The Lone Swordsman

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The Lone Swordsman

Post by Servant » Thu May 14, 2020 10:21 am

Strength - 542/500 words

Niku was wearing weighted equipment once again. Her belt, anklets, and bracelets were all weighted, each one weighing about 200 pounds. It seemed like an absurd amount of weight, giving Niku was only 150 pounds herself, but her strength had grown considerably and an extra 1000 pounds provided just the right amount of struggle for the kunoichi. She stood in the middle of the training ground, having released the weighted equipment from a fuuinjutsu scroll and slowly put it on, tightening where necessary. Now that she was ready, some basic warm ups were necessary.

The young woman did a few lunges, feeling the extra weight pull her body downward unnaturally. After thirty lunges per side, Niku felt like her body had grown acclimated to the added weight that she was wearing. Niku then laid down, putting her elbows, forearms, and toes on the ground. She held the plank for 2 minutes; the belt making the plank particularly difficult as it pulled her pelvis downward considerably, compared to normal. She then put her hands on the ground and did 100 push-ups before rolling over and doing 100 crunches; the weighted bracelets attached to her hands which were behind her head providing enough resistance to make the exercise worthwhile.

Standing up, Niku twisted her neck, causing it to pop before beginning her next exercise. She jumped into the air, pulling her hands together above her head and spreading her legs out before landing. She then jumped again but did the opposite: placing her hands back to her side and putting her legs back together again. This basic exercise, called jumping jacks, worked her whole body with the excess weight. She did 100 more repetitions before moving on to the next exercise. She then began basic jogging, making loops around the training ground at a steady but slow pace.

The running was designed to improve both the body's physical strength as well as her speed by increasing the body's physical output. The steady pace, while a bit obnoxious for Niku to maintain as she was used to much higher speeds, forced her body to push the exceptional weight around without pushing her body past its limits. Going too fast, or pushing off too hard, could injure the muscles as the added weight wasn't what the muscles were used to pushing around. She did nearly 20 miles of laps, her mind wandering from the task at hand and back over and over as she jogged. Normally, 20 miles and a few exercises would be nothing for Niku's endurance to handle, but the excess weight and increased muscle strain caused the woman's endurance to be trained much more quickly than normal.

She stopped, wiping some sweat from her brow as she stood in the shade of a tree. The young lady knew that her strength had always been lacking, compared to her speed, and that was why she continued to push herself so hard in strength training: there was so much room to improve. After a few minutes, she picked up her feet and began jogging again. Her ability to pace herself utilizing disciplines that she'd trained so extensively was evident as her pace remained exactly the same as when she started, despite the fatigue setting in.
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The Lone Swordsman

Post by Servant » Thu May 14, 2020 2:49 pm

JutsuShow
*[Shinden Ougi • Entropic Graveyard
S-Rank Taijutsu Maneuver
Prerequisite(s): 39 Strength, 39 Speed, must be learned at the Marsh Country Dojo or taught by someone who has trained there, 10 Shinden Kenjutsu techniques.
A superlative demonstration of the practitioner's strength and speed, the practitioner torques every single muscle in their body, generating an enormous amount of potential energy in their muscles. Then, the practitioner slams their weapon into the ground, cracking and sundering the very earth beneath their feet. All terrain with a radius of meters equal to the practitioner's Strength will immediately shatter and be shot twisting upwards at a Speed equal to the practitioner's Strength and with a Strength equal to 4/5 the practitioner's Strength, rounded down. The nature of this technique causes a massive, immediate crater in the effect area of the technique, and opponents can be quickly damaged or even killed by the large amount of rock, stone, and earthen debris. Only a small area around the practitioner will be left untouched.
582/500 words

Flying certainly had its benefits as now Niku could visit almost any country she wanted, even ones that no longer existed, like Marsh Country. Of course, Niku's rank of jounin gave her more freedom to visit other countries as she wanted. Entering the dojo, Niku demanded to be taught their Ougi. Four masters moved forward, large weapons held over their heads ready to crush the young girl in front of them. After all four masters had been forcibly dealt with by the kunoichi utilizing primarily Shinden techniques, they finally admitted that the girl could handle learning their premier skill. Their master chuckled from the corner before approaching.

She watched as this master stood in the middle of the marshy field. He had made her stay there as he walked further away. The distance between them was significant and Niku wondered if she'd really be able to perceive what he was doing from here. He lifted his odachi above his head, a stance Niku recognized as the signature stance of the style. She wondered what kind of technique this was... unlike the Iaido ougi, Niku had a name and basic idea of what the technique did before she had learned it, but this Shinden ougi was a complete mystery to her. She watched intently, utilizing her enhanced senses to perceive every little detail of what the Shinden master was about to do. She could see his muscles tense up before he lifted his entire body onto his toes, then with immense speed and strength, he slammed the oversized blade to the ground. Niku watched in amazement as the earth around him shattered instantly and was then shot upwards as if the earth itself wanted to kill the man's enemies. As the rocks and dust settled, Niku was amazed at the massive crater left around the master... this technique was almost the complete opposite of Iaido's ougi.

The master smiled as he moved through the crater to the kunoichi before him. "Got it?" He asked, a bit of sarcasm in his tone. No one could master the ougi after just seeing it once, but he wanted to see how well this girl could try. As if ignoring him or responding with her actions rather than words, she drew her wakizashi from its sheath. The master chuckled once more, "That puny thing won't be very helpful." He twisted his odachi so that the handle was pointed towards Niku, offering it to her. She took the weapon, feeling its weight in her hand before moving away from the master. He wondered how a girl that young could have gotten that strong, but he also doubted her ability given that she'd never used the blade and that she generally used wakizashi.

Niku lifted the large sword over her head, mimicking the master's motion from earlier. She tensed the muscles in her body, similarly to she would for the Iaido ougi, she noted. But rather than pushing off forward with that pent up force, she swung the blade over her head downward into the earth before her. Nearly 40 meters of earth around Niku shattered and shot into the air. The master's jaw fell open, aghast at how the girl had just replicated his most amazing skill after seeing it just once.

"Yep," she finally answered his question, tossing the odachi back to the man and running off. Once she felt like she was far enough away, she would take flight back to her own country and Konoha.
Last edited by Servant on Thu Mar 31, 2022 12:10 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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The Lone Swordsman

Post by Servant » Thu May 14, 2020 3:15 pm

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*[Toryu Ougi • Glorious Dawn]
S-Rank Taijutsu Maneuver
Prerequisite(s): 39 Strength, Must be trained at the Pebble Country Dojo or learned from someone who has trained it, 10 Toryu Kenjutsu techniques.
An unparalleled display of skill and ferocity, the practitioner must first initiate a successful clinch/grab on the opponent. Once they do, the practitioner instantly torques every single muscle in their body, violently rotating and spinning the opponent over their head. The practitioner slams the opponent down into the ground after several rotations, causing the opponent's body to impact the ground so violently that the earth below them craters, and the opponent bounces off of the ground. The practitioner then kicks or knees the opponent in the back, launching the opponent skyward, before the practitioner jumps up and finishes the technique with a violent reverse grip stab through the opponent's heart as they come rocketing back down to the earth with additional force. Opponents must have an Acrobatics technique of equal or higher rank that this technique that explicitly facilitate escape from clinches, locks, or grapples to escape from this technique.
553/500 words

Niku once again took flight, leaving the forest of Konoha behind as she made her way towards the Land of Pebbles. It was a short flight, being relatively close to Fire Country. She just had to fly through the Land of Stars and then she was at Pebble Country. The country was mostly a desolate place with nothing but rocks and pebbles to speak of, Niku had noted that from the air. There was a thin strip of what appeared to be forest dotted with towns that seemed to stretch through the very middle of the elongated country. Niku recalled the history lessons of how this place had been destroyed during the last shinboi war as it was sandwiched so closely between Wind and Rock countries. She landed just outside the only place that looked like a city.

The people at this dojo were much more open to teaching the kunoichi, just wanting a friendly spar to determine if Niku was ready for the Ougi. After proving herself, Niku and the dojo's master began practicing, Niku was the recipient of the Ougi as the master performed the technique on her. It had been a painful experience, but she felt no desire to actually kill her, so she hadn't truly fought back. The master noted that normally, the last grab would have been through the heart, rather than just grabbing the armor. Niku had learned to harden her hands much earlier, so the idea of penetrating a body and grabbing a person's heart did seem feasible. Unlike the other Ougis that Niku had learned, this one required a person to perform. There was no other feasible means of learning the technique than with a willing body to practice on. Niku dusted herself off as she went over all of the steps necessary to pull off the Toryu Ougi.

"I'll send a surprise over for you." The master said as he left, sending over a sturdy individual for Niku to practice the Ougi on. Niku wasn't sure what he intended, but she stepped towards the man as he walked forward. She grabbed him, then torqued every muscle in her body. She then slung the man over head before slamming him down, cratering the earth and sending his body back into the air. She followed that up with a kick to the man's back, sending him even higher into the air than before. She then jumped into the air behind him, tapping his back (as she didn't want to actually puncture his heart with her hand) and sending him hurtling back to the ground once more.

She landed nearby and then rushed over, the man stood, brushing himself off. While he seemed physically to not be broken, his face had hints of pain as he moved every so often. The two parted ways as Niku was pleased with how the practice went though she couldn't help but wonder how one would practice ripping through human flesh to stab a man's heart. Moments later, a courier arrived with a cart nearly full, carrying four dead pigs. The courier handed Niku a note which read "Pig flesh is comparable to human flesh, practice the final part with these." The kunoichi hung the first pig up, mentally preparing herself for stabbing through a pig's torso to puncture its heart.
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The Lone Swordsman

Post by Servant » Thu May 21, 2020 6:38 pm

JutsuShow
*[Yoshin Ougi • The Hunt is On]
S-Rank Taijutsu Stance
Prerequisite(s): 39 Speed, must be trained in the Waterfall Country Dojo or from someone who has trained there, 10 *Yoshin Kenjutsu techniques.
Closing their eyes for half a second, the practitioner clears their thoughts of all distractions and focuses on a single goal or task, usually combat and the opponent. While in this state, the practitioner can unnaturally twist, bend, and shift their body around the opponent's attacks, seeming to move like an animal as they painlessly and seamlessly contort their bodies, even to the point of freely dislocating and relocating joints on command. The practitioner also gains the ability to reflexively shift all internal organs, blood vessels, and nerve points and nerve clusters on their body to avoid serious damage and minimize pain they receive upon taking an enemy attack or upon quickly shifting any part of their personal anatomy. Additionally, the practitioner gains the ability to immediately start healing wounds they receive, cutting the blood loss in half and healing at an enhanced rate while in this Stance. This Stance can be maintained for an indefinite period of time.
538/500 words

The newly promoted jounin was once again in flight, this time headed towards Waterfall Country. The country bordered Fire, so it wasn't a long flight at all. She had grown accustomed to flying now, considering her an expert. The feel of the wind and the idea that everyone and everything was so small below her also gave her a rush as she flew through the clouds. She had checked the maps for landmarks indicating when she left Fire and entered Waterfall and she saw one such landmark below her. She continued on, enjoying the mountainous scene below her with rivers cutting through and making their namesake throughout the country. She found some signs of civilization and began to land nearby.

