A Change of View [Training]

[Molokai]

Kugustu Kawarimi (Puppet Replacement Technique)
Rank: C
Skill: Supplementary
Effect: Replaces the user with a puppet, usually moving him out of harm's way.
Special: Requires no hand seals
Drawback: If not careful, the user can place himself into a dangerous situation. It has a maximum range of fifteen feet.
Description: By using the connection between the puppet and the puppet master, the chakra string, the user can perform a sort of advanced Kawarimi that requires no handseals. It is faster than a normal replacement jutsu because the user can move himself and the targeted puppet at the same time as opposed to moving to a target and moving that target back to his original position. It can give the user an advantage when utilized in a surprise attack.
Limit: Must know Kugutsu no Jutsu (Puppet Technique)

0/30

The entire world hated him, everyone he has ever met or been in contact with absolutely despised him, he was completely and utterly alone. Suicide wasn't an option, it would mean nothing and only give those who scoffed at him the satisfaction of his death. No, what Takeda needed was a method to dull the pain, a way that he could mentally brace himself for the barrage of malicious glares. Ever inquisitive, he sat alone for hours trying to come up with a solution and eventually arrived at a verdict. By becoming stronger than all of them, by not giving up until he was the best of the best, he could prove to himself that he didn't need others to survive, he could prove that strength was all he needed. However, the notion that gaining physical strength made him better than everyone else seemed a bit far fetched to someone as intelligent as Takeda. He was a puppeteer, becoming a puppeteer required years of devotion, his greatest strength was his puppet, so by property of association if he became the best puppeteer he would become the strongest and thereby finally have some self-esteem.

To become the best puppeteer he would of course have to get started learning puppet techniques, the first of which was Kugutsu Kawarimi. Task one, simultaneous movement of both puppet and puppeteer. To begin, Takeda performed a quick bit of experimentation by running toward his puppet and tugging hard on the chakra strings. The purpose of this motion was to hopefully cause the puppet and the puppeteer to switch places, however slowly, but only succeeded in the puppet toppling over and Takeda falling face first in the dirt after colliding his shins into it. Obviously he needed a better strategy if this was going to work, so this time around he didn't plant the puppets feet, just gave it a stance that balanced its weight and wouldn't be so tree-like in posture, and tugged again while running. The result wasn't what Takeda expected at all, first the puppets feet dragged on the ground and left a distinct trail behind it, then he ran face first in to the oncoming pile of wood. Sitting back and rubbing his nose Takeda formed a new approach for this conundrum.

It was quite obvious that he couldn't simply drag the puppet across the ground without letting the world know what he had just attempted to do, so to counteract this he would have to find a method of simultaneous movement without leaving a trail. Takeda decided to try the first thing that came to mind, running him and his puppet simultaneously in opposite directions, although he had better ideas this would suffice for now. A couple of quick fluctuations in the position of his fingers would translate into the puppet and cause it to set off running straight at Takeda, who was also running the other direction to intercept the oncoming puppet with an inch or so horizontal difference to avoid a head-on collision. The realization that this plan had failed came before the fall, but didn't register until Takeda had successfully tripped over his own feet and tasted the moist ground. As it turned out, it was far to arduous a task to maneuver two bodies in such a complex motion as the human run cycle, so once again he needed a new strategy.

Perhaps chakra was the solution he needed, after all it was common knowledge that damn near anything could be accomplished with proper application of the spiritual energy, the only question was how to apply it. The running idea failed horribly, but the slide plan seemed to work well aside from the drag marks, so perhaps he could coat the feet in chakra to prevent such dragging from occurring. Chakra flooded down the unbreakable strings, flowed down the puppets frame and pooled near the bottom of its lowest appendages, successfully creating a gentle cushion just below the wooden feet. A quick tug and a bit of running later brought Takeda and the puppet to a complete stop at the opposite position from where they both started. A very small bit of success, but the realization of how ridiculously slow the movement was hit him like a sledge hammer, he needed speed similar to that of the Shunshin jutsu for this technique to be successful in confusing an opponent.

Once again, chakra would be Takedas answer for this problem, except this time it would coat both the puppets feet and his own. For this plan to work he would have to activate the sliding chakra flow in his feat only after he had pushed off with his feet, otherwise he would get nowhere fast. Chakra pulsating around the puppets feet and muscles primed to kick off and activate the flow around his own Takeda crouched low, awaiting the most opportune moment to strike. A flurry of movement later and Takeda had successfully fell flat on his face again, it seemed as though he mistimed the chakra flow, but he was alone and didn't worry about being seen. Another attempt brought him closer to success, narrowly avoiding yet another face-to-face with the much denser being opposite him, and placing him exactly where he wanted to be. The problem was still that it was far to slow, but it was progress.

[|Ayame Unbound|]

+10 10/30

[Molokai]

An audible slap would be heard throughout the forest as Takeda came to the sudden realization that he had been training all wrong, palming his forehead in disbelief. He didn't need to switch places with his puppet at high speeds, he simply needed to perform the regular Kawarimi with his puppet as the object with which to switch. As a test of his newfound epiphany he focused on the puppet and charged the chakra for Kawarimi, closing his eyes temporarily to help with focus. Upon opening his eyes he noticed that everything around him was slightly shorter, but no matter because when he looked to his left he was surprised to find that a log had taken his old position and his puppet was nowhere to be found. It also seemed that his strings had detached in the attempt so he had to scan the area for any signs of its location. When he looked down, almost as if on cue, the puppet he had been searching for dropped out from between his legs and sent them both into the ground.

That was decidedly a disaster, stupid log. The log presented a new challenge, it appeared as though the technique naturally targeted the nearest human-sized log, and the log that was chosen gave off a feeling of unhappiness about being dragged from its resting place. However, Takeda knew that he could use this to purposely add more difficulty and therefore make him better at the technique. He stood up, dusted himself off and went to balance on the overturned remnant of the fallen tree, from here he focus all of his might and mind on the puppet and attempted the switch once again. This time around the world hadn't changed, except the log was no longer beneath his feet and his puppet was missing again, but before he could go look for them they both landed on his shoulders and forced him to the ground. He had switched places with the log and the log had switched places with the puppet in such a pattern that they both appeared over his head, profoundly annoying.

In a fit of frustration he grabbed the log and threw it as hard as he could at a pile of leaves resting a few meters away. To his great surprise the leaves began to sink as if consuming the newcomer, a stream of bubbles reminiscent of a satisfied belch emitted from the pile directly after the log disappeared, a sinkhole. Ignoring this recent development Takeda turned his attention back to his puppet, he charged the chakra just as he had done on the previous attempts while giving the puppet a bit of the chakra to see if a link could be formed, and activated the Kawarimi jutsu yet again. Once again, Takeda was surprised at the results of his experiment. This time the puppet and him switched places exactly like he wanted to, which was a surprise in itself, but he true astonishment came when he found himself staring at two holes similar to eyes in the log he tossed in the sinkhole.

Staring into the deep holes that resembled eyes Takeda couldn't help but feel a bit frightened, a feeling all the more increased when the sinkhole seemed to grumble indignantly at the loss of its meal. Nevertheless, he pressed on with his training. He remembered how close the link idea came to working the first time, so when he charged the chakra this time he strengthened the link between puppet and puppeteer to hopefully make them switch without the interference of the evil log. Upon activating the jutsu he felt a whole new sensation move through his body, one of success without mistake, as the puppet and himself had successfully switched places and the demon-log thing stayed put. For good measure he made sure to switch back and forth several times, each time trying to lesson the time it took to charge the chakra and form the link between puppet and puppeteer. Takeda knew he was still far away from his goal but at least he had the right idea this time around.

[|Ayame Unbound|]

20/30

[Molokai]

20/30

Takeda felt as though he had the technique down for the most part, just a few more experimental scenarios and he would have it. The log from earlier was still standing magically upright, and didn't change position when Takeda climbed up on top of it to try the switch with him and the puppet on different levels. When the switch was made Takeda found himself at a lower position than he was just at, looking to his right he found his puppet perched precariously on the log he had been balancing on a few seconds earlier. An unfounded success, but the good feeling would not last, because within a few seconds of the switch being completed the puppet toppled from its pedestal despite Takedas frantic finger fluctuations. As it appeared, the strings had detached some time during the application of the technique, and it would take quite some difficulty to fix the problem.

