A whole different level. [SC training, Toshiro]

Age : 48 Posts : 1036

Quote :: Name: Enormous Chakra Capacity
Rank: A
Type: Chakra Based
Prerequisites: Must have Large Chakra Capacity
Training: A 1200 word training is required to gain this special characteristic
Restrictions: Effect does not stack with the previous ranks of Chakra Capacity.
Description: With an already increased chakra capacity the ninja starts to accumulate a natural skill for increasing their chakra reserves as they continue through their life. Along with some training and mediation, the ninja now gains enormous chakra capacity which increases their chakra reserves by 50CP

As anyone who has spent even a single night far from "civilization" can tell you, when you're in the middle of nowhere nightfall comes on fast and with a complete darkness that has to be seen to be believed. A case in point was where Toshiro currently sat - on top of a dune located on a stretch of coastline over a dozen miles from the nearest human habitation and over a hundred from the nearest town. Seated in front of a campfire with a very Spartan camp (a pack, an unrolled bedroll, and the prior campfire) the jounin looked completely oblivious to the biting chill carried on the breeze that came in from the shore despite wearing only pants and a sleeveless undershirt shirt. Then again it was entirely possible that he truly was oblivious to the outside world as the only signs he was even alive were the slow rise and fall of his chest as he took measured breaths. For the past weeks he had spent a considerable portion of his free time training on expanding his chakra capacity and this was his final try to push past his limits. A try assisted by the acknowledged experts on all things chakra - the monks of the Fire Temple. Eventually the various monks had come to a consensus about the best methods to use for expanding one's chakