Maikumaru was glad to be back home. Back in Iwa. The Hidden Stone. And not only that he was back better than ever. He was stronger than ever. But there was still much to do, and he couldn’t stay too long. He had to leave and enter the Belly of the Beast. The Devil’s Playpen. Kumogakure no Sato. The Village Hidden in The Clouds. The plan was simple. His part of the plan. Impress Hastur. And get him to take Maikumaru as his student. The village that was within the domain of Lightning Country was no fan of the Raikage. So they had contacted Maikumaru that they are willing to allow him to use their village as a catalyst. The plan was nearly foolproof.

Alas, the young man’s mind was polluted with thinking of that far too much. It was time for him to relax. Time for him to train. The Fissure was like his second home. It was where he got stronger. Where he refined his skill, challenged others, and gain power. When he came to the Fissure Training Grounds, it looked much more up to date with the gym equipment. They looked brand new. He saw that there were many other shinobi who were training. He saw that some of them were familiar faces during the happenings in Suna. Instead of coming back to Iwa, Maikumaru went to Kiri, where he met some nice faces. He walked over to the large weight, that was placed on the ground. He grabbed a hold of it, his fingers wrapping around the bar, getting a good grip. He kneeled down, prepared to lift the monster weight with his legs. And then with far more force than he needed, and more than he thought he was capable of, the bar was thrown into the air. This took Maikumaru by surprised, he moved out of the way as the metal fell onto the ground. He got some glances and eyebrow raises. But for the most part, people looked away and continued to their routine. Maikumaru looked down at his hands, flexing his fingers. He really did get a lot stronger. He looked around, and walked over to the punching bag. He took a deep breath and started throwing heavy punches. After the fourth hit, he punched a whole into the bag. Sand began to leak out. Someone walked over to it. “Don’t worry I got it.” He created some hand seals, and the sand began to fly back into the bag. He took out some tape, and made an X over the damage. Maikumaru laughed nervously. “Hehe...sorry about that.” The guy just nodded and went back to his own routine. Maikumaru’s attention went to the ring. The squared fighting circle. He grabbed a hold of the ropes and jumped in. He started to shadow box, punching nothingness. It was a good warm up. The Special Jonin walked over to the ropes, and leaned his larger frame over it. “Does anyone want to spar?” He was more eager than he let on. There was normally always someone who wanted to have a game of fisticuffs in the Fissure. At least he hoped that was still the case. He hoped that no one had gone soft while staying in Iwa.

571 WC

Mornings were never easy for Taiho, always a late riser in terms of when he would finally roll out of bed and do something, even if he had been awake for what felt like hours beforehand. It just never felt like he could catch a break, it wasn’t as if sleep were difficult to come by, it was just that the sleep was shit, and so was the bed he slept on.

Rolling away from the warm body that occupied the lower sheets, he’d slowly and carefully rest his rather small and well taken care of feet on the visibly dirty and hardwood floor. His back arched only slightly as he leaned forward and placed his palms on the edge to maintain some semblance of posture as he took a deep breath in. His seemingly perfect skin had seen better days, not as if he had been abused, but rather it was obvious that he was a warrior of some kind due to the various battle scars that dotted his frame. None were in obvious places that could be seen outside of his standard operational gear, but they were numerous enough to show that he wasn’t afraid to fight just about anyone or anything. His long blonde hair, a product of years of growth and maintenance, also hung off the bed slightly. It seemed to lack it’s usual sheen, though that was likely due to the lack of light in the room and the fact he hadn’t performed his usual morning routine yet.

Last night seemed to have been a blur for him yet again. Another late night of training and... extracurricular activities, another night of fitful sleep and waking up next to strangers. Sometimes men, sometimes women. Not even he knew who they were or what they wanted, but they helped forget the pain. The ache of loss that never truly left no matter how long he had been in this new land.

Heaving his body forward, he stood up and walked over to the sink to begin to prepare himself for the day. He acknowledged that dwelling on the past and present deficiencies wouldn’t get him anywhere. It wouldn’t bring back those he had lost, and it wouldn’t stop the stares. But even acknowledging this didn’t stop his rising anger, the great sense of disgust that wrapped itself around him and burrowed so deep that it would never let go. It was weird in a way. He cared not for how he was viewed physically, in fact he reveled in it. He loved the attention that both men and women gave him on a daily basis. But he disliked the utter cowardice that hid beneath that beautiful frame of his. The absolute failure that allowed his home to be destroyed, and the regret that his father had to sacrifice himself just so that he could escape. He knew his anger consumed him, he recognized that one day it would destroy him, but he just couldn’t contain it. He just felt the urge to do more and more harm every day, and nothing he did could replace it.

He would stare at himself in the mirror for a few more minute before the body on the bed shuffled about alerting him to the fact that he had just a few minutes before he had to get out of the room. The man had made it clear that he didn’t wish to wake up next to one of his kind and he damn sure didn’t want to deal with the village guards should the man make good on his promise.

Gathering his clothing together, he’d vacate the home, dressing himself as he walked. The sun had barely risen yet and so the village was still shrouded in the dusty aura of the dawn sun. He would walk across the village towards the training grounds over the course of the next hour, not really wishing to return to his own apartment. He’d greet the other early birds of the village, the passing shinobi or opening shopkeep on the way to their place of business. He knew the Fissure was always open for training, but wanted to get some solo work in first before heading there to spar with any potential candidates.

Stopping in one of the nearer training grounds since he didn’t wish to be too far away from the gym, he’d reach into his duffle bag to grab a roll of wrapping tape and placing it on the ground before sitting down and removing his clothing to prepare. Dressing down until he was dressed in a simple tank top and boxers, he’d proceed to tape up his hands and feet slowly, methodically losing himself in the motion of wrapping up each individual finger in a roll of white gauze. He’d ensure that each finger was tightly bound, no sign of skin shown as he would move onto the next, and the one that followed. It would take him nearly ten minutes to do both fingers, but by time he was done, both hands were immaculately encased in a double layer of gauze. Reaching down he’d perform the same action with his feet, taking extreme care that he not wrap the gauze too tight or too loose so that it would be the perfect fit and not discomfort him when he trained.

Standing up from his preparation he would then settle into a basic guard stance with both arms up and near his head, positioned perfectly to allow him to see through the gap between them and yet close enough that a strike would not be let through unless he otherwise willed it. Muscles tensed as he crouched slightly, left heel planted firmly in the cool morning soil as his right traced an arc through the ground before settling a half step behind his left. He’d lean forward if only slightly and would flex his fingers gently before stepping forward towards the nearby training log. His right leg would lift off the ground before stamping itself firmly in the dirt a half step ahead of his left as he struck out with his corresponding right fist, curling his fingers only in the action of the strike to reduce damage to himself and to reduce the chance of injuring himself before striking the log with an audible thump. The strike itself lacked a lot of the power he had previously, something he chalked up merely to his body being weaker than it was before he had left his homeland. Another sore point if he was really honest with himself.

Returning the leg to its starting position, he’d shuffle forward a half step, maintaining foot placement as he ducked his head behind his protective guard and bobbed his upper body about before striking out again on a side body motion that came from the far right that would send him towards his left. Leading the strike with his right hand again, it would land firmly against the log before immediately retracting as he continued the upper body motion before coming around to the total apex of his left leaning motion before performing a return strike similar to the one he had performed with his right. This time leading the strike with his left fist, the strike would once again land firmly against the log with an audible thump. The two strikes would be the key start to a devastating five strike combination that combined not only his hands but also his elbows and knees as he weaved the strikes through the imaginary guard of the training log.

The combination would only last but for four seconds, the strikes coming out with such accuracy and speed that dwelling on them would be pointless. The whole purpose of the combination was to quickly overwhelm the opponent before they could mount a proper defense in a close combat situation. He knew that versus longer ranged opponents if he could get into range to punish them physically that he wouldn’t need nearly as strong of a combination, but the fact that he could potentially end the fight with such a combination meant that perfecting it would make it a crucial tool in his arsenal.

He’d reset himself back into a ready stance, having only spent a few seconds on the maneuver before shuffling his feet about to set himself into another preparation step by swapping the positions of his left and right foot. Bouncing on the balls of his feet to limber himself up, he snap out a sudden low kick with his dominant leg before pulling the leg back just as quickly to push off it and using the ball of his left foot as a pivot to spin around to land a reverse roundhouse to the upper portions of the log with a loud crack as the blade of his foot impacted off the side of the wood. Twisting back into his ready position he’d hop back a step and settle back into his normal ready stance to assess his next movements.

He’d spend close to thirty minutes practicing further movements, working his body until a nice light sheen had gathered on his skin causing it to glisten in the rising sun. His breath would come out heavy as his hands rested on his wide hips. A satisfied smile would cross his face as he thought over the practice, at least confident that he hasn't forgotten his movements, even if his body lacked the strength to properly apply them. Gathering his things, he’d pack up the remainder of his clothing before slinging the bag over his shoulder and taking to the trees in the direction of the gym.

It would take him about twenty minutes to cross the length of the village, along the way garning the customary stares and greetings from civilians and shinobi alike that admired his rather accentuated frame as it traveled through the village. He’d stop just after entering the Fissure, admiring the work done to make the most of the location and transforming it from it from what most would have considered a scar on the earth into a well maintained training facility. A small smile would cross his face at the thought of the many warriors that had graced the area with their presence and skill, growing in power until one day they possibly no longer needed it. He could feel the desire within himself to also reach that pinnacle where such a location would no longer be fit for the practice he wished to have.

But for now he would have to settle with what he had. Slinging his pack with all of his clothes over to a distant wall, he’d walk over to a collection of equipment that could be used for multiple workouts. The area was still lit by the light of a torch since it was still very early in the morning and the bright rays of sunlight had yet to pierce to the cracks far up above. Grabbing a handful of dirt from the floor below, he’d slap the earth between his hands, feeling it crumble between his fingers as he crushed it to fine dust before hopping up and down on both feet causing his rather supple behind to jiggle if only slightly. Dropping his body into a prostrated squat, he’d swing his arms out and upwards from behind him before leaping with all of his might to catch the heavily elevated bars. The equipment was clearly made for ninja as all of it had been positioned to what many would be considered the extreme to allow for maximum workouts. Hanging shortly from the bar, he’d glance around himself and notice that it was only him for as far as his eyes could reasonably see for now but he figured that this would change as soon as others began their own morning routines.

Flexing the muscles within his arms, he’d pull himself up and over the bar, his grip maintained through sheer strength and force of will. Thankfully his ordeal hadn’t sapped all of the strength from his body, but he could tell that the way he was no was no where close to where he had been previously in his life. Anger rose back up into his body as he focused more and more on his deficiencies as he moved throughout his exercises. Each test of his body driving his ire higher and higher as a semi permanent scowl began to replace what used to be a rather peaceful smile. Finally, he snapped out of his mental evaluation as he noticed that the torches had gone out and the sun was finally filling the valley with light. More and more shinobi were filtering in and now that he could see clearer, there were a group of sparring rings placed deeper into the fissure. Spying out the location, he’d walk closer to observe some of the fights going on, interested in seeing the various fighting styles of the people who had taken him in.

Arriving by the closest ring to him, there was a rather intense brawl going on between two ninja of an unknown rank. The blows they traded were so fast that he really couldn’t tell how they were able to even react at such a speed. The way the fight flowed amazed him honestly, each strike flying out only to either be blocked or redirected away before being responded with a strike of its own. Watching the bout with intense eyes, Taiho could feel time itself slow for him as he watched the two move about, still unable to properly perceive their movements, but able to at least gleam the basic positions that they took and the intentions of each strike. Both fighters seemed to at least grasp their opponents style just enough to react appropriately and not be caught out by feints and traps. The dance was honestly so beautiful that it had washed away almost all of the insecurities that had taken root within his mind. It also fostered a ravenous desire in himself to experience something similar.

Looking away from the spar finally, he’d walk over to the next closest ring, there was already another man in the ring. He was fairly tall, standing well over Taiho’s own height from what he could see from the ground. The man’s spiky gray hair was an oddity however, something that Taiho had not seen in Iwa before meaning that the man’s hair color was likely unique to him or his... clan as they were referred to here. Nodding in understanding that the man was asking for a sparring partner, he himself would climb the ramparts and step into the ring. His slim body didn’t need much to get between the ropes and even seemed to garner him some catcalls that he ignored as he bent over to get between the ropes. He’d stop just before the taller man, his own form dripping in sweat from all the exertion he had performed over the course of the morning. It was hard to pinpoint the man’s clothing as he hadn’t gotten a good look, but he could tell that he himself were a mess with his gray tank top being absolutely soaked in sweat. His shorts had also seemed to shrink to his body with the moisture, defining his curves as well, but all of these details were ignored as he stared up into the man’s face with a look of challenge. He didn’t expect to beat the larger man, but practice was practice, and if he was going to get back into proper form, he’d need all the practice he could get.

WC: 2614

While Maikumaru was in the ring, he had was awaiting for an opponent. It was worrying how long he was waiting. Was this it? Was this going to be the future of Iwagakure? He was perhaps rushing, as people just decided to work out. They were civilians just getting in shape. This angered him to a small extent. Where were all the warriors? But what made him happy was seeing that the civilians of Iwagakure were getting in shape rather than being fat and lazy. He had once met an Akimichi. They were on a mission together and Maikumaru teased him about his weight. There was a bit of a falling out later that led them into a fight. They don’t talk anymore…

His mind drifted back to getting ready to leave the ring in disappointment until he saw someone. Someone crawled into the ring. Someone small and lanky. It was a pale girl, who was definitely lacking in the bust department. He held in a laughter, remembering Ess’s big knockers. “Well at least we have someone who’s willing to throw down.” She seemed confidant, for her lankey body. And she agreed to do this fight. That could mean that she was learning taijutsu or already mastered it, despite her body being less than impressive. It was those who looked weak Maikumaru was wary of. Those who were weak yet eager to fight, especially with Taijutsu. They normally had something planned. He remembered learning this from his old Mercenary Mentor, Takehare, after completing a Bounty Hunt.

After taking down someone who was under five and a half feet, Takehare and Maikeru had bruises all over their body. Takehare specifically had a footprint across his face, from the powerful kick. They both were short of breath, slouching on the ground, backs , sitting next to the dead corpse that had knives in his back and arms. “How can someone so shrimpy...be so good at Taijutsu…”

“I guess that leads me into a lesson. Now when an enemy like this guy appears weak, more often than not, its to psyche out the opponent. Give them a false sense of security before inevitably taking them out. Now if they are a master of taijutsu like our dead friend over here, then they are more than likely going to sue their smaller frames to get an advantage. Be it using them to avoid more attacks or a psychological one such as the psyche out. Just be wary of those who look like they are at a disadvantage. They will be compensating for their weakness.

Maikumaru would take these words into account. He sized up his opponent. “So...what’s your name.” He went on the defensive, going into a boxing stance position. He kept his knuckles close to his face for protection. He needed to gauge her ability. He continued to shuffle around the ring, waiting for her to throw the first strike. He would be expecting some form of Taijutsu.

520/1091

The crowd seemed to grow more and more intense as Taiho stood there, the man’s strong and imposing presence seemed to draw in far more attention than what normally would’ve been gathered. It tempered Taiho’s drive, and yet it excited the young male in a way he hadn’t been in quite some time. A flush of cheeks and a tightening of the firsts were the only physical cues that he had even been mentally affected by such a task. It was odd really, the two warriors couldn’t have been anymore different, with the tall imposing bronze skinned male standing there with arms crossed and face staunched into a disappointed scowl, scars crisscrossing his face as a show of previous battles and almost flaunted as a sense of pride. And yet here was Taiho, a relatively frail young man who passed simply as a girl because of his femininity. He lacked any foreseeable scars and seemed to only maintain his own presence due to the growing ire at the dismissal of most of the crowd at his presence in the ring. He could hear further catcalls, especially those from behind and to the side as they could actually see him. It wasn’t as if he wanted to be flat, but things of that nature didn’t matter to him much as he drew himself inward and began to mentally disregard the noises of those who wouldn’t even garner the courage to stand in the ring with this man.

