Kenta and his entourage were so... frickin'... late (it must have been the genin that they took along with them), and Kashizudoto had arrived much earlier than expected to deliver the message to the Tsuchikage - which set the stage up for Kashizudoto to have a lot of time to dick around in Iwa. He'd already done three missions for them, fought bandits in a bazaar, located a giant monster, had a scuffle in the university with some Iwa shinobi, and so much more. He'd had so much development these past few days: he was feeling relatively good. But there were some disadvantages to being a foreigner. Namely, he didn't know the lay of the land. Or what places it was best off not to adventure in. In this case, it was a certain network of underground tunnels that were notorious as the Land of Earth's "Bermuda Triangle" - that is, people who went in never returned. Of course, Kashizudoto didn't know that when he waltzed in looking for adventure.

It looked like a pretty darn normal passageway that would lead somewhere, so he entered in search of the end. Then he reached a fork in the tunnel: three paths were in front of him. His shinobi senses immediately told him not to proceed further, as he could get lost in this, so he turned back. The problem was that it got dark as Kashizudoto had gone down the passage. So going back up, he accidentally entered a different tunnel. He soon realized that he was lost, not able to backtrace his steps.

He drew out the Tentetsutou from its bamboo sheath - his fine, onyx black blade that he forged from a four billion year old meteorite - and activated his kekkei genkai jutsu: the Sword of the Will in order to create a veil of fire around the sword so that it could act as a torch of some sort. He then proceeded to take out a kunai knife from his holster, tie one end of his 50 meter coil of wire around its loop, and stab it into the ground so that the wire could act sort of like a spool of string would in order to trace back his steps. Wow, he was resourceful.

In the dim light, one could make out the chuunin's form and attire only from close up. He donned a black swordsman's robe - a gift from Master Piandao after the end of his apprenticeship - and had a Konoha hitae-ate tied around his forehead as a symbol of village pride and an alert to any Iwa citizens that he was not from around here. Of course, lost in these caverns, he doubted anyone would be around, save for a few skeletons of people who came here before. On his left hip was attached a bamboo sheath, which usually held his meteor sword. Next to it was the coil of wire which he was using to trace his steps; man, that thing always seemed to come in handy time and time again. Below it was his holster, which contained only three shuriken now that on kunai was firmly lodged into the ground. He would now proceed to walk through the caverns without fear, knowing that he could backtrack his steps to the original location and eventually figure the way out of these hellish caverns.

Sword of the Will:

WC: 570

To those who didn’t know, bears like to hibernate in caves. Or at least, bears that weren’t ninja bears liked to do such a thing. Ninja bears however? They didn’t really get a choice in the matter, and were bred to not need to hibernate. As such, surprisingly, it was very rare for a ninja bear to go in a cave. Rare, but if said ninja bear was an idiot, not impossible. And in this case, not only was the ninja bear an idiot, but it wasn’t really vocal about being an idiot, just went in and did its thing. What does this mean? Quite simple really.

On the sunny day that it was, a man and his pet bear went for a walk around tsuchi no kuni. Not because the bear wanted to go for a walk, but because the man bribed the bear with the promise of food. As you do. But just who was this man and bear duo? Wearing his usual black jacket, chain wrapped around his neck like a scarf, the colossal sized genin was Oki Kuma, a mass of size, even for Iwagakure. Meanwhile his partner was a chubby, young, brown bear, caramel fur highlighted by patches of white fur on its snout and belly. This perpetually hungry friend was Debu, the lifelong companion of Oki. Although if you’d compared them just by behaviour, it would look like Debu had more brains.

The twin bears of Iwa enjoyed there walk, Oki going at an unnecessary brisk pace, while Debu plodded behind rather lazily. It was, as one could imagine, rather peaceful. At least, until Oki caught sight of one of the many caves of Iwagakure. Shaking his head, the bear man muttered to himself, “Ah, father told me stories about this place! A terrible place…” With a sigh at this, he turned, spinning on his heel to give his pet bear some attention – only to find that the bear was not there! Looking around, Oki grew panicked, unable to see his beloved, close companion. Blast! Had Debu really gone inside? Deciding it was best to not risk it and wait any longer, the six foot five bear man barrelled into the cave, feet causing heavy footprints into the earth. Headstrong, he descended into the darkness… Meanwhile, Debu walked back to the entrance of the cave, a fish in his mouth. Where he got a fish was anyone’s guess, but regardless, he looked around for Oki, couldn’t see him… So just laid down to enjoy his fish.

