[Graded]Working Through Some Issues

[Sanjuro]

After training for weeks under the watchful eye of the members of StratOs and then getting a severe beatdown at the hands of the Raikage, Sou found himself free and clear of the dank caverns. Of course that meant he was now being handed into the custody of his 'official' handler, Hiruko. Sou shook his head and almost snorted out a laugh. He had to wonder what they were thinking, pairing Hiruko up with him. He was the reason the Jonin's mother was dead, her having died during the sealing process which made him into a Jinchuuriki.

Sou lifted his hand up and stared at it, flexing his fingers. I wonder what I can do with this thing… So far all of his uses of the beast's chakra had wound up with him inadvertently entering what Banri and the Raikage had called his Forms. Mutations his body went under in order to be able to withstand the amount of foreign chakra he pulled through the seal, or something like that anyway. He didn't fully understand it himself, all he knew was that he wanted to be able to use some of this power without having to go through the somewhat painful process.

The blood red chakra bubbled up from his tenketsu, Sou wincing as he drew on its power. It was all too eager to be brought to the surface, forming faster than he had expected. It was obvious that the aura the beast's chakra provided was meant to be manipulated in several ways, not just through methods with obvious results. When he had lost control of himself to the Genma, Sou had borne witness to just what it was capable of. And if the beast was to be believed, that was naught but a fraction of what it could really do.

As his own chakra mixed with the Okigenma's, Sou tried to will the aura to change shape. He didn't particularly care what shape it took at the moment, so long as he could figure out if it was possible or not. But to his disappointment nothing noticeable happened and the Chuunin looked down at his open palm thoughtfully.

It would be much easier with me controlling the aura.

Oh shut up.

He tried again, this time focusing less on the entirety of his arm and just on the part of the aura that enshrouded his hand. The chakra seemed to bubble for a moment around the fingers and Sou was quick to focus on those instead of his hand as a whole. With his own chakra mixing with the red aura he managed to stretch the fingers a little. Not by much, and they hadn’t changed shape at all, but they had moved before the suddenly snapped back into place. Sou clicked in tongue in annoyance and set about attempting once again while he waited for Hiruko to arrive.

[TyDie]

Well, it was time for Hiruko to officially take over as Sou's handler... he still wasn't sure he was ready. The whole thing about his mother dying was over with, he knew that Sou didn't really have anything to do with it. Hell, he probably didn't even want the genma to be sealed in him... regardless, he was an Oshigurama, and it was his duty to work with the host to help bring out their power for the sake of the village. It didn't matter if he was ready, as a shinobi he was hardly ever ready for what he had to do. He'd just have to suck it up and get ready real quick... That might as well be his ninja way: "Get ready quick or die."

When he arrived at the training grounds again, the same area that he had met the young boy before, he was shocked to find the place abnormally empty. Like, empty to the point that Sou was there, practicing with his new 'friend' from the looks of it, without any fear of being spotted. The aura shaped itself around his hands, and although it looked like it was taking a good deal of focus to maintain, it's appearance was alien compared to other spirits he had interacted with. He was used to armor-type jutsu, and he was used to spirits, but the power of Konegu was... intriguing. "Careful flashing that stuff around. Most of us won't be able to tell the difference between a jutsu and that aura, but those select few that know about Konegu don't need to know who he's hiding in. Not yet anyways. Still, you're looking good so far Sou, what are you aiming to do with that aura?"

[Sanjuro]

The sound of Hiruko's voice snapped Sou out of his concentration, the chakra fading away as quickly as it had come. He stared between his arm and Hiruko before chuckling awkwardly and scratching the back of his head with the hand that had just been surrounded by the dangerous red chakra. "Nothing in particular. Just trying to mix it with my own chakra so I can shape it without relying on it. I've gotten good at drawing on its power but the further I go the harder it is to maintain to control. Hence," He waved his hand towards his arm vaguely, referencing his experiment.

The Jinchuuriki stared at his handler, wondering how this was going to go. He knew Hiruko had said he didn't blame Sou for what had happened during the sealing but there had to be some lingering resentment towards him, even if the Ishiguro had buried it somewhere deep down. Sou knew he would feel the same. Rolling his shoulders, he cocked his head to the side a little and adopted a neutral look, an eyebrow raised in question. "So then Watcher, what's the plan?" He assumed the man would've been given some orders in regards to how this was going to work. Sou had basically been told 'Don't ditch your handler' and that was it. Hiruko probably had some rules of his own to follow.

