The sounds of the sword swinging through the air could be heard throughout the grounds. Second after second, the slash and swish reverberated through the air, sending the minuscule shock waves to the area around the young man practising. In the dim, afternoon light, the faint sweat could be seen dripping from his brow as he continues slashing the sword, practising all that he has learned from the academy, and sessions with his elderly grandfather, who also used to be a shinobi from his household. The dull life of a farmer did not suit either of the two, and since both Kairyu and his grandfather had aptitude for chakra, they were both sent to become shinobi. As such, with his grandfather being a successful shinobi, he passed down some techniques and practice tutorials down to Kairyu.

Now Kairyu, the sole shinobi of his generation, is taking everything he has learned and putting it right to work. With him just graduated out of the academy, he needed to catch up to those his age. He was much older then normal genin, due to the fact that he grew up a lot later then others. He only knew about his aptitude when he was around 11 years old. He wasn't very good at anything before that. Afterwards, he grew tremendously, both physically, mentally, and as a shinobi. As the time wound down on his training with the sword, he thought for a moment about how he was right before he grew. he had no direction, no knowledge of what he wanted to do. And now, he knew exactly what it was- to become the strongest and the best.

The sword kept swinging, up and down, back and forth. Each swing accompanied by a symphony of sweat, flying in the opposite directions of the swing. He was truly trying hard at this point. Every muscle of his screamed in pain, urging him to stop. There was no point in stopping now, he was so close to the end of the training. As Kairyu swung the sword one last time, he stopped, dropping down on one knee, and placing his weapon on the ground. It was time to take a bit of a break from the harsh training. To become the best, one must endure the best training. And as it was a dream for Kairyu, it must be done.

After 30 seconds on his knee, Kairyu just sat down on the ground, looking up into the sky. The wind started blowing in his face, giving his skin a much needed breeze from the accumulated heat from the intense training. The feeling of finally being able to practice as a full-fledged shinobi is like none other. And Kairyu was right there, swept up in that feeling. It was fleeting, as he jumped right back on to his feet. He shook off the dirt from his bum and pants, and picked up his sword again. This time, he sheathed it, placed it on its place on his back.

"What's next...", Kairyu asked himself as he took out the piece of paper he wrote down his training regime. He did this for the sake of organization, as well as regimenting a good training schedule. With a good training schedule, he will be able to create the "perfect training", allowing him to grow faster. He put the paper back into his pouch, and placed his pouch down next to his weapon. It was time for some speed training.

He drew a mark on the ground, using his katana to make the incision deep into the ground. He then raced back, about 500 meters away. He was ready to begin. This was a simple speed training, involving constant sprints at his top speed, back and forth between the two points. It was extremely monotonous, but it was useful. Pushing oneself to do something hard and monotonous is one of the best ways to learn and get stronger. This one, of course, was just running back and forth. But Kairyu wanted to try and make the running a bit more interesting.

As soon as Kairyu passed one of the trees, he ran off to the side, right into the forest. He was customizing this part. He was jumping from tree to tree, going as fast as he possibly could, around the imaginary track he created. He was going to come out from behind the finish line, and sprint towards it. it was something more fun to do then the usual sprinting training, as this also worked muscles that would otherwise not be worked. It still would raise his endurance by a lot. As soon as he passed the finish line, he continued on running. Everything was burning, his muscles, his chest. Starting something like this after hours of working on his swings was truly something only the crazy would do. However, he wanted this. The strength he could gain from daily trainings just like this will make him one of the best shinobi.

Many hours have passed, and the afternoon turned to evening, and Kairyu was finally done with his strength and speed training. It also, of course, worked his endurance as well, as he continued doing it until he could not do it anymore. As soon as he finished, he picked up his belongings, and went straight to the nearest restaurant. It was time to explore the city more- and see all the sites in it.

WC: 913

[END PART I]

[topic is not closed, I'm just continuing this little adventure in the next post]
Marked for Training

The divine. A mystical force said to pull the ebb and flows throughout time and space. Shinobi were granted just a segment of this power, with the ability to control the environment around them with jutsu. Many times, they were even able to speed themselves up, or strengthen themselves, to the point of being able to surpass even the gods before them. Yet, it took many years for them to even come to this point. Years of training, of obstacles that tried to obstruct them from moving forward, created shinobi that became more powerful as time went on. And throughout all of this, affairs on how to train one's strength were saved, written so that they may be passed from one generation to the next. And these trainings were utilized, improved, and soon enough became the training that occurred today, creating shinobi stronger and better then ever before.

