Spoiler:

Given it had been quite some time since we've last seen the adventures of Daichi, it was finally a objective for the frail warrior to brush the dust off his shoulders. Despite his apparent ailment he had a gift of a head start, or at least a running one. Nothing else really hindered him so he found his minor ailment to be satisfying at times. This is what led him to a familiar forest located to the south of the great Konohagakure! The lust forests welcomed the shinobi as they natural sounds crowded from all directions: birds, bees, hidden creatures and much more! It was really a beautiful and profound place to be. His elements were some of the most agreeing ones and sought no extra destruction to the environment. Water and Wind were the purest in his eyes, but surely he didn't have a wide perceptive yet.

Having slacked off he wasn't in the league of extraordinary Chuunin, but he knew he had capabilities beyond what his peers may say. The idea of depression never crossed his mind, but he found himself getting consumed in the city life rather than military. During of which he missed many experienced where he found himself hiding behind the walls. It was a form of guilt that loomed in his body, nestled deep within' and slowly drove him now with a silver lining.

The young man inhaled a large breath of the freshest most natural air one could access. The unaltered oxygen coursed through his lungs, into his veins and refreshed his senses. It was much like taking a drink of ice cold water out in the scorching heat! In this case it was just air he hadn't had in quite some time, memories flowed through his mind; euphoric.  A simple set of stretches were his first goal considering it'd be lame if he pulled anything. "Tch, alright, I guess I gotta do this..." he muttered to himself through his small lips. A whisper even as he motivated himself through admittance, going through his academy days and genin years. Traditional routines were what he chose to do every time before practice, but this was going to be rigorous...he needed to make up for lost time.

Nestled in his own chest was a heart that kept beating. One so vigilant that darkness could not penetrate it's innocence, but in due time...every shinobi saw the wicked world for what it was. The man didn't intend to ever really give up but followed a huge tip given to him: "only start counting when the burn begins to hurt."

Several hours later...

Deep huffs were given off from the man as he did a simple routine to get his body back into shape. It was something of a regular stretch, but nothing a common civilian could handle. As a Chuunin he clearly had some beneficial attributes, but for his age...it was a mockery. His hands dropped into his pouches on his sides, pulling two kunai from it and holding them downwards; knives. This combat method was fairly regular and nothing far from an amateur. Daichi was purely experienced in the arts of Ninjutsu and Fuuinjutsu, but even so...he lacked compared to most of his peers. Taijutsu, Speed, Strength...mentality...it was all adding up.

A quick lunge set the Chuunin off into a flurry of speed, side stepping the trees and gashing them as he passed. Back and forth, back and forth and so on. The Chuunin wasn't allowed to stop until there was at least twenty slashes on each tree in the row. If any were missed they'd need to be made up for in additional laps through the trees. In the end majority of the trees had thirty six slashes in them. It was a very tedious method but his strides gave him a quicker pace. It helped create endurance through cardio, but even pushed the limits of the upper body through assaults. The total slashes in the trees would sum up to hundreds, easily meaning various strikes but proving exactly how far the boy could stretch with his stamina. In all this silver lining factors it also showed him how power his mentors really were. Through his days he had seen some incredible things, but surely now he understood how much they trained. His training was minuscule to their attempts, but it was essential to his growth.

The Uzumaki let go of the kunai as they fell to the ground, he hunched over and grabbed both knees for support; huffing air vigorously. Sweat dripped from his brow, armpits drenched and even spotty along the rest of his clothing. In this case he wouldn't forget to bring essentials as he had dropped a back pack off next to a tree earlier. It had a few rations for the road, water and even first aid. It was a survival kit he'd take in case of emergency, preparing like a trained shinobi but understanding the true risks they take everyday.

It was clear he wasn't far from home, but he wanted enough distance where he could be alone. Nature itself was revitalizing, nurturing and helped replenish stamina lost.



The boy shuffled to his back pack, fishing through the pockets and revealing a black marker he had brought with him. It was much larger, one of the jumbos and meant to write on larger or harder surfaces. This was used on the field for helping create signals, messages or even keep track for untrained people that were lost. In this case he brought it to draw circles on all the trees, more circles within' the others and a middle spot; a bulls eye. It was clear the Uzumaki was depending upon old fashioned methods to gain his skills, but the rust needed to be brushed off once more!

Several trees lie in front of the youthful man, clearly ready and holding the same kunai in each hand; upwards. On a count of three he was back at his relentless obstacles. Every tree needed three bulls eye in total, counting in his head and if he lost track he'd assume the lower number of his guesses. This time it wasn't so easy and showed his clear lack of perception when throwing. It was paired by a poor strength that didn't give enough emphasis on connected hits. Hours went by but he finally did it once he got on track. It was something he'd need to practice often to continue to see incredible results, but as of now...he'd need to be rigorously doing the same thing to produce the results an Elite could in a second; shame. It was basically the level a Genin would perform things, but it was obvious this was all in his responsibility. For now though, he'd accept the truth but deny the doubtful fate that sat in the back of his mind.  The day was growing weary as the sun was threatening to set so the Chuunin made haste home!

The opening of his eyes revealed the sun peeking in through his room, huffing and getting up as he waved good bye to his parents. The boy shuffled out of the house as the door carefully closed behind him; gracefully. The same spot? Surely. There was no other place he would want to go especially after such gratifying results. The same process would need to be repeated for a month if he sought to make up for what he's lost. It wasn't going to be enough on his own so during such he'd sought a teacher that could guide him to clarity! Truthfully Daichi did have a mentor and his teaching following him through his Genin years. All subtle things proved itself as he simply practiced what he knew before the long get away.

Various logs had been stood up wards, all connecting, five by five, in a square where only a single line of logs made a hollow cubicle. In this case it was Daichi's objective to time himself, beating himself each time and keeping balance as he moved on the surface of all the logs. This was a great way to perfect his general skill set too. In this case it'd be very useful for him as he depended on his reflexes, speed, endurance and more to off set how frail he was. Anyone could see how skinny he was but it was a deficiency. Though he could build muscle it would never be the same as those who weren't limited. In this case he was a step ahead the rest in his teachings, using that time and smarts to compensate in a different way.

A single leap left him balancing on one long, striding to the next and wiggling his way around. It wasn't so easy, especially being so rusty but more so time...he hadn't done this since he was a kid!  It proved to be so challenging that he even fell onto the ground too, having to start all over and make it around. Each time he fell the timer was reset too and it didn't count. This was a way to teach him how to persevere but also not settle for less. It was a goal line that also gave a next step...it was limitless. It took him a solid minute and twelve seconds to successfully move around this obstacle, but he'd repeat it trying to get a better score. In his case he wanted to reach a minutes worth of time, but how long that'd take was unknown...

The boy kept going, falling, flipping the logs and even miss stepping to plummet to the ground. Ow! By the end of his trial he'd be all bruised beyond what most would think. What hurt him worst was how he landed, but he could have broken boned had he not had a good reflexive mind. His true want was to be able to learn a fighting style. It was clear he lacked in any arts besides his elemental and seal techniques...but even they lacked. The Uzumaki sighed but his mind quickly would rebuttal. "One step at a time Daichi...." his thought crossed quickly, heightening his senses and making him more aware of his true goal. This wasn't the end but merely the beginning. Again he took a break in between his times, giving him a chance to breath but also assess the damage he had gotten. It wasn't going to be easy but surely he could pound out a few more goes. In due time he certainly did, reaching his minute mark and giving up for the day. Most of the time it was good to work till you had a burn, but it was clear he could also overexert himself. Knowing ones limits was apart of the gain! With this knew lesson he'd head back home once more, preparing mentally and successfully completing another session. There were a far more ahead but he only took a step at a step to the bigger picture.


Final Word Count: 1,835