Maigo awoke earlier that day, sleeping in like normal, and going through his morning routine with the motivation of a slug. He had no real reason to struggle excessively to prepare for his day, as a genin his responsibilities were extremely low, but lately they had been even slower. As he wrapped up his bandages and tied his sandals he was still stretching and trying to wake up. Even walking out of the door and waving to his parents as he left, he would still be half asleep. A few more steps out the door, and the little bit of light hitting his eyes from between the clouds would start to wake him up even more. A few hundred meters from home, he would continue to rub the crust from his eyes, nearly fully awake as he headed to the Kirigakure administration building. Maigo entered the main of the city, lots of people cleaning up and serving others, it was fairly late in the morning and some people smiled and waved at Maigo as he walked by, Maigo did his best to be aware and wave and smile as well, greeting them as best he could. His feet began to drag slightly less now as he was a few hundred meters away from the admin building, it was huge and caught the eye immediately as it came into view. His attention was coming up to his peak and as he was a few steps away from the door of the building he was fully awake. He entered the building, pushing the front door he saw several ninja walking around and tending to things around the building, a few walking up the stairs and a few going up.

The choas that ensued was crazy, the people coming passing through and ninja running to and fro, it must be quite a task for the Mizukage and her advisors to keep everything together and running fluidly. And Maigo certainly wasn't helping the situation, his request would seem pretty petty compared to some of the other things that would be going on. He approached the desk with the secretary, she looked fairly kind and as he approached she welcomed him. Hi there, what can I help you with today? He focused in for a second, his words hardly moving from his brain to his mouth, he shook his head and began to speak. Ummm, yeah my name's Maigo, and I'm one of the Genin here, I just wanted to see if I could speak to the Mizukage about getting some training in one day soon. Maigo didn't really care if it was the Mizukage herself, he was just bored of all the self training lately, the simple physical training and with no guidance. He wanted to start learning some new jutsu and learning from experienced ninja to develop his own prowess. She thought for a second and filled some paperwork, Maigo didn't really pay attention to what specifically, Ok, give me a minute and I'll leave her a note, wait over there and I'll let you know.  

She pointed over to a small waiting area, so Maigo walked over there as she walked away with a small note, the other secretary taking over for a brief second. Maigo kinda felt bad about requesting this when there were so many other things he could be doing, but it was about time he found a more effective way of training himself, maybe he could find a new sensei or get put into a squad. Regardless, he crossed his arms and sighed there as he sat there, he would just have to wait and see what would end up coming out of today.

[623 words]

It had been chaos lately and not the good kind. At least not the kind that Dameon was used to, fighting training, etc. The Mizukage was away and all the important paperwork was being sent to him for clarification and he hated it. Had he known his titles came with such a responsibility he would have remained a genin. He sighed as he sat at in his office by the ANBU part of the administration building. Stacks of paper were piled up to his eyes as he sat down with his hands folded and contemplating falling asleep behind the seeming fort of paperwork. The more he worked on it the more paper that filled its place like a leviathan with multiple heads, one cut off another two just grew back. He sighed as he stood up refusing to stay confined any longer. He pressed the button on his desk and his assistant came in.

“I need you to guard these papers with your life and in the process pawn them off on another sannin if you happen to see them come in. Understood?” He ordered and then asked to confirm if his man understood the orders he had given. The man would salute back to him and stand guard outside the door as Dameon left his office. There was plenty of other things he could be doing than paperwork. He could be out on a mission or patrolling, training, running the strip club he had part ownership in, sleeping, literally anything was better than being cooped up any longer.

As he walked down the hall the rest of the staff bowed to salute him as he walked by. It was flattering and he honestly questioned if he would ever get used to having such respect. He kept his arms folded as he walked his black coat hiding his blank facial expression from the sides due to the collar being popped up. Only the handle of his sword could be seen sticking up over his right shoulder. The rest of his black attire filling out the usual attire he normally wore and everyone recognized. He reached the end of the stairs and began walking down them in a way that commanded attention and everyone seemed to stop what they were doing to watch him enter the room. The staff bowed and he ignored it as he walked up to the front desk to the worker that kept their schedules for each day.

“I am heading out. If anyone needs me forward them to someone else,” he said with little to no emotion behind his voice as he spoke.

“B-but sir. There is nobody else at this moment,” she said bowing down to him and staying down as she spoke.

“Then have one of my men fetch another Sannin. I will be busy for the rest of the day,” He said as he turned to walk out the front door not even recognizing there was someone else even there.

“Sir. Before you leave this young genin was hoping to seek audience with the Mizukage. Perhaps you could be of assistance since he was looking into being assigned a sensei or something. If you were heading out perhaps you could consider his request before you head out,” she said rising from her bowing position. Dameon turned his head toward the genin that was standing there and weighed his options.

“Sure, anything beats being stuck in here all day. You, walk with me.” he said to the genin and immediately began walking out the door of the administration building not really sure of where he wanted to go next.

[606]

Maigo watched as the attendant walked off towards the stairs, he wondered how far up she would go or to whom she would deliver his message. Maigo had the possibility of sitting there all day and nothing happening or to be seen nearly immediately, but he probably had a minute to his thoughts as he sat there arms crossed and his left leg resting on top of his right leg. He yawned heavily stretching out his arms, Guess I'm still not awake, that's what I get for for staying up late and sleeping in. He crossed his arms again and looked down slightly and began to think about what he would say to the Mizukage or whoever arrived in her place. To be a teacher you would have to be an elite ninja, and one who deserved respect, but Maigo wasn't really into that whole thing, what if the person was a total jerk? Or what if he got a really hot woman as his teacher? He began to shake his leg nervously at what would happen, he might even get stuck with an old man who was way past his prime. How is Maigo gonna become an expert ninja with someone who could barely traverse a flight of stairs? His anxiety had begun to kick in, what if they were insulted by the way he approached them? He probably shouldn't have gone straight to the Mizukage with his nonsense and he felt that he knew he was gonna pay for his mistakes.

Only a moment had gone by, but in the corner of his eye a man walked down from the stair well, and approached the desk, the attendant was already back. But he thought for sure she had gone up the stairs? Maybe his own tiredness was getting the best of him. Everyone he would walk by would bow and almost dared not directly look at him, this guy must be very important and he wasn't too far away from him. He saw the attendant point towards him and the man turned around as well, Maigo quickly turned back towards his own hands and pretended like he hadn't noticed them. Was this the guy that was gonna help him out, or even be the one to become his sensei? Suddenly he heard some words call out from near him, "You, walk with me." Maigo's head raised and it was the man in black, he had hardly gotten a good look at his face but he was dressed in black and his hair was black too.

He began to walk away and Maigo looked towards the attendant who had her head tilted, signalling for him to follow after him. Maigo quickly scrambled to his feet and tried to catch up to him, Woah, hold on a second. he would call from behind him. Where are we going and are you the one who is going to help me out? He would ask once he got close enough to him, his questions quick and pointed as usual, he straightened up his jacket to look presentable and kept his honey colored eyes on him as he looked him over, he carried a sword which meant he could help Maigo develop his bukijutsu techniques. And with his stature and the way people reacted around him, Maigo had a good idea that he was plenty strong and experienced enough to be at the very least a special jounin level ninja. Maigo shuffled behind him as they exited the administration building and another cloudy day in Kirigakure opened up around them. Next, he hoped he could learn who this guy is and why Maigo was following him now, out of the building he had wanted to be in.

[631 words, 1254 words total]

Dameon heard the young genin running to catch up to him as he continued out the door and onto the street. A path being made for him through the crowd as the adults of the village recognized immediately who he was some bowing and some in too much of a hurry too. He normally didn’t traverse the streets so casually but today he needed a break from being indoors so a stroll through the streets he grew up on was fine with him.

“Where are we going and are you the one who is going to help me out?” He heard the boy ask but ignored the part about waiting a second. The boy should be able to keep up with him and if he couldn’t he was no worse than an eighty year old man. The question he had asked was curious though there was no true way to answer it.

