Sanosuke walked up the tall and steep stone stair case that seemed to be a mile long, just the walk up the stairs felt like walking up the mountain trail of the tallest mountain of Kumogakure. He kept walking up the stairs, dragging his feet along the staircase tiredly. He had spent 10 minutes walking up the stairs and already he was fed up, these were stairs for god sake he knew that staircases in Kumo are often longer than typical stair cases in other villages but this was down right ridiculous!

Finally Sanosuke arrived at the top of the stairwell, he began panting slightly from the stairs. He was tired but it was weird that he was tired from just walking up the stairs. Sanosuke would have to work on his endurance while he was training in Kumo. Sanosuke looked straight ahead and walked in on a maagnificent looking dojo, "Whoa..." Sanosuke breathed out.

The dojo looked amazing, there was a small bridge leading to the stairwell of the dojo arena. The dojo was a cross breed between a japanese dojo and a roman colloseum. It had many training dummies of all shapes and figures. Even some of the dummies were automatic and moved on their own and wielding their own weapons to battle against the numerous swordsman in training using other blades to combat those training dummies. Sanosuke wanted to grow stronger as a swordsman and it looks like this would be a place for him to start his journey as a swordsman.

Sanosuke looked around the dojo himself. There were all sorts of training dummies he could use to better himself as both a swordsman and a shinobi. There was a training dummy that shot out kunai knives, another one that was 10 feet tall that had 2 battle axes as arms, and training dummies that were in the shape of dogs. It was soo cool!

But the day was fading and so was the sun, it was time for him to go home, he let out a weary yawn. Ever since he ate that apple from the durain tree of knowledge, he felt so much better as a person, he felt powerful. But since then he was feeling kind of drowsy. He needed some sleep, so he made a mental note to himself to comeback here some other time when he was ready to officially begin his journey to becoming the strongest swordsman. Sanosuke turned around and walked out of the dojo and headed to the Rice paddies where he left for home.
-exit thread-

Sanosuke decided it was now time for him to train farther in kenjutsu. If he was going to be the best kenjutsu user in the world he was going to need to be stronger than he was right now. Sanosuke walked through the streets of Kumogakure in the morning as he began to think hard about how he can get better at kenjutsu. Well for starters he needed to to increase his kenjutsu library.

Sanosuke sat down on a rock of a mountain trail so he can help himself think. He thought about the kenjutsu techniques he knew a few kenjutsu techniques that he was taught by his foster father Takaeo before his foster and him decided that he would live by himself from now on after becoming a genin. Sanosuke left his foster father's house in order for him to deal with the pressures and rumors alone without causing his foster father any troubles. Ever since he was adopted by Takeo, his father was alienated and ostracized by some of his fellow shinobi. Their home was about to be foreclosed, so Sanosuke did the best for his father and left.

But before he left, Sanosuke was taught by his father the fundamentals of kenjutsu. Takeo taught him the best way to grip a blade to the point where he can even hold a longsword and broadsword so well that he can hold the blade with just one hand rather than two. He was also taught the standard kenjutsu technique that many genin like himself throughout the countries were taught. But his father went a step farther and together, Sanosuke and Takeo developed apre advanced form of Hā. And finally Sanosuke was taught a technique that was his father's signature move and was handed down to him. The Rupture technique that if done correctly, can break even the mightiest weapon.

But Sanosuke needed more, he needed more kenjutsu and more ways to improve himself. But he couldn't think. Sanosuke hopped off he rock he was sitting on and decided that he might come up with a new kenjutsu to add to his arsenal if he checked out scrolls in Kumo's public library. Sanosuke strolled up the mountain trail, it was easier to walk due to the fact that he was already used to walking up the mountain trail. He kept walking up the trail until he reached the mountain trail that would lead him to the library. He walked up that one and opened he library doors to enter.

As he walked inside, Sanosuke spotted the head librarian near a set of books. Old lady Aoi was stacking books and books on the shelves until they were filled. She spotted him and smiled at him before returning to her work. Aoi was sweet old lady whom he cleaned the library for numerous times. Sanosuke walked down the aisles of bookshelves and started looking through books and scrolls that might help him out in learning how to fight better as a kenjutsu user. He got a book that was labeled Kumo's History. There were no books that contained kenjutsu techniques, he decided to look at the book to see of there might be a hint for assistance.

Sanosuke took the book and walked to the tables where he opened it and read its contents from front to back. He read many things about how the village of Kumo was founded and many other things but Sanosuke noticed something about the numerous significant kenjutsu users that were alive and famous during the time of the 1st Raikage to the life of the 7th Raikage. They each learned a common technique called Cloud Style: Crescent Moon Beheading. He looked through the index of the book to find out any clues on how he can learn the technique. He found an entrée in the book about the jutsu, when he turned to it, there was a small excerpt about the technique. It is said that the technique involves a swift slash of the sword that is said to be so quickly that it can stop a barrage of arrows.

Sanosuke grumbled, there had to be more information about the jutsu. Sanosuke looked through the book but couldn't find anything useful. It can stop a barrage of arrows, but where could he get a "barrage of arrows?" Then he thought about the Akako Dojo he found, it was indeed the place he needed to go in order to start his training. Sanosuke took the book with him as he walked off towards the exit. "I'm going to borrow this" he said to Aoi. The old lady smiled and nodded at Sanosuke. Sanosuke walked out the door and towards the mountain trail that would lead him to the staircase of the Akako Dojo. He turned his walk into a run as he was halfway done walking along the mountain trail to the staircase; his feet clampered on each step of the stairs that would lead him to the dojo. He was already feeling the burn of walking up the stairs so much, but it felt good in a way; As though this was part of his training. Once he was there, he looked out upon Akako Dojo to see the multiple swordsman and samurai alike in Kumogakure training. But this time there were fewer than he saw last time, it must be because of the cold weather. But to Sanosuke, cold weather training was ideal training to him.

Sanosuke walked down a level to get to the floor of the dojo. He walked towards something that resembled an automatic arrow launcher It looked as though the arrows were dulled and couldn't hit him. There seemed to be a massive amount of arrows in the mortar. Sanosuke smirked, perfect if it’s a volley of arrows they want then it’s a thousand they'll get. Sanosuke hit a button on the mortor and it jittered with life. Sanosuke jumped back until he was away from the mortar from about 10 meters away. He prepared his long sword by drawing out his blade from his sheathe. While in the academy, they learned all about mortars like these and how to operate them. They were all over the Flying Fortress and in case of emergencies genin had to man them.

The mortar jittered violently with life, it was preparing to shoot arrows. Here it comes, Sanosuke thought to himself. Arrows flew at Sanosuke, he tried his best to remember the words that he found from the book he borrowed from the library. He had to be able to stop a volley of incoming arrows in order to learn the technique. Sanosuke made multiple slashes at the arrows that were coming at him in vain but the arrows landed blows against his body. Sanosuke felt as though he was punched in the stomach hard with each arrow that was hit. Sanosuke was being pushed back as he continued to swing his long sword but to he kept on coming to short. Finally he was succumbed by the barrage and fell on his back hard.

The mortar stopped firing arrows and made a large clunking noise in order to reload its arrows for the next set. Sanosuke began to pant, the arrows were dull but they still packed a punch. If those were real arrows, he would've been skewered. Sanosuke stuck his sword into the ground to help lift himself off from the ground. Once he was off the ground he walked to the mortar and pressed the button again, he jumped back and got into his stance. The arrows came at him in a rapid pace, he used both hands to hold his sword in an attempt at slashing at the arrows that were coming at him. He swung in wide arcs to get as many arrows as possible, he was able to clear the majority of the arrows on his left side at his swing but because of the wide arc he made he didn't have enough time to react to the rest of the arrows that were being fired at him. Arrows pelted Sanosuke hard, he tried making small slashes close to his body to gain better coverage but it was hard to covered every part of his body. One arrow hit his leg and he tried to turn his small slashes into a blocking slash.

Sanosuke was sent flying once again and this time he hit the wall of the dojo hard. Sanosuke slid down to the ground, and was still pelted with the arrows it seemed as though there were more this time. Sanosuke roared in pain as he was hit more. When the mortar stop to reload, Sanosuke was covered with minor scratched from the dull arrows. It seemed as though some of the arrows had a bit of an edge to it. Sanosuke picked himself off from the ground and held his sword, the amount of arrows that were shot were the same but he did an even poorer job at deflecting the arrows. It was most likely because of his wide arcs, maybe if he made smaller slashes it would work. Sanosuke limped to the mortar, one of those arrows landed a heavy blow on his knee and it was painful for him to walk. He walked to the mortar and turned it on again, he would get this jutsu. The mortar clanked as it fired another volley of arrows, before they came Sanosuke shifted his feet so he was leaning on his back leg and held the sword in both hands so he was in a defensive stance. The arrows came at him but this time, he swung the sword in wide arches, he cleared part of the first wave, the second wave came in and he swiped in the other direction. He was doing it, he kept this process up. He just had to continue with the slashing and not put too much effort in the slash. If he did put too much effort then he would be blown away.

