Sousetsu stood upon the rooftop of his home with his arms folded as he watched the sunrise. He had little sleep as he had wondered what his team would think of him. Would they be friendly? Would they be disrespectful? How well would they get along? All of these questions ran around his head searching aimlessly for the answers as only time would tell. He lowered his head and listened carefully to embrace the peace before the village awoke. Soon the women and children would run the streets while the fathers would be off to work. A normal everyday life they led. Being a ninja has its benefits even though it is more suited for the thrill seekers. They risk their lives in order to keep peace with the people whom they protect. Sousetsu glanced at the sundial in the middle of the street to show it was time for his meeting in the Hokage's office. There he met a few people of the administration office who handed him three separate sheets of paper.

He scanned the papers and noticed a wide variety of fellow Leaf shinobi. "This will be your team, Sousetsu. As Sensei of squad four, their safety resides with you now along with teaching them the ways of the ninja. Best of luck." the man stated. The man sat before Sousetsu as he glanced through the papers more thoroughly, getting to know his team.

'Name: Hatake, Daiki
Gender: Male
Age: Thirteen
Birthday: 25th April'

A Hatake could be a valuable input as that family tree were to be feared according to the history books but it all came down to how this particular Hatake was willing to work and the path he chose. This young man was slim and not very muscular. He had long white hair, and big orange eyes. He wore black sandals and baggy black pants under his long black robe with the traditional forehead protector.

'Name: Ebi, Kaito
Gender: Male
Age: Seventeen
Birthday: 4th February'

Not much could be determined about this young man. He was member of the Ebi Clan, one which Sousetsu was not that familiar with which was always exciting to find the conclusion. He possessed brown eyes, wiry, toned frame. Shoulder length brown spiky hair. Generally dark, loose clothing with many straps or plates. Short nose, wide mouth as well.

Name: Inuzuka, Keitaro
Gender: Male
Age: Sixteen
Birthday: 11th janurary '

An Inuzuka would prove helpful in a squad being the sensor type. He also felt like he could get along well as he made friends with another Inuzuka and partook in missions alongside. He knew about the clan and their relationships with canines. He took note of the identity of the boy with an attached picture. The traditional Inuzuka ink upon his face, his hair was mid-length and brown while his eyes were a hazel/gold tone He smirked and put the page to the back of the small pile looking upon another member of his team.

He looked back at the small group of people and asked where the meeting point was, and to his surprise, it was the very grounds in which Sosuetsu already trained. With a formal bow and saying his goodbyes,  Sousetsu made his way for the small forest outside of the village hidden in the Leaves. Upon his arrival, he seemed to be the early bird this morning. Maybe he was the only one intrigued by this matter? Who knew? Sousetsu began meditating and building his chakra thanks to the Senjutsu training he had with the Monkey King in the meantime as he waited for the team members to join him.

609/6000 Words [Senjutsu Training D>C]

Daiki was at his usual spot contemplating about life. He did this quite often in the mornings. It was a daily ritual to be followed by him. He wasn't thinking about anything in particular, just random thoughts he had acquired the previous day.

'Why did God make the platypus?'

His thinking was interrupted by the sight of the envelope he had previously recieved. Daiki's eyes ever-so-slightly widened as he remembered he must meet his new sensei in the forest. Daiki ran to his room and grabbed anything that could be of use to him; which ended up just being his Summoning Scroll.

After strapping the large scroll on his back he ran through the streets of Konoha, a certain stand caught his eye. It was simple and wooden, but it appeared to serve it's purpose gracefully. Daiki ran up and.... bought some bagels. All in all, he only stayed for about 7 seconds.

As he ran through what could be called the 'bad part of Konoha,' he witnessed things he shouldn't have. Drugs. Money Laundering. The works.

'If I wasn't late I would come back and kill them for being so ungrateful.' he thought both upset and calmly. He truly would have done so given the chance, but the ANBU would be on his ass faster than an Akimichi on a food platter.

Daiki finally reaches the South Gate. "Identification, sir."

Daiki groaned. This was why he didn't thoroughly enjoy going to the South Forest. The guard here absolutely despised members of the Hatake Clan.

"Well-?" Daiki was very annoyed at this point. He pulled out his card and interrupted him; "Just shut the hell and take my card."

The guard visibly frowned and took it, but begrudgingly let him pass. 'About damn time...' he thought.

He walked leisurely through the forest as if he wasn't late at all. He was technically late, but the letter he recieved said he could come by at any time between 8 and 10. He still felt late though, and he hated being late. But, being a Hatake, he had responsibilities.

Daiki flipped a large blue book out. "Lets see here.... which one should I use today? Ah, good.... black cat parade crosses my path. Sounds good to me."

Daiki continues walking through the glistening green leaves towards the meeting area. 'Is being late to this really bad? I mean, it IS just a training exercise.'

He walks through a clearing of trees to make out a person. He forms the faded form of what could be called a smile and waved. "Sousetsu-sensei." He walked forth towards the person, his black coat billowing out behind him like a super-villain from a movie, and makes his way towards his sensei.

Kaito awoke on a bright, sunny morning feeling awake and refreshed. "Man, I could use more nights like that", Kaito said. He pulled hisself from bed and tiptoed downstairs as not to awake anybody. "What time is it anyway? 6? 7:00?", Kaito said as he looked for his clock in the kitchen. Suddenly, he saw a letter with his name on it sitting on the breakfast table. "I never get letters, weird". He opened the letter, and skimmed through it. "A sensei? Finally!" Kaito jumped with joy, but finally found the clock. Like it was laughing at him, the clock showed he only had an hour to arrive. "8:00? Damnit!"

