The stadium was interesting, but Karumo had never had any much use for it, however today, he had a training session scheduled with Harichimo. Planning to break him into the world of Taijutsu by literally all but breaking him, or maybe truly breaking him along with it. And in turn, Karumo would teach him how to use chakra as it was meant to in it's purest form and it's most potent form. Even if Harichimo would disagree with that notion, he would be wrong. Ninjutsu was definitely far more superior to Taijutsu! And there was no convincing him otherwise, well not easily so, and for the sake of messing with Harichimo, he'd probably argue it tirelessly anyways.

Standing at the edge of the square platform, a black backpack at his feet, Karumo was tightening the armstrap of his old ANBU armor. He hadn't had as many chances to wear it recently, but a little bit of training and practice would be the perfect chance to break it out again and not just hide it under his clothes. His armor had been customized a bit, still remaining grey as the norm was and a black shirt and pants underneath. The symbol of Iwagakure no Sato lightly scratched into his right shoulder piece and the Oracles symbol on his left. On the back plate of his armor, he had printed the symbol of his clan, the face of the phantom that he represented, his purple eyes and all. In his backpack he carried a few supplies with him, a couple of water bottles and some towels to dry the sweat off when it became necessary.

Karumo would wait at the ready for his friend to arrive at some point, sitting at the base of the large square arena. The stadium empty, Karumo sat at the edge and tightened all his armor to his body as he waited, each seat empty and the sound of silence filled the underground arena. Koudo Sutajiumu. Karumo definitely made a note to make more use of it, might be fun to hold tournaments every now and again, or potentially get Iwagakure no Sato to host a Chuunin Exams one day. But for now, that was besides the point.

The large white stone arena awaited his arrival and to begin their training session, where Harichimo would be showcasing his Taijutsu skills and teaching Karumo. And where Karumo would be showcasing and teaching him Ninjutsu. Sounds simple enough, how painful could this really be?

[419 words]

A couple of days now after his promotion to the world of special jounin and Harichimo was ready to advance his learnings into a third specialization and element. Quite the task for most shinbi to take on huge loads for lessons. He didn't really see the need to become adapted to new styles just like the rest of his clan. His clan elders talked about dabbling in the other specializations but the importance of walking the path of the three brothers barred them from letting them overshadow their roots of taijutsu and medical ninjutsu. Kazakos can analyze and crack the secrets to almost any technique of the two can replicate it flawlessly. But branching out may be a huge challenge now with learning to expel chakra and interact with the world around him as well as reach deeper into the elements to enhance his abilities. But Harichimo felt ready as he made his way into the the stadium that Karumo had selected to the venue for today's training session.

When he reached the top of the stairs leading into the he rolled his shoulder to put his satchel's strap back on top before entering. The halls of the stadium were easy enough to navigate and he would eventually find an opening to over see the main stadium floor. He could see Karumo already here and preparing himself. "Nice to see you here early and ready to go. Let me just walk over to the benches and sit my satchel down then we can get down to the nitty gritty."

Harichimo called out as he made his way through the stands until he was even with the benches in the middle of the stadium. He would then jump the barrier and land on top of the benches. He would throw off his jacket and lay it on the bench before checking his bandage wraps. Still as tight and crisp as the first day he became a shinobi. He looked over to his friend to see Karumo wearing his ANBU gear as if to hide under the radar and get away from his duties for the day. It would be interesting to see how the armor would affect his performance during the training.

Once he was satisfied with his preparations he would walk over to Karumo and look over the new armor once more. "Well now that I can see everything in a better light it doesn't look half bad. Heck may even look better on me with the Monolith robes on top of it. So did you want to tackle taijutsu first or get the ninjutusu lessons out of the way? I am sure it can't be too different then medical ninjutsu except for tapping into elemental chakra. And I want to see if your physical attributes are as sharp as the sword you carry around."


480/480

A quick glance up and Karumo found Harichimo approaching from above the stands and down to the stadium floor. "Nice to see you here early and ready to go. Let me just walk over to the benches and sit my satchel down then we can get down to the nitty gritty." he called out as he prepared himself. Karumo smiled and nodded, pulling the last strap tightly to his forearm and preparing himself. He could feel it pressing against his arm but he didn't mind it, the strap tucked inside the bit of armor snuggly. He stood up at the edge of the arena and faced away from it, watching as Harichimo placed his things down for a brief moment. With a heavy exhale he would jump backwards, over the raised floor of the arena, calm in air, just focusing himself, a little test of how awake he was.

