To Reclaim a Clan's Honor (Training)

Doku Gaman (Poison Tolerance)
Rank: D
Skill: --
Effect: The effects of D rank poisons are slowed.
Special: --
Drawback: --
Description: The user, through constant exposure to bee stings, has learned to slow the effect of poison on his body. This can be practiced by exposing oneself to stings. The user is also immune to all bee poison.
Limit: Kamizuru Clan, Hachinosu no Jutsu

(0 / 10)

The next day Aaron awoke to the sound of buzzing. He let out a yell as hundreds of bees were flying above him. Then he remembered. He collapsed in front of the new hive. Apparently, the queen had been busy for bees were everywhere. The buzzing above was echoed by the buzzing within as the bees responded to each other. "Good morning Aaron," said the beekeeper looking down at him. "Today is a new day, and since you did such a good job in repopulating the hive I'm going to have you learn the Doku Gaman."

Still groggy, Aaron muttered, "I didn't think that was teachable," as he struggled to his feet.

"It's not, but there is a meaning behind it and you must understand that meaning," she said. Aaron nodded a little woozy from so many stings the previous day. "You know that all Kamizuru learn the Doku Gaman eventually as a natural result of the bees within us." "But some of us choose to learn it faster to remind us of the clan's pain or of a significant event."

"Yes," said Aaron thinking of how he wanted to restore the clan. Then another thought crossed his mind, today was the anniversary of when he lead the Anbu to his parents.

"Adaptation is easy enough as you can see," she said pointing to the many red stings on Aaron's skin. "Yesterday you said you were stung about one hundred times. Already being able to stand says you've built up a lot of immunity. The trick now is to make it so you're 100% resistant to bee poison so you'll resist other poisons. Bees hate water so you no doubt have been stung countless times when you tried swimming for the first time.
Therefore you're almost there as records indicate that 500-1000 stings of different bees will cause you to develop a poison resistance."

The morning sun already blocked by rolling black clouds cast an eerie darkness; a storm was on its way. "Shouldn't we head back to the village?" asked Aaron.

"Nonsense," said the beekeeper. "I'm counting on the rain. Nothing will build up your immunity faster than angry bees."

Aaron gulped as this was not going to be easy. "Are you sure about this?" asked Aaron.

"It is doable. As the bees from the hive and my own bees attack think of why you're enduring. Think of what you want to remember. Are you ready?"

"Yes," said Aaron determined not to show pain to the beekeeper. He would make the clan proud.

As the first drops of rain began to fall the honey bees started to get antsy with many flying back to their hives. A few stung Aaron and he barely felt it. As the rain picked up the wasps and hornets also started going berserk. The wasps stung his hands while the hornets attacked his face. One wasp even managed to get trapped down his robe stinging him repeatedly as it tried to find its way out. Aaron winced as the wasp finally found its way out leaving a half dozen sting marks. The rest of the natural bees fled to cover from the down pouring rain. "How you doing?" asked the beekeeper.

"Fine," said Aaron feeling the pain of the sting marks. His vision split a little but he was still standing. Deciding it would be better to sit down, Aaron followed the beekeeper's advice and thought why he was doing this.

"Okay, now come my bees." Opening her mouth hundreds of bees came pouring out. Clearly hating the rain but bound to her will. "Now focus on what you want and remember the pain of your losses," she said. She directed the hundreds of bees to start circling around Aaron. In different combinations, they attacked. First only a couple, then a dozen at once, a pause, then all wasps and so on. Over the next couple hours Aaron was stung as the rain turned to a drizzle. All together he was stung for over six hours.

While the bees attacked Aaron felt it at first but soon it just melted together into a general pain. Soon the pain itself was gone as Aaron lost himself in what he wanted. He retreated deep within his mind. Why was he doing this: to regain the honor of his clan and abolish so much shame. Aaron remembered the history his parents told him of the clan's defeat to the Aburame. He thought of today, the anniversary of when his parents fled the village after a botched mission and how he lead the Anbu using his clan's jutsu to track them down. So much poison was circulating within that Aaron relived the biggest memories of his life like they were actually happening. The loneliness of when he realized he was alone. The respect of the clan earned for abolishing his family's personal shame and finally the dream of restoring the Kamizuru to prominence in the Hidden Stone village. It all whirled around deep within his mind as the bees attacked.

At last he collapsed in the muddy ground and the beekeeper came running over. Shaking him, Aaron opened his eyes. The rain had stopped but the beekeeper's face was blurry. He realized it was tears as he drifted back off to sleep. "You did good," whispered the beekeeper. "You hold the promise of our clan."

Aaron awoke in his own bed with a killer headache. A note on his desk said, "Congratulations. You withstood my attack well. You most likely have the full Doku Gaman once you recover. Use the poison needle to test yourself if you're not sure and good luck."

Doton Soushi no Jutsu (Rock Creation Technique)
Rank: "D" "C" "B" "A" "S"
Skill: NinJutsu
Effect: A technique where the user takes the time to formulate, or create Rock in order to use other types of techniques for great usages.
Special: "Handseals"
Drawback: Must be learned more and more in order to be capable of performing better, and capable of producing more Rock like formations for other types of techniques. Can not be used on Sand
Description: What occurs is that the user takes the time to push down into the ground their own chakra. As the user does this the user takes the earth like materials found within the ground which is the components of soil as they begin to formulate and harden them all around in order to create harden rock like materials. The user may slam their hands against the ground in order to use this technique or just by pushing their chakra down to the ground. A user can gain the capability of grabbing onto the very ground and molding a piece of earth into a hardened like rock. The more the user learns and the higher the Difficulty class the user becomes the more they are capable of mastering this type of technique. When first learned the user is only capable of formulating rock into the size of their hand. When the user learns the "C" Rank version this type increases to five meters in radius. Each time learned after that the distance increases by ten feet giving a total distance of thirty five meters in a radius distance. For each Difficulty class the User is the larger number this distance becomes. Each Difficulty class after C The distance increases by Ten meters. This means that if a user becomes S Rank in Difficulty Class and learns the S Rank Version of this technique the user is capable of formulating Rock within a Seventy Five meters Radius.
Limit: Needs the Earth Release

(0/10)

It took another day before Aaron was out of bed again, but he felt better than he had in a long time. He guessed it was because the bee's stingers inside of him no longer had any effect when agitated. For a change of pace, Aaron felt like going into the Earth Release. He grabbed one of his parent's books from a bookcase: Earth Release for Dummies

The ground was firm but flexible, no doubt a result of the rain from the other day. With no buildings or people around Aaron got to work. The book made it seem like a simple jutsu so he put away the book. Pushing down on the ground, Aaron emitted chakra focusing on pushing the soil together hardening it. After several moments he had produced a lopsided stone smaller than a pebble. He tossed it aside and tried again. This time he had a slightly bigger pebble but still lopsided stone. "Arg," muttered Aaron.

On the third try, rather than enlarge the pebble he tried to change its shape. He succeeded creating an oval though it still was not what he wanted. After an hour of creating pebbles in bizarre shapes but each was a little bigger, Aaron moved to a new spot. "Perhaps I'm concentrating the soil too much," he thought looking at the small holes he was creating in the ground.

The ground was softer in the new spot. Performing the handsigns and exerting chakra Aaron was finally able to produce a rock but it was the size and shape of his finger. As he did the technique repeatedly, he realized the firmness of the ground affected how he could shape the rock. The softer soil shaped easier but was harder to turn into a stone and vice versa. After hours of practicing on the soft ground Aaron figured he had mastered changing the shape of stone. He had some kunai, senbon, cylinders, squares and all different types of shaped stones though each was the size of a pebble.

Moving back to the firmer ground Aaron worked on creating bigger and bigger stones. Another couple hours saw him figuring out how to get palm sized stones. Now the real question was how to combine the soft and hard ground so he could shape the palm-sized stones. Flipping through the Dummies book provided several pointers but nothing overly useful. Deciding to take a break Aaron looked at his handiwork: hundreds of divots of various sizes in the ground. It was good thing no one was there.