“Technically you are the one who will help yourself out. I have had plenty of students none of whom are around today. So whether or not you will learn from me is entirely up to you,” he stated as he walked down an alley and past the apple stand he frequented when he was younger and picked one from the pile and waved at the old man who allowed him to always grab and ago. He cleaned the apple against his jacket and tucked it into his pocket. He looked over his shoulder at the boy who was younger though taller than him and built like a stick. Dameon was about half a foot shorter than him but his compact size allowed for a much more ripped and cut body.

“So tell me. Why does slender man want to become a ninja. I mean you are an awfully big target to hit. More importantly why don’t you ask the other question you want to ask me. You are no doubt curious as to why people are so eager to bow to me and show me respect. Yet that dumbfounded look on your face means you haven’t figured it out yet or you genuinely don’t know,” he stated in his usual expressionless tone and completely disregarding the fact he had insulted the boy twice now. Sure they were not anything serious but he wondered the kind of person who he would be putting through the ringer. Everything he said or did was to judge the kids strength, internally and externally.

“Also, you should know that training with me does not guarantee your safety like it does with other sensei’s. I won’t ask you to do anything I haven’t already done or would do again. I never had a sensei so to speak and was surviving on my own since I was seven in wolf infested woods before I made my way here. What I will ask you to do is risk your life and push you to a limit you can’t possibly fathom and in successfully doing so you will become stronger in a quicker time than you’d ever expect or hope to on your own or with another sensei. Weigh the risk vs reward carefully before you decide” He stated being as brutally honest with the kid as he could. After all he had over ten students and none of them had been able to keep up in the past. He would like to have someone who was able to though, and that meant testing potential candidates for the job.

[584. 1,190 total]

Maigo caught up to the man as he began to speak, retorting his question, but trying to sound a bit too... well... wise for his own age. But he was right to some degree, it would be up to Maigo to keep up and learn for himself in the end, but that's not what he was here for, and both he and this man knew it, Maigo felt that was assumed but let the man have his moment. He next went on a short rant about why he wanted to be a ninja, along with some other passive aggressive insults towards Maigo, the slender man comment got him down. And his head fell downward as he mumbled to himself, I'm not that thin... gloom consumed his tone and posture as he walked beside the man. His thoughts went on a tangent about putting on muscle mass so that he could fill out better, he wasn't really that thin was he? Something he would definitely keep an eye on for the near future. The man then went on about his own stature in the village as well, Maigo was a bit curious but he was mostly curious about the man's strength and what kind of training and teaching he would have in store for him.

Maigo thought a second about his statement, another insult, and Miago was starting to think that this passive-aggressive banter would be a trademark of his. Well, I went to see the Mizukage, and you're not her, but you do look familiar. Like someone who stands behind her and in her shadow all the time, which would also explain why people respect you, are you one of those ninja, the really powerful ones who could be in charge but no one trusts? Maigo couldn't remember what the group called themselves, trying out the passive aggressive thing himself to see how he would respond to it being used in reverse, probably another dumb move on Maigo's part. It wouldn't be long before he began ranting on his own history shortly, telling him of how he didn't have a sensei and was out fighting wolves, seemed like more of himself tooting his own horn and building his own hype. Maigo decided it would be better to stick to one passive-aggressive insult for the time being.

The man challenged him to weight the risk versus the reward as he so put it. Maigo was not one for backing down from a challenge and this man seemed like he had a lot he could pass down onto others, and Maigo wanted the power he offered. He held his hand to his chin and rubbed it for a second, The way you make it sound, it's going to be extraordinarily difficult, but I'm never going to get anywhere by skimming by forever so I accept, I will put my all into your teachings! Maigo burst out with such confidence, but in all honesty he was incredibely nervous. He didn't know where to go from there as he continued following him through the city, Well, I figure before we get started then you'd want to know my name, it's Maigo. Now, if you don't mind me asking, what's your name? He seemed jovial and upbeat for the time being, who knows how long that would last and what he had in store for Maigo now and in the future.
[584 words, 1838 words total]

“Well, I went to see the Mizukage, and you're not her, but you do look familiar. Like someone who stands behind her and in her shadow all the time, which would also explain why people respect you, are you one of those ninja, the really powerful ones who could be in charge but no one trusts?” He heard the Genin retort back at him after having called him slender man. No doubt the Genin felt mildly offended and tried to puff his chest out in an effort to make a comeback but seeing as he didn’t know who Dameon was or at least didn’t know he was Dameon it made him look even sillier than if he had said nothing at all. He stopped where he was and rested his hand on the hilt of Midnight Child, his sword and looked back at the genin.

“Speak back to me like that again and I will cut your throat and dissolve your body so nobody knows what I have done. There is nobody the Mizukage trusts more than me. I am Dameon Shikyo, leader of the ANBU forces of the village, Captain of the Seven Swordsmen, and Sannin of this village. You wouldn’t be the first Genin I’ve killed, keep that in mind. Now if you are serious about being trained will we be going to my own training ground a few miles north of here,” he stated as he released his hand from his sword. The genin may not have noticed but a few hairs from the genin’s head would flutter down in the breeze as he did so. Dameon would continue walking toward the north this time. Eventually they would reach the forest and follow a barely noticeable path toward the mountain to the far end of the island. Once the path ended two ANBU appeared before them using the Shunshin jutsu.

“Sir! Orders?” The one asked as they both knelt down.

“Stand guard we will be in there for a week. Double the patrols until we come out. The typical drill, we don’t need any stray genin falling in and dying. Hopefully this one wont,” Dameon ordered his two men and they would obey and stand up before taking off just as quickly as they had arrived. Dameon continued moving forward although they didn’t have to go much further. At the base of a large rock formation on the side of the mountain was a hole heading down into pure darkness. It was very steep and narrow simply making it down to the bottom unscathed was a challenge unto itself.


”Alright, before we go down you need to know that the air where we will be training is poisoned. There is no guarantee you will survive or adapt to it. I am immune to its effects by now but it will not be easy for you. We will also be down there a week without leaving. Once you go into this hole you cannot come out the same way and the only way out is even more dangerous. If you don’t learn to survive, adapt, and get stronger I do guarantee that you will die and you wouldn’t be the first to die in this cave. I am going in now, if you wish to follow me, that’s up to you,” Dameon said turning away from the Genin and hoping into the hole and disappearing the moss along the bottom of the hole making it extremely slippery and impossible to leave. A few hundred feet later with the tunnel only an inch or so from his face he reached the bottom where he slid onto his feet effortlessly.

Once at the bottom he immediately switched on the small generator so that the string of lights in various places lit the cave dimly. Mostly the moss at the bottom glowed a faint blue filling out the rest of the cave and also poisoning the air. There were multiple gym equipment around the edge of the cave, a bed, even a pantry with a fridge, though empty. Another corner of the cave had a deep pool of water leaving to large tunnel system that eventually led out of the cave and into the ocean a few hundred feet below. The air was thin and what air there was poisoned, it wouldn’t be a problem for him but if the genin chose to follow him it would slowly get worse for him. Instinctively Dameon grabbed an empty jug of water from the pantry and filled it up with the water in the cave that had been purified thanks to the tunnels keeping most of the saltwater out and what was left was filtered by the various plants and wildlife alone the walls. He filled the jug and tossed it into the refrigerator and waited to see if the genin would follow him.

[811. 2001 Total]

Maigo followed him further, he clearly saw into insult, threatening him and going on about his titles. Maigo wouldn't notice the hair leaving his head but would instead think about how he was going on about his own prowess again, this guy clearly put a lot of value in his rank and titles. It was interesting to say the least, he held many titles of great importance, but someone would have to be very strong to even grab hold of one of those titles, for him to hold so many meant he was of a very great power and probably deserved to brag. Hopefully he could learn a lot from him, being the captain of the seven swordsman, the group Maigo one day hoped to join, was huge, and there were probably many techniques he could learn from him. As they arrived two ANBU guards appeared, and he gave them orders to keep out strangers, and with less than they arrived they were gone in an instant again.