[TyDie]

Hiruko nodded in understanding... the man had been briefed on the various things to watch for with Sou and Konegu, and he had been told about how the genma had been utilized by previous hosts so that he would have some idea of what to expect from Sou. Still, seeing was different from reading and being told secondhand the power of Konegu... even with something so simple, it was easy to see the power that the genma wielded, and easy to see why he and his brethren were viewed as gods back in the old days. "It's a solid start, and you've got to start somewhere right? Keep at it Sou, turn that beast into your personal power source."

The Jinchuuriki asked him what the plan was, and Hiruko truly didn't have much of one at first. Initially the plan was to help him work on his powers as a host, maybe even go as far as to enter Sou's Dreamscape and have himself a little 'chat' with Konegu... but it was likely too early for that sort of intrusion. That would be best saved for a later date, when Sou had had some time to work with Konegu on his own terms. Instead, he snapped his fingers after a few moments as the idea came to him. "Well, if we're gonna work together, it would probably good for us to have a general idea of each other's capabilities. And I don't just mean with Konegu, although i'd like to see whatever you have cooked up with it too if you can. So why don't you show me a little bit of what you're capable of hm? Not so much a spar, we're not trying to beat each other to a pulp or prove who's stronger. More of a quick showcase of what we can do in a fight."

As he spoke, he reached for his kunai pouch, removing Maboroshi and tossing the white kunai in the air, hardly even paying attention to it as he juggled it around. It was like an extension of his person, even though he had only had it for a little while. "You can cast the first stone whenever you're ready mate."

[Sanjuro]

Sou clicked his tongue against his teeth. A spar, huh? Did he really want to try and fight against a Jounin? He knew Hiruko said it was just a showcase, not an actual training session, but Sou recognized he had been spending a lot of time working with the Genma lately. His others skills had been getting rusty over the last few months. Running his fingers through his hair, he let out a harsh sigh but nodded his agreement. He did need to get back to work on his other skills sooner or later. Maybe this would be the wakeup call he needed. Muscle memory took over as his fingers slipping into his though holster and he smoothly drew a pair of kunai, flicking one to his other hand.

"Go easy on me Watcher. I'm a bit rusty."

Blue eyes followed the ornate white kunai that Hiruko started juggling around and Sou wondered what was so special about it but shrugged and tossed his own kunai into the air, his hands flashing through a set of seals and his chakra flaring for a moment. Three blue platforms appeared in the air surrounding Hiruko and Sou jumped at the nearest one, catching his kunai along the way. The second his feet touched the platform he was launched from the energy towards the next one, his kunai flashing from his hand and aimed at Hiruko. As he bound from platform to platform he would loose the other kunai and a set of three shuriken.

TechniquesShow

[Bound • Triple]
B-Rank Ninjutsu
Sou channels chakra toward a position within 30 meters of him. His chakra then forms three square 50cm2 platforms within this range. Once Sou touches a platform, it pushes him off at +3 his normal speed in a single direction for 25m. As he moves through the air, he suffers a -3 to Taijutsu because of the external influence of force. These platforms only work on Sou and things containing his chakra, while they last for 6 posts.

[Meteor Shower]
C-Rank Taijutsu Discipline
Sou utilizes this technique to fire multiple projectiles at once while moving at high speeds in order to provide cover fire. Meteor Shower is the culmination of hours spent practising with both thrown and shot weapons until such time as he is able to release up to 5 projectiles in a single post somewhat accurately while moving at high speeds.

[TyDie]

Hiruko didn't give a verbal response to Sou's comment about being rusty, just a small smile and nod. He knew the jinch had been focused on nothing but Konegu since the sealing, but there was a reason it was called "muscle memory". He might have a minute or two of rust, but once he got back in the flow of it, it would all come back to him. Sou started off by hopping onto a chakra platform, then with a quick jump Sou proceeded to release a Kunai at him. It was... slower than he expected, likely not thrown with too much strength. After catching Maboroshi, Hiruko flicked the blade towards the kunai in flight while channeling fuuton chakra throughout his body, sending a gray duplicate of the kunai towards Sou's attack to intercept it. As the other weapons came from the air, he threw the last three duplicates as well as the real Maboroshi, colliding with the other weapons. As the white blade of Maboroshi collided with the last kunai, Hiruko released the fuuton chakra through his legs.