More, more, more Sanosuke chanted mentally as he slashed more of the waves of arrows at him. He had to keep going. He was almost there, then one arrows escaped his wide swipes and smacked into his hand. His stance crumbled as he was pelted with the arrows hard. Sanosuke fell back, as he was pushed back by the barrage of arrows. Sanosuke was laying on his back breathing hard, he almost had it. He needed to do it one more time, Sanosuke struggled to pick himself up. He shook as he walked to the mortar. He pressed the button and walked back into position. He closed his eyes and began to calm himself down. He had to focus, he had to make wide swipes but also pivot his wrist halfway through the slash in order to go again. The arrows came at Sanosuke, he began slashing at them one volley at a time he kept going and going. The arrows were being sliced by Sanosuke's sword. Not a single arrow was touching him, he could do this. He could do this!

Sanosuke made wider slashes, keeping the arrows away from him. When the mortar was done firing it made a clunk to reload and Sanosuke was still standing. He was shaking from his breaths, he could barely stand. He had done it, he had survived against a volley of arrows. Sanosuke dragged his body towards a training dummy. The bruises on his body screamed in protest but he had to make sure that he did the move correctly. Sanosuke got into position. The training dummy was hanging from the ground as he focused his attention on his blade. "Crescent Moon Beheading!" He yelled as he made quick and wide slashes at the training dummy. He was making so many slashes that Sanosuke lost count, upon his final slash the training dummy fell into many cut pieces. Sanosuke sheathe his sword and fell on the ground. He was exhausted, he had done the jutsu successfully.

Sanosuke smiled as he rest, he couldn't move his body from the ground, the soreness he was feeling was actually paralyzing. He decided to rest here for a while.
-End training Word count: 2,044 words/ 1,000 words-

The wind from the high altitude mountains of Kumogakure blew through the giant leaf like doors that were built as make shift doors that Sanosuke used to guard his cave like home from the harsh winds. Sanosuke was sitting cross legged on his bed with his cargo pants on and his longsleeved black shirt on. All his weapons were on his dresser table so that he can focus on the task that was directly in front of him. On his lap was a blue 3 inch book that was entitled Kumgakure's Long History in italics. The book was tattered from constant use and page turning from past readers, even one of the pages was missing. He was glad that Aoi let him borrow this book, after all he had been cleaning the Kumgakure library more times than any shinobi has in a long time; it was about time he was to reap the benefits of cleaning every single of nook and cranny of the public library.

The pages he turned to in the book was filled with so much history that it was at times hard to read through every single page of the history that was his village. There were sections about senjutsu clans that once resided in Kumo even before the first Raikage even settled in Kumo, there were sections about ancient kunai and ninja tools that were used long ago. It made Sanosuke really appreciate the weapons they have now. In Kumo from a long time ago; certain clans, like the Akako clan and the Akumasureiyā clan, that were popular in modern Kumo were in the past was small and so ordinary that not many people would care about it. It was shocking really, the oldest clan in Kumo was back in the day nothing special. Sanosuke kept reading in the book. He was looking more into the section of the book where he had found that excerpt that supplied him the hint he needed to recreate the training process required to create the ancient Kumogakure kenjutsu technique; Cloud Style: Crescent Moon Beheading. If it wasn't for that excerpt he would have never figured out where to even begin learning about the move. So Sanosuke figured if he could find one jutsu in the text book then maybe he can find another kenjutsu technique.

He read towards the same excerpt that helped him learn Crescent Moon Beheading and skimmed down the same pages. He turned to the other pages of the book and kept turning until he learned about a kenjutsu shinobi in the book that was famous for saving a group of shinobi that was being held hostage by the reanimated version of Sasori of the Red Sand during the Fourth Great Shinobi War. The Kumo shinobi instead of slashing at Sasori, who would've used his puppets to block the strike, did a fake slash at Sasori and followed through with his slash in a revolution to cut down the chakra strings that was attached to the Kumo kenjutsu user's allies. Sanosuke read the battle the Kumo shinobi was a part of over and over again. But that was his only hint in how to use the move. In the book, it was called; Cloud Style: Reverse Crescent Slice.

Well I guess this is my only hint I'm going to be given to do this technique, Sanosuke thought to himself. It was a pain to look through every book in order to find a new way to learn a kenjutsu technique. Learning from history was good and all and was reported to teach leaders to learn from the mistakes fo the past, but there were times when someone had to rely on their own personal experience to get stronger. It meant that it was up to him to teach his own kenjutsu techniques so that it can suit his own fighting style. Sanosuke leaped off his bed and landed on the ground, he leaned over to collect his boots and put them on. He straightened himself up and walked towards the wall that had his sword leaning on it. He slung it on his back and smirked to himself, he went over to reach for his kunai pouch and decided it was best to leave the pouch where it was. He needed to only bring his sword for his training.

When he was ready, Sanosuke walked out of his home and towards the Akako Dojo. He walked along the many mountain trails of Kumogakure. The wind softly blew around him as he walked, it felt great this wind that was around him Gotta love Kumogakure, it has the best wind breezes in his opinion. He kept walking and found himself at the top of the Akako dojo. He looked down the stairwell he climbed, he had no idea that he climbed the stairwell so quickly and unintentionally.

He walked down towards the dojo to find the usual bunch of Akako and miscellaneous swordsman taking advantage of the dojo's equipment to practice their art. Sanosuke walked passed them and sat on a bench and began thinking how he could implement his training. He looked towards some automatic training dummies. Sanosuke walked towards the dummies and inspected it, it looked as though the training dummies can move by themselves based on the controls. Sanosuke hit the training dummy's activation button, the dummy shuttered with energy and dashed at Sanosuke to tackle him. Sanosuke jumped back and has he jumped back he unsheathe his sword. As he unsheathed it and was it midair, he slashed at the incoming training dummy. But the dummy was giving budge, even to Sanosuke's sword digging into the shoulder of the dummy's torso.

Sanosuke landed on the ground, with his feet sliding on the ground as he was in deadlock with the training dummy. The force of the tackle had both the training dummy and Sanosuke skidding back. Sanosuke cursed as he was being pushed back, he was too weak. Another training dummy, much like the training dummy that Sanosuke was battling, shuttered to life and sped towards Sanosuke. He could barely react before he was blindsided by the new training dummy. The tackling training dummy rammed its weight into Sanosuke's side and ribs, knocking the wind out of his ribs with the crushing blow. Sanosuke skidded on the ground as he recovered from the blow as he was sent flying. Before he could get up, a new training dummy dashed at Sanosuke sending him flying.

A yell escaped Sanosuke's mouth as he was sent flying once again, but this time he couldn't recover in midair. Sanosuke struggled getting back up on his feet. This was a joke, he could barely get an attack in on those stupid training dummies . He looked around him as he struggled getting into his sword stance. There were 3 training dummies that surrounded him in a circle, they were dashing around him like a mini tornado. He could barely keep up with their movements. One of them broke rank and made a dash at Sanosuke. He swung his sword at the training dummy as it came to him, the training dummy shrugged it off and continued with its tackle. Sanosuke fell to the ground, and saw that the training dummy returned to its poisiton of spinning around him. Sanosuke struggled to get back on his feet by using his sword as a rest.

Why couldn't he get a swing in? Every time Sanosuke swung his sword at them they reflected it, it was as though the training dummies' whole front side was protected with armor and impervious to all attacks in that direction. An idea came to his head, if he was right then maybe he wouldn't have to go through this torture for long. Sanosuke picked himself from the ground once more, heaving from his efforts. His grip on his sword never slackened, he could do this he knew he could. There was no way in hell he would give up now. He tried his best to keep up with the movements of the training dummies. He saw one of them dash at Sanosuke on his right; this time Sanosuke was prepared. He remembered the history story about the Kumo ninja against Sasori. He spun around in a revolution to first dodge the tackle coming straight for him with a nicely executed side step. Sanosuke held his sword as he went with his spin, and cut down the training dummy that had recently made an attempt to tackle him.

The training dummy that attacked him was cut in half, both parts crashed down on the ground. He was right, it felt great that he was correct about his hypothesis. The story about the Kumo shinobi involved him slashing in a rotation like movement to cut the chakra threads. And that was what he needed to do in order to learn the technique. Just keep spinning, if he spun he wouldn't have to slash to get power from his muscles alone; but if Sanosuke spun he would get strength from his muscles and the power of spinning. Another training dummy followed the lead of the original to tackle and take down Sanosuke by striking him right in his blind spot with a bone crushing tackle. Sanosuke went along with his spinning, completely devoted to his spin.

Sanosuke was supplied with a nice and even cut along the training dummy's legs with a sharp slash to the knee joints. The training dummy caved under its missing weight and fell down pretty hard on the ground. He was going to quit not ever, he came too far for him to stop his training. The final training dummy dashed at Sanosuke with a mean head butt. But Sanosuke let out a roar as he spun; he was now face to face with the training dummy. If he hesitated, the training dummy would strike him down. But Sanosuke wouldn't back down, he pumped power into his roar "Cloud Style: Reverse Crescent Slice!" he bellowed as he brought out his sword to decapitate the training dummy. Sanosuke swirled to a stop and landed with his back to the training dummy.

Sanosuke panted heavily as he began to place his sword back into his sheathe. His sword gleamed as though it was proud of its user. Sanosuke placed the sword back into its sheathe proudly. "I won't be defeated, not yet, not now!" Sanosuke promised. He stood up proudly of his work and the second he did, the training dummy's head fell down with a crumbling fall. He turned around to look at his work, all the training dummies were down on the ground.

It was then he saw another training dummy appear in front of him and tried to take him down. Sanosuke smirked as he ducked under its tackle and quickly withdrew his sword in one smooth motion and did a sharp revolutionary slash to cut the training dummy down in half. Sanosuke stopped his spinning and let out a smirk as he placed his sword back into his sheathe once more. "I won't be defeated, I'll get stronger" he said to himself. He meant it too, there was no way that he was going to lose to anyone. He was going to fly higher and higher to the birds that called themselves the kages.

Word count: 1893 words/1000 words

The air around Sanosuke felt as though it was getting hotter for some reason. It was a combination of the high altitudes of the Kumogakure mountains, the sun beating down Sanosuke's neck, and the fact that he was feeling hot from his recent work out he did in order to train a newly found kenjutsu move: Cloud Style- Reverse Slice. The effort left him pretty tired and exhausted and plus a couple of new bruises on his body. His body did ache and screamed pain, but it was nowhere as intense or tough to deal with as the first time he came to Akako Dojo to learn Cloud Style- Crescent Slice. That was a memory that still left him with scars and a few body pains. If he hadn't ate that fruit from the Durian Tree he doubt he would have enough energy to come down to the Dojo to learn more kenjutsu techniques.

But now his pains were although noticeable throughout his skin and body, he could bear it just fine. He still had enough fight in him to learn yet another new kenjutsu technique. He had never thought of learning 2 kenjutsu techniques in one day but there was no harm in trying. Besides he really wanted to test his limits of how much punishment his body can take by learning as much new jutsu before feeling his body give out due to a loss of stamina. But here was the question, what kind of new kenjutsu technique should he learn? Sanosuke materialized a bottle of water from his back pouch; the chill bottle dripped with cold water and went to drink water from the bottle. The water did a great job at quenching his thirst rather well. The cold water splashed around his throat and into his stomach; instantly cooling down his body drastically. He let out a sigh in relief, now it was time to figure out what kind of jutsu he would learn. He had 2 new editions to his kenjutsu library and this time he didn't feel like resorting to the library to find help from a book in order to learn a jutsu.

Sanosuke resolved to come up with a jutsu that didn't resort to him learning from some old fart that died years ago. He had to think about what he could do as a kenjutsu specialist. It was then that Sanosuke had figured out what he could do. It came in the form of advice from his old foster father Takao Takashi. His foster father was a kenjutsu specialist from Kumogakure and at a time when Sanosuke was younger and before he moved out, he had taught Sanosuke some kenjutsu technques. Some were moves he hadn't even heard of. When Sanosuke asked his foster father, the would just say that most jutsu were usually made from alterations to an existing jutsu.

That advice didn't sound like quite the bad idea in Sanosuke's opinion. Making alterations to an existing kenjutsu would be ideal right now as he was stuck in a conundrum of what kind of kenjutsu technique he should create. He thought about the standard kenjutsu technique that was usually taught to all kenjutsu specialist when they have just graduated the academy. Ha, the move where the user would make a slashing movement and as they make the slashing motion the user directs their blade so that as they slash, light is shined right into the eyes of the target. But as Sanosuke was taught the technique he couldn't help but think how to improve on the technique. If it was a slashing motion, the sword would truly be masked by the sword in the swing but it's only temporary. If it was with a stabbing motion, the sword would be easier to hold onto the rays of light in the blade so the blinding effect of the sword can be used to its full potential.

Turning the standard kenjutsu technique, Ha, to a more lethal kenjutsu technique was to be his new goal and object of interest; the move would be an excellent addition to his kenjutsu library. Sanosuke walked towards the training dummies that was hanging on railings. Throughout his kenjutsu move sets Sanosuke he always had to use a training dummy from the Akako dojo that had some sort of mobility. But now, this kenjutsu technique he had in mind didn't require to use any moving training dummies to complete it.

Sanosuke stopped once he picked out his training dummy that was hanging in the middle of the racks. He slowly unsheathed his sword from its sheathe and flashed his sword out in order to flex his sword arm that focused all his attention on his sword arm. Sanosuke flashed his sword in the back so it could collect light and tried making a quick stab at the training dummy. Just as his sword made contact with the training dummy, he felt voltages travel through his sword, then to his arm and finally to his body. There were several spams that surged through his body. With a yelp he pulled his sword out of the training dummy.

He began breathing hard as he was shocked rather hard by the lightning that came from the training dummy. Sanosuke walked towards the training dummy and decided it was best for Sanosuke to feel around for any changes that he might be able to detect. Sanosuke moved around his hand to poke the training dummy. He felt small sparks of electricity where he had poked the training dummy. So it was a training dummy that was charged with electricity. Sanosuke had to think really hard at what he could do in order to perfect the stabbing motion.

The problem that every time he stabbed the training dummy, he would get shocked. But the question was, how can he stop this shocking from occuring? Sanosuke looked at his sword and from his sword his very own reflection that looked at Sanosuke from inside his sword. Whenever Sanosuke was stuck with a very difficult problem he would look into the reflection of his sword, as though his sword knew all the answers to ever question he could possibly ask. Then it came to him, Sanosuke sneered in accomplishment. After getting his ass kicked several times by training dummies, finding out the best way to beat them came a lot quicker than the first time he trained at the Akako Dojo.

Sanosuke got his sword and he began to flash his weapon in the world through swinging motions. As he swung, he focused chakra into his sword. His immediate chakra nature was electricity so the sword jumped with tiny static discharges. Once he was done spinning around his blade, he made a quick stabbing motion at the training dummy. When the sword went into the dummy, the training dummy's electrical pulse shot into his sword. Sanosuke's sword bristled with lightning to combat against training dummy's electric post. Sanosuke struggled to maintain his hold against the training dummy, but his grip slackened and his attack yielded. The lightning from his sword died down and Sanosuke was shocked with more watts of electricity.

Sanosuke let out a shrill shout of pain as he was shocked with more electricity. Sanosuke began heaving as he picked himself up once more form the ground. His legs felt like jello, it was most likely because of the electricity that kept going through his body. He was panting heavily as he struggled to stand, Sanosuke held up his sword to try it again. He reviewed what he did wrong, the was no center point to his jutsu. So the lightning that came from the training dummy went up against the lightning from his sword and overcame it because the sword's lightning wasn't focused at all.

Sanosuke got his sword in stabbing positioned and whipped it around his body, he was going to do it this time. He was sure he was going to do it. He quickly poised his sword in stabbing posed and swiftly focused chakra into his sword, lightning bristled around his sword as he poised it. Sanosuke stabbed at the training dummy, light glanced along the blade to the tip of the blade. Sanosuke made sure that the chakra that was on his sword shortly followed the stream of light to the tip. Now lightning bristled with lightning at the tip of his sword and Sanosuke let the tip of his sword guide itself to the training dummy's torso. Usually the lightning from the training dummy would shock Sanosuke first, but this time Sanosuke's sword shocked the training doll. The training doll jittered from side to side until the training dummy limped lifelessly back onto his rack.

Lightning shocked through his body as Sanosuke stood, it was hard for Sanosuke to stand. He felt his body slump to the ground, he was breathing really hard. There were still some shocks in his body which made it harder for Sanosuke to relax. Sanosuke sheathe his sword and suddenly he felt all the shocks in his body leave him. The shocks he received have been revived the pains and skin torture that he received from the previous training. But at least he learned a new jutsu. Sanosuke was too tired to get up and just stared into the sky. It was relaxing; if he stayed in this position then he won't feel the pain for a while. He decided he would name the jutsu, Piasu. It meant pierce, the perfect name for a lightning style kenjtusu technique.

The sky was turning red as the sun was going down, in Kumogakure the mountains would cover the descending sun in the most beautiful way that would melt the hearts of even the coldest of people. Sanosuke was sitting on a bench drenched with sweat, his body was heaving hard. With each breath he took, his body screamed in pain and protest. But Sanosuke ignored the pain as best as he could but it was getting hard to ignore it. He had learned 2 kenjutsu techniques in the same day and it was really taking a toll on his body. After learning Reverse slice, his body began to ache from being tackled repeatedly by training dummies. Those training dummies, although they looked as though they shouldn't be that very strong, they packed quite a punch. After getting his ass kicked by training dummies, he felt as though he was hit by a bus.

Sanosuke looked at his hands; his fingers began to make small twitches that he couldn't control on his will. It got annoying that every time he trained, he would suffer from a new wound or some shape of bodily harm that would drag on and stunt his performance for future training purposes. This time, as he began his training to learn yet another kenjutsu technique, he trained with a training dummy that would give off an electric discharge every single time it was touched. The shocks were painful and border lined on lethal dosages of electricity. Hell he was trying to figure out how he was able to stand after every shock he took, considering that he took 5 semi lethal discharges.

But he had to get stronger; it wasn't as though he had a particular and immediate reason for his need to get stronger, Sanosuke just wanted to get stronger for the sake of getting stronger. The sensation he got from training was sublime, the feelings he got from completing a jutsu he worked very hard on was the best feeling he had ever encountered. He wanted to keep the feelings of accomplishment, but he wondered how long his body will take the punishment before it decided to quit on Sanosuke.

The heat he was experiencing was getting unbearable, he was so hot that everything he was wearing was now drenched in his sweat. Thankfully none of the training dummies that he used didn't draw out any of his blood, the smell of dry blood on his clothing was an appauling smell to bear. Sanosuke stripped off his overcoat and immediately felt relief from the heat. He pulled each of his arms in order to stretch out the muscles in them to make them more active and flexible. He put back his sword on his back with the sheathe still attached to the sword's string. Sanosuke took in a deep breath, he held that breath in for as long as possible and released it. The simple breathing exercise was done so he can compose himself and distribute his energy evenly throughout his body.

The chakra that was in his body was running on dangerously low levels, Sanosuke was losing his balance and conscious. He doubted that he could learn another new kenjutsu technique after he finished learning the jutsu he was thinking about now. Sanosuke unsheathed his sword slowly and rested it against his shoulder tiredly by holding onto it by his sword's sheathe. He strolled towards a set of training dummies. He wanted something else, the jutsu he was thinking of creating was something that was related to the stabbing technique that he created called Piasu. Sanosuke stopped as he got in front of a rather large boulder. The boulder that stood in front of him was easily 20 feet tall. This rock was what he will use for his training, it looked as though the rock wouldn't give him any nasty surprises when he hit it. It was the perfect exercise to end his training schedule.

Sanosuke got himself prepared as he balanced his sword in his hand by clamping his free hand onto the handle as well. Normally he would try his best to wield his long sword with one hand, but Sanosuke was way too tired to waste his chakra needlessly. The sword he held was now poised in a two handed stabbing position; he was already beginning to breathe hard from just holding his sword. Sanosuke hoped can master this new technique quickly.

With a roar, Sanosuke lunged at the rock to stab it. The sword that he was wielding grinded against the rock hard, he pulled away at the last minute before he ran right into the boulder. What the hell was going on? He shouldn't have slid like that against the rock's surface. Sanosuke prepared his blade to go for another stabbing pose and launched himself; the sword struck true to the boulder and for a second he thought his sword would sink into the boulder, but it didn't sink inside the car's boulder and instead it skidding painfully to his ears. This time Sanosuke followed through with the thrusting motion of his sword and banked his shoulder hard against the boulder. Sanosuke yelped in pain as he crumbled on the ground hilding his shoulder. It was throbbing with pain, he didn't get it. He was positive that his sword went through the boulder. But it wasn't sticking.

Sanosuke picked himself off from the ground, still gripping his shoulder painfully. This was pissing him off, he was so positive that the sword went inside the giant rock. Sanosuke grabbed hold of his sword gingerly. It still hurt that he couldn't get his sword inside of the rock. It really burnt up inside of him, Sanosuke dashed at the rock and made a lunge for it. He focused chakra into his sword as he made for the stab. His sword struck the rock hard with a sharp ting sound crashing throughout the stone. This time his sword was wedging inside of the rock, it felt as though the boulder was trying to resist getting run through. He was in a strength contest with the boulder; it was pushing him back for some reason. Sanosuke could see a metal substance inside of the rock. The rock was the outer shell of the boulder, but it had a metal ball in the inside.

Then it came to him, the metal ball inside the boulder was a magnet. And that same magnet was what was pushing his sword away from the center. The boulder pushed Sanosuke back another inch, Sanosuke was getting mad. This was getting ridiculous. He was trying his best to fight this rock, he wanted to break the rock with a chakra enhanced stab but he was being pushed away by the same thing he devoted to destroy. "No way, I won't lose. Not now!" Sanosuke growled in annoyance. He didn't care what happened next, he focused as much chakra he could muster inside his sword as possible, just as the boulder's magnet pushed Sanosuke's sword back completely his chakra in his sword was focused in the tip and suddenly exploded. Sanosuke's eyes widened in surprise, he didn't mean to do that but the boulder erupted, metallic ball and all. The genin used his hand to guard his eyes from the dust.

When the dust cleared, Sanosuke was holding his sword with one hand breathing heavily in pants as he stood by the remains of the boulder he recently destroyed. The remains of the boulder comprised of rocks and metal,; nothing more, nothing less. Sanosuke looked in astonishment, there was no way he did it. When he was stabbing, that explosion was done by accident, but he liked the turn out. Sanosuke felt his body suddenly give out from the exhaustion of training several times in a row to learn 3 kenjutsu techniques in one day. As he fell, Sanosuke was thinking to himself what he should call his accidental discovery. He smiled as he fell, it would be call canon. With a thud he hit the floor face first on the ground. His sword clattered on the ground and laid next to him. All in a day's work….

It was early in the morning, around 6 in the morning, when a rooster somewhere outside Sanosuke's cave made a rather loud trumpet of an announcement to awaken anyone who was sleeping. The siren was killing him and it did worse; it interrupted Sanosuke's sleep schedule. If there was anything Sanosuke liked to do, it was to sleep. With venomous grumbling related to a damned rooster, that was filled with such profanity that a nun would dash to the confession box just from hearing Sanosuke's words, he woke up and stirred himself from his bed. As he moved, pain courses up his body. The reason for his intense pain that blossomed in his body was simply because of his harsh kenjutsu training. On his table was a plucked fruit from the Durian Tree; Sanosuke had plucked it the previous night for him to eat. Sanosuke bit down on the fruit and swallowed feeling instantly better. It gave him the energy he needed for him to get dressed in his usual attire and leave his cave.

When Sanosuke reached the stone stair case of Akako Dojo, he began thinking about what he kenjutsu technique he should create. He already learned a handful of kenjutsu techniques and thought that if he learned more it would make him stronger. But as he thought nothing much came to his mind so Sanosuke let out a weary sigh and just resolved that he would just spar against one of the swordsman at the dojo. After what seemed like 10 minutes of walking, Sanosuke had reached the end of the stair case and was now looking at the Akako dojo. There were the usual crowd of kenjutsu specialist and swordsman a like training hard to sharpen their skills of the blade. It was inspiring to see that Sanosuke wasn't the only one to share his passion for the sword arts. As Sanosuke watched each swordsman practice he began to shift his eyes to one swordsman at a time to see who should he spar against.

There was a rather cute female swordsman, but she looked as though she wouldn't be able to stand up against Sanosuke in a head to head battle. Sanosuke could easily outmuscle the girl to submission, or the girl would just use her cuteness to her advantage and make Sanosuke lose his concentration completely. Then there was a bulky man that wielded a giant sword that looked as though it could easily snap Sanosuke's sword in half with one swing. At first Sanosuke was apprehensive about fighting the giant swordsman and was about to chastise himself for about to pick such an obviously strong opponent to fight, but then he quickly composed himself so he wouldn't lose his cool. After strengthening his will, Sanosuke walked towards the huge swordsman.

The swordsman was over 7 feet tall and wore plated armor that was polished and cleaned so brightly, that Sanosuke was forced to squint his eyes in order to get closer to the man. He had black hair that was cut short in a buzz cut. The man looked more like a knight than a kenjutsu user, he was busy taking practice swipes at a training dummy that looked like it couldn't weigh more than 3 bags of flour. "Excuse me my name is Sanosuke, can you have a spar with me?" Sanosuke asked.

