The Strength of the Shadow [Tutor]

[Tatsuo]

Throughout their adventure, Tatsuo would've watched Saito train more and more. He hadn't just yet gained mastery over his formation of shadows but they had a few hours before they were going to leave. Tatsuo thought it would be wise to burn off some of that food they just ate and maybe burn some energy off Saito. As they walked towards the back of the tavern there was a large garden for patrons to enjoy, Tatsuo made his way to a secluded spot with Saito in tow hopefully. After they were out of sight from anything he would sit down on the grass, "Sit." he would motion to Saito.

The weather outside was nice, the sun was overhead and a gentle breeze kept them cool. It was a great day to be travelling and training and for the duo, it would be a little bit of both. Tatsuo had grew more and more excited to make his way to Konoha but they still had to wait for their whole party to be ready to travel and at the moment they did just eat. A little bit of downtime would be good for them, but not a moment could be wasted in the short time Tatsuo had to train Saito. "I doubt you've mastered the shadow transformation yet, but I want to see how your progressing. It'll be vital for you to learn that skill and we can't move onto the next lesson until you've mastered it." he said with a nod, awaiting for Saito to show him once again.

WC: 259/1500
Post Count: 1/5

 

[Samsara Saito]

Saito bore no real sign of ill-effects after eating so much fish, walking uprightly and smiling as usual, hands behind his head as he whistles a little tune. Following Tatsuo wherever the older boy went led him this time to the large, wonderful garden at the back of the tavern. The space appeared beautifully well-kept despite the boisterous and bawdy nature of the crowd inside, leaving the young boy's smile to grow even wider as he inhaled the mixed scents of flowers. Closing his eyes, he took a moment to simply enjoy the aroma of this delightfully hidden space. When Tatsuo told the younger boy to sit, he opened his eyes and followed his sensei's command, kicking out one foot with the other and landing cross-legged in front of the Chunin.

"I doubt you've mastered the shadow transformation yet, but I want to see how you're progressing. It'll be vital for you to learn that skill and we can't move onto the next lesson until you've mastered it." Tatsuo then nodded to Saito, expecting him to demonstrate his current level of jutsu.

"It's coming along I think... I'm just missing something important," Saito responded with a return nod to Tatsuo, before turning away. Looking at a clear, empty line to a tree not too far away, the young boy smoothly performs the handsigns for his fire jutsu. He inhales, and then exhales a fireball! A small but very well-formed fireball, the heat and light of which burning far more fiercely than it had been in the past. The flaming chakra ball glided toward the distant tree, meters away from the academy student... before instantaneously transforming into shadow mid-flight at the child's command. The augmented strength of the shadow flame over its previous base form could be felt in the sheer increase of pressure the jutsu gave off, a clearly perceptible intensity boost. Even then, the ball of blackness winked out of existence long before it touched anything able to be damaged, the jutsu's carefully-measured quantity of chakra quickly spent. The adventure had certainly refined the boy's general control over his technique.

"I can make the fire ball bigger? But we don't want to burn the place down!" A brief laugh before he continues, energy high as he shows his teacher his progress! "Anyway, yeah, it's about the same with my water jutsu, I still can't get its initial form to be shadow but I can change it pretty quick whenever I want. Which is probably useful in its own way! But not exactly what we're going for right now, you know?" the boy finishes, turning back to Tatsuo with a hapless shrug and a smile.

WC = 452/1500
Post Count = 1/5

 

[Tatsuo]

Tatsuo sighed realizing that the huge meal they had just endured had no effect on Saito, it was going to cost him an arm and leg to feed him. He smiled graciously though, he didn't mind. The last time he had to provide for himself it was tough, he was only a Genin but he had grown so much at that point that he would always be able to provide for himself and his friends. He watched carefully as Saito went through the motions. Every step was analyzed, he thought and thought, was there anything they were missing? It was Tatsuo's job as Saito's sensei to help him. Bringing a hand to his chin and humming in thought, his eyes grew wide as he shot off a fireball into a nearby tree.

Immediately Tatsuo brought his hands up and shook his head, "Hey, hey, we're in a garden watch out. No more shooting them." he pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a sigh before thinking back to his training. He had come far, the control he had over the elements in which he possessed but still failed to be able to manipulate them into shadows right away. While it was useful to be able to use Fire and Water ninjutsu, his shadow jutsu would prove more useful and any time wasted shifting between would just hinder him in a real combat situation.

"Yeah you're right, sometimes you're going to want water without fire, and sometimes you're going to want fire without water, but I am sure your shadow combined is stronger than that of your other elements. I can't be sure, honestly, but it's just a hunch. I'd imagine that if I was even capable of firing off earth or water ninjutsu it would lack the power that my wood ninjutsu has." he tapped a few fingers on his leg continuing to hum in thought. And almost as if a light bulb went off above his head, he grinned wide and pointed up with a single finger. "Here, I got an idea.. Alright. Make a Fireball then drop it as quickly as possible, don't worry about strength, just make a fireball as fast as you can then immediately dispel the chakra and make a water ball immediately after. Perhaps the constant switch of fire to water will help you find that sweet spot in the middle." he said as he looked around to the garden, "I'll make sure no one interrupts the training but who knows, maybe it might just work."

WC: 683/1500
Post Count: 2/5

 

[Samsara Saito]

Almost as if a light bulb went off above Tatsuo's head, the older boy grinned wide and pointed up with a single finger. "Here, I got an idea... Alright. Make a Fireball then drop it as quickly as possible, don't worry about strength, just make a fireball as fast as you can then immediately dispel the chakra and make a water ball immediately after. Perhaps the constant switch of fire to water will help you find that sweet spot in the middle." he said as he looked around the garden, "I'll make sure no one interrupts the training but who knows, maybe it might just work."

"Okay! Shinrin-sensei!" Saito replied, and immediately went to work thinking about how such a thing could be done. The boy smiled, liking the practice Tatsuo offered; it made sense, the issue had to lie somewhere between the overlap of the two elemental styles, maybe he could somehow sense the right way to go in the overlap. The main problem is the handsigns, he decided after some time in contemplation. It would take too long to conjure one and then the next with the break required to switch jutsu in between. I wonder if I can get the elements' manifestations close enough in time to each other to... understand?

The boy put his hands together for a moment, to concentrate... then smoothly executes the fire jutsu handsigns. A small fireball hovers in the air, blossoming into existence between Tatsuo and Saito -- before winking out after its short moment of life. The boy executes another series of handsigns, and a globe of water forms from the ambient moisture in the air, to briefly float between the two boys before dispersing. The fire signs happen again, conjuring the fire, then the water signs and corresponding appearance of water jutsu. Fire jutsu, then water jutsu. Then fire. Then water. The boy steadily sped up his handsigns until fire and water flashed and alternated between each other in increasingly rapid succession. Throughout the time, Saito's concentration focused on his task, drawn away from the beauty of his surroundings and the fun he's had this morning, and on the elemental manipulation he continued his effort to grasp.

After a period of time, Saito could not deny to himself that he did feel something as he switched back and forth over and over again. A certain level of ease and comfort with both jutsu, something that he didn't feel when he performed certain other jutsu. Fire and water seemed to have... maybe it was familiarity he felt toward the state of his chakra when it converted to one or the other? Interesting...

He would continue to work, until something happened... maybe shadow would pop up, or he or Tatsuo would realize something important. Or he would take a break after a while, whenever his chakra ran low.

WC = 929/1500
Post Count = 2/5

 

[Tatsuo]

Tatsuo crossed his arms and watched, keeping a careful eye on Saito's training. Fire, water, fire, water, but no shadow. Saito was trying his hardest but Tatsuo was worried that he was showing little progress in controlling his affinity to shadow. He could switch it quickly sure, but was unable to just create it. However he was patient and continued to watch, sooner or later he would notice the quick absence of light within the quick switching elemental balls.

"It's getting a bit better." he said flatly, rubbing his chin in thought. "When you did that shadow possession technique, how did that feel? You didn't convert it at all, it started off as shadows and stayed as shadow the whole time." He thought back to the time Saito made him dance, he smiled and rolled his eyes at the ridiculousness of the boy. A trait he couldn't say he didn't share. "Alright.. let's try a chance of scenery." he said as he walked over to the fence and hopped over it. Bringing them to the street of the town, whenever Saito made his way over the fence he would tell him "No jutsu until we're out of the town." The street was relatively clear, but the wounds of the civil war were still there. It wasn't always wise to identify yourself as a shinobi of the civilian zones of the Fire Country, some gung-ho wanna-be samurai might try to take you on and Tatsuo wasn't looking for a fight. Not today at least.

After a short trek they finally made their way outside of the small town and into a open plains with some trees here and there. Tatsuo slammed his hands onto the ground and formed a wall taller than the both of them and just as wide. "Same thing as last time, but instead of just doing as you feel it, switch them off and fire them off as fast as possible. We're going to find that shadow today." he said with a firm nod as he went to the ground taking a seat and watching intently.

WC: 1032
Post Count: 3/5

 

[Samsara Saito]

"It's getting a bit better... when you did that shadow possession technique, how did that feel? You didn't convert it at all, started off as shadows and stayed as shadow the whole time," Tatsuo asked the boy, who responded with a moment of quiet contemplation. "Hmm..."

"Well, when I do stuff with my shadow, it's like I'm just controlling a part of myself, you know? Like my arms and legs when I walk." Even as he talks, the boy's shadow splits off from his body and starts doing its own thing -- though they're clearly things Saito himself would do. The shadow starts jumping around and doing cartwheels, sticking its tongue out and silently laughing at them both, bouncing and cheering and otherwise goofing off independent of its presumed owner, who continued talking to Tatsuo. "I don't even really need handsigns anymore for the stuff my Dad taught me. This other thing doesn't feel the same... like, the fire and the water isn't me... or it stops being me? It's... probably more complicated than that," Saito finishes with a loose shrug of his shoulders.

"Alright... let's try a chance of scenery," Tatsuo said after a moment of thought, heading over to the garden's back fence. He hopped over it and headed into town, with Saito following behind as the boy's shadow reattached itself to his body. "No jutsu until we're out of the town," the older boy warned, and Saito nodded his understanding. He didn't want to alarm anyone! Out in the fields that problem did not exist, however, and Tatsuo summoned his monstrous wood wall. "Same thing as last time, but instead of just doing as you feel it, switch them off and fire them off as fast as possible. We're going to find that shadow today," he said with a nod as he sat, preparing to watch the boy train.

"Alright! Now I can do my best!" Saito cheers once more; he'd been looking for an opportunity to cut loose with his jutsu a bit. He calmed himself, putting his hands in front of his body to focus on the task at hand... before performing the fire handsigns.

"Katon! Book no jutsu!"

He inhales... and then exhales a MASSIVE fireball! Its heat and light felt oppressive and the sound of its roaring flames drowned out most other noise in the area. It sailed toward the wood wall, nearly about to make impact, before the whole huge glowing ball suddenly became robbed of its light. The transformation dramatic if only for the size of the shadowflame ball, the sound also transformed from a roaring, crackling sound to the simple whistling of a mass through wind. Just before it slammed into the wood wall, exploding on impact with far more force than its previously glowing manifestation could have possibly packed. Pieces of the wood wall go flying everywhere as, even before the smoke from the previous attack clears, Saito is forming the handsigns for the water jutsu.

"Suiton! Book no jutsu!"

Two large tendrils of spiraling water materialize in front of the boy before spiraling off toward the battered wood wall. While less dramatic, the power boost of the water technique's transformation into shadow couldn't be denied as the jutsu pierced through the wooden barrier. They drilled on through with the sound of twenty jackhammers, destroying the wall completely.

"YEAH!" Saito cheers, hopping around happily as he waits for Tatsuo's wall to grow back. The boy's shadow hops off of his body and begins cheering on its own, and at one point the two of them do a high-five with each other. "Just wanted to see what it looked like if I made the jutsu really strong!" he says to Tatsuo with a wide grin! And after the wall grows back, he starts throwing much more easily managed balls of fire and drills of water, converting them to shadow mid-flight before they merely hit the wall without destroying it.

WC = 1588/1500
Post Count = 3/5

 

[Tatsuo]

Tatsuo grinned, he was proud of the fact that Saito was able to fire off such powerful blasts at such a young age. While Saito was definitely a year or two ahead before Tatsuo had met him he felt at least a little responsible for his growth in the past few weeks. Though he did have weird names for his jutsu, "Hey kid, why do you call it Book no Jutsu?" he said furrowing his brows and bringing his hand down to create another wood wall for Saito to practice on. His water managed to pierce through the barrier but they still failed to begin as shadows. Tatsuo was patient and didn't think any less of Saito for it but Tatsuo had begun to prick his brain for anything he could do to help Saito. He felt almost responsible for his lack of growth in this area, as a sensei it was his duty to ensure that Saito was becoming strong.

However it was all up to Saito now, Tatsuo had given him all the advice he could. Only he could learn the true nature of his chakra and mold it into it's shadow form. While fire and water were powerful in their own right Tatsuo was looking to show him the power of his natural affinity. Just like Tatsuo's wood was his forte, he wanted to provide Saito with that same strength. "I guess we'll just have to keep up the training. There might be some people in Konoha who are better suited to help you out with this shadow stuff, but in the mean time.. want to try something a little different? How about we work on some hand to hand, fighting isn't all about who can shoot off the biggest fireball. Show me your stance and let's go a few rounds."

Tatsuo shifted his feet to about shoulders with and brought his hands up, he had little formal training in martial arts initially, but after training long and hard with Hoshi who Tatsuo believed would one day be one of the best hand to hand fighters to ever live he felt as if he learned a thing or two. Slowing his breath and analyzing Saito's moves he got ready for anything he may throw at him.

WC: 1441/1500
Post Count: 4/5

 

[Samsara Saito]

"I call them hon no jutsu because I learned them from books! Most of them I learned growing up, but a bunch of them I recently learned from the library at the Cloud. But they all have weird names, and some have more than one name! It was weird to try to remember them all. So I just call them book no jutsu! I Have a TON of fun hon no jutsu, Sensei! You haven't even seen most of them!" Saito responded with a bright smile, his hands flying out wide when he talks about how many he has. "I can't wait to see all of the neat jutsu the Leaf library has! I can't wait to get there!"

When Tatsuo suggested a switch from ninjutsu to taijutsu, the boy readily agreed. He knew he still had trouble starting the fire and water elements off as shadow, but it must be something so basic he just kept overlooking it. He would get there, he knew! But time away from the problem would help him figure it out better later... and doing a little hand-to-hand practice would be the perfect distraction. Reaching from behind him, he withdrew a grayish pair of handwraps and wound them around his hands. Once the wraps securely protected the boy's fists, he raised said fists in his fighting stance.

Saito's posture had changed a bit from when Tatsuo had taken his first punch. It now seemed as though his stance took advantage of his body better; a more comfortable fighting position that Saito rested in rather than held with any forced sense of anticipation. The boy's first punch, when he threw it, felt as solid and impactful as a punch -- or a hammer -- thrown by a higher-level ninja... and as part of a smooth, skillful combination of heavy punches and kicks, the weight of those blows could wear most anyone down eventually. Shinrin-sensei keeps going all day though, just like me! Saito thought happily, and therefore felt little need to stop except to take correction from Tatsuo-sensei, or until the session had ended.

WC = 1500+
Post Count = 4/5

 

[Tatsuo]

A grin crept on Tatsuo's face as he listened to Saito's explanation of why he called his jutsu what he did. He never had any experience with books so he couldn't really tell you much of anything about them but he was happy to hear Saito had learned so much from them. "Bah, keep reading them all the time and I won't have anything left to teach you." he said playfully as he readied himself for Saito's offensive flurry. A kick here, a punch there all Tatsuo managed to defend with relative ease. The skill gap between them was apparent, but wasn't that this was all about? To bridge that gap? Anytime Tatsuo saw a blatant mistake in his form, a misstep or Saito being too greedy with his blows, Tatsuo would sweep a foot around and knock Saito to the ground. Always grabbing him by his arm to prevent the fall from being too damaging.

"You're really not bad kid." he would say as they continued to spar, evaluating every movement. Tatsuo's forte was definitely Ninjutsu but he knew enough from the intense training Hoshi submitted him to. While nothing that insane would happen, yet, the training would be tough. "Dodge this." Tatsuo would say as he flung a jab towards Saito's stomach. Would he fall for it? he thought to himself as he smirked a bit, maybe it was about time Saito saw Tatsuo's signature four hit combo.

WC: 1500+
Post Count: 5/5

 

[Samsara Saito]

Saito had clearly trained in taijutsu in the past; his moves are better than someone his age who might have merely gone through the motions in a class, and his natural aptitude for fighting quickly revealed itself. Largely training himself according to principles of balance and flow he picked up on while at the monastery, the boy would also take every opportunity he got to train with the monastery's various shinobi guests; as such, his fighting style seemed more like a mashup of a lot of different established techniques that he connected together than any particularly recognizable martial art. He wasn't bad indeed! But his inexperience and weaknesses showed loudly, as many fighting combinations that work well against trees and dummies fail against intelligent moving targets.

The boy's back hit the ground many, many times. At first he was surprised... his first real combat lesson and he found himself on the ground more often than he was on his feet! But no matter how many times Tatsuo put him down, he bounced back up hungry for more. Tatsuo would find that satiating one type of hunger only awakened another. Saito's thirst for knowledge seemed endless.

"Dodge this," Tatsuo would say as he flung a jab towards Saito's stomach. Saito prepared himself and threw everything into squarely blocking Tatsuo's first punch! That left him open to the three others though, and the boy found himself on the ground yet again.

But he bounced up once more! ENTHUSED. "WOAH what was that, Sensei?? Will you teach that to me? Let's keep going!" He barely looks winded, still bouncing around excitedly.

WC = 1500+
Post Count: 5/5

 

[Tatsuo]

Tatsuo grinned going to help Saito up but just as normal the kid managed to jump to his feet quicker than Tatsuo could even react. "It's just a simple four hit combo, real good against a target who you're having a hard time hitting since you get four chances to hit." he said as he returned to his stance. "You can do it a few ways but I like to start off with a punch," he said throwing his fist through the air with a quick and controlled jab. "Then.." another quick jab in the same direction.. "And finally..." he said as he threw his body like a whirlwind sending two powerful kicks that cut through the air. "It really isn't the hardest hitting thing, but it'll do the job." he said taking in a few deep breaths.

"Did you get it or do you need me to go over it again? Do it a few times then you can practice it on me, don't need you accidentally kicking me in the nose, ya' know?" he said followed by a short laugh. The sun had began to set, but they still had some time to train. They would leave for Konoha tonight but at least an attempt to get some energy out of the boundless Saito would be a good idea.

 

[Samsara Saito]

Saito carefully watched Tatsuo as he demonstrated the four hit combination, blue-green eyes tracking each of his sensei's movements as the instruction continued. Saito would ask Tatsuo to demonstrate the move on him one more time, before practicing the move himself. It took him but a few attempts to gain a smooth execution, before he began practicing the move on Tatsuo. A few repetitions and Saito piped up, voice barely affected by the physical activity: "Ahh okay so, if it keeps the same timing, can I do it this way?" he asks, before throwing his first move -- a hard, high kick as a part of a flying cartwheel in the air, to draw Tatsuo's eyes and guard up. Two swift punches to the older boy's midsection followed that kick as the boy spun in continual motion in front of his sensei, before landing on one palm and launching himself into the air once more. The boy flipped forward in mid-air, his heel leading in an attempt to land it with momentum-enhanced impact on Tatsuo's head or shoulder as the fourth move in his on-the-spot improvised 4-hit combo.

While flipping through the air around Tatsuo, throwing punches and kicks at the older boy's impenetrable defenses, the child laughed and smiled, his happiness clear and radiant as he bounces around attempting to dodge Tatsuo's counters. Saito never seemed to mind hitting the ground, no matter how often it happened -- and as the older boy watched, he could quickly pick up that the child knew how to fall properly. As the sparring continued, the younger boy's falls turned into rolls that put him into better position to attack his sensei from a perceived weakness. Often he would execute a variation of the 4-hit combo -- and other combos he thought up on the spot, many of which saw him on his back but a few landing proper blows -- for practice. Whenever Tatsuo gave him correction, he would either adapt it near-immediately in his next routine, or stop and ask questions for clarification. Regardless, the child's hunger for the mastery of all his sensei had to teach him became quite evident as the time passed and he failed to tire that much.

When the time came for practice to end, Saito felt a touch sad that it had to end, but also grateful for what time they had. The boy napped a little in the saddle, with even his ever-hungry mind shutting down for sleep every once in a while, but his excitement for the destination at the day's end generally kept him alert and inquisitive.

[MFT]
[Leaving Thread]