Walltop Sparring [Invasion]

[Drak]

After attending so many training activities organized by others, Akito finally decided that he was going to put one on himself. He had managed to secure a portion of the town wall as the venue, arguing that sparring atop the walls was the best simulation of fighting atop them.

Akito arrived early to inspect his section. It was a long, gently curved rampart in between two watchtowers, far from any of the main routes into Konoha. Instead, it looked over the green expanse of trees that comprised much of the Hi no Kuni, and which acted as one more line of natural defense for the village.

In addition to sparring here on the rampart, we might also consider target practice down below.

Looking up at the sun, which was still low in the sky, Akito guessed he had enough time to set up some targets. He grabbed some paint from one of the watchtowers and ran into the forest below. There, he used his Doton to set up a few dozen earthen walls – each around the height and width of a person – around the treeline. He marked each with a crude target before returning to the wall.

As he made his way back to the top of the wall, Akito created a spare set of shuriken for teaining. Back up high, Akito looked around. He was still the only one there. Seeing that, he decided to get some solo work in. Akito was standing on the wall at the base of one of the watchtowers. In his mind's eye, he pictured an enemy attack.

If enemy combatants were to try to capture this section of walls they would either be coming straight up it, or possibly out of a watchtower they had seized. Let's assume both.

He looked over the walls.

Say they have two grabble lines: there, and there. He marked the locations in his mind. Each one has a Shinobi coming up it. A third is in the opposite tower and will be coming out momentarily. How best to handle this?

Akito dropped into stance and channeled a small parcel of chakra into his hands and another to his eyes. Then in a flash, he was off, sprinting towards where he had envisioned the first grappling hook.

Alright, a single shinobi has just landed atop the wall after scaling it. He is looking around, taking in the situation. I should take advantage of that and limit his movement before attacking.

As Akito charged, he channeled Doton chakra into his foot. When he neared the first imagined opponent, he feinted a blow with his right hand and stomped with his left foot, bringing up a pair of rock “restraints” to pin their feet to the wall.

That done, Akito followed up with a flurry of blows: the 32 Trigram Palms.

Two to the right shoulder. Two to the left shoulder. Two to each arm, totalling four. Drop down, then eight to the spiral of teknestu in the belly. Finish with sixteen to the upper torso, moving upwards through the vital organs: liver, stomach, heart, and lungs.

As he finished his form, Akito whirled around his imagined opponent, gracefully combinig circumventing his downed opponent and facing the next.

In that time, he saw me make my move and take down his fellow. He's preparing a ranged attack which I need to block.

A quick few hand seals, and a stone barrier shot up from the wall in front of Akito, blocking what may have been a lighting bolt, a fireball, or just a pair of kunai racing towards his center of mass. Akito crouched down, grabbing a shuriken, and made hand seals as he jumped up. He released the shuriken the moment his arms made it over the barrier, and as it flew, the shuriken multiplied into a cloud of shuriken flying towards his opponent. He came down on the same side of the wall he had jumped from, and with another few seals, brought it back down into the larger wall below him.

If I blocked a projectile like that, then my opponent could have as well. I should make a follow-up strike.

Using some of the chakra still stored in his palms, Akito formed an aerodynamic shell of it and sent it flying with a powerful thrust of his right arm. A shimmering blue bullet-shaped mass went flying off of his palm, leaving a palpable shockwave in its wake. Satisfied with his countermeasure, Akito stood, mimed cutting the grappling line with a kunai, and began sprinting at the next tower.

This is a much larger distance to cover, so I will need to practice evasion as I close the distance.

As he sprinted, Akito worked to make himself a more difficult target, weaving together spins, ducks, leaps, and periodically throwing one of his stash of shuriken at his phantom opponent. After one of those shuriken throws, Akita realized that he had covered about half the distance between him and his opponent's job of hitting him would be getting easier. With a few smooth hand seals, Akita hurled a ball of dirt at his opponent, which exploded into a thick, blinding cloud of the stuff.

