Chapter 37: Chapter 37
Kenshiro's POV;
The next morning Kagami-sensei came into our room, he had a bunch of scrolls in his hands and placed them down on our table, before sitting in one of our chairs. "Okay, you all have a place in the finals. That alone is a testament to your skills, but it is not enough to impress the many representatives and Daimyo. Their opinion will decide if Konoha will get the mission or if it will go to one of the others.
That is why I want you to show these nobles and rich merchants how much better you are than the others. Sadly, I am not able to teach all of you at the same time. That is why I have with me a few scrolls on different Jutsu and skills you might find useful. We can split the day into three parts and I will help one of you, while the other two have to work on their own until it's their turn.
As there is a real chance for all of you to face each other during the tournament I won't tell you what you are going to learn now. Which is why I will start with Ariha-chan first. Sakumo-kun, you'll be second and Kenshiro-kun you're third. Each of you will have four hours with me. Any questions?"
None of us asked any, so he nodded at us and waited for Sakumo-kun and me to leave the room. We packed our own training kits and left the room.
While packing I thought about the possible things he will teach each of us. For Ariha-chan a few new fire Jutsu and maybe a couple of Genjutsu added with a refreshing on her Sharingan. Sakumo will most likely get some Jutsu that can be learned easily and done with one hand, for his sword fighting, as well as a Jutsu for mid to long-range. For me, possibly hand to hand combat or a few tips and tricks for Shuriken.
Sakumo and I finished with our stuff and were about to leave when Kagami-sensei stopped us. "Ask the receptionist about a possible training ground, each village has a couple specifically used by foreign Ninja. You can't be sure that you aren't being spied on, but at least your competition won't be able to take a look."
"Okay, we'll be there, do we have to come back or will you find us?" I asked while opening the door.
"I'll fetch you, I have reserved one of these grounds for the whole month, it will be where I'll train you."
Sakumo and I then left the room and walked down to the reception. A few other Genin were there as well, eyeing us with mistrust. We simply ignored them and walked up to the hidden Jonin behind the counter.
"Good morning, we'd like to know where we can find the training grounds, we were told that there are special ones for Ninja from other villages?" Asked Sakumo politely.
The woman smiled a fake smile and went through a stack of papers, before writing some notes down on a sheet of paper. "Here, this is the address for Training Ground 21 S, it is at the eastern outskirts of the city." Sakumo took the piece of paper with a small bow and handed it over to me to read.
The address was pretty straightforward and there were a few instructions about the streets we have to take. "Thank you, we'll be sure to be careful not to destroy anything."
She laughed, it wasn't faked, "You don't have to. Nobody uses these grounds, they are mostly left there until a Chunin exam is taking place within Kiri."
We thanked her anyway and went on our way, we found it with little trouble. "Now I understand why she laughed," spoke Sakumo wryly.
"Yeah, this place is a dump," I agreed. The field was uneven, grass and other weeds were overgrowing and the posts for training your Kata were old and almost too damaged for use.
"Still, we can use it. It's not as if we need one that is of high quality. You said you wanted to learn how to see and cut Chakra threads, should we start with that?" I asked after a brief inspection of what we got.
"That would be great, it irked me how much trouble I had with the puppeteer, but what about your training?"
"You know that this is also training for me. While you are trying to cut the strings I will try and add my element to it. First wind and then later medical, maybe I can invent Chakra strings that can be used for healing. Some kind of distant healing or maybe I can use the threads to go inside the patient, hmm, I have to speak with Tsu-chan about that," I answered before somehow falling into a ramble about the possibilities of healing Chakra strings.
"Okay, okay, please start," urged Sakumo when he noticed that I was too deeply engrossed in my planning. This has to be done with care, Chakra strings aren't easy.
"Yeah yeah, wait a moment," I said and made a Shadow Clone for him to train with. Meanwhile I got back to the planning of a new Chakra control training, I need to use the concept of forming Chakra strings, however, I can only use my element.
Slowly I gathered Wind Chakra, the element I am the most comfortable with. I then started the process of forming a narrow line of wind energy. Normal Chakra strings are relatively easy to form, but hard to harden or move. All you have to do is form a string out of Chakra, from then on it gets hard.
