Katsu Skill Training

[Deleted]

[Katsu has the Able Learner trait; meaning he gets an extra 2 rolls for Ritual Lore, for a total of 7 per time learned.

Ritual Lore (Restoration) SP: 42/125
0/5]

SPOILER: Click to show

Ritualist Lore
Rank: "E"
Skill: Skill
Effect: A basic skill to identify everything of Ritualist understanding.
Special: ---
Drawback: ---
Description: A person versed in Ritualist Lore knows the basic principles behind Rituals. They are tuned in to secrets about the rites and ways of Rituals around them that most others do not and know how to read Writings pertaining to Rituals. They may not be able to perform Rituals, but they can read Ritualist Writings and generally tell what it is all about. Some practical applications of Ritualist Lore follow: Identify Components, Identifying Ritualist Icons, Identifying Jutsus, Identifying Chakra Items, and Deciphering Scrolls. Look in Jutsu Lore Skills thread found in the Skills and Traits Index for more information. Each time learned user gets 5 die roll to increase the skill.
Limit: ---

After gaining the attention of the Jishinmei that one was attempting to request the power of, the next step was to tell the Jishinmei what their target was to be. The target had to be identified unambiguously and without any confusion, otherwise the ritual could easily fail, simply because the Jishinmei either loses interest or doesn't believe the ritualist will be able to properly complete the ritual and allow them to use their power. The ways to designate a target for a restoration ritual were varied and capable of changing not just from which spirit and thus which effect you were trying to achieve but also from the size of the target, the distance from the Corona to the target, what the target itself actually was, and a dozen other factors that made rituals such complex beasts to work with.

The easiest way to designate a target was to place it on the inside circle of the Corona and then place certain runes, different for each Jishinmei and requiring to be made of the same materials as the Corona itself, within the outer ring. This caused the Corona to focus the entirety of its attracting effect on the inside circle, which designated whatever was within the circle as the target. This was by and large the quickest and easiest method in which to name the target, as it could be completed at the same time as the construction of the Corona. The most commonly used method because of its simplicity it was also the method with the most flaws. It was unable to accommodate anything bigger than a human being, and there were many rituals that were meant to be used on objects rather than people, many of them unable to be moved. This left a lot to be desired as a targeting system, and many ritualists decided to use other methods even when it would be more complex or slower, to ensure that they could target anything they needed to.

The second most common method of targeting a restoration ritual was to designate coordinates in relation to the Corona itself. This required the ritualist to write out the coordinates within the inner circle of the Corona. These coordinates were luckily non-specific in what language they needed to be. The Jishinmei were intelligent beings, and the nature of the Corona that they had given to ritualists created a crude mental link between the two parties. While not capable of directly transferring thoughts it was capable of letting a Jishinmei understand what the ritualist could, and therefore as long as a ritualist wrote out the coordinates in a language or number system that they themselves understood the Jishinmei would seek out that target with certainty. The reason this method was considered more complex and slower than the previous method of targeting was due to the fact that the ritualist had to lay out the specific dimensions of the target for this method to be effective. This often required lengthy calculations to be made in order to precisely gauge the size of the target, its distance from the Corona, and the position of the target. It was a common practice for ritualists who used this method to place living creatures in the fetal position, or lay them out flat with their legs together, and arms crossed over their chest, in order to minimize the chance of error in their targeting.

Another, somewhat less common method of targeting was used by some select restoration ritualists, and that was the use of specific unguents to coat the target with. This method required a specific concoction to be made that was different for each Jishinmei, although this wasn't due to the desire of the Jishinmei itself, it was to protect from the effects of the salts and chemicals that were used to make the Corona. The unguents were made to coat the target, while on top of the unguent a layer of the same salts and chemicals used to make the Corona were placed on the target. This had a similar effect as the first method of placing a target within the Corona itself, causing the beacon that the Corona made to be focused directly on the target rather than the Corona, drawing the Jishinmei's attention more firmly to them. Unlike the first method it had to be performed after the creation of the Corona, for the Jishinmei must already be present in order to perceive the intention of the targeting method, through the link the Corona establishes with ritualist and spirit. It was considered the slowest and most complex method due to safety reasons; the target must be completely coated in the unguent in order to prevent any potential damage from the Corona materials. Of course this was not so much a problem if the ritual was being used to target a non-living thing, as some restoration rituals do.

Strangely enough many ritualists do not combine the various methods of targeting. It is almost an unwritten law amongst ritualists that it's “rude” to use more than one targeting method, claiming it is akin to insulting the spirits intelligence by bombarding them with redundant information. Still, there are indeed some ritualists who, when they feel they must be absolutely sure of their target, will use two or even all three above targeting methods to ensure ritual success...

Katsu came up for breath, so to speak, placing the tome down and letting his mind digest all of the information he had just picked up. It was rather interesting stuff, but it was so detailed and specific, notes left here and there stating of dozens of variations that were possible but not covered by the author, or information that was theorized but not proven, or even explanations about how there were completely different rituals that had the same affect as the kind listed in the tome but reached them through vastly different means...