Using that as cover, Akito could take a straighter path towards his opponent. With his Byakugan, the dirt was not an issue for him. Akita evaded a few blindly thrown projectiles, and charged into the dust, engaging his foe in hand to hand combat by going through a mixture of forms and shadow boxing.

He stabs at me with a kunai. Left hand up and over his, grab his wrist and pronate it as I pull it away from my center line. Right hand hits the teknestu in the shoulder, locking his right arm like that. His left fist goes for my kidney. Pull my right hand back and block with my elbow, bending my torso away to buy time. Left hand still on his wrist, I'll pull to my left to unbalance him, then strike again with my right at his temple. Large burst of chakra and that will seriously disorient him. Finish up with a two-handed strike to the solar plexus, and he's down.

Akita stood there as the dust cleared, turning around to assess the situation behind him.

I never dislodged the first grappling hook!

Akito ran back the way he had come, making a beeline for the first grappling hook. As he approo, he produced the last two of his Doton shurikens, and raising one in each hand above his head, he sent them down the wall with all his strength, before creating a tiny Doton wall to dislodge the hook and send any invaders plummeting down.

Akito paced over the section of wall he had been training on, gathering shuriken and patching small holes with his elemental skills.

When he was done, Akito took a look around, hoping to see someone else there for training. He looked over the inside of the wall, checking for someone waiting at the base, and combed through both towers. It also served as nice chance to catch his breath and think about what another solo drill might look like.

I could assume that someone can use wind jutsus and could both counteract my dirt cloud and blow me off the wall. Or maybe an opponent with a weapon who would be harder to fight close up…

WC: 1233/600 +2 Speed

[Izanagi]

Takeshi had been eager to train with his cousin for weeks now. It seemed any time he might have been able to spar with Akito, something or someone ended up getting in the way and leading to a shortened training session. War was on the horizon and already many of Konoha’s strongest shinobi had set out to Iwagakure. He knew that both himself and Akito were assigned to defend Konoha, stationed to defend their walls and patrol the forests over the coming weeks. If the worst were to occur, and this Crescent Coalition were to act on their declaration of war, then they would need to be ready. And it certainly helped to better understand what one’s allies were capable of.

First, as the young Special Jounin was approaching the walls he began forming the seals for the shadow clone jutsu. But he strived to do so with more precision, the proper version of the technique that was able to transfer remaining chakra back to the original rather than let it simply disperse. He hoped he wouldn’t have to rely on the shadow clone technique if there was any significant fighting, it was a jutsu designed for recon after all. But it was quite dangerous and heavily chakra-consuming to use while actively fighting. It would be important to determine his limits against a Jounin level combatant in case he did need to resort to the technique in order to both attack and defend simultaneously.

And so, after creating a shadow clone of his likeness he would keep back, coating himself in Fuuton as he ascended into the sky. Meanwhile, his clone, dressed in a teal haori, black pants and his usual array of weaponry would charge forward, easily scaling the wall by flowing chakra to his feet. As it ascended the wall it coated itself in a protective layer of chakra with [35 Strength]. The real Takeshi would notch a blunted training arrow and fire it at Akito with 30 Strength and Speed, “Heads up!” he called out, grinning now that he finally got the man alone for the time being. Meanwhile the clone would attempt to rush Akito, running at 30 speed and coming over the top of the rampart a moment after the arrow crossed the threshold. He was curious how the man would respond to fighting two skilled opponents at the same time, especially with attacks coming from varying ranges.

Jutsu TrainedShow

*[Ninjutsu • Advanced Shadow Clone Technique]
S-Ranked Ninjutsu
Prerequisite: *[Ninjutsu • Shadow Clone Technique]
After performing the correct hand seals the user proceeds to create a number of clones of themselves (maximum is equal to 1/3rd the user's Chakra Pool). Unlike the Clone Technique, these clones are actual copies of the user in both appearance and substance. The user's chakra is evenly distributed among every clone, giving each clone an equal fraction of the user's overall power. The clones are capable of performing jutsu on their own, be given complex commands, caught in genjutsu, and can even bleed, but they will usually disperse after one or two solid blows. The clones will be created in roughly the same condition as the original and any experience the clones gain during their existence is transferred to the user once they are dispersed. Given that the clones are an exact replica of the user, they share the same stats except for Chakra Pool, which is determined by the number of clones presently in effect. The advantage of this form of the technique is that once dispersed, the chakra distributed to the clones returns to the user, allowing any un-used chakra to be regained, slowing the draining usage of this technique. The chakra returns to the user at a different rate depending on the user's control.
• 1-15 Control: 1/5
• 16-25: 2/5
• 26-35: 3/5
• 36+: 4/5