And with those trainings, come the most recent tide of genin, the graduating class of this past year. They have inherited the will and strength of every previous generation, allowing them to grow stronger and faster. And now, stands the one man who has inherited the blood of the Natake clan, Kairyu. Kairyu had just come back from the city, having finished eating after training. He took a break after intense physical training, hoping to be able to increase his strength and speed. Now, however, was the more rigorous training. As part of his clan, he was able to utilize Raiton chakra extraordinarily well. He heard rumors of different colors of Raiton, being able to utilize Raiton in many different ways. He has no idea how to use them yet. For now, he will just be training in molding chakra. He knew few jutsu, but they were low level and he has mastered them already. He needed to learn how to mold chakra in parts of his body to withstand attacks better.

He stood in the middle of the field, his hands locked together, molding chakra within his body. Every now and then he would try and add some of his element to it but with no use. His chakra would just fizzle out, and he would get nowhere. Even with him learning some jutsu, he wasn't able to fully utilize the Change in Chakra Nature that many higher level shinobi knew. Of course, this was how it was for genin. They were not able to utilize that level of chakra molding yet. Kairyu was just another one to add to the bunch. However, he planned on learning it soon. He had a misson, an ambition to go after. To become the shinobi that would rule over the land of Kirigakure. The Mizukage, the Sannin- powerful shinobi who people respect out of their strength. Kairyu had a mission to become like that. He wanted to be respected for his strength. He was from a farmer's family, and he wanted to break out of that cycle of farmhands. Even though there were generations that became shinobi, he wanted to be the greatest of them all.

Kairyu jumped, molding chakra while on the move. Although it was a simple training, doing it multiple times would definitely work his chakra systems out. As he was  not able to access much of his network well yet, this training was harder for him. After he finished many sets of this type of training, Kairyu picked up his weapon again. This time, he molded his chakra with his weapon in hand, doing half a seal with one hand, while holding his sword raised to the sky with the other. He was acting as a rod to attract chakra, but it came from within him. He was using this stance to concentrate harder, and pulsing his chakra through his weapon as well. From outside, it looked as if lightning was pulsating out of his weapon, like a lightning rod. All this practice was for one purpose, as mentioned before- to become strong.

After a few moments, Kairyu swung his blade downward, then started moving his blade and body in what seemed like a dance. It was actually a style he has learned from his grandfather, and he was just repeating the steps. In a rhythmic fashion, it could be seen as a dance, but Kairyu was imagining enemies around him, and he was dancing and swerving to avoid their attacks. Every now and then he would swing his own blade, as if to parry or to attack these invisible, imaginary enemies. Back and forth, left to right, Kairyu danced, his sword a glint in the evening light. The lightning chakra that pulsated off of it shined brighter and brighter as the night came closer. In his mind, more and more enemies were approaching, and more and more times he was fighting them off.

After the enemies started dwindling in his mind, out came the "final boss" of his imagination- a massive dragon. As it was just his imagination, Kairyu knew that this was not real. However, this shadow fighting was something he did everyday, to try and account for every situation so that later he is prepared for something like this as well. Whether it be a dragon or a larger beast, he always wanted to be prepared for anything that might occur in a battle. Within his mind, the dragon roared, shooting out its breath attack. Kairyu dodged this attack, and jumped after it with his sword. With a combination attack, he scarred the dense armor in his imagination. The dragon roared and launched his clan at Kairyu, nearly hitting him if Kairyu did not bend in the air, shooting some chakra off to his right to try and propel him a bit further from the claw so he would not get hit.

With a couple more minutes of shadow blows, the dragon within his mind lay dead. The battle was won internally, and the training could be stopped. As Kairyu left his imagination, he noticed that the night has come. Perhaps it was time to head home, to get some rest. Tomorrow, was a new day, and with a new day came more training. And Kairyu needed this training to become stronger. He picked up his things, and proceeded to head back home. It was time to call it a night.

WC: 1057 + 913 = 1970

[END TOPIC]
[TOPIC EXITED]
Endurance E-0 -> E-3 1970 - 450 = 1520
Endurance E-3 -> D-0 1520 - 300 = 1220
Strength E-3 -> D-0 1220 - 300 = 920
Speed E-3 -> D-0 920 - 300 = 620
Reaction Time E-3 -> D-0 620 -300 = 320
Perception E-3 -> D-0 320 - 300 = 20