A couple hours later, Niku entered through the front doors of the most notorious dojo in Waterfall Country. She had learned of the place and found it without much trouble. She had to go through a trial, proving her medical knowledge and sword capability, but once that was completed, they agreed to teach the young woman their prized possession. An example came first, a man probably three times as old as Niku stepped forward, closing his eyes. A moment later they flashed open, signaling to another practitioner to begin his onslaught. Niku watched intently, unsure as to what the master was doing short of dodging. He seemingly took little effort to move and contort his body out of the attacker's sword strikes. Some of his movements were noticeably unnatural, as if he were moving like an animal or in ways that the body wasn't supposed to be moving. She had already recognized that the master had placed himself into a stance, but what all the stance was capable of or required, Niku couldn't say for sure.

As the attacker seemed to slow, the master gave a signal to him. Both stepped back for a moment before the attacker rushed forward and thrust his blade at the master's heart. Niku watched as the master seemingly didn't move, allowing the blade to puncture his body. As the attacker backed away, Niku was in shock, but looking more closely she realized that the master didn't seem to be in pain and the blood was already slowing as it seeped out of his body. "As you can see, the stance can be a real life saver," the master said as he walked over to the jounin.

The two worked together for many days as Niku slowly began to understand and implement pieces of the stance. Until she mastered, she wouldn't be happy, but she continued making progress day after day. The feeling of control over her own body became more normal and natural, as long as she was in the stance. She could move organs left or right, up or down, this, she realized would allow her to take blows without fear of dying. She also began to control her body's reactions, allowing her to cut off blood loss near instantly after being cut. This also sent her body into a form of overdrive, healing wounds at a rate that normal humans couldn't match. Even her own already heightened healing factor was heightened to a degree with Niku's newfound inner body control.
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Post by Servant » Sat May 23, 2020 12:14 pm

willpower x3 - 1543/1500

While her ninjutsu skills were slowly developing, NIku had long felt that her ability to handle genjutsu was still lacking. For this reason, the young jounin had invited a special jounin, Mao, to help her train. While Mao was outranked by Niku, he also specialized in the use of genjutsu so he was the perfect training partner for Niku's plan. "Sorry I'm late, so what's the plan?" the man asked as he arrived.

"Hit me with genjutsu, help me raise my ability to fight it." Niku responded, a little smile on her face. Mao was quite handsome. But that wasn't why she'd invited, at least, not entirely. If a romance developed during their training, she wasn't opposed.

"Sure," he responded, his hands beginning to do a string of handseals. He had grown accustomed to being used in this way, helping to train Konoha's shinobi against the dark arts of genjutsu. After his seals, he gave the woman before him a smirk. Niku's heart fluttered at his smirk, but then she realized something was amiss. She began to smell the most horrific smell that she'd ever encountered. She assumed it was like walking into a sealed room where a dead body had been laying for a week. The smell of decaying flesh hit her like a punch to the face, causing a physical reaction of stepping back. Instinctively, she knew this was just Mao's genjutsu, but that didn't mean that the technique didn't have a potency that made countering it incredibly difficult. She even felt a bit nauseous.

She closed her eyes in an attempt to increase her focus as she tried to push Mao's vile-smell inducing chakra from her brain. It wasn't an easy task, as no matter how hard she tried to push the chakra out, it resisted. It was almost like Niku lacked the willpower to push the chakra from her brain. After a few minutes of straining, the smell faded on its own. "I see, we have our work cut out for us." Despite Mao's words, his face was full of compassion, not ridicule. Niku just smiled in response, glad that awful smell was gone.

Mao began going through another string of handseals. Niku wondered what Mao had in store this time, only to be caught off guard by Mao's whistle. Niku then noticed a shadow in her peripheral vision, however, no matter how quickly or slowly she turned her head, she could never catch a good view of it. The look on Mao's face made Niku realize this was another genjutsu. She closed her eyes and focused on kai'ing out of the technique.

This time, as Niku pushed on the chakra in her brain, it was less resistant. Within moments, the shadow in Niku's eye had been removed. Niku smiled broadly as she returned her gaze to Mao. "Ok, so don't need to go quite that low." He'd apparently made that technique much easier to remove than the first one. Niku was in for a long day of Mao's smirks and mental torture, but all of it would help the kunoichi when she encountered genjutsu in combat.

A few hours later...
Niku sat, her back against a rock, her breathing labored. "This is exhausting, dude."

"Hard work usually is," Mao responded with glib in his voice. The two exchanged smiles as Niku's breathing returned to normal. "Ready?"

With a nod of her head, Niku confirmed that she was ready for another go with the genjutsu specialist. Mao began a string of handseals before using the middle finger and thumb of his left hand to snap. The noise, Niku presumed, was the initiator of the jutsu. She'd come far enough in her training to understand that the initiator came after the handseals, though in some cases, she recalled, the act of doing the handseals was an initiator as long as the target could see it. In the moment after Mao's snap, Niku heard a loud explosion some distance away. She turned, wondering what was going on. Turning back to Mao, seeing the look on his face, she realized that the explosion was likely part of his genjutsu. She hadn't realized that genjutsu techniques could be used like that, instantaneous use. The other genjutsu she'd experienced had a duration, but this one was just a simple distracting noise. There was no way for someone to break out of the technique because it was over before she knew it had begun.

"Little different, huh?"

"Yeah, that's an interesting way to use genjutsu. Even I could take advantage of a technique like that," she mused aloud, more to herself than Mao. The note made him chuckle; he had assumed he was here to train the kunoichi to handle and be aware of varying genjutsu, but now it almost seemed like the girl wanted to utilize genjutsu as well. That didn't bother him, nor did it really change his plans or intended genjutsu; it was just something of interest to him. With that, the man began another string of handseals before looking into Niku's eyes.

The newly minted jounin wondered what this technique did, not noticing anything right away. She gave Mao a quizzical look, thinking that he'd perhaps created a dud or messed up his seals. However, her quizzical look was met with a blade's tip emerging from Mao's chest, pointing right at Niku's face. The blade had blood coating the visible part of the weapon, as the life drained from his eyes. Niku instinctively moved her hands to the sheaths of her wakizashi, as she moved away about 15 feet to prevent that weapon from hurting her. She moved to the side, looking for Mao's attacker. The lack of a weapon emerging from Mao's back caused the kunoichi to realize that this was all an illusion of Mao's genjutsu.

Taking what he'd told her earlier, Niku closed her eyes and tried to focus on the chakra that he'd inserted into her mind. If she could find the invader and expel it, she could make the illusion go away. Of course, Mao has also mentioned that she could simply outlive the genjutsu as none, that he was aware of, existed forever. Battling a genjutsu in this setting seemed better than simply allowing the jutsu to run its course. If she couldn't battle one here, then all of this training was a waste anyways.

She focused in on Mao's chakra within her, trying to push it out of her body through willpower alone. It wasn't an easy task, but Niku was stubborn. Eventually, she succeeded in expelling the invasive chakra, opening her eyes to see if the illusion was gone. As her eyes readjusted to the light, she realized that Mao was gone. She turned, only to receive a slap to the face. "Ow, what the hell dude?" she asked, her hand reaching up to her face.

"Just pointing out that if I were attempting to kill you, it'd have been rather easy as you stood motionless fighting off my technique." The kunoichi realized that Mao was right. If she was going to battle genjutsu in this way, she'd have to do it while on the move and attempting to finish off her foe. She couldn't devote all of her attention to fighting the genjutsu, as that would allow her opponent too much time to amass another attack or finish her off altogether.

She rubbed her cheek a bit, more out of embarrassment than actual pain. "Point taken." She lowered her arm and looked at Mao once more, her eyes telling him that she was ready for more. Taking his cue, Mao began another string of handseals. Niku watched intently, wondering what kind of gruesome thing Mao would come up with next. As the man finished the seals, both Niku and Mao were engulfed in flames. Niku instantly began to pat at the flames across her body, the pain from being on fire lighting up her brain in ways she'd never experienced.

Despite her attempts, neither the flames nor the pain seemed to cease any. Even though she knew it was a genjutsu, the fact that she could see it and feel it was something she hadn't expected. Mao grinned, he'd upped the rank to a C rank in an attempt to catch the kunoichi off guard, which was successful. She moved away from Mao, wanting to keep her face from being slapped due to carelessness once again. While maintaining the distance and keeping an eye on her opponent, Niku tried to ignore the pain caused by the genjutsu and push the invasive chakra from her system. Gritting her teeth, the kunoichi pushed that invasive chakra from her body which also erased the pain and visible flames that covered her and Mao. With a grin on her face, she hollered "Aha! Take that, punk.".

Mao's face didn't react at all to Niku's words, until he spoke "You do realize I'm holding back so you have a chance, right?" Niku's once elated expression drifted to one of realization before settling on dejected. "Think of it like weight lifting, you have to build up your strength before you lift mountains, right?" Mao's face took on a supporting expression, trying to cheer up the girl before him.
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The Lone Swordsman

Post by Servant » Tue Jun 09, 2020 9:40 pm

Awakening x2 - 1023/1000

Despite the amazing physical enhancements and abilities that Niku had discovered within herself after awakening herself as the Yellow Dragon, she still felt like there was more to the ability that she hadn't accessed yet. The connection between herself and the Yellow Dragon had developed considerably, becoming nearly unbreakable even, but it wasn't complete: she could feel that there was still a portion of the Yellow Dragon's energy that she hadn't accessed. If she could access that energy then maybe she could increase her own strength... maybe then she could rank up to bannin. Her recent failure to attain the ran still ate at her, but jounin was still something to be proud of. She knew the Yellow Dragon's energy had altered her chakra somehow, so maybe if she continued to temper her chakra with that energy, she could grow closer to completeness.

She sat, trying to suppress the yellow chakra that had been formed by the merging of her chakra and the Yellow Dragon's energy. She hoped that by doing that, she could locate the rest of her chakra that hasn't been converted into the yellow chakra. If she could find that chakra and merge it with the Yellow Dragon's energy, then her connection with the Yellow Dragon will be complete. But, the kunoichi found that there was just too much yellow chakra in her system to move it all out of the way. She needed a better system to separate the two chakras, like a sieve or something. The more she tried locating the remaining, initial chakra but continued having trouble. She finally came to the conclusion that it was akin to water and oil: her new, yellow chakra was like oil while her initial chakra was like water, no matter how much she tried to forcibly merge the two, failure was all she could manage.

If Niku couldn't separate her original chakra from her new chakra, the only other option was to immerse all of her chakra with the Yellow Dragon's energy. She knew it would be difficult and possibly dangerous, but it was her only choice if she wanted to strengthen her connection to the Yellow Dragon. She rushed some of her chakra into the armor adorned on her chest, Dragon's Skin. It was the gateway that had begun this whole transformation and now Niku hoped that surging the item with as much chakra as she could would allow all of the chakra that went into it to be changed to by the energy within. As she charged the armor with the chakra, it began to noticeably glow. At this rate, she couldn't even be sure if she had gotten any of her initial chakra into the shield, but that didn't matter. As long as she repeated this process over and over, eventually it would succeed. As the chakra within the armor rushed back out and returned to Niku's chakra system, she could feel the Yellow Dragon's energy interspersed with the chakra.

Taking a deep breath, Niku was certain that she had increased her connection to the Yellow Dragon. It was just a matter of time until the connection was complete.

The next day..
As if coming to her in a dream last night, Niku had come to the realization that practicing her Dragon skills would also increase her connection to the Yellow Dragon. That was an arguably easier means of increasing the connection than her prior method, so she was going to put that realization to the test today. She focused on the energy within her, stirring it into a tizzy. She then summoned the Dragon scales that came along with the Yellow Dragon's power. She pushed herself to make them as durable as possible, which, of course, would protect her more thoroughly. With the scales, she took off into the sky, flying above the canopy created by Konoha's trees. From above the trees, she looked around, flying away from the village towards nearby mountains. As she flew, she went as quickly as possible. She realized, at one point, that she could fly faster, but her physical body wasn't capable of it. It was like, if she dug down deep, she could move more quickly but her brain and body wouldn't be able to keep up; at least, that was the feeling she got as she fly straight into the mountain side.

The scales protected her to some extent, but the damage caused to her body was still noticeable to an onlooker. She stood, allowing the bruises, scrapes, and wounds to close up and heal, as if on their own accord. Unsatisfied, Niku flew into the sky once again, before turning and flying full speed into the earth once more. Again, she felt her body begin healing itself at astounding speeds, leaving her skin as flawless as it was moments earlier. She wasn't sure how many times she would need to do this but the theory seemed sound in her head: force her healing factor to continuously draw on the Yellow Dragon's energy until it was absorbed into all of her chakra. She just didn't know how much she needed to do this. Flying up once more, Niku stalled before turning back to the earth and crashing once more into the earth below.

She stood up, dusting herself off as her body began to heal from its wounds once more. Staring at said wounds, Niku felt like it was taking longer than before. She wondered if she had drained the yellow chakra enough to deepen the connection between herself and the Yellow Dragon. Not wanting to crash into the earth without a means of healing herself, Niku unsummoned the dragon scales and drew one of her wakizashi. Holding its edge over her other palm, she drew the blade across her skin, easily slicing the skin and allowing the blood to easily flow from the wound. She watched on, as her body naturally stopped the blood from flowing before causing the skin to regrow over the wound. Niku was certain that the wound closed more slowly than earlier, confident that her body had grown closer to her final state.
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Post by Servant » Sun Sep 06, 2020 10:36 pm

Control - 508/500

Niku had grown tired of all the sword practice. She was constantly practicing the various sword styles she'd learned, from Iaido to Shinden to Toryu to Yoshin. She hoped to some day learn the Ougi of all of them, but the constant sword practice was wearing on her body and soul. She always felt like there was more to her and she wanted to deepen her understanding of all the ninja arts, not just her swordsmanship. For this reason, the young kunoichi had quarantined herself in a cave with enough rations for a few days. She was going to focus on some chakra control and ninjutsu training. The dark cave was particularly useful for sensor training, which really pushed Niku's chakra control to its limits and being away from others would keep the distractions to a minimum.

Niku sat cross legged in the middle of the dark cave and focused before activating her Mind's Eye technique. She controlled her chakra out from her body, pushing it as far as she could and holding it there. At this extreme distance, the girl could sense the chakra signatures of those around her. Of course, there was no one around at the moment, but holding the chakra out at that distance was still an exercise in control. She could already feel the chakra trying to disperse but with willpower alone, she focused on maintaining the technique longer. Her control and skill in ninjutsu was always something she felt were particularly weak, but that hadn't stopped her from becoming a sensor and learning some doton techniques.

The girl focused, holding the jutsu's distance as hard as she could. Finally, she allowed the chakra to dissipate, taking a breather from both the intense concentration and the jutsu. There was no time to be lazy though, Niku concentrated once more, sending her chakra out using her Mind's Eye. This time, she did a string of handseals and cast another technique, Flare. It was a supplementary technique, but it required the sensor to be using their Mind's Eye while contorting their chakra (even with the use of handseals) for use with another technique. Utilizing multiple techniques at the same time was a taxing task on one's control and Niku was using that strain to benefit herself.

It was, of course, unnecessary to cast Flare as there were no people within her sensory range. No people meant there would be no jutsu cast, but that didn't bother Niku at all. It was more a matter of chakra control than usefulness. She held the jutsu active for its duration as well as holding the Mind's Eye technique. It was a struggle and she wondered if she'd ever be a true sensor. She'd learned the most basic Mind's Eye technique, but there were so many levels that she was too weak to achieve. She allowed the chakra to dissipate once more, allowing her concentration to rest as well. The kunoichi let some time go by before she repeated the training once again, pushing herself a bit too far.
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The Lone Swordsman

Post by Servant » Mon Sep 21, 2020 10:12 pm

Chakra Pool x2 - 1022/1000 words

The kunoichi looked down on the village, her hair flowing in the wind as she continued to ascend into the skies. Eventually, the clouds got between her and the village that trained and raised her. With her view of the village completely hindered by the fluffy clouds, Niku looked around as she continued upward. Even though she wasn't really active and her heart was still at a relatively normal level, she could feel her breathing become more labored. Her altitude was such that oxygen was almost too rare to breathe. She stopped flying upward, amazed by the view before her. She'd come to the realization that, while her form wasn't of the ninjutsu variety, her flying did draw from her chakra system more than normal taijutsu maneuvers. While that wasn't terribly surprising to the shinobi, she had noted that it was comparable to movement at her current max speed. If her high speed movement and flying were going to drain her chakra, she'd need to increase her capacity for chakra - which is why she was flying so high.

The girl had known since her time at the Academy that one could increase their pool of chakra simply by continuously drawing your chakra out and then allowing it to refill. It was like a muscle, in that way: if you push it to its extreme, then it'll advance and create new extremes. While using chakra was easy for a shinobi, Niku also wanted some idea of how high and how long she could fly before she ran into issues or chakra exhaustion. So she was flying high to train and expand her knowledge of her own capabilities. At this height, she noted, there weren't even any birds flying around. Peering north with her enhanced senses, the woman almost thought she could see the Lightning Country's mountains peeking out of the canopy of clouds. For a second, she wondered if she could fly all the way to Kumo, even though she likely wouldn't have been able to find it anyways.

Instead of searching for a place literally named Village Hidden in the clouds, she decided just to fly at higher speeds while maintaining her altitude. She began flying in circles as fast as she could muster. Each circle had roughly a 100 meter radius and after every ten she would take a short break to catch her breath which, at this altitude was no easy task. Niku would take a moment to also sense her own chakra level. While it was nice being somewhere out of sight, she didn't want to come crashing down from this height and crash into the Hokage memorial or land on some poor genin. After 50 loops, the kunoichi decided it was time to return to earth, so with all the speed she could muster, Niku flew straight down. She had to test her maneuverability in the sky as well.

As a safety precaution, she did summon her dragon scales to help protect her if she happened to misjudge her descent. As the clouds gave way, she realized she had lost Konoha, but that didn't matter, making sure she didn't face plant from 20,000 feet up at a speed of 40 was of more importance to Niku at that moment. She attempted to wait until the last moment and then tried to stop her flight. It took about 100 meters for her to slow down to a stop, which made her realize she still had about 100 meters left between her and the ground. She looked around for signs of the village, finally finding it due east about 5 km. She flew as far as she could, continuing to drain her chakra pool. Safety was no longer too worrisome as she could likely survive a fall from this height with her scales and healing factor.

Arriving at the village's walls, Niku realized she still had some chakra in her tanks so rather than heading home, she did a lap around the village. The village was plenty large and the lap took her some time, even at max speed. She also had to be careful of others who may be entering or exiting the village at various points. Nearing her completion of the lap around the village, Niku felt herself slowing down: her flight speed was instinctively slowing down so as to draw less chakra from her body. She lowered her altitude and gracefully landed but kept on running, making it to max speed momentarily after touching down. She hadn't finished her lap and she wanted to continue to push herself to her limits. She effortlessly navigated through the forest's many trees. It didn't take the kunoichi long before she reached the village's entrance where she'd originally begun her lap. She stopped, allowing her breathing to catch up somewhat.

Ninjutsu naturally drew from the chakra system more than anything else and Niku felt like she had a little bit more in the tank, so she decided to try a couple jutsu to see if she could really empty the tank out. She closed her eyes and pushed her chakra out from her body, sending it to 'see' what chakra signatures were around her. While it was one of the most basic sensory techniques, it still involved a decent amount of chakra usage as she was sensing in all directions at once. She noted the guards on the other side of the village's walls. Some others training not too far into the forest. She stopped the sensing technique, not able to notice a difference in the technique when exhausted as opposed to normal.

Frustrated that she seemed to be unable to push herself far enough, she started heading into the village through the entrance. After a couple steps though, she began to wobble, her balance seemingly not cooperating with her mind. She struck a hand out, balancing herself with the use of a nearby tree. A smile crept across her face as she realized that her body lacked enough chakra to walk straight. She just wondered how many times she'd have to experience this before her pool actually began getting bigger.
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The Lone Swordsman

Post by Servant » Wed Sep 23, 2020 3:43 pm

Strength x2 - 1008/1000

Niku was rummaging through the forest, bored and unsure of what to do. She'd been training a good deal lately, trying to level up so that she could truly be useful for the village. She may have gotten a fair bit stronger and had been promoted to the rank of jounin, but she still felt like she lacked what was necessary to fulfill the responsibility of that rank. Part of the problem, she fully realized, was that she compared herself to Fanho, one of her generations' greatest geniuses. Despite that, she wanted to prove herself worthy of the promotion, she just wasn't sure how to do that.

The young woman found a couple boulders, a large one stacked atop a smaller one. In the forest with no other boulders around, it was pretty evident to Niku that someone had placed these rocks like that. Likely some shinobi training, she mused. Whoever it was must have had considerable strength because the top boulder wasn't small by any means. She placed her hands around the boulder before tilting backwards a bit to see if she could lift it. it wasn't hard, but it also wasn't like picking up a pebble. She returned it to its original spot, making sure she hadn't disturbed the balance. She then did a string of hand seals, causing four stone slabs to be created around her, but laying atop the earth. They were pretty durable and she easily hefted one over her head, before placing it on the ground, leaning against the stack of boulders.

She then moved to the other slabs and stood one up lengthwise before lifting it and slamming it down hard into the ground. The slab disappeared about 4 inches into the earth and Niku let go, to see if it was sturdy enough to remain standing on its own. Pleased when it didn't break or fall over, she moved and repeated that process with another slab about half a meter away from the first one. She then moved to the last slab and slammed it into the ground like the other two. She now had three meter tall slabs that stood up like pillars, all parallel to each other.

She went back to the slab leaning against the boulders and lifted it over her head and then moved to her pillars. She carefully laid the slab across the others, like a table top being placed onto the legs which hold it up. She moved the slab so that it lay pretty evenly across the pillars, making sure nothing was amiss. She then headed back to the stack of boulders that had originally given the kunoichi this idea. She lifted the larger boulder which was on top and set it down next to the smaller boulder. She then picked up the small boulder and placed it on top of the table she'd created. After moving the rock to the middle of the table, she headed back for the heavy boulder that would be the top. She placed the large boulder atop her shoulder before moving to the little boulder and placed the large one atop it. It took a couple of tries before the large boulder was balanced atop the little one which sat on the table she'd constructed.
A couple days later, Niku was curious to see if anyone had altered her stack of rocks so she headed to where the stack was. She was a little disappointed when she found that no one had changed it. She decided to add a third boulder to the stack, which sat atop the table she'd constructed. After looking around, she decided she would need to bring a boulder over from somewhere else. She headed towards the waterfall which lay down the mountain range from the hokage memorial.

Once she got there, she located a boulder which was about twice the size of the largest boulder that was already part of the stack. She put her arms around the boulder as best she could and began lifting. She realized that the boulder's size made it difficult to carry, not its weight. She set the rock down and re-positioned her hands in places that had some lip, so she could get a better grip. She then began lifting the boulder, easily getting it up to her waist. Walking the two miles like this would be extremely awkward and while she could fly over there, that seemed against some sort of unwritten code. In her mind, this was some sort of 'one upmanship' where they tried to one up each other and flying seemed like cheating for some reason. Niku hefted the rock over her head, using more of a toss and catch than maneuvering the thing with her grip and arms. She now held the boulder over head and was ready to head back to the forest and her hobby.

She began with simple steps, at a walking pace in order to give her body a chance to adapt to the excess weight. She also used the opportunity to adjust her grip on the boulder a bit so as to more evenly distribute the weight for balance purposes. Once comfortable with the setup, Niku began moving at a light jog. The weight wasn't so much that she couldn't have gone faster, but she didn't want to burst out at max speed without being sure her body could handle it. After her body adjusted to the jog and the boulder's weight, she continued to pick up the pace, now moving at a run. While running, she noted that the weight was definitely slowing her down.

Eventually, the jounin arrived at her rock structure and practiced hopping a few times. The stack of boulders was too high for her to place the rock, so she intended to hop onto the table and then place the boulder atop the other two. Hopping with a giant boulder proved tricky, but after a couple practice runs, Niku made it work. She then moved back to look at her creation.
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The Lone Swordsman

Post by Servant » Tue Aug 17, 2021 9:54 pm

Speed - 509/500

Niku stretched as she prepared for her day, it felt like it had been forever since she’d been out to properly train. After tending to her arms, she moved to her legs and hips, doing slow lunges and calf stretches. Once she finished stretching, she did a few warm up exercises, light jogging and some jumping jacks. After warming up, she put some heavy duty weights on her ankles and began doing some leg lifts, attempting to acclimate to the weight change. She did a little more jogging, just to further allow her muscles to acclimate to the new load that they would be carrying. When she felt comfortable and ready, she took off at top speed (or, at least, the top speed she was capable of while carrying the immense load of the weights attached to her ankles). The training wasn’t complicated, she was going to run as long and as hard as she could with the weights. Realistically, this would train her strength, her endurance, and her speed, but Niku was really only doing this training to increase her speed. Being idle for as long as she had been, she felt like she had slowed down considerably and she wanted to reclaim the speed which she held so dear. Speed was also incredibly important to her Iaido swordsmanship, so she ran with all her heart in hopes of increasing her skills and, unlike her father, never leave her mother alone because of an inability to survive. If she were fast enough, she could stop anyone with Iaido and return home to her mother and grandfather, the people who’d helped her grow to being one of Konoha’s jounin.

In order to regain the speed she’d lost, Niku was going all out from the start, pushing herself to her limits, perhaps beyond them. She had, for quite awhile, entered the realm of demigods in regards to speed, but she knew there were speeds, and other shinobi, that she hadn’t reached yet. For this reason, she had never stopped striving for greater speeds. Even now, when pushing herself to her limits with weights that some shinobi wouldn’t even be able to lift, she was able to reach the speeds of demigods. The dirt clung to her feet as she stepped before being hurtled into the air as she pushed forward, creating a trail of debris several feet high. The leaves and grass billowing as the air she ran through tried to reclaim its rightful place. The wind in her face felt cool and refreshing, reminding her of how much she loved running at high speeds; her ponytail flowing through the air behind her like a stick floating down the rapids of a river. She was by no means satisfied with her current speed, but she was still enjoying feeling her body moving again. She knew that as long as she continued running with these weights she would grow faster when she ran without the weights. A single run, naturally, wouldn’t be enough. She would likely run until her last day.
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The Lone Swordsman

Post by Servant » Tue Aug 17, 2021 10:27 pm

Endurance x3 - 1521/1500

Being able to slice someone in half before they even knew you were around was a valid tactic in battle for Niku, but not all tactics work all the time. Sometimes, you needed a new one and they didn't always depend on speed. That was why shinobi needed to be well-rounded, so they could utilize more tactics based on different physical abilities. Niku needed to train her other capabilities, not just speed and that was why she and Boshio, a practitioner of Shinden, were meeting for some training. "Boshio, ready to train?" the young kunoichi asked the middle aged swordsman with a chipper tone. Niku's grandfather had trained many people in the art of Iaido throughout his years in Konoha and, naturally, he was very familiar with other swordsman who also taught people their style. This is how Boshio and Niku had come to know each other. Neither had students of their own, but both had trained together some, especially when Niku looked to add some Shinden to her repertoire. Unlike Niku, Boshio was just a swordsman, having never entered the Academy.

"Always, what do you need of me today miss?" Boshio asked, his politeness coming through even when talking to a girl almost half his age.

"Your'e going to hit me, a lot," Niku responded, still chipper, with a smile on her face. "I know that goes against your nice guy routine, but you'd be doing me a favor so really you're still being nice to me even if you punch me in the face over and over. Right?!" Niku now stood only a few feet from the man who easily stood a foot taller than her and who's arms were nearly as big around as Niku's midsection.

"No," he responded on instinct before looking at her face. He could tell that she wasn't kidding, as he'd originally expected. "Very funny, you almost got me." The man now thought this was some elaborate trick, not just a simple joke.

Niku's glove covered hand swung forward, like a jab, hitting Boshio square in the nose though not having a whole lot of strength behind it. "Totally serious, buddy. Hit me, I need to work on my..." But before she could finish her sentence, Boshio's own hand hurtled into Niku's nose, knocking her backwards a half step. "Hey," she started, shaking her head a bit to clear it of confusion.

"Endurance, I know. We do this in Shinden often." He responded, throwing another punch, this time with some real muscle behind it, into Niku's midsection. The kunoichi doubled over in the middle, her hands meeting her feet on the ground. Boshio wasn't any faster or stronger than Niku, but he had sure caught her off guard. She'd expected that he'd need a lot more convincing. A sturdy kick from the Shinden user to Niku's midsection sent her rolling and bouncing through the dirt and grass, eventually coming to a stop with her back flat on the ground and her face staring up at the sky. Normally, she'd be fighting back or at least defending herself, but she trusted Boshio not to kill her.

In truth, Niku also knew her body's regeneration was particularly good, even some of the scrapes she'd already received from skidding across the ground were beginning to heal up. Another large foot came her way, landing squarely in her midsection, knocking the air from her lungs. On instinct, Niku's hands reached to the foot, pushing it to her right so that it was no longer pushing down on her midsection. Boshio was surprised that this little kunoichi had enough strength to move his foot, and with relative ease. She may be stronger than me, he thought as he reached down and grabbed Niku by the collar of her armor and easily hoisted the female into the air. With a turn and a throw, the kunoichi was again hurtling through the air, this time towards a tree. Niku saw the tree, and turned her head just enough so her eyes didn't encounter any damage from the tree's branches or bark. Her head collided with the tree, the force she carried cause the tree to snap, though it didn't fall over completely. Niku's body tumbled to the ground next to the tree, battered and slightly bleeding.

Despite his harsh training, Boshio was keenly keeping an eye on both Niku's physical well being as well as her consciousness. Usually losing consciousness was as good a time as any to stop the endurance training, but Niku had yet to lose consciousness and her body, despite the wounds she'd received, wasn't as bad off as it could be. For that reason, Boshio kept going. Grabbing a handheld sized rock, he hurtled it at Niku. Of course, a rock that fit in Boshio's hand was also about the same size as Niku's head. Being beaten wasn't terribly fun (despite the rumors) and the rock coming at her finally pushed her into an angry state. With her Toryou hardened hands, she smacked the rock as it came near, knocking it out of its previous trajectory. She then pushed herself to her feet and rushed towards Boshio.

While she was mad, she still knew this was all a means of training her endurance. Endurance, naturally, had two parts: damage you can take and how long you can go. She had, thus far, been doing nothing but taking damage and now she was very much tired of taking damage so she had converted the endurance training into how long she could keep going. With her hand, she punched at Boshio's chest place, center mass, with full force. She knew him well enough to know that even if she hit hit a full strength attack wouldn't seriously harm him. Boshio, for his part, played along, not blocking or attempting to dodge the incoming blow. He did, however, swing his arm at full force at the incoming kunoichi. Her fist would hit Boshio's chest plate just a moment before the trunk sized arm smashed into the young lady's extended shoulder, easily taking advantage of her balance. Boshio was knocked back a half step and Niku was knocked sideways, tumbling and rolling to the ground once more.

Boshio recovered quickly and pushed forward toward the downed shinobi. She again pushed herself to her feet and, like Boshio just a moment ago, she didn't try to avoid the ham sized fist coming at her face, instead throwing an uppercut in an attempt to catch Boshio's chin just after he punched her in the face. Both hits were successful and Niku reared back from the punch and Boshio stepped back, trying to retain his balance from the brain shaking blow. Niku seemed to regain her composure first and threw a kick around aiming at Boshio's midsection. The large man seemed to have expected this somehow and dropped his arm, blocking most of the impact from hitting his side and innards. Wrapping his hand around the kunoichi's leg, he pushed down with his leg into the earth and twirled one hundred and eighty degrees around before letting go of his grasp on Niku's ankle. The lady went hurtling through the air once more, but this time she purposely readjusted herself so that she could land on her feet, rather than bouncing around on her back and sides. She slid to a stop as the ground helped to slow the momentum Boshio had given her.

The man rushed forward, a battle cry escaping from his throat, as he, for the first time since they had begun training, reached for the sword on his back. The blade was nearly six feet long from handle to tip, but in Boshio's hands it almost looked like a normal sized sword. From his back, he swung the blade over his head, preparing to bring it down at the kunoichi before him. Her instincts told her to move out of the way, and she easily could have with Boshio's speed and jump into the air, Niku could have avoided the blow without much trouble, but this was for training and Niku knew her armor could withstand any blow Boshio could throw at her, so instead of moving out of the way, she moved into the way, ensuring the tip of Boshio's blade would hit her in the center of her chest plate.

All of Boshio's power was infused into the attack and it transferred into Niku's chest as it smashed into her. Her attempt at steeling herself for the blow started as a success as the ground beneath her feet crushed under the immense power being channeled through the two combatants; however, it eventually failed and she was knocked down onto her rear end, creating a butt shaped crater of its own, before the power knocked her back, causing her to roll backwards feet over head. Boshio, for all the work he'd done, stood with his sword resting with its tip on the ground, but his breathing was ragged. Likewise, Niku lay flat on her back, exhausted. "Same time tomorrow?" she asked, unable to look at him at the moment.
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The Lone Swordsman

Post by Servant » Thu Aug 19, 2021 10:12 pm

Strength - 508/500

Niku had been drafted to help clear a portion of the forest so they could build a new outpost. There were, of course, lumberjacks and trained professionals, but there were also a few shinobi like her. Many of them, like Niku, were taijutsu focused shinobi; undoubtedly, they hoped to take advantage of their well toned bodies. The lumberjacks got to work, chopping and sawing and grinding the trees as needed. Niku moved to a section all alone, preparing herself for her new role. She was aware that she could slice a tree with just one swing of her blade, but that seemed too easy so the young kunoichi threw both her arms around the tree which wasn't much bigger around than NIku's own thigh and yanked it up with all her strength. It wasn't nearly as hard as she'd expected and a good portion of the roots came up with the tree. She threw it to the side before moving on to the next tree, a larger one.

This time, the tree was about as big as Niku's torso, but she also adopted a much lower stance, allowing her to use her legs much more than her first attempt. The first time, she had mostly used her core and arms to grasp and lift the tree from the ground, but this time she intended to use the entirety of her body. This would allow her to test her body's muscles and not just a single part, but she also hoped it would pull up more roots, leaving the grinders who were coming behind her less work to do. As her arms went around and clutched the large tree, she bent her knees and lowered her hips. Then with all her muscles, she tightened her grip giving new meaning to the term tree hugger. She then heaved the tree upward, pulling the trunk, roots and a fair portion of dirt up from the ground, creating a fair sized crater. After the roots tore the dirt apart, the roots themselves were shredded by the kunoichi's brute strength. Once the tree was completely separated from its once glorious root system, Niku flipped the tree laying it flat on the ground.

The kunoichi dusted off her chest plate before moving onto another tree, one even larger than either of her previous attempts. Once again, she crouched down, lowering her body even further than last time with her rear almost touching the ground between her ankles. She put both her arms around the tree and tightened her grip, squeezing the tree into her body before pulling upward with all her might. The tree moved a few inches, but its roots held firm halting the lady's tree removal progress. She released her grip, took a deep breath, and then tried again with all her might. The tree budged a little and then a loud "Yaahh!" erupted from her lungs as she succeeded and ripped the tree from the dirt beneath. She threw the lumber into the pile and moved on to the next one.
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The Lone Swordsman

Post by Servant » Tue Aug 31, 2021 10:45 am

Speed - 525/500

Boshio's foot raised high into the air before it began moving forward, towards Niku. As the foot planted on the ground, his torso also came forward and his arm which was behind the rest of his body began swinging overhead. His entire body was working together to put as much force into the rock that was nestled in his over sized hand. As his fist rushed through the air, it opened, hurtling the rock at Niku's face. His own considerable strength sent the rock through the air with such speed and velocity that small pieces of debris broke off and dissipated into nothingness due to the sheer force of the air resistance. The majority of rocky mass continued at Niku as she watched it fly towards her. At the last moment, Niku stepped to the side and slid her sword from its sheath, slicing the rock in two and returning the wazikashi to its home at her hip.

"Another," she called. Boshio took one large step forward, hand large fingers grabbing two baseball sized rocks from the ground. The closer he got to her, the more quickly she would have to react in order to defend herself from the projectile. Once again he reared back as Niku watched and mentally prepared herself for the rock that would be hurtling towards her in just a moment. Boshio had a small grin on his face as he began stepping towards Niku, an expression she noted out of curiosity. She didn't know what he was up to, but she didn't really have time to ponder it as his hand came rushing forward before his fingers released their payload. It was then that she realized why he was grinning: two rocks came hurtling towards her at Boshio's maximum strength.

Her left hand moved from the sheath of the blade that her right hand intended to use, slipping quickly and effortlessly to the other wazikashi on her left hip. As the two rocks traveled, Niku's heightened perception and reflexes allowed her to see the rock's trajectory and move slightly to her right before using her lightning fast Iaido draw to slice one of the rocks. As she returned the blade to its sheath, she used her other arm to bisect the second rock just as she had done to the first one. Her ability to utilize both arms separately but effectively on full display.

"Punk!" she yelled, pretending to be mad. Boshio once again took a large step forward and retrieved a rock from the ground. He lifted his leg and then swung it forward, gaining as much momentum from it and his large body as he could before infusing that power into the rock. Utilizing Iaido, Niku was naturally ready as she had returned her blades to their sheaths without realizing. This time, she rushed forward, closing the distance even more. Her hand flitted down to the blade's handle as the rock left Boshio's fingers. As the two speedy things converged, one was left lifeless, in two pieces, on the ground as the other rushed toward her friend to give him a good bashing, a smile on her face.
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Post by Servant » Sat Sep 18, 2021 5:06 pm

Strength - 549/500

Niku and Boshio had traded places, now it was her turn to hurl rocks with all her might at her training partner. She knew he was both a sturdy guy and pretty strong, so she wasn't too worried about him getting seriously injured. She had already picked up around 10 rocks that were neither too small to get a grip on nor too large to hold correctly, placing them in the pouch at her back. She stood about 100 meters from Boshio and removed the first rock from her bag. "Ready?" she called, handling the rock, moving it around in her hand, feeling its weight and contours.

"I am," was the simple man's simple response. Niku's hand tightened on the rock as she torqued all the muscles in her right leg. She used that point of contact to twist her body, allowing her left foot to leave the ground and spin around the opposite side of her body. With her back almost facing Boshio, she began moving forward, her left foot shooting forward like a front kick or an over exaggerated lunge. As her body lunged forward, her right arm swung above her head, gaining power from the rotation as well as the forward momentum of her body. At the proper time, Niku's fingers released the rock sending the earthen projectile through the air at speeds rivaling sound itself. Niku, using all of her strength, was forced to follow through - her arm swinging in front of her as her back foot left the ground. Her body turned as her eyes stayed targeted on the rock in flight.

Boshio held up his arms as Niku began moving, knowing he wouldn't have the speed to accurately deflect or dodge the attack. The rock smashed into his right forearm, the force behind it meeting the man's impressive strength and causing the stone to turn into dust, falling carelessly to the ground. A small, red welt began to form where the rock had contacted, but Boshio didn't seem to mind or even notice. Without moving his arms, he called out "Next." Niku stood up straight once more, retrieving a rock from her bag. She nodded, before once more lifting her left leg and turning her body away from her target before beginning towards him.

This time, Niku wanted to make Boshio feel some pain. Hitting his arm was just a warm up, but now she wanted to hit him right in the stomach, just under the arms he held up to protect himself. He had already joked about protecting his "money maker", so she wanted to hit him with a body shot. Her left leg stuck out straight, like a bird's wing, as her body turned back towards Boshio. As the leg swung out and forward, her upper body began to follow suit with her right arm going out behind her and her left moving forward to begin her rotation. Moments later, her right hand swung forward, releasing another stone towards her training partner. It flew through the air, making a whistling sound as it did so, before colliding with the spot on Boshio's body where his kidney was. A small wince of discomfort from the large man, before he called for another stone. Both swordsmen grinned a bit, before continuing their training.
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Post by Servant » Sun Sep 19, 2021 10:57 am

Willpower - 507/500

Niku's world was twirling around her, making it difficult to comprehend the world around her. She knew Takuzoshi was around here somewhere, but with the world moving as it was, it was very difficult to locate and realize one thing and keep hold of it. The twirling seemed completely random, one minute going in a clockwise direction before turning into more of a vertical scrolling sort of movement. Just when she felt like she was acclimating to the motion, it would change. For someone like Niku who relied on her senses so heavily, this type of genjutsu was particularly difficult because now the jounin couldn't depend on the senses which she usually relied on in battle. This, of course, wasn't battle, but the idea that someone could use a similar jutsu on her in battle made this training feel all the more real. She took a few steps, but that didn't seem to help as her balance also seemed shot. She staggered a bit, trying to ensure she didn't fall.

Niku felt utterly dejected by her inability to withstand the effects of this jutsu, however, she did note that it had taken Takuzoshi quite awhile to get the genjutsu active. In a real battle, Niku hoped that she wouldn't have allowed him to get the technique off, thereby preventing this complete failure. Now it was just a matter of willpower to fight back the effects of this jutsu, she had to collect herself and push the effects from her mind. Her body knew what standing up straight was, even if she didn't feel confident that she was standing up straight, she did what her body knew was right. She ignored the feeling of falling and focused on her surroundings to the best of her ability. She realized that her sense of hearing wasn't effect, just her vision and balance. With that, she started focusing on the sounds around her rather than her vision. This altering of her focus allowed her to feel more comfortable with herself and the surroundings. Even if her vision was swirling like she'd taken some sort of mushroom, by ignoring that sense and focusing on her sense of touch and sound, she could at least remain standing fairly well.

Niku once more attempted to take a few steps, rather than allowing her balance to affect how she moved, like normal, she focused on how her body felt: how the ground beneath her feet felt, whether it was flat or angled, how her knees took the impact of her body coming down, how her hips felt in comparison to the ground beneath her feet. By doing all of that, she was able to take a few steps and remain mostly balanced. It wasn't easy and it certainly wasn't enjoyable, but she was pleased with her ability to find a way to work around the effects of the jutsu. In doing so, she realized, she was also improving her own willpower which would allow her to withstand the effects of genjutsu better in the future.
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Post by Servant » Mon Sep 20, 2021 1:16 pm

JutsuShow
Doton • Enhancement
D-Rank Ninjutsu
Niku will channel doton chakra into a weapon, causing a very fine, almost imperceptible film of dirt to form along the entire weapon. This happens at [Control] speed but gives the weapon [Control] strength, essentially enhancing the weapon's endurance and making full use of Doton's enduring passive.
315/300

Niku had come into her own with Doton, learning to control the element quite well but as she grew in physical strength, she realized just how easy it was tear steel in half with her bare hands. If she could do it, she was sure others could as well and her swords felt heavily inadequate if everyone could just rip them apart. That was when Niku came up with the idea of coating her weapons in Doton in order to enhance her weapons' endurance, allowing its enduring passive to retain that endurance for a long period of time. Niku channeled doton chakra into one of her kunai, attempting to cover it in Doton. A slight brown hue spread from her hand up to cover the weapon's short blade. Taking the newly Doton enhanced kunai between both her hands, she tried bending it with her physical strength alone. It bent, but it was definitely harder to do now than it was before she laced it with hardened Doton. That meant her plan was a success, she just needed to work on increasing the strength with her control.

She dropped the bent kunai to the ground and grabbed another from her bag. Once again, she channeled Doton chakra into the weapon. This time, she focused more chakra into the weapon in an attempt to increase the strength of the Doton even more than before. Her goal was to make a weapon that even her considerable strength couldn't bend. While she may be practicing this new technique of hers on kunai, she intended to use the technique on her swords too because that is the last thing a swordsman needs: their most trusted weapon to shatter in their time of need. After the chakra coated the weapon, Niku tried once more to bend or break the iron tool, but failed, causing a grin to form on her face.
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Post by Servant » Mon Sep 20, 2021 8:53 pm

JutsuShow
Doton • Chunky
D-Rank Ninjutsu
After channeling doton chakra into her foot, Niku will slam her heel into the ground causing three chunks of rock, each measuring about 2 feet in diameter, to burst out of the ground with [Control] strength and speed. These chunks are not perfectly spherical, but mostly so and shoot up anywhere within 10 meters of her position.
309/300

Niku stomped her foot to the ground, releasing Doton chakra into it. Two chunks of earth shot up from the ground, Niku threw a fist at one of the rocks. The rock shattered to pieces, effectively not going anywhere at all, just dusty debris falling all around her. "Well, that didn't go as planned," she mused aloud, despite no one else being there. She smashed the second chunk, just out of frustration and then began channeling chakra to her foot once more. Her plan for the technique was twofold: first, she wanted the chunks to be capable of hurting people when they shot out of the ground. Even if they couldn't kill someone, if they could knock someone off balance or distract them, that was enough. But her second intention for the technique was to be able to use the chunks as projectiles if needed, hence why she'd punched the thing as it rushed into the air. If she could use the technique in either way, it gave her a sense of utility that some of her other techniques did not.

She stomped the ground once more releasing the channeled Doton chakra again. This time, two chunks of rock hurtled out from the ground with considerable force. That force had been lacking in her previous attempt, so this was already more in line with her ideal form of this technique. She once again punched one of the chunks, seeing go hurtling forward as her own impressive strength send the rock forward. Not only was the rock more powerful, but it also was sturdier than her previous attempt. All in all, she was pretty happy with how the technique had turned out. But, of course, one successful attempt wasn't enough to make the kunoichi comfortable using the technique in combat. After a few more attempts, Niku had perfected the technique.
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Post by Servant » Wed Sep 22, 2021 9:27 am

JutsuShow
[Doton • Mole Hiding]
C-Rank Ninjutsu
After forming handseals, the user will submerge into the ground. The user can then dig through the earth with the use of chakra. The user can travel underground, up to 15 meters deep for up to 5 posts before needing to recast the jutsu. The maximum distance the user can travel is 25 meters per use. Additionally, the earth can only be moved at a maximum speed equal to [Control], limiting the user’s speed at which they can travel through the ground. Using this technique does, however, create a tunnel of sorts, allowing the user to create a series of tunnels for various purposes though the user can close the tunnel behind them as they move should they choose in which case the earth compresses with [Control] strength.
314/300 words

Even when they were chuunin, Niku had been impressed with Yozei's Mole Hiding jutsu. However, the war had gotten in the way of her learning the technique, but she had gotten a few pointers from her fellow shinobi and now intended to practice so that she could add the technique to her repertoire. She went through the string of handseals that Yozei had given her and began submerging into the earth below her. Despite it looking like she was simply assimilating into the ground, she was really utilizing the Doton chakra to move the earth out of her way so that she was essentially digging. As she lowered into the earth so that her entire face was submerged, Niku began to realize how troublesome the technique could be. Without a means to locate an enemy target, a hiding mole had no idea of where an enemy might be. Of course, Niku could bypass this issue with her sensory and Dragon Senses. She began moving forward trying to determine how quickly she could move in this submerged state. She realized that even if she utilized the technique perfectly, she wouldn't be able to fully utilize her speed. Despite that realization, she knew the technique was still incredibly useful, especially with her sensory skills, she could sneak up on unsuspecting targets and remove them from below.

After about 25 meters, she realized that the technique had ended. She was now stuck in a tunnel nearly 13 meters deep in the earth. It's good to know the technique's limitations, she mused to herself as she began doing the handseals again. Once the technique was once again active, she began moving forward once again, creating a lengthy tunnel behind her. She then turned back and compressed the tunnel, surprised at how forceful it destroyed the space. She then tunneled upwards to return to the land of the living.
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Post by Servant » Tue Oct 19, 2021 4:05 pm

JutsuShow
*Doton • Landmine
C-Rank Ninjutsu
After performing the correct hand seals the user will tap their foot on the ground charging a 25 meter radius around their foot with explosive chakra. This is armed at [Control] speed. For the next three posts if anyone other than the user steps on the area it will explode with at a [Control] Strength explosion.
343/300 words

Niku's hands blazed a string of handseals before she tapped her foot to the ground beneath her. This technique, thus the handseals necessary as well, had been recommended to her by a fellow shinobi. After hearing what it could do, it did seem like a useful technique for the kunoichi to learn. Her chakra extended outward from her though she had purposely used very little of her power, as she was trying to learn how to use the technique, not kill her friend, Boshio. He was little more than a test dummy in this scenario, but he was a sturdy lad and capable of taking a little explosion without too much worry of death or serious injury, plus he trusted Niku's ability to limit the power for his health.

"Ok," she called, signaling to Boshio that the technique was active and he should begin moving towards her. He began running, not wanting the suspense to build up with each step as it would have happened had he slowly walked towards his friend. About 13 meters from Niku, the earth beneath his right foot exploded upward. Combine that new force with his forward momentum, poor Boshio went hurtling through the air, his arms and legs flailing as his torso spun erratically before he crashed into the dirt and slid lightly for a moment before coming to a stop.

