Drops of water dripped from the tops of the trees and onto the calm stream of the clear river below. It was a rhythmic and constant sound, almost as if the intervals between each drop had been precisely calculated by nature itself. It was the result of the recent rain - a rare event during this time of year for the Village Hidden in the Leaves. The canopy of trees above, on either side of the slowly moving body of water blocked out most of the sunlight. What could stream through did so from in between the branches and leaves, casting the shadows of nature onto the dirt and ground below. A gust of wound would eventually make its way through the forest, disrupting the flow of the water drops that fell into the river and letting in more sunlight as the branches swayed wildly in its lasting wake.

Soon enough, however, it would all return to how it was before - calm, rhythmic, structured.

Had someone told Zhuge Shin that such a place existed a few years ago, he wouldn't have believes it at all. He would have discarded it as a mere fantasy. To think that the world had places like this to offer - it was rather comical, in an ironic way. Ryuusei Toshi - Meteor City - had offered nothing of the sort. It had been reigned by violence and chaos alone. The strong survived while the week died off. It was the only law that governed the place. Witnessing the structure of a proper government and people that willingly followed its rules had been a culture shock, to say the least. Three years later, Zhuge Shin was still skeptical of it all and expected it to come crumbling down at any second. Anarchy was human nature, in the end. He only hoped that he would be there to see it all come crashing down. What a sight that would be, to witness first hand.

In the meantime, he would be a spectator. He cared little about meddling in the affairs of other people. Humanity was trash and so were the individuals he came across. Unless proven otherwise, that was his default opinion on everyone. It often came off as arrogance, but then again, he cared very little of what other people thought of him or even how they treated him. Once he had what he needed, he could freely discard them if he wanted to. People rarely ever held his interest for too long - it was always a week, at most. He would hardly ever remember their names afterwards.

The silence was a beautiful thing. It let him concentrate on the task at hand. Target practice had been his default way of warming up. he had repeatedly thrown his kunai and shuriken at moving targets - small animals for the most part. He had been silent, keeping his breathing barely noticeable and standing as still as he possibly could until the last moment. The couple f rabbits and birds that he had caught would feed him for the rest of the day when he decided to take a break. Cracking his knuckles and stretching, he was ready fr the next phase of what he had set up.

The raven haired boy had spent the past half hour setting up traps in order to build an obstacle course for himself. It had been a trick that his old man had taught him when he was still a kid - something he could use in order to train on his own. Of course, he already knew where the traps were, but the beauty of it was the way that they were constructed. The resulting range and degree of power of the hidden weapon launchers was randomized, as was the intensity off the steps needed to trigger each one.

It was time to start.

With a kunai in hand, Zhuge Shin set off. The first trap set a flurry of twenty senbon flying his way. He parried them skilfully with the weapon in his hand. One of the stray senbon triggered the next trap, piercing the thin rope that held it in place. Two heavy logs were set to crash into each other, leaving him crushed in the middle, likely with a set of broken ribs. As if he would let that happen. From the corner of his eye, he spotted the trees rustling. There was no wind, meaning the trap had been triggered. He rolled out of the way just in time, avoiding the two logs a split second before they shattered into each other.

He shot the kunai in his hand towards the center of a dummy he had set on the other side of the field to mimic a sort of target. It hit right in the center as he moved, flipping backwards swiftly and setting another trap as he did so. Flamethrowers were set to go off. Five out of the six activated, shooting fire from every direction around him. Thinking quickly, he substituted with a branch that had broken off nearby. He got out of the flames safely and sighed. He had stepped on the wrong place. A flash bang set off, making his ears ring loudly and his sight blur. Fucking great.

He had to avoid the kunai that were coming towards him purely out of instinct. He tried guessing their trajectories based off of where he had set them. The problem was not knowing exactly when each of them were going to set off. He made a mental note to develop, learn and train some sort of sensory technique.

In the meantime, with a new kunai in hand, he parried off the projectiles as best he could, while skillfully dodging and moving until his eye sight and hearing returned to their original state. It took a few seconds. Why had he put the grenade into his schematics in the first place? He let out s frustrated sigh. he knew the answer to that. He needed to imitate reality. There was no point in training if he wanted to go easy on himself.

For the time being, he was done. All the traps had been set off the way that they were supposed to. Now all he had to do was dismantle  them and set them up again in different places and in a different order. It was a hassle, but he supposed that the process also served as training for stamina. he would be at this all day, or at least that was his plan. The raven haired boy needed to train as much as he could.

He had heard rumors that the chuunin exams would soon occur. He still didn't know when or where, exactly, but the source was reliable. He had no interest in the exams themselves, but the participants... It was a perfect opportunity to scout potential items that he could add to his collection later on. Maybe he would even come out of there with something new in his possession. Who could possibly know what was to come?

[Reaction Time - D to D3: 1175/1175]

it's been 96 hours since he last slept, he knew because he had kept count yesterday was his mothers birthday, if only they were still here, if things hadn't happened the way they did he would probably be in the market with his father procuring a wide array of his mother's favorite fruits and vegetables, he even might have been able to get flower, sugar, and eggs so he could bake a cake for his beloved mum. with this memory the tears had returned the pain had returned he thought that the last of his tears had gone but he was wrong he thought that by now they would have dried up. He hadn't eaten in days he probably looked like shit he sure felt like it. He wanted to get this off his mind, the chuunin exams were rapidly approaching this would be his stepping stone this is where he would begin his journey in avenging his parents and making the world a better place, so for that moment he put the sulking on hold and decided that it would be best for him to go train, climbing out of bed and slipping on a t-shirt he hobbled into the kitchen and drank some water, his body rejected it he puked up a mix of stomach acid and water it stung his throat he knew that he wouldn't be able to train if he didn't get some nutrients into him. Looking to the fridge he saw what appeared to be some milk and a half eaten goats tongue he prepared a few days back grabbing the milk and the tongue he tossed it on a plate and began to eat it he hated it's rubbery texture but he loved that it was protein pack reaching for the milk he uncapped it and began swilling it down it came in chunks but he didn't care that it had expired he finished the gallon jug without any hesitation, he was broke so he could waste nothing and now there was nothing in his fridge this didn't trouble him he would probably kill a rabbit or two in the woods after his training session.

Finished with his meal and somewhat ready for his day of work he put on a short sleeved black shirt that had a neck collar that almost when up to his chin, he also tossed on a pair of his favorite cargo shorts and his open toed boots he quickly bandaged his arms from he knuckles to just above the elbows and from his ankles to his knees. Now ready he walked out of the door leaving it wide open he didn't care about people stealing from him he had nothing to steal he welcomed any intruders today kaneda had felt a lust for violence that he had never felt before.

Midst the villages hustle and bustle he saw familiar faces they smiled and waved at him but he did not return these pleasantries back, almost possessed he felt he was on a mission, he had something to prove and wasn't strong enough to prove it yet walking out of the village he did not make eye contact with the shinobi posted in front of the gate he was now making his way to his usual training spot. Today he was going to work himself down to the bone he needed to get stronger and he would go to any means to do so.

WC:484