would then turn to their teacher and give him a half bow of respect as she thanked him for the lesson. “This was an excellent experience, thank you Tori. I look forward to the next one!”

Tōri spoke about their spar and mentioned Nao having put trust in Sera despite this being their first time working together, to which Nao would smile. "Well, we are both Shinobi of the Leaf. If we cannot trust in each other, then I am not sure who we can." Nao would reply softly. Though he wasn't exactly the most trusting of others, he had been schooled on the importance of trust among teammates and relying on them to cover the other's shortcomings. While they may not be an actual team, he held to that teaching and it paid off in the end. As Tōri went on to explain what they could have done differently and the importance of refining working as a team, Nao would nod softly. There was much that they could accomplish as a team, considering Sera had the range, but them truly working together would take time as well as practice. For now though, Nao was more than exhausted from the spar and he would let out a small sigh. "I thank you for your lesson, Tōri-Sensei. Like Sera, I too look forward to another in the future, however for now I think I will return home. I am tired and I have pushed myself to my limit in trying to keep up with you." Nao would state with a short bow, his muscles ached all over and his breathing was shallow from the exertion he had put on it. While he did learn a lot from this experience, he knew he still had a long way to go before he was ready for the exams, but that would be something he would have to address on a later day. For now, Nao would take his leave to head home and get some rest, unless either of the other two had anything else they wanted to discuss.

Exit Thread

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9 Posts total, 7 after Bunny

With both students taking their faults in stride the exhaustive training seemed to be the it for the day, which was quite agreeable as even he could feel the strain on his reserves and could go for a new relaxing rest of the day with perhaps a pot of tea at his side. Nodding along he gave Nao a wave as he headed off, Tōri would also say his goodbyes and begin returning to the senju estate.

“Great job today, I look forward to our next meeting and whatever new raiton techniques you can surprise me with.” With a small laugh at that unexpected complexity Sera had obtained and realized her chakra system was developing nicely, he wouldn’t be surprised if she outdid him one day with her affinity for raiton.

Tōri took a nice leisurely stroll home, wanting to take in the sights before plopping down on his lawn and lazing about the rest of the day.

Her chakra was at about half of her capacity when Nao suggested calling it for the day and Sera was totally fine with that. Although she could have pushed herself a bit further, it was always an uncomfortable feeling to be fully drained of chakra. She practiced rationing her valuable resource while fighting and could still enjoy the rest of the day if she stopped now. Nao said some kind words about being teammates which Sera would smile and nod in congruence. Tori would agree with the sentiment of ending the training there and encourage Sera to make even greater raiton techniques to try out next time!

With newfound encouragement, Sera would cheer and nod. “Of course! I’ll make something that will blow your socks off!” she half-joked.

As Tori made his way out of the training grounds as well, Sera would follow suit, taking a stroll through the marketplace on the way home.

[exit thread]