While he collected himself, Niku did another string of seals as she was unconvinced that she'd done the technique well the first time. She used even less power than last time, just hoping to extend the range to 25 meters that she'd been told of. As Boshio finally got his bearings and dusted himself off, he looked at her inquisitively. "Go ahead, don't worry, it's weaker than last time." He took a step, feeling the earth push up once again. This time, though, it wasn't even enough to knock him down. Even Niku wasn't sure if it had worked, but she got the thumbs up from Boshio indicating that he'd felt the light force after all.
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Post by Servant » Tue Jan 18, 2022 4:30 pm

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*[Zantou • Winter Solstice]
D-Rank Taijutsu Stance
The basic Stance of Zantou, the practitioner holds one blade forward, parallel to the ground, and holds the other high over the head, pointing toward the opponent. The low blade grants the practitioner the ability to quickly defend against an opponent's attack while the blade raised overhead allows the practitioner to either quickly attack or counterattack with a powerful downward swing or thrust. This pairing of defense and offense serves as one of the cores of Zantou's swordsmanship. Drawing in a deep breath, the practitioner also gathers up their energy and releases a kiai. This Stance allows the practitioner to ignore non-critical distractions and minor environmental factors, such as small amounts of excess heat, small amounts of excess cold, small amounts of fatigue, and even small amounts of pain, allowing them to focus entirely on their opponents' movements and the tasks at hand. While in this Stance, the practitioner is conferred with a +2 increase to Strength and +1 increase to Will Power but suffers a -2 penalty to Chakra Pool and -1 penalty to Control. The practitioner may end this Stance whenever they so wish.
/400 words

Niku had recently traveled the world in order to learn four of the samurai style's most devastating techniques, but, in her travels, she discovered another sword style that she had only heard of before. Now that she had found a few people who were familiar with Zantou's techniques, she wanted to learn from them everything she could. Niku took her time, observing as Shishio and Nazino, a married couple, as they went through a few of the notable stances. The blade control and physical aspects of the style weren't going to be too troublesome for the kunoichi who had mastered four other samurai styles and the Ougis that they were so proud of, but Zantou had a different component that Niku had never utilized in combat before: the kiai. Niku mimicked the physical stance that had been shown to her, holding one sword pointed forward and the other held higher in the air. Having spent years using a sword without purposely making noise, the idea of releasing a war cry now was off putting, but Niku couldn't deny that the sword style had something the others lacked.

Taking a deep breath, Niku let out her first kiai ever. It wasn't nearly as powerful nor as useful as her instructors' kiais, but it wasn't a bad attempt.
Last edited by Servant on Thu Mar 31, 2022 4:52 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Post by Servant » Wed Jan 19, 2022 10:26 pm

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Doton • Dirt Dome
C-Rank Ninjutsu
After the proper seals, Niku will expel dirt outward from her body at [Control] speed and strength to about 20 meters from her original position. The dirt doesn't solidify, but remains floating in the air for the next 3 posts, forming a dome. The floating earth inhibits the sight and movement of everyone within the dome, lowering their speed by 1.
327/300 words

Niku had a pretty solid idea of the technique she wanted to create, the hot sun beaming down on her wasn't enough of a deterrent to keep her from working on it. She did a short string of handseals before expelling the doton chakra from her body. Doing so converted the chakra into actual dirt, but gave it enough energy to remain suspended in the air. The effect was exactly what she was looking for, but it was definitely not big enough to be usable in combat. She was even surprised to find that the dirt didn't just move outward from her body, but filled the space, allowing the dirt to even move around objects that were blocking the dirt's initial expansion. In this way, the dome couldn't be blocked with a simple shield as the dirt would move around it to hinder the shield's wielder. She did acknowledge that she had to work on increasing the size of the technique if she had any desire to use the technique. Once the dirt fell to the earth, Niku began another string of handseals. Once again, dirt was expelled from her body, though this time she controlled how quickly and how much force it had. She quickly realized that lowering the expansion force allowed her to speed up the expansion, which was her preferred use of the technique. She wasn't trying to hurt people with the dirt, simply slow them down and rob them of their sight. After a few more tries, Niku was pleased with the size and how quickly (with a considerable decrease in chakra usage) she could create the dirt dome. Even moving within the dome, Niku could tell that her own speed had been lowered, but only slightly. Naturally, that gave the kunoichi ideas for a more dense dome of dirt which would slow enemies down even more, but she had to perfect this technique before she could move on to creating another one.
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Post by Servant » Wed Feb 16, 2022 5:08 pm

training post
Last edited by Servant on Mon Mar 28, 2022 4:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Servant » Mon Mar 28, 2022 4:10 pm

Chakra Pool x3 - 1204/1200

4 years ago...

The Great War was raging and its end was nowhere in sight. Despite the numerous missions and seemingly never having a chance to rest, Niku looked well rested and raring to go. The young kunoichi and three other shinobi rushed to where they'd been assigned, about three clicks south of the Konoha camp. For Niku, the mission was a pretty simple one, she was assigned to function as a sensor while the other three shinobi set up defenses for the camp. They were going to set up fuuin that would function both as traps, but also warnings to allow them to know if someone were attempting to sneak up on their camp.

She took a seat while the others got to work. She closed her eyes and began her sensory technique. While she didn't truly enjoy being a sensor in this fashion, she was a good soldier and did as she was assigned. Her chakra flowed out from her as was customary of the Beyond Senses sensory technique. She went ahead and extended the range of the technique to its limits, 75 meters, thanks to her knowledge of Broad Sense. She wasn't looking for anyone particular, so she wasn't too concerned about precise locations. Instead, Niku was more accurately setting up a perimeter that she could maintain and be aware if someone entered it. That was the easiest way for her to ensure the safety of everyone there.

It was draining to sense at that distance for a long time, but Niku had worked with these people long enough to know they knew what and how to do what they needed. She focused on the technique, constantly using her chakra to sense the surrounding location. Because her companions were so close to her, she could tell exactly what their location was, but she didn't focus on them because she was more focused on her perimeter. If someone with considerable speed were to enter her range, she wouldn't have a lot of time to notify the others so she had to be mindful of it to ensure everyone was aware if someone were to attack them. After a few minutes, she could feel her chakra reserves beginning to lessen. It wasn't of concern yet, but if she continued utilizing the technique for another thirty minutes or so, she'd be nearly out of chakra altogether.

The chakra continued to flow from her body reaching the maximum distance of 75 meters before turning and coming back to her. Her concentration didn't waver as the others set up their traps and sensory fuuin. She could tell they were working hard, her ears picking up their movement and words as they quietly whispered to one another as they worked together. She had done a similar mission once before, but that had been on a smaller scale and there had been 4 people with her. This was a larger setup and with less people, Niku could tell it was taking longer as her chakra was getting thinner and more troublesome to control. The usage of her charka had never been Niku's strong suit, but this extended use of chakra was causing sweat to leak from her forehead rather noticeably.

"How much longer will this take?" Niku asked, maintaining her concentration on the technique. She heard a couple whispers as they conferred before answering the kunoichi.

"Ten minutes, maybe twelve," one responded quietly before going back to his work.

"Fine," she responded, fairly confident she could hold out that long. Her chakra kept flowing as her mind focused on the task at hand. While she was aware that her chakra pool was nearly halfway empty, she couldn't let her teammates down. Failure was not an option and while she could stop the technique and recast every couple minutes and check their perimeter, Niku knew that if it were her, she could probably kill two of the four shinobi in the span of a couple minutes even from 75 meters away. Being aware of her own skills made her more weary of the skills of others so she kept her sensory technique up nonstop. Her quickly falling chakra reserves were a price she was willing to pay to ensure the mission was a success and her teammates remained alive.

Niku thought she 'saw' a flicker of chakra in her sensory technique, approximately 75 meters to the south. It was only a blip for a second and then gone. It made Niku nervous, it could have been an animal of some sort or something much more nefarious. A shinobi who had some way of detecting sensory techniques could feasibly have stepped into Niku's sensory technique before retreating out of Niku's range. It was at this moment that Niku wished she had a larger range, so she could extend her range in hopes of catching that blip once more. Thinking like that won't help me right now. Instead of letting useless thoughts invade her mind, she kept her focus up, no longer worrying about her chakra reserves, instead watching the mental radar for possible trouble.

"All done, Niku," the man said, awaiting her to get up.

Still concerned about that blip, Niku activated her Dragon Sense technique which allowed her to move freely while maintaining her sensory technique. She stood, nodding to the other shinobi. "Give me just a minute." With that, Niku turned south and in a dead sprint took off in that direction. Her impressive speed was on full display as the other shinobi took precautionary measures to ensure their own safety without their sensor nearby. Niku hoped to see that blip once more as she went south, she wanted to find a deer or boar that was just in the area. As she got closer, a blip appeared in her sensory technique and she sped right over to it. An arrow flew about two feet to her right, though Niku didn't react to it at all. She stopped abruptly, a young boy, likely 15 or so, stood a few yards away, the bow still in his hand. The wolf pack that he'd been trying to scare off ran, though likely more afraid of Niku than the boy with arrows. She looked at the boy and realized that he was also afraid of her and his shaking hands were likely the cause of the arrow that had flown by her earlier. He hadn't been trying to hit her, at least that was what she expected. With her sensory tech still going, she could see the wolves running off. "Sorry to interrupt, I'll leave you to your hunt." Her voice had been soft and she'd backed up as she spoke. Feeling as though she had confirmed that there were no enemy shinobi, she canceled her sensory technique. She could feel her body's lack of chakra as it felt somewhat weaker than normal. Noticeably, she could even tell that running at max speed back to her comrades was taking what little chakra she had left.

This mission had put a serious toll on her chakra pool, but, after some rest, Niku would find that her chakra pool had actually grown as a result of the heavy expenditure she'd put it through.
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Post by Servant » Mon Mar 28, 2022 4:30 pm

Chakra Pool x 3 - 1235/1200 words

As her physical capabilities had continued to grow, the young kunoichi began to realize that her chakra pool was lacking. All shinobi knew that living beings had and required chakra to remain alive, but Niku had come to realize that her ability to perform even the most basic skills at God tier levels had the effect of draining her limited chakra pool. For this reason, the swordswoman was out at the training ground, utilizing her chakra and swordsmanship to continually lower her chakra as this was the most well known means of training ones chakra pool to new levels. She'd experienced it first hand during the Great War when she'd been forced to utilize a large amount of her chakra pool during a mission where she'd been forced to function as a sensor for an extended period of time.

Niku's hands rushed through a series of handseals and she channeled her chakra to her right heel. She then proceeded to tap her foot to the ground causing the chakra to mold the earth into stone squares around her. Now that she had 16 tiles to choose from, she began doing another string of handseals. This time, she channeled more Doton chakra into the ground and a tile before her seemingly jumped into the air of its own accord. It flew upwards at an amazing speed, but Niku's own physical capabilities still allowed her to rush forward and draw her blade to slice the stone tile into two pieces and resheath her blade. Before the two pieces returned to the ground, Niku's hands began going through another string of seals. Another tile jumped into the air, narrowly missing the pieces of the falling tile. With a flick of her wrist, Niku draw her blade and released it, sending the sword hurtling towards the upward moving stone tile. The release caused the blade to spin at astonishing speeds, creating a disc of metal that could nearly slice through anything which it proceeded to do to the airborne tile. As all four pieces of tile fell to the ground, Niku raced forward to retrieve her thrown sword.

Her physical endurance was at a level that she could keep up with this type of activity fairly easily, but even just the few jutsu she'd performed she could feel a drain on her chakra pool. The high speed movements and kenjutsu at her maximum levels were able to pull enough of her chakra to make her aware of it, which is why she wanted to increase the size of her chakra pool. After resheathing her sword, Niku rushed back to the stone floors she'd created, at least what was left of it. She went through another series of handseals and tapped her foot to the ground, surging her chakra into it. Another tile jumped off the ground as Niku rushed over at max speed to catch it. With a single hand, she opened her palm upwards and grasped as the tile fell into her hand. Her strength was enough to keep the tile balanced with just her arm. She tossed the tile upward, her hands returning in front of her as they went through another string of seals. Her right hand went upward to catch the falling tile as another tile shot upwards into the sky. She moved to catch the second tile, now standing there holding two meter tall tiles straight up in the air.

With a slight bend of her knees, Niku tossed both tiles upwards and forward, watching them twist slightly as they hurtled through the air. Her feet left the ground as Niku took flight, her body slicing through the air like a blade through flesh, as she zoomed towards the still upward moving tiles. Both hands moved to different hips and drew the blades that were sheathed there, slicing the tiles in half, before turning on a dime and drawing both blades once again. To an onlooker, it would appear like the tiles just broke apart from two large tiles into eight smaller ones because Niku's speed was just at a level that even most shinobi would have trouble keeping track of. Her blades, naturally, were resheathed before Niku began decreasing her altitude. She landed with a thud, creating a small crater and destroying one more of the tiles.

The woman could feel her chakra pool was more than half empty now, but she wanted to keep pushing herself. It was akin to eating too much in order to stretch your stomach so that next time you ate too much, it wouldn't be too much anymore. She hadn't emptied the tank and that's what she needed to do. She closed her eyes and activated her chakra sensory, feeling her own chakra reach out to feel for the chakra of others. She didn't really even care what was going on around her, she was just trying to use her chakra. She then opened her eyes, her taijutsu training and Dragon Senses allowing her to continue sensing chakra even without concentrating on it. She could sense others training, though they were far enough away that she didn't worry too much about anyone getting hurt. She then began a string of handseals, circulating Doton chakra.

After she was done, Doton began to erupt outward from her body in the form of a fine dust. This was a technique she had slowly been developing and she could feel it draining her chakra as it expanded to nearly an eighty meter radius. While the airborne dirt did obstruct her vision somewhat, Niku's sensory technique and enhanced hearing allowed her to still have a decent grasp of where people were around her. The technique was draining though and she wondered if she would ever use it, though she did acknowledge it could be useful against a group or army. She moved at top speed in a zig zagging fashion as the dirt prison that surrounded her continually moved with her. An onlooker may think there was some sort of sandstorm though it was moving too erratically to truly be a natural storm.

Niku canceled the technique, her breathing having already become ragged as her pool of chakra was nearly completely empty. Her usual fighting style didn't rely on so many ninjutsu techniques, so she wasn't often this tired when practicing her usual means of combat. But, she could tell she still had some more chakra in the tank, so she didn't stop there. She once again weaved through a string of handseals, another tile jumped from the ground at almost the same time as her hand s began going through another string of handseals. She raced forward and jumped, placing both feet on the first airborne tiles. She waited a moment as it turned to the right angle and then kicked off of it. The force of her kick was enough to send the tile hurtling into the ground where it smashed, leaving a small crater. The force had also propelled Niku towards the second airborne tile which she effortlessly sliced in half before returning to the earth, her breathing noticeably labored.

There was only one tile left, she bent over, deep breaths still coming from her mouth, and stuck her hand under the tile, lifting it upwards. She then simply punched a hole in the tile, sending debris everywhere. She turned, letting what was left of the tile fall backwards.
My Thread
Inken Nikuya
[color=#ffe135]
  • Seiryu - [color=#007FFF]
  • Suzaku - [color=#e62a09]
  • Genbu - [color=#80461B]
  • Byakko - [color=#007FFF]
Sadame Juusha
[color=#2888BD]
Imuka Makumi
[color=#Fc0fc0]
Yamanaka Yaya
[color=#3a6e38]
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The Lone Swordsman

Post by Servant » Mon Mar 28, 2022 4:48 pm

Awakening - 464/400

Now that the Great War was over, Niku had some time to train herself. The kunoichi sat in her room, eyes closed, legs crossed, meditating on the energy within her. Niku wanted to increase her connection to the Yellow Dragon. She wasn't sure what else that connection could do, but she was pretty pleased with everything it had done for her so far. There was a part of her that felt like she was still missing something. Despite having grown considerably more Awakened since her early days with the ability, Niku felt her mind becoming more open to the Yellow Dragon within her.

Flash

"I know it's a gamble, but it may be the only shot we have," a voice declared. While it sounded like it had come from her, it was definitely not a voice she'd ever heard before. Things began to come into focus: in front, a turtle with a snake for a tail, to her left was a white tiger, to her right was a blue dragon. Niku had never seen or heard of these creatures before. She wasn't even sure why she was here.

"Maybe you won't be so ugly in your next life, Oryu," a voice from behind remarked, clearly trying to lighten the mood, and as her field of view turned, Niku saw a fiery bird before her.

"Idiot!" The voice had come from the direction the turtle had been in.

"Even if you get reincarnated as a human, you'll be on your own until you can find us. And that's if we can survive long enough until you find us."

"I know there are risks, Seiryu, but we won't last much longer going as we have." The passion that the tiger had for this plan made Niku think he had come up with it.

"He's right, we're losing the war," the voice which came from Niku admitted. It almost seemed like Niku was experiencing the memories of someone else, but she didn't know why.

"We can't even be certain you'll remember us."

"The time for discussions is over, we all know the risks. Oryu, our hope, you will die but we'll sneak your soul into the reincarnation cycle. You'll become one of them and we'll be united some day." This was the first time the turtle had spoken, but she seemed to have some authority over the others.

Flash

All of the memories from Oryu flooded into Niku's mind. It all became clear, she wasn't the next Yellow Dragon. She was a human with the soul of a spirit: the reincarnated Yellow Dragon. That was how she'd developed her unique ability... but it also meant she had a larger mission to accomplish: she had to find her friends, even she wasn't sure how long they'd been waiting.
My Thread
Inken Nikuya
[color=#ffe135]
  • Seiryu - [color=#007FFF]
  • Suzaku - [color=#e62a09]
  • Genbu - [color=#80461B]
  • Byakko - [color=#007FFF]
Sadame Juusha
[color=#2888BD]
Imuka Makumi
[color=#Fc0fc0]
Yamanaka Yaya
[color=#3a6e38]
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Posts: 1821
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The Lone Swordsman

Post by Servant » Mon Mar 28, 2022 5:13 pm

Control - 451/400

With all the training to her chakra pool that Niku had done lately, she also felt the need to train her chakra control. If she were going to have a large pool of chakra to pull from, she should at least learn to use the energy effectively and that meant learning to better control her chakra. It was a tried and true fact that very few shinobi would argue with. Many would even suggest that control played a bigger part in jutsu that chakra pool did as it allowed the shinobi to better utilize the strength they had. Niku intended to utilize her sensory techniques to fine tune her ability to control chakra as the two skills were heavily reliant on the control of chakra.

Sitting in her room with her legs crossed and eyes closed, Niku focused on the chakra as it flowed through the pathways within her body. For now, she just felt the energy as it flowed, she wasn't concerned yet with controlling it, so much as being aware of its natural inclination to always be moving. After a couple minutes of just reveling in the feel of her chakra, Niku began to focus that chakra into her mind's eye technique. As the chakra emanated from her into the surrounding area, Niku paid special attention to the chakra itself instead of what she was sensing nearby. Her grandfather and mother were downstairs, so naturally their chakra signatures showed up as she continued sensing the area around her, but she ignored those, focusing entirely on the chakra and controlling it's movements.

Niku couldn't help wonder if she normally allowed extra chakra to flow out as she was usually focused on what showed up when she was sensing and not as much on the chakra being used to sense. If that were true, that would mean she could essentially learn to use less chakra with every single technique. Niku again focused on the chakra that she was emanating from herself as it went out from her and returned, carrying the information of everyone else out there. She also paid special attention to the chakra within herself, making sure no chakra was being wasted as she used the technique to sense around her. The more time she spent focusing on the chakra usage, the more she came to realize that she usually wasted a lot of chakra while sensing. If that were true, she was glad t be using this training to eliminate that waste. She equated it to Iaido kenjutsu, wasted movements were wasted time and wasted time was inviting death. Perhaps the stakes weren't quite that high in chakra control, but they certainly could lead to trouble in battle.
My Thread
Inken Nikuya
[color=#ffe135]
  • Seiryu - [color=#007FFF]
  • Suzaku - [color=#e62a09]
  • Genbu - [color=#80461B]
  • Byakko - [color=#007FFF]
Sadame Juusha
[color=#2888BD]
Imuka Makumi
[color=#Fc0fc0]
Yamanaka Yaya
[color=#3a6e38]
-

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