Ascendency of the Beast

[Kao]

“Thank you again, Natsumi-san,” Shizuo said as he bowed, again, to the older woman. A few days ago, after waiting several days for an answer to his missive, he finally was able to meet with the Tsuchikage’s wife. She was kind, if not intimidating, as she quietly listened to him ask her about the ins and outs of jikukan, space-time techniques. She was one of the very few people in the village who had mastered such techniques, so if anyone could help him learn to use jikukan, it was her.

She waved him off, closing the door to her office. Shizuo glanced down at the sack of books and scrolls she had given him and sighed. He had a lot to learn.

---

Shizuo groaned as he pulled the dull shuriken out of his shoulder. He’d been trying to get the hang of the basics of jikukan for days now, but it seemed to be just beyond his grasp. “Maybe you should start with something basic.”

“This is basic,” he shot back, lifting his gaze to the young kunoichi standing across from him. She flipped her red behind her head, looking at him with a look mixed with boredom and pity. “You wouldn’t get it, Setsuna, since all you train nowadays is taijutsu.” The girl shrugged, taking another dull shuriken from the sack at her feet. Shizuo sighed and tossed the bloodied shuriken back at her, and it landed with a soft clink on top of the sack. “Just, do it again.” Setsuna sighed and told him to get ready, lowering herself into a stance.

Shizuo frowned, focusing. The jutsu he was training sounded so simple. All he had to do was use jikukan chakra to stop the projectile midair. He’d read about Closing Time over and over. It seemed to be one of the simpler applications of space time techniques, and he figured it was a good starting point. But so far, he hadn’t had any luck and the man was starting to understand why this class of ninjutsu was so exceedingly rare.

Without warning, Setsuna threw the shuriken at him, the weapon moving in a wide arc as it barrelled toward him. Shizuo flew into seals then focused on the weapon as it flew toward him. When it was within five meters of him it seemed to slow down, but only barely. The change was so miniscule that he would not have noticed if he hadn’t been so focused on it. Despite the apparent change in speed it continued to fly towards him, and he had to use a chakra-coated hand to bat it away.

“Again.”

Setsuna groaned but did as she was told. This time there was a clear change in its speed, and it seemed to come to a near halt when it was close to him. The young kunoichi gasped, noticing as well. Without needing to be asked she threw another one at him. Shizuo’s eyes widened at the surprise second projectile, but he quickly recovered from the shock and focused his chakra to the shuriken. This time, the projectile halted in midair.

“You did it,” Sestuna breathed, sounding impressed for once. Shizuo smiled, and told her to keep ‘em coming.

413 words

Jutsu TrainedShow

Close Time: Freeze
C-Ranked Jikukan Ninjutsu
By channeling their chakra the user can freeze a single projectile within a 5 meter radius of themselves that is no larger than 33 [LxWxH]
meters. For the next 3 posts this projectile will stay frozen in place requiring a strength of [Control] to move it. At the end of 3 posts the projectile will follow through as normal.

[Kao]

Shizuo stared at the shuriken in front of him. It was poised in midair thanks to the jutsu he’d managed to finally, finally gain some mastery over.

“Uhh, now what?” The man turned his head to the young chuunin next to him, as if suddenly remembering she was there. Now, he thought, he just had to get the projectile to move again. He remembered that the opposite of Close Time was Open Time. It made sense to him, in theory. But just like with the first technique, he found it difficult to put his knowledge into practice. He tried over and over to end the technique by employing the opposite concept, but he only managed to make the shuriken wiggle and move forward a centimeter at a time.

Frustrated, he told Setsuna to take a break and go get something to eat, and he would help her train her taijutsu when she got back. The chuunin gave him a shrug and didn’t object, sauntering away to leave the training grounds.

Shizuo huffed, rubbing his hands together as he circled the floating shuriken. It was frozen in time. All he had to do was unfreeze it. Simple. Simple, simple. Or so he thought. What was it that Natsumi had said? Closing time was the opposite of opening time. Its only purpose was to undo techniques that close time. Opening time allowed time to resume. It made sense, on paper.

The man performed the hand seals for the technique, remembering the instructions that were in one of the many books that Natsumi had lent him. All the had to do was the very opposite of the Freeze technique. The technique that he had trouble with initially.

So Shizuo focused his chakra, directing it to the floating shuriken. Nothing happened. He could feel his chakra shift and surge, and it should have worked. He did it right, he thought, so there was nothing that could immediately explain why the shuriken didn’t unfreeze. All he could do was try again, forming those same hand seals then trying it again. The shuriken wiggled and moved forward, as if remembering the momentum that he had stopped. It moved a bit further than it did the last time, almost three centimeters. But it wasn’t enough, so he tried again. He broke out in a light sweat as he focused his chakra again on the projectile. Once. Twice.

“Damn it!”

His chakra surged with his frustration, and that seemed to help. The shuriken wiggled violently then shot forward and lodged itself into a nearby rock.

427 words

Jutsu TrainedShow

*Open Time: Resume
C-rank Jikukan Ninjutsu
The user will do a series of hand seals, then focus on anything they’ve Closed Time on. Time will resume for that target, no longer Closed.

[Kao]

A couple days had passed since Shizuo first began to learn to use jikukan techniques. He was getting the hang of the feel of that kind of chakra, though it still felt rather foreign to him. But he could do the basics of Close Time and Open Time, and that was as good a start as any. Shizuo wanted to explore more facets of space time, but he wasn’t sure where to start at first. He eventually settled on learning how to Expand Space. That concept was less straightforward than Close Time and Open Time, but if he was to be a master of space time techniques then he couldn’t stop at learning how to manipulate time.