The man asked for his name, the gruff sound of his voice actually snapping Taiho out of his attempt at concentrating on centering himself. It shocked more color to his face as he took a meager half step back with his off foot, maintaining the forward facing position of his body as he did so. Shaking his head to clear it of the cluttered cobwebs, he immediately looked the man in the eye and grinned shakily before responding with a clear foreign accent, “My name is Taiho, Taiho Seiker, and yours?” The question would be posed with a sense of playfulness. The whole situation was slowly beginning to excite Taiho even more, the thought of fighting someone who not only dripped in power, but absolutely waded in it. Everything about this man told Taiho that he wouldn’t stand an inkling of a chance, and yet he remained firm, in fact, his will only grew sharper and stronger. His fists clenched so hard that the wrap around his fingers began to make an audible noise as his anticipation grew. He knew that this fight wouldn’t be close, but the fact remained that it was going to be a good one, and he always enjoyed a good fight.

WC: 2614 + 452 = 3066

When Maikumaru stood in front of the young girl, he couldn't help but realize that how many people had become interested in the ring. He lowered his brow on disapproval. They would rather watch a fight than be apart of it. He scoffed at them all. Especially the ones in particular who were shouting rather inappropriate things to the young lady. It became a clear announce to the girl. Maikumaru wants all of his opponents at their very bests, and he would not tolerate them being distracted. “Hey! Can you guys shut the hell up!? Unless you want to be taken into this ring too, and go one on one with me, I suggest you pipe down.” His forceful nature was enough to have the small group of men tuck their tails between their legs and remain silent. He turned to the girl once more. “Don’t worry about those idiots. Just focus on this fight. It's just you and me and no one else.” Maikumaru was slightly taken aback by their name. It seemed a tad bit more masculine than he would have accepted from a female. “Nice to meet you. I am Maikumaru Otsuka, at your service. Now that we got the introductions out of the way, enough talk. Talk is cheap. Time to fight. We’ll limit things to our fists, so it will be a boxy match. Now let’s do this.”

Maikumaru put his fists up, and tightened them, and his smirk was wide across his face. He threw a punch at her, giving her a one two. He was good at using his superior height advantage against her, just leaning in briefly without making too much of an effort to defend. He was far enough out of her reach to dodge most of her attacks. But this would work only as long as she didn’t go in hard and heavy, breaching his reach and moving in close enough for Maikumaru to be unable to land more effective hits. So for now, he had to keep her on the offense, and avoid letting her get close by backing up slightly after every attack he made, preparing himself for counterattacks. “Come on. Show me what you got girly.” He would casually throw out light taunts, but he still kept to his safe way of fighting, at least until she would make the decisive move. Maikumaru kept to his usual way of offensive fighting, making his punches less frequent but hard and heavy, hitting ever so often. He wouldn’t use his full strength, because he wasn’t exactly sure how strong she might be, despite his lessons to be wary of people like this. He confined his attacks to basic jab combos and a few hooks here and there. Things would remain more tamed than Maikumaru has seen, until his enemy makes a smart move.

502/1593

The elder man seemed to sense Taiho’s earlier agitation at the catcalls being hurled at him and took it upon himself to calm down the rowdy crowd before they truly got out of hand. It wasn’t really necessary but in hindsight it was nice that it kept him from tunneling harder than he already would be. Nodding at the man’s response and his subsequent introduction, he would pocket that information for later seeing as it wouldn’t help him in his current predicament. That man would follow his own words closely apparently, immediately moving into action by drawing himself up into a boxing stance and striking out with a rather quick one, two jab combination that was pretty basic in most boxing schools. The dual strikes however were seemingly fired out like cannon shots as far as Taiho was concerned. Eyes sharpening as he performed a sudden backstep to pull himself out of range of the punches as soon as he saw them, he only barely was able to bring up a basic boxing guard before the punches bounced off his frail arms leaving soft bruises and a dull ringing pain echoing through the limbs.

Frowning in concentration, Taiho realized he couldn’t play this fight out on the defense, the man had range, weight and apparently power on him and if left to his apparent forte of long range, he would be taking punishing probing jabs and hooks all day. Gathering himself about, he only barely heard the man taunt him over the sound of his own blood pumping loudly in his ears and the cheers of the crowd at the opening salvo. He almost barely missed the fact that the man had stepped back with the punch, taking him even further out of Taiho’s effective range. Frowning at this fact from behind his guard, he wondered how he would approach this situation, limited only to boxing techniques and his own mental fortitude. Exhaling slowly out of his nose, he’d banish any thought of defeat from his mind before backstepping and rolling his shoulders to ease the tension in them. Luckily the man’s own punching style would keep him out of range and give Taiho more than enough time to react with a quick backstep, though he made sure to be mindful of the rings edge and to side step if necessary but only after making sure that he shifted his guard to the appropriate side in case such a motion would be punished. Observation would be the key to at least lasting in this match. The sooner he could pinpoint the man’s style, the sooner he could retaliate without worrying about being punished. Once again he was thankful it was limited to just boxing, otherwise he would have definitely be crushed after the opening salvo.

