Aiza stood at his windowsill, looking out excitedly. He had received news that his brother would be visiting, according to his mother. He spent his morning wondering what his real parents would think of his adoptive family, and how wonderful they all were...Katsu was now 35 years old, and their mother was nearing 70. It was all so surreal, but he welcomed aging. He was the type to age gracefully and let his experience grow rather than dwell in the past and let it tear his future apart. He could only become stronger from here. Now his mind was set on his brother, and how much he had  missed him. The two hadn't seen each other in over a year and a half now, since his last visit to Kirigakure. Now, he was a high-ranking ninja of Konohagakure, living up to his dreams of being like Katsu. He wondered how to properly welcome the guy; he'd lived in Konoha before, so he knew all the sights, and there was no need for touristry...but Aiza still didn't want to bore him.

A knock came to the door. Already? Aiza smiled with excitement, running over to his closet and throwing on a tank top before going out into the living room and opening it. The familiar voice of Katsu rang in his ears from the figure in front of him. "Hey, Aiza. Long time no see." They embraced tightly for a moment before pulling each other away. Upon observation, it was obvious that Katsu hadn't changed much, physically. He was still about an inch or two shorter than Aiza, maybe five feet and six inches high. He was a bit slimmer due to having less muscle than Aiza did, because he specialized in stealth and Ninjutsu, as well as Bukijutsu. The sword strapped to his back shone silver in the sunlight, and his Kirigakure flak jacket and standard ninja gear fit him well. The Kirigakure headband was tied around his head, and long brown hair fell all around it messily. His green eyes were as deeply colored as the leaves in the trees surrounding them. After a few moments of awkwardly staring at each other, Aiza ushered Katsu in and they sat on the couch. "I got the news that you'd be here yesterday, what brings you to town?" Aiza started.

"Nothing much, really. I just felt like I needed to pay you and Mom and visit...I heard you got promoted to Special Jounin, eh? That means it's about time I train you."

"Train me? Ha, you saying you wanna fight me?"

"If that's how you want to put it, but I do want to teach you a few tricks as well." Aiza nodded, and held out a hand. "Well, I accept your little challenge, but I get to choose the battlefield! and I chose....the Naka Riverside." Katsu smiled as if to say "fair enough", and they both left the house, off toward the forests. Katsu's confidence was evident in the way he walked and talked; he was a bit cocky, but Aiza wasn't worried. He could handle himself in a fight. He'd grabbed his Gigantes' Fists on the way out of the house, and he strapped them on now as his pace slowed. Katsu looked over and noticed the dark gauntlets around Aiza's hands. "Those are nice, it's about time you got a good weapon."

"Made them myself, took forever. Looks like your sword has a new contender for 'Best Handmade Weapon'." Aiza retorted playfully. He looked again to the aforementioned sword; Katsu was given the base parts by Sanjin back when he was only five...they weren't even sword parts, just ornaments and relics of black wood and rare ores passed down in the Ōbetsu family (Sanjin's own heritage, which was the same surname Katsu now possessed [although Aiza kept his biological parents' surname instead]) for generations. After Sanjin's suicide, Katsu formed a blade with them, making the hilt from the relics and whatnot and the cutting edge of obsidian and steel. It was a fine katana that could easily cut through most anything, and Katsu used it always. Aiza had hoped to have a meaningful weapon like that someday, and now the Gigantes' Fists were that to him.

A few moments later, the running river could be heard, and they reached a long stretch of plain where the river flowed wide and full, rushing loudly yet somehow still soothing in its own right. Aiza stopped at the south and faced north, while Katsu stopped at the north and faced Aiza. "This is exciting, I haven't battled you since I had just become a Genin...I'll show you how much I've grown. Let's go!"

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Learning Earth Release: Double Suicide Decapitation
Word Count: 750/750 -Complete

Learning Divine Water Release: Abyssal Claws
Word Count: 58/2,000

Katsu didn't waste any time loitering around; he dashed straight for Aiza, drawing his blade with a swift sleight of hand. "Remember, you can never outspeed a sword with just your fists..." he said with a tinge of overconfidence. The blade was fast approaching, but Aiza wasn't stupid, and he ducked under it. "Don't be so sure!" Aiza retorted as he slammed his fist into Katsu's flak jacket. The edges along the knuckles pierced through the armor and into the skin, just enough to draw blood. Katsu gave an impressed smile before thrusting his sword down like a guillotine. It came to the very surface of Aiza's neck before Aiza countered with his gauntlet and dived to the left before his brother could strike again. They stood about a meter or two apart, breathing hard, as Aiza said something under his breath. "Oh, I almost forgot. I awakened my kekkei genkai since our last battle. This is going to get interesting."

