The grassy lands were quite appealing to the Kumogakure native. His legs loosened up as he got his feel of the lush and soft land. After speaking with some locals he had learned that this area was the place to train. Kenji had been intertwined in battle constantly, but wanted to experiment with a few other battle strategies with friendlies before his services were called upon again.

Kenji had his Hane on his left hip. His ninja tools spread sporadically on his person, and finally his long bow that was attached to his back with his quiver slung over his shoulder. The savvy Jounin, marked off the area mentally, taking in the surroundings. He could see why the area was optimum for training, given the open field. There was about 50 meters of clear flat land. The field was almosty a perfect circular field with a radius of 25 meters, he stood at the center hoping someone might be willing to train with him.

His blue hair sparkled as he had walked to the training grounds during a drizzle, it had stopped now, but there was a light mist swirling along the surface, it was a spooky look. Off in the distance were wilting trees that concealed the swampy trek needed to arrive to the plain. It felt good being back on a training area, most of his tasks deal with espionage so it had been a while since he willingly participated in a 1v1 fight, which was what he desired on this afternoon. Underneath his gray vest (cosmetic) was a white cloth that ran underneath the vest covering his arms and up to his knuckles. The cloth also snaked to cover half his face, covering his nose. Kenji pulled his gloves of reflection on tight, as he was metnally and physically prepared to engage in a productive spar, he just hoped his opponent, if he would have one, was up to a good fight.



"You only fight as good as you practice, hopefully I can get a good practice in today."


Training: 342

Wind breezed through Sanosuke's long neatly braided dreadlocks as he walked through Kirigakure towards the training grounds. He had just gotten out of the hospital after recovering from the Misoka incident where he nearly had all his ribs broken. If it wasn't for how tough his body was from his natural infinity then Sanosuke would have most likely been bed ridden by the number of ribs that were broken by the shinobi. Just thinking about Taku made his skin crawl and his sides hurt. He made a decent recovery though, and even though the kumogakure jounin was so injured, he was still doing missions in order to protect the village that was not his own but another. He had stop an undead army led by one of Seven Bells' general, assisted in the attempt to protect the Mizukage even though it ended in failure, killed assassins, ambushed shinobi, stopped a giant scorpion, and now killed a neutered slave owner from Suna that was trying to kill a Misoka Karisuma. It was a miracle that he was walking away from each of those battles with only a few bruises, aches and pains. Sanosuke smirked, he was one tough son of a bitch that much was for sure. Navi was at his side as he was walking aimlessly around the village hidden in the mist.

"Sano, I swear you better not be going to bar! Stop being so damn lazy!" Navi whined as she flew around in circles around the wasp sennin. Even though a taste of booze and floosey shinobi that were throwing themselves at Sanosuke for being a strong shinobi that were taking on many missions for the war effort, he had to admit that his skills were getting dull. Some of his missions were won by just his combat experience, strategy, or just the vast power difference where he bad technique didn't even play a factor in the fight. If it was against someone stronger, Sanosuke knew that he would have been defeated rather easily. Maybe Sanosuke should take it upon himself to get some work on his core. It could be a good thing after all. Looking over at Navi from the corner of his eyes, Sanosuke pouted his lips and grumbled under his breath. Damn it, I hate it when she's right.... Sanosuke grumbled mentally as he turned away from the bar. The clatter of beer mugs clanking was like the sweet sounds of a siren purring to Sanosuke's ears seductively as the jounin took every amount of self control to turn himself away and focus on the task of making his way to the training field.

When he got there, Sanosuke noticed that the mist was clinging close to the air in this area. It was most likely because the leaves in the few amount of trees that surrounded the area were absorbing the moisture that existed in the mist. Mostly this training ground was more lush and grassy than the training grounds of Kumogakure. On his travels he never did take the time to go to the training field; after all those 5 years were more on the topic of meditation and not combat. But being here, Sanosuke was noticing the difference between the training grounds in Kirigakure and the training grounds in Kumogakure. The field was still slippery from the rain that poured on the village the other day. But on certain parts of the field, it was mushy and was slightly harder to maneuver than flat ground. He would have to take note of that in case he would spar with someone. There was a blue hair shinobi that was standing there getting himself ready for practice. If he remembered correctly, the shinobi was from the same village and him who went by the name from 'Kenji, according to his best friend Skye.

"Kenji right? It's me Sanosuke Flynt, we fought alongside each other a couple of days ago on the village gates. I take it you're here to sharpen your skills as well? I got pretty beat up the other day of missions and just got out of the hospital, so I need to get myself ready for more missions the next coming days." Sanosuke began to explain with a smile as he was waving towards his comrade. He had his scarlet chakra laced armored clothing on that was over top his long sleeved, skin tight, high collared shirt. Finally armor that he could wear anytime he wants without it being too heavy on his body, the shirt honestly felt like any other shirt one would normally buy in a clothing store. Strapped to his back was his first hand and a half sword that he bought as a genin so very long ago. On his hands were his bronze plated gauntlets that each held held his swords, Montague and Capulet. And finally, his boots he had on were so smooth and comfortable that whenever he ran, it was as though the jounin was running on mid air.

With Kenji's churning muscles firing in all directions fluently, allowed himself a moment withing the melodic motion to appreciate the scenery, contrasting it against his homeland of Kumogakure. In Kenji's childhood in the Rice Paddy fields, this type of grassy marshy land was common, but in his adolescent years within the the cold hard structure of the village, grass, wet lush grass would be a luxury.

His gloves of reflection gripped the hilt of his Katana tighter as his eagerness rose internally. The practiced strikes whipped and lashed at the air. Just as he indulged in a brief pause to his monotonous training, he could hear another person approaching. He crooked his neck around slowly to capture a glance of the new arrival. It was the figure of a shinobi he could not forget due to their memorable partnership against Io's despicable forces. The shinobi resided to his knowledge in Kumogakure as well. His name was Sanosuke, and from what he recalled from the battle he was an extremely powerful shinobi. He let a small smile manifest, causing the white cloth that covered half his face to crinkle.

You are correct, in terms of my name and purpose. During these times I find it more suitable to test oneself and push boundaries. The enemy will be sure to ask nothing less than extraordinary. So, shall we engage in a challenging contest between comrades, Sanosuke? However, if your physical at some point wanes from your past ordeals, let me know.

Of course Kenji already knew what his response would be, he was simply being polite. The Jounin's eyes artfully absorbed the man's dress. He was clearly aware of the purpose of the area, so just about everything on the person of Sanosuke was likely helpful within combat, someone as skilled as what Sanosuke appeared would unlikely purposely limit himself by coming in prepared. The blue hair ninja would await the man's response before acting. Kenji was still contemplating which strategy to pursue. I shall start with a diagnostic of sorts, just to test the waters.

Training:692

"You are correct, in terms of my name and purpose. During these times I find it more suitable to test oneself and push boundaries. The enemy will be sure to ask nothing less than extraordinary. So, shall we engage in a challenging contest between comrades, Sanosuke? However, if your physical at some point wanes from your past ordeals, let me know." Kenji said as he was getting himself already into a stance. Even though he was so polite and reserved in his voice, his actions spoke differently. Based on his stance, it was very unlikely for the kumogakure shinobi to initiate the first move of the sparring contest. Sanosuke hasn't even accepted his proposal for the spar and he was already getting ready to fight. Sanosuke had to admit, the blue haired shinobi's tenacity was certainly infectious and caused Sanosuke to smirk. Taking a couple of looks around the area, Sanosuke was taking one last look before Sanosuke began to get preparations for the fight he would have with his fellow shinobi.

Finally, Sanosuke leaped backwards and unsheathed the sword that was strapped onto his back. Holding his sword in reverse grip in one hand behind his back, Sanosuke used his free hand up to his face so that he could use it to aim his blade accordingly to whatever part of the body that Sanosuke needed to swipe at. "Sounds good to me." Sanosuke smirked as he whipped his blade around a bit so that it reflected the sun's beam of lights that pierced the mist around them off the edge of the wasp sennin's blade. Normally, Sanosuke wouldn't take too long to swing his sword around. But this was so that he could get accustomed to holding a sword again in his hands because of his time he spent in the hospital. At the first couple of swings Sanosuke could feel as though his arm my pop from the strain of his sword was having on his arm. As time passed the strain lessened until the weight of his sword was nothing in his hands, just like it always was when he fought with his sword. When he finished, Sanosuke got himself settled into his attacking stance. "Navi go tell that genin we passed on the way here to get a medic ninja over here so we can fight it out without any limitations." Sanosuke told his partner.

If she had eyes, Sanosuke was sure that Navi would have rolled them at the wasp sennin. But eventually she did what she asked and went over to get the medical ninja to observe the fight. Navi was almost as fast as him, so it didn't take long for a woman with short blonde hair to come over with a medical kit in her hands. Both women stood at the sidelines approximately 40 meters away from the fighting. With the medical ninja and Navi away, Sanosuke clenched his sword's handle in anticipation. It was showtime. "Well with a medic here, let's get this show on the road!" Sanosuke said exicitedly as he used his free hand to swiftly get a kunai from his holster and threw it swiftly at Kenji to test out the blue haired shinobi's reflexes. Hopefully, Kenji would be too concerned dealing with the incoming kunai, that it would potentially distract Kenji long enough for Sanosuke to close the gap between him and the other kumogakure jounin. Without wasting anytime whatsoever, Sanosuke dashed at Kenji holding his sword tightly in reverse grip. When close enough, Sanosuke would swiftly adjust the grip of his sword into the proper one handed grip of his sword and go for a horizontal slash for Kenji's shoulder. If it was somehow blocked, Sanosuke would simply adjust the point of his blade so that the blade would strike the exact point of Kenji's katana to stun Kenji's arms.

~1500 WC~

Chakra-315/335; Jutsu used:

hiding in the trees some girls were ecstatic as he swung his sword through the air. "Ayaaa" they mistook it for a sword shout but he was actually saying Aya in reference to the mizukage. His blonde hair swinging back and forth matching the timing of his blade swings, with each careful step he took as he began to look like he was getting just a bit upset. The girls thought this was cute and just as they thought they would join they looked to one side and noticed two guys as they said. "Those ugly jerks are ruining our Yuzu watching time " They were about to interfere when Ren finally shouted. "Can you please keep quiet I'm trying to train now get lost!!" The girls cried, some were even happier as they ran away thinking about how cute and cool he was. He did not get why the girls were watching him, he had become more popular especially since some of the other cute boys died. He took a sigh then noticed the guys that were training.

He had seen them before and he had done missions with them as well, it was Kenji and as he looked on he could not remember the other guys name as he walked slowly to take a closer look still swinging his sword side to side to not neglect training. He did not hear clearly what they said but he figured it was a spar of some sorts. As he moved closer he decided to watch from a nearby training post as he did slashes against it softly. He was aiming to improve his sword skill and not destroy the training dummy. After a while it looked like the spar finally started as he looked on a bit carefully.

He noticed there was a medic nearby and then thought for a bit. We have an important war but our medical staff are being used for spars. He thought to himself that either they were getting really rusty and nearly died or maybe they did not like eachother. He wanted to join them when he remembered that Aya was dead and that he may never even see her again. He needed to see her though, he needed to see the truth as he did not want to believe she was truly gone. One of the medical woman came over to him to speak.

" Could you please train further away it is dangerous over here and i would not want to see a little boy like you get hurt okay " He then glared at her and said " You are not Aya, you can not tell me what to do!" The woman got a bit of a fright and left it, she realised from his outburst he was not going to listen as she then went over to the other medical staff and told her to watch them carefully while she goes and gets more medical supplies. Just as this happened it seemed the other shinobi whose name he had somewhat forgotten at the moment through several kunai at Kenji. He felt that seemed a bit weak until he noticed that this guy was charging in. He was either really strong or really stupid as he felt he would never do something that simple against someone of Kenji's skill. However maybe, just maybe the guy was equally strong as he thought back for a moment.

He remembered the guy but not sure from when or where but it was clear things were going to become more hectic. He kept a careful watch as he wanted to learn from what appeared to be a fight between two sword wielders. It seemed everyone used swords these days, he felt he would soon need a new sword even better then the two he had on him now. He had his new sword on his back but he did not use it for training as he did not want to destroy the training post with its superior quality. He was watching then realised something, this other guy was actually really fast as it was unclear what would happen.

Training 691 WC

OOC : POSTING ORDER: KENJI, SANOSUKE, THEN YUZU.


Sanosuke leaped back, after speaking to the animal that hovered near him, a few moments past where the two men stood in silence. The blue sprite flickered off into the woods for some reason, and at impressive speed. The flying creature returned, but not alone. Kenji raised an eyebrow at the events. He then realized that the girl that was retrieved was a medical ninja due to Sanosuke’s words. Now that the medic had arrived, it was time for the fight to begin, everything was in order. About 40 meters away from the action was the creature and the medic. His mind began to turn as the battle was soon to be underway. The anticipation of what the fellow Kumogakure ninja might throw at him was almost too much to bear. On the surface though, he seemed composed. Kenji only had limited knowledge on the man: Kenji knew he used the lightning element, and he knew he favored Kenjutsu.

In a split second, Sanosuke set his first move in action. A kunai slipped into his fingertips and fired in the direction of Kenji. “It seems he has the same plan in mind.” The thought swirled in his mind, as the opponent was also looking to get a feel of what he had to offer. Kenji’s right foot slid back and he positioned his body parallel to the kunai, letting it fly right past his torso, his eyes though, never left Sanosuke as dodging something as trivial as a kunai was not really worth his full attention. The Chikara was a bit startled to see the shin obi darting at him at such fearsome speed, but he would grab his bearings and prepare to react. He witnessed Sano’s grip on his katana in a way that indicated he was intending to attack with his weapon.

Kenji’s eyes narrowed as he always enjoyed close range fighting. It had become somewhat of a preconceived weakness of his as of late, due to his use of Genjutsu and archery, most considered him strictly a mid to long range fighter, but they often over looked that his roots are in close range: Kenjutsu. As Sanosuke drew closer (about 5 meters), Kenji rested his hand gently on the hilt of his Katana. He knew a practitioner in the art of Kenjutsu would be ready to parry, so Sanosuke must have had something planned by attacking in such a blatant manner, or maybe he really thought the kunai would be a sufficient distraction, Kenji wasn’t sure., but he was sure that he had the perfect close range counter to whatever he was planning. As soon as Sanosuke was within range and initiating his horizontal slash for Kenji’s shoulder, Kenji increased the strength of his grip, and ducked under the high strike for his shoulder, he ducked at near Kage level speed. As soon as he entered into his squat, he propelled his katana from its sheathe. His Hane would explode from its case at outstanding speed. Kenji aimed the blade to dig into Sanosuke’s thigh. Once the Hane reached its destination it would retract back into the sheathe at equal speed. This action would happen in a blink of an eye, and once the weapon returned to the sheathe Kenji would fire out of his squat, leaping to his right, landing about 10 meters away from Sanosuke.

He would marvel at his work, seeing if his intended counter was a success. If it was, Sanosuke’s thigh would bleed profusely, as the sharp blade was sure to have dug deeply into the flesh and scrape the bone, and would have caused mild bruising. With that, his movements during the fight was surely to be hindered. Kenji didn’t want to do too much damage, as he didn’t know the skill level of the medic, but the wound he possibly inflicted would be in the C rank range, and any medic who took pride in their occupation would be able to remedy that. If Kenji’s attack failed though, he would still rocket away out of his squat to his right, 10 meters away.

When he came sliding to a halt, Kenji saw up ahead, next to the floating fairy and the medic girl, a little boy with blonde hair… “Is that… Yuzu” Kenji didn’t have time to dwell on the arrival of his comrade. There was no time for breaks in attention and focus against an opponent like Sanosuke. His eyes were now back fixed on Sanosuke.

Did Kenji’s lightning fast swipe connect, or did Sanosuke find a way to counter the crafty shin obi?

And Yuzu… was he there to watch, or did he have another agenda? All will be answered soon… or will it… DUN DUN DUNNNN!

300/320:

Training: 1494

Now this was certainly a surprise. Sanosuke didn't expect for the other Kumogakure jounin to be this fast. With his senjutsu training, Sanosuke had passively had his body become lighter and thus making him faster and faster than a regular jounin. Thanks to his training, Sanosuke had the same speed as a shinobi that would be seen as a sannin. But Kenji was someone whom was faster than a regular jounin as well. When his kunai that he threw at the kumogakure jounin was dodged effortlessly, Sanosuke guessed that something like this would happen. But still that was the opening that he needed for him to pursue with his plan of attack. The kunai fell to the ground 15 meters behind Kenji into the ground with the point sticking into the ground barely in. Just when his sword was about to make contact to Kenji's skin, the other jounin shinobi just laid his hand on his katana's hilt and suddenly he was gifted with a sudden burst of speed that wasn't there before. It was as though Kenji had began moving at Kage speed the very second he laid his hand on his katana. With that burst of speed, Sanosuke witnessed as Kenji ducked under Sanosuke's well aimed slash to Kenji's shoulder so his blade only whizzed underneath his sword. Sanosuke could barely keep track of Kenji's sudden burst of speed. Thanks to his very sharp sense of vision, Sanosuke was able to see as Kenji was beginnign to work his muscles in order to counter Sanosuke's swipe. Just from looking at Kenji's katana in the training field as the kumogakure jounin was practicing prior to the spar, Sanosuke saw that his blade was much better quality of the hand and a half blade that he was currently wielding. Getting a wound from that blade would hurt definitely.