WC: 3066 + 465 = 3531

Maikumaru was impressed with the young girl’s reaction to his onslaught. Stay far out of his reach as possible. It was a smart move, considering with Maikumaru’s height and power advantage. Though he intentionally kept his hits slow. If she were to get hit with one of his heavy blows, it would hurt quite a bit. And she would deserve it. Letting one of these slow ass fists hit would mean you are pretty incompetent. Though she was able to block the hits, the left some bruising. And then she would remained evasive from his attacks. Maikumaru looked at her face and saw that she was thinking something. Unfortunately, she didn’t make much of an offensive move. Maikumaru was beginning to lose patience. He made no effort for his face to keep up the ruse of being interested. He started to feel very bored. “That’s it, playtime over.” Time to raise the stakes. He ran jumped backwards four meters away from her, disengaging to go into his plan. Maikumaru started to create Hand signs. He had enough of this. This fight was beginning to bore him. So he decided to take things up a notch. Either Maikumaru had lost his patience or lost his mind. There was no room for weakness. His hands went into the Ram, the Boar, the Dog, the Bird, and finally the Hare. There was a crackling in the ground, and then four large pillars, made of Earth, arose from the ground around the ring. Then, lightning emitted between the pillars. Maikumaru, still watching her carefully stepped back some, hoping to have distracted her with the jutsu. “This is the Four Pillar Bind. I’d try to not get too close to the electric ropes. They’ll burn you pretty damned hard. He ran forward towards her, moving at 9 meters per second. He was only four meters away from her, so he would be able to reach her at half a second. Aiming to land a hit to the head. Maikumaru was far more stronger than the average shinobi with his strength, and if his hit landed it would cause a concussion.  

He then ran to the side at the same speed. He kept his eye on every inch of her body while stepping to the side, just to make sure she didn’t have anything tricky to counter with. Staying farther back. Maikumaru knew that he was faster than she was. If she was hiding any power she would have show it by now. His plan would be to completely keep his distance from her. Due to his speed, he could keep away from her, and swoop in and hit her at any time to give a strong offense. He could overpower her with his strength and speed combined, and consecutively deliver hits, each one with the ability to fracture bone, and he could take hits as well, so there wouldn't be much of a way he’d get punished. He stood there with his arms crossed, and cocked his head to the side. He stood on the opposing side of the ring. If she moved, he would move.

550/2143

Chakra 260/300:

The physical onslaught was taking its toll on Taiho. The young male maintaining his guard all throughout the older man’s attempts at removing his head from his shoulders. Most of the time he held his guard up but after awhile he merely abused the fact that the two had a stride or two’s distance to position himself either out of the range or into a position that he could dodge by moving his upper body to the side of the strike. The constant movement was starting to drag onto his rather limited source of stamina, the fact that he had worked out earlier was slowly becoming a detriment to him as he worked as hard as he could to avoid being struck. Thankfully his opponent seemed to be holding back, the clear flexing of the muscles that signalled that a punch was being held from reaching its full power was a god send. Taiho was so hyper focused onto the man that he could no longer hear the crowd around him, his blood pumping like a banging war drum in his ears as his eyes observed every possible detail that would keep him from being struck again. It was almost as if he had achieved some heightened state of existence, but it was merely the adrenaline and blood pumping through his brain.

A reprieve came in the form of his opponent finally getting tired of the constant cat and mouse that they had been performing. Clearly the man had grown tired of chasing the young male all over the gym and figured he had a better way of catching him. Sadly for him he had not only showed his hand in how he operated in a close fight, but he had also given Taiho the necessary room to retaliate if necessary. Taiho would gather his chakra into his dominant right foot as the man leapt back. He too was prepared to escalate this as the man’s hands were already moving into the motion to perform hand seals, a clear sign that this battle was going to increase in intensity and difficulty. His mind would be racing at a mile a minute, his Guardian training kicking in as he took aim through his guard and unleashed the power held within his dominant leg as he swept it forward in the form of a standard kick as the man landed from his leap. The power that was unleashed traveled quickly, far more quickly than the man could create his hand seals, and far more quickly than he would’ve reasonably been able to react to had he been thinking clearly about his actions.

The wave wouldn’t do anything to the ring itself as it travelled through the material leaving no notice of something happening outside of the fact that Taiho failed a kick at the man. However that was the purpose of the failure, to draw the man into a false sense of security as the nearly imperceivable wave traveled at twenty five meters a second straight at him. Should the wave reach him, it would rupture the ground violently and launch him ten meters straight into the air where he would effectively be defenseless. The wave would also deal a good deal of damage to the man’s legs, bruising them heavily and possibly even fracturing them if he was caught flat footed.

Even if the man somehow perceived his attack and avoided it, Taiho would be prepared as he quickly tucked his leg back into place forming yet another defensive stance. He was fully prepared to react and avoid further damage from coming at him as the man had placed himself at an even further range giving Taiho more than enough time to react to most things he could unleash, unless they were truly life threatening. Though if he was honest, if it got to that point there wasn’t much he could do about it anyway.

Jutsu Used:

• Earth Dragon Wave | C
  

Chakra Remaining: 235/250

WC: 3531 + 654 = 4185

While Maikumaru was flying back jumping, back to the other side of the ring to defend any attacks that would be aimed in his direction. However, what he didn't notice that the young girl had used a jutsu on the mat of the ring to force Chakra through it. When he landed on the ground, he landed at the exact time that said wave was passing through his position, forcing him into the air, hurting his legs. He swung around the air, and finally fell flat on his back. He felt pain in his legs. He slightly moved them, noticing the pain somewhat intensifying. He looked across the ring, on his back and his arms and legs spread out. He realized that he was defeated. He realized that he was defeated by this small girl. He smiled. He now knew that there weren't any lack of strong Ninja in Iwa. He propped himself on his elbows. “Alright. You got me. I surrender.” He reached down to his ankles, and pressed his palms, and one on each. He begin to heal the pain in his legs. “I will acknowledge that you are a strong user of Taijutsu. Well…not strong so much as smart. You have more than my respect, and I fully believe that one day you will surpass me. I had to admit I was holding back in the first part. But you played it patient, unlike myself. Of course I was getting prepared to use Jutsu. As I can tell you saw that in right through me. So you used a jutsu faster than I did.” After healing himself up a bit he got to his feet. His ankles and leg felt much better, though slightly lingering was an uncomfortable feeling. Although, it was nothing of the serious nature.

“Welp. You defeated me. Great job. I suppose now I could give you an reward. And that reward is a very special jutsu I invented myself. It's called Gaia's Eyes. It's a Jutsu I created in order to sense others around me. I thought about using something to sense Chakra but that was easy to suppress. I picked something that most wouldn't even think of. I chose to sense the Earth, like a form of echolocation. Down to a science.” Maikumaru looked around and saw that the patrons of the gym had lost interest. Maikumaru twitched his eyebrows. It was good that they had lost interest, so that they wouldn't care to learn about his Jutsu, but it kinda stung that they didn't want to anyway. He shrugged it off and told Teiho to leave the ring, going down for a walk farther down the fissure away from the others. It reminded him when he first created Gaia's Eyes. Maikumaru looked around, putting his hands on his hips. Scanning the area, he noticed that there were a bit more larger boulders. The way Gaia’s Eyes works is that you connect to the ground and sense the pressure onto it. Sense how much pressure, and sense when it is shifting, or changing in any way. This jutsu takes quite a bit of time to fully grasp. Hell, it did got me, and I made it.” Maikumaru chuckled a bit. He sorta didn't think this all the way through. He knew how to make jutsu but teaching it was a whole new level. He thought about how Gaia's Eyes actually worked, and had a realization. “Hmmm. The first thing I want you to do is place your hand onto the ground. Once you do, use your chakra to connect with it. The ground. When you do I'm going to press my fist to the ground about a meter away and I want you to point to my direction. All of this with your eyes closed.”

647/2790 WC

His body remained tense as the shockwave rushed through the mat, the imperceivable ripples seemingly reaching out to grab their target as the older man touched the ground and was seemingly immediately crippled by the strike. He watched the older man get launched by the shockwave, the chakra pushing up violently against his landing force causing a noticeable crack to be heard in the air as he was sent skywards. Taiho couldn’t count the seconds that he watched the man, but he knew that if he allowed the man any sort of leeway that it would likely lead to another crushing assault on his crumbling defenses. Gathering himself up, he’d rush towards the falling man, reaching his position just as he landed in a heap only to stop as the man would put up his hand in the form of a surrender. The man smiled even though he seemed to be incapacitated, a fist only a few inches from his resting face as he spoke about acknowledging Taiho’s prowess in Taijutsu. He broke down how the fight went, apparently he had taken it easy on Taiho at the start, something Taiho hated to admit but was thankful for. If he had pressed his range and power advantage from the start he definitely would’ve folded immediately under the pressure. The jutsu part confused Taiho a bit, but he understood that sometimes someone did things when they felt rushed and those things didn’t necessarily make sense. He wouldn’t tell the man that what he used was a jutsu, more like a really strong kick if he was honest, but that would spoil the surprise and the victory. Changing his hand from a fist to an open palm after the man had healed himself, he’d help him to his feet, though he could feel that the man didn’t need it considering how much he weighed and how much force was actually in his body.

The thought of winning against this man elated Taiho, but he just couldn’t fathom the imperceivable difference between their levels of strength. The raw power resting beneath the skin of this man actually terrified him and intrigued him at the same time. It reminded him vividly of the power his father used to wield. The towering behemoth would cackle loudly in the heat of battle as he swung his battle cannon wildly in a fit of battle lust. The thought of one day standing toe to toe with such giants excited him greatly. Zoning back into the man’s speech, it had seemingly only been a few seconds in his head and yet it felt so long. Taking a stabilizing breath and stepping back a few inches, he’d smile and nod at the man’s offer to teach or train him. Even one technique would be beneficial to the young blond bomber. He could only dream of what the man could teach him. With the power he held within his body, any bit of knowledge or understand the man could impart would be valuable. He wondered what it could possibly be? Would it be a new taijutsu technique that would build on his foundations? Or maybe one of those ‘chakra’ techniques that would allow him to influence his surroundings? Tuning back in out of his musings at apparently the right time, the man gave him the name of the technique he was being taught. Something called, Gaia’s Eye’s. It had a... regal name to it. As if Mother Earth herself were watching over him. In a sense he guessed, that was likely how the technique itself worked as well.

He would listen with the utmost attention. Following along as the man walked away from the ring, the crowd having cleared away giving them both a clear path to travel down as they left the ring proper. His body contorted as he slipped between the ropes, the man explaining the basic mechanics and how he developed it. Echolocation definitely sound like it would be rather feasible as a bonus though if what he understood about the technique was correct then he could likely repurpose it for his own techniques as well. Diving deep into his thoughts again as they walked towards the indicated location, he’d contemplate the possibility of possibly reverse engineering the technique he was being given into working for the air, and not only providing some sort of vision or sensory, but also using that to possibly augment his fighting style. Muttering to himself about offensive values and the ratio of chakra to energy coefficients in his home language, he finally realized that they had stopped and that Maikumaru had begun to explain what he wanted Taiho to do.

Nodding along with the instructions, he gathered his chakra into his hands easily, the body part accepting the energy as easily as one of the ninja’s could through their entire body. Kneeling down on his left leg, he’d place the palm of gathered chakra to the earth before pressing into the rough dirt. Pushing his chakra through the earth as instructed, he didn’t feel any real change as it pulsed away from him. He frowned only slightly before remembering that he wasn’t supposed to pulse the chakra so much as use it to gain a sort of connection with the earth around him. Realizing his mistake, he blushed and regathered his chakra, the energy flowing through his body into his hand before streaming right into the earth. This time his held it an directed it outwards, having it touch and feel every little bit of earth that he could immediately around him. This time however, he felt it. He felt his world expand with such a rush of information that he honestly couldn’t process it all at once and gasped as he pulled his hand away suddenly. The concept and feelings that he had experienced were far too much for the young blonde initially, his hand clutched safely by his other as he stared at the dirt beneath him. It was alive. It was just as alive as he was, and yet... it looked so dead. Looking up at Maikumaru, he almost wanted to ask a question, but he could clearly see the man was patiently waiting for him to finish and so he steeled himself and held all of his questions for later.

Gathering his chakra once more into his hand, he’d place the palm back onto the dirty, beaten dirt and pushed his chakra deeply into the medium. This time ignoring the rush of life and information that threatened to swallow him whole. He would push and push, expanding it outwards from where his palm met the earth and persevered. He wouldn’t give up on something as simple as expanding his senses. He would master this exercise and then move on to the next one. This man had taken his time out to teach Taiho something so valuable, he would treasure this time and maximize it. If this man taught him one technique, then he would take that time and knowledge and transform it into two. If this man helped him gain his strength, then he would take that time and effort and turn it into speed as well. He would do everything in his power to make sure that this man knew and understood that he appreciated the effort and care that was given to him, because he would not waste time like he had with his father. Not this time. Not again.

Feeling the chakra reach about as far as it could go in the earth beneath him, he’d finally take a deep breath and allow the information to stream into his mind. Flinching and leaning forward if only slightly to balance himself out. He’d hold this position for awhile before finally gathering himself about and closing his eyes. Steeling himself and sorting through all of the relevant information that he could, he would finally find peace within his mind before nodding and speaking for the first time since introducing himself, “Alright. I’m ready”. His breathing balanced out as he spoke before finally he was breathing as if he hadn’t just exerted himself, as if he wasn’t experiencing what felt like all of the earth at once. He breathed as if he were walking down the street or enjoying a pleasant conversation. He breathed as if he were alive. And if he listened closely. So did the earth.

WC: 1401 + 4185 = 5585

Maikumaru nodded his head. He was impressed. He had got the idea of Gaia’s Eyes. Maikumaru stretched. “Now. I guess I can teach you one more technique. I have to go soon, so I can only give you a very light examination of it. Pay attention closely. It's another jutsu I created. Earth Release: Earthquake Tremor. It's good for catching opponents off guard. Similar to the jutsu you used on me. It's a taijutsu technique that requires your body to vibrate. You have to use the chakra throughout your body, and shake it. The technique is a bit...strange. You have to shake it at the right frequency. Not too much, or it will fail. Not too little, or, obviously, it will fail. At the right amount. It's a subtle jutsu that causes the ground to shake. A lot. This may seem almost useless, but not to a taijutsu master. When the ground shakes, it will throw them off balance on many levels. If they move too fast, then they will fall down. And if they fall down, they are in a position where you are in control of the situation. Now you can move faster than then, even if they generally are faster than you. And if they do, they will fall, and then...well...you can do whatever you want to them. “

Maikumaru began to vibrate himself. He felt his chakra pour into ins body. It felt nice and cool, as the chakra had found its way into his muscles. And then Maikumaru judged the right frequency for it. Starting easy. And then he began to move his chakra more quickly. He felt it on his body. It was uncomfortable. Like the feeling of touching a vibrating machine on, but instead of the hand it's his entire body. And then the ground had began to shake. He watched the rocks bounce off the ground. “As you may notice the ground is shaking. If you try to sprint, and move too fast you will fall down. And if you fall down, like I said, it gives me, the user, the opportunity for an attack. Be it jutsu or basic attack.” Maikumaru stopped the vibration, and panted for a few moments. “It takes some time to get used to, but you will get used to it. And that’s all the lessons I have for you today. Come see me again in a week, and you and I can fight at full power. I have more training to get done, with a lot more devastating jutsu. so I better hurry. See ya.”

Maikumaru went off. He had lost track of time that he could barely remember what jutsu he was training for. “Oh yeah...Bakuton.” He went off to the valley of mountains and began his training for a new jutsu. A new Bakuton jutsu. It was going to be a jutsu that destroyed everything unfortunate enough to be near him.

Maikumaru ventured off to the mountains. He crossed his arms and legs, sitting down in thought. He could have asked other members of the clan for assistance, but he never did. Maikumaru distanced himself from them, and most people in generally, opting to train alone. He stood up and clenced his fist. He had neglected his Bloodline Jutsu for quite some time. It was time for him to get back to making this a bit more explosive. The Iwa ninja clenched his fist. He needed to improve upon the Landmine Fist. It wasn’t exactly flawed, but more or less could be improved upon. He yanked his fist back. He took a deep breath and focus more explosive chakra into his fist. He launched his fist forward to create a much larger and destructive explosion. “Heh...first try…I’ll call it...Explosion Release: Grenade Fist.”

He forbade his thoughts from being deviated again, and went back on the subject at hand. Creating Amazing Bakuton jutsu. He found himself deconstructing explosion release once again, to fully get the full extent of this jutsu. He smiled and started to Rush the Bakuton in his body, feeling the strain throughout his body, his muscles getting larger. Harder and more powerful than he had ever done before. He screamed in pain, unwavering pain, but a smile on his face. The power was damaging but at the same time it felt amazing. He held in the Bakuton inside his body, keeping it as constrained as possible. It proved to be difficult. It was as if it was a raging beast, trying to smash through its cage. Maikumaru held it in for as long as he could, until it released itself. The explosion was so great, so spectacular, and the release of it felt utterly euphoric. Maikumaru had passed out on the ground after the extreme blast. His clothes were tattered and he left a large crater on the side of a mountain. His limp body laid there, inside the scar he left on the earth. During the blast he knew he was going to pass out. But he knew he was going to wake up satisfied.

