Nagare and Horui looked over the Hokage Mountain that they stood on, out over the village. All of the devastation was still there, destroyed buildings, corpses, ashes...but at least all of the fires were put out, and the turmoil in the streets, the terrified villagers, and the active destruction, was at least ceased. It was night now, just earlier today everything had happened...the fight, the aftermath, and now this. Nagare stood there with his usual frown, unable to find anything positive of this moment. He had come to stop one threat, and ended up fighting another one entirely.

What was happening to this world? and what was happening to him? During the fight, he had felt that pressure again, the darkness overcoming him. He didn't exactly remember what had happened once it did, but when he regained consciousness, the fight was over...it couldn't have done much good. The world was changing, with Arashi's death as well as Sero's, with the Shichiouza, and the last five years of tension building. He didn't want to have to fight a war against the Shichiouza and all of the missing-ninja. As much as he didn't want to admit it, he was afraid of dying...

Horui wasn't present for the battle (as Nagare was learning to fight without relying on his kekkei genkai so much), but he had still processed Nagare's memories and therefore held the experience within his mind. He meditated on it over and over, trying to think of a way to stop the Demon within them. It wasn't really an actual Demon, per se, but rather a subconscious evil within Nagare's mind, most likely the result of strain on the ninja's brain and the constant "being two people at once" thing. Psychologically speaking, it was probably dissociative identity disorder, when added into the natural Sōseiji abilities, basically crammed three different people into the same mind...it was doing mental damage that could be permanent. They needed to think of a way to rid themselves of this dark version of Nagare, the evil within. Even with that problem fixed, they could still be killed, and death was the thing they wanted to avoid...

The only natural solution to prevent Nagare from dying was to become even stronger. He had mastered summoning, Ninjutsu, and a bit of the sword arts...but now he needed to take it to the top, and learn more. But with great power came the risk of the dark side of him coming, and killing those he cared for and those that were important. He couldn't always count on his kekkei genkai to save him from himself. He turned to face Horui, who was still looking out over the buildings. We're going to train. More. Horui just nodded, and thought back, I figured. I can read your thoughts, you know this already. Nagare smirked and continued. He always was the type to finish his point, even if the person listening already understood.

Fuuinjutsu. It's the only way to control this thing inside of me, inside of us. It will stop it from killing any more, and we can also use the art of sealing in additional ways during battle. Now, the only problem is, who will teach us... With that last thought, the sound of footsteps came from behind them.

---

Learning Fuuinjutsu
Word Count: 569/4,750
(Sōseiji KKG: -5% word count requirement)

Takeshi was walking down the street, still sore and bruised from his fight against the rogue ninja. The some of the streets were completely demolished, while some others looked un touched. Still, the ninja made an impact on the village, and most people were scared that he would attack again. That fight taught Takeshi a lot about himself and what he would need to do from now on. He realized that no matter how hard he though he had trained, he needed to train harder. Takeshi was wearing his now normal dress with his forehead protector hung around his neck. Walking down a somewhat undamaged street he decided to take out a cigarette to help cool him down. He lit up and continued to walk while looking at some of the people who were out. He noticed that some of the people now looked at him differently. Some of them had a look that said thank you for everything. Then some others had a look of disgust, like they were about to loose their lunch. This was a look that very few carried before. Now it seemed like most had this look on their face. Takeshi guessed they felt as if they were let down in some way or another. Maybe they felt like the ninja didn't do enough to help the village during the attack. This made Takeshi feel somewhat angered that they felt like this. He felt like they didn't deserve to be saved. Some of his fellow ninja died that day and all they had to say was that they weren't good enough.

Takeshi took the cigarette out of his mouth and exhaled smoke before putting it back in. He stopped in his tracks and looked up the Hokage mountain. The faces of all the past Hokage was there. Takeshi began to wonder what would they think if they saw the village like this. Takeshi needed some space, he needed to think about what he should do. He decided to go up to the top of the mountain, since he had only been up there one time before. He was making his way up to the mountain periodically taking his cigarette out to exhale. Sometimes he would just leave the cigarette in and exhale that way. Soon enough he made it to the stairs that led up the top of the mountain. His closed toed boots made loud noises as he walked up the seemingly never ending stairs. The farther he went up, the more he could feel the wind blowing his red hair. He was getting slightly colder the higher he went up, and within the next few minutes he was at the top. When he was at the top he saw someone else there as well. He didn't recognize the man, though its not like he knew everybody in the village. He walked up a bit closer to the man, and he could see the parts where the village had been damaged. Its sad isn't it. Its definitely not one of our greatest moments. Took a moment to exhale the smoke from his lungs as he gazed out upon the village. There was a few ninja out working on rebuilding the village at the moment. Takeshi would also be out there working, but he was excused due to his part in the fight. There was a lot of things swirling around Takeshi's brain at the moment. So many things he felt that he should have done but didn't do. He needed to be out training, or at least helping.

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A man approached the two of them, and they both turned to face him. He was casually puffing on a cigarette with a reflective expression on his face as he focus his eyes on Nagare. His eyes were a deep brown color, and his hair was a dark red. Just as Nagare was about to say something, the guy spoke. "It's sad, isn't it? It's definitely not one of our greatest moments." Yes, it was sad. Nagare had ventured into Konoha and seen the beauty it had to offer; this travesty only left the beauty faded and the village itself damaged. Were introductions due? Nagare couldn't quite think as of right now, not anymore. It was only natural to say his name, as he always did when he met new people, and he recognized this red-haired man from the fight.

"Indeed, lives lost today will be remembered forever. Now, to be polite...I'm Sōseiji, Nagare. This man beside me is my twin, Horui." he had always said that. 'My twin'. Horui was a mere entity of chakra, but how else would Nagare describe it? He didn't want to go into a long lecture each time he introduced Horui, so he may as well have just left it at twin. Nobody would question it, they looked exactly alike, so the title fit perfectly. As he pushed the dark hair out of his eyes, he continued speaking, "I recognize you from the fight against that missing ninja. You are...?" He wondered if this man was also a Senju, like so many of the other fighters were.

Konoha held many powerful clans to its name, from the great Uchiha and their Sharingan to the Senju who utilized Wood Release, to the Sarutobi and the Will of Fire, and the Hatake, prodigies of Summoning and Raiton. The innate abilities within all of these ninja only gave them greater potential as the strongest ninja around...how was it that Konoha still managed to be invaded? It all made little to no sense. And, just based on the looks of him, the missing ninja who had attacked didn't seem to be from Konoha at all. His hitai-ate wasn't exactly visible through all of the chaos, but it was apparent that the Konoha emblem wasn't on it...maybe the Kumo emblem, but Nagare would've known him if he was a missing-nin who had defected from the Cloud. Iwa? Kiri? Why would he have such a grudge against the Leaf? Nagare sighed as he waited for a reply from the red-haired man, who was still puffing on his cigarette quietly.

---

Learning Fuuinjutsu
Word Count: 1,016/4,750

Takeshi was somewhat lost in his thoughts about the village. He was still looking at the village, and it had an effect on him. Though, he tried to keep that emotion from showing on the inside. He then heard the man start to speak, so he listened to what he had to say. He kept his head forward, still looking at the village while exhaling more smoke. "Indeed, lives lost today will be remembered forever. Now, to be polite...I'm Sōseiji, Nagare. This man beside me is my twin, Horui." When he said this, Takeshi instinctively looked over to see who this man was. As Nagare said, he looked exactly like him. Takeshi didn't think anymore of Nagare's twin, he looked fine to him. Takeshi turned back to look at the village again and after a brief pause he heard Nagare continue to speak. "I recognize you from the fight against that missing ninja. You are...?" Takeshi was surprised to hear that this man was at the fight. He let the smoke come out of his mouth as he turned to Nagare to look him in the eyes. He took the cigarette from out of his mouth so he could talk properly. My name is Takeshi Uzumaki. I might also be somewhat of the minority here, among all the Senju. Takeshi found this slightly amusing, since two of his friends were in the Senju clan. He had never met someone from his own clan, though he knew they had to be out there somewhere. This didn't make him feel any different as he was used to this fact by now. Maybe one day, he would get to meet another one of his clansmen.

Coming back from his thoughts, he looked at Nagare and he didn't look too much older than Takeshi. That would mean that he would have least seen him in the academy. Though, maybe he wasn't a ninja? He could have just been a civilian here taking a visit to the mountain. Takeshi wasn't even sure if civilian's were allowed to even be on the mountain like this, especially during this time. So Takeshi decided to ask the man so he could find out the truth. Now that we know each other's names, I need to ask what your business up here is. Its just that with what just happened, we are trying to secure the village, and not have any more surprises. Takeshi kept his guard up, though not letting that be seen by the naked eye. He didn't want anything else to happen, especially on the Hokage mountain. That would be even more devastating than what just happened here. The Hokage mountain was something that the village held as a treasure. If that were ever destroyed, it would have a bigger impact than the whole village being torn down. Takeshi would die before letting that happen. He was still a little hurt from the previous fight, though that little pain wasn't enough to keep him from fighting again. Besides, if Takeshi let something happen to the mountain, the current Hokage would kill Takeshi anyway.

1113/4000

Takeshi looked over to Horui to give a quick once-over before looking back at Nagare, with a calm expression. "My name is Takeshi Uzumaki. I might also be somewhat of the minority here, among all the Senju. Now that we know each others' names, I need to ask what your business up here is. It's just that with what just happened, we are trying to secure the village, and not have any more surprises." Of course, it only made sense that the village's defenses were up. The gates were closed, everything was under repair, and there were plenty of high-ranking ninja standing guard of the administration building. It was probably protocol to react in such a way just after an attack. Nagare probably looked like a terrorist himself, seeing as no one here recognized him and he had the Kumogakure headband strapped to his arm. He pulled his glasses off and shoved them in his back pocket before looking back at Takeshi and explaining.

"I'm sorry, it was stupid of me to come here just after an attack like that...I'm here to do a mission. I'm a Sannin from Kumogakure no Sato, and I actually came here to fight a group of missing-ninja that have been plotting against Konoha. They're completely unaffiliated with the missing-ninja that attacked earlier today, but they're still a large threat, so the Hokage asked me to accompany a squad to eliminate them. I don't leave for that mission for a few days, though, so until then I decided to be a bit of a tourist. The Hokage Mountain is famous, even in Kaminari no Kuni, so I just wondered what it was like....but no worries, I'll take my leave." he turned and walked away, reaching the stairs behind the mountain and descending with Horui following quickly behind. He stopped halfway down the stairs, realizing what Takeshi had said before that. My name is Takeshi Uzumaki. I might also be somewhat of the minority here, among all the Senju....

...Takeshi Uzumaki...Uzumaki. The Uzumaki were famed as the strongest Fuuinjutsu users in all the nations, capable of SS-Ranked techniques that could seal nearly anything into something else. It was them that subdued the tailed beasts over a century ago, by sealing them within people (usually of their own clan, like Naruto and Kushina Uzumaki). They were called Jinchuuriki, and they were famed as the most powerful ninja with monstrous chakra supplies granted to them from the beast. The Bijuu were great entities made purely of chakra, so sealing them inside of a person only made that person three times stronger than before...An Uzumaki would be the perfect tutor for Nagare in the arts of Fuuinjutsu! Of course! Nagare ran back up the steps, and faced Takeshi from the edge of the rail on the Mountain. "You're an Uzumaki, so you use Fuuinjutsu, correct? Would you mind teaching me? I could teach you something else, in return, to make it fair..." he sincerely hoped that Takeshi would say yes. He was a descendant of Jinchuuriki, of great Kage, of famed ninja. Who better to learn from?

---

Learning Fuuinjutsu
Word Count: 1,553/4,750

Takeshi started to examine the man carefully, trying to find something one him that would prove he was from this village, or even just a civilian. He looked to well dressed to be just a simple civilian, so Takeshi was starting think of other possibilities. Then, by simply looking at the man he saw his forehead protector wrapped around his arm as he took of his glasses. How did he not see this before? Maybe it was just a bad angle, he didn't really start to look at the man until now. From what he could tell, he was Kumogakure, which would mean he was ninja. Which would also mean that he had some to have some kind of paper work with him that would prove he wasn't a missing ninja. Takeshi was ready to ask to see some kind of paperwork until the man started to explain his reasoning for being here at such a time. "I'm sorry, it was stupid of me to come here just after an attack like that...I'm here to do a mission. I'm a Sannin from Kumogakure no Sato, and I actually came here to fight a group of missing-ninja that have been plotting against Konoha. They're completely unaffiliated with the missing-ninja that attacked earlier today, but they're still a large threat, so the Hokage asked me to accompany a squad to eliminate them. I don't leave for that mission for a few days, though, so until then I decided to be a bit of a tourist. The Hokage Mountain is famous, even in Kaminari no Kuni, so I just wondered what it was like....but no worries, I'll take my leave." After the explanation it made sense to Takeshi now. Even though Takeshi never really heard of him before, the title of Sannin wasn't to be taken lightly. That would mean that he was a highly respected and powerful man.

Takeshi watched as Nagare walked away. Takeshi didn't have much to say to the mam, so he didn't say anything. It was cool that he got to meet one of the Sannin from another village. He kind of wished they got to spar, though Takeshi realized that he had to be a busy man. What with the ninja who were supposedly plotting against Konoha which made Takeshi's blood boil. What was so bad about Konoha that people had to plot and try to destroy at every turn. Takeshi has done multiple missions involving people trying to take down Konoha and it was something that Takeshi never understood. He began to wonder if any of the other villages had to deal with stuff like this, right? Sucking in more smoke from his cigarette, Takeshi began to calm down. Takeshi closed his eyes and let the air around him cool him off. Then he heard Nagare almost shout something. "You're an Uzumaki, so you use Fuuinjutsu, correct? Would you mind teaching me? I could teach you something else, in return, to make it fair..." It was true that Takeshi's mother passed down a lot of concepts that dealt with Fuuinjutsu down to him. So Takeshi could easily pass that knowledge down as well, it wouldn't be hard to do. Nagare even offered to teach Takeshi something as well, so Takeshi thought of he may want to be taught. Then the idea came into his head. Could you teach me the art of Kuchiyose? I'm not sure of your abilities, so I can understand if you're unable to teach me.

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Takeshi's expression was one of pensive reflectivity, as he took a moment to make a decision. Nagare anticipated a "yes" desperately, and he pushed the hair out of his eyes again. Takeshi's lips parted, and the answer came slowly. "Could you teach me the art of Kuchiyose? I'm not sure of your abilities, so I can understand if you're unable to teach me." Was he kidding? This had to be a miracle, or at the very least a fortunate coincidence. Nagare considered himself a master of Kuchiyose, so this situation would work out for both ninja quite well. He smiled back at Takeshi with a genuine relief as he said, "You're pretty lucky, I just so happen to know a lot about Kuchiyose. I'll teach you, of course, in exchange for your skill." So now it was settled, the two of them would walk away from this as stronger ninja. How would this training start? He'd never learned any sort of sealing jutsu, so this would be interesting...

"Okay, so let's go ahead and get started. I'll teach you Kuchiyose first, as that will most likely be faster. The first thing that anyone should learn when learning Kuchiyose is the basic Summoning Jutsu. You don't need a scroll to summon an animal, contrary to popular opinion. Observe...you just make the summoning seal on the ground, and sign it with your blood and your chakra." Nagare explained as he bit a thumb, tearing the skin ever so lightly to cause a trickle of blood. He pressed the hand down on the surface of the Hokage Mountain, leaving a seal in its place and his blood in the center. Soon, along with a puff of smoke, appeared Mohan, a black-and-gold bat that Nagare frequently used in battle. The creature landed on his arm, keeping his golden eyes on Takeshi. "You summoned me?"

Nagare replied quietly, "Mohan, this is Takeshi, and we're gonna teach him Kuchiyose today while he teaches me Fuuinjutsu. Takeshi, this is Mohan, one of my bat summons." Mohan nodded and flapped his wings a few times to get acquainted with the Konoha air.

"This doesn't feel like Kumogakure, the air is much denser..."

"Yes, because we're in Konohagakure. I'll explain more later." Horui stepped up next, repeating the same gestures. He started with a canine tooth, and tore a small cut into the palm of his right hand. As the blood began to seep through, he pressed it to the ground in a summoning seal of his own, and with another puff of smoke, a white bat appeared and landed on Horui's shoulder. Nagare explained..."...and this bat, is Takeshi, same name as you. He's another one of my bat summons." Takeshi the Bat's toothy grin shone brightly as he opened his mouth and bared his fangs. "Now, Takeshi. You wanna give the Summoning Jutsu a try?" he said, turning his attention back to the Uzumaki ninja in front of him.

---

Learning Fuuinjutsu
Word Count: 2,065/4,750

"You're pretty lucky, I just so happen to know a lot about Kuchiyose. I'll teach you, of course, in exchange for your skill." It was a lucky guess really. Takeshi just said it at the moment, he wasn't really thinking about it. Though he knew that kuchiyose was a strong art, and Takeshi had no problem with training in it. He had thought about taking up the art sooner, though he never really knew how to do such a thing. At the academy, they only taught them so much. In return, Takeshi would have to teach Nagare the art of sealing. After that quick thought, Takeshi listened to Nagare as he gave his explanation on how to summon his beasts. "Okay, so let's go ahead and get started. I'll teach you Kuchiyose first, as that will most likely be faster. The first thing that anyone should learn when learning Kuchiyose is the basic Summoning Jutsu. You don't need a scroll to summon an animal, contrary to popular opinion. Observe...you just make the summoning seal on the ground, and sign it with your blood and your chakra." Takeshi learned something new in that instant. At the academy, they always stressed that they would need a scroll to summon things. He was going to ask Nagare why this wasn't the case, but he didn't want to interrupt his lecture. With his hands in his jean pockets he listened to Nagare, putting his full attention on what he was saying. He watched as Nagare bit his thumb causing a little drop of blood to appear. Nagare put his hand on the ground and out of nowhere the markings of seal appeared. Shortly after, a cloud of smoke sprung up which caused Takeshi to close his eyes. He opened them to see a bat with very distinct colors. He had a mix of black and gold, the gold shining brightly into Takeshi's eyes.

The bat started to stare at Takeshi like he was the enemy. He didn't blame him, to his knowledge, Takeshi could have been very much hostile. In any case, the bat flew up to Nagare's arm and kept his eyes on Takeshi. It wasn't until Nagare explained to the bat who was called Mohan that they were teaching Takeshi kuchiyose that he somewhat let his guard down. Mohan started to say something about how the air was different here than at Kumogakure. Takeshi never thought about how the air could be different somewhere else. He wondered if the air was cooler at Kumogakure. Freeing himself from his own thoughts, he watched as Nagare's twin repeated the same process of summoning, and he even summoned a bat. This bat was all white, and its name was Takeshi. Takeshi found this slightly amusing, though not enough to bust out in laughter. He continued to smoke his cigarette which was almost done when Nagare asked Takeshi to give summoning jutsu a try. This confused Takeshi because he hadn't made a contract of any sorts with an animal. How exactly would I be able to do such a thing. I don't know of any animal to summon. Takeshi exhaled smoke for his mouth with the cigarette still in his mouth. Takeshi didn't know much about kuchiyose, but he did know that he just couldn't summon things willy nilly. Then again, maybe he could and just didn't know it yet. Hopefully Nagare would give him an answer to such a question.

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Takeshi observed both of the summons carefully, smiling while he puffed on his cigarette. The look on his face was one of amused humor, and he spoke up between breaths of smoke. "How exactly would I be able to do such a thing? I don't know of any animal to summon." Nagare smiled, as Bokuden had said the same thing when Nagare taught him Kuchiyose. There had to be a simple way to explain it, maybe an analogy? He thought that his point would come across when he said that scrolls weren't needed, but apparently not. It just surprised him that something that made so much sense to him without a second thought confounded other people; he did know Kuchiyose was complicated, but he had been doing it since he was a child.

"I'll put it like this. Summons are from another dimension, as you know, and they possess jutsu and weapons like us. The basic Summoning Jutsu acts as a gateway, and whatever wanders through really can't be predetermined. A random summon will appear if you don't hold a contract when you use the jutsu. Once you befriend a summon, they might want to forge a contract with you and grant you a summoning scroll. Summon scrolls act as a link to the 'gateway'; when you have one, it makes the summoning jutsu much more efficient, as when you use it, the scroll opens the gate to that summon's clan...that's where it gets more complicated, so let's go back a bit. You're just opening the gateway; you're not pulling a summon out, you're not creating an animal out of thin air. Anyone can use the summoning jutsu, because all it does is open a gate. Now, try it." Was that a sufficient explanation? It sounded weird. Nagare probably just confused Takeshi even more, but that didn't matter, he just needed to use the Summoning Jutsu.

Horui made a hand seal to de-summon both Takeshi the Bat and Mohan, before facing Takeshi again, anticipating the first attempt at a summon.

---

Learning Fuuinjutsu
Word Count: 2,419/4,750

Takeshi listened to Nagare carefully as he explained the properties of Kuchiyose. Takeshi wasn't a stupid person, otherwise he wouldn't have achieved the rank of Jounin, but this explanation sounded a little weird. Takeshi had to open a gate of some sorts, and something would just pop out and decide whether or not they liked you. Takeshi didn't think it worked like that, but he just went with it. Takeshi didn't bite his thumb or anything like that, he just put his hand on the ground. He figured he didn't have to, since he didn't have a real contract yet. All he really did was focus chakra in his hand and everything worked itself out. The next thing Takeshi saw a bright light, and then a giant cloud of smoke sprung up. Takeshi got up from his crouched position and took a few steps back. He didn't know what to expect, but what he saw took him by surprise. A humanoid well built tiger, well above the size of Takeshi, was looking down on him. He had the normal orange fur with black stripes as his eyes looked at Takeshi. He had his arms folded while releasing a low growl that sounded menacing. Takeshi however wasn't scared, he stood there with his hands in his pockets still puffing away at the cigarette that was almost spent. He made eye contact with the tiger and didn't break that contact. Then he began to open his mouth and let out an aggressive sounding deep voice. Who are you human, tell me your name. The tiger didn't sound hostile, it sounded more like it was keeping its guard up. Takeshi answered the tiger without fear, not breaking eye contact. My name is Takeshi Uzumaki, mind telling me yours?

The tiger kept eye contact with Takeshi, not saying a word. He was sizing Takeshi up, trying to see what he was made of. Takeshi could sense this, so he didn't let on anything that could make him weak. They spoke no words, they only stared each other down with their guards up. After that long pause, the tiger simply let out a quick breath of air and broke eye contact. The tiger looked around and saw Nagare, though he found no interest. He turned back at Takeshi, but this time he didn't stare at him. He only gave him a quick glance over, and after a few more seconds, Takeshi saw a cloud of smoke. In it cleared, the tiger was gone, Takeshi didn't know what happened. Maybe the tiger de-summoned himself? Do they even have that power? This is what Takeshi thought about as the last of the smoke cleared, leaving only Nagare and him on the mountain. Takeshi didn't understand the tiger, and he still didn't get to know the tiger's name. This truly bothered Takeshi, though he did feel something. He felt that the tiger approved of him in some way. This may have just been all in Takeshi's mind, but he was sure that something went down just now. He would have to summon that tiger again and get an answer to some of these questions. Takeshi was sure that he would have to fight that tiger one day. Takeshi turned back to Nagare with a slight smile on his face. Thank you for that, I think I can handle it from here. Now, I guess its my turn huh?

Takeshi took the cigarette that was in his mouth out and flicked it off the mountain. The flame of the cigarette was already gone, it was nothing more than a cold husk now. Takeshi watched it for awhile as it fell into eternity. Takeshi keeping his back turned, Takeshi thought about a good way to try and explain this in a way that he could understand. Fuuinjutsu isn't that hard really, you seal something into or out of something. His mother taught him all of this over the period of fourteen years. She taught him the concepts and principles of fuuinjutsu which all seemed really easy for him to understand. Takeshi thought about what he should use as an example. He had no scrolls with him or anything like that. All he had was his pack of cigarettes. Looking at the pack, he then came up with the perfect example he could give. He turned back around to look at Nagare while holding the pack of cigarettes. Before he started to talk again, he pulled out a cigarette and put it in his mouth. He then pulled out his lighter and lit up his cigarette and took a deep breath. After which he put the light in his pocket and began to speak. Fuuinjutsu is very easy and it has a simple concept. With this concept, you can do an almost anything... He paused to let Nagare soak up what was being said.

3087/3000 Kuchiyose Learned.

Takeshi commenced his attempt, following through with the ritual. He put a hand to the ground, and through the smoke that cleared, a tiger stood. Wow, a tiger. Nagare had never seen a tiger summon before. He was sure that one would make a good companion, especially in battle...he turned back to Takeshi, who was looking completely calm. Horui approached the tiger to pet it, but the beast let out a low growl before physical contact could be made. Probably wasn't the smartest idea, anyhow, but Horui walked back to where Nagare was standing with a sad look. He apparently really wanted to pet it. The beast finally spoke, after a few more seconds in silence. "Who are you, human? Tell me your name." A question clearly directed towards Takeshi. Both he and the tiger never broke eye contact, and the scene was quite tense.

"My name is Takeshi Uzumaki, mind telling me yours?" The tiger held a glare that read judging; he was seeing if Takeshi was worthy, powerful, but by the unsureness in his eyes, he couldn't tell just by the look. Nagare knew that Takeshi was quite strong, it was obvious considering his first summon was a large tiger, but the tiger didn't see that as skill; he wanted to test Takeshi, to see his limits...but instead of attacking or anything further, the tiger finally broke eye contact, looking away to the distance. He gave a quick look at Nagare, who looked back with fiery red eyes, and the scene lost its tension as the tiger lost interest. Maybe it had seen what it wanted to in its summoner, but only time would tell. Shortly after, Takeshi looked back to Nagare, and Horui perked up, as he'd be engaging in this training as well. "Thank you for that, I think I can handle it from here. Now, I guess its my turn huh?" Nagare nodded.

"I suppose so. I apologize in advance if I can't grasp the concept as fast, I'll do my best." Takeshi pulled the cigarette he was smoking out, throwing it over the edge of the structure, down to the village below. It had lost its flame, and he watched it as it fell down to the ground. He casually pulled another out from the pack with a pensive expression, lighting it and taking a puff or two before speaking.

"Fuuinjutsu is very easy and it has a simple concept. With this concept, you can do an almost anything..." Nagare listened, applying his own knowledge of Fuuinjutsu (which was somewhat limited) to the "concept". Using a variation of jutsu to seal one thing into another. It brought his mind back to the jinchuuriki, the most famous application of Fuuinjutsu. He sighed and looked back to Takeshi, regaining his "ready-to-learn" mindset.

"So where do I start?"

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Learning Fuuinjutsu
Word Count: 2,900/4,750

Holding the pack of cigarettes, Takeshi thought about the best way he could explain this. So, he decided to use a family jutsu while explaining in hopes that it would help. So Takeshi raised the pack of cigarettes to shoulder length and then looked at Nagare before he beginning to speak.  Fuuinjutsu is all about sealing, and unsealing. This is a very general concept, and if you have an imagination, you could take this concept very far. Simple right? Takeshi paused for a moment to let this information sink in before he moved on to further explain. What I'm going to show you is the Uzumaki sealing style that isn't much different from the simple generic sealing. The only difference is I don't need a scroll to seal objects. After he said this he formed rat hand seal and then touched the pack of cigarettes. In that instant, the cigarettes disappeared, and they were now in the void. Takeshi took this moment to inhale and then exhale his smoke, he shook the ash off the cigarette before putting it back in his mouth. He then turned his attention back to Nagare. In the generic sealing you would need a scroll to seal something. But as with summoning, this isn't always the case. Yes, scrolls may be a bit easier to seal things, but you can seal something in just about everything. He then formed the rat seal again and then smacked his hand onto the ground. Almost like the last time, the cigarettes instantly appeared from out of the void. He picked up the cigarettes and put them into his pocket.

He then looked back at Nagare after returning back to his standing position. Fuuinjutsu can take many different forms, and sometimes they may even closely resemble ninjutsu. You could even say that Fuuinjutsu is just ninjutsu with a fancy seal on top. Takeshi paused again, taking the moment to suck in, and then release the smoke from his lungs. He wasn't too sure if Nagare really absorbed everything he said to him. This all seemed very easy to Takeshi, the reason being he was an Uzumaki. His mother taught him how to do all this stuff, and Takeshi could have probably even took it deeper in the explanations he wanted to. He just wanted to keep it very simple because that's what Fuuinjutsu was, simple. There was no real need to sexy it up any further. He could understand however if Nagare had questions about the subject, so Takeshi took this moment to ask. Well, that's pretty much it, do you have any questions? Takeshi was ready to answer any question about this subject. He probably could answer any question on the subject if need be.

Takeshi held up the package of cigarettes so that they were clear in Nagare's view, the label still shiny and new. The tops of cigarettes could be seen poking out from inside. What was he planning? He slowly began to explain Fuuinjutsu, still not venturing from his constant repeating of the thought that it was a "simple" and "general" concept that was very flexible. That wasn't where Nagare was struggling, obviously. He knew what it was, just as Takeshi was saying again. Sealing and unsealing. He finally explained how this teaching session would work; he would demonstrate the Uzumaki Sealing technique for Nagare, to show how to seal without use of a scroll, unlike how it is usually done with one. Nagare watched closely as his mentor set down the cigarettes and raised a rat hand seal, a seal that Nagare didn't know much at all about. The package of cigarettes suddenly disappeared, and left on the ground was a sigil written in Kanji.

"In the generic sealing, you would need a scroll to seal something. But as with summoning, this isn't always the case. Yes, scrolls may be a bit easier to seal things, but you can seal something in just about everything." The demonstration definitely helped, but verbally, Takeshi was just going in circles. Nagare figure'd there was only so many ways to put it. The Uzumaki made yet another rat hand seal, and out of thin air, the cigarettes reappeared, and he put them back into his pocket with a casual puff on the one already in his mouth. "Fuuinjutsu can take many different forms, and sometimes they may even closely resemble ninjutsu. You could even say that Fuuinjutsu is just Ninjutsu with a fancy seal on top." The ninja of Kumogakure nodded, pushing the long, pitch-black hair from his eyes and focusing them on Takeshi again. Takeshi asked for any further questions, and Nagare simply said 'no.' He supposed it was time to give it a shot himself.

Chakra control would be the only issue here. He knew the hand seal, one hand over the other, fingers bent slightly. The Rat. He knew what he would be doing; transferring the being of one thing into another. From the corner of his eye he noticed a cluster of leaves, twirling in the wind. He walked over to them, taking one of them in his grasp and feeling it between his fingers. He took another in his other hand and held it high. It couldn't be much different from summoning, so his first attempt would be just that, essentially. He would use the same method he used to recall summons to their origins here; he would recall the first leaf to be left within the second. He used the space between his ring and middle finger to take the second leaf into his other hand, and pressed both hands together, clasping them into a Rat hand seal. He closed his eyes and focused his chakra into the first leaf, then from there pushed it all into the second. A few seconds passed, with the breeze brushing his face...when he opened them again, only the second leaf remained, with a small seal imprinted on it. A smile of relief washed over him. "Wow, that was easy."

Next step, obviously, was to remove the seal and therefore let the first leaf out of the other. Nagare made the rat seal once again, focusing his power on the seal brandished upon the leaf. It was there, a cage binding nature within itself, and only he held the key. His chakra weaved in and out, through the tumblers of the "lock", emitting a slight click, click, click that echoed through his mind. The mechanism grinded, unlocked, and the seal broke, giving off a glow for a moment before releasing the leaf, and then there were two, once again, in his hand. He loosened his fingers, letting them fly free and over the edge of the Hokage Monument. He turned to face his twin, who was looking with anticipation at what he would get to try. "Horui, find something to seal within something else. You've gotta master this, too." Horui nodded, clearly excited by the premise, as he picked up a pebble and pulled a lock of hair from his head. A pained expression took him over as the hair was plucked, but the smile returned and he held the two out in front of him.

From within the mind, Nagare gave careful directions... "Just focus all of your chakra into the first object, and then move it directly to the second." Horui listened intently, as the hair glowed red with chakra. It burned bright with the glare when the Rat seal was formed, and it finally faded from view. Horui looked worried for a moment, afraid that he had burned the hair on accident, when he noticed the seal on the rock that was now in place. The Fuuinjutsu was a success. He closed his fist around the rock and squeezed, recreating the Rat hand seal in his other hand, and soon chakra began to flow again. In the entity's mind, there was the picture of the rock, with the seal; the seal was the focal point, and the more he focused on it, the more he heard the sounds of the cage breaking, the hair returning, and the seal ending. Soon enough, this thought process became a reality, and once again in his hands sat both the hair and the rock.

Now that they had both mastered the most basic of Fuuinjutsu techniques, they could move on to more complicated ones. Takeshi had put it this way himself; you could seal something in just about everything. Well, now they would try sealing less tangible things into larger objects, such as the surface they stood on, the Hokage Mountain itself. Nagare stepped forward, creating the Rat hand seal once again. "I'm going to try another application of Sealing, Takeshi...just release the seal if something goes wrong." Horui made a dragon hand seal, followed by a tiger, and he spat forth flames, in a steady line. Nagare immediately responded with chakra concentration, and before the flames could engulf the ground around them, they began to fade, gathering at the base of Nagare's foot, where a Kanji seal that read "Katon" was placed. The fire faded away into it, and the seal was set. Five seconds later, Horui made the rat seal, and Nagare stepped back: the flames came forth again, burning in a vertical flame before fading away, seal and all.

"Good, so I can definitely use this in conjunction with summons and Katon ninjutsu. Useful, indeed!" Nagare spoke with a smile of gratitude, now facing the Uzumaki once more. "I thank you again for your help, I think I've got the hang of this now." Before he departed, though, there was one pressing question at hand...or two, rather. "Actually, two more things: can this be used defensively, and also can I seal things within myself?"

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Learning Fuuinjutsu
Word Count: 4,088/4,750

After Takeshi gave his lecture on Fuuinjutsu, he watched as Nagare began to learn first hand. Takeshi knew Fuuinjutsu wasn't that hard, he heard people at the academy talk it all the time. That it was difficult or confusing, they just didn't listen to the teacher as he spoke. Nagare seemed like a good student, so he picked it up quickly. Maybe that had to do something with the fact that he was a Sannin. Takeshi watched as Nagare got a leaf that was flying about in the wind. Takeshi watched carefully, making sure Nagare's form was right so that he could coach him on it. From what Takeshi could tell, Nagare didn't need any help, he seemed to have a firm idea as to what he was doing. Upon closer examination, Takeshi could see that Nagare had another leaf in his hand. He didn't see if get that leaf, and then Takeshi understood what he was going for. He was trying something simple to make sure he got the hang of it. A few moments passed, and Takeshi saw that Nagare managed to seal the first leaf into the second leaf with no problems. Takeshi was actually slightly amazed that he was able to do it on his first try. Looking over a bit, Takeshi could see the Nagare's twin brother also managing to seal something with no problems. They were quick learners, that was a fact. Takeshi watched as they moved on to something a little more dangerous. Nagare asked Takeshi before hand to help out if something went wrong, and he nodded. He didn't know what they were trying to do at first, but it didn't take long to figure out. There plan was to seal fire almost instantaneously, which was slightly advanced.

Takeshi didn't try to stop them from doing so. If they felt like they were ready to do something like that, more power to them. The only thing Takeshi could advice would be they should have practiced with something a little less dangerous. Takeshi watched carefully, smoking his cigarette, making sure they didn't screw up anywhere, though if they managed to do it the first time, they could do it now. The fire went, and then vanished into a seal to be unsealed. Takeshi thought about clapping for them, but he felt like that would have been a little unnecessary. A few moments passed again, and Nagare released the seal to let fire come out in a straight line. It was cool to look at, it was kind of like one of those restaurants he went to sometimes. After a short pause, Nagare turned to Takeshi with a smile on his face. Not knowing what to do in that situation, Takeshi just gave him a thumbs up. Saying thank you Takeshi replied with a simple "No problem" since it was no real hassle for him. Nagare then came to Takeshi with a question about Fuuinjutsu, that turned into two separate ones. The answer to your first question is yes, though how you go about it is up to you. The answer to you second question is also a yes. The best example being the jinchuurki of times passed.

"The answer to your first question is yes, though how you go about it is up to you. The answer to you second question is also a yes. The best example being the jinchuurki of times passed." Of course, of course. It was stupid of Nagare to think otherwise, considering the jinchuuriki was the first thing that he thought of when he even heard Uzumaki in the first place. He nodded quietly at that response, before meditating on how to use it defensively. He would practice it all later on...he actually had a lot of training to catch up on, between Ninjutsu and Bukijutsu and Fuuinjutsu, and a mission to do, of course. He'd start with the mission, though, as that was far more urgent. He may have been able to fit in some training during the mission. Technically, any sort of battling could be considered training. He was going off into thought again! He always did that. He snapped out of it and looked back at Takeshi.

"Alright. I'll be in Konoha for a few more days, since I still need to do my mission, so I might see you around. I also think you should visit Kumogakure sometime, I'd love it if you did." He gave another wave and turned to leave. The staircase wrapped down and around the Hokage Monument, and he descended the staircase slowly. Horui followed behind quickly, and they headed off into the village streets. It was growing late, as the moon rose into the sky and the area grew darker. Nagare turned to Horui with a grin. I'm actually really excited about this. We keep getting stronger and stronger... Horui nodded slowly, looking down at his feet and at the leaves that seemed to be scattered everywhere they were. Yeah, it's good. So now that we've fit in that, when are we heading back to Kumogakure? I miss home. Nagare cocked his head to the left, as he had already been over this.

Well, you know we have a mission to do. Horui knew he was right, but it still seemed off. He had come to Konoha just after nearly killing his father, and hadn't acknowledged the situation at all. The mission was an escape of sorts. You decided to take a mission in another nation the day after you almost killed Tamotsu. I had to stop you. And you didn't even care that your mom was dead. Nagare stopped, and his hair fell over his eyes. A single tear dropped, hitting the ground softly. Why was he crying? There was plenty of reasons why.  His mother was dead. It was just now hitting him. The woman that had raised him, though not exactly the best parent or the most caring, was gone. He'd never speak to her again, he'd never see her face. She was completely fine and then dead within a few days. His father was a different story, that man could take things too far, he was violent and had rage issues, so there was less care there. He faced Horui again.

I'm not ready to deal with anything just yet. I hate to admit it, but I'm just not strong enough. We'll discuss it tomorrow, for now, let's go get some food. Horui nodded, and they continued down the road. Nagare walked a bit slower so that he fell behind...later on, he knew that he would release his kekkei genkai so that Horui couldn't bother him for the rest of the night. They scanned the area for a food place, but nothing interesting was nearby. Finally, they noticed a sign that read, "Ichiraku Ramen: World Famous Ramen!" Horui pointed, and Nagare shrugged, ready to follow. As far as they remembered, the Ramen in Kumogakure wasn't the best. Hopefully it was better here. Nagare wiped the tear from his face, preparing to release the kekkei genkai. For now, he could focus on his new skill, eat some food, and try to be happy again.

(Exit Thread)

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Learning Fuuinjutsu
Word Count: 4,770/4,750

Training Complete