Purple hair blew in the breeze as a lone ninja left the safety of the gates at Sunagakure no sato. His clothing was a traditional ninjutusu gi, all in black, while his feet had on soft-step sandals that were of the brown nature. Underneath the top for his gi he wore a simple netted shinobi shirt, which actually helped to regulate his body temperature in the desert area around his home village. On his waist he worse a pouch with a single kunai and three shuriken inside, if only he needed them for his training. The sun brightly shone and caused his hitai-ate to glint a bit, but if one were to look at it, they'd see the markings for Sunagakure no sato, and know that he was a ninja of the sand. The only part of his outfit that stood out was the mask covering the lower portion of his face, which was a deep purple, almost matching the hue of his hair.

His hazel eyes scanned the area around him as he made his way through the desert to a small area marked off by rope and stones. This area had three training dummies, targets set at different heights using logs and poles, as well as a few weights to help with strength. To be fair this wasn't the best looking dojo anyone could use, but it was all the young ninja had at this moment so he couldn't complain. He shrugged a bit and looked up at the sky, gauging the size and distance of the clouds, then looked out towards the desert to do the same for tufts of sand blowing up, and coming together like a storm, but too weak for the moment. He wouldn't have much time to train but he'd be able to get something done if he worked hard enough. The male sighed and looked back to his training place. This would be his start, he was Anon Brier, and he would be the greatest ninja to walk the earth. He'd have to train the basics first, though.


Training: All Stats to D-rank 354/3750

Anon began to breathe in through his nose, exhaling from his mouth. He calmly bent down with his feet together, to touch his toes, then stood up straight, stretching back to give his back a few pops. He wanted to be limbered up for his training and so he started squatting slowly, to make sure he didn't cramp up or pull anything. After he had finished his stretches, Anon moved towards the weights he had, sighing at their simplicity. In all reality, these were not dumb bells or the standard weights, instead they were bars of iron in bags tied to short circular iron bars, of varying  weights. His hands moved to a pair of twenty-pound weights, moving them up to his waist, and one after the other, he began to lift them to his chest then return them to their original position. Curling was looked down on frequently but it was fundamental in improving one's tone and muscle in the arms. He checked his breathing in between each curl, breathing out as he lowered the weights, and in as he raised them. He did this over and over until he'd reached sixty curls with each arm and then dropped the weights into the sand. After which he too dropped into the sand on his hands and toes, then began to droop towards the ground, and push himself back up. Other ninja would laugh at him for doing the basic exercises, but to be fundamentally sound before moving onto more difficult tasks was his way. He believed it kept him ready for the harder challenges and he would be better off to take them on in the end. After another forty push ups, he sat down to rest a moment, wiping a bit of sweat from his bro. He wasn't the strongest genin, that's for sure. Physical strength was always the hardest thing for him to train. Nonetheless he decided to finish by laying back, and bringing his torso back up, and repeating this to do forty sit ups. There was a slight burn in his stomach, but he ignored it as he stood up and brushed himself of the sand. The next thing to do was to practice hitting targets.

Anon quietly removed his shuriken and kunai from his pouch, moving over to the targets he had set up on logs and poles. They were all badly beaten up and in poor repair, but still kept their usefulness. Without spending too much time admiring them, the genin drew his arm back and threw his kunai at the target on his right. After which he threw one, then two, then three shuriken at three separate targets. The kunai struck inside a white zone, two zones from the bulls eye. While one shuriken hit just outside the bulls eye. The other two simply stabbed into the log and the pole respectively. He sighed, as he realized he had so much more to work on when it came to projectiles. The ninja went to quietly collect his tools, to try and practice once more. He needed to be able to at least hit one or two of his targeted areas if he had any chance of becoming a better ninja.

Training All Stats To D-Rank: 544+354 = 898/3750

With a sweep, he'd tossed his tools once more, impacting the same log in different areas of the target, still missing the middle but getting closer and closer each time. He was going to get this if it killed him. He wanted to become a better ninja and become the strongest there was. If he could only get his aim better, he'd be on the right track. With a calming breath, he dug his tools out of the log once more and took steady aim. One, two, three, then four. He threw each one after the other with as much precision as he could muster. The kunai first, hitting the bullseye, while the shuriken came after, hitting just on the edges of the center of the target, sticking firmly into the wood. The young shinobi pumped his arms into the air in celebration and once more went to retrieve the only tools he had so far.

He thought about that for a moment. He was a bukijutsu user, specializing in swordsmanship, or really western swords. And he had yet to actually purchase his own weapons. For the most part the academy had practice weapons they could use and that's what he'd been using in training before becoming a ninja. Now that he was a genin, he didn't exactly have access to those whenever he wanted to train. Anon sighed, scratching the back of his head as he contemplated how he was going to raise the money he needed to purchase his own weapons. With a sigh, he smacked his forehead. he had been given five hundred ryo upon graduation but he had already been eyeing scrolls and was going to pay four hundred and twenty-five ryo for them. Good swords would cost anywhere from three to seven hundred. Each. Genin missions didn't pay that well for each one completed either, so he'd need to either grind out twenty or so missions at his rank, or do a C-Rank or two to get some money and try to reach chuunin so that he could take on the more dangerous missions. The decisions weighed on him as he tried to devise and easier way to get what he needed so that he wouldn't get left behind. But it seemed that even if he had gotten a hold of weapons then he would still be left behind since he started training a lot later than everyone else.

The male sighed and went back to the beginning of the training section he'd laid out and replaced his tools in the pouch on his waist. With a silent nod, he moved back to the weights, selecting pouches of weighted bags held together with a rope and tied the rope deftly around his waist. After ensuring that it would not fall off with jumping or excessive movement, the shinobi took off in the direction of the village, his speed slowly gaining momentum, if only very very slowly. He was wearing the weights to improve his stamina and speed in the long run and only needed to ensure that he would have some type of challenge to force his body to become stronger and faster. His body gradually came to his top speed with the weights on, which was about a tier or two slower than normal, and he began to sweat at the brow from the sun and exertion. He wanted to get better but his body wasn't used to such strenuous exercise. And he'd just started! This was going to take some work. Well, actually it was going to take a lot of work but he was ready for the change. He was ready to become the greatest ninja anyone had ever known.

As he ran his mind went to what prompted him to make himself better: Sutaka. The two often spent time together and worked out together in the past but as time went on, Anon became more apathetic and uncaring towards everything. He didn't feel as though there would be any point to him trying to make himself any better or stronger as a ninja. He'd dealt with a lot in his past, from his mother either being forced out or abandoning him, to his father lying to him, and finally his clan's actions and feelings towards him. It all weighed heavily on the young man's mind and there was little his only semblance of a friend could do to dissuade him from his current course. Finally after so long of his apathetic nature, Sutaka was able to talk sense into Anon but it took a lot of convincing, work, and a few smacks to the head. After everything they'd been through together, Anon conceded and told his friend he'd work harder and do his best to become stronger to become something of worth.

That was how it started. How Anon, the young apathetic genin had found himself training day in and day out, with a rope tied to his waist holding makeshift weights. He found bettering himself to be a more preferable alternative to sitting around doing nothing, growing stagnant while everyone else just grew as ninja. Well, no more. This was the time for Anon to shine and he wasn't going to let this slip through his fingers. He'd missed the last chuunin exams and so he had to work twice as hard now to become a chuunin while so many others were already at that rank. Not to mention they were travelling to other villages, meeting new people and doing exciting new things while he had never actually left Sunagakure no sato once he'd arrived.

While he was here though, he'd learned of the great Kazekage that came before the time they'd been without a leader. There were quite a few of them, strong ones. He'd learned of the time their strongest ninja had left and come back, missing an eye. He was apparently from some old strong clan, but Anon didn't actually know anything about him other than that. He'd been reading books, eavesdropping, reading reports, anything he could to get more information on his home. But all the information he'd found, he couldn't find any reason that they didn't actually have a Kazekage at this point. There were plenty of ninja that seemed adequate, but no one had stepped up to take the position. The village was in a state of disarray and was considered to be one of the weakest nations now.

That stung a bit. He'd joined this village to become stronger but he just realized that may not be a possible goal at this point. So much was wrong with the village he called home and so much was missing, he didn't know if he could ever get ahead without dragging the village up with him. How could he even achieve that though? He was only a genin and if even their strongest ninja didn't stick around to pull the village up, or couldn't, what were the chances of a Genin doing it? Maybe none. Maybe there was no chance of anyone being able to do it. This stopped the young genin in his tracks, right outside of the gates into the village hidden in the sand. He looked up at the looming structure surrounding the village; the giant walls that were what they felt was their safety from anyone who would try to attack them. This all seemed so pointless, so fruitless. If anyone did attack, they didn't have the man power to defend these gates, or the villages. Not even the villagers would be defended if they did get attacked so what was the point? With a sigh, Anon untied the rope from around his waist and tossed his weight belt down next to the gates, making his way to them. Upon seeing the hitai-ate he wore on his forehead, the guard at the gate made a call for the gates to be opened to allow the genin passage. Once they were open, he made his way inside and waved to the guards as they then closed the gates once more.

His hands moved into the pockets of his gi pants while he lazily strolled. He was losing hope in getting any better, and Sutaka wasn't around this time to give him a pep talk. Much as he tried, he could not pump himself up to want to do this himself. So he didn't even attempt to anymore. That would be yet another fruitless effort and he was tired of expending effort and energy, not to mention time on those kinds of efforts. A slight sigh escaped the man's lungs and he made his way towards the center of the village, to enter the market district, to check out his local weapons' shop. He had a favorite of all the shops around and it was pretty obvious why. It was the only shop to stock exclusively western-style weapons. It was a dream come true. Maybe some time in this shop would ease Anon's mind and help him find the fire he needed inside himself to train and work hard again. With that thought in mind he stepped inside the open door, to look up at the shop name.

'Ser Targe's Arms.'

It was beautiful. There were swords on the walls, shields in cases that dotted the store, sets of armor, short bows, crossbows, even a few halberds here and there. What the young ninja was after though, were short swords and maybe a small sword or two. He simply enjoyed the finesse and ease of using two small swords in conjunction with one another. They flowed freely in his hands and always struck true. He just didn't have the same knack for other weapons, and boy had he tried them all! But the long swords didn't have the maneuverability, spears were much too long, he was bad with bo staves, scythes weren't his thing, kusarigama were out of the question, nothing else fit. Until he came across short swords. They were effortlessly the best weapons he had used. He could make quick, concise strikes, and wield two at a time to double his potential attacking strength. He'd trained himself with two swords for months and years on end to become more familiar with them, and learn how to use them properly before he'd decided that these were the weapons for him.

And that is what he had come to the shop for today. He was assessing his options with the different types of small swords to really understand which would be a better fit for him as a ninja. He'd actually heard that ANBU preferred to use ninjato, a type of short sword, as their primary weapons. But, he didn't actually know how true that was since they were a reclusive group. Nonetheless, Anon began moving between shelves and displays, eyeing each weapon in turn. He wanted to find his perfect weapons to begin doing missions, and he was starting to get the fire back in his soul for training, looking upon the magnificence of all these weapons. He stopped at a table with thirty or so mixed and matched swords, eyeing them carefully. One by one, he'd pick them up, give them a swing or two, and set them back down. Each one had their faults and each one had their advantages. Some were too long, too small, too heavy, unbalanced, but there was one he found that was perfect. It had a bit of a jagged bladed, a slitted hole at the end of the hilt, the hand guard was small but sturdy, and it was curved like scimitars but moderately straighter. He smiled a bit as he looked at it. The perfect Short sword for him. The shop keeper bustled over to him after seeing the way he looked at the sword.

"Ah yes, yes. You have an eye for quality. This Short sword was forged in western lands to be quite sturdy and sharp. But did you happen to notice this sword here? They're identical in every way save for size. They were meant to be wielded together."

At his words, the shop keeper grabbed another sword that did indeed look like the one he held, but much smaller. He held this one as he did the other, and looked the two side by side. He swung each in turn, moving his body with the fluidity of a river. These two were definitely meant to be together. And who was he to tear them apart? Quietly, the young ninja turned to the shop keeper and handed the two swords over, eyeing him a bit up and down before he spoke.

"How much would I owe you for the both of them?"

"Four hundred ryo each."

Anon nodded and reached back for his money purse only to realize he'd left it at home. Not that he could afford the both of them anyway, but at least one could be bought right? No, he decided on simply waiting instead so that he could take them both home at the same time. He looked to the shop keeper once more, and with a sigh he spoke.

"Well I suppose I'll need to come back to buy them then. Could you hold onto them for me? It should take me no more than a week to scrape the money together."

The shop keep nodded and so Anon waved as he left the store. Upon leaving the store, he looked up to the sky to see the sun sinking lower on the horizon. He'd wasted a lot of time with self doubt and weapon shopping and had completely forgotten that he was out to train and get stronger, not to feel sorry for himself. With a sigh, the young ninja shrugged and made a mental note to come out tomorrow and work harder than he had planned to today. He wasn't going to get any better if he kept taking the easy way out of everything and that is exactly what he'd done today. So he made a mental promise to himself as he made his way to his apartment building. That no matter what he was going to push himself from now on to get better and strong, despite his apathetic nature towards everything. It would become his ninja way, and he'd never go back on it.

At least, that's what he'd keep telling himself until it actually came true, no one could tell if it would. But he desperately wanted it to, so it must happen right? What was a ninja without their word anyway? He made it to his apartment building, and as he climbed the stairs he pictured in his head the day he'd be using his swords to defeat the enemies of the sand, or even just his own enemies. The more he thought about it, the more fighting for himself instead of his village seemed a better option. He wanted to get stronger to outgrow everyone else, not really to protect them. he wanted them to notice him and to feel as though he was more than a burden on his clan. In that sense, he could do the same just getting strong by fighting for himself and making others fear him. The possibilities were quite endless and he smiled to himself as he reached his door and stepped inside, closing his door behind him. Upon closing his door, he then proceeded to lock it, moving through his studio apartment to his bed and more importantly, the dresser beside it. He pulled the hitai ate off of his forehead, setting it on the dresser and did the same to the pouch of ninja tools on his waist. After he'd set those down, he kicked off his soundless sandals and removed first the top to his gi, then his netted shirt and finally the gi bottoms so that he stood quietly in his boxers while his clothing was crumpled up on the floor. The male then moved into his bed, under his blankets and stared at his ceiling, going over the day in his head. His thoughts drifted to Sutaka, and when he'd see the other man again, then to the new swords that he'd soon own. It was all hectic as his mind went over every possible detail. There was so much on his mind that in all actuality he didn't even notice when his eyes finally got heavy from exhaustion or when he drifted off to sleep, which came quickly, hard, and dreamless. It wasn't exactly unheard of for the young ninja but he was usually better at keeping track of his exhaustion and tiredness. For him to just fall asleep when he wasn't prepared would have alarmed him, had he not been snoozing peacefully now, underneath his blankets, his mind possibly cooking up dreams, but none that he'd actually see.

End Topic.


Training All Stats to D-Rank: 2881+898 = 3779/3750

Training Complete.