The harbor was quiet, for the moment, as no ships were docking or setting sail, and all was stagnant around them. A few people here and there walked by, their feet stepping over the wood of the platform with a constant thud, but it was a distant noise that was nearly undetectable from where Aiza sat. He stared into the clear blue water, and its depth was surprising...he could still see all the way to the seafloor on a sunny day like this, and he watched as little ecosystems thrived in their own personal Atlantis. A glance up ahead, and he noticed in the distance the islands that made up Mizu no Kuni, and off in the other direction, the mountain ranges of Kaminari no Kuni. It was like a massive crossroads, right there in the water. It was a surprise that it wasn't bustling at this hour of 3 PM. That was something to be thankful for, however, as Aiza wanted as much peace as possible so he could have complete concentration. This would be his designated training spot as he mastered the two newest techniques in his cache of fighting styles. He was still not used to utilizing Ninjutsu and was much more comfortable with Taijutsu, but if he wanted any chance at becoming a decent ninja, he needed to have some sort of back-up specialization.

These weren't too complicated; one of them was Taijutsu, a technique that wasn't too often heard of; the Azure Dragon Palm, made famous over a century ago by some unknown Byakugan-user who had Water Release. It was one of the few ways to combine Taijutsu with Water Release, so it was only natural that Aiza learn it himself. Next up was a much more general Ninjutsu technique, the Water Clone Jutsu. He would start with Azure Dragon Palm simply because that would be the more difficult one, in the long run. He stood up, removing the cigar he was puffing on from his mouth and tossing it in the nearby garbage bin. "Where to start when you're learning new jutsu...?" he mumbled, cracking his knuckles. His hand was pale; he held it out to the sunlight, and began to infuse it with Suiton chakra until it felt heavier. "Yeah, that's certainly a start."

---

Learning Water Release: Azure Dragon Palm
Word Count: 389/1,500

Aiza's arm, now weighty with power and chakra, tensed as he closed his fist. The problem would be releasing all of the Suiton at once, which required more precision control of his elemental release than someone of his level could possibly manage. He would still try, but it would either do some damage to himself or have a much weaker effect than intended. Also, there was the fact that he didn't really have much to hit. It was just a port dock, and the stretch of water ahead. He wasn't going to hit any of the ships, because that could damage them and if he broke any, he would have to pay for it with Ryo he certainly didn't have. His stark blue eyes scanned the area for any sign of something he could strike. Within seconds, he noticed a pile of steel bars, most likely there to be loaded onto a ship later on. He could probably it that with the jutsu without much of a problem at all, even though it would hurt his hand. He smiled and poised himself to strike, holding out the chakra-infused hand with an open-palm and careful gaze at the bars. There were six of the steel masses, stacked in a rectangular pyramid; he dashed forward, smashing his hand into the middle row of them and holding it there for a split second.

The stance shifted as Aiza moved his left foot ahead of himself, twisting his body a bit and crossing his right leg behind it. A dash forward, and he moved in a graceful charge, hitting the bars with his hand and releasing the intensely spinning chakra. An unimpressive amount of water surged out, not particularly in a focused blast but rather in a wave, resulting in an anticlimactic impact. "Awh, damn it." He had figured that would happen, but he was about to try again. He took a few steps back and began to charge chakra into his hand, waiting for it to build heartily. Over the span of five minutes, his hand nearly twitched with power. He was determined to get this jutsu right this time.

The chakra in the man's hand reached critical mass and blasted out as a water torrent, engulfing his entire arm and discharging into the steel, throwing all of the bars out of position and a few meters back, each landing into the crystal-clear water with violent splashes. Dammit, I definitely didn't mean to do that. I guess I should go get them... The success still made him beam, however; it wasn't as strong as he'd hoped, but the fact the Azure Dragon Palm was enough to throw six giant steel bars out into the water was reassuring. He was strong, but he wasn't sure if he'd be able to carry them all out of the water alone. Then, an idea came into his head, and it was perfect; he could easily rely on his water clone jutsu to help him carry them out. He raised up his arm and wrapped it around his face, coughing into the back of his elbow a bit before forming a Tiger hand seal. From what he could tell, advanced clone techniques were just as simple, although they followed a different premise than the original doppelganger technique. Form the appropriate hand seal, split your chakra into separate entities, and use a nature release when applicable. Exactly what he was doing now; just a bit more focus...

---

Training Water Release: Azure Dragon Palm
Word Count: 980/1,500

Consciousness took on a new meaning as Aiza felt his mind almost fade, thinning as it spread over the area. A glance to his side, and he saw an exact replica of himself, all the way down to the eyes and teeth. It was almost frightening. He look to his other side and saw two others, so he had made a total of three clones. He could actively process the information they were taking in, a new feeling that wasn't granted by the illusory mirages of the Doppelganger technique. His thought pool was widened as he could saw from multiple perspectives and noticed minuscule sounds coming from different angles. It would take a while to get used to maintaining this jutsu; he could already feel his grasp on its effect slipping, so he took action. "Alright, let's get those bars so we can finish this training." They all nodded in unison to his command like a dedicated army in response to their beloved captain. One synchronized dive into the water, and they descended under the calm waters, reaching the depths after a few seconds due to their efficient swimming. Aiza had always possessed a talent in swimming, be it due to his Suiton affinity or just for general love of the practice. A silver gleam shone as the sunlight refracting to the seafloor made contact with one of the bars. That was their target, and they surrounded it like a pack of wolves.