He had to do something or else Kenji's katana would slice right through Sanosuke's body. Using his reflexes that were as sharp as a higher ranked shinobi than a jounin, Sanosuke blasted chakra around his body with a tiny spark that couldn't possibly be seen by anyone without a doujutsu. Sanosuke's tiny spark of chakra was sent at Kenji to attack the blue haired shinobi's concscious as a mental attack to temporarily distract him. The tiny spark gathered around his body and bounced it off Kenji's body just when he was beginning to draw out his sword. The technique that Sanosuke had sent at Kenji would be powerful enough, when made contact, would lower Kenji's speed, reaction time, and jutsu power by one rank entirely. Now Kenji's speed was lowered right back to the speed of a sannin so they were moving at the same speeds again, but also the blue haired shinobi was now lowered to that of someone that was lowered ranked than a jounin; approximately special jounin level. The main point was now that Kenji's speed was lowered, he could now counter against Kenji's extremely fast kenjutsu style. With his reflexes now equivalent with Kenji's attacking speed, the time for Sanosuke to counterattack would be temporarily ephemeral.

Dropping his blade lower to block the strike from Kenji's strike that was aimed for Sanosuke's leg, the wasp sennin was able to block the strike that was aimed for his leg. The sound of screeching metal could be heard when Kenji's sword met with Sanosuke's briefly. Just as quickly, Kenji jumped to the right of Sanosuke about 10 meters while sheathing his sword back into its sheath. Sanosuke also noticed how his sudden boost he got from his blade was given up the second he put his blade back in his sheathe. Oh so that's how it happened. When he actually wields that blade, he gets a boost of speed that makes him move at Kage speeds. Sanosuke said mentally to himself, making notes about Kenji's battle style. So he was a speedster, that would be certainly difficult to deal with. With Kenji backing away, Sanosuke was now on the offensive and the blue haired shinobi was on the defensive. Just as Kenji was retreating, Sanosuke decided to charge in once more to get at Kenji. With Kenji's stats lowered by 1 rank, Sanosuke would have the advantage.

"That's an awesome blade, Kenji. But you're going to need to do better than that to get me." Sanosuke said the other kumogakure jounin as he got his blade ready and decided to go for an upwards diagonal slash towards Kenji's shoulder. Sanosuke's mental attack was used to mentally lower Kenji's speed, reaction speed, and jutsu power by 1 rank entirely for a brief moment because Kenji wasn't prepared for an attack on the conscious level. With his stats lowered, Sanosuke had lowered the chance of a counterattack by a significant amount. Getting yet another kunai from his holster, Sanosuke tossed another kunai at the blue haired shinobi so that he would have to dodge the kunai. With his abnormally strength that rivaled a sannin, the kunai would be moving at speeds that would be difficult for someone like Kenji, whose reflexes were dwarfed by Sanosuke's ninjutsu attack. Practitioners of kenjutsu usually had to fight with two hands on the blade, that's why Sanosuke was so glad that he was specialized in using western weapons like his hand and a half. That way, Sanosuke could operate with one hand and still use the other for something else. With his reflexes lowered, Kenji had to deal with a kunai that had the high velocity of a sannin throwing it, and a jounin with a sword whose speed equaled that of a sannin.

In case Sanosuke would be able to strike Kenji, his sword should be able to do some damage to the Kenji's body that would significantly prohibit his movements with his arms making it harder for the blue hair shinobi to swing his sword around. After swing his blade at Kenji with the intent to do damage to the blue haired  shinobi, Sanosuke would jump back about 5 meters to gain some distance between him and Kenji. It was done if by some miracle that Kenji did avoid his 2 sided attack, Sanosuke had to gain some distance between him and the other kumogakure jounin. When landing, Sanosuke saw from the corner of his eye that there was someone else watching the fight. A young boy with blond hair with the Kirigakure headband on him. The fight must have attracted him to see the fight.

Chakra- 290/335; Jutsu Used:

With a dumbfounded look on his face he had no idea what he just saw. He watched as the two of them clashed. He did not even see what was going on, however it was clear with Kenji that it would be one sided but instead the opponent managed to dodge an attack he could not even see. Only reason he even knew there was attack was because he noticed Kenji move his arm. However he then looked again thinking that he saw something extremely strange. For a moment so brief he thought he might have been in a genjutsu. He thought he saw something released by the other guy to target Kenji. Did the guy attack Kenji with some special Fuuton technique or was he overthinking it. He got a bit nervous his heart racing as he got nervous nearly dropping his sword, but regaining his grip. He began to slowly cut away at the training dummy not realising he had taken out his new sword and was cutting the dummy apart limb by limb. He wanted to join them but he was no where near strong enough to interrupt their battle but as he finished off the dummy he began to make his way towards them stopping about fifteen meters behind Kenji. It might be dangerous to be positioned there but he looked back every now and then as the medical shinobi was worried. She wanted to call him back but she did not want to startle anyone and create unecessary drama. She figured the more experienced shinobi would no better and would not intentionally get him involved. While he was not that good or fast incase things went bad he began moulding chakra and forming seals as he then waited. His chakra was stirring in front of him as he waited for the reply to his attack as he wondered if he would be able to make an impact of any kind.

He remembered the last time he fought with Kenji and how he had witnessed Kenji's insanely strong techniques, he wanted them not to treat him like a kid or a useless support. He wanted to leave his mark in the war as he began to improve on his skills viciously. He also got out his new gear he felt like with them around he could test his gear and while he had formed his seals and prepared to use his technique he decided to concentrate a bit then through his ten brand new kunai at Kenji from behind for no reason what so ever. He thought it would be interesting to see if Kenji had eyes in the back of his head and he did not aim for lethal points only aiming for Kenji's arms legs and his back. Worst case they penetrate 1 or 2 inches into Kenji's skin. The medical shinobi was shocked that the child was choosing to use such underhanded tactics, but when she realised they were not aimed and lethal areas she realised he was just having target practice. It was still somewhat wrong however but he did not care about that he wanted to prove himself.

Training 1221 WC

A smirked graced Sanosuke's lips when he saw that the effects of his jutsu were already having a toll on Kenji's body. The swift movements that were being exhibited by the other jounin of Kumogakure were dulled. The cause of this sudden change of momentum had to have been his jutsu that he had unleashed at Kenji in order to slow down his movements. No doubt that the last minute jutsu he pulled off was all he did in order to take over the tide of battle. The last minute block he pulled off was too close for comfort, even for him. In the future, Sanosuke would have to be more careful for how fast Kenji moves; especially with that sword of his that seems to give him a sudden burst of speed whenever he wields it. When  Kenji moved back to gain some distance between him, Sanosuke made sure to track his movements. It was good that the younger shinobi was taking his advice to heart, from what Sanosuke could see the jounin was ready to go. That meant that Sanosuke would have to kick it up a notch in order to have his attacks to land something. For the moment, Sanosuke had to be sure that he sprung in an attack on Kenji's weakened state before he gains back some of his strength. Running at high speeds that were most likely too high for him to keep up at the moment, Sanosuke dashed at him while throwing one kunai towards Kenji to catch him on the torso. It was good that the knife went in the jounin's body. The kunai sunk in deeper than he thought it would go in, normally due to the amount of strength it took for the jounin to toss it at high velocity the kunai would have sunk deeper than what a regular jounin would have been capable to do. But now the kunai was a few inches into the man's torso. So it seemed as though his body was rather frail, that must have been the trade off of having such a speedy body. So Pathik was right; in order to gain something, something of equal value must be given up in exchange.

What shocked Sanosuke the most was the fact that the same genin that Sanosuke had noticed as around during his spar with Kenji had taken it up upon himself to throw one projectile at Kenji as well. The knives hit their marks into the back of the shinobi's arms and legs each. Curiousity was clawing at Sanosuke's mind when he tried to comprehend exactly why the genin decided to do such a thing. Sanosuke would have shouted something at Kenji to alert him of what the shinobi was about to do, but it happened too quickly for him to respond. Kenji may have been okay with the fact that he was hit with that many kunai from someone whom had nothing to do with this fight, but Sanosuke didn't. Attacking someone from behind was just wrong and an insult to their ability. "Brat if you interrupt my fight again, I'll make sure that the medic will be busy trying to keep you from bleeding out for you interrupt once more." Sanosuke barked at the blond Kiri genin before returning is attention at Kenji as he got his sword prepared to strike at Kenji once more. Getting his sword ready to aim at the blue haired shinobi's shoulder, Sanosuke attempted to slash at it Kenji's shoulder to prohibit his movements even farther than what the kunai were able to do. Sanosuke hoped that Navi would most likely alert him should the genin have the chance to do such a thing towards him.

A powerful gust of wind was what Sanosuke met with when his blade tried to find some way into Kenji's body. The torrent of wind was clawing at the blade and slowly pushing it away from Kenji. Sanosuke cursed under his breath as he rushed in way too blindly to notice a counterattack like that. There was soon a cocoon of wind chakra that was wrapped tightly around the jounin to protect him from being attack back any other attacks from Sanosuke. When the cocoon exploded outwards, it was like getting hit with a large fist in his stomach. The wind chakra blasted him backwards away from Kenji. A painful grunt was let out of his mouth when the forceful wind made contact with him, sending him back. It made him tumble backwards while holding his sword. The grassy ground was slowly turning his violent backwards tumble into simple rolls that Sanosuke was able to use to slow down his movements so he can regain his composure. Slamming his sword downwards into the ground, Sanosuke was able to stop anymore further backwards movement that Kenji's jutsu might have forced on him.

