So how do you hold it {P}

[Ancestor Febrie]

2

?/50

The next day which was the first day of Chiaki’s training, proved to be a busy one. Tomo had taken the girl and showed her around the house, pointing out the most interesting areas. She was the only student there at this time – all the other ones had already finished the classes and had gone home. She would have the entire complex all to herself: the training fields, the students’ quarters, the library and the communal kitchen. Chiaki thought that this was a great arrangement as she could have a lot of peace and quiet, which was always a sought after thing when one was training.

On that first day, too, Chiaki began looking more closely at Battojutsu, which was the technique that Tomo had agreed to teach her during the next few weeks. It was an all or nothing attack, savage in its force, where missing the target could result in the nin becoming completely vulnerable. The idea was to stand completely still while waiting for the opponent to unleash an attack. When the foe was within close proximity, the nin would draw the sword from the sheath and attack with the same motion, basically continuing the drawing motion and turning it into a vicious slash. The power of the slash depended on the shinobi’s skill but it could be extremely destructive, breaking the opponent in half and severing limbs in the process.

The more skilled ninjas could also combine Battojutsu with Dragon Strike so that when the slashing attack occurred, the slash itself could become a Dragon Strike and inflict damage at a distance. Therefore, even though Battojutsu was initially designed as a technique to be used in hand-to-hand combat where the distance between the nin and her opponent was close, it could also be used with the opponent standing farther away. In this way, a defensive technique could be potentially turned into an unexpected attack. An opponent would not necessarily expect to be attacked with Dragon Strike at a distance when the shinobi was standing perfectly still with the blade sheathed.

That was the way Tomo had showed it to Chiaki. He stood perfectly motionless in the middle of the training field – and again a flustered Chiaki admired his strong chiselled features – eyeing a tall tree growing some distance away. Nothing signified the changing of his position when he went for his sword. This was the great advantage of Battojutsu: because it happened instantly, there was very little preceding it so even someone trained in Combat Perception could easily miss some of the miniscule things suggesting the ninja’s next move.

With lightning-like quickness, Tomo reached for his sword and unsheathed it with one fluid, fabulously rapid motion. It seemed as if his hand was glued to the handle of the blade and that they were one when they moved: that the katana was merely an extension of him and that they were one, moving ridiculously fast in a world that stood still. Having unsheathed the sword, Tomo continued the motion and followed it through, turning it into a slash. It was a strike of devastating power and the blade was infused with chakra. Chiaki, who followed the Sensei’s movements closely, caught the white glow around the blade’s edge and she knew she had guessed correctly. When the slash was done and Tomo again stood still, it seemed as if the air itself rippled and twisted around him as a shock of energy was unleashed forth.

A blade of chakra blasted forward, shaping itself into a cone that grew larger and larger as the distance between it and Tomo increased. By the time it reached the tree for which the young man was aiming, the chakra blade was a semi-circle of energy and it was so powerful that when it connected with the trunk of the ancient tree, the wood moaned and cracked as if in pain. A momentous boom echoed throughout the training ground and then the tree buckled, its branches swaying and shaking as if a giant had grasped it and lifted it off the ground. It then leaned back, it roots ripping free from the ground and then it fell down with another tremendous boom.

Chiaki shook her head with disbelief when she turned her head back to Tomo who stood perfectly still with no expression on his face. The katana was sheathed again and it looked as if the man had not moved at all throughout this entire time. Battojutsu had only taken a split moment and if Chiaki had not watched him the entire time, she would have missed it. It was a good thing she didn’t blink, she thought with a bitter smile. There was a hint of jealousy in her thoughts when she realized just how inferior her skill was to the talent she had just witnessed.

[Ancestor Febrie]

3

?/50

Tomo explained the technique to Chiaki in detail that day and he walked her through everything that he did when unleashed the combination of Battojutsu and Dragon Strike. Chiaki listened attentively, again grateful for the fact that she was the only student there and that she could ask all the questions she wanted and not worry about others interrupting her or asking something silly. Tomo was a good teacher and his explanations made a lot of sense, suddenly making the Battojutsu seem simple and easy to complete. Chiaki was experienced enough to know that this was not so, and that once she attempted the technique, she would fail again and again, and that with continuous practice she could ever hope at becoming as good as Tomo was.

Later that day Chiaki went to the library to pick out all the books and scrolls that she could find on Battojutsu. Armed with heavy tomes, she then went to her room where she found even more relevant scrolls hidden on her book shelves. She spent the rest of the evening pouring over the texts, exploring and researching the jutsu, and looking for answers to everything that she had forgotten to ask Tomo before.

Much of what was in the texts was similar to what Tomo had told her, it was just more detailed. Chiaki read everything that she could with great interest and one of the first things that she found to be true was also something that Tomo had said: Battojutsu was a powerful technique, but fundamentally it was very simple. It was made up of a series of simple yet powerful acts that combined to culminate in something momentous and potentially very destructive.

That night before she went to bed, Chiaki already started practicing her wrist movements because she realized quickly that the motion itself, before it was infused with chakra and made into a Dragon Strike, was nothing more than a quick unsheathing of the sword. It was all in the flick of the wrist, a lightning-fast movement that carried a lot of power. It had to be quick, smooth and strong, decisive and powerful enough to carry forward the momentum of the unsheathing motion so that it could be turned into an attack.

There were simple wrist exercises that she had found in some of the texts which, she read, would help her with the speed of the draw. She had to learn how to relax them first so that they didn’t appear to be tense – this was a give-away to someone observant enough. Her wrists would have to be relaxed to perform this movement anyway. Wrists that were tense, ceased up, or even slightly locked, would slow her down.

Slow circular motions helped her to relax her wrists and to make them feel like they were her own again. Part of the problem with sword-handling was that one was eager to hold the weapon tightly as if that was the best protection against having it flicked out of grasp. A side-effect of this death-grip on the hilt of the blade was that the wrists and hands could easily become stiff over a long period of time and they couldn't be used as effectively as before. One of the first things that a sword-master taught his students was to relax the hands, the wrists, and the fingers. The blade had to be an extension of the hand, not a foreign object that was to be gripped with all might in fear of someone taking it away.

Chiaki was still a student in the art of sword-handling and she had to often remind herself to relax her wrists when she wielded the katana. This was one of those times and it was that much more important now when it seemed that the success of the technique depended on her ability to loosen up her wrists. She spent the latter portion of the evening exercising her hands and wrists and by the time she went to sleep, Chiaki was confident that she had relaxed well enough to be able to impress Tomo on the following day.

Unfortunately for her, Tomo had other ideas for the training. Though he commended effort in the morning, he told her that he had his own ways of relaxing his wrists and that she should probably learn his techniques since he was sure that they worked. So, to Chiaki’s great dismay, she was forced to spend the first portion of the day shaking the stress out of her wrists yet again until Tomo was satisfied that she could handle the sword as easily as he.

Then came the actual practice of unsheathing the sword. Since this was the core of the technique Tomo had quickly told her that she would only stop training this move once he was satisfied that she simply could not do it faster, smoother or better.

[Ancestor Febrie]

4

?/50

The next several days Tomo was teaching Chiaki the art of drawing the blade which proved to be a lot more difficult than one would initially think. Chiaki could, of course, draw the blade out of the sheath quickly and efficiently, and she had done this thousands and thousands of times – and each time her opponents shivered with fear – but what Tomo was teaching her was different. Battojutsu was centred on fluid movement and on becoming one with the blade. So, in fact, the idea was not to unsheathe a resting weapon, but to attack – that was it. This attack would employ the weapon as well, but for all ends and purposes, the blade was an extension of her hand. The art of drawing the blade did not differentiate between the sword and the wielder: it was a technique based on the assumption that the two were in fact one.