Shizuo stood in the middle of an empty training ground that was way up in the mountains, hours before the sun rose. He figured this could go very, very badly, so he wanted to do this away from people and from the village proper. The idea was simple, all things considered. All Shizuo had to do was expand space outward from a single point. Violently, if possible. Natsumi’s handwritten notes explained how useful such a technique was, and that it was a good starting point for people who didn’t have a strong grasp on expanding space. People like Shizuo.

The jounin channeled his chakra and focused on the infant-sized rock he had carefully placed in the middle of the grounds. The moon above was full, illuminating the shining flecks of crystal within the stone. There were other rocks of similar size scattered about around it, for reference points. Focusing on the rock in the very center, Shizuo focused on creating space. Expanding space. There was a surge, and the two rocks closest to the one in the center moved a few feet away from it.

It was a start. Shizuo tried it again, and the second attempt went slightly better. More of the rocks around it were forced outward, pushed away by the new space he created. He estimated that if someone was standing there to experience the push of the space, they wouldn’t be hurt too badly. But it would hurt. The man reset the rocks for his reference points and then performed the jutsu again, over and over until he was sure that the explosive force would, at the very least, maim someone if they were caught in it. He could perfect the technique later, but for now that was more than good enough.

413 words

Jutsu TrainedShow

Expand Space: Space Creation
C-Ranked Jikukan Ninjutsu
The user will channel their chakra and focus on a single point within a location in visible space. The user will [Expand] Space away from the single point in space to explosively force objects and people away from it with [Control] Strength and Speed.

[Kao]

Shizuo was well on his way to being a master of space and time. At least, he hoped so. He was comfortable enough with manipulating time enough to freeze and unfreeze small objects, and he could expand space from a fixed point. It was a wonderful start, and he patted himself on the back for getting a good hold of those techniques in a matter of days. His next task was to teach himself how to use Natsumi’s incredibly useful space time fuuinjutsu that she had developed herself. Her instructions were clear, concise, and he was sure that if he followed it he would be able to learn it in no time.

It was simple. All he had to do was learn the intricate fuuinjutsu. So he started by tracing the lines with his finger, muttering as he memorized the straight lines from the curved ones. He was good enough at fuuinjutsu that it wouldn’t take him long to learn the actual seal. Once he got a sense of the general structure and shape of the seal, he grabbed a blank scroll and unfurled it, and grabbed an ink brush and began to draw. Over and over he drew the seal, starting over whenever he made a mistake. The mistakes were few and far between. He drew the space time seal more times than was possibly necessary. Fuuin were easy for him, but he wanted to make sure he got this particular seal perfect. It didn’t take him long to get it down perfectly, so he then focused on drawing it as fast as possible. He didn’t think he’d ever need to draw it at this speed, but it wouldn’t hurt for him to be familiar enough with it that he could draw it in seconds. Or less.

Once Shizuo felt confident that he knew how to draw the seal quickly and without making any mistakes, he then focused on drawing the seal and imbuing it with the right kind of chakra. The technique was simple in theory, but he’d have to be precise. Anchors were powerful, and they needed to be created perfectly to avoid any disasters. The last thing he wanted was to make the seal and anchor wrong and rip open space in a way that was damaging and cataclysmic.

It didn’t take long. He was sure he had made it correctly. Now all he had to do was test it to be sure.

407 words

Jutsu TrainedShow

Space-Time: Formula Seal
C-rank Augment Fuuinjutsu
A fuuinjutsu developed by Nyūsen, Natsumi. This fuuinjutsu serves as the anchor and location for the teleportation of the [Space-Time - Acceleration of Mind and Body] jutsu. The fuuinjutsu can be rubbed off with a strength of [Control] and is able to be placed by the user on inanimate such as kunai, blank tags, animate objects, and even people.

[Kao]

Shizuo was comfortable enough with the space time seal that he was ready to learn to use it and put it in action. He flipped through the book that Natsumi had loaned him so he could get a better idea of what he was doing. He also looked through her handwritten notes that she had written specifically about how to use the fuuinjutsu. She called it the Acceleration of Mind and Body. A good name, very descriptive. He drew a formula seal on a rock, the same rock he had practiced his first Expand Time technique on. He then walked several meters away, and then he drew the same seal on a small slip of paper in order to make a tag.

With a sigh, Shizuo channeled chakra into the seal written on the paper. All he needed to do was properly connect the seal on the rock and the seal on the tag, and teleport himself to the rock. He steeled himself, slightly worried that if something went wrong it could spell disaster. He wasn’t sure what would happen if this went terribly wrong. For a moment he thought about that damned rogue, Kenji, whom he hated enough though he’d never had the displeasure of meeting him. He’d heard a rumor that the man had died because he was fooling around with space time and bit off more than he could chew. At least, that’s what he recalled. There were multiple rumors about how the shinobi had met his end, though that was the one that he seemed to remember at the worst possible time.

There was no point in agonizing about it. Either he succeeded or failed. So Shizuo channeled his chakra into the tag, and he hoped that it worked. He was quickly rewarded with success. In the next instant he was near the rock with the seal drawn on it. Shizuo stumbled, trying to regain his bearings. The sensation of teleporting across time and space was wholly unpleasant.

He’d succeeded, but he wanted to make absolutely sure he had the jutsu down pat, and the only way he could do that was to do it a few more times. So he did. He drew the seal on another rock, and made a brand new tag. He found he had to steel himself again, still nervous that something could go wrong during his experiment. But after he performed the jutsu a few times, he was confident that he he’d done it correctly and could move on to doing the same technique, just without the tag.