With his blade sunk into the ground, Sanosuke slowly leveled himself up with some assistance with the pommel of his sword. Heavy breathing could be hear from Sanosuke as he tried his best to let oxygen flow back into his lungs from the hit he took from the strike. Blood was dripping from his lips as he was heaving. It was true that his previous jutsu that he had hit Kenji with dulled the attack a bit and his armor absorbed the rest, the blast was enough to break one of Sanosuke's still healing ribs. Breathing was now going to be a bit more straineous for him in this fight. With a weak jutsu like that, Sanosuke shouldn't have taken that much damage. It was his wounds, but Sanosuke smirked to himself as the wasps from the hidden wasp village did a mighty fine job getting him fixed with armor that looked like regular clothing but really did defend himself from a lot of attacks. If it wasn't for this burgundy armor he was wearing, Sanosuke could only imagine how much more trouble he would have been in. Wiping his mouth from the blood that was trailing down his chin, Sanosuke spat it out and got his sword ready once more. "Not bad Kenji, that actually stung a bit. Let's see if you can show me something else interesting." Sanosuke teased as he was preparing himself for yet another attack by getting himself ready in his stance once more.

The blue haired jounin that was before him seemed to be fixing his gloves when Sanosuke looked at him. It may have been harmless, but as soon as Kenji got his bow out that's when it all changed. The clothing that Sanosuke was wearing slightly tightened and felt more hot to the touch against Sanosuke skin made him look at Kenji in slight shock. His armor would only react to such a thing if Sanosuke was in a genjutsu. The clothing seemed to have been itching against Sanosuke's body as Sanosuke looked at Kenji with interest. So he was a genjutsu specialist as well, that was something indeed to mark down on a latter note. Even so, Sanosuke could slowly feel his armor already dispel the weakened genjutsu so Sanosuke could see that Kenji was really aiming his bow directly at him. Getting his sword ready, Sanosuke dashed at Kenji head first without any faltering in his steps. The bow was coming at him rather fast and at such a short distance Sanosuke knew that dodging would be impossible. Making a seal with his left free hand, Sanosuke noticed how that he was now surrounded in an electro magnetic field that would deflect the incoming bow sending it away from Sanosuke's general direction. The source came from his Kumogakure Chuunin vest that he obtained as a chuunin so long ago. It was bad that the technique in the vest only had a charge of 3, so he could only do such a quick save 2 more times. Once it was away from him, Sanosuke would get as close as possible to Kenji to engage the jounin in close quarters combat once more since that was what he was trained in at such a young age.

Sanosuke noticed that Kenji had to have put his katana away in order to get out his bow, meaning that his speed was now equal to his own. So that would make the fight so much more fair. In case he did use his katana once more to gain a speed boost, Sanosuke noticed that the effects of his mental technique should have ended meaning that he would once more be moving at speeds that would even rival a Kage. In that case, Sanosuke had to close the gap quick enough so that Kenji wouldn't have time to react to yet another one of his techniques. Bring his sword this time for a cut across the jounin's neck for a straightforward attack with his one hand. His other hand was for something a bit more sneaky and not so straightforward. Gathering chakra in his hand, Sanosuke focused it so that when the opprotunity should arise, Sanosuke would be able to launch his chakra in the shape of a hidden blade to stab right through Kenji. Since it's made out of chakra, only dojutsu users would be able to see the chakra blade coming at them. Close quarters combat was something that Sanosuke excelled at, so how Kenji does in this field would be something for him to take notice on....

1600 Training WC

Chakra-270/335; Jutsu Used:

He was a bit confused when he realised his kunai landed a direct hit, while one inch wounds were not really something lethal landing them made him think he was really strong. Then when he thought about it a bit more maybe it was because Kenji did not need to dodge, and when he thought about it in the times he was with Kenji he had never really seen Kenji on the defensive. Maybe all that Kenji could do was attack and his defences might have been really weak to begin with, the medical shinobi was still in shock staring at him and Kenji's nack.

Within the small while that he was deep in thought he heard someone shout brat as he looked around, only to realise he was the only one who qualified as he then spoke to the medical shinobi.
" Did someone say something miss?" as he asked this the medic replied. "Now, now, it was Ren right, you not suppose to interfere in a man's fight, go play over there where it is safe". The woman pointed towards a tree with a few random boards on them and while it was a bit interesting he did not want to leave. He looked back and watched carefully as Kenji continued his battle with the other guy as he then spoke to her some more.

"Miss, who is that other guy i am sure i saw him in the bar before". The woman looked shocked for a moment before paying attention to the main question rather than wondering why children even went into bars to begin with. " That guy is here to help in the war, Sanosuke-sama is a respectable shinobi from... " She noticed Ren had seemed to be yawning already as he stretched his arms a bit. The medic was worried and took it upon herself to hold him back as he was about to run to get close to the battle he noticed his feet were not touching the ground. The medic had grabbed his collar from behind preventing him from joining the battle. While this was all for his own good he decided on what to do, as he began weaving some hand seals while she kept him like this. The medic felt a force build up as water rose up he took a deep breathe. The water took the form of a dragon then was shot in the direction of the battle field, however instead of hitting a target it swerved missing completely. It had manouvred between Kenji and Sanosuke just barely missing both of them as the two were now close with a water dragon having passed them.

The medic fell to the ground ending up being the support while Ren controlled the water dragon while it may have missed both targets it was now spiralling around them. As to whether one of them would deal with the attack or just ignore it was yet to be seen. Ren maintained his focus as he did not want to miss the fact that he still had about two more chances to hit them with this technique before he would be left with nothing but water splashed around randomly.

He was also using this technique to train his form so that he would one day be able to use a lightning style dragon as well. This was after all training as well and he had to make the most of it.

Training WC = 1799
Training Ryu Misairu = 1500/1500
Total Training WC Left = 299

Chakra = 200/220 ( lowered since Ren was chuunin during the beginning of this thread )

Suiton Suiryuudan:

It was bitter sweet. His wind style attack was a success, it was no surprise, his timing was flawless... but so was his kyuujutsu strike and Genjutsu combo. Yet, Sanosuke proved once again to be a formidable opponent. Firstly, he was able to see through his Genjutsu with ease. Kenji wasn't that surprised, it was one of his weaker illusions that he had been using since he was a Genin. As Sano lunged forward once more, a torrent of water shaped like a dragon swooped in between the two (Kenji and Sanosuke).

Kenji would take advantage of the split second where Sanosuke would be unable to see, and dashed about 5 meters to his right, away from Sanosuke. Meanwhile, Kenji drew a kunai and began to channel lightning through it, emitting a high pitch sound. Everyone within 50 meters would be afflicted by the Genjutsu. The illusion would cause a nearly intolerable ringing in the ears, leaving them virtually deaf and with hindered reflexes. Kenji would target his chakra to affect Yuzu and Sanosuke only.

Kenji then grabbed two shruiken, launching one at Sanosuke's face and another at his leg. Kenji would use the distraction of the Genjutsu and the projectile to begin evasive maneuvers. Kenji would first dash backwards, away from Sanosuke. Reaching a distance of about 15 meters from Sanosuke. As he moved, Kenji also drew his Hane. Now, at any moment, he would have a huge a advantage, given his Kage speed and his opponent's decreased reflexes.

I'm not sure though... I shall wait before I go in for the offensive, I would like to see how he responds. I will stay at a distance, utilizing the increasing effects of the Genjutsu.

Grip of the steel spirit was also unique in a way since the trigger and the actual illusion are so closely linked. The sound emitted is real but not the extent of the effects. However, Sanosuke was aware now of Kenji's ability in Genjutsu, so he would most likely leap to the conclusion of Genjutsu if the Genjutsu succeeded.

The wounds on his body were enough to distract him slightly, but overall he was content on his current physical situation. He did have to keep in mind his stamina, so far his cardio was doing alright, but he wouldn't have much longer before he would have to worry about it.

Kenji also expels another 5 chakra, completing the final preparations for his newest jutsu.

235/320:

Training: 3022

"Sano look out!"

The small voice of his partner Navi giving off an alarm of surprise just when Sanosuke was going to wind up the strike with his sword that he was holding on his left hand to swing it directly across Kenji's shoulders for a rather deep slash into his skin. Before he even had the chance, Navi whom was standing right beside the blond genin the entire time gave off a warning as the boy was weaving the appropriate seals needed to unleash yet another hindrance outwards at the two jounin trying to have a sparring match. When he looked directly in front of him disregarding the fact that Kenji had dodged the swing of his sword, Sanosuke saw what looked to be the starting of a dragon being created out of water. If Navi hadn't have said anything, no doubt that the jutsu would have hitted him. With reflexes that would outshine most jounin in comparison, Sanosuke broke out of his strike that he was going to inflict at Kenji with his hidden chakra bladed jutsu that Sanosuke originally planned on blindsiding him with. He had to break away from Kenji and at the same time dodge another attack from the boy's futile meddling. There would be time for him to payback the child later for being a pain in his ass, but in the mean time it was time for him to leave.

That was 1 second...2 more seconds until the dragon was now something for the jounin to worry about.

Reaching down from his chains that were hanging low on his pants, Sanosuke materialized a kunai that was in the loop of the chains with his free hand that he was originally going to use activate his jutsu Hidden Blade in an attempt to potentially skewer Kenji. Before leaving the land of the wasps that were in the hidden parts of kaminari no kuni, Sanosuke requested that these chains would be made so the he could quickly access his kunai without having the need the shuffle through his pants or knife pouches to get out a projectile. It was a good thing indeed because then he could react quickly to the situation by the usage of his kunai. Once the metallic object was held firmly in his hand, Sanosuke went with the swinging motion of his right hand that held his sword so that the right side of his body was now facing Kenji. With that same motion, Sanosuke tossed the kunai that he was holding with his left hand and tossed it towards his right. The kunai took off flying out of his hands and hit a log that was roughly 50 meters away from both Kenji and Sanosuke.

1 more second....

Using that one second he had left before the dragon was in their way, Sanosuke made a hand seal that allowed his body to be replaced with the log that his kunai had originally hit. With the sound of a poof, Sanosuke's body was replaced with a log that clampered on the floor while his real body was now away from Kenji. But afterwards, Sanosuke looked to see in the distance at what Kenji was doing. Apparently the other kumogakure jounin thought of the same thing that Sanosuke was in order to avoid the water dragon that was coming towards them both. But what was happening next was something that Sanosuke had to figure out, because now Navi was screaming in pain for some reason. When trying to deduct that exact reason, Sanosuke had to recall what had happen before then. Kenji had withdrew a kunai from his pocket and then Navi started screaming in pain. From that distance, the blond shinobi must be feeling the effects of whatever Kenji was doing. It had to be some jutsu, but what was it? Ninjutsu? No there would have been something that Sanosuke would have seen if it was truly ninjutsu. It must have been another genjutsu. If so Sanosuke would have to be careful.

Navi's painful screams caused Sanosuke to grit his teeth in anger. It was hard for him to just sit there and watch as his partner was being tortured by some technique that Sanosuke couldn't see. From his exact location, Sanosuke was safe from whatever Kenji was doing to the entire area. The medical ninja that was called here by Sanosuke was also going through the same effects of the jutsu that Kenji maintaining. It only reinforced the fact that Kenji's jutsu had a radius and Sanosuke was out of said radius. Though Sanosuke realized that he could do little to help her, it angered him that he couldn't do anything but just watch as she struggled to withstand the technique. Clenching his fist tightly, Sanosuke did it so tightly that blood was being drawn from his palms to the point where it looked as though his gauntlets had red paint in them before Sanosuke had put his hands in the gauntlets. Was there really nothing for him to do but watch as his partner was being ripped apart? Her screams were too agonizing for him to simply ignore. He had to act, he couldn't let her fight his alone. It was his fight not hers. Sanosuke wouldn't let Navi get harmed on his count again! Flashes from that past filled Sanosuke's vision as he watched Navi scream in pain. A shadowed beast above Sanosuke's crippled body, Navi using her very essence to protect him, Melike's words....they were all used as fuel to turn Sanosuke's idle waiting make his blood boil. He couldn't take it anymore!!

"STOP IT!!" Sanosuke roared from his hiding place and leaped upwards in the sky and developed large amount of his lightning chakra that was glowing brighter and brighter as more was being pumped into it through his left palm. Anger was guiding his lightning chakra that was radiating outwards into a disc shaped form. Lightning was crackling in his palms uncomfortably as static electricity was popping into his wounds from him gripping his fists too tightly for too long. He didn't care, all that matter was that he get Navi again. It didn't matter if this was a training exercise, Sanosuke refused to let anyone else get hurt because of him. The power of his kekkei genkei made the lightning crackle even more furiously in his hands. "Take this! DESTRUCTO DISC!!" With his technique now created, Sanosuke threw it outwards at Kenji with the entire purpose of somehow stopping the effects of the jutsu. Navi saw the technique and took the steps needed so that she could get away from the disc coming directly at her. The tiny wasp dashed upwards in the sky so that she was roughly 50 meters in the air. Sanosuke's disc dashed outwards at speeds that was quadruple the speed of  the water dragon, cutting it in half with relative ease as the water technique was attempting to spiral around the entire area that Sanosuke and Kenji were in originally. Water splashed on the ground that would cause the floor the be slippery than before should anyone walk within 10 meters of the water dragon's original caster's area so should Kenji run away he would have a tough time finding good traction for running. That is if Kenji could even get away from the technique in time without the need of both hands.

From what Sanosuke guessed from how Kenji fought, he needed two hands in order to properly used Hane. That meant that he would have to, use both hands to retract his sword and be fast enough to dodge his jutsu. By using both hands, Sansouke was sure that Kenji would have to cancel the effects of his jutsu meaning that now would be the time for him to strike. If Kenji did do such a thing, Sanosuke would take the time to dash outwards at Kenji with his sword in his hand to attack Kenji head on once more with both of his hands on the handle of his sword. Waiting wasn't a big time that Sanosuke did too well; he was far too short tempered to wait and let his friends get hurt.

Chakra 230/335; Jutsu Used:

As his dragon was flying through the air while he was still struggling to escape from the medical shinobi who kept holding him back. As he began swaying back and forth the water dragon nearly hit the both of them as it grazed the ground slightly before turning around at what would normally be considered fast, as he tried to redirect it he lost sight of the other guy as he noticed a log there and wondered if he actually hit him. The water dragon was now being redirected to Kenji when he finally noticed a painful ringing sound as it began driving him crazy as the dragon whirled around and around. It passed by the top of Kenji's head blocking his view before something began whizzing passed.

Not being able to hear anything but this horrible ringing noise as he was not sure what to do as he looked on seeing a disk. He had no words as for a moment he had never seen a more beautiful technique in his life. He took note of the beautiful disk as it cut a portion of his water dragon which had obstructed Kenji's view. As the disc would head straight for Kenji while his water dragon began snaking along the ground as Ren struggled to keep his focus as he noticed the medical shinobi looked to be doing badly as he sent the water dragon back towards them to rotate around them while it was nowhere near to strong enough to be a defensive jutsu it could at the very least clash and cancel out any jutsu that may fly their way. He struggled to maintain his focus the ringing getting worse as the medical shinobi struggled to get her hands together. She performed genjutsu Kai as she then began breathing heavily. "I seriously should have taken my day off today", she realised that Ren could not hear a word she was saying wondering what she did as she stood up. He figured she used some deaf jutsu to make you not hear any sound as she tried to tell him it was genjutsu as she noticed the water dragon around them. Even though he was interested in sparring with them he decided that looking after her was more important, which was either really nice or was part of the never let the medical shinobi die first training.

As she took her time knowing she would not be able to free him from the genjutsu, she decided to watch closely and make sure he was okay. She then recognised him, Yuzu Ren, he had no medical jutsu skill but he had helped out a few times with delivering food. She also took note that he looked like he really wanted to be able to fight on the same level with these two monsters. She began writing a note so long as she had to pay attention to the battle as well as the fact that the genjutsu might get her again as she placed two objects in her ears. She wanted him to escape on his own too and then decided she would wait for her chance and try to take him and run.

He struggled to focus as he did not see what happened clearly when the disc had neared Kenji, would he escape and survive that brilliant technique and what was that color. Was that indeed a disc made of light or was it a disc made of lightning. He would aim to research that later as he could hardly hear himself thinking with that ringing noise as he noticed not even the water could muffle the sounds. His chakra was being focused and the woman looked at the young boy then hugged him. The shock nearly made him drop the technique as he struggled to keep the dragon spinning. He blushed nearly forgetting everything around him. Who was this woman and why was she embracing him the way she was.

Training Word Count = 665 + 299 = 964
Chakra = 200/220

As stated earlier, Kenji drew his Hane right after initiating his Genjutsu. However, once again his plans were foiled as he could only feel the chakra of Ren and a much smaller chakra source that clearly not of Sanosuke's. Then he realized that a log was in the previous position of Sano... Substitution. And in the distance he could hear the tiny wasp screaming. "Hmm, so I snared the medic, ren, and the wasp, everyone but the one I wanted." Kenji scanned the area to see the water dragon that whipped in front of him earlier gliding wildly for him. This little spar was becoming quite chaotic. In the midst of everything Kenji could hear a loud spinning sound himself... "It sounds... similar to the jutsu... that was used when I fought alongside him..." Kenji had no choice, it was official, the stakes had been risen too high at this point. The blue haired shinobi never dreamed Sanosuke would use that technique.

Kenji's underwent a subtle transformation in less than a second. That was the power of Perfect Mode, the speed and subtlety of the transformation. The only noticeable change was Kenji's eyes glowing green. However, the changes resended as Kenji wasn't quite ready for it, so the transformation continued and he was now in his regular sage mode, including the increase in hair length and the change in pigment as well as a few other changes (in Sage Mode template below). And with his Hane already drawn he sent large amount of wind pouring out the blade to catapult himself away at 90 m/s from the water dragon attack, and by the sound was being trailed by the large disk of lightning. By time Kenji actually dodged the disk was already shredding through the water dragon... he had escaped just in time. Kenji also advanced a total of 30 meters, but because he moved diagonally, the net distance closed towards Sano was only 10 meters. So the distance between the two was now reduced by 10 meters. Time would tell if he reached the distance necessary to afflict Sanosuke. Even if it wasn't, Kenji was now running at full speed (X rank) towards Sano. The speed at which Kenji avoided the lightning jutsu due to his Pouncing Lion Technique was sure to at least fluster Sanosuke, and now he was running right at the fellow Kumo nin.

Kenji would move in within 50 meters in less than 1/3 of a second. So now, Sanosuke would be under his Genjutsu definitely. This was crucial for Kenji... he now surely had the speed advantage and now his opponent's reflection were hindered. Kenji continued his blitz towards Sano, but instead of going in a beeline, he used a zagging pattern. This was to make him difficult to hit as he had no intention of getting close, Kenji would stop at a distance 15 meters from Sanosuke and from. All Kenji had to do was maintain distance, stay alert, and wait for the perfect moment to strike. His ability to react to things in his environment were uncanny, so not many things were going to be able to catch him off guard while he was in sage mode. He also had one of his most dangerous Genjutsus active, and his speed was beyond Kage level... still... he was hesitant to attack. He was coming from beyond 50 meters, so regardless of how fast he was, Sanosuke would have still likely been able to react well enough. But now, from 15 meters, he was much more dangerous. At any moment, in a split second he could be withing striking range, and his Hane was known to be merciless.

Kenji now only stood, waiting, stalking his prey. He had a kunai with lightning rattling it in one hand, and his Supa Hane Katana in the other.

175/320:

Trained Perfect Sage Mode: 3623/2700

Training: 923

Sanosuke was thankful that his disc was able to do it's main job of giving Navi enough breathing room to escape and get closer to Sanosuke, but what had happened at the same time of Sanosuke's disc being thrown made his eyebrow raise in curiosity. His lightning disc was stronger than most techniques he could think of off the top of his head, so that fact that his jutsu was able to cut away at the water dragon with relative ease. He had to admit, the water dragon put up more resistance than the jounin thought it would put up but the great water beast was cut down and now speeding towards Kenji with the task of cutting him through. His anger must have clouded his judgement because Sanosuke didn't really see that Kenji had already drawn out his katana. Cursing under his breath, Sanosuke blamed himself for being so naive in not seeing the weapon sooner. Regaining his composure Sanosuke had to remember, even moving at speeds that rivaled a kage it would still take more than that to avoid a technique like Sanosuke had thrown at Kenji. Kenji would still have to avoid the disc to not get hurt by the disc's effect, and by doing so he would have to dodge the attack and thus making it that much easier for Navi to get out of there.

But then it happened...

A familiar sensation was swept over the area as Sanosuke could see that  Kenji was undergoing some change. The blue haired shinobi's body was turning into a light shade and his hair was growing more wildly than it had before. Markings that were most likely made out of the chakra that couldn't be his own were now etched into his skin. A familiar buzzing could be heard from behind his shoulder, Sanosuke didn't need to look behind him to see that Navi was at his side. A smile graced his lips briefly that his partner was now safe from any further danger. Navi must have felt the same way that Sanosuke was relieved that she was able to make it out of there without any further difficulties. There would be time for him to apologize to Navi later, but in the meantime Sanosuke would have to focus on this fight.

"Sano. Is that..." Navi began to ask Sanosuke as they looked at what was before the two of them that was just about 50 meters away from them.

"Yeah, there's no mistaking it. He's a sage." Sanosuke answered her as he got himself ready. To think that there was another sage besides him in this world. He had never met a sage that was nearly as strong as him, but that was just because he had only just recently mastered the powerful art of senjutsu. There was always room for judgement, that much was sure. Still the fact that he was feeling this sensation of senjutsu chakra building up around Kenji meant that this fight was going to get only tougher. If his body wasn't so beat up from his past exploits, Sanosuke would have fought against Kenji using the same mystical energy that contained in the nature surrounding them. He would have to fight the power of senjutsu without going into sage mode. This would be challenging and Sanosuke was beginning to feel doubt cloud his mind if he certainly has the power of doing such a feat. Many people have fought against Sanosuke while he was going into sage mode, and many of them fell before him. The universe must have been planning this sort of karma for his doings. It would be definitely hard for him to do this task in fighting a sage without the power of the sages on his side as well.

A sweat dropped from his brow and onto the floor as he stood there watching as Kenji dodged the jutsu he had thrown outwards at Kenji. There wasn't a single doubt in his mind now; Kenji had somehow risen past the speeds of a kage and was now moving at speeds that rivaled light itself. Just watching as Kenji dashed around Sanosuke made him feel unnerved as though he didn't have the will to fight against this impossible task. In order to win against Kenji in this state, it would be like having to be faster than light itself. The task was something that Sanosuke couldn't do well by himself. With each strategy he thought, the thought of just fighting Kenji at sage mode made his legs feel like jello. How could Sanosuke fighting something that he couldn't see due to the high speeds it was traveling at?

Battles can be won without fighting. A single wasp can be caught without a single hand being laid upon it...

The words of his master Pathik could be heard in his time of need of advice. Even though Sanosuke was fighting something that he couldn't win by outmatching said shinobi in the battle of strength and speed Sanosuke knew for a fact that it shouldn't stop him for not believing that he could win this fight. He may not be as fast as Kenji in this state, but that didn't necessarily mean that winning this fight would be impossible. He was fighting a force that could easily be turned against them. Sanosuke had to admit that Kenji's sudden burst of speed was something that Sanosuke didn't really count on and it caught him off guard, but that didn't mean that he should just give up on all chances of victory. No that wouldn't sit well with him. When you think you can't go on, you give it another try. The beating of his heart is as vast as the sky; so he should just focus on victory and not on the sudden burst of Kenji's speed. Smirking to himself, Sanosuke thanked his master for one of his millions upon millions of pieces of advice that Pathik had told him on the 3 years they have been traveling before. If he ever saw the small, thin man again Sanosuke would have to thank him once more for everything he had done for him.

"Navi stay back. I'll handle this by myself." Sanosuke said as he made his way towards Kenji without a doubt in his mind. Dashing outwards at Kenji while holding his sword in one hand tightly, Sanosuke made sure that he wouldn't falter in his steps. However once running right at Kenji as the blue haired sage was sprinting at Sanosuke as well. But this time in a zigzag pattern. Even with the power of nature on his side, Kenji wasn't as boastful to charge headfirst into danger even with the sudden burst of energy. In case Sanosuke decided to use some trick against him, it would make sense for Kenji to not get to close. The piercing sounds of Kenji's technique was hitting his ears and having him wither in agony. The fact that once more his cloaked armor slightly tightened around his body and felt as though it was recently ironed by warmth must have meant that Kenji's technique that he had used to harm Navi was a genjutsu after all. It still hurt Sanosuke to be in range of the genjutsu, but it was more like a high pitch scream was going off right in his ears. If it wasn't for his cloak, there was no doubt that the jutsu would have weakened Sanosuke. But at the moment, the ringing was enough to make him go insane. He couldn't give up, he had to see this spar to the end.

The jutsu was strong enough to make him stop his running and turn it into a walk. The feeling of a some scratching nails on a chalkboard felt as though it was intensified by 700%. It felt as though Sanosuke was going insane by just staying in the jutsu for too long. Yet Sanosuke wouldn't even think of going into sage mode to make the battle more even. Sanosuke knew that the chakra would tear him apart should he go into sage mode; sage mode at the moment would kill him. Sanosuke walked over until he was about 15 meters away from the general location of Kenji's fluttering form. Even with Kenji's speed, Sanosuke could barely keep track of the shinobi's boost of speed. It was just adding to his headache. "You can add highlights into your hair, big freaking woop. Still not going to change the fact that I'm going to kick your ass!" Sanosuke roared. He had no idea how loud he was screaming because the ringing in his ears was making it harder for him to determine his volume of speech. Closing his eyes, Sanosuke just allowed his mind to focus. All foreward movement of his was ceased as he stopped in his steps and stayed in one place. He had to try his best to not try and find Kenji by not his eyes, but his body.