As the shadow clone approached, this version of Takeshi would smirk as he entered a Jyuuken stance. He was excited to test his close quarters ability against his elder cousin, a senpai of sorts. Typically Takeshi preferred to fight at a range, and even his use of Jyuuken tended to favor chakra blasts rather than staying in close and shutting down tenketsu points manually.

A seasoned Hyuuga Jounin would likely understand this immediately as Takeshi entered a variation of the Jyuuken stance meant for mid range fighting while still standing at least 5 meters away. Chakra surged through his tenketsu, building as he prepare himself for a particularly devastating and difficult to master technique. To flow chakra through each tenketsu and then release it as a wave without either exhausting oneself or overloading their own tenketsu was no easy feat. It required exceptional chakra control as well as adequate reserves and if one didn’t at least have as much chakra as most Jounin it would have been extraordinarily foolish to use via a shadow clone.

But training was when it was best to practice risky strategies. At least that is how Takeshi had learned to push himself to new heights. He was burning through chakra quickly, but he hoped the aggressive attack would catch Akito somewhat off guard. He knew the man ha a keen mind but he seemed held back by overthinking, Takeshi had realized since the night in the teahouse that his best strategy was to keep up pressure and bring Akito down with swift coordinated strikes before he could learn to adapt to his techniques. That being said it too was a matter of pride to attempt to overcome his elder with the Hyuuga clans own techniques. While they were each considered lowly through the eyes of the clan elders, Takeshi still felt the need to prove himself to his kin.

The chakra surge would spread out in all directions, a disrupting shockwave that moved with 35 Strength and Speed. Even this one attack alone used a significant portion of the clones chakra pool, but if it was enough to impede Akito early on it could lead to a swift victory for the teenager. And swift it would need to be, for as powerful as the one body blow technique was, it came at a cost of lack of precision and thus limited longevity. Panting, Takeshi’s shadow clone remained light on his feet, prepared to engage in close quarters or otherwise defend against a counterattack.

419/400

Jutsu TrainedShow

~Jyuuken :: One Body Blow
A-rank Nintaijutsu Maneuver
After channelling chakra through all of their tenketsu, the user will release it in a mighty surge with [Control] strength and speed, travelling up to 65 meters. The chakra will assault the chakra system of any hit, reducing their Control by -9 points. After 3 posts the disruption will dissipate however, as specific tenketsu were not struck.

Jutsu UsedShow

[Ninpou • Chakra Armor] (used by clone)
C-Ranked Ninjutsu
The user channels chakra, flowing it in a thin layer across their body, including their hands and head. This amor has a strength of [35] and forms at [20] speed. This aura of chakra can also be formed on others, though only one person per cast, so long as they are within 25 meters of the user. This layer of chakra does not impede movement, normal bodily functions, or the ability to perform hand seals in any way.

Fuuton • Flight
A-ranked Fuuton Jutsu
After forming the necessary handseals Takeshi will flow Fuuton natured chakra around his body in a thin veil. Unlike most Fuuton jutsu this veil contains no cutting properties, but it does create a buffer that blows aside any airborne particulates. In addition, it allows Takeshi to soar through the air, controlling his direction at will or conversely as he typically opts to do he can rely more on the Fuuton focused around his feet, running, jumping or even rolling across the sky as if he were on solid ground, remaining in full control of his movements. This jutsu can last for a maximum of 7 posts, allowing the user to move at a speed equal to his control to a maximum of his Speed stat.

*[Flawless Aim Style • Absolute Aim]
A-Rank Taijutsu Discipline
Having mastered the art of ranged combat, the practitioner is capable of calculating all outside factors before launching their projectiles. Ambient factors such as temperature, winds, moisture, any terrain, and even lack of sight on their target can not hinder their aim. So long as they have a means of detecting the location of their opponent and no impassible objects or unavoidable defenses stand in their way, the practitioner's attacks will strike their target with pinpoint accuracy without fail. Living targets must have a Perception technique equal or higher in rank to be able to perceive the practitioner's attacks without some sort of additional defense.

[Drak]

“Heads up!”

Akito looked up and saw Takeshi flying above, notching an arrow at him.

Takeshi?

As he examined Takeshi, he saw another man leap up over the edge of the wall. Akito shifted his focus for a moment to assess the newcomer.

Takeshi again?

The Wall Takeshi entered a Jyuuken stance, while maintaining a distance. With his active Byakugan, Akito could see the nearer one focusing a lot of chakra to his hands.

Suzuko told me that he uses Fuuton, which explains the flying. Two of him probably means shadow clones. The one on the ground is charging up one of the rare Jyuuken ranged moves, meaning either a shell or a shockwave is headed my way. The flying one is clearly planning on taking advantage of my propensity for close combat. Still, I should take out the nearer one first, even if it is less likely to be the real one by my estimation. After that I can try to ground the flying one, or otherwise force him to engage with me.

Akito flashed through hand seals. A dome of shimmering blue chakra began to form around the grounded Takeshi with [Control = 41 Speed] just as the clone released its attack.

It’s a shockwave. One Body Blow. With any luck, the shockwave will be contained by my barrier and the echoes will do him some harm.


As the barrier went up, Akito dashed behind it, putting it in between himself and Takeshi, and moreover his arrows. One more set of hand seals later, and earthen scales began to sprout from Akito’s skin, mostly hidden by his uniform.

I doubt he’s using real arrows for this, but this should protect me nonetheless. Similarly, I should craft myself some dummy projectiles. That would be the polite thing to do.

A final series of seals later, and Akito was holding ten more shuriken. He had crafted these ones to be dull, although they would still leave a nasty bruise on contact.

“You could have given me some warning, cousin!” Akito shouted up at Takeshi, clearly enjoying the challenge. “A polite greeting. Maybe a ‘How was your day.’”

Jutsu UsedShow

Byakugan Doujutsu[/i]
One of the most famed doujutsu in the world, Byakugan is the bloodline limit of the Hyuuga Clan. When active, the clan member gains 360 degree vision and Penetrative vision, allowing the Hyuuga clan to see the Tenketsu of their enemies. Their telescopic vision can be activated via jutsu. As such, the Byakugan is capable of ability channeling, allowing the Hyuuga to activate their Doujutsu techniques without hand seals. It should be noted that while using their telescopic vision the Hyuuga experiences tunnel vision, making it difficult to see their surroundings.

Prolonged usage of the Byakugan is strenuous and requires a high level of endurance. The maximum operating time a user can utilize their Byakugan at a time is equal to their Chakra Pool stat divided by 4 rounded down, to a minimum of one post. Upon reaching the max duration, the stress of using their Byakugan to it’s limit causes a cooldown period of 1/2 of the duration time, to a minimum of one post. During this cooldown period, the Byakugan cannot be activated and attempting to do so will cause physical pain. Duration is based off total posts where the Byakugan is activated, meaning users can turn it on and off to have a shorter cooldown.

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

Doton • Scale Mail
B-Rank Ninjutsu
After performing the necessary hand seals, Akito will emanate Doton chakra out of tenketsu all over his body. This chakra solidifies into stone scales of varying sizes all over his body. Once in place, the scales move with his body while providing protection from damage and still allowing access to equipment and free use of hand signs and Jyuuken techniques. They form with [Control] strength and speed.

*[Ninjutsu • Barrier]
C-Ranked Ninjutsu
After performing the correct hand seals the user forms a 5x5x5m barrier around a target up to 25m away from their position. The barrier forms at [Control] Speed, has [Control] Strength, and lasts 4 posts before fading away.