The clearing was of a decent size, so as he lay on the ground watching the trees around him he noticed a bear on the outskirts. It was hawing at something in a tree. Though Aaron could not see it, the bees within him sensed it. There was a hive hidden in the tree. Determined to protect the bees Aaron got up. Well it was time to see if he could produce the justu when needed. Performing the proper hand signs and emitting chakra into the ground Aaron concentrated, forming a palm sized irregularly shaped rock. Throwing the rock at the bear it hit its back. The bear abandoned the hive and turned to stare at Aaron. Aaron tried again. This time the rock was rounder and he threw it like a disk pegging the bear's leg. The bear was angry now at the creature attacking it. It stood up on its hind legs, growling before slamming the ground charging straight at Aaron.

Aaron didn't want to hurt the bear but it was approaching fast. Concentrating with all his might on the ground, Aaron knew this would be his final rock attempt before he summoned the bees. Focus the ground, bring the soil together and draw the rock up shaping it. This time Aaron managed a near perfect rock ball in the palm of his hand. Winding up like a pitcher he threw it, nailing the bear right between the eyes. Startled and in a bit of pain the bear backed off retreating back into the woods. Aaron surveyed the damage to the hive and after releasing some worker bees from his mouth to help the hive, he left. He accomplished enough with the Doton Soushi no Jutsu for the day.

Hachitate (Bee Shield)
Rank: D
Skill: Ninjutsu
Effect: A swarm of bees deflects a thrown projectile.
Special: Tiger, Monkey, Horse
Drawback: Can easily be destroyed by ninjutsu or strong attacks.
Description: The user forms the hand seals, summoning a mass of bees to condense in front of them. This shield is useful for stopping low level projectiles, but is useless against ninjutsu and higher level strikes.
Limit: Kamizuru Clan, Hachinosu no Jutsu

As Aaron walked through the woods headed towards home he could not stop thinking about that bear that had charged him only an hour earlier. Though the bear had helped him master Rock Creation, he could not help think about how close he came to unleashing his bees on it. If he could use his bees for defense and as a deterrent, the bear may have run off at the sight of hundreds of bees. Almost back to the village, Aaron decided to detour to the queen of the beekeepers.

After explaining the bear situation, she nodded. To keep bears away the jutsu she used was the Hachitate. While not able to resist a bear attack, the sight of a swarm of bees usually deters the bear. "Will you teach me?" asked Aaron.

"I can only show you the signs and give you a demonstration. The hives are keeping me too busy."

"Well show me the signs then," said Aaron sighing.

"Very well, but I recommend you find a professional to throw the projectiles at you." Smiling she and Aaron faced each other, Aaron ten feet away. "Tiger, Monkey, Horse" she said forming the signs. She emitted chakra from her hands directly in front of her. Leaving her mouth open bees came pouring out forming a buzzing shield that neared blocked the user completely from sight. "Throw something at me," she said.

Rather than waste a kunai or other tool, Aaron performed the Doton Soushi no Jutsu summoning a small rock. Hurling with all his might the rock flew towards the top of the bee shield. The bees actually flew up raising the shield blocking the rock, though several bees fell from the sky due to the impact. Releasing the jutsu, the bees disappeared. "Good luck," she said going back to her bees.

Aaron performed the signs and brought forth a pittance of bees who did try to make a shield – a small shield. It was no good. He dismissed the bees. Building up the chakra he tried again. This time there was an outpouring of bees and they looked like they formed a good shield. "This wasn't so hard," Aaron thought. Then the shield failed as Aaron's concentration broke. Aaron was exhausted. He had used up to much chakra what with learning Doton Soushi no Jutsu. Dusk was turning to night by the time Aaron made it home.

Waking up at dawn the next day, Aaron was energized enough to master the jutsu. The question was where to get someone to throw a projectile at him. Then it hit him as his eyes fell on an old academy book. The Academy. Rushing over as classes wouldn't start for a few more hours, Aaron found two students practicing their shuriken training.

Though most of the village merely tolerated the Kamizuru, the kids were a different story. They did not know much about the embarrassment and loss of fame the Kamizuru clan had endured and had little understanding of all the social workings. Besides, it was easy to convince them to throw shurikens at a Genin.

Bracing himself Aaron performed the Hachitate creating a decent size bee wall. The girl looked a little scared of the bees but at Aaron's prodding agreed to begin. The wall was more vertical than horizontal shielding his body as the kids threw. First the girl threw one at Aaron's arm and the bee wall held up though several bees fell. The boy followed up with two, the bees flying higher to block the one aimed for his head but the second aimed at Aaron's leg made contact causing Aaron to wince. He told the kids to keep throwing even though the bee wall seemed weaker. Opening his mouth Aaron released more bees to try and rebuild the struggling wall. It worked for the moment.

Now the girl and boy were both throwing shuriken one after another. It was challenging and there were many near misses and cuts across his body. Yet the bee wall prevented any from landing directly. Those that did get through had been softened by the impact reducing damage. It seemed like only minutes but an hour had passed. Aaron couldn't see the kids clearly though the bee wall but he sensed there were more than before.

Opening up his chakra Aaron tightened the bee wall making it a bit smaller but more dense. Easier to control Aaron was soon blocking all the projectiles. The buzzing of the bees were also joined by the sound of half a dozen kunai and shuriken hitting the wall at once. Quickly responding the Aaron's chakra the bees were able to block them all. As the projectiles increased so did Aaron's reaction time. It seemed nonstop as he finally said, "Enough!" lowering the wall

As the bees disappeared Aaron could see why there were so many projectiles being thrown at him. The crowd of two had joined to twelve and it looked like the instructor of the class had decided to join in. "Good warmup class," said the instructor pushing the kids through the door. Turning to Aaron he smiled trying not laugh as he disappeared. At Aaron's feet were an armada of projectiles of all types. Cut and exhausted Aaron headed back to his home. He had been able to block a half dozen to a dozen projectiles at once, which was enough for now.

Hachitsume (Bee Claw)
Rank: D
Skill: Ninjutsu
Effect: The user summons five bees to his fingertips, then strikes the opponent with their stingers.
Special: Rat, Horse
Drawback: --
Description: The user forms the hand seals, calling a bee to each of their fingertips. The bees rest with their stingers outstretched from the fingertips. The user then wraps a faint bubble of chakra around the bees to protect them and strikes the opponent with their fingertips, stinging them.
Limit: Kamizuru Clan, Hachinosu no Jutsu

(0/10)

Working his way home, Aaron felt a little unsteady. Taking a rest Aaron stopped at one of the village's training grounds. There he leaned against the wall watching as fellow ninja practiced their skill. One ninja in particular caught Aaron's eye. She was using what looked like stingers to attack a battle dummy. "How did you do that?" asked Aaron struggling to his feet. Approaching her, Aaron saw that she was tall and had the look of an experienced ninja. "Those looked like stingers."

"Yes, they are," she said continuing to practice against the dummy.
"Are you Kamizuru?" asked Aaron not recognizing her.
"No," she responded. "I had the Hachi Shujutsushitsu implanted."
"Ah," Aaron responded. "Could you show me that attack?"
"Alright, but only those with the implant or the Kamizuru can use it," she said looking at Aaron's many wounds. "Are you alright?" she asked.
"I'm fine. I just really want to see the jutsu."

"Very well," she said shaking her head at the Gennin. She thought to herself that he was a very foolish Gennin in his condition. He would not doubt try it out once she showed him. "It's called the Hachitsume and has very simple signs," she said showing him the jutsu. One by one a bee appeared on each of her fingers. Chakra was then put around the bees leaving just the stingers emerged. "And then you attack," she said slicing the dummy with the stingers, "though even I have not mastered the jutsu yet." Looking at the dummy Aaron could see that all but one stinger left an impact on the dummy.

"It's my turn," said Aaron confidently. Even injured from the attacks earlier, Aaron was determined to show this non-Kamizuru Jounin the power of his clan. Digging deep within himself Aaron tried the jutsu speaking the handsigns as he did them. The signs were actually easier than all the other clan jutsus he had done so far, requiring only two signs and using five bees.

On the first attempt only three fingers spawned a bee and the chakra would not surround them. The bees then flew off as Aaron could not maintain it. Yet it was enough to impress the Jounin. "Impressive Kamizuru," she said leaving. She thought to herself that he is one to watch.

Alone again, Aaron tried once more bringing four bees to his finger. Though his chakra reserves were low he had to keep trying. Carefully manipulating the chakra he finally managed to summon five bees. "Progress," Aaron thought. It took another half dozen attempts and a lot more chakra before he could surround the bees with chakra. On the seventh try Aaron attacked the dummy but the chakra protecting the bees gave way causing the bees to turn on Aaron before disappearing.

Never one to give up Aaron decided to make this time his last. Reaching deep within himself, Aaron concentrated pulling as much chakra as he could to protect the bees. He succeeded in tearing a piece of the dummy as all but one of the bees stingers pierced the fabric. Drained of chakra he was filled with pride at proving that he could learn the jutsu faster than a Jounin. Yet with the Jounin gone and the desire to prove himself fading for the moment, Aaron felt all the wounds of the day. Some stinged while other burned causing Aaron to regret not bringing healing balm from his home. Still he mastered one jutsu and if he had the chakra available had probably just mastered the Hachitsume.

(7/10)

Spending the rest of the day at his home Aaron slept for a long time. He'd been to active lately and needed the rest. Though it was late afternoon when he fell asleep he did not awake till mid-morning the next day. Refreshed he wanted to try out the Hachitsume again.

This time rather than go to a training area Aaron wandered to the forest. Finding the biggest tree, Aaron concentrated. Forming the rat and horse the bees quickly appeared on his fingers. The chakra surrounding each bee held. Aaron brought his hand down in an attack on the tree. The bark peeled away where the four stingers dragged along the trunk, the fifth stinger not making an impact. Rather the chakra gave way around the bee and angry it flew off.

Confused Aaron tried again with the same result. Maybe there was a trick. He tried again this time attacking the tree with his thumb in the lead. The thumb bee did not leave a sting mark yet again. Getting irritated Aaron kept trying the jutsu over and over but no matter what he tried the fifth bee would not leave an impression. "What is the trick?" muttered Aaron. He had destroyed the tree by the time he realized he needed a new approach.

He could have learned much faster if he asked a clan member, but it was not the Kamizur way. Analyzing carefully Aaron knew he was doing the hand signs right, the right amount of chakra and had tried every different angle to attack the tree. What was missing? It took an hour before Aaron figured it out. It was natural to begin the summoning with the pink and work the way to the thumb. What if he focused on his thumb first and worked his way to the pinky?

Knowing he may have found the trick, Aaron concentrated his chakra. Performing the signs Aaron made sure to begin with his thumb summoning the first bee, then the next all the way along. He enveloped each bee with chakra as he went along. Raising his hand up the bees sounded louder than usual. Slicing his hand across the trunk all five stingers made contact leaving a massive gash in the tree. It was a perfect attack. Trying again to make sure it was not a fluke Aaron swiped vertically, carving deep gashes in the tree. It was about time it worked properly. He did not know why the jutsu had to be started with the thumb but it must have clan significance. There was a lot he still needed to learn about his clan.

(After completion of 2nd mission but before claimed reward)

Though past midnight when Aaron laid down in his bed he woke up at dawn's early light to begin training. Borrowing again Earth Release for Dummies, Aaron headed towards his private spot. It was still early so no Toujitakumi were around. There constant explosions against the deserted buildings created an ample supply of rubble and debris for the jutsu he wanted to learn.

According to the book it was a simple D-Class jutsu. It should not take very long. Building chakra Aaron performed the "Rat, Dog, Boar," slamming his hands into the ground. The rubble shook becoming smaller, less sturdy but that was all. Aaron tried again. This time the debris became even smaller yet stickier. Once more Aaron performed the handseals and shoving both hands deep into the dusty earth the ground transformed into a 3m x 3m mud field.

Dissatisfied with the result Aaron moved to a new spot and began again. The texture of the earth was different here consisting of more dirt than weak stone. "Rat, Dog, Boar," spoke Aaron pushing his hands into the Earth. Aaron performed the jutsu slowly making sure each stage was right and the result was better. The earth turned into a 6 x 6 m mud pile. The soft dirt was easily manipulated as opposed to the rubble from the building.

Trying once more Aaron exerted a different amount of chakra on the same type of terrain. This time when he performed the handseals and slammed the ground a 10 x 10 meter field open up. He had done it. Aaron surveyed his handiwork. It was impressive for his third try. Yet Aaron wanted to make sure.

Leaving the mud pile behind Aaron went to a new section filled with more stone than dirt as many of the buildings were still standing or were in a bad state of decay. As Aaron performed the handsigns an explosion rocked him backwards, the building crumbling. He dived out of the way as rocks came raining down.

Rebounding, Aaron searched for the idiot practicing an explosive jutsu. He was nowhere to be seen. It must be a Toujitakumi Aaron thought jumping away from the nearby buildings. Ranged explosives were going to make continued training very difficult. Aaron released bees to scout out the area. While the bees searched, Aaron tried the jutsu once more on the sandy ground. The mud field did not come out perfectly and Aaron immediately realized why. Each ground type required a different chakra presence.

Aaron watched as the bees came back. They had found the user. Hiding himself Aaron watched as another explosion echoed behind him. The ninja obviously knew nothing about safety. Emerging from hiding Aaron walked directly towards him till he was 20 meters away and still the nin did not notice his presence. The nin was standing on the remains of what had been a house. Since the nin did not see him Aaron slowly snaked his way ten meters closer working his way behind the nin. The ninja should have recognized the presence of a shinobi, but he still seemed oblivious for an exploding bug shot out of his hand.

Shaking his head, Aaron looked at the ground. It was a perfect challenge for the jutsu. Weak stone abounded along with dust and dirt. "Rat, Dog, Boar," spoke Aaron quickly slamming his hands into the earth. It took mere seconds to complete, his fastest yet, and the result was priceless. The ground wilted and turned to a brown muck, a very heavy mud. The pillar the shinobi stood upon was still hard stone so it did not turn to mud. Yet with the surrounding mud the pillar lost its support and teetered back and forth. Leaving a bee to report what happened Aaron retreated.

The shinobi looked all around but saw no one as he jumped off. The nin's jump was weak for he landed in the thick mud. Later he would emerge mud caked and angry. Aaron laughed as the bee revealed what happened. Aaron had made a clean escape and was pretty sure he could do the justu on command.

add it +10

Aaron performed the handsigns and plunged his hands into the earth willing all the mud around the front of the shinobi into rock. He compressed it, bringing it together. Aaron let go, releasing his chakra flow and leaving the rock in place around the shinobi. It was too dangerous to remove yet.

Aaron took a few steps back and concentrated again, sweat from the burning sun running into his eyes. Performing the Doton Soushi no Jutsu he concentrated on the soil further away from the shinobi bending it to his will. A rock twice the size of his hand formed and Aaron hurled it away. The earlier stone Aaron made fell away from the shinobi and into the hole. He threw that stone away as well. "Could you simply dig me out?" asked the shinobi.