Running blind, the bear man was soon lost. While he did technically have his footprints to walk back with, due to his rather large amount of bulk and weight, he didn’t exactly have the brains to think to do such a thing. His mind was a very much, one thing at a time, method of approach. And right now the task was finding a bear in a cave. Who had time to be sensible and not get lost when there was a bear to find? Of course, impatience wasn’t something that he could afford… But he was impatient anyway. After only a moment, the man shifted his posture to all fours, running forward at a slightly improved pace. Of course, this just meant there were more prints, but why would he care?

After about three minutes of running, and to the bear man’s surprise there was a source of light, peering around a nearby corner as if creeping, taunting. Hoping it was both a way out, and that Debu would be there, he took off in a sprint, rushing like a mad beast towards the corner and turning. Both excitement and sadness dropped on him subtly as he realised it wasn’t an exit, or his pet bear. But a torch. Someone else who was dumb enough to go in the caves. Adjusting his posture, he ran towards the stranger, on two legs once again. “You there! You were also stupid enough to come down here, no?! Tell me! Have you seen a fat bear anywhere?!” subtle, Oki. Really subtle.

681

From the little light provided by his flamed sword, the chuunin noticed something in the distance that looked like an... animal. He could only make out its form from the shadow though: it was big and on all fours. Some wild thing running right after him. He was quite surprised to see a mammalian animal inside a tunnel passage. How could something like that survive in the darkness here? Were there bats here that it could eat? Either way, we needed to get on the defensive in case this was something dangerous. With his left hand, he would form a tiger seal, gather katon chakra in his throat, and release it into the form of an ignited oil bullet that would hit the ground in between the animal and him to create a small fire that would act as a wall of sorts - if it was crossed, the animal would get burned.

As the creature got closer, however, it got on its two feet; Kashizudoto soon released that this animal was actually a large man when he took note of the leather jacket, a large chain wrapped around his neck (a fashion statement?), and black hair. As if to even further prove his humanity, the guy yelled across the tunnel as he neared.

"You there! You were also stupid enough to come down here, no?!" the man asked, his cry echoing across the entire network of passages, "Tell me! Have you seen a fat bear anywhere?!" Stupid? Stupid? No one had ever called Kashizudoto stupid, except for his completely retarded parents who considered abuse to be a good thing. So obviously this got Kashizudoto worked up a bit, although he barely showed it.

"I'm Kashizudoto Sarutobi, a chuunin from Konoha here on a mission to escort the Hokage," the boy would say patiently from behind the small fire that was still dividing him and the man, "I wasn't aware of how treacherous the tunnels were in the Land of Earth, can you show me the way out? Either that, or I'll have to break my way out of here through force..."  With his arsenal of doton techniques, it wouldn't be that hard for Kashizudoto to actually destroy his way out; however, he preferred not to destroy the environment whenever possible.

"And what did you say about a fat bear?" said the chuunin, "Are you chasing down a wild animal in here through the tunnels? Or perhaps trying to locate a hibernating bear?" Maybe the animal he was looking for was his pet; for a crazy man like that, Kashizudoto would expect an exotic pet.

Kashizudoto Chakra:

WC: 1008

As he approached the man, before recognising it as another person, to Oki’s surprise there was suddenly more fire. Fire! As he walked closer yet before he spoke, he let out a low growl. Having said his piece, he waited for a response from the tiny person in front of him. Well, maybe to everyone else the person with the fire was average size, or below average. But to Oki, who was nearly an entire foot taller? Yeah, no, he was small.

The stranger responded, voice rather… Plain. “I’m Kashizudoto Sarutobi, a chuunin from Konoha here on a mission to escort the Hokage.” Here? As in, stuck in a cave? A strange place to be escorting someone that important. Still, at least to Oki, chuunin was a respectable rank if it were true. “I wasn’t aware of how dangerous the tunnels were in the Land of Earth, can you show me the way out? Either that, or I’ll have to break my way out of here through force…” Force? That was an idea the bear man found hilarious, considering how small this individual was compared to him. Still, a better look at the stranger through the light of the fire would show that he was in fact a shinobi, so, realistically he probably could try. Grinning, Oki nearly roared his response, so excited he forgot he had an indoor voice. “I do not know the way out! But you know what?! Your plan for force is a good plan! Come! Let us break our way out, as true ninja do!” he declared rather brashly, completely forgetting the laws of things such as gravity and terrible decisions.

