Naohiro gave a polite nod of thanks to the serving lad who delivered him an odd-looking drink, but didn't otherwise acknowledge him while focusing on his sensory techniques. Something niggled at the back of his mind's eye, but for the moment he couldn't work it out. He examined the glass before him and, figuring new experiences and cuisines was part of his goal here at the festival, took a tentative sip. Then set it down and frowned. Odd thing. The tea was nice enough—though somewhat oversweetened—but the lumps of starch floating around in it were just... strange. Why would someone spoil tea in such a manner? Oh well, at least he knew for the future that this particular drink wasn't for him.
He diverted his attentions back to his ongoing experiment with sensory. No matter how far he stretched his sense, he was beset with an odd resonance that he hadn't quite been able to place until now; it seemed the room itself around him was giving off a slight reading, throwing off his efforts. He withdrew his mind's eye to focus on a much narrower range, looking only at the 10 or so metres around him—and found what he was looking for. Not the room itself, but the butterflies, flittering up and around the restaurant. He peered at one in passing, noting its exotic colours and pathing through the air. Together with the faint sensory reading from each insect, they struck him as being somewhat... unnatural?
He tensed, and almost lashed out with his own chakra when the serving boy returned and deposited a steaming bowl of ramen on his table. Naohiro watched the lad with curiosity, delving back into his mind's eye to examine the boy... But no, he seemed just as mundane as any other civilian. The butterflies weren't his. He concentrated his attentions on each patron and passing civilian outside the building in turn, measuring the relative strengths and sizes of each chakra source; but most were clearly at a similar level. The few peak readings were few, and none of those stopped. One of the highest readings came from the restaurant kitchen area, but even that was a feeble signature, someone perhaps only marginally above that of a student in Kirigakure. He doubted they could be the master of such creates as filled the room. Then what? Were the butterflies perhaps spies for someone much further afield, someone more elusive? A precautionary measure, maybe?
He didn't appear to be in any immediate danger—and the Pebble Samurai seemed very firm in their desire to avoid any such problems anyway—so for now he allowed himself to relax, just a little, and try the ramen. This time he smiled in satisfaction, breathing in the deep, moreish aroma and sipping at the broth. It was quite pleasant, and he mentally revised his opinion of the chef. At this time he began to notice more notable chakra signatures approaching, the first another similar to the level of the chef, but not far behind them, some of considerable power.
The one who entered first—the genin—passed by his own table with a polite greeting, and Naohiro gave him a nod in return. He didn't know the young lad, but watching his chakra signature as he was, he would not be surprised if the boy held some upcoming potential of note. He wouldn't have minded if the genin had joined him, even, but it seemed he was wont to take his own table. Perhaps Naohiro was a little intimidating nowadays. But then Naohiro paused in surprise, for a second figure, undetected by his senses, had followed the first. None other than Karagata Shinjiro, surely one of the Mist's greatest living shinobi. How was he eluding the sensory? Did he have a cloak like Naohiro's own? A puzzle. This man, at least, would have no such qualms about joining him, that was for sure.
He pushed out a chair for his comrade as Shinjiro approached, and even offered him the questionable tea. Perhaps the host of the Body Genma could stomach the strange brew. Although it would be a stretch to call the pair of them friends—they had only rarely encountered one another during their different careers—they certainly shared a mutual and unspoken respect.
"They are, at that," he answered, and slurped up a few noodles from his bowl.
"How are you finding the festival, Shinjro? Anything noteworthy so far?"
While he spoke, he continued examining the man infront of him with his mind's eye. Why couldn't he sense him? Was Shinjiro a sensor too, somehow interfering with his own scanning? Naohiro paused to think, curious if he could detect such an action, and tentatively began channeling his chakra in a few different ways, searching his own body. He set up a small circulation of sensory chakra, running it through him in a continuous loop; it was such a meagre amount of energy and almost no effort at all to keep it flowing that he thought he could do it passively, perhaps even while asleep. And he was confident his logic was correct in its making; if anyone used sensory techniques to detect him, the flow of chakra
should be disturbed, giving him a small mental flicker to tell him of the detection. However it was silent right now, flowing steadily and uninterrupted. He frowned into his ramen, but then grew distracted by another arrival. And
this one was significantly more notable. When he looked up and recognised the face of Jinsoku Enzaragi, a notorious mercenary leader who was known for partly setting up a new power far to the west, he nudged Shinji under the table.
Look who just walked in, that nudge said, although he knew this would not be the time or place to confront the wanted man. A shame. Enzaragi's power level might've made for an interesting encounter.