"Sorry, I'm in training," Aaron responded. The shinobi was obviously uncomfortable with rocks next to his head. Aaron continued, not willing to overdo it in fear of hurting the shinobi. He would not forgive himself if he did. The young man's chest was now visible. Aaron stepped out of the huge hole he was making and turned behind the shinobi saying "Doton Soushi no Jutsu." With more chakra came a bigger stone a meter in length. The mud was becoming easier to shape as Aaron got used to its density. Aiming for a vertical shape next Aaron was able to withdraw a stone that revealed most of the shinobi's back.

"You can stop," said the shinobi. He was wiggling now, the caked mud moving. Leaning back he wiggled one arm free, then the other. With both hands free he formed the signs of the Doton Soushi no Jutsu. Clearly skilled and already connected to the mud he formed a rock 10 meters wide in front of him. "Lift that for me," he said. Aaron complied shoving the huge rock away, impressed by the simple mastery the shinobi had shown. He popped himself out of the hole his body covered in dried mud. "Thank you for that," he said scratching his nose. Shaking his body, the shinobi stretched clearly glad to have free movement again.

"How did you get stuck?" Aaron asked though he had the feeling he knew.

"I simply didn't watch my step. Once I fell in, the mud was deeper and thicker than I thought.

"But you know the Doton Soushi no Jutsu," said Aaron. "Why not simply turn the mud into a rock and pull yourself out?"

"Have you ever been stuck in the mud?" he asked. "I couldn't get my hands free to form the signs. There was also an explosion nearby and the heat from the blast caked the mud, trapping me.

Aaron still didn't by that explanation so he asked, "Yet you performed the jutsu so well, why did you not use another earth technique to escape?"

"Simple, I only know the Doton Soushi no Jutsu so far," he responded. "It's the only earth jutsu I know. I'm making it my specialty."

"Uh huh," said Aaron sighing internally.

"You had me worried for a moment," he said. "Those rocks were close to my head. Don't you know how to do that jutsu properly?"

"No," said Aaron. "I'm still learning the next level."

"Well as payment I'll show you some tricks."

(17/30)
Aaron nodded following the shinobi. He led Aaron a distance away from the mud to wear the ground was firm and untampered. "We'll begin here." The ground was hard in spots yet soft in others. Part of the soil was almost sand like. "You have the technique down," the shinobi said. "It's your chakra control that needs work. So first demonstrate the Doton Soushi no Jutsu for me."

Aaron complied. Forming the handseals and shouting, "Doton Soushi no Jutsu," Aaron pushed down on the ground emitting a great burst of chakra. He took the various minerals pushing them together, taking more and more earth in, compressing it until it was hard as stone. Withdrawing his hands Aaron lifted a rock two meters in length. The ground

"Good," said the shinobi. "However, you're focusing on too small of an area which is why you're not getting results. When you can't force anymore earth together you know you have enough to push the limit. The earth you merge is condensed so one meter of earth could be half a meter stone. Now try again."

Aaron performed the seals and placed his hands into the earth. This time he expended the same amount of chakra but spread it out to encompass all the types of soil. The minerals came together compressing into stone. Others refused due to their sandy base. Manipulating those minerals he could Aaron pushed them together. He kept grabbing more earth until it seemed he could not find anymore. Lifting the stone Aaron had hit the five-meter radius. It was a heavy stone and Aaron almost struggled in lifting it. He would need to work out soon. Aaron could not believe he did it as he threw the stone at a lone tree knocking the tree over. The shinobi nodded. "Good. You understand how to reach the size limit now."

"Next you need to learn chakra control. You emitted a lot more than you needed and your continued exertions at this level will leave you exhausted," said the shinobi analyzing Aaron. Aaron was breathing heavily for he had used a lot of ninjutsu already today. "The chakra control is something you must learn for yourself. You should also experiment with changing the shape of the stone as shape can affect speed and weight distribution." Aaron nodded silent. As much as he loved learning from books teachers were really the best way to master a jutsu. "Good luck," said the shinobi hopping onto the demolished tree. "This is where I take my leave." As a gust of wind blew sweat into Aaron's eyes the shinobi disappeared leaving Aaron alone. He had pushed the limit of size. Next was shape.