Mitsuo always loved the cool breeze that you would get on a nice summer day in the fields outside of Konoha. He took a second to fix his glasses and take a deep drag of his smoke, exhaling and watching the cloud disperse in the air above him before advancing to his training area. Today he was specifically working on training his wind chakra and, more specifically, learning the Jutsu Fūton: Shinkūha. In order to do this he had targets set up surrounding him, and at different distances.

The idea of the jutsu he was working on was to create a sharp wave of wind chakra by spinning towards your target and exhaling, Creating a six inch wide wave that will expand up to fifteen meters wide. The sharp wave, when perfected, would be able to slice through limbs at point blank range and cause serious injurys to anyone within it's range. This was one of the Jutsu he would master to help him as he took on the Chuunin Exams, where such a powerful Jutsu would be a great boon.

He thought of the Fuuton Jutsus that he could already perform, his most powerful being his Futon: Kazejuugan. With this jutsu he formed the bird hand sign and build up wind pockets in his mouth. He would then spit them out with the force of a gun shot as little bullets. He could knock back and even seriously harm his opponents with this jutsu, and he didn't use it lightly. It could be dangerous and he would never purposly want to injure someone he was sparring with.

The second he knew was a much simpler jutsu known as Futon: Nagare, where he would exhale a powerful streem of wind from their mouth, not an offensice jutsu and often used to either change direction in midair or to create a smokestream of dust or leaves. This was a simple and useful jutsu he had picked up when he was training with his Kenjutsu master, Master Hiroshi. Hiroshi taught him this jutsu so that he could create a diversion if he ever needed to escape quickly.

The steps to performing the Fūton: Shinkūha jutsu were relitively similar to his Futon: Kazejuugan, though it didn't require and seals. He got to work first forming the wind chakra in his mouth, something that he had no problem with. Once he could feel the moulded chakra taking place he  took up his stance and spun towards one of his targets, spitting out the wind chakra in nothing but a small gust of wind. He couldn't help but sigh at his failure.

Damnit, nii-san, just a little gust of wind, that's not what I wanted at all... Maybe I should have brought the scroll for the Jutsu eh nii-san? Oh wait... he moved over and checked in his sash, which was laying on the ground by his cloaks and shirt, and found a small scroll inside. Ah here it is nii-san, looks like I did bring it!

Mitsuo opened up the Jutsu scroll and read the writing on it, realizing that the main thing he would have to do would be sharpening the wind chakra as he was releasing it. This wouldn't be easy of course but he knew he would be able to accomplish it. He took out his Tanto and studied it, looking at the blade and imagining making his wind chakra as thin and sharp as the tanto edge.

This is going to be a bit trickier than I had hoped nii-san, but it's a powerful jutsu, I know that mastering it will really help me out.

(626/2000)

He pictured the blade of the tanto in his mind's eye, closing his eyes and focusing on nothing but that. He looked down the thin edge and started to mould the wind chakra in his mouth once again. As he looked down the blade he exhaled his chakra and tried to sharpen it, cutting the inside of his lip and losing the shape of his chakra shortly thereafter. He could feel the cut and angrily spit out some blood, dabbing the cut and cursing at himself for screwing up.

Why is this so difficult, eh nii-san? I can't believe this happened. That hurt man! He quickly pulls out another smoke and lights it to calm himself down, slumping back against one of his target dummies and running his fingers through his hair. It's not like I'm new to using wind chakra.. I've done it before.. I just don't understand why I can't get the blast to work at the right time. Why is my timing so off?

Mitsuo thought back to his training with Master Hiroshi, the man who had first shown him the concept of sharpening his chakra into a blade. He could remember watching him transfer his chakra to his Katana and blast it in a slash at a tree, the tree being instantly cut in half. He remembered being awestruck by this move and even more excited when his Master told him "I can teach you how to do this if you wish, you are a wind shinobi, this is right up your element." His voice was caring but gruff at the same time, like someone who had seen one too many battles, or perhaps had one too many cigarettes.

His Master had shown him on many different occasions how to manipulate his chakra shape into a razor thin blade, but he was never able to master it and now it was another case of the same old issues. He could hear his master's head in his voice saying, "Your wind chakra can be more deadly than your Katana, if you know how to use it. You must picture the shape in your mind, and then mould the chakra to match the shape. You know how to manipulate the shape of your chakra, you will need to apply that here. Make the blade as thin as possible, and..."

Mitsuo could never quite remember what he said next. He could make the chakra razor thin, he had done it before, but he couldn't keep it that way for some reason. He always tried to but had serious issues with it. Making the blade and keeping it in its shape required a lot of concentration and control over your chakra. He knew that he could figure it out though, his master had faith in him and he had faith in himself as well.

