Yoshiro's eyes stayed pressed to Nagare's sword technique; it was obvious that his focus was on the blade sheath within the Sannin's hand rather than on Yoshiro's own fire concentration. He broke the steady pace of the battle and said,
"Forgive my rudeness, Nagare-senpei, but if I may offer some advice. Your grip seams to be extremely tight; the grip should almost caress the handle like you would a woman; your swings should follow with your body's movements, maintaining the momentum generated from each swing and in turn allowing for speed and power." Nagare sighed, it seemed everyone was a critique of his Kenjutsu. But this kid was using odd similes, like "caress the handle like you would a woman", which annoyed Nagare a bit. Sure, Yoshiro was better as a swordsman than Nagare, but Nagare had literally heard the exact same thing from Bokuden, and the momentum of his swings was fine.
Just hurry up and throw the flames at me... the Sōseiji thought to himself as he turned his head to the left and cracked his neck. Yoshiro finally concentrated, building Fuuton chakra into his sword. So he was planning some sort of combination attack? Nagare supposed that was fine, as long as he could manage to make SOME sort of Katon technique. The only concern that sat uncomfortably in the back of Nagare's mind was the possibility that Yoshiro could lose control of the flames, and they could end up hurting the guy or that curious fox that was standing next to him. The flames wouldn't spread, at least, due to the snow that littered the landscape in long white streaks piled onto the mountain, but that didn't mean that they weren't dangerous, maybe even lethal. Nagare continued to watch with steady eyes, keeping them locked on Yoshiro's sword. He spun the sword sheath in his hand in circles as he waited for a result.
The blade was glowing bright red with heat, and Nagare could feel the humidity from where he stood. This was going to be promising...Yoshiro finally released a blade of wind, but the friction between the blade and the jutsu along with the overall heat of the tool left the wind aflame, in the form of a massive fireball. It grew in size with its movement, reaching 1 meter...2 meters...almost a full three meters in diameter, traveling straight towards Nagare. It wasn't a problem for him, the only real problem was that Yoshiro hadn't thought this all the way through, and the flame was now so large that even he needed to dodge it. A jutsu that puts wounds the user was practically pointless, but it was a start, so Nagare accepted it as a success. The fireball was closing in, now maybe 20 feet from the Sannin, and he held out his hand.
”Kuchiyose: Yokushumoku no Kinshi!” Just as the fire barreling forward was about to make contact with the Sannin, he rapidly summoned a large wall of bats to take the impact head-on. They all disappeared after sustaining the full brunt of the jutsu, and all that was left was smoke and melted snow. Nagare’s deep-red eyes burned brightly through the smog. He had completely forgotten about Horui, who probably was killed...ah, well, he was just a glorified clone, after all.
The ninja’s grip on the blade sheath in his hand loosened and he wrapped a steady thumb around its edge, feeling it tentatively and debating on a new course of attack. Yoshiro had obviously managed to use Fuuton to his advantage in creating a Katon technique, which meant that he had a useable, if not decent, application and understanding of the release. Now it was time for Nagare to give him a few more tests before ending the training...but, of course, he wanted to have the training be a win-win kind of thing. Yes, it was already fun to be fighting; Nagare loved to train and battle. But it couldn't just be a matter of feeling good through fighting, Nagare needed to improve in battle just as much as Yoshiro did. So, he decided on attacking Yoshiro with the blade sheath again, to get a feel for weapon use more (although the sheath was decidedly lighter than an actual sword, since it wasn't metal and it was hollow, naturally) and also to give Yoshiro an option to use some sort of close-quarters Katon stuff. It wasn’t a magnificent plan or the most extreme training session, but at least Nagare was getting better at swordplay and Yoshiro had a grasp of how Katon worked. The smoke was starting to clear, so Nagare escaped from his thought process to react before he was found.
Yoshiro didn’t seem to notice Nagare watching from afar, behind the smog, so he followed up with another technique. He made a dragon hand seal and a thick mist was poured out from his mouth. It covered the area, and by the time the rest of the smoke faded, the diameter around them was blanketed in the fog, almost impossible to see through. Nagare kept his eyes locked on Yoshiro’s silhouette even as the mist began to hang in the air, so that by the time the jutsu was complete, he would know exactly where the man was standing.
”Now, Yoshiro...this’ll be simple. I just want you to attack me with any Katon you deem fit...the goal here is to adapt to different situations using your new elemental release.” His voice echoed through the mountainside, making it scattered enough so that Yoshiro wouldn’t be able to tell where he was speaking from. He raised the sheath, holding it with a reverse grip in his left hand, ready to strike. He sighed a quiet breath and circling southwest of Yoshiro with intense speed to get perfect sneak attack. He blurred to the location in under a quarter of a second, and was now close enough to land a blow. He swung the sheath with precision, aimed at the crook of Yoshiro’s neck and shoulder. It wouldn’t do any serious hurt, maybe a bit of a bruise, considering it was only a sword hilt, but it would give the pupil a good opportunity to strike back, as was the purpose of training in the first place.
- Bukijutsu Training Complete:
Bukijutsu [Kenjutsu] Training
Word Count: 3,023/3,000
Training Complete
- 140/175:
Horui died, unable to be recreated until next thread. Chakra supply remains at half capacity.
Name: Summoning: Chiropteran Spawn
(Kuchiyose: Yokushumoku no Kinshi -- 口寄せ・翼手目の菌糸)
Canon/Custom: Custom
Rank: B-rank
Type: Offensive | Defensive
Element: Katon
Range: 1-20 meters
Specialty: Kuchiyose (Yami no Ikimono)
Duration: 2 posts
Cooldown: 5 posts
Description: The user extends a hand and summons dozens of small flaming bats. The bats swarm quickly and engulf the enemy, keeping them restrained and biting them. Once the bats all dissipate, the enemy is left with 3rd degree burns all over their body and pierced skin where the bats made contact. The bats can be commanded to form a barrier formation around the user, able to stop 2 C-rank or lower offensive jutsu, or 1 B-rank or higher jutsu before the bats dissipate. S and SS rank jutsu cannot be stopped, and will not only plow through the bats but will also still hit the summoner.
Name: Hidden Mist Technique
(霧隠れの術 -- Kirigakure no Jutsu)
Canon/Custom: Canon
Rank: D-Rank
Type: Supplementary
Element: Suiton
Range: 19 meter Diameter
Specialty: Ninjutsu
Duration: 3 posts
Cooldown: 6 posts
Description: A common technique among ninja of Kirigakure, the user expels a mist from their mouth or from an existing water source. This variant of the technique is D-rank, in that it uses less chakra and only covers a 19 meter diameter around the user. The mist effectively hides the user, as few can see through the mist (although those with the Byakugan can accomplish this easily). Since the mist is made from the user's chakra, those with the Sharingan and the Rinnegan cannot see through it.