In a moment Hiruko was leaping through the air with impressive speed, and mid flight he caught the white kunai as it fluttered in the air, being thrown slightly off course after it's connection with Sou's throwing weapons. His aim was to leap up towards Sou's third platform and get there before him to deliver a strong kick to the boy, throwing him off the course of his last platform. If he missed, he would simply continue in his flight and hit the ground about 15 meters away from Sou. If he hit however, he would jump off of Sou's body and land back where he initially started.

TechniqueShow

[Fuuton • Enhanced Launch]
D-rank Ninjutsu
After channeling chakra through his body, Hiruko gathers wind around his feet. Then, Hiruko will use the wind to blast himself up from the ground, enabling him to leap into the air an extra 10 meters at 3 extra speed. Hiruko also has 3 less Taijutsu until they once again touch the ground. Those with less than 5 Taijutsu (after deduction) will stumble and fall when trying to land. The Fuuton passive is not applied in this technique.

[Sanjuro]

Okay, that was just cheating. The guy didn't even need to draw extra kunai? Sou was so wrapped up in watched the white kunai that could make clones of itself that he barely noticed Hiruko flying through the air, wind whipping around his legs. Eyes widening, he lifted his arms in time to absorb the brunt of the kick but was knocked well off course. Crashing into the ground, he rolled a few times before smoothly pushing into a handspring and righting himself. The speed gap between them was too much. Even if he hadn't been distracted he doubted he could have matched that speed even with his Bound platforms.

"Alright then…" His hands came together at his chest and he started through another set of hand seals. "Let's try this out." He knew he was facing an Ishiguro and Ninjutsu was basically pointless but Sou didn't have much else to go on.

He slipped another kunai into his hand, the chakra passing from him to the blade, shrouding it in a swirling green vortex. His eyes narrowed as he calculated the angle and then threw the weapon. Rather than aiming it directly at Hiruko, he aimed it at once of the blue platforms. While normally a kunai would pass through it he had imbued the blade with enough chakra to trigger the effects of the platform. So it hit and bounced off, aiming at the next platform where Sou would make a handseals, causing the wind to burst outwards and change the kunai's direction to aim straight for Hiruko from behind.

All the while he began charging forward, drawing another kunai and aiming to get back to his Bound platforms.

TechniquesShow

[Wind Release • Redirection]
D-Rank Ninjutsu
After performing the necessary hand seals, Sou covers a projectile he is holding in wind-release chakra. Then, when the weapon has been thrown as normal, Sou is able to change its direction by up to 90 degrees once with no drop in momentum on the projectiles part. This technique only lasts one post.

[TyDie]

Hiruko landed on the ground with a soft 'thump', looking back at Sou with his hands up behind his head. As he spoke, the kunai that he had thrown at Sou's weaponry poofed from existence shortly after impact with Sou's weapons. "You've got an interesting style for sure, lots of aerial movement and such. But relying solely on those platforms is a bad idea. It'd be a shame if something were to happen to th-" Hiruko watched the wind sheathed kunai fly towards him as he spoke to Sou, and as the Kunai flew past his head after bouncing off of the platform, he had initially thought that either Sou had missed. Admittedly, that was a bit foolish on his end...

Now there was a Kunai sticking out of his back.

"OW!" was quickly yelled through the training ground as Hiruko reached for the Kunai sticking out of his shoulder, pulling it out with a grunt of pain before tossing it into his left hand. "That was unexpected to say the least..." As he spoke, he began to channel chakra through his body, and in a few moments his body was suddenly covered in a sheen of transparent gray chakra. He would then jump up towards the nearest platform to him and reach out to touch it, causing it to dissipate the moment his hand made contact with it. Meanwhile he held Maboroshi in his right hand and Sou's Kunai in his left, clearly he was ready for the fight to turn to taijutsu if it came down to it. But since the jinchuuriki was aiming to get back to his platforms, which Hiruko was trying to get rid of, he figured a ranged barrage of his own might help keep the boy on his toes. So one after another he loosed the four clones of Maboroshi at Sou, sending the gray metal kunai towards him with full speed and strength. Whether they hit Sou or the ground, they would poof out of existence after making contact.