That was not the case with Wind Element Chakra strings. The moment I formed the string they began to affect their surroundings. A slight gust of wind blew out from the line of Wind Chakra and then shredded the string the moment I tried to weave it.
I tried again, this time by keeping an eye on the Chakra output, but it was useless, the wind would shred the string within moments. I'll have to keep it from doing that. However, one thing that was characteristic for Wind Chakra was its cutting power. Maybe I should not use the element with the highest cutting power if I want to form thin strings.
Bah, some old Senju Elder also told me some of my Chakra manipulation techniques were useless or not possible, I showed them and I will get this thing right as well.
"Say, why aren't you just forming Chakra strings and then embed them with your element? Shouldn't that be easier?" Asked Sakumo after a few hours of training. He had spent all his Chakra trying to cut the normal string of my clone, note the word trying.
"Because then it would not be what I want. Flooding already existing Chakra strings with elemental Chakra is easy. Look," I answered and did what he suggested.
It was relatively easy, I only had to let the wind Chakra flow evenly and out of the string. The string itself was encased by my Chakra. The wind was then pushed out of this shell. The problem I have with my new version was that it was cutting everything the moment it got formed, while the normal version only started to cut things a few millimetres away from the string.
They work and are able to cut, however, by far not as good as my finished wind strings should. Now it's like a bladed whip. It hurts but is not exactly deadly. I hope my finished attack will be like the light discus of Krilin.
Sakumo made a face that told me that he did not think it was as easy as I was saying. He formed a Chakra string of his own, a wobbly little thing. His Chakra control was by far not good enough to form fully functional strings. He dropped the Chakra flow and his string vanished. "Then please enlighten this lowly peasant and tell me what your new strings can do?"
"Well, the most obvious is, it's a Chakra control training. That alone is enough for me, but other than that, well, I think the finished product should be a lot more deadly in a fight. Think about it, I am now using my strings to trip or cut my foes. Wind elemental Chakra strings will cut a lot easier than normal Chakra strings that are merely coated with elemental Chakra." He nodded, but I saw that he was not really seeing the need to do something hard when the easier version works as well.
"Shouldn't Kagami-sensei be here any minute now?" I asked. Sakumo isn't really good if it comes to conversations about Chakra control. He will listen, but he won't understand most of it. The same is true for me if it is about swords.
"Yes, I've just brought Ariha-chan back, she has mild Chakra exhaustion and is sleeping," said Kagami-sensei suddenly from behind me. "You should not let your guard drop Kenshiro, normally you'd have sensed me before I am this close," he then reprimanded.
I smiled sheepishly and nodded, before spreading my senses out. I have had been so focused on my strings that I didn't pay attention to my surroundings.
"Sure, will do," I said before he and Sakumo left in a swirl of leaves. Now alone I made a clone to keep an eye on my surroundings and continued my work on the Chakra strings. There must be a way for me to keep the strings from obliterating each other.
Maybe I'll have to concentrate the Chakra, making it smaller, while also denser. It will reduce the effect on an area and in return increases the effect directly affected by the string.
I started with condensing the Wind Chakra and then began to form a string. Slowly the string began to form and elongate. This time there was no wind effect around my string. However, the string was clearly made out of Wind Chakra.
I increased the length of the string and started to move it around. The first two times I was too quick and the movement caused the Chakra to escape and affect its surroundings, which instantly shredded my string.
Then I had the problem that contact with any surface would also disrupt the flow of my Chakra. The string would then, again, shred itself, but also whatever it was touching. So far it was good enough to decapitate heads with ease, but I wouldn't be able to move the string fast enough to catch someone. I would have to be so close that I might as well shower in blood.
Still, I quickly noticed that it was only a problem of getting used to moving Wind Chakra in such a strange way. I only needed a few hours to correct the flow, density, amount and speed of my Chakra. And then saw the holy pop up window with my reward for half a day of continues work.
You've learned the Jutsu;
Elemental String; LV 1 (10%) Active; A-Rank
Forming Chakra strings with an Elemental Chakra coating is a sign of true mastery over Chakra and its manipulation, in Sunagakure.
You can now form Chakra strings out of pure Elemental Chakra, the true proof of Mastery over Chakra Strings.
