There was the sound of birds chirping so loudly as a voice kept speaking to Makoto.
'get up sleepy, don't you have something to do today'

The voice was in his head as he was still sleeping so sleepily in his sleepy hollow of a bed as he sunk so deep, like it was the depths of the ocean hidden beneath the blanketing sky as the wind blows through the curtains. The curtains were wavering like a leaf blowing in the wind and hair flowing with the gentlest of breezes. The sunlight was breaking through the clouds in the sky like a beam of light to shine upon this land as it began shifting its aim towards its intended target.

Makoto had been training too much lately as he had learned and created so many new jutsu with his training and effort as he was just tired of all the jutsu for now. Though it was not a bad kind of tired and was simply exhaustion as he felt he should start mastering it some more. The wind blew the curtains higher as they were wavering as Makoto felt it hit him on the face as his eyes felt this warmth as he saw this redness as he turned his back to the window. The sunlight had succeeded in disrupting his peaceful time as he just decided to ignore it as he turned over hugging his one pillow with both arms and legs while his head lay on the second pillow as he got the blanket over him again as he began to wish the sun could have waited longer as he kept his eyes closed defiantly.

Makoto wanted to stay in bed a bit longer, but he understood if he kept at this he might end up falling behind or losing out on the day as he felt a bit annoyed right now. He turned a bit letting go of his pillow as the blanket laid over his chest as he looked towards the ceiling. Makoto just laid like this with his hands gripping the top of the blanket as he wondered why he could not just lay in bed and cast jutsu, that was when he realized the roof will either get blown away or fall on top of him as he laughed silently to himself inside his head. He then stretched his hands out towards the ceiling as if reaching for the sky, then he spread his arms out to his sides as far as they could go as he stretched his arms before doing a similar thing with his legs. Poking his feet out at the end as the blanket slid upwards, before raising the other leg as well before kicking it off completely as he let one leg hang off the side of the bed, his other leg just laying towards the center.

Laying like this he was wearing his new shinobi pajama's which consisted of a short sleeved, buttoned cotton t-shirt with the iwa symbol on the top where a chest pocket would normally be on a shirt. The scheme was a simple white with a very faint light grey that looked like a pattern for flames and water that could be just made out at close range. His pajama shorts had the same scheme as he felt the air as it grazed his knees and went to his ankles as he then noticed that the air felt cool, yet it was warm at the same time from the sun that was blazing in through the window. Makoto sat up slowly and then rolled off the side and got up on both his feet as he pressed them into the soft woolen carpet. Makoto's new place was looking more like a home then it did before, he was still not sure about whether to keep this bed or just get a floor bed, but he was happy with both and he just felt it was easier to get up off a higher bed then to have to rise up from the ground to stand up.

Makoto was a bit sleepy still as he went out of his bedroom and entered the basic living space. He had a few books on jutsu piled up in the one corner and a towel for when he did small water jutsu inside his home. He then proceeded towards the dining area as he yawned for a bit. He rubbed his eyes and then went towards the kitchen counter and decided to take out a loaf of bread. He then started browsing through the mostly empty cupboards and got out some jam. He then placed it on the counter and then started his search for the butter knife as he placed it on the table and had everything set up before the bread board.

Makoto started with the bread first as he cut up to six slices from it, then proceeded to pack it away. While packing it away he also grabbed a banana and some peanut butter as he placed that on the counter as well. Makoto spread jam between two of the slices and made a jam sandwich as he then proceeded to cut down the center to split it into two halves. He then got out a small little lunch box and started to spread peanut butter on the one slice, then spread jam on another slice. Then he fused the jam portion and the peanut butter spread portion of the two slices to make a pee bee and jay, or basically a peanut butter and jam sandwich. He did the same with the last two slices then cut each sandwich into four small squares and then started putting them inside his lunch box.

Makoto then got out a plate and put the jam sandwich from earlier on the plate and then got out a tray as well. Makoto placed the plate on the tray and then put the banana next to the plate and started to search inside the fridge for something to drink in the morning. He got this small bottle of apple juice as he placed the glass bottle on the tray as well. Then feeling the breakfast was a bit too light he decided to check the fridge for anything else and got this cold cut meat that still looked good and fresh and just placed about six or eight thin slices of the meat on the plate. After thinking about it for a while he got some eggs from the fridge as well and prepared to make himself some eggs as well. It took a while to get the hot plate started as he got out the frying pan and placed it on top as the heat picked up he cracked the first egg very carefully only letting the egg exit it carefully, before tossing the shell into the bin. He proceeded with the second egg as well and did the same as the eggs began to fry in the pan. He was watching it carefully as he moved it around a little bit as he waited for the yellow portion to go from watery to a more dry like substance as he felt they were good to go and managed to slide the eggs onto the plate before putting the pan on a board for cooling off. He turned off the hot plate and then packed away the jam, followed by putting the peanut butter away as well then finally he put the bread away also.

It was about time to eat and so Makoto got ready to have some good food, or at least the best he could prepare on his own as he moved with the tray to the dining area and then placed it on the table. Makoto then got up on his chair and then bowed his head not to pray, but to give thanks to the world for providing him with that which he needs to survive. Makoto began by eating the one egg first followed by shoving some meat slices in his mouth while downing some apple juice as he was not taking too much time on this. He would chew, chew, chew and chew some more, and after chewing some more he would chew even more then before as he would chew like a chew chew monster that chews everything in sight like a train that eats all the tracks before it as it passes between places. Makoto continued until his plate was cleared and it was then that he decided he would finish up and then went to the bathroom.

Makoto washed his hands and his face, then brushed his teeth as he needed to keep them clean for doing more eating later. After that he prepared the bath with some foam and disinfectant soap mixed with some vanilla scent as he just got himself all soapy fresh and clean, before drying himself off with a towel. After that he got dressed in a plain white silk and cotton t-shirt, with a pure cotton grey shorts made of some really good wool as this cotton seemed thicker then the rest. It was mainly for comfort as it cushioned his body in case he would fall or had to sit down for long hours as he began to make his way outside barefoot in the sand as he opened his door he wondered what kind of day they would have that day as he made his way towards the shopping district.

Along the way Makoto spotted someone who looked lost in the streets of iwagakure as he did not feel like helping, but felt that he had to help people out if he did not have anything better to do at the time. The girl had strange green hair that made him think she was a plant who transformed into a human, her hair made him think of the grass that grows as he moved towards following her lavender scent with his nose as he too had a scent of vanilla though not as strong as hers perhaps as her golden eyes also stood out as he wondered if she possessed some unique eye technique of some kind as he found the courage in him to ask this strange girl. "Hi, are you lost?"

Words = 1726

Maikumaru was on a very difficult mission. He was tasked on finding someone. A killer. He was called the Silent Sniper of the Hidden Stone. He is a suspected missing nin who went missing specifically at the time many of the shinobi were moved to Sunagakure to help in the conflict between many of the great nations, bandits, and independant factions. The prime suspect is Akira Saitana. According to the scroll, he was with a group of Shinobi that were traveling to Suna. They were attacked and killed by bandits, but Saitana’s body was never, though there was a lot of blood on the scene that was confirmed to be his. He was known to be a exceptionally good with long ranged weapons such as Crossbows and Bows and arrows.

Ever since then, there had been some killings in Iwagakure. Someone has been shooting people with arrows without a trace. The village has gone under some unrest. And not long after returning to the village he was tasked with finding this killer. It was strange, considering that the ANBU were more suited for this task, but Maikumaru was somewhat known for his skills as a detective. He sat on top of a large stone building, with coffee next to him. It was around morning, the village just beginning to go through the motions of hustle and bustle. He looked at the details of the murders. The arrows all came from an angular direction, when compared to the ground, it suggests that the arrows came from a higher vantage point. This wasn’t a surprise. But the odd thing is, that no one ever spots where the arrows are coming from. The perpetrator must know some form of stealth jutsu to mask their presence, most likely Iwagakure no Jutsu. Maikumaru would have to reach out further to do this. He activated his Gaia’s Eyes Technique, and look through the Hidden Stone. He was a living surveillance system at this point, with the ability to “see” all through Iwagakure. There were some things he would rather no know that he now did...he shivered. But something odd had caught his attention…