Landing in a standing position on the arena, rolling his neck to crack the bones and begin to stretch out a little bit. As if he could even feel any of it, still, better to be loose and not cramp up and also to pretend to be kinda normal. Harichimo finished up his preparations he assumed, as he made his way towards the arena he spoke up, Well now that I can see everything in a better light it doesn't look half bad. Heck may even look better on me with the Monolith robes on top of it. So did you want to tackle taijutsu first or get the ninjutusu lessons out of the way? I am sure it can't be too different then medical ninjutsu except for tapping into elemental chakra. And I want to see if your physical attributes are as sharp as the sword you carry around." Karumo smiled, chuckled even, as he stepped back from the arena and gave him room to prepare and enter the floor as well.

He cleared a few meters space between them and called out, "The monoliths, huh? Aren't they a bit too flashy for you?" he laughed a bit, "As for getting started, I would think ninjutsu is a bit different but then again, I'm no medic. If you really are that interested, we can start with a bit of Taijutsu, no more swords for me. But you can bet I'm as sharp as ever..." he would give with a bit of a grimace, beginning to work on his Taijutsu a bit on his own time. What he really needed to do was learn about about molding the chakra inside his body, he was great at externalizing his chakra in a variety of different ways from ninjutsu to sealing techniques, but to contain it and expand his own abilities would be more interesting. "But I don't want you getting too tired to start off, so if you want to really burn up your chakra then we can start with the ninjutsu and all first." he would leave off waiting for a response.

(Ninjutsu First)

---

If they decided to go the Ninjutsu route that would mean that Karumo was up first to begin explaining and teaching its nuances. Nothing too strenuous he would have to ask a few base questions first to get a feel for what Harichimo knew and didn't know all the same, "Alright Ninjutsu is simple, first we need to figure out what you can and can't do if you don't know that already. The key with Ninjutsu is learning to mold chakra into the proper ratios of spiritual and physical energy and then externalizing that in a form and along with the nature of it too, if the jutsu requires such." he would say with a slight pause to make sure he was keeping up. "Now, first I should ask, do you know what natures you have an affinity for?" he would ask plainly.

Depending on his answer Karumo would potentially remove the pieces of litmus paper from his pouch and hold them up, preparing to go into detail about the different natures and the sheets if necessary, going even as far to let him watch Karumo burn one sheet in his hand due to his Katon alignment. If he knew his elements though, they could move onto their next step, handsigns and creating jutsu.

(Taijutsu First)

---

If Taijutsu was the thing that they would start out with Karumo would stretch his arms some and set the room back for Harichimo to begin explaining. He hoped to learn a bit about Taijutsu techniques in particular, but part of him felt that learning through example might not be so bad either. It would be his decision though, Karumo would watch closely for everything and heed every word as he would begin to enter into the territory. Still though, who better to learn it from than the pupil of the village's former Taijutsu master.

[825 words, 1244 words total]

Karumo seemed to be enjoying the bit of comedy even firing back his own remark about the Monoliths. Karumo seemed insistent on the difficulty of ninjutsu and it made Harichimo smile at the thought of a real challenge of a specialization. "Well luckily taijutsu doesn't need chakra to be effective so why don't we start with that and then I can balance myself when we go through the taijutsu portion." Harichimo would just do some more stretches as Karumo would think of how to start his lesson of the day.

Karumo would begin with his explanation of ninjutsu being a mixture and balance of spiritual and natural energy being tapped to complete a task. Which Harichimo found weird that he never tired since the clinic likes to try more natural cures to ailments and injuries. Then Karumo asked is he knew what elements he was aligned with and if he even knew. Harichimo thought for a second and answered the best of his ability. "Well being from Iwagakure my whole life, doton seems like a pretty safe bet and I have always had this feeling of being one with the wind. Whenever a strong wind blows or during a storm I will have my windows open and it feels almost intended to have the cold wind caress my face and draw in fresh air. The feeling is stronger then that to the earth so I would have to say Fuuton is a for sure then doton might just be a weaker connection what do you think?"


258/738

His confidence was a bit fun, but he was right, Karumo was ready to burn a little chakra in example if need be. A full explanation and work out of ninjutsu, since he wanted to go this route first, it wouldn't be difficult or anything like that. Harichimo was always just as perceptive as Karumo was, and his abilities were just as well if not better, so to grasp ninjutsu wouldn't be a problem in the slightest. And his extreme chakra control ability from medical ninjutsu would only prove all the more valuable in the end. At the very least, it would certainly make the next part much easier.

