The morning heat was settling in over Suna, as it always did. And, like always, there was a single man walking through the area, clothed in his Chunin uniform, his headband loosely tied around his neck, and a pair of goggles forcing his navy hair up as he walked towards the training area, his footsteps muffled by the sand. A small smile cracked over his face, loving what he knew was going to come. He had received word that his cousin was wanting to talk to him. His clockwork was hidden under a black glove, keeping his little secret away from his cousin. After all, they hadn't talked in a few years, and the last time they talked like this would have been before he started his career as an inventor, so it would all be a surprise to him. It would be nice to be able to talk to Ray again, especially since they had so much to catch up with. They had both become Chunin since they'd last spoke, even if not at the same time. Strange though... why did he ask Tomoya to meet him here? Was he looking for a fight, or maybe he wanted some skills to be shared, or maybe even something simpler. Maybe he just wanted to talk at the last place they'd seen each other, the same place they'd sparred as children. They might still be young, but Tomoya was no child and he had no idea how Ray had aged. Maybe it would be the same, but maybe, just maybe. there would be something more mature behind his cousin now that he had aged a little bit. He could live in hope.

It's been over 3 years. I wonder if he knows about my selection as the clan head, and I wonder what he would do when he meets me.

Thoughts of similar caliber were running through Ray's mind, as he casually walked towards Tsumi Sand Grounds. However, instead of a regular training session, today was quite an important date. Ray was going to meet Tomoya Katō, one of the more boisterous taijutsu users of the clan, and Ray's first cousin, whom he hadn't met since 3 years. Tomoya was older than Ray, by three years, a fact that always used to astonish Ray since Tomoya was quite like him. They used to spar together ever since they were kids, but all those relationships tore off due to the demise of Ray's mother, and Ray's subsequent isolation from the clan.

Ray entered the sand grounds, as the morning heat started coming around, increasing the temperature by a few degrees. Ray was wearing his trademark black clothes, his hair tied in a small hanging ponytail behind him. His Hitai-ate was worn around his waist, acting as a belt, while his chuunin uniform symbol was on his fingerless gloves. His unnaturally straight face devoid of any emotion, searched in the distant horizon, his black, deep eyes scanning every viewpoint. His eyes rested upon a distant figure in the horizon. Ray ran towards that figure, and upon a lesser distance learnt that it was indeed his cousin.

Ray walked up to his cousin, walking with the gait of a true leader. Reaching close enough, Ray spoke, his eyes effectively showing his emotions of happiness as his mouth moved only to form the words. "Hello, Tomoya. It's been almost three years since we've met. How are you? How are your parents? I have a lot to tell you, although I suspect you know most of it. I am now the head of the Katō, my father passed away. Tell me about yourself."

Tomoya didn't have to wait for his cousin very long, and he was glad for it. He was as cute as ever, even if he had that silly emotionless expression on his face again. Tomoya smiled and was about to talk when Ray beat him to it, speaking so quick that he could barely believe he'd fitted all of that into the amount of seconds it took. He had indeed heard about his cousin being made the head of the family, and was happy for it. He had never had any plans about leading the clan, his mind was always focused on inventing and writing. What kind of a clan leader would be obsessed with technology instead of his people eh? Plus, his brother was too weak-willed to be made into a leader, he'd failed the chunin exam twice. ray was the obvious choice, and Tomoya thought they'd made the right decision

"Yes, I heard about that..." He said, his smile not faltering for a second as his still fully human hand moved up and gently ruffled Ray's hair affectionately "Well done Ray.... You earned it. Your mother would be so proud of you." He said gently and sympathetically. It hadn't hit him as hard as it had hit his cousin when he found out about her death, but it still was a little sad to know about. She was a good woman and she had had a good life ahead of her. It had been all that more painful because he'd stopped being able to see Ray.

"By the way... I have something to show you...." He said, moving his glove to his mouth, biting it and pulling it off, revealing his hand. It mostly looked normal, but there where his ring finger should be was a slab of metal. He flexed it slightly, a small clicking noise could be heard if Ray paid attention. Ooh... it needed to be derusted.
"What do you think? It's my own work!"

"Yes, I heard about that..."

Ray smiled as Tomoya ruffled his hair. It was his first smile in over two years. He had really missed meeting his closest cousin, after all. Around Tomoya, Ray would actually behave like he truly was fourteen, otherwise most times he would be as stuck up as a thirty year old. Duties and responsibilities really did a lot to change a person, or so it seemed. Ray reminisced about his memories with his cousin. Most of them were happy memories, and Tomoya was the first one who had taught Ray how to fight using basic Taijutsu. Ray jolted back to the present as he looked back up to Tomoya, still smiling.

"Well done Ray.... You earned it. Your mother would be so proud of you."

Ray's eyes teared up a bit as he heard Tomoya say that. He still yearned to be with his mother, and thinking about her being proud of him made him emotional. He wiped his tears with his sleeves, and let his hands fall to his side. "You really think so, Tomoya? I don't know if I can make the clan proud. My father was exemplary, so was yours, but I don't know if I can be that good alone. I may need your help. After all, I've heard much about your Taijutsu....", Ray's voice drawled off as he remembered what they told him once he defeated Tomoya's brother, Shoryuu. "Tomoya will be able to defeat you if he puts his mind to it. However, he doesn't want to be the head of the clan, so it's your turn.". And Ray would nod at that, only to hope that Tomoya would lead the clan.

"By the way... I have something to show you...."

Ray looked with bewilderment as Tomoya removed his glove by biting it, displaying a metallic slab replacing the ring finger. The slab emitted clicking noises as it moved, somehow akin to clocks. However, it was tough to make out the machinery behind this artificial ring finger. It was still an object of futuristic technology.

"What do you think? It's my own work!"

Ray did not contain his surprise as his eyebrows arched significantly. Are you kidding me? It's splendid. I didn't know you could create stuff like this. Sure, the elders told me that you had taken up invention, but this is just amazing. What is it made of, and how did you make it?".

Tomoya laughed, his other hand ruffling back into his own hair, a little shy as he was complimented. Honestly, he wasn't used to it. Almost everyone in the clan disliked him for it, something about it being wrong or evil or morally corrupt or some bullshit like that. It was nice to know at least one person appreciated him for it.
"Trust me kid, you've got your father's mind and your mother's heart. You'll be fine. Plus, you've got the smartest man in the history of the clan working as your advisor. You'll be just fine." he said gently, before smiling wider as his invention was talked about. He looked at it, smiling

"You understand how clocks work? Well, this is a lot like that, except I can move it by will instead of solely by cogs. My chakra takes place of my nerves, allowing me to control it as if it was my own finger, making sure I can actually control it properly. Otherwise I'd have just stuck a clock on my hand because I can" he said playfully
"The hospital's taken it up, and I've given prosthetic versions of this to around twenty people so far. A lot of people think I'm the new prodigy of Sunagakure... if only the rest of our clan thought so." He said. It was a true wound that his family hated him for what he did, and even after saving so many people's lives everyday. Stupid ignorant fools.

"Trust me kid, you've got your father's mind and your mother's heart. You'll be fine. Plus, you've got the smartest man in the history of the clan working as your advisor. You'll be just fine."

Ray smiled. He really hoped Tomoya was right. After all, even the clan elders didn't think Ray was ready, they'd rather take Tomoya. And Ray wasn't exactly the strongest shinobi around. Sure, he made Chuunin pretty quickly, but that didn't really matter, did it?

"You understand how clocks work? Well, this is a lot like that, except I can move it by will instead of solely by cogs. My chakra takes place of my nerves, allowing me to control it as if it was my own finger, making sure I can actually control it properly. Otherwise I'd have just stuck a clock on my hand because I can"

Chakra control? The possibilities for jutsu with this type of a prosthetic would be endless. Chakra Flow would be exceptionally easy with this prosthetic, and clone melds could be made. Such was the brain of Ray, always analyzing different ways to create more powerful jutsus, all to protect his clan. "That could be used as a brilliant weapon in fights, is used in conjunction with chakra flow and taijutsu, or ninjutsu and taijutsu. The possibilities are endless. You are really a valuable addition to the Kato, Tomoya."

"The hospital's taken it up, and I've given prosthetic versions of this to around twenty people so far. A lot of people think I'm the new prodigy of Sunagakure... if only the rest of our clan thought so."

"Umm, you know it's only the north side which think that way, right? Even the elders like your inventions. They told me you had immense talent, but you lacked medical jutsu to go through with it. However, the extremists in the north have been drastically reducing the inventions in the clan. I might need to exterminate them, but your own brother stays there. I don't know whether I should go on with my plan of killing the north or not. Most of the Elders are telling me to go through with it, but I can't do it without your permission.", said Ray, his conviction firm with the truth he spoke.

Tomoya facepalmed slightly as his cousin over-analyzed it as always, but underneath his palm he was smiling brightly.
"It's not about chakra control. I can't do that kind of thing, that's your area of expertise. Besides, I don't know very many jutsus that involve ripping your own finger off. Sounds like a bad idea to me." he said jokingly, before the words that Ray said hit home. Only... the north side? But.... that meant that... Could it be that his own father had been the one to turn him down from the position of clan head? He'd always thought it was the elder, but maybe it was going to be him but his father got in the way... he didn't know, but either way he didn't like the fact he just thought about. Then Ray said something that Tomoya never expected to hear... he talked about killing them.

This was bad... why would the elders all want to kill the north side of the Kato clan? Did that include him? Would he be safe from their extermination of the clan because of him secluding himself from them.... he didn't know. What he did know was there was probably only one way of dealing with this situation from here on out.
"Let me kill them." He said, his eyes looking seriously for the first time, as if this was something he knew he'd have to do
"If one of the main branch does it, and even one person survives, that's enough to bring a civil war that could destroy the whole clan. If I'm the one, they'll just think I'm getting revenge for the way they've treated me all my life... Plus it'd feel good getting a little bit of own back. And let's face it, your skill at assassination is entirely subpar."

"It's not about chakra control. I can't do that kind of thing, that's your area of expertise. Besides, I don't know very many jutsus that involve ripping your own finger off. Sounds like a bad idea to me."

"Well, that is kinda true...I am the prodigy concerning chakra in the clan. As for the jutsus, I'll show you some jutsu ideas I created, especially for taijutsu users with metal appendages, and I think they can be worked upon to work with the prosthetics. And I'm also creating a jutsu for the clan, which everybody should be able to do. What do you think?". Ray smiled, as Tomoya replied in his usual satiric tone, or such as it seemed to Ray. He was, however, speaking the truth. Ray's knowledge of Chakra Flow exceeded the rest of his clan, and so did his knowledge of Ninjutsu. Creating jutsus on an everyday basis, Ray was the so called 'Jutsu Master' of the clan, although he couldn't perform half the jutsus he made. He used to make them specifically for certain users, as to accentuate their chances of winning in a battle.

"Let me kill them."

Ray looked up at Tomoya's eyes, and noticed a change in them. They had become one with his conviction, or so it seemed. It was the first time Ray had seen this sort of a look on Tomoya's face. It resembled that of a man realizing his job, which perplexed Ray even more.

"If one of the main branch does it, and even one person survives, that's enough to bring a civil war that could destroy the whole clan. If I'm the one, they'll just think I'm getting revenge for the way they've treated me all my life... Plus it'd feel good getting a little bit of own back. And let's face it, your skill at assassination is entirely subpar."

Ray nodded. It was true. "Well, looking at it from that perspective, yes, it would be highly risky. However, are you sure you will be able to kill your own father and brother, who went up against you? If you do manage to do it, I'm swearing you in as my own blood brother. You'll be part of the main lineage, and nobody will ever go against your judgement. But I'm afraid for the safety of your sanity. To kill your own family is immensely difficult, not to mention taxing on your sanity. And, I may not be good at assassination, but I'm not that bad at it. I used to manage to sneak up on Shoryuu so many times earlier, stealing his stuff.". Ray pondered over Tomoya's conviction, being unsure whether it would be a good idea to let him kill his own kin. What if it twisted Tomoya to a different extent? What if Tomoya lost his sanity?

Tomoya smiled at his leader, before bowing down on one knee, lowering his head like a knight might do to his king.
"Ray-kun, Don't worry about me. I've seen more death and blood than you have, I'm able to handle it better. Besides, it's my job to save people's lives, and if I let someone else risk their life in this venture then that would be going against my job now wouldn't it?" he didn't, however, mention that there was a time when he had considered not just killing the north side, but the whole clan. This at least left him with some allies in Sunagakure no matter what happened. Plus, this would prepare him for ANBU if that was the path he decided to take. It looked like it would be the best decision for him, although it would be hard to get into.

"Regardless, I've hated my brother and father for years. They've made my life hell since I started started my engineering. I've long since stopped seeing them as my family. This isn't killing my family to me, this is purifying the scum that hold back our clan. Trust me..." he looked up, and a small smile traced it's way across his face
"This is what we need to do. For my own self of justice, and to protect the clan from any further threats from those scumbags who dare act under the name Kato. You need not kill your first man yet, Ray."

"Ray-kun, Don't worry about me. I've seen more death and blood than you have, I'm able to handle it better. Besides, it's my job to save people's lives, and if I let someone else risk their life in this venture then that would be going against my job now wouldn't it?"

Ray nodded, and then showed a face of disgust as Tomoya bowed before him. Tomoya shouldn't have done that, he was the elder brother, not Ray. "Tomoya, do me a favor, don't bow before me. I don't like that type of stuff. You are the elder brother, you can't go around bowing to me now. And fine, I guess I can let you do the assassination, on one condition though. You will do it in the least painful way. As long as that is done, I guess the clan will survive."

Ray looked towards the skies, noticing that they were cloudless. Suna's placement made it very difficult for there to be cumulonimbus clouds to surround it. He sighed. His life was about to get very tough. Looking back towards Tomoya, he realized that he was only sent to this world to protect his clan and village.

"Regardless, I've hated my brother and father for years. They've made my life hell since I started started my engineering. I've long since stopped seeing them as my family. This isn't killing my family to me, this is purifying the scum that hold back our clan. Trust me..."

"This is what we need to do. For my own self of justice, and to protect the clan from any further threats from those scumbags who dare act under the name Kato. You need not kill your first man yet, Ray."

Ray nodded, as he took in Tomoya's words filled with conviction. He reminded him of a ninja hell bent on retribution, one who wouldn't stop until he gained it. "Well, you have my permission, you can do it whenever you want. Just remember the condition. Say, how about a spar, for old time's sake? We'll have fun. I also want to try a few things out..."

Big....brother? That was unexpected, but as he got back to his feet, he raised an eyebrow at the boy who was his clan head. He smiled slightly, nodding to his instructions
"I'll do it all at once so they can leave this world together... That's probably what they'd want after all." he said, looking away as he heard the other words. He wanted a fight. That was fine by him, but he was sure as hell not going to be the first to land a blow. He would never hear the end of it from the elders if he was found to be the one who hit the leader without any provocation. Launching himself into a cartwheel backwards, he flipped until he got far enough away to be a fair distance for the start of the fight.

"hit me with your best shot."

"I'll do it all at once so they can leave this world together... That's probably what they'd want after all."

Ray nodded, it was true. He looked on forth as Tomoya did a few cartwheels backwards to increase the distance between himself and Ray. Ray analyzed the battlefield around them, as was his routine while fighting. Ray would always use the best of the environment around him, and what better way than to keep a track of all the different changes in the landscape. Ray noted down mentally, the different sand dune proportions and the direction of the wind, memorizing them thanks to his eidetic memory. Once he was entirely sure about his surroundings, then did he jump into action.

Ray ran head on towards Tomoya, utilizing the shifting sands to his advantage by using his chakra to push off the sand seamlessly. His speed was surely faster than most Chuunins, and was quite tough to follow, but he was sure Tomoya would be able to dodge a frontal technique. Ray, coming into range of Tomoya, jumped over and behind him, landing with an impressive crouch. He then lashed out with a kick, only to retreat with a jump immediately.

Tomoya's pose settled into one designed for battle, as Ray moved at him. His eyes followed Ray's movement over the shifting sands between them, used to having to track fast people who ran away from his operating table. People were so scared when challenged with the fact that they were going to have a large slab of metal stuck into their open wound. Still, they all appreciated it after he'd done it so he knew they wouldn't be complaining. He was highly quick, but Tomoya was quicker. Ducking out of the way, he slammed his hands ahead of him as the kick went over his head, throwing him back, before turning around and pursuing the attack.

His own speed, even without using chakra, was faster than Ray's. He barrelled forwards, his fist moving before him so fast that it seemed more like a blur than a person. The beginnings of a gust of wind started touring around the area, blowing dust and sand around the area, as if showing that a storm was coming. This was actually the beginnings of Tomoya's wind release. The area would actually have started to feel a little cold around him, not that he would notice it now that the adrenaline was kicking in. If this punch landed it would shatter whatever bone it touched, and it would be damn hard to dodge.

Ray grunted audibly as he landed in the sand, his attack having been dodged by his brother. He looked up at his cousin's more...fluid movements, as expected. As a Taijutsu user, his cousin had more speed, and better movements, also a greater chance of winning this hand-to-hand battle. Ray memorized his angular movements, then noticed a cool breeze coming into the area, turning into a gust and blowing up sand, reducing Ray's vision.

Ray noticed a shadow approaching towards Ray at a very high speed, with its fist raised. Ray realized that he did not have enough time to dodge the incoming punch, and thus jumped, angling himself so that his kick would bury itself near Tomoya's rib, possibly bruising that area. He raised his hands to block the punch, and grimaced in pain when it connected with him. His angular formation allowed most of the force to pass through him, throwing him backwards at a high speed.

Ray got up, panting due to the force of that punch. He then hid behind a rune, and performed a variety of hand seals, his seals faster than usual. A clone appeared next to him, and jumping out of the hiding place, ran alongside Ray towards Tomoya. At the last moment, both of them did a sideways mule kick, aimed at Tomoya's side, followed by a jump which would take Ray to a safer distance. The clone, however, would vanish after the attack, but would confuse Tomoya so that Ray's kick would connect. Atleast, that's how Ray pictured it to be.

Spoiler:

Spoiler:

Smiling slightly, he twisted in mid-air, allowing himself to dodge the kick that was aimed at his rib, before landing face down in the sand. Well, that wasn't nearly as impressive as he was looking for. He pushed himself to his feet, and looked up as Ray seemed to charge at him. He wasn't taijutsu based... this must be a distraction for something. He didn't know what but... still, he decided that now would be a good time to make use of his attack.

Thankfully, he had trained obscenely hard recently, and had mastered a few new good jutsus, nothing special but... this would certainly do the job. Plus, other than the handsigns, there was little evidence that he'd actually done something. He didn't even need to think about what he was doing, as this was more muscle memory than anything else right now. His handsigns flew over their technique quickly. Snake, Ram, Monkey, Tiger, Boar. This was it... this was his way of bringing hell to the battlefield. Welcome to hell, little cousin!

Balls of flammable gas appeared all over the arena, and as Ray walked forwards, Tomoya clicked, a ball of gas blowing into it's face, burning it... except it didn't. It disappeared into a puff of gas. Damn it, it was a clone! He turned around in time to see Ray kicking him in the chest. Blocking it with his arm, he was sent backwards, before clicking in mid-air. The ball of gas would be directly infront of his mouth, and if he'd breathed in whilst kicking he would have swallowed it, so this would be exploding his insides. A most painful act.

110/120:

Ray smiled as Tomoya was confused by his clone, and Ray managed to kick him, albeit on the arm. Jumping back with a big smile, Ray stood straight, his long black clothes hiding his glove covered arms. His eyes narrowed as he read Tomoya's handsigns, even though they were quite fast, and he'd only managed to read them because of his eidetic memory providing him with the next possible handsign. This jutsu was close to the 'Inflammable Gas' jutsu, however, it wasn't that jutsu. It must have been a jutsu created by Tomoya.

Ray looked at his clone as it was dispersed by a ball of gas burning into its face. "Hmmmm......a derived jutsu from the inflammable gas? He's better at Ninjutsu than I thought. I must find out his other jutsus.", thought Ray as he quickly began to move backwards, noticing at the last minute the ball of gas near his chest. "Mother Of.........." was all Ray could manage to say before the ball burst in front of his chest, throwing him backwards with the front of his top singed off. Ray got up, grumbling, and staggered to a standing position. Removing his top, he showed of his well maintained body, before doing a flurry of handsigns. Many fireballs appeared above Tomoya, in a 25 meter radius, burning like little suns. They then fell to the ground, speeding up towards Tomoya. This technique's coverage would make it almost impossible to dodge, and it would leave Tomoya with second degree burns if it would connect.

Spoiler:

Spoiler:

As Ray grumbled, Tomoya watched him swallow a little ball of gas as he breathed, causing him to giggle cruelly. It would seemingly be over nothing, but oh god it was definitely over something. But still, there was something going on. Ray had gotten back up, then handsigns were weaved and Tomoya saw a huge amount of fireballs appearing in mid-air reigning down upon him. He knew that if this landed, he'd be in some serious shit. Still, it didn't interest him all that much as he knew it would only do damage IF it actually hit him. Moving forwards, he dodged the first, then the second, then the third.... the fourth caught him in the chest, sending him barrelling backwards into the fifth. As the shower cleared, Tomoya was stood there, covered in burn marks and growling angrily
"Cheap shot...." he needed something to dodge this in the future, so he decided that the moment he set up a replacement he'd keep it that way. As for now... he needed to get a bit of a disguise.

A cold wind suddenly blew over the area, blowing sand this way and that and everywhere and nowhere at once. Pulling his goggles down over his eyes, he protected himself from getting sand irritation, before letting the sandstorm get so heavy there were barely any silhouettes anymore. He smiled as he ran forwards to where the silhouette was still standing, and launched a sliding kick, aiming to knock him over and continued moving to avoid a counterattack. This would give him a little bit of cover to start messing with him.

100/120:

Ray smiled as his jutsu finally connected. However, he still had some tricks up his sleeve, and would use them if needed. But he would really love to have some weapons right now, as they would increase his chances of winning the spar slightly, however, it still won't be enough to beat his powerhouse of a brother. His smile widened as he saw Tomoya being careened off to the fireball behind him, while the others landed on the ground, creating quite a few 'hot spots' on the sand.

"Cheap shot...."

"It isn't a cheap shot, and if coupled with your inflammable gas jutsu, I'm pretty sure it would be devastating. We should try it some day. ". Ray's happiness was short lived, as a flurry of wind caused the sand to kick up, producing a screen and causing minor irritation to Ray's eyes. He grumbled, as he managed to open his eyes and look ahead, where he saw a silhouette approach him at a fast speed. Not having enough time to react, Ray merely grumbled as he found his face in the sand, again. Picking himself up, he half shut his eyes, allowing his eyes to be protected against the wind. It had to be a jutsu, and it had to be his brother's invention, and it was surely a Wind Release jutsu.

Ray knew he wouldn't last that long, but he still had to try. He looked around, focusing on that silhouette which was still managing to move at an accelerating speed ahead. He gritted his teeth, and created a clone, which positioned itself right next to Ray.

Spoiler:

As Tomoya continued moving he leapt to his feet, and span 180'. Turning around on his heel, Tomoya spun around and was about to charge again When he saw that instead of the one silhouette he expected there were two. Tomoya smiled slightly and the next balls were created, ringing around his cousin and the clone. He clicked four times in quick succession, causing them all to detonate. Of course, it would take one to knock out the clone, so all three remaining balls would be used to fight against Ray. As the balls exploded, no longer having to worry about the clone, he ran forwards again, aiming to barrel into the chest of his brother with his shoulder, throwing him to the ground. The sand storm, along with the smoke from the explosions would hopefully mask his approach as he started to chase him down. However, as he ran he stomped on a particularly large pile of sand, placing his Kawarimi if anything was to go wrong. After all, the flare would be usable again soon. He didn't want to be caught on the back foot.

100/120

OOC:@Tom: You should have 90 chakra right now, not 110 X_X.

IC: His muse was perfect, his eyes aligned against the storm. His careful pupils searching their way through the screen of debris, relying on their innate ability to capture every singular imperfection against their rotary vision. And he managed to locate the singular silhouette jumping up to stop its lateral movement and spinning 180 degrees.

And then he noticed the minute imperfection lingering in the air in the form of a hazy gas. "Fuck", was the only thought in his mind as he jumped upwards, hearing the unmistakable clicking sounds which caused the gas to detonate. His upwards momentum was accelerated due to the explosion of not one, but three such balls, and thus he reached quite a big height. Falling at an amazingly high speed, his body was greeted by the hard, grainy sand, irritating his epidermis. THe clothes covering his torso were almost tattered now, and his pants were torn at the knees.

Staggering to a standing position, he exhaled, his exhaustion with the storm clearly evident within the posture. Noticing through the smoke, somehow, he noticed a figure running towards him at an alarming speed. He smiled. Weaving a quick succession of hand-signs, he exhaled a dense black smoke, surrounding the immediate area around him. Only he would be able to see through this smoke, and navigate through it. Moving to the far right, he stood still, completely relying on his ears to hear his brother coming. He noticed through sharp stabs of pain that his skin was cut in some places, and winced, but not audibly.

He heard the sound of footsteps passing by, and sent a clone to run after it, acting as if to attack Tomoya. The clone would utter random things, and then disperse after attacking Tomoya with no damage.

Spoiler:

As tomoya was running forward, his vision was obscured by a large black cloud of smoke. There was something familiar about it, and he knew exactly what it was for. Moving backwards, he turned around a fled out of the smoke, moving to a safe position. As he continued running, he dropped a small coin out of his pocket, making sure to kick it underneath the sand so that if he walked over it he wouldn't notice it. His Kawarimi didn't require it to be the same size or weight as him, and he could use this to his advantage.

The benefit of his wind was that it was longer lasting than this technique, and he knew exactly how to screw around with it perfectly. He had heard a few things inside the smoke but had not been bothering enough to pay a lot of attention towards it. He was not going to fight inside somewhere he had no chance of seeing inside, and he knew for a fact that there was no way he could be stopped leaving. As far as he recalled, his cousin didn't have a technique yet that would actually, successfully stop him from moving.

Chakra: 100/120