[Father 'Suke]

+5 TP
+19
102|125

Note: You were at 83 SP, not 42

[Deleted]

[Katsu has the Able Learner trait; meaning he gets an extra 2 rolls for Ritual Lore, for a total of 7 per time learned. Katsu also has the Eidetic Memory trait; meaning he gets a +1 racial bonus to all dice rolls when learning.

Ritual Lore (Restoration) SP: 102 /125
0/5]

SPOILER: Click to show

Ritualist Lore
Rank: "E"
Skill: Skill
Effect: A basic skill to identify everything of Ritualist understanding.
Special: ---
Drawback: ---
Description: A person versed in Ritualist Lore knows the basic principles behind Rituals. They are tuned in to secrets about the rites and ways of Rituals around them that most others do not and know how to read Writings pertaining to Rituals. They may not be able to perform Rituals, but they can read Ritualist Writings and generally tell what it is all about. Some practical applications of Ritualist Lore follow: Identify Components, Identifying Ritualist Icons, Identifying Jutsus, Identifying Chakra Items, and Deciphering Scrolls. Look in Jutsu Lore Skills thread found in the Skills and Traits Index for more information. Each time learned user gets 5 die roll to increase the skill.
Limit: ---

The final step of most restoration rituals was to set up the circumstances that allowed the Jishinmei spirit to enact their will upon reality and create the effect the ritualist was seeking. Unlike the other two steps this last one had to be exact and precise, there were no alternative options if you wanted to get the Jishinmei to use their powers. Like before these circumstances were specific to each different spirit that you wanted to exploit. They were oftentimes the most time and resource-consuming part of restoration rituals, some taking at little as a few minutes to set up while other took several hours.

The reason they were the most resource and time consuming of the steps was because of their complexity. Some rituals had you prepare a certain kind of potion right there during the ritual, never before, and then pour it over the target. Some other rituals had you perform long complex chants almost akin to prayers, the resonance of the ritualists voice allowing the Jishinmei to act. Still others required specific acts to be performed, ranging from innocuous seeming meditation to love-making or the sacrifice of a willing or even unwilling target.

Putting the book down for a bit Katsu got up and walked around, loosening up tightened muscles from sitting in one spot too long. It was several minutes before he returned to read more of the tome's contents.

There were actually a great deal of different kind of runes that were used in the symbology of restoration rituals; and strangely enough these runes were almost unique. Restoration runes rarely if ever were to be seen in the company of other types of runes; the few times they were ever to be seen with other types of runes was when they were combined with Augmentation or Binding runes. Whether the purpose was to help with the enacting of Augmentation or to help keep a Bound target alive in good health was up to the Ritualist.

Restoration Rituals were numerous; enough to form an entire language all of their own, and indeed inscribing a Corona with the runes was a lot like writing out a sentence in some unknown language. The combination of runes was seemingly endless, although the ones that actually pertained to a specific Jishinmei were much smaller in number. For instance, the “Daun” (pronounce Dah-oon) rune was present in almost every known Restoration ritual, but it was only known to be used together with the “Feol” (pronounced Fay-ole) as part of preparing the Corona for the “Feast of the Dead” ritual. Also despite this, Feol could be used in the same ritual as Daun, but simply not in the same “runeword”, or collection of runes written together as if they were letters in a word.

[Father 'Suke]

Grading

+5 TP
+23 SP
125|125

Congrats, you have now mastered this.

[Deleted]

[Katsu has the Able Learner and Eidetic Memory traits, granting him 50% more dice rolls per time learned (for a total of 7 rolls) and a +1 racial bonus to each die roll, respectively.

0/125 Skillpoints

0/10]

SPOILER: Click to show

Chakra Lore
Rank: "D"
Skill: Skill
Effect: A skill for basic Chakra Jutsu understanding allowing the user to identify and read all Chakra matters.
Special: ---
Drawback: ---
Description: A person versed in Chakra Lore knows the basic principles behind Chakra. They are tuned in to secrets about the world around them that most others do not and know how to read Chakra Scrolls or Writings. They may not be able to perform Jutsus, but they can read Chakra Writings and generally tell what it is all about. Some practical applications of Chakra Lore follow: Identifying Jutsus, Identifying Chakra Items, and Deciphering Scrolls. Look in Jutsu Lore Skills thread found in the Skills and Traits Index for more information. Each time learned user gets 5 die roll to increase the skill.
Limit: ---

[Flashback] Katsu sat in his living room in his small village in the Land of Wind; a blackboard in front of him with his father Masao standing in front of it. The drawing on the board had a bunch of complicated looking diagrams and pictures along with some writing, and Katsu blinked at it slightly as his father explained to him what he was seeing.

”Alright, son. It's time we started you out on your Physics class. You're six now, so you should be able to get the basics down at least, your older sister is already learning the advanced theories. Anyway, shall we start?” Masao asked, already knowing the answer as he took a ruler and tapped the upper left corner of the blackboard.