The conversation moved into the territory of chakra and natures and things of that nature, which might be a little more advanced than someone just learning ninjutsu would be ready for. But Harichimo had been practicing a form of ninjutsu for a while now, and was quite adept at it from what he had seen. Doton and Fuuton, though his reasoning for each seemed a bit off, unique to say the least, he'd probably felt the presence of the chakra's before. Karumo would go on anyways, and pull the small sheets of white paper from his pocket and hold one up in his hand. Offering him a sheet as well to test his true affinity for wind nature, and if it were truly his primary element, the paper would split in half the instant his chakra touched it. Karumo would speak as he handed it over, "These little pieces of paper are something I... well I should say borrowed from the academy without their knowledge." he chuckled a bit and held the one up in his hand, "They act like tuning forks for chakra elements, and will reveal your natural affinity or primary as some might know it as. For me, that would be the Fire element..." he would say and push some chakra to let it burn up in his hand. "The paper turns to ash for those whose natural affinity is for Fire, it crumbles to dust for those with an affinity for Earth, becomes wet for the Water element, crinkles up for those with the Lightning, and those who are natural Wind users, it splits in half." he would lecture and wait for Harichimo to give it a try if he'd like to. Always better to be sure about a person's abilities before continuing on and giving a lesson for the wrong type, and if he was fine tuned for the Wind element, then Karumo actually had some jutsu he could teach him. Nothing special, but enough to get his feet wet in the skill.

---

After a short stint with elements, they would move on, to the next major part of using ninjutsu, the hand signs. When Harichimo was ready to move on, Karumo would begin to lecture again, "Right, well ninjutsu isn't so different from medical ninjutsu at its core. It's focus is the externalization of chakra in different forms. Medical ninjutsu is actually far more precise and takes much more chakra control to affect parts of the body, whereas ninjutsu is far less controlled and far more... wild energy oriented." he led on, grandstanding his posture but staying up straight all the same.

He would then lift his arms up and begin to weave through the twelve basic hand signs while calling out there name, Bird, Boar, Dog, Dragon, Ox, Tiger, Serpent, Rat, Horse, Monkey, Hare, Ram. He showed each sign and exampled each of them then decided to lecture again, "Each of the hand seals helps you to mold the chakra, certain hand signs correspond to certain natures. But that's a lecture for another time I suppose, for now, what you need to know is that you'll build the chakra up and mold it using the hand signs. Then once the chakra is molded into it's form you'll externalize it similar to how you would medical ninjutsu. But instead of focusing it and maintaining it in a recise manner, most often you'll let the chakra out in a torrent of energy and wildly..." Karumo let on, hoping that Harichimo was following along.

"Once we have a basis on creating the chakra and molding said chakra, we can move on to jutsu creation." he spoke with a smile, he had just the jutsu worth exampling for him, and one he could try out and learn himself. "The jutsu I have planned for you to learn is one that's a bit simple but is a bit more than basic, it'll invoke heavily on your wind element. It's called Air Bullets and I used it on that mission so long ago..." he paused briefly to remember back on that sacred mission. His attention would fade before snapping back to Harichimo, "Now pay close attention here, to every detail..." Karumo said as he began to prepare himself.

Turning to his side, looking towards a few training dummies off to the side of the arena, not too far away and would be just the targets. Karumo calmed himself, letting the air around him settle for a moment as he began to build a bit of chakra. The bird hand seal exclusively formed and he inhaled thickly, bringing a large amount of air in to his chest. Then with rapid succession, Karumo would spit out cylinders of air from his mouth, each one expertly aimed for the center of the chest of each dummy. They were a bit slower than the jutsu he was getting used to as of late, but they would make his point. Stepping back slightly afterwards he would exhale slightly, and turn to Harichimo afterwards.

"Any questions? If not, go ahead and give it a shot. See if you can mold the chakra and all, I wouldn't expect perfection on the first try, but go for it. Just don't mold more than you can handle... if you get passed this, I can show you something pretty cool." Karumo continued on and crossed his arms as he waited for a response or question of some kind.