Jutsu UsedShow

Cancellation Armor
A-rank Ninjutsu
Hiruko will channel denjiton chakra through his body, placing his hand on his forehead and focusing chakra around his body. The chakra will form a thin, clear armor around his skin. For the next 5 posts, the armor will cancel out the effects of chakra that come in direct contact with his bodies. This allows him to break through barriers, protect himselves from ninpou effects, and otherwise act as a protection from indirect attacks. This armor only serves to cancel. A doton jutsu's chakra would be cancelled, but the blunt force of a rock slamming against him would remain.

[Sanjuro]

"Like I said. Good technical skills, painfully average everywhere else." Sou shrugged his shoulders mid charge towards his floating platforms. When his kunai trick paid off and the blade found its way into Hiruko's back he sniggered a little. "Oh, and I very rarely miss a target," he finished with a chuckle. He leapt up to the platform and took note of the glow that had surrounded Hiruko as he went for another. Just touching one of his Bound platforms was enough to break it? Sou scowled a little at that. Ishiguro's cheated.

One thing he'd noticed since becoming the host to the Okigenma was that his reflexes seemed heightened. Like his body reacted faster to his wants and needs. So when he saw Hiruko throwing out a wave of kunai he was already bounding through the air towards his second remaining platform, twisting his body mid-flight so that the blades only grazed a few non vital areas. Completing his aerial acrobatics, he landed on the platform of chakra with his knees bent and then shot himself at Hiruko as fast as he could manage, drawing a pair of kunai and beginning to spin.

His style, Rise of Saturn, leant itself to smaller quicker hits which in general was enough to take down most people. He had good stamina and speed for his rank. One of his penultimate techniques was the Piercing Pulsar Pirouette. He shifted his centre of gravity and twisted his body to build up so much torque that he spun like a child's toy with a pair of knives attached to the edges. Against someone faster and stronger than him though, Sou was beginning to wonder if this had been such a great idea.

Another down side to the Pirouette? Once it started it was really difficult to stop.

TechniquesShow

[Piercing Pulsar Pirouette]
B-Rank Taijutsu Manoeuvre
Sou must initiate this attack while he is in mid-air, often after bouncing from one of his bound platforms. Sou will tuck his legs tight against his body and use his high amount of skill in controlling his body and gravity's influence on his position in the air to generate a high amount of torque. This allows him to spin rapidly in mid-air and strike with his weapon. The sheer speed and skill associated with this technique causes the successive strikes to occur with such a small interval between them that they appear simultaneous to any with a Taijutsu+Instinct/2 lower than Sou's own Taijutsu+Speed/2. This technique may strike a number of times equal to Sou's Speed/4 in a single post.

[TyDie]

The young Jounin let out a 'tch' as Sou made his comment about never missing. Cocky bastard... the thought crossed his mind after he got rid of one of the boy's platforms, and he would have gone for the next one if Sou wasn't already up in the air, jumping across the platforms again. Sou proceeded to leap towards Hiruko while spinning at a rapid pace... this was definitely an interesting taijutsu technique, and he would love to see what it was capable of, but there was one small detail; Sou was slow. Not terribly slow of course, but compared to Hiruko the boy was rather sluggish. He had ample time to make a quick dodge to the left and wait for the man to come flying past him.

If Sou did nothing to stop himself, he'd soon find himself crashing into the ground, and Hiruko was already channeling chakra for when the boy would land. Once Hiruko had a good idea of where Sou was going to stop - be it in a crash or otherwise - Hiruko would then release a blast of Denjiton towards the boy. If it made contact with him, Sou would suddenly feel quite nauseous, as well as incredibly weak as his muscles suddenly felt the fatigue caused by Hiruko's Denjiton. If it connected, Hiruko would stop for a moment to see if Sou was okay. "Can you stand mate? That technique can be a bit disorienting..."

Jutsu usedShow

Body Shock
C-rank Ninjutsu
Hiruko will channel denjiton chakra through his body, and sends forth a pulse of denjiton chakra from his hands that travels at 10 speed. Anyone caught in the denjiton pulse will have sudden full body muscle fatigue and a feeling of nausea and discomfort that lasts for 4 posts.

