Profile
Level: 4
Power Level: 876
OOC Rank: B
Level: 4
Power Level: 876
OOC Rank: B
Abilities | Weapons | Affinities | Equipment |
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| Damage Type: Unarmed - Retain hand seals
Damage Modifier: -10% Accuracy Modifier: +2 Augments: 1. Swift 2. Steady 3. Dual Weapon (from Ambidexterity) 4. Lucky Dodge | Major: Wind Minor: Fire Advanced: Poison | Utility: Headset Armor: Light Armor Misc 1. Pouch - Poison Misc 2. Chakra Gauging Seal Misc 3. Hidden Launcher |
-- Core Ability -- Used Points: 10 Total Points: 10 |
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| Opportunist: Counter Momentum - Passive (2 Points) Body posture and positioning is key against defending most attacks and it is within an Opportunist's nature to quickly shift into the offensive the moment the opportunity presents itself. Effect: When the user dodges an attack, they gain +1 dodge. This stacks up to +6 dodge. This is reset if the user is hit with any attack. Counterattack - Passive (2 Points) When a foe overestimates their attacks and leaves themselves vulnerable, the Opportunist will grab the small window to retaliate from the shadows, punishing them without notice. Effect: Whenever the opponent misses a non-Genjutsu technique on the user, the user will automatically attempt a Basic Strike against the attacker for free. When done while in stealth, this will not reveal the user. This does not count towards the number of Free Basic Strikes and may occur multiple times. Notes: The user attempts the Basic Strike with their currently equipped weapon. If no weapon is equipped this will be attempted with Basic Strike damage and no augments applied. Enhanced Deflection - Ability Modification (2 Points) Restriction: Requires Deflection Ability Whenever an attack misses, there is always a small window of opportunity that an Opportunist can manipulate to redirect the trajectory into a different direction - normally towards their enemies which can often catch them off-guard. Effect:Deflection now has a 25% chance to activate. Deflected Attacks made while in Stealth will not reveal the user if they possess the Counterattack Passive. Combat Assassin - Variable Style (3 points) Assassins come in all shapes and sizes, while one would naturally think that they would an assassin would move behind the scenes to strike, there are also ones that engage out in the open - excelling in normal combat yet applying their knowledge to quickly land fatal blows. Effect: Half the user's Stealth bonus is applied to attack rolls. When the user hits the same target 3 times with different attacks, their next attack is treated as a Sneak Attack. Notes: Entering Combat Assassin as a Physical style applies the bonus to Taijutsu, or Ninjutsu if entered as a Chakra Style. Advanced Stealth - Passive (1 Point) X1 Restriction: Can only be purchased a maximum of three times As specialist of the shadows, Opportunists are adept at hiding in plain sight, and it is more difficult to pick them out when they don't want to be seen. Effect: +1 Stealth. (Chosen upon purchase). |
Role Plays |
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Shoma was panting hard. He knew he wouldn't be able to keep up with his sparring partner for much longer. The kid was closer to Shoma's age than most of their classmates and apparently had been held back from graduation once or twice. Normally one might expect that to mean he was less skilled, but it was becoming very apparent that that was not the case. Judging by the sadistic grin on the boy's face, it was likely due to an attitude problem.