Making note of that chakra source, Naohiro continued to eat and converse amiably with Shinji while mentally stretching his mind out once again. It seemed more and more people were entering the building now that he'd broken the ice, so to speak, and as he searched the nearby streets he picked up some interesting readings. Some of them, he even thought he recognised. His suspicions were soon revealed to be true as the pair of Muramasa women, Hisayo and Kayoko, entered the small restaurant, in the company of a third figure he did not know. Interesting. The two women were his colleagues in the Division, though obviously that wasn't public knowledge. But the other, a younger lad, had an Iwagakure headband. Something about
his signature seemed odd, singing to Naohiro with some sort of secret yet to be revealed. Perhaps an odd hint of something else familiar there, too, lurking deep inside... These three, he added to his focus, trying to filter out the riffraff readings from the streets and account for all the notable targets at once in his mind.
Since their association was not known outside of the Head Hunter Division, Naohiro did not greet Hisayo or Kayoko as they passed, but was pleased to see them join the young Kayuga shinobi at his table. It was better not to leave the lad alone here, not with the missing ninja nearby and who only knows who else soon to join the growing patronage. The power level in the restaurant was growing with every passing moment, and now even another was approaching too.
Naohiro smiled to himself; he'd never considered simply sitting in a small restaurant, innocently slurping ramen, would provide such excellent mental exercise. He should've done this years ago. He reached his senses out to the next ones to approach. Another mercenary of notable strength, not dissimilar to his own level, wearing that iconic cloak matching Enzaragi. Naohiro watched him as he entered—clearly the man clocked him, too, along with most of the rest of the room—and made a mental note of his features. He could be one to watch out for on the world stage. Behind him, a third mercenary. More of them? Were they up to something, here? And this one was no mere mercenary either, but the partner of the first. Nara Chikara's face was equally plastered across every bingo book. Naohiro shot Shinjiro a curious look and muttered a sarcastic
"Seems they'll let anyone in here, huh?" with a smile. With the pair of them together, and the two swordsmen-hunters nearby, there still wouldn't be anything to fear if the gathering turned sour.
Instead, it was his ramen that turned sour as the last couple passed into his sensory range and into the building. Of these two signatures, Naohiro not only recognised one, but knew it with familiarity. He'd sat across from it not long ago, playing diplomat before a tyrant. Iiyashi Fuhen. Now with one of his aides, or perhaps concubines. The former was a man of many words and conflicting desires, and Naohiro honestly still wasn't sure what he thought of him. A small part of his mind
wanted, against all recent happenings, to believe in the man's intentions. To believe he strove for something good, and better. But all his actions spoke to the contrary. The woman, he had not encountered before. Though he continued to examine them with his mind's eye, weighing and measuring their signatures with those around them to learn all he could about the pair, he turned his head aside and ignored them, clearly not interested in a confrontation here. He was here to see the festival, not continue a war. He hoped they had the decency to think similarly.
He began to pick apart Fuhen's chakra signature in his mind, focusing in upon it and shedding apart its layers like an imagined onion. There was something different here; though, he realised, not wholly unique. He withdrew and focused on Chikara, too, and found the same oddity. There was clearly something
extra to their sensory readings that the other patrons didn't have. That part of the signal felt... exotic, as if their chakra signature was partly comprised of some different mix of energy, or perhaps twisted to change its nature into a specialised form. He glanced at Shinji again, curious. It was common knowledge that the man was a Jinchuuriki—it was celebrated, actually, throughout water country—and Naohiro wondered if the man's signature bore the same alteration from the Genma's influence. Again, he wished he could sense him. Just for the purpose of refining his own talents, of course.
A little frustrated by that, but not willing to give up, he decided to see if perhaps Shinjiro was masking his presence in the room not by a direct means of hiding his own signaure, but rather indirectly by fooling the senses of everyone around him. That would've been quite insidious, and, if Naohiro knew the man half as well as he thought, quite fitting for Shinji. Focusing on the other chakra signatures in the room, Naohiro set about examining them again in detail, peeling them apart and searching through the readings as he'd already done, but this time searching for abnormalities in their chakra flow. Where before he'd looked for different mixes of chakra types to identify exotic sources, now he simply watched the flows and currents within each chakra circulatory system. His intent was to find any abnormalities that might indicate someone under the effects of genjutsu techniques. If his logic was correct, he
should be able to see it. Perhaps he could even convince an affected target to use
kai, or break the genjutsu for them himself, just so he could see the effect on their system in his mind's eye. Only... everyone around him seemed healthy. Try as he might, it seemed no one in the room was affected by genjutsu in such a way. It was very disappointing.
He sat again for awhile in thought, exchanging idle small-talk with his comrade, before resolving to practice another avenue of sensory instead. He wouldn't let one little failure put him off. He flushed his mind with more chakra and pushed his sensory harder, further, reaching out again. This time he searched far beyond the small cafe and the surrounding streets. His head began to ache from maintaining focus on such a wide area—all while trying to outwardly appear nonchalant and enjoy his ramen, of course—and soon he had to strip back the detail in his efforts, sacrificing clarity for range. Just how far could he see, when really trying...?
Tldr: Naohiro is outwardly just sitting, eating, and chatting with Shinji, no other character interactions beyond a few looks. But he is examining everyone while learning sensory.
2106 words - learned:
[Sensory Style • Beyond Senses]
C-Rank Ninjutsu
Prerequisite: 10 Control
This sensor technique is used by shinobi to feel chakra sources within a radius of 60 meters. While this jutsu is fairly helpful in sensing chakra, it is unable to actually pinpoint specific chakras outside of a 30m radius. This only gives the user an idea of how many chakra sources are present in their general area and a rough gauge on the size of each chakra source.
[Sensory Style • Evaluation]
C-Rank Ninjutsu
Prerequisite: [Sensory Style • Beyond Senses]
The sensor will activate a this supplementary technique in addition to a sensory jutsu. By doing so, the user will be able to compare the relative strength of each source of chakra they are able to sense. The “strength” of the individual is determined by the average of each person’s Chakra Pool, Control and Endurance stats. The user can determine who has more relative strength than others, allowing them to pick out possible risks.
Sensory Feedback
E-Rank Nintaijutsu Discipline
Prerequisite: [Sensory]
It has become second-nature to the user to constantly circulate, but not consume, a small quantity of chakra around their body at all times. Whenever the user is detected by a sensory technique or ability, the detection triggers a minor feedback loop within this circulation, feeling like a moment of interference in the flow of chakra. This alerts the user to the possibility that they have been detected by some means of chakra sensory.
[Sensory Style • Multiple Target Lock]
B-Rank Ninjutsu
Prerequisite: [Sensory Style • Target Lock]
The sensor will activate a sensory technique and focus on up to [control/2] sources of chakra within range. In doing so, the user will be able to continue to sense those source of chakra, even if they are moving around, so long as they are holding that target within range of their mind’s eye. If the user or a tracked chakra source moves out of range, the user will lose track of that source. Once cast, this technique provides a sensory overlay to the user’s normal vision for up to [Control/2] posts.
[Sensory Style • Supra Sense]
A-Rank Ninjutsu
Prerequisite: [Sensory Style • Beyond Senses]
The sensor will activate this supplementary technique in addition to a sensory jutsu. Once done so, the user can extend their sensory prowess to identify latent and active sources of alternative or exotic forms of chakra, such as natural or sage chakra, spiritual energy, or types of chakra used in samurai styles such as Kiai, Chi, Ki, and so on. This technique allows the user to identify and locate any targets with specialist stats within their sensory range, even if the specialist stat ability, transformation, or similar is not currently active.
[Sensory Style • Genjutsu Sense]
B-Rank Ninjutsu
Prerequisite: [Sensory Style • Beyond Senses]
The sensor will activate this supplementary technique in addition to a sensory jutsu. Once done so, the user can examine any sensed sources of chakra for any abnormalities indicative of ongoing genjutsu effects or triggers. This can help the user determine who has been caught within a genjutsu technique.
[Sensory Style • Augmented Sense]
A-Rank Ninjutsu
Prerequisites: [Sensory Style • Broad Sense], 30 Control
This technique is a further refinement upon [Broad Sense]. With this technique, a sensor can sacrifice quality for quantity to sense at much greater distances compared to a normal sensor. While concentrating, the user can sense and identify individual chakra signatures with a great degree of detail within a radius of 100 metres, and can approximate the size of a chakra source to the nearest 5 Chakra Pool. The user can sit down and meditate for a full post to drastically increase their sensory range at the cost of clarity. In doing so the user can sense to gain a general idea of the number, size, and approximate location of chakra sources out to 500 metres, extending by an additional 500 metres per post up to a total of [control/2] posts (rounded up). While concentrating at long ranges, the user loses the ability to differentiate between similar nearby sources, meaning multiple people with similar chakra levels in close proximity may appear simply as a single large mass.