Then the man, began to warn Maigo of the cave they were entering, he explained it's treachery and how it had a poisoned air. It sounded incredibly dangerous and then all of a sudden he entered the cave and disappeared into the darkness. Maigo's thoughts ran wild, Well, it may be dangerous but I've got to get stronger, and besides the air, if he can grow immune to it then it must be overcome-able. After some hesitation he entered in as well, slipping and sliding on the moss on his way down, about halfway there lights began to flicker on ahead of him. It was an interesting place indeed, and as he came crashing in he saw the man putting something in a fridge, amenities scattered around the room, Maigo would have made a better mental note but the air quality began to hit him before he could even say anything about where they were or what they'd be doing. The air was thin, and he could hardly stay on his feet, it was suffocating just to be in there and he wasn't sure how he was going to handle it.

It was not long before he fell to his hands and knees, coughing up now, lots of spit and saliva leaving his mouth as he coughed up his lungs. He tried to call out to the man, having no idea where he was or what he was doing, he spoke loudly between the coughs, Hey, what is this place, and what is in the air that makes it like this. It was then that he had an idea and began to crawl towards the water while he waited for a response from the man, just had to make it to the pool of water, and he could seriously cut down on the effect of the poisoned air. This is assuming he doesn't pass out before then or die from the poor quality of the air, but this guy wouldn't really let him die down here would he?

[515 words, 2353 words total]

The Cave of Trials: Training within the cave has certain factors that alter the environment and the characters within that environment. Those lower than Chuunin will undergo a nasty sickness that lasts for 2,000WC before the character is able to recover. While sick the user will have blurred vision and have loss of balance as well as be extremely dehydrated, and will be unable to successfully channel chakra. Once the cave is entered each character must post at least 2,000WC to be able to leave unharmed (though extremely exhausted and mentally drained).
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“This is my personal training ground. I use it to test myself and others. If you can survive down here it means you are worth keeping alive and you won’t die so easily out there when it matters. In here your body must be able to change, you must be able to fight when you can barely stand, adapt or die. When you are on a dangerous mission it is no different. You must adapt, or die. Nothing will be as trained so you must be able to think rationally on the fly or you end up with a tag on your toe six feet under,” Dameon said walking to the far end of the cave to the weapons rack and grabbing his black bokken and tossing another one at the genin but a good ten feet or so ahead of him away from the water.

“The answer to your other question is mold and some other things but that gets into a finer detail I’d rather not waste words on. We will both be down here a week and we will start immediately. You have five seconds to reach your bokken and defend yourself before I rush at you and break your leg. I won’t count down,” he said as he mentally began to count down hoping the Genin would not falter from shock or this would be over before it even began. He could tell the genin was struggling even quicker than most people, it could be because he was so tall and lanky. He held his bokken our horizontal to his torso as he watched with the eagle like eyes at the young student suffering unable to fine clean air. Usually it took someone new at least a few hours or a day or so to feel the effects but it was hitting him immediately. It was possible the cave had gotten a stronger dose of toxin than normal. Either way he knew the effects of it all too well. After all he had discovered the place by accident and had to find his way out the same manner he taught to everyone who wanted to be his student and it had taken him a week to do so. So he held all of his students up to the same standards thinking it was as fair as he could make it.

The five seconds was up in he rushed forward though not nearly at full speed but at the speed of a chuunin roughly. He didn’t want to use his true strength on the student after all if he did he would simply cut more hairs from his head without him even noticing. He would threaten and push this student to the point of death it was the genin’s goal to not tip over and end up buried down here .

[567. 2,568 total]

Maigo tried to get to his feet, his balance had begun to fade and his vision was blurring, as he walked towards the water he noticed the man walking towards a weapons rack and talking. Something about learning to adapt, and that was what Maigo was trying to do ask he spoke. He took a kunai and cut his sleeve off into a 1 foot by 1 foot rag, that he then would then tie around his face as he went for the water. Blurred vision and imbalance plagued him in his walk, he noticed something fall behind him, it was a tan-brown color but it was away from the water. He tied the rag behind his head, that should stop the air from being as impure and prevent his coughing but he was still already inflicted. It was then that the man called out saying he had 5 seconds to grab the bokken, what must have been what he threw towards Maigo. He now had a choice, run to the water and clear out his throat or go for the bokken and try to defend himself. He knew he would have a chance for water and rest later, but now he would need to defend himself against one of the seven swordsmen, no matter what it took.

And with that thought, he turned quickly as he began to counted down in his head, in place of the other man. Five. He looked as best he could for the object, still stepping forward one foot after the other as not to waste any time. Four. His mental clock running down, he found the obeject laying in front of him, probably seven or eight feet away now, he picked his legs up trying to move quickly, but his imbalance making it a struggle. Three. Maigo had only made it another couple of feet, swaying from left to right, a forward stumble would cut the distance down significantly but only at the cost of him falling face forward. Two. He could see the object a little clearer now that he was up close, a simple wooden bokken, still blurry but slightly more defined than before, it was only a foot or two away as he reached out and slid trying to grab it. One. His hand would connect with it, or what he hoped was the hilt and he would roll on his right shoulder trying to stand as well in the same movement. Time's up. The sound of an alarm rang in his head as he got to his feet only to hear the sound of someone coming straight at him.

Maigo slid his right foot back to help block the strength of whatever attack may come, keeping his left foot augmented to his body and his sword at a diagonal pointed out from his right hip with both hands on the blade. The man in all black had faded into the background, Maigo knew he was coming straight at him now but he didn't know how quickly he was coming, what kind of attack he would make first, it was all faded into the background as Maigo searched out his opponent. He did his best to try and weave chakra into the bokken to strengthen it but it was no use, I guess this stuff affects your ability to weave chakra too Maigo thought to himself, anxiety and a little bit of panic came over him as he had no idea what to expect next, from the man training him or from the cave itself. All that was running through his mind now was, What have I gotten myself into now.

[614 words, 2967 words total]

Dameon didn’t slow down and continued to move at his current rate of speed as he saw the genin fumble to get to the weapon. At the last possible second the genin mounted a defensive stance and placed the bokken in a somewhat defensive manner though he questioned if the genin had a strong enough grip after his more powerful bokken clashed against the weaker one. Though he wasn’t trying to disarm the kid or hurt him now that he did what was ordered of him. The bokkens clashed giving a large high pitched slap that echoed throughout the walls of the cave in an amplifying manner. Until it faded out just as quickly as it had come on.

“Good. Now that you somewhat have your bearings your next goal is to hit me. It will be very difficult but I won’t be moving any faster than a chuunin. You should always be able to defend yourself against someone even a little stronger than you if you perfect your offensive capabilities. Now stop acting like a pussy and letting the poison influence you. Fight it and push past it. HIT ME,” he stated trying to boost the genin’s confidence and get him to push past the pain of the poison that would continuously eat at his integrity until he got used to it. Dameon leaped backward a good ten feet away from him with ease almost like he was floating with how carefully and quietly he seemed to maneuver. It was difficult for him to lower his speed and power to such a lower level. He often didn’t do it unless he was measuring an enemy’s strength and waiting to exploit a weakened and even when he did that he knew it was against his usual tactics. He would normally just go hard and fast and never let up until he was victorious. It was always better to be come out with everything you had rather than give your opponent any opportunity to hurt you no matter how unlikely.

He knew the Genin really didn’t have much of a chance at hitting him even with his power level lowered so much. That wasn’t the point of it though. He wanted to see the genin’s technique and also get him thinking about something other than breathing and let his body adapt on its own. The ones that panicked and thought about the poison too much were the ones that ended up dying. He needed to be able to let his body adapt and pushing him to the point where he needed to breath heavily would only help him out more and get the process over with quicker. Until he adapted they couldn’t begin the real training anyways so this was more of him teaching the student to survive and if he didn’t oh well, but if he did survive than he could be taught by one of the best and brightest in the village.

” I was Jounin in a week out of the academy. Show me you have what it takes to follow in my footsteps. Don’t be a worthless sack of shit like most other shinobi in this world. Pull yourself together and HIT ME,” he instructed the genin as he took an open stance and held his bokken out to his right side horizontally much like he had before when he had rushed the genin. He wanted the gnein to see an open target and take advantage of it without hesitation even though Dameon knew it would be hard for the genin to do so, it was all about technique.