The original Aiza held up one hand, making a countdown with his fingers. The others all gripped the first bar, preparing to hoist it and swim it back up to the surface. His fingers counted three; his ring finger dropped and met his pinkie, signaling two. Next his middle finger...one. He grabbed onto the last open space and pulled with them, and the steel bar was wrenched from its deposit with a loud screech. The water shimmered as they rose again, making their way up the clear stretch to the surface and pushing the bar back onto the harbor. One down, five to go. The return trip was more arduous, as they were already tired from lifting that first behemoth of metal. The second bar was retrieved, followed by the third, fourth and fifth. The final one, by the time they got to it, was lodged into a crevice of bedrock and they couldn't pull it out so easy. Aiza stepped up to the rock, figuring that this was as good a chance as any to further improve the Azure Dragon Palm.

A whirlpool formed around his arm as he spun the chakra within it once again. Using it underwater seemed to ampify the effect a bit, so he was sure he'd be able to crush the rock with it. The other Aiza's watched with calm expressions as he smashed his palm into the crevice, and it blew apart upon contact, leaving a dust cloud to obscure the crystal blue waters for a moment. When the dust cleared, the steel bar was free, and they pulled it out of the water, setting it next to the rest of them. With a sigh, Aiza looked down at his drenched clothes. He probably should've thought this one through before diving into the water on impulse...but at least he mastered his first technique. He looked at each of the clones, deciding how train further.

---

Training Water Release: Azure Dragon Palm
Word Count: 1,500/1,500 -Complete-

Training Water Clone Jutsu
Word Count: 52/1,000

A good old fashioned fist-fight. That would more than suffice as training in clones! If he hit them hard enough, they would revert to water, and then he could rebuild them by using the technique again, to get a feel for making clones. On the other hand, he would also be fighting as the clones, which in turn would give him practice using Taijutsu as a clone. It was a well-balanced way to train this techhnique, really. He stood atop one of the support beams that held the dock afloat, and looked down at the three clones. "You guys, listen up! We're going to be doing some old-fashion fisticuffs so I can get used to using this jutsu. The best way to do that is to come at me with all your might. I know you guys are probably thinking, 'Oh, no, I can't hurt you because I am you.' Well, you can, and you're going to have to." All of the clones gave him a blank stare, indicating that either they weren't listening even a little bit or that they were fully prepared for a knock-down, drag-out showdown between the Aizas. The ultimate...battle of the Aizas.

The real Aiza started it up and set the standard. He made a forward jab right into the center clone's stomach, staggering him a bit. The clone retorted with a spin-kick that was dodged, and he was tackled down by the other clone. Real Aiza wasn't going to try and get between the two clones that were now tumbling around on the floor in an attempt to pin one another down, but instead he faced the remaining clone and threw his arm out to grapple. The doppelganger was caught and pulled forward into his knee, smashing right into its face. It became a puddle of water, and Aiza made another hand seal, forming his chakra as best he could until the clone was back into place as a human again. Clone #1, the number he had assigned the clone who had tackled another, was thrown of by #2, who was the one that got tackled. The four Aizas face each other once again, throwing punches and kicks in all directions with reckless abandon. It eventually became a 3 vs. 1 match of the clones beating down Aiza, who was bruised and had a nose bleed at this point from all of the punches to the head. "Oho, you're all gonna pay for that, us."

As a counter, Aiza blocked the next hit with his upper forearm and got to his feet, using the second foot that was helping him rise to pull under the Clone #3 and shift its weight, making it fall hard onto the wood of the port. Clone #1 smirked, and began to charge an Azure Dragon Palm; just when the torrent of water was ready to be released, Aiza released one of his own, and the two collided, creating a massive water vortex at their point of crossing. With extreme force, the vortex pulled in objects that were sitting around, from broken chain links to torn rope and empty crates and bags, all being crushed by the two water torrents. Finally, Aiza's palm overpowered the clone's, and it tore through, reverting the clone to a liquid state. He recreated it without a second thought, as he turned to Clone #2. They exchanged blows, trying punches from different angles and an uppercut here and there. Aiza's last thrown punch connected, smashing into #2's face, and reverting him to water as well. After that one was recreated, Aiza fell to his knees, taking a moment to breathe. Re-using the jutsu that many times probably wasn't all that great of an idea...all three of the clones fell, becoming water and sinking down into the harbor. This was the last thing Aiza saw before he blacked out.

When Aiza's exhausted face stirred awake, his eyes looked were level with the water. No ships were around, and neither were there any people. It was pitch-dark, so dark that even he stars weren't visible. He sighed and rose to his feet, making a mental note of the chakra exhaustion caused when overusing the technique. At least he knew he could use it when he needed to, and that was enough. "Well, I think I've trained plenty today. I should head home..." and so he did. He made his way around the forests, through the street paths that led to the north village gate. He went in through the passageway, through an alley, past Ichiraku Ramen and a few other eateries. They were all empty, and near about to close. How long had he been asleep? Three, four, five hours? It didn't even matter, he supposed, and all he could think about was getting home and throwing himself out onto his bed, and lulling into a deep sleep almost immediately.

When the Genin arrived, he tried to do so, he really did. He grabbed a fast snack before heading off, finding a comfortable position to sleep in, and focusing on rest. But something kept him awake, an unusual feeling within his gut as if something were going to happen. He left his window open to cool the room off as finally, around 2 AM, he found peace, and fell asleep. His dreams were those of dark secrets, difficult tribulations, and arduous battles, but in all of them, he came out on top, a stalwart, a survivor, and a victor. He would awake the next day with a smile on his face knowing that he was strong enough to make his dreams come true.

(Exit, Closed)

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Training Water Clone Jutsu
Word Count: 1,000/1,000 -Complete-