428 words

Jutsu TrainedShow

Space-Time: Acceleration of Mind and Body Tag
C-rank Charge Fuuinjutsu
Prerequisite: [Space-Time - Acceleration of Mind and Body]
The carrier of this seal will be able to channel chakra into the seal and activate the [Space-Time - Acceleration of Mind and Body] jutsu, opening space around themselves and anything they are touching to teleport instantly to a [Space-Time - Formula Seal] within 25 meters of the user.

[Kao]

Shizuo was a little more nervous about this technique for some reason. He could do it with a tag pretty easily now. Just to make himself feel better, he once again read through Natsumi’s notes she had neatly printed on a scroll for him. It was the exact same idea as using a tag, but this technique was one that he could use himself. The tagged version of the jutsu was simply for use by people who didn’t know space time themselves. He belatedly realized that it may have made more sense for him to learn this version of the technique first, but it didn’t matter now. He drew a formula seal on a rock, and then he walked several meters away so he could practice.

Shizuo channeled his chakra, focusing on himself and where he wanted to go.Based on his work with the tagged version of this jutsu, he knew that all he had to do was ensure the seals were drawn correctly - and he had no doubt that they were - and teleport himself to the rock. He’d been practicing space time techniques for weeks now, so he was no longer worried that something could go terribly and disastrously wrong. But he didn’t want to fail and hurt himself, so he still proceeded with caution. He then performed the technique. Darkness pressed in all around him, and it squeezed . In the next instant he was near the rock with the seal drawn on it. Shizuo found it was still a wholly unpleasant experience. Teleporting was incredibly useful, but he still found that it was difficult to do. Not only that, but he could only manage it a few times a day before something in him was spent, and he couldn’t do it any more.

So he had to make sure that he did it perfectly the first time, and he’d perform it just a couple more times to make sure he knew what he was doing. He drew the seal on another rock, and then moved back a couple dozen feet away and formed the hand seals again. He performed the technique again, to the exact same result. But this time when he teleported he felt tired. Inexplicably tired. It was clear to him that teleporting wasn’t something he’d be able to do a lot, so he would have to use it sparingly. Still, it was a good technique to have in his repertoire.

406 words

Jutsu TrainedShow

Space-Time: Acceleration of Mind and Body
C-rank Jikukan Ninjutsu
The user will channel chakra to their body as they focuses on one of their [Space-Time - Formula Seal]s which act as a conduit for this technique. As long as they focuses on a specific object or place tagged with this fuuinjutsu the user can open space around themselves and anything they are touching to teleport there instantly as long as its within 25 meters of the user.

[Kao]

Shizuo was growing tired of training jikukan. Sure, it was an incredibly useful skill set to have, but lately all his time was focused on mastering the ins and outs of space and time. But he was on a time crunch. War was approaching. He had the very basics of space time jutsu down patm but he knew that without expanding upon his skills then it wouldn’t be the most useful thing to have on the battlefield.

The next set of space time jutsu he wanted to learn were quite a bit more complicated. It was time that Shizuo learned how to Tighten Time. The idea wasn’t too hard to understand. Tighten Space just involved shortening the distance between two points in space. It would allow him to cover large distances in the blink of an eye, and there were notes in the books that stated a user of tighten space could distort how people move. The concept of shortening distance between objects seemed incredibly useful, so he was eager to start to learn how to use those kinds of techniques.

The technique he wanted to learn was a rather common one, as far as space time techniques were concerned. It was one that most space time practitioners seemed to know. Shizuo formed the hand seals that he had memorized earlier that day, and he focused on a huge area around him. The effect wasn’t immediate; he had to mold his chakra just right. But eventually the area began to distort. The rocks, grass, and bushes all began to distort.

Shizuo moved just outside of the area, and then picked up a rock the size of his fist. He then threw the rock into the slightly shimmering area and watched as the space around it began to seemingly twist and distort. Then he formed a single hand seal, and as soon as he formed the seal, the rock reappeared exactly in the space where it had left his hand and then it fell to the ground. Shizuo picked it up and threw it in the space again, and the result was the same.

Next he took a shuriken out of his pack, and he turned it in his palm a couple times before hurling it in the space at his full strength. It barrelled through the space, and he could still detect the shimmering effect of his jutsu. He then performed the single seal again, and once again the rock he threw returned to the point just before it entered the space and then fell to the ground. The jounin smiled, pleased with how quickly he had caught on to this technique.

442 words

Jutsu TrainedShow

*Tighten Space: Displacement
B-Ranked Jikukan Ninjutsu
The user will do a series of hand seals, then focus on a 40x5m area. Anything within this space will become slightly distorted. Any time in the following 3 posts, if anything passes through this area the user will do a single handed hand seal, causing the area to rapidly tighten at a speed equal to the user's [Control]. After a brief moment, the area will return to it’s original form, but anything that was passing within the area can be displaced from its original location. This allows the user to change the trajectory of weapons, or even people.

[Kao]

Shizuo was fucking tired. All he’d been doing lately was practicing jikukan. It took him a few days, but he had finally gotten the hang of the tightening space technique, which was a bit more chakra consuming than he had anticipated. Jikukan in general was very chakra consuming, but figuring out these techniques on his own was a bit more difficult than he anticipated. As the complexity of his jutsu increased, it became more imperative that he didn’t waste his time and energy practicing the techniques over and over.

The next technique he wanted to learn seemed almost imperative. It was another Tighten technique, but it was the first technique he was learning that had to do with tightening time. Techniques that tightened time were used to speed up time around a person, an object, or an area. He’d read that these techniques could speed up someone’s perception. At the strongest levels, one could even turn an object into dust. It reminded him of the Life genma’s abilities, and he was excited to learn how to tighten time and become closer to godhood.

Shizuo performed a series of hand seals, and a blade of raiton chakra formed in his hand. He then put it down gently on the ground and walked several meters away from it. Shizuo knew exactly how long the jutsu would last on his own. He’d done enough experimentation with it that he could time perfectly, right down to the second, when the jutsu would disperse. Knowing that, he performed hand seals for the space time technique he wanted to practice.

He focused on his ninjutsu, simultaneously focusing his jikukan chakra upon it. The air around it seemed to shimmer and distort as his jikukan technique did its work. The raiton blade crackled, and it seemed to Shizuo that the jikukan he’d placed upon it was working. He didn’t have to count the time that ticked by. All he had to do was feel it. He had a now instinctual sense of how long that technique should last on its own without any interference.

A few minutes later, the raiton dissipated. It definitely lasted for far shorter time that it normally did, and Shizuo’s chakra control was impeccable enough that he knew that wasn’t because he’d made a mistake with creating that raiton blade. Just to be sure though, he performed the raiton technique again, then performed the same jikukan technique. Just as he expected, the raiton blade lasted for a much shorter time than it should have. Satisfied, Shizuo sat down to take a quick break before heading off to grab some lunch.

427 words

Jutsu TrainedShow

*Tighten Time: Deteriorate
B-Ranked Jikukan Ninjutsu
The user will do a series of hand seals, then focus on a ninjutsu within 40m of their person. Any posts counts on that ninjutsu will be sped up by 4 posts. Should this go beyond the limit for that ninjutsu, it will end as it would had it reached completion.

[Kao]

It had been a few weeks since Shizuo had started to learn how to use space time techniques. He was grateful that he had a massive chakra pool. Otherwise, the constant training in such a short amount of time might have killed him. But he felt powerful. There was something about fucking with space and time that made him feel like a god. Normally Shizuo didn’t care about these kinds of things. But he’d been around enough powerful shinobi that he wanted that kind of raw power for himself. It’d become something like an obsession.

The next technique Shizuo intended to master was similar to one of the first techniques he had ever practiced. But instead of pushing space out and expanding it with violent force, he intended to go in the opposite direction. Natsumi’s notes and instructions indicated that it had potentially devastating effects, and that promise of disaster intrigued him. So early one morning, a few hours before sun rose, he returned to the training grounds that was tucked in the mountainside on the outskirts of Iwagakure.

Shizuo gathered his trusty rocks and arranged them in the way he liked: one in the center, with others of similar sizes scattered about almost concentrically. He had already studied and memorized the set of hand seals and flew through them. He then focused on the center rock, and focused the jikukan jutsu there. The concept was simple enough, but he quickly realized that this technique was more complicated than its expand space counterpart. The rocks surrounding the center rocks shifted and converged on the target, but it wasn’t as powerful of an effect as he had hoped.

So he cracked his neck and tried again. He formed the hand seals, a bit more carefully and deliberately this time. When he tried it again, the effect was immediate. Violent. Cruel. The rocks surrounding the target quickly converged, colliding with great force as he tightened the space around it. Shizuo gave a small woop, the sound echoing against the boulders and cliffs around him.

He decided to perform the technique again, to see if he could increase the speed and force of the rocks as they collapsed inwards. Once the rocks were back in place he stepped back, performed the hand seals, then concentrated his chakra on the rock in the middle of the arrangement. Once again the saw and felt space tighten, and the effect was perfect. He was really getting the hang of being a god of space and time.

420 words

Jutsu TrainedShow

Tighten Space: Space Destruction
B-Ranked Jikukan Ninjutsu
The user will channel their chakra and focus on a single point within a location in visible space. The user will [Tighten] Space around the single point in space to force objects and people towards it with [Control] Strength and Speed. Those who are pulled to the single point will then be trapped within the [Tightened] Space with [Control] Strength for 5 posts.

[Kao]

Shizuo felt as though he was becoming quite competent with space time jutsu. It had been almost two months since he had started learning the pinnacle of ninpou. He impressed himself, really, at how quickly he had grasped space time. He hadn’t yet, of course, tried any of the really advanced techniques. But he was an advanced beginner and decided to pat himself on the back and not focus on the fact that he still had a long way to go before he could be considered a master.

The next jutsu he wanted to learn was another that required the use of the Formula Seal. It was a useful concept. He would reach through space and grab onto an object that had the Formula Seal on it. Shizuo could think of dozens of ways this particular technique could be useful to him, so he wanted to waste no more time. Shizuo drew the seal on a rock the size of an infant and then set it down in the middle of his favorite training ground. He then descended the training ground and returned to the village. When he was halfway home he stopped, forming the hand seals needed for the technique.

He then reached his hand out in front of him, and to his pleasure he saw the space in front of him ripple and bend. He then made a ripping motion with his hand, and the motion created a tear in time. He whistled, once again impressed with himself, then took a deep breath. Throwing caution to the wind he reached inside, and his fingers splayed out as he felt around. It felt odd, cold in a way. He felt around, but his fingers didn’t immediately come in contact with anything. After several seconds of blindly prodding through the rip in space, he pulled his hand back and the tear closed.

With a sigh Shizuo tried again. He formed the seals and clawed at the empty space in front of him, and the fabric of space ripped right before his eyes. Once again he reached inside, and this time he almost immediately felt something firm. He patted it. It certainly felt like the rock that was currently almost a kilometer away on the mountainside. He curved his hand around it to grab it and then pulled. It slipped out of his grip for a second, but he eventually took firm hold of it and removed it from the rip in space. With a grin, he tossed the rock into the air, like a proud father tossing his child.

429 words

Jutsu TrainedShow

Open Space • Near and Far
B-Ranked Jikukan Ninjutsu
Prerequisite: [Space-Time - Formula Seal]
The user will channel chakra throughout their body before holding out their hand as if grasping something. After doing so, the users chakra will reach out through space itself to grab hold of anything bearing the [Space-Time - Formula Seal], bringing the object in question to their hand regardless of distance or who currently possess it.

[Kao]

Shizuo was on a roll. He was pretty sure no one else in the whole world had ever trained space time as efficiently as he could. He was growing more and more comfortable with jikukan by the day, and he was sure that in due time he would at least master a few A ranks. He may not become a full master before the invasion started, but he was damned determined to at least be close to that level.

The jounin was out late this time. He’d fallen asleep during the day after pouring over some paperwork and plans, so he had to make up for lost time. The moon was high in the sky and he listened as his companion followed closely behind him. Setsuna yawned, rubbing her eyes as she followed Shizuo to the training grounds tucked in the mountainside in the outskirts of Iwagakure. She had asked how he’d been faring the previous day and if he needed someone to throw pointy things at him. To his surprise she was also out late, so he asked her to join him.

“Ok Setsuna. Just throw a bunch of stuff at me.”

The girl nodded, and she pulled out eight stiletto daggers and held them between her fingers. Shizuo formed a string of hand seals and paused, gathering the chakra within him. When Shizuo gave the signal by nodding she unleashed her weapons and they went flying towards him. Being only a chuunin, she wasn’t the most physically strong kunoichi. But still she threw them with all her might. Almost as soon as the weapons left her hands, Shizuo let out a wave of chakra that spread out in all directions. The effect was immediate. All eight of her weapons paused in midair, shaking subtly as they were caught in the space time technique.

Setsuna’s eyes widened. Shizuo released the technique, and the projectiles fell to the ground with noisy metallic clatters. He cracked his neck, his expression calm and a little tense. Part of him wished she could throw the weapons harder to really test him, but that was too much for him to ask. So he gently instructed her to throw the weapons again, maybe add a little razzle dazzle to it.

The girl thought for a moment, and then pulled out more stilettos. She didn’t even wait for a signal this time. She threw them, not all at once. The first wave she aimed not directly at Shizuo. The second wave she threw harder, and they flew past the first wave and hit the side of the cliff, and they ricocheted off the rock and flew toward Shizuo. It was an interesting method. Shizuo channeled this time, and when he released the wave the effect was the same. All eight projectiles stopped midair, and Setsuna huffed that she didn’t catch him off guard.

477 words

Jutsu TrainedShow

Close Time: Freeze Zone
B-Ranked Jikukan Ninjutsu
By channeling the needed chakra the user will send out a wave of Jikukan chakra in a 40 meter sphere around himself closing time on any objects by [Control]. These projectiles must be moved by equal or greater [Strength] than the [Control] they were stopped at to regain movement. This freezes projectiles, jutsu, and particulates. At the end of 2 posts, everything will resume as it was.

[Kao]

Shizuo was getting close. The man was ready to learn the more advanced techniques of jikukan, and he was the most excited he’d been in a while. He woke one morning prepared to dive into the aspect of space time that he’d been most eager to try. From the beginning, Shizuo thought Recycle Time techniques were the most fascinating type of jikukan. The idea of resetting a period of time so that the event never happened seemed to him the pinnacle of a pinnacle. He knew it would take a large amount of chakra to perform it successfully even once. So the day before his first attempt at recycling time, he took it easy and let his chakra fully replenish.

Shizuo called upon two other jounin to help him that day. Setsuna had indicated she was interested in being a guinea pig for him again, but he decided to go with people who were a bit sturdier and stronger. They met at the same training ground he had been using, and the jounin briefed them on his intentions then told them to start sparring. The two jounin exchanged blows, one of them using raiton in his attack while the kunoichi used kouton to defend. Shizuo let them fight for a few minutes before attempting the technique.

He had studied it intently. The jounin had read all of Natsumi’s notes several times, and had consulted multiple books. Shizuo understood the theory behind it, but putting it into practice was another matter entirely. With that in mind he formed the hand seals for the technique and then took a kunai and threw it between the jounin, attempting to hit the foot of the kunoichi. At the last moment she noticed what he was doing, and she leaped several feet in the air to avoid it. It hit the ground with a loud thunk, and her opponent took the opportunity to strike her with a well placed raiton.

Shizuo performed the jikukan. He felt the chakra’s power tug at his gut as it flooded the area. He watched with a satisfied smile as the scene in front of him reset to the point in time just before he threw his weapon. The male jounin was forming seals for his raiton technique that he would use against her.

He threw the kunai again, knowing she would jump up in the air vertically. This time, he had another kunai in hand. When she was in the air he threw another kunai and, unable to dodge it, it met its mark The man apologized by healing the deep wound in her calf and then giving her a smile.

442 words

Jutsu TrainedShow

*Recycle Time: Replay
A-rank Jikukan Ninjutsu
Having used a contact based technique in the past post, if the user fail or misses their target, they can perform this jutsu to recycle time by a single post, resetting everything to how it was prior to them attempting the technique. This allows them to attack again, with the knowledge of how their opponent intends on dodging.

[Kao]

He felt incredible. As Shizuo made his way to his favorite jikukan training grounds with chicken skewers in tow, he hummed a cheerful tune. His training had been going well for the past few months, and he felt that he was on the verge of being able to somewhat contend with Lady Natsumi when it came to jikukan. He was still far from her level, but he was starting to feel like her peer. Shizuo already felt honored she had helped him by making him handwritten notes and lending him her books.

Once he was at the training ground, Shizuo scarfed down one of the skewers and then performed several hand seals. Once he completed the seals he pulled out a kunai from his pack and turned it over in his palm. The jikukan jutsu he had molded flowed into the weapon. The idea was to make it into an anchor. Shizuo then dropped it, and it lodged itself into the loose dirt and stood up, point down. In his hand was an exact duplicate of the kunai that he had dropped to the ground.

Shizuo then walked a few dozen kilometers away. He gently placed the second anchor on top of a wide, flat rock. He then unwrapped another chicken skewer he had tucked into his bag and slowly ate it. Truthfully, he didn’t expect to make the anchor so easily. It was his first attempt at the jutsu, after all, and it was technically much more advanced than anything he had ever tried before. Perhaps this was a sign that he was a natural when it came to space time techniques.

With that thought in mind he happily finished eating his chicken skewer. Then, casually, he lowered his hand and touched the duplicate anchor. In the next instant he found himself standing over the kunai that had fallen to the ground.

His stomach lurched. No matter how often he performed these kinds of teleportation techniques, they didn’t sit well with his stomach. Thankfully, he didn’t puke. But the contents of his stomach still sloshed uncomfortably.

Shizuo pulled out another chicken skewer, looked at it thoughtfully, and then channeled his chakra. The man then flooded the chicken skewer with the chakra, and to his pleasure he created an exact duplicate of the food. He thought about tasting it, but he wasn’t sure if that was a good idea. He put the original skewer in a paper towel and then threw the duplicate as far as he could. When it curved out of sight and presumably hit the ground, he then touched the chicken skewer anchor directly.

This time, when he teleported, his stomach didn’t lurch at all. Shizuo smiled. He was getting really good at this.

457 words

Jutsu TrainedShow

*Recycle & Open Space: True Link
A-Ranked Jikukan Ninjutsu
The user will do a series of hand seals then place one hand on an any object small enough to fit in their grasp. Upon doing so, they will Recycle Space, creating an exact duplicate of that object. The duplicate of said object will act as an Anchor, turning both objects into links to each other. Should any party aside from the Architect come in contact with either anchor, they’ll be instantly transported to the other Anchor either a) they elect to or b) their control is less than the control of the Architect. The Architect can opt to use the Anchor at any point as well, should they so choose.

[Kao]

This was it. The next jutsu Shizuo trained would be one he had been working towards. He already knew how to tighten space and was comfortable with the concept. He could tighten space around objects around him, with great effect. Now, however, he aimed to tighten space and then directly interact with the ripple in space. He just hoped it didn’t feel as funky as when he teleported.

Shizuo stood in the middle of the open training grounds he had grown accustomed to using for his jikukan training. It was early morning, and the grounds were empty. He made sure that nothing stood in his path for several dozen meters. Based on his research and Natsumi’s notes, he knew that not only would this jutsu fail if there were obstructions in his way, but there may be dire consequences for him and anyone who might get in the way. With that in mind, Shizuo performed the seals he needed, and then focused on the space directly in front of him.

If he could do this technique, it would open doors for him on the battlefield that he couldn’t have imagined even half a year ago. The man took a deep breath, focused his chakra, and stepped forward.

The world around him distorted. He wasn’t sure what it would look like to an observer, but from his point of view it was trippy, to say the least. The rock formations and brush and everything else in the area around him looked as though they were being squished vertically. The point he focused on drew closer and closer to him. When the point appeared to be directly in front of him, Shizuo took a casual step forward.

The world snapped back to normal. Shizuo blinked several times and gave a soft groan, fighting off the sensation of dizziness. Even though he was growing used to the sensation of moving through space like this, he still felt…off whenever he trained a jutsu for the first time. He paused to steady himself, then walked over to his original position so he could try the jutsu again. He’d noticed he wasn’t quite in the position he had aimed for, having missed the mark by about five meters.

Shizuo performed the hand seals and tried again, this time making sure to focus on exactly where he wanted to go. Then, he took a step forward and the world around him once again became distorted. This time, the jounin was at the exact position he’d wanted to be.

421 words

Jutsu TrainedShow

*Tighten Space: Step
A-Rank Jikukan Ninjutsu
The user will do a series of hand seals, then focus on a location within 65m in front of them. There can be no obstructions, to include people, in this 65m range. Once they’ve targeted the location, they’ll take a step forward. The space between their current location and target location will rapidly tighten at a speed equal to the user's [Control], allowing them to take a single step to cover the distance, then return to normal.

[Kao]

Shizuo was practically salivating with anticipation. When he had trained the Tighten Time: Space technique, he’d thought that was what he had been waiting for. But no, he realized, that jutsu was practically child’s play in comparison to what he would learn next. Most people could only dream about turning back time and erasing someone’s death. Shizuo had finally reached that point. The point adjacent to godhood.

Shizuo stood in the middle of the open training grounds. It was early morning, and the grounds were empty. In his hand he held a cage, and within the cage was half a dozen large lab rats. At his feet was a larger cage, containing a large, elderly cat. The man set the rat cage on the ground and then took one out and held it for a second.

He ended the rodent’s life with a swift hit to the base of its neck.

The jounin placed the dead animal on the ground at his feet. Then he performed seals, not taking his eyes off the rat. When he focused his jikukan chakra on the animal, nothing happened. Shizuo blinked, waiting for any signs of life for the creature. He tried and tried, but the animal was dead. After a while he stopped trying, knowing that too much time had passed for him to reverse it.

So he tried again, taking a rat from the cage and killing it as painlessly as he could. He tried again. He failed again. He was too sure just exactly where he was going wrong, but he wasn’t yet frustrated that he had been unable to immediately succeed with such a technique. He racked his mind, mentally reviewing all the notes and passages regarding how to rewind death itself.

When he was on his fourth rat, he thought he saw a bit of life return to the creature for just a moment. He continued to focus his chakra on it, willing time to rewind and give it life once more. For a few seconds he thought he had succeeded. The tiny animal’s chest rose and fell slowly, but then something changed. He could only describe it as a snap. It felt as though his jutsu severed with a quick, violent snap, and the rat stopped moving completely.

Shizuo sat the rat aside and sighed. This was much harder than he thought it would be. He had no prior experience with erasing; that aspect of space time hadn’t been his focus up until this point. It was possibly the most difficult of the space time aspects to master. The others were certainly useful and beneficial. But if Shizuo wanted to continue feeling like he was approaching godliness, then he would have to master this technique. So he pulled out the fifth rat, killed it, then laid it at his feet. He performed the same set of seals, and he felt the chakra inside him focus. When he activated the technique and directed the chakra to the dead rat, he focused intensely on the moment just before he broke its neck.

This time, the rat twitched the life with a squeak. It squirmed in his hand slightly, and the jounin could feel its tiny heart beating in his palm. He waited for a while, holding in one hand and then another, waiting for the moment the jutsu failed and hoping it never came.

It didn’t. The rodent squeaked softly, squirming a bit as it intermittently tried to get out of his grip. Shizuo smiled and replaced it in the cage with a pat.

594 words

Jutsu TrainedShow

*Erase Time: Death
S-rank Jikukan Ninjutsu
Prerequisites: 45 Control, 40 Chakra Pool
When the user has recently experienced death in their life, may it be that of a comrade or enemy, the user can perform a series of hand seals, then focus on the event. So long as the death occurred in the past 2 posts, the user can Erase time, removing the past 2 posts from ever happening. Anything that occurred within those 2 posts will have never happened, but time will continue as it was. The person who died will come back to life, and be in whatever state they were 2 posts ago. At the very least, this extends the time the person has to receive care, at best, it can allow the person to avoid ever dying in the first place.

[Kao]

Deciding to take break from learning how to be a master of space and time, Shizuo pulled his necklace from beneath his collar. The black beads felt cold on his fingertips when he first touched it. But as he rubbed the beads gently in his hand it warmed up, seemingly reacting to his touch. Shizuo didn’t know Envy very well. He’d had it for years now, but he had very rarely ever used it. At first he didn’t like it and he kept it locked away, safely sealed behind several fuuinjutsu in his lab or his home. He could feel malice radiating from it even when he wasn’t wearing it.

When Shizuo started wearing Envy regularly, it felt heavy, in a figurative way. Almost burdensome. The first time he used the weapon felt a rush that he couldn’t explain. When the beads grew and multiplied and swarmed behind him, he felt a burning hunger for everything around him. He wanted things he didn’t have. Knowledge. Strength. Power. His opponent used raiton, like him, and he felt himself hunger for the way the man had used the element in conjunction with taijutsu. Shizuo had watched the man, visually devouring his techniques and committing them to memory. Mid-battle he found himself growing agitated, unable to bear the sight of his opponent’s prowess. The jounin had killed him mercilessly, and the memory of the man had followed him for months afterwards.

From that day on, the constant longing for more had slowly taken root in him. It was the driving force behind him constantly researching, learning, training. It was the reason he had carefully placed himself in yet another jinchuuriki’s life, and had learned techniques that mimicked the Life genma’s abilities, though at a much weaker level.

He wanted more.

A hard freeze fell upon Iwagakure. There was no snow, only a layer of sheer white ice on every surface. The ice crunched beneath his feet as he made his way to his favorite training grounds. As he walked towards the middle of the grounds, he snapped the string of the necklace. Immediately the beads multiplied and grew in size, humming as they formed a black swarm behind him.

Normally he couldn’t get the swarm to move more than twenty meters from his position. It wasn’t enough. He needed the swarm to go further, to be able to extend its reach and be a better medium for his techniques. He channeled chakra into Envy, and it hummed with power. He held his hand up, palm out, directing the swarm as far as he could force it to go. He estimated it had stopped just at the twenty meter mark, so he channeled a bit more chakra into it.

The swarm hummed and moved forward, meter by meter. Suddenly, it snapped back to his position, hovering around him. Trying again, he sent chakra into Envy once more and directed it fowward. This time it moved faster, farther, and Shizuo felt a wave of excitement. He pushed the swarm forward, around, up, down, playing with it for over an hour. He pushed its limits, sending it as far away as possible until it resisted and snapped back to its default, safe position behind him. By the time the midday sun shone on the icy field, he was confident that he could push his Envy farther than before.

562 words

Jutsu trainedShow

Ravenous Envy
B-Ranked Ninjutsu
After the necessary hand seals, Shizuo channels chakra into Envy. This jutsu feeds the weapon's desire to desire for power and extends Envy’s range, allowing it to move further away from Shizuo’s location, to at least 60 meters away. This technique lasts ten posts.[/spoier]

[Kao]

Shizuo stood at his desk with his arms crossed, staring at the report in front of him. It seemed Kotori, the jinchuuriki for the Life Genma, was doing rather well for herself. She and her teammates were scheduled to take their chuunin exams very soon. He was famililar with Setsuna; the girl’s mother was a family friend of his parents, so he had helped her train here and there. He had never met Kotetsu, but it seemed he had lost a limb after the trio had a mission that went awry.