[Sanjuro]

… Crap.

That was the last thought that ran through Sou's head when Hiruko sidestepped his assault. He supposed he had been expecting it, the younger man was a Jounin for a reason. It was actually a little depressing to think about how much weaker he was in comparison when he was in fact older than Hiruko. Was this the difference between having a clan to train you during your formative years and coming from just a family of generational ninja? Or was Hiruko just a born prodigy in comparison to Sou's own average nature? All thought of nature vs nurture was knocking from his head as he crashed into the hardened earth, his kunai being flung from his hands while he curled into a tight ball and rolled to absorb the impact.

He managed to pull himself to one knee and spin around to face Hiruko, readying a kunai to throw at the smug Ishiguro's face, when he was hit by a wave of chakra. At first he thought it had been a misfired technique since he didn't feel any real pain. Moving to stand, his legs collapsed from under him and a wave of nausea rushed him like he had just been working out for the last three hours on a full stomach. One arm clutched at his stomach and the other went to cover his mouth. "I think I'm gonna be sick…"

This is pathetic. Sou made no attempt to communicate with the voice that decided to pop into his head, too wary that even mental speaking would trigger his nausea to evolve into puking. Do you enjoy being beaten, is that it? Are you actually a masochist? Thrice you have fought since becoming my container and twice you've been defeated. I shall not stand for it to be a third.

Sou hated to admit it but the beast had a point. He had been getting his ass kicked left and right lately and it was starting to grate on his nerves. This was meant to be a showcase of his abilities in combat without the use of the Genma, but as it stood his current techniques had no chance against Hiruko. Giving in to the temptation was easy. He reached into the pool of power he associated with the seal and dove in as far as he could swim without drowning, so to speak.

A blast of red chakra tore its way from his tenketsu, surrounding him from head to toe in a bubbling red aura that was almost too bright to see through for a moment. When it faded he was standing upright again, his skin eerily pale and blood red tears staining his cheeks. His muscles still ached but the nausea was pushed aside in the rush of power and chakra. Looking down at his fists, he clenched them a few times before looking up to his sparring partner. When he spoke his voice was almost like two people speaking at once. "I haven't really practiced much with this form," he offered a grin to Hiruko. "Let's take it for a spin."

Flooding his aura with chakra, he thrust his hand forward and a long red arm of energy moved through the air towards Hiruko, aiming to punch him in the face.

TechniquesShow

Form 2 Ascended - +7 Taijutsu, +6 Stamina, +3 Control, +3 Strength

[Hell Bound]
D-Rank Okijutsu
Prerequisite: Form One or higher active.
Having spent time mastering the use of his Aura in combat, Sou is capable freely extending his portions of his Aura, such as limbs, up to 10m as needed. This extension occurs with a speed and strength equal to Sou's (Mastery+Control)/2, lasts for a single post, and can only be applied to a single limb at a time.

[TyDie]

Hiruko's eyes narrowed as Sou began tapping into Konegu's power... admittedly he was waiting for this. As Sou's watcher, it was only natural that he would eventually have to see and deal with Sou's newfound powers. "Alright, time to see what you've acquired from the beast is it? Go on then Sou, don't hold back." Hiruko suddenly got a lot more serious when he realized that Sou was calling on Konegu's powers, he couldn't let the beast have any sort of idea that he could get past Hiruko. Hiruko was the first line of defense should Konegu convince Sou to go on a rampage, and Hiruko was going to show both of them just how strong that defense was. Sou's fist launched forward, and suddenly his aura stretched forward towards Hiruko... fortunately however, the arm made contact with his Denjiton armor, and would dissipate almost immediately without leaving a mark on Hiruko.

Hiruko then proceeded to point a finger at Sou as he channeled chakra throughout his body, his body becoming surrounded by maroon chakra as he spoke. "I'm impressed, I hadn't expected you to be capable of entering such a high level form so quickly... you skipped the first form entirely. I'm going to have to ask you to dial it back a notch." As he finished speaking, the chakra he was channeling would condense into his finger, and suddenly a tiny ray of chakra flew out towards Sou. It would alter it's trajectory and move accordingly until it caught him, and if it did catch him, he would suddenly find his abiilty to use Konegu's power hampered by Hiruko's chakra.