Katsu's eyes were set on Aiza's as the latter began to change form. His eyes became pitch black, his muscles were more defined, his eyes brows became rugged, and his teeth were razor sharp. He also grew about a foot in height, and was now far taller than his opponent. His voice now came out deeper, with a raspy tone. "This is the true power of the Itohane...to think I almost continued this fight without using it. We're a rare clan, so the fact that you get to fight this is an opportunity to behold." Katsu stared at him like he was a monster, and he laughed under his breath. "I thought you wanted to see how strong I've gotten. Well? Come on." Katsu blinked and reversed his sword stance so that he held it with the blade parallel to his arm like a dagger. He still was faster than Aiza, even with the Legacy active, so his first slash in this stance hit mark, cutting into Aiza's right side. He held the wound and felt the warm blood touch his fingers and only smiled. Aiza then dashed back, heading towards the river. Katsu chased after, Aiza struggling to stay ahead, until they were standing on the river. It was raging under their feet, and they were now soaking wet.

Katsu held his blade in front of him. "You haven't even come at me once yet. Why are you holding back?" Aiza bared his lethally-edged teeth and formed a hand seal. 


"Because I wanted to get a field advantage; I always fight better near water. Suiton: Seiryūshō!" The move he used most; he sprinted ahead, catching Katsu off-guard and punching him in the gut. Within half a second, a violent torrent of water threw Katsu a far distance away and dealt additional internal damage, landing in the river with a loud splash. Aiza's enhanced strength only made the Dragon Palm stronger, leaving Katsu struggling to get back on his feet after such a powerful blow. He eventually did, though, stumbling up and planting his feet on the water. A trickle of blood seeped from his mouth. "Damn...you have gotten strong. Looks like I'm gonna have to step it up a notch!" His sword suddenly was aglow with vibrant flames, of a spectrum of hues; some flames were red, some blue, some white and green, with spots of yellow as well. It was beautiful, but Aiza knew this technique too well, and he knew it was dangerous. "Katon: Nijiha!" The flames concentrated into a powerful glow as they built in size and power.

Katsu released the energy all at once, sending 7 giant serpent-shaped flames of different color all at Aiza. Their different colors indicated different temperatures and intensities. Aiza wasn't quite sure how to avoid them; they were closing in far too fast to simply dodge, so he would need to block them somehow. They were now within 30 feet of him, so he decided to try a prototype of his newest technique. "I wasn't planning on using this jutsu until I had mastered the Legacy completely, but I suppose now is as good a time as any to test it." The fire was nearing, roaring as it sizzled even the air around. He held his arm out defensively, and water from the river under came up and encased it. It continued to become denser and denser until the pressure was near impossible, and it faded to a dark black. The final product was much more than a regular arm, but rather a giant black crab pincer. The pincer took the 7 flames head-on, nullifying them completely as its water put them out. It survived the blow and remained in pristine form even after.

Katsu stared at the black mass around Aiza's limb. "Holy shit! How did you just block my strongest jutsu like that!?" The pressure of the water was crushing his arm, so he released the jutsu, letting the water fall back into the river and become blue again. He looked at the limb; it was pulsing with pain, and he could hardly move it. His black eyes returned to blue as well, and so did the rest of his altered features. He stepped off of the river and collapsed to the grass, looking up at the trees. "I'm exhausted, I can't go any more. I shouldn't have used that technique before it was ready." Katsu stepped off of the water and sat down next to him. "It was a good match. I took more damage than you did, that's for sure. I think you cracked one of my ribs!" Aiza smiled, keeping his eyes on the sun. As much as he dreamed it would happen, he never thought that his hopes to become as strong as his brother would come to fruition. He sighed with happiness as he basked in the moment, doing his best to ignore the pain in his arm and in his torso where the sword wound was.

Katsu, after a while, sat up and asked, "What else do you know? Or was that it?" Aiza approached this question from a direct interpretation.

"Well, originally I was going to stick to strictly Taijutsu and Suiton because those are my fortes. Over my time in the Academy, however, I realized the importance of Ninjutsu as it was part of the required learning; I mastered multiple basic Ninjutsu techniques like the substitution jutsu and whatnot and eventually decided to learn more. My sensei, Sarutobi Mitsuo, taught me the more intermediate stuff and since then I've been practicing Suiton ninjutsu and other stuff like the Body Flicker technique. As for additional elements, I've learned how to use Doton thanks to a friend of Mitsuo's who is a Senju."

"Oh, really? You think you're in condition to show me a Ninjutsu or two?" Aiza nodded as if to say "sure" and got back to his feet.

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Learning Divine Water Release: Abyssal Claws
Word Count: 1,238/2,000

Aiza took a solid stance on the ground. His arms were still limp, but with just enough movement in them to make hand seal, albeit slowly. He focused his eyes on Katsu again. "I'll just jump right in. Water Clone Jutsu!" A water clone appeared, one which then charged at Katsu with a clenched fist. Katsu dodged the incoming punch and sprinted to the left, but by that point, Aiza had prepared the Boar hand seal in an effort to set up his next technique. "Doton: Bochi Manriki!" The earth under Katsu took on a soil-like quality and within a second, two hands of mud emerged and gripped him. He struggled to escape, but to no avail; Aiza had him trapped, at the expense of being trapped as well. Luckily, the water clone would be of use here. It went forward and tackled Katsu full-force, breaking the mud's grip and launching Katsu backwards. He recovered in a backwards somersault, back onto his feet, before swinging his sword clean through the clone and dissipating it effortlessly. Aiza looked at him with a smirk.

"Nice mud jutsu. Anything else?" Katsu yelled from the distance. Aiza released the boar hand seal and instead pressed his palm to the earth. "Just one more Doton trick to show you." The ground seemed to suck Aiza in as he was pulled underground, leaving a hole where he was just standing. He traversed under the surface until he was just under Katsu's pressent and stuck out of hand which gripped Katsu tightly. "What, no mud this time? Just your normal hands...!?" Aiza smiled and pulled Katsu under before rising to the surface. From this standpoint, only Katsu's head was visible, and the rest of him was buried in the dirt. "The Double Suicide Decapitation technique...how annoying." Katsu muttered as he pushed his way out from the stiff ground. "So two Doton techniques. And you already showed me that Suiton trick with the crab arm. Pretty good, pretty good. Now, ready to learn a few tricks to improve your jutsu?"

Aiza was curious as to what Katsu could possibly teach him; Katsu was a Bukijutsu and Katon user. "What kind of tricks? You can't use Suiton or Doton. There's not all that much to be taught without those elements..." Katsu shook his head as if Aiza was some naive child who didn't understand. "No, no. I'm going to teach you how to use your chakra to augment your attacks, like I do with my swords. You did a similar thing with the crab arm, but it could use a few enhancements. Are your arms fit to use it again?" Aiza flexed both of his arms to test them. "Yeah, they'll hold up." He re-entered the Legacy form, twisting his appearance into that of a brutish maul once again.

"Good, now watch closely. With how you used it, it was not only draining large amounts of your chakra but the pressure was also crushing your arm. In order to avoid both of these things, work to make your Suiton chakra lighter and maintain the same concentration and increase the pressure of the outside border; that way your arm won't take as much damage, and you won't gulp up huge amounts of your chakra in seconds. This will probably get the technique out of the prototype stage and ready for combat use."

Aiza thought about it for a moment; even with the confusing manner in which Katsu worded it, he supposed it made sense to not try and make the chakra so dense and rather focus on amplifying its power rather than overall bulk. He held out his arm, letting the water wrap around it, and it transformed into a chela once again. This time, though, it was just a tad slimmer and didn't feel like hell around his arm. He released the jutsu within seconds, just to be safe, however. "So what, that's all you could teach me?"

"Well, yeah. We have two different fighting styles, Aiza, and besides, you've proven how you can handle yourself in combat. You don't need anything else I could teach you." Aiza smiled. It was nice to hear such motivational words from the person he looked up to the most. The sun was now setting down under the treetops, and the sky was vibrant orange. "I'm gonna go visit Mom before it gets late. I'll see you later, brother." Aiza nodded as Katsu went off, and then he walked in the other direction, headed back to his house.

(Exit, Thread Closed)

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Learning Divine Water Release: Abyssal Claws
Word Count: 2,014/2,000 -Complete-