Nagare had called each one of his squad members to the Abandoned Mine for today's training. It was going to be a simple one, where he had no involvement; rather, he would sit back and watch while they destroyed each other. Or not, depending on what their skill sets were. He had seen their potential during their last mission, and he had also seen both Kenji and Bokuden in battle outside of the mission (although he assumed that Etsuo was powerful, as well, considering he possessed the coveted Sharingan.), so he knew that they were fully capable as Ninja. They were Chuunin, after all, so he wouldn't necessarily have to train them too much. Point in case, today was a bit of an arena match. He would make them fight, just the three of them, and then be both a spectator and a judge. He didn't really have an award in mind for the winner, but he definitely had a punishment in mind for the loser.

He sat back against a rock in this cold, dark mine as he waited for his first student to arrive. They didn't know the details of why they were meeting today, as he planned on telling them when they arrived, so he was sure that they wouldn't be in a rush to arrive there on time; the ones who were late would be chastised, but not too severely, as he didn't really care much. Horui sat in the background, playing with Raiton and Suiton near a murky puddle that was sitting in a dark corner of the dimly lit mine. A single lantern hung from where they sat, giving the place an eery glow; a perfect place for training, in Nagare's opinion. When are they gonna get here? I'm bored, and I wanna see some action.... thought Horui quietly as his hand sparked with energy. Nagare simply thought back, Soon.. The only sounds were the dripping of stalagmites from the ceiling and the sparking of Horui's chakra as they waited patiently.

---

Training Raiton B > A
Word Count: 346/2,850

“Well, here we are,” Bokuden said aloud as he stared into the darkness of the old Abandoned Mine, “To be honest, I had no intention of coming back to this place so soon.” His mind raced with memories of his last trip to the mine, where he encountered that group of bandits, and also something… else.

“Nor I,” Satomi replied, walking up beside Bokuden, “But you were assigned to this squad, so you’re going whether you want to or not.” Satomi whipped the back of Bokuden’s legs with her tail, giving him some incentive to go forward. “Now let’s go,” she demanded.

“Why are you in such a rush? He said eight o’clock, we’re still a bit early. Besides I don’t see any signs of our other group members yet, we could just wait out here for them and go in together,” Bokuden argued, clearly making excuses for not wanting to go in.

“Since when the hell have you cared about squad bonding? Get inside! If you’re early you’re on time. If you’re on time, you’re late. You know how this works,” Satomi commanded before whipping Bokuden again, this time with more force.

The impact of Satomi’s tail caused Bokuden to jump forward a bit before patting the back of his legs down with his hands to soothe the sting. “Fine fine, let’s go,” Bokuden grumbled, submitting to Satomi’s early morning display of violence. He never was a morning person to begin with and arguing with Satomi was going to take all kinds of energy that he didn’t have at the moment. Besides, he realized he was being unreasonable. What happened in the past was the past, no reason to bring it with him to his new squad’s first training session. Bokuden reached down to scratch Satomi behind the ears for a moment before adjusting his coat and trudging his way into the mine.

It didn’t take long for Satomi to hear some noises coming up from ahead. Bokuden had every reason to believe it was one of his squad mates, but past experiences have taught him on more than one occasion to not make assumptions. The duo proceeded forward cautiously before Satomi stopped in her tracks and used her tail to signal Bokuden to stop as well, waiting a brief moment before speaking. “It’s them. Nagare and Horui, I picked up their scent when we entered the cave,” Satomi said in an ominous tone.

Bokuden narrowed his eyes as the tension that had built up inside of him the entire way here flooded out leaving nothing but annoyance behind. “Why the HELL didn’t you tell me that from the beginning!?” Bokuden exclaimed as he threw his arms up.

“Didn’t seem important,” Satomi answered casually, beginning to walk further into the mine, “Come on, they are just up ahead.”