I have to get this down, nii-san. I have to figure it out for you, and to get further ahead in my goal. How can I protect the village if I can't even master a simple jutsu!

He looked back at the logs with determination, not focusing on anything but the image in his mind of the blade. He formed the chakra in his mouth once more, preparing to release it as he spun towards one of the practice dummies, exhaling his chakra and forming it the instant it left his mouth. He didn't cut himself this time, instead letting out a razor sharp blade of wind chakra. Sadly he couldn't keep the form the entire time and when it struck the dummy it dissipated.

Well that was pretty good anyway, I was able to get the chakra moulded at the right time. If I can keep the shape next time I will be much closer to my goal..I think I'm getting it, eh nii-san?

(1290/2000)

He took comfort in the fact that he was getting so much closer to reaching his goal. To master a B-Rank jutsu as a genin was a serious accomplishment, mostly only ever accomplished by members of the Sarutobi clan, though there had been exceptions in the past. Mitsuo was proud to be from a clan as determined as the Sarutobi, though at times it was difficult, it was still something that he could always look back to. The accomplishments of his clan were great and he wanted to add to them.

He tried again, focusing on molding the chakra in his mouth and then carefully spinning towards one of his other targets, exhaling and adding his wind element to the molded chakra. He watched as this blade once again hit it's target but dissipated, moving towards it to see what had happened. He lit a half smoked cigarette he had in his pack and took a drag as he adjusted his glasses and took a closer look at where his chakra blade had struck.

He ran his finger along the dummy and realized that he had indeed left a mark on it, getting excited at this and jumping due to his excitement. He had finally started to understand what his master had been trying to teach him, seeing what sharpening his wind chakra could really do first hand for the first time. He finished his smoke and moved back to his spot, aiming at another target dummy, this time managing to cut it a bit deeper. With each dummy he had stricken he became more and more excited, cutting deeper and deeper until finally that chakra blade went right through one of them.

Mitsuo was ecstatic, he had gotten it to pierce through but he knew that that was only part two of this particular training, the real test laying in expanding the blade now that he had mastered keeping the shape. He retook his position and spun once more, trying to expand the blade and only managing to lose the shape this time.

Well I never thought it would be that easy...If I had to struggle at the other two stages I guess it makes sense that I'll have to do it again, eh nii-san? But I'll figure it out, it can't be that hard...can it?

Matsuo tried it again, and again and continued to fail over and over. He was having issues figuring out how to expand the blade. He realized that he qas becoming quite tired and decided to stop for a bite to eat and a quick smoke. He pulled the smoke out of his pack and lit it, realizing that his body was getting close to reaching it's limits and he still needed to figure out the last part of this jutsu.

He pulled out a few onigiri from his bag and started to eat them, smiling as he enjoyed the taste and trying to figure out what he had to do in his head to complete his training. He thought of adding more chakra to the move but didn't think that was the problem, realizing he was already using a lot more chakra than he was used to doing and that he probably just needed to learn to control it better. He stood up and repacked his bag, preparing to give it another try.

I'm close, and I understand how the chakra manipulation should work, so it should just be getting that last bit down, eh nii-san? Can't be that much more, I just really need to focus...I'll get this!

He stepped back into the center of the targets, preparing to try again, picturing not only the sharpness of the blade, but expanding the size of it as well this time. He knew he would get a few shots at it at the most today before having to pack it in. He had used a lot of chakra for this training and was beginning to become exhausted. He spun and exhaled, the blade expanding slightly before dissipating once again, but this time managing to his the target dummy before doing so. He almost had it and tried again, failing once more but more determined than other to finish the training.

Mitsuo stood in the middle of the training dummies, his body aching and trembling as he prepared to attempt this jutsu one last time. He breathed in and molded the chakra in his throat, concentrating on the blade as he did. He spun around with more determination, more confidence, and exhaled his chakra, forming the blade. As he released it he kept the image of an expanded blade in his head and willed his chakra to react to the image, watching in amazement as his blade expanded, chopping the closest dummy to him in half and hitting the two behind it and the three behind that one. He saw the carnage that the ability had created and dropped to his knees, completely exhausted but also knowing that he would be able to do it again now that he had learned how. When he finally regained himself he trekked back to the village to rest, a smile on his face the entire time and his chest bursting with pride.

I did it nii-san, I actually did it. I was able to figure out the vacuum wave jutsu all by myself...This is really going to make a big difference in the chuunin exams, eh nii-san?

(2223/2000 words)