The thought of Kotori being injured in that way made his heart thunder in his chest.

He wanted the girl protected. He told himself it had lilttle to do with the fact that he had been unable to protect himself, but deep down he knew that was a lie.

”Sayuu.”

The wall in front of him rippled, and a portal slowly started to rip open. A red light shone behind the rip in space, surrounding a long, clawed finger. A hand followed, and then an arm. Eventually a beast of a spirit emerged. It was humanoid, suggesting femininity. A thick helmet of red flesh covered its face where its eyes should have been. The bottom half of its face was that of a smirking human woman, skin the color of blood. Its body was ivory colored, and its four arms were the same blood red as its face. The spirit hissed at him, though there was no malice behind the sound.

“Do you trust me, Sayuu?”

It tilted its head to the side, then very slowly nodded yes. This spirit, Sayuu, had been residing in his lab for years now. He had experimented on it, subjecting it to various tenkujutsu. Shizuo thought it was a bit of a masochist because even though he had no contract with it, it never retreated back to its realm after he had performed all sorts of harmful tenkujutsu on it. Not once in six years. All he had to do was ask, and the spirit let him do as he pleased.

“Bear with me then please?”

Sayuu nodded again.

Shizuo formed a string of seals, then raised his palm toward the spirit. His hand began to glow with maroon chakra, and tiny bolts of lightning crackling throughout. Without warning he launched the chakra, and it slammed into Sayuu. The beast hissed, clearly uncomfortable, but it otherwise didn’t move or give any sign that it was hurt. So he launched the chakra again, adjusting how much raiton he put into it. The second time the jutsu hit Sayuu, the spirit squirmed, but then snorted and shook its head, as if telling him it didn’t hurt enough.

Sighing through his nose, Shizuo performed the hand seals again. More raiton then. Less tenkujutsu chakra. This time when the jutsu hit the spirit, it gave an otherworldly moan that once would have made the hairs on Shizuo’s arms stand on end. But he was used to the sound now, used to how it bounced off the bare walls of his lab.

When she quieted down some, he performed it again and again, each time re-adjusting the chakra, looking for that perfect balance between raiton and tenkujutsu. Eventually, he found it. He could tell by the way Sayuu convulsed and screamed from the pain. Once he was satisfied with the jutsu he reached up and patted the spirit’s chest to sooth it.

574 words

Jutsu TrainedShow

Shock to the Spirit
C-Ranked Tenkujutsu
Pre-requisite: Raiton
Shizuo performed the needed hand seals to create tenkujutsu chakra imbued with raiton. He can launch this chakra in an electrified wave towards a target at [Control] strength and speed. If the chakra comes in contact with a spirit or jinchuuriki, the raiton-imbued tenkujutsu erupts on contact at [Control] strength.

[Kao]

“Do you trust me, Sayuu?”

Days later, Shizuo called upon Sayuu again. Again the spirit came obediently, towering above him as tilted its head to the side, as was its custom, then slowly nodded yes. “Bear with me then please?” Another nod from Sayuu.

“We have to say goodbye for a while, Sayuu.”

The spirit tilted its head as Shizuo formed a string of seals but it didn’t move. His hands began to glow with maroon chakra. “But, you can always come back. If you form a contract with me now, it’ll be easier.” Sayuu hissed its displeasure, and the jounin laughed. “It was worth a shot.”

The chakra that surrounded his hands grew rapidly, filling most of the room with maroon energy. Sayuu recoiled, as if it could tell that this technique was different. It wasn’t merely going to hurt. Something was about to happen. Before the beast could defend itself Shizuo blasted it with the wave of tenkujutsu chakra. Sayuu howled. The sound shook the walls, and Shizuo could feel its anguish. He could feel it pleading with him as it struggled against the chakra.

The chakra clung to it, condensing into a thick prison that surrounded the beast completely. It thrashed, huffed, screamed, shook, but it wasn’t strong enough to break through the chakra. Shizuo looked on, his expression one of apathy. He felt no love for spirits. They were a means to an end, something meant for him to control and manipulate until he no longer had use for them. Sayuu may still have some use, but at that moment the only thing she was good for was perfecting this tenkujutsu.

He had severed connections between spirits and items they possessed before, but he had never outright banished a spirit from the human realm without the help of others. The man was at a point in his life where he wanted the power to disperse spirits on his own. He craved that sort of strength. So he had practiced on weak spirits, and eventually he had found himself able to send them out of the human realm. Sayuu, however, was a grand spirit. So banishing her was a true test of his own strength. If he could remove her from this realm, then he could say he had perfected the technique.

He concentrated, helping the tenkujutsu chakra along as it continued to hold the spirit in place. After a long while it gave a final shriek and then vanished with a pop. Shizuo sighed, hoping he hadn’t pissed off the spirit enough that it would seek vengeance.

431 words

Jutsu TrainedShow

Banishment
A-Ranked Tenkujutsu
After performing a seat of handseals, Shizuo directs a wave of maroon tenkujutsu chakra towards a target. Once it hits the desired target, be it a spirit or jinchuuriki, the chakra converges on them and holds them with [Control] strength. The chakra, unless broken with strength equal to or greater than [Control], holds the target in place for two posts. If the user has greater than or equal [Control] than the spirit, the spirit will be banished from the human realm after two posts, In the case of jinchuuriki, they will suffer -6 mastery for 3 posts.