“And what did you say about a fat bear? Are you chasing down a wild animal in here through the tunnels? Or perhaps trying to locate a hiding bear?” the Sarutobi continued, asking what to Oki seemed like a barrage of the same question. With a hearty chuckle, he crossed his arms, nodding and deciding to give a response as best he could. Best being as bold as humanly possible. After all, he’s Oki. Subtlety is not in his definition. “Oh? Have you not heard of us? The great bear clan of Iwa, proud warriors, strong and brave! Our history knows no bounds! And before you is one of the greatest! Oki of the Kuma clan! Genin student to one of the great Monoliths of Iwagakure! The bear in question is my partner, Debu! He has a habit of doing his own thing, and because of that I lost him… I came in here to search for the pesky bear!” he declares, pointing a thumb at himself with a prideful motion. Very subtle Oki… Very subtle…

452 + 681 = 1133

"I do not know the way out! But you know what?! Your plan for force is a good plan!" the compulsive bear man would say, "Come! Let us break our way out, as true ninja do!” When Kashizudoto said force, he didn't mean it as in punching through all the rock above (that would be suicidal), although the large man seemed to think that was a great idea. What the chuunin really meant by that was that he could use the doton techniques at his disposal to get out of the passages.

"Oh? Have you not heard of us? The great bear clan of Iwa, proud warriors, strong and brave! Our history knows no bounds! And before you is one of the greatest! Oki of the Kuma clan! Genin student to one of the great Monoliths of Iwagakure! The bear in question is my partner, Debu!" said the loud and proud man, "He has a habit of doing his own thing, and because of that I lost him… I came in here to search for the pesky bear." Damn, this guy was really full of himself, especially for a genin. However, Kashizudoto felt bad for him. After all, he lost what seemed to be his primary companion. Kashizudoto had to help him get his bear back somehow.

If the man's motor mouth wasn't loud enough to echo across the maze of tunnels and attract the bear's attention, then Kashizudoto's wouldn't suffice. But a collapsing tunnel? Surely that would get the attention of anyone or anything in the underground network. Besides, the two shinobi also needed a way out of the tunnels themselves; it'd be best to kill off two birds with one stone. However, collapsing the tunnel with his jutsu would be an extremely dangerous thing. He would have to take precautions before destroying something like this. Before he would even start collecting data on the cave, he would employ a single low sweep with his sword to destroy the fire separating the two; they would now be able to work together without a physical division separating them. Additionally, the flame bullet heated up the ground below it - further analysis of the sample that resulted could help Kashizudoto understand its composition better.

The first step would be to understand what this cave was made out of. He would first touch the rock that the fire was previously on; it was baked a little, but that was about it - nothing special. He then analyzed some of the rock on the walls. It was all grey, meaning that it could not be a mafic rock; it had to be felsic or intermediate. Based on this, he would guess that these tunnels were made of granite (meaning someone carved this out themselves), which would be impossible to break with his meteorite sword. As if to prove his point, he would lightly slash the Tentetsutou against the walls of the tunnel, not making a single scratch. Still, he could break this stuff up with his jutsu - though it'd be dangerous and his head would have to be up at all times in case something were too fall on his head.

"I have an idea," the chuunin would announce while yanking on his coil of wire, untying the thread around his kunai knife, wrapping the wire back, and finally putting the knife back in the holster (this contraption would now only serve as a burden at this point), "Get back about 30 meters: this will be way too dangerous for you. You could die." Whether or not the man heeded the request, Kashizudoto would go on with his plan (if the man was so confident that he could survive a tunnel breaking up all around him, then let him have his wish). That said, if the man was actually in danger of dying, Kashizudoto would make the fullest attempt to save him - he wouldn't like to have the blood on his hands of killing a genin while escaping a tunnel network.

"Earth Style: Tearing Earth Turning Palm!" he would declare, smashing his left arm into the ground - his sword in his right hand - as the cavern all around him would break up until 25 meters. This would create a gigantic noise which would alert the bear inside as well as create an opening for them to escape from. Of course, this was also dangerous, and Kashizudoto, immediately after using the technique, would make a run for it as he would dodge the huge chunks of rock crashing all around him. At one point, he would even jump on one of the falling boulders as it crashed onto the ground to avoid getting crushed.

When he would arrive safely away, the rocks would have finished crashing to the ground, and the sunlight from the outside would have shined brightly upon Kashizudoto as an opening was clearly created. What was the first thing he would see outside? A bear munching happily on a fish. Oh boy, at least they were now free.

Kashizudoto Chakra:

WC: 1852

Oki watched with mild curiosity as the person before him began making different movements, putting out the fire separating the two. The fire out, Oki watched as the man was moving from the ground to the wall, touching it rather inquisitively, as if he were playing detective. In fact, the image was there enough that the bear man simply couldn’t stop himself from imagining the one known as Kashizudoto dressed as a stereotyped detective. It caused him to smirk if nothing else, although it was easily apparent that he was doing it for a reason. Surprising to Oki, as he believed the man to have just talked about breaking through the tunnels, no? He even slashed a weapon at the rocks. Why would someone do that? That just seemed daft. But, what did Oki know? He was more a fan of the punch things and hope it works approach.

“I have an idea. Get back about 30 metres: this will be too dangerous for you. You could die.” The chuunin announced, undoing what appeared to be a journeying piece of equipment, stuffing a kunai in his sachel. Oki of course, while being straight forward and simple, wasn’t stupid enough to simply ignore the demand at the risk of death. After all, while he may have been from a different village, this guy was a superior in rank to Oki, so, his word was better than Oki’s on risks. He moved back carefully, keeping his eye on the other person. He wasn’t the best at knowledge about distances, likely from his sheer height, so instead of 30 metres, he ended up slightly further.

Suddenly, with a cry, the chuunin spoke up once more. “Earth Style: Tearing Earth Turning Palm!” Wait. Did he really just say out loud the technique he was using? That just seemed like a terrible habit… Was this guy really a chuunin? Before Oki could allow these thoughts to elaborate themselves, he watched as the Konoha nin’s spare hand struck the ground, going into it with sudden force. The earth around the man suddenly cracked, collapsing and breaking around the centre point. Oki had to admit, it was a respectable amount of destruction. Although what was perhaps more respectable was the dodging of the rocks that collapsed upon him, Kashizudoto darting back and forth like a madman, rocks tumbling around him.

Oki laughed, heading back towards the chuunin and looking towards the opening he had created, giving the ninja a thumbs up out of respect for his sheer destructive force and ability to dodge rocks. Mobility, at least in Oki’s experience, wasn’t as fun as sheer strength, but it was still important nonetheless. With a grin, Oki looked towards the new opening there was, squinting slightly at the sudden light compared to the dark of the tunnels. To his surprise, right in front of the entrance… Debu! The lazy bear was there, where it was before Oki ran in like an idiot, having the last bites of the fish it had caught. A mix of emotions came over Oki. The first being happiness. After all, it meant the bear was not lost. Then surprise, Oki having expected the bear to be within the cave tunnels. Lastly, frustration. This was the one he ended up displaying most openly. With a roar, louder than his declarations within the tunnels, the bear man took off towards the bear at a sprint, voice bellowing his words. “DEBU! YOU FOOL! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!”

Barely reacting to the sudden shouting of the massive man, the bear stood up rather slowly, as if nothing was happening. Oki meanwhile, ran up to the bear, picking the fat mammal up in his arms to give it quite a big hug, laughing as he did so. The bear simply yawned, leant up, and batted him hard in the face, leaving a scratch mark and bruise on Oki’s left cheek. Still laughing, as a response, Oki merely adjusted his grip on the bear, lifting it a bit more, then leant back at full force, suplexing the animal into the ground. With a roll, the chubby bear landed on its back, sat up, and simply turned to look at Oki, who resumed his rather obnoxious laugh. With a thumbs up to the bear, he then remembered he wasn’t alone, looking back to Kashizudoto with a grin. “Ah! Right! Debu! This is uhh… Kassy! He’s from the land of fire, and a rank superior to yours truly! Show him respect!” he declared, the bear just looking from Oki to Kashizudoto, then deciding it hadn’t had a long enough nap to put up with Oki, lying back down with a thud.

780 + 1133 = 1913

It was good that the man had listened to Kashizudoto; he loved it when people listened to him, and this latest rankup had really done the job there. After all, a good leader was generally matched with a superior rank, although not all the time. Sometimes, the best leaders were the ones who weren't called such.

The giant man gave a hearty laugh as Kashizudoto escaped the huge cave collapse that he had caused until he too saw the life form across the opening. Yes, it was the innocent, dumb bear, still nibbling on the last bits of his fish. The bear's name was... Yes, the man said that his pet's name was Debu. That's what it was. As if the man was listening to the thoughts in Kashizudoto's head and wanted to confirm his memory of the bear's name, he would scream it out loud like a madman.

"DEBU!" he screamed in rage as he took off sprinting out of the opening and towards the bear, "YOU FOOL! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?! As if he was oblivious to the man's loudly expressed frustrations, the bear got up slowly as the man ran to give him a big hug. By then, Kashizudoto would have jumped out of the tunnel and landed next to the pair, almost ready to depart. As the man embraced the bear, it gave him a light scratch on the man's left cheek - perhaps it was an expression of affection between the two wierdos. He then unlocked his arms and gave a thumbs up to the bear similar to the one that he had given the chuunin when he had opened the tunnels.

"Ah! Right! Debu!" said the man before turning to the chuunin, "This is uhh… Kassy! He’s from the Land of Fire, and a rank superior to yours truly! Show him respect!" While Kashizudoto enjoyed the praise for sure, he was used to it; in fact, there wasn't really a day when he wouldn't get praised for something ever since he'd graduated from the Academy and became a full fledged shinobi. It was good that he never let that get to his head. He was also equally used to people messing up his rather long name, as it was from a minor land (his grandparents immigrated to the Land of Fire a long time back and married into the Sarutobi clan). The clueless bear would proceed to drop down to the ground with a plop, probably tired. Kashizudoto would decide that it would probably be a good time to leave.

He would first release the jutsu that enflamed his sword, making the Tentetsutou return to its normal glimmering black state as he returned it to its stiff bamboo sheath. He would then pat himself down to remove all the dust that had collected on his robe during the cave collapse that he caused. Finally, he would survey the scene to make sure that everything was accounted for; he would see nothing of interest to him, like a straggling person, major environmental damage that he'd have to clean up as a result of his act (that opening in the cave was probably a good thing as it would serve future generations of lost adventurers as an escape route for them), or anything like that.

"I guess it's time for me to fly, in that case," the chuunin would say, "It was nice meeting you and your bear, Oki, and I'm glad we made it out of this alive." He would have no more to say, so he would vitalize his body with chakra - this was known as the Body Flicker technique - and disappear at an untraceable speed in order to reappear at downtown Iwagakure and check for whether the Hokage had arrived yet.

Chances were, the genin was massively slowing down the Hokage's group, at least in Kashizudoto's imagination. They were more than a day late. But... possibly. What if... If they got attacked. No, no, the Hokage was the most powerful man in the Land of Fire; he could crush the Tsuchikage. The only one who Kashizudoto could imagine beating Kenta would be the Mizukage herself, who was rumored to be the most powerful shinobi on the continent.

Kashizudoto Chakra:

WC: 2572

[Exit]

Strength: C-1 -> C-2: 600/600
Speed: C-1 -> C-2: 600/600
Endurance: C-1 -> C-2: 600/600
Reaction Time: C-2 -> C-3: 700/700
Leftover WC: 72

The bear duo of Iwagakure watched as the fire of the chuunins sword went out, the bear finding it rather interesting, out of nothing, as he sheathed the weapon. Interesting yet overvalued. After all, the most important weapon was a fist! Or the feet! Or perhaps the head and belly if one was feeling creative! He then proceeded to mimic the man, patting himself down as well, more as an ‘oh, this is good manners’ than an actual care for being dusty. Oki continued watching as the man proceeded to look around, as if he were expecting something. Debu meanwhile, could not care less, back to its usual of doing nothing significant. Or anything at all, really. Then, the Konoha ninja spoke up, rather… Unsubtly? Well, not really, especially not compared to Oki. “I guess it’s time for me to fly, in that case. It was nice meeting you and your bear, Oki, and I’m glad we made it out alive.” Wait. Fly? Can this guy fly as well? Except no. At that, Oki watched as, one moment he was there, and the next he had gone. Oki had heard this was a common technique utilised by ninjutsu specialists. Although Oki couldn’t really give good input on that. He wasn’t a ninjutsu user after all.

With a sigh, Oki shook his head, walking off back towards the village of stone. Plodding alongside him, Debu the bear followed suit. Oki grinned down to his bear, shaking his head slightly. “You my friend, are a trouble maker! So! Tonight, we shall spar over the last fish! No free treats for you!” he declared, laughing heartily and continuing along. The bear meanwhile simply continued plodding along, shoulders slouched. The Yogi and Booboo of Iwagakure were on their way home, another misadventure done and… Dusted.

301 + 1913 = 2214

[EXIT]

Training: