2x the pleasure, 2x the fun! [Training/Open]

[Raika Tatsu]

Doton - Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu (Double Suicide Decapitation Technique)
Rank: "D" Rank
Skill: NinJutsu / TaiJutsu
Effect: A technique where the user hides within the ground for a brief moment to surprise attack the opponent from under ground.
Special: ---
Drawback: ---
Description: The user takes the time to push into the ground by using their Earth Release. The user pushes into the ground quickly so that to be used against the opponent later on. The user at this point cannot necessarily move within the ground at this moment, but the user does know by feel of when an opponent is right above. When an opponent is right under the user reaches up to take the opponent and drag them back down to the ground in one fell swoop without movement or notice. The opponent is unable to move for one post and the user is capable of slamming out of the ground with one movement.
Limit: Needs the Earth Release

~[0/10]~


Tatsu noticed a sound from the trees above as he approached the younger shinobi he believed to be his friend. A closer look from the shadows revealed a female shinobi, one he had never seen before, definitely not in Kumogakure. While possible that Tatsu could have missed her, he had to stay on edge. She seemed tense, ready to attack. Having not been seen yet, Tatsu realized this was a perfect opportunity to train a couple of jutsu he had wanted to learn for the longest time.

First, he had to begin with learning how to get underground and hide there. Quietly, Tatsu squatted down on the ground, focusing his chakra onto the earth beneath him. He began molding earth release chakra, pouring it into the ground. He closed his eyes, picturing what he needed to accomplish: creating a large enough hole for his whole body in the earth, then closing it above him, allowing him to hide in the ground below. In his mind, Tatsu pictured himself digging through the ground using chakra. As he did, his chakra began to move the soil and earth beneath him, separating it out and causing it to pile in a ring around him, creating a crater millimeter by millimeter. However, as Tatsu watched, he realized that his method would not work by itself: digging up the dirt and then trying to pull it all back into the hole with him was not only inefficient, it was hardly combat or stealth material. Thus, he needed another way. However, he kept going with the chakra “digging” for a bit longer, mostly to get a feel for the makeup of the ground around him.

After a few seconds, Tatsu stopped, then began molding his chakra differently. Of course, he still kept it as Earth chakra, but this time he focused more on separating out the earth, trying to instead crack it open. His chakra worked to pull apart the rock and dirt under him, letting Tatsu sink slightly faster. It was at this point that Tatsu had an epiphany. Perhaps the best thing was to combine “digging” with “cracking open” and allow the earth to open up for his body. Maybe pushing the earth down, while compacting it around him would work better. That way, once down, Tatsu could “loosen” the super-compact earth around him to cover him up above, keeping him hidden. The top layer could be separated out to the sides while the earth under him would give way. Tatsu attempted this, and after about a minute, using his chakra, he succeeded, pushing down the earth and letting his whole body fall in.

As Raika allowed himself to be engulfed by the earth, he reached out and pulled slightly on a relatively short, thick branch--about four feet in length--that was leaning on a tree next to him. As he did so, His whole body reached below ground level, and—using his chakra—Tatsu manipulated the earth around him to cover him up. The branch fell over the now covered Raika, causing vibrations in the ground Tatsu could feel. Now he could practice the next part of the jutsu: pulling something in. Using the same kinds of concepts of shunshin while using chakra to separate out the earth, Raika’s hands came out of the earth and grabbed the branch, pulling it down as the earth pushed his body up. As the branch was swallowed up to about half a foot, Raika’s body ejected from the earth. Perfect….thought Raika, before he completed handsigns to use the jutsu again, going back underground and away from view. He came back up once, then attempted the jutsu again, making sure he had a handle on it.

[Marii K. Kazeraikou]

Iron will.
Rank: “C” Rank [always 20 training points].
Skill: Supplementary.
Effect: User is more resistant to mental effects.
Special: ---
Drawback: ---
Description: User gets a + 2 bonus on all will saves.
Limit: Must learn from universal miscellaneous.

[18/20]

Both of her feet hit the ground as she jogged closer towards the field where Katsu was. 'I'll hunt you down...run faster...' muttered the foreign voice that was in her head. 'NO!' shouted the female mentally as she ran past a large pine tree.
'I'm going to kill you' continued the male voice that echoed inside her mind. 'YEAH, COME GET ME THEN!' roared her inner with fire in her eyes.

Marii looked around to see where she was. A part of her tried to keep the voice down to a minimum while she scanned her surroundings.
'HUH!? What is Katsu-kun doing here!?' thought the young woman when she saw him. It looked like he was working on something that laid on the ground.

'Better be sil-wait a minute. The voice is gone' realized the Raikage when she returned her attention to the voice inside her mind. "Good work there Raikage-sama" stated the male who now stood next to her.
"Thanks. But I wonder how we should get over to him without noticing...do you have a plan?" inquired the female.

[Father 'Suke]

Raika - +10; learned
Marii - +2; learned

[Raika Tatsu]

Doton - Dochuu Eigyo (Underground Fish Projection)
Rank: "C" Rank
Skill: NinJutsu
Effect: By using the similarity of Doton - Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu (Double Suicide Decapitation Technique) the user is capable of moving through the earth and all around.
Special: "Handseals" before performing
Drawback: Technique cannot be used through Sand
Description: The user uses the basic Doton - Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu (Double Suicide Decapitation Technique) as they slam down into the ground. Doing so the user is capable of moving about within the ground capable of rising, sinking and capable of pushing through the very ground in multiple types of ways. This type of attack may be used so then the user may move away from the very opponent and attack at the moment's notice.
Limit: Needs the Earth Release, Must have knowledge of the Doton - Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu (Double Suicide Decapitation Technique)

~[0/10]~


Now that he was underground and had learned the basics of pushing down into the earth, Tatsu needed to learn how to move within the ground to better take advantage of the skill. Thus, Tatsu began to focus his chakra on the earth around him, closing his eyes to better concentrate on the task at hand. He needed to push the earth around him in certain directions depending on which way he went, “digging” through the earth while making sure the many layers of rock, soil, clay, dust, etc. wrapped around and replaced the area his body was leaving. He would have to begin slowly, just like before.

Raika began to pour chakra into the surrounding dirt, but mostly into the earth directly in front of him. Slowly, he began to push into the dirt that lay in front of his body, starting first with his hands and then with his torso and head, until he finally began with his legs. He took it slow, “digging” at about a centimeter every thirty seconds. However, after a couple of minutes he realized that the dirt he was displacing was moving mostly up in the direction of most convenient escape, leaving a lot of space behind him that wasn’t getting filled up. It made him feel like a proverbial mole digging tunnels underground and causing a mound to form above ground following along. Of course, this would not do. The point of the technique was to be able to catch opponents off guard, keeping one’s location underground a mystery. If Tatsu created signs above him, his location would always be known. Thus, he needed to try a different tactic.

First, he focused on keeping the uppermost layer of earth still and untouched, allowing him to move through the ground without drawing attention to his whereabouts. Next, he needed to keep his chakra flowing through the earth much like water, pushing the particles of earth around his body in the exact opposite direction he was moving, allowing the earth particles to replace the space formerly occupied by his body just as quickly as he moved. That was the important part: treating the earth he now resided within more as water than dirt and rock, just denser. Working his chakra, he created a current for the earth to flow through, directly around him. The particles of the ground began to move around him, pushing him forward while filling up the space behind Raika’s body almost instantly. Slowly but surely Tatsu was moving underground.

He moved until he was under Katsu, then he moved a bit away from him, far enough away to not come up right under him but close enough to be unseen by the female shinobi in the trees. Tatsu moved up, the earth parting and revealing Raika’s head close to Katsu’s feet, on the opposite side of the female.

“Katsu, is that you? Everything ok?”

[Deleted]

[78/110]

SPOILER: Click to show

Raise Dead
Rank: "S"
Type: Restoration Ritual
Effect: User bends over the body of their slain comrade, applying sacramental unguents.
Special: To perform: 8 hours; Duration: Instantaneous
Drawback: ---
Description: User bends over the body of their slain comrade, applying sacramental unguents. Finally the eyes flutter open as they are restored to life. To perform the Raise Dead ritual, user must have a part of the corpse of a creature that died no more than 30 days ago. The subject returns to life as if they had taken an extended rest. The subject is freed of any temporary conditions suffered at death, but permanent conditions remain. The subject returns with a death penalty: -5 skill checks, -1 to Saves. This death penalty fades after the subject has survived for 1 month. User cannot restore life to a creature that has been petrified or to a creature that died of old age. The subject's soul must be free and willing to return to life. Some chakra effects Trap the Soul and thus prevent Raise Dead from working. In all cases to raise an "A" Class character the performance cost is x5, while the components cost to raise an "S" Class character is x10.
Limit: Must be a Ritualist for Restoration Rituals.
Cost: Market Price: 48,000 Ryo Performing Price: 36,000 Ryo

The final step of most restoration rituals, including Raise Dead, 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 with the other steps there was no alternative you could try if you were seeking the help of a Jishinmei, but like before this step was based solely on the Jishinmei you wanted to utilize. Sometimes it could be a rather simple ceremony taking just minutes, other times it was an all day affair. Clementia's ritual took a very long time indeed; taking a full eight hours to complete from start to finish.

It was because of the intense complexity of the ritual itself. It was a ritual to bring back the spirit of a dead being. It had to open up a doorway between this world and the next one in order to let the being travel back and inhabit their body once more. The way in this was done was a lot like boring a tunnel through a mountain, although the mountain was really the barrier between worlds and your drill was power being channeled by Clementia. Like operating a drill, you had to help along the process by properly guiding the power that Clementia was wielding.

Going over his Corona, coordinates, and making sure the protectorate was where it was supposed to be one last time, Katsu turned to his tome that he had stored in one of his bags. He opened to a pre-marked page and began reading, every so often speaking a word or phrase to himself as if practicing the pronunciation. The tome he was reading had the information on what needed to be changed depending on the target of the Raise Dead ritual. A little girl, for example, had differing mentality of say a grizzled old warrior, and thus tended to wander in a different direction in the afterlife. Certain parts of the ritual had to be changed in order to direct Clementia to reach out for a spirit that wandered towards where little girls tended to wander to.

Katsu at this point was interrupted by so many people that he couldn't concentrate on what he was reading any longer. The little Hyuuga girl (she had white eyes, Hyuuga) was still threatening him with her katana, there was some women who had been shouting just outside of the Grove, and now there was Raika at his feet asking him if he was okay. Katsu felt like grinding his teeth in frustration. After all he had chosen this place because he thought nobody was going to find him. Now somehow there was a crowd gathering in the grove. It was maddening! Katsu finally snapped and shouted at the top of his lungs, his supernaturally loud voice shaking the very trees in his anger, ”CAN ALL OF YOU JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP FOR TWO MINUTES?! HOW THE HELL YOU EVEN FOUND ME WHEN I SPECIFICALLY CHOSE THIS GROVE FOR ITS PRIVACY IS BEYOND ME BUT IF YOU'RE HERE SHUT THE HELL UP AND LET ME FINISH THIS RITUAL! I'M TRYING TO RESURRECT A LITTLE GIRL OVER HERE FOR CREATOR'S SAKE!!!”

Breathing heavily for a long moment Katsu would return to his ritual book, making sure that everything he had set up was correct. It seemed so, and so Katsu began to pull more ingredients from his bags (rituals took thousands of Ryo in order to just get the supplies together, it was no wonder most people didn't get into them) including a very small plain doll. It was the beginnings of an effigy for the little girl, a requisite part of the ritual. First however Katsu had to attune it to the little girl, which meant taking his claws and snipping just a few hairs from the girl's head, before winding the hair around the little doll. With that little bit done Katsu then grabbed some Muriate of potash, also known as potassium chloride, a pint of pyridine in water, which was an organic reagent and solvent, and some nitroglycerin, which was explosive, and rubbed all three chemicals very slowly, very carefully into the effigy while chanting something even Katsu didn't understand in a somber voice.

Exactly ten seconds after completing the chant a tiny burst of light would envelop the little effigy and it would turn into a tiny cloth doll of the little, completely identical to her in every way, even the condition of the clothing was the same. Taking this small effigy Katsu would lay it on the girl's chest, and then took a step back as the little girl became enveloped in a golden light. It was finally time to get this ritual underway!

[👺 Usiel]

Raika Tatsu - +10 TP learned
@lumenlatonesh - +20

[Raika Tatsu]

Iwa Bunshin no Jutsu Rock Clone Technique

SPOILER: Click to show

Rank: B, C-rank for additional training.
Skill: Ninjutsu
Effect: Using their understanding of the earth and minerals within it, the user is capable of bringing those components to the surface, compacting and shaping them into a perfect clone of the user.
Special: "Hand Seals"
Drawback: Because of the dense material they are composed of, the clones are rather slow moving when compared to the average shinobi. A source of earth is also needed. (Meaning, if you are in a ship in the middle of the ocean, you will not be able to use this.) In addition, due to the amount of chakra taken to harden and sculpt the earth, only a maximum of five clones can be created per round.
Description: After performing the proper handseals, the user’s chakra surges into the earth, compacting it tightly to form stone. This stone then surfaces and sculpts itself, becoming an exact copy of the user. When first learned, the user has the ability to create two clones. This amount will also increase naturally depending on the difficulty class of the user. The Clones are capable of using any technique affiliated to their element.
D --- 2 clones
C --- 4 clones
B --- 6 clones
A --- 8 clones
S --- 10 clones

For C-rank training, the user can also increase the amount of clones created by one, up to a maximum 20 clones.
Being composed of stone, these clones are much more stable and durable than most others. Depending on the difficult class of the user, they can take so many hits before losing their form and crumbling. Note that if the attacks these clones take are TaiJutsu, the amount is reduced by one. This means while a clone at C rank might be able to take 2 C-rank Ninjutsu, 1 C-rank Taijutsu strike will shatter it. Unless there is an attack that states otherwise, thrown weaponry and stabbing/slashing weaponry count as D-rank attacks. Bludgeoning weapons (such as hammers or clubs) are C-rank strikes. This is because it is easier to smash a stone then it is cut it. The formula is that for each rank in difficulty the user is, the clone may take two strikes of that level, or any combination, as long as the following applies: 1 S = 2 A = 4 B = 8 C = 16 D. (One difficulty class equals two of the previous) Ex. At B rank, a clone would be able to take 1 B-rank strike, and 2 C-ranks. Alternatively, it could take 2 C-ranks and 4 D-ranks. Many combinations are possible, as long as they add up.
Limit: Earth Release.

~[0/60]~

Tatsu was shocked by not only Katsu yelling, but also by what he said. Bringing a girl back to life? He wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. On one hand, Raika had no particular religious or moral objection to the practice. If Katsu could succeed, it could be a useful ability to have available in the village should any of them die. Logically, it made sense to pursue such an art. On the other hand, the connotations of such a skill weren’t exactly bright, and while Raika knew that Katsu would never use such an ability for dark motivations, Tatsu knew nothing of what this power entailed, or whether it had any dark purpose at all normally. Still, he trusted his companion, so instead of asking anything, he decided to leave him alone…for now. He was still wary of the female, however, so he decided to stay closeby in case she became aggressive towards his teammate. Using his newly learned skills, Tatsu moved underground and right outside the grove, deciding to learn another skill using the earth.
Coming out of the ground a few meters away, Tatsu decided to attempt learning how to create a clone from the stone below him. He knew how to create lightning clones, but sometimes other types of clones were more useful. Thus, he formed a set of hand signs and began pouring chakra into the earth below. His plan was simple: first, he’d begin by forming a humanoid figure out of rock and dirt, solidifying it and compacting the many minerals that were to make it up; next, he’d sculpt the humanoid rock formation into a likeness of himself; finally, he’d use chakra to give the clone “life”. Thus, the plan was not so simple. Still, it was the best he could come up with, and of course fine-tuning would have to take place.

Using the chakra he poured into the ground right in front of him, he began to make it flow upwards in two spots about a foot apart. At these spots, particles of earth began to move, rising up from the ground as well as collecting from the immediate area around, making the earth seem almost magnetized towards these spots of concentration. The dust, particles, rock, gravel, and etc. began to stick together and mount up on each other, forming the rudimentary shape of a foot on both spots, though they were very, very crude in appearance. Earth continued to build up from these structures, forming what could be considered legs for a couple of feet. Unfortunately, it was at this point that he began to realize his mistake. As the particles began to form a pelvic structure, relatively large amounts of the large particles making up the forming humanoid began to fall off of the leg structures. Building up the clone in this manner kept Raika focused on the structure bit by bit, so the stone wasn’t getting compacted completely. He was trying to build a puzzle with many parts, each compacted on their own, but none really compacted into each other. This was not going to work.

Thus, Raika changed tactics. Using his chakra, Tatsu dismantled his forming creation and let it fall onto the surrounding ground. He then placed his hands onto the ground and began to manipulate his chakra through it to form the outline on the ground of a humanoid figure. It took a good bit of his chakra, but thankfully he had enough in his reserve to train this technique at least. Letting it flow through the ground until he was satisfied with the general size and shape of the humanoid outline—using the moving dust particles that followed the flow of the chakra above ground as a reference—Tatsu began to compact the earth inside of the aforementioned outline. He began from the outside and worked himself in, using the dirt, gravel, and other minerals nearly a foot out of the outline to compact the earth tightly into stone. He also pulled on the earth below, while using his chakra to keep the stone within the outline from pushing up and out in response to the forces and pressures he was creating.

After several minutes of this compacting, the outlined ground began to rise up, not only from the high level of pressure and compaction that Raika was placing on the ground from all directions, but because Raika wanted to begin separating his creation from the ground around it. The rising mound, in its humanoid figure, was covered a thin layer of lightly compacted dirt, but as it fell away due to the contours of the creation, it revealed purely compacted stone as the base for the figure. In many ways, the figure appeared more like a stereotypical golem than a human, though much skinnier and shorter obviously. This was a good base to work off of for now.

As the humanoid stone took shape completely on the ground, Raika decided it was time to put his compaction abilities to the test. Using his chakra, he attempted to make the clone raise up much like a person would: by raising up his torso first. Slowly, the head of the figure rose, loose dirt and other particles falling from it. The chest came next, followed of course by the shoulders arms. As the creature came up, Tatsu noticed the arms being a little looser than he was alright with, as the left arm seemed to want to fall away from the main structure. To quickly correct this and keep from having to start all over, Tatsu shot a rapid burst of chakra into the different joint where the humanoid narrowed, such as the shoulders, and in places around the leg, just in case. The figure kept rising, finally using its arms to help it get up from the ground. It stood up really slowly, moving at a snail’s pace, give Tatsu time to evaluate the success of his stone compaction. Everything up to this point seemed in order, so it was onto phase two of the training.

[Deleted]

[OOC: This post is going to involve some TIMESKIPPING due to Katsu requiring 8 hours to complete the ritual successfully]

[98/110]

SPOILER: Click to show

Raise Dead
Rank: "S"
Type: Restoration Ritual
Effect: User bends over the body of their slain comrade, applying sacramental unguents.
Special: To perform: 8 hours; Duration: Instantaneous
Drawback: ---
Description: User bends over the body of their slain comrade, applying sacramental unguents. Finally the eyes flutter open as they are restored to life. To perform the Raise Dead ritual, user must have a part of the corpse of a creature that died no more than 30 days ago. The subject returns to life as if they had taken an extended rest. The subject is freed of any temporary conditions suffered at death, but permanent conditions remain. The subject returns with a death penalty: -5 skill checks, -1 to Saves. This death penalty fades after the subject has survived for 1 month. User cannot restore life to a creature that has been petrified or to a creature that died of old age. The subject's soul must be free and willing to return to life. Some chakra effects Trap the Soul and thus prevent Raise Dead from working. In all cases to raise an "A" Class character the performance cost is x5, while the components cost to raise an "S" Class character is x10.
Limit: Must be a Ritualist for Restoration Rituals.
Cost: Market Price: 48,000 Ryo Performing Price: 36,000 Ryo

The emanation of light began to change, not fading away but becoming more concentrated rather than diffused. Within moments of the light existing it had coalesced into seven different points of light, each as bright as a star in the night sky and glowing every color that a human could see, and probably a few they couldn't either. That was a good sign Katsu thought to himself. It meant that he had managed to get everything up to this point correct and that he could continue with the ritual without fear of summoning some monstrous being instead of the soul of a little girl.

Of course this is where things got hard as well. As Clementia began to bore the tunnel between the worlds Katsu had to make sure it didn't go off course or slam shut at any point. The barrier between the worlds was an almost sentient membrane, it tried to close itself at any point it detected a defect, and with Clementia boring a hole straight through it was going to act to try and close itself immediately. This is where Katsu had to help the immensely powerful Clementia. Sigils would begin appearing around the seven points of light very soon. These were warning signs that the barrier was correcting itself, and Katsu had to respond to these sigils by completing a mathematical equation to fool the barrier into believing the error it detected was a false alarm. While that might not have made much sense to most people it made perfect sense to Katsu, having studied the intricacies of Restoration Rituals so thoroughly. Math ran the entire universe, and math could even allow you to bend the rules a bit by altering how some math equation added up, if only for a short time before reality realized the error and fixed it.

Katsu prepared himself, watching the points of light determinedly, running through the equations he had memorized in order to use them for this day. The first of the sigils appeared and Katsu sprung into action. The first sigil was always the easiest to decode, the barrier only beginning to sense that something wasn't right, unaware of Clementia's presence or purpose yet. Katsu quickly answered the sigil with the proper equation; essentially telling the entire world that something that was, was not, and then reinforcing it with mathematical proof.

Oh this ritual was something to break a physicists brain, that was for sure, Katsu thought to himself even as he noted a difference in his surroundings. The surge of life around the ritual, and Katsu being in the middle of it, made him aware that there was more “life” than there should have been. Although Raika's Doton based clone didn't really have any life of its own it was a creation made from Raika's chakra which was tied directly to his own lifeforce. This complicated the ritual by adding more variables than there was before, and as the next sigil popped into view Katsu had to amend three different variables of the equation before he could correctly answer the sigil by writing the equation with a clawed finger.

If Katsu had sweat glands he would certainly have a bead or two on his brow at this point. Yet there was nothing Katsu could do in order to stop Raika. He was too focused on the ritual to spare enough time to even talk, his entire being focused on channeling the power of the ritual. The seven motes of light glittered and glowed brighter one moment, then duller the next, never giving a hint as to whether Katsu was doing well or not.... it was going to be a long long eight hours...

[Father 'Suke]

Raika - +20; 20|60
Katsu - +12; learned

[Raika Tatsu]

~[20/60]~

With the base humanoid figure now done, Tatsu could work on sculpting it into his likeness. He began by first making the clone the correct height. Tatsu had overcompensated for every aspect in order to give him some wiggle room in which to work with. Thus, using his chakra, Tatsu loosed up some of the stone from the shoulders and head of the “golem” and let it fall away from the clone. Once it came down to his height, it was time to begin sculpting for real. However, that was not something he was keen on attempting from memory alone. He needed a reference, something better than even a mirror.

In fact, a lightning clone was perfect for this. Using a string of handsigns, Tatsu created a lightning clone of himself, a perfect copy of himself. Keeping chakra focused on the earth clone, Tatsu studies the lightning clone, which he stood next to his rudimentary stone clone. He wouldn’t have too much time with it, so he had to concentrate on all the major and minor details details. He began with studying his general form, analyzing his dimensions throughout so as to be able to copy them from memory.

Tatsu had his chakra completely engulfing the stone that formed his clone, and with it he began to cut away large portions of bounded earth. Mounds of dust and debris plummeted onto the ground from the clone’s back and chest; slices of rock and dirt fell away from the legs and arms of the creature. The “golem” quickly became a slender figure akin to Raika’s own body, while also compensating for Tatsu’s clothing. Tatsu shaved away relatively large clumps of earth to give his creation the correct figure before his lightning clone was to dissipate. Thankfully, Tatsu had given the clone enough chakra to create a clone of its own, and with the a few handseals, another lightning clone appeared, just in time for the last one to dissipate. Now it was time to move onto more minute details.

Tatsu began with the face. The eyes were important to get right, so he began with those. He shaved off bits of dust and debris to form the cornea, making sure to have a thin layer both above and below for the eyelids. Tiny eyelashes were even a consideration. He made sure they were sunken in slightly, as they were on himself. Next, his nose and lips. Sculpting his nose did not take too long, and Tatsu even made sure to create nostrils. The lips took a little more time, as he created a believable mouth. The ears came next. His chakra acted like a plastic surgeon’s blade, or more like a marble sculptor in this case. Bits of stone fell away from behind rudimentary ears as he formed the folds and rounded shape of his own ears. The hair came next, but thankfully Tatsu had relatively short, slick hair that allowed him to not have to worry too much about detail.

After the head was finished, the rest came more naturally. Tatsu was now used to using his chakra to sculpt out his own form out of stone. His clothing came next, with the folds and creases giving Raika the hardest time. The hands, with special care for joints and such, followed. Raika took his time with each finger before finally moving on to the legs. Once he finished with the feet, he stared upon the stoney complexion of his mirror image with a smile. Now came a slightly easier part. Using his chakra on the surface of the clone, Tatsu began to add color to the stone and rock that made up his creation. His skin color was the easiest, as olive scales were close to the color of the stone he had used. His clothing was a bit harder to replicate, but after a few minutes of working his chakra, he finally landed on the correct color schemes.

Tatsu internalized every aspect of the work he had just done, relegating the hours of work into sculpting his creation into muscle and cerebral memory. Of course, he would have to practice with creating the clone and sculpting it quickly, as well as creating multiple clones, but for now, this was good. The final touch to his masterpiece once again was the eyes, giving them the vibrant color of sunset orange that he himself owned, while playing around with changing it back and forth between that and red for his Ryuugan. Now onto the next phase of his training.

[Deleted]

[0/10]

SPOILER: Click to show

Scent
Rank: "D", "C", "B", "A", "S"
Skill: TaiJutsu
Effect: This extraordinary special quality allows a creature to detect approaching enemies, sniff out hidden foes, and track by sense of smell.
Special: ---
Drawback: ---
Description: The creature can detect opponents within 10-meters by sense of smell. If the opponent is upwind, the range increases to 20-meters; if downwind, it drops to 5-meters. Strong scents, such as smoke or rotting garbage, can be detected at x2 the ranges noted above. Overpowering scents, such as skunk musk, can be detected at x3 normal range. When a creature detects a scent, the exact location of the source is not revealed—only its presence somewhere within range. The creature can take a movement to note the direction of the scent. Whenever the creature comes within 2-meters of the source, the creature pinpoints the source’s location. When finding Herbs and Animals (random), Scent may improve searching for them (must have Scent of object previously before searching). Learning "D" Rank allows the user to search for Common things, while "S" for Nearly Impossible. Each rank user learns increases chance of finding by 2% for the Rank of Herb, and increases per Rank thereafter. Example: At "S" Rank User gains 10% increase chance in finding Common Herbs and Animals but only 2% Increase for Nearly Impossible Herbs and Animals.
Limit: Must be an Animal, Fey, Monster, or Vermin. Innate Animal Jutsu.

Though the ritual had taken all of that day and part of the night, it had finally ended with success! A Great rush of light, a feeling as if the entire world itself became uncertain for just a moment, and then an explosion that knocked Katsu on his ass and the spirit of the little girl had returned, Katsu could feel it, his Soul could sense it! Giving a whoop for joy Katsu jumped back to his feet, grinning widely, "I did it, I did it! Death, though you may take me one day I hold no fear of you, for I know that you are not the end of life but a mere part of it, the very proof of that lying here before me, for if Death were the end there would be no Spirit to return to this child's body! I thank you for waiting for this child's spirit that much longer, and Clementia, I thank you as well for grantng me the ability to perform this miracle." Katsu would then bow as the light faded, giving his respect to the spirits that had made this possible.

Now. Time to take this girl back to her family. Katsu would quickly perform a couple handseals to use the Henge jutsu, and taking the form of a normal human he knelt down to pick up the sleeping girl. The reason was simple; he didn't want to scare the little girl when she woke up in a few minutes, and Katsu's human form was a rather handsome copper haired man, what Katsu imagined he would have looked like if he had remained human. It was much better than finding a scaly screature with horns, fangs, and claws carrying you about. "Raika I'm gonna go take this little girl to her family now, mind giving me an assist? This Hyuuga girl seems to think I've broken the rules of the universe by resurrecting this little girl and I don't want her to hurt the poor child right after I managed to bring her back. Okay?"

The thing was that the search party for the little girl was honestly on the other side of the forest, and there wasn't any easy way for Katsu to find them. At least not as a human. But as a monster Katsu had learned to harness his nose, and knew just a bit about how to scent things out. However he wasn't sure he was up to the task of tracking that smell such a long distance. Well, either way the first thing was for Katsu to retrace his own scent, so after gathering up all of his belongings and grabbing the girl again Katsu would set off, trying to grasp the ever so slight scent of...himself!

This was actually quite a challenge even for most being who had a strong nose, because you were subjected to your own scent all the time. Your brain eventually turned off the knowledge of what you were smelling. It did this so strongly that Katsu couldn't even get a whiff of the scent at all. The clearing he had been in should have reeked of his scent, at least because of all the time Katsu had spent out here lately, but the dewy night had robbed the smell.

Katsu put his nose right down to the ground, sniffing heavily in an attempt to get a good whiff of something besides the caustic reagents for the ritual he had just performed. It made his eyes water, but underneath that horrible smell was something else... something.... reptilian. Ugh, I think I need to bathe more often if I smell like a snake. Maybe I'll use Coconut body wash to...

Finally having gotten even a small part of his scent Katsu could finally begin his tracking, and he wandered all around the clearing with his nose close to the ground, careful to keep the girl safe, before he finally decided that the scent than ran towards the north was the most recent, which meant it was the path he had taken to get away from where the girl had died so the family wouldn't come upon him performing some ritual on a corpse. It'd have been pretty hard to explain that...

Nodding to himself, Katsu shifted the girl in his arms and began heading north at a rapid pace, with the scent in his nose he didn't have to worry about getting lost.... hopefully.

[👺 Usiel]

@lumenlatonesh - Learned
Raika Tatsu - +20

[Raika Tatsu]

~[40/60]~

Finally, the hardest part of creating the clone: bringing it to life…in a manner of speaking. Tatsu began once again by filling the clone up with more chakra. He had been able to get the clone to rise up from the ground earlier, but that was simple compared to more technical and precise movements. Thus, he decided to begin with a mirror approach, making the clone move as he did. This practice would give him the necessary data on controlling the clone that he would need to manipulate it without such movements.

Tatsu stood as the clone stood, upright and completely straight. Keeping the chakra link between them active, Raika decided to begin with something simple, such as moving a finger. With his fingers starting outstretched, Tatsu bent his right pointer finger towards his palm. At first, there was no reaction from the clone. Thus, Tatsu stretched out his finger and tried again. This time, there was a small but detectable twitch in the finger of the clone. While it wasn’t much, it was progress. Tatsu tried again, this time with a more noticeable bend in the clone’s finger. Raika kept at it for several more times, strengthening the chakra bond between himself and the clone to better elicit a response. Moving the stone in such a finesse kind of way was difficult, but he could do it with concentration.

Once Tatsu was able to have the clone move his left pointer finger in tandem with the movement of his own right pointer finger, Tatsu moved on to the other fingers. Having moved the first one, Tatsu was more easily able to get the other ones moving. Now, Tatsu moved on to the other joints in the body of the clone. He bent his right elbow slowly, and after a few seconds the clone mimicked him with his left. Tatsu put his arm back to his side, and then lifted the same arm again, this time with the clone lifting its arm simultaneously. Tatsu smirked. Now he lifted his left arm, which caused the clone to lift its right. Next, Tatsu moved his head to the right, followed by the clone moving its head to the left. Then Raika moved the opposite way, followed by a mirrored response from the clone. Next was a little harder part. Tatsu lifted his right knee up, lifting his leg up with it. The clone began to follow suit, but began to topple over, as it wasn’t compensating balance-wise, unlike Raika. Tatsu quickly placed his foot back onto the ground, allowing the clone to catch itself. A little fine-tuning of chaka and he tried again, this time with the clone compensating to keep its balance. He then tried the same movement with the other, with the same result.

Now Tatsu attempted to control the movements of the clone with just his mind. In his thoughts, Tatsu tried to move the clone’s fingers in order to clench the clone’s fists. The fingers twitched for a bit, but did not clench right away. After a few more seconds, they began to bend one by one, finally forming a fist on each hand. Tatsu then moved on to the other joints in much the same way he had done before, slowly creating the same outcome each time until he was able to manipulate the clone’s movements fluidly with just his mind. He made the clone bend down and then stretch back out, before making the clone walk, another difficult feat, but one he quickly got the hang of. After a couple of minutes of making the clone walk, Tatsu made it do a few more intricate movements, such as running and jumping. It was slower than his lightning clones, but since it was made of stone it made perfect sense.

Next, Tatsu needed the clone to perform jutsu on its own. Raika supplied the chakra needed to the clone, and then had it perform its own handsigns, attempting to have the clone go underground—the jutsu Tatsu had learned that same day. At first, the clone was unable to accomplish the task, the chakra not moving through the earth as it was supposed to. Tatsu then manipulated the chakra differently, making sure it was easier for the clone to focus and use. After completing the necessary hand signs, the clone basically disappeared underground, before coming back up. Tatsu smiled. He had basically done it.

Now he decided to create multiple clones. Tatsu performed a string of hand signs, pouring chakra into the earth below. Rapidly, two more outline of humanoid figures began to form, mold, and rise up from the ground. Using his memory, the clones sculpted themselves in mere seconds, and chakra quickly canvassed them in color. The clones responded to Raika’s wishes, and it made him happy.

After a couple hours of practice, Katsu finished his ritual, and succeeded. He asked Raika for help in getting the girl to her parents. Tatsu nodded, silent from a bit of shock. Katsu could bring people back to life!

“We’ll take my new clones with me as an escort, just in case. Katsu, you are quite amazing, you know.” Tatsu followed his companion through the woods to get the girl where she needed to go.

[Deleted]

[0/40]

SPOILER: Click to show

Improved Scent
Rank: "B" (40 TP at all times)
Skill: TaiJutsu
Effect: User can detect and track creatures by smell at greater distances than normal.
Special: ---
Drawback: ---
Description: User can detect approaching enemies and sniff out hidden foes within 20-meters. For strong scents, such as smoke or rotting garbage, x2 these ranges. Overpowering scents, such as skunk, can be detected at x3 normal range.
Limit: Must have Scent.

Katsu had successfully delivered the little girl to her family and after some fond farewells Katsu returned to the forest in order to train himself some more. He realized how difficult it had been for him to catch his own scent amongst all the scents there in the forest and that if he wanted to be able to rely on his sense of smell he was going to need to further refine it. Between that and his adrenaline rush of having saved a little girl Katsu decided it was time for him to go hunting in an attempt to refine his sense of smell. "Thanks, Raika, that felt good, but I think I'm going to keep training. I still know there's a lot about myself I need to refine in order to be able to properly protect Kumo, you know? There's a lot of limits to that ritual as well, including a 30 day limit on resurrecting any given corpse..."

The first thing that Katsu had to do of course was to just stand in one location and attempt to collect every bit of data his nose could give him, so after they had gotten away from the other people Katsu slowed to a halt, slowly sniffing the air around him in order to try and get a better scent of everything. The first thing he smelled was the reagents of his ritual that he had stored away in the bag he was carrying. The second scent that he had gotten was the scent of his own clothing, and that of the bag he was carrying. It was musty, almost rotting, and Katsu realized he had left it on the damp spring earth for too long. He'd have to replace it soon.

Katsu then took another long sniff of the area, trying to find something else he could scent. The scent of dew was strong on the trees because it was night time, and Katsu even detected the faint traces of the trees themselves, their heavy earthy smell a great relief to his sense of smell in comparison to the reagents. It still wasn't nearly enough however. These were all incredibly prevalent smells that could hide lesser scents. Katsu to be able to pick out these lesser scents even amongst the stronger, and he had to do it at a greater range than he could now for it to be a useful tool. Sighing in frustration Katsu stuck his nose to the ground in order to try and pick up some waft of a scent be might be missing by smelling at head height.

Something tickled Katsu's nose, just on the edge of his own memory, not a memory of something he had smelled recently, but something before he had ever refined his sense of smell. Owl, of some kind at least. Standing up straight Katsu took a big whiff of the air, inhaling deeply before exhaling slowly. There was definitely the scent of owl nearby, but Katsu couldn't get a good fix on where that might be. Putting his nose to the ground once more Katsu circled the spot he was standing in, trying to pick up that scent more certainly without moving. After all he had to refine his sense of smell, which meant trying to smell things from a greater distance. Another big inhale and Katsu thought he had managed to smell something that had been completely hidden from his scent before. It was a snake, at least Katsu thought it was. Sniffing again Katsu realized there was more than one snake, a whole nest. It must be a mother with it's hatchlings!

“I can smell an Owl sleeping somewhere nearby, and there's a nest of snakes to, somewhere off to our left. Hrm... I think I smell something else to Raika, something... oop. Lost it. Come on... what was that smell...?” Katsu grumbled to himself in frustration as he started walking in larger circles, trying to regulate his breathing so he could get more air to pass over his olfactory nerves and get a better smell in his nose...

[👺 Usiel]

Raika Tatsu - Learned
@lumenlatonesh - +20

[Raika Tatsu]

Maruishi Tounyuu (Boulder throw)
Rank: "C" Rank
Skill: NinJutsu
Effect: A technique where the user hurls a grand rock created along the very ground.
Special: "Hand Seals"
Drawback: A user is only capable of performing so many times within one round of six seconds. The more the user wishes to do the more they have to learn into the type of technique. Must have great strength in order to keep pushing, grabbing and picking up.
Description: The user pushes their chakra down along the very ground. The user is capable of lifting a rock on size depending on their rank, at D rank the user could lift rocks with up to 2 meter radius. The size doubles each rank above D the user is. What the user does is the user uses a few hand seals along the very ground as they suddenly slam their hands down onto the very ground. Doing so they stab their fingers forth into the ground and quickly push it up creating a massive stone as it is ripped out of the very ground. The chakra that is used within this very technique allows the user to be capable of picking up the rock in question.
Limit: Needs the Earth Release

~[0/10]~

As he walked along with Katsu after delivering the little girl to her family, Tatsu could not help but nod in agreement with Katsu. “Indeed, learning more is the essence of what we are as shinobi, I feel. We can never know enough, the world around us is just filled with possibilities that we can’t even fathom. Having the ability to better defend our home is just an amazing bonus.” With this, Tatsu smiled. “You know, I wonder if I can create and toss a boulder with my earth chakra. My uncle knows techniques like that, perhaps I can figure it out.”

With that, Tatsu performed a quick set of hand signs, then dug his right hand into the ground, his finger deep into the earth. He then began to pour chakra into the dirt and soil. He had gotten rather proficient at compacting the earth in order to form stone, at least in his mind, so he took those basics and applied them here. His chakra began to pull the earth together, while chakra covering his hands prevented the pressure from crushing his own fingers. Slowly, and with a little trembling, Tatsu felt the earth compact into a good sized, roundish rock, about a meter in diameter. Now came the harder part. Using his chakra, Tatsu pushed away the earth around the small boulder, and then made the stone feel almost weightless. With a good pull, Raika wrenched the stone from the earth and lifted it overhead, careful to keep it away from his body and making sure he kept chakra in the boulder to keep it from suddenly falling on his head. “This is a good start, but I think I can do better.” With that, Raika threw the boulder, though it landed only a couple of meters away from him.

Thus, Tatsu needed to be able to not only create a larger boulder, but also be able to throw it farther. Once again performing handsigns, Raika slammed his fingers into the ground. This time his chakra worked faster, compressing the soil, rocks, and dirt in the earth beneath him to form the boulder he wanted to create. With his chakra level, Tatsu was sure that he’d be able to form a boulder several meters in diameter, so that was his goal. Tatsu manipulated his chakra to work in a farther radius around and in front of him, as well as under him, so as to better compact the earth into a larger boulder. Once he was satisfied with the size, Tatsu used his chakra to once again heave the large, rounded stone out from the ground and lift it above his head. This boulder was several meters in radius, much more sizable than the first, thus much better for brute force situations. Working his chakra, Tatsu then threw the boulder. It took a good bit of his strength despite using chakra to mediate the strain, but nevertheless he was able to throw it a few meters. Tatsu was satisfied with results, so much so that he decided to try with his left hand this time.

Being right handed meant it was easier to perform the jutsu with his right arm, but Raika was able to quickly grasp the necessary fine-tuning of chakra to allow him the strength to pull out and throw the boulder with his left arm. After doing it once, though with a small boulder, Raika tried the jutsu again after a couple of minutes, this time focusing on speed. As soon as he slammed his left hand into the ground Tatsu poured his chakra into the ground in a burst, quickly creating the boulder he wanted to make. This time he didn’t pull the boulder out completely, only enough to visualize the size of the boulder he had created. Happy with the result, Tatsu kept following Katsu, taking a much needed break from training. His chakra was but depleted at that point.

“Sorry for the noise, hopefully it didn’t scare away anything you were tracking. Your sense of smell is quite something. Perhaps I should learn to control my own as well, although that’s one reason I have Nera.” Tatsu smiled as he walked behind his companion.

[Marii K. Kazeraikou]

"CAN ALL OF YOU JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP FOR TWO MINUTES?! HOW THE HELL YOU EVEN FOUND ME WHEN I SPECIFICALLY CHOSE THIS GROVE FOR ITS PRIVACY IS BEYOND ME! BUT IF YOU'RE HERE, SHUT THE HELL UP AND LET ME FINISH THIS RITUAL! I'M TRYING TO RESURRECT A LITTLE GIRL OVER HERE FOR CREATOR'S SAKE!!!" roared a familiar voice that made the trees shake. The female as well as the male were both standing completely still like two shit-scared cats.

Marii looked at the ANBU with wide eyes. "Let's get out of here. I don't think we're welcome" muttered the young woman.
"I agree" replied the guy who stood next to her. The duo then disappeared within moments, their next destination being Kumogakure no Sato.


[Exit Marii and ANBU agent]

[Father 'Suke]

Raika - +10