Kaito rushed out of his home, stumbling to put on his boots. "First day of team training and I oversleep. I don't need this right now!" Kaito yelled  and berated himself for his stupidity. "Great first impression this will make". He ran across rooftops with all the speed he could muster, and immediately felt hungry. "I bet the others already had breakfast without me." Kaito grumbled. Dashing, he saw the Gate he needed to get through.

Kaito walked to the guards very quickly, all but shoving his I.D in their face. "Take it! Seriously, I need to get through now!". The guard smirked, and whispered to his partner. "Sorry kid, I think this I.D may be fake. You wouldn't happen to know anything about this, would you?". Kaito frowned, and jabbed the guard in the chest. "You guys do this everytime, let me through now!" The guard rubbed his chest and laughed. "Looks legitimate, but I'd be careful if I were you! ". Kaito threw the I.D in his bag and rushed out of the village.

"Wait, where do I go now?" Kaito asked himself and pulled the letter out. "Training ground Four? Could be a lot further I guess." He jumped to the trees until he came upon a rather large clearing. 'Looks like I'm not the last to arrive,' he thought. Kaito landed in the clearing across from the two figures. He fell in a heap, exhausted. "Sensei, th-the letter! It..it arrived late! I swear!" Kaito puffed as he dare not meet his sensei's eyes. He looked at the other genin, most likely his teammate. 'Who's this kid trying to be? That cloak seems like over-kill for genin like us,'. Kaito looked up at his new sensei, awaiting his judgement.

As he heard the bristles of the leaves being disturbed it seemed one of his students had arrived. He stopped meditating and opened his eyes causing the Senjutsu to dispel. A young man was smiling and waving him down and referred to him as 'Sensei'. It was almost like music to his ears. Upon further inspection, his most obvious appearance was drawn to his rather long and black coat as he made his way further to the Senju. "Hatake, Daiki. Good morning! I trust you are well rested." Sousetsu grinned as he made a sly remark on his tardiness. He then stood from where he sat and folded his arms and gave off a rather stoic impression. He was glad that his first student had arrived with high spirits in his greeting. The sun shone down at them, seeping through the leaves of the trees while the birds and insects called to one another creating an orchestral sound of nature.

Suddenly, the sound of disturbed leaves approached him once more. Out fell another one of his squad member from the tree branch. He lay in a heap and breathed hastily. ""Sensei, th-the letter! It..it arrived late! I swear!" The young Genin continued to excuse himself. Sousetsu was still a little dumbstruck by his entrance before he changed his blank expression to a slight giggle. "Not to worry, Kaito. It seems your fellow teammates are arriving late also. he smiled. The Genin then made a remark on his teammate asking for who he was trying to be. Sousetsu ignored this and reached down for the young shinobii to take his hand so that he could help him to his feet. Now all that was left to join them was the Inuzuka, Keitaro. It wouldn't be long now as the rest were already before him and awaiting his thoughts and teachings.

With a rather smooth entrance, Keitaro had finally made his way to the training area with his pet canine companion which the Inuzuka were so famous for. He exclaimed that it was nice to meet him at last to which Sousetsu gave off the grin that he so infamously wore as he was given a formal bow. His pet canine also came over to Sousetsu and offered its paw which he thought was sweet and so replied by taking it and stroking its head with his free hand. He then stood up before the three Genin and gave off a sigh of relief. Things were about to get underway which caused Sousetsu limber up by adjusting his neck and moving his shoulders slightly. Sousetsu could be seen in an attire consisting of armour emblazoned with the Senju symbol worn over a simple black jumpsuit, with a distinctive white fur collar. This armour was constructed from numerous blue metal plates, formed into multiple protective guards along the wearers body, in particular: chest, waist, shoulders and upper arms. This was also accompanied by his High Frequency Blade that lay across his lower back. The blade was three feet and three inches long, black customized handle with silver linings the outer blade.

He crossed his arms once and began the introductions. "Welcome to Squad Four! As you all know I will be your captain and it is my job to teach you the ways of the ninja. Before we get started, please introduce yourselves and state your dream or ambition. In other words, why do you want to be a ninja?" Sousetsu looked at his team, in his opinion they were full of potential and was only a matter of time before this would come to fruition. To make matters easier and to break the ice that little bit more Sousetsu decided that he would start it off. "My name is Senju, Sousetsu. I would say my ninja way would be to pass on my teachings in hopes that the younger generation will see them through. I wish to end the world of needless battles which can only be achieved by becoming Hokage. Or at least close to that." Sousetsu giggled towards the end. He then turned to face the student who had first arrived, Daiki. In hopes he would share what he had to offer.

Words: 1314/6000 Words [Senjutsu Training D>C]

"Hatake, Daiki. Good morning! I trust you are well rested."

Daiki looked at his sensei with a small smile. "Not particularly. And as for the reason I was late... well...." Daiki fumbled into his pocket and took out his infamous blue book. He opened it and flipped to the middle of the book. "A black cat parade crossed my path." he said, looking down at the book the whole time. The word 'Hatake' is the only word not covered up by duct tape, as the rest of the words on the cover are obscured.

The bushes rustle behind him. Well, that must be another teammate. Just after he says this, he fumbles out of the bush and unceremoniously falls to the ground. ""Sensei, th-the letter! It..it arrived late! I swear!" Daiki does not appear surprised at all.

Daiki slowly inches his way towards him until hes inches away and stealthily hands him a copy of his infamous blue book."Take... the... book..." He says quietly, just quiet enough so the sensei can't hear them. In the background he hears the sensei, Sousetsu-sensei, to say that everyone was arriving late, but he wasn't paying attention.

He saw Keitaro move in rather swiftly into view with his pet canine. 'Man, thats a cute 'lil doggy. I bet it can rip someone's throat out though.' he thought.

Keitaro gave a bow and his dog came to give Sousetsu-sensei a handshake. Daiki's jaw hit the floor. "That... is... badass..." he said quietly, and to no one in particular.

"Welcome to Squad Four! As you all know I will be your captain and it is my job to teach you the ways of the ninja. Before we get started, please introduce yourselves and state your dream or ambition. In other words, why do you want to be a ninja?" Daiki was about to answer when his sensei spoke up again. "My name is Senju, Sousetsu. I would say my ninja way would be to pass on my teachings in hopes that the younger generation will see them through. I wish to end the world of needless battles which can only be achieved by becoming Hokage. Or at least close to that." Daiki smiled at his goals. They truly were good goals in his mind, and he'd be damned if he wasn't going to do anything in his power to help him with them. He was but a mere genin, but he would still try.

"Hello everyone. My name is Daiki Hatake. I enjoy spicy food. My ambition in life is to bring the spoiled families down and bring the hard workers to the top in the social scale. I also wish to get my emotions back, for which some of them have been damaged when I was younger..." He trailed off, deep in thought, then suddenly the ghost of his smile appeared again. "Next."

Kaito looked at the book Daiki had given him, suddenly unsure why he would give it to him. His sensei said something about another teammate, but rather studied his new sensei. More notably, he was looking at the blade on his back. 'Geez, that thing must be a mile long! He looks like he knows what to do with it, though.'

Just then, another individual arrived at the training ground. He said a few words and bowed to Sousetsu-sensei, but Kaito was too occupied looking at the dog. 'Is that a summon? No, probably not. Sousetsu-sensei wouldn't have two summoners on his team. Would be funny if all of us were, though?'

"Welcome to Squad Four! As you all know I will be your captain and it is my job to teach you the ways of the ninja. Before we get started, please introduce yourselves and state your dream or ambition. In other words, why do you want to be a ninja?" Kaito heard his sensei say, obviously talking to all of his genin. "My name is Senju, Sousetsu. I would say my ninja way would be to pass on my teachings in hopes that the younger generation will see them through. I wish to end the world of needless battles which can only be achieved by becoming Hokage. Or at least close to that." Kaito nodded at Sousetsu's goals. They seemed in the right place.

Next, the youngest and first to arrive began to speak. "Hello everyone. My name is Daiki Hatake. I enjoy spicy food. My ambition in life is to bring the spoiled families down and bring the hard workers to the top in the social scale. I also wish to get my emotions back, for which some of them have been damaged when I was younger..." Kaito could't see what the young Hatake was thinking, but the sullen mood was gone with his smile. "Next."

Kaito smiled and made his way to his feet. "My name is Ebi, Kaito, and I swear I will one be able to teach my own team of Genin my cool Jutsu I create! Then, I can have them teach their Genin! I want my Jutsu to be known and feared all throughout the land. But, I want to be a ninja to be strong enough to protect Konoha from attackers." Satisfied, Kaito laid down on the training ground and awaited the boy, Keitaro, to tell his story.

Continuation from this

^ training wise. . .

---

---

Sousetsu grinned towards Daiki to encourage him to speak up and show that there was nothing that they could nott share as a team.. He crossed his arms and stood tall and stoic as he adhered the Hatake's words. "Hello everyone. My name is Daiki Hatake. I enjoy spicy food. My ambition in life is to bring the spoiled families down and bring the hard workers to the top in the social scale. I also wish to get my emotions back, for which some of them have been damaged when I was younger..." He spoke going off in his own world before spontaneously suggesting for the next person to come forward which was Kaito. Daiki's ambitions seemed to be a set matter of mind allowing the working class citizens over the more wealthy. The Senju could only think that it was the rich who gave us jobs to work for money and without them there would be an improper balance. He then mentioned something rather odd. He wanted to get his emotions back? He explained that it was something to do with his childhood so did not wish to pry into it at their first meeting. He needed his squad to feel at home when they were with him first before asking such personal things.

Kaito stepped up to speak. "My name is Ebi, Kaito, and I swear I will one be able to teach my own team of Genin with my cool Jutsu I create! Then, I can have them teach their Genin! I want my Jutsu to be known and feared all throughout the land. But, I want to be a ninja to be strong enough to protect Konoha from attackers." It was almost admirable to say. Kaito was not that far from Sousetsu in terms of dreams an ambitions. He wanted to protect the village and further himself by creating more techniques to spread to the younger generations to come. The Senju grinned once more and nodded as a token of his thanks for sharing with the group. Kaito then lay back down to continue his rest from the earlier hype of rushing to the training area in which they now resided. It was now the Inuzuka's turn to speak up but something decided to interrupt the procedure of the introductions.

Another sound could be heard from the path behind them. Soon, a person was visible and turned out to be another Leaf shinobi and judging by his stature it was a Genin. With a puzzled look upon his face, Sousetsu unfolded his arms and tried to grasp a better look, extending is upper body outwards. “Is anyone here named Senju, Sousetsu?” The young man spoke. Sousetsu made his way over to the boy. He had noticed a scroll in his hand with the Konaha seal for the squad inductions. He looked back and noticed that his squad was here, but why was there a fourth? "I am Senju, Sousetsu. How can I help?" He spoke with a intrigued tone. Surely he wouldn't have been sent a fourth squad member, the rules were three per squad. Anymore and it could hinder a teams performance. The four-man cell was the perfect and most used technique when it came to squad management. He took a further look at the scroll and then back to the boy. "Are you...Supposed to be joining us?" Sousetsu asked wondering if this was a new acceptance. He looked around to the others before returning his gaze on the young man and folded his arms once again as he waited for his reply and hopefully an explanation.