[603. 3,171 total]

Fight it. Push through it. Hit Me! The man yelled as they stood there with their bokken clashed, Maigo barely able to hang on to the blade but having it pushed down nearly right on top of him as he attempted to block. What was he wanting a miracle from Maigo, he could barely think straight as the toxin circulated through his body, his makeshift mask keeping most of it out but there was little to no air as is and now he was being told to ignore the most pressing issue. Well, if he had to ignore it and fight through he would, it would push him to the brink though. The man jumped back almost as seeing what Maigo would do, he tried to focus in, blurry vision but he needed to see his target, atleast the shade of him away from the background. Maigo stopped controlling his breathing, he took the largest breathe he could, as a show that he was no longer thinking about his breathe. He readied his sword again, his hands still feeling the strength of his last blow, and charged towards the man at full speed.

The sword in his right hand he ran towards the blur of black against the background, it was appearing to be still, he could feel his balance slipping before him, but there was no time, he charged full speed ahead with no time to think of the consequences. As he ran he switched his blade to his left hand, he had prepared a plan, he knew it wouldn't work but he would have to try something, worst case scenario the man just uses his bokken to his him, and maybe crack a few ribs or his neck. As he closed the gap the blur began to shrink as some limbs became apparent and the shade of the bokken in his right hand, it was perfect for his move. He twisted the sword outward so that it was horizontally away from his body, an awkward position for holding a weapon, and he would swing it high and down diagonally so as to hit him in the shoulder, banking on the man blocking it.

He knew he was a few feet away and lept, all of his movements probably looked extremely sloppy but he had given up on trying to correct it, he knew that it would take time to do so but the man wasn't giving him time to adjust and recover. He swung his sword in his left hand, it would be too easy to block and disarm him, but Maigo knew the risk, he brought it down with all the speed and strength he could muster, he hoped that the man would block, that would leave his body open for Maigo to use his right hand, his dominant hand, to deliver a shot to his body once Maigo landed back on the ground, he would have to be quick, to beat the man's possible counter, and if the man didn't block him at all then that meant he risked taking a bokken to the forward facing area of his Latissimus Dorsi, one of the softer muscles around the shoulder, not that Maigo could do any real damage regardless.

Maigo's breathing would deepen as he pushed his limits, his hands and feet as quickly as they would move and letting his breathe draw in all the air, poisonous or not, that he could. It was time for him to move and keep it together, now was time to start putting his skills, no matter how sloppy his technique may be, hopefully this guy didn't beat him too much, or break too many bones today. He still had several days to go down in this cave.

[634 words, 3601 words]

Poison effect:

Dameon watched the genin charge at him even though it was plain to see that he was still struggling to adjust to the environment. Though he questioned why he would wear a cloth wrap around his mouth, the poison would just go through it like any bit of air would. Though what baffled him even more was how much movement he was making with his hands and preparation for his attack. There was no reason behind it. All it did was make it that much easier to avoid when the time came to do so. Dameon stepped forward toward the genin though not even bothering to move his weapon up to block. Instead he would dodge by rotating himself around behind the boy by rotating to the side that carried the weapon. Much like a bull fighter even though the opponent had a weapon it would be nearly impossible for him to do anything with it while Dameon rotated to his weaker side that was the complete opposite side of how he was facing. Without hesitation he swung his own bokken into the back of the genin though not trying to break anything it would be powerful enough to bruise.

“Okay listen because I will only explain this once. When you attack with a two handed weapon like a bokken. Whether or not you have one hand or two on it the footing is the most important part. How you maneuver yourself will save your life or end it. The move I did is simple barely any movement but because the attack was not balanced you would have had to quickly shuffle around to get to me or cross your body to block a counter attack in which you again lose your balance. I am re-teaching you everything you think you know about using a sword so I am teaching you the basics. Always keep your balance and remember. Slow is smooth, smooth is fast. Eventually you will be able to do much more but when you are fighting a superior opponent it is better to be safer and hope they make a mistake rather than making mistakes for them to kill you with. Now again,” Dameon explained as he demonstrated with his body his movements and footwork. He showed the student what he had done and then redid exactly what he had done and explained why this worked.

“Aikido will get you stronger. Use your opponents momentum against them. It is much harder to be defeated if you are balanced and in absolute control of your body and your movements. Now if that made sense, try again. Stop trying to hit me and just hit me. Don’t think about it just do it,” Dameon would coach as he stepped back again like before and readied his bokken out horizontally to his side leaving himself wide open again. He wanted to see if his student has understood what he had just explained. If not he would just continue to beat him until he understood.

[504. 3675 Total]
[-1663 for Speed S to S-1]
[-1912 for Speed S-1 to S-2]
[Total Remaining: 100]

He made his attack, trying to be clever to make contact with the man, as he ran forward it proved worthless, he merely stepped forward and hit Maigo from behind. A relatively solid hit that would jar him to the ground, he began to lecture him on his footing as he slowly got to his feet, he was definitely starting to compile some bruising but now that he had finally intaken the poisoned air, he was beginning to adjust, his coughing had all but stopped and his vision was clearing up as well as his movements becoming more controlled, none of it was perfect but soon he would be able to act without any hinderance.

He commanded him to go again, keeping the same movements Maigo did it again, and the man began to show Maigo what he meant by recopying his movements that led to him getting hit, he couldn't make out much of it but he thought he understood what he meant, he was at his feet watching it happen now, clarity was returning even further to him. He continued his lecture, explaining it's worth and giving him another chance, it seemed Maigo misunderstood his command, hopefully he caught the grasp of just what 'hitting' him actually meant now.  

The man stepped back again and readied himself, Maigo's honey colored eyes followed the shadow leaping back. Maigo thought he might be able to make a good play although his affliction might keep him from making much immediate progress. Maigo tightened both hands grip on his bokken as he told him to stop thinking about it and just do it, he held it at his waist with the blade pointed towards the man. Just doing it without thought, what a ridiculous idea, every action must be thought through, or trained to the point where it becomes second nature, more importantly he had to remember to keep his footing; balanced, strong, yet flexible in his ankles and maybe he could move onto the next step of this test or was it training already? He wasn't very sure, but there was only one way to find out from this point on. He would have to keep following through his commands and tests and slowly but surely try to piece together what the point of all this was. Regardless, he would do his best to not pay too much attention to his actions and just go on with his attack and hope it would be enough to fulfill his wishes.

As Maigo gripped his bokken, he ran forward to cover the first three fourths of the distance between them, or at least what he thought was so, but would slow down to a walk to cover the rest of his distance, he knew it would be harder to keep his balance moving at a running pace rather than standing or even walking towards him, Okay, let's try this. Maigo let out gritting his teeth, he stepped his right foot forward and started with a single slash towards the upper right half of the man, his movements probably still suffered but not nearly as bad as they had up until this point, he also kept his feet flat against the ground so he could move of in any direction if need be. Maigo prepared his attack, and mentally prepared for the man to make a quick counter and hit him, a mistake probably coming from somewhere in his movements in his slash, he did wonder what the man would do next, Maigo was close to sure that this was more in line of what he was expecting from him. Atleast on the plus side, his affliction had all but cleared up at this point, meaning he might be close to being able to use his techniques, and if not, atleast he would be able to see clearly and stay on his feet better.

[655 words, 4256 words total]

Poison effect:

“Ah yes much better,” Dameon said as he raised his bokken to clash with his student’s bokken. Dameon could have easily moved or dodged the attack but he was playing the part of someone of equal skill and ability. Assuming those factors his student had done exactly what he had asked even under the influence of the poison. Perhaps this boy did have some skill and could be taught after all. Dameon pushed back on the sword and attacked back at him just as balanced as before. He would keep attacking expecting his student to now switch to defense and protect himself. Every time his bokken would make contact with his student’s bokken he would immediately begin to attack again still keeping himself at a level only just barely stronger and faster than him. He would push him back aiming to pin him toward the water. Dameon grinned realizing that the student was adapting to the poison as they progressed no doubt because he had forced him to by attacking him. Though he was adapting much quicker than the others had. It was because of this he saw a possible future for this student, something that the others did not have. Though the kid was still rough around the edges and more green than he had anticipated he could see a lot of hidden potential. This hidden potential though would have to be exposed and forged however, which meant putting the student on the brink of death and having him overcome.

