The tsumi Sand Grounds. A miserable pit of sweat and blood. Hot, bloody, and full of whiny academy students. He could barely remember the last time he was here, even though it was only a few years ago. All academy students trained here, it was designed to toughen them up as it were. As soon as he graduated, Trilby began to train in private, in desolate areas, even travelling outside the village if he had to. Still, he came here because he need an area he could... well, leave in shambles, as it were. It was a large area, mostly desolate, with a few academy students training with a chuunin in one corner. Going as far away from them as possible, Trilby dropped the rucksacks he was carrying. He had bought some supplies for this training. Opening one of the rucksacks, he pulled out the sandbags inside, stacking them up in a pile in-front of them before placing one on the ground a few feet in-front of him. Doton: Retsudo Tenshō, a technique where the enemy manipulates the ground surrounding the enemy, forcing it to spiral inwards onto itself, burying or crushing the opponent. His earthen spears were fine, but he needed something a bit... stronger than that.

Ox, Dog, Rabbit, Boar. Trilby slammed the palms of his hands into the ground, staring at the sandbag in-front of him. The ground around the sand-bag began to snake, as small stones began to curl up, slowly rolling over each other as they scratched at the side of the sandbag. After a few seconds, the churning stopped, and the only result was a small mound of pebbles sitting on top of the bag. Ox, Dog, Rabbit, Boa- “Trilby!” A voice called out, breaking his focus.

Turning around, he saw a man who's face was covered in bandages everywhere except for one of his eyes approaching him. “Tanzo sensei!” Trilby said happily as his former teacher approached him. Tanzo didn't normally teach academy classes, but Trilby and a few over students were taught by him personally as opposed to with the bulk of the population. An old war veteran, he was an incredibly talented shinobi. “I see you're hard at work. Doton: Retsudo Tenshō by the looks of it, no?” “Yes sir!” Trilby said, now face to face with his old sensei. “Well, I'll make you a deal, you prove to me that you've grown since your academy days and I'll teach you how to perform that technique.” he said, swinging at Trilby before he had time to react. Trilby was sent flying by the blow, but quickly recovered mid-air. A flurry of kunai flew after him, Tanzo didn't play around. Trilby breathed deep, looking up. He blew out a heavy burst of air pressure directly above himself, driving him into the ground with a plume of smoke, moving him out of the line of the kunai's fire. “Fūton: chuuryuu. Nice moves.” Tanzo said, lunging at Trilby, summoning his Tanto from a seal hidden underneath the bandages on his hand as he lunged at Trilby, plunging it into his shoulder blade. “Too slow.” He said, as he began to pull out his Tanto. Trilby's hand grabbed it, keeping it in his as he slowly began to crumble. A hand shot out from the earth, pulling Tanzo down into the stone. “So, when you landed, you used Doton: Shinju Zanshu and made an Iwa Bunshin. You've improved” Tanzo exploded into a plume of smoke, reappearing behind him. “I didn't expect you to beat my shadow clone so easily. Granted, I was going easy on you. Still, a promise is a promise, I shall teach you Doton: Retsudo Tenshō.”

Ten shadow clones of Tanzo stood in a row, staring at Trilby. “Observe” He said, forming the Ox hand seal. “During this point I consolidate the chakra in my palms.” Dog. “I convert it's nature at this point, manipulating it to Doton” Rabbit. “I combine the chakra of the two palms together now.” Boar. “I now compress it, and force the stone chakra to begin to roll over itself.” Tanzo slammed his palms into the ground, causing a large torrent of stone to warp up, crushing one of his clones. “I force the chakra along the ground, and unleash the churning force beneath my target, destroying it. Try it.”

Trilby began to focus chakra to his hands, forming the Ox sign. “Now, convert it's nature to Doton” he thought to himself, forming the Dog sign. Rabbit. “Fuse the two chakras into one.” Boar. “Compress the chakra, and force the chakra to roll over itself.” Trilby slammed his palms into the ground. “Doton: Retsudo Tenshō!” large hunks of stone began to roll up beneath one of Tanzo's shadow clones, crushing his legs and they rolled higher, eventually devouring him entirely. “Good work. But you were slow. This technique is especially useful for eliminating stationary backline support so you need to be able to form it while dealing with a front-line assault.” Tanzo said, another of his shadow clone's rushing Trilby. “Destroy a clone at the back while avoiding dying to the clone attacking you, only then will you have mastered this technique!”

Trilby ducked the left cross of his former sensei, flipping back as he slammed his palms together, thrusting towards the clone. “Fūton: Reppūshō!” Trilby fired a burst of air towards the shadow clone, knocking it back a few feet. Ox, Dog, Rabbit. Trilby ducked the in-coming kunai from his sensei's clone, forming the boar sign. He slammed his palms into the ground, beginning to crush the clone. A swift boot in the teeth sent Trilby flying back, breaking his jutsu before he could fully consume the clone. “Don't ignore your opponent!” He shouted, lunging at Trilby. Trilby swung for his feet with a roundhouse kick, which he easily jumped, swinging for Trilby's face. The kick connected firmly, and Trilby began to crumble. Crushing stone devoured the shadow clone at the back, as the real Trilby pulled himself out from the ground. “well done!” Tenzo said, laughing. His student had progressed after all.

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