To begin he would start almost from scratch, with the puppet and him standing side by side only a few meters apart. He would have to diagnose exactly what the problem was before he could do anything about it, so he charged the chakra within him, formed a link with his puppet and activated the technique. As expected, the strings completely vanished and the puppet collapsed in a heap as soon as the technique ended. Takeda had an idea of what was causing the strings to disappear, and a few more attempts from various angles and conditions confirmed his suspicions. His findings revealed that the strong chakra concentration on both ends was overpowering and canceling out the minor chakra in the strings when released to perform the technique. The most logical solution for this little conundrum was of course to find a way to balance out the chakra concentration so that it would not overpower the strings.

But how to go about doing that? Takeda considered quite a few things, such as reattaching the strings instantly after making the switch, or possibly going back to his first strategy, but both of these seemed both improbable and inefficient. No, he needed to completely remove the tendency for the strings to detach for the technique to work. His first experiment consisted of pooling the chakra in himself and the puppet, forming the link, and dispersing the remaining chakra buildup along the strings. This would hopefully give the strings enough strength and chakra concentration to stay strong during the rapid movement of the Kawarimi technique. To his great surprise, it worked almost perfectly the first time around, the strings remained strong throughout the entire technique and the puppet didn't collapse at the end. A few more tries to make sure he got it right and he sat down to consider what to do next.

((This one's kinda half-assed, but I ran out of ideas.))

[hotaru]

+5

[Molokai]

Sitting alone thinking about how to continue his training, it didn't take Takeda long to become discouraged. However, just as he was about to give up,he perceived a sound similar to a group of people crashing through the underbrush, a sound that put him on high alert. Sure enough, the group that poured into his little patch of nothingness was a band of marauders intent on squeezing Takeda for all the money he was worth. They seemed unconcerned about the Mist village headband upon his forehead, and they didn't even flinch when the five foot puppet next to him began moving seemingly on its own. Once Takeda was thoroughly surrounded they seemed to disregard his puppet, leaving it out of the closing circle, so naturally Takeda tried the first thing that came to mind, Kugutsu Kawarimi. He made the chakra link as fast as he could while maintaining a balance in the strings, then activated the technique.

The result was quite unexpected, the log from earlier took Takedas place, the puppet stood perched upon the log, and Takeda himself was left to balance on the puppets shoulders. For some reason this damn log was always interfering, but this time it worked to his advantage as all the bandits collided face first with the rough bark. The force of this impact set the tower of trouble teetering, threatening to topple, so Takeda leaped off of the puppets shoulders and commanded it to follow suit. Now once again standing side by side with the puppet he prepared himself for another assault. Commanding the puppet to bound overhead and land on the opposite side of the oncoming mob, Takeda readied himself to perform the technique yet again. As soon as the mob was about to get their filthy paws on Takedas jacket he activated the technique, in hopes of having the puppet take his place and causing great surprise.

Takeda was yet again the one surprised by the use of the technique, it had worked better this time as he now stood exactly where he wanted to be, but once again the log had done what he wanted the puppet to do. With the moronic thieves wrestling the log that they believed to be Takeda and the puppet missing in action, Takeda decided to try the switch again. This time he didn't know where the puppet was, although he could tell the strings were still attached, so he would do his best to perform a blind switch before his attackers realized what had happened. He formed the chakra bond as fast as he could, hoping that he had not botched the job, and attempted to switch places with the hidden puppet. Trees and other such shrubbery met with Takedas eyes as the chakra settled him where his puppet once was, whilst the puppet now stood in the clearing facing the group of criminals.

Takeda knew full well he could not kill them all, whether it was physical or moral incapability he couldn't tell, so he was content with just using them for practice until they gave up. It appeared as though they still didn't view the puppet as a threat, preferring instead to search the forest for Takeda himself. Fools Takeda mused to himself as he prepared himself to be switched out of the forest and back into the clearing to further give his pursuers headaches. With the tiniest wisp of smoke Takeda found himself outside of the offensive bushes with his puppet exactly where he once sat in silent anticipation. Predictably enough when the marauders found the puppet crouched in the bushes they attacked it vigorously whilst under the impression that it was their target, and once they decided it wasn't alive they turned their attention elsewhere. Moving out of view, the roaming band of thieves stalked other prey, having grown bored with this elusive little redheaded boy.

[|Ayame Unbound|]

Learned ^^

[Molokai]

Ningyoumawashi no jutsu (Puppet Operator Technique)
Rank: D
Skill: Ninjutsu
Effect: This technique allows the puppeteer to use chakra strings to move objects such as rocks, and other inanimate objects. Can be quite useful for triggering traps and switches without getting caught
Special: Surge of chakra through chakra strings
Drawback: Strings can be seen by people with the ability to see chakra. If object is too heavy, strings may snap.
Description: The puppeteer activates their chakra strings and aim them at the object they want to move. The chakra strings then stick to the object, allowing the puppeteer to pull on them, making the object move. The heavier the object, the more chakra is used through chakra strings.
Limit: Must be a puppeteer. Can only move objects as far as the puppeteer is able to control their puppet (Puppet Technique)

0/10

The recent lack of activity and human contact set Takedas inquisitive mind to wander, pondering the possibilities. One idea that came to him during his inquisition was the possibility of using his chakra strings to control objects other than his puppet. It seemed like an interesting enough prospect, and it was worth a try, so he decided to give it a shot.

As an initial test, he would lodge a kunai in the sod-covered earth then work to extract it and return it to his hand using only his chakra strings. He welled the chakra in his fingers and formed it into an invisible string which he sent to meet the kunai. Once initial contact was made, Takeda made sure to gently try to nudge the kunai out of the sod, but as soon as he made a single movement the string became detached and dissipated. Apparently he couldn't just throw a string at any random thing and expect it to work, he needed to change something about the string itself if it was going to be expected to attach to anything other than a puppet, but what about the string needed to change? He decided that the point of contact, where the chakra actually met with the object in question, was where he would experiment with different methods of string control.

Perhaps, he thought because the metal of the knife is less porous than the material of the puppet it requires a smaller amount of more highly concentrated chakra to fit between the microscopic gaps on the surface. It was the best he could come up with, so he got to work deciphering exactly how much chakra he would need. The kunai wasn't incredibly heavy, not by a long shot, but the smooth finish made it slippery, so he formulated the chakra at the end of the string to have less than the amount he used for the puppet. However, he would concentrate it more so than the puppet, hopefully causing the chakra to take hold of the individual pores and keep its grip. The first gentle nudge held promising results, as the kunai twitched slightly in response to his command, and as he increased the power and intensity of his commands he eventually heard a sucking noise as the kunai sprang free.

As a quick experiment he flipped the kunai over his head with the string still attached and targeted the evil log, still standing motionless next to the sinkhole that now pulsed silently as if asleep. A wave of malice erupted from the former tree as the kunai dug itself deep into its flesh, although no visible movement was made besides the pieces of bark chipping off. Takeda was steadily learning to ignore the bad juju vibes that emanated from the log every time he disturbed it, so he just set his attention on extracting the kunai yet again. With string still attached he gave a sharp tug, feeling his arm come flying at him as if he had just tried to throw something a lot lighter than he expected, as looking in horror as the kunai didn't even budge. To counteract this, he built up more chakra in the tips of his strings but kept the concentration as small as possible, and once again vehemently heaved on the stubborn knife.

He barely caught it as it came hurtling at his face, blade spinning bloodthirstily and log creaking indignantly, and tried to think of what to do next. As a test of dexterity he threw the kunai at the log again, followed immediately by a chakra string in hopes of catching the knife before it made contact with the tree. The string caught and latched on to the ring of the knife as expected, and by throwing his shoulders to the side, rotating his feet in place, and leaning in the direction he wanted to throw he successfully put all the force a five-foot five-inch puppeteer could into a throw. Nothing but a blur would disappear into the forest, leaving nothing but a few cut leaves and one very surprised bird in its wake. After a bit of searching Takeda found it deep in the flesh of a particularly soft tree trunk, so through implementing what he just learned he was able to pry it from the tree and place it back in its pouch without touching it.

[|Ayame Unbound|]

Learned xD

[Molokai]

[exit]

[Molokai]

((I leave for two days and suddenly my training is on the second page?))

Dangan Himatsu (Bullet Spray)
Rank: D ranked
Skill: Ninjutsu
Effect: The puppeteer creates a small swell in chakra within a puppets projectile weaponry. This causes the puppet to expel more projectiles, much faster, making them much more deadlier.
Special: (see below)
Drawback: Consumption of more ammunition
Description: The user creates a swell of chakra specifically at a launchers base. This swell violently accelerates multiple projectiles outward. The swell is created by sending small pulses of chakra down a users chakra strings which build in the launchers.
Limit: Must have a puppet with projectile type weaponry. Must be a puppeteer

0/10

Takeda had realized something, he had trained at least one technique that had to do with every aspect of his puppet, except for the projectiles. Come to think of it, he had never used the projectile weaponry of his puppet for anything. Why was that? It mattered little, all he knew now was that he would need to balance his skills with a technique dealing with projectiles.

Speed, the projectile fighters best friend, the faster the projectile the more accurate and powerful it was. Takeda was in possession of a book, detailing a plethora of puppetry techniques, and going by what that book stated he developed his plan. To begin, he sent a surge of chakra down the strings and into the puppet, and after a minute or two of awkward hand movements he eventually pooled it in the base of the launcher. From there, he coated the inside of the barrels with chakra and let it build up until there was significant pressure within. It was almost at breaking point, the barrels themselves had almost ruptured under the pressure of the chakra within, when Takeda finally tried to fire the launcher. A burst of air, indicative of a successful fire, met his attempt. However, it was not as it seemed, it seemed that the senbon had actually been prevented from firing by the chakra build up.

It was obvious he needed to go in a different direction, but the technique definitely stated that he needed to pool the chakra in the launcher. An idea formed itself in Takedas head without him willing it to, but it did seem as though it could work, so he decided to give it a try. He would pool and condense the chakra within the barrels to an incredibly high degree just like he did before, but this time he would command the chakra buildup to burst outwards and hopefully take the stubborn senbon with it. It sounded like it would work, at least in his head, so when he got started with the chakra buildup he felt confident that it would work. When the chakra well burst outward as planned, Takeda almost let himself get exited, until he realized that the senbon that was fired went all of ten feet before flopping harmlessly to the ground. Now, as with so many times before, he needed to find a balance somewhere in between.

But what would be considered "in between?" Perhaps it would be firing the launcher naturally whilst simultaneously firing the chakra burst. Takeda wasn't exactly sure just how well that idea would work, but it was worth a try. A surge of chakra down the strings, a pool of the powerful, almost magical substance in the base of the launcher, and Takeda was ready to fire off what he hoped to be a successful Dangan Himatsu. When the chakra was adequately welled and pressurized Takeda fired the senbon launcher and let the chakra burst forth with less than a second delay between the two phases of the attack. At first he thought that it hadn't worked, as he hadn't seen the senbon exit the mouth of the puppet, where the launcher was located, but when he just happened to glance up at the tree he had unknowingly aimed at he spied exactly what he had hoped to see. It had worked.

[|Ayame Unbound|]

8/10

[Molokai]

8/10

Not good enough, the first try was never good enough, and this fact found Takeda stewing in his own frustrated mediocrity. It was at this time that he spied the evil log, eying him suspiciously, and felt a renewed surge of anger. He knew he couldn't harm the log, it had no nerves and by all things possible shouldn't even have a consciousness, but here it was taunting him and projecting ill will. He didn't stand up, just stayed in his exasperated sitting position, but commanded the puppet to rise up off the ground and turn its head to face the wooden aggravation. Just as he did before he filled the launchers barrels with chakra, compressed it to an incredible degree, and fired the senbon whilst allowing the condensed chakra to burst forward. The difference between this time and the previous attempts is that he limited the amount of chakra allowed to burst forth, successfully creating a machine gun effect until all of his senbon had been emptied. He sent the puppet to retrieve its own senbon from the log and reload itself, he wasn't in the mood for standing up on his own.

[adero]

you may add it

[Runesaka]

[enter]
Akira was walking back to the Meikei base when he spotted a familiar face. He looked and it was Takeda Akira was in no big rush to get back so he made the proper handseals for the hair exstintion jutsu. He let his hair grow to the ground and begin to run towards the fellow Mist ninja. Let's see what Takeda does to this.

[Molokai]

Sitting in the middle of his clearing, the sinkhole snoozing pleasantly, the log glaring indignantly, Takeda wondered what to do next. Within his own mind he came up with numerous ways he could possibly entertain himself, possibly more training, possibly a mission, but none of them seemed all that interesting. Lying there bored he let his head roll to the side, and to his great surprise he spied a wad of what appeared to be a column hair running toward him. With a scramble he got to his feet and sent his puppet at the base of the animated follicles, his plan was to dispatch the owner of the hair before it reached him. But further review revealed the hair beast to be none other than Akira. "Holy crap, Akira." Was all he decided to say, he didn't need more than that to get his point accross.

[Runesaka]

Ninpou: Kami Souki (Ninja Art: Hair Recall)
Rank: "D" Rank
Skill: Ninjutsu, Supplementary
Effect: Allows the hair to fold in on itself several times so that it looks like the original layer of hair before the Hair Extension technique.
Special: "Hand Seals"- Monkey, Horse, Rabbit, Dog, Tiger, Ram, Bird
Drawback: Requires a (very) small but constant amount of chakra to keep the hair folded in the way that it is. This means that if the user runs out of chakra then the hair will let itself all loose.
Description: The user performs the required handseals, strengthening the hair follicles and giving them all almost a stickiness. Then, the user controls the hair using their chakra and pulls it in on itself, over and over, and tightens itself so that all the hair grown from the Hair Extension technique is seemingly invisible. The user must perform the Kai technique to cancel the hair folds.
Limit: Must know Ninpo: Kami Enchou


[4/10]
Akira continued to run towards Takeda by hearing what Takeda said it was clear he was ether surprised or shocked by the hair. Akira ran right to Takeda and stood in front of him. Akira made the Monkey Horse Rabbit Dog Tiger Ram and Bird pushing out a very small amount of chakra. He stood there with his hair slowly returning to it’s proper size. Akira looked like a jet black sasquatch.



Akira’s hair begin to move up from the ground. It took about 2 minutes before Akira’s feet were visible. His hair was receding slowly but surely. He begin to push out more chakra and in response his hair begin to recede faster. The jutsu was strengthening his hair follicles giving it almost a stickiness. He was controlling the hairs pulling them on itself over and over. Making it tighten it self so that all the hair’s from the hair extension technique begin to recede.



His hair was moving up at a faster speed. The hair begin to move up before you knew it his waist line was visible. He was beginning to get the hang of the jutsu. His hairs were tightening a very fast speed. In the amount of 2 minutes his hair had receded to his shoulders and his face was now visible. Akira begin to talk to Takeda. “ So Takeda what have you been up to? I guess you see what I’ve been up to with the hair and all.” Akira said as his hair was retaking it’s mini fro form.

[Molokai]

For a while it appeared as though Akira was having some kind of emergency with his hair, magical growth syndrome or something strange like that, and it was all the more odd when it started to retract back into his head. Takeda thought that maybe this Akira was some kind of puppet, with wires or cables or something instead of hair, but every puppet made that eerie clicking sound whenever they were in use and Akira definitely wasn't clicking. So what could the explanation have been? The retraction was terribly slow at first, gaining speed as it wore on, which gave the impression that it might have been a technique that hadn't been fully mastered yet. That, and the handsigns made just before pretty much gave it away.

Takedas suspicions were further confirmed when Akira said “ So Takeda what have you been up to? I guess you see what I’ve been up to with the hair and all.” So, with all of his questions answered he formed his reply "Uuh, I was just about to begin a new technique, I guess . . ." In acutallity he wasn't sure what he was going to do next, but the advent of Akiras sudden materialization gave him an idea of not only which technique to learn but also how to learn it.

[Masakuni]

+2
(6.10)