The giant swordsman turned around to face Sanosuke and was feeling a bit terrified wondering what the man will look like. He probably looked like a monster and had multiple scars, but upon seeing the swordsman's face made Sanosuke almost laugh out loud. The swordsman had a chubby baby face, it was though he was a teddy bear. "Sure thing, my name is Po" . But when he spoke, his voice boomed throughout Sanosuke's body. Sanosuke shook himself out of his stupor when he saw Po get into position with his giant sword. Taking his sword out his sheathe, Sanosuke got into his kenjutsu stance. Both swordsmen traced their weapon with chakra along their fingertips to make sure that the technique Sensui was activated and wouldn't harm the other swordsman. When they both finished, Sanosuke and Po both bowed to each other and dashed at each other weapons drawn.

Sanosuke knew that the weapon Po had had the potential to easily snap Sanosuke's blade in half, so it was Sanosuke's job to be sure that he was on the offensive and not the defensive. He noticed that Po was significantly slower than him and decided to use that to his advantage. By stepping into the right to feint a swipe from Po's sword, Sanosuke took a swipe at Po's ribs but he was easily blocked by the giant swordsman's sword. Po made a downwards swipe to cut Sanosuke in half right down the middle but Sanosuke side stepped the slash, and went with a spinning motion. Continuing his strikes, Sanosuke went for a stab to Po's head but once more his sword was halted by Po's, making his weapon easily batted away. If Sanosuke hadn't gripped on his sword tight enough, he would've been disarmed. There was now a huge opening in Sanosuke's guard that made Po go for it. Sanosuke cursed under his breath and did a back flip somersault to avoid that horizontal slash that Po went for.

When he landed back on his feet, Sanosuke was skidding on the ground he stopped the skidding by plunging his sword into the ground. After being sure that his position was secured, Sanosuke stood up. He noticed that his body was now caked in sweat; it's been a while since he was pushed this much in a spare Sanosuke was panting pretty hard. He didn't get it, every time Sanosuke struck he was blocked by Po's guard who would then make a counter attack that left him open enough for Sanosuke to be certain that he could actually harm his opponent. How the hell was he doing it? Sanosuke thought to himself as he readied his sword.

Po let out a smirk as he got his sword ready by lifting it from the ground and leveling it at Sanosuke "Ready for round 2 already?" he asked arrogantly. Sanosuke looked at Po's sword and saw that it had a slight hue of red on the blade, but the redness was suppressed and went back to cold metal color. Realization burst into Sanosuke's head as he thought about Po's fighting style, but he had to be sure. Sanosuke let out a battle cry before dashing at Po, He went for a diagonal downwards slash, but was blocked by Po easily. The force of the block wasn't that powerful, but Sanosuke went with the backwards motion to see if his guess was right. He was not disappointed as he saw Po drag his sword against the ground causing his sword to scrape against the floor causing small sparks to arise and his sword turn slightly red. Immediately, Sanosuke back pedaled away from the swipe and jumped back.

Sanosuke let out a smirk "I found you out, you were making a defense by making a block first then you would drag your sword against the ground to make it not only stronger but easier to retaliate to any slash" Sanosuke proclaimed with a smirk.

Po laughed loudly, his laughter was huge and made Sanosuke cringe uncomfortably at the loudness of his laugh. "Yup you found me out. Now how about we end this?" Po asked as he leveled his sword once more. Sanosuke returned the favor and dashed at Po but this time, he did it more quickly. His muscles screamed with pain as he ran, it told Sanosuke that he was getting tired and had to end this now. Changing his battle strategy, Sanosuke went for a downwards slash at the swordsman's head to cut his body right down the middle. He was happy to see how irritation flashed in Po's face as he blocked the blow and shoved Sanosuke off him. This was what he wanted. Quickly before Po had the chance, Sanosuke went with the backwards motion and dragged his sword on the ground so it scraped against the ground. The chakra in his sword absorbed a majority of the heat as Sanosuke struck Po's sword before he had the opportunity to drag his own sword on the ground. Po's large sword flew out of Po's hands from the strike. Sanosuke smirked as he pointed his sword at Po's neck. "I win" Sanosuke said as he panted heavily.

Po laughed as he put his hands in front of him and smirked. "Well done, using my own technique and your quick speed to achieve victory. It has been an honor sparring against you" Po said congratulating Sanosuke. Both kenjutsu users bowed to each other in mutual respect for each other.

It was a new day as Sanosuke stirred himself awake from his bed. He turned quietly off his bed to wake himself up, his eye lids creaked opened as he tried his best to get used to the lights that was going into his corneas. After getting used to the rays of light that was coming from his leaf like doors that hung from his cave, he picked himself up. There was crust in his eyes that Sanosuke used the back of his fist to rub them out as he let out a weary and tiresome yawn. He stretched his arms upon getting up completely so he was sitting upright on his bed. The cold air came in through his cave that made him shake slightly from the cold. "Damn it's cold" Sanosuke muttered as he got out of his bed. Taking his feet down from the bed, his feet hit the cool cave floor that gave him chills right to his spine. Of all of the holidays in Kumo, winter was the coldest. It was times like these that made Sanosuke really regret having his home be in a cave.

He tried his best to cope with the cold and walked over to his closet. He slipped on his chuunin vest that he had recently acquired after being promoted. The vest felt kind of comfortable, it weighed nothing but even though it didn't look like it could do much it had something very special about it. He was taught about the vest's special properties upon receiving it, it can create a discharge that can block D rank weapons easily. He hasn't been able to do so yet in combat, but he is very excited to use it in combat. After clipping on his chuunin vest, he got out his signature short sleeved hooded overcoat on and put it over his clothing. Then he got out his cleaned black socks that he washed before sleeping the following night. His black boots that he wore was also there, and he took that so he may be able to put them back on. The boots made his feet feel so warm after being exposed to the cold cave floor. He stomped on both feet to make sure his boots were on properly. He left leg was fully healed, and it felt great! He reached down so he can slip his fingers past his left foot and undo the bandages that were tied. He threw them down on the floor as though he didn't need it.

He walked over to his counter so that he can get out his headband and holster. He tied his holster on his right arm, in his holster contained his only kunai. And then he tied his Kumogakure headband on his left bicep. Sanosuke used his right hand to punch his left hand and let out a smirk. "Let's get this training on the road" Sanosuke proclaimed to himself as he waked over to his sword that was leaning on the cave's floor. He took out the sword from the wall and put it on his back. It was a new day; time for him to continue his kenjutsu training, Sanosuke walked over to the leaf like doors and passed them. Taking his time Sanosuke looked at the sky, it was so blue today even though it was kind of chilly. Sanosuke walked towards the mountain trail that he usually used to get to the dojo. The Akako Dojo, it's been a while since he's been there. He wondered what kind of training he should do. But he had already knew what he was going to do.

While he was stuck to his bed waiting for his leg to be healed up, and he wasn't making new friends in Kumogakure, he had begun to contemplate on his training he should do for training. All his techniques he's created, Sanosuke noticed that there wasn't a single defensive kenjutsu technique in his arsenal. That would prove to be quite problematic if he didn't do something to fix it. Sanosuke walked up the mountain trail it was rather steep though. Finally he reached the staircase of the Akako dojo. There was multiple steps in the staircase that Sanosuke began walking on. When he had finished walking up the stairs, he walked into the dojo and heard the usual sounds of swordsman sparing and fighting with their own swords to sharpen their skills. It made Sanosuke more inspired to get his kenjutsu training back into motion. He observed the usual warriors and kenjutsu specialist alike training hard, Sanosuke looked around to see what exactly he can use for training. Then he thought of how he was going to do it.

Sanosuke made a brisk bee line towards 5 automatic training dummies. Sanosuke remembered these guys quite well. He had originially used them to help him master 2 ancient Kumogakure original kenjutsu techniques that he found just from reading about Kumogakure's history: Moon Slice and Crescent Moon Slice. Now he was going to use those same training dummies for a technique that Sanosuke created all on his own. He walked around one training dummy to get to the master control panel that was only a few feet away from the collection of training dummies. Upon seeing the panel, Sanosuke picked up his left hand and hit the button that would turn it on the training dummies. He took a few step backs so that he had some distance from the training dummies. When he got the right amount of distance from them, Sanosuke drew out his sword and prepared himself. He held his long sword with both hands and watched as the training dummies jittered to life. Any second they will awaken fully and attack Sanosuke mercilessly.

With a few simultaneously creaks, the training dummies dashed at Sanosuke with alarming speed. At first Sanosuke thought that they were faster than usual, but Sanosuke had to bat the thought away or else he would be in a world of hurt. His technique was simply, he would us his sword to block all of the attacks by using the newly awakened chakra network that Guru Pathik had unlocked inside him. After Pathik awakened his new chakra network, chakra would explode around his body spontaneously. While resting in bed he planned on using that for his own benefit. One training dummy struck at Sanosuke but he used his sword to get in between him and the training dummy. He had to wait for the right opportunity to use it or else it would be a waste of effort. He tried focusing chakra into his sword and made it explode but the training dummy hadn't struck yet. Chakra explosion was large enough to send Sanosuke flying off a couple of feet away from his sword. Sanosuke's weapon itself spiraled out of his hands and embedded himself on the ground.

Sanosuke cursed himself for doing it too early, it caused for his technique to swell up and explode out wards with no target it expanded much bigger than Sanosuke had anticipated. And then the training dummies struck, one dummy flew at Sanosuke landing a solid punch to his stomach. The blow knocked the wind out of him. He then felt as though he was punched in the face by a fist and then he chin with a nasty uppercut. Finally he was sent flying with a blow to his chest. The punch hurt and he hit a wall pretty hard. Sanosuke picked himself from the ground and growled in dissatisfaction. "Crap, I did it too early" Sanosuke rubbed the back of his head. He had hit that wall pretty hard. The training dummies stop moving and went into a dormant sleep. This was normal Sanosuke remembered as he walked towards his sword.

He picked up his sword and held it in his hand, he was a bit rusty with his sword and this training would be what he needed to get back in the groove of things. Sanosuke then hit the training dummies' activation button on the panel and got back into position. The training dummies started up and once they were warmed up, they flew at Sanosuke quickly. He rose his blade and tried to block one of the dummies' strikes. He was ready for it this time, Sanosuke's blade hit the training dummy's fist and he tried to run chakra into it but the training dummy punched him hard in his cheek to make him disorientated. The another one punched Sanosuke in the stomach and then 2 of them punched Sanosuke on his shoulders, bringing him on his knees. And finally a training dummy punched Sanosuke on the top of his head. Sanosuke slumped to the ground and was breathing hard, he was expanding more chakra than he needed to in this training. It was making him feel dizzy, and the constant punches of the training dummies weren't helping his focus at all.

He struggled to pick himself up from the ground, he had to keep going. Sanosuke dragged himself to the panel and turned on the training dummies one more. He took steps back to get ready for their attacks. He had to make sure that he didn't cause the explosion too late or he'll get hit again, and he couldn't cause it too early or it'll grow too large and send him flying. The second the training dummy came into Sanosuke's range, he put his sword to block. As Sanosuke moved his sword he focused his chakra on his blade. Just as the clash happened, Sanosuke roared "Take this!" the chakra in his sword exploded outwards to send the training dummy staggering back. This was his chance, Sanosuke stabbed the training dummy that he sent flying back right in its chest.

Bingo, Sanosuke though as he pulled his sword back from the training dummy he had just stabbed. Sanosuke then made a move to block the incoming attack from the training dummy on his left. Just when the training dummy hit his sword, Sanosuke burst his chakra out at the dummy from his sword to send it back staggering. Sanosuke slashed at the training dummy's head to decapitate it. 3 more came to surround Sanosuke and he smirked. He spun around in a reverse complete circle to slash the heads of all the training dummies that was surrounding him. A smirk grew on Sanosuke's face as he was crouched low after completing his revolution. He placed his sword back into his sheathe, "Cloud Stlye: Reverse Slice" he said as all 3 of the training dummies' heads were lopped off their bodies.

Sanosuke stood up straight as he observed the damage he had done. All the training dummies were broken again just like he did last time he trained. Hopefully the keeper of the dojo wouldn't mind fixing up the training dummies like he usually does after Sanosuke practice his kenjutsu. He fell on the ground and began laughing pretty hard. "Damn it feels good to be back!"

The coolness that was being clung on to the wall that Sanosuke was leaning on felt great on Sanosuke's back as he rested on the wall to relax. It was great, he had just completed his training for a kenjutsu technique that he had created. The technique was his first defensive type kenjutsu that he had created, it was pretty solid in Sanosuke's opinion. He was thinking about classifying the technique as he rested his body against the wall sitting down. His sword was laying on the ground next to him in its sheathe. Sanosuke looked at the dojo to see who exactly was still training, there was still a good number of swordsman still practicing and the sun was held high in the sky where the clouds were shifting. From the look of the position of the sun, Sanosuke would have to say that he had spent at least 2 hours working on training just 1 kenjutsu technique but Sanosuke knew that he needed to train even more.

Sanosuke watched as he looked at the remaining swordsman training. They were all working on their own improvement of their swordsmanship. From the looks of things, he was observing the more experienced in kenjutsu because they took the time to train extensively harder than the rest of the kenjutsu specialist that he had at first seen when he entered the dojo that day. The specialists who left either had to leave because they were shinobi who had missions to get too, or they were simply too tired to continue their training and left to simply retire to their bedrooms to gain some rest. But the swordsman that Sanosuke were observing were mostly swordsmen that Sanosuke has seen from the beginning of his training routine today. They were practicing hard, and from what Sanosuke could see he had noticed that they had rarely even taken a break from their training to rest. The swordsmen were too embedded and busied with their work to even pay much attention to their bodies' needs.

This process of training that Sanosuke was seeing was a common trait of kenjutsu specialist. They would try their best to perfect their art. Each swing a kenjutsu user makes with their sword must be perfect that is empty of imperfections. Just a single imperfection in a technique would drive a kenjutsu master into a state of insanity. Perfection was the key to a kenjutsu user's heart. And no matter what sacrifices he would be forced to make, he would make sure that his technique was perfect and would completely ignore the body's need for food, water and rest until the user has reached perfection. Seeing the other swordsmen harnessing their drive for perfection filled Sanosuke's stomach with fire. He too wanted to get back in the dojo to resume his training.

A service girl opened the door from inside the dojo's housing and walked out. She was wearing a simple white sun dress and was holding a circular tray that held a small cup of water. The girl was young and looked about Sanosuke's and had blonde hair with blue eyes. She walked towards Sanosuke and began to blush upon seeing him "A cup of water to help you cool off?" the girl said as she tried to hide her blush as best as she could from Sanosuke's vision. She offered him the tray as she spoke. The girl was pretty cute in Sanosuke's opinion and decided to take the cup of water. He smiled at the girl and thanked her. The girl smiled brightly and blushed brightly at Sanosuke's words and ran away back into the dojo's inner building and out of Sanosuke's presence. It left Sanosuke dumbfounded; he began to wonder what he did to cause the girl to run away from him so suddenly. He simply shrugged it off and began drinking in the cold water that was in the cup. The water tasted good on his tongue as he drank, Once he was finished he let out a large sigh to signal that he finished drinking all of the water in the cup; it was quite refreshing in Sanosuke's opinion, just the thing he needed to energize himself.

His body was still a bit stiff from the beatings he took from the training dummies, he rubbed his chin where one training dummy snuck a pretty hard left hook at him. "Damn that training dummy can really pack a punch" Sanosuke complained as he rubbed his chin. He cocked it back so he can relocate it back into its original position. Once he was done he reached out for his own sword that was on the ground in its sheathe and took out his sword so he can use it properly. He placed the sheathe back on the ground and observed his sword more carefully. Now what kind of technique should he create this time. There was a lot of possibilities of how he can create another kenjutsu technique but he wanted one where he didn't have to get hit with another training dummy again. But what could he use?

He decided that he would take another look at the Kumogakure history book. He really didn't like taking techniques from the history books. It would just be like he was stealing techniques from the past and calling it his own. But he was really stumped and felt like he could get the best results from training by just reading about techniques done in the past. He needed to expand his jutsu library and that was the quickest way to do it. He cracked open his history book and began to read. First Sanosuke decided that he would have to flip to the index of the book and look up kenjutsu. Upon doing that he saw the familiar page numbers that Sanosuke saw that was relatable to kenjutsu. He flipped to those pages to see if he can find anything he can actually use.

He went through page after page that was relatable to kenjutsu. He saw the use of kenjutsu in the fourth Great Shinobi war. As he read about it, he noticed that there was a lot of cool kenjutsu moves that were used in the war. He had already learned 2 of them but there was another one that was used in the war. But it was used from the village Iron Village. He read the section that was related to the use of the Iron village's kenjutsu technique. It said that during the war, Kumogakure shinobi was constantly paired with samurai from the Iron Country in pairs. It was said that the samurai used a technique where they focused chakra into their swords to strengthen its cutting ability. But that was all sanosuek could get out from the text.

Maybe that was all he needed, if he can just run chakra into his sword then his sword's cutting ability would be strengthen 10 fold. Sanosuke picked up his sword that he put down on his lap so he can get his book to read. He placed his book back in his back pocket and held up his sword. He tried to focus chakra into his sword. He had to try and coat his whole sword in a chakra coat. He got up to the middle of his sword before he had just gotten a thought from his brain. This was just like sensui! His chakra that was coating around his sword erupted to the point where his sword was knocked out of his hands and sent spiraling upwards. Sanosuke looked up in the sky to see his sword go flying upwards "Whoa, I wonder when my sword'll come down" Sanosuke wondered to himself. His question was answered when his sword gleamed out sunlight off its blade and spiraled downwards towards him. "Oh shit!" Sanosuke scrambled away so that wouldn't get skewered by his own sword. His sword sunk into the ground, and Sanosuke walked over and pulled out his sword from the ground.

He looked at it, he had to be more careful next time. He had gotten a hang of the technique before, because he had experienced the process of using the same technique. Sensui was ideally the same move but in reverese; instead of dulling his sword he would have to strengthen his sword. Sanosuke focused chakra along his sword once again so that it glowed and coated his sword with chakra. Once his chakra coating was complete, Sanosuke walked over to a blank wall while maintaining the chakra coating. After he reached the wall, he slashed at it to measure his cutting power of his sword. The cut made a small groove into the wall that made no significant slash into the wall. Sanosuke looked at his chakra coated wall and cursed under his breath.

He waved his blade to disperse the chakra that was coated on his sword. He let out a sigh, there wasn't enough chakra on his blade. He knew that Sanosuke had sharpened his sword with his chakra correctly but he apparently didn't focus enough chakra into his sword to give the sword enough power. Grabbing on hold of his sword properly with both hands, he got himself ready once more and focused chakra into his sword. He made sure the coating on his sword was more than he would ever use for sensui. It was so large that chakra seemed to be flaring up with chakra along the sword. There was a buzzing feeling in his hands as focused chakra in his swords. In fact the burst of chakra formed a tip on his own sword making it larger than his sword just by 2 inches.

As he held his sword, he felt that this level of chakra consumption was definitely having an effect on his body. If he didn't act now, this massive amount of chakra that was accumulating on his sword will drain his life energy. He won't let that happen, not at all. He yelled at the top of his lungs and charged at the wall that he used before to slash at the wall. Sanosuke swung at the wall with all his might, it felt as though all the muscles in his arms exploded into one great slashing motion. His sword felt no resistance in the cut and when the chakra in his sword died down, the wall itself was slashed down in half. Sanosuke was panting pretty heavily as he looked at his sword. "Well damn, this move packs more of a punch than I thought" Sanosuke whistled in awe.

After getting his sword that was leaning on the wall in the inner chamber of the Akako Dojo he looked at the leading Akako Kenjutsu teacher. He was his client on he mission he had just completed. It was to simply help train the kenjutsu teacher's student and spar against him. He had to admit, that Kin kid was actually pretty good. His defense was strong enough to halt Sanosuke's swinging power. The spar made Sanosuke really think about bis fighting style. He still had so much more to learn in kenjutsu.

Sanosuke had begun doing this campaign of missions in order to raise money to get himself food. Maybe he had done enough missions for now and it might be the time to resume his kenjutsu training. But what could he do? Sanosuke contemplated this as he slipped on his sword over his shoulder. He remembered that his shoes and socks were over on the left side of the dojo and he needed to get them before leaving. Just as he began walking, he heard movement right behind him to see that Kin was bowing on the ground to Sanosuke. The gesture was so unexpected that he turned around to see what was going on.

"Thank you Sanosuke-sempai! Please spar against me again!" Kin shouted as his face was on the ground. Sanosuke felt a bead of sweat drip down his head as he looked at the rookie thank him. This was just to weird; Sanosuke scratched his head puzzled "Sure no problem of course we will" Sanosuke said. Kin picked himself up from the ground and smirked, but it was Kin's turn to be confused. What he saw was Sanosuke's fist outstretched and in front of Kin's body.

For minutes, Kin stood there looking at Sanosuke's fist confused. It was obvious he didn't know what to make of it. Tapping his foot annoyingly Sanosuke finally spoke up. What the hell didn't ANYBODY know this?! [color=blue]"Come on man this is the Ancient Kumo Alliance symbol. Don't they teach you kids anything; this marks loyalty among friends and colleges." Sanosuke tiredly explained. A lot of people asked Sanosuke what it was and it was a real pain in the ass to explain it to everybody! But he was pleased to see that Kin gingerly complied to his wishes and walked over to his sensei.

"Thank you Hitoshi-sensei for this opportunity" Kin thanked and bowed to his sensei. His sensei nodded and finished off his tea and let out a smile. He smirked at his student. "Well done Kin, you fought well. It made me notice many improvements you will need to make. But that will have to wait another day. You are dismissed Kin" Hitoshi nodded and waved his hand away. "I would like to speak to Sanosuke alone"

Kin nodded and took one last look at Sanosuke and walked through the hallway of the Akakdo Dojo to leave Sanosuke and Hitoshi alone. This made Sanosuke a bit nervous. Here he was alone with a kenjutsu master alone in a dojo; what the hell did he want with him? He already completed his mission, he should already be on his way home to figure out what kind of technique he should create next.

Finally Hitoshi spoke "You're swings are disgusting to my eyes" he spoke harshly. A tick mark appeared on Sanosuke's head. What the hell was wrong with this guy? He helped this old man train his student by sparring the kid and then he would insult his fighting style. What a dick!

"I thought you were supposed to be studying that Kin kid's technique and not mine" Sanosuke said, repressing his temper after he noticed where he was. He couldn't say something stupid that would invoke the wrath of the whole Akako Dojo down on his shoulders. So it was ideal that he would chose his words carefully before voicing them out.

Hitoshi stood up from his comfy position on the upper inclined level of the Akako dojo and walked towards the rackof Bokkens. "You're slashes are not disciplined and are not precise in the slightest. Such carelessness will get you killed. It was hard for me not to notice." The kenjutsu master continues his criticism as he spoke. He lifted a bokken from the racks and made a couple of practice swings.

Now that really got under Sanosuke's skin. He had to clench his fist tightly and bite his tongue to stop himself biting back a retort that he would regret. His body shook with anger, he was being treated like a child even though he was a chuunin now because of his hard work and dedication to be the best. And here was this guy telling him that he sucked. It took all of his self control to not deck the instructor in his face.

"You're probably thinking that this guy has some nerve insulting my skills. Well then prove me wrong." Hitoshi said as though he was reading Sanosuke's mind. The man put the bokken back onto the rack to join the other wooden swords. It was then that Sanosuke noticed the katana that was on his hips. It looked quite beautiful when he pulled the blade out of his sheathe. The blade slightly shone because of how well it was treated and conditioned. There wasn't a sign of any wear on the blade anywhere. If Sanosuke didn't know better he would assume he had bought a new sword but the handle from the katana showed signs of wear.

"I thought you'd never ask" Sanosuke growled as he walked on the dojo floor with his own sword drawn out. He was going to enjoy being able to show this stuck up know it all how strong of a swordsman he became because of his own training. He got into a stance holding his sword with his right hand dominantly on the handle. Kotei Sanosuke responded as his sword made it easier to hold the sword. Sensui Sanosuke added on chakra into the sword so it was coated properly protectively on it. Although he was pissed, he wouldn't kill the annoying teacher.

Hitoshi whistled at Sanosuke's sword, he was impressed after all. But then he quickly smacked the sword out of Sanosuke's hands. The sword in Sanosuke's hands vibrated so much that he couldn't hold onto his sword properly and let it drop to the floor reluctantly. His concentration he had the sword was broken making it the chakra fizzle out. "You are to fight me using pure kenjutsu techniques. No chakra whatsoever" He said with a sneer "That is unless you can't handle it"

That got Sanosuke roaring with anger as he picked up his sword from the ground and held it in both hands this time not focusing chakra into the blade. He made a slash at Hitoshi aimed at his hips. The Akako member easily blocked the anger slashed, he even slipped his sword past Sanosuke's sword and smashed his katana against the outside of Sanosuke's blade. The strike made it hard for Sanosuke to hold onto his sword. He gritted his teeth with all his might so he doesn't let go. He was going to show this guy he made a mistake insulting his hard work.

Sanosuke jumped back and dashed to the left of Hitoshi to find and opening in his stance. But there was none that he could exploit, it was perfect. Roaring in frustration, Sanosuke swung high this time to to go in for a vertical slash right down the middle. Hitoshi struck Sanosuke's sword at its center to send another wave of painful vibrations up his arms that made Sanosuke lose his grip on his sword. Sanosuke's blade spiraled out of his hands and embedded itself in the ground of the dojo.

Unbelievable, this guy was able to get him so easily without any effort. He had done it twice in a row and Sanosuke couldn't even land a blow on the guy. So much for his strong training. It was time to swallow his pride and accept defeat, he bowed his head to show thats he recognized that he had lost. What he got shocked him, Hitoshi patted his head and smiled at him. "Raise your head up-yes like that. Now do you see your faults?" He said to encourage Sanosuke. He used his free hand to pick up Sanosuke's sword from the ground and handed it back to him with the blade pointed down with only one hand. "Try again"

Sanosuke was shocked, here he was swinging like a wild man at the instructor and even after defeat Hitoshi didn't relish in his defeat. He really wanted Sanosuke to succeed and get stronger. Smirking at Hitoshi he too his sword back from the instructor and got back into his stance ready for action. This time he was staying calm so he would be able to think more clearly. The two kenjutsu users revolved around each other with their weapons out.

"Concentrate on your target, find the best way to attack and strike" Hitoshi instructed to Sanosuke as they stood off. Sanosuke closed his eyes and made sure that he was calm he needed to focus all at once on making a strike on Hitoshi's blade. Finally Sanosuke decided now he would go in for the strike. Making the lung he struck this time not at Hitoshi himself but his katana. Upon striking there was reverberations that came from Sanosuke's blade that traveled up his arms. He had to try his best not to succumb to the vibrations. No he would do it this time! With a roar he pushed farther, Sanosuke saw Hitoshi's blade go spiraling out of his hands and into the floor.

Hitoshi looked at Sanosuke with a satisfying smirk. "Well done, Sanosuke Flynt" he said

Sanosuke returned the smirk and returned Hitoshi's blade to him. "What can I say? I had a good teacher" Sanosuke replied.

Waking up with a hangover Sanosuke tried his best to get back up from his bed but he was struggling with a hangover. It was killing him as though his head was getting slammed with some sort of sludge hammer. Shaking his head he tried to get shake himself off of the pain that was barely contained in his skull. This was what happens when he went out to the Sky Bar and started to drink his brains out until he had to get himself escorted by the bartender of Sky Bar. The bartender escorted Sanosuke into his cave where he can sleep. He had to admit, it was really nice of him to do that. At that moment Sanosuke really didn’t feel like moving in any way, shape or form. He was perfectly content with staying where he was; on the bar table surrounded by endless sake bottles passed out on the table. He remembered countless people looking at him as though he was some sort of mad drunk. Actually that wasn't too far from the truth.

He was a mad drunk. The thing that made him made was the mistake he made that he would hang over his head for a while. The mistake he made was what caused him to hit the bottle; he was drinking so much alcohol that it might have killed a weaker man. It was a gift and a curse that he had acquired from both his father and his mother. But he didn't care. Sake was what making the pain if his mistake slowly ebb away from his mind, that is temporarily. Damn it why did he have to be so stupid. The pain that was coming in his heart made his hangover look like a prick. He had done the stupidest things ever. He had scared off his new friend whom he was beginning to get fond of. He couldn't get her out of his mind. She was so beautiful and wanted her to himself, as his girlfriend. But it was extremely hard to do so after what he did.

Sanosuke could picture the event in his head like a movie film. The two were on a date playing a game of tag it was so peaceful. The only question that was on his mind when he tried to grasp at what happened next was, where did it all go wrong? Oh that's right he remembered what had happened. He played a joke on Ai to surprise her while they were running and Ai didn't take too kindly to his surprise. She screamed at him and ran away with tears in her eyes; she ignored his pleas to stay with him. "Damn it…" Sanosuke cursed underneath his breath as he picked himself up and slowly got himself dressed. He was an idiot. That was the best way to describe him. He was in a state of shock yesterday, such a fool he was. Sanosuke got finished dressing himself up and walked out of his cave slowly. His footsteps were heavy with every single step that he took.

The only thing that could possibly take his mind off from his heartache would probably be a combination of reading books and training his ass off. He would train until his bones were made of rubber and then he would train even more. Maybe he would learn yet another technique from the books of the library. At this point he really didn't care about his damn pride about creating his own techniques from his own mind. Right now he just wanted to do something that will take his mind off the blunder he had just done. His slow pace of walking made the time he needed usually needed to take to get to the library was doubled. So when he had gotten to the Kumogakure library, it took him 2 hours to get there.

Halfheartedly, Sanosuke pushed opened the doors to the library to get in and dragged his feet into the library. He was so mentally depressed that he didn't even notice that the old librarian, Aoi, had waved to him and greeted him. He was in a funk. He got as many books from the shelves that he could carry in his hands. There was so many books that he didn't seem to even notice what he was grabbing. All he wanted to do was drown himself in books, more and more books so that he might get the pain out of his heart. Opening up the book, he let his mind get overwhelmed with more sentences that were in the book. Sanosuke noticed that it was a book about cook books but he really didn't care what he was reading right now. Any new information was better.

He put down the cook book and read another book that he grabbed, it was a medical book of Kumogakure. The book had many techniques that were about medical ninjutsu but none about kenjutsu obviously. But boredom and overall depression was keeping him from changing the book he was reading. Page after page of boring information about the human body was flooding Sanosuke's brain. Then he read a section about the chakra scapel medical ninjutsu technique. It was said to be the only medical ninjutsu taught by all medical ninja that could be used for battle purposes as well. As he read he wondered if Ai would have liked this book. Then he let his mind wander about the jutsu, it sort of looked like a…..

The eyes of Sanosuke popped open in shock and realization. It does, it does look like it. Sanosuke took the book that he was holding in his hands and made a bee line to the front desk. "Aoi, mind if I check out this book?" Sanosuke asked the librarian. The old lady smiled at Sanosuke and checked out the book for him. "Sure only because you look as though you might have gained some life because of what you read." Aoi responded and returned the book back to Sanosuke. With the book tucked underneath his arm, Sanosuke decided to jog over the dojo. What he found was an idea of a jutsu he might create. It was actually enough to make Sanosuke give him a burst of life despite Sanosuke's mood.

Once he got to the Akako Dojo, he walked straight past the training swordsmen in the dojo and found himself in front of a punching bag. Sanosuke noticed the punching bag was made of iron and thus the perfect tool for new swordsmen who wanted to practice their swings. Taking the book out, Sanosuke looked at it and the page that he had folded so he can find it again when he needed to. He read the inscription. It was a technique that was used by medical ninja that they can make incisions on bodies to get into the organs of the patient physically. There was also a section of how it can be used for combat purposes, though the chakra scalpel wasn't as potent and could only make a few incisions in combat. So Sanosuke had a thought; what if he can weaponize the technique and make a it a kenjutsu technique.

Closing the book he decided it was time to get this training start. Sanosuke put the book down and focused chakra into his opened hands. He tried to focus as much as he could without his concentration getting blown off. The second he had his chakra flowing in his hands and making the chakra around his hands to form a blade whose length had a longer reach than Chakra scalpel, he felt as though his fingers were getting ripped to shreds. With a yelp he cut off the jutsu and began to pant heavily. Sanosuke brought his hands to his face so he can properly look at his fingers. It twitched slightly in pain. Damn it. The thought he had made himself think of the words he thought of when Ai left, and that made the anger in his stomach boil.

Gritting his teeth he tried the jutsu again, but this time just coating chakra into his hands drove pain in his hands. Sanosuke gritted his teeth to the point where he missed and bit his tongue, the technique stopped. Sanosuke started to breath heavily as he tried the jutsu again angrily. The jutsu made his hands shake uncontrollably in pain. Why? Why? Sanosuke shouted mentally as he tried his best to mold the chakra into his hands to make the blade. This time he focused harder ignoring the pain even though it was excruciating. He focused all of his anger into the chkara blade in his hands forcing him to keep the technique in contact. Why the hell was he such a damn idiot?! Sanosuke shouted louder to himself as he made the blade stronger and made a swipe at the metal punching bag with his blade, altering hands with each swipe. The blade made contact with the punching bag. Sanosuke felt the jutsu strain in his hands but he kept it going. "Damn it move! Keep it going!" Sanosuke chanted to himself in between strikes. The strain was so painful but he made himself go through the pain of each swipe. With each swipe he made, he felt his hands go numb." I won't stop! No I'll keep going!

With a battle cry the punching bag was cut in half by his last swipe. Sanosuke felt his body become caked in sweat as he looked at his work. The chakra blades on his hands disappeared. Sanosuke felt his hands scream in pain as he watched. Falling backwards, Sanosuke hit the ground and looked at the sky exhausted. And began wondering what Ai was doing right about now…..