[1036 words, 2280 words total]
[285/300 Chakra]

Jutsu used:

After his explanation Karumo would hold out a weird paper Harichimo had not seen since his days in the academy when they first explained chakra natures to him. He had never paid attention since medical ninjutsu never really tapped in the elements to achieve healing effects. Karumo would explain how the papers would react to whatever natures he was attuned with. After his explanation Karumo seemed to stand there waiting for Harichimo to go ahead and see how it would react. Harichimo had always been able to let chakra flow through his hands and throughout his muscles and joints so it may be exciting to see if was really as attuned to fuuton chakra as he thought. Harichimo held the paper by the top of it and let it dangle as he started to focus. He reached deep in order to bring the chakra from his core out and along his arms before it would touch the paper and a quick tearing sound snapped him out of focus as he held the split paper in his finger tips. Definitely a neat little party trick for younger shinobi to figure out their natures but it at least confirmed Harichimo's unorthodox answers. "Alright now that we now that for sure my chakra natures what is the next step?"

Karumo took the queue to explain the difference between the specializations. Going on of how medical took the utmost of concentration and chakra control as compared to the wild release of energy that was ninjutsu. A real world of difference from Harichimo's usual style of balance and being in control of his chakra and its flow. The as his friend continued on to the next lesson of hand signs Harichimo would try to copy the hand signs and make sure he had them right to what Karumo was displaying as he talked about the purpose of the signs and how they were needed to mold the wild energy. Once they had gotten a grasp on the basics Karumo decided that it was a good chance to push the lesson.

Karumo had taken a spot and was showing Harichimo how to use a technique that seemed very basic in level but proved effective the last time he had seen it during their mission with Nanashi so long ago. Harichimo watched as Karumo seemed to gather up the energy and made the bird sign with his hands. Harichimo looked to the dummies down range as Karumo unleashed four precise shots to the chests of the targets. With that done with was Harichimo's turn to try and replicate the technique.

Harichimo would take his spot and aim for the first dummy target he saw. He knew he had to shut off his want to control the building of chakra. His first real experience with uncontrolled bursts. He made the bird hand sign and started to slowly breath. He could feel a small ball of wind forming in his throat as Karumo had done. He tried to calmly let it build slowly to keep some control over the technique. Once he was satisfied with what he had stored up he opened his mouth and let the projectiles of fuuton chakra shoot out and towards the target. He thought he had done good but once he saw that the first two projectiles were the right size but the bursts had spiraled off coarse and missed the target wide. The third burst was more dead on but didn't have the momentum and fell short. Then the final one barely left his mouth as it seemed to just poof into nothingness. Harichimo felt somewhat pleased with himself that he had at least managed to launch the technique without building to much and blowing his throat into pieces. he would turn to Karumo for some judgement on his first go. "So what do you think? I'd call it a good first attempt to at the very least have the technique fire off. Got any tips for practicing it more?"


672/1410

Karumo watched diligently through each step as Harichimo began to practice it, taking his first true step into the world of Ninjutsu. Everything seemed alright as he did it, each step was there and in good form, though unpracticed all the same. He wondered if he had inhaled enough wind to build it up, if he would be able to infuse his chakra into said and wind and whether or not he would build up enough chakra to follow suit from there as well. It took him a second, it was delayed, Karumo noted it, the longer that molded chakra is held the more energy it has to lose and with Harichimo's unpracticed skill, he knew that he wouldn't have the control to store such wild energy for long.

The result displayed itself more so than he would have imagined, the bullets scattered here and others failed to make the target at all. It wasn't a bad first attempt by any standard, but anyone who could throw a kunai correctly and hit a bullseye could do just as well with this jutsu. It would take practice, he mused to himself as Harichimo turned and looked for a response, "So what do you think? I'd call it a good first attempt to at the very least have the technique fire off. Got any tips for practicing it more?" Karumo smiled at the thought and uncrossed his arms. He had a bit of showing off to do here but he would offer a little more lecture as he made his way to the corner of the arena.

"It was a great first attempt. I'm sure you noticed what I meant by the chakra being wild and unfettered compared to the calm and calculated nature of Medical Ninjtusu. You'll have to keep practicing it, but know that if you're going to delay your jutsu after you've molded and infused it, you'll have to practice maintaining its energy as well. I believe that's why your last bullet failed to make its distance, everything that has energy will slowly lose it to the surroundings if it's not controlled or maintained, and even then, it will still lose some energy no matter what." he spoke and cleared his throat, standing at one corner of the arena and staring to the opposite corner of it now, the back of his heels to the back of the floor to maximize its distance.

With a hand, he would motion Harichimo to stand to the side and away from the center as to not be in the way during his next demonstration. "Once you learn how to control that energy though, the limits of what you can do are almost boundless, whether it being creating physical clones like that of the shadow clone jutsu or to do something like this..." he smiled and grinned to himself, making sure that nothing was in the path of his direction and Harichimo was a good distance away. Ram → Horse → Snake → Dragon → Rat → Ox → Tiger. His hands seals would be perfect, moving as quickly as he humanly could, almost letting them blur together as he inhaled deeply. His chest expanding to sizes it shouldn't be able to, almost two or three times its normal size, the chakra content alone was punishing as he molded it.

And from his mouth a stream of fire, punishing in intensity ran diagonally across the arena floor almost to the other corner entirely. The flames themselves white hot and creating light unlike most other fire jutsu, the temperature around it would spike incredibly, turning the arena into a small oven as the flames carried in their jet stream. Scorching the stone of arena and blasting it away chunks at a time, it would leave almost nothing in its wake as it crossed the arena floor. After a short time of displaying how potent and absolutely toxic upper level ninjutsu could be, Karumo would push out the excess chakra in one go and create a small bulb in the stream.

Biting his teeth to cut the flame off shortly after, the flame would dissipate behind that bulge of fire and cease to end from there. Leaving scorched earth that was black and smoke rising from the stone, a bit of steam from Karumo's lips would rise up as he gathered himself and stood back up into a straight position. A small exhale to release the bit of heat retained in, he looked on the destruction to the floor he had caused, and scratched his head a bit. Maybe that was over doing it a little, grand standing his own abilities and all, he would turn to Harichimo to make sure everything was alright afterwards. "Well, I think you get the idea of how much better Ninjutsu is now... so what do you think?" he said with a bit of a chuckle as he stepped towards him again.

[830 words, 3110 words total]
[260/300 Chakra]

Jutsu used:

Harichimo was glad to see he got the seal of approval from his friend at his first attempt. Harichimo would have to let go of his controlling style in order to make better use of the wild chakra that ninjutsu brings to his arsenal. Karumo had explained that the longer he held the molded chakra, the more energy that would dissipate from the technique so Harichimo would have to either practice keeping held levels at continuous use or be more rapid and precise with his future jutsus. It may take a while for him since Karumo will be busy with his Tsuhcikage responsibilities to keep teaching him but Harichimo felt confident if he kept up with simple techniques that he may be able to add ninjutsu to his arsenal in a very short amount of time.

He would nod to his friend as he saw Karumo head to a corner of the arena and motion for him to step aside for some sort of demonstration. Got to let the big man have his little show of power I guess. It is a chance for me to gauge some extent of what he is capable of. Let me know that Akira-sesei was right to pick you as his pupil my friend. Harichimo would step to the side and away from Karumo in case he needed the space. Karumo then performed a series of hand signs and suddenly his body seemed to expand to inhuman like dimensions as the chakra inside him gathered up making Harichimo a little on edge about the physical strain he was putting himself under just to show off some flashy new technique he had picked up. And what followed blew Harichimo's mind as a stream of fire burst forward. The flame shined bright enough to make Harichimo cover his eyes and he could feel the heat from the flames as if they were trying to melt him themselves. After a short while Karumo had cut off the technique and the glow subsided but the heat from the flames still seemed to have the arena full of choking heat. Harichimo had to wipe his brow off on his bandages as Karumo had asked his question.

After he wiped his brow he gave his friend a smile and spoke. "That certainly was a display of pure power. You certainly have been busy working on that technique. I can never dream of being able to weave something like that out of thin air but I would appreciate it if you have the time before we move on to help me on something. Show me how to tap into the element of katon. Doton and Fuuton are nice but they are purely meant for defensive or supportive purposes from what I understand. With Katon I can try to tap into more offensive techniques. And I cannot lie that the idea of flaming fists with my taijutsu techniques would make for some very nice as well as deadly displays. Think you can help with that?"


505/1915

Karumo stopped in front of Harichimo again, patiently waiting for his reply, the heat of the chakra still lingered in his breath as he waited there. Karumo smiled at his bit about it being a display of pure power, that much was certainly right off. A small gesture of the acknowledgement of the work put into his training, Karumo would nod lightly as he continued on. A request to help him harness the potential and prowess of the Katon element, a wildly offensive technique indeed. But Karumo chuckled as he mentioned flaming fists, and deadly displays... as much a show off as even Karumo could be at times. It was certainly no small task to learn the affinity for a new element, especially from scratch, but nothing he shouldn't be able to handle.

