Swordplay and the ANBU [Class]

[Junan]

A note had gone out to the students that there would be a class being run by retired ANBU Sennin Akira Saito.

It was weird for Akira. He had retired a long time ago, though he was still officially a member of ANBU it was as the blacksmith and so he'd hoped to be forgotten and left alone. Yet he received parcels regularly from the worshipers of Shinbatsu, his master and the man who in the darkest of times saved Akira's will to live, and thus his life. It was weird for him though because a number of the veteran teachers walked with him, asking him questions, as though he were some form of celebrity in their eyes. He answered the questions, he hoped they were to draw upon his experiences to then pass on to the students rather than because of some belief in Shinbatsu as a divine being. Not that Akira didn't believe that he was, but because it didn't matter to Akira what state of spirituality someone had achieved, in his eyes Shinbatsu was and will always be his most respected master before anything else.

The class today would cover a brief theory on the ANBU, just Akira letting the newest generation know the ins and outs of becoming an ANBU, the positive and the negatives that come with it and answering any questions they might have.

The second part of the class would be to do with melee combat, specifically weapon combat. Swords and unarmed were more Akira's forte but he could try and teach other weapons should someone wish to learn them.

Akira's own monstrous blade sat in the corner of the room, the blade was two meters long and at the hilt sat a metal oval with a slit running perpendicular to the blade, looking almost like a closed eye. The handle was long enough for probably four large hands, but was designed so that Akira could shift where his hands were holding it to allow for the best leverage according to what he was doing with his attack or defense.

He would now wait for the time for the class to begin. Thirty minutes and then he would start.

[OOC: Enter coming on time if before my next post, or late if you arrive after. I will make my next post in 48 hours from now.]

 

[Makino Tatsu]

Tatsu collected his gray coat from the box that he kept most of his belongings in. Today was his day at the ninja academy, and he was scared. Ninja are smart and often have sharp eyes. Whenever a ninja passed by as he was “working” he had to quickly act inconspicuously in such a way that his targets would not notice any weird behavior. Because of this he has come to fear them. The thought of being in an entire building made his heart pound. Grabbing his deck of playing cards from the box, the dirty blonde boy held it close to his chest. “They don't know; why would they know?” He whispered to himself, trying to calm down. The deck was like an old friend who he could confide his secrets to. Opening his coat he placed the deck into the inner pocket, along with a pair of dice. He knows trying to con a ninja, even one in training, would likely be an exercise in futility. Nevertheless, the presence of the tools of his old trade makes him feel safe and secure. He then grabs a pen and some paper, and places them into a makeshift bag made out of old cloth.

He stared at the door to the classroom as if it were the gate to hell itself. How do they teach ninja? What should he expect to go through? Would he have to fight dangerous animals? Learn how to avoid traps? Would he have to fight for his life? Tatsu grips his chest as he imagines himself being impaled by a kunai. Feeling his deck he calms down a bit once more. Taking a deep breath he steels himself and opened the door.

As he walks in Tatsu's eyes wander around the room and fell upon an intimidating man. He expected the teacher to be a ninja, someone who was skilled in the art of combat, but this man was something else. Something tells Tatsu that this was a very dangerous man, and the huge sword resting in the corner was not helping. He decided to look somewhere else, for the sake of his nerves. It did not help. He found that he was alone at the moment, and he felt himself break out into a cold sweat. Realizing that he was still standing in the doorway, Tatsu quickly walked to a seat in the second to last row.

 

[Homura Akuma]

There was a class that Namazu had no alternative, but to sign up for as it was a prerequisite for something important. No doubt he was going to show up and be one of those students that HAD to be there, yet he WANTED to be there. It was for one particular reason.

Akira Saito.

The man who conjured up weapons for the Anbu and made some damn good ones, if you were to ever ask the AiT. He knew of the man and had limited knowledge. Limited access to his files and not much else was known about the man, but the surface. There was numerous occasions where Namazu, had an opportunity to speak with him. Somehow though Namazu would gather his cutting tools and go on about his duties and his life.

This was the man that stood next to Shinbatsu, the man that stood next to Hayata Shin. Namazu knew there was a pool of knowledge this man possessed and so he signed up for the class to drown in it.

‘His wisdom would become my wisdom. And then my wisdom will become their wisdom.’

It was saying of Namazu in regards to passing knowledge through the generations, and the Kyoujouran was rarely excited about classes, but today was the exception.

Entering through the doors in his “main branch” attire(not Anbu), it was going to be immediate recognition though maybe to Saito, Namazu was but a grain of sand in the desert and was hardly recognizable, but then again how many chocolate fleshed individuals walked the halls of the Sileo Tempestas. A bow of respect was necessary for such a informal situation like class and Namazu gave one to the ‘Senpai’ before taking a seat nearest to the exit, a habit he had earned via Anbu training.

 

[Uragaeshi Riyoji]

After receiving the message that an anbu would be teaching a class, Randori immediately thought there may be some combat training involved, and that it had been a while since he actually showed up to class, so this could be an opportunity to enjoy it. All that he grabbed before heading to the classroom was his sword, which he placed in the sword harness on his back. His sword tended to grind against the ground as he walked with it, due to the fact that it was taller than him, so he had to adjust the sword to where it's hilt was quite a bit over his head. As he exited his room to start heading toward the room the class was to be held, one of his classmates made fun of how his sword was bigger than him, but he ignored his remark.

Randori entered the room without hesitation, immediately noticing the man that towered above him, and a dark skinned man sitting in the front. He also noticed the sword that was almost the same size as his leaning against a wall, which made him smile that he used a sword similar to what a powerful anbu would use. Walking over to the sword to examine it, he noticed that it was slightly larger than his before looking to his left and realized that he probably shouldn't be looking at it this closely. He made his way to the back of the room where he removed his sword and harness, laid it across the floor in front of him, and sat down to wait for class to begin.

 

[Sakaki Kensei]

Kensei smiled at he looked at the letter delivered to him. A class at the academy ran by an ANBU?! What luck for my first time! Kensei quickly gathered up a few of the ninja supplies he had scattered around his room before he headed down stairs to the library. There he started picking the few books they had on ANBU and weapons off the shelves when one fell to the ground. The book had landed open, and when he saw the page it was on he smiled. He had read this book when he was four, and it was one of his favorites. Maybe that was why he was so excited for the class that he didn't bother picking it back up, but instead ran right out the door with the rest of the books in tow.

Kensei entered the class room with his nose planted firmly in a book, but was still quickly looking around the room. He noticed the teacher first, who he could tell was well seasoned. He then noticed the rather large sword in the corner of the room, a sword that was larger than he was. It had a unique design to it, so Kensei tried to remember if he had ever read about sword like that before. But he came up blank. That excited him even further and he smiled. Next he looked around and saw that three other student there, all who looked older than him. One if had a sword as large as the teacher. How could that guy use a sword that large? Kensei quickly found a place to sit, and waited for the class to start as he continued to read his book.

Topic Entered

 

[Junan]

[OOC: lost a 2k word post ;.; so this will have to do]

Four students in total entered before Akira moved to close the door.

The first student was interesting. Skittish almost, perhaps it was his first class, perhaps something had happened to him. Akira didn't know, but he hoped that the boy would manage to feel at ease as the class continued. Nothing would hurt him here. No-one would dare do anything like that in Akira's presence. He took a seat in the second to last row, something which told Akira a little about the boy, but nothing more than he could have seen from the dilation of his pupils and behavior already exhibited.

The second student Akira was sure he'd seen around the Sileo, though he didn't think they had officially met before. When that boy bowed Akira bowed his head acknowledging the others show of respect. He took a seat nearest the door though this both opened and closed different ideas about his thought patterns. If Akira was sure he was a trainee or ANBU this meant that he views that as either an escape route or where an attack could come from. That was more the standard of teaching he remembered anyway. That he chose not to sit in the middle meant one or the other, and could either mean he was an aggressive fighter or that he was passive and would save his own skin should things go wrong. Depending on where the attack came from of course... as an attack could come through from the door, or from the windows, depending on the type of attack it could come from the floor or roof.

The third student was dragging a sword nearly as large as his own. He noticed Akira's blade and inspected it. Akira didn't mind but the boy might notice something about the blade, almost as thought it felt almost alive, as though it had a presence. He then moved to the back of the class, placing his own sword on the floor before taking his seat. What was interesting to Akira was that this boy was using a blade that large so early in life. Akira had always been a Ninjutsu user, focusing on the attributes that would give over Taijutsu. Yet as he grew older he was more and more a Taijutsu fighter. This sword of his was a gift that was not officially given to him by anyone, but one he knew was meant for him. The scar running down his face ached slightly at the memory he would not share with any but those closest to him.

The fourth student had a book before his face. His eyes however gave away that he was not reading it as he entered. Looking around the room, first at Akira and then at the sword, before looking around at the others, his eyes finally settling on the other massive blade and then at the owner. The boy then found himself a seat towards the front but next to the windows.

What interested Akira most was the difference over the past couple of decades in how students entered the class. This group, ever single one of them, entered, looked around and took a seat in one way or another. Yet none introduced themselves to him the way he and the students he went to the academy with would have done when they were young. Was it a lack of respect or was it simply a change of culture? He would let it all pass as the latter, but was not concerned.

Closing the door Akira moved to the front of the class.

Greetings everyone. For those of you who don't know me my name is Akira, I am of the Saito clan which is one of the founding clans of Kumogakure and also a branch of the Hyuuga bloodline. My father was the head of this clan and my brother is the current head. As for myself I am currently a blacksmith for the ANBU, though in years past I have been the ANBU Sennin twice. Back when I was young to be a member of the ANBU Trainee forces you had to have a master, a member of the ANBU to teach you. My master was the man who became a deity Shinbatsu, the north star. A false fact about me is that I was his only student. The truth of the matter is that I was the only disciple of his which lived through his initiation. The others either fled or died during it.

He looked around the room, at each of the student who sat before him.

This was how the ANBU was under the Senninship of Ryuuto, the Raikage who would be ousted by an uprising led by Shinbatsu years later. However we are not here to learn history, or discuss my past. These are things that people know of me, and I thought that telling you this much will allow you to know enough about your teacher that you might pay attention to what I have to say. He turned to the blackboard at the front of the class and wrote up several headings.

At the top of the blackboard he wrote: ANBU

Under this he wrote several headings: Trainee, Soldier, Captain, Sennin

So, I need to know what you know so far. What are your thoughts on all the above? What do you think it is that the ANBU do? What is the role of the trainee? The Soldier? The Captain? And the Sennin?

[OOC: Post in any order. First person to post is the first person to speak up and so on. If you character doesn't have anything to add post something to reflect that. Once more I will post in 48 hours time, you will notice that this is an exact time.]

 

[Uragaeshi Riyoji]

As Randori listened to the old anbu speak, he was surprised to learn how renowned he actually was since he had never actually heard of him. He shifted in his seat and watched as Akira wrote four words under anbu and asked what our thoughts on them were, and what we thought their roles were. Although Randori had an answer that could be valid, he decided not to respond since there were to many people around him. It would have been different if it were just one other student since he may not have minded, but four was just to many for him. He began leaning against the wall behind him to get comfortable, which was the reason he had sat in the back in the first place.

 

[Sakaki Kensei]

Kensei put his book down as the teacher, Akira, introduced himself and gave a little bit of information about himself. This is when Kensei realized that he had forgotten to give his name. It was a bad habit of his, but one he was finding difficult to fix. The teacher then wrote a few words on the board and asked the students to give their opinions on what the ANBU do and what each of the roles responsibilities where. Kensei lifted his hand up to answer.

"The ANBU are the village's black force and is responsible for capturing people trying to sneak in or out of the country. The Trainee is a young ninja with a rank equivalent to a Genin,and is to learn from senior members on how to carry out their missions. The Solider is the backbone of the ANBU and make up the brunt of the teams sent to capture spies or people sneaking in or out of the county. The Captain is a high-ranking ANBU responsible for leading a team of ANBU on their various missions, as well as training the Trainee. And finally the Sennin is the head of the ANBU and primarily sets the teams up and assigning them mission. Oh and forgive me for not introducing myself earlier, I'm Sakaki Kensei. I have a bad habit of not remembering to introduce myself to others when I'm reading. I meant no disrespect."

Kensei then sat quietly, waiting to hear what the others would say. As he did so, he couldn't help but to stare at the teacher's sword in the corner of the room. The design was so different from any of the swords he saw in any of the books he read, that it piqued his curiosity. He decided after class that he would ask Akira if he had made the sword himself, and if so how?

 

[Makino Tatsu]

Just when Tatsu's heart starts to slow it keeps shooting back up. He felt himself lighten somewhat after the first student came in. Somewhat with such a foreign skin would probably draw some attention away from him. Then he saw the next student... Or rather, his sword. It was huge, and the student did not appear to have a lot of trouble lifting it. A student! Not a veteran ninja who has had years of experience, but some newbie! And Tatsu might very well have to fight people like them in the future. The thought made him shiver under his coat.

The teacher began to speak his background, about how he was a blacksmith. Well, that explained the large sword. Maybe the other student knew a blacksmith? Perhaps they were just trying to be intimidating? Some ninja were masters at the art of deception. Only a few seconds later did what the man was saying hit him. An ANBU. He heard they lived in the shadows, and were masters of anti espionage. While Tatsu was far from a spy, that only meant he would not be tortured for information. If they found out he would probably be thrown into jail. What if the ex-officer felt offended? As if someone like Tatsu could be a ninja. He was just some street game cheat who was doing this just to stay out of jail. Forgot jail, the teacher would kill him on the spot out of anger.

He was trying so hard not to faint that he almost missed the teacher's question, which knocked him out of his terrible daydreams. What exactly was an ANBU? As another student answered he realized something. Other than some rumors, he knew very little about them. Perhaps they aren't as bad as the rumors. This thought allowed him to reclaim his thoughts, just enough for him to remember his deck of cards that he brought with him. Before he started to worry again, he pulled his cards out and quietly shuffled them. If he couldn't keep calm normally, the cards would remind him of one of his greatest tools. The poker face. If that couldn't calm him down, nothing would.

 

[Homura Akuma]

[OOC: Hey Randori, you wouldn't actually know Namazu is a AiT, you're using OOC knowledge, this is just to clear things up.]

Namazu soaked in all the verbal details Akira had to offer, was he being some overexcited fanboy? Hell yeah. How many people beside the bodies present could say they were given a lesson by Akira Saito himself? So yeah, Namazu was thrilled and enjoyed this advantage he was gaining over his peers.

The lesson began as soon as he started speaking, but others would acknowledge the lesson had begun when he started writing on the board. And posed a question, one that gauged your knowledge and gave Akira a foundation to build from, which was cool.

"So, I need to know what you know so far. What are your thoughts on all the above? What do you think it is that the ANBU do? What is the role of the trainee? The Soldier? The Captain? And the Sennin?"

‘Mental note, when teaching a class, see what my students know, then teach’ This was a thought for future references, so Namazu could throw his student curve balls.

Being a AiT, Namazu was nervous, but he would give his interpretation,

“The names, Chikyuhito Namazu, and my thoughts on the above? The ANBU are a Militaristic branch of a village, there’s more structure here than in any of the other two branches. To me, the ANBU are more than just gate duty, ‘Even though I can’t stand gate duty’, The ANBU is a Sin Eater, what do I mean? Morality no longer is an issue when you have to make the unnecessary principle necessary, and unethical conduct ethical. I always found it difficult to look at the inner structure of the ANBU from a technical perspective ya know? Ultimately, I see the ANBU like a pack of wolves, they may seem like a wild vicious bunch but there is order. The Alpha, the ANBU Sennin maintains order in the pack and sees to it that the other members don’t get out of line of the overall goal and that a pecking order does exists. The Captains are like the Beta, they make sure the Alpha wishes are carried out and are one of the most vital members of the pack if you ask me, as they need to be chosen wisely. I agree with my homie Kensei with the Soldier being the backbone, but the sad part is that soldiers are expendable in the overall bigger picture of the pack goals. Trainees are the pups, as pups they watch and observe the other pack members until they too can join the hunt. That’s my thoughts on the above.” It was all true so far from what the ‘pup’ perceived, he was beginning to understand the ANBU organization, although this lesson and some more experience won’t hurt any as Namazu knows he is far from where he wants to be as a ANBU. That’s why he was here, because he was hungry.

 

[Uragaeshi Riyoji]

([OOC] Sorry, I was just going with this class being after the thread in Susukino and was assuming that I would've learned something about your character. I'll Edit it reall quick)

 

[Junan]

[OOC: Seeing as you all posted so quickly~]

Kensei and Namazu spoke up and gave answers. As they did so Akira wrote points under the different headings that they were mentioning which he agreed with.

ANBU
Black Force
Hunting down criminals
Highly structured
Boarder guards
Sin Eater - necessary dirty jobs​

Sennin
Creates teams
Assigns missions
Maintains order​

Trainee's

Soldier​

Captain​

Genin equivalent

Backbone​

Leader of missions​

Learns from senior ANBU

​

Chief trainer of Trainee​

It was interesting to Akira seeing how a trainee sees the ANBU, for trainee is what he was fairly certain that the boy was now with that answer. It was also interesting to see how a student saw the ANBU.

First I want to correct a small mistake. The ANBU are not the military branch of the village. That is the Main Branch. He looked at each of them in turn and then draw a circle on the board to the side and at the top of it he wrote Cloud.
Imagine the circle edge is the wall, the edge of the village. This is Cloud, our home and what everyone within the village is trained to protect. He then wrote Main branch underneath Cloud.
The main shinobi force of Cloud are the Main Branch. They are responsible for the everyday missions and running of the village. Yet if the village were to be threatened then it would be the Main Branch who would form the majority of the fighting force. Thus they are the military branch of the village. He hoped this explanation would be enough for Namazu.

The ANBU are the ones who stop the threat from occurring. As mentioned, the ANBU are the ones who do the jobs with questionable ethics. For example: A noble in Lightning Country is rumoured to be building a force to assault Cloud. The noble is also rumoured to be looking to hire shinobi to help their cause. It would be the ANBU Sennin who would issue the missions and decide on what needed to happen. Some Sennin might ignore the need for more intelligence and simply place an order for the nobles head, others might send scouts to gather intel and confirm the rumours. It would be over to the teams assigned to their missions to carry them out. There are times when a squad is sent to bring back the noble's head, when they arrive there is nothing to show that the noble is up to no good. They must carry out the mission.

He gave a pause to let that last part sink in.

They must carry it out because there might be information that the Sennin is privy to that they may not be themselves. This means that though they might be killing an innocent man they must do so... because what if he's not innocent? What if by not doing so the village is attacked and a hundred shinobi die when they didn't need to? This is the role of the ANBU.

Pointing to the Sennin he would continue
The Sennin is often the ANBU captain who is the most capable of making the hard decisions. This is why if you look at Cloud's history we have typically had a Raikage who has come from the ANBU. Rarely we have a Main Branch Raikage and I don't think we have ever had a Medical Sennin become the Raikage though if Karubin wasn't so absorbed with his research I'm sure he would have been Raikage by now. That was his version of a joke, the only visible sign of such being a small smile on his face as he said it.

The Sennin will receive all information from all branches, they will decide what information is important and which is not. The Main Branch have their "spy masters" but in reality their information simply ends up in the ANBU Sennin's office. The Sennin is the one who decides who is on what missions and is mainly administration focused, however of the three Sennin they are the most likely to take part in missions themselves.

Otherwise the two of you have the general idea pretty well sorted.

He looked around the room

Any questions so far or should I continue?

 

[Sakaki Kensei]

Kensei sat diligently and listened well to all the seasoned ANBU had to say. As he did so, his mind raced with a hundred different questions he wanted to ask the teacher. Was the example that was given just an example? Or something this ANBU had carried out? Or did he assign that mission himself when he was still the ANBU Sennin? What was the types of jutsus that the ANBU used to capture spies? What type of equipment did they use on a typical mission? What was the interrogation style that the ANBU employed? Some kind of mind reading jutsu, or just good old fashion torture? What was the typical formation a team would use when chasing an enemy? These questions and more where just begging to be asked. Yet, Kensei held back on his questions for now. He decided that it would be best to just sit back and absorb all the information that the ANBU was willing to serve his hungry mind.

 

[Makino Tatsu]

Tatsu had managed to stop sweating long enough to listen to the teacher's speech. Some of the information that was just presented to him would have normally made him panic, as if he hadn't done that enough, but with his cards in hand he managed to keep a straight face. The teacher then asked if there were any questions. This was his chance. People trust someone who's confident person, and while he isn't sure how hard that would be this should be the first stepping stone. Besides, if he was going to become a ninja, he wanted to know what he should expect. “A Sennin can just call for the death of a noble? Do you ever have any problems with corrupt Sennin who use this to their advantage?”

 

[Uragaeshi Riyoji]

Randori sat back up as the anbu spoke about the roles of the various ranks of in the anbu. He found it slightly interesting how loyal the anbu were to their superiors but was beginning to slightly regret coming to the class, he has hoped for there to be mostly combat training. Leaning back against the wall as the anbu asked if there were any questions, he sighed and thought to ask when they would get to the physical part of the class, but decided not to since he thought it would be disrespectful to a man of Akira's stature.

 

[Yaban Hito]

Hito walked into the class, late. It was his first time being late, but he had a due reason. He had gotten out of a class just now, and rushed over to this one, being as it was being a class about his life goal - becoming ANBU. He was in combat ready clothes, having changed from his pelts to a white sleeveless shirt and black pants made of the same material. He wore the usual shoes a shinobi would wear, changed from having bear feet shoes. His sword and chakra blades were on his person, as usual; his sword over his back, his blades within the folds of his shirt. As he entered the class, he saw who was teaching the class, and smiled. He knew Saito, and had sought him out, earlier than later it seemed. He gave a curt throw of his varied "peace" sign, instead of it being a peace sign, his thumb was tucked down, and bent at the first knuckle, instead of touching his ring finger.

"Yo, old man. Sorry for being late. I was coming from another class, and got out late."

He moved over to the other students, sitting away from them; down in front, so they wouldn't distract him. He had walked in on "First I want to correct a small mistake.".

Hito listened, never interrupting as he usually did in other classes. He needed to know as much of this as possible. As soon as old man Saito asked any questions, he chimed in- "Anbu Sennin: Kogami Ayumu. He just returned from being away for a while, i believe. He was busy... working, i think?" He mentioned it for the other students in the current class, so they could make mental notes, or written notes about who their future would include if they chose the same path as he.

"I heard from old man Daisuke that you retired, but I see you're still here. Did you come out of retirement, or are you still a blacksmith?" His question was of course from their first meeting, when Saito had mentioned he was retired then. Hito wouldn't know if Saito was semiretired or was still retired, but was volunteering for a class. "Either way, nice to meet you again." As he spoke all of this, he was already writing down everything on the board on a slip of paper he had pulled from his shirt, along with a utensil to write with. He already knew a good bit about it, but it never hurt to make notes for later, when you might forget or might not remember it exactly.

[Topic Entered]

 

[Homura Akuma]

"Senpai, is there such a situation where defying an order is tolerated? .....Also is it important for ANBU to protect their identity if they become one? Last question, are you conflicted with any of things that you've done during your tenure as an ANBU officer? Well, I guess THIS really is the last question, why did you become ANBU?"

They were simple questions, but meaningful in the eyes of the kid wearing the black frame glasses. He was surely interested in what responses awaited him, yet he wasn't so sure if he was going to agree with them either. Truth be told, Namazu had formulated opinions and answers of his own in regards to the questions recently asked, but it was reassuring and insightful to hear another perspective. Especially when the 'another' has taken the journey. The Kyoujouran was sapping what he could from the mind of Akira in hopes to make sound decisions, and become wiser than when he had entered this room. He had noticed Hito, giving his peer a head nod and smirking not because of glee, but Namazu was amused at the amount of carelessness shown. It seemed naïve, but Hito was far from it, he was a “the wildcard” something Kumo desperately needed in the future. If Namazu was going to become strong and create a strong Kumo, he was going to need people he could trust that had what it takes to make this place a strong nation.

 

[Junan]

[OOC: I've given more than 48 hours because I didn't place a warning on my last post but just as a general rule, I will be posting 48 hours after each of my posts. This is to keep the class moving at a reasonable pace. OOOOO lucky Namazu, I'd gone to post this but my net went down and then you posted.]

Hito arrived, in many ways Akira had been surprised when the boy hadn't shown up at the start, so he nodded and let Hito take a seat without it interrupting the class too much.

Before questions were asked it seemed as though Hito had some information on Ayumu, he'd returned. Akira had heard the rumblings through the ANBU ranks that he had, but hadn't seen the man. Indeed Akira had never really had anything to do with him, being appointed as the ANBU Blacksmith by his predecessor, and one of Akira's dearest friends, the deceased Santaru Rin. At least he knew now that it was common knowledge.

The first question asked was by the boy in the corner, Akira still didn't know his name.

There hasn't been any issue with this in my life time. Remember that the nobles in the lowlands of Lightning Country have very little effect or benefit to most shinobi. Killing them is usually a bad idea because Cloud will probably suffer from a downturn in missions which is this village's main source of income. In addition, although the Sennin is the one who makes these decisions and quite often the mission will be kept hidden from the Raikage, an assassination of a noble is likely to cause a stir, the Raikage likely to find out, and if the Raikage wants to find out whether it was the ANBU or not they do have access to all our files. In an organization as structured as the ANBU, there are always files.

After this Hito asked his question.

I retired from shinobi life to a small village in the lowlands where I could ply my trade as a blacksmith in peace. After a time there were significant anti-shinobi sentiment and the villagers pooled their money together and hired Cloud shinobi to come and take me out. Thankfully ANBU Sennin Santaru Rin recognized my description and came on the mission herself, which surprised everyone as it wasn't an S-Rank mission and so shouldn't have required her skill. She convinced me to leave the town and come back to Kumogakure and instead of creating weapons for wandering shinobi to instead make them for the ANBU. I am retired from active duty, but I still make weapons for the ANBU, as such I am still officially a member of the ANBU. So it's a touch more complicated than simply retired or not. I don't do shinobi work, but I am still technically an employed shinobi.

Namazu was next. His first question received the following answer:

As much as I would say "no", orders are often not followed to the letter. You are required to think for yourself at times. If you're given details of the mission, say you're told that a band of thieves have been stealing land deeds from places, holding them for ransom and are armed and dangerous, but when you turn up you find that it's a hidden bunker, that the "thieves" are dressed like the personal guard of the Shogun, then you might want to question what you're doing, take another look, go back, get more information, because if you don't you could start a war in which Cloud wouldn't win.

His second question:

The protection of ANBU identity is more for the individual. For example, I can't really hide my identity. There aren't many people who have the same build and weapon as I do, thus I'm easily identified by those within the village. Outsiders don't know us anyway so there's no need to protect ourselves from them either, so what is the purpose? The purpose is more a symbol that we are ANBU, that we will kill, the fear the mask brings with us is more important than the identity. However there are others who are more able to hide their identity, these are the people more commonly used to put down internal issues, because then they can't be directly targeted by the targets allies.

And his last question, Akira had to think for a moment:

I wish in my most recent time as Sennin that I had acted against Marsh country earlier. I had received reports that there were issues in Marsh, but didn't think that it was going to be anything more than a local coup which wouldn't affect us. Of course then the Bear-Marsh war began and hundreds of thousands of soldiers and innocents died in both countries. I wish I had taken the initiative to take a squad of my finest to assassinate those missing nin before they had enslaved the entire populace of the country.

Or... this was the last question:

I became ANBU because it was my duty. I was the eldest son of the head of the Saito clan. My duty was to become ANBU like my father and his father before him, to learn the trade and then eventually lead my clan. I am not the clan leader, by choice, so have failed my duty to my clan.

It was a somber note to end on, he didn't go into detail as to why he'd stood down, he didn't want to. He looked around for any other questions but then decided that they might get too personal so interrupted anything further.

If that's all then we'll move to the practice grounds field three to begin our Taijutsu training. Hito, before you come and join in you need to note down what is on the board.

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Training Grounds - field 3

The training ground that Akira took them to was simple, but without wooden dummies or other such targets. It was a flat hard ground zone with a light amount of sand on top for traction. It also meant that every step made would have a very slight crunch for the Hashigaki shinobi, of which there weren't any in this class. Which made Akira question where they had all gone, in his youth there had been so many Hashigaki swordfighters. No matter.

Everyone get into pairs. I want you to discuss with your partner what type of taijutsu fighting style you use, most of you seem to be sword users but you might not be. Then I want you to spar a quick round, I'll watch and come around and give pointers.

[OOC: First in first served. First person to post gets to pick who their partner is. Each post should have a part where they introduce themselves to their training partner (if they don't already know each other), describing what type of taijutsu they prefer (slashing, piercing etc. But don't so so in as few words), after which the person who picked the partner will need to post a quick "waited for the other to describe their technique" before then going into describe their side of the training. Remember you cannot "hit" someone, you can only ever attempt to. A person is in control of their own character and their own characters actions. This is a roleplay, not a modded battle.]

 

[Sakaki Kensei]

As Kensei sat quietly he saw another boy walk into the room. The new boy said a few words to the ANBU teacher then sat down in front like him. A few of the students asked their questions and the ANBU gave his answers. Kensei listened to the man's answers and absorbed all of the information the man was willing to give out. Being an ANBU seemed tired-some to Kensei. All those difficult choices that had to be made quickly seems like too much responsibility to the young boy. The teacher then led the class outside to one of the various training grounds on the school's campus. The sand crunched under his feet as he walked. Physical exercise was never Kensei's strong point, and he hadn't been in a fight before. This was sure to be a learning experience to say the least.

Kensei looked around at the other boys, and his heart sank a little. They all looked older than him and had most likely been in fights. Though there was one that looked to be at least the closest to his level by his body language. It was the one who posed the question if the ANBU ever had to deal with corrupt nobles. Kensei approached him with a smile, trying to give off a friendly attitude. He didn't want to be paired up with any of the other kids, so he needed to make a good impression.

"Hi, I'm Sakaki Kensei. I've umm never been an a fight before, so I don't really have a preferred taijutsu style yet. I'll be going with a basic Iron-Fist style I guess."

Kensei got close enough to the other boy to whisper in his ear.

"To be honest, the rest of these guys seem way too strong. And a couple of them look like they might be apt to take things too far. I don't know about you, but I don't want to die just yet."

Kensei then stood back a couple of feet to get the other boy's reply.

 

[Makino Tatsu]

After Tatsu asked his question another boy walked in. He did not care too much about him, however. He was not too important. A few more of his fellow students asked their own questions, and the ANBU answered. They put quite a few of his worries to rest, knowing that a Sennin could not do just anything and get away with it. Shortly after the teacher finished he ordered everyone to leave for the Tijutsu training.

The walk made Tatsu feel a bit tense, as he still knew very little about what ninja did to train. The sounds of the shuffling of his deck managed to keep him calm, however. They arrived shortly, and the teacher told them all to group up and spar. He could not help but wince when he heard that. A few of these people used swords, a weapon that often has fatal results. He saw a weaponless boy approach him, and he had to give a small smile; Tatsu would not have to worry about getting gutted just yet.

The boy introduced himself as Kensei, and claimed that he was new to combat, and did not want to fight any of the tougher students. Tatsu's felt somewhat insulted, as Kensei just called him weak, but he let it go, seeing as quite a few of the other students seemed monstrous to him, so he could not be blamed. Kensei seemed nice enough, and he was in a somewhat similar situation, which Tatsu could empathize. But then he remembered that he was a ninja, people who are trained in deception. For all he knew Kensei could be a master of hand to hand combat. This mattered little, however, seeing as many of the others carried lethal weaponry.

Tatsu gave his sparring partner a friendly smile, hoping that seeming empathetic would make the blows softer. “It's nice to meet you, Kensei. My name's Makino Tatsu. I'm also new to fighting somewhat. Heck, I don't even have combat training of any kind.” He chuckled. “Well, if you're going to hit me close up, I will try to stay out of range. I don't have any weapons on me though,” Tatsu frowned, but then his mouth lifted into a joking grin. “I guess I'll just throw projectile rocks at ya.” He put his cards back into his coat pocket and prepared for the fight.