‘So, it all begins here’. These were the first thoughts of the young chunin as he stepped into a classroom within the Diamond Heights University Sencho study on speed and endurance. It was from here that the young Tenjin would better hone his skills, learn new ones, learn to fight, survive, and become a better ninja. He would refine himself into more than just a mere chunin trying to better himself, and become a Jinton specialist, which Tenjin considers to be more than just a ninja. He would become what he needed to be, anything that would help him on his ongoing mission and goal, to protect the village and fight alongside the Tsuchikage. Before he could even think of embarking on that though, he had to gain skills to be able to fight and survive in the world. That’s why these classes came in and oh boy were they going to be more than the young man expected. To be honest, he didn’t know what to expect, the idea of being a particle release shinobi was very new to him but he knew he’d need to become one to acquire the skills and strength to fulfill not only his main goal but his own desires to protect and fulfil his duty to the people of Iwagakure.

From the moment class started he was tested and pressed hard. First was physical conditioning. To fulfill the physical needs of being a wielder of a Kekkei Tōta, standard sit ups and jogging wouldn’t be sufficient, more intensive methods were required. First were push-ups, simple, right? Not so much. Weights were placed on the young shinobi’s back, starting at 20 lbs. a piece, two weights being put on his back to start. It felt more like torture then training at the start. He pushed hard, gritting his teeth and fighting even to get just one push up. It felt like minutes of constant fighting and pushing, all while being watched and surveyed, but finally he managed to push up once. He sank back down though, huffing and panting, cheeks flushed and already his body felt like it was pushed further than ever before. This wasn’t entirely untrue, for the most part he had a comfortable civilian life before becoming a genin, but since becoming a chunin, Tenjin has trained day and night in order to get to a peak physical condition through rigorous conditioning processes. He wouldn’t let this workout stop him though, he couldn’t, even as tough as this seemed he couldn’t give up.

He clawed his fingers into the floor narrowing his light brown colored eyes. He began to push up again, gritting his teeth and looking straight onward. He didn’t really care if it seemed like he was getting too intense for his first physical conditioning class, he took this seriously. Two push-ups became two, two more became four and so on. By the time that his first class had ended he had managed twenty push-ups with 40 pound weights strapped to his back. His progress didn’t go unnoticed, his professors complimented his drive and determination but advised him not to hurt himself in doing simple training exercises. He had mixed feelings about this, considering that, while the criticism was constructive, he didn’t want to be impeded by mere weights. With a resigned sigh he made his way to the next section of his class, decisively to try and improve on his previous workout.

The next class shifted away from physical conditioning and shifted to classes focusing on training with actual ninja tools. These classes not only helped with honing one’s speed and familiarizing them with their ninja tools but also trained students reflexes and hand eye coordination. Working with instructor’s students started with the basics, kunai. Picking up his first and only kunai that Tenjin bought when becoming a genin, he took position across and a few feet apart from a practice dummy, holding the kunai a bit tensely as he tried to figure out how and where to throw it exactly. His instructor wanted him to try and throw it on his own before giving instructions. He took a deep breath and drew his hand back, taking a moment before bringing it forward to throw. As expected, the kunai arced into the dummies head and hit with a clattering noise. While feeling no embarrassment the young man was a bit disappointed, wanting to provide a better showing, and take the dummy's head off his shoulders. His instructor consoled him though, saying that students hardly ever threw decently on the first try, or even the first few tries, let alone hit the target in an ideal soft spot. Tenjin nodded and took his place back in line. A majority of the day had his professor observing Tenjin’s throwing techniques, including but not limited to, how muscles moved and functioned in the throw, and going through the motions. By the time class reached its midway point, he could hit and take off the dummies head at a much closer rate than ever before, albeit still hitting the dummies head, but not taking it clean off. Progress was progress.

The remainder of the class featured survival themed classes, not all tasks a ninja would perform were city centric. You had to know how to survive in the wild, and how to thrive on nothing but what nature could provide should bad circumstances arise. These portions of the classes were usually done outside, a refreshing change of pace. Tenjin followed the instructors into the prefabricated environment, mostly mountainous like the rest of Iwagakure no sato, areas reminiscent of forests and rugged mountainsides to mimic the terrain of the surviving villages of Konohagakure no sato and Kumogakure no sato. He learned how to spot edible berries, fungi, and foliage should supplies run low; following that, tree and mountain speed climbing were next on the agenda. In both circumstances, harnesses were provided for the first few times speed climbing, more to get someone used to the feeling of climbing something at top speed before taking that safety net away, of course they also wouldn’t let students fall should their handholds fail. This was honestly the more fun parts of the classes so far, climbing seemed to come easy to Tenjin, climbing easily fast thanks to the aid of the harness, as well as beginning to recognize solid places to grab and hang onto. The day concluded with his being one of the few in the class to reach the top of not only the practice tree but also the practice cliff. These would be the classes that primarily made up his training, each increasing in scale and eventually providing new challenges.

The next step of the course, is physical conditioning classes were progressing rathis well for Tenjun, it took his a while but 40-pound push up became something he could consistently and regularly perform. He advanced anothiser 10 pounds, making it a total of 50 lbs. That he was holding up as he did push-ups. Gradually he conquered even that. Physical conditioning wasn’t just about strength of any one part of the body though, a ninja had to be quick and they had to have stamina. The next set of tests that weren’t strength related focused more on the endurance aspect. Jogging seemed easy enough but Wei soon found they weren’t running one or two laps, they were consistently jogging through to the end of this portion of the class. his lungs felt like they were on fire, and his claves felt like dead weight by the time class ended. Not one to feel daunted by the idea of running till exhaustion, he began to focus on a more maintainable speed, burning less of his energy and putting less strain on his lungs. he proved to adapt quickly, building stamina over this day of classes, and becoming a student who tended to be at the top of the class. He didn’t hold aspirations of being the best, trying to achieve a place on a pedestal served one ill in the long run, or so he believed. Finally came the agility training. In part, the endurance training helped in some regard with building speed, it certainly taught the importance of not trying to go fast and exhaust all your energy. Speed only made up a component of agility though, balance, reflexes, these were all important. Timed obstacle courses featuring obstacles that needed to be blocked, jumps needing to be timed, and othis such devices were used to help train up agility to suitable levels. Wei’s first few jaunts through the obstacle course were…. less than great. One of the more important jumps he needed to make which featured a receding platform he mistimed, falling into a small pool of water. This resulted in a very soaked, very cranky Tenjin. Thankfully he wasn’t really the type to get embarrassed easily, if anything it spurred his on to do better. As the class time passed by, he began to get the timing right on jumps, he was able to dodge obstacles that would try to smack him off the course, or even fly through gates or choke points that would slam shut and bar passage. As time progressed he was acclimating to the physical lifestyle of a more experienced ninja.

These were still the other aspects of his classes he had yet to master though. Learning the tricks and tools of the trade that a more experienced ninja made use of were an interesting, albeit difficult, aspect to master. Kunai were but one tool they trained in, shuriken and senbon were also tools that ninjas were expected to learn and practice utilizing. Having a bit more variety this time around, Tenjin deviated from kunai and this time tried shuriken. Hoping for a better first time throw then with the kunai he gave a toss with a shuriken… which went directly towards the head. He grumbled in irritation, making the instructor chuckle and tell him once again that it was unlikely he’d get his first throw with any of the tools to connect with such strength capable of knocking the head clean off. He acknowledged this, but still hoped to see better results than he was currently seeing now. He took up a senbon then, deciding if nothing else to try all three in the same day, just to see what the feel was like for each. When he gave the senbon its throw, his aim wasn’t to knock the head clean off, but it passed and hit the target right on its neck. He paused, his instructor taking note of his hit as well. He took another senbon, thinking, making a few practice motions. When he was fully satisfied he threw the needle again, this time hitting the outer rim of the target. He couldn’t explain it but the feel of the senbon just felt…right. Like it had a better feel in his hand while throwing them as compared to the other two. His instructor praised him, taking note of his apparent affinity with the senbon as well. Over the coming course his senbon throwing would travel closer and closer to the center of the target, one time finally hitting it in the dead center, which was said to be a 1/100th hit. During this time, he of course practiced with the other tools eventually becoming proficient enough with both kunai and shuriken to be on the board at least. Training with the tools of course helped with his hand-eye and depth perception too, providing training within the training itself. He was beginning to grow more and more accustomed to ninja tools and was gradually looking more the part of a ninja. While he knew he could always improve and there was ever more to learn, he was gaining confidence and boldness in his training, becoming more at ease with trying new types of training and learning new skills.

Survival classes were the last real step he had to make in his initial training courses. He enjoyed these courses a little more, why he wasn’t totally sure, maybe because they were outside and he felt less confined, but that was beside the point. Climbing was just one trick they needed to pick up while taking these classes, other things they needed to learn were how to set up shelters, construct fire, identify edibles, and learn how to survive in the wild for missions taking place outside cities. Tenjin really thrived here, he was enthusiastic about learning how to set up and deconstruct camp, surveying land and learning how to blend in to foliage. He wasn’t perfect though, he tended to be rather poor at identifying edible flora, thankfully avoiding anything seriously poisonous but still more often than not mistaking normal berries for ones that might make him very sick. He was counseled on being a bit more attentive about identifying foods, but otherwise he performed well in learning survival skills, being one of the top of his class. With the conclusion of learning said skills, his basic training was complete, now he moved on to the more advanced, and unquestionably more difficult matter that all ninja must learn, jutsu.

Later in the day he began to practice jutsu, Tenjin was a little nervous about the transition to learning more advanced techniques, he wouldn’t let this stop him though, he wasn’t the kind to back down. Two techniques were required to pass the exams and let him become genin: shadow clone and transformation. Tenjin was already rather proficient in these techniques, but to practice chakra control he was able to chose those techniques to work with instructors to better get an understanding of how the chakra interacts with the chakra network within the shinobis bodily systems. Starting with shadow clone he was paired with an instructor, who first demonstrated the technique, effortlessly creating two copies of himself, even performing a sequenced acrobatics act to show just what could be accomplished when one mastered the technique. Impressed, and emboldened by the display Tenjin told his instructor he was ready to learn.

In some areas of training he’d been a pretty quick study, picking up skills rather quickly, this was not one of those areas. For the first few hours it had been almost impossible to get clones to appear for him, be it because he was not used to using his chakra like this, or because he was getting the hand signs slowed by boggled thoughts, it was uncertain. It was hard not to get frustrated, but stressing out and becoming frustrated wouldn’t get him anywhere. Finally, some results came around the fifth or so hour of practice. He managed to finally get the hand signs down, managed his chakra properly. He made the signs: ram, snake, tiger. In a small puff of smoke, he finally managed to create a single clone of himself…which was so anemic you could see skeletal structure. He dismissed it in a small fit of panic, his instructor nearly falling to the floor in a fit of laughter, because the idea that a chunin can’t perform the jutsu was unbearable. After a few minutes of calming the situation down he tried again. Mind focused, chakra managed. Ram, snake, tiger! A puff of smoke and another clone…. which was grossly overweight to the true Tenjin. He dismissed it again, growling in annoyance, his instructor excusing himself to privately go laugh himself into stitches. Clearly this would require time and effort…

It seemed like hour after hour he practiced, both in the company of his instructor and by himself due to the professor checking the progress of other students chakra control. Time after time comparable results: fat, skinny, fat, skinny. Again, it was a test of his patience and a battle against his frustration, failing in either sense would cause his results to be poorer than the last. Sighing in frustration he finally, and quickly began finding himself getting nowhere anytime soon. He looked at himself in the mirror after asking to go the bathroom; why wasn’t he getting this? It was one of the simpler techniques, wasn’t it? he looked down, mulling things over. It wasn’t the hand signs…it wasn’t chakra…it had to be this. He studied the technique over and over, and he didn’t seem to be doing anything wrong… maybe he was the problem then? he focused on the technique so much… maybe he was losing sight of himself? he took a deep breath getting up. One more time. he took his stance, managed his chakra, made the signs: ram, snake, tiger. All the while he thought about his personal quest, what it meant to his. he activated the technique and in a puff of smoke, a perfect clone was standing opposite his. At last.

That was the easy part though, the hard part was yet to come. When he demonstrated his successful clone technique to his instructor, he could progress onto the transformation technique, the hard part in regards to further his chakra control. This was one of the hardest techniques to learn early on, and he had to perfect it now to better his chakra control to a more prominent extent due to particle release, otherwise he wouldn’t progress. He wouldn’t let it stop him though, he beat one technique and he wouldn’t let another stand in his way of becoming a particle release shinobi. With steeled nerves and a determined heart, he stood before his instructor, ready to learn the final technique hed need before learning how to utilize wind release for the sake of dust release. He’d beat this challenge, and any other set before his if it meant fulfilling his goal and honing his skills more.

The instructor demonstrated the technique first by taking him to a more natural environment, then made the hand symbols, turning into a perfect replica of a nearby boulder, even further demonstrating the use of the technique by having Tenjin close his eyes and turning into another piece of the environment and trying to have him find the change. The technique was useful, that was certain, all he had to do now was learn it. Learning the hand signs turned out to be the easy part back then, it was focusing his chakra enough to turn into something complicated that was difficult. For the first few times he tried he couldn’t transform into even a simple rock or stump. he shrugged it off, continuing to remain calm and not be phased by failure. Several more hours passed, he made better progress than with the clone technique because of his conviction to his goal and not losing sight of himself and his proficiency with chakra manipulation and control. he had yet to successfully transform into anything complex yet but his instructor continued to give pointers and he took certain initiative to get closer and closer.

It was on a cool day in the mountainous countryside on Iwagakure no sato that he finally managed to perform a successful transformation of a complex figure. It was a very specific rock figure. Constant practice and determination had led to a successful flash and the transformation into a stone like the ones thrown around a waters surface to have it skip over the tension. It wasn’t perfect, according to his instructor, his transformation stood out in the environment, smaller details like texture or shape caused him to stand out. Despite this, he knew it was a step in the right direction and he’d use it to propel himself in the right direction. More hours passed, transforming time and time again refined his technique more and more, eventually advancing his form to a heightened level. He was still far from perfect by the time his instructor told him he was ready, he had trouble getting texture and more minute details down but for the level of chakra control and manipulation in which he was trying to become more than adequate. He was armed with the tools, he had the conviction, the rest was in his hands at this point.

TWC 3,351

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