He charged in again, harder this time. Shoma barely had time to get his weapon, a dulled kunai, up in time to block the first assault. The second very nearly got him in the ribs as his opponent dropped low and threw a hook. Shoma knew he'd have to do something, maybe something unexpected if he was going to win the spar, and he desperately wanted to win at least once. As his opponent rose from the half-crouch he'd dropped to for the hook, Shoma noticed something, something he couldn't believe he'd missed before. His opponent was barely using his left hand, not even to feint or attempt a grapple. In fact... he didn't seem to be defending much on that side either. He evidently expected to overwhelm Shoma before he had a chance to attack. Well, that would have to change. As the two broke for a moment, Shoma turned, presenting his left side, kunai still in his right hand. He knew it was a mistake, strictly speaking, to have his weapon in his back hand, and hoped his opponent would notice. He did, and as soon as Shoma had set his feet, the boy had renewed his assault, lunging to strike at Shoma's exposed profile. What he hadn't expected, was for Shoma to toss the kunai from his right to left hand, deftly driving the dulled tip into his opponent's navel, spinning into the strike so that he would avoid the boy's own lunge. The strike wasn't enough to break skin, of course, but it was enough to get a "Stop! Shoma wins!" from the Taijutsu instructor. That could come in handy, he thought as he returned to his place outside the training ground to watch the next match. It was a Saturday, and that meant no classes. Unfortunately, Shoma was a bit short in the friends department, so it also meant he had nothing to do but sit in the library and study. He'd picked a title that had been recommended to him by the teacher of his Tactical Theory class, the spine of the leather binding read, Introduction to Shinobi Combat Tactics.
He hadn't thought at first that he would like reading about so much theory. He had, after all, spent most of the past three years wishing he could escape the world of theory and actually learn the things he'd read about. His recent run-in with Toshi, the green-eyed boy he'd met at the Oak District a few nights back, had changed that when he realized that the small selection of books in Yomogita hadn't exposed him to even a fraction of shinobi theory. He took notes as he read: The prudent shinobi knows that while no two battles are alike, the components of a battle, namely the individual conditions of each moment, can be categorized and prepared for so that regardless of how those conditions are combined in a given battle, the shinobi may effectively respond to each and thus overcome his opponent. Take, for instance, a battle that takes place in a forest, where the shinobi is outnumbered three to one, and the hour is late, so lighting is low. While a shinobi may only encounter these exact conditions a handful of times in his career, knowing how to handle each individually may allow him to formulate an effective strategy. He may, for example, know that while a forest is a prime battlefield for subterfuge, tree limbs make excellent anchors for traps such as ninja wire. Being outnumbered three to one, the shinobi expects his opponents to forego stealth and attempt to overwhelm him as quickly as possible. He also knows that the low lighting will make it difficult to see small tools, weapons, or traps. The shinobi may combine this knowledge and decide to attach ninja wire to several kunai, throw them in rapid succession at his attackers, feigning panic at the uneven numbers. He may miss purposely, counting on the low lighting to make the ninja wire difficult to detect, and thus form a spider's web of ninja wire with which to intercept his attackers and leave them vulnerable to his own attacks. This is just one of the infinite examples of the benefits of understanding and utilizing individual battlefield conditions to one's own benefit. Shoma turned to a new page in his notebook and began a chart of different battle conditions and how he might respond to them. He was going to ace the next tactics test for sure. Shoma bobbed and weaved for what felt like the millionth time. His Taijutsu instructor was throwing medium-speed punches and kicks at his head, expecting him to dodge without using his hands to block. In fact, Shoma couldn't block even if he wanted to, what with his arms tied to his sides and all. As exhausting as the whole thing was, he had to admit, he was getting kind of good at it. As the attacks picked up in speed, Shoma found himself much less nervous than he had been at the beginning of the exercise. Though objectively faster, the strikes appeared to Shoma to have slowed down considerably, and he found that with just slight movements of his head and feet, he could be out of the way just before he would have been struck.
Good, Shoma. It looks like you've got this down too. Now let's get those hands untied, and you'll see the hidden benefit to this kind of training. It's not just about getting better at dodging. The young Chuunin untied Shoma's arms, which he flexed to get the blood flowing again before the drill resumed. Now, I'm going to come at you full speed. I was almost there just now, so don't get nervous, you'll be just fine. When you dodge an attack, I want you to throw a counter of your own. Got it. I think I'm ready. Alright then, let's see what you've got. The attacks came again, slightly faster than before, but thanks to the previous hours of slipping, weaving, ducking, and jumping to avoid his teacher's attacks, Shoma found his nerves were quite thoroughly settled. In fact, after the third attack, Shoma spotted an opening in his teacher's guard, and threw out a quick jab of his own, straight to the lower ribs, which he knew to be more delicate than the upper set. When the attack landed, his instructor retreated with an audible oomph Great job! See, the point to getting so good at dodging is so that you can hit those small targets when they're presented. Most people who haven't trained this way get nervous when they see all these attacks coming at them, and that hurts their ability to aim correctly. If you're used to it and confident that you can evade the attack, then you can focus more on your own strikes and hit your target more often. Thank you, Sensei. I'll keep that in mind. If you wouldn't mind, could we do this training again sometime? Of course. I'll see you back here tomorrow evening. Ka-thunk....thud Ka-thunk....thud Ka-thunk....thud
Shoma had engaged in some confusing Taijutsu training, but this one took the cake. He was standing with his back against the wall of the academy. Across from him was the cafeteria wall, leaving a space of about 6 feet in the alley between them. His Taijutsu instructor was standing beside him, a bucket full of children's bouncy balls on the ground beside him, and was throwing them against the far wall to rebound back at Shoma. The balls rebounded very quickly, coming back and almost the same speed that the young man threw them. What's worse, Shoma was blind-folded. It was his job to hear the impact of the ball, determine its trajectory, and block or strike it with his hands. It was supposed to train reaction speed, but Shoma wasn't entirely sure it wasn't punishment for something he'd unwittingly done wrong. Ka-thunk....thud Ka-thunk....thud Ka-thunk....thud Keep it up, Shoma. Listen to the rebound, you know it will come back mostly straight, so use that to aim. They kept coming and coming, one after another, that vast majority of them smacking Shoma in the stomach or face. Occasionally he would hit one, but it felt more like luck than anything. It continued on like that for hours. Shoma's legs felt like jelly and his shoulders were burning. He was so tired he could barely think. On the next sound of the ball striking the far wall, his hand moved seemingly without him willing it to. Suddenly, he felt a rubber sphere in his hand. Another Ka-thunk and a moment later he had one in his other hand, too. If he'd had the time, Shoma would have shouted with joy, but the next volley of 4 or 5 rubber balls came at such a pace that he didn't have time to even fully realize what he'd done. Instead, he lashed out in a series of strikes that to his astonishment made contact. Each and every one landed. And another one bites the dust. Shoma, I don't know how you do in your other classes, but once you understand a Taijutsu concept you really pick up on it fast. Go ahead and take that blindfold off. I think we can be done for now. Shoma was quietly ecstatic, not just at his own success but at the recognition from a teacher that he was growing to really look up to. Thank you, Sensei. That means a lot. So the point was to stop thinking, right? I only started getting it when I was too tired to think about the path the balls would take. Exactly. Reaction speed is usually inversely proportionate to how much thought you put into something. If you want to be able to respond quickly, you need to train so that your body knows what to do without you having to tell it. That's how it felt, yeah. Thank you again for taking the time for all this tutoring, Sensei. I really appreciate it. Any time, Shoma. I get that sometimes kids like you take a little time to pick things up, but once you've got it you really run with it. I'm happy to help how I can. Shoma scanned the class sign-up sheet. He'd already filled most of his schedule, and as a recent arrival, he didn't have much opportunity for electives since most of his time was spent taking classes to catch up. He did have some room for personalization, though, and one of those areas was in Taijutsu specialization. The classes seemed to be divided into weapon classes. There were classes on slashing weapons like swords and axes, piercing weapons like kunai, spears, sai, and the like, bludgeoning weapons like hammers and clubs, thrown and ranged weapons, and finally, at the bottom of the list, was a class dedicated to unarmed combat. There weren't many names in that section, but he recognized the name of his favorite Taijutsu instructor from the previous semester next to the title of the class.
It wasn't even a question, Shoma was going to specialize in unarmed Taijutsu. He pulled a pen from one of his many pockets and scribbled Uchima Shoma into the list of names. He was only the fourth so far. He felt a little bad for the instructor, hoping he didn't take it too personally that his attendance would be so low, but Shoma resolved to make it up to him by learning everything that Chuunin had to teach. I'll be top in the class. I have to be. Shoma lifted the vial to the light to get a better look. It was filled with a nearly transparent liquid he could easily have mistaken for water had he not known any better. He assumed that was the point. This poison, nicknamed Widow's Kiss, would be very difficult to detect until it had been ingested. He'd been told that it was not only colorless but odorless and tasteless as well. He'd confirmed that it was indeed odorless but would have to take his teacher's word on the tasteless bit. A single drop of this stuff could paralyze a man for hours, and a small spoonful would be enough to kill within minutes. He wasn't keen on the idea of paralysis, so it would be staying in the vial.
Despite the great care he took in handling the poison, Shoma was very excited to be handling one of the deadliest substances known to the ninja world. He'd been reading about poisons and poison Jutsu since arriving at the Academy and had jumped at the chance to take his first classes on the topic. Now he was in an advanced class, extracting and refining poisons from their plant derivatives. It was a dangerous class, more dangerous than most in the Academy, and his recommendation for the class had been one of the greatest honors of his short ninja career. It meant that not only had his interest been noticed, but his teachers considered him mature and capable enough to handle such substances. Setting the vial back in the small wireframe before him on the table, Shoma took up his pen and began writing in his notebook: Widow's Kiss is indeed colorless and odorless. Tastlessnes remains to be seen. Extraction took three hours of heating Widowwart at 100 degrees celsius followed by straining to remove remaining leaf particles. The liquid is viscous and can be applied to blades, or mixed into tea or other beverages. While it is extremely deadly in moderate doses, smaller amounts will generally only cause paralysis, making it an excellent tool for abduction, subduing guards, or infiltrating secure facilities. He was getting to the end of this notebook and would likely have to pick up another next week. He'd taken notes every day and managed to fill this one with only notes on poisons. He reviewed his notes regularly and could recite the extraction methods, applications, and effects of over 50 different poisonous substances, as well as their applicability in poison ninjutsu. He didn't usually look forward to finals, but he was quite certain he'd ace this one. Now, students, watch carefully and try to follow me.
Shoma's Taijutsu instructor was at it again, laying down wisdom on his young charges. This time, he'd decided to teach them some advanced defensive maneuvers he called simply, "Deflection". The concept was not difficult to grasp, the idea was of course to redirect an attack to either lessen or entirely nullify its effect. In some cases, he had explained, deflection techniques could even be used to redirect an attack to hit an enemy. He stood in the grass outside the academy, his usual classroom, and had a student standing a few feet ahead of him with a box of blunted kunai. Arranged in a staggered semi-circle around the instructor was a series of wooden targets. Macha here is going to throw some Kunai at me. He will do his best to hit me, and he probably will a few times, but my goal will be to reduce the impact of the attacks, and if I get the chance, redirect them to hit the targets around me. These techniques are valuable, but they're not 100%, so don't think that you're going to be able to rely on them alone. Still, let's start learning, shall we? The instructor motioned to Macha who flung a kunai at his chest. It was a dead-on shot, but the instructor was able to turn enough that it would only hit his shoulder, then a perfectly timed slap at the kunai sent it flying off course and straight into a wooden target behind him. The class watched in awe. See how it's done? First get out of the way in case your deflection doesn't go as planned. You might not dodge completely, but do your best to protect yourself. Once you're out of the way, strike the weapon away from you. It all happens in the blink of an eye, so you have to be fast. Shoma, we've done some reaction training together. Would you like to give it a try? Sure, Sensei. Shoma got to his feet and strode to the center of the circle, where the instructor outfitted him with what he recognized was a Chuunin's flak vest, without the insignia of course. One day you'll be wearing a real one, but for now, we'll just use this to minimize the damage when you get hit. Are you ready? Ready. Shoma nodded as he assumed his stance, eyes locked on Macha. The first attack came fast, and Shoma tried to do as his instructor had, but the kunai was a bit higher than he'd expected and his strike missed it completely. It thudded into his shoulder. Fortunately, the vest absorbed most of the impact. Good try, but you won't be able to guess where the kunai will be. You have to watch for it. Let's try another one. Macha? Macha grinned and Shoma got a distinct feeling that his classmate was enjoying this. It wasn't surprising, Macha was one of the best with thrown weapons, which was undoubtedly why he'd been selected for this particular role. The second attack was aimed at Shoma's thigh. It was surprising, but Shoma was just able to skip to the side in time to turn what would have been a direct hit on his leg into just a graze. Good. Low shots are hard to redirect. Macha, let's get another high one and see if Shoma can redirect it. Don't let off, though. Bring the heat! Macha nodded again and let loose. This one was fast, Shoma thought it would be entirely too fast, but the hours upon hours of training with his instructor kicked in, and just at the last instant, Shoma turned with the kunai and struck out with his palm. He hit the kunai right at the edge of the blade, adjusting its flight path without causing it to tumble, redirecting it straight into the target behind him. Perfect! That's exactly how it's done, but remember that it will change with the direction of the attack. Alright, class, you've seen Shoma do it so you know it's not just me. Let's get another volunteer to come up and give deflection a try. Shoma bowed to Macha and his instructor before returning the flak vest and taking a seat outside the circle of targets. He tried to keep the grin to himself, but he knew he was failing. Another one bites the dust! I'm really getting the hang of this stuff! Shoma swayed left, right, left, right, in time with a rhythm that only he could hear. To the casual observer, it might look like a pointless exercise, easy to predict, but the fighting style offered a degree of unpredictability in that it allowed him to respond to incoming attacks more quickly and in a wider variety of ways than if he was flat on his feet. It was a fundamental part of unarmed fighting, and Shoma had taken it to an extreme, practicing drastic slips, bobs, and weaves. Even better, he'd found ways to apply lessons from stealth class to his taijutsu.
Part of stealth was learning to hide in plain sight, carry out an assassination with attacks that the target and even those around them wouldn't be able to see. A concealed kunai, a masked strike to a vital area, there was a myriad of ways to deliver a blow stealthily, and Shoma was finding that they could be worked into overt combat just as well. His new style, something he'd come to think of as the "Shoma Special" was all about dodging and counter striking, finding ways to deliver so many blows in a short time that his opponent couldn't possibly defend all of them, and then when his opponent was flustered, delivering a strike that they would never see coming. He hoped to showcase it in the Genin Exam if he got a chance. "Shinobi Battles Past and Present" was the name of the book in Shoma's hands, and it had taken him nearly two weeks to reach the end. The average academy student might find the size and heft of the book intimidating, but that was what had attracted Shoma. He needed to learn every possibility, to get into his opponents' heads, and do it fast. He wasn't a legacy student with parents in the Shinobi force, he wasn't a genius at predicting others' intentions, but he was a hard worker, and that was his advantage, so he was applying his work ethic to the goal of knowing and understanding every possible sneaky move his opponent might pull. It was a necessity made clear by his two sparring sessions, first against Toshi, his friend with an affinity for ice and hiding in mist, and then against Daisuke, a boy who had immediately hidden in a field of mist as soon as the battle began. In both battles, Shoma had been caught unaware of what his opponent might be planning, entirely guessing at what he might have to deal with next. He didn't intend to experience that again, as evidenced by the nearly-full notebook at his side. Peering over his shoulder, one would find copious notes on historical shinobi battles, the conditions and tactics used. He knew it was no replacement for first-hand experience, but it was a start, and Shoma intended to study his notes every night before bed until he could recount every battle in the book. He wouldn't let anyone catch him by surprise again.
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