I found myself back in one of my two favorite places in the world. The Fissure Training Ground. Farther up the training ground, away from where all the equipment were. And most of the people. Something about everyone that was usually there felt so weak. Even though I knew they weren’t. They were Shinobi of Iwa after all. I was waiting for someone. Teiho. After our last spat resulting in a victory. She was strong. Very strong. There wasn't a doubt in my mind that he will surpass me.

I needed to train and prepare for it. I wasn't going to hold back. Not this time. I laughed at myself. Going this far on a genin. It made me happy that the Genin of Iwagakure were getting strong. Surrounding me were equipment of my own. I started to shadow box the air. I started to think back to the days when I was running with Takehare. I wonder what he would think of me. The man I had become. From being that scruffy troublemaker into a powerful shinobi now. i sat down and continued to read books. My life was becoming repetitive. Eat, sleep, train body, learn jutsu, repeat.

I looked in a new book of mine. Anatomy. I was taking the steps into learning how to be offense with Medical Ninjutsu. With Taijutsu, the could be...adequate. I looked at my book reading through it. I thought about incorporating this type of jutsu into my grappling fighting style. I began to think out loud. “Yes...if I can make a jutsu that deals damage and heals myself at the same time…..”

It should be a submission grapple. Not a normal prolonged one, but more on the lines of Shocking Bear Hug. Quick, to the point, and deadly. A quick attack that absorbs enemies stamina, and adds it to my own, draining it. It was the start of something dangerous. I could make myself stronger, while making them weaker.

But for right now, I was going to practice using a jutsu that increased my strength. It wasn’t a fully developed technique. I began to use medical ninjutsu to add more cells to my muscles. Make them denser. It required a lot of strain on them. They start to get bigger. Only a bit. But my stamina gives out, and I fall to the ground, panting. My muscles start to get smaller, reverting back to normal size. Damn. So close. I needed to focus on cardio. It was criminal how much I had been neglecting it in favor of strength and toughness. I started to go for a quick jog, taking laps around my part of the fissure. I tried to pace myself, resisting the urge to sprint. I needed to take up the philosophy of moderation, rather than exhausting myself of both chakra and stamina. I saw that flaw in the way I fought a lot of people. Wasting away my chakra setting up jutsu for elaborate plots that didn’t always work. It was something I would take note of.

After running in circles for a good long while I stopped to lie on the ground and rest. I took the anatomy book and continued to read, waiting for my sparring partner.

547 WC