Jutsu UsedShow

Deny the Master
A-rank ninjutsu
After channeling chakra through his body, Hiruko will point his finger towards a target and fire off a beam of pure chakra towards them. The beam has a diameter of 1 inch and flies with a speed of 25 up to a maximum distance of 40 meters away from Hiruko. Hiruko can do nothing while maintaining the beam, but as a result he can control it's direction with keen accuracy, allowing it to move in any direction he desires to ensure contact with target. Should this beam of chakra make contact with a spirit host who is in a spirit form higher than 0, the beam will immediately drop their form by 1 for 5 posts. This also prevents the host from accessing their highest available form for the duration.

[Sanjuro]

When Sou saw the maroon chakra flaring up around Hiruko, his eyes narrowed as he recognized it from the last time they had met and the Jounin felt the need to threaten him. In the back of his head Konegu growled as well. Oshigurama… Sou nodded in agreement with the beast, likely the first time he had ever agreed with him. Not only could this guy cancel out his normal Ninjutsu attacks he wanted to take away the beast's strength as well? In the time it took for Hiruko's chakra to build up enough Sou would make a set of hand seals and conjure up a glowing blue platform in the air just beside him.

Launching himself into the air, he was already making more hand seals as he landed feet first against the platform. He was rocketed forward far faster than his previous set of platforms had launched him. He likely still wasn't as fast as Hiruko but he needed to get as close as he could to the man before that jutsu had a chance to take away his power. He wasn't sure what it would actually do but he knew that Hiruko had techniques specifically for taking down Jinchuuriki. As he finished the hand seals he reached down to his kunai pouch and drew out another pair of kunai, officially his last set unless he unsealed more.

The second set of hand seals had created another of these more powerful platforms in the sky just above and behind Hiruko, the point he had been aiming at when he had pushed off from the first one. He would bend and twist his body as much as he could to avoid the beam of maroon chakra while he rocketed downwards with his kunai prepared to jam straight into Hiruko's back.

TechniquesShow

[Bound • Double]
C-Rank Ninjutsu
Sou channels chakra toward a position within 25 meters of him. His chakra then forms a square 50cm2 platform. Once Sou touches the platform, it pushes him off at +6 his normal speed in a single direction for 15m. As he moves through the air, he suffers a -6 to Taijutsu because of the external influence of force. This platform only works on Sou and things containing his chakra, while it lasts for 5 posts. X2

Stats: Nin: 25 Tai: 31 Gen: 10 Stam: 26 Ctrl: 18 Str: 13 Spd: 26 Inst: 15 Mast: 21

[TyDie]

Hiruko's beam would whip and weave through the air in a desperate attempt to catch the jinchuuriki as he leapt through the air from platform to platform. Those damn platforms made him -just- fast enough to outrun his beam though, and once he got ahead of the beam, there was no hope of it catching up to him. "Shit, I guess i'll just have to deal with the full form then... " He then ceased control of the beam and allowed it to fade away, his eyes watching Sou as he made his speedy approach towards him. He was fast, fast enough that Hiruko had to tuck and roll forward to avoid getting stuck in the back. again.

Once he got to his feet Hiruko dashed back towards Sou, tossing a copy kunai into his left hand as he closed the gap to Sou. He would then proceed to relentlessly attack Sou with various slashes and jabs, always making sure to keep one kunai on the defensive, alternating left handed and right handed strikes to keep the boy on his toes without exposing himself too much. And he wasn't too concerned about the genma's powers given that his cancellation armor still enshrouded him, protecting him from the potential of a two pronged assault. This was meant to test just how adept the boy was in hand to hand combat; he wasn't as strong as Hiruko, but supposedly his skill outweighed his physical strength.

He wanted to know the true extent of that skill.

Jutsu UsedShow

[Ukemi]
D-rank Taijutsu Discipline
Hiruko has practiced the art of rolling, and in doing so has gotten much better at controlling his movement while rolling along the ground. In doing so, he can avoid damage from being thrown or knocked down more easily, and can roll away from an opponent’s attacks without exposing himself too much.

Ambidexterity
D-Rank Taijutsu Discipline
Hiruko has trained himself to be proficient with both of his hands to the point that he can do anything with either of them without any loss of skill or power. This allows Hiruko to use both of his hands with equal efficiency, no matter what the task.

[Dual Wield]
C-Ranked Taijutsu Discipline
Prerequisite: Ambidexterity
With rigorous training, Hiruko has trained himself to be able to wield a weapon in each hand without a loss of proficiency. This allows Hiruko to keep up an overwhelming offense with a weapon in each hand, or use one hand for defensive measures while still maintaining offense with the other hand.

[Sanjuro]

Sou grinned wildly, the beasts influence apparent, as he forced Hiruko to actually dodge. Even though he was of a lower rank than the Jounin he was older and it never sat right with Sou that he was so much weaker than his watcher. So being able to apply some pressure on the man was just that much sweeter. He danced backwards, throwing one of his kunai into the air at the same time as he channelled more chakra into his aura, a long red arm bubbling forth from the energy and solidifying around the kunai, long clawed fingers clutching the weapon and bringing it to bare in front of the Sou. The blond himself drew his last knife and held all three in a defensive guard in front of him.

His eyes widened a fraction when Hiruko charged him, that damn awesome kunai of his making a copy and the man swung them both at him in a rapid flurry of slashes. He did what he could to defend himself, his body shifting to defend instinctually as his eyes tracked the motion of the blades. No matter how hard he tried through he simply didn't have the speed to keep up with Hiruko. The blades passed through his aura with annoying ease, the Ishiguro chakra messing with his own, and Sou quickly found himself bleeding from multiple small lacerations all over his arms and a few on his cheek and neck. With an angered grunt he moved to intercept both of the incoming knives with his own to initiate a deadlock and, assuming his attempt succeeded, his chakra arm would move to come down from above and sink the blade into Hiruko's shoulder.

TechniquesShow

[Encroaching Hand of Hell]
D-Rank Okijutsu
Prerequisite: Form Two or higher active.
Sou channels chakra into his Aura, creating an extra arm. This arm can appear from anywhere on his Aura and is by default the same length as Sou's arm. This arm is capable of moving independently of Sou's physical actions and functions with a speed and strength equal to Sou's (Mastery+Control)/2.

[TyDie]

Hiruko's assault was fast enough to keep the jinchuuriki on the defensive, and he even managed to land a couple of good slashes against him. Not only that, his denjiton armor made contact with the chakra cloak surrounding Sou, causing the aura to shift and dissipate here and there as the denjiton ate away at Konegu's chakra. He was impressed so far with Sou's ability to withstand the attack, and even more impressed with the utility of that third chakra arm of his. His defense was powerful, but he kept watching and waiting for an offensive move, or something that would indicate Sou's attempt to shift the momentum of the fight.

And as his blades both made contact with two of Sou's blades, he knew that moment had come. As if by instinct, a third copy of Maboroshi fell out of the original in his right hand, and as it fell towards the ground, Hiruko's right knee came up and knocked the blade up towards his mouth. With a solid 'CHINK', Hiruko and Sou would be locked together by three blades; two in each hand, and one in Hiruko's mouth blocking the one Sou had attempted to stab him in the shoulder with. Through grit teeth Hiruko spoke to the jinch.

"You're good Sou, better than I thought. I think we've got an idea for each other's strengths and weaknesses, let's stop for now." After speaking, Hiruko jumped back from the deadlock, sweat dripping from his hair and brow and a small bit of drool coming out of his open mouth due to the kunai. With a 'PTOOH' Hiruko spat the kunai from his mouth to the ground and dropped the one in his left hand, watching the clones disappear before slipping Maboroshi back into it's sheath.

Jutsu UsedShow

[Kunai Versatility]
B-Ranked Taijutsu Discipline
Prerequisite: Dual Wielding, 25 instinct
Taking the concept of utilizing multiple weapons to a whole new level, Hiruko has trained his body to be even more adept at wielding Kunai. With this level of mastery, Hiruko can wield a Kunai with practically any part of his body as long as he can get a grip on the Kunai. This includes things such as toes, behind the knees, in his elbows, his mouth; virtually anything that could realistically grip something well with. While doing this, he can generate the same amount of force as he could while using the kunai normally, allowing him to stab or throw them with ease.