”So. Chakra; the divine power that everyone is capable of harnessing as long as they have the training in order to produce almost miraculous effects. While there are legends about the origin of chakra, for history tells us that some time long ago humans did not have access to chakra, these classes will focus on the actual properties, uses, theories, and provable information about chakra. First and foremost; humans are predominantly accepted as the only species capable of freely manipulating chakra. This is theorized to be because of our advanced intellect; in fact many medical scientists have found that when accessing chakra many Shinobi have their higher brain functions at use. Most animals lack a higher brain, or have a much more primitive version to our own, and thus cannot manipulate chakra.

“Now. As to what chakra is actually composed of; there are two parts. Physical energy, or stamina, which is the collective energy found within each and every cell of a person's body. Everything has this; including animals, plants, and even the lifeless rocks. The other part of chakra is mental energy, or experience, which is the energy gained from collecting knowledge, training your mind, and otherwise improving yourself as a living being. Most creatures have this in very limited amounts; with more intelligent creatures being able to harness more. This is why humans can use chakra; for we are the most advanced at harnessing our experience.

“In order to make chakra the user must be able to take both their stamina and their experience and mix the two together. Luckily for most, this is a technique that can be learned with your body so to speak. There's little need to know chakra theory in order to master this basic ability, however knowing the theory can help immensely with your efficiency.

“NOW! As you might have guessed; there are uses for not just chakra but your stamina as well. Your stamina is what you use at all times to sustain your body and to perform Taijutsu. Normal Taijutsu relies only on your stamina in order to work, and is thus inherently easier to work with. Even the best of the Ninjutsu and Genjutsu users can't reach the level of efficiency of a master Taijutsu user. This is because of the nature of chakra itself, of being two parts made into one. When you use stamina and experience together to create chakra, you're going to have some loss, depending on your skill at mixing chakra. With normal Taijutsu this isn't an issue. With Ninjutsu and Genjutsu this can be the difference between endurance and exhaustion, victory and defeat.

“Another thing to worry about Ninjutsu and Genjutsu is that depending on your skill level there is also going to be some loss from forming your existing chakra into a jutsu. So even if you reach a 90% efficiency on both parts; both creating the chakra and then turning it into a jutsu, you're really only getting around 80% efficiency in the end, while any Taijutsu user always has 100% efficiency. Luckily the offset to this is the power of chakra itself! When chakra is formed it becomes much stronger than either stamina or experience is on its own or adding their power together. Chakra is essentially a power multiplier, and that explosive power is what balances it against Taijutsu.

“Got everything so far Katsu?” Masao stopped his lecture, making sure his son had been paying attention. Katsu in the meantime had drawn a diagram to match what he felt was the gist of the conversation so far. Masao was properly impressed, seeing that every bit of information he had given had been noted, as well as some information that was hidden between the lines; which were some basic mathematical equations on how to improve efficiency. Amazing! Masao thought to himself. Katsu was really absorbing this information like a sponge!

[Father 'Suke]

+10 TP
+47 SP
47|125

[Deleted]

[Katsu has the Able Learner and Eidetic Memory traits, granting him 50% more dice rolls per time learned (for a total of 7 rolls) and a +1 racial bonus to each die roll, respectively.

47/125 Skillpoints

0/10]

SPOILER: Click to show

Chakra Lore
Rank: "D"
Skill: Skill
Effect: A skill for basic Chakra Jutsu understanding allowing the user to identify and read all Chakra matters.
Special: ---
Drawback: ---
Description: A person versed in Chakra Lore knows the basic principles behind Chakra. They are tuned in to secrets about the world around them that most others do not and know how to read Chakra Scrolls or Writings. They may not be able to perform Jutsus, but they can read Chakra Writings and generally tell what it is all about. Some practical applications of Chakra Lore follow: Identifying Jutsus, Identifying Chakra Items, and Deciphering Scrolls. Look in Jutsu Lore Skills thread found in the Skills and Traits Index for more information. Each time learned user gets 5 die roll to increase the skill.
Limit: ---

[Flashback] Sitting within the same position as before, on a different day, perhaps even another year ahead, Katsu waited patiently for his father to begin lesson, grinning. He was excited to learn about chakra; such an interesting topic.

”This lesson's going to start with Seals. We've gone over the twelve basic seals that are used for the majority of known Ninjutsu and Genjutsu, but there's a lot more to know about Seals; including the different types for starters. Now, we've practiced the basic Seals together, and those are called the Handseals. They're considered a type of somatic component to jutsu; meaning they're a specific movement that is used to focus one's chakra. Almost everyone knows your basic handseals, and it's not uncommon to see entire armies of shinobi rely only on handseals. However they're far from the best type, for a number of reasons. The biggest is actually because they're so common, everyone knows what to look for in order to decipher a planned jutsu.

“For example; the Rat seal is known for certain Yin-manipulation jutsu, which includes almost all Genjutsu and some Hidden jutsu, like the Shadow Imitation jutsu known by the Nara Clan. Thus, if someone sees a Rat seal being performed during a string of handseals they can narrow down the number of jutsu that the performer might be attempting, which can mean the opponent knows which jutsu they might use before its complete, which loses the advantage of surprise. Another example of a well-known Seal is the Dog seal. It's connected to a lot of Wind manipulating jutsu, called Fuuton, as well as the complex Ice manipulating jutsu. If you see a Dog seal being performed, you can infer that your opponent is going to use either one of those type of jutsu, letting you plan a defense.

“Now, as to the other types of Seals for performing jutsu there are the following: The One-handed Seals, which are just normal Handseals performed with only one hand. They're difficult to learn but are incredibly versatile. There are also the Calligraphy seals; These are somewhat similar to handseals in that you use a hand in order to create them but they are more complex. You essentially use chakra to write the name of the jutsu you want to use in the air. More on that later. Finally, there are the Melody Seals. Known only by those known as “Bards” these seals are actually musical notes imbued with the chakra of the user. Their biggest advantage is their general obscurity. Even an Uchiha or Hyuuga, two clans posessing Dojutsu capable of seeing chakra, can have a hard time guessing a jutsu that used Melody Seals without specific training.”

Masao stopped his lecture for a moment, letting Katsu absorb the information he had given him. Katsu for his part had drawn diagrams of the explanation, showing even a list of potential pros and cons of each type of Seal set. Basic Handseals had by far the most Cons; with them being general knowledge to Shinobi, being forced to be performed in a specific position letting them be easily spotted, and other related disadvantages. One-handed Seals lacked the specific position requirement, allowing you to form them inside a pocket or behind your back, but could still be spotted. Calligraphy seals were much like one-handed Seals, but looking at the blackboard Katsu saw that Calligraphy seals were learned for a group of similar jutsu, and weren't specific to each jutsu; meaning they probably were less training intensive than One handed Seals. Melody seals had the benefit of being sound based, and thus not capable of being seen, and since they were so rare most didn't know how to interpret them correctly, meaning you could potentially use them and no one would even know you were performing a jutsu until it was far too late. Their biggest downside was that they made noise and were limited to those known as Bards, which Katsu assumed was some special skillset all of its own.

”Very Good Katsu, it looks like you've managed to grasp the basic pros and cons on the differing seal types. Now, we'll move on to the different kinds of chakra that there are, at least in part...”

[Father 'Suke]

+10 TP
+31 SP
78|125

[Deleted]

[Katsu has the Able Learner and Eidetic Memory traits, granting him 50% more dice rolls per time learned (for a total of 7 rolls) and a +1 racial bonus to each die roll, respectively.

78/125 Skillpoints

0/10]

SPOILER: Click to show

Chakra Lore
Rank: "D"
Skill: Skill
Effect: A skill for basic Chakra Jutsu understanding allowing the user to identify and read all Chakra matters.
Special: ---
Drawback: ---
Description: A person versed in Chakra Lore knows the basic principles behind Chakra. They are tuned in to secrets about the world around them that most others do not and know how to read Chakra Scrolls or Writings. They may not be able to perform Jutsus, but they can read Chakra Writings and generally tell what it is all about. Some practical applications of Chakra Lore follow: Identifying Jutsus, Identifying Chakra Items, and Deciphering Scrolls. Look in Jutsu Lore Skills thread found in the Skills and Traits Index for more information. Each time learned user gets 5 die roll to increase the skill.
Limit: ---

[Flashback] ”Alright Katsu, you've done well so far, but things can get a bit confusing from now on so make sure to copy down what I'm saying first before trying to fill in more information on your own.

“Now. The Different types of chakra. There are literally dozens of different types of chakra known to Shinobi today, Katsu. There are the various Releases and Perceptions that make up the majority of Ninjutsu and Genjutsu. There's also a half dozen or so different types of “Ritual” Chakra, which we'll discuss later as it's not information most Shinobi utilize. Another very rare type of chakra is known as Divine Chakra, which is chakra utilized by those who have great faith in certain religions, such as Kaishaba or Jashinism. These will also come later.

“For now we should focus on the Releases and Perceptions. Now, each of these are achieved by something called Chakra Nature Manipulation. By mixing certain amounts of stamina and experience together in precise amounts you can make differing types of chakra, which in turn changes the basic nature of the chakra. Hence Chakra Nature Manipulation. Now, the two most basic types of Nature Manipulation are called Yin and Yang Releases. These are the basic building blocks of all the other Releases and Perceptions. Yin Release is used to form every type of Genjutsu Perception, while the Yang Release is used to create the Ninjutsu Releases. The basic makeup of the Yin Release is just like your basic chakra, but with a much higher Mental energy to Physical energy ratio. Yang Release is the polar opposite, a high Physical energy to Mental energy ratio.

“We call Yin Release the Mind Release, because of its high Mental energy formula the chakra is most useful for manipulating the mind rather than creating a physical effect. It makes up the Figment, Glamour, Pattern, Phantasm, Shadow, Enchantment, Charm, and Compulsion Perceptions, in varying degrees. For example, the Enchantment, Charm, and Compulsion Perceptions are made almost exclusively from Yin Chakra, with very little physical energy present in their makeup, while the Shadow Perception has the most Physical chakra of any of the Perceptions, with the Physical chakra almost equal to the amount of Mental chakra.

“This is simple because the Shadow Perception is somewhat unique. It uses the physical chakra to conjure up something like a portal to a place known as the Shadow Realm; which is an exotic plane of existence where Mental energy can act like Physical energy, having a real effect on the world. Now the ability for this energy to effect our world is based mostly on the skill of the Shinobi wielding the Shadow Perception, but no matter what these essences of Shadow can affect the real world with at least a 20% effectiveness. The better the Shinobi can create Shadow chakra and manipulate the higher the effectiveness of the jutsu. Not to forget however that as a Genjutsu Shadows affect the mind primarily; and if an opposing Shinobi is caught in the Genjutsu without disbelieving what they are seeing, the effect has full effect on them because of their own mind creating the effect in their own body.”

Masao stopped to let Katsu write down the last of what he had been saying, taking a drink to parch his dry throat after talking so much. He continued soon after, switching his topic to the Yang Releases, ”Now on to the Yang Releases. Polar opposite to the Yin Release it's known as the Body Release because of the high physical energy in its composition, and is best known for creating physical effects that are easily observed. The Fire, Water, Earth, Lightning, Air, Wood, Paper, Crystal, Ice, Sand, and Lava Release are all different types of Yang Release, although most Ninjutsu, whether they're part of the Releases or not, use Yang type chakra. There are plenty of jutsu like the Kami jutsu, the Chakra Kyuin, and other techniques that aren't Releases but utilize a lot of physical energy to perform...”

[Father 'Suke]

+10 TP
+25 SP
103|125

[Deleted]

[Katsu has the Able Learner and Eidetic Memory traits, granting him 50% more dice rolls per time learned (for a total of 7 rolls) and a +1 racial bonus to each die roll, respectively.

103/125 Skillpoints

0/10]

SPOILER: Click to show

Chakra Lore
Rank: "D"
Skill: Skill
Effect: A skill for basic Chakra Jutsu understanding allowing the user to identify and read all Chakra matters.
Special: ---
Drawback: ---
Description: A person versed in Chakra Lore knows the basic principles behind Chakra. They are tuned in to secrets about the world around them that most others do not and know how to read Chakra Scrolls or Writings. They may not be able to perform Jutsus, but they can read Chakra Writings and generally tell what it is all about. Some practical applications of Chakra Lore follow: Identifying Jutsus, Identifying Chakra Items, and Deciphering Scrolls. Look in Jutsu Lore Skills thread found in the Skills and Traits Index for more information. Each time learned user gets 5 die roll to increase the skill.
Limit: ---

[Flashback]Years after his father had taught him a lot about the nature of chakra and its many uses Katsu had begun his own studies into the matter himself. One of the first things that he had come across during his own studies was that of the Tenketsu and the Eight Divine Gates. They were both the most fascinating subjects of study he had yet to come across.

The Tenketsu were essentially the backbone of the chakra network within a human (or ab-human) body; similar in function to the cardiovascular system yet instead of supplying blood and oxygen to the body it supplied chakra instead. They circulated all over the entire body; and any humanoid that could manipulate chakra had this series of Tenketsu within them. In fact it seemed that this was the primary requisite for a being to be able to manipulate chakra; In fact humans that had their Tenketsu damaged were often unable to mold chakra thereafter.

The Hyuuga had apparently done a great deal of study into the Tenketsu; which made sense considering they were the only ones capable of seeing the Tenketsu without complicated medical jutsu. The Tenketsu were three-hundred-and-sixty-one points along the chakra network, from a person's feet to the top of their head, and each of these points was something like a gate along a road. The Hyuuga especially focused their study in the method for opening and closing these gates in order to restrict or enhance chakra flow through them. The method was in actuality very simple; yet something only the Hyuuga could easily accomplish. By slamming a thin needle of chakra directly into the point it could be made to close, shutting down the chakra flow in that part of the body. Likewise by hitting the Tenketsu in a different manner it could be made to open wider, allowing for an overflow to build in that area of the body.

Fascinated Katsu continued his studies, slurping on a cup of hot cocoa to keep the cold of winter away. It was really interesting to note that the Tenketsu could be manipulated in such a manner; but it was more interesting to note that the Tenketsu were the points that you had to emit chakra from in order to perform Ninjutsu and Genjutsu! Katsu was surprised to learn that he himself had already been using his Tenketsu without even knowing what they were. In order to perform the Tree-climbing and Water-walking jutsu you had to exert chakra from the Tenketsu in your feet, and if you wanted to create a Katon fireball you had to exert chakra from the Tenketsu in your lungs, throat, and mouth to safely expel the flames. They were an integral part of human anatomy at this point.

However, the Tenketsu weren't the only important parts of the Chakra network. Amonst the many winding paths of the chakra system were eight special spots that had more potential than even the Tenketsu. Called the Eight Gates they were specific flow-limiting points in the chakra network that kept a great deal of the human body's functions safely subdued. The body apparently was much more capable than most humans were aware of, more than able to tear down walls with brute force and punch holes in steel. However it seemed that having our bodies working at such a high level of performance actually damaged the body; it limited by what it was made of.

So these Eight Gates essentially kept the human body from ripping itself apart from performing above what was “safe” for it to do. However there were examples of people breaking this imposed limitations all throughout history. People brought to the brink of life and death, or seeing a loved one put in a potentially lethal position, were apparently capable of naturally breaking through these barriers long enough to save themselves or their loved one. Even then just the few moment it took them to do so they could out perform Olympic athletes, but at the cost of their muscles, ligaments, and sometimes even their bones.

Of these Eight Gates the first one was known as the “Open Gate” because it was the easiest Gate to open; it was the gate most often opened by accident when people needed to escape a life or death situation. By opening the Open Gate one could start to access 30% of the total potential of the human body, yet dealing damage to it every time they moved. However the increase in speed and power could turn a weakling into a powerhouse while it was open, right at the peak of normal human function. As the Open Gate was the easiest to open it also did the least amount of damage while opened, letting most people who learned to do so operate at this superhuman level for a full minute before serious damage was done to the body, requiring a Medic to intervene or else death would occur...

[Father 'Suke]

+10 TP
+18 SP
121|125

[Deleted]

[Katsu has the Able Learner and Eidetic Memory traits, granting him 50% more dice rolls per time learned (for a total of 7 rolls) and a +1 racial bonus to each die roll, respectively.

121/125 Skillpoints

0/10]

SPOILER: Click to show

Chakra Lore
Rank: "D"
Skill: Skill
Effect: A skill for basic Chakra Jutsu understanding allowing the user to identify and read all Chakra matters.
Special: ---
Drawback: ---
Description: A person versed in Chakra Lore knows the basic principles behind Chakra. They are tuned in to secrets about the world around them that most others do not and know how to read Chakra Scrolls or Writings. They may not be able to perform Jutsus, but they can read Chakra Writings and generally tell what it is all about. Some practical applications of Chakra Lore follow: Identifying Jutsus, Identifying Chakra Items, and Deciphering Scrolls. Look in Jutsu Lore Skills thread found in the Skills and Traits Index for more information. Each time learned user gets 5 die roll to increase the skill.
Limit: ---

[Flashback]The second of the Eight gates was known as the “Heal Gate”. Just like the name suggested when someone opened the Second Gate their body's ability to heal itself was intensified. This was done by a rapid increase in the rate of cellular division; which allowed the body to digest old dead cells as food for new cells to replace any damage. It was a powerful effect that could certainly sway the tide of combat but the rapid cell division actually shortened a user's lifespan. Granted it was only extra moments gone but if one were reckless with their use of the Gate it could shorten their life by years. Of course even that was the best-case scenario; assuming everything went fine in the combat situation, which was unlikely considering an opponent that necessitated the use of the Second Gate was a fearsome one indeed.

Yet the next Gate, known as the Life Gate, trumped the First and Second in both its danger and its effectiveness. Considered the first true forbidden Gate to open, the Life Gate was so called because of its increase of the user's natural endurance to almost supernatural levels. When the Life Gate was activated a person could take an unbelievable amount of punishment, stand back up, dust themselves off, and then rejoin battle. There were even accounts of users being thrown through buildings, having said buildings collapse on top of them, and still have them blast their way through the rubble to get back into battle. At this point the nervous system is also unhindered; it perfectly transfers signals throughout the body at the best possible speed, allowing for even faster reaction times and a sharpening of senses. The body begins to show the effects of the active Gates at this point, the super-enhanced bloodflow granting the skin a deep red tinge, and a green aura of evaporating sweat creates a gentle green aura around the user at the same time.

The next Gate was known as the Harm Gate; and this due to the increasingly alarming amount of damage the body is doing to itself simply moving in this enhanced state. When the Harm Gate is opened the entire body has reached a state of perfect synchronicity; each muscle, each nerve, every system in the body working perfectly together with no faults. This further increases the user's strength and speed to the point they seem to vanish from view of normal people, their eyes incapable of tracking the user's movements. The perfect synchronization of the systems also allows for even more rapid healing of minor damage, with most small cuts and bruises vanishing almost instantly.

The other Four Gates were similar in effect to the previous Gates, only becoming more and more extreme to the point that by the time one unlocked the final Eighth Gate one looked more like a living deity than a human. The Fifth Gate, the Limit Gate which was so named because it caused you to shatter human limits, and caused the green aura to form into smooth flame-like wisps, with bits of electrical discharges dancing across the skin. The Sixth Gate was known as the View Gate because of it's location at the user's Brow. When that Gate was unlocked the aura that surrounds the user is so packed full of force that it's capable of simply blowing away ninjutsu and taijutsu of a certain level, commonly classified as “B” rank. The Seventh Gate, the Wonder Gate, began to cause the body to break down at a rapid pace, but by that time the user's mind is so hyped up from the surge of power that it's convinced it can surpass any limit, break through any barrier. At that point the body is also in constant and intense physical pain, but the user's endurance is such that it can completely ignore all pain, having ascended past such a petty process. And of course the finale, the Eighth Gate, known as the Death Gate because you invariably died if you used it.

Upon even entering the Final Gate one's heart exploded, the lungs became paralyzed, and blood stopped flowing. Yet like a puppet-master controlling their creations the user's spirit controls their dead body by pure chakra; unleashing the full force of the human body by eating itself even as it moves. When this Gate was unlocked the body began to use up all of its chemical and potential energy all at once, the body glowing like some deity, and in that moment the user might seem as a deity, their speed and power so far surpassing normal human limits they can break the sound barrier, and just about anything else they might hit as well.

[Father 'Suke]

+10 TP, no die roll needed.

125|125

[Deleted]

[Katsu has the Able Learner trait, granting 50% more dice rolls per time learned, for a total of 7

Skill Points: 0/125

0/5]

SPOILER: Click to show

Blacksmithing/Metalworking
Rank: "E"
Skill: Skill
Effect: A character with the Blacksmithing Skill is capable of making simple tools and implements from iron and steel.
Special: ---
Drawback: ---
Description: Use of this skill requires a forge with a coal-fed fire and bellows, as well as a hammer and anvil. The character cannot make Armour or most Weapons, (he needs the appropriate skill fort hat) but can craft crowbars, grappling hooks, horseshoes, nails, hinges, plows, and most other iron objects. The list above gives examples of Mastery Level and what the character can do. Look in Task Skills thread found in the Skills and Traits Index for more information. Each time learned user gets 5 die roll to increase the skill.
Limit: ---

Katsu was standing in the middle of a Smithy, alone except for the blacksmith that owned the smithy. The blacksmith who was working the forge, a big brutish looking man wielding an eight pound hammer like it was a twig, stopped his work of pummeling a bar of steel as thick as a man's thigh and examined his work. The bar was half smashed into a vague blade shape, one side thinner than the other. Whoever was ordering a sword that big had to be a giant. Either way, it seemed the sword was fine to set away for the moment, and the big man turned to Katsu.

"First thing, you. Don't touch a fucking thing unless I tell you to. Second. There's a good chance of you wimping out and having wasted all my time between then and now. So if you think you might not be that interested in Blacksmithing then GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY SMITHY!" The man finished his welcome speech with a roar, causing Katsu to shrug and hold his ground. The big man waited until it was sure Katsu meant to stay before continuing, "Now. Name's Berk. I'll teach you how to use a forge the right fucking way, long as you're tough enough to take it. Blacksmithing isn't for most. Takes real fortitude to handle the forge all day and proper strength and training to wield a hammer the right way.

"First thing we're starting with is safety. I don't need your squeals of pain distracting me during my work. We'll start with the common sense, just to make sure. You'd be surprised how many people injure themselves over something absolutely stupid. Alright. First. No loose clothing. An errant spark from a work can catch your clothes on fire in a quick hurry. Second. Protective Clothing. Wear it. Leather aprons and gloves are a must in my forge; they'll spare you a lot of the little burns that come with the job. I see you've got goggles that protect against too much light. Wear those when you're working the forge to not blind yourself. Oh and it's certainly obvious but don't be wearing anything metal like gold jewelry or the like in here. We're heating up metal near to their melting points and pounding them into new shapes, if an earring catches some heat it'll be your ear coming off. Oh, speaking of ears, if your ears are sensitive you'll be wanting something to block the sound as well. Pounding the anvil makes a hell of a racket. Got all this so far kid?"

Katsu had to grin as he replied, "Don't act like a moron when playing with fire, don't stare at the sun without sunglasses, and don't cause my ears to bleed, got it Berk Sensei."

The man snorted a laugh, "Hah. Exactly. Now we're surrounded by tools that we beat the shit out of metal with. The damage they can do to a human can be much worse, although I'm not sure it'll affect you much, Draconian. Either way, careful how you swing things about. I for one am not covered in armor and I've broken more than a couple bones in this forge. So stay sharp for others' sake. Environmental Awareness and all that."

[Father 'Suke]

Grading
+5 TP
+41 SP
41|125

[Deleted]

[Katsu has the "Able Learner" trait and the "Eccentric Specialist" Misc jutsu for Observation. Katsu thus rolls 2 dice per time learned with each roll gaining a +1 bonus

Skill Points 0/200 (Maximum increased by "Unlocked Potential" jutsu for Observation)

0/5]

SPOILER: Click to show

Observation
Rank: "E"
Skill: Skill
Effect: This skill focuses certain powers of observation - sight, smell, hearing, and touch.
Special: ---
Drawback: ---
Description: Can be learned by an Animal. A failed check indicates that the character is oblivious until the thing is pointed out to him. This skill is important for ferreting out advancing enemies or ambushes, generally real-time events and actions occurring, versus scrutiny, which covers static objects or areas. A Game Master may roll an Observation skill check for a Character any time there is an NPC, monster, event or happening that a character might notice, even if he did not specifically state that he is monitoring his surroundings. Characters are capable of noticing any event within their perception. Observation reveals only facts, not motivation. If user has 25 or more Ranks in Evidence Analysis user gains a Synergy Bonus +10 to Observation. Each time learned user gets 1 die roll to increase the skill.
Limit: ---

Eyes that could not see. A tongue that could not taste. A nose that could not smell. Deep within a world of tasteless scentless darkness, the being who was to be named Katsu stirred. He had experienced nothing, knew nothing, remembered nothing, but he could still find things to occupy his pre-infantile mind. Just the sensations alone could draw his attention for hours on end.

Katsu could feel himself as a sphere floating in the darkness, incorrectly sensing himself as only his own head. The rest of his body felt alien and barely attached, his unrefined nervous system still growing. Every tiny twitch of a lip or tongue or eye was shocking, a feeling of lightning shooting through his sphere. Katsu could feel below his sphere a repetitive thudding. Badum. Badum. So close by yet so quiet he couldn't feel it, instead something else alerting him to its presence. The sensation of touch was too weak, and he realized he had some other way to experience things, and Katsu rejoiced for the tiny moment his mind could grasp that knowledge before it slipped away again, the ever changing synapses of his brain overwriting his memory in a moment.

Yet Hearing! It came again and again to Katsu. There was always a great rhythmic thud somewhere above him, the sound reaching Katsu over and over, never stopping. It became so ingrained in Katsu's mind that he found himself completely forgetting it was there despite its constant noise, perhaps rediscovering it once every few dozen hours. Soon Katsu would realize that he was more than a simple sphere, the attached parts below the sphere were also him. The rhythmic beating was part of him, and soon after this realization Katsu felt his torso begin to move of its own accord. He was trying to breathe like all fetus do, but didn't know why, and he couldn't even make himself stop!

Time passed, Katsu's sense of it completely faulty, until he began to notice that he could move! Tiny limbs, arms and legs and the tinier tail, twitched of their own accord but could be made to move of Katsu's will. It was a great change, Katsu gaining some level of control of his tiny world. He could now feel the liquid that was around him, feel it move in response to his movements, the sensation of warmth it gave his tiny self. Katsu began to feel something else as well. There were more sounds than before, or else Katsu could only now hear them. Outside of his tiny world were coming sounds. They made no sense, there was no rhythm or seeming purpose to them, they were there. But they awoke in Katsu the desire to leave his tiny world, and join that world that seemed to exist outside of his own!

[Father 'Suke]

+5 TP
+15 SP
15|200

[Deleted]

[Katsu has the "Able Learner" trait and the "Eccentric Specialist" Misc jutsu for Observation. Katsu thus rolls 2 dice per time learned with each roll gaining a +1 bonus

Skill Points 15/200 (Maximum increased by "Unlocked Potential" jutsu for Observation)

0/5]

SPOILER: Click to show

Observation
Rank: "E"
Skill: Skill
Effect: This skill focuses certain powers of observation - sight, smell, hearing, and touch.
Special: ---
Drawback: ---
Description: Can be learned by an Animal. A failed check indicates that the character is oblivious until the thing is pointed out to him. This skill is important for ferreting out advancing enemies or ambushes, generally real-time events and actions occurring, versus scrutiny, which covers static objects or areas. A Game Master may roll an Observation skill check for a Character any time there is an NPC, monster, event or happening that a character might notice, even if he did not specifically state that he is monitoring his surroundings. Characters are capable of noticing any event within their perception. Observation reveals only facts, not motivation. If user has 25 or more Ranks in Evidence Analysis user gains a Synergy Bonus +10 to Observation. Each time learned user gets 1 die roll to increase the skill.
Limit: ---

Katsu's tiny world remained the same for beyond his own memory could contain, and dozens times longer. He became aware that he was waiting for something though, and he wasn't sure what it was going to be, only that there was something to wait for. So Katsu did wait, listening to that strong thump that was always there, vibrating his entire being, and the tiny thump inside him that seemed to follow the one above him. His limbs he found were moving easier and easier, and one time Katsu had even felt the edge of his tiny world! It had been a very soft, but incredibly strong barrier, at least for Katsu's weak body. The thought then entered his mind then that his wait here was to leave. He was waiting to join the world beyond that barrier. He just had to get through that barrier.

It was time for Katsu to struggle to free himself, and Katsu did so to the best of his ability. He flailed his tiny fists and feet every moment he could, the strength in his limbs leaving him frequently for hours on end only to eventually return long enough to flail a bit longer. The feeling of exhaustion was a new one for Katsu. The slow burning sensation that arced through his limbs was horrible feeling, and there was nothing to do but let the pain slowly pass. It was more this pain, this completely uncomfortable feeling, that really slowed Katsu's attempts at escape of his tiny world.

There came at one point however a moment when Katsu began to realize that something was changing. That rhythmic beating that had been with him this entire time was changing somehow. It took him a long time before he realized the change was the location of the sound. He had never had any thought of relative location before now. To Katsu it was like his entire world was shifting, the fundamental laws of his tiny world changing in a moment. Terror filled his tiny mind, his consciousness almost unable to cope with the change to his entire world, but he held on, because that noise was still there. Still strong, continuing on as if nothing had ever happened. Sure it was coming to float below Katsu's own body but it was still there, and that reassured him enough to leech his terror away.

Of course it was only the beginning of the troubles that were coming for poor Katsu. He had yet to be born after all!

[Father 'Suke]

+5 TP
+20 SP
35|200