“Don’t just say that so nonchalantly!” Bokuden replied, dropping his arms back down and letting his shoulders hang. He let out a deep sigh before straightening his posture and following Satomi into the next area. As he turned the corner Bokuden saw Nagare and Horui awaiting the he and the rest of the squad. He casually walked over in their direction and gave an acknowledging wave before making his way to an old mine support beam. “So what’s on the agenda for today?” Bokuden asked as he leaned against the beam, folding his arms and crossing one foot over the other. He closed his eyes as he awaited a response, listening to the sounds of the cavernous chamber he found himself in once again. He hadn’t stopped to listen to it the first time he came, but the sounds of the cave weren’t as eerie as he suspected they would be. Realizing he let his mind wander, Bokuden snapped himself back into reality and threw a glance in Nagare’s direction.

---

Suiton C>B: 663/2000

The day started early for those of Squad Samsara, this included Etsuo as he had been one his way for a bit to the apparent cave that they were meeting at, outside of the village. He could of brought his puppets, but as he saw, this training wasn't going to be quite enough to carry them all the way here and back, at least he thought. He entered the cave without worry knowing fully well, that if anything was in here, someone has already taken care of it, and if not then they could take turns killing it for a training session. Etsuo could burn it with his jutsu and he was sure the others could take care of it after seeing them in the mission before with their performance. Heck if a single thing attack them, he believed that they would be able to overkill it in no time flat. He couldn't think of a major threat to them beside someone on Kage level like Reika.

He walked very slowly for, he had no rush as he was still early to join them and he would eventually enter the area of the cave covered in a dim light from a single lantern. It seemed that Bokuden and Nagare were already present, so they were now only waiting for one last member to arrive to the area. Within this cave they could only do so many thing, which made him wonder what Nagare had planned within his head at the moment. Etsuo decided to spend his time waiting in a place right between the two of them. Since he didn't bring his puppets, he would have to work on something else like his ninjutsu instead, but that didn't harm him too much.

All they had to do now was wait, and wait peacefully, but he came to realize that his focus couldn't be held long on a single thing as he focused on the entire cave and the area around them. The dim light went it's distance, but it didn't give much to be seen, but he has come to realize that he didn't need it though with his special eyes, the eyes that he gained just like his brother. Eyes that would make him better and allow him to protect his friends, family, and village.

All that was left to do was wait for Kenji to arrive on the scene.

Word Count: Raiton C>B: 409/2,000

Walking semi-aimlessly to the abandoned mine where Kenji and his squad mates were designated to meet; the rising of Kenji's consciousness was slow this morning as he was not fully prepared to ignite his day so early. However, the Chuunin was able to conjure some energy as he pondered what was awaiting him; "He did mention this was a training session right?" He thought to himself as the wind accompanied him to his destination.

After everyone's individual performance; Kenji deduced that Nagare would certainly not ask the three students to challenge him. Sensei or not; Jonin or not, all three shinobi were not only strong in their own right, but also very sharp and proficient in their respective styles. "Maybe... he'll take us on one by one; or maybe even have us duke it out against each other and observe from a distance?" The train of thought stopped there as he didn't favor either of the possible training methods. He usually got most of his progress done alone; but he did enjoy testing himself against his peers; as a shinobi it's necessary to gauge your abilities against your contemporaries.

A sliver of sunlight was reflected by his gloves beaming it into the entrance of the mine. Apathy written all over his body; he straightened up and strutted into the mine to join his comrades. He spotted Etsuo first, then Bokuden along with his companion Satomi; and finally he caught a glance of his sensei's radiating crimson eyes. Horui was near; he looked as if he was eager for whatever Nagare had planned to start, Kenji's energy level began to rise as he anticipated the challenge to come as well. "Morning squad."

First to arrive was Bokuden, precisely on time. Someone was feeling punctual. Nagare noticed his figure stride in with Satomi, and he smiled at the both of them as they continued down the corridor until they were next to him. “So what’s on the agenda for today?” he said, casually. Nagare replied with a fast, "You'll see. I'll wait until the rest of the squad gets here." He went back to casually leaning against the rock, tapping his feet against the base of the rock a few times to get a steady beat, a melody to listen to as he waited in the dark space. All of a sudden, Etsuo stepped in, his eyes dormant and pitch-dark. Nagare itched to see them active...he stood between them, waiting patiently for Kenji to arrive.

Finally, the ever-so-anticipated teal-haired swordsman walked in casually, and stood next to Nagare, saying, "Morning squad." Nagare smiled at the boy and said, "Good morning, Kenji." Now that they were all assembled there, a full squad facing each other, Nagare proceeded to explain. "Alright, today we'll be doing some training, although I won't be directly involved. I want the three of you to fight until you can't fight anymore. I realize that this may be a bit sadistic, but what better way to get a gauge of who is the strongest in the squad? It's okay, now...don't focus on this being a competition...but it is. This will be the determining factor in how I what missions I will take who on, and how I will train each of you." he took a pause to let them absorb his explanation.

"Now, Horui and I will sit back and watch, as judges. We shall only intervene if needed, such as in the case of severe injuries. Or unfair play, but I doubt that will be a problem, since there aren't really any rules in this match. 3 Chuunin, in a free for all. Should be fun, don't you agree?" their expressions read nervous, but their eyes were determined. They were a strong squad, and he knew that they could handle themselves. "Whomever wishes to make the first move may." Horui raised his arm in the air in triumph, as if to say "GO!", before letting it fall back into the puddle nearby with a spark.

---

Training Raiton B > A
Word Count: 748/2,850

It did not take long for the rest of the squad to arrive at the designated training location. “At least they are punctual,” Bokuden thought to himself, as he raised his head to look towards his newly arrived squad members. The first to arrive was Etsuo, strolling along at a slow pace and taking a place between Bokuden and Nagare. Etsuo was a mystery to Bokuden, who had not gotten the opportunity to see him in action during their first meeting. All he knew of the boy was that he was that he was not a strong close combat fighter, although since that information came from Etsuo himself its reliability was sketchy at best as far as Bokuden was concerned. Last to arrive was Kenji, who strutted in with a greater sense of urgency than Etsuo did, but it was obviously forced. Bokuden was more than a bit familiar with Kenji and his abilities at this point due to their numerous past encounters. Kenji had surely learned some new tricks and gotten stronger since their last encounter, but the likelihood of his fighting style having changed completely was very low. With the entire squad finally gathered, it was now time for Nagare to reveal this mystery training session he had planned.

Bokuden pushed himself up off of the wall and stood up straight before slinging his rucksack over to his front side. He rummaged through the bag for a moment while awaiting Nagare’s instructions and pulled out his thermos. Taking a sip of coffee to wake him up a bit, Bokuden turned his attention fully to Nagare as he began to explain the purpose of brining the four of them all the way out there. Bokuden raised an eyebrow upon hearing what Nagare had planned for the squad. “An assessment test then, is it?” Bokuden thought to himself, taking one last sip of coffee before closing the thermos and returning it to his rucksack. “Too early in the morning to do this kind of thing in my opinion, but oh well. The knowledge of the relative strength and skills of his squad is information a squad leader needs, I suppose,” Bokuden continued in his own thoughts. Despite his general apathy for most things, Bokuden did thoroughly enjoy competition, especially those that measure combat ability. His own pride would not allow him to simply lose such a competition, just one of many bad personality traits that he inherited from his clan.

Bokuden dropped his rucksack on the ground beside him, making a thump which in itself wasn’t terribly loud, but the sound echoed through the cavernous mine shafts drawing attention towards him. He casually walked to the center of the room, leaving Satomi over by the beam he had previously been leaning on, and turned to face Etsuo and Kenji. “Well, this match isn’t going to start itself,” Bokuden said in a snarky manner, a smirk growing across his face as he glared at his opponents, “Come.” A strong wind blew once again through the cavernous tunnels as Bokuden awaited Etsuo and Kenji to make their moves, causing a loud howling noise to permeate the mine.

---

Suiton C>B: 1191/2000

Time passed and eventually, the final member of the team, Kenji had arrived within the Abandoned Mine. Etsuo didn't respond to his morning squad with a single noise, but his vision now changed from the entirety of the cave to their sensei, Nagare. He was the one that brought them here for a training session and for the most part, has not said a word as to what it could possibly be exactly. It remained a mystery that would be revealed now, now to them. He didn't really like what he was hearing but he accept the purposes of fighting his squad mates. He listened as Bokuden mentioned it being too early for this kind of thing, but Etsuo was fully prepped for it. His own training from his father usually took place right about now and some missions would require stuff to be done so early.

It also seemed that Bokuden was very confident in his abilities as he stated with a smirk and attitude to have him and Kenji make the first move. Etsuo simple walked over to the lantern and pulled out a kunai. He quickly tossed it out towards the lantern and with this effort, should of shattered it and put the last dim light in this cave out. With that he activated his eyes that saw through even the fog that covered the thunder grounds, and could see through out the darkness of the cave. "Can you all fight in the dark? I can perfectly." He stated to them whether his action was completed or not.

With that he stared at the chakra of Bokuden and Kenji that were he supposed a bit away from him since they were both not moved from when started and he moved to the lantern. He used this advantage to move further back from them in this cave and watched at the moment as perhaps Kenji and Bokuden would clash with each other. If they forgot about him then he could make moves that would definitely bring harm to both of them as he watched, distance was what he wanted, and he wanted two chakra sources to clash with each other. He wondered if Nagare would allow this and how the other two would proceed without the sight of light, since they were known to be the tracking squad, can they find someone without sight.

Word Count Raiton C>B: 807/2,000

Chakra: 190/200

Spoiler:

With both Etsuo and Bokuden in position and ready to fight, Nagare waited patiently for Kenji to make a move. The lantern that led the cavern devoid of darkness was put out, and the five ninja stood in the dark, waiting on one another. He opened his mouth to declare "Fight" in a badass tone, but instead was interrupted by Kenji. "I've gotta go. We'll continue this another time." before running off. Well, Nagare didn't really care, the kid probably had obligations, but what was the point of showing up just to leave again...? Nagare decided to chastise him later on.

"Looks like it's a one on one. Go ahead." he declared, plainly. Kenji would just have to miss out on this.

(OOC: Kenji poofed, so we continue without him. If you're reading this, Kenji, you're out of the thread. Sorry.)

---

Training Raiton B > A
Word Count: 874/2,850

In response to Bokuden’s invitation, Etsuo simply walked over to the single lantern that lit the mine tunnel while drawing a kunai into his hand. He threw the kunai into the lantern causing the glass to shatter, putting out the only source of light in that area of the mine. As darkness engulfed the chamber around him Bokuden heard a familiar voice call out from across the room. "Can you all fight in the dark? I can perfectly," Etsuo said calmly.  The casual tone in which he used as he spoke told the whole story. So obviously he believes that depriving us of our sight benefits in in some way. He must have some sort of sensory ability as well. Makes sense since he is in the tracking squad, but it’s a bit too early to be showing your hand like that, Bokuden thought to himself as he activated his Current Perception: Combat Range illuminating all sources of electromagnetic currents in the area, including those of his squad mates, You can’t hide from me.

From within the darkness Bokuden could see Etsuo slowly moving further away from his original position, no doubt trying to put distance between himself and the rest of the squad. Bokuden remembered him saying during their first meeting that he was vulnerable at close range. If Etsuo thought that Bokuden was simply going to let him do as he pleases and make whatever preparations he needed he was going to be disappointed. Turning his attention back to Kenji for a moment Bokuden noticed he had not moved. He probably could have taken them both on if the lights were still on, but even with Bokuden’s sensory abilities he wanted no part of a two on one fight in complete darkness. Still, there was no guarantee that he wouldn’t get one. Weaving a sequence of hand signs Bokuden used the water of the puddles directly around him to form two water clones. They were basic clones and as such did not have access to his kkg, but they would still prove useful. For now though, their primary job would be simply to provide assistance if Bokuden needed it.

Before he could even think of making a move Bokuden heard Kenji announce that he needed to leave. Strange, Bokuden thought to himself, it’s not like him to pass up on an opportunity to fight. Oh well. With Kenji taking his leave Nagare announced that this squad training had now become a one on one match. Perfect. Etsuo claimed he didn’t like fighting in close quarter combat, Bokuden intended to make him very uncomfortable then. But first Bokuden thought it prudent to see just how well the kid could actually move in this darkness. He drew two shuriken from his pouch and fastened 10 feet of wire between them. He then threw the two shuriken in Etsuo’s direction, not aiming for him, but throwing them a few feet on opposite sides of him. The strategy was simple and one he had used one hundred times before. His opponent would pay attention to the shuriken flying and overlook the razor thin wire that hung between them and in this darkness it would be even more difficult to see. While his opponent watched the shuriken fly by they would instead hit by the wire and by the time they realize it, it would be too late. Their body would stop the wire’s momentum causing the shuriken to swing around his body like a tetherball pole, wrapping his arms and whatever else the wire was touching up and constricting movement. And as sharp as that wire was when taut, all struggling would accomplish is cutting deep gashes into their flesh. Your move Etsuo.

---

Suiton C>B: 1821/2000

Chakra: 144/200:

This was going to be very interesting since the cave turned into a very dark place, in which only four people stood among it. Although it wasn't obvious in how they did so, most of them could at least see and sense others within this darkness. Etsuo could see people and sense them through his sharigan, although he didn't fully understand it's capabilities, he did understand that it worked within natural things and may even work without light present. Even so, things became interesting as he watched Kenji and Bokuden, this however lead to disappointment as he heard from Kenji about leaving. With that entire statement said, Etsuo focused solely on Bokuden and realized tactics had to be changed immediately. This became one on one, something that he wasn't sure would end well with a shinobi like Bokuden on the other end. Although this darkness came with another benefit he guessed, as it was noted that he could see Bokuden's face or many fine details. For his fear, of close combat, it wasn't that he feared fighting or was absolutely horrible at it rather, he feared the anger and bloodlusting intent of most enemies. as to say, if Bokuden got angry enough to show it in other ways, Etsuo may still panic. But sight will no longer do it, and Etsuo was no longer bound by this limitation in combat.

It seemed as if Bokuden was planning to overwhelm him in various ways, as he had clones present within the cave, and eventually gave motion to throwing out shuriken. He had an answer for this though as he prepped his jutsu with hand signs and on the final one, formed tiger and released a fireball from his mouth towards Bokuden, his clones, and even hitting the shurikens that were going to limit his ability to dodge by going in different directions. The flames forced forward as everything was in the plan to be caught and everything within that view was to be pushed back by the fireball. The only disadvantage to this strategy was that he illuminated the cave giving sight to them for a brief moment. With the fireball hopefully completing it's job and while the flames were still in place, Etsuo took a kunai in hand and charged towards Bokuden, he was fully aware of which was the real one with his sharigan eyes. If Bokuden allowed him to get within a few feet, Etsuo would toss out his kunai in hand, and replace, his other hand with another as he pushed forward attempting to stab into Bokuden gut area, with the kunai as the other one was originally aimed around his shoulder area. The two would likely clash or not, in which case Etsuo returned to putting a small amount of distance between the, and the flames of his fireball, were now dying down, once again, they would be covered within pure darkness.

Raiton: C>B: 1,301/2,000

Chakra: 165/200

Spoiler:

Nagare activated his Heat Mapping technique to track his student's movements in the dark. Bokuden seemed to be using some sort of tools, he couldn't really tell what due to the fact that he could only track heat signatures, but he figured it was either paper bombs or wire. The sounds of water swishing also indicated a Suiton ninjutsu, though he wasn't sure what. Maybe this wouldn't be as entertaining if he couldn't see anything that they were doing, but whatever, he didn't really care. It wasn't about his fun, 'twas about their training.

Etsuo responded with a jutsu he knew well, the Great Fireball Jutsu. He watched as it's heat approached Bokuden quickly. He was sure that the quick-reflexed ninja would do something to dodge it, so he wasn't too worried about injuries. Horui coughed in the silent dark of the cave, making it echo against the muggy walls, and Nagare's chakra felt out the battle and he took in its happenings quietly.

---

Training Raiton B > A
Word Count: 1,049/2,850

135/150:

If Etsuo could see in the dark as well as he let on then he should have been able to avoid Bokuden’s wire trick. Prepared to pursue him in the even that Etsuo did in fact dodge Bokuden’s opening move, Bokuden activated his Current Perception: Close Combat Range. With his most powerful perception range now active Bokuden would be able to see any move Etsuo made. He wouldn’t be able to so much as breathe without Bokuden knowing it. To Bokuden’s surprise Etsuo seemed to be making no effort to try and dodge his opening attack, but instead proceeded to weave a sequence of hand signs.

With his ability active Bokuden was able to easily decipher which hand seals were being formed, even through the darkness. Upon picking up the synapse commanding the final tiger seal in the sequence to be formed Bokuden immediately suspected a katon jutsu and prepared to take evasive action. Right on cue a mass of flames began to be expelled from Etsuo’s mouth, prompting Bokuden and his clones to jump out of the fireball’s path. Katon was a poor choice in this darkness, even without his kekkei genkai the light from the flames would have instantly signaled the jutsu’s presence in this environment. Bokuden likely could have dodged it off of the strength of his reaction speed alone.

What Bokuden found far more noteworthy than Etsuo’s use of katon jutsu however, was what he saw when the flames were first being expelled from Etsuo’s mouth. Or at least… what he thought he saw. For the briefest of moments before the formation of the fireball, the flames illuminated Etsuo’s face and Bokuden saw what he could have sworn looked like a sharingan. But Etsuo couldn’t have been an Uchiha, right? Why would his family have abandoned their name to take on the surname that Bokuden had seen on the squad report? If he was an Uchiha it would explain why he felt he could see in the dark… and why he used the Great Fireball jutsu. It was all too much to be pure coincidence, Bokuden had to test his theory. If Etsuo was an Uchiha, the squad would have just became much more interesting.

Bokuden wouldn’t have to wait long to get his chance to test his theory as Etsuo immediately charged towards him from the darkness. It was more than bit curious of a choice for a battle strategy considering Etsuo admittedly was unskilled in close combat. Bokuden probably could have used his clones to surround Etsuo and finish the fight quickly, but his interest had been piqued. He was going to draw this out a bit just to see what Etsuo and his sharingan were capable of. It was Bokuden’s first time facing the sharingan, after all, he may as well get as much information about it in a combat situation as he could in this controlled environment. If it was a close combat fight that Etsuo wanted, Bokuden would be more than happy to oblige him.

As Bokuden allowed Etsuo to close in he detected a throwing motion as if he were throwing a shuriken or kunai. No matter, Bokuden thought to himself as he immediately unsheathed his sword and began twirling it rapidly, making an impromptu shield of sorts. He felt and heard a small metal object clank and be repelled by his sword. Bokuden then stopped his sword figuring any projectile that Etsuo had thrown in that one throwing motion would have already arrived. He stopped the sword out in front of him, bringing it to a halt with its blade pointed out towards Etsuo who was now only a few feet away. He held it there and waited for Etsuo’s next move. If his eyes were as good as the stories say he should be able to stop himself from running right into the blade of Bokuden’s katana, right? As this happened one of Bokuden’s clones circled around Etsuo, now standing 10m away opposite of Bokuden.

---

Suiton C>B: 2000/2000
Suiton B>A: 504/3000

Etsuo was doing better with his sharigan than he could even perceive at the moment, but this wasn't the time to feel extreme confident and lose his focus on Bokuden in this darkness. His fireball jutsu gave him, no effect on Bokuden, and he began to wonder how he saw through this darkness, so well as him, actually even better than him probably. As he charged forward, Etsuo's thrown Kunai was blocked and went off into another direction as he charged forward. But he backed off as he drew closer to Bokuden he saw the movement of the sword that he was fully aware of was what also blocked his kunai. He paused with only a few feet before him and Bokuden as he dropped a kunai into the ground, to perform a few hand signs as he breathed in deeply.

Etsuo, exhaled rapidly, a gas that could be seen by his sharigan in this mist, but to Bokuden, he wasn't quite sure would alert him to the substance in the air. With the jutsu completed and if Bokuden was still within or around it, he would jump back and throw another kunai at the one he dropped on the ground igniting the substance with a single spark. It would cause first to second degree burns for those caught within it. He was wondering if Bokuden would move out of it's way or get caught in it because of how he was operating in this darkness.

Things were not looking good for him, as he had to be at such a close distance with his enemy. He was also running low on ideas on how to deal with Bokuden without his puppets at his side. He could still hold out, but he felt that it might actually take a miracle to defeat Bokuden, with their battle taking a different turn than he was prepared for. He still wished that Kenji was here because he wouldn't have to deal with Bokuden, so directly. But that was a lost hope, as he had left, he also wondered how Nagare was observing this battle since, he was also within all of this darkness.

Etsuo really wanted to come out on top in this show of strength, but Bokuden was superior in the dark than he thought was possible. His final desire then though, was to go out of this with at least a bang, and all of his effort.


Raiton C>B: 1,712/2,000


Chakra: 150/200

Spoiler:

Nagare still sat in his usual position, viewing the battle with his senses. He grew tired of feeling movements rather than seeing the battle, but from what he could tell, Bokuden was gaining an upper hand. Etsuo, without his puppets, was relying on ninjutsu to give him an advantage, as well as his Sharingan, which glowed red in the darkness. He expelled a bunch of gas that could go off with the easiest spark...this was a good opportunity for Nagare to intervene. He made a string of hand seals, and rapidly summoned a ton of bats before merging with them. He used his Fire Release: Wildfire jutsu to ignite the gas, and the mine exploded into flames, engulfing most of the place. Surely both sides would take burns from this, but Horui used a defensive technique, and Nagare simply split away and became a mass of bats and flew to safety before the blast.

When the dust cleared, he re-entered, combining to form his body again, and stood between Bokuden and Etsuo. The explosion had blown a hole in the roof of the mine, constricting the corridor due to fallen rocks, but also allowing rays of sunlight to beam in, illuminating the area. Now that he was satisfied with the "arena", he sat back on his resting rock, and Horui released his defensive summoning, and they stared at the students, who had burns scattered over their bodies. Nagare smiled at them, and said, "I figured a change of pace was due, and I wanted to actually see the fight. So, I took advantage of Etsuo's jutsu. You may continue."

---

Training Raiton B > A
Word Count: 1,321/2,850

Nagare's Chakra - 100/150:

Horui's Chakra - 130/150:

Etsuo stopped himself a few feet short of running himself into the tip of Bokuden’s katana, much to Bokuden’s amusement. “It won’t be that easy, huh?” Bokuden mused to himself before lowering his sword once again, “Maybe I should go on the offensive for a bit?” Before Bokuden had a chance to move toward Etsuo he stopped himself upon realizing that Etsuo was once again weaving a sequence of hand signs. Judging by the hand seals he was using it seemed as though Etsuo was preparing another katon jutsu. Bokuden’s foot grinded into the mine’s dirt floor before leaping backwards in order to create space for him to avoid another one of Etsuo’s fire streams. He assumed an athletic position as his eyes focused in his opponent’s direction, watching for the first sign of flames in order to take evasive maneuvers.