[Sanjuro]

He couldn't believe it. The plan had been damn near flawless. He should have won! Who the hell even uses their mouth to hold a freakin' blade anyway!? With a snarl, he jumped backwards from Hiruko, the arm retreating into his shroud and the kunai being dropped into his waiting hand. His head cocked a little to the side when the Jounin told him it was done. Why would it be done? He hadn't even gotten started really testing out this power he wielded. He glanced down at this hands again, the shock of white skin bathed in red chakra and wrapped around the kunai. The chakra coating was flickering in and out of existence, he could feel the pull on the seal growing more painful as he drew more power to reform the shroud. It felt wrong to leave it incomplete. He felt unprotected without it.

Shit.

Shaking his head, Sou forced the power back into the wellspring from whence it came. It was a lot more difficult than he imagined it would be, like he was fighting with himself to get rid of it. Part of him knew that over reliance on the Genma would lead to nothing but trouble but a small part in the back of his mind realized that it was so much more powerful than he was. Being in that form was like an adrenaline rush, he felt like he could take on the world without ever losing anyone or anything again. It was a dangerous mindset, one he would need to be more cautious of when dipping that deep into his powers.

When he finally came back to his senses the teenager realized he had stumbled to his hands and knees, and was sucking in deep, teeth-shaking breaths. "Well," he said between as he got his breathing back under control. "That was intense."

Another loss to add to your ever growing tally, Sou. Konegu's voice echoed in the back of his head, a mixture of amusement and disappointment. You really are worthless, aren't you? You think you can protect anyone in this state? You should have let me control the shroud, we could have torn that meddlesome Oshigurama asunder in mere moments.

When I want your help, I'll ask for it. Otherwise, shut the hell up.

[TyDie]

Hiruko watched the man revert his forms with an ever growing interest... indeed, he had dealt with spirits before, but this was the first time he had ever tangled with one of the legendary genma hosts. It was a learning experience for the both of them, of that there was no doubt. Once the man was completely back to normal, taking gasping breaths of air to feed the intense oxygen requirement his body needed, he would walk to the man and extend a hand to help him to his feet. "I think you and I will have a strong partnership in the years to come Sou. While I may not look forward to my positions true nature as a failsafe in case things go awry, I do look forward to working with you and making our village a better place."

Once the man was back to his feet, Hiruko would place a hand on the man's shoulder and shoot him a warm smile. "In the wake of this war, there will be much that needs to be done. The people will need something to look up to, something to protect them from whatever and whoever seeks to take control of the chaos left in the war's wake. It's our duty as shinobi to be that something. The responsibility you carry is great, but I hope that together we can work towards lessening the burden, one step at a time. Whaddaya say bud?"

Hiruko once more extended his hand to the man, but this time it was in the form of a hand shake. He could only hope the man would take his hand and make their being together more of a choice and less of a chore.

[Sanjuro]

Taking Hiruko's hand, Sou hauled himself to his feet and dusted off his clothes. "That or one of us will end up killing the other," the boy muttered under his breath. He didn't doubt that the Ishiguro genuinely believed what he was saying but a part of Sou realized the truth of what they were. Not partners, not really. Like Sou was to be the Genma's leash, so to would Hiruko be Sou's. Still he plastered a smile, tucking his hands into his pockets. The man raised a point, the village would need protecting. That was their job. To serve as protectors, shields and weapons, not to be some kind of role model.

'You humans need protection from yourselves more than from others, weak-minded, petty creatures that you are.' Sou scowled and shut down the mental link between himself and the beast within before returning his attention to Hiruko. He hated it when he could see things from the beast's point of view, it sickened him. But he wasn't wrong. Human nature was what started the civil war, what caused the loss of so much life.

"People shouldn't look up to shinobi. Not really. We deceive and we lie and we conspire to do whatever is necessary to complete our mission." He offered a shrug. "Protecting them though? That's something I think we can agree on. People like us are meant to serve as the shields so the rest of the world doesn't have to see how ugly people really are." Sou stared at the outstretched hand and was tempted to turn away. It would be so easy, push Hiruko away so when he inevitably saw the need to put Sou to task for even slightly losing control, it wouldn't hurt so much. But he sighed and took the man's hand in a firm grasp. "We aren't buds, Watcher. But we can work together. Cheers to the future of Kumogakure no Sato."