859/3649 WC Exit

Reaction Time C~1-B   2000-10%=1800 WC
Perception C~1-B   2000-10%=1800 WC

The experience of feeling the earth through his entire body instead of just with his hands and feet was absolutely breathtaking. Taking deep calming breaths each second he stood there, he waited for what felt like eons as the man watched him carefully, ensuring that he had encapsulated all that the technique was meant to do. Every aspect was brought forth and understood before finally he was met with a nod. A nod? His head tilted at this. His eyes were still closed but he could still make out the actions the man was performing before him as if they open. This shocked Taiho enough to let go of the technique, the void of sensations and experiences leaving him feeling just a bit empty inside as he grasped his chest and realized what this technique truly allowed him to do. All of that energy that had been put forth into the ground could be utilized. He could feel everything his chakra felt so why not use it to accomplish other goals aside from seeing? The options that were available to him had him giddy. To be taught such a basic yet versatile technique left Taiho with a feeling of growing admiration for the older man. He understood Taiho enough after one fight to understand his strengths and capabilities and thus taught him a technique with a rough enough base that he was able to polish and develop it further. The versatility of ‘chakra’ always amazed Taiho. It wasn’t something that his people used often outside of their weapons and thus he had never realized that this latent internal energy could even wielded in different fashions.

Now he was intrigued, and doubly so. No longer would he confine himself to just striking with his hands and feet. He no longer had to rely on just solely his weapons to provide a plethora of ranges for him to assault his targets from. He’d stare down at his hands. Both of them now planted firmly in the dirt as sweat dripped down his body. His breaths came short and haggard, and his posture was just absolutely terrible, but he was happy, excited almost. The man probably still wouldn’t notice just what he had done when had taught Taiho this technique. And if Taiho was honest, he wouldn’t really have known what had been done either when he learned it. Future historians would likely not even know to think back to such an obscure and normal day as a turning point in the future of the shinobi world. Or that this day was the creation of what many would consider the future Smiling Monster of Iwa.

These thoughts were all processed internally however as the man continued his lesson with one final technique, a simple pulsing earthquake technique that was not only similar to the kick he had used earlier, but also similar to the pulse he had performed when trying to use the first technique. Looking over both techniques that had been taught to him, Taiho was fairly certain that he could manage quite a few things with both of them. They were basic enough in concept and execution that he could tweak and improve on them in certain ways that would definitely benefit him in the future. Looking over the first one, he was certain that if he focused on a certain area that his chakra was touching, he could likely cause it to be the new point of origin for his techniques. Being able to do that with such a basic and useful technique would definitely increase his ability to attack and disrupt his opponents from various ranges. He’d finally tune back in to the man as he’d begin to walk off after stating that that was all that he would teach Taiho for now. It saddened the boy slightly that he wouldn’t learn more from this man who had opened his eyes to the possibilities of chakra but he understood and honestly couldn’t wait for their next meeting.
Flexing his fingers before curling them into two fists, he’d stand up and walk away from the instruction zone, his head held up high and his mind racing with many ideas. He knew for a fact that he would have to at least practice these two jutsu to get any sort of use out of them and figured that a simple spar with any of the patrons of the area would do for a quick cool down session, of course he didn’t tell his opponents that he would be practicing his new techniques the entire time they were fighting, what they didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them in all honesty. He could not actually decide on which of the few goons that had watched him spar with the taller man would be a good sparring partner. All of the sported some decent muscular structure. All of them had proper gym safety equipment on. All of them looked like they at least remembered how to throw a punch from the academy. And thus Taiho’s frustration began with the simple act of choice. Grabbing his waist and huffing loudly he jabbed in the direction of two nondescript mooks and decided that would be the best way to handle the situation.

Stepping back from the both of them into his ready stance, he’d slowly gather his chakra and pool it deeply into the earth beneath him by streaming it through his feet into the ground. Beginning the Gaia’s Eyes technique for the first time since his instruction, the technique still startled him as his eyes were figuratively opened to the subterranean world beneath his toes, but he was also alerted to the movements of the two men before him as they both stepped into stances of their own, their bodies contorting into different placements that allowed them to strike and move with practiced ease. The two men gave each other a short glance before looking at Taiho as he stared them both down. Giving himself a deep breath before closing his eyes, he felt the two men move to capitalize on the opening that he had given them. His body moved smoothly, left hand slicing through the air to intercept the incoming right hook while also redirecting the offending limb into its partner leaving both men to slide into each other as he stepped to the left with the motion. He would maintain his closed eyes as both men stumbled over each other before regaining their footing and returning to a ready stance.

Nodding at the ease in which he got the technique down, he’d step out of his stance before smiling and bowing to both men. The exercise had been fruitful in showing him how it operated visually and gave him the chance to practice even just a little bit. He would definitely have to work harder to get the vision part down to a science, but he he was clever about it, he likely could accomplish the same thing with his wind element. Only time would tell however has he grabbed his things from the wall by the exit and left the training facility entirely so that he could take a shower and enjoy the rest of his day.

[Exit]

----

WC: 1205 + 5585 = 6790

Strength: E-0 -> D-1 (967)
Speed: E-0 -> D-0 (675)
Perception: E-0 -> D-3 (2187)
Reaction Time: E-0 -> D-0 (675)
Endurance: E-0 -> D-3 (2187)

Total WC Used = 6691/6790