”Keep it up and we will switch to real swords. You might be a natural but just remember you will always have more to learn. To become complacent is to become dead. Always push to learn the absolute limit and then fly past It,” Dameon said still working on continuously attacking his student. He wanted to make sure his student didn’t expose any weaknesses while defending himself against a superior opponent. It would be even more impressive if he could find a way to counter attack though he knew that would be nearly impossible for him to do so. Dameon’s form was balanced but swift and highly accurate not leaving room for such an easy opportunity to counter. It was the attack of someone expertly skilled in bukijutsu and more over kenjutsu. He would press his strength toward his student and continue attacking in a very emotionless but confident manner. Each attack knowing full well what it was targeting or trying to do like playing a game of chess. His attacks like before were easy enough to block should his student be paying enough attention and was able to react and block or dodge appropriately. If not he would be hit but the attacks would not stop if he did get hit. There was no escape from his assault he simply had to stand firm and endure the barrage until Dameon decided to ease up.

“Do not falter. Once we are done with this we will move into something much more difficult. No rest for the wicked,” Dameon said as he launched a more powerful attack than the others in an attempt to make him struggle to defend against it.

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“Ah yes much better,” the man said to him as he blocked his attack, it seemed effortless to Maigo, he could feel clarity being restored to him slowly, almost back to full. The man's block hesitated for a second, as if he was considering his form, then with a push off against their bokken, he focused on the attack. Maigo brought the bokken down to his ready position and began to parry the man's movements as best he could. His combinations were quick, Maigo could keep up, albeit just barely, and he did his best to block his opponent, keeping the hilt of his bokken towards his center body mass and controlling his movements the best he could and stepping backwards and to the side occasionally so that he could keep a few foot range from the opponent. The man began to speak while attacking, showing Maigo this was effortless to him, ”Keep it up and we will switch to real swords. You might be a natural but just remember you will always have more to learn. To become complacent is to become dead. Always push to learn the absolute limit and then fly past It,” His attacks remained nearly relentless, the words meant to encourage him but keep him focused at the same time.

---

Maigo's affliction had finally subsided, maybe not subsided but his balance and vision should have returned at this time. He began to keep up more efficiently and his balance would no longer be a weakness, lowering the number of times he would be hit by the man during their fight. It was now a matter of mind over matter, he could handle the bruises and things, but he needed to fight through the hits and prepare the next attack, which would come immediately, no break from the previous attack. At least he thought Maigo had potential, that was more than most people at his level might give him. He looked for a chance to counter or to regain the offensive during their fight, but without seriously compromising his balance or footing. Heavy breathing during the pauses of strikes and worn out muscles starting to take over, he knew he was getting close to his limit, he had never fought someone at such a high level of intensity before now. Hardly having fought anyone at all before now, taking all his education he had and his, minute amounts of reading and training up to this point, and began to focus as deeply as he could.

It was then, in a few more parries, the two shifting around in combat, still trying to find an opening or way to change the pace of the fight, or regain the offensive by striking when he could. The man spoke again during his own combination, “Do not falter. Once we are done with this we will move into something much more difficult. No rest for the wicked,” there was a pause in combat towards the end as he prepared a larger attack, Maigo could feel it, he noticed him putting more power into it and a larger swing, he needed to prep for it as best he could. He wondered if it would be a single attack or a parry of combinations, regardless Maigo had to act now. He brought the hilt back down towards the center of mass and aimed to have the man hit the dead center of the blade, bringing his left hand up at the ready to support the top of the bokken in case he put too much power for Maigo to block so easily. The hit began to fly towards Maigo, hopefully his idea of bracing the hit and then aiming to push off and send a counter blow with all of his strength as well, putting that much energy in a blow must mean his center of balance would fall forward, meaning if he could be quick enough he may be able to get a quick strike in on him, no doubt it would most likely end up fruitless since he was so much quicker and more adept than Maigo. But maybe he could impress him by taking advantage of it, now to see if he his attack could even be blocked, and from there he would see if he could jar his opponents balance as he had been this entire fight.

[732 words, 4988 words total]

Poison Effect:

Dameon’s bokken would strike the other significantly weaker bokken with his powerful vertical strike. Luckily his student didn’t have the forethought to angle the bokken so as the impact would be reduced and also angle the blade of his own bokken away. This would do two different things, first off it would lessen the impact felt on the students arms and the weaker bokken as well the other thing it would do it leave him relatively open for a counter attack. The second part was largely assuming that the person wasn’t a master in kenjutsu like Dameon. Having trained in kenjutsu for so long he learned that much like a weapon you don’t use something if you can’t also defend against it. In other words don’t do a large vertical strike into an obvious parry unless you know how to counter the counter attack. When you became advanced enough you start to realize that bukijutsu is just a combat version of chess. Knowing how and when to move your body and move your weapon in a way to catch your opponent off guard was all about timing and planning. When the blow from his bokken impacted with his student bokken he saw the wood give way splitting right down the middle and letting Dameon’s bokken come through and smacking his student hard enough in the head to make him wonder what the hell had happened. Dameon retracted and leaned the bokken against his shoulder.

“Physics. Whenever you block a vertical strike from any weapon tilt your blade at a steep angle. The weapon will make contact and slide down the length of your own weapon throwing your opponent off guard just long enough for you to come around with the blade and strike them with your own attack. Watch,” he said as he created a raiton clone of himself so he could demonstrate what he was talking about. The clone would attack him with a hard vertical strike at roughly B rank attack and speed. Dameon would raise the hilt up and lean the blade part flush against his shoulder and as the clone’s blade connected it would begin to slide down. As that happened Dameon stepped out diagonally and came down with the blade toward the neck of the clone. He would not hit the clone as he didn’t want it to explode.

“Understand or do you need to see it again?” Dameon asked as both him and his clone stood there facing the student and looking down at him.

”I won’t show you again either way. You will just have to adapt or die when we go into actual weapon combat. Until then we move to our next training exercise. One that you will be doing by yourself. Get water quickly I won’t be long but don’t let me see you drinking so hurry,” Dameon said as he turned away and headed for the pantry and grabbed out the jug of water that he had prepared earlier filled with water and carried it with him to the large pool of water where undoubtedly his student would now be at waiting for him. He also had a large but shallow bowl in his other hand.

“This next exercise is for chakra control as well as building up your hand strength and getting you ready to be even able to hold onto a sword when it clashes with someone else’s. I will demonstrate, Dameon said as he walked across the water into the center of the pool and sat down crossing his legs indian style. He threw the jug aside and dipped the bowl into the water and placed it in his lap.

”Okay so once you have the bowl full of water you slap it with the one hand until all the water is gone from the bowl. Than refill it and use the other hand. You will continue to do this. Your stability on the water will eventually give out and you will fall into the water with the bowl. When that happens you will recover the bowl and start again. You can stay under the water as long as you need to restore your chakra but once you surface you have five seconds to get back into position and on the sixth second slapping the water again. Understood? Dameon asked as he stood up and walked to the stone floor again and tossed the bowl into the water.

”Now get started.”

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Maigo went to block the full force of the hit, but like that, the sound of splintering wood and the bokken came down to hit him square in the head. Maigo would barely catch what happened after the bokken gave way, falling to one knee and dropping the now cracked bokken in front of him, his head throbbing from the pain of the hit. Sweat fell from his brow and he panted, holding his head as the man began to speak and lecture him on a new technique to use when fighting. Giving him the idea of angling his sword to force his enemy in a direction or off their balance was smart, and Maigo lifted his head as he began to example his idea. He created a clone and had it attack with even more speed and strength than he used on Maigo, and in a quick movement after the block was in a position ready to strike and destroy the clone. Asking him if he understood or not, Maigo mustered up his voice, Yes, I got it, atleast I think so.

He then gave Maigo permission to get water as he went to the fridge and grabbed the jug of water he had stored originally. Maigo quickly crawled over to the pool, falling to his knees next to it he quickly cupped his hands and submerged them under the water and drew it upwards to his mouth. He commanded him not to see him drinking it, but what about anything else. The water tasted great, and he turned to see the man closing the fridge up and beginning to walk back, Maigo decided to dip his whole head underneath and scrubbing his head, washing some of the sweat and cooling his head down at the same time. It was mainly mental but it felt good to ahve the cold water rush over his head like that, after he rose his head and shook to get some of the water off that the man spoke again, this time explaining his next task and walking across the water and sitting down in the center with a bowl he filled with water.

He listened to his instruction and watched him as he did it, it seemed incredibely simple, almost too simple if you asked Maigo, what would be the point of it all. He stood back up and left the bowl in the water and commanded him to begin, and with that Maigo copied his movements and walked across the water to the center and grabbed the bowl that was beginning to sink. He shook the bowl off and drained the water out, then sat down indian style as the man did facing towards him. Maigo dipped the bowl in and filled it up and placed it in his lap as well, then with his right hand he began to slap the water within the bowl quickly and with a good amount of force to remove it. It would create ripples and eventually splash out of the bowl, easier at first as there was a lot of water to splash out but as the water left it would take more force to remove it. A few minutes went by and his full force would hardly remove any more water, a small sliver left, he knew that he couldn't leave it, and with a few more hits and it had all left. He sighed, thinking it wasn't that bad, he took the bowl with his left hand filled it again and began to slap it.

He seemed to be misunderstanding, he looked up towards the man, and began to ask him, Hey! What's the point to all this, I don't understand. What's the point of slapping the water? You say to build strength and chakra control but I'm only using chakra to hold myself above the water, not to hit it, and if I wanted to build hand strength, shouldn't I be practicing with the bokken again and learning to hold it through the strikes? with a pause he exhaled while continuing to slap the water, There's got to be something else you're not telling me yet he let the words fall to the air and waited for what the man had to say, he half expected him to take his bokken and break it over his head for questioning him. Or to start throwing things at him and try to break his concentration or something along those lines. The sound of a hand hitting water filled the air as he awaited a response from the man now.

[775 words, 5762 words total]

“Hey! What's the point to all this, I don't understand. What's the point of slapping the water? You say to build strength and chakra control but I'm only using chakra to hold myself above the water, not to hit it, and if I wanted to build hand strength, shouldn't I be practicing with the bokken again and learning to hold it through the strikes?” He heard his student ask but Dameon simply sighed as he sat down at the edge of the water his clone doing the same and they both waited. In fact he was prepared to sit there and meditate for quite a while and just see if his student would continue to listen and obey his instructions without any sort of answer. So this is exactly what he did. He would sit there and meditate shutting out the rest of the world as his student hopefully continued to do exactly like what he had been told. The thing was the training wasn’t meant to work quickly and he needed to know a few more things about his student before he completely moved on to the more difficult training regimens. He wanted to know if his student could take orders and carry them out and continue to carry them out no matter how long the order lasted. Another thing that this did was show Dameon just how dedicated the student was to overcoming himself and pushing forward, after all this exercise was going to last two days. The student would have to dig down deep inside of himself and struggle to fight against a number of factors, sleep, pain, exhaustion, hunger, thirst, among other things. His student needed to be able to learn how to switch off theses needs and desires and fight through it. This was the key to the transformation from a good ninja to a legendary ninja. This is the process Dameon had to go through while he traversed the wild at only seven years of age and managed to survive and later brought that same intensity into his training. He had warned the boy before he had ever stepped a foot outside of the village and now he would learn to understand what Dameon expected of him not just as a student but as a shinobi of the mist.

-Two Days Later-

Dameon still sat there the entire length of time for two days. Demonstrating that he would not ask his student to do anything that he wouldn’t. Two days he would also go without sleep, food, and even drinking. Though he meditated he would constantly count down the five seconds to his student that he needed to know when to be back into water slapping position. After the two days had gone by seemingly on the dot Dameon stood up.

“The answer to your question is more of a story. A long time ago there was a village, very small filled with farmers and other poor common folk. Just outside of the village was a large monastery, a temple rather where monks trained day and night and would help the villagers in their time of need. Yet nobody from the small village had ever become a monk. One day this man tired of how his life was and with great dreams and aspirations of being a warrior went to the temple. He knew his patience would be tested. So he stood there in front of the temple gates through the rain, and sun day in and night out for nearly a week. Eventually a monk came out and brought the man inside and took them to their leader.

The man asked if he could train to become a monk and so he was tested and eventually was allowed to become one of their own. On the first day of training he saw the ranks of men training their martial arts and their spear forms and this made the man very excited and anxious to begin training. When he arrived the master said to the man ‘go to the bottom of the hill and bring me two buckets of water and we will begin’, the man in a hurry went off and did so but while bringing them up in such a hurry had spilled most of the water. So the master had sent him back a second time for another two buckets of water. Eventually the man arrived with both buckets of water. The master than ordered the student to slap the water in the buckets until all the water was drained. The man did so, the water eventually hurting his hands. The master than asked him to grab more water so that they could continue.

At this point the student began to doubt thinking he had done something to upset his master, since everyone else was training with weapons. The student would continue to slap the water from the buckets for the next few days. Days became weeks, weeks became months, and months became a year. After a year of slapping buckets of water a holiday had approached and his master said to his student ‘go now and visit your family in the village and be back within the week. We have told them already you would be coming’. The man was happy he would see his family again but upon arriving at the village he noticed they had prepared a large celebration for him with banners, food they otherwise could not afford, and a large space was cleared for him. The villagers would keep asking the student to show them what he had learned but he would decline. Eventually tears began to swell in his eyes as he was embarrassed that he had not learned anything he had wanted to. While he ate and drank at the stone table in the center of the village everyone had gathered around him and pestered him into performing for him. Now the student became more embarrassed and angry, the student would stand up furiously and shout ‘I HAVE NOT LEARNED ANYTHING’ and would slam his hand into the stone table. To everyone surprise the stone table had split in half from the man’s rage.

Do you understand the point of this story? Patience, perseverance, and inner strength will lead to greatness. Doubting yourself and others will only make the process unbearable. This process while usually intended for taijutsu is no different for those who are learning to master weapons. Remember those monks were also highly proficient in various styles of weapons. Your hands are the reason you can hold a weapon, the muscles that come from swing a punch or striking through stone are the same muscles you use to attack with a sword. Do you feel like you understand this concept now? Dameon would explain the story and keeps his hands folded while his clone stayed meditating. He wondered if the story had gotten through to the young student. After all this was a test of patience so he should have been able to relate to the man in the story.

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[Speed S-2 -> S-3: 2138 Words]

[416 Words remaining]

Maigo was beginning to feel the frustration in his training, when he had finished his rant he had turned to the man who merely sighed and sat down next to him. He said nothing but merely began to meditate, as Maigo continuously filled the bowl and slapping the water. It was difficult to concentrate for this long, the man pretty much ignoring everything that happened around them, focused in Maigo continued. Several bowls in, he had lost his muse for concentrating and hitting the water, and then he plunged in the water, grabbing the bowl while staying submerged he prepared to emerge, letting the water wash over him and wake him up some he re-emerged and climbed back up as quickly as he could, five seconds wasn't long for getting prepared. And with a half second left he refilled the bowl and was positioning it in his lap, repeatedly slapping the water again and rubbing away some water with his other hand. Over the next two days he would continuing slapping the water, changing the force needed and getting better at it as time progressed, not that it was a hard thing to do inherently but the hardest part was fighting fatigue, hunger, thirst while he was at it. The man merely meditating but keeping enough an eye on him to make sure that he was back up in less than 5 seconds, otherwise he would use his stick to hit Maigo back into discipline, welts and marks on his head would be visible had it not been for his hair and he would slowly but surely decline over two days in both will power, stamina, and motivation. But he continued, wondering what the man was waiting for, his hand was red and blistered in some places from hitting the water. He had very little awareness of time, he figured there would be some mark he would pass, or eventually he would pass out and they would move on, after several hits, sore hands, a thoroughly soaked attire, and sleep deprivation setting in the man stood up.

Beginning to tell the story of a man who was given a menial task by a monk who then gained great strength from it but only after he realized it. The story was long and had a good point to it, it did a fair enough job at explaining the point, but even more so after he forced the explanation at the end of it. Maigo turned to him after he asked if he understood, with a quick inhale and a look down at his hands he replied, Yeah I think I do, although I still feel there's a better way or maybe a quicker way. But if this is what I must do then so be it. he continued to slap the water until his next exercise, he had gotten the hang of it, and as a sword user he knew he would need the strength to keep a grip on his sword in battle.

He wondered for a moment though, as his mind wandered for a second after re-starting his exercise, he didn't actually know this guy's name. He continued hitting the water, no reason he was going to get hit by his bokken over such a simple question or some mindless curiosity, So, I was just wondering, who are you really? What's your name I mean? I don't think I ever heard it. it didn't really make any sense on why he wanted to know his name. It merely struck him that he didn't know it, and with most things, Maigo was a fairly whimsical person although he probably should be focusing on his exercise or what the task was and not so much as getting to know this guy. Atleast not yet, he needed to survive first before they could get to really know each other, and with wide eyed curiosity, Maigo would listen in to him, while keeping up his exercise and waiting to see what was next in store for them.

[684 words, 6446 words total]

”The quickest ways in life are not always the best,” Dameon said as he dispersed his clone safely and then walked over to the weapons rack on the other side of the room. A series of various blades cleaned and well-kept glimmered in the soft light provided by the string lights around the cave. He picked up his old sword, the very first sword he had ever owned that was not a bokken. Sure it was a bit rusty but it was perfect for genin to practice with the actual thing. He brought walked back to the pool of water and listened as his student once again asked him his name though Dameon once again ignored him. Instead he simply stood by the edge of the water again and faced his student.

”You are tired but you still want to know more. Things like my name this will cost you and you must earn the right to know my name since you do not already know while most in the village already do. I do not fault you for this but seeing as I have intel that you desire you will have to work to extract it. You have had two days to think over our initial training with bokken. Now we will use the real thing and we will make full contact with our blades. I will assume the role and power of the chuunin much like before only this time I will be trying to kill you. So don’t play cute. Earn the right to be my student,” Dameon said as he tossed the katana to his student who was still standing on the water. Dameon would turn around and walk away from the water so his student could get used to the hard land yet again. He wondered if his student would take the opportunity to attack someone whose back was turned, but then again he suspected that he would still be tired and have to adjust, so he wouldn’t be able to immediately attack.

”Perhaps if you don’t know me, you know my blades,” Dameon said as he drew Midnight Child from the sheathe on his back. The weapon itself at face value was an ancient dagger long since rusted over and with a dull blade. He left it that way for a moment intentionally to fake his student out. He then activated it white and blue chakra flowing along the blade and extending outward to a total of a meter in length. The glowing chakra would then harden making a perfect chakra blade that without seeing it being activated youd swear was a solid weapon.

”This is The Midnight Child’s Blade and it was personally given to me by the Mizukage for the protection of this village. It is meant to kill anyone it touches with just the flick of the wrist. This is the real deal. When you are ready come at me with everything you have because if you don’t this cave will be your tomb,”

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Maigo watched as the man approached the weapons rack and grabbed a sword, and grabbing a rusty blade walked towards Maigo and stood at the edge of the pool. He began to lecture and rant again, ending with a profound ideology, Earn the right to be my student, it rang through Maigo's mind as he sat on the water. If he hadn't already earned the right, he didn't know what would, how much further would he have to push himself or strain himself to show that he was committed. Or was it even a matter of commitment and more a factor of his own skill, if that was the case then the actual swords would be the deciding factor, but with his fatigue so high, not having slept for two days and his stamina already low to begin with he could very well die here. The man tossed him the katana, and Maigo leaned and grabbed it as he slowly got to his feet, grabbing the bowl and carrying it to the edge of the pool as he limped his way over.

Then the man drew his sword, at first it looked like an old and rusty dagger, nothing worth mentioning, but without a warning it suddenly sprang to life. The color of the chakra itself was brilliant and it gave a glow that would seem to light even the darkest caves. Now a solid and shimmering weapon it was almost unreal, Maigo knew that blade for sure, it was one of the seven swordsmen's, a group Maigo hoped to join the ranks of one day and now he was being trained by one, it was unreal and should he survive, he would likely never forget the experience. As he explained the blade and it's purpose he challenged Maigo, ready to commence their battle while Maigo could barely stand he was so tired. Not physically necessarily, but mentally drained from being up for so long and with no breaks or food to fill the gaps. He began to stretch himself, shaking and trying to relax his muscles so that hopefully he could wake up some, his clothes still wet from the water and his smell started to fill the air of the cave. He gripped the sword in his had tightly, he needed to act quickly and decisively, it seemed this would be the real deal and he had no room for screw-ups here, lest it cost him his life.

Maigo readied himself by positioning his dominant foot forward and preparing, watching the man intently, it didn't seem as if he'd get much of  a break, even if he lowered himself to that of a chuunin, his perception and reaction time aren't necessarily things you can hold back on. With that in mind he also thought about how a single misstep could spell the end for him, his heart beginning to race. Was he really about to face off against one of the seven swordsmen with nothing other than this rusty katana? Sweat dripped down his face as his grip tightened on the blade, and he charged straight for the man, keeping his feet balanced and the blade angled and pointed to him, he started with a simple diagonal slash from the man's right shoulder, keeping his feet firm and to the ground so that he could push back if he needed to and would watch to see what the man did, either continuing his flurry of attacks if he stayed defensive or doing his best to separate himself from him should he counter and go on the offensive. Keeping in mind the man's speed and strength advantage, his goal was merely to meet him blow for blow and hopefully, he could find a way to make something happen. At the very least, he just wanted to survive the first round for now, all that going through his mind was survival, the first five minutes, his stamina wouldn't allow it and his fatigue growing, but all he expected of himself was five minutes of flawless combat.

[688 words, 7134 words total]

Dameon watched his student as he prepared for his attack. The doubt in his eyes upon realizing he was about to fight against a seven swordsman was very plain to see. It kind of disappointed Dameon but wasn’t unexpected. After all for the most part Dameon was a sociopath and dethatched from usual emotions that most felt. Though in an actual psychological sense Dameon felt emotions especially towards those he served or people he considered equal. Yet when he was at this boy’s age and level he showed no fear, perhaps it was because he faced death on a daily basis and didn’t have room to feel fear or he would die. After all it wasn’t every day you saw an eight year old child force a wolf pack off of them without fighting them, the wolves would simply back away not wanting to fight something that would fight back so recklessly. So when he looked at his student he did not see himself which perhaps was much better for the kids own sake. However, a sense of reckless endangerment would be needed to confidently attack someone who could kill you so swiftly. It would be mildly disappointing if his student didn’t learn from his prior lesson. Especially the one he had talked about not throwing an attack without understanding how to defend against it as well. Whatever attack his student launched at him he would simply counter and go for a kill shot if he couldn’t defend against the kill shot he would die here in the cave.

”I can see doubt in your eyes. You must be prepared to kill me. You cannot expect to survive if you do not fight for your life. That surge of adrenaline and will to survive response your body does chemically is exactly where you should be every time you fight an unknown opponent. You will die if you attack with anything less,” Dameon said as he sat back his sword and arm extended out horizontally just like he had done before. His stance was all about deception. It made him seem like he didn’t know what he was doing, uneducated or overconfident, and wide open. It typically instigated the opponent to try and attack first. Dameon never really had a sensei for longer than a day so his sword style and techniques were unique to himself and they typically showed as much. However he wouldn’t be using such strange techniques and stances if it hadn’t been battle tested. Dameon atched closely as his student attacked more from being ordered too than by sheer determination to kill him. Dameon let out a soft sigh. The attack was very telegraphed and easy to counter but it was also expected to be such from a genin with lower level bukijutsu skill at least so far. Dameon would use his countering technique and smack his sword hard enough to send it flying. Dameon would follow this up by launching a stab at his student aiming for his head trying to kill his student before he could recover from being left wide open.

[517. 1436 total]

Spoiler:

Maigo would take his strike against the man, being easily blocked, as Maigo would expect. Someone at his level wouldn't be caught off guard or so easily, and as Maigo would start to wind back to defend himself, the man would swing with a large amount of force, knocking the sword cleanly out of Maigo's hands. Speaking as he did so, ”I can see doubt in your eyes. You must be prepared to kill me. You cannot expect to survive if you do not fight for your life. That surge of adrenaline and will to survive response your body does chemically is exactly where you should be every time you fight an unknown opponent. You will die if you attack with anything less,” watching his sword fly away and turning back towards the man, his arm fully clocked backwards and the sword ready to deliver a blow. Panic filled his mind, he was about to die, if only he had been able to hold onto his sword he might be able to parry the blow. His right arm reached for his kunai pouch to try something in time, but as the sword flew from his hand he could feel things slowing down. Not necessarily slowing down, but he could see more of what was happening, he knew the sword was coming straight for his head, but he saw it for whatever reason, maybe a product of pure adrenaline.

Watching the blade's point come for his head, Maigo quickly shifted his weight to the left, tilting his head to the left as well to avoid the blow of the sword. His right hand removing the kunai from his pouch finally, with the blade closing in the distance to Maigo's body, he began to draw his arm forward, reaching up to try and deflect the sword or force the man to counter his blow instead of killing Maigo. As his head shifted to avoid the sword he began to thrust him arm towards the man as well, also aiming for his head. He should be able to avoid the man's sword assuming the attack was just a stab and not multiple strikes, the problem being if he didn't lean into the man's sword he wouldn't be able to hit him. As they finished through their movements he let his desperation carry him through his attack, having but barely avoided the man's attack and launching his own with his kunai, it missed the mark, not wanting to endanger himself he let it still near his head. Sweat beating from his brow, the anxiety and adrenaline of his near death had been avoided but how, was it just him letting himself go as the man suggested he needed to. Or was he really just this aware and quick all along?

His heavy breathing filled the air as his head looked downward he saw himself in a puddle, and it struck him like nothing had before, his eyes had changed. What was once honey colored eyes had now taken the shape of a singular tomoe in each one, he blinked as if he was seeing things in the puddle of water. These eyes are new to him, he had heard of the ones who could use them briefly when learning about clans and the history of shinobi but the eyes were now alive and in his skull. He had no idea how he activated them, and he had always learned it as being a trait only those of Uchiha descent having but there had to be more to the story. Standing now, with his kunai protruded forward and new eyes looking upon the world, his life was about to take a turn and his new eyes would soon set sight upon the world around him.

[639 words, 7773 words total]

Chakra 145/150:

Dameon watched everything carefully as it happened. His attack was undoubtedly going to land and kill the young genin. It was just before the blade of chakra touched his face that he saw his eyes change to the sharingan the symbol of the Uchiha. At that point the student managed to pull himself out of range of the killing blow and even prepare a possible counter attack. Dameon watched as the kunai approached him. He simply grinned and stood up straight as his student felt like he had accomplished what Dameon had asked. ”I suspected as much. Interesting you would be an Uchiha and not know of it yourself though. They are usually such prideful bastards,” Dameon said as half of the kunai that had been held to his skin fell to the ground with a clink. The genin would not have been able to see the quick movement he had made to cut the kunai in half. Dameon deactivated his sword and put it back in its sheath on his back. He walked toward the water while the genin had his little existential crisis. He would wait a minute or so before turning back to him.

”Now that you know your life will is only going to get a hell of a lot more difficult. Criminals hunt down Uchiha to harvest their eyes. Hell other villages do as well. I will continue to train you till you can protect yourself well enough. We should get out of the cave first though. It’s a long way to the ocean and only a few places to grab some air. However as a sign that you are my student you will need something,” Dameon said as he dove into the water looking for one of the carcasses he had killed before and came up a bit later with what he was looking for. He threw the black shark tooth to the genin. The poison and mold encrusted onto a shark tooth and when cleaned left it looking like black onyx.

”Make that into a necklace or something but after we get out of here. Follow me,” Dameon said as he dove down again and began to swim through the submerged cave. Anyone with claustrophobia would easily drown  as the cave in some parts was barely wide enough to fit through if not for the help of the slippery sides of the cave. He would periodically surface to gain area an arrow pointing up on the cave he had drawn himself for every air pocket he found. He would continue forward for another fifteen minutes through the winding cave and eventually the cave began to open up. He took one last bit of air and waited for his student.

”Once you are out away from the entrance it’s a few hundred feet straight up. You will need to gradually push out air as you rise so you don’t build up too much pressure,” he stated as he went back down and exited the cave through the cold water and swam straight up releasing air bubbles as he did so until he reached the surface and made his way to the beach.

”I will see you tomorrow morning by the training grounds. Look for the shark tooth stone and a clearing with a bridge. Be there before the sun rises,” He said as he took off with a shunpo.

[Exit]

[565]

[2001 WC total]

Maigo stood there, nearly breathless as his jab had been countered, looking at his eyes in the puddle, an image he would almost never shake out of his head. He was far too distracted to notice his kunai fall to the ground, half of it remained in his hand and he held it there for a second, and even yet he was too distracted to fully hear what the man was saying to him now. After he finished he walked back off towards the water, Maigo had dropped the rest of the kunai to the ground, hitting the edge of the puddle and creating a ripple, his eyes followed each ripple as he stared at himself in the water. This was definitely a new development and now he would have to deal with that, but he had to pull himself together, his training might not be over just yet and he needed to prepare, climbing to his feet he turned towards the man who was beginning to speak again. Now that you know your life will is only going to get a hell of a lot more difficult. Criminals hunt down Uchiha to harvest their eyes. Hell other villages do as well. I will continue to train you till you can protect yourself well enough. We should get out of the cave first though. It’s a long way to the ocean and only a few places to grab some air. However as a sign that you are my student you will need something, and he tossed him a black shark's tooth. Catching it in his hand and staring at it for a second, he hardly had the awareness to take in his words fully, but he understood one thing. He now had someone to train him, his own sensei, and he no longer had a reason to slack off.

From there they set off to exit the cave, diving into the water and following it down through some underwater caverns and things. The man so effortlessly got through it, and with Maigo's fatigue he could barely keep up, but regardless of he would catch up to him at each stop a moment or so behind him each time. Finally reaching the end of their journey outwards Maigo took the second to catch his breathe, he had been soaked with water this whole time, he shouldn't mind it now. He heeded his words as they exited, pushing out some air gradually as he rose towards the surface, he could finally see the light of the sun coming through the water's surface. Meaning he was almost back to civilization, probably owing his family an explanation for his sudden disappereance but also wanting answers for his past, it had been an eventful week after all.

Before they finally set off though the man gave him one last message to heed, I will see you tomorrow morning by the training grounds. Look for the shark tooth stone and a clearing with a bridge. Be there before the sun rises, he noted it, training grounds by the bridge with the shark tooth stone. Yeah, I'll be there. but before they separated he called out again, And thanks for all this, I appreciate you helping me out. and then they went their ways, staying on his feet for the first while until he was gone from Maigo's sight. Then with a sudden halt he stopped at a bench on a path to the village and sat down for a moment, catching his breathe, it had been a while since he slept, relaxed, or so much as took a break. After a few moments had passed and he let the sun beat down on him, he ended up at home, greeted by his family who were less worried about him than he imagined. He neglected to mention his new sharingan just yet, but instead ate dinner and then went immediately to bed where he would sleep the rest of the day and night away. Only to be awaken by the nagging sound of sirens in the morning again, and another long day of training ahead of him, he just hoped this one would take a little less than a week and that he could take a break every now and then from this point on. Regardless, his sheets felt heavenly as he fell back to pass out for the night, nothing else on his mind but the sweet sensation of relaxation and rest, tomorrow would bring sore muscles, and hopefully some explanation about his past.

[765 words, 8538 words total]

[Exit Thread]

Training: