He slammed the old, leather bound book shut. It had been a week since he was released from hospital, and his stomach still hurt badly. His recent spar with his friend Shibirin left him bloody and badly injured. While his friend felt responsible, Trilby knew this was his fault. He was too weak, and his weakness caused the only true friend he had to feel guilty. Such a thing could never happen again, he wouldn't allow it. And so he found himself here, in the grand library of the sands.

The halls were lined with all manner of fascinating books, everything from tales of mighty quests to cooking instructions could be found amongst these halls, but Trilby was here seeking something different; Ninjutsu. He happened across a book of basic Fuuton Ninjutsu. Quickly scrawling through it, he found what he was after. A repositioning technique, where the user produces a burst of wind chakra from their mouth. Returning the book to it's shelf, he made his way towards the reservoir, inspired.

It was late at night, the moonlight was reflecting across the surface of the water. The area was desolate and deathly silent. There was no wind, nor a cloud in the sky. Conditions were perfect. Standing on the edge of the water, Trilby breathed deep. “Visualise the air in your lungs compressing in your mouth, tighter and tighter, until you can force no more air into the mass, then, exhale, force it out as one sudden burst of pressure.” He thought to himself, as he exhaled the mass of air from his mouth, firing it at the surface of the water. The surface crackled slightly, rippling as it adjusted to the change in it's condition. The burst had barely dented it. Again, he fired, and again, the water barely rattled.

Again and again, Trilby fired blasts of air at the surface of the water, but his effects were in-vain, he could not get it to budge. It occurred to him that perhaps he was simply trying to pressurise the air in an inefficient way. Rethinking his strategy, he began to inhale again. “Imagine the chakra as compressing in your stomach, layer upon layer of air rolling into one large mass of chakra, then expel it.” Again, Trilby exhaled the mass of chakra from his stomach. A geyser of water was created as the air dislodged it from it's home, shooting up several feet into the air, and raining down around him. Trilby smiled to himself, knowing that stage one of his training was complete.

He kicked at the sand at his feet, it was nice and loose, just as he wanted it. Breathing deep, he shot his wind stream into the dirt. The stream sent the dust around his feet flying into the air about a foot or two off the ground, before quickly settling. The pressure wasn't high enough, if he couldn't create a large cloud of sand, he certainly couldn't use it to re-position mid-air. Trilby fired many streams into the sand, all with the same effect. He tried adding more chakra, but it had no effect. There had to be a flaw in how he was adding it, he concluded. It was an issue of pressure, so it occurred to him that rather than just throwing chakra at the issue, to imagine the chakra compressing the ball of air in his stomach down further. Success! A massive cloud of sand began to form as he blew the stream into the sand underneath him, heavy enough that he had to shut his eyes while it settled. Stage two complete!

Water and sand were one thing, but to be able to do it mid-air, to change direction or get additional velocity would be another thing entirely. Still, he had a plan. Swim or drown, as it were. Climbing up onto the roof of the nearby factory, he looked out over the scene. The reservoir was close, but certainly not within jumping distance, unless, of course, he used the air stream to give him additional velocity. If it didn't work, he would break a few bones, but if it did, he would safely land in the water. Stripping off, he swallowed deeply. This was reckless, but it had to be done. Running at reservoir, he leapt off the edge of the factory. He breathed deeply, as he began to lose height. The reservoir was another few feet at least, but he was falling. He blew forcefully behind him, producing a powerful burst of air that thrust him head first into the reservoir. He'd done it!


Wind Style Stream: 766/750

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