Your eyes can deceive you Sanosuke, it is not always wise to put your life into them... Sanosuke agreed with his master as he got in a defensive stance and shut off all of his senses besides touch as he would just wait for Kenji to come towards him. His armored cloak was making it a bit more bearable to stand in the genjutsu, but Kenji was most likely getting tired of this battle. Sanosuke was as well because even if he wanted to chase Kenji, his re-broken ribs would make chasing after a fast being like Kenji near impossible. For now Sanosuke would just wait for Kenji.

Focus.....just focus on touch and nothing more....

200/335:

Posting Order:

A smile rose onto Kenji's face, Sanosuke was in the illusion and he was obviously in distress, as he screamed at the top of his lungs. Kenji glared at Sanosuke as his attention seemed averted. Huh, so he has conceded already that my movements are too fast to trace with his eyes. He deducted. I'm content on my current position. My stamina is running extremely low, the only way I can continue any longer is if I take a break. If he's too scared to challenge me in sage mode, then I'll just maintain the current distance until he quits. Maintaining my illusion should be good enough for now. If I just hold this distance while using minimum effort, I should be able to extend my physical duration slightly. Kenji simply stood in his same position, 15 meters from Sanosuke. He was also standing still, perhaps waiting for Kenji to attack. It was unclear whether or not his Genjutsu would prove eventually to be too much, but Kenji was sure that it would impede his ability to react towards Kenji, which was already a difficult task given his speed.

Kenji wanted more than anything to join in the banter earlier, but he knew that Sanosuke couldn't hear him. The tide was truly turning in his favor. If Sanosuke wanted to end the pain he was experiencing he would have to attack, and if he attacked he would leave himself extremely vulnerable, due to the fact that he likely couldn't see Kenji. If he tried to retreat, he wouldn't be able to move fast enough. In Kenji's current state, he could dash 20 meters in a blink and not break a sweat. Also, if Sanosuke proved to be more pesky in a possible retreat, Kenji would just end the cat and mouse game and pounce. Given his uncanny speed, it would almost be too easy.

At this point, Kenji was content with the progress of the spar, but he decided to maintain the Genjutsu, just to see what Sanosuke would do next. It would now be obvious that Kenji wasn't going to make the first move. Why would he? He was the one who had Sanosuke in a painful Genjutsu, his work was done. On top of that, he had a chance to catch his breath a little. Everything inside Kenji yelled, "That's far enough" but he has been so impressed by Sanosuke thus far, that he just had to push this spar to its absolute limit, which was nearing close. What new development would arise... could anymore surprises be expected? Those were questions that Kenji couldn't silence.

Therefore, he would remain in Sage Mode, maintain the powerful Genjutsu, all while keeping his distance allowing himself to regain stamina. Would Sanosuke stay the course and continue to wait on the overly patient Kenji, or would he go on the offensive or defensive against the lightning fast Kenji?

155/320:

For some time the medical shinobi was healing poor Ren whose ears had hurt a lot, since Kenji dashed off towards the other guy earlier at some point he ended up out of range of the genjutsu as the medical shinobi was carrying him away from the battle field. As the ringing had stopped he noticed Kenji glowing a strange color while he also noticed that the other guy was not moving either. What did he miss was the fight nearly over, did he faint mid way? He was unsure of himself as he looked towards them he could not dash from this distance to interfere then struggled and told her to carry him to where they were so he could see how the battle ends.

As she walked with him in her arms she kept thinking why she did not have a little cute brother like him. He kept looking amazed as she then finally spoke to him. "You should really stay back now Kenji is being serious and that other guy over there Sanosuke is also really strong. They are way too strong for you to play with okay". He looked at her then at them then sadly sighed, "I guess, i just hope Kenji does not kill him they suppose to be training not murdering each other. At least not until we defeated Seven Bells"

He was watching them then asked her a question. "Do you have a pen and paper please i need to write a bunch of stuff down quick". The woman thought it was okay and took out a medical bandage and some ink while he began drawing some stuff and writing a few things down. He carefully began taking note of all the things he learnt so far.

The guy from the bar's name was Sanosuke, a Shinobi of Kumogakure who is able to use swords and has a weird creature called Navi with him. He moves super fast and uses a weird lightning disk and seems to blink a lot in battle. His height is about nearly two meters and his weight is unclear but he should be heavy by the marks left from his foot prints, could be one hundred and fifty or maybe two hundred and fifty pounds. He has weird long black and frizzy hair that have been braided into dreadlocks, really bad fashion sense from Kumogakure. Might be just me or a genjutsu that makes me wish to pull on those dreads to see if they are real. Also has uniquely silver eyes which i have never seen before.

He then turned to the next piece of bandage and began writing down information on the second guy who he had known well from previous missions as well as gathering information on the people he worked with before.

Kenji a Kumogakure male who was approximately in his early twenties and from the information that he gathered did not belong to any known clan. He is a Jounin rank shinobi who has an extremely powerful Raiton techniques as shown in previous mission. I have learnt today that he also uses a form of Fuuton genjutsu that affects people with sound which could prove useful in battle if it did not affect everyone who can hear. Would be good idea to team him up with deaf shinobi.

He also showed signs of having very good near to insane strength with kenjutsu. He is also really tall at around six foot two or four inches. From the build of Kenji's body he could be anywhere between one hundred and fifty to two hundred pounds. He has really weird dark blue hair, it seems shinobi from Kumogakure always have weird colored hair. Must be a weird Kumogakure fashion trend which makes one believe their country needs us to help them in that area. He also has the ability to enter what might be sage mode making him one of the sages from Kumogakure. They both are extremely powerful and if we ever went to war with Kumogakure they would be a major threat to our village. He was not completely sure if Kenji had entered sage mode or if he took some weird food pill.

He then hid the bandage inside his shorts so no one would find it unless they were a perv or an enemy from Seven Bells or maybe both. While the woman blushed when she saw where he hid the bandages she asked him a question. "Hey, how would you like to go out with me to have some fun after the war." In less than a second he rejected her with a simple "no". He did not even pause or take any time he just dashed her moment of wanting to just hang out with him cause he is cute. Instead of raging with anger at being rejected so quickly or depression from her failure she thought to herself. This must be the cutest and coolest kid of all time, as she began to rub his ears softly.

"Please stop that", he blushes as he thought it was weird and also he did not want people touching his ears he wanted them to play with his hair. As he watched he began to wonder why they were taking so long as they were finally within about fifteen meters of the battle. "Can you too end this already I need to get home soon to complete a mission". He was already frustrated that he was no match for them, and that he was so much weaker then those two. He wanted to become stronger than he was now so he could show off and tell them that they are weak or at least be on equal ground with them. His hair began spiking up a little bit as his chakra began to flow uneasily, he was not one to just sit and watch as the medical shinobi tried to calm him down with an embrace. She whispered softly to Ren loud enough for Kenji to hear but soft enough for Sano not to hear. "Kenji has been known to get tired really quickly just ask some of the ladies his been with."

Ren did not understand what she meant, but it was clear that it was sort of like an insult as he then spoke. "So he falls asleep on dates?". The medical shinobi giggled then replied, "You could say that". She had to struggle to keep herself from laughing it was actually really mean to joke about Kenji's short coming and Zanto would probably be laughing at this too if he was here.

Training Word Count = 964 + 1093 = 2057
Chakra = 200/220

Damn it...this was a stupid idea. Why would he attack when he has the advantage? Sanosuke cursed himself mentally as he stood in the same position for what seemed like an eternity. It wasn't as though Sanosuke wasn't patient, it's just that this was a stalemate that wasn't in his favor as he took the time to think about it. While waiting for Kenji to attack Sanosuke took a meditative pose so that he could attempt to gain back some of his chakra from nature itself. In order to that however, he had to turn off his kekkei genkei briefly so he can do so without interruption. The chakra he was feeling made him feel as though some of his strength had returned to him. Sanosuke knew that he had to act soon because at the moment Sanosuke was at Kenji's mercy. If he really wanted to, Kenji could simply let the genjutsu slowly eat away at Sanosuke's ears making him pass out thus making him forfeit the match. With each passing milisecond, Sanosuke could hear the high pitched screaming getting louder and louder with each passing second. It was getting to the point where it would drive him insane. Sanosuke had to end this match quickly so that Kenji wouldn't be able to stall any longer

Maybe he had been thinking about this from the wrong perspective. Waiting on Kenji wouldn't get him anywhere, so he should most likely get him to start moving on purpose. Kenji shouldn't be able to tell that the jutsu hasn't damaged his body yet from his point of view, nor should he be able to tell that Sanosuke had been gathering chakra to get himself ready once more for his plan. Of course Kenji was a sage so he should be able to do the same thing and gather chakra, but as a fellow sage Sanosuke knew very well that you cannot gather chakra and remain in sage mode at the same time. So Sanosuke would simply take the time to recover some lost chakra before darting backwards to Navi. The very second he had the opportunity to do such a thing, Sanosuke would dart backwards to Navi to meet up with her. However turning back around to see Navi wasn't in the spot he last saw her in. It made Sanosuke look frantically with his eyes of where his partner could be, but that was when he noticed that something was floating on his head; a certain blue wasp. She had been here the entire time with him. He must have been focusing on the high pitched screams that he didn't even notice Navi's approach.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Sanosuke barked at his partner from his meditative defensive stance. "I thought I told you to stand back!"

