Jungle Boy [T][P]

[The Heron]

Senbon Taitoku Tortoise Stance
Rank: C
Skill: Tai
Effect: The user goes on full defensive, blocking almost any type of projectile or any frontal hand to hand combat moves with their writing hand, also only able to attack with their off-hand for the duration of the pattern.
Special: ---
Drawback: The user must be Ambidexterities, their will be a small window of them missing.
Description: Facing their foe with their writer side facing towards them and their off hand side facing away from the opponent. The user hunches over giving them the appearance of a Tortoise, hints for the name of the style. The user holds on to either a kunai or senbon to help them deflect or defend them self form any projectile or physical attacks. As they guard with their good side, their off-hand will prepare an attack with a projectile weapon. When the time is right the user will perform the action of attack by literally under hand throwing their weapon towards their attacker.
Limit: Must be a Senbon Taitoku user

0/10

The massive expanse of jungle to the south of Zokuji provided an excellent landscape training. The trees arced high into the heavens, great green arms of luscious life to give the earth a tinge of tangible luster. The earth was low and cool, soft enough to lay on but firm enough to weather the pounding of giants. The breeze was crisp, sharp like the edge of a square, but it flowed like water and puffed out softly against his face, like the fleeting kisses of falling leaves. Beautiful in its own right, but nothing like the hazy thickness of home.

Not that it mattered in the slightest. His entire purposing for traipsing through the forest to reach this point was to engage in a crash course of taijutsu training to better prepare for any encounters in the trials ahead. With a senbon gripped loosely in his left hand, the aim of the training was no queston. Senbon Taitoku. The art of the dancer.

He remembered a great deal of the scrolls he’d read before leaving for the chuunin exam. There was a dojo in Kirigakure – it was there he’d learned all his knew of the art, and it was to that place that his mind traveled, in remembrance of his discovery of the Tortoise stance, and the subsequent learning of said stance.

The day had been similar, though the wind thicker, the sun lower, and the air so wet and heavy it was like an endless damp towel. Hana stood to the front of him, her body lowered into an odd stance that drew a smug smile from his face. She doubted he could hit her with a senbon?

Foolishly, Hiromasa loosed projectile after projectile, and like clockwork, each volley was diverted with soul crushing ease. And to think – she’d only deflected them with one hand! His pride was hurt, but not for long, for he knew he would be learning to replicate the technique and execute it himself.

“It’s all in the stance.”

The youth followed her lead, turning his body to present his leading side only, essentially halving his surface area. He bent at he spine, hunching over so that his head seemed to rest directly on top of his shoulder, giving him the look of a Tortoise. He held a trench knife in his lead hand, wrist held languidly to bend and weave any which direction. His back hand, the left, was prepped to slip into his pouch and appropriate a senbon to send it flying, despite the heavy defensive nature of his stance.

“Defend… and as you defend, attack.”

Hana loosed her own volley of senbon, and though he needed to weave around several of them, he managed to avoid injury, and even retaliate with the senbon prepped in his hidden back hand.

[/blockquote]

[» Comatose]

+ 10

[The Heron]

"Let's git er dun."

[ Exit ]

[The Heron]

[ Utilizing the current Chuunin Exams rules to train and shit. ]

Esron; Hel’s river
Rank: B-S
Skill: Ninjutsu
Effect: Turns the ground into a poisonous swamp filled with knifes, bones of snakes and blood. If the poison touches someone’s insides (may this be trough mouth or wounds) he gets blurry vision and slowly loss of health.
Special: Dragon; rat
Drawback: The user can be poisoned too.
Description: First performing the handseals and hold the rat for a moment, as long as the rat seal is held the field continues to grow (until the limit is reached)
B-Ranked---Swamp stretches out for 50 meters[165 feet]
A-Ranked---Swamp stretches out for 100 meters[330 feet]
S-Ranked---Swamp stretches out for 150 meters[500 feet]
Limit: Must know the Earth, Water and Fire release

0/50

So this was Tsuki no Ki… the land of moon was a stark contrast to his own home. He saw it in the subtle tilt of the sky line - more leveled, less obscured… more welcoming. The air was more crisp, like mildly singed sticks, and the wind less moist, nearly as dry as the arid gusts of the desert, almost burning in their intensity. The sun’s station amongst the heaven wasn’t hidden behind a thick veil of fog as it was in Mizu no Kuni. In this land, the sun had no challenger amongst the stars besides the moon it warred with day in and day out - the very same moon the country was named for. Its vantage point amongst the earth left it with a magnificent view of Luna’s lair, the view far more pronounced than any other locale on the planet.

Hiromasa observed this all with merely a cursory glance, his attention centered primarily upon the scroll held loosely in his open palm. The document lay across both his hands, spread flat so that he could view all the information contained upon the page with relative ease. His violet hued gaze traveled over the page, absorbing the information contained therein just as easily as one draws breath. Esron… Hell’s River. The name conjured thoughts of a harrowing realm of toil and death, ensnared by malevolence and ruled by pain. The river of hell, coursing with burning waters to rend flesh from bone, to tear through the heart and sear the soul. What was that tale?

Ah yes - the story of Hel herself, and the regality of her throne. She lie in Disease , ate from Hunger, and cut her food with Famine; commander of Sloven, she’d called the Underworld her domain, banished to the depths of reality by Odin himself. But… how did the technique correlate to the ancient mythology of its name?

He read for several more moments before the answer became apparent to him. The jutsu utilized the combined releases of Doton, Katon, and Suiton to create a massive swamp like creation to span dozens upon dozens of meters. Doton, to manipulate the earth, Suiton to supply the swamp water, and Katon to supply the noxious fumes that could lay waste to even the toughest of warriors. The swamp would be littered with the remains of various creatures associated with cowardice, like snakes and rats, which tied into the purpose of Hel in the first place… to serve as a final resting place for those unfortunate enough to not die in battle.

“Well… it seems a great deal more useful than Yomi Numa.” the youth said, mumbling to himself. He gave a great stretch, cracking the bones in his back, before tucking the document into his pants and preparing to begin his training.

[/blockquote]

[The Heron]

??/50

So as the world turned and countless eons were lost to the fading luster of lupine life, there was one figure that stood against the horizon, existing merely as a hazy shadow against a vast backdrop of orange hues. The sun itself saluted him – paid homage to his struggle by illuminating the harrowing darkness and permeating the shadows, shedding light on the demons that plagued the earth. Alas, the demons were only figurative, naught but literary devices to entice and delight; in truth, Hiromasa did stand in the shadow of the sun, though when regarding such a great being of such great light, the shadow was not literal. Indeed, he could see quite well, in fact, not that it mattered, for what he sought was held within, and needed intrinsic reflection to harness, and no physical light would brighten the path he needed to follow.

Dragon. A common seal, and one of great power, even by itself. The dragon was an ancient symbol, both malevolent and benevolent, able to nurture and create just as easily as it could weaken and destroy. Auspicious, temperamental, secretive, sinister – many adjectives were attributed to its description, and yet no word could capture its importance in the zodiac.

Rat. What it lacked in raw power, it made up for with leagues and leagues of shrewdness. Its creation added a subtle tint to a jutsu that gave it just the edge needed. The animal itself was a small, frantic creature, generally known as a pest and a stain against mankind. Condensed into a handseal, the creature provided the ‘bait’ with which to draw the ‘dragon’ and commiserate a mystical union between the two.

Over and over again his hands created the seals, his goal to sear the short away in his neurons so that he could execute them at the drop of a hat, or the first infant inklings of an attack against himself. He needed to eliminate all hesitation and kill any sloth. Quick and smooth – that was the motto.

Quite soon he needn’t even apply thought to the movement and yet his muscles carried it out readily, requiring no cerebral input whatsoever. At that point, he knew it was time to move on in his training and involve another aspect of the jutsu: applying the chakra. He needed only summon the energy and mold it as he did the Handseals, whilst visualizing his desired outcome. In this instance, his vision would manifest as a sea of death…

Thick clumps of belching tar-like mud, the decaying bones of reptiles and rodents, the stench of festering death…

It was hell.

[/blockquote]

[The Heron]

??/50

And it was his to control.

His next act was to give birth to the jutsu in the figurative, slipping into the recesses of his mind to conjure a scene; a scene of death and decay, that which supplied the rampant maliciousness of man. That which plagued the righteous in their sleep and lay waste to eons of culture. Oh, how fractured was he to have been capable of such a visualization – he, the demon child, naught but malicious intent veiled behind a cherubic visage. He was the worst nightmare of worlds. He need only make his imagination reality.

Fifty meters of land would be gone in an instant, buried beneath the noxious fluids of Hell’s River, drowning beneath the pestilent plague of sorrow. Other mythology labeled it the River Styx, but Hiromasa hadn’t the skill quite yet to form a veritable river. However, one hundred and fifty five feet of liquid death was more than enough to fell even the greatest of foes. Especially when they need only breathe the fumes in.

His imaginary practice was cut short in the face of anticipation. With his task mask positioned securely over his face, he gave a short exhale before singling in on his tenketsu, flaring them with nigh a thought. It was a simultaneous and just as easily executable concern to begin the handseals, this being made especially so because of his intense practice of the very brief array. As his chi – the very essence of his soul – reverberated throughout his body and coursed through his veins, his hands were enacting an archaic dance of ancient rites. The swell of energy marked a sudden shift in the atmosphere. There was a pressure in the air, and then the ground at his feet softened before seemingly melting into mud. Dirt, stone, even trees – they all became food for the swamp, falling into the depths of death even as he drew filtered breath through his mask.

But alas, the distance was not correct. The desired result was a swamp in the regions of fifty meters in size – he had birthed a swamp only twenty five meters in size. Some error had been made, but he still harbored enough skill to partially get the job done. Now he need only polish his skills and try again. Failure was the key to success, and though he hated failure even more than the cowards that plagued him, he’d be damned if he’d allow a little set back to halt his progress.

[/blockquote]

[The Heron]

??/50

Now that his soul had tasted meager success he demanded more of it. He was far more confident now, and he was ready to apply all his gained knowledge in piecing together a masterpiece of epic proportions. As his breath calmed and his heart slowed, that very same confidence swept through his body like a plague, manifesting in the balance of his stance as he spread his feet wide, sandaled shoes scratching against the loose dirt beneath him. It blossomed in the sound generated by his subtle exhale, crooned as he spoke the words running rampant through his head.

”Bleed, bitch, bleed…”

After his first rendition of liquid death, the local wildlife had all but cleared the vicinity, fleeing in a fit of shrieking terror. Hiromasa was indifferent in the face of the primal terror, not even bothering to grant the fleeing animals a grunt. What did it matter, that his jutsu garnered fear in the face of such shameless creatures. Had they been human, his outlook might have been different, but as it were, nothing concerned him beyond perfecting the jutsu. Nothing.

His moved with painstaking precision as he embarked upon the opening ceremony – his hands came together with fervor, clasping happily only to separate and clash once more, their brief meetings reminiscent of a jerking dance lost in the annals of time. Just as his hands danced to the rhythm of a hidden archaic drum, his soul generated the snare to match the drum, symbolized by the simultaneous flaring of every tenketsu point in his body. His manipulation of his chakra was masterful to watch; the handseal was finished within a second, though his hands remained embraced in the Rat seal for purposes as of yet unknown. His chakra, summoned to the surface by negligible mental practices, coursed through the channels of his pathways to center in on one spot – the earth beneath his feet.

Just as soon as the chakra seeped into the earth it spread like wildfire, encompassing a grand distance within the blink of an eye. As the chakra spread further the earth began to change, melting and morphing to fit the parameters of the jutsu. And all the wall, Hiromasa stood still, hands still clasped in the rat seal…

[/blockquote]

[The Heron]

??/50

Gaia screamed and cried for her fading luster – the land was overtaken by a vicious entity who wrought nothing but death and destruction upon whatever unfortunate being was trapped in its depths. Hiromasa stood at the arena of its birth, looking down on his domain with a deliciously malignant countenance to match the murderous indifference of Esron’s River. Chakra continued to pour steadily from his still form, forcing its way through the stagnant earth to manipulate the molecular structure of the very ground itself. Like demons rising upwards from the pits of hell, the viscous, poisonous fluid of Esron’s River surged over the earth, crying death.

The strain was minimal, or rather, negligible. A Jounin level technique wasn’t as chakra intensive to him now as it had been in previous months, and such ease could be attributed wholly to his drastic increase in skill over a relatively short period of time; skill that was applied quite efficiently to the task at hand. So long as his mind remained clear and his hands in the ox seal, he could spread his sea of death till its culmination at fifty meters.

That point arrived shortly thereafter, allowing Hiromasa to drop his hands and inspect the damage done. With his task mask pulled securely over his face, he wandered around the swamp, taking not of the melting bones smoldering in its depth; taking heed of the pungent odor that managed to seep through his mask and sear itself into his nose hairs, making the smell itself perpetual. Nevertheless, he carried onward, feeling a smile grow wide on his face at the havoc caused.

The swamp itself was a bubbling mess of dark, maroon colored mud like fluid – not as solid as mud, but nowhere near as free running as water. It was a mix of the two, and invariably different because of it. Its great length was dotted by wilting trees now reduced to mere saplings. Still dripping bones of forest floor dwellers were seen throughout the location, adding a rather macabre element to an already gloomy setting.

Inspection complete, Hiromasa stepped away from the swamp, granting it one last long searching look. This technique… it was instant death for an unprepared foe. He loved it.

[/blockquote]

[roko]

Disgusting... Yet beautiful.

Obviously learned.

[The Heron]

Maruishi Tounyuu (Boulder throw)
Rank: "C" Rank 2nd learning
Skill: NinJutsu
Effect: A technique where the user uses the concept of Doton Soushi no Jutsu (Rock Creation Technique) to hurl a form of a grand rock created along the very ground.
Special: "Handseals"
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 uses the concept of Doton Soushi no Jutsu (Rock Creation Technique) to where they push their chakra down along the very ground. The user is capable of lifting a rock on size depending on the rank of the Doton Soushi no Jutsu (Rock Creation Technique) that they may know. What the user does is the user uses a few handseals 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

Winter in Tsuki was quite a sight to see – snowflakes fell in rivulets from a sky bathed in white. Wind wisped through tree branches, breezing through the leaves with reckless abandon, a soothing serenade to combat the biting chill that sunk into Hiromasa’s limbs. He trekked deeper into the winter wonderland, his bear-skin coat providing a thick pocket of warmth over his midsection. He seemed to be in a daze as he walked, eyes closed reverently as he contemplated his next course of action. There was very little time between now and the start of the preliminaries – he needed to be sharp, and to avoid a national incident, he needed skills that wouldn’t maim his opponent too much. Of course, if the technique swimming in his minds eye was any indication, he didn’t care much for causing an international incident. His Maruishi Tounyuu could easily crush a building, let alone a human.


He came upon the edge of the forest, his anticipation mounting as the trees thinned and the undergrowth subsided until all that stood before him was a vast space of rock and dirt. It was all hidden beneath snow, but his affinity for Doton allowed for a greater awareness of its abundance – with a smile, his hands fell to the earth, and his mind retreated inward for just a brief moment, inciting ancient processes to harness his heavenly energy.


Skill and talent made access of the required mental processes as simple as breathing – neurons fired through his brain, sending signals down his electrical channels into the nexus of his soul; the amalgamation of chakra pathways that swirled continuously behind his navel. Those pathways responded readily to the electrical arousal, coming to life with the fervor of a child at play. Energy surged through those pathway as his tenketsu opened, releasing the floodgates on his torrential energy. Like a tsunami, waves of chakra fell to his hands, saturating his palms with herculean strength.


The appendages sunk beneath the snow into the hidden earth underneath, curling around the hard stone like a woman wrapped in a blanket. The energy within him leant further strength to his arms, fortifying his stance handily. He heaved, and the earth began to rumble, crumbling away as he lifted the great block a stone higher into the air. Small and frail in the eyes of greater men, the youth cut quite the image as he stood firm, surveying the land for as far as his eyes could see, a great, forty meter thick boulder clenched in his fists. He appeared as a veritable atlas, the titan himself subjugated by a thirteen year old child.

Hiromasa showed no strain – not even as he gave the boulder a mighty toss, sending it flying into the white horizon. His chakra further enhanced his strength to allow for such a maneuver, and he found himself awed by what his energy could do. This divine might…

It was intoxicating.

[/blockquote]

[» Comatose]

+ 10

[The Heron]

Name: Doton: Daideido Nohara no Jutsu (Earth Release: Art of the Great Muddy Field)
Rank: "C" Rank
Skill: Ninjutsu
Effect: Creates a field of mud by the dimensions of 30 meters x 10 meters.
Special: "Hand Seals"
Drawback: Cannot be used to perform regular Doton ninjutsu unless it has been hardened.
Description: An expansion of the Deido Nohara, which only creates a ten meter field of mud, this technique will create a thirty meter field of mud so that the user is capable of utilizing more mud techniques.
Limit: Must know Deido Nohara. Must know Doton no Jutsu

0/10

Varying cocoa hues of earth and mud swam through his sight, painting his world a haze of drab amber highlights that directed his thoughts and actions to correlate with the scroll he held clenched in his grasp. It seemed that Gaia was demanding her honorarium by sending him visions of her liquid essence, urging him into action. His intent was bathed in copper coloring and driven by the soft sheen of terra-cotta – hurriedly, he searched for an appropriate locale, eyes falling to the deep crater before him. It had yet to be overtaken by snow, the brown of Gaia’s bosom showing strong through the thin sheets of white. He shunshined into the hole, coming to a rest at its center.


Gingerly, he unraveled the scroll, eyes roving over its depths. The document contained information on “Daideido Nohara”, a C ranked technique and an improvement on the exceedingly elementary ‘Deido Nohara”. Whereas the original was D rank and only stretched to cover a ten by ten meter area, the upgrade grew to eclipse an area more than double that size – thirty by ten meters. Alone, mud was of little use, but he’d padded his repertoire with skills that relied heavily upon the liquid earth. Indeed, mud was a much a weapon to him as a sword, if not moreso.

He reviewed the Handseals with half a mind, not in the least bit worried about failing in his training. He had long since grown skilled enough to perfect C rank maneuver with but one attempt, and as this technique was merely magnification of its predecessor, he felt not even an inkling of doubt. His strength and confidence was such that he wouldn’t even entertain the thought of failure – it hadn’t even been conjured in his youthful mind.


An easy breath escaped him, and then his hands fell together, twining swiftly in a rush of symbols, each brief pause intended to correspond to the rising level of his chakra and its conversion from life sustaining energy into mud-birthing energy. He needed only eight to seal the deal, and each of those eight took nigh a quarter of a second to produce. Indeed, his hands had ceased their expeditious dance within a second, even before his lips closed from the breath he’d released. Just as his hands were dancing, his chakra was moving, charging through his pathways into the earth beneath his feet, saturating it with a decidedly potent brand of energy.

He couldn’t see his chakra, but he could feel it – feel it as it washed over the dirt, loosening it, liquefying it, transforming it into an entity all new. He needn’t view the edges of its reach – he knew them to be thirty meters. The mud wasn’t just created on the surface – it was a meter deep, and while thick, it had the consistency of tar, and, like quicksand, wouldn’t hesitate to snare a hapless creature. His own position was safe, however, as his direction of the technique allowed for a cherished section of land to remain dry.

[/blockquote]

[» Comatose]

+ 10

[The Heron]

Name: Doton: Deido Uwadzutsumi no Jutsu (Earth Release: Art of the Mud Envelope)
Rank: "C" Rank
Skill: Ninjutsu
Effect: Envelops the user in a sphere of mud which is capable of blocking up to a "C" ranks amount of damage.
Special: "Hand Seals"
Drawback: Only lasts for three turns. Is capable of handling one "C" Rank amount of damage before breaking. Requires a mud source. The technique cannot be used on an opponent.
Description: A technique that is mostly used for its ability to trick the opponent, Deido Uwadzutsumi no Jutsu surrounds the user in a sphere of thick mud, which can be utilized as a defense. The mud at the bottom of the sphere hardens, so that the user is capable of escaping if they know the use of the Dochu Eigyo. The sphere lasts until it is broken, the user has dispelled it, or three turns have passed since it was created. The sphere is, at maximum, three meters in height and two meters in diameter.
Limit: Must have Deido Nohara. Must have Doton Soushi "D" Rank. Must have Doton no Jutsu.

0/10

Now that Gaia’s secretions had managed to sully her skin, Hiromasa delved even further into the art of Doton, seeking to further please the originator of his vast strength. Whilst he’d trained the wind shifted south, nearly reversing its flow – now the snow blew away from him, enabling an even easier time at learning, as his sight was doubly enhanced without the white blanket to cover him. Even the chill against his skin lessened, and his focus, already as sharp as a kunai, intensified even further until the mere thought of it seemed to draw blood. Another scrolled regaled the tale of his next learning, and he was anxious to give it a go…


Mildly frostbitten fingers unraveled yet another scroll, this one procured from a hidden fold within his bear-skin cloak. The thick brown fur provided warmth that couldn’t be mimicked, not even by the hottest of Katon jutsu. His focused, sharpened beyond belief, was so centered it gave him tunnel vision – all that existed were himself and the scroll. Deido Uwadzutsumi no Jutsu. Art of the Mud Envelope. It was a defensive technique, and whilst his repertoire was ridden with such abilities, this particular jutsu harbored an element of mischievous mystery that rendered him incapable of not learning it. Interests piqued, he read further, amused by the information granted him.


Barring some catastrophic happening, the jutsu would allow him to utilize mud to create a shield – it was invariably weak in comparison to other techniques, though his mastery of Doton might spell something different. The shield grew as a bubble around the user, shielding them from view. The bottom of the bubble maintained the consistency of stone, allowing for evasion by way of Underground Projection. His mind filled with possibilities at the use of such a jutsu – without further adieu, he was prepared to begin.


The soothing tune of Gaia’s song washed over him, and his eyes fluttered – his chakra responded in turn, rising to overcome the sedation, even as his hands closed together with a might clap. Power surged through him, ripping, tearing, crushing power, that shook worlds and sunk nations. He harnessed that force, directed it, utilizing all that he’d learned thus far to manipulate his energy to act and behave as he desired. Chakra seeped into the earth beneath his feet, wading into the mud surrounding him. Like a swamp monster rising from its watery grave, the bubble of mud grew from the sea of it at his feet, closing over his head to encase him in thick mud. Before he could even begin to wonder, the mud beneath his feet grew as hard as rock, allowing his way of escape.


He tested the muds thickness, punching it with force only a Muay Thai practitioner could replicate. Finding no fault in the shield, he utilized his affinity once more to seep down into the earth, freeing him of his self imposed confines.

[/blockquote]

[» Comatose]

+ 10

[The Heron]

Doton: Retsudo Tenshou (Earth: Splitting Earth Force)
Rank: "B" - 60 Points
Skill: NinJutsu
Effect: This technique is similar to that of Doton: Rikujou Douyou no jutsu (Earth: Ground Shaking Technique) but the major difference is that the user takes the time to turn up the very ground creating a major like shock wave towards those all around. The technique allows the user to collapse landscapes within a certain distance which allows them to crack and turn up the very ground.
Special: "Handseals"
Drawback: When first learned the user is only capable of using this technique within a radius of how well they know the Doton Soushi no Jutsu (Rock Creation Technique). This means that the better the user knows Doton Soushi no Jutsu (Rock Creation Technique) the better the distance this technique may be used. This however does not mean that this technique is unable to be used effetely however. Another drawback is that this technique when learned can only be done within a line, however if the user takes the time to learn the extra amount of techniques then the user is capable of using this technique within a radius. When the user is capable of reaching "A" Class the knowledge of placing their hands onto the very ground becomes obsolete, and the user is capable of performing the technique without having their hands along the ground.
Description: This causes a violent earth rift to be sent towards an opponent by slamming one’s open palms on the ground and sending chakra deep in. The earth rifting force can cause unstable grounds to completely collapse, and crack open the ground ahead and causes changes to the landscape as well as cause some severe damage. Best used along with other shinobis to cause a large-scale destructive force.
Limit: Needs the Earth Release. Will need to know Doton: Rikujou Douyou no jutsu (Earth: Ground Shaking Technique)

0/60

Hiromasa ventured deep into the great forests of Tsuki no Kuni, his sandaled feet crunching soundlessly against the broken dirt as he walked. He had no true destination in mind – I fact, he only sought to witness the majesty of his queens court, and perhaps strengthen his influence over her world-encompassing domain. Indeed, Gaia ruled all, and he alone sought to be the crowned prince of her massive empire. He was nearing the level of expertise were none would be able to match him, and his ingenuity certainly increased his superior standing. His hubris was great enough to cover the earth with a veil of thick ego, and yet he didn’t allow it to control him – confidence was one thing, but he knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that death wasn’t a specter he wanted to be become personally familiar with. As such, he enslaved his disdain, utilizing it to power the cogs that monitored his smoldering determination.

Eventually he found his chosen land – as he’d walked, the trees had thinned until they jutted up from the earth sparsely, spaced enough to send a summon rummaging through them. The grass grew more sparse as well, until only separate patches of it existed. The clearing he’d found oddly resembled the last area he’d torn asunder – unfortunately, he’d be doing the same to this land. Unlike the previous area, however, this patch of earth was unhindered by snow – in fact, no snow fell from the sky, despite the blaring white of its countenance. Thick white clouds blotted out the sun, but with everything being so bright, no true light was lost. The wind was just as crisp and biting, yet without the white snowdrift to wash over his face and sink into his skin, everything was that much more tolerable.

Almost absently the youths calloused, aciculate fingers fell to his pocket, closing gracefully around a cylindrical document ensnared within the depths of said pocket. He withdrew it reverently, eyes falling from the expanse of white that sought to blind him to said document, lilac hued gaze roving over its blank outside. The scroll was tied by a red bow – he pulled it loose with a flourish, dropping it to the earth negligently. The scroll fell open without the bow to hold it in place, revealing it’s contents for the world to see. Small dark characters lined the page, regaling a tall tale of tearing, crushing, ripping earth.

He smiled sinisterly before conjuring a seat, Deido Kame rising from the damp earth to supply its broad back as a cushion. He inspected the information upon the document with the same intensity that a lawyer reads over a contract, not letting even a single bit of information slip through the cracks of inconsistency

[/blockquote]

[The Heron]

??/60

The scroll revealed the second level of Retsudo Tenshou, regaling him with the sheer magnitude of its destructive force. The predecessor to the technique was vastly destructive as well, though its powers were limited to only causing havoc in a straight line. The range of the technique depended solely upon ones ability to create rock, and learning it depended upon ones knowledge of the fabled ground shaking technique. He was quite proficient in both, not that it mattered – he’d already progressed past the basic level of the technique. Now, he sought to learn the upgraded version – one that was restricted to radius only. Barring a greater outside influence, he would be able to collapse the earth for a grand radius of fifty meters – what mortal could claim such control over Gaia; such influence over the earth herself?

He reviewed the scroll for several seconds longer, not in a rush at all – the preliminary matches would start soon, but he wasn’t at all worried about them; what mere mortal could stand against a being with his strength? Hubris bled from his pores as he tucked the scroll back into his pocket, darkening his gaze until all he saw was the bleak black darkness of reality strewn over the thin crispy inside of life. He snapped the thin crisp as if it were a … thin crisp, allowing his vision to clear and his soul to sing of the moon’a and the june’a and the spring’a.

It was the sealing array that garnered his attention after he’d read over the description. There were originally eighteen of them, but with his expertise, he only needed twelve. It just so happened that there were twelve seals, and he knew there parings perfectly to craft an array that would utilize his chakra efficiently whilst maintaining swift sealing speed. He spent several moments in thought contemplating the array, building it in his head. Once he’d conjured up the right pattern, he closed his eyes as if in deep breath, slowing his breaths to a crawl, each exhale eliciting a small puff of air.

He slipped into a deep meditation within moments, focusing on harnessing his chakra to bring it to the forefront of his soul so that when his training truly began, there’d be no lag in his chakra pathways and every separate process would meld together and run smoothly. The cogs of the machine were but one component to the jutsu – in his case, the cogs were his chakra, and the Handseals the tools that guided the chakra. Combining the two would make for a perfect combination of death and destruction.

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[The Heron]

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His eyes snapped open as the path was laid out before him. Cognitive processes had left him with the acuity to slice through the issue and get right to the root. Slowly, with painstaking care, he shifted through the twelve known zodiac signs, creating each hand-symbol before moving on to the next in the strict historical chronological order. He’d have to break that order in the near future, but for now, he needed only align each seal with a different aspect of the jutsu and then put them together according to what he had in mind. Control, balance, power, efficiency, ferocity - he needed them all in his jutsu, and thus he needed to allocate each seal for each particular characteristic.

The monkey – saru - came first. His hands fell atop one another as if clapping, though the backs of his hands faced upward and downward, respectively. Flexible and vain, the monkey would provide the basis for the jutsu to grow, allowing his chakra to spread over the earth and possess it for his own uses, showcasing jealous vanity and flexibility.

Ox came next, providing that inherent stability to provide himself with a cherished ground amongst all the chaos. Without such a creature, his wrath would know no bounds and consume him as well. One hand fell atop the other creating a perpendicular angle – his middle fingers of the vertical appendage curled between the fingers of the horizontal, bringing the fabled ox into existence. Already, he could see the jutsu forming in his mind…

The dragon was third, providing the strength and power to rip into the earth and tear it asunder. Ancient, virulent, zealous, and violent, the Dragon embodied the true persona of the angry earth. He clasped his hands together in the standard embrace, extending his pinky fingers downward. The symbol simply exuded power.

The rooster followed, providing the meticulous, organized effort to maintain efficient use of chakra. The rooster ushered in a wave of self-assured organization, creating a great and necessary contrast to the crushing power of the dragon. His hands shifted, forming a makeshift tepee. The array for the rooster was simple in execution though complex in description – the ring and index fingers curled downward away from the tepee formation as if repelled by it.

The pig added more fortification, providing a sturdy base with which to pile more shit upon. Patient and honest, its metaphysical strength would provide further stability to combat the dragon as well as a firm building block for what was to come. His palms mashed together, hands angled towards the ground, each finger curled and pressed tightly against one another.

[The Heron]

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Tiger was instituted as the sixth seal, finding himself within the most important position of all. It was he who would usher in the last remnants of the zodiac – it was he who would link the two halves together, in conjunction with whatever creature succeeded him. Unpredictable, powerful, and aggressive, the Tiger had much in common with Dragon, and yet it provided a whole new level of fortification. It had the backbone to hold the fort together. His hands broke apart from the boar sign, clasping once more as if in prayer, forming a tepee. His ring and pinky fingers curled over one another, forming the fabled Tora seal.

The shrewd and cunning rat came next, using its seedy nature to forge a link between Tiger’s great strength and his own ingenuity. Together, the build a linking bridge to connect one half to the other. Forthright and tenacious, the fabled right carried the stuff needed to execute its job perfectly. He shifted his hands upward, grasping his index and middle fingers with his opposite palm, curling all his fingers downward.

The swift footed rabbit came next. Gracious, kind, and cautious, the rabbit provided just that extra umph to the technique, restricting the danger as well as providing a measure of aesthetics to the destruction by remaining calm and level headed whilst granting as much o f its essence as it could.

The slithering, sneaky snake was the ninth seal in the array – as shrewd as the rat, yet twice as vicious, the snake fortified the aggressive nature of the tiger and the dragon, lending more strength to the technique and maintaining the standards set. It started the last fourth of the seals, and whilst its positioning wasn’t quite as integral as the tigers, it’s purpose could not be served by any other seal, save perhaps a bastardization of the dragon seal.

The horse came after, strong and sturdy. As the animal embodiment of earth, it was perhaps the most important seal of the array. The seal would grant a second surge of earth natured chakra to pulse through the earth after the initial collapse and truly cause the earth to sink in on itself. It was strictly doton aligned, and it’s positioning in the array insured that the remaining seals would do the job expected of them.

The dog was second to last, ever the loyal follower. Just like the pig, it added more bulk to the foundation of the technique, allowing the other seals to shine, relegating itself to the backfield. It’s placement wasn’t as important as its predecessor, but nevertheless its task was important, and without it, there would be no success.

The ram was last. Righteous and moody, the havoc it reeked would be wholly intentional as its rigid belief and fiery temperament lent that final bit of power and direction to close out the array and ‘seal the deal’, so to speak, leaving no doubt as to what Hiromasa’s aim was.

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[The Heron]

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He’d finally decided upon the sealing array – now came the most important segment: the swift and efficient application of chakra. He’d already summoned his chakra to the surface – he could feel it bubbling beneath his skin, itching to burst outward into the world. Dark and heavy, jagged and rough, his chakra truly was the embodiment of Doton. The power it inspired was purely divine, and he alone was heralded as the commander of such enviable energy. It surged through his core, swimming around the depths of his soul as well as the surface, permeating his entire being. Reaching within, he sought to harness that energy and force it into the designs he’d created for it. As his hands clasped to begin the handseals, he inhaled deeply, strengthening his resolve – at his exhale, all anxiousness and tenseness left him, and his hands began to dance.

The speed of his twining fingers and slapping palms was quite a sight to see, especially considering that he never once looked down at his hands. It was if they were on autopilot, zooming to the rhythm of their own tune. His focus was so sharp it could split the earth, and it seemed his intent to do just that. I thin rivulet of sweat fell down his face – before it could even hit the ground his hands paused, and he’d inhaled once more, filling his diaphragm with much needed oxygen.

“Doton – Restudo Tensou!”

His voice was as hard and rough as the rock beneath his feet –as he spoke, the chakra he’d summoned forth responded to his call, traveling down the highways of his chakra system, its path directed not by his mental processes but by the road set by the handseals’ design. Power swarmed him, filling his nose and ears succulent aptitude and puissance. He breathed it out through both orifices, and just like that, the earth cried, breaking to pieces. It shifted as if in caught in a massive earthquake – even the trees beyond the clearing were caught in its effects, shaking to and fro as if mere twigs.

The earth began to crack originating from his feet, rumbling and breaking like glass. Even the sky shook, and his eyes rose to the heavens, the earth began to fall. It was as if he’d pulled the earth from under itself, leaving naught but a void of space and matter.

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