To Bokuden’s surprise, no flames were expelled when Etsuo completed his jutsu. Bokuden paused for a second as he awaited something to happen and he did fully expect something to happen. He didn’t know what was coming but her was sure of two things, Etsuo definitely performed a jutsu and that jutsu was going to be associated with the katon element. With his sword still lowered he awaited Etsuo to make his next move, staring into the darkness where he was located, before making any unnecessary moves not knowing what that last jutsu had initiated. Bokuden’s eyes widened as he took a breath only to get a whiff of a noxious odor that was now permeating the area. “It’s gas!” Bokuden exclaimed in his own mind before turning his wrist and thrusting his sword straight into the ground in front of him, freeing both of his hand in order to weave hand signs.

From the corner of his eye Bokuden then noticed a mass of flaming bats forming over in Horui and Nagare’s direction. He has seen them use jutsu similar to this before, but it was a defensive jutsu. Had Nagare noticed the gas as well? Either way Bokuden began weaving hand signs of his own in preparation for the ignition of this gas that he was sure that Etsuo was going to cause. He was right about one thing, someone was going to ignite the gas, but shockingly the perpetrator was Nagare and not Etsuo. A stream of flames erupted from Nagare’s mouth aimed directly at the area where Bokuden assumed the gas cloud was sitting, prompting Bokuden to cast the jutsu he had prepared immediately. Using his Water Prison jutsu Bokuden created a sphere of water around himself, making an impromptu shield against the flaming explosion that was now surging through the mine. His water clones however, were not so fortunate. There would have been no point in having them use the water prison jutsu to protect themselves, the chakra drain from it would have made them close to unusable from that point on regardless.

As the torrent of flames subsided, Bokuden released his jutsu and looked over to his clones which were covered in second degree burns and shortly thereafter reverted back to puddles of water. He shifted his gaze over to Nagare and Horui and awaited some manner of explanation for their interference.  "I figured a change of pace was due, and I wanted to actually see the fight. So, I took advantage of Etsuo's jutsu. You may continue," Nagare explained. Fair enough, Bokuden thought to himself before peering around the rest of the mine for a moment. The explosion had blown a hole in the ceiling, illuminating the mine once again. The light was of little consequence to Bokuden who had no difficulty fighting without the use of his eyes, but he’d take it, one more way to pick up cues from his opponent couldn’t hurt. Bokuden ran his fingers back through his soaked hair before retrieving his sword from the ground in front of him. He examined the wrappings around the hit and saw that he would have to re-wrap them as the flames had damaged the cloth. He shrugged the thought off and sheathed his katana once more before looking over the Etsuo. Despite the brief interruption the fight was still on. Now it was Etsuo’s turn to fight in an environment that favored Bokuden…

---

Suiton C>B: 2000/2000
Suiton B>A: 1236/3000

Chakra: 119/200:

Nagare watched intently when suddenly a sound resonated through the area. "What the hell was that...?" he thought to himself, as he looked through the mine. Etsuo and Bokuden were still staring each other down, and he held out a hand as a signal to stop. Sadao appeared at the entrance of the cave was a beaming smile. "Nagare! I've been looking for you all day. Hurry, come with me! It's important!" Nagare would've told him he was busy, but this battle didn't seem to be very interesting, as Bokuden clearly had the upper hand. Etsuo didn't really have his full potential without a puppet. He turned to his students, and said quietly. "I apparently have to go. You two are dismissed, we'll continue this another day. See you guys later." before exiting the mine with Sadao.

(Exit)

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Training Raiton B > A
Word Count: 1,464/2,850
To be continued in another thread

As Nagare scurried out of the mine leaving his two students behind to make sense of what just happened amongst themselves Bokuden began making his way out of the cavern as well. "Well, that was anti-climactic," Bokuden said to Etsuo, stopping to talk to him before making leaving, "We'll have to finish this some other time. No point in beating you if there is no one around to see my victory. Later." Bokuden turned away once again and made his way out of the tunnel, disappearing into the darkness of the mine.