Even though his ear were shot, Sanosuke could already tell what Navi was about to say to him. When you spend as much time as someone whom you're spiritually connected, then you can easily predict everything they are about to say. "And so what?! You don't tell me what to do! You're not the boss of me, besides you're getting your ass handed by some kid with highlights in his hair. So I think you're gonna need my help you idiot!" Navi retorted back.

"Idiot" Snorting to himself, Sanosuke got back into his stance and decided that he will just be meditating and wait for Kenji to attack. With Navi's presence now revealed, Kenji should now feel a bit more pressure of whether he should attack or not. And if he didn't then every single second he waited on Sanosuke to attack, was more time Sanosuke could use to get stronger. So what would Kenji do now since it was now already confirmed that Sanosuke will just stay as he is now.

Chakra- 220/335:

OOC:

A smirk came onto Kenji's face as he saw the realization hit Sanosuke. That realization being that as long as Kenji remained in the driver's seat he would not be pressing the action, but... another plan began to formulate in Kenji's mind... Given his current position he felt it to be an unnecessary risk. I'll have to see what he does next before I decide. Then Sanosuke moved backwards, Kenji answered his movement with a mind blowing forward dash that propelled him about 5 meters, as he was only trying to maintain the distance. Sanosuke then began scanning the area frantically looking for something. Is he looking for the little fairy that's on top of his head. HAHAH, it appears my Genjutsu is doing its job. Kenji was extremely delighted his Genjutsu was inconveniencing Sanosuke so. First, Sanosuke was being forced to press the action and not the other way around, and now his loss of hearing has him slightly discombobulated. 

What he did next though was a shock to the Sage. He took a meditative stance... "What in the world... First of all, how is he able to meditate on anything with this loud ringing... such concentration is frightening. But most importantly why is he just sitting there, why is he meditating now." Kenji was definitely surprised by the switch in "tactic", he didn't really know how to refer to Sanosuke's move. "Alright then, If that's how he wants to play... I won't give him a close range battle, but let's see how he likes a long range assault." Kenji was hoping that the subtle surge of lightning chakra wouldn't alert Sanosuke, as he was meditating. In order for meditation to be truly effective your mind has to be completely at rest. But he did have some help... that little fairy on top of his head could warn him... and then the chakra in the weapon receded, as the fairy was hanging around for a reason. It saw something in the battle, and determined that its master needed assistance. "I'm positive that little fairy isn't just for show. It'll serve me wise to reserve my chakra not launch an attack without knowing the abilities of the fairy."


So that was that... Kenji had decided not only to reserve as much chakra as possible but more importantly as much stamina. The last few minutes that he has spent just standing has increased his durability greatly (approx 4 more turns), and if he kept it up, his stamina would only continue to rise, but maintaining sage mode and the Genjutsu would drain his chakra, but he had nearly half of his chakra reserves left, so he wasn't too concerned. By now, Kenji hoped it was obvious to Sanosuke that the Genjutsu worsens with time. So unless his meditation was going to give him a quick solution, he was going to be in trouble if he didn't break free soon. Kenji kept his eyes on the fairy atop Sanosuke's head. If he was in Sanosuke's position, he would send the fairy after his opponent, but it appeared Sanosuke had a bit of integrity, and wanted this to remain a fight battle of strength and wit between the two shinobi. He was pretty adamant about that sort of thing earlier when Ren kept interfering... speaking of Ren he was off in the distance once again, being absurdly annoying. He was way out of his class here. Kenji didn't even see what he was doing let alone hear what he said because he was too focused on his opponent. If his side vision didn't forsake him, the medic had returned too. Oh well, her purpose could be useful at least.

Kenji had so many other options to attempt. Not only was his body extremely fast but his strikes adopted the identical untraceable speed. So, Kenji could take the fight in close and deliver multiple eye popping strikes. Or, like he almost went through with, he could unleash his versatile long range arsenal. But the two things remained that stopped him from doing so: His Genjutsu would eventually do irreparable damage(for the rest of the topic) to Sanosuke and he was unsure of the fairy's role in the fight. And his chakra too precious, so using his long range assault would deplete it. And his stamina was even more precious, so engaging in a close range fight, even though he would have an advantage due to his speed and sensory ability with Sage Mode, would be too risky. He much rather continue to regain his stamina, and then when the damage from his Genjutsu was done, deactivate it and go in for the finishing blow.

Learning under the Kasfarian Lions, turned the once brash shinobi into a uncannily patient shinobi. The lion species was famous for their predatory skill. The stalking of the prey, the waiting in night. Kenji had adopted more than just the physical characteristics of a lion.

135/320:

He was sitting now as the medical shinobi embraced him from behind. He no longer really had anything else to do while he just shook his hands a bit to loosen his wrists as he kept sitting there watching. He decided to keep an eye on the battle as he attempted to keep track of what was going on. It appeared as if the other guy known as Sanosuke stopped moving all together, he did not get why he stopped so dead still. He nearly thought that the guy stopped breathing, but it seemed like Kenji was also not moving as if to rest a moment before delivering the final blow. Things were intense as he asked the medical shinobi a question. "Do you have any juice it really hot"

As he asked that the woman took out a bottle of juice which she had actually saved for herself, while she then offered to pour it into his mouth for him. He looked at her confused before opening his mouth reluctantly as he stared at her. She squeezed the bottle slightly as the juice flowed in slowly and refreshing him nicely. He was now on his knees as he sat up a bit, she could not believe how cute he was right now as he kept drinking. She began to wonder if he was up for adoption then remembered she did not have enough money to feed someone other than herself at home. Not to mention his a shinobi he would not be around to be this cute all the time.

He then got a bit irritated while he then wondered about something that bothered him, he picked up on something but was not completely certain of it as he looked on. How strong was Kenji really if he was still hiding this technique, not to mention the other guy being strong enough for Kenji to not want to charge in when his opponent was under genjutsu and not moving. He then looked to the medical shinobi and asked her a second question. "I think we might need more medics don't we?" the medical shinobi felt a bit insulted but then realised the situation was starting to look bad as she then was about to leave and then looked at him. "Why you not coming with me, or can't you go fetch them i need to make sure these two do not die". He realised he just ruined the situation then finally thought of a plan, as he took out a piece of paper and slowly began to write down something on a note.

~We need one Medical Jounin to get to the training grounds soon, Kenji and Sanosuke are having a spar and will need medical attention after the battle. I already have one medical Genin over here looking after me and it would be nice if you could rush a little bit. I would also like to know how my order of scrolls is coming along since i will be learning sealing and need them also maybe bring extra medical supplies and my shoes~

As he finished he looked out for any potential birds and noticed one messenger bird slightly injured, probably a result of Kenji's genjutsu. As he handed the bird to the medical genin she proceded to heal it a bit, just enough for the bird to fly again. He attached the note and then let the bird free as it flew to the hospital at full speed. He then looked back on as he wished so badly to join them in the battle as his leg was shaking slightly as he stood. The wind began to blow as he looked on, wondering how the battle would work out and who would win, as it was not clear who was actually winning this battle.

Training Words = 2057 + 641 = 2698
Chakra = 250/270

ooc: Ren, would you please read my pm.

OOC: Well keep in mind Kenji that before Yuzu even mentioning senjutsu, I did call you a sage the second you transformed. But then again I was talking to Navi and was wasn't screaming. Also Yuzu was under the genjutsu so even if you somehow were close enough to hear it, Kenji's genjutsu makes you only hear the high pitch screams that comes from the jutsu. So I don't really know how you know Kenji's a sage when, from as much as I know, has yet to go sage mode on a mission that wasn't ANBU(where his identity is kept safe because of his ANBU uniform). Also I would like to say that it's impossible for you to know I'm sage when the only people who know about me being a sage is Mitsuhide, Ayakashi, Mitsuo, Mizuru, Kenji, and Skye.

I agree with Kenji that you have too much information that your character doesn't have the means to obtain. I don't feel comfortable with your post, so until you edit your previous post that mentions my specialties I will withhold my reply.

OOC : Would you please read my post , i did edit it, i added that Kenji could be in sage mode making it a maybe and i removed the part calling Sanosuke a sage but i replaced the words carefully so my word count is unaffected by the changes. If there are no other problems then you guys should be fine to go

OOC:

~This is my alt (Kenji)

You need to actually read my pm, and then read your post. As of now, you still have that Kenji is from the Chikara clan. If you can't provide sufficient reason for you knowing that information, that needs to be removed as well. Also, according to your post, you edited Feburary 2 and only once, meaning after I asked you to look at my pm once more.







Last edited by Yuzu Ren on Sun 2 Feb - 11:09; edited 1 time in total