Requirements; Chakra Manipulation >=LV 90, Chakra String >=LV 75, Elemental Chakra Manipulation >=LV 50
Nice! But what the fuck? Those are some high requirements. I am only able to form medical Chakra strings and wind strings with my current stats
But now I only have to train with this some more and then I can add elemental strings to my arsenal. I already have a few ideas for their use in a fight.
I think this is what I am going to train for the next month. Elemental String and Chakra String, both are useful and still have room to grow. Chakra String levelled up to LV 80 today, only twenty more levels and I will get some new interesting perk. Maybe I will then be able to create strings from everywhere on my body. That would be awesome.
Currently, I am only able to form them with my fingertips and my toes. Which gives me a limited amount of ten to twenty strings. Effectively it is more like five, as I have to use my feet for other stuff, like walking, and a free hand for weapons, tools or Jutsu.
The hours flew by and soon Kagami-sensei came back to pick me up. The training field we would use was not much better than the one I had used the whole day. Only that it looked as if it was used. Still, it was in disrepair and bad condition.
"Isn't it kinda embarrassing for Kiri to give us these run-down training fields?" I asked him while taking a look around.
"I agree, Konoha at least repairs their fields for foreign Shinobi before the Chunin exam starts," agreed Kagami-sensei, before motioning for me to come over.
Once I stood in front of him he began in a resigned and apologetic tone. "I had to think long and hard about what I could teach you. Your Chakra control is masterful, I can't help you there, it's the opposite even. Then I thought about Jutsu, there are a few Wind Jutsu I can show you. Most of them are B-Rank with a few A-Ranks in between. You can learn them in between our sessions.
I know that you are using some form of weighted training and that it is effective. So training your physical attributes won't be needed as well. I'm even pretty sure that you are quite a bit above Ariha-chan and Sakumo-kun, in terms of speed and strength.
Starting to teach you some kind of weapon won't be useful as well. You can use a sword well enough, but I have seen that they are not to your liking. And learning a new weapon within a month would be useless in the tournament.
So, Jutsu, physical training, Chakra control and weapons are all either out or not important enough to train in our limited time. Which admittedly leaves me with not much. I think the most useful training for you would be combat experience. But let me hear what you think, do you have an idea what you'll want to train this month?"
So he was sorry for not being able to teach me much. Nice to hear that I am already good enough to not have obvious flaws. "I have come up with a new method of using Chakra strings, I form them out of Elemental Chakra. It's hard, but possible and shows great promise. However, I don't need help with that, so no, I don't have anything of importance that we could do.
Still, I have only recently released my 'weights' and am not fully used to the new speed and strength. If I can decide I'd like to get used to them while fighting against you and maybe have tips and lectures about stuff we usually don't learn.
I mean things that are not immediately for combat, but more for the life of a Ninja. Like tips on stealth, what I should do in strange situations during missions, rules that are more known than written down. Basically learning the wisdom of someone more experienced," I answered after thinking for a moment.
He was right, I don't need help in physical training, my Jutsu arsenal is large enough for now and new ones are easy to learn and he can't help me with my Chakra control. So I can only learn from his wisdom of being a Ninja. Knowledge will be important once I am on higher-ranked missions.
Knowing what goes and what not in times of hard decisions will be helpful.
"It shows how mature you are to ask such questions. From what other Jonin speak about their Genin it is rare to hear such a request. Most Genin want to quickly become stronger, learn new Jutsu and fight. Hehe, sometimes I feel that I really lucked out with my team."
I rubbed the back of my head in embarrassment. His praise means much and was appreciated. And I could return it. He might not be able to help each of us as much as he wants to, but he was trying his best and was always there for us when we had questions. He also asked other Jonin when he himself didn't know what to do, but only if there is no way around. Some kind of pride under Jonin-sensei.
"Good, then we'll train combat awareness and I will think about stuff that is rarely spoken about but should be known by every Ninja. Now, we have a few hours left, let's start with the sparring." I nodded and we both began to stretch before we had a long and exhausting fight.
He was quite surprised by my real strength and speed. Kagami-sensei had stats just shy of a thousand, while I had mine in the mid-five hundreds. In the end, he said that I was physically strong enough for a new Jonin, but I lack the experience during actual combat. There were flaws in my fighting style that stem from inexperience and he was determined to fix them in this month.