The first step to achieving this oneness was to master the fluid motion of the wrist which, again, sounded a lot easier than it actually was. The wrist was a part of her body that controlled a lot of movement and it possessed many hidden talents to which thus far Chiaki was oblivious. She never paid too much attention to her wrist (or her hand and fingers, for that matter, or any other part of the body in specific) but Battojutsu forced her to examine this particular section of her body as it made the technique possible in the first place.

The trick, though, was to understand that the wrist was already a tool in itself and since she had used it since birth, it had internalized certain of her movements without her even knowing it. In other words, the wrist would act without her commanding it when she used her hands for whatever reason. These motions were internalized and now, Chiaki was told, she had to unlearn them. She had to begin being in control of her wrist once more. She had to understand how her wrist was working and how it acted, and then she had to begin controlling its actions. Once control was achieved she had to begin teaching it the new, fluid and complete way of drawing the sword.

Days went by and throughout those days if one was to venture into the unforgiving mountain ranges of the Fire Country and find the isolated school of Sensei Tomo, empty at this time of the year, one would find Chiaki standing by herself on an empty training field for much of everyday, sheathing and unsheathing her sword. It looked absurd at first, especially since her face was completely serious and it actually looked as if she was in a trance. Sheathe, unsheathe. Sheathe, unsheathe.

Tomo had examined each of her movements and he had pointed out her flaws. These were the once that Chiaki had focused on. Unsheathe, sheathe. Unsheathe, sheathe. With each one of the thousand times she did this, Chiaki was becoming faster, smoother, stronger, and smarter. She had deconstructed her wrist and the way it acted and she had restructured its movements around Battojutsu. She learned to pay special attention to the fluidity and efficiency of her movements, and to learn the economy of motion that governed the act of drawing the sword.

Once Tomo was satisfied with her skill at drawing the blade, he instructed her on how to follow through on the motion and to turn it into a slash. This was more difficult than it seemed as well because what he was trying to teach her was essentially two separate motions fused into one. Her body was accustomed to other things, it remembered other motions and it had internalized other ways of accomplishing things through years and years of life. Now Chiaki was told to unlearn everything she knew in terms of drawing the blade and slashing, and to learn it holistically, taking into account now just the two motions, but her balance, the position she was in, and the way her weight was shifting during the motion.

Battojutsu began with her right foot placed in front of her left and the sheathed sword pressed hard against the curve of the sheath. Her hands were relaxed and motionless and to the eye of an observer, she was not doing anything whatsoever. Even someone trained in Combat Perception would have a very difficult time deciphering her next move because she was at this point controlling even the most miniscule movements of her muscles.

Her eyes were fixed on the opponent and she was not taking them off him for a moment even. Chakra was building up inside her, circulating in great amounts throughout her circulatory network, threatening to destabilize her body to the point of an implosion. It took a lot of skill and control to make sure that the energy surging through her would not harm her and that it would be used for the purpose intended.

[Ancestor Febrie]

5

?/50

With the art of drawing the blade behind her and now learning how to turn the secondary motion of slashing into one singular movement, Chiaki was happy with her progress and she was beginning to focus more on understanding how to infuse the blade with chakra so that she could immediately combine the Dragon Strike with Battojutsu. She spent much time practicing Dragon Strike again, and she revisited all the old techniques that she remembered from the past that helped her summon chakra and control it properly during a jutsu. These exercises she was completing on her own, in the evening, while finishing the texts and books that Tomo had supplied her with. Every waking hour of her day she spent on practicing and perfecting her movements.

While training with Tomo during the day, Chiaki was focusing primarily on her balance now, her posture and all the little minute details that she needed to be aware of in order to draw her blade and turn that motion into a slash at the same time. Tomo was a patient instructor and he was showing her different little tricks that he had picked up over the years that had helped him along the way. The girl found it particularly difficult to control the movement of her wrists because she had long ago learned to handle the sword differently and now she had to re-teach herself this very basic motion. But with time and continuous practice, Chiaki was growing more confident in her movements.

In fact, from an observer’s standpoint, Tomo could see her progress every day. Her movements have become much smoother and she could draw the sword within a blink of an eye with one fluid motion and then, keeping her body in check, she could follow through that motion to finish it with a deadly, precise slash. What Chiaki perceived as her shortcomings, Tomo saw as simple details of the jutsu that would be sorted out if she continued to practice. Already he could tell that she would be a fantastic sword handler and that she had a natural knack for working with the blade. The sword, in her case, really was an extension of her arm and Chiaki didn't need to put too much effort into practicing that fundamental aspect of swordsmanship. Things came easy to her and she could easily apply Tomo’s instructions and incorporate them into her training.

There came a day, to Chiaki’s great surprise, when Tomo had suddenly told her that her training was pretty much over and that from his standpoint, he didn’t see what else he could teach her. She had been practicing for weeks now, every day, every waking hour, and she had become more than proficient at Battojutsu – without even knowing it. Thousands of times a day Chiaki went through the same motions and then she had focused on the little details in the areas where she thought she was still lacking. By doing this day in and day out, she had perfected the art of drawing the blade and she could now stand amidst the elite of sword masters.

Chiaki listened to the smiling Tomo with a slightly bewildered expression on her face because she had thus far been almost oblivious to her own extraordinary progress. But when Tomo asked her to demonstrate the Battojutsu to him, she didn't hesitate at all and she performed the technique quickly and efficiently. And for the first time since beginning the training, she didn’t focus on anything that she perceived as a shortcoming, but she simply allowed her body to go through the motions. To her great surprise she found her body perfectly balanced, her weight appropriately shifted, her waist and hips frozen in space, her wrist and arms movement viper-like quick, smooth and fluid.

The attack that ended the drawing of the blade was devastating and without even thinking about it, she had taken the split second to infuse the katana with chakra and while slashing, she managed to blast forward a blade of energy. She had aimed it at a rock at the opposite end of the training field and she watched it crack and split into two a moment after she had completed her turn. The sword was still in her hand, blade pointing to the ground after she had finished the motion and continued through with the slash.

Tomo looked at her approvingly and then invited her into his house for tea. He suggested that she stay a while longer because there was a snow storm coming and it would be suicide to venture through the mountains now. When the blizzard subsided and the snow settled down, he would lead her back to the main road. And, Tomo added, she was welcome to return to his school anytime she wished, whether to learn and to study, to teach, or simply to visit.

[~Emi~]

+50

50|50 Learned~

[Ancestor Febrie]

Gosei Ryuu: Battōjutsu Hogosha Kai (Art of Sword-drawing, Juggernaut Cut)
Rank: "A" + "C" Rank Variation
Skill: TaiJutsu
Effect: User unsheathes the sword with blinding speed to cut through far away enemies with a unique wave of energy.
Special: ---
Drawback: Only able to do this once per movement.
Description: The user performs a variation of the Gosei Ryuu: Battōjutsu (Art of Drawing the Blade) technique where the user flicks the sword slightly, turning the sword with the sheathe as the sword is drawn. This is a Gosei Ryuu: Ryusen (Dragon Strike) variation that follows the same capabilities with distance and power. The energy of the wave is funneled through the sheathe and it expands outwards before exploding with waves of cutting force in a large sphere of 5 meters cutting those within the range of the sphere.

0/80

{Flashback}

Chiaki took the last few steps and she entered the small plateau that housed Sensei Hina’s school. The small, inconspicuous building was erected at the back of a large plateau that opened up half-way up a steep mountain. The girl wasn't expecting the sight to open up in front of her so suddenly. She had been travelling for several days now and she was tired, and that last push up the mountain’s summit was very tiring. She didn't expect it to end so soon amidst the lush trees and bushes that covered the plateau, but she was not complaining.

Her backpack swung over her shoulder, Chiaki approached the school’s entrance with a measured step and she knocked on the large double doors that led into the building. Her knock was answered almost right away by a young woman in whom Chiaki recognized Hina by the flowing black hair that she tied in long ponytail that reached the belt she had tied around her waist. Chiaki had seen Hina in battle one time and she was fascinated by how the young woman moved: her long hair seemed to live their own life as they swirled around her in a fury of motion, following her every move.

