Artist of the Mist {Training/Private}

[Hana~Kyo]

Demon’s Necklace
Rank: A
Skill: Ninjutsu
Effect: Shoots 5 iron chains out of the earth which can be manipulated by the user of the jutsu. These chains can be used as a whip as well as holding the opponent down. The main purpose of this Jutsu was to restrain people and other creatures. These chains continue to grow untill the user takes his hands of the earth.
Special: Tiger; Dragon; Ox
Drawback: The moment the user removes his hands from the ground the chains dissapear.
Description: The user does the required handseals and places his palms on the ground, causing chains to shoot out from the ground.
Limit: Must know earth release.

0/90

As always the mist hung low over the land as Toshi stood amongst the trees outside the capitol city. It had been a while since he did some serious training and he was in need of a few new abilities to bring to battle. Training wasn’t his favorite thing in the world but he would never let himself get killed because he was just too lazy to train some new skills that could have saved him. Before going out this morning he had flipped over some scrolls back in the village archives and came across a few earth techniques that were right up his alley. The first he was going to give a shot was one called Demon’s Necklace, if done properly he should get several chains to rise from the earth to use for whatever the situation may call for.

To start he had read that the three hand seals needed for this particular technique were Tiger, Dragon, Ox. He performed the three seals quickly and began to focus his chakra, unfortunately for him; Toshi had had almost no background in earth techniques other than the basic ability to manipulate earth so this could a rather difficult bit of training for him. After building up some chakra he dropped to one knee and places the palms of his hands down on to the wet earth, as he did a few bits of rock and earth shot up into the air a few feet and crashed back to the ground.

Other than that not much happened, that attempt at the technique was quite obviously a failure. In order to move on and do better, he had to actually manage to do something worth mentioning to work off of. All this meant was that he had to keep trying and guessing at his mistakes until he pulled off something that he could work with. Chakra built up in his body as he began to once again form the required hand seals, with the last seal being created there was a rapid surge of chakra into his hands; Toshi dropped to the ground, slamming his hands down to the ground in the process.

The chakra from his hands flowed out into the ground, churning the very earth itself to form chains that would subsequently shoot up out of the ground and flail around in the air before falling apart and returning to the earth from which they came. Toshi decided to give himself a bit of a break from the training and sit down by a tree; He had made a few rice balls to eat while he trained to keep himself energized. As he sat down to take a bite, several birds flew down and grabbed up his food before taking off again and flying away into a tree.

Toshi quickly rose up to his feet and chased after them while forming a the three necessary hand seals for the technique that he had been practicing, when he reached the base of the tree, he placed his hands on the ground and the chains surged up from the ground again only to slam against the tree branch and fall apart again causing the bird to fly away to another tree slightly farther away and continue to eat his food.

Toshi would not let himself stop there, he was hungry and he would get his food back from that bird even if it took him all day. Sprinting between the trees, quickly approaching the tree where the bird now sat, he formed the needed handseals and slid to a stop before dropping his plams on to the damp earth. The chains rose up from the ground and attempted to rap around the tree branch that he bird was eating on, they reached up and over the branch but when they attempted to tighten and contstrict, they shattered and returned back to their original state of dirt and rock.

[Hana~Kyo]

Demon’s Necklace
Rank: A
Skill: Ninjutsu
Effect: Shoots 5 iron chains out of the earth which can be manipulated by the user of the jutsu. These chains can be used as a whip as well as holding the opponent down. The main purpose of this Jutsu was to restrain people and other creatures. These chains continue to grow untill the user takes his hands of the earth.
Special: Tiger; Dragon; Ox
Drawback: The moment the user removes his hands from the ground the chains dissapear.
Description: The user does the required handseals and places his palms on the ground, causing chains to shoot out from the ground.
Limit: Must know earth release.

??/90

Slightly disappointed with his recent failures, Toshi dragged himself back to where he had been training before taking the option to rest for some food. The constant rumbles and growls in his stomach did little to aid his morale as he entered the clearing he was using for his training. The sun's rays, penetrating the canopy created by the large trees that surrounded him, covered bits and pieces of the clearing that he stood in. So far he had managed to create the chains but they failed to maintain and solid form for very long each time. This particular problem indicated the fact that his chakra control was not quite proper for this technique, not saying he had bad chakra control, just that the way he was used to controlling was not how this technique required.

Maybe the problem is that he was not using enough chakra and then over extending what little chakra he used amongst the five chains causing them to be brittle and break easily. Keeping this prospect in mind, his hands came together and performed the hand seals he had become so accustomed to that he did not even need to think about them any more. After reached the final Ox hand seal, he held it and focused his chakra while trying to build up more and more into his hands. When he decided that he had built up a sufficeint amount of chakra, he lowered his body down and, palms down, forced his hands to the ground.

The chakra he had previously built up began to flow out and deep into the earth where compacted earth and rock to create the chains before they rose up out of the ground in their new form. The chains flailed wildly around in the air for a few moments before slamming themselves on the ground and shattering. From this little demonstration, Toshi was now aware that he had more than one problem. Not only were they some what lack luster in their creation but he also had trouble controlling their movements once they left the earth.

In his mind, controlling the chains was something like controlling puppet strings... something he had no experience in, but if control was the only issue than that can be worked on but actually having to make a successful attempt at the technique took presidence over control. The next step was merely to try again, and again... and again until he got it right. Forming the three hand seals that he had grown so accustomed to creating today, he lowered down to his knees and ran his hands across the ground while allowing his chakra to flow out of him and into the ground once more.

This time the chains shot up and stayed some what more taimed rather than just flailing around in circles wildly. "Not too bad." he said to himself with a sense of mild satisfaction. Although he had spoken to soon when one of the chains whipped wildly around and forced him to jump away and break the technique as it came slapping down on the ground where he had just been holding the technique. "Wow... close..." The technique was failure but even with an incomplete chain, being slapped across the face with a metal chain did not sound all too appeasing to Toshi.

With yet another failure in his records for this technique, it was about time he thought of a new method of approach for this technique, he decided to go for a bit of a walk while he though of a new way to approach this technique. He stood and brushed the dirt off of himself before slipping his arms through the arms of the Haori that hung over his shoulders and walked off through the trees, deep in though about what to do next in order to complete this technique he wanted to learn in order to aid his proceedings as an ANBU squad member.

[Hana~Kyo]

Demon’s Necklace
Rank: A
Skill: Ninjutsu
Effect: Shoots 5 iron chains out of the earth which can be manipulated by the user of the jutsu. These chains can be used as a whip as well as holding the opponent down. The main purpose of this Jutsu was to restrain people and other creatures. These chains continue to grow untill the user takes his hands of the earth.
Special: Tiger; Dragon; Ox
Drawback: The moment the user removes his hands from the ground the chains dissapear.
Description: The user does the required handseals and places his palms on the ground, causing chains to shoot out from the ground.
Limit: Must know earth release.

??/90

The mist filled air felt good as Toshi slowly glided across the landscape holding his hands in his pockets. He had been trying to figure out how to get this technique down while weaving in and out of the trees on his way toward the beach. He was so spaced out he almost walk right into something he may not have lived to regret, ahead there were shouts of a woman and a man yelling. Quickly jumping behind a tree, Toshi gazed across the area in the direction of the disturbance; He could see a man holding a sword standing over a woman who was on the ground screaming apparently so far uninjured. On first instinct he ran out from cover and charged in and landed a punch to the side of the armed man’s head.

Despite his being a rather dire situation, Toshi took this as somewhat of a blessing in disguise. It would give him a chance to practice his technique out in some real combat since some bandit wouldn’t pose much of a real threat to him anyway. He turned momentarily to the woman, “Go on, get out of here.” The woman wasted no time responding to his order by getting up and running away as fast as she could. He then turned back to the bandit who was holding his sword at the ready and obviously ready to attack him as soon as he found an opening.

The bandit charged him, sword held straight as he lunged out looking to impale Toshi. He how ever had other plans; Toshi side stepped and tripped the man before getting behind him and backing up to put some distance between them. With the distance set, he performed the three hand seals needed for the technique he was practicing and placed his hands on the ground. The five chains rose up from the ground and flailed around a bit, he was unable to gain control over them, until one of them flipped around and caught the bandit, who was now rising to his feet, across the side of the face leaving a long red mark.

To no surprise, the smack to the face from the chain served to piss him off quite a bit. Now not only had Toshi interrupted his attack on the woman, but he had added fuel to the fire by hitting him twice in the face with attacks not meant to finish him meaning he was toying with him. Slightly more aggravated than last time, the man ran at Toshi again and once he had gotten in range began to swing his sword around wildly making desperate attempts to cut the superior trained Chuunin. Toshi weaved in and out of the relentless attempts to kill him until he spotted and opening and took the initiative; His leg snapped up and connected with the hand holding the sword sending it flying up into the air, he then planted that leg and used it as a pivot to bring his other leg to meet the man’s arm, shoving him aside.

Propelled by the force of Toshi’s kick, the man was thrown hard to the ground and rolled for a few feet before coming to a stop and shaking his head. Taking the opportunity to he began to form hand seals and threw his hands to the ground, this time the bandit was smart enough to try and attack him before he could get the chains to rise; However he was a bit too late as one chain spiked up and wrapped around his ankle causing him to trip, he had finally succeeded in binding something but his victory was short lived as an aggravated tug of his leg snapped the chain and he was once again free.

Blood slid down the fore head of the bandit, he had cut his head when he tripped and fell crashing to the ground… again. Shakily his opponent rose up to his feet and pulled a knife from a small sheath he had on the back of his belt. With a raging cry, he charged Toshi for yet another attempt. Toshi was bored of this, it wasn’t even worth being called training at this point, when the arm holding the knife came within reach of him, Toshi grabbed his hand and wrenched it around it one movement behind the bandit’s back. Holding the man’s arm behind his back, he pushed the handle of the knife still clasped tightly in his hand into the small of his own back over the spine.

[Hana~Kyo]

Demon’s Necklace
Rank: A
Skill: Ninjutsu
Effect: Shoots 5 iron chains out of the earth which can be manipulated by the user of the jutsu. These chains can be used as a whip as well as holding the opponent down. The main purpose of this Jutsu was to restrain people and other creatures. These chains continue to grow untill the user takes his hands of the earth.
Special: Tiger; Dragon; Ox
Drawback: The moment the user removes his hands from the ground the chains dissapear.
Description: The user does the required handseals and places his palms on the ground, causing chains to shoot out from the ground.
Limit: Must know earth release.

??/90

With a simple push, the bandit collapsed to the ground the knife handle sticking up from his spine. Having nothing left to do here, Toshi turned away from the body and continued on his path toward the beach he had previously been headed to before stopping to deal with the bandit. There wasn’t any particular reason why he was choosing the beach to be his next destination, but he was just looking for a reason to waste time while he thought of how he could improve his attempts on his particular technique so that he had a better chance. His training had shown some result at least based on the fact that he had managed to trip the bandit.

After a few minutes of walking he found himself looking out over the water that spanned as far as he could see in every direction, interrupted only by a small island here and there. The feel of the cool sea breeze is really what he was after; it would serve as a nice relaxation while he trained to perfect his techniques. Finding himself a good spot, he sat down on the ground facing the sea. He closed his eyes and just allowed himself to relax for a few moments before preparing to continue his training.

To start he figured he would just give it a shot without thinking about it to see where he was at. Quickly rushing through the seals, his chakra exploded into his hands with the formation of the Ox seal and he placed his hands on the ground in front of him. Chakra that had been coursing through his body, ran out into the dirt and formed the chains which subsequently shot up out of the ground and moved around. He couldn’t fully control them but they weren’t as wild as some of his other attempts, the next step was to test the integrity of the chains.

Not bothering to try and control all five wild chains right now, he chose one and extended it further from the ground until it was long enough to reach a large rock nearby. He whipped the chain across the surface of the rock, it did not break. Once again he whipped the rock with the same chain and this time it broke, just like he had seen it do so many times before. So far he had got the hand of controlling one of the chains easy enough, but the strength was still lacking. Toshi ran through ideas in his head about how he might be able to improve the technique from where he was at.

The list of possibilities was long, so he chose the most obvious one and decided to work from there. There was a possibility that the reason the chains were so frail is because he wasn’t allowing them enough time to be created before rising up from the earth. He knew that it should only take about half a second to a second but for now while he was still trying to master the technique, he would try to give them some more time to form underground.

A quick series of three hand seals, and the chakra was ready; His hands touched the surface of the earth and his chakra instantaneously began to mold the chains beneath the earth. He closed his eyes and focused intensely on the task at hand; allowing the chains to form properly, a few moments passed and the chains erupted from the earth. Moving around in the air of their own accord, Toshi focused his attention to one of them that had shot up from the ground about two feet in front of him; He whipped the chain against the rock and it did not break.

[|Ayame Unbound|]

40.90

[Hana~Kyo]

Demon’s Necklace
Rank: A
Skill: Ninjutsu
Effect: Shoots 5 iron chains out of the earth which can be manipulated by the user of the jutsu. These chains can be used as a whip as well as holding the opponent down. The main purpose of this Jutsu was to restrain people and other creatures. These chains continue to grow untill the user takes his hands of the earth.
Special: Tiger; Dragon; Ox
Drawback: The moment the user removes his hands from the ground the chains dissapear.
Description: The user does the required handseals and places his palms on the ground, causing chains to shoot out from the ground.
Limit: Must know earth release.

40/90

His chains had with stood an attack on the rock; however this was nothing new Toshi had already managed this. Without pause he circled the chain back around and smashed against the side of the rock leaving a cut across its surface. This time the chain did not break entirely but rather just the area he had hit the rock with broke and well off, but the rest of the chain remained intact. A small improvement but an improvement no less, partially satisfied with his attempt this time, Toshi lifted his hands up from the earth causing the chains to fall apart and hit the ground.

While he was thinking about what to do next, Toshi heard the sound of footsteps behind him. From the sounds of it, it was two people both moving slowly and cautiously. Toshi was pretending to meditate and allowing them to draw near until the point that the steps stopped about two feet behind him, there was a savage cry and the two attacked him from behind both wielding katana. Toshi rolled forward in an instant, kicking up sand as he left his spot that shot up into their faces causing them to be thrown off and stop their attack. “Well… aren’t you two a rude little couple? Disturbing a man peacefully meditating by the sea.”