There was a suspicious man, who was picking a lock on a door to an apartment room. And the apartment had a man sitting at his table, reading a magazine. On the intruders person was a long crossbow and a kunai in his hand. Maikumaru ran quickly in their direction, as fast as he could. But as soon as he burst into a sprint, the man successfully unlocked the door and threw the Kunai at the unsuspecting victim’s head while running through the apartment, and heading towards the window that gave visual access to all of Iwagakure. He aimed his Crossbow at a group of people from below. Maikumaru’s heart sank as he changed his course. He had to know where the arrow was going exactly. He kept running, and eventually was able to reach the crowd. As soon as the shot was fired he, he saw the arrow cut through the air at high speed. He reached his hand out, with just enough time to grab it before it hit through the head of someone. He breathed heavy, his adrenaline still pumping. He finally relaxed, and unfroze from the position of catching it. He still had his Gaia’s Eyes activated, and looked at the one who had evaded certain death. It was a girl. A particularly young one. “Are you alright?” He felt an ominous feeling and looked back up at the building. The man was standing on top of the building. He was wearing a dark cloak with a plain black mask. He looked Directly at Maikumaru and the girl. He pointed his crossbow in the air, and shot a single arrow. The arrow rose and exploded into fireworks of more arrows, made from lightning. “Wind Release! Wind Wall!” There as a strong dome of gale winds that covered the are from the attacks, and dispersed the lightning bolts. He looked to his side to see that there was an ANBU. Maikumaru looked back up to see that the man was gone. He was unable to sense him with his jutsu. Maikumaru cursed. “Dammit.” He turned his attention back to the girl. “Lets try this again; are you alright?”

745 WC

Makoto finally noticed her smile as she tapped her village headband to show she was from the hidden stone village as well, he began to wonder why she let her headband hang so low as he began to wonder what was even holding it up as he looked at it for a moment with a confused look, before returning his gaze back to her strange golden eyes. She mentioned wondering around instead of being lost as he felt they were the same and that was when his heart started racing as he got startled by an arrow and a person that seemed to appear from out of nowhere as he then formed the ox, ram and snake hand seals before stopping as he looked at the situation as he was prepared to activate his jutsu and stopped as he noticed the ANBU who seemed to indicate things were under control as he lowered his guard once more as he watched the fireworks with this excited look in his eyes, though his facial expression was rather lacking as he looked more like a lost ball of curiosity then a shinobi at that point.

Makoto gave a suspicious gaze to the large man with dark skin who seemed to look familiar, but he could not quite put his finger on it at that point in time. Things from his days in Sunagakure were still all blurry as he remembered the death falling from the sky and the various encounters where he had nearly lost his life, though he never gained the rank of chuunin since he was still seen as too green to receive a higher rank just yet. While admiring the arrows he only noticed afterwords the arrows did not make it, but at some point when did this large man or was it the anbu who cast the jutsu without moving much at all.

As he heard the girl speaking he began to wonder if she had something wrong with her head, she was wandering around and was not lost, but maybe she was lost in her head. Makoto just returned his suspicious gaze while also having this strange desire to figure it out, he had this intense feeling of wanting to know as she kept on talking. What was with the long damsel in distress speech as he did not understand much of what she was trying to say in the first place.

He could not take it anymore as he cut in between the two with this excited look in his eyes as he looked up to the tall man with this intense longing in his eyes. "Who cares what your name is, what jutsu was that?!!" as he could not contain his excitement any longer having heard her long on going speech. Her golden eyes were interesting, but not as interesting as Maikeru's jutsu as he wanted to learn about it.

Maybe he missed it, but he did not even witness the impressive hand seals that were probably required for that flashy jutsu that took out all the arrows. The arrows were large in numbers and chances are he could have stopped it with his defense too, but Makoto was a bit too slow to react and he also figured an ANBU and this super fast tall guy were more then enough to keep them safe if they were in danger. Not counting Makoto could use the large man's body as a wall and a shield and maybe even a house if the man bent over in an n-shape or was it the shape of an n as Makoto had too many thoughts flooding his brain. He was also not sure, but was that flashy jutsu the lightning element or maybe it was a really bright wind element. Though he could not deny that it could be a jutsu similar to Kotone's with a lot less explosion and a lot more flashy flash flashiness. Makoto was so high on jutsu curiosity that he was beginning to forget that others were there as well, not counting the ANBU was there though he did not even care about that since you could never ask ANBU about their jutsu since they were such secretive selfish jutsu hoarders, not that he was any better with his secret note book at home, hidden in the hidden compartment, hidden beneath the hidden floorboard hidden beneath the actual floorboard, hidden beneath the carpet which was still further hidden by a rock and go figure he hid his prized possession beneath a rock coming from the village hidden beneath a rock to say the irony was not there. In the end all Makoto wanted to know was to learn more about that flashy jutsu, then help the girl since she may have suffered mental shock or damage to her brain from the arrow. Then the next important thing might be the identity of the tall man and perhaps a chance to acquire more jutsu for the future of Makoto's jutsu adventure as he also planned to go find more books in the library at some point.

Words = 1726 + 856 = 2582

Maikumaru didn’t realize that he still had the arrow in his hand. He turned to the ANBU. “You. Go find him. And do it quick. He’s skilled and dangerous.” Maikumaru turned his attention back to the girl. “Oh yeah...there’s no need to worry about a reward. Really. I’d protect any young Citizen of the Stone any day of the week. He then turned to see someone screaming about a jutsu. “Huh?” When Maikumaru looked to see who it was, his eyes widened. It was that kid. That kid that he did missions with in Sunagakure. Maikumaru remembered doing missions with him. But they were Kumogakure missions, so he assumed that the young kid was a Kumogakure ninja. Maikumaru would have to keep a bit of an eye on him. Though, that was a weird time to be in Suna with any village.

Maikumaru shifted his eyes. “Oh that was a wind jutsu used by the ANBU. Nothing I would know about.” Maikumaru thought about leaving and continue his investigation. But he figured that the ANBU were versatile enough to get that done by themselves. He looked at the girl once again. She was the first person to have not been hit with an arrow. All of the victims had only one arrow within the scene, and it was in their head. There were no other arrows around, so he was a sure shot. He could gain a vendetta against her, and that was a problem. He turned to the girl. “So, I’m going to be your bodyguard for the day. Just to make sure nothing like that happens to you again.” He activated his Gaia’s Eyes again. He need to be sure that there was nothing that could catch him by surprise. He stood particularly close to her.

He attempted to pick up on as many people as possible, sensing the ground, getting every ounce of what they were doing, to see anyone suspicious. He turned his attention towards her, once more. It was going to be a bit hard to pick up though, considering his lack of attention to stealth attacks. Though he would remain onguard as much as possible. Maikumaru made an attempt to lighten the mood. “I am at your service for the day.”  

404/1149

Makoto finally got what he wanted as it seemed the man looked his way and replied that the jutsu was a wind jutsu used by the ANBU as he glanced to the side and realized asking an ANBU about their jutsu, was a lost cause unless he became one of them himself. However at this time Makoto knew he was too weak for any of that as he glanced back towards the man who had a some what similar looking body, but he just could not grasp where he had seen it or if he was just mistaking this guy for someone else. Either way the important part right now was to discover if this strong man could teach him ninjutsu of any kind. Even if he could not learn the technique to have more techniques to his knowledge would be absolutely necessary for his future goals.

This man offered his services to the girl as he thought about following this guy who was going to follow this girl in the hopes that people will attack her, so that this guy could show him some impressive jutsu of some kind. Offering his services for the day as he wondered what was so great about girls that everyone just wanted to help them all the time, though the same could be said for girls helping boys and boys helping girls, though sometimes boys helped boys and girls helped girls and all of it made no sense. Why could it not simply be people help people, were they not all just people in the end as he decided to put that into the back of his mind again as his eyes began to hurt slightly from glaring and staring too long as he looked down resting his eyes for a bit

The girl smiled at him and said it was nice meeting him, not to mention she declined the man's offer ruining his plans of observation as she was now heading home. He nodded politely and said in a soft voice that she could still here, "Goodbye..." as she walked away he would grab the man by the sleeve of his shirt like most children do when they trying to keep close to someone or keep them from running off.

"How did you know he used wind jutsu?" as the boy looked down hoping that his question would be answered, there must have been some way to know, he did not get a clear view of the wind, but he did see the breaking apart and electrifying appearance of the arrows so that might have been why. However there had to be a better way to go about these things and in the end would this man teach him, or would this man leave him alone just like Mizuki did when he had gone to search for her he could not find her again. He wanted to show her his improvement, he wanted to learn more. In the end all he could do was try to find someone to teach him more jutsu and in truth he did not know it at the time, but Makoto was all alone as he now had a real lonely heart that had no one to call family and no one to call a friend.

Words = 2582 + 550 = 3132

Maikumaru shook his hand as the girl left. He made a mental note that he would have to contact the ANBU later to keep an eye on her, incase she were in any danger. Maikumaru turned to the boy when he asked that question. He saw something in him. He saw Maikumaru in him. Even if it was just a little bit. “Alright, boy. Your interests in Jutsu amuse me.” Maikumaru picked the boy up on his shoulder, and sped off through Iwagakure. He jumped up on the roof tops, from one to another, holding the little ninja that was slumped on his shoulder close enough to not cause any damage. He ran through the streets, dodging people despite his large frame. He ran up a building, his feet stomping against the mountain stone. “Hang on tight.” When he reached the edge he building, he positioned his foot and jumped forward, heading towards the villages surrounding structure. Maikumaru ran up the mountain, and finally stopped near a waterfall. He set the boy down, patting him on his shoulder. It was a silent apology if any harm had come to him in their little adventure. He looked at a slab of rock and walked over to it. Lifting it up, it revealed a stash of books and scrolls, inside a cubby within the ground. “These are what we are going to be going through today. Jutsu. I see that you love studying them. I do this everyday all day. Well that and physical training.” Maikumaru started to flex his right bicep. He handed the young boy a book, and took one of his own. “I want you to come up with an idea of a jutsu in five minutes. Just to see how well versed you are.” Maikumaru crossed his arms, a smile creeping across his face. He was curious to see what they boy could come up with. “Chakra can be very complicated, if you aren’t smart. And if you have already by some chance made jutsu of your own...well...I’d like to see it.” Maikumaru smiled. He was hoping Makoto would catch the hint. He wanted the Genin to attack him with jutsu.

He picked up a book of his own. If the boy didn’t attack him, he would read through about Lightning Jutsu. He raised his hand, looking at Makoto. Between his fingers, lightning began to connect them, filling the gap with brilliant blue electricity. “Chakra is amazing. It can do so much for us. And the way it can be weaponized can lead to destruction.” He clenched his fist, causing the sparks to finally sputter and disperse. Maikumaru had begun to create hand signs. Facing away from Makoto, he had raised his hands, and let out a burst of lightning. It cut through the rock, and traveled a good distance. He turned to Makoto once more, crossing his arms and smiling. “I want to see how capable you will become. It's not everyday that I teach things to someone, so you better not waste my time.”

514/1663 WC

He watched on with an eagerness that showed he wanted to learn, he wanted to know more, he wanted to know all about jutsu more then anyone else. He did not want to be the one who mastered one jutsu by practicing it ten thousand times, he wanted to be the one who had learned over ten thousand jutsu.

It seemed this strange guy told him that his questions about jutsu were amusing to him, he did not even care about that as long as he learned jutsu and that was when his feet left the floor. Then he had this strange feeling as they flew off into the night sky as he was carried away, sweat dripping from one of the shinobi who saw them passing by as it just seemed strange as maybe it was a genin escaping from training and being taken back by their master.

This familiar feeling like he was flying through the air even as they ran through crowds his fringe would sway from left to right his feet swaying around a bit as he just relaxed and enjoyed the ride, he was told to hang on tight as he just gripped tightly onto the clothing of this strong shinobi. For some reason this reminded him of someone who he could not quite remember, someone who had pulled him along on missions and someone who carried him around to safety. There was also someone else who had carried him to safety as well as he could vaguely remember a woman's face.

When it was all over the man set him down and patted his shoulder and for some reason Makoto felt a bit dizzy and swayed ever so slightly as his hair fell to the one side again. He really needed a hair cut since he was actually starting to look a bit like a girl from growing his hair out so long. The man then lifted up a rock revealing scrolls and books with jutsu in them perhaps. The guy mentioned studying jutsu everyday and physical training which sounded similar to Makoto's daily routine, though Makoto did more reading then physical training since he was still rather weak.

Makoto began reading the first book and it showed pictures of water like contraptions with physical properties as he looked through it for a bit and was amazed at some of the things mentioned. The ideas were rushing to his head and the first thing he came up with before bothering with anything as he stopped after what he thought might be five minutes.

While he was busy reading he noticed his sensei showing off by charging up some really cool lightning and blasting a rock apart as it looked so beautiful. The man described a few things and when he was done speaking Makoto began to light up as he began talking about some of the things he picked up in the scroll.

"This scroll is really cool, did not know you could make whips from water, but what if you turned them into tentacles to capture someone or maybe turn them into snakes and wrap them around your body. Wait if it is water snakes then does that make them eels instead. What do you think? I want to make them into jutsu, but I would need to try practicing so would it be okay if I tried them out and you helped me to try them out.", as he started choking on the air from speaking too much too quickly before finally taking a small pause and realizing he was being rude.

"Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself, I am Makoto a genin of Iwagakure" as he bowed his head slightly and then spoke up. "What is sensei's name?" as he looked eagerly at the man who was helping him to learn more jutsu and who gave him access to books and scrolls he probably should have never given him access to.

Words = 3132 + 663 = 3795

Unfortunately the boy was clueless in my attempt to goad him into a fight. I shook my head. Maybe he wasn’t a fighter, and more of a scientist. Regardless he was smart. And intelligence was just as valuable as how hard you can kick someone’s ass.

"This scroll is really cool, did not know you could make whips from water, but what if you turned them into tentacles to capture someone or maybe turn them into snakes and wrap them around your body. Wait if it is water snakes then does that make them eels instead. What do you think? I want to make them into jutsu, but I would need to try practicing so would it be okay if I tried them out and you helped me to try them out.” The boy gagged on his own breath. I turned around to hide my laughter. He was something else. I remembered how he was back in Suna. Just as innocent and oblivious to the world as ever. I shook my head. And then I perked up when he asked me my name. And then I remembered how we weren’t in Suna any more. I turned around. “My name is Maikumaru Otsuka, of the Otsuka Clan. I don’t do much with the Otsuka Clan, attend Clan meetings and stuff like that. Anyway. I am going to assume you know Ninjutsu. The most common specialization. For now we are going to brainstorm some Jutsu Ideas.” I grabbed him again, and started to travel as far away from the village as possible. My plan was to take him to the crater. A large dent into the earth. The ride would have been a bit more bumpier than the last one.

“Alright boy. This is the place. Were magic will happen. We are going to make jutsu. Strong Jutsu.” I clenched my fist in excitement. “I am not even sure if you realize the potential within yourself. But don’t worry my little friend. That potential shall be realized. With my help, of course.”

I started to pace, back and forth, getting the excitement out of my blood. “Now then...:” I jumped backwards, away from Makoto. “Time to show you what I can come up with...and don’t come too close. Stuff like this tends to be dangerous. The stuff I do anyway. I have been working on a Jutsu that can create stalagmites from the ground. Very...very sharp ones. As tall as possible. I am going to call it...Earth Release: Great Impaler Technique. Now watch.”
I started to create the Dog, Hare, Snake and then placed my hands on the ground. The jutsu started from four meters away from me. And then an army of spikes erupted from the ground, all of them five metered tall. I looked up with another grin on my face. "This Jutsu will impale anyone who is stupid enough to be in range. But it needs refinement. The stalagmites aren't sharp enough. And I want them to emergence from the ground a lot faster...but I'm on the right track. How about you, Makoto. Show me the Jutsu you have engineered."

533/2216 WC

For some reason the guy turned his head for some reason, then the guy shook his head for some reason as this strange display of weird body language confused Makoto. Finally the man got to introducing himself as Maikumaru of the Otsuka Clan which was that clan that did something or other, but he had forgotten since he definitely encountered people from that clan, however he could not remember too clearly at the time.

Then Maikumaru began with the crazy talk as he said this would be the place where magic happens, that they would make great jutsu with an excited fist clenching as Makoto tilted his head slightly to the side. His hair falling to the side on his shoulder as the wind seemed to choose that moment to blow passed him as his hair was flowing in the air as he began to wonder if this guy might be an idiot, or maybe it was one of those crazy bizarre super geniuses you read about in books. He then spoke of the potential hidden deep within, like a secret power that lay dormant inside of the rather perplexed and confused Makoto who was not sure if he was in shock, confusion, excitement or in awe of all this talk.

Then he watched as Maikumaru jumped back and it was at that time he realized the truth clear as day, he listened to the discription of a technique that summons spikes from the ground as stalagmata and stabs inside to impale you. That seemed rather painful like a really strong thousand years of pain that you could never recover from. He watched the formation of the dog hand seal and then the hare hand seal and then the snake hand seal before the shinobi master placed his hands upon the ground. The jutsu seemed to be starting as he felt the earth shaking, something was rising up as several large five meter tall stalagmites rose from the ground and stood firm as he looked on wondering how strong they really were. He also felt a bit worried as he instinctively looked behind him as he felt that a jutsu like that hitting you would be extremely painful. Not to mention if that rock was really hard you could expect to be bleeding as he was wondering if you could get away with simply bruising if you dodged the major impalement.

The fact that it was not sharp enough meant if it did impale you, it would fortunately be more of a bump, either that or it will be a really rough and painful impalement as he shuddered at the thought as he shook his head as his hair flung from side to side, he did not want to think about that but thanks to this it was made clear this guy new what he was doing so he thought he would return a favor in kind.

"That jutsu seems really scary and I want to try to make whips, but maybe I should try making water to go between those stagmalates" as he forgot how to pronounce that over complicated word. Makoto formed the dog hand seal and then focused as it seemed as if a mist was gathering around them in a pale white, he spent so much time on the hidden mist technique that it became a staple and the mist that was forming was being gathered as he then performed the ram hand seal as the mist became normal droplets and then finished off with a snake hand seal as the water droplets all joined together to create an orb of water and then he proceeded to move out his hand as it stretched out the water seemed to be forming a tendril of sorts before collapsing as it just made a small pond around the stalagmites as he looked a bit disappointed.

"I thought it would be easier, is it okay if I try again and can you maybe make one big stagalmite that is really large, or is making a big one harder then making many smaller ones?" As Makoto tilted his head to the side again as this force of habit was now becoming a rather common thing for Makoto these days.

Words = 3795 + 709 = 4504

Maikumaru cocked his head to the side while crossing his arms. He saw the young shinobi create mist around his tall sharp earthen spikes. Maikumaru waved his hand around the mist. When he was an Apprentice Bounty Hunter, he had faced many Bandits and Shinobi from Kirigakure who knew this jutsu. Maikumaru rubbed his fingers together, getting a good feel of the moistness. “I have a better idea. Give the Hidden Mist Technique a more offensive edge to it. If you can gain full control of the mist that you create, then it can make for some really creative applications.” Maikumaru started to create hand seals, and slammed his hands on the ground. Once this has been done, a human shaped stone emerged from the ground. “Training Dummy.” He held out his hands, his palms facing upward, and slowly started raising them. Small pieces of rock started to break from the mountain, and surround him and Makoto. He held out his hand to the dummy, and all of the rocks and sand flew to the target, It started to become covered by the pieces of earth, mummifying the dummy. Maikumaru made his hand into a fist, crushing the dummy. “This can be done with water too. I think the most effective way of doing this is by limiting the mount of water vapor you produce with the hidden mist. Rather than opting for stealthing yourself, you can stealth your technique. The mist will be practically invisible. After that, once they are in the mist, you can have all of the Water Vapor forced on to them. And then crush them. Like I did to that Dummy.”

Maikumaru had his arms behind his back, and started macing. “Now...I have another jutsu in the works.”

Maikumaru clenched his fists together. He tensed up the muscles in his body. And then the Chakra inside of him started to flow. The Chakra left his Tanketsu, and started to rush into every organ in his body. His body started to grow larger, particularly mid) the muscles, which started to bulk, and his veins started become viable out of his skin. He breathed heavily. “This…is my Bulk Up Technique. As you can see, it does the obvious: increase my strength, and endurance. I use Jutsu to power up. Enhance my physical capabilities.” After taking a deep breath, his muscles got smaller, and his power lowered. “A nice combination of jutsu would be to Lower my opponents physical prowess, and hinder their ability to use chakra. While increasing my own power is my forte. Of course this will all cost quite a bit of chakra...I think I need to learn Senjutsu…” Maikumaru looked at his hands and arms. He could stand to learn a new skill or two.

464/2680WC

Makoto thought about what was said and began having some unique new ideas for jutsu as he took out a note book that seemed to appear from out of nowhere as he started to feverishly jot everything down. This process took a while as if he was trying to write someone's name and kill them the hard pressed penmanship as he then closed the book as if finally coming to a realization.

"Challenge accepted..."

Makoto began forming the dog hand seal and then the snake hand seal and then a yin hand seal. He then began to focus as it seemed like nothing was happening as he was concentrating on this technique it seemed to be moving a bit slowly. After about a minute or two the air started to get a slight chill, Makoto was concentrating as he had his eyes closed gathering the water all around them in his attempt to create something new. The mist flowing with a chill like it would start snowing as he kept on focusing on the technique, this could take a while as it was up to Maikumaru to make what he will of this technique.

The mist went from a light white mist and began to shift and gather around the dummy, however it seemed like the jutsu was still a work in progress until something else happened. The mist began to get denser as it went from white to a fairly light grey as the dummy seemed unaffected and then the mist got darker and darker until it went from a mist to a fog in its dark grey form. Then a bluish glow could be seen emphasizing his application of water chakra as he opened his eyes and yelled as loud as he could.

"Aaaaaaahhh"

The fog seemed to shrink as it became a form of misty coffin as he kept pressing his two hands together in a clasped form as the mist kept seeming to shrink until he dropped to his knees and the mist faded away as if it was never there, all that and the only thing that happened was the dummy had its arms bent in a weird shape and it was slightly tilted, but it seemed he did manage to cause some damage with the mist.

"sorry..." as Makoto began to catch his breathe as he was breathing heavily from the strain of attempting something his body could not handle as he felt like he was about to pass out, though something Makoto did not notice was the effect of the grass drying out and the fact that all the grass in the area of the technique was crushed and flattened in the process as he finally lost consciousness and passed out before Maikumaru.

Words = 4504 + 461 = 4965

Maikumaru raised his eyebrow, and scratched the back of his head. “Well that was certainly a grand display.” He grabbed the small shinobi and threw him over his shoulder, and headed off back to the village.

After that with Makoto, Maikumaru decided to work on jutsu alone. He looked at his hands. His Taijutsu, his chakra enhanced body techniques felt lacking to him. It lacked a certain style. Maikumaru had realized his grappling ability was insufficient. He would have to switch to something more...direct. A lot more direct. He took out a small book from his pocket. It was a book on boxing. Boxing was pretty much the official Taijutsu fighting style of Iwagakure. It was a very reliable style. However, Maikumaru wanted to specialize. Flipping through the pages, he had found something. Brawling. He read the entry carefully.

“A brawler is a fighter who generally lacks finesse and footwork in the ring, but makes up for it through sheer punching power. Many brawlers tend to lack mobility, preferring a less mobile, more stable platform and have difficulty pursuing fighters who are fast on their feet. They may also have a tendency to ignore combination punching in favour of continuous beat-downs with one hand and by throwing slower, more powerful single punches (such as hooks and uppercuts). Their slowness and predictable punching pattern (single punches with obvious leads) often leaves them open to counter punches, so successful brawlers must be able to absorb substantial amounts of punishment.

Brawlers tend to be more predictable and easy to hit but usually fare well enough against other fighting styles because they train to take punches very well. They often have a higher chance than other fighting styles to score a knockout against their opponents because they focus on landing big, powerful hits, instead of smaller, faster attacks. Oftentimes they place focus on training on their upper body instead of their entire body, to increase power and endurance. They also aim to intimidate their opponents because of their power, stature and ability to take a punch. A brawler's most important assets are power and chin (the ability to absorb punishment while remaining able to continue boxing).”

Maikumaru clenched his fists while looking at them. Ability to take a punch. Maikumaru was no stranger to taking damage out of reckless abandon. But an entire fighting style dedicated to the concept intrigued him. He closed the book shut and shook his head. He had made up his mind

He could perform techniques that increase the power of his punches. Turning his hands into harbingers of destruction. But he would have to start somewhere. When he used to have explosion release, he had a jutsu that made his punches explosive. It was a shame he no longer had it, but he would be able to manage without it. Of course there was the most important part of Brawling: Taking a hit. Maikumaru would need to create a Medical Jutsu that kept him from feeling pained.

And with his punches themselves, he was going to have to get creative. He thought about attempting to add auxiliary effects to his punches. He isn’t foolish enough to simple limit himself to a single form of attack. Well he is, giving that his primary form of attack will be punching, but with added effects on it. He thought about using the Kekkei Genkai he inherited from his mother. He could use a taijutsu that simultaneously increased his physical capabilities while delivering a devastating punch. And then a devilish thought came to mind. He could create a jutsu that gave him health and drained his enemies of their own through a haymaker.

He would immediately get started. Clenching his fist, he looked at it. Maikumaru focused as much chakra into it as possible. He ran towards up the side of the mountain, and delivered a heavy punch to it, destroying rocks and boulders. He knew he had the basic down. He got down what he was going to use as a template. For now it was all he had. But now it was time to experiment…

Bandits continued to roam the mountains as they did. Maikumaru saw them as a roach infestation. No matter how hard one may try, they always keep coming back. He stalked the mountains in search of...test subjects. And what luck. He spotted a few bandits ahead. Maikumaru clenched his fists. He felt a sense of power surging through him. He had been practicing using the Brawling Style. And he had to admit: it yielded results. He walked up to them without making a sound. Despite this they notice his preasence. He continued to walk up. “Hey...what are you doing here.”

Without saying a word, he entered in his Brawling Stance, and started throwing heavy hard hooks. His large fists smashed against the face of one of them, knocking him down instantly. The other had retaliated with a punch thrown at Maikumaru. His head barely moved. And then Maikumaru delivered a punch of his own, giving another slow and powerful right hook. It staggered him greatly, knocking him off guard, Maikumaru threw a final punch to his midsection, one that lifted him off his feet and in the air. When he was back on his feet, his expression was blank. And then he landed on his knees, and finally came crashing down.

Maikumaru nodded. They were weak opponents. He still needed to test this style on someone stronger eventually. But for now was the fun part. Look for more criminals, and actually test a Brawling Style Jutsu. When he heard reinforcements come from not too far away, Maikumaru clenched his fist and cracked his neck. It really made him think of how much he had grown. Of where he came from. Of what his plans used to be. And the man who he was turning into. A true Warrior. He looked onward waiting for his enemies. He yielded his fist back. It was time for some fun.

1005/3685 WC

All Stats To B~1
[EXIT]