The Boxer

As he reached his final resting spot before the start of the match, Taiho would begin his wait with a few stretches, ensuring that his body was lithe and limber for the workout to come. He was thankful for his friends and allies back home for the slightly modified dress he wore due to the fact it was not only far more comfortable than the previous ceremonial one he wore, but it also allowed him the greatest range of flexibility and mobility without hindering his movements or tearing at inopportune times like during combat. His arms would cross across his rather flat, yet accentuated chest before each hand would grab the opposite shoulder and pull just slightly to get the feeling of his muscles stretching going before holding that pose for only a few seconds. He’d release both sides of his body shortly afterwards before stretching out both arms to the side as far as they could go without harming himself before twisting his body to the left as far as he could go without hurting himself, to loosen up the muscles in his mid and lower back before doing the same to the right. Stretching out his legs would be the most tedious part of his early workout, his opponent still not to the arena yet for whatever reason. He could hear a few jeers and catcalls as he bent and shimmied his way through his lower body stretch before smiling and standing back up until a casual ready position with his left hand on his hip and his body cocked slightly to the left.

It would take at best another minute or so of waiting before the cheering from the crowd grew exponentially louder as his opponent also approached the stage from in front of him. The young man he was to face was clearly a particular specimen similar to himself. He wore rather plain clothes that at first glance were rather comfortable, but at second glance made discerning certain movements and actions difficult. From the way he walked, to the build of his body, it was once again difficult for Taiho to discern his opponents abilities nor the way he liked to fight. That was happening far more often in recent weeks than he’d like if he was honest, but thankfully his opponent threw him a slight bone by drawing attention to the ornate blade by his side. The boy reached his starting position shortly after arriving to the stadium and seemingly addressed not only the roar of the crowd, but the spectacle of the occasion. His statement of honesty brought a small serene smile to Taiho’s face as he himself looked about to the cheering masses and gave them but a small wave to show them that he appreciated, even if it were a small part, their enthusiasm. His body would relax slightly with his opponents words, the adrenaline flowing through his veins ramping up his heartbeat and awareness of his opponent and surroundings. His body naturally took in air and exhaled in rhythm that befit someone who exercised regularly.

Stepping into a simple ready stance, his feet stood a shoulders width apart, ankles slightly bent as his right dominant foot slid back a few inches to turn his body to the right. His foot was perpendicular to the rest of his body as his left passive foot continued to face his opponent. His right dominant hand rose slowly up and away from his head. He was mindful to keep the spikes of his gauntlet away from his chin to avoid self inflicted wounds before resting the hand an inch or so away from his jawline in soft defense. As he was placing his right hand, his left hand slid down a few inches away from his body until it came to a rest right above his left leg. Breathing in as his body fully entered the stance, he reflexively, and quietly activated a defensive aura around his body with the clenching of his fists and the cracking of his knuckles as he turned his hands into fists. The aura was nigh invisible to anyone without a sensory technique and thus the action only existed to show his opponent that he was ready and not that he had prepared anything in kind.

His mind began to race slightly as the blood pumping in his ears grew louder, slowly matching the intensity of the crowd around them as he stared down his opponent. He attempted to keep the bloodlust from taking over, but it seemed his instincts and training overrode anything that he mentally would keep in check as his eyes seemed to dull from a bright oceanic blue to a dull deep turquoise. He would give his opponent one last smile, the entire sequence of getting himself into a stance taking only a second after the boy finished speaking and occuring during his bow to Taiho. The thought of showing not only the Leaf, but the world his power was something of an intoxicating thought, but for now he would not let it occupy his mind nor distract him from his goals. The objective was simple, defeat his opponent in as little time as possible and reveal as little of his techniques as he could. With that in mind, he would reply shortly after his opponent finished speaking, his eyes observing the raised sword and the limp left hand. He was still uncertain what the boy could do, but he understood that no one brought a sword unless they were at least proficient in the use of it and thus the boy was likely a mid range fighter with the sword as a guarantee that his opponents would not attempt to close the gap to take him out of his comfort zone.

“Indeed”, was his short and simple reply as his body coiled itself tightly just before he pushed off his back foot into a sprint that lead up to his maximum speed at his opponent. He would bring his left hand up to cradle his head into a defensive guard alongside his right at the start of the dash to maintain some sort of defense as he approached. He wasn’t worried about the placement of his hands, having practiced running many a time in this position to maintain a set speed when moving about. He knew his opponent would likely see the head on approach coming, with Taiho not only showing his gauntlets as well as likely being used to opponents who were well versed in taijutsu trying to close the proverbial gap with him as they would say. If he was able to reach the center platform undisturbed, it would take him around two seconds to do so, far more than enough time for his opponent to prepare anything and potentially launch it, but that wasn’t what Taiho was worried about as he approached. His mind raced as he took in all the details necessary about his opponent. His stance, the length of the weapon he held, the hand that laid limp by his side, the direction he was facing, the boys own surroundings. Every detail was observed, taken in consideration and processed at a speed necessary to maintain his own position in the fight. He was fully prepared throughout the entire run to dodge and avoid strikes if necessary.

If he was allowed to reach the center platform unharassed, then the moment his foot touched the exact center of the arena, the arena itself would rumble slightly, almost disrupting his balance but not enough to hinder nor slow him from his movements. From what he was able to observe his opponent had not performed any techniques from the moment he entered until now, and he himself had not performed any techniques that would possibly affect the arena, which meant only one thing to his logical mind.

‘The arena is rigged...’ How and why were unknown. When was obvious. Who was even more obvious, and for what... well... He’d have to be retarded to not figure that one out. This new information raced through his head as he attempted to figure out the potential intricacies of the arena he was fighting in before he would reach his opponent, the information would likely prove to be critical in his next few movements and options before he was even able to interact with and contest with his opponent. However even as he observed and thought over this, it did not distract him from his opponent, it was merely new information to take in, process and react to and would not inhibit his ability to notice his opponent nor what they were doing at any given moment.

Jutsu Used: Iron Body Style: Guard

Chakra Remaining: 235/250

Post WC: 1452
Total Character WC: 1452 + 934 = 2386
Total Topic WC: 2386 + 994 = 3380

1 EP earned so far for both contestants.

Word Count: 0000/0000

The Boxer

The rumbling of the arena did nothing to dissuade Taiho from pressing forward, even as his feet left the center mark of the arena. He was still traveling at a speed that would take him outside of the initial five meter zone of the central tile, but it was as he left the center that his opponent deemed it time to strike. The hand seals were quick for someone of their age group, well practiced and well formed, each one with the intent to launch a jutsu at Taiho as he ran at him. Taiho was able to pay close attention to these hand seals, as well as the eventual activation and release of said jutsu, even as the tile beneath him began to fall away. Time seemed to slow down for Taiho as the jet of water practically screamed at him as it rushed to his position at an incredible speed while at the same time, the ground seemed to want to give way to his presence and send him tumbling down into the deep unknown. His mind raced to process all of this information, even as everything around him continued as it was. Time would inch on in his mind as he rushed to solve the issues happening to him as quickly as possible but just as it seemed like he would be stuck in a catch twenty-two, inspiration struck.

The moment the jutsu was launched, his body immediately took in the signs of what the jutsu was attempting to do: the angle it was coming from, the properties of what it was and the direction and speed it was traveling at. Immediately after processing this information, his body moved without Taiho even being aware that it had made the decision to move. The movement itself was a simple heavy push off the currently stepping right foot to shove him just to the left of the incoming jutsu that would allow him to at best avoid a full on direct hit as he tucked in his arms as much as he could as the jutsu screamed past his position. The movement also had the direct effect of fully shoving the falling tile that he was standing on, down to the pit below leaving a dark gap just behind him as he continued his run with the following step down from his left foot. The entire action took place just before the pane of water sliced through the air and ground right next to where he once stood before pouring out into the pit itself. The action itself was so smooth, fluid and unannounced that his opponent would have no reason to change the direction nor positioning of the technique as he had used the entire movement of his step to avoid the technique.

With the offending technique dodged however, he was now positioned just to the left, or right depending on who’s perspective you were looking from, of his opponent with a slightly slower momentum that he traveled before. He was now fourteen meters from his opponents starting location, having cleared the collapsing center stage with his movements and quickly continued pursuing his opponent who had decided to move back further away from the clearly unstable center of the ring.

The jutsu that he had thrown out had caught Taiho slightly off guard due to how fast it was, not entirely all that familiar with techniques that had that much ground speed, nor the clear threat of being able to possibly bisect their target should they be unable to dodge. It was a new experience for him, one that he would consider and remember after the match would conclude. And while he contemplated the technique used against him, his eyes still remained on his opponent, and thus he wasn’t entirely certain that the technique had even ended, even if it had emptied out into the chasm below. But alas, he continued his pursuit, albeit at a relatively slower pace of about seven meters per second instead of nine. It would still take him a few seconds to reach his opponent if he wasn’t interrupted, but he would remain vigilant in preparing for anything the boy would throw out at him, it was clear that his opponent had extremely fast with preparing and launching jutsu. This meant that he had to close the gap between them as fast as possible. The closer he got, the harder it would be to avoid damage, even with the barrier protecting him. And thus stopping the boy from preparing any more jutsu was the current goal, and from there, it would be to figuring out just how well versed with that blade, he truly was.

Jutsu Used: Sustained Iron Body Style: Guard -5 Chakra

Chakra: 230/250

Post WC: 782
Total Character WC: 2386 + 782 = 3168
Total Topic WC: 3168 + 1468 = 4636

1 EP earned so far for both contestants.

Word Count: 0000/0000

The Boxer

The thrill and flow of battle began to get to Taiho. It had only started but almost five seconds ago and yet the fight felt like it had taken an eternity from him. His mind raced and churned, spitting out facts, figures, and other important data necessary to actually survive up until he reached his opponent. It was growing increasingly difficult to gauge the skill level of his opponent, but for now he did have some factors addressed and confirmed. First, his opponent was definitely a mid ranged fighter. The first jutsu clearly either had an effective range, or he just wanted to wait until Taiho was close enough that it would affect him, either way he had waited until he waited until Taiho was within a certain range to actually use said jutsu as a potential fight ender. Secondly, he was smart, or at least able to assess and adapt to incoming information at a speed that rivaled Taiho himself. It was clear that the boy was at least somewhat surprised that Taiho had managed to avoid the technique, the surprise was written all over his face for crying out loud. However that surprised didn’t amount to much for Taiho seeing as the boy merely acknowledged that Taiho himself was at least competent enough to avoid such situations and thus began to move himself closer to likely do battle with Taiho. This brought Taiho to his third point of data, his opponent knew how to, and was confident in, his ability to use the blade he wielded. Whether he actually intended to use it or not was out of the question, the simple fact that he was at least well versed in it meant that fighting him outside of his own sphere of influence would lead to a bad time almost instantly.

Taking all of this into account, Taiho continued his approach, seemingly uninterrupted up until he had reached about eleven meters away from his opponent when the boy finally decided that allowing Taiho to get close wasn’t a bad idea. The boy had taken it upon himself to step back to his original position while drawing his sword up to his chest in a ready position while preparing hand seals, once again an action that Taiho himself was privy to and prepared to deal with. What he wasn’t expecting however was for the boy to use the water that he had spilled on the ground to create five clones from the medium. A soft grimace crossed Taiho’s face as his mind processed this information, the hand seals and creation taking little time at all and giving Taiho next to no time to prepare himself. By time the clones had spawned, another half a second had passed and he had entered into his own effective range of eight meters away from his opponent.

He stopped into a short few inch slide upon reaching this distance just as two of the clones gathered and threw shuriken at him while the other three moved to attack him. Thankfully for Taiho, he was able to stop himself into his ready striking stance with both of his hands up and ready in a guard position and his right foot once again placed shoulder width apart and slightly behind his left foot. He’d gather chakra into his right foot as he kicked suddenly in the direction of the incoming clones just as they were beginning to run at him.  He was sure that he’d strike at least one with his kick while simultaneously adjusting his guard to cover the incoming shuriken and causing them to impact against his gauntlets harmlessly. The kick itself would release a nigh invisible ripple of energy through the stone as his foot drug against the ground outwards from where he was standing at a sudden and incredible speed of twenty five meters per second out to a distance of ten meters in which his opponent and the clones were all apart of. The shockwave would come out and cross the distance before the approaching clones were even remotely close to their jump range meaning that they’d likely be caught by the technique like the others.

The ripple itself was nigh invisible to anyone without the ability to perceive chakra as it didn’t disturb the stone slabs in the slightest. The only warning his opponent would get would be if the incoming attacking clones were struck by and dispersed by the technique, however if they were then his opponent himself would likely be caught unawares and unable to avoid such a technique at such a close range as there was no other indication of it even being used since the kick itself was in response to the incoming clones. The shockwave traveled out in a circle allowing it to strike all of the clones equally and at the same time unless they avoided it somehow.

Shortly after he released the burst, regardless of if it hit or not, the floor would begin to collapse under him, however it was able to outrun the collapse of the floor as the collapse happened from inwards to outwards. Unfortunately for Taiho, he was still unaware of how or why the arena was collapsing and thus was caught slightly off guard when his tile eventually shook and came loose in an attempt to throw him into the abyss below. Regardless of whether the clones had been destroyed or not, Taiho would drop his leg from the kick as the tile fell and used the force to push off the tile just before it had slipped too far beneath the stage. This would allow him to try and leap the four meters necessary to get back to the ring about a meter from the edge. He was now completely aware and extremely wary of the ring itself. He was still uncertain of the mechanics of how it operated however and was certain that he would have to end this fight as quickly as possible to avoid being sent to the dark murky pit that lay just beneath them both.

Jutsu Used:

• Sustained Iron Body Style: Guard -5 Chakra
  
• Earth Dragon Wave -15 Chakra
  

Chakra: 210/250

Post WC: 1014
Total Character WC: 3168 + 1014 = 4182
Total Topic WC: 4182 + 2281 = 6463

2 EP earned so far for both contestants.

Word Count: 0000/0000

The Boxer

It seemed this battle was to be one for the ages as Taiho soared through the air. The shockwave he had sent off had clearly done it’s intended job of moving the obstacle directly in front of him as well as the one that now stood between him and complete victory. The young man had clearly detected that he was going to try something the moment he had slid to a stop, but seemingly he not been fast enough to react to such an attack coming at him at such a speed at such a short distance and in such a short frame of time. The clone in front of him hadn’t even been able to tell what had happened when it was explosively disrupted into a fount of water, revealing his opponents shocked and pained visage as he was also affected by the technique, no doubt expecting the clone in front of him to handle the incoming response to the shurikens and the offending clones. It brought him back to the fight he had gone through with his teacher and friend Maikumaru, and how in a similar fashion the fight had been ended. Unfortunately for Taiho, now was not the time to reminisce on such an occasion however as he still had to deal with two more offending distractions before he could finally get to his primary target.

The boys two outer clones had seemingly ignored the fact that their brethren had been dispersed, or rather they had noticed in return and decided to avoid a potential follow up by jumping at him as he himself attempted to leap to safety. Luckily for him both had to at least jump to match the height of his body, and thus were within range of a counter should he choose to do so. His mind once again acted reactive, reliving the constant training he had gone through as a guardian. No longer was he the weak and feeble boy who had washed ashore as a refugee. He again thought back to the fight he had with Kizmaru, where his abilities as a combatant had been tested for the first time, and he truly began to understand the weakness that filled him. But again, he was no longer that weak boy who could barely defeat someone of his stature. Now he was what he considered a growing warrior. A combatant who could feasibly fight anyone, anyhow that was at least similar to himself in strength. He had come to grips with the fact he would still have to grow and mature before he could possibly think about taking on even his teacher in a fair fight, but that would be to come. First he would have to tackle the obstacles in front of him.

The distance between him and the offending clones wasn’t much, in fact it was almost negligible aside from the fact that they were leaping at his body with arms fully outstretched intending on capturing him and sending him to the ground below. The clone on the right was coming in just ahead of its brother to the left and was aimed for his shoulders, while the clone to the left was aimed for his waist. He’d adjust his guard slightly, pulling back his hands to unleash two short jabs, a right jab for the clone on the right, and a left jab for the clone on the left. The jabs weren’t properly aimed nor were they thrown with more force than was needed or possible given his airborne state, but they were targeted for the general upper torso area that was fully exposed for both, the front torso for the upper clone, and the back shoulder area for the lower clone. Both jabs were to land around the shoulder to neck area of the clone and likely disperse both with a single strike due to the strength and power in his fists as well as the damage of his gauntlet. The strikes would fire quickly, with very little start up or warning as to prevent the clones from actually reacting to, or attempting to guard the strikes, however even if they attempted to throw up a feeble guard in response, they would not be able to stop him from actually dispersing them due to the spikes on the knuckles of the gauntlet. Should either clone try to catch the incoming strike, they would find that they would not be able to muster such a grip as the punch would immediately retract upon meeting any resistance.

If he was able to disperse the clones with his strikes, he would find his landing area already in the grips of free fall and would work quickly to establish the supernatural walking technique to correct his balance before landing before moving quickly to another tile that was just meter above and just ahead of the one he was currently on.

Jutsu Used:

• Sustained Iron Body Style: Guard -5 Chakra
  
• Earth Dragon Wave Cooldown: 1/2
  
• Supernatural Walking Practice Conditional. Dependant on if clones are dispersed. Turn 1/3 for chakra cost if activated.
  

Chakra: 205/250

Post WC: 818
Total Character WC: 4182 + 818 = 5000
Total Topic WC: 5000 + 2746 = 7746
3 EP earned so far for both contestants.

Word Count: 0000/0000

The Boxer

The roars of the crowd had seemingly been completely drowned out by Taiho, now in fully single minded purpose to reach and defeat his opponent. In the crucial opening seconds of the fight, so many things had already happened that if he had attempted to understand or contemplate each change, he would have likely already been defeated. Instead he focused on the important factors that kept him away from his opponent, especially the fact that he had only been able to take out one of the clones that had been approaching him. It seemed his opponents tactic of stalling him out as long as possible had been successful, but his own tactic of slowing and incapacting his opponent had also been successful. Due to this Taiho knew that all he had to do was reach his opponent to win. It didn’t matter how, it didn’t matter when. If he reached the boy, it was game over.

The sound of the clones defense reached Taiho instantly, the fact that the construct was able to even do such a thing almost surprised him, but he had already considered the fact that his opponents would be able to at least manage themselves with said weapon. Unfortunately for the clone however, Taiho’s other hand had already been retracted and thus was primed for another punch to the back of the head. This would not stop the clone from running into him however as he would deliver another heavy blow to the skull of the clone, now unable to shift it’s blade to block a strike as its body impacted Taiho’s. The moment the punch entered the skull of the clone, it would likely burst into water unless it was able to once again shift it’s blade without somehow killing itself in the process. The fact that the clone was able to tackle him however meant that he was at least pushed back a full meter and some change and if he was able to get free, was even further away from his opponent. The stone stage had already begun it’s collapse and thus there were few stable options for him to move to as he quickly reacted to his likely new found freedom.

Should he have killed the clone he would once again establish the Supernatural Walking Practice, this time using it on a stone block that was directly below him. His opponent had not gotten too far since this exchange, likely only reaching the eleven meter mark himself due to having been lifted into the air and then having to have made the hand seals for the jutsu that he used to escape. Even with the speeds that he was able to establish such things at, distance meant time, which meant that every second, no every fraction of a second was crucial to establishing important space between himself and his encroaching opponent. Taiho’s single minded focus to reach and destroy his opponent would not be hindered by something as simple as a clone, and the boys attempts at stalling him would only increase his ire as he would dash, run, jump and parkour across the stone tiles.

If he was able to be free, he would chase down his opponent as much as he could with the tiles falling down to the ground below. Even with the stage falling, if he was able to move across the tiles, his downward momentum would be cancelled out with each movement meaning that even if he wasn’t able to reach all the way across to his opponent before the tiles eventually reached the bottom, he would not be hurt in any significant way but at least would stumble just a bit upon finally reaching the bottom and standing at most five meters away from any given point that his opponent decided to stop, whether that be above or on the same level as him. As he moved, his guard would have returned to its prime position to ensure that he was able to react in case his opponent decided to assault him as he pursued him across the collapsing stage.

If his pursuit had gone on interrupted, then another two to three seconds would likely have passed due to both parties moving towards the outer wall of the collapsed stadium. This would likely give the crowd a moment to breath as dust filled the air from the tiles shattering against the floor.

Jutsu Used:

• Sustained Iron Body Style: Guard -5 Chakra
  
• Earth Dragon Wave Cooldown: 2/2. Ready next turn.
  
• Supernatural Walking Practice Conditional. Dependant on if clones are dispersed. Turn 1/3 for chakra cost if activated.
  

Chakra: 200/250

Post WC: 736
Total Character WC: 5000 + 736 = 5736
Total Topic WC: 5736 + 3120 = 8856
3 EP earned so far for both contestants.

Word Count: 0000/0000

The Boxer

The stage had finally finished collapsing entirely, dust filling the area obscuring the sight of both combatants for the crowd leaving them in a state of awe and silence. The fate of both genin had been left up to the gods as far as the crowd and the proctor was concerned. But for the one blonde genin left at the bottom of the pit, left to stare up at the disappearing visage of his opponent, it was almost assured at this point. The genin tested his left ankle and winced slightly at the fact it was lightly twisted. Thanks to the fact that he had managed to keep himself from free falling for most of the stage collapse he had managed to avoid taking extreme damage from the fall itself. He would watch his opponent flee upwards away from him, his clones carrying him by extension of the jutsu that he was using to hold on to them. Due to the dust obscuring the both of them he couldn’t see his opponents pained expression but he could feel himself slowly calm down from the rush of rushing to relative safety. The ground was now extremely uneven with shattered rock littering the ground everywhere but that didn’t worry Taiho much as he calmly walked forward the last five meters to the wall. Looking up towards his fleeing opponent, he’d lift his left leg before sticking it to the wall and establish a link before pushing up off the leg to launch himself up enough to stick out his right leg to establish a link with his left leg.

Now standing perpendicular to the floor, he’d walk calmly after his opponent, no longer in a rush as he knew his opponent was no longer able to successfully evade him without the use of his clones. The young man’s inquiry to the proctor was simply redirected back towards the pit itself, stating that the match wasn’t over until one or both of them were incapacitated or they had verbally given up. Of course Taiho hadn’t seen this exchange and thus didn’t know about this himself but he didn’t care at this point. He had a single minded obsession to deal bodily harm to his opponent, and he would continue to have this obsession until he had actually managed to lay his fists upon the boys body. He wouldn’t run, he wouldn’t jump, he wouldn’t leap, he wouldn’t hurry. His arms were up and ready to protect him from harm, and his mind was solely focused on his opponent and the two clones that were still vaguely in view. As he arose from the cloud itself, directly below his opponent, he now stood likely twenty to thirty meters below, but without knowing that his leg was slightly injured, he looked no worse for wear except for the dust and scuff marks that now marred his previously pristine Qipao. He would definitely be annoyed later on with having to clean it, but if it had to get dirty for him to win, then he wouldn’t mind for now.

Jutsu Used:

• Sustained Iron Body Style: Guard -5 Chakra
  
• Supernatural Walking Practice Turn 2/3 for chakra cost
  

Chakra: 195/250

Post WC: 513
Total Character WC: 5736 + 513 = 6249
Total Topic WC: 6249 + 3448 = 9697
3 EP earned so far for both contestants.

”At the end of it all, the Seiker’s will live on”

The Boxer

As his opponent reached the top and conceded, Taiho’s own limp and injuries became far more apparent to the crowd around him. His qipao was absolutely torn to shreds from the fall and slide as well as the various debris that had fallen all around him. The visage of the destruction had been partially obscured by the dust cloud but could only be hindered but for so long as the boy walked further and further into view. He held his side in pain as he limped further up the side of the stage, the crowd raising in an uproar at the victorious genin who had somehow survived the impossible. He would listen to his opponents final words and smiled back up at the boy even as he walked away. He thought about saying something as well to the young man, but even as his dull eyes shifted back to their bright and cheery oceanic hues, he simply let the boy get in the last word as he finally reached the top and basked in the glow of victory. Today he would bring pride to Iwa, and tonight he would rest, but tomorrow... tomorrow he would prepare for another trial.

Jutsu Used: I walked out, go away

Chakra: 195/250

Post WC: 199
Total Character WC: 6249 + 199 = 6448
Total Topic WC: 6448 + 3764 = 10202
4 EP earned so far for both contestants.

”At the end of it all, the Seiker’s will live on”