"Well, once I'm done learning and practicing this Taijutsu stuff, we'll have to see who can develop the better flaming fist technique." Karumo offered with a laugh, turning back towards the wide section of the arena where it was empty. A heavy inhale and slow exhale as he focused himself. "I'll go through each step as I know it, though it's easier for me given that Katon is my primary element and all, it doesn't take much extra effort for me to mold it..." he continued on as he squared his shoulders away.

"Katon itself is more wild and heated, you'll have to feel the extreme compression of the chakra and... essentially burn it in your stomach and all. Where as wind you feel the control and the grinding of the chakra to make it sharp, with fire, you compress and burn it. Then release it in the toxic form you've created almost all at once. It's just like fire vs wind, where Fuuton is calm and calculated so is the chakra you mold. I'm sure you could argue that much. Along those lines, Katon is the same, it's powerful and energetic, but also sporadic and hard to form into complex structures. And even harder to hold onto..." he spoke and then cracked his knuckles individually afterwards as he continued on. "I'll give you another jutsu you can try out here, it's as simple as any other Katon jutsu out there so it shouldn't be any trouble."

Karumo spoke, and then turned fully away from him, forming a singular Tiger hand seal as he inhaled deeply, filling his lungs and throat with the burning chakra. A quick flash later, as he were about to burst forth, he would release the fireball in a single projectile and let it fly forward, crashing harmlessly against the wall opposite the arena from them. The fireball would be no where near as hot or potent as the earlier stream, but it certainly would crash violently and scar the ground it traveled across.

Once it was all said and done, Karumo would turn briefly and glance towards him, "Want to give this one a try to?" he would offer. It would certainly be difficult given that he had never once molded Katon chakra, it would certainly be much more difficult to combine a new element with a new skill of ninjutsu right off the bat, but nonetheless the decision was up to him.

Once all was said and done, if he had any more questions or requests then Karumo would happily oblidge, otherwise Karumo would tighten the strap to his armband as he would begin to mentally prepare for whatever taijutsu regimen that Harichimo might have prepared for him.

[601 words, 3711 words total]
[245/300 Chakra]

Jutsu Used:

Karumo seemed more then happy to oblige with his request and began to talk about getting in touch with katon nature chakras. And Karumo spoke it all made sense with Harichimo. Making the chakra compress upon itself until it is released and can explode forward as flame would have to be a lesson for him to practice as he got better with his practicing of ninjutsu. Karumo then would do another show of an easy jutsu for him to work on as he breathed deep and made the hand sign. With a small burst he released a singular fireball that shot out and scorched the ground as it shot by. Seemed simple enough but that would have to be something for when Harichimo had gotten his grip on ninjutsu. Karumo had offered him a chance to try out the technique but Harichimo would politely decline. "I know you are busy so I will just get to the second important bit of the evening and get you into the world of Taijutsu."

Harichimo would walk over to the bench where his satchel was sitting and open it up to grab some things that were wrapped up in cloth. Harichimo would walk back over to Karumo and open one end of the wrapping to reveal padded gloves. "'The goal for today is to just get you used to using your body as a weapon, deciding how you wish to use your weapon, and maybe a spar at half speed to test everything out. So take a pair of gloves and I will run down the basics." Whichever pair Karumo didn't take, Harichimo would start to fit over his arm bandages before he would speak.

"So lets start with the basics. Taijutsu is in its most basics form hand to hand combat. Utilizing the martial arts and natural human abilities. It is also the fastest specialization out there. When your opponent is busy making hand signs or drawing a weapon, you can already have your hands up or have them down on the ground. There are no hand signs or special tricks to it. You can use chakra to enhance your abilities but today we will just get your feet wet with basic striking and combo figthing. I want you to be more confident in your abilities before you dive head first into pumping chakra through your muscles with your condition. But first we will have to decide how you want to move forward. There are three types of taijutsu and they are striking, grappling, and hybrid. All are simple enough to understand and have their own styles. But then the trick is to become a speed or power fighter. Deciding to specialize in one of the two areas will make your taijutsu that much better and give you the edge when you are in the situation that requires you to use your hands as weapons. For example I am a speed fighter. I am trying to use my superior speed training to dodge and avoid attacks until my opponent gives me an opening to come in and land a combo of strikes that will wittle him down and make him think twice about challenging me head on. And then they are hesitant I can advance forward and enforce my will upon them and see if they can match my speed or lose the fight. Then power fighters rely on brute strength to carry them through a fight. They don't want to throw to many punches because it is useless to swing a devastating weapon and not have it make contact. But once they land a hit or attack then the fight is usually decided. If they can break through the opponents defense then the opponent is forced to run or be crushed by superior strength. So what about it, do you know how you wish to take your new path?

659/2574

Harichimo declined his offer to test it out, it would have been more than alright with Karumo but nonetheless he continued on, "I know you are busy so I will just get to the second important bit of the evening and get you into the world of Taijutsu." Karumo rolled his eyes a bit about being busy and laughed a bit as he listened and began to prepare himself a bit for what was coming. He watched as Harichimo walked to his satchel and grabbed a bundle of cloth, opening to reveal some padded gloves as he spoke.

"'The goal for today is to just get you used to using your body as a weapon, deciding how you wish to use your weapon, and maybe a spar at half speed to test everything out. So take a pair of gloves and I will run down the basics." Karumo nodded and grabbed the pair closest to his reach, leaving the semantics of choice behind to get one with what they were about to do. Passively sliding the gloves on and adjusting them as he spoke, tightening the straps to perfection slowly as he listened into him speaking.

What came afterwards was a lengthy lecture, Karumo listened intently, nodding along with his face expressionless. Purple eyes watching each gesture and heeding the words about it's speed and straightforwardness. He nodded along, there wasn't much debate there, he was right about what he had said in regards to other styles of techniques. Though, perhaps his use of the term 'faster' would have to be taken in with some grain of salt along with it. Harichimo continued on explaining the different types of taijutsu and the respective uses therein, giving way to specializing in one of the different respects of the field. Karumo mulled over each of them as he spoke, and then his explanation to go even further to focus in speed or strength, a prowess of physical stats, something Karumo had always lacked himself.

His rant ended off with a silent beckoning towards the question, "So what about it, do you know how you wish to take your new path?" Karumo smiled a bit as he continued to mull over the options. He had to choose between a striking and grappling standpoint, and then beyond that on whether to focus on speed or strength based prowess. It seemed that striking could go either way, but with a grappling focus, strength was the obvious choice there if he wanted to pursue that route.

The better question was what he would do. It would certainly be a shift in his position and stature, his lack of physical prowess, to shift his training and develop some monumental strength with his training, so naturally he leaned towards a speed based focus. The next would be whether to focus on the art of striking or grappling his opponents into submission. Everything here leaned towards striking again, given his position, but beyond that, maybe a hybrid of the two styles could work? That would be a question for later, given that Harichimo were a striking specialist, he would follow in those footsteps as well.

With the gloves tightened on, he punched the palms of his hands to get a feel for their affect on each hand, while doing so he spoke up, "Well, we both know I'm as confident as anyone else with anything. So I'm gonna follow after, speed for me given my own lack of strength. And striking, because I like the sound of beating my opponents when they lose their footing or give me a small opening. Sounds like a bit of strategy if you asked me...." he gave with a smile, preparing for a response and for whatever would come next.

[631 words, 4342 words total]
[245/300 Chakra]

Harichimo looked over to his friend as he answered. Looking to follow as he had made it easier for Harichimo to recommend a regime for Karumo to follow. Harichimo would walk over to an untouched dummy that had survived Karumo's flaming display. He would get into his muay thai stance and give a more serious look. "Well the best place to begin is on an opponent that can swing back but not as hard or fast as you can." Harichimo would then give the left arm of the dummy a medium strength punch in order to get it to spin on its bearings. With that hit the dummy's right hand would fly for the face of Harichimo who would be quick to back step and begin to unleash some combo striking. With a skillful display he unleashed a string of jabs before the left hand would return and which Harichimo would grab the hand and stop the dummy dead from spinning. "Now for more fun when you can throw chakra into the mix. If you don't like the sound of joints popping then i would recommend covering your ears for a second."

With a second of concentration Harichimo would flood his body with chakra and start a chain reaction of his joints being popped and now cushioned with chakra to eliminate resistance between them that would otherwise limit him. Harichimo would look back to the dummy and give it a toss back around to start the spin again. With more speed then before he was now able to land three extra jabs to the dummy before the right hand would come back around and Harichimo would deliver a punch to send it back again and continue his string of attacks. When the left hand would come back around he would grab it to stop. "These gloves will help make not punching wood hurt or bust your knuckles. Eventually you will learn to time everything and dodge effectively and then you can move forward on pushing yourself to get more punches in.  It will be critical when you are against a living opponent and those two or three punches will mean knocking them out sooner. Once you get a better grasp on what your physical limits are then I would feel comfortable with you using chakra enhanced techniques. I wouldn't want the Tsuchikage wheel chair bound because he popped him knees straight off. Just practice and one day you will be a close range and far off threat. Harichimo would chuckle at his comment and look back to Karumo.

He would walk over to his satchel and start to take off his gloves. "Well sorry for the not so grand introduction but taijutsu needs no real demonstration or fancy lecture. Once you learn to press your advantages and able to squeeze valuable time into your strikes and combos then you can become a fighting machine. Thank you for the knowledge about katon and ninjutsu though. I will for sure be practicing when I am not busy with the chores around the clinic. And speaking of which I should start walking back. Now that you approved me for my new position they have given me the opportunity for my own physicians room there. I will have to take a list of supplies I need and do my own stock runs but hey it is a step up from being a helping hand still. If there isn't anything else you need from me then I will take my leave. Harichimo would wait for his friend to say his last piece before throwing his satchel strap over his shoulder. When all was good then Harichimo would wave goodbye to Karumo before starting to walk through the tunnel behind them and make his way out of the stadium and back towards the clinic.

Exit Thread
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Training:

Karumo stood at the ready, his mind racing and absorbing every bit of information he could get a hold of. He watched Harichimo look over, taking in the same style of taijutsu as himself, knowing that it would be a bit easier to teach, and luckily for the both of them. Making their way over to the dummies, finding one that hadn't been burned by Karumo, lucky again to do so. Maybe he should stop showing off against their equipment so much... lest they find themselves out of training materials and they had to beat each other for practice to start off. Karumo would watch as Harichimo got into his stance, taking note of the setup and positioning, also listening as he spoke about starting with an easier opponent. Probably for the best. Though, this form of training was no doubt a lot less grandeur than what Karumo had imposed just a while earlier.

Karumo watched intently as Harichimo reached out and struck the dummy arm, causing it to spin on its bearing and nearly strike him from the right. Quick reaction though to avoid it and begin striking it in combination. Karumo took a liking to this form of training, he wondered if he could stack up the dummies and make things impossibly hard to train... but that would be an idea for later, when he was much more practiced as a whole. The next step was adding chakra, which Harichimo gave a warning for but Karumo merely chuckled in response and let him go on, he wasn't going to ignore the warning so easily or back down from something so light.

Harichimo continued on with his display, this time he was more fluid, and faster beyond that. Probably the potency of adding chakra to his technique and form, powerful indeed. Karumo watched carefully as his form remained well executed and flawless, as far as he could tell, the prowess of a Monolith shown through. After watching, Harichimo continued on with his lecture about the gloves and testing his limits before adding chakra. Karumo laughed along with him at the thought of getting injured, but it was most certainly a serious warning nonetheless. "Don't worry, I'll have it all down before I start testing my limits, but you know me. We'll see how long that lasts..." he added with a smile and punched the gloves around his hand a bit as he tested the padding again. Angsty to get started training and perfecting the art itself.

Karumo watched as Harichimo approached over and removed his gloves, grabbing his things and speaking again. Karumo paused and turned to watch, before he got into the nit and grit of beginning his full training. A short apology for the lack of grandeur and thanks for the help with his ninjutsu, Karumo laughed and spoke up quietly while rubbing the back of his head, "No, no, it was nothing really. Anything to help out..." he spoke to interrupt a bit but left it at that. Harichimo continued on and mentioned his promotion at the clinic and all, Karumo smiled broadly, happy to hear that he was doing well there with his work, even if it did mean more responsibility. Waiting a moment for Karumo to give his last words, Karumo piped up as he grabbed his satchel over his shoulder, "No, that's it for me! I'm gonna stick around a while and try out some combinations against the dummies, see how complex I can make it..." he added with a bit of a laugh. "I do appreciate the help training and teaching though, I value it far more than you could imagine..." he would leave off and wave as Harichimo made his way from the stadium back off to the clinic and wherever else he was meant to be.

Karumo turned back to the stadium, left alone with the gloves and the dummies. Short and controlled breaths as he focused in, stretching his arms and getting comfortable on his short stroll back to the dummy. He started out small, a few light strikes to spin the dummy, going from punches to elbows to kicks and the rest. Testing out his limberness and mobility as he warmed up, and then escalating, starting by following Harichimo's combination as closely as he could, then going to improvise. Once all was said and done, he would really turn up the heat and spend over an hour just punching that dummy and the one next to it in a variety of ways. Before his fun would be up and he would be forced to return to work, as much as he resented the idea off hand, he'd had enough fun and practice for today.


[795 words, 5137 words total]
[Exit Thread]

Training: