Brave Song

[Kabu]

*Doton • Earthen Ninja Tools
D-Rank Ninjutsu
After performing the correct hand seals the user will form a set of up to 10 basic projectiles, such as kunai, shuriken, or senbon, in their hand. These tools have a strength of 5.

It was a pleasant day in Sunagakure, and Ayame was standing in the training ground, having decided to take advantage of the nice weather for some training. Of course it was rather tempting to find a nice clearing and take a nap for a couple hours instead but no, right now she had work to do. Once she was done with the day’s itinerary though.. then she could nap. Yeah.. a well deserved nap after a bit of hard work sounded like a good thing.

With that thought in mind, it was time to get to work. Now, she had been learning to make use of her Shouton and Sand techniques but she had not once put any thought towards Doton or Fuuton, the elements that made up both styles. Today that was going to change. After a bit of thought on which of the elements she had wanted to focus on more, she came to the decision that she was going to learn a number of Doton techniques, starting with the basics and working her way up.

The first technique up for grabs was a technique which created a number of basic projectiles such as kunai or senbon out of the earth itself. Of course they weren’t very strong but still it was a practical and plenty useful technique that could potentially help her out of a jam if utilized properly.

After taking a moment to study the hand seals, copying the movements as she went to make sure she had them down, she formed the seals for real and focused chakra towards her hand.. only for nothing to happen. Well that was certainly odd..

”Maybe I didn’t use enough chakra, or maybe I somehow got the seals wrong. Alright.. let’s slow down a bit and give this another try. I know that I can do this with just a little effort.” She murmured to herself, taking a deep breath and steadily forming the hand seals once more, this time something actually happening as she focused chakra towards her hand. In the next moment she was holding a set of 10 sturdy earthen senbon. She had done it, though there was one way to be sure.

Setting the tools down, she picked one up and tossed it towards a target about ten meters away, the senbon sticking in neatly without breaking in the slightest, indicating that it had been a success. Alright! That was one technique down.

[Kabu]

*Doton • Binding Formation
D-Rank Ninjutsu
After channeling doton chakra into their foot the user will slam the ground within 3 meters of a target's feet with their heel, causing a formation of rock to shoot upwards at a speed of 6 binding the target's feet at a strength of 4.

With one technique down, Ayame took another look at the scrolls that she had with her, quickly realizing that with a few of these techniques, she wasn’t going to be getting very far by herself. It would be best if she had some help and so she had called for her closest friends, the pair of them being more than willing to help her out with her training, though only one, a girl named Shiki, had been readily available for the time being.

”Thanks for your help Shiki. With the two of us this will be made so much easier.” she said, looking towards her friend with a smile.

”It’s not a problem. I know just how much easier these sorts of things can be with another person around.” the petite, long haired woman responded. ”So what exactly did you need my help with?’

”I’m glad that you asked. It should become clear in just a moment.” Ayame said, already being in the midst of forming a set of hand seals, slamming the ground with her heel upon their completion.. only for nothing to happen. Well, that was embarrassing. ”That didn’t go entirely as planned...”

”For that technique why don’t you try focusing a bit of chakra into your foot and then into the ground?” the other girl spoke, trying to offer a bit of advice. Those seals and movements were easily recognized as being those of the Binding Formation technique, a very basic Doton technique.

”Alright, will do. Now let’s try that again.” Taking a deep breath, Ayame formed the necessary seals once more, focusing chakra to her foot and then slamming her heel into the ground, the chakra flowing into the ground and towards a specific destination, underneath her target’s feet. Once more the technique seemed to be a failure however as while something did happen, the rocks were barely poking up out of the ground and even immediately fell apart.

”Not enough chakra that time.” Ayame clicked her tongue in annoyance at her failure. This was a basic technique, she knew that she could do this.

”Once more. You’re almost there. Just try using a little bit more chakra.” Shiki encouraged her with a smile.

With that, Ayame’s hands once more flew into a flurry of seals and she slammed her heel into the ground, a rock formation shooting up from underneath her friend’s feet, encasing her feet in a sturdy, though, as she quickly discovered, easily breakable shell of rock.

Well.. she would definitely need to work on a stronger variation but for now that was another technique down.

[Kabu]

*Doton • Dirt Cloud
D-Rank Ninjutsu
After performing the correct hand seals the user will form a 1 meter diameter ball of loose dirt in front of them, launching it off up to 10 meters away at a strength of 4 and speed of 6. Upon impact the ball of loose dirt breaks apart forming a vision-impairing cloud of dirt with a 3 meter radius.

With two techniques down, while Shiki had settled down on a nearby bench to watch, Ayame was more raring to go than ever, stretching as she read over the next technique listed on the scroll, tilting her head and frowning at the result. A cloud of dirt wasn’t particularly exciting but it was a base level technique after all, and it could even end up being fairly useful for a quick distraction. It was certainly a technique that was worth learning.

”Let’s see here, what exactly does this say?. After performing the necessary hand seals, the user forms a ball of loose dirt in front of them that they can then launch, the ball breaking into a cloud of dust after making contact with whatever it hits, obscuring vision within a three meter radius. That should be easy enough to learn after just a couple of attempts.” she quietly spoke to herself, committing every detail ranging from the seals to the description of the technique itself to memory.

Once satisfied that she had fully memorized the technique at hand, she would then get to work. First she slowly went through the seals one by one, making sure that she had them committed to memory before flying into a flurry, focusing chakra just in front of her as she did. Upon completion of the seals, it took just a moment before a ball of dirt began to form, the young woman smiling at the sight, though it quickly turned to a frown as the ball almost immediately crumbled upon having fully formed. It was a bit disappointing but she realized that getting a technique completely right on the first try was very unlikely no matter how skilled one was. It was enough that she had managed to make something at least happen, unlike with the first two techniques where nothing at all had happened on the first attempt. This was especially true for this situation, as she was practicing with a brand new element after all.

Deciding to immediately give it another try, her hands once more flew into a flurry of seals, her focus not once wavering as she put all her thoughts towards properly forming a stable ball of dirt. Luckily it seemed to pay off as the ball managed to form without falling apart this time. Feeling confident that she had gotten it right, she then went to the next step launching it off towards a dummy at full power, watching with glee as it successfully made impact and a cloud of dust formed in its place.

That was one more added to her repertoire and there were still plenty more.

[Kabu]

*Doton • Wall
D-Rank Ninjutsu
After performing the correct hand seals the user will form a solid stone wall up to 5 meters away from them at a speed of 6. The wall has a strength of 4 and is 3x3x1 meters large.

With three techniques learned in the time that she had spent training, Ayame was beginning to realize that while Doton was certainly useful for offense, it seemed to be an element that specialized in support techniques, particularly of a more defensive nature, not all too surprising given that it was the parent of several elements and styles that specialized in defense and support as well, and frankly that sat with her just fine. She herself was more of a support fighter than relying on straight up offense after all so it suited her perfectly well, the next technique serving to further emphasize the fact, it being a technique to straight up bring forth a wall made of rock, a technique that would certainly prove to be very useful, especially seeing how it could be formed at a distance or even directly in front of her, depending on her needs.

Taking a moment to read over the technique and commit the details to memory, she used the time to practice the seals, making sure that she had them all memorized to the last. She knew the seals and based on the prior techniques she had an idea of how much chakra to use so this time no mistakes would be made.. hopefully.

Once satisfied that she had fully memorized even the smallest details, her hands flew into a flurry of hand seals and she focused chakra into the ground, focusing on an area five meters away. To her surprise it seemed to be an instant success as a wall made of rock formed in the exact area that she had been focusing on, standing tall and strong without even beginning to crumble.

Wanting to make sure that it hadn’t been just a fluke, her hands once more flew into a flurry of seals and she focused on an area a bit closer, three meters away in fact, a wall once more rising in that exact position. So far so good but she had to try it one more time, to really make sure that she had it.

”One more time!” she exclaimed, her hands once more flying into a flurry of seals, this time her focus being directly in front of her, and yet again another wall rose in the exact spot she had imagined, though this one she punched just as it fully formed, watching with satisfaction as it crumbled. Yep, this technique had most definitely been a success.

[Kabu]

*Doton • Trip Fault
D-Rank Ninjutsu
After performing the correct hand seals, the user will cause a 1/2 meter pot hole to appear at a speed of 5 somewhere within 7 meters.

”Alright, that’s four down. One more and then it’s time for a quick nap.” Ayame said with a relieved sigh, looking up towards the sky as she stretched out, the sun still shining brightly high up in the sky. This had been her first training session since her promotion to Special Jounin and she was feeling pretty good about it, though she still couldn’t wait for her chance to bask in the sun and relax. Before she could take a break though, there was one more technique that she needed to learn, and this last one really seemed like it could have some fun utility, both for combat and more.. mischievous purposes.

The technique in question was one to create a small pothole in the ground, small enough to be hardly noticeable to all but the most observant while still being large enough to effectively trip someone up, even if only for the briefest of moments. If utilized properly it could also be handy for setting up sneak attacks, such as being used in tandem with explosives among other things.

Anyways, with that in mind it was time to finally get to work. Her hands flew into a flurry of seals as she focused on an area directly in front of her, the ground seeming to fall inwards and crumble, a half meter pothole having formed in the exact location that she had been focusing on. It seemed that her earlier training really had paid off as once again she had gotten a technique right on the first try. Of course just as she had with the Wall technique, she knew that she needed to try it more than once, to make sure that it hadn’t been a fluke. Though in this case she also knew that she would have to fill in the holes once she was done.

This time she decided to see how far away from her the technique could go, focusing on an area ten meters away as she once more formed the seals, the hole once again properly forming, though she couldn’t tell quite how far it was.

”Hey Shiki, how far away is that hole?” she called out to her friend, whom luckily happened to be right next to where the hole had formed.

”Looks like seven meters.” the other shouted back.

”Seems like that’s the cap then. I guess that’s a wrap, which means now it’s time for a hard earned nap.” Ayame stretched once more, walking off with Shiki following not far behind, only to pause just a moment later.

”First though we should fill in these potholes so nobody gets hurt.”