Kagami-sensei was confident that with some training I could be on the level of a new Jonin at the end of the month, at least close combat wise. He knew that I already had a few Jutsu that some Jonin won't be able to master. But having strong Jutsu is not always the best, sometimes you need stealth, finesse or simply a different approach.
The sun was starting to set when Kagami-sensei raised his hand in a stop gesture. "Okay, that's enough for today. We've made good progress. Tomorrow we can continue, it will be the same time and place."
"You coming?" He asked when I did not follow him out of the training ground.
"Nah, I will stay a few more hours, I almost had my new Chakra strings right. I think I will train a bit more," I answered. Just because I had the Jutsu does not mean that I am fully proficient in it, I still need a lot of training. And luckily I don't need sleep. I'll be fine if I train a few more hours.
"Okay, be careful and stay on civilian speed when you walk back. I don't want to fight you out of Kiri's T&I department," joked Kagami-sensei.
I laughed as well and waved at him before I started to form my Elemental Chakra strings. It's now a lot easier to create the wind strings, but they are still prone to self-destruction whenever I move them too quickly or bend them too fast. Something that lessened with an increase in the Jutsu LV.
Suddenly, the clone I had made for surveillance informed me about an approaching Chakra signature. "Boss, the Kaguya Jinchuriki is on its way to us, she will be here within the minute," I said nothing and dismissed the clone before I hid close to a tree.
Why is the Kiri Jinchuriki coming to a training field that is reserved for Shinobi from other villages? Is she using it as her personal training ground? It explains why this one looks to be used, even if not maintained.
A moment later she landed in the middle of the clearing. She quickly saw that it has been used and frowned heavily.
However, she did not comment out loud. Instead, she looked around, trying to spot whoever trained here before her. Of course, I was hiding my Chakra and kept hidden behind a tree.
"Must have been gone already," she mumbled and then gave up her search. I watched how she began to stretch and warm herself up. She was really pretty and had I not been a Ninja I would have felt like a stalker. Alas, information gathering is part of my job description. If it includes looking at a pretty girl that is in the middle of doing stretches, then who am I to complain. And no, I did not steal this from Jiraiya when he tried to invite me to 'gather information'.
After doing her warm-up stretches she pulled out a scroll and read it for a long time before she went slowly through a series of hand signs. However, she did not add any Chakra into it. She repeated the process a few times and then breathed in before she then suddenly infused Chakra into the Jutsu. She was trying to learn a new Jutsu, on her own.
"Water Style; Water Needles!" She spat out six needles of water, or more correctly, she spat out six lances of water. She has overpowered her Jutsu and the result showed itself in larger needles as well as a lot of wasted Chakra. They were also all over the field with no precision or aim.
It almost hurt to see how little control she had. But it was normal, she was a Jinchuriki, those aren't known for their control. At least no Jinchuriki that grew up with their Bijuu sealed inside them.
She seemed to be aware of her abysmal control and was frowning darkly at the destroyed ground she had fired her 'needles' at. She tried again, but without any better results, it might have been even worse.
My inner nerd for Chakra control couldn't take it any longer and I stepped out of my hiding place. She didn't notice me at first and was in the middle of finishing her third try when she finally did, she was broken out of her focus and launched the spears of water right over my head and into the air. I'm sure they would have hit if she were not this bad at controlling the Jutsu.
"Hi, sorry if I have startled you," I began with an apology.
She glared and crossed her arms over her chest. "Hmph, who says I was startled. I aimed into the air, otherwise, the ground would be destroyed." She then nodded with her head, as if she was praising herself for her excuse. But then she snapped out of it and continued to glare. "You're that Genin from Konoha, right? Senju something."
I almost called her out on the bluff, but that would probably be counter-productive. Instead, I tried to keep the conversation going. "Yes, I'm Senju Kenshiro, you are Kaguya Rune, right? What are you doing here? Isn't this a training field reserved for foreign Ninja?"
She starred at me and said nothing for a long moment, then her pale face turned a little bit red. I wasn't sure if it was from anger or embarrassment. "I'm always training here, someone must have forgotten to tell me that it will be used during the Chunin exam." She did not confirm or deny that she was that Rune, she must have forgotten in her anger.
"Well, sorry then. My Sensei has rented this field for the whole month. My team and I train with him here," I began and saw that she looked sad at not being able to train here any longer. "But you can train at the same time as now, we have stopped training half an hour ago," I added.
She smiled a bit in relieve but then caught herself smiling and glared at me. "And why then are you still here? Have you been spying on me?" She asked angrily.
"Not really, I am still here because I wanted to train some more. Then I felt how you approached and hid, you'll never know who might attack you." She mumbled something, lip-reading made it look as if she was agreeing with me.
"Anyway, I saw you using that water Jutsu. And while you have the hand signs correct you are lacking in Chakra control," I wanted to teach her how to do it better, maybe even give her a weaker training exercise, but she interrupted me before I could continue.
"So what? The Jutsu works and is a lot stronger than the normal version. Have you ever seen someone shooting water spears?" It was obvious that she was embarrassed about her lack of control, cue dusted cheeks, but her pride wouldn't allow her to admit it. I wouldn't as well, not with a Ninja that is from a different village and on top of that one I might have to face in the finals.
"Well yes, it is stronger. But that is only a side effect of the Chakra you are pumping into it. I didn't mean the strength, that was good. I meant the number of spears, as well as their piercing power," I tried to explain and almost started to list off what else was lacking. Like form, speed, precision, angle and a few more smaller things. However, I remembered, just in time, that Tsunade sometimes told me that I was sounding condescending when I do that.
"Ha, and let me guess, you can do it so much better, don't you?" She asked mockingly.
"I don't have a water affinity, but there is a Wind Jutsu that does something similar. It has the same principle. Do you want me to show you what I mean?" I asked. By now I was indifferent to teaching her. It would be nice to teach someone my Chakra exercise methods, but her constant angry rebuttals were annoying.
Instead of speaking she just gestured for me to show her. So I faced a tree, a bit away from her, but still close enough for me to keep her in my sight, and then went through the signs for Wind Needles. "First to show you that it is basically the same Jutsu," I began and fired off a series of six spear long wind needles. Each as thick and wide as her water needles. They plunged into the tree and left six holes.
She said nothing and I didn't look away from the tree, so I started with the finished Jutsu. "And this is what it looks like with better control, Wind Needles!" Dozens of spear long wind needles flew out of my mouth. Each was visible, by choice, and flew with blinding speed at the tree. The first hit the tree and went right through it and the next and the one after that as well. More and more needles punched through the trees and soon it was too much for the wood and tree after tree began to topple. With a loud rumbling noise, they fell to the ground and were then shredded by the ongoing stream of wind spears.
I stopped after a few seconds and looked at her. She was gaping at the destruction, but then snapped out of it. "I could have done that as well," she then said with an upturned nose.
"Well yes, but not with only one use of the Jutsu. Currently, you are wasting too much Chakra and probably need to focus too much on the effect of the Jutsu. With more control, it will become easier to form the needle, as well as influence it. Adding more is only a question of practice. I'm sure you would have archived it with enough repetitions." I agreed, I used the same amount of Chakra as she did.
If I judge her correctly then she will now act as if it was obvious for her to manage the same I did. Only that she would then forget that she needs to train a long time to get the same result. Control makes it easier to learn and allows someone to keep fighting for a longer time.
She nodded and looked as if I had agreed with her. "I told you I could do it, I just learned that Jutsu today. It's only natural to not be perfect in something you haven't known for long."
"Yes, that's right. But what I wanted to say is that with more control you will also be able to learn new things quicker. I just wanted to give you some tips," I said with a shrug.
Again, she mumbled something under her breath. I couldn't quite make out what she said, something about teaching and anyway. However, to me she said. "Why should I need your help? You've already said it, I will get it with enough training."
I sighed, maybe she was too stubborn to learn. "I can't force you, but okay. I'll be here tomorrow, same time, if you decide to learn. I like to train Chakra control and helping others getting better in it is a form of training for me. Maybe until tomorrow," I said and tried one more time. I won't lose anything if she does not come. Might even be better, who knows what she will do with the tips I can teach her. She still is a Ninja from a different village. I just thought she'd like to have someone to speak to, I don't think her life as a Jinchuriki is pleasant.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone