The Beginning

[Kao]

Shizuo didn’t much like taijutsu. There was a reason he had grown to favor techniques that didn’t require much physical exertion but instead helped his comrades. But in his recent missions, he found that he wasn’t always going to be able to rely on his the people around him to take care of business. He had been seriously injured on one mission, all because he couldn’t defend himself well enough to keep his enemy at bay on his own. After coming to the conclusion that he needed to train offensie techniques, it took the man a few weeks to fully prepare to travel to Waterfall Country by obtaining the necessary permissions to travel outside of Rock Country.

The young special jounin had never been out of Rock Country, so he was filled with nervous excitement as he started his journey. He had memorized several routes and roads and only hoped that he wouldn’t run into any Konoha shinobi. His superiors had explicitly and sternly told him to hide the fact that he was an Iwagakure shinobi and to avoid any confrontation with any foreign shinobi. Shizuo wasn’t the type to engage in hostilities without reason, so he figured he would have no issue with following that particular order.

To conceal his affiliation with Iwagakure, he left his flak jacket behind and hid his hip and leg pouches in his bag. It was a tight fit and he wouldn’t be able to draw the weapons on short notice, but it would have to do.

As he travelled, he constantly tapped the wakizashi strapped to his hip. It felt odd, the weapon, since he had never before used it in battle or had practiced with it much. When he held it the blade felt foreign, and although it was well balanced and fit well in his hand the man sometimes felt as though it would take ages for him to truly get used to it. But he was determined to become physically stronger so that he would no longer be teased by his peers about his somewhat feeble appearance and his lack of powerful, physical techniques.

After two and a half days of traveling, he was deep within Waterfall Country. It was a beautiful place, on the surface at least. The land itself seemed like it was trying to kill him, and at every turn he ran across some sort of huge ravenous animal or insect that was half his size. He made sure to avoid the poisonous plants he had read up on, but at one point it seemed that he had accidentally brushed against some horrible foliage that had him itching for half the day. Eventually, tired and dirty, he arrived at his destination: a famed Yoshin style dojo, and he became its newest student.

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Jutsu TrainedShow

*[Yoshin • Ambidexterity]
D-Ranked Taijutsu Discipline
Prerequisite: 5 Instinct
After practicing for a long amount of time with the concept of using both of their hands with equal skill, the user has developed a level of ambidexterity that allows them to utilize their preferred weaponry without any sort of issue. This extends to other methods of combat or simple everyday life as well.

Start of training

“Bankotsu! Come forward”

Shizuo didn’t immediately respond to his alias, but after his delayed reaction he stood before his sparring partner, his wooden replica of a wakizashi in his hand. It felt worse than his actual weapon, but of course he wasn’t able to practice with an actual weapon. The dojo had forced him to wear an itchy all black dougi, and coupled with the unbalanced false weapon and the half dozen eyes watching him, Shizuo was extremly uncomfortable.

He assumed the basic stance by holding his weapon at chest level. As soon as he assumed this position his partner, a kid of about fourteen, began attacking with rather weak stabs and jabs. He was thankful that the kid was rather weak and his attacked predictable, so initially he didn’t have much trouble parrying hte attacks and pushing forward with jabs of his own.

His sensei wasn’t at all impressed with his technique and the man quickly stopped them. Shizuo wanted to groan when the older man told them to be serious. How could he? He barely knew the moves and was having some trouble implementing the simple jabs he had been taught. After a week and a half, he hadn’t gotten much better and he half expected to be kicked out of the dojo. But thankfully, the leaders of the dojo were as patient as they were stern and made no indication that they were thinking of dismissing him from the dojo.

After two weeks of endless practice, Shizuo was becoming more and more comfortable holding the wakizashi replica and using it for simple jabs and slashes. He practiced intensely with his younger partner, who had a penchance for striking the wrist of his dominant hand so that it would be more difficult and painful for him to hold it. Several times Shizuo had been forced to used his left hand to spar, and at first it was awkward and nearly impossible to do the manuevers he had learned with his non-dominant hand.

But the more his partner forced him into doing so, the more comfortable he became with using that hand. Shizuo would jab at the boy’s arms and chest with his dominate hand, then toss the weapon to his left hand and attack from the opposite side. It took a while, but after three weeks of training, using either hand for attacking and defending became easy to him. His training was coming along quite nicely.

[Kao]

Jutsu TrainedShow

*[Yoshin • Side Step]
D-Ranked Taijutsu Maneuver
Prerequisite: 5 Instinct
After stepping up beside the target or sidestepping an attack from the target, the user utilizes a quick striking method, drawing a very firm slash across the side, ribcage or arm of the target. The user slashes with the intent to both injure and startle the opponent, hoping to catch them off guard and disrupt the flow of their attacks. Unlike many other Yoshin techs that focus on shallow cuts that flare up in pain, this particular technique is meant to dig as deep as possible, many times slashing into bones to cause as much long term damage as possible.

Being able to use either hand to attack was one thing, but actually implementing the maneuvers was another. His training partner had been at the dojo longer than he had, so even though he was superior in terms of speed and strength the younger boy was always a bit ahead of him in terms of growth. Shizuo set aside his pride and approached the boy one windy afternoon, his hair flying wildly around his face, eyes unblinking and steady as he asked for extra help. The boy, wide eyed and eager in his youth and undeterred by Shizuo’s too-serious countenance, was happy to help a much older student with the basic moves.

They started out simply enough, jabbing at one another as the other dodged, an uncoordinated dance around the empty practice room. The younger boy commented on Shizuo’s feet, pointing out the flaws in his stance and how to fix it. Feet farther apart, no closer than that, now keep your back foot firm and pivot to get to the other side of your opponent. The boy had Shizuo focus on dodging for the time being, focusing skillful and graceful steps that would set him up to counter.

The boy continuously performed the same simple forward jabs followed by side slashes to Shizuo’s side, and the special jounin allowed the blows to hit so that he would get a better feeling of what he could do better to avoid them. At some point, the boy demonstrated a particular move by stepping quickly to Shizuo’s side and slashing at the side of his ribs. Shizuo was surprised at how much the attack hurt; normally they focused on relatively shallow moves, but if the boy had been holding a real weapon the blow would have cut deeply into his side, possibly tearing up the muscles and even hitting the bones of his ribs.

Shizuo hissed and focused on performing the move himself, though the boy didn’t make it easy for him. Whenever he got on the side of the boy and tried to attack, the boy lifted his own wooden weapon with the pointed end down, an almost lazy block that frustrated the shinobi.

His competitive streak reared, and with a burst of speed he appeared at the younger boy’s side, finding pleasure in the surprised gape of his lips and the slow attempt to block, and the shinobi pulled back his strength and slashed the boy’s side. The boy yelped and stumbled to the side, grasping his side, and Shizuo imagined a dark bruise blossoming on his skin.

427 words

[Kao]

Jutsu TrainedShow

*[Yoshin • Finger Snap]
D-Rank Taijutsu Maneuver
Prerequisite: 5 Instinct
Using a quick striking method, the user of this technique quickly draws a very firm slash towards the hands of the target aimed towards the fingers or palm. The user slashed with the intent to injure the gripping portions of the opponent's hand to knock weapons free with the slash, though the attack itself is shallow. Typically the technique is only useful as a quick disarm method and unsuitable for long term disarming.

Shizuo spent much of his time training with his partner. Frankly, he wasn’t enjoying himself, but he knew that he needed to learn some sort of taijutsu style so that he wasn’t completely useless in battle. He and his partner trained much of the day, at all hours of the day, and he was certainly getting better. There was one particular maneuver that was giving him a little bit of trouble. His partner had disarmed him one day, shallowly cutting his arm in the process. He was determined to learn that technique, but his partner wasn’t exactly making it easy for him.

They jabbed at one another as the other dodged, and his partner was much better at dodging than he was. It made disarming him difficult, and he couldn’t get the maneuver right. He slashed at his partner’s ribcage, but it was always doded. Then he sliced at the arm, and he dodged again. It was frustrating, to say the least. But he kept practicing, and his partner was kind enough to give him tips and point out when his technique was wrong.

In the end, his partner told him that he needed to simply aim at the fingers and palm. Aiming for the arm wasn’t as effective in disarming, and it was where he was going wrong with trying to perform the technique. Shizuo thanked his partner, and they worked on something else for the rest of the day.

A day after he initially tried learning the move called Finger Snap, he trained with a practice dummy for a while, imagining where an opponents hands and fingers would be at any given moment so he could use the technique. Later that day, he joined up with his partner again and they trained. They jabbed at one another, neither landing a blow for a long time.

Finally, Shizuo tried the disarming technique again. His partner deftly dodged, ensuring that it wouldn’t be an easy feat. But the special jounin kept at it, and he continued to aim for the other boy’s hands. When he saw Shizuo getting frustrated, he told the Iwa shinobi that he shouldn’t continue the same move over and over; he should try to catch his opponent off guard, especially when it came to suddenly disarming someone.

Shizuo took the advice to heart. They continued to spar with the wooden training swords, and after several long minutes, Shizuo suddenly aimed his weapon towards the other boy’s fingers. It worked, and the wooden weapon clattered to the ground.

417 words

[Kao]

Jutsu TrainedShow

*[Yoshin • Achilles Bane]
C-Ranked Taijutsu Maneuver
Prerequisite: 15 Instinct
Ducking low and hooking their blade around the back of an opponent's ankle, the user draws a critical slice against the ankle's tendon, instantly shooting jolts of pain up the user's body. The pain causes even the slightest step to send shocks of pain through the nerve. Targets afflicted by this technique will lose 3 Speed until proper medical attention is reached.

Shizuo, under his alias “Bankotsu,” continued to train in Waterfall Country at a dojo dedicated to the Yoshin style. Though he felt he may never be a true master of the style, he was learning to use the precise and intelligent maneuvers that would hopefully help him in battle. His partner, Takeo, was especially helpful, and though he wasn’t the most friendly boy, he had assisted Shizuo by giving him indispensable advice whenever his training wasn’t going exactly as planned, or whenever he was having a lot of trouble with certain maneuvers.

After spending a few weeks at the dojo, the master felt that he was ready to learn more advanced techniques. The elderly man clearly didn’t think Shizuo was a natural or a prodigy, but he praised him for working so hard, day and night. The dojo master said he rarely saw anyone work nearly as hard as Shizuo did, and seemed slightly impressed. To Shizuo, that amount of training was nothing; Iwagakure shinobi were used to grueling training regimens, so he didn’t see himself as working especially hard. The disguised special jounin was merely doing whatever it took to learn as much as possible about the Yoshin style.

Early one morning, he and Takeo awoke and almost immediately began to spar. Though Takeo was quite a bit younger, he was more advanced in his techniques than Shizuo was. After a bit of questioning, he found out that Takeo had been at the dojo for a year. “I wish I advanced as quickly as you do,” he said, but Shizuo brushed him off.

“You’re good. That’s all that matters, not how quickly you get there.” The two students sparred vigorously the entire morning, and right at noon they joined the other students for group training. Since the dojo master felt he was ready for more advanced techniques, some of which Takeo had been training, he kept Takeo and Shizuo as a training team. Neither of them minded as they practiced the maneuver that one of the senior students had demonstrated.

It was a move that would affect the opponent’s speed. Shizuo knew the general maneuver: he would have to hook his weapon to the back of his opponent’s ankle and slice across, wounding their tendon and causing them a considerable amount of pain and preventing them from moving at their full speed. It was an interesting technique, and one that would likely prove indispensable in Shizuo’s arsenal of techniques.

His opponent was attempting a different move, one that would target Shizuo’s midsection and reduce his strength if they were working with real bladed weapons. The two boys sparred, their faces locked in serious frowns and grimaces as they blocked one another’s attacks and tried to land decisive blows against one another. Neither of them were able to complete their maneuvers, and by the time the training block was over, neither had successfully completed their manuevers. They smirked at one another, expressions that meant “I’ll get you next time,” and they retired to bed for the night.

The two young students trained together every day that week for hours on end. They punished one another with their wooden training weapons, and at the end of the day both of them were bruised and bloodied, though never seriously injured. They didn’t talk much; they let the strikes of their weapons do the talking for them. When they weren’t training together, they ate their meals together. Conversation wasn’t the most stimulating between the two boys, but they had a silent understanding that their bond was growing stronger whenever they crossed their weapons.

At the end of the week, Shizuo and Takeo found themselves sparring once again, each trying to successfully complete their respective manuevers. Their gazes were locked together, mouths clenched in concentration as they nimbly dodged and attacked, dodged and attacked. Neither boy made it easy for the other as they jumped and rolled, flipped and sidestepped, ducked and slid. Shizuo was determined to successfully complete the manuever, and so was Takeo. After sparring for an hour straight, the two decided to take a break. But the break was short lived, and soon enough the two boys were stabbing and jabbing their wooden weapons at one another yet again.

There were a few times that it seemed like he would succeed in wrapping his weapon around Takeo’s legs and slicing across the tendon; it wouldn’t injure the boy, of course, but it would definitely hurt. But despite his efforts, the other boy always seemed to dodge at the last second.

Shizuo was getting desperate to successfully complete the manuver, so he resorted to a more underhanded method. The shinobi began jabbing at the boy with much stronger motions, and each time the weapon hit Takeo, the younger boy yelped in pain. He was focused on dodging the blows to his chest that came over and over again, unrelenting. Then, Shizuo lowered his body and aimed for the boy’s ankle. The distraction worked, and he was able to complete the move.

832 words

[Kao]

Trained JutsuShow

*[Yoshin • Paper Slash]
D-Ranked Taijutsu Maneuver
Prerequisite: 5 Instinct
In this technique, the user switches from the typical critical blows to a more specialized 'swirl' pattern of slashing, which while much less effective in terms of damage, is useful in distraction. Wounds inflicted are patterned to flare up with pain when those muscle areas tighten, causing moves the opponent's make to recoil slightly on their bodies, the wounded areas acting as a detrimental pain in their actions.

Shizuo - or rather, "Bankotsu" as the students of the dojo called him - had grown accustomed to the rigorous training regimen of the Yoshin dojo in Waterfall Country. He and Takeo trained together often and fiercely, and with each passing day he felt himself growing stronger. Sore at times, but stronger. During one of their training sessions, Takeo had demonstrated a rather simple maneuver that would prove useful if Shizuo learned it.

So one morning he sparred with Takeo and tried to do the swirling motion that the younger student had shown him. It was simple in theory, really, but Takeo wasn’t making it easy for Shizuo to attempt. Every time Shizuo attempted the swirl pattern, no matter where he aimed the younger boy was able to dodge it. It was frustrating to not even be able to get a hit, but at least he was learning how to follow up attacks whenever his intended move was avoided.

They trained all morning and Shizuo was only able to complete the maneuver a handful of times. Each time he did, Takeo would offer up advice. Don’t move your weapon that wildly, tighten the motion of your swirl. Aim for this set of muscles, not that one. If you aim here then it’s easier for your opponent to dodge. Shizuo took each piece of advice to heart, and by the time they took a break for lunch he was pretty sure he was on the verge to truly getting the hang of it.

They trained together the rest of the day, and the longer they trained the more confident Shizuo became. Although Takeo still made it so the disguised shinobi rarely got a hit in, it was still a valuable learning experience.

The next day, Shizuo stretched his muscles and waited for his partner to come out of his room. If he was unable to hit him during training, then he could catch him off guard. It was an almost childish thing to do, but he figured the only way he would actually know if he mastered the move was if he actually managed to get a good hit on Takeo. He stood next to the door, hidden in the corner. Shizuo waited, and waited, and finally the younger student emerged from his room. The Iwagakure shinobi waited for him to turn the corner down the hall and then he made his move.

He quietly came up behind Takeo with his wooden weapon in hand, and when he was within reach Shizuo leaped forward and aimed the maneuver. Not to his arm or his leg, but to his butt. Takeo yelped and leaped, nearly running into the wall, and Shizuo doubled over laughing as the younger boy promptly cursed and rubbed his aching cheeks.

459/400 words

[Kao]

Jutsu TrainedShow

*[Yoshin • Trip Up]
C-Rank Taijutsu Maneuver
Prerequisite: 15 Instinct
Dropping down to one knee in front of a foe, the user performs a pair of quick slashes across the foe's shins. The user aims for a long nerve across the front of the shin to obstruct their movements. Striking the nerve can be detrimental to the opponent as the nerve is hard to 'miss', considering its size and the relative thin skin against the shin makes even grazes effective. Opponents struck by the effects of this technique suffer a spark of pain that drops the target's speed by 3, making it effective for retreating from a foe. This debuff lasts until the target receives medical attention to treat the wounds.

“You sure you’re ready for this?”

Shizuo followed Takeo down a wooded path to a more isolated training area. The disguised Iwagakure shinobi was growing more serous about his training. He had seen several other students practicing more advanced techniques and he felt like he was ready to learn them. However, he wanted a bit of privacy as he practiced in case he was absolutely terrible. Though they had seem him awkwardly plod around with his wooden sword for the first couple weeks after his arrival, he wanted to practice in a quieter atmosphere. The grunts and triumphant cheers from the others could be a bit distracting.

“Of course. I’ve been here long enough, I’m ready.”

Taeko had agreed to teach him a few advanced techniques. The one he was particularly interested in was a seemingly powerful one in which the user targets the opponent’s shins. It was potentially debilitating against a weaker foe so it was something he needed to quickly learn.

Almost as soon as the two reached the isolated training grounds, Takeo told Shizuo to stop so he could demonstrate the technique in detail. First, he dropped to one knee with his weapon poised in front of him. After explaining exactly where he would hit - and advising that Shizuo brace himself - sliced at Shizuo’s shin. Although he attacked with a wooden weapon, the blow hurt quite a lot. The young man hissed in pain and grabbed his leg. He had to squat until the pain somewhat subsided.

Takeo laughed and kneeled in front of his partner. “Now imagine that maneuver with a real weapon and not a wooden one. Pretty cool, huh?”

“D-definitely….” Shizuo hissed as he stood up. Takeo was right; with a real weapon he could do a good amount of damage with the move. “My turn….”

Takeo allowed him to give it a try, but before Shizuo was able to give a tentative strike, Takeo had to fix his stance. Shizuo had learned a lot, but he wasn’t balanced when he kneeled. If he tried to kneel in such an unstable way, Takeo promised, he could easily be knocked over or the move otherwise foiled. It was somewhat harder than he thought. It would take quite a bit of practice to be able to drop instantly into the stance.

Next, Takeo taught him the importance of keeping the correct distance between himself and the target while on the move. Since he would be dropping to the ground, he could easily allow a retreating or moving target to get out fo the range of the slash. Takeo reasoned that, because of this, he would have to be aware of not only the distance between himself and the opponent right as he dropped to the ground, but he would also have to predict how the target would move once he kneeled to ensure the slash would connect. Not only that, but he would also have to account for the speed of the target’s movements.

Shizuo, as a trained shinobi, thought this was obvious. But as the two began to spar, he was able to see what the younger boy met. Whenever he dropped to the ground to prepare the move, the time in between his kneel and the slash was always a hair too slow. The kneel practically announced that he would be slashing from a lower angle, which allowed Takeo to move and avoid him in time. As the spar dragged and Shizuo’s knee began to become sore, he realized he had to drop down and slice almost instantly in order for the technique to work. But just as he came to that important conclusion, Takeo called it a day and they headed back to the dojo.

The next day Shizuo’s sore knee was bandaged, but it didn’t stop him from training. He and Takeo went back and forth, and Shizuo only attempted the maneuver a few times so it would not be so obvious whenever he attempted the maneuver. They danced and dashed across the training area, and although Shizuo wasn’t able to hit Takeo with anything more than a graze, he learned something valuable each time he attempted the move.

The sun rose above the trees and the two were still training, both tired and ready for a hot bath to ease their aching muscles. But Shizuo wanted to try once more, so they achingly did their dance yet again. Shizuo was determined to hit the other boy, so he at first didn’t try the maneuver. This put Takeo on high alert, and he was looking for any sign that would telegraph that the older boy was going to attempt the move. When he was ready, Shizuo dipped as if was going into the kneel, but it was a distraction. Takeo thought that it was the move so he dodged, but just as he jumped back, Shizuo dashed forward and kneeled, slashing with his wooden weapon, and it finally connected with the younger boy’s shin. As he collapsed in sudden pain, Shizuo whooped in victory.

835/780 words

[Kao]

Jutsu TrainedShow

*[Yoshin • Tension Cutter]
C-Ranked Taijutsu Maneuver
Prerequisite: 15 Instinct
Focusing on a group of muscles along the opponent's torso, the user of this technique delivers a series of slashes while in movement. This produces a series of evenly spaced lines across the target's mid-section and sides. These cuts are not extremely damaging to the body, but the muscles targeted in that area aid in back and limb movement. Unable to fully draw power from their back or limbs, the target's Strength will reduce by 3 until proper medical attention is reached.

“Ready for round two?”

The clouds threatened rain as Shizuo followed Takeo to the same wooded path to the isolated training area they had trained in a few days before. Shizuo was learning quite a bit in his training, but he still wasn't satisfied with where he was. He still hadn't touched many of the more advanced techniques that he was in, and even though he was making good progress, his training partner and his teacher felt that he wasn't quite ready to learn them yet. He hadn't the strength nor the technique to learn the advanced moves that could essentially debilitate his opponents. Though he was growing impatient, he decided to heed their advice and focus on the intermediate moves.

“I guess. Though I still want to learn some of those other moves that you and sensei say I'm not ready for.”

Taeko shrugged. No matter how much Shizuo complained, he simply was not ready. "Let's just focus on the move you'll be learning today." The move in question was one that involved slashing an opponent's midsection and sides several times. It was a move that could potentially cause significant damage to the back and chest muscles that aided in many taijutsu maneuvers.

When the two reached the isolated training grounds, Takeo told Shizuo to stop so he could demonstrate the technique in detail. He traced areas of Shizuo's body that would be good places to attack: just above the stomach, the sides, and right beneath the nipple line. He then had Shizuo mirror the moves to be sure that he knew where to aim his weapon during battle.

Takeo then suggested a spar in which Shizuo would focus on those areas. The special jounin felt that he would be at a disadvantage since Takeo would know where he was going to aim, but the boy merely shrugged and told him that in an extended battle, his moves might become predictable and he should learn how to avoid that. Shizuo sighed. There was truth to the younger boy's words, but he didn't exactly feel confident that he would be able to successfully complete the maneuver since Takeo would know exactly what to look for.

Takeo and Shizuo began to spar, utilizing all the moves they had learned while training at the Yoshin dojo. Shizuo did his best to keep up with Taeko, but the younger boy had still been training there quite a bit longer than the shinobi had. There were moves that Takeo used that he didn't know how to counter yet, so as their spar continued Shizuo was the only one becoming bruised and battered. It was frustrating, but for the time being he tried to just focus on using the moves he did know and trying to conceal his shinobi training by not moving in such a way that would suggest he had that kind of training.

Shizuo, as a trained shinobi Iwagakure, found it difficult to hide his strength from the boy. There were several times he could have forgone the training he got from the Yoshin students and simply punched Taeko away, but he didn't do it. The two continued to spar, and he did his best to try to slash at the areas he was supposed to be targeting. As the spar dragged and Shizuo began to become sore, he realized he had distract Takeo somehow and get his guard away from his chest and sides. But just as he came to that important conclusion, Takeo called it a day and they headed back to the dojo to eat and prepare for bed.

The next day Shizuo was still sore and achy, but it didn’t stop him from training. He and Takeo went back and forth, and Shizuo only attempted the maneuver a few times so it would not be so obvious whenever he meant to attempt the maneuver. They danced and dashed across the training area, and although Shizuo wasn’t able to hit Takeo with anything more than a graze, he learned something valuable each time he attempted the move.

Rain fell down in heavy curtains by midday, but the two were still trained. Shizuo had managed to land several hits on Takeo, which boosted his confidence quite a bit. They continued their their dance through the rain, and Shizuo even used the shin slash move that he had worked so hard to master. When he did, Takeo saw the move coming and moved to block it. This removed the younger boy's guard from his chest area, and Shizuo was able to land several hits in quick succession to Takeo's chest and sides. The two continued to spar, hitting each other with their wooden weapons. By the time their spar ended, Shizuo was confident that he was well on his way to mastering the Tension Cutter technique. With a few more sparring sessions, he was sure he would be able to perform it perfectly ever time.

817/780 words

[Kao]

Many things had changed in the past several years. War had ravaged the continent, and several countries had either seen their borders redrawn. Some had passed hands from leader to leader, leaving the land unstable. Others had been entirely wiped off the map. Waterfall Country was one of them. Once sovereign, it was now split between Fire Country and Heart Empire. Komiya Shizuo looked thoughtfully at a map, considering how this change in borders affected his travel plans. He tapped his pen on a section of Heart, estimating that was roughly the area where a dojo had once proudly stood. The jounin hoped he remembered correctly. With another war looming, Fire Country was one of the last places he wanted to find himself.

Shizuo rarely found himself in positions that required the use of Yoshin. But something in his gut screamed at him to complete his training, and the only place he could learn the coveted Ougi was at one of the dojo. He had hoped he could find someone local to teach him the technique, but to his chagrin there was no one who had mastered it. So reluctantly he left the village, alerting only those who would miss him, and made the long journey out of Rock Country to the area formerly known as Waterfall.

The two days of traveling were tiresome. He kept to himself, only stopping when he needed to eat and sleep. He kept his broad straw hat low to hide his hair and face, and he wore a long grey cloak. Not exactly inconspicuous, but he didn’t stand out too much among other travelers. The landscape changed from the dry steppes of Rock to lush, hilly land filled. Once he saw his first giant tarantula, Shizuo knew he was in the right place. The land had changed since the last time he was there, but there were enough landmarks remaining that he found his way to a somewhat open area, cleared by the inhabitants of a small village. Tucked away in the hillside near the village was a large dojo, and when Shizuo saw the tall gate and well-kept path, he breathed a sigh of relief.

The dojo was still standing despite it all.

“Hey, don’t I know you?”

Shizuo stopped in his tracks, turning his head to see a man a few inches shorter than him staring at him curiously. He wore a slightly dirty dougi and held an old broom in his hand. The jounin hummed a long, “Uhhhh,” before the man’s face snapped into a specific memory. “Oh! Takeo?”

Takeo grinned and gave a small wave. “It’s been years. What was your name again?”

“Bankotsu,” the Iwagakure shinobi said, remembering his old alias along with the man’s name. “Didn’t realize you’d still be here.” The other man grinned and leaned against the broom.

“Of course I am. I’m one of the masters here now.”

Shizuo grinned. “Then you’re just the man I wanna see.”

---

It took some convincing, but Takeo agreed to help Shizuo complete his Yoshin training. His story was a good one: Bankotsu was a doctor who had formerly lived in Pebble, and he had lost his young wife in a raid. He never knew where the soldiers were from; instead of focusing on revenge he had thrown himself into work, and he wanted to polish his skills so he would never lose another person he loved. It was a real tear-jerker, and was more than effective, and he was given a tiny room to stay in while he spent the next few weeks training. Shizuo wasn’t sure how Takeo or the other men who lived and worked in the dojo felt about the great nations. They didn’t seem to want to talk about it. The jounin respected that, of course, since he didn’t want to think about those damned shinobi either.

[Kao]

Jutsu TrainedShow

*[Yoshin • Poison Arrow]
B-Rank Taijutsu Maneuver
Prerequisite(s): *[Yoshin • Field Dressing].
Aiming to target an opponent's sensitive nerve points or nerve clusters, the practitioner launches a series of quick slashes and thrusts at wildly alternating points of the opponent's body, making this technique difficult to defend against while not compromising the practitioner's own defenses. Common targets for this technique are the front of the shoulders, underneath the armpits, the solar plexus, the forearms, and the thighs. Striking any one of these nerve clusters will send a violent shock of pain through the opponent, temporarily overloading their nervous system and causing paralysis. The opponent must have a Rigid Structure technique of equal or higher rank than this technique to resist this paralysis. Otherwise, the opponent is paralyzed until the end of their next post.

The day after he arrived, Shizuo stood in front of Takeo with a wooden practice weapon in his hand. Unlike all those years ago, it felt rather comfortable in his hand as he twisted his wrist to loosen it up. The two bowed then brandished their weapons. Shizuo held his weapon in front of his body, completely relaxed as Takeo took a few side steps in a wide arc. The jounin followed the man with his eyes, turning only his upper body as he watched his opponent. Then Takeo dashed forward, impressing Shizuo with his speed, and he jabbed his weapon towards Shizuo’s solar plexus. The white haired shinobi parried easily, and when Takeo shifted and drew back his weapon to aim for the shoulders, that strike was easily parried as well.

The two danced like this for a while, neither of them getting the upper hand on the other. Strike, block. Strike, block. They were on equal footing, and after several minutes of going back and forth Takeo jumped back several paces and smiled. “Not bad,” he chuckled, and Shizuo smiled. “Your form is good. Your eyes are even better, though I’m not sure how you’re keeping those glasses on your face.”

“Practice, I guess,” the shinobi responded, watching as Takeo shouldered the wooden weapon.

“Well now that I know how you move and that you can keep up with me - I can’t tell you how surprised I am about that, by the way - we can work on improving your technique.” Takeo explained some common maneuvers and targets on the body, the ones he had been trying to strike as the two had warmed up. “The thighs, forearms, solar plexus. Those are all good spots to target. There’s sensitive nerve points and clusters there that can really disable an opponent if you do it right.” Shizuo hummed, storing the information in his memory. “Underneath the armpits and the front of the shoulders work, too. Those spots tend to take people by surprise at how effective they are, especially for disabling a fellow sword user.”

The two began their dance once more. Eventually, Takeo got a hit right in Shizuo’s left shoulder, and the jounin let out a yelp of pain as a shockwave traveled down his arms to his fingertips. His grip on his weapon weakened, and he found himself suddenly struggling to push through the pain. Now on the defensive, Shizuo could only parry. For a long while he could hardly lift his sword and keep up, but eventually the pain in his arm lessened. He was able to push through, returning Takeo’s precision strikes with his own. Then-

“Shit!”

Takeo stumbled backward when Shizuo landed a blow right on his solar plexus. The jounin grinned, immediately following up with a strike on the man’s forearm, then the other. He didn’t let up, punishing the Yoshin master for the earlier blow. Takeo’s muscles rippled as he steeled himself. The blows against him were strong, but he was used to this kind of physical punishment. The jounin figured the man had learned how to keep his body rigid and firm over the years, but he wasn’t deterred. The two continued their spar, landing smart blows here and there, until just past midday.

544 words

[Kao]

Jutsu TrainedShow

*[Yoshin • Great Serpent's Constriction]
A Rank Taijutsu Maneuver
Prerequisite(s): *[Yoshin • Field Dressing].
Using their intimate knowledge of the human anatomy to their advantage, the practitioner will attack an opponent on a seemingly innocuous part of their body, such as a pinpoint slash or thrust to the hand or the top of the thigh, aiming for a highly sensitive nerve point in that area of the opponent's body. The cut or slash itself does almost no damage to the opponent's flesh, but as the tip or edge of the blade makes contact, the practitioner will twist and put pressure on the nerve point, sending a violent shock through the opponent's body. Opponents with a Rigid Structure technique of equal or higher rank will be able to resist any adverse affects from this technique aside from the pain. Otherwise, the opponent is suddenly and immediately paralyzed, interrupting any action they were presently executing and instantaneously freezing their muscles. This paralysis lasts for three posts.

The next two days were filled with almost nonstop training. During the day, when Shizuo didn’t have a wooden weapon in his hand he was either exercising to train his body, having a quick meal, or helping maintain the dojo grounds. There weren’t many students there, but those who did train and live at the dojo were only mildly friendly. At first Shizuo worried that they knew who he was, that he was using an alias and was actually a jounin of Iwagakure. But after dining with them he realized that they were just hardened by the recent wars and by their training. They all had their reasons for being there, and not a single one delved into too much detail on why they had chosen to become students at the dojo.

Shizuo’s body was sore when Takeo called him to train one on one. It was an honor that he didn’t give many, but he seemed fond of the white haired man. He was chattier than everyone that resided there, and he was the youngest of the four masters. Perhaps it was because they were so close in age that Takeo felt comfortable talking to Shizuo about things other than training.

“The Ougi is nothing to sneeze at,” Takeo mumbled after Shizuo asked when he could start learning the technique. “I’m not sure you’re there yet. It takes years to get to that level, to learn to control your body in that way” The jounin didn’t want to argue, but he was short on time. He’d set aside two months to be at the dojo, and even that was pushing it. He had research, experiments, missions and other responsibilities that he needed to get back to. But that wasn’t something he could disclose to the other man.

“How can I prove that I’m ready?”

Takeo paused for a while before responding with, “Just show me what you can do at higher levels.” He threw Shizuo his weapon, but this time it wasn’t the wooden practice bokken. It was an unsharpened wakizashi. The jounin hummed as he held it in front of his face, admiring the shine of the metal. “Wh-”

Shizuo yelped - screamed - in pain when there was a sudden, heavy blow to his mid forearm. Pain radiated in waves up and down his arm, to his shoulder, and down his hand, and the limb flopped down uselessly at his side. Holding his dull wakizashi in his right hand, he just barely managed to lift it in time to block Takeo’s second strike. When he looked into his opponent’s brown eyes, they were sharp. Deadly. Although they both used unsharpened weapons, Shizuo knew that in that moment if he took any more blows from the man he would be in deep trouble.

He blocked, one handed, as Takeo slowly gained the upper hand. Shizuo wasn’t used to fighting without the use of both hands. Twice he asked the man for a break, but Takeo wouldn’t relent. The jounin could have healed the lingering paralysis without breaking a sweat, but using iijutsu in this place would blow his carefully crafted cover. So he endured it until he regained enough feeling in his arm to grip his weapon again.

Shizuo broke out in a sweat as the two exchanged blows and blocks. The sound of metal clashing together rang out so loudly that curious students began to gather around. As the two continued sparring, their movements increased in speed. They moved faster and faster until they were a blur, and the onlookers could barely keep up with their movements.

“Incredible….He’s keeping up with sensei!”

“That’s the wanderer, right? They said he was a student here a few years ago and just left.”

“What a beast!”

Takeo winced when Shizuo landed a blow to his thigh and twisted, sending a wave of pain throughout the entire leg. Even though the wakizashi was blunt, it caused an incredible amount of pain. But he flexed and pushed through, thanking the gods that he knew how to make his body as rigid as a board to avoid the aftereffects of the Yoshin style. ‘No one’s pushed me like this in ages,’ he thought, watching as Shizuo’s arm twitched. He was regaining feeling.

Meanwhile, Shizuo felt the pressure of the fight. Several times he aimed for the perfect spot: Takeo’s shoulder, high thigh, his forearm. But just as his blade made contact and he twisted, he could feel his opponent’s muscles flex and shake off the attack. He cursed out loud. If he had an easier opponent he’d have the man on the ground by now.

Shizuo managed to land what he thought was a good blow right at Takeo’s elbow, and the man winced and backed off. “Enough,” he demanded, his arm hanging at his side. Though he stood tall, Shizuo could tell the last hit did enough damage that he needed a moment of respite. He twisted his mouth in annoyance, also doing his best to hide the fact that his body was screaming in pain.

“We’ll resume training that technique this afternoon.”

Shizuo nodded and bowed then headed off to train alone, ignoring the students gawking at him.

866 words

[Kao]

Shizuo sat next to Takeo beneath a cascading waterfall. It was classic training, a way to condition their bodies to withstand powerful forces. It was fine and all, but Shizuo had been at the dojo for five weeks now and they had yet to begin training the Ougi. Once they completed their meditation, Shizuo followed slightly behind the master. He didn’t want to bring it up, but time was ticking.

“Sensei, I-”

“You want to learn the Ougi,” Takeo began, sounding almost bored. “Yes, I know. But I’ve been waiting for you to show me you’re ready.”

Shizuo hesitated. “And how would I do that?”

Takeo stopped suddenly, causing Shizuo to stop walking as well. The Yoshin master turned and gave Shizuo a look so stern that it seemed to age him by ten years. “You could start by telling me your real name.” When Shizuo started to protest he held up his hand. “I’ve known you were lying since you returned. Call it intuition, but the way you said your ‘name’ didn’t sit right with me. And your story was too…perfect. Too perfect of a tearjerker to be real. It just sounded crafted.”

Shizuo frowned. “What, you don’t think I’m mourning my beautiful dead wife?”

“No, I don’t.”

Seconds ticked by and Shizuo inwardly recoiled. His gaze dropped first, and he sighed. “I’m sorry. My name is not Bankotsu, and I’m not from Pebble. I don’t have a wife, but it’s not entirely untrue that I lost someone I love unfairly.” He glanced up, trying to glean if the man believed him. His face was unreadable. Guilt tugged at his gut, and he lowered himself to the ground into a deep bow. “Please, Takeo-sensei. I’m sorry for lying, but I have my reasons. I’d like it if you continue to think of me as Bankotsu. If you think I’m unworthy, I’ll leave.” There was a sigh above him but Shizuo didn’t dare to raise his gaze from the ground.

“Get up, Bankotsu. Let’s train.”

---

Shizuo didn’t know what he had expected. The next few days were some of the most rigorous days he’d ever experienced in his life. Takeo pummeled him, and Shizuo quickly realized that the entire time they’d been training the man had been holding back. His movements were incredibly fast, his strikes powerful. Shizuo could more than keep up with the man’s speed, but his strikes had the kind of strength behind him that he knew he couldn’t endure for very long.

At certain times when Takeo would strike and Shizuo would fail to dodge, he would shake his head and shout at him to start again. Shizuo was too stiff. Too rigid. Too this, too that. There were times that the Yoshin master would hit the shinobi’s shoulders and elbows so precisely that the joints would snap out of place. Each time it happened Shizuo would blink back tears and swallow a scream, and Takeo would order him to pop the joints back into place. At first it was agonizing. Shizuo wasn’t the strongest man, and his body wasn’t nearly as durable as Takeo’s. The Yoshin master ensured the jounin that he didn’t need to be physically the strongest. He just had to push through, to be able to manipulate his body in ways that would twist the stomachs of normal men and make them vomit in disgust.

They trained for a week straight, starting before the sun rose and stopped long after it had set. Every night Shizuo limped back to his tiny room, sore and exhausted. By the end of the week he was more used to the pain and agony of his joints and bones being forced to shift in and out of place, but it was still something that brought tears to the corners of his eyes.

Two weeks. Then three. Four. Shizuo nearly past the limit of time he had allotted himself to train at the dojo. But he wasn’t there yet. He was nowhere near a master like Takeo. “How did you do it?” he asked late one evening, slumped over on the ground and holding his aching hands in an ice bath. “You can’t be much older than me. How did you become a master already?"

“Unlike you,” Takeo started, taking a swig of water and sighing loudly, “I live and breathe this style. I don’t have anything else to distract me or pull me away from it. I started as a child, and only became a true master two years ago. I feel as though I still have a lot to learn.”

“What’s the secret?”

Takeo hummed, tilting his head to stare up at the starry sky. “The secret is to have perfect control over your body. To understand how your body can move beyond what normal men are capable of. Every bone, every joint, even every vessel and nerve must bend to your will. Most men don’t have it in them to ever master such a discipline.”

Shizuo sighed. A feeling of self-doubt settled in his gut. “Great…I don’t have years and years.”

“But you’re a natural at this.” The Iwagakure jounin blinked as if shocked at the compliment. Takeo threw his head back and guffawed, “What’s with that look? You think just because you’ve barely been here two months that I can’t see it? You might not look like much - sorry, you don’t - but you’re surprisingly strong. Wickedly fast. Didn’t think there was anyone faster than me that wasn’t a shinobi.” Shizuo laughed sheepishly at that. “You’re thinking about leaving soon, aren’t you?” The jounin nodded, and Takeo actually looked disappointed. “Can you spare another week or two?”

---

Shizuo knew his partners at the lab would be pissed he had been gone for so long. But the extra time was worth it. A week past his deadline, Shizuo was getting the hang of moving his body in inhuman-like ways. Takeo was right: he was a natural. When they sparred they were the perfect mirror images of one another. Shizuo looked like a master.

Two weeks after the deadline. The first time Shizuo moved an organ - his liver - it felt unreal. He described the sensation to Takeo, and he laughed while shaking his head in disbelief. “Incredible. It took me years to learn that.”

Three weeks after the deadline and Shizuo was gaining more and more control over his organs. His vessels. His nerves. Each time he took control of them it was exhilarating. By the end of the three weeks, Shizuo and Takeo sat at a small table in the latter’s room.

“I would love to continue to teach you, but I sense you’re ready to move on from here.”

Shizuo nodded, taking a long sip of steaming tea. “It’s time I go back home. I’ve neglected my duties long enough.” His sensei sighed, resigning himself to the fact that there was nothing he could do to get the man to stay.

“Just promise you’ll come back and join me for a spar sometime. Don't want you to get rusty and bring shame upon yourself as a Master, 'Bankotsu'.”

With a grin, the jounin nodded his head in a shallow bow. “Please. Call me Shizuo.”

851 words

Jutsu TrainedShow

*[Yoshin Ougi • The Hunt is On]
S-Rank Taijutsu Stance
Prerequisite(s): 39 Speed, must be trained in the Waterfall Country Dojo or from someone who has trained there, 10 *Yoshin Kenjutsu techniques.
Closing their eyes for half a second, the practitioner clears their thoughts of all distractions and focuses on a single goal or task, usually combat and the opponent. While in this state, the practitioner can unnaturally twist, bend, and shift their body around the opponent's attacks, seeming to move like an animal as they painlessly and seamlessly contort their bodies, even to the point of freely dislocating and relocating joints on command. The practitioner also gains the ability to reflexively shift all internal organs, blood vessels, and nerve points and nerve clusters on their body to avoid serious damage and minimize pain they receive upon taking an enemy attack or upon quickly shifting any part of their personal anatomy. Additionally, the practitioner gains the ability to immediately start healing wounds they receive, cutting the blood loss in half and healing at an enhanced rate while in this Stance. This Stance can be maintained for an indefinite period of time.

[Kao]

"Shizuo, huh?"

The Iwagakure jounin smiled, taking a dango and shoving it in his mouth. He decided to keep his surname to himself. Though he wasn't exactly famous - or infamous - he was a shinobi in a country that had been torn about by a shinobi war. The man treaded carefully whenever he left the comfort and safety of Rock Country. There was no telling who was an enemy of the shinobi world nowadays.

"A nice, strong name. I like it much better than Bankotsu."

"Yeah? So do I." He took a long sip, the warmth in his eyes cooling and become more serious. His grey eyes took on the appearane of granite. "I ask if you'll keep it to yourself."

"Oh? You must be a criminal."

"I'm sure there's people in the world who would see me that way."

"A shinobi?" Shizuo didn't respond. "Heh. I wanna take that as a yes. But it doesn't matter to me if you are or not. There are people in the region who would spit on you if you were. I might have once. Hell, I probably would spit on any other shinobi. But you won me over, I guess."

"I'm honored I could change your mind, somewhat." A gleam touched Takeo's eye and he smiled at the half-admission. But he didn't press the matter. The two men chatted pleasantly, and once their meal was over Shizuo retired to his own quarters. His last night at the dojo was blessed with the most restful sleep he'd had in a very long time.

The next morning he said his goodbyes to Takeo and to the few other students he'd become acquainted with during his three month stay. He left with a smile and a wave, nursing a pang in his gut. When the dojo was nearly out of view he looked back. Unsure if he would ever visit the dojo again, he painted a vivid image in his memory and headed back to his home country. The journey back was just as uneventful as the first. He was a bit more tense, eager to return and get back to his work. He didn't relax again until he was back in his home, setting his wakizashi on the mantle in the living room. Next to it he sat a folded letter from Takeo, sealed with the emblem of the dojo. As a newly declared master of the Yoshin style, he would cherish the letter and recognition as a fond memory.