“I have been waiting for you,” Hina smiled. “The message came earlier this week that you will be attending my class. You seek enlightenment?” “I seek to learn the Battojutsu Hogosha Kai,” Chiaki replied. “Ah, a powerful technique,” Hina said and motioned for Chiaki to enter the building. “The students’ quarters are on the left. You will find everything you need there. There is no one here at this time of the year. Most of my students have gone home for a few days. The time has come to bless the crops and many wish to be with their families.”

Chiaki guessed the hidden question and met Hina’s inquisitive gaze. “My family understands my commitment to the shinobi culture,” she said. “I chose to come here now because I thought I would learn more from you if there were no other students here.” “Then you wish to leave before they come back?” Hina asked. “The jutsu you seek to learn might take more time than that.” “I am skilled at the Art of Drawing the Blade and Dragon Strike,” Chiaki said. “I have done them many times so I suspect that this technique will not take long.”

Hina threw her a long gaze, but said nothing. She only smiled and allowed the girl to walk to her room. Within an hour’s time Chiaki was changed and ready to begin the training. She had taken a bath and she felt completely refreshed, as if she had not just walked seven days through mud and dirt to get here. Hina looked at her with a new respect when she saw the girl appear in the doorway. “You are eager to learn,” she smiled. “Time is a luxury that few can afford,“ Chiaki replied quietly. “Death is always eager to strike us down and sever the thread of life. I wish to learn as much as I can before this happens so that I can bring the goodness into the world and carry the Light to others.”

“A lofty ambition,” Hina said after a long pause during which she studied Chiaki’s face. She didn’t find any false modesty in it and she knew the girl’s words to be sincere. They entered the courtyard which served as a training field as well and was located in the middle of the school’s complex. The building was much bigger than it looked from the outside. It was in fact several buildings that formed a rectangle around an open space where the girls were now standing.

Hina asked Chiaki to demonstrate the Art of Drawing the Blade, the knowledge of which was a necessity if one was to learn the Juggernaut Cut. This was a devastating technique which combined speed, power and precision, and which could flatten buildings if properly used. It was a close-combat technique that has been applied to a long-distance scenario. Long ago the shinobi sword masters have realized that for someone who wields a sword, the biggest disadvantage is the need to be close to his opponent in order to deal a deadly strike. That was when ninjas began to realize their potential and began to figure out techniques that would allow sword wielders to attack from a safe distance. In other words, they began reshaping the art of war by broadening the scope of a sword master’s attack and by allowing him to acquire additional skills, previously unknown to the world.

Chiaki was still learning many of the techniques that sword masters have passed down to each other through generations and though she was skeptical at first about the value of a weapon that could not be thrown or used in a long-distance attack, she was now beginning to understand that she had misjudged the sword in the beginning, and that it was, in fact, a formidable and dangerous weapon if used properly and skillfully.

[Ancestor Febrie]

2

?/80

Hina was one of the most formidable champions of the sword in the world and though she was young, she commanded great respect both of her peers and her enemies. Her skill was known throughout the world as was her speed. She was the delicate assassin that could climb the walls with the speed of a spider and launch an uncompromising attack against a much larger and stronger enemy. Chiaki had admired Hina for a long period of time because of her audacity and her bravery, and she was tremendously happy to have met her and to be able to study with her. They were alike, the two of them.

Both were young and good-looking, both were skilled and driven, passionate about their life style and the culture of shinobi, and both of them were hot-tempered. The difference between them was that Hina had long ago realized that her calling was the blade and she had devoted her life to mastering it, while Chiaki continued to strive for a more holistic training. She wanted to know everything and to learn everything – and she was open to learn from anybody.

They were young girls and they got along nicely, so the evenings were filled with laughter as they shared sake and exchanged stories and anecdotes from their life. Hina proved to be a great companion and Chiaki was happy to spend time with her. Darkness came quickly this high in the mountains and they would interrupt their training, go to the library where the blazing fire was already lit by the housekeepers, and here they would spend the evenings.

This training was much different from the others in that Chiaki had hardly ever before befriended her Sensei. Most of the time her evenings were spent amidst books and crumbling parchments that the masters had dug up from their personal libraries for her to study from. Hina was nothing like her previous teachers: she was fun and when the night fell and training was over, she did not want to have anything else to do with it. This suited Chiaki just fine. She was a devoted student when she had to be, but she was young too and she enjoyed having good company and a good time.

But during the day Hina proved to be a demanding teacher and as much as Chiaki enjoyed spending the evenings with her, she quickly found out that the fun did not spill into the day and that her training would not be compromised in any way. Hina was strict and demanding, and she expected the most out of her students. Despite her young age and her willingness to engage in frivolous behavior, she was still a Sensei, a respected teacher, and for good reason. She got results from her students because when they were on the training field, Hina accepted no excuses and she expected her students to give her their all.

So after the first night when Chiaki and Hina shared a bottle of sake and talked about everything – from gossiping about the village boys to the more serious topics concerning the shinobi culture and the various jutsu that they were familiar with – Chiaki was slightly surprised to be greeted in the morning by a stern and scowling Hina, who impatiently waited for her to arrive on the training field. “We begin training at sunrise,” Hina said strictly. “Regardless of what happens the night before, I expect you to be here when the sun rises. When we train, we train hard and we don’t stop until the night falls. Rain or shine, we will be here going through the motions and ensuring that you are prepared for battle when it comes.”

Chiaki was a bit taken aback by Hina’s strict voice but she took it in stride because she was accustomed to the many different ways of training that various teachers followed. She shrugged her shoulders and proceeded to show Hina what she knew about the Art of Drawing the Blade and Dragon Strike. She could perform these techniques with relative ease because she possessed good chakra control and a knack for picking up new jutsu. She had only learnt these recently but through diligent work and practice, she could perform them expertly and Hina was pleasantly surprised.

It looked to her that her new student would not have too much trouble acquiring the knowledge to perform the Juggernaut Cut because she had a solid foundation that was generally needed for this particular technique. It looked like she had good teachers in the past so really, Hina thought, half of her work was already done. She would have to basically show Chiaki the technique and give her a few pointers, but the majority of the work the girl could do by herself.

This was good news and while Chiaki spent the day training her posture and the Art of Drawing the Blade, Hina spend it outlining the training program for her new student.

[Ancestor Febrie]

3

?/80

Hina began seriously working with Chiaki on the third day of the young girl’s training session at her school. Up until then she was watching her progress and assessing the skills of her new student, all of which seemed satisfactory. Chiaki performed many techniques for Hina, with a special focus on those relating to sword mastery, and throughout these demonstration the Sensei was under the impression that Chiaki was making things look very easy.

On the third day, though, she decided that it was time to finally begin looking in more detail at the Juggernaut Cut. It was a variation of the Gosei Ryuu Battojutsu combined with a variation of the Dragon Strike, each of which Chiaki was able to do quite well. The difference with the Cut was the way that the chakra was funneled through the sheath of the sword before exploding out of the sheath in the form of a chakra blade. With regular Dragon Strike the nin would have the sword in her hand prior to transferring the energy into it for a blast, but combining it with the Art of Drawing the Blade meant that the chakra had to be infused into the blade before the sword was drawn.

This was tricky because of the high level of chakra instability, especially when working with large amounts. Chakra by nature always looked for a way to escape and it took a great deal of skill and control to force the energy into acting in ways that the nin wished it to act. So when the chakra was bottled up, funneling through a closed sheath, even for that split second before the sword was drawn and the chakra exploded with a blast, it took a great deal of control to keep it from destabilizing and exploding uncontrollably. Much more focus had to be given to chakra than during the regular Dragon Strike.

Hina first demonstrated to Chiaki the effect of the Juggernaut Cut. Her performance was that of a virtuoso that was in her element and her young student was left in awe. The jutsu seemed easy, it was performed flawlessly and the Cut had cleared the bushes five meters in front of Hina in a spherical shape. The Sensei explained that the Cut had the power to cut down everything that stood within its way, much like the Dragon Strike. Waves of energy were blasted from the sword as it was drawn and as she turned the draw into a vicious slash.

Chiaki had a good handle of drawing the sword and she knew the mechanics of it because she had already spent much time learning and practicing the art. She was able to maintain proper body posture and to keep the balance so that she could stir into movement from a completely still position. Her body weight was distributed equally between her legs, and her knee was slightly bent and foot facing straight forward – the only two indications that she was about to spring into action. Her hips were turned slightly and her hands were resting calmly along her sides. Her right hand slowly gripped the handle of the sheathed katana and she waited. To an observer it appeared as if she was ready for battle and she held this threatening poise for some time before moving.

When she did move, she was like Hina, a viper in her element striking out with vicious speed that was matched only by the speed of light. Her hips were already turned so she only had to flick her wrist and follow through on the motion, her weight spread perfectly throughout her body and helping her maintain perfect balance. The follow through in the ordinary sword draw would be the end of the move, but the Art of Drawing the Blade combined the draw with a slash, so when she followed through, her katana picked up speed and - fueled by the power of her strong arms – the blade turned slightly to expose the edge toward the imaginary opponent.

The follow through was devastating in strength while being perfectly controlled. It was finesse and brute strength combined to provide a devilishly slick move that was very difficult to parry even by the most seasoned sword masters. One would have to be aware of Chiaki’s initial preparations – changes in body position and the spreading out of the weight – in order to be prepared for the savage slash. One without the skill of Combat Perception or the knowledge of the Art of Drawing the Blade would be as good as dead.

The skills employed in Gosei Ryuu Battojutsu had little to do with chakra control as they pivoted on the nin’s ability to wield a sword and maintain proper body posture and position. To combine it with Dragon Strike and to create a new variation of the two meant that Chiaki’s focus had to shift on chakra creation and control.

[Ancestor Febrie]

4

?/80

After a few days of demonstrations, the bush surrounding Hina’s school was scarred by many patches of empty space that marked the places where the young Sensei had performed the Juggernaut Cut. Chiaki took notes every time she witnessed it, especially since Hina was open about the technique and unlike many other teachers – some of whom often tried to coax the student into finding their own way of performing a particular jutsu – Hina had no problem simply explaining the step by step process the end of which was the successful performance of the jutsu. At the same time, though, she was sure to point out that although this was the way she was doing things it did not mean that it was the only way. Chiaki could seek her own path if she wished, but if she wanted to get the most out of her time with Hina, this was available to her as well.

Each time she demonstrated the Cut, Hina performed it slowly and each time she made sure that Chiaki understood every step of the process as it happened. If the girl had any questions, Hina encouraged them and she responded gladly. She would rather have a student asking questions and probing for solutions rather than one that took everything she was told to heart and one that would not stray from the chosen path. This was all new to Chiaki who was not really used to discussing techniques with her teachers. Most of the time, the jutsu that she was learning was set in stone and while the path to achieving it may have been left to the student – while the teacher simply examined the results – certain things had to happen during the performance and others did not.

Certain things were simply not open to debate because they have been written down by the shinobi of the past, studied, analyzed, discussed and deemed to be the best. This was particularly true of ancient techniques with a lot of history: many of them were not open to debate at all and were seen as having achieved the peak of excellence. The common thought was that they could simply not get any better and that the way they were taught was the best and the most efficient way of achieving the needed results.

Hina was younger than almost all of the Sensei that had ever worked with Chiaki and perhaps this was the reason why she was more open to debate which made things much more interesting. She was also easier to approach and she took critique in stride, unlike many of the older masters who resented being criticized by their younger counterparts or, worse yet, their students. The current situation and Hina’s easy going attitude made it easier for Chiaki to discuss the problems that she saw with the technique. It also made it easier for the girl to ask questions about the process and whether or not the jutsu had to be performed this particular way and if so, then why. In a way, then, Chiaki was criticizing Hina’s way of doing things but this was okay with the young Sensei: productive discussion was the best way to achieve results and to further progress.

One of the first things that Chiaki voiced her concerns over was the use of the scabbard during the Juggernaut Cut because she thought it was actually limiting. It was also adding to the instability of the chakra as it bubbled to the surface and infused the blade with supernatural strength. Chiaki thought it would be easier, safer and more productive to transfer the energy to the blade once the sword was out of the sheath, although this did limit the amount of time available to do the deed.

Hina listened attentively and with a sly smile, obviously having heard these arguments before. She nodded along the way, happy that the young girl was this passionate about her studies and the fact that she was smart enough to present her arguments in a logical and intelligent way. Then she countered calmly, explaining to Chiaki that the amount of time needed to transfer the energy was short enough as it was and limiting it further would severely damage the results of the jutsu.

She also stated that the whole point was to integrate the Art of Drawing the Blade with the Dragon Strike and if the energy would not be transferred until after the sword was drawn, then that defeated the purpose of the attack. There would be too many variables at play and too many things that could go wrong along the way, she stated. And the scabbard, though in fact limiting and contributing to the instability of chakra, was a tool used to funnel the energy so that when it blasted forth, it had the proper strength and shape necessary to successfully complete the Juggernaut Cut.

[Ancestor Febrie]

5

?/80

After Hina’s explanations Chiaki found it easier to prepare for the training sessions every day and to tackle each step of the process as it was being taught. The reason behind this was simple: it was difficult to learn things when one was not sure about what she was learning. To have her questions answered and her doubts clarified, meant that Chiaki could commit fully to the training even if she did not fully agree with the explanations given. At least she was given the time to voice her concerns and to ask the questions, as opposed to the many other times when she was simply told what to do and not to ask questions because it was not her place.

Chiaki began looking at her scabbard in a different way altogether. It was no longer simply a sheath that housed her weapon but a tool in itself that she could use in battle. She had used it before in hand-to-hand combat, of course. It was convenient sometimes not to draw the sword but to work with it when it was still sheathed, especially if she was simply trying to teach someone a lesson without inflicting too much damage. A playful slap on the back or even a hard knock on the head sometimes was enough to put a drunk in his place or a young pocket picker who tried to sneak by her and snatch her coin sack.

So she had used it before but even then she never thought of it as a weapon or a tool. The weapon was the blade and it was sheathed so it formed a whole along with the scabbard. But Hina was asking Chiaki to separate the sheath from the blade and to think of it as a tool for funneling chakra so that it could become part of the first step of the Juggernaut Cut: it was a tool to form, shape and to most importantly, to control chakra before it was released into the world in the form of a chakra-blade, a Dragon Strike that could level buildings.

Chiaki took the time to examine her scabbard now and it was only now that she realized how old and used it was. It had served her well during her travels and her adventures, and she felt a sting of sadness now that she thought she had never before paid any heed to it whatsoever. And there it was, doing its job day in and day out, every day regardless of anything else going on. Far from being sentimental and from attributing the sheath any human characteristics, Chiaki nevertheless had begun now to appreciate the scabbard for what it was: housing for her dangerous weapon and a tool without which she would be in trouble. It was crafted long ago by the ancient shinobi craftsmen in a land far away and it was purchased by her grandfather during his journeys back in the day. Then it passed through the generations and it was given to her by her father on the first day of her classes in the Academy.

From then on she had never really looked at it more than once because as long as it did its job, what was the point of looking at it? It was a simple leather sheath and it was decorated only by a few sewn in black and white strands that took the shape of the yin and they yang. She knew now, looking at it that she had never really understood the symbol. It now occurred to her that the scabbard was to the sword as the yin to the yang. And the sword was to her as the yin to the yang. They completed each other and they could not be a full entity without each other.

Hina had been preparing Chiaki for this major philosophical shift for several days because she wanted her young student to understand the source of the Juggernaut Cut. It ran deeper than simple mechanics and chakra control: it was a part of a universe that was the shinobi culture and tradition and only in this context it should be understood and, more importantly, taught.

Once this was clear to Chiaki, she thanked Hina for the insight because thus far she had been so busy learning techniques and acquiring sword mastery that she had never really stopped to think about the bigger picture outside of the simple movements of her hands and the transfer of chakra form her inner sources to the blade. She knew deep inside that she was indeed a part of something bigger than herself, but it somehow eluded her in the everyday activities. Everyday consisted of the same routines, the same exercises, the same training, and of pushing herself to the limit to achieve the best results and to please her parents, her masters, and to impress her colleagues. But there was more to all of this than simply wielding the sword.

[Ancestor Febrie]

6

?/80

Several days went by with Chiaki training various aspects of the Battojutsu Hogosha Kai. She focused mostly on her posture and the drawing of the sword which had to be quick and accurate. Her transition motions needed some improvements – this is what Hina had told her and Chiaki did not want to discuss the matter with the Sensei although she felt that her transitions were seamless – and the slash needed to be stronger. Part of the problem with the Art of Drawing the Blade and with Dragon Strike was that they were both limited by strength of the user. In other words, if the user was physically stronger then the jutsu would be more powerful and it would carry a more devastating effect on the opponent.

Chiaki was diminutive girl and although she was trained, acrobatic and her muscles were as tough as steel, she still could not match some of her opponents especially if they were stronger, more robust males. This was a problem that she had faced many times before and she was frustrated by it. It forced her to work twice as hard as other students because she had to be sure that she could find a way to overcome her foes, no matter how strong they were.

Hina, being a young girl herself, faced similar problems on the battlefield, but she had overcome them early enough by introducing more skill, finesse and quickness into her fighting. This is what she told Chiaki as well once she saw that the girl was frustrated by her incessant demand to train harder. Hina told her what Chiaki had heard many times before from others and what she knew herself: she had to work harder to match others who were equipped with strength that she did not possess. She had to find the surest footing in battle, she had to watch her grip on the sword, she had to find advantageous positions on the battlefield, and she had to think quickly and act even quicker.

“It is not easy,” Hina remarked after one particularly difficult training session when they rested in the library, sipping warm sake and recalling the events of the day. “You and I both have the same problem. But what you see as a drawback I had learned long ago to view as an advantage.” “How so?” Chiaki’s ears perked up. “Think of it this way: if you see your smaller stature as a handicap, how do you think your opponent sees it?” “The same,” Chiaki replied. “Exactly. So when you face a larger, stronger foe, he will look at you with pity and dismiss you as someone unworthy of his time and talent. He will not take you seriously. And that will be his mistake. You can use your skill, your quickness and your better judgment to outweigh him in all the other areas of the fight.

Physical, brute strength is not what wins wars or hand-to-hand combats. Brutes go only so far because they intimidate people with their strength and their ferociousness. A smart fighter, a trained shinobi, knows that everyone, no matter how big and strong, has weaknesses. Your training allows you to find those weaknesses quickly and to exploit them before your foe will begin to treat you as a serious threat. Do you understand?” “I think so,” Chiaki said. “But that still doesn’t mean that my Dragon Strike will be any stronger than someone else’s.” “You’re right, it doesn’t,” Hina replied. “It will always be weaker as long as you are the weaker of the two. So what can you do about that?”

Chiaki thought about it for a moment, swirling the sake in the cup that she was holding. “Judge the battle as I fight it,” she finally replied. “Use the Dragon Strike when the opponent is at his most vulnerable. It is not a contest of strength.” “Exactly. So what if his Dragon Strike is stronger if it can’t reach you? Pick the battle site and if you can’t, if you’re ambushed, move into a better position during the battle. Be aware of your surroundings and escape his strength. And when he comes at you blindly, encouraged by your evasive techniques, he will lose focus of his own defenses and create an opening that you can exploit.

Then use the Dragon Strike.” “Catch him by surprise. Use the Art of Drawing the Blade along with Dragon Strike. Use Battojutsu Hogosha Kai. He won’t be expecting that.” “There is a lot he won’t be expecting because of your smaller stature and your youth. He will underestimate your strength and your abilities. Don’t try to match him in the areas where you know he will have an upper hand. Find your strengths and use them to your advantage.” “Is this how you fight?” “I am still alive, aren’t I?” Hina laughed. “And I have faced many-a-foe, many of them much stronger than I.”

[Ancestor Febrie]

7

?/80

Chiaki renewed her training the next day reinvigorated by the talk she had the night before with Hina. She was able now to appreciate more all the work that she had been doing because now she knew that it yielded results. Hina, after all, was in a similar situation to her and yet she was one of the leading masters of the sword and her exploits on the battle field were already the stuff of legends. If the young Sensei could take what was seemingly a drawback and turn it into an advantage in combat, then so could Chiaki. One thing about Chiaki was always true: she was hot-tempered, yes, but when challenged, she always rose to the occasion.

She had been getting increasingly frustrated over the last several months because she was beginning to believe what everyone else had been telling her: that she was too weak and too small to amount to much more than anything average in the field of sword wielding. She now knew this to be completely untrue and, if Hina’s example was anything to go by, Chiaki had a chance at becoming a formidable opponent in the near future. The trick was to work more, train harder and to test herself all the time.

Hina watched Chiaki with growing interest as the girl trained, perfecting the Art of Drawing the Blade and the Dragon Strike in the build up to joining the two and bringing them together in Battojutsu Hogosha Kai. Chiaki seemed tough when she first arrived at Hina’s school and the young Sense immediately sensed that there was more to this girl than met the eye. She was indeed a lot like Hina and in more ways than one. She was just as tough and just as resilient, just as hot-tempered and eager to accept challenges. And stubborn, too – a virtue in certain situations and a curse in others. Chiaki seemed to find the right balance in it, though, and Hina was more than convinced that the young girl would play an important role in the future of the shinobi culture and tradition.

The day after their talk, Hina approached Chiaki reminding her that her other students will soon begin arriving back for the sessions and that if she was to complete the training before that, she should now begin to start combining the Art of Drawing the Blade with Dragon Strike. The preparation was all done, the foundation was laid down and there was nothing else to be done except to perform the two in unison. She had seen it done by Hina many times and she knew the secret to it. The quick and efficient transfer of chakra was what made it all possible.

Chiaki was left alone on the field to practice the transfer. She could draw the sword with viper-like quickness and turn it into a deadly slash in the next moment. She could infuse the blade with enough chakra to blast forth a blade of energy that strong enough to level buildings. But that usually took her some time since the transfer of energy was time-consuming. Chiaki could even achieve a continuous transfer and regeneration of the chakra level in her body by tapping into all of her energy sources and coordinating them into summoning chakra in sequence. But that didn’t solve the problem of quick transfer of energy. She could draw her sword in one second: could she transfer enough energy into the blade before the blade was out and the draw became a slash?

Chiaki tried several times but each time she found her sword to be out and slashing the invisible opponent long before it was infused with enough chakra to provide a sufficient amount of energy for a Dragon Strike. She frowned after the fifth attempt, realizing that she had met a dead end. There was not enough time to transfer enough energy for a Dragon Strike.

Chiaki sheathed her sword and walked around the field thinking about what Hina had said about sheath being a tool, not just housing for her blade. Hina had explained the process step-by-step and Chiaki was now recalling everything the young Sensei had said. She felt foolish for not having remembered the most important thing: how to achieve the quick transfer? She knew she should have remembered this and she decided against calling on Hina for help. The girl would help her with the problem, but would she not think any less of her as a shinobi? Chiaki really should figure this out on her own – after all, she had enough training behind her and many techniques to draw on.

It was a gorgeous day and Chiaki decided to go for a walk to clear her head. She had spent so much time on the training field, locked within the four walls of Hina’s school, that she had completely forgotten about the beautiful scenery amidst which the buildings were located. She was getting nowhere, and Chiaki hoped a refreshing walk would help her with the bind she was in now.

[Ancestor Febrie]

8

?/80

The walk had helped a little bit because it allowed Chiaki to see a glimpse of a world that she was not accustomed to and therefore to stop thinking so hard about the jutsu. Instead, she could focus on the beauty of the world around her: the jagged edges of snow capped mountain peaks that jutted into the sky all around her, the jungle covered green slopes of the inaccessible mountains where only mountain goats ventured, the lush bush of the surrounding area that was full of exquisite birds of paradise whose odd antics have caused her to crack a smile on more than one occasion.

Chiaki enjoyed the walk and when she returned, she felt refreshed and rested as if she had just got up from a good night sleep. And, just as she predicted, she realized something on the walk and it was a small hummingbird’s behavior that gave her a new perspective on the problem at hand. The tiny bird reached with his long beak into a tall flower to drink the nectar and then it moved to another one when one was empty. The girl watched him for a little bit and smiled when she failed again and again in her attempts to count the amount of times that the small bird flapped his wings when he drank.

The image of the flowers that were full of nectar that was then emptied by the hummingbird’s hungry beak stuck with Chiaki and when she returned she thought more about it though she did not exactly know why. Then her eyes rested on the her sheathed katana lying carelessly where she tossed it after the training. She looked closer at the scabbard that housed the sword and then, a thought occurred to her. Chiaki smiled and picked up the weapon to examine it more carefully. She drew the sword out of the sheath and scrutinized the scabbard which, as she had noted previously, was pretty banged up and torn in a few places, having been used over the years and never really taken care of.

Chiaki realized now what Hina meant when she said that the scabbard was a tool much in the same way that the sword was: they only had a different function. The sheath held the sword in place but when the katana was out and the scabbard empty, its purpose was gone for the moment. It stood empty. EMPTY. It was full when the sword was in it, but it was empty when the sword was gone. As Chiaki drew the katana out during the jutsu, the scabbard emptied out of its contents.

Well, who was to say that the scabbard’s only contents could be the sword? That was its primary function, true, but as any good tool, it should be multifunctional and it should aid in a variety of situations. So what if she was to fill the scabbard with chakra and then as the blade was drawn, the chakra would already be inside the sheath and as the katana exploded into a slash, the energy would go forth in a blast akin to the Dragon Strike?

That was the answer, Chiaki thought. She had been trying to transfer the energy directly into the sword as she was drawing it, but there was not nearly enough time to do so while she completed the Art of Drawing the Sword. The energy she could transfer in that small amount of time was so minute that she could never pull of a true Dragon Strike along with the finishing slash. What if she used the scabbard to hold the energy – in other words, what if she transferred the chakra into the scabbard as opposed to infusing the sword directly? The energy would be housed in the scabbard in much larger quantities and she could develop a sustainable feed directly into the sheath from all of her six energy sources.

The flow would be uninterrupted, automatic, while she continued to work on the Art of Drawing the Blade. When she did withdraw the katana, the chakra would be funneled through the sheath and the blade would already be infused with enough energy to perform the Dragon Strike directly following the drawing of the sword. There was enough space in the scabbard to store enough energy to perform more than one Dragon Strike and, indeed, if she could sustain a direct link between the sheath and her energy sources, she would not ever have to worry about the transfer of chakra into the sword. The blade would always be infused with the proper amount of energy.

She tried it and it worked! She established a link to her scabbard and infused it with a continuous amount of energy. Then, when she drew the sword, the blade was already infused with the needed amount of chakra and she finished with the slash, the blast went forth and leveled the bushed and trees within a five meter radius.

It was just in time, too. That evening Hina’s students began arriving back in the school and although Chiaki wanted to stay longer, she didn’t want to impose on the young Sensei’s classes. They said their farewells; Chiaki thanked Hina for the lessons and then she set off back home.

[~Emi~]

+10 +10 +10 +10 +10 +10 +10 +10

80|80 Learned~

[Ancestor Febrie]

Gosei Ryuu: Battōjutsu Hogosha Kai - Kusari (Art of Sword-drawing, Juggernaut Cut - Chain)
Rank: "B"
Skill: TaiJutsu
Effect: A variation of Gosei Ryuu: Battōjutsu Hogosha Kai (Art of Sword-drawing, Juggernaut Cut) where the user is able to perform the Gosei Ryuu: Battōjutsu Hogosha Kai (Art of Sword-drawing, Juggernaut Cut) technique faster in a single movement.
Special: ---
Drawback: The amount of attacks the user is able to perform is dependent on how many movements they are able to perform.
Description: Another Variation of Gosei Ryuu: Battōjutsu Hogosha Kai (Art of Sword-drawing, Juggernaut Cut). This technique allows the user to perform Gosei Ryuu: Battōjutsu Hogosha Kai (Art of Sword-drawing, Juggernaut Cut) 3 times in a single movement. User is incapable of performing this technique with Gosei Ryuu: Battōjutsu Kohogosha Kai (Art of Sword-drawing, Great Juggernaut Cut) however.
Limit: Must Learn from a Master of Burēdono Kenseijin - ブレードの剣聖人 - Blade of the Sword Saint, Must know Gosei Ryuu: Battōjutsu Hogosha Kai (Art of Sword-drawing, Juggernaut Cut)

0/50

{Flashback}

Akane was a tall woman and at six feet, she towered over Chiaki who felt even more diminutive than she normally did. The young girl was of petite stature and though it hardly bothered her - especially since she more than made up for that shortcoming by her skill and finesse in combat - she felt herself small when she stood in front of the much older Sensei.

"So you are one of Hina's stock?"' Akane asked, her voice betraying both a hint of amusement as well as a bit of resentment. "Yes, she trained me in the Juggernaut Cut," Chiaki replied, immediately sensing that the two masters did not like each other. Hina had given her a little warning about Akane before Chiaki set out to find the Sensei, saying that she was from the old school of shinobi and that she liked doing things the traditional way, much different than from how Hina was doing it.
"Hina is a good master, but a weak Sensei," Akane shrugged her arms. "I'm sure you are well versed in the Juggernaut Cut, but you lack discipline."

Chiaki did not reply to that, choosing wisely to avoid any dispute that the two masters may have between each other. She was here to learn a variation of the Juggernaut Cut, the Kusari, where she would be able to perform it much faster. Hina was unable to teach this to her because of time constraints that the returning students placed on her, so she referred her to Akane, who was as good of a sword master as she was, although with a different approach to training and a different take on the philosophy of the shinobi culture.

Akane, in the meantime, turned and walked back inside. Chiaki followed her into the house and then into a large training hall setup within the walls of the building. The young girl liked this setup immediately because she could train here whether it was raining or snowing outside without getting cold, muddy and wet. Many Sensei preferred more primitive training conditions in an attempt to imitate real life situations, but Chiaki was comfortable. She could put up with the nasty weather and training in various environments but if given the choice she preferred to stay indoors.

Chiaki looked around with awe, taking in all the different trophies that Akane had posted on the wall of the training centre alongside of various weapons from the different countries of the world. It was obvious that the master was a very versatile fighter and that she had traveled extensively during her life. "Juggernaut Cut is not easy," Akane stated suddenly, tearing Chiaki away from her thought. "This you already know. But to do it faster," the Sensei gave a curt bow to her student and assumed the position that Chiaki immediately recognized thanks to Combat Perception, "... to do it faster and more than once in that shorter span of time, is even more difficult. It takes a true master to accomplish this."

As soon as she had finished the sentence, with the words still hanging in the air, Akane stirred and her body exploded into a flurry of movement that even Chiaki's trained eyes could not track well. She seemed to be doing several things at once, but because of the skill and the finesse that she possessed, all the movements seemed fluid. She seemed a great maestro orchestrating a furious song and dance that could be understood by only those possessing an intimate knowledge of the spectacle.

To Chiaki's eyes Akane's movements were furious and impossible to follow, but she understood enough of the Juggernaut Cut and Dragon Strike to know what was going on. It was just impossibly fast, so that when Akane's sword exploded forward into a vicious slash once, then twice and then a third time, biting the air with anger and blasting forth wave after wave of chakra. Chiaki had to back away in surprise. The strength of the blast was such that they shook the foundations of building when they connected, one after another, with the wall of the training centre.

And each shone with a brilliance of a thousand diamonds, much more so than anything Chiaki had seen before. Akane gave another curt bow when everything settled down, obviously pleased with the effect that her demonstration had on the young student. "Did you see Sensei Hina do something similar?" the older master asked, her voice full of sneer. "Or was she content to show you only an average strike?"

Chiaki recognized the tone of voice and she didn't like it one bit, so she quickly gathered up her wits and decided to defend her friend. "Her strikes may not have been as flamboyant, master," she replied politely. "But they were strong enough nevertheless. It's the substance I'm interested in, not the trivial pursuit of eclipsing someone else's accomplishments." The words were harsh and Akane bit her lips down, her face flushed with anger. Without a word she pointed toward the door. "Your quarters are over there," she said, her voice dripping venom. "Find your bed and settle down. Tomorrow we will begin the training at dawn."
Chiaki turned to walk away, a slight smile lingering on her face.

[Ancestor Febrie]

2

?/50

Although Akane was extremely impressed - despite her reluctance to admit it – with Chiaki’s ability and the talent that she possessed, the older woman lost none of her sting and she still treated the young girl with a great deal of hostility. Indeed, instead of diminishing with the passage of time, it was in fact getting worse. Chiaki wasn’t sure anymore how much of that hostility was the result of Akane’s anger directed at Hina, how much of it was related directly to herself, and how much of it was the result of Akane’s own bitter nature.

She knew now why the older master held such a bad reputation among other shinobi and why her classes were only half full. The truth was that the only students that approached her about learning a jutsu were those that Hina could not take on because of lack of time or space. Chiaki was sure that this did not sit well with Akane and was a source of more bitterness directed at people. She wondered what had happened in the Sensei’s past to have created such a vile and bitter creature out of someone who, by all accounts, was an amiable person in the beginning.

Chiaki didn’t worry too much about it because she knew that she would be gone within a few days. In fact, she had already promised herself that as soon as she had learn the Kusari, she would bid a cold farewell to Akane and travel back home where her parents were already waiting for her. Her travels had now taken her further away from home than before and for a longer period of time and Chiaki was eager to return as soon as possible.

For the time being , however, she was stuck in Akane’s half-empty school, forced by the older Sensei to practice over and over again the same things that she had already covered fully with Hina. Akane found everything about her technique wrong and she insisted that Chiaki practice her stance, her body balance and position, her sword handling, wrist motions, arm and shoulder movements, over and over, and only according to her instructions. Chiaki took all this in stride because she knew that at the end of it all she would leave Akane’s school and she would be free to practice the jutsu any way she wanted to. The key for her was to obtain the knowledge and the skill necessary to perform the jutsu.

She was greatly impressed with Akane’s skill level, though she did not dare to tell her this to further encourage the Sensei’s exuberance and showmanship with regards to this. Akane was greatly impressed with herself and she could not understand why students did not flock to her school to learn from her. She seemed completely oblivious to her vile nature and her rude character. Chiaki did not doubt her skill, especially after the demonstrations. Akane was quick on her feet, and especially with regard to the Juggernaut Cut, she was devilishly fast. Chiaki was fast, or so she thought, until she witnessed Akane perform the Cut three times in a row in the same amount of time that she needed to complete one strike.

She needed to know who the older woman did this.
Hina had hinted to her before that the speed needed to perform the Juggernaut Cut more than once in a single strike was inherently related to the speed of motion that the shinobi was able to achieve. In other words, the faster the nin was able to move, the faster she could perform the jutsu. This made sense, it was logical, but Chiaki suspected something else at play. Akane wasn’t as fast as she had expected her to be in any other area of her life. She moved about slowly and she seemed to stop a lot and ponder over things, as if she was slow-witted. Yet, when she unleashed the Dragon Strike during the drawing of the blade, she was deviously fast, her movements blurring into one.

Akane wasn’t eager to hand out her secrets easily, enjoying the amount of work that her students had to go through to be deemed worthy by her to be let into the secret of the Kusari. Chiaki spent days on end practicing her stances, positions, various attacks and defensive jutsu, and she practiced word handling from dawn until dusk. She had long ago swallowed her pride knowing that there would be no reward without suffering. What she decided instead was not to give Akane any of the satisfaction that she was looking for. Never would the master see Chiaki break down under the burden that was placed on her shoulders. No amount of hard work would break her down.
That was a promise Chiaki had made to herself and slowly, Akane realized that the girl fully intended to keep it.

[Ancestor Febrie]

3

?/50

Although Akane was extremely impressed - despite her reluctance to admit it – with Chiaki’s ability and the talent that she possessed, the older woman lost none of her sting and she still treated the young girl with a great deal of hostility. Indeed, instead of diminishing with the passage of time, it was in fact getting worse. Chiaki wasn’t sure anymore how much of that hostility was the result of Akane’s anger directed at Hina, how much of it was related directly to herself, and how much of it was the result of Akane’s own bitter nature.

She knew now why the older master held such a bad reputation among other shinobi and why her classes were only half full. The truth was that the only students that approached her about learning a jutsu were those that Hina could not take on because of lack of time or space. Chiaki was sure that this did not sit well with Akane and was a source of more bitterness directed at people. She wondered what had happened in the Sensei’s past to have created such a vile and bitter creature out of someone who, by all accounts, was an amiable person in the beginning.

Chiaki didn’t worry too much about it because she knew that she would be gone within a few days. In fact, she had already promised herself that as soon as she had learn the Kusari, she would bid a cold farewell to Akane and travel back home where her parents were already waiting for her. Her travels had now taken her further away from home than before and for a longer period of time and Chiaki was eager to return as soon as possible.

For the time being , however, she was stuck in Akane’s half-empty school, forced by the older Sensei to practice over and over again the same things that she had already covered fully with Hina. Akane found everything about her technique wrong and she insisted that Chiaki practice her stance, her body balance and position, her sword handling, wrist motions, arm and shoulder movements, over and over, and only according to her instructions. Chiaki took all this in stride because she knew that at the end of it all she would leave Akane’s school and she would be free to practice the jutsu any way she wanted to. The key for her was to obtain the knowledge and the skill necessary to perform the jutsu.

She was greatly impressed with Akane’s skill level, though she did not dare to tell her this to further encourage the Sensei’s exuberance and showmanship with regards to this. Akane was greatly impressed with herself and she could not understand why students did not flock to her school to learn from her. She seemed completely oblivious to her vile nature and her rude character. Chiaki did not doubt her skill, especially after the demonstrations. Akane was quick on her feet, and especially with regard to the Juggernaut Cut, she was devilishly fast. Chiaki was fast, or so she thought, until she witnessed Akane perform the Cut three times in a row in the same amount of time that she needed to complete one strike.

She needed to know who the older woman did this.
Hina had hinted to her before that the speed needed to perform the Juggernaut Cut more than once in a single strike was inherently related to the speed of motion that the shinobi was able to achieve. In other words, the faster the nin was able to move, the faster she could perform the jutsu. This made sense, it was logical, but Chiaki suspected something else at play. Akane wasn’t as fast as she had expected her to be in any other area of her life. She moved about slowly and she seemed to stop a lot and ponder over things, as if she was slow-witted. Yet, when she unleashed the Dragon Strike during the drawing of the blade, she was deviously fast, her movements blurring into one.

Akane wasn’t eager to hand out her secrets easily, enjoying the amount of work that her students had to go through to be deemed worthy by her to be let into the secret of the Kusari. Chiaki spent days on end practicing her stances, positions, various attacks and defensive jutsu, and she practiced word handling from dawn until dusk. She had long ago swallowed her pride knowing that there would be no reward without suffering. What she decided instead was not to give Akane any of the satisfaction that she was looking for.

Never would the master see Chiaki break down under the burden that was placed on her shoulders. No amount of hard work would break her down. That was a promise Chiaki had made to herself and slowly, Akane realized that the girl fully intended to keep it.

[Ancestor Febrie]

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After two weeks of piling work and various aspects training onto Chiaki, Akane was slowly running out of ideas of how she could possibly break down her stubborn students. The young girl, whom the bullish Sensei at first thought would quickly collapse under the amount of work she had in stores for her, turned out to be much stronger, confident, stubborn and resilient than she had expected her too. This further frustrated Akane, but in the end, there was only so much that she could do to infuriate her student. Even she recognized the ability that Chiaki possessed and she did not intend to ruin it in any way. She was genuinely impressed with the girl’s skill and it was only her bitter nature that did not allow her to embrace this girl’s talent and nurture it like all the other masters did.

Still, after two weeks of what she now perceived as pointless torment, Akane decided that it was time to move on to the actual skill and to pass it on to Chiaki who had by now proven herself worthy beyond any measure. All the training, all the exercises that Akane had her perform, she had done expertly and she had passed all the tests with flying colors. She was clearly gifted and her skill at sword handling, though still in the bud, seemed to come effortlessly. Chiaki was as graceful on the training field – or a battlefield – as a butterfly was any it danced in the air amidst flowers.

Akane was often caught mesmerized by the fluidity of her movements when she watched Chiaki practice, changing stances and body locations at will, effortlessly disarming opponents that she had placed before her, easily guessing their next move and countering it before it even came into existence. The sword, a formidable weapon in anyone’s hand, seemed to live a life of its own when it flashed in the rising or the setting sun as Chiaki performed hundreds of strikes and parried a hundred more strikes from invisible opponents. And at the same time, though it was an entity of its own, the sword seemed also an extension of the girl’s arm: they moved in unison and there was no effort in the motions. It seemed a perfect relationship, a symbiosis of flesh and metal that was unmatched by anything else in the natural world.

Chiaki’s control of chakra was also beyond the skill of many shinobi that claimed to be at her level. Again, it seemed that the young girl possessed a natural affinity with the energy that flowed through her body. It with ease that she could tap into her sources, all six of them, and Akane could only guess what would happen if Chiaki learned to access her seventh source – the final, the ultimate and the most powerful.

She tapped into them at will, changed their patterns, drew on them at various times for various periods of time, and each time she did so with ease as if it was something that she had learned along with breathing, something that was not a skill bought with sweat, blood and endless sacrifice, but something that she had possessed from the moment she opened her eyes. This was a gift that Chiaki had: to make things look easy, even the most difficult ones but contrary to those envious who thought her lucky, she was not born with any of it, but she had come to it by way of hard work and sacrifice.

All of these things that Akane was now witnessing, were the results of endless days and nights when she studied, buried up her ears in books, rising with the sun to practice what she had learned the day before, only to go to bed after she was sure that she had mastered it. While her peers were playing, dating, dancing, laughing and drinking, Chiaki was studying, always wanting to make her parents and her village proud of her.

Akane was intelligent enough to realize that Chiaki needed very little help from her and that if she was given the time and the guidance she would eventually realize the secret behind the Kusari. She did, however, feel an obligation as the girl’s Sensei to point her in the right direction and to save her a massive amount of work and, what seemed more important to Chiaki, a great deal of time.

There came a day, then, when Akane approached Chiaki who was again inside the training hall practicing Dragon Strike, perfecting her craft to the point where she could perform the technique nearly flawlessly and in any circumstance. She stood there for a second, keenly observing the girl’s fluid movements and then she raised her hand to halt the young woman in mid step. “All right,” she said. “It is time to learn Kusari.”

[Ancestor Febrie]

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Chiaki looked at Akane with a mixture of bewilderment and resentment. She didn’t like the Sensei from the moment she had laid eyes on her, but the last two weeks were very difficult for her because of the elder woman’s incessant demands for her to train harder, faster, to be stronger and quicker. Chiaki was running out of energy as she spent every waking minute training and exercising, and proving to both herself and the demanding Sensei that she was ready and that she was worthy of being taught the Kusari.

And now, all of a sudden, on a day just like any other when she had done nothing significant in terms of the training, Akane appears and tells her that she is ready? Chiaki realized in that instant that the past two weeks were folly and that the only reason the Sensei had her perform all of the techniques and exercises, was for her own amusement. “You are fast enough to do this,” Akane’s voice was surprisingly soft. It was as if the Sensei did not remember all the time that she had tormented Chiaki. “I have watched for days and you, and you are fast enough, strong enough and skilled enough to perform the Kusari.

You can do the Juggernaut Cut as fast as I can.” “How?” Chiaki demanded. “I have watched you do it over and over, and I tried myself, but I come nowhere close to the speed of your movements.” “It is all in the head, young one,” Akane seemed amused now. This was the moment that she enjoyed in reality, when she could indeed pass some knowledge to a young protégé. Chiaki was right about her and Akane knew that she was a bitter woman whose anger and resentment toward the world stemmed from her own inability to live with herself. Something terrible had happened in her past and though she never dwelt on it, it gnawed at her soul and it shaped her into the person she was today.

But deep inside she was still a teacher and the diffusion of knowledge was what she enjoyed the most. For all that Chiaki could do – and indeed, the young girl was much better at certain things than Akane could ever dream of being – the Kusari was an area where Akane excelled. “In my head?” Chiaki questioned. “Unlock the speed that lies dormant within your body,” Akane said. “Boost your muscles with a furious jolt of chakra, fall into the pattern of movements and they will carry you through the Juggernaut Cut faster than you can ever imagine. You are much faster than you think.”

Chiaki pondered over that comment for a bit longer and watched Akane walk away. The Sensei considered her role done. The young girl would need perhaps several hours now to realize her potential. Just a little nudge in the right direction, that was all that she needed. Her skill was great, if not terrible – Akane thought to herself as she watched the girl from behind a rain washed window.

Chiaki gathered the energy, tapping into all of her six sources and staggering their entry into the circulatory network so that while she was draining one source of the chakra, another was lingering, and when the next one was tapped, the first one was beginning to be replenished. She was always tapped into at least one source, thus making her supply of energy inexhaustible.

She transferred some chakra into her scabbard, enough for a Dragon Strike but not too much so that it would not destabilize and blow her apart. The rest of the energy she allowed to circulate through her, all the time sustaining it from at least one of her sources of chakra. Then Chiaki prepared by taking the correct stance: one foot forward, the other forming an “L”, her hips slightly twisted, hand resting on the hilt of the sword that was still sheathed. The scabbard bubbled with energy that was ready to explode: it almost radiated and Chiaki held it at that thresh point where she could still control it.

She breathed in one last time, steadying her racing heart, and then she released the chakra all over her body, allowing it to seep into every cell at the same time, boosting her speed with one quick jolt that had her head spinning. Then, her body tingling with the energy that was all in her, Chiaki exploded into motion, her arm shooting forward with viper-like speed, drawing the sword before she blinked her eyes.

The scabbard unleashed a great fountain of chakra that trailed the sword in a beautiful blue arc. Her strike was faster than the speed with which energy traveled and she could see the chakra was barely keeping with the sweep of her blade. The blast went forth and shot across the training hall until it hit the wall with a staggering thud, causing many of the blades hanging on the wall to fall down. Chiaki’s eyes opened. She was faster than the blink of her eye.

[~Emi~]

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