The young shinobi woke up pretty early today. It wasn’t exactly morning yet, that he was sure of. He looked at the cylindrical clock that was hung on his wall as it was just five am. He got out of bed and walked towards the window. The calm breeze of the village slapped against his chest and the curtains flowed in the rhythm of that which had greater power over them. A few flaps were heard and it was not surprising that even birds were up this early. The morning was indeed unusual, that he could not deny. Dray looked out the window and stared at the void that enveloped his vision. The dawns in the hidden cloud village were beautiful and they were best seen from a higher point of view and then it struck his mind, the idea of going to mount Ikkyu. He was already in his regular shinobi pants so he just had to grab a few things. He picked up his pouch and strapped it around his waist as he slipped his feet into his boots. He closed the windows in the room as he went down the stairs. On his way out, he grabbed his jacket and was about exiting his wooden home when the pangs of hunger yanked on his insides. He held his stomach as his reaction changed a little. He could do without food but since he was not rushing off to anywhere, he could take time and fix a little food for himself. He dropped the jacket on the couch as he headed for the kitchen. He rinsed his hands and put on a little apron. He brought out a frying pan and turned on the gas cooker as he placed the pan on it. He opened the fridge and got out some eggs as he quickly cracked whisked them before adding some seasonings and pouring it into the frying pan. He waited for the egg to fry properly as he turned it over with a spatula. The egg was done and he had already set down a few slices of bread. He poured himself a cup of milk as he sat on a high stool and began to eat. There was no rush but the food went down almost as quickly as he started eating it. He drank down the cup of milk as he felt his stomach get occupied. He took a few minutes so that his food would digest and once that was done, he took care of the kitchen utensils and walked out of the kitchen.He grabbed his jacket from the couch where it lay and put on theshort and armless jacket that only reached to his tigh and left all but the chest buttoned. He loved the breeze brushing against his chest and coursing through his hair. He opened the main door and out he went as he locked the door behind him. The streets were not too dark and he definitely did not think that anyone would dare to attack him as he headed straight for the mountain.

WC:517

Daraku's day was mild. At this point, he had tired of the repetitive routine and high-altitude environment provided to Kumogakure no Sato. He wanted to be back home in Suna, where everything was always hot and the sand always got in your eyes and sometimes you couldn't see 5 meters in front of you during sandstorms. It didn't sound very nice, but Daraku knew that harsh, unforgiving desert as home. He did admit, though, that his time in Kumo was interesting thus far, so it was enough to make him stay for a while longer. To top things off, the second stages of the Chuunin Exams were fast-approaching which meant a winner would soon be crowned. Tensions were high, in that regard, but since Daraku wasn't participating and was merely a spectator, he didn't concern himself too much with it. He spent most of the previous night out at the highest possible point of the mountain, meditating. He seemed like the last person to actually enjoy meditating, but it had its uses ever since he became a sage. It helped him maintain good control of his chakra and cleared his mind, so he always did it after his therapy sessions back in Kirigakure. Since his mental state was starting to slip again and he didn't have access to any professional treatment in the Land of Lightning, he took it upon himself to keep from...well, killing anyone.

Night advanced to early morning and Daraku watched the sunrise. Whatever time it was, it was day time now, which meant he had stayed up all night and hadn't gotten any sleep. Luckily enough, meditation sometimes functioned as a substitute for sleep and it offered the same benefits that sleep did, so he wasn't tired or anything. He opened his eyes and stood up to survey Mt. Ikkyu; he could see the bulk of the village far below him, and the large buildings founded upon their own individual platforms, the clouds weaving between them. Down there, it was probably cold, but here, high above the clouds, the morning sun was warm and it reminded Daraku of home. I think I'll stay up here for a while longer..."

A sinister voice added to his thoughts, calling him from behind. When he turned around, he could still hear it but there was no one there. It muttered, There's no escape. Daraku blinked a few times before bringing a hand up to his temples and rubbing them.

Training:

Dray exited the village gates with no restriction as soon as the guards on duty saw the kumogakure no sato head band tied around his waist and left to fall like a sash. He did not like it tied firmly around his head like most people did and even though it is said to give little protection, his own fighting style would not let people get really close to him in puppet without having to go through his puppets first but even if they did manage to break through his line of puppets, then the shock of seeing him being able to use ninjutsu would immediately throw them off balance and give them a cause to retreat and derive another strategy. He turned north east and began to head in the direction of mount Ikkyu. It was a nice decision to open up this area for the sake of the chunin exams because Dray could not argue that this had drawn in more people than usual likewise the golden horn casino. Lots of people had travelled all the way to the hidden cloud village not for the exam but juts to gamble away the wealth that they had used their entire life to accumulate. Dray could not blame them really because he knew the joy that one got from doing what they loved best. It was just like the internal joy he got from making puppets of writing or even painting. Any part that concerned art always interested him. He raised his head high as he kept on walking. He still had to meet with Asura in some days time and start to train the young shinobi but was he worthy to be called a teacher or a master? He also knew that spending more time with Asura would reveal his own true identity and give him the answer to the question that his very existence had always seek. Who was he? Where was he from? Why was he a long way away from home? He had been getting minor pieces that were fitting together but he needed them to all fit completely before he could have his answer. Asura had told him that the only way for anyone to possess the wood release ability of the famed senju clan was to be born of the clan but Dray did not even know who his parents were. It was like he had lived a previous life and there was a block on that part of his life in his brain that he could not access. He had always had second thoughts, what if that part of his life was wiped away for his own good? It was all so confusing but he believed that sooner or later, it would all become clear to him.

Dray got to the mountain as he looked to the top. Getting up had now become a thing of ease to him because this was not his first and neither was it his second time of going up the mountain. The mountain was very rigid which made climbing it much easier. Dray moved backwards as he sprinted up the mountain. It was not much of a sprint because he had to jump from rock to rock but what mattered was that he was up there already. The view from up above was beautiful and he could hear the sound of rushing waters like the roaring of a thousand lions. Everything about this mountain seemed perfect to him. He decided to walk around the mountain but he had not gone too far when he spotted another person in the distance. It was pretty early in the morning and what another person was doing up here was surprising and he did not expect everybody to be like him. He moved a few steps forward with his hands in his pocket, a new style that he seemed to have developed the past few weeks. “Staying on this paradise to get away from the crowded population in the village? Dray would say to the man in the distance.
WC:678

After a few more moments of attempted meditation, another voice broke Daraku's concentration. "Staying on this paradise to get away from the crowded population in the village?" Assuming it was one of his hallucinations, Daraku ignored it at first, but when he put the question into context and found that it made sense and wasn't exactly threatening, he turned back around to see someone standing behind him. A male wearing the Kumogakure no Sato headband strapped to his torso, an insignia that showed Daraku he wasn't here on vacation. It wasn't often that Kumo residents were up on Mt. Ikkyu, in Daraku's short experience with the tourist location, but regardless everyone had their reasons to come to a beautiful mountain resort. This man was of average height, with a firm build; his shirt was open and his bare chest and part of his stomach was exposed. He also had verdant hair and similarly colored eyes, which was fairly unusual. Daraku didn't bother questioning it, though, rather focused on answering the question posed to him. "Yeah, you could say that. It's been a long week," he said, still facing the village below.

The ninja gave a long groan as he applied pressure to his left foot, hoisting himself up off of the ground. Once he was standing, he could really notice the difference in his height compared to this stranger's. This was a common problem for Daraku, always having to look down at whomever he was talking to. He rested his right hand on his weapon strapped to his waist and his left hand in his pocket, and looked the man directly in the eyes. Eye contact had different meanings in different social contexts, and Daraku always maintained harsh and direct eye contact, almost like a glare, when he met new people. It was his way of establishing dominance in case the person was a potential opponent, but he kept a smile on his face the entire time, mostly because that was his natural facial expression. His lips were practically turned into a permanent grin, with light laugh lines along his cheeks. "I'm Daraku. I'm actually from Sunagakure, just here on 'vacation', if you could even call it that..." his voice trailed off, and he cleared his throat, "Who're you? And what brings you to the summit? Might be the same reasons as those that brought me." A strong gust of wind blew behind them, adding to the messy look of Daraku's hair.

Training:

“Yea, you could say that. Its been a long week.” The mad that Dray had been approaching said. So it happened that he had been here for quite a while and this only meant that he was here for the chunin exams event because if he was a tourist why would he have stayed this long in the same place or maybe he was, Dray did not know yet. The man now stood up as he was sitting down before. Dray’s eyes followed him as he stood up from the ground till he fully got up and Dray’s neck was greatly elevated due to the height of the man. He was light complexioned and his dressing was not like that of kumogakure residents in anyway. His hair was beautiful seeing as it had a yellow part that stood out like a diamond amongst thousands of white stones. The man who was much more taller than Dray rested his right hand on his weapon that was strapped to his waist and his left hand in his pocket like both of Dray’s hands were. His gaze fell upon Dray like a hawk attempting to swoop a chick. Dray looked directly at the man just like the man was looking at him and his face was expressionless. He wondered what people thought of their gaze, it was the same as when he first visited the raikage, the gaze was there all through but he just saw it like it was a normal look. Different people had different looks, so he thought. Shortly after the gaze came on, a wide grin appeared on the man’s face. It was now surprising but Dray was not given the time to worry about it as the man quickly spoke up after that. “I’m Daraku. I’m actually from sunagakure, just here on vacation’, if you could even call it that..” So Daraku, Dray thought. The name was pretty handsome but he tried to remember if any sunagakure members were participating in the chunin exams. The young man had stated that he was here on vacation and this mountain seemed a pretty good place to spend a vacation. With the calmness and closeness to nature that the place is. “Who are you? And what brings you to the summit? Might be the same reasons as those that brought me.” The place was indeed a summit because mere looking above would seem as if one could touch the clouds themselves.
“My name is Zennyo Ryuo..” Dray would say “and as for my reasons, nothing in particular but I wonder if someone from sunagakure would have something to teach me?” Dray had no reason to ask that question but he just did so for the sake of prolonging the talk and if the man did have something to teach him, then he was ready to learn if it would be beneficiary to him.
WC:488

Politely enough, the man answered Daraku's questions with, "My name is Zennyo Ryuo. And as for my reasons, nothing in particular but I wonder if someone from sunagakure would have something to teach me?" Daraku blinked a few times, unsure of what to say in response. It was a weird request...why did he take on students so naturally? They basically flocked to him, like sheep to their shepard. Was he a god? Might as well have been; his ego knew no human bounds, that was certain. "Zennyo, nice to meet you. But, uh...I don't know? It's kinda weird that you would, like, climb up a mountain and see me and then ask if I had anything to teach you. Do I look like a teacher?" He basically was a teacher. Back when he had a squad, he had provided some less-than-useful guidance to a group of less-than-motivated Genin. Well, that wasn't entirely true. Heero tried his best and Kokoro had a lot of potential, too, and they both went on to be good ninja. At least, that's what he thought the last he'd heard of them. It had been a long time since. Ganto was useless, really; didn't even show up for the first training session, still a Genin a while later. However, the point was that he was a teacher out of necessity: Suzume had let him back into the village and promoted him to Sannin for the purpose of bettering Sunagakure. It was dismal, with very few high-ranking ninja and not enough to train the newbies. So, after a month locked away, he was released on the condition that he serve his village as a sensei. That didn't last very long, since he had his own personal problems and his status as a criminal was erased but it was the fact that he didn't enjoy training people to begin that made him think about all of this.

"I'm sure you've got plenty of skill on your own. In fact, why don't you show me a little bit of it?" Daraku said ominously. His eyes pierced Zennyo with a steady gaze and his smile only grew wider. His canines were sharp like a rabid animal's. Let's see what the boy's got...just to see if he's even worth teaching anything... an imagined voice called from behind, encouraging Daraku. His rage was in check, but he wanted something to play with, so he would make sure to keep from doing anything to bad. "Attack me! Whatever you've got. I promise, I won't do anything back, just show me what you can do." A light glimmered in his eyes and he was visibly excited. He kept his hand on his weapon just in case, but he waited for Zennyo to make a move, if he even dared to.

Training:

The man seemed taken aback at Dray’s request and dray could see this written on his face. It was not usual to be surprised by what Dray had asked because they were complete strangers to each other but Dray also knew that learning something from a sand man would not be that bad so why not give it a try. “Zennyo, nice to meet you. But, uh…I don’t know? Its’ kinda weird that you would, like, climb up a mountain and see me and then ask if I had anything to teach you. Do I look like a teacher?” the man would reply. Dray was hardly impressed by anyone but he would admit that he loved the man’s style of talking. It was not too formal and it was not too rough either. He was just speaking the way he liked to and he did not seem to add any other thing that did not naturally fit in it. Just this attitude could tell Dray that the man was clean and polite but words and looks could be deceiving, that one was sure to Dray. The man did not look like a teacher, that was correct but Dray wondered if anyone looked like a teacher. Did they have a special clothing or always wore a head band with a teacher symbol emblazoned on it? He was not sure that he had seen such before so definitely he could not answer this man’s question of if he was a teacher or not. He himself could ask the same question from himself or he could have asked Asura before he agreed to teach him. It did not matter if one was a teacher or not but the moment that they start to impact the knowledge they have, be it good or bad into another person then they could be referred as a teacher. That was what Dray understood about this.
“I’m sure you’ve got plenty skill on your own. In fact, why don’t you show me a little bit of it?” the man said as he gazed upon Dray with his almost intimidating height and smile that only got broader. Dray was very familiar with that exact line. He had read it in books, seen it in places and even used it sometimes himself. The man was probably trying to see what Dray was capable of and if he was worthy of being taught anything. Dray did not really like the idea of showing off his skills if the situation did not require it but seeing as things were going right now, he had a chance to learn something from this man and the something seemed to be a big one which Dray could not afford to lose. It might be something that Dray could learn on his own but having a teacher to guide one through the basics of whatever it is proves to be really helpful. “Attack me! Whatever you’ve got. I won’t do anything back, just show me what you can do.” The man said as he placed his hand on his weapon like he was enjoying this. The thought that the man was stronger than him ran across his mind but then maybe he should show off his arts too. It had been quite a while and he was getting all rusty. He contemplated his attack pattern and thought of how to go about it. He had suiton, doton and mokuton techniques and a large arsenal of them but he did not know what this man was capable of so he was not exactly certain on what he wanted to do but then he remembered that the man only wanted to see his skills and not fight with him. Since the chunin exams had started, Dray had been making his findings concerning who he truly was and he had gotten so close through all what Asura had told him and for the main time he was believing he was a member of the senju clan since there was no other way to possess the wood release. Concerning all the things that he had heard, he believed that the senju clan was a famous one and those who could even manipulate the wood release were considered to be skilled so there, he was going to impress the man before him so as to learn a thing or two from him.
His puppets had been incorporated in his fighting style and because of that he had used in mastery in puppetry to create a technique that combined his wood release ability with his puppet style. He was certain that this would amuse the man before him, a puppeteer that wasn’t pulling any strings yet his puppets were moving. It was a pure work of art. Dray’s hands were still in his pockets and he was merely ten meters away from the man. He had already channeled mokuton chakra underground and was ready to begin. “Very well” he said softly though loud enough for the man to hear. He swiftly reached for two scrolls in his trouser pockets as he threw them up into the air while performing a single hand seal to release Temp and wrath from the scroll and as soon as they appeared, the invisible chakra threads that had been produced by the timbers underground would latch unto the puppets allowing Dray to send them forth towards the man. The moment Dray had thrown the scrolls up into the air, the man would have looked up to see what they were as Dray would have performed few hand seals and slammed his hands unto the ground as thick plant vines would erupt from underneath the man if he still stood there or if he was anywhere within the twenty five meters range. The vines would hold him in place long enough for the puppets that were charging forwards as Wrath would blast three suiton bullets towards the man and Temp would fire it’s chain claw fingers towards the man to wrap around him. Dray would watch everything unfold while he expelled a minute chakra into a rock boulder beside him for safety reasons.
WC:1036
-10 for summoning wrath and temp
-20 for green arts:wooden strings
-15 for plant style: terrestial armour.
CP:205

jutsu used:

Since Daraku didn't know exactly what to expect from Zennyo, he kept his eyes focused on his opponent's hands. That was always key when acting defensively; that was where the hand seals were made to initiate jutsu, or if he was a more physical type of attacker, where the real power was. Currently, Zennyo's hands were tucked away into his pockets.  "Very well," he said, quietly. Surely enough, he pulled his hands out of his pockets and began to move them swiftly and precisely. He pulled two scrolls from his pockets and threw them high, then made a hand seal. Two humanoid figures appeared, one from each scroll, and they looked vicious. They both looked exactly like Zennyo, but they lacked any sign of independent consciousness which led Daraku to the conclusion that they were puppets. Zennyo slammed his palms into the ground after that, which was a very strange move. The problem was, Daraku couldn't see any chakra strings attached to the puppets, and thus Zennyo wasn't using his hands to control them, which was highly unusual. Some kind of advanced puppetmaster technique, he supposed. Daraku let out an excited chuckle as he unsheathed Nisebi and kept his guard up, waiting for an attack. It was obvious at this point that Zennyo was well-prepared for battle and skilled enough to control two puppets at once, even having designed them well enough so that they looked like shadow clones at a glance. He had to have been a high-ranking ninja, here in Kumogakure.

Suddenly, the puppets were starting to attack and Daraku heard soft cracking noises from below him. He put it together in his head that Zennyo slamming his palms into the ground must have been him using a jutsu, and now there was something coming up from beneath Daraku. Without the speed to avoid the jutsu entirely in time, his fast reflexes gave him just enough time to activate his kekkei genkai; vines rose around him and tried to ensnare him in a deadly trap, but they phased right through him. He was a ghost, now, and there was no way to tie down something that didn't have a physical body. He couldn't maintain incorporeality for an extended period of time without draining his chakra, though, so he sprinted out of the vines' range, which proved to be a more difficult task than anticipated; they continued sprouting from the hard rock for a long while until he was almost at the edge of the summit. Once he was there, he released his kekkei genkai temporarily and shifted his attention to the puppets. One of them shot three projectiles made of water, and the other launched a claw at Daraku with a chain attached. Weighing the damage each would do, Daraku figured he didn't have time to deal with the claw grabbing him so he deflected it with Nisebi, then dodged two of the suiton bulllets, allowing the third to hit him along the right shoulder and cause minor damage. It hit with enough force to throw him off balance for a short time, but he regained footing and started running in a large circle around the summit. He didn't counterattack, just like he had promised.

"Nice puppets, but is that all you've got?! C'mon, show me your REAL power! Don't hold back!" he taunted Zennyo, his grin still ever-present on his face. His sword was balanced in his left hand in a reverse grip as he continued running along the edge of their sparring grounds.

Training:

325/345:

The suna ninja had done just as Dray had expected, looking up at the scrolls that were thrown and observing the works of art that came out of them. Two humanoid looking beings with no difference from Dray other than their green and black robes. The young man seemed surprised at how the puppets moved without any visible strings being attached to them but then his expression lightened up again as he withdrew his sword and awaited what was to come. As the puppets, temp and wrath headed for their target, the plant vines arose from beneath the young man and there was no time for him to escape it. In their attempt to bind him, the plant vines only passed through him like he was intangible and had no solid form. It was all so surprising to Dray but thoughts of what had just happened were for later. The young man did not stay still where he was, he ran backwards as the vines went after him but they could only go so far and so the man was safe from the vines but not from the incoming puppet attacks. He brought his sword forward to par Temp’s chain claw as he dodged two of the water bullets but the third one managed to hit his right shoulder and definitely cause minor damage as the man stumbled backwards from the force but quickly regained his balance. Dray deduced that the man could not stay in his intangible form for so long or use the ability in succession because if he could then there would be no reason for the suiton bullet to hit him because it would just pass through him if he wanted. Dray was very tactical in battle, taking knowledge of every major detail and even the minor ones that most people did not notice. Such was his fighting attitude, tactics coupled with skill, it was a beautiful combo which made him a formidable opponent whenever he was serious.

“Nice puppets but is that all you’ve got?! C’mon, show me your REAL power! Don’t hold back!” the man said with a large grin on his face. The man was previously ten meters away from him but after his plant attack, the man had sprinted out of the fifteen meter range making him just about twenty five meters away from Dray and then the suiton bullet from wrath had knocked him back some inches so he was still approximately twenty five meters away from Dray but he had broken to his own right which was Dray’s left and was now running in a circle. Dray was taking everything in and planning his next strategy. He had figured something about the man and that was the fact that his ghost mode could not be active for a long period of time but then he would use his next attack to confirm this finding of his. “Thank you for the compliment, I was just beginning.” Dray would reply trying to get in the groove. The young man was still running but not farther than the twenty five meter distance which he was. Dray would move forward five meters to close the gap between them to twenty meters and he would form few hand seals at lightning speeds as the earth would shape into the head of a giant dragon. Without wasting any time, the dragon would shoot a maximum of ten mud balls moving at thirty five meter per second towards the man in whatever direction he tried to move. If he was fooled by the fact that the balls were made of mere mud, then he was doomed. The force behind these mud balls would be enough to bruise the man severally and even fracture his bones on impact. While this was happening, temp would be approaching from behind the man which was his right side with a mechanical hammer weighing 8000gms ready to strike the man should he move or stay. This hammer would be able to crush the man’s bones on impact and from his left which was his front, wrath would approach while blowing conical fire flames once he got within a ten meter range of the man whether he stood still or ran. The man would now be ready to deal with ten mud balls tailing him, the crushing impact of a mechanical sledge hammer and the conical flames heading in his direction but still this was Dray’s best. This was only the beginning for the best was yet to come.
WC:763
CP: 185

jutsu used:

Daraku slowed his running speed enough so he could watch Zennyo closely without being an easy target. "Thank you for the compliment," his adversary started, "I was just beginning." The puppets moved without his hands guiding them, making it seem like they were really alive; the only evidence that they weren't was the dead look in their eyes and the less-than-noticeable signs of mechanical parts in their bodies. Zennyo himself started to make hand seals extremely rapidly, trying to execute some jutsu. Daraku's attention was mostly focused on the puppets, since they were coming into close range and were likely a more dangerous threat than whatever jutsu would come, which would take a little more time to do anything. One puppet moved at Daraku's speed and went in front of him, and he saw the other dash around and move behind him. He was surrounded, in essence, and both puppets were ready to attack. Out of his peripheral vision, he saw Zennyo's hand seals reach completion.

I like this kid. He knows what he's doing. Daraku thought to himself as the earth started to tremor. Near Zennyo's feet, the ground rose and elongated into a stone dragon, equal in size to Daraku's personal whirlpool dragon jutsu that he had created a while back. He wasn't about to underestimate its strength, but he still had the puppets to deal with, so he took his attention away from it for the time being. The puppet in front of him had its mouth agape and a light glowed in its throat; the puppet behind had some sort of weapon, if Daraku recalled correctly, but he didn't have time to turn around and see exactly what. With lightning fast speed, Daraku made the Dragon, Tiger, and Hare hand seals, and then opened his own mouth. Just as a burst of flames escaped the first puppet's mouth, Daraku countered it with a jet of water, hitting the puppet point-blank in the face with the force of a waterfall. With that threat nullified, next was the puppet behind. Daraku shifted from the Hare hand seal into the Ox hand seal and caused his body's moisture to increase drastically, then used it to create a torrent of water to expel from his back. This water took on a humanoid form resembling Daraku in most ways but lacking a face. This gave him the appearance of having an additional arm, torso, and head. The water then grabbed Nisebi from him and blocked the incoming blow, which he had by now identified was a powerful hammer from the puppet's right arm.

Once the attack was blocked, Daraku unsheathed his next sword, Mugen Hikō, then spun around 180° to face the hammer-wielding puppet and take a swing. He let the strike intentionally miss in order to avoid damaging the puppet by cleaving it apart, but activated his sword's Fūton ability and created a wind tunnel. At such a close range and moving at breakneck speed, the wind tunnel was essentially impossible to avoid and the puppet would be blown around 40 meters away, whilst suffering minor damage. It would've been a lethal move if the target where human, but puppets were far more durable. The water from his Sea Spirit Exorcism technique was now facing the fire-breathing puppet, so he figured he'd take care of that while he was at it. In one deft movement, Daraku held Hikō in his left hand and took back Nisebi in his right and then put them both in their respective scabbards. Then, he brought his hands back up in front of him and formed the Dog, Rat, Boar, and Dragon hand seals; the water from his back started to tremble and its shape changed into a dragon while wind chakra was applied to it in order to make it spin violently.

"Let's make this a dragon fight!" Daraku yelled as his whirlpool dragon burst forth from his back and struck the other puppet, incapacitating it and cutting it up a bit. Once that was dealt with, he redirected the dragon's path and made it move towards Zennyo's earth dragon so that they would collide. Daraku's dragon was faster, moving at 30 meters per second, and he had precise control over its every movement based on the hand seals he made. It seemed Zennyo had already begun his attack, however, and Daraku noticed 10 masses of mud approaching faster than his own dragon could react. He lost control of his whirlpool dragon by when he stopped the hand seals, thus letting it crash into the earth dragon and eliminating both techniques, then he focused medical chakra throughout his midsection in preparation for the mud projectiles. He dodged the first three with his expert reflexes, then utilized his kekkei genkai to phase through four more. Once his jutsu was ready, he let the last three hit him directly in the torso, fracturing multiple ribs and causing heavy bruising and internal bleeding. They each hit him with enough force to push him back a little until finally the last one hit and he was knocked off his feet; he fell to the ground hard and coughed up a lot of blood.

The healing process began...Daraku's Yin Healing Wound Destruction was one of his favorite techniques because once it was in place, no additional work was needed. The sustained wound would heal itself with time. The pain was immense, but he felt his ribs repairing themselves and returning to their regular structure. The bruising cleared up quickly, but the internal bleeding would take a while longer to stop. As soon as the pain was enough to handle, Daraku got back to his feet and wiped the blood from his mouth, still flashing his signature grin. He surveyed the battlefield and saw one puppet on the opposite end of the summit thrown by his wind tunnel, the other puppet closer to him in a heap on the ground, soaking wet from the whirlpool dragon, and a lot of water and mud spread across the area from the two dragons colliding. Zennyo still stood, unharmed. Daraku was glad he had managed to have so much fun in the fight without getting violent or lethal. "That was impressive! So, you wanna keep going or should we stop here?" he called out to the puppetmaster. He had to admit, using so many jutsu to protect himself without harming his opponent was exhausting; his chakra was already starting to get lower than he would've liked. He rubbed his side for a moment to feel his ribs; there were fractures along his left side that were still healing, but ultimately he was in good enough condition to continue fighting. He would just have to get a little more serious with it.

Training:

225/345:

OOC:

There were three main things involved. The forest, the hunter and the prey. The summit which was forest, Dray the hunter, and Daraku the prey but that was because he chose to be. He had earlier stated that he would not retaliate so Dray was to hunt at his best. His strategy had been developed in no more than three seconds and he had put most of the factors into consideration. He had executed his plan, going all out on his prey so what was left was to watch this prey escape the series of attack that were coming its way. The man stopped moving and Dray watched clearly. Was he just about to get himself killed or he had a beautiful defence. Dray was sure that the man could not just handle all those attacks passing through him or maybe he could but it was only a matter of time before this was discovered. As wrath expelled the flames from its mouth, the man countered with a jet of water brilliantly. With one danger out of the way, the man shifted his attention to Temp and weaved a set of hand seals after which a water body appeared behind him and withdrew the man’s sword to block the incoming hammer strike. Immediately the man unsheathed another one of his swords and spun around as he swung it at temp. The man seemed to miss intentionally as tunnel of wind crashed against Temp sending it about forty meters backwards. Dray could have activated the puppet gate modification instantly but then he did not want to reveal all the hidden mechanism and the wind technique used on temp did not seem like it would do much.

The man formed another set of hand seals as the water on his back shaped into a large dragon the size of Dray’s earth dragon. The dragon attempted to strike Wrath with its force but the puppet move to the left wing to avoid this but that was not enough. It was still struck partially but the damage was minor. The young man redirected his dragon to face Drays’ but time was not on his side as the mud balls had been shot already. The man lost his focus as he stopped his hand seals but in this process, his dragon crashed into Dray’s earth dragon with both dragons of water, wind and earth crashing into the ground and turning the arena into a mud- spattered zone. The man dodged the first three projectiles as four more mud balls happened to phase through him. So that was it, the ghost technique again but then three mud balls hit him point blank in the torso. So the technique did not last for long, Dray thought. The cracking of bones was heard as the man was lifted off his feet. He fell hard onto the ground as he coughed up blood. There was no doubt that the damage done was great seeing as the clothing around his torso was torn a bit so the bruises could be seen and some amount of blood. The man got up on his feet as he surveyed the area. Both of Dray’s puppet were laying in the mud as he did not bother to raise them for now. Both Dray and Daruku’s feet were in the mud as the man flashed a smile and this made Dray wonder what the man was up to but he gave no facial expressions. “That was impressive! So you wanna keep going or should we stop here?” the man asked with excitement in his voice. Dray could see well now through the torn clothes that his bruises had healed up and the blood dried. No doubt his bones were getting in shape but how come? So fast?

“Sparring with you is beautiful, I have to admit.” Dray said smiling a little. “But this ability to heal that I have seen, is it also a special ability for you like the ghost thing you did twice or do you happen to know the arts of medical ninjutsu? If the latter is the case, do you mind teaching me a thing or two in this art of medical ninjutsu?” Dray said calmly.
Wc::710

The dust settled around them and Daraku fully healed, although he left a hand pressed against his side still feeling his ribs. Zennyo smiled at him and claimed that the combat experience was beautiful. Daraku beamed back and gave a thumbs-up; he always loved compliments, it was a nice ego boost (even if he didn't really need it). The puppeteer continued with a more direct concern at hand. He asked if Daraku's regeneration was also a result of his kekkei genkai, like his transience had been, or if he knew medical ninjutsu. Furthermore, he asked if Daraku would be willing to teach him how to use it, if the latter were true. Daraku slipped his hands back into his pockets and walked forward, trudging through the mud that covered the summit due to their dragon jutsu. Now, he was much closer to Zennyo, close enough to hear clearly without the need to talk loudly. "Your second guess was correct! I'm the would-be head of the Ishido clan, the bloodline that gives me my intangibility jutsu. My prowess as a medical ninja, however, is simply a skill of mine." After he said this, he pulled one hand from his pocket and shook it off to prepare for a demonstration of sorts.

"My mother taught me how to use medical ninjutsu when I was young, and I've been using it since." The hand that Daraku had in front of Zennyo started to glow softly; it was a brilliant gold color, just like the rest of his chakra. "Since you already know ninjutsu, it'll be easier for you to grasp it. What you need is advanced chakra control so that you can pinpoint and repair damage using your chakra, as well an extensive understanding of the human body and how it works so that you can learn, create, and use jutsu for the sole purpose of healing. Right now, I'm concentrating as much chakra as I can into the palm of my hand without making it too harsh or powerful. It's about balance and intention." The Sannin took his blade and made a small cut across his own cheek, letting a single drop of blood trickle down to his chin. He held his chakra-infused hand to the wound and it started to heal, and within a few seconds it was closed and gone without a trace.

"The best way to see if you can do it yourself is to try," Daraku explained as he sliced his face in the exact same spot as before, "I want you to fill your hands with chakra—use both hands, since you're a beginner—and once you can stabilize it and keep it completely under your control, gently put your hands on my face. Then, it's just a matter of letting the chakra enter the wound, willing it to relieve the trauma, and closing the wound." He put his weapon away and let his hands fall to his sides as he waited for Zennyo to try and heal him. It shouldn't have been that difficult; Daraku was able to heal small cuts from the moment he learned the basics of medical ninjutsu, and based on what he had seen of Zenn's capabilities, he was certain that this would be the same case.

Training:

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The young man slipped his hands into his pockets and walked forward towards Dray. As he walked closer to cover the distance between them, Dray tugged his puppet over without moving his fingers as he then sealed them back in their scrolls respectively. The man kept coming closer with a hand to his side and Dray waited for him. The distance between them was now very close that Dray could hear him perfectly well even though he tried to mumble words. That was how close they were.
He began to speak. "Your second guess was correct! I'm the would-be head of the Ishido clan, the bloodline that gives me my intangibility jutsu. My prowess as a medical ninja, however, is simply a skill of mine." After he said this, he pulled one hand from his pocket and shook it. Dray wondered what he was going to do so he had to wait and see. "My mother taught me how to use medical ninjutsu when

I was young, and I've been using it since." He continued as his that was in front of Dray began to glow softly; it was a surprisingly brilliant gold. "Since you already know ninjutsu, it'll be easier for you to grasp it. What you need is advanced chakra control so that you can pinpoint and repair damage using your chakra, as well an extensive understanding of the human body and how it works so that you can learn, create, and use jutsu for the sole purpose of healing. Right now, I'm concentrating as much chakra as I can into the palm of my hand without making it too harsh or powerful. It's about balance and intention." He finished as if to make another demonstration and yes he did. He surprising one. He took his blade and made a cut on his cheek though it was small and without proper care, it could leave a mark. The skin opened cleanly as little blood raced down his cheek to his jaw and then dropping to the floor. He raised the hand with the gold coloured chakra and put it against his cheek. Dray had no idea what was going on with the chakra and cheek because he could not see it until the man later removed his hand. It took just a few minutes and as Dray saw it, the cut was already healed. Amazing. He thought inside of him, this was a truly useful skill and he would give almost anything to learn it. His mind had raced down to incorporating this skill in his fighting patter and he could not just imagine how deadly or rather useful this would be to him.

"The best way to see if you can do it yourself is to try," the man said, snapping Dray out of his thought as he sliced his face in the exact same spot as before, "I want you to fill your hands with chakra—use both hands, since you're a beginner—and once you can stabilize it and keep it completely under your control, gently put your hands on my face. Then, it's just a matter of letting the chakra enter the wound, willing it to relieve the trauma, and closing the wound." He finished and put his weapon away and let his hands fall to his sides as he waited for Dray to try and heal him. It seemed as if this man had high hopes in Dray after this little spar that they had just had. Dray was glad that his skills had been able to impress the man and perhaps that was why he was teaching this medical skill to Day. Very well, Dray said to himself inside, lets do this. Chakra control was not difficult for him, he could execute the water walking practice, tree climbing practice, cliff climbing and the rest of them that require focusing chakra to a certain part of the body with ease. He had no idea since when he had known this but the thing was that he was almost excellent in chakra control besides the kagutsu skill also require fine chakra control to create such invisible strings like he had used earlier and to move the puppet so what he only needed right now was the next stage in chakra control which was ‘advanced’ chakra control like Daraku had explained.

Dray inhaled softly and exhaled softly again. He put out both of his hands and began focusing chakra on them. The cliff climbing or wall climbing practice require focusing chakra on their palm but this time he was to envelope his whole hands in chakra. His head lit up as a brilliant idea came in. He smiled softly, one that would make Daraku suspicious. In no more than a second, thin chakra fibres erupted from his fingers and they were as short as finger nails. He was using the knowledge of the chakra strings to do this and Daraku would be able to see this. Now this was his own trick, instead of the chakra strings to elongate like they should, they split and bent upwards and backwards to cover the top and bottom of his hands. From here, he focused more and the chakra began to spread around both of his hands. It took him a few seconds but the layer of chakra was still thin. Daraku would be able to feel the focus Dray was putting into this even though no facial expressions would be registered on his face. That was how he was. The layer of chakra got bigger and thicker as it now covered both of his hands like it should. Carefully, he raised his hands to the side of Daraku’s face and like he was told, he let the chakra seep into the wound and do the repairs. He held it there for a while and when he was about removing his hands, he put extreme focus and good feelings into a single strand of chakra as he let it seep into the wound before it closed up. Through his years of using the puppet technique, he had learned to transfer relieve and good feelings through his strings and he hoped that Daraku would feel this soothing relief in himself.

Dray would then remove his hands and wait for Daraku to comment. He knew he was a beginner but he picked up things fast so he hoped to hear positive results.
WC:1081
CP:165

Zennyo was clever; as he brought his hands to Daraku's face, he used an advanced application of the puppetmaster jutsu in order to refine his chakra control. Thin strings formed and criss-crossed over his hands until they appeared as a layer. He concentrated further so his hands were engulfed in the chakra, more reminiscent of how the technique usually looked. Daraku nodded, still waiting for the hands to reach his face. He wasn't too sure about how this version would work, but he wouldn't reject it. For now, the idea was to get an understanding and a basic ability to use the jutsu. After Zennyo put the hands to Dara's face and let the chakra take over, the wound started to heal at a slow rate, and once it was closed and everything was finished, Daraku backed away. He pulled out his sword again and let the sunshine hit its blade. The reflection of himself as he held it level to his head was clear, and he saw that the cut was completely gone. He spun the sword around a few times before slipping it back into its sheath. "Nice, I'm surprised that worked but whatever helps you control your chakra better, I guess."

When he turned back around to face Zennyo, Daraku was met with an entirely different creature. A monster with two eyes sewn shut, its mouth agape and jaw unhinged. Sharp, lethal teeth lined its gums in rows. Dozens and dozens of teeth..."So there you go, I taught you something. I'm not gonna go ahead and teach you some more advanced stuff, you'll have to pursue that on your own. I've given you the building blocks." The hallucinations were so vivid at times that he couldn't tell what reality was, and he felt out of control; this one was less intense, and he had enough common sense to try and counteract it before it got bad. He blinked a few times and rubbed his eyes until his vision blurred, and when he looked again, Zennyo had returned to normal. Now the voices were starting, low and quiet like they always did, but they would get louder with time unless he did something about them. He started to absorb natural energy, just enough to maintain clarity and peace of mind without entering Sage Mode and expending chakra. He was very inconspicuous throughout this, so as not to tip Zennyo off to the fact that something was amiss.

"Anyhow, I'm tired, so I think I'm gonna leave. Gonna get a long day of rest and head home to Sunagakure no Sato late tonight. But I had a lot of fun, Zennyo, and good luck with your training. You've got a lot of potential to be an unstoppable ninja." With that, he gave the man a wave and started to walk the path leading down from the summit. It would be a long walk back to his room, but he took solace in the fact that he would be home in Kaze no Kuni soon enough.

[Exit Thread]

Training:

The man backed away and pulled out his blade as Dray wondered what his intentions were. The sun reflected off the shiny blade and then Dray understood that the man actually wanted to use it as a mirror to see his face. He then spun the sword a few times before sheathing it. “Nice, I’m surprised that worked but whatever helps you control your chakra better, I guess.” It was a nice comment and Dray was absolutely glad to hear this. There was no sign of the man having any cuts on his face because Dray had done a perfect job. He had always wanted to learn the arts of medical ninjutsu and good thing he had found someone to teach him. He was a fast learner and all that he needed was the basic s of anything and then he could carry on beautifully well on his own.

“So there you go, I taught you something. I’m not gonna go ahead and teach you some more advanced stuff, you’ll have to pursue that on your own. I’ve given you the building blocks.” The man had spoken the main truth. All one needed was the building blocks and now that Dray had them, it was left to him to build upon them in his own way. It was left to him to shape the building in whatever was he seemed fit since the foundation had been set. He could not go in Daraku’s style, that was certain because they were two different people even though the difference was not much visible.

“Thank You Daraku. You’ve done enough already and I really appreciate it. I will build more on this knowledge that you’ve given me and perhaps we shall meet again when I have gotten better.” He was speaking with sincerity. What he had learned today was going to play a vital role in his life be it the shinobi aspect or social life. He knew what he was going to do with it, basically but he also knew that almost all ninja arts are vast in their fields so he would explore this one till he had found it all.

“Anyhow, I’m tired, so think I’m gonna leave. Gonna get a long day of rest and head home to sunagakure no sato late tonight. But I had a lot of fun, Zennyo, and good luck with your training. You’ve got a lot of potential to be an unstoppable ninja.” Dray smiled a bit and replied to Daraku. “You don’t have to tell me that, I know I do. Farewell then. I hope we meet again Daraku.” The man waved to Dray and Dray waved back before he began walking down the summit. Dray exhaled softly as he took the rocky path down the summit. It had been a nice morning and he did have something to show for it, something that would be a strong part of him forever.
WC:500
TWC:5773
EXIT

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