Words: 1922/6000 [Senjutsu Training D>C]

"My name is Ebi, Kaito, and I swear I will one be able to teach my own team of Genin with my cool Jutsu I create! Then, I can have them teach their Genin! I want my Jutsu to be known and feared all throughout the land. But, I want to be a ninja to be strong enough to protect Konoha from attackers." Daiki was not surprised when he said this, he could tell what his ambitions are just by studying the slight movements he makes. The subtle movements he made suggested that he was noble, willing to protect others, and brave. Daiki did not smile at this on the outside, but in the inside he was quite happy for his friend. And in saying friend rather than teammate, he meant that they had met once before.

It had been a while since they met, and they hadn't seen eachother any after that, but it was nice. They did a spar, which ended in Daiki's inevitable win. 'He would have won if he knew slightly more offensive jutsu...' he thought.

What did surprise him was the person who showed up after his introduction. He looked up to see a young man brandishing a Konoha head band and a small scroll."Is anyone here named Senju, Sousetsu?" At the sound of this, Daiki's devious side had almost interrupted his calm facade. He wanted to say 'I'm Sousetsu Senju!' but he managed to supress the urge.

After finishing his thoughts on this, he wondered why there was a person here at this kind of time. 'Is he another member of the team?' he asked inwardly. 'I thought squads had 3 genins and a sensei...'

"I am Senju, Sousetsu. How can I help?" he heard his sensei say, with obvious interest in the subject. "Are you... supposed to be joining us?

Daiki thought this would be the perfect time to hand the new boy his very own 'Hatake Clan Late Excuses' Book, volume 2. He disappeared from his spot in the clearing in a flurry of sakura petals, and appeared next to the boy as the petals blew away. He forced the book into his hand and winked, before disappearing into sakura petals once again taking his place in the clearing. In the end it had all happened in about 3 seconds.

Now hopefully his sensei wouldn't grind his ass too much for being late. He mouthed the words 'Look in the book' toward the boy, but he wasn't sure whether or not he saw.

If he did look in the book, he hoped that he would see the first excuse; mugged by 11-year olds.

Before he could get an answer from the young man, Daiki appeared for a slight moment and handed a book to the newcomer. Petals fluttered in the air, moving back and fourth in a slow motion downwards to the ground. All Sousetsu could do was close his eyes and pretend he did not notice this act as this was a matter to be dealt with. The young man spoke and seemed to be sarcastically become infatuated by the Hatake Clan member but with a hint of sass in his voice and gestures leaving Sousetsu with yet another blank expression upon his face. He closed his eyes once more and placed the palm of his hand on his forehead as he looked down to his feet. He sighed deeply and looked back up the young male as he made a statement about being mugged by forty year olds that were looking his body. The Senju lifted up the book to see the front cover for the name of said book which turned out to be; 'Hatake Clan Late Excuses' Book, volume 2. There were more of these?

He had two tricksters on his team and young shinobi who seemed a bit lazy. This was gonna be a lot of work. “As to answer your question. I have recently been transferred to this squad from Owydelu's squad after some complications. The scroll will tell you more.” He stated handing the scroll over. 'Owydelu had a student removed?' Sousetsu wondered. He opened the scroll and began to glance at its contents. They were built up of complaints. It appeared that Owydelu had not requested a student removal but his own student had requested it. The complaints shocked Sousetsu. The reasons were right in Sousetsu's eyes, these rules were too dangerous for any Genin. The Senju pondered for a moment about the times were Sousetsu had trained Owydelu. He did not teach him any of this and was always quick to disobey. This was his own squad however and Sousetsu could not intervene.

He also noted that Keitaro was to be transferred also. Upon reading this he looked back up to the young man and nodded. He needed to get order back into the squad and did just that. "Taigen, Kichirou! Welcome to Squad Four! Fall in line with the others." He spoke very sternly and with authority as he tried to return to schedule. "Inuzuka, Keitaro! You are transferred to a different squad. Please make your way to the Hokage's office immediately." He ordered Keitaro. He watched as the dog and his companion made their way back to the village with not even a word escaping their lips. The Senju made his way back to where he originally was and crossed his arms once again. "All right! Kichirou, please introduce yourself and state your dream or ambition. In other words, why do you want to be a ninja? Once this is done, we will make our way to a more open area to start out training." Sousetsu spoke once more as the schedule was beginning to return to its normal pace. With an unusual mishap, squad four had found themselves a new lineup and kept Sousetsu intrigued to see what they were capable of.

Words: 2468/6000 [Senjutsu Training D>C]

Kaito listened to the man speak to his sensei, wondering what it was he had to say. "Are you Sousetsu Senju?"

Kaito's sensei replied politely. "I am Senju, Sousetsu. How can I help?" Seeing the man's eyes roam over Sousetsu-sensei, Kaito couldn't help but wonder if he was sizing him up or ogling him. Kaito felt a little uncomfortable around this individual. Again, the Senju spoke. Are you...supposed to be joining us?"




Suddenly, the youngest of them disappeared and reappeared next to the new arrival. Pulling another of the blue books, Daiki handed it to him. 'This kid might as well sell these damn books, not like he doesn't have more. I know he has to have more. Yep, he's the same kid from that day alright.' The new man didn't bat an eye at Daiki's surprise move and addressed him. “Sorry cutie. I don't date little boys. I prefer women around my age or a little younger. Though I might give you a chance, if you swing that way.” he said, winking at the young teen. Kaito couldn't believe his ears. 'This guy's a pedofile!'. Kaito really hoped he was joking.

The man looked through Daiki's book and chuckled. "“Naw, I got mugged by 40 year olds. They wanted my body. As to answer your question. I have recently been transfer to this squad, from Owydelu's squad after some complications. The scroll will tell you more.” He handed the scroll to Sousetsu. Kaito was confused. 'Transfer? Who's getting transferred? It's the first day.'

Sousetsu closed the scroll and nodded at the man."Taigen, Kichirou! Welcome to Squad Four! Fall in line with the others." Now, Kaito was a bit nervous. He waited to see who was being transferred. "Inuzuka, Keitaro! You are transferred to a different squad. Please make your way to the Hokage's office immediately." Kaito let out his held breath and smiled. 'Don't have to get up and run back to the village, so I'm all for this. Even if this guy is kinda creepy.' Settling back down, Kaito watched the Inuzuka walk back wordlessly.

"All right! Kichirou, please introduce yourself and state your dream or ambition. In other words, why do you want to be a ninja? Once this is done, we will make our way to a more open area to start out training."

“Sorry cutie. I don't date little boys. I prefer women around my age or a little younger. Though I might give you a chance, if you swing that way.” Daiki calmly blinked. 'Is this guy seriously a shinobi? And a genin, too? He looks older than I thought most genin would be,,,'

"If you mean being gay, then I don't 'swing that way'. And to be quite honest, I find your sense of humor disturbed. Then again, most shinobis' sense of humor is disturbed, so... welcome to the team."

He saw the young man look into his beloved book. “Naw, I got mugged by 40 year olds. They wanted my body. As to answer your question. I have recently been transfer to this squad, from Owydelu's squad after some complications. The scroll will tell you more.” 'Mugged by 40 year olds? Now THAT one isn't in the book... No wonder it was so bad...'

"Taigen, Kichirou! Welcome to Squad Four! Fall in line with the others." As he said this, Daiki was completely indifferent with who was being transferred. To be honest, neither of his teammates had made much of an entrance. Then again, neither did he. "Inuzuka, Keitaro! You are transferred to a different squad. Please make your way to the Hokage's office immediately." So it wasn't going to be Daiki to be transferred. Well, the sensei was a great guy and Daiki doubted there were any better ones. He could already tell that the man had great goals.

Oddly, Keitaro had just walked off without saying anything. 'No matter.'

"All right! Kichirou, please introduce yourself and state your dream or ambition. In other words, why do you want to be a ninja? Once this is done, we will make our way to a more open area to start out training."

'From first impressions, I would guess that his dream is to molest all the children in the world. And if his name is Mr. Bean or something I am NOT going to call him by his name.

Daiki yawned slowly and sat on the grass. "No point in standing if you can sit." he said, stretching his back in the green stained grass that made up the majority of the clearing. Daiki looked through the calm trees of the forest and saw the breeze pass peacefully through the branches. He then sat up and watched Kichirou, waiting for him to define himself.

A/N: We need an official order we go in. Its getting kinda annoying with all the shizzle thats happening. Since it is Sou's thread, I will let him make the order in which we go in.

Sousetsu began inspecting his new lineup. Kaito seemed to remain comfortable lying on the earth before them in his rather dark attire. The youngest, Daiki yawned slowly and sat on the grass. "No point in standing if you can sit." he announced before beginning to stretch.  He was no doubt the joker of the group and just how many books did he carry around? Kichirou's age did not put off Sousetsu in any way however, he simply was given orders and would follow them as a squad captain. Kichirou then began to offer his greeting to the group of Leaf ninja. “As already stated. My name is Taigen Kichirou, roughly meaning the Embodiment of Luck. I'm twenty years old, and originated outside of Fire Country. I have traveled too four of the five Elemental Nations, Konohagakure being the only one where I took up permanent residents. I have already accomplished my dream, that was becoming a well known gambler throughout the Elemental Nations. I'm happily content willing the life of a civilian, but it seemed like lady luck didn't want that. So I joined the academy on a whim. For life is the biggest gamble, isn't? As for shinobi wise, I'm a fuuinjutsu that uses seals in conjunction with playing cards, dices, coin, etc. and summoner specialist, and sole owner of the buffalo contract. Maybe you get to meet them later on.”

It was a rather nice greeting that covered the essential areas that he needed to know about his team. Even Sousetsu was not this elaborate in his greeting which led him to grin which he was beginning to infamously wear. He was a well traveled individual at that, being at four of the five great nations. A gambler at this age was not a healthy lifestyle in Sousetsu's view of mind but he was not one to judge so hastily. His specialty's intrigued him however. A summoner? Where had he seen that before? Sousetsu pondered for a short while on this before further words could be heard from the newcomer. “Now isn't it only fair that I get to know the rest of you as well?” The young man asked. It was only fair and in good mannerisms to agree with this and so Sousetsu nodded before repeating himself. "My ninja way would be to pass on my teachings to the younger generation who, I hope, will see them through. I wish to end the world of all the needless battles which can only be achieved by becoming a great ninja." Sousetsu smiled once more.

"I like walks, further improving my skills and barbecue. My main areas of expertise are Ninjutsu and Kenjutsu, as you can see from the blade upon my back." Sousetsu continued, gesturing the high frequency blade that lay across his lower back. The Senju looked up for a brief moment and then down to his shadow. He was using his shadow as a type of sundial to determine the time. He then turned his back to his team with his head to the side, keeping them in eye contact. "My apologies, but we really must be moving along. Daiki then Kaito, please introduce yourselves as we travel. The training area is not that far from here." Sousetsu continued to walk down the short path towards an open area surrounded by flat land and a nearby stream that could be heard crashing among the banks that contained it.  Before long, they had arrived at their destination to which Sousetsu placed himself in the middle of the large section of land and turned to face his students once more.

Words: 3080/6000 [Senjutsu Training D>C]

Posting order will go as it was originally intended:
Daiki > Kaito > Kichirou > Sousetsu

As Daiki sat on the grass, he listened to what his new teammate had to say. “As already stated. My name is Taigen Kichirou, roughly meaning the Embodiment of Luck. I'm twenty years old, and originated outside of Fire Country. I have traveled too four of the five Elemental Nations, Konohagakure being the only one where I took up permanent residents. I have already accomplished my dream, that was becoming a well known gambler throughout the Elemental Nations. I'm happily content willing the life of a civilian, but it seemed like lady luck didn't want that. So I joined the academy on a whim. For life is the biggest gamble, isn't? As for shinobi wise, I'm a fuuinjutsu that uses seals in conjunction with playing cards, dices, coin, etc. and summoner specialist, and sole owner of the buffalo contract. Maybe you get to meet them later on.”

Daiki groaned. 'Another summoner? If I recall correctly, Kaito is also a summoner... which makes us a....' "SUMMON SQUAD!" Daiki had not purposely called this out, and then he awkwardly coughed into his hand and looked back at the sky. 'And all the gambling puns get quite old, quite fast... 'For life is the biggest gamble?' Sheesh...' He thought this in his mind, but he subconciously wished his annoying puns were as badass as Kichirou's. Also, he thought buffalos were cool.

“Now isn't it only fair that I get to know the rest of you as well?” "True..."

"My ninja way would be to pass on my teachings to the younger generation who, I hope, will see them through. I wish to end the world of all the needless battles which can only be achieved by becoming a great ninja." He smiled on the inside as his sensei continued. "I like walks, further improving my skills and barbecue. My main areas of expertise are Ninjutsu and Kenjutsu, as you can see from the blade upon my back." Daiki nodded. "My apologies, but we really must be moving along. Daiki then Kaito, please introduce yourselves as we travel. The training area is not that far from here." As we walked, Daiki decided to speak up. "My name is Hatake, Daiki. I don't have too many likes, but I very much enjoy spicy food. My one dream is cure the illness I have. It causes me to not have many emotions, and that is something I don't feel like going into right now. I also enjoy thinking about trivial things. For instance, why the hell was the platypus created? Next!" he said as they arrived to the stream of their destination.



A/N: I completed this, but... should I wait to get an admin to approve it before or after we finish this thread?

Kaito laid on the grass and watched the birds fly overhead as he listened to the new guy, Kichirou. “As already stated. My name is Taigen Kichirou, roughly meaning the Embodiment of Luck. I'm twenty years old, and originated outside of Fire Country. I have traveled too four of the five Elemental Nations, Konohagakure being the only one where I took up permanent residents. I have already accomplished my dream, that was becoming a well known gambler throughout the Elemental Nations. I'm happily content willing the life of a civilian, but it seemed like lady luck didn't want that. So I joined the academy on a whim. For life is the biggest gamble, isn't? As for shinobi wise, I'm a fuuinjutsu user that uses seals in conjunction with playing cards, dices, coin, etc. and a summoner specialist, and sole owner of the buffalo contract. Maybe you get to meet them later on.” Kaito was pleasantly surprised. 'I do not think that I have ever seen a buffalo before. Sounds cool though. Hope he stops with those terrible puns, we've got enough jokers on the team around.'

"SUMMON SQUAD!" Kaito flinched in surprise when Daiki yelled this out, and stared at him as he coughed in his hand. Kichirou said to the team “Now isn't it only fair that I get to know the rest of you as well?”

"My ninja way would be to pass on my teachings to the younger generation who, I hope, will see them through. I wish to end the world of all the needless battles which can only be achieved by becoming a great ninja." He smiled on the inside as his sensei continued. "I like walks, further improving my skills and barbecue. My main areas of expertise are Ninjutsu and Kenjutsu, as you can see from the blade upon my back." Daiki nodded. "My apologies, but we really must be moving along. Daiki then Kaito, please introduce yourselves as we travel. The training area is not that far from here."

Next, Daiki spoke up. "My name is Hatake, Daiki. I don't have too many likes, but I very much enjoy spicy food. My one dream is cure the illness I have. It causes me to not have many emotions, and that is something I don't feel like going into right now. I also enjoy thinking about trivial things. For instance, why the hell was the platypus created? Next!" They arrived at the area, and Sousetsu sat and looked at Kaito. "Well, like I said, my name is Ebi, Kaito. My clan holds the summoning contract for crustaceans, like crabs and lobsters. One day, I want to be able to teach my own squad of Genin like Sousetsu-sensei, and create powerful jutsu. But most of all, I want to be a defender of Konohagakure and it's citizens." Kaito sat and waited for the next instruction.

491/400 Words
Training Kuchiyose C>A
1,736/5,000

If Sousetsu's going to do 6,000, I'm doing 5,000 words.

---

Will just be milking this for all it's worth. . .lol.

As Sousetsu watched his squad settle in it was established that this was indeed a group of summoners apart from himself. He found this rather odd, where was the balance? Why was Sousetsu, a ninja who did not specialize in summoning, in charge of these shinobi? Questions filled his mind and until it became misty and further more unclear. He dazed off trying to find the logic but it seemed that it did not want to be found. Whatever the reason was he did not want to let the squad down and so he decided that he would already begin to formulate various strategies. Having three summoning specialists would have many positive traits and was up the four Leaf shinobi to determine what they were. He also learned a little bit more about Daiki and Kaito on their short journey. Daiki was a trivial thinker, something that was slightly humorous to Sousetsu, while Kaito was apart of a clan that had an usual contract being crustacean summonings. In a brief moment, Sousetsu had already figured out a strategy for both Kichirou and Kaito, all he needed to know was what Daiki's summoning was.

He was not going to get an answer without asking of course but Sousetsu had other tasks at hand. He needed to let them know the rough sketch of how this was going to work. He stood tall and stoic once more and began to lecture his team. "For the first lesson today, we will be studying our surroundings. As ninja, we must be resourceful and become familiar with the terrain in order to gain the upper hand in battle. Take a good look around." Sousetsu finished as he placed his arms outwards to introduce the surrounding environment. "This place has a flat surface of earth, a nearby stream, trees, bushes and plants for us to utilize." Sousetsu continued his speech as he stepped back and few more feet before placing his hands upon the earth before the squad. Earth began to rise giving Sousetsu a platform of ten metres in height to look down at his students. This was merely to get their attention but also showing how he gained the advantage. "You see? I now have the higher ground. Now I have a better chance of finding anyone who is hiding in the bushes, prepared for ground attacks, and an all round bird's eye view."

Sousetsu leaped down to meet the squad once more before grinning. "Take a moment to embrace the surroundings." Sousetsu finished. He perched himself upon the ground and began meditating once more as a past time while the Genin became familiar with the environment.  Before long, he opened his eyes and stood from his meditating state, giving the Genin enough time to get accustomed. He then turned to the three and spoke once more. "With three summoners, we must formulate a strategy for you three before we progress into sparring." The Senju smiled once more. "As we all know, Kichirou has a buffalo summoning, a quite offensive summoning at that. Kaito has crustacean summonings, which would not doubt consist of a crab, which would be more of a defensive summoning. The claws however could balance the power of course but the hard shell will be more of a factor." Sousetsu used his hands to gesture towards the two Genin in question. He then turned to face Daiki and begin to ask the question that had him curious up until this point. "Umm, Daiki? What is your summoning?" He asked, trying not to offend him. He had his eyes closed and scratched the back of his neck before reopening them and crossing his arms once again, awaiting the answer.

Words: 3699/6000 [Senjutsu Training D>C]

"For the first lesson today, we will be studying our surroundings. As ninja, we must be resourceful and become familiar with the terrain in order to gain the upper hand in battle. Take a good look around." Daiki looked around, becoming familiar with the terrain around him. It felt nice, like he was a part of nature itself.

"This place has a flat surface of earth, a nearby stream, trees, bushes and plants for us to utilize." Daiki nodded. Daiki saw his sensei put his hands on the earth and a small mountain-type hill was brought up from the earth to form a giant platform underneath the feet of none other than Sousetsu. "Ho...leh...shet..." Daiki dumbly said out loud. "You see? I now have the higher ground. Now I have a better chance of finding anyone who is hiding in the bushes, prepared for ground attacks, and an all round bird's eye view. Take a moment to embrace the surroundings." he said as he leapt down off the platform. He saw his sensei sit on the ground to do what appeared to be meditating. They all awkwardly stood and looked around at the nature before them, before their sensei spoke up again.

"With three summoners, we must formulate a strategy for you three before we progress into sparring." The Senju smiled once more. "As we all know, Kichirou has a buffalo summoning, a quite offensive summoning at that. Kaito has crustacean summonings, which would not doubt consist of a crab, which would be more of a defensive summoning. The claws however could balance the power of course but the hard shell will be more of a factor." Daiki nodded in agreement. "Umm, Daiki? What is your summoning?" Daiki widened his eyes a bit. "I never did tell you guys, did I? Well, I hold the dog summoning contract. They are good in tracking people as well as animals and their sight is good too. But what is good in my opinion is a couple of their ninjutsu. On of my dogs has ninjutsu that heavily coincides mine making it a lot more effective. I will show you guys later." Daiki sniffed. "Let's just say Kaito here has faced it himself once." Daiki said this, as he slowly looked between the 3 other shinobi. He wondered what would come in the future for him and his new team. 'We will just find out, won't we?'

"For the first lesson today, we will be studying our surroundings. As ninja, we must be resourceful and become familiar with the terrain in order to gain the upper hand in battle. Take a good look around." Kaito's new sensei gestured around him towards the many features of the area. "This place has a flat surface of earth, a nearby stream, trees, bushes and plants for us to utilize." Sousetsu backpedaled away from the group as he said his speech. Suddenly, without warning, the Senju placed his hands on the ground in front of him and a pillar of earth rose under him. "You see? I now have the higher ground. Now I have a better chance of finding anyone who is hiding in the bushes, prepared for ground attacks, and an all round bird's eye view."

Sousetsu spoke to his team again. "With three summoners, we must formulate a strategy for you three before we progress into sparring." The Senju smiled once more. "As we all know, Kichirou has a buffalo summoning, a quite offensive summoning at that. Kaito has crustacean summonings, which would not doubt consist of a crab, which would be more of a defensive summoning. The claws however could balance the power of course but the hard shell will be more of a factor." Kaito wasn't surprised by the observations. He too could see the potential of buffaloes and their aggressiveness. And the crustacean contract was created for their hard shell, so Kaito was impressed by the accuracy of the comments. Suddenly, Sousetsu looked much more uncomfortable. "Umm, Daiki? What is your summoning?"

Daiki widened his eyes. "I never did tell you guys, did I? Well, I hold the dog summoning contract. They are good in tracking people as well as animals and their sight is good too. But what is good in my opinion is a couple of their ninjutsu. On of my dogs has ninjutsu that heavily coincides mine making it a lot more effective. I will show you guys later." Daiki sniffed in mock modesty. "Let's just say Kaito here has faced it himself once."

At this, Kaito groaned. "Lots of good your summon did too, Daiki. Did you go for them for their observational skills? If so, bravo to you sir. Got your money's worth."Kaito looked up at his new sensei."Sensei, you didn't bring us out here for a lecture, did you? This stuff we learned in the Academy. And, you never told us what you specialize in. Do you have a summoning contract? You know a bit more of us and what we can do. An offensive summon, defensive summon, and support summon. What can you teach us?" Eager to learn more of his teacher's techniques after the show with the Doton pillar, Kaito waited for an answer.

476/400 Words
Training Kuchiyose C>A
2,212/5,000


A/N: By the by Sou, can you teach me the Mud Wolves technique in this thread sometime? Already got it approved for training.

Daiki, I swear to god if you try to brag about the spar.