“You killed Haso!” shouted the one on Toshi’s left who was a tall man with unkempt black hair and a goatee. “Oh… there’s no avoiding it then.” From his assumptions, these two were partners who came across the body of their partner, the bandit Toshi had killed earlier, and followed his tracks here to the beach. If these two were anything like their partner then this would be some decent, and easy, practice for his technique. The man to his right, also a taller man but with short, spiked up, red hair was the first to act as he ran in attempting to behead Toshi in one attack.

Toshi ducked the attack and came up with a quick jab to his stomach before pushing him back and countering the other attacker who had also just joined in with a kick to the bottom of his jaw. Both attackers stumbled back, feet get tripped up in the uneven ground of sand. Quickly Toshi ran through the hand seals and dropped his hands to the ground, chains ripped from the earth and whipped around wildly.

One chain would whip down on the ground right where the bandit he had kicked was sitting, but he rolled out of the way in time and the chain just hit the ground sending sand flying in every direction. Another chain would lash out and attempt to bind the arms of the other bandit, but he was forced to stop the technique before he could get there because his partner was about to cut Toshi in half.Using his hands that were already on the ground as a plant, Toshi pushed off and delivered a powerful kick to his mid section which knocked the wind out of him and caused him to fall to the ground doubled over.

Now he had the time to attempt the technique again, the hand seals formed and his hands back on the ground caused the chains to burst forth and all five were headed directly for the bandit with the short red hair. All five chains would bind him tightly around his chest, keeping his arms to his size and causing him to drop his katana. Despite successfully binding him, like every other time the chains were weak and with a slight show of strength he broke free. Toshi backed away from his two opponents as they both rose to their feet, he couldn’t beat them up too bad, too quick or he would run out of training partners.

[Hana~Kyo]

Demon’s Necklace
Rank: A
Skill: Ninjutsu
Effect: Shoots 5 iron chains out of the earth which can be manipulated by the user of the jutsu. These chains can be used as a whip as well as holding the opponent down. The main purpose of this Jutsu was to restrain people and other creatures. These chains continue to grow untill the user takes his hands of the earth.
Special: Tiger; Dragon; Ox
Drawback: The moment the user removes his hands from the ground the chains dissapear.
Description: The user does the required handseals and places his palms on the ground, causing chains to shoot out from the ground.
Limit: Must know earth release.

??/90

Toshi’s eyes scanned back and forth, taking in every inch of the area being sure to take in everything while he had a chance because his opponents were still recovering from his previous attacks. As the red haired bandit picked up his sword, they both turned to each other and nodded, signaling each other to attack. Both men charged in from opposing angles on either side of Toshi, swords at the ready. When they reached him, the red haired man attempted to impale Toshi at the waist, and the long haired bandit made an attempt to sweep his blade across the neck.

With a single, fluid movement he side stepped the lunge and ducked the sweep at the same time while jumping backward and putting about ten feet distance between him and the two men. Without a moment’s hesitation he formed the hand seals and fell to one knee again while placing his hands in the sand. With a burst of sand the five chains launched up into the air; under order of Toshi the chains extended in the direction of the bandits, three to the left and two to the right, they would attempt to smash together from both sides of the bandits.

One of the men Managed to swing his sword and cut the two chains coming from the right before they hit meaning they were still weak, but the other three collided with the backs of the two men sending them to the ground and causing those chains to break as well. He was making progress, a bit more and maybe he would actually be able to perfect the technique so he could actually rely on it on a regular basis.

A few seconds passed as Toshi watched the men struggle to their feet while nursing their injured backs. The injury those chains caused would be nothing serious but he had to imagine getting whipped in the back with metal chains has to hurt a bit. This time Toshi would not be so nice as to allow them time to recover, hand seals made and hands down, the chains rose up again and whipped straight down on top of them. The chains lashed across the top of their heads before breaking.

With the bandits writhing around on the floor in pain from being whipped repetitively by the chains, Toshi walked over to them and looked down over them, they appeared to have no interest in the fact that he was standing there and were more concerned with their own pain. It was kind of sad really he didn’t know whether to pity them or be disgusted by them, bandits who either couldn’t get anywhere with their lives or just enjoyed hurting others either way pity or disgust he would put these men out of their misery.

Toshi bent down and picked up one of the swords that now were left on the ground a few feet from the two men. He raised it up and then quickly plunged it into the throat of the red haired bandit before removing it and doing the same to the black haired one. He then removed the sword and threw it to the sea. “Hmm… I need to find a new spot to train now.” He said to himself in a tone of utter disappointment. With that intention in mind he set off down the beach looking for a new place to train.

[Exit, Will resume later]

[Hana~Kyo]

[Enter, picking back up on Demon's Necklace]

?? | 90

After the complicated chain of events that had taken place these past few days, Toshi was about ready to crash and take a break from his work, but he knew that he could not do such a thing just yet. Now that the man who attacked him back in the river country had come to mist, he could no longer just sit around and do nothing. Training was exactly what he needed to do now; he needed strength so that one day he would be able to claim his revenge against the unknown ninja from river. Before leaving to the river country, he had been training a technique used for binding and attacking an opponent; figuring now was as good a time as any to continue this, he would resume his training of it.

He was out in the middle of the mist shrouded forest, even without the mist, it would be miles in any direction just to reach a sign of civilization other than his home which was hidden away in a rocky outcropping not far from here on the beach. If his memory served him well, he had been having some trouble controlling the chains during his last training session, either way the first thing he had to do was give it a shot and see how it turned out before he could make any progress.

The hand seals he had been using several days prior were the Tiger, the Dragon, and the Ox; his fingers moved rapidly forming the seals, they were like a second nature to him after all the training and techniques he had to do in the past. Chakra surged through his body, racing to gather itself in a supply within the palms of his hands. His knees bent as he approached the ground and his hands slid across the wet blades of grass. The chakra that had previously built up in his hands began to drain from him and flow deep into the earth.

Toshi could feel the chakra moving, turning the earth into a more useful form, preparing itself for the technique. Moments later, four chains shot up and began to flail around wildly in every direction; his dark, hazel eyes closed as he concentrated on bringing the chains under his control. They were one short of success, the technique was supposed to create five chains, but that was not what he had on his mind at the moment. He was more concerned with actually controlling the chains he had at present than producing the fifth and final one.

Concentrating with all of his will power, he finally managed to bring two of them under his control to be manipulated by his will. With the two chains he could now control, he had them stretch to wrap around the two chains that were still lashing back and forth in every directions. His reason for doing so was simply to prevent them from whipping back and hitting him, as he remembered they had done several days past in his previous stretch of training.

The chains were not just some out of control objects; it was he who was causing them to flail so wildly; after all they were just lifeless chains formed from the earth. The issue was that he was unsure of how to control them entirely and his attempts to bring them under a calm control were what were sending them flailing every which way. After several minutes of struggling against the two wild chains using the two he had under control he was finally able to bring the four of them all under his total, now all he had to do was manage to bring up the fifth chain and bring that one under his control as well.

[Tenkai]

+30
`70.90]

[Hana~Kyo]

70 | 90

The thick mist that hung over the surrounding areas prevented Toshi from being able to tell what time it was, but based on the time we had left it was probably about noon at this point. His previous attempt at this technique was far more successful than anything he could remember himself doing before he left for River several days prior; managing to create and fully control –with some struggle of course- four chains from the earth was the best he had been able to do, his other attempts he had indeed managed to create all five of the chains but he had only been able to control one or two of them at any given time.

As much as his body was screaming at him to stop his training, go home, and rest; he could not, his mind was driven by a far more powerful cause than any mere desires of the body, revenge. He had to train, he had to become strong, and he had to keep going until the day that he could defeat the ninja that had now humiliated him twice. ’I will NOT let anything like that ever happen again, especially not by him.’ It wasn’t just his urge for revenge, he knew that the man who now had been taken into the village was a dangerous person, and he was sure that he had intentions of his own that did not serve in the best interest of the village Toshi had grown to love.

Eyes alight with a fiery anger; he would proceed to form the three hand seals that were needed for the technique he was training. Masses of chakra surged up into his arms and swell up in the palms of his hands, it was a feeling he had felt so many times before, but it was a rush every time. He dropped down, his knees sinking a few centimeters into the wet soil below him, his hands pressed flat against the ground; without a moment’s hesitation, five iron chains would shoot up from the ground sending the water that had collected on the blades of grass, flying in every direction as they rose.

Toshi focused his concentrations on the four chains that he knew he could control and before long he had them under control while the fifth and final chain would flail about wildly in every direction, knocking into the others as it went. With some more effort he finally managed to bring the fifth chain under his control. Now he had finally managed to come up with all five chains and bring them all under his control, far more success than he had seen in the past.

With all five under his control, the next thing to do was to test their integrity, they should be extremely strong but with his track record in this field, he knew that they tended to be somewhat brittle when he created them. The chains would lash out and wrap around the trunk of a nearby tree that was no more than ten feet in front of him. Slowly the chains would constrict the tree attempting to see how much stress his creations cold withstand.

Tighter and tighter the chains would constrict, chipping away the bark on the tree and digging into the wood creating a rivet of sorts. For a few seconds he would watch them tighten their grip around the tree until the chains snapped and they fell back down to the ground as clumps of dirt like they had been before being infused with his chakra. His gaze was fixed upon the chains, his mind was confused about what had just happened; for a fleeting moment he had lost himself, his mind had pictured that tree being the body of the ninja he wished revenge on, squeezing every last bit of life from his body.

[Hana~Kyo]

?? | 90

The sudden surge of hatred and anger that had clouded his thoughts for no more than a few seconds frightened Toshi. He had not felt such feelings since his trials in the Chuunin exams several years ago when he had decided that revenge was not worth the effort and it was something not to invest his life into because all it would bring is more and more troubles for him. However this feeling was different, yes it was revenge he wanted but it was not just that… the village, the mizukage, his fellow ANBU, the children of the academy, everything that was in his life here as a mist shinobi; he loved them all, and he could not help but think that his man was here to take them all away from him. It was not just mere revenge.

Toshi repetitively hit himself in the head trying to drive the thoughts of hatred from his head. Now was the time for training not for thoughts on how to exact his vengeance upon the ninja. He had almost perfected the technique, he had managed to create and control all the chains and he had even managed to make them fairly durable, now he just had to keep trying until they were strong enough to withstand almost anything that he might need to use them for.

Hands moving together quickly and forming the three required hand seals before the chakra ripped through his body and accumulated in his hands like it had several times before in all of his previous attempts at this technique. Having gathered up a suitable amount of chakra, a slightly increased amount from the amount that he had used last time, he would slide his hands over the ground before giving a solid push downward into the ground and releasing the pent up chakra from his hands into the solid earth.

Just as he released the chakra chains would shoot up from the ground, five in total, and stick straight up in the air. This time he was able to control all five freely as soon as they emerged from the ground as opposed to his several other attempts at the technique where it took him a few seconds to bring them all under his control after the technique had initially been performed. With that much under control, all that was left once again was to test the strength of the iron chains he had created from the earth. The chains would stretch out and wrap tightly around the tree that he had used earlier.

The chains sunk into the bark of the tree creating another cut roughly three inches above the previous one, the chains would overlap each other and continue to tighten, ripping away at the wood that was unfortunate enough to be underneath them. This time however he did not let his mind wander off to the prospects of revenge but instead remained focused upon the technique that he was so close to mastering. After cutting in to the tree several inches, the chains snapped and subsequently fell to the ground in pieces.

Once again the technique had failed, but with each attempt he was getting closer and closer to getting it right. With a few more attempts he should be able to get the technique down perfectly so that it would be more practical to use in real combat situations, as it was at the moment it was too unreliable to be used anywhere outside of his rare and random training sessions. The life of a shinobi is dangerous, and anything that could not be trusted one hundred percent of the time was not worth being used at all.

[Exit]

[|Ayame Unbound|]

Learned. 90|90

[Hana~Kyo]

Hitoku no Jutsu
Rank: D-ranked
Skill: Genjutsu
Effect: ---
Special: Ram; Horse
Drawback: ---
Description: A basic ANBU genjutsu, this causes the user and the area immediately around the user (within one meter) to change in ways that would better aid the user in hiding. For example, in a darkened area the shadows will seem to converge on and around the ANBU, further hiding him from sight. In a forested area, the technique would discolour the user to better blend him in with the surroundings, as well as altering the plants in the area to better shield him. Note that all of these effects are purely illusionary; the shadows in the first example, the discolouration and the plant alteration of the second example. The jutsu works primarily because it is subtle, taking little chakra and having a small localized effect, even those who could pierce the illusion rarely give it enough notice to do so. Depending on the level of the Character's GenJutsu depends on how strong the Jutsu.
Limit: ANBU only
Division: Universal Techniques.

0 | 10

With his mind placed somewhat at ease by his conversation with Kaien in the ANBU office, it was time to pick up his training again. He was indeed an ANBU, but he was relatively new to them and lacked many of the fundamental abilities that they used to aid them in carrying out their missions. It was this sentiment that made him decided that he should begin learning some of the many techniques that made up the basics for the ANBU squads. There were so many that it was hard to figure out where do start so he figured it best to just start with the basic of the basics, a technique used for hiding and concealment.

The technique he was about to practice was a genjutsu, a method of manipulating the things around him to further aid him in the concealment of his presence in an area. There are many aspects to work with when preparing to learn the genjutsu, but to start the best thing to do, will be observe his surroundings. In order to fully be able to manipulate his surroundings to aid himself in hiding, he would do best to understand what it is that would help him hide in certain areas, the knowledge to adapt any sort of area to his advantage at any given moment, the true skills of an ANBU.

Toshi would begin by moving over to a bush, the leaves wet with the dew left behind by the ever present and ominous mist. He made sure to take in every inch of it in detail, the way the leaves hang under the added weight of the water, how the branches are naturally weaved so intricately throughout each other; never touching, never getting the way of each other, all of the details that one would not usually recognize as they just see such an object for what it is… a bush.

His artistic back ground also proved a great help in this, he was able to see things as an artist, in full detail as if everything was simply brush strokes across the canvas. To one trying to learn this technique, that was what they needed to do; look at something as a true artist would, to most people a bush is a bush and a tree is a tree, they have branches and leaves and they come from the ground, however it was the small details that really mattered to create a true illusion.

Satisfied with his observations, it was time to give his ability a test. The only way to truly find out if he could perform as an ANBU or not was to actually attempt the techniques; after all, what use is an ANBU who knows not a single ANBU technique. From the scrolls that he had brought with him from the office, he could see that the technique required the performance of two hand seals in particular; the ram and the horse. He would position his body behind between the bush and the tree close behind it before sitting down with his legs crossed in front of him; his hands would proceed to unconsciously perform the hand seals as if he had done the technique hundreds of times before.

Next, chakra would leave his body and blanket the immediate area. It would begin to warp his surroundings and change them to his advantage. Branches would extend, leaves would grow to fill in what were previously vacancies in the bush’s design. Within seconds, the bush would grow to consume his figure and mask it from the outside world to any on passing by it would seem as though there were a large bush sitting in the shade cast across the ground by the canopy of trees above it. Of the many ANBU techniques that he wished to learn amongst his training exercises, this was by far the most simple and if he could not get this one down, then unfortunately it would be safe to say he was not fit to be an ANBU at all. Luckily for him though, such was not the case and it was quite a simple technique to get down as he had much success on his very first attempt.

[shigetsu]

Learned.

[Hana~Kyo]

Hozenhada no Jutsu (Body Conservation Technique)
Rank: "C" Rank
Skill: Ninjutsu
Effect: Allows the user to create a shell of chakra around a body that prevents the breaking down of chemicals that decompose a body.
Special: "Hand Seals"
Drawback: This shell lasts only three days, and cannot be placed on a body more than once.
Description: After the Shinobi Hunter has killed a victim, sometimes they are needed to bring a body back for proof of death or preservation of bloodlines, etc. Using this technique, the user will coat a dead body in a shell of chakra that prevents that chemicals within the body from reacting with the air and causing decomposition. This shell will last for a total of three days, thus preventing the beginning of decomposition for three days, which can rapidly increase the amount of time a body has to be identified before it becomes decomposed.
Limit: Shinobi Hunter / Universal ANBU

0 | 10

With the first of his many ANBU techniques mastered, it was about time that he moved on to the next. This one was a type of preservation method, to be used on bodies in order to keep them preserved and intact so that they could be delivered to any place they may need to be transported without the natural decay that may result in an inability to identify the body. Either way the prospect of having to carry around a dead body for a few days was not something Toshi would particularly look forward to, but if he had to do; he would rather it be a good healthy dead body rather than a nasty rotting corpse.

From this point on his training would be accompanied by Kaien the ANBU captain who would oversee his training. The method of performing this particular technique is to create a strong shell of chakra around the surface of the skin to prevent the chemicals in the body from being broken down. Before he could train this technique he would need a dead body to try and preserve properly, now he wasn’t about to just go and kill someone for the purpose of his training so he would have to make due with a lesser being. His eyes scanned the area for anything that he could use, nothing seemed to be around him in any direction; minutes passed before he heard a rustling in the bushes.

Slowly and silently he moved toward the bush; once he was in range he leaped into the bush, earning himself quite a number of minor scratches and a rabbit which he held up by the ears before snapping its neck and dropping it on the ground to be used for practicing the technique. Before proceeding he would look over to Kaien as if awaiting his instruction on how to do the technique.

”In order to be able to perform this technique you must focus, control your chakra so that it creates a shape surrounding the body of the hare. You’re an artist, so try and picture yourself outlining the body with your chakra.” The words were spoken by Kaien who stood against a nearby tree, arms folded across his chest with the usual frustrated look on his face.

Toshi simply nodded before dropping to his knees in front of the now dead hare. He performed a few hand seals to focus his chakra before placing his hands over the hare; he did not touch it but simply hovered his hands several inches from the surface of its fur. His chakra used his arms as a conduit to flow out and surrounded the body of the hare forming a dome over it; he then began to mold his chakra so that it would circle completely around the body. He could hear Kaien let loose a long yawn from where he was standing, to most it would be disheartening to know that he was not being very enthusiastic about his training, but Toshi knew all too well the overly lax yet highly strict demeanor of the ANBU captain.

Ignoring the yawn, Toshi continued to mold his chakra around the rabbit, creating a shell of sorts to protect it from the conditions that would soon begin going to work on decomposing it and returning its body to the earth. It took great concentration for him to manage these tasks of forming and molding the shell to be shaped properly around the small form of the dead hare. After some serious concentration and a bit of time, he had managed to create the shell surrounding the dead creature that would protect it from the forces of nature that would act to destroy it slowly over time.

Toshi looked up at Kaien who was eyeing as if trying to figure out if he was even alive himself, ”Good job, but don’t you dare think for a second this means your cut out for this yet. You’ve still got a lot of work to do kid.” That was all Kaien said to him about that, nothing more, nothing less; Toshi once again simply nodded and looked to Kaien for the next technique that he would be told to learn. He had other things he wanted to say, but knowing the ANBU dispatcher he would have yet another comment to counter anything he had to say.

[shigetsu]

Learned.

[Hana~Kyo]

[Exit]

[Hana~Kyo]

Shakkahô ["Red Flame Cannon"]
Rank: "C", "B", "A", "S" Rank
Skill: Ninjutsu
Effect: Creates a ball of flame that will, upon impact, explode.
Special: "Hand Seals"
Drawback: The ball itself is relatively slow-moving. Because of this, it is better to use this attack within close range or within confined quarters. However, that also means that the user could become susceptible to the attack, as well.
Description: Performing the hand seals, the user will then gather chakra around their open palm. An orb will appear there, and then shrink. A burst of flame will overtake the orb at that point, creating something of about a foot in diameter. The orb is then thrown towards the opponent. Upon striking a surface, the smaller, inner orb of chakra within the ball will explode, causing the flames to rapidly spread. The amount of damage done by this technique is dependent upon the rank:
"C" Rank- Explosion causes the damage of one exploding tag.
"B" Rank- Explosion causes the damage of three exploding tags.
"A" Rank- Explosion causes the damage of five exploding tags.
"S" Rank- Explosion causes the damage of ten exploding tags.

Limit: Universal ANBU, requires the Fire Release.

0 | 10

“Well so far, you’ve got some of the basics of the ANBU utility techniques down. Now let’s work on some offensive techniques… even if you know some handy things, a kid who can’t fight is useless.” Kaien’s words, however harsh they may be, were right; he lacked techniques that would help him in open one on one combat with other shinobi. All of his current abilities required some kind of preparation or were still somewhat slow which did not bode well against an agile enemy. ”Yes, sir.”

”Ok, so from your file I am to assume you know the basics of the fire release. So what I want you to do is form some hand seals to focus your chakra and then build it up in the palm of your hand. Create an orb of flames, then focus your chakra on that orb and compress it to give it an explosive property.”

Toshi had some very basic background in the fire release, so this technique could still prove to be slightly difficult for him. He started by forming the hand seals like he had been told to and building up chakra into his palm which was held open in front of his body so that he could observe what was happening and so that Kaien could see if he was doing it properly. A small orb of flames formed within his palm and began to shrink as he was trying to compress it like Kaien said was necessary.

”No, no, no!” Kaien walked over and slapped Toshi’s hand down causing him to stop the technique, ”Like this.” The ANBU captain stuck out his palm after forming the sand hand seals Toshi had performed. A smooth red orb would form hovering over the palm of his hand and slowly shrink down until it was roughly a foot in diameter; after it shrunk down, flames burst out around it. Once it had formed Kaien through it as far from them as he could until it hit a tree and exploded, the explosion was massive, knocking down the tree with its force. ”Now I don’t expect yours to be as powerful as mine, I have been training it much longer than you have even been alive; but that is how it should look.”

As the demonstration finished, Toshi reformed the hand seals he had made earlier. In his hand, the form of an oversized red orb formed, its surface was glazed with happily dancing flames. After it had formed, he focused carefully trying to compress it down into a smaller form like Kaien had done a few seconds earlier; the orb of flames shrank down to the a similar size of his trainers and Toshi proceeded to throw it in the same direction that Kaien had thrown his.

An explosion occurred upon the location that the orb struck the ground several yards away, not a very big explosion, but an explosion no less. He was fairly pleased with himself, it was his first actual try after all; but with a glance over in Kaien’s direction, the look on his face was one of great displeasure. Toshi had expect as much coming from the rugged ANBU captain, it moments where Toshi actually remembered him praising someone were few and far between, it was best to just to pat himself in his own head and move on with things since he wasn’t going to a word for Kaien unless he messed up somehow or had completed the technique.

Seeing as how the experienced ANBU that was over seeing him did not say a word, Toshi figured that he had not yet completed the technique properly. With that in mind, all he had to do was keep trying again and again until the strict captain decided that he had gotten it correct for once. He quickly formed the hand seals again and placed out his palm in such a position that it was perpendicular to his waist, the mid-sized red orb formed floating a few inches from the surface of his skin. Once it had shrunken and been engulfed in wild flames, Toshi would bring back his arm and quickly throw it in the same direction that he had thrown the previous attempt.

The orb struck the ground moments later and erupted into a blaze of flames slightly smaller than the results of an exploding tag. This time when he looked over to Kaien, the fellow shinobi would give him a brief nod indicating that it was good enough for his approval and it was time to move on to the next technique. Toshi stifled a laugh and kept his composure as he prepared himself to move one.

[Tenkai]

Learned.
Add it.