Water Clone
It was an unusually sunny day in the village of Kirigakure. The moisture in the air still hung heavy, but the clouds had parted letting in light for what felt like the first time in days. “What a perfect day to train,” thought Inazuma. As she stepped from the threshold of her apartment, she stretched, arms extended over her head. Softly exhaling she dropped her hands to her side, jumping up and down in place several times. As her feet hit the ground on the third bounce, she bounded forward, racing through down the street. The houses seemed to whiz by as she leapt forward, one foot in front of the other. Ina loved the sound her footsteps made as they slapped the cobblestones below. *Clap, clap, clap* It was like white noise to her… Drowning out the problems, and the constant thinking. It was relaxing every once and a while to have this reprieve. She continued to race down the street, narrowly dodging her fellow citizens as they traveled unsuspectingly along their way. As she came upon the end of the street, it broke into two different paths; one to the right leading to the heart of Kirigakure and the other to the left leading to the forest on the western outskirts of town. Concentrating a small amount of chakra onto the sole of her right foot, Inazuma kicked upwards from it as she came down from her latest bound. She felt the air whiz by her face and watched the ground grow further away as she outstretched her left leg, catching the roof of the small shop as she dropped. Pivoting fervently, she made a drastic left and continued to high-tail it to the forest which lay not 50 meters away.
Hoping rooftop to rooftop, Ina stared absentmindedly ahead, wondering how best to start her training for the day. “Perhaps a small race, followed by a quick tiff with one of my clones,” she thought. Soon thereafter she arrived at the edge of the village’s small forest. It was no more than 20 acres, but its vast expanse of trees and foliage would provide a great opportunity to practice evading enemy attacks within close quarters. Inazuma stopped at the foot of a large sycamore, its branches swaying in the gentle breeze, and closed her eyes. She quickly formed the Tiger seal and released as two figures began to emerge in a puddle five feet in front of her. *Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu* Opening her eyes she managed to see the water clones as they took their human form, shaping themselves into smirking copies of Ina herself. Inazuma smirked in return, the clones’ empty eyes staring through her. “Shall we begin?” she inquisited aloud.
With that she lurched forward, tearing through the puddle, between her two clones. Following in pursuit of their creator, the clones twisted in a 180 to chase after her. Tearing through the jungle Inazuma focused more of her chakra onto her feet. She splashed across a small river, her feet slapping the top of the water as she skimmed across its surface. Ina could her the clones approaching without needing to turn around, the smack of their feet echoing through the still forest. *Smack, smack, smack* Inazuma cleared the river, and firmly planted both her feet on the opposite shoreline. Using the chakra stored on their soles she launched from the ground. Flipping in mid-air, twisting in a 180 degree turn she was suspended upside down, facing her newly formed opponents. Hastily placing her right hand into her left sleeve, Ina quickly produced 2 standard kunai. Holding them between her index/middle and middle/ring fingers, she flicked her wrist forward, launching the sharpened pieces of iron at her foes. As the blades hurtled onwards Ina completed her flip squarely, slipping back slightly due to her great momentum. She let out a guff as her weight met the ground, her eyes intently focused on her targets. She heard a clang as the first clone quickly produced its own kunai from its left sleeve. The other was not so speedy or fortunate, taking a direct hit, squarely to the chest. The first continued to charge Inazuma, kunai still firmly gripped in its right hand, as its twin melted away into the forest floor. Ina felt a rush of warmth as the clone’s remaining chakra returned to her. It was a euphoric moment and as such, she closed her eyes momentarily to embrace it. Wearing her usual smirk as she re-opened them, her remaining foe mere feet away, Ina gave a strong kick off her left leg and continued to tear through the forest.
She was panting now, her jet black cloak much hotter under the unusual amount of sun, but she pressed onwards. Concentrating again onto her feet, Ina begins to run up the trunk of a large tree. Upon reaching its large, lower branches, she returns upright and bounds to another branch five feet ahead. Continuing in this routine, she continues to hop along, tree to tree. Still close behind she can hear the rushing of the wind and the rustling of the leaves as her water clone disturbs the forest in close pursuit. “Very good,” thought Ina, “but not quick enough.” With that she dashed forward, racing even faster than before, the greenery seemingly a blur. Making another sharp left, Ina begins her trip back towards where she had begun. In her excitement she had lost track of time and was going to be late for training with her mentor Namiko. But he would have to wait, there was a more pressing matter closing in behind her. “Damn!” Ina thought aloud. “They may not be the brightest, but I’ll be damned if they aren’t quick.” She tried to increase her speed as she dropped down from the branches, narrowly catching herself with her hands. She swung forward, legs extend, lurching towards the ground. She slid forward several feet and caught herself with the palm of her left hand. It scrapped the rocks below it, causing a small cut. She quickly recovered however as she pushed herself up, pressing onwards. As she ran, she inspected the wound, blood trickling slow down her arm, disappearing into the crimson velvet of her cloak. She lowered her hand to her side, clenching her fist. It was only a shallow wound but Ina would have to maintain pressure until it managed to clot. Once again she reached into the sleeve of her massive cloak, only this time into the right. Her left emerged a moment later clutching the handle of yet another kunai. Gripping the small blade with a necessary ferocity, she watched her knuckles go white under the pressure. This would do for now, but she would need to bandage the wound once she had settled her spat.
With no time to rest, Ina stopped abruptly by firmly locking and extending her left leg. Due once again to her momentum, she continued forward for several feet, coming to a stop with her foot slightly emerged in the newly formed mud. The clone, wasting no time, continued to rush the young shinobi, right arm cocked to its side, weapon still drawn. Once it reached five feet from her, the clone planted its left foot and sprung forward, lunging at her. Extending its equipped hand, it made a slashing motion as it continued. Dropping straight to the ground as the clone approached, Inazuma caught herself on her good palm and threw herself toward the right. Her body spun horizontally, pivoting on her right palm, just as the enemy’s blade swung overhead. Missing her by inches the clone’s momentum carried it staggering to a stop. But it was too late… Continuing to rotate on her side, the young shinobi had almost turned completely around at this point, facing her opponent’s back. “This was too easy,” she thought to herself. As she completed her turn she cocked her left leg and extended towards the clone. It struck as the clone dissipated into the ground below. Unbeknownst to Ina, the clone had simply used a substitution jutsu and was now sitting several feet behind the young shinobi. She smirked as she stood upright, perking up as a twig snapping echoed through the forest. Her smug smile quickly faded as she pivoted to find the clone not inches from her. Having little time to react, she tightened her grip on the kunai she had kept held in her left hand. Fortunately for her, she was left handed, but then again, she was wounded. The clone swept its blade across toward the girl’s chest with her kunai reaching the enemies iron blade only just in time. *Clang* The two struck each other, jumping back slightly upon recoil. Pushing forward, Inazuma quickly placed the kunai in her mouth leaving her hands free to hastily perform the Ram, Snake and Tiger seals. Retrieving the slightly blood stained weapon from between her teeth as the jutsu began, the young shinobi bound forward as three identical doppelgangers appeared. *Clone Technique (Bunshin no Jutsu)*This time she inverted the blade in her hand; palm down, blade out towards the side. As she raced towards the clone, her copies spread out, jumping towards the clone from the left and right. She sprinted one step further as her copies came down on the defensive clone, and she slid toward her opponent, right leg tucked underneath her extended left. As the clone swung at the doppelgangers, Ina had come within inches of her foe. Needing only to slice vertically in a downward stroke towards what would be a major artery in a real human (located below the skin about mid-thigh area) Ina let gravity and momentum do most of the work. The clones dissolved as Ina slid through, the now uncondensed water showering her from above. The cooling outward sensation of the water, the warm rush of chakra flowing back into her, and the thrill of success put her into a euphoric state and as the young shinobi came to a halt, she lay basking in the sun. “What a day…” she sighed aloud, knowing full well that her rest would soon be coming to an end. She did not have long to get to her sensei, and as he was an impatient man, it was best not to upset him before training. Picking herself up and replacing her kuani, the wet, muddy shinobi shook off as much of the filth as she could. “Shit… Now I’ll have to go home and change,” she thought.
Leaping back towards the town, the young shinobi took off down the forest. She was only moments away from her initial attack on the clones. She had made sure to make a note of it, as Namiko had always taught her. “Always look for distinguishing yet easily forgettable features,” that what he always said. Inazuma recognized a slightly disfigured tree, seemingly having been struck by lightning. She stopped slowly at its base and peered around. She spotted the first kunai protruding from a large weeping willow overhanging a small pond. The other was buried hilt deep into the soft ground mere feet away. She took both over to the pond and gently washed them in the water before replacing them in her left sleeve. Satisfied with herself once again, she smirked looking torwards the village. She could now make out the outline of the backs of several building. As she stood there, she took a deep breathe, pushing off her right foot upon exhaling. Inazuma cleared her mind as she sprinted back into the heat of Kirigakure, focusing all her attention on one simple, infinitely repeating thought. “Left foot, right foot, left foot, right foot…” As she concentrated, she opened her eyes. She continued to repeat this to herself, faster and faster, slowly increasing her pace to match her thoughts. Before she knew it her thoughts became words and she found herself speaking them aloud. This was one of the first times she had truly felt alive in a long time… It was about to start getting back up on that horse. Finally have a chance to pull her head out of books and herself from libraries. “Don’t worry sensei,” she thought, “I’m almost there.”
Water Sky Convergence
Several days had passed since Inazuma had returned from her mission in the secret tunnels of Kirigakure. Having not felt like training, she instead had been doing continued research on the technique known as Water Sky Convergence. She had spent these days sitting around reading books, trying to learn all she could before rushing into the physical aspect. “Ultimately,” she thought looking away from her book, “It’s all in the mind. Everything we do is connected by impulses that begin there and transmit to the rest of our body. As the old adage states, ‘If the mind can conceive it, then I know I can achieve it.’” And this had been true for so many things throughout the young shinobi’s life. I mean, after all she had just learned to manipulate another element, use an A-Rank Technique, and complete several missions in a matter of a week. She closed the book, feeling a small rush of wind pushed from within its pages as she did so. She took a deep breathe through her nose inhaling deep the intoxicating aroma of “knowledge”. She chuckled to herself with a smirk as she thought of this. “That’s stupid…” She said aloud, “You’re a moron.” But she knew what she had really meant; she had always loved the smell of old paper. Something about the clothe of a scroll or the pages of an old book... Inazuma huffed, setting the book on her chest. The young ninja lay with her back against the damp grass, positioned near the porch of her apartment, hands folded over the tome. The rain had let up for the past few day allowing the far too familiar mist to settle in. It added a soft stickiness to everything it touched, finding reprieve only while bathing. She lay there staring at the outline of a weeping willow to her right wondering whether to do anything today or not. “Perhaps I’ve investigated enough. Maybe some practical application is appropriate.”
With that she heaved herself from the ground, book tightly tucked beneath her arm. Ina jogged back to her house sliding open the glass door that led to the back. Without needing to go in, she flicked her left wrist, tossing the book smoothly onto her bed several feet away. Closing the door quickly behind her, the teenage shinobi took off into the small woods that lay behind her residence. Her heart raced as her feet continued to move like pistons, pulling her forward as they did so. *Mush, mush* As the soles of her shoes hit the ground, they squished the soft forest floor making an uncomfortable noise beneath them. Much like the sound of slowly ringing a sponge, Ina had always found the sound repulsive though she never knew why. She shrugged off the sound, replacing it with her own internal thoughts. “Ok, so the goal is to create a dense barrier using water in large quantities mixed with my own chakra. Then I should be able to manipulate it like a shield, eventually building towards being able to perform offensive maneuvers. Alrighty then… Here it goes.”
Inazuma continued forward, sprinting through the quiet woods, with only the sound of nature to listen to. Ahead she could hear the familiar babble of a creek that ran through the southern portion of the city. Its recognizable bends and turns were like a home away from home, its tranquility providing a wonderful spot for training alone. It lay only several feet ahead, and as she approached Inazuma slowed to a steady jog. The mist hung especially heavy in this area seemingly trapped beneath the tree branches that intertwined their fingers above. The young shinobi looked up into the green, losing herself for a moment. She sighed as she stopped completely, thinking it was rather muggy today. As such, she removed her cloak carefully, making sure to fold it before neatly laying it of a nearby branch. “Ok, let’s do this.”
With that, Ina stepped close to the stream, standing not 3 feet from it, its gently churning soothing her. She then closed her eyes and performed the Tiger, Dog, Monkey, Snake, Boar, and Tiger seals; focusing her energy into the nearby water source. As she did so, the water began to shift and flow in opposing directions, the current pulling one, though her chakra pulling the other. “Perhaps a standing water source would have been better..” she thought to herself, slightly annoyed at the situation. As a small frown came over her face, she reminded herself, “Whatever doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger.” Furrowing her arched brow, Ina continued to concentrate hard on the water in front of her, pushing more and more of her chakra into it. Slowly, the water began to lift from it source, pooling in small amounts above the water’s surface. More and more lumps of swirling water began to rise, forming what was now a small rectangle no bigger than 3 feet. The Kiri-nin continued to drive her energy into the creek with extreme concentration, until minutes later a large block roughly 5’ by 3’ by 3’sat swirling above the now thinner creek. Opening her eyes, the young shinobi was shocked at her success. Taken aback she thought, “Ok, now the key is forming the water with enough density. But I can’t do that alone, I don’t have enough training to hold the water without extreme concentration. No way I could reach out an touch it let alone test how thick it is. I’ll have to save that for later.”
She pressed her palms closer together, still holding the Tiger seal she had performed earlier. Her knuckles grew white beneath her skin, a small vein appearing down her palm through her wrist, pulsating madly. Ina focused hard on the water no under her control, tilting her head slightly to the left as she did so. Mirroring her, the chakra infused water began to shift towards the left, several small drops falling from it as it did so. Ina continued to move the block, which was steadily gaining speed, for several more feet before releasing her hands, and dropping to her left knee. She panted; exhausted at the amount of chakra it took to control such a high level technique. “I suppose this is why…”she said through batted breathes, “Not many… people learn this… technique.” She reached her left hand towards her head, lifting her headband which now stuck to her face. Her right moved closed, fanning her brow as best it could, as the young ninja closed her eyes. The process was exhausting, but the end goal always justified the means. Inazuma replaced her headband, settling it down onto her forehead snugly. The sweat absorbed into the fabric now felt slightly cooler having been temporarily removed from her heated dome. She pushed on her left foot, lifting herself onto both feet. She stood squarely with her feet should length apart, bending slightly at the knees. Once again she performed the 6 seals required to activate this jutsu, holding the last firmly in place. Ina could feel the pull of the creek as she began to add her energy into it, this time adding it further upstream, allowing it to fill in down towards her, rather than fight the current. As the water continued to trickle forward, she felt her chakra envelop a majority of the brook. Using the natural momentum of the moving liquid, Ina pushed and lifted the water off its source. It formed much quicker this time without the resistance of going upstream, pulling into a large lump several feet off the ground. Within a minute she had already formed a similar block of water, circulating over the ground. She pulled it towards her with her mind, continuing to focus the chakra needed to maintain it. The young shinobi stared into the swirling sphere, watching as it moved and swayed from side to side and all around. She strained her neck, redness filling her pale face with sudden color. She could feel the blood pumping ferociously towards her brain, pooling in her head with enormous pressure. “Gah!” she spouted with a huff. Inazuma collapsed forward, quickly dropping her hands to her knees to support her weight. The suspended water hung for a split second without the support of her chakra, collapsing thereafter into the creek from whence it came. “Shit…” she said aloud, again gasping for breathes, “I need a break. Perhaps a nap and then we will continue.”
WR: Gunshot Training
Having hastily changed at her apartment, Inazuma had raced to her mentor’s training grounds . Being that he was a Hunter-nin of the Kirigakure ANBU, the two were meeting at the ANBU dojo. Within its walls, housed one of the most advanced training facilities in the world, rivaled only by those of Konohagakure’s ROOT organization and as such, Inazuma had always felt a strange reverence toward this place. Perhaps it was more due to the fact that she had spent the last 8 years toiling here, shaping up to become the shinobi she was. These thoughts would have to wait however, as she was already late.
Pushing aside the large doors, Ina crossed the threshold of the room. Quietly meditating in the center of the room, sat Namiko. Surrounded by a rich mahogany floor, the hunter-nin seemed to glow in his white robes. “You’re late, “he spoke without looking behind him, “Perhaps you’d like to reschedule for tomorrow?” The female shinobi said nothing, merely looking at the floor meekly. “Very well,” stated Namiko, “Shall we begin?” A mixture of relief and hesitation filled Ina as she wondered why she had been let off the hook, though not nearly concerned enough to point it out.
“Today we will be trying something new. I think it’s is time to teach you the Water Release: Gunshot (Suiton: Teppōdama). Now if you would be so kind, please head to the training yard.” Eager to begin, the young shinobi bolted past her sensei and out a door located 10’ ahead of Namiko. As Inazuma burst through the door, she felt the rush of the moist wind hit her face. A storm was coming, sure to put a damper on her day. Moments later, her instructor emerged, towering over her at an impressive 6’ 2”. He noticed her fervor as she impatiently tapped her foot and chewed her left fingernail.
“Ok… To begin, you are going to need to focus your chakra to your mouth. Then you will need to perform the tiger seal and begin to slowly blend in some of your water element.” Closing his mouth, the elder shinobi performed the aforementioned seal, cheeks filling with water as he did so . After several he opened his mouth and let forth a small rush of water, no more than a gallons worth. “This is the first step, to produce a water supply from within you. Do not attempt to form or mold this technique yet, as without this step, performing the technique will be impossible. Now you try…”
Inazuma closed her eyes and concentrated as she would to walk on water, only moving the chakra point to inside her mouth. She then carefully added some of her water element, though was unable to control the blending. Without warning, a small amount of water spewed from her mouth, unable to hold back it’s pressure. “It was a start,” thought Ina, “I have plenty of time.”
Closing her eyes once more, Ina tried to perform the jutsu again. This time successfully managing to hold the chakra in place before adding the water was the primary goal. The last time she was trying to do too many things at once. Trying to manipulate the raw chakra and mold in the element was a lot of progress for a first attempt. This time already felt different; using her tongue she rolled her chakra like a marble inside her mouth. She felt the energy taking a physical form, and it was at this time she felt it appropriate to begin slowly but surely adding a small amount of the water element. Ina could feel the pressure building behind her teeth, itching to escape. However, she wasn’t quite prepared just yet. Continuing to swirl her tongue around the forming attack she focused slightly more water. “Almost there,” she thought as she felt her cheeks swell with the mounting pressure. And all at once she knew, “It’s time!”
Her eyes burst open, staring ferociously at an attack dummy about 20’ away. She saw the bull’s-eye and in a split second released the ball with a spit. Ina tried to track it as it flew towards her target. Blood racing, heart pumping in her throat she sat fixating on her mark. Then she caught it… However, it wasn’t where she had intended. It raced toward the dummy and barely managed to nick its shoulder. “Damn!” she exclaimed…
“Now, now…” Spoke Namiko, “Don’t get discouraged. The first time I attempted the gunshot I went wide by a good 3’.” Hey long time caregiver gave her a warm smile and touched her shoulder as he approached. He stood an impressive 6’ 3” towering over her small frame. He took a knee resting some of his weight onto his young ward. She grunted softly under the pressure, barely catching herself. He spoke plainly…” Inazuma, I have loved you as my daughter for a long time and think of you as a truly exceptional shinobi. You are intelligent, self-sufficient, strong, and yet collected/ But what you are not, is a prodigy. That is not to say you will never be as talented, merely that like the other 99 percent of people, you will have to work hard at it. Now please, try again Ina…”
He removed his right hand from the young shinobi’s left shoulder and pivoting to where he was facing the practice dummy. Inazuma stepped forward once again performing the tiger seal and shutting her eyes. “It felt easier this time,” she thought as she had already begun adding the water element. ” Controlling the formation with my tongue has been immensely better.” After only 30 seconds she had already readied the shot. Inhaling over the water, through her nose, Inazuma breathed deep and upon exhaling released the attack pent up behind her closed lips. Once again the blast traveled hastily towards her target, though this time more centered hitting several inches from the center of the dummy’s chest. The shot traveled through the defenseless pieces of material that comprised the replica, ripping the fabric as it passed. Several feet behind, the attack dissipated back into the uncondensed water. “Very good…” She thought. “I can only get better though.” She smirked as she turned to look down at her sensei. He smiled back up at his student speaking quietly… “That was great, but don’t let it go to your head. You still have a lot of work to fully master this technique.” Inazuma’s smug smile disappeared as she turned away sharply. In a huff she proceeded to once again form the required seal, a bead of sweat forming under her headband. “I’ll show him…” she thought aloud.