As the earth moved Sousetsu upwards and overlooking his students, he seemed to block out the sun for the majority below him. Kichirou added into lesson by sharing his own thoughts, "But you also expose yourself to your enemies. While it's true that you can use higher ground to scout for enemies. Shouldn't this higher ground be natural made? And not jutsu made? For any shinobi worth their salt would be able to sense chakra being used, though with various variables missed in." Sousetsu giggled to this response and grinned down towards Kichirou. "This is not for reconnaissance missions, Kichirou..." The Senju spoke hinting today's lesson. Daiki then fulfilled his part in the question Sousetsu had asked him and stated his summoning contract. "I never did tell you guys, did I? Well, I hold the dog summoning contract. They are good in tracking people as well as animals and their sight is good too. But what is good in my opinion is a couple of their ninjutsu. On of my dogs has ninjutsu that heavily coincides mine making it a lot more effective. I will show you guys later." It all came together now. The strategy was now complete and he thought his students knew also.

A small dispute could be heard from Daiki and Kaito. It seemed they had battled before and Daiki had the upper hand. Sousetsu just stared blankly back and fourth as they spoke before brushing it off as Kaito turned to ask his sensei another question. "Sensei, you didn't bring us out here for a lecture, did you? This stuff we learned in the Academy..." Before Sousetsu could let his response escape his mouth it seemed Kichioru had already done so, leaving him to listen to what he had to say also. "Technically the academy didn't teach us jack shit. They sugarcoated everything. Manipulating the academy students like puppets, pulling on their hopes and dreams. For lets face it, the majority of academy students just want to become a ninja for one or two reasons; one; for the fame and glory that books tell about being a ninja, two; family or clan pressure. It's a pity really. . . that the Kage need to lie to us in order to get more dogs for the slaughter. . .” Sousetsu gave off a more stern look and soon appeared in front of Kichirou as his speech had ended. He nodded his head to give off a disapproval and placed his hand on Kichirou's shoulder. The wind blew slightly causing Sousetsu's hair to flail back and fourth wildly in  its presence for a short moment before finally opening his mouth. He stared at him with a deep empathy which could be shown in his eyes. He never had a student that did not want to be a ninja.

"The academy has taught us enough to survive. Even we Jounin still use the techniques that we learned from the academy. In this world we are given choices, Kichirou. Nobody is being used in the academy, they came of their own free will. You say that the majority wish to become ninja for fame and glory, well, surely they would know what that entails. They protect people for a living despite what they're family thinks. Ultimately, they become great men and women and few regret becoming a shinobi. The Kage's job is to protect the village so do not speak ill of him in front of me, Kichirou." Sousetsu stated, making himself clear. He was not angry with his student, he simply thought his mind was clouded from a rough past. The Senju thought that he had to get some sense into him one way or another. He just had to think of a weak point where he would open up, but not now. Now he had to prepare them.

Kaito continued his small speecch, "And, you never told us what you specialize in. Do you have a summoning contract? You know a bit more of us and what we can do. An offensive summon, defensive summon, and support summon." Sousetsu now approached the large piece of earth that was still emerged from the ground and placed his back upon it before folding his arms and closing his eyes."Come now, let our sensei have his secrets. He will probably tell us when he's ready or when/if we spar against him. And it's kind of obvious by his earlier description, that he specialize in Ninjutsu and Kenjutsu. So you should be able to conduct that either he had an additional specialty or have techniques that mess well with summonings." Kichirou replied, interjecting once more. He chose to ignore this as he wanted to keep surprises for later training and missions. "What can you teach us?" Kaito finished. This was the question on everyone's mind and it was now time that Sousetsu should answer.

Sousetsu giggled and looked at the three Genin before him. They were all eager to learn as far as he could tell. Sousetsu placed a finger upon his lips as he devised the appropriate answer. "Well..." He began speaking as he scratched the back of his head and grinning. "Your fellow Clan members will be able to teach you more about your own unique abilities than me, but I have other things to teach you, it's my job as your Sensei, you should be able to ask me anything. I could answer many of your questions but my main area of expertise would be Ninjutsu and Kenjutsu, as I stated before. I like to think of myself as a bit of strategist and a detaining type of ninja." Sousetsu stood tall and quite still as he continued. A butterfly came across his vision to which he held out finger for it to perch itself upon. Once the butterfly had landed, its moved to his palm which wood then began to form around the insect to form a small cage. He held up the cage with his thumb and index finger to show the squad. "Now, for your summons. You are now aware of each others abilities so we will spar and you will use the knowledge that you have taken in and utilize it to your advantage." Sousetsu added with another grin.

Sousetsu then began to walk away from the squad to create some distance between the three and turned to face them when he reached a fair distance. "Oh, by the way. Kaito, I never answered your question regarding summons. I am not particularly strong in that area but I have ninjutsu that is similar." He formed a few hand seals before slamming his palms upon the earth before him. Wolves in the form of mud emerged from the ground. They growled slightly as if they were awakened from their slumber. The mud slightly dripped from their bodies yet seemed to regenerate almost instantly. He then ordered the wolves to go to each member of the squad so that they could get a better look. They had yellow eyes and howled as they made their way over. "This is my 'Mud Wolves' technique. It's like a summon but as I said, I specialize in ninjutsu. The Senju smiled once more. Time was passing and Sousetsu was looking to see the potential the squad had. Would they be a good team? Would they use team-work? Or would they do their own thing? With each of their summonings complimenting each other it would prove to be a difficult task if they worked well together. "Begin." Sousetsu spoke, gesturing for the spar to go underway.

Words: 4981/6000 [Senjutsu Training D>C]

Chakra:

Jutsu:

A/N: If Daiki doesn't post by Thursday morning, I have to skip him. Things came up in my family and will be gone until Saturday. I'd like to keep the thread moving.