[Chuunin Exam] A swordsman's strength

[Zao]

Hisato had sent word to his current master, Hitachi the current third blade of the swordsmen, that he had garnered the strength that he wished to have a chuunin exam conducted. Chuunin exams within the Hidden Mist village were one-on-one fights between genin with only the winner having a chance at being accepted to rank up, but even winning sometimes wasn't enough to sway those convening over the exam that one was ready to rise to the next rank. The dagger sheathed his weapon after having taken some time to quietly meditate on the task at hand, he had definitely become much stronger at this point due to the influence of his next sensei and instructor. Even his time within the dangerous jungle of Star country had only served to help temper his body and mind to the point where it had arrived at this day.

The duel had been requested to be a private one: only his mentor, father, and clan elder had been asked to come watch. Of course, if the Overseer wished to come it as well would be welcomed but Hisato did not place such importance on this exam that he felt the need to reach out and make such a request as there were far more important things for the Leader of the Seven to be focused upon besides this small duel. Quiet he entered into the sparring arena that was a simple clearing with no real boundaries set in place as a faint mist nearly concealed the ground beneath their feet rising about a foot off the deck at this point. A handful of training logs were spread about as the youth stepped closer to the center leaving behind his sensei and father before giving a gentle bow of his head to the elder who had just arrived at the edge of the arena and who would be judging the bought.

As for who his opponent would be, the youth wasn't privy to that but in all honestly, he didn't care who they put in front of them if that person attempted to obstruct his climb, then he would kill them like any other enemy that came before him. Exhaling slowly his dull grey eyes looked out towards the opposite side of the arena waiting for the other judge and his opponent to arrive...

[Kanade]

A man that was wrapped in bandages of some sort or another which looked curiously like cohesive bandages led a small pupil towards the arena. A girl of fourteen, she had a curved blade in each hand, already unsheathed her dead eyes stared ahead, assessed Hisato, then turned to the arena. She nodded her head to her opponent, acknowledging him. Her name was not relevant, nor was it given as the bandaged man went towards the end of the arena. He was apparently not only this girls' sensei, but also one of the judges. His hard eyes sized up Hisato appreciatively and then looked at his own pupil. He shook his head almost imperceptibly before he raised his voice.

"Chuunin test, to be considered the Chuunin exam, a fight to the death between Tsukino Hisato and Kaguya Toriko." He said in a deep sonorous voice. He grinned a devlish grin gave his pupil a wink and with that she began to run a split second before he shouted, "Begin!" clapping his hands twice. He obviously wasn't above using dirty tricks.

The deadened eyes of the pupil remained as she sped towards the other chuunin-to-be slashing at him with her right-handed blade [20 str] while keeping her left-handed blade in front of her in a defensive position. She didn't smile, she didn't blink, she just stared and watched, and assessed where she was going to strike next, where he was going to attack her. She had compartmentalized to the point of an absence of emotion, the absence of any thought besides the opponent in front of her, and the duel upon which not only her life, but her ninja career rode.

[Zao]

The left hand slowly reached up, firmly grasping upon the dark hilt of his crystalline weapon before giving it a gentle tug to release it from the restrainer within the sheath and then fully removed as he could see the faint figure of the bandaged figure and the dual blade wielding youth who had a feminine body. A strangely gentle smile fell onto his lips as he tilted his head a bit allowing his dull grey eyes to scan the saber wielding shinobi. Fighting a proficient dual sword user was indeed a challenge, even now he still preferred to just use one blade. One was because it allowed him to still use hand seals with the other hand and secondly, he hadn't found a proper blade that fit his fighting style yet. But his body naturally shifted into the 'WInter Maelstrom' stance as he prepared to attack with full force at the first start as was his own method of fighting, to strike had and fast to end things quickly.

"Begin!"

The main judge's hands came together as the clap of the palms resounded with his single word and the bought was on. She charged and strangely the man bounded back as his one free right hand began to form single handed seals as he was able to keep the starting gap between them due to his own physical prowess. His hand completed the seals as he held the barely visible glass-like balde out in front of him disgonally as he landed with both knees bending to absorb the impact and tighten the muscles to push off of. Completing the hand seals for his 'What is Real?' illusion his body seemed to briefly pause before he leaped forward directly at the young girl. But his body instantly split into three 'clones', two false and one real Hisato. The real Hisato pushed to his right, her left, as the other clones approached from the direct from and her right side simultaneously.

His attack happened at once as he neared, all three images of HIsato letting out a growl like 'kiai' that swept forward towards the young girl as he attack from the right side as all three of them slashed at the same time with the invisible blade using a combination of two attacks that had been combined into a single coordinated series of slashes at her left torso, side, and abdomen: The 'Polar Bear Claw' and the 'Incurvate Arrow'. How she defended could be the different between life and death.

Jutsu usedShow

Blade Details

Invisible Blade

Description: A sword with a slender metallic hand-crafted hilt of a dark purple and black metal six inches in length, meant for being wielded with a single hand and from the hilt extended a clear blade that seemed to be forged from some sort of rare crystalline material. The blade is rather thin and long, being less than an eighth of an inch thick, two inches in width, and thirty inches in total length. Sheathed over the man's left shoulder in a plane black sheath.

Strength: 16

Effect 1: The transparent structure of the Crystal Blade is very difficult to see, especially when wielded by the Fox shinobi. To accurately see the movements and attacks of the blade the enemy needs to possess at least a B-rank Visual perception technique.

Effect 2 The glass like sword has a truly nasty, jagged edge along both cutting sides and its sharp piercing tip. Those wounded by the blade causes a target to bleed excessively, because of this the target will suffer a [-3] Endurance Debuff for the next [3] posts. Requiring medical attention to be healed from.


Jutsu


*[Zantou • Winter Maelstrom]
A-Rank Taijutsu Stance
Prerequisite(s): *[Zantou • Winter Blizzard].
Building upon its parent technique, this Stance further builds upon further sharpening and refining the practitioner's capacity to focus on the opponent and the task at hand. Drawing in a deep breath, the practitioner also gathers up their energy and releases a kiai. The level of skill the practitioner has attained allows the practitioner to effectively attack and block from a neutral stance without any detriment. While in this Stance, the practitioner can effortlessly ignore non-critical distractions, focusing solely on the opponent(s). They also are able to ignore extreme heat, extreme cold, moderate oxygen deprivation, extreme fatigue, and even extreme pain. They can read the opponents' muscle contractions and body positioning very accurately in this stance, and they are able to read the direction, the type, the timing, and the speed of an attack that is imminent. The opponent can still effectively mask their movements if they have a movement-concealing Stealth technique of equal or higher rank than this technique. While in this Stance, the practitioner is conferred with a +4 increase to Strength and Will Power but suffers a -4 penalty to Chakra Pool and Control. The practitioner may end this Stance whenever they so wish.

[Genjutsu • What is Real?]
C-Ranked Illusion Genjutsu
The user will perform a sequence of hand seals, one handed seals if holding a weapon, then hold their weapon out in front of them as if preparing to attack, anyone who sees this will their vision modified, causing them to see and hear two additional 'clones' of the user every time the user moves and see one of the user every time they stop. They will be one to the left side, one to the right side, and one to the direct front of the target, with the user choosing which way they want to move and the two clones filling in the other two directions. This will last for four posts.

*[Zantou • Wolf Pack Paradigm]
C-Rank Taijutsu Discipline
Much of a human's movements are inefficient and waste energy, especially in regard to combat. The practitioner has learned how to fully synchronize and harmonize the movements of their body in and out of combat. This Discipline represents the practitioner's knowledge and mastery of kinetic linking, the efficient movement and transferal of potential energy from one part of the body to the other, eliminating potentially wasted Endurance and chakra and allowing the practitioner to last longer than ordinary in a fight.

*[Yoshin • Field Dressing]
B-Rank Taijutsu Discipline
Prerequisite(s): *[Yoshin • Skinning the Corpse].
The practitioner of Yoshin further enhances their knowledge of the human body. This Discipline represents the practitioner's knowledge of the precise location of all joints, tendons, and nerve points on both their body and the opponent's body. This allows the practitioner to accurately target those areas even in the heat of combat.


*[Zantou • Polar Bear Claw]
B-Rank Taijutsu Maneuver
Prerequisite(s): *[Zantou • Ambidexterity].
One of the few full committal techniques of Zantou, the practitioner momentarily torques the muscles in their arms. Then, in a single, explosive release, the practitioner looses a kiai and two crossing diagonal slashes from opposite sides. Opponents within a number of meters equal to the practitioner's Strength must have a Will Power equal to or higher than the practitioner's Will Power to resist the kiai effect. Otherwise, the opponents will suffer from minor disorientation from the disruption of the equilibrium, resulting in a -6 penalty to Speed for the next three posts. At the center of the attack, the second blade crashes into the back of the first, driving the first blade deeper into the opponent's guard, weapon, armor, or body. This technique is effective at breaking an opponent's weapon, armor, or defenses. The disorientation effect from this technique can be stacked with other disorientation effects and refreshes the post limit for any disorientation effect currently imposed on the opponents.

Combined with

*[Yoshin • Incurvate Arrow]
C-Rank Taijutsu Maneuver
Targeting the opponent's torso and abdomen, the practitioner launches a series of quick snapping slashes. These lashes produce a series of evenly spaced cuts across the target's abdomen and torso. While these cuts are not life-threatening, the damaged muscles prohibit the opponent from fully drawing strength from their core and back into their limbs. Aside from causing significant pain, this technique also imposes a persisting -3 Endurance penalty on the opponent due to the damage the muscles have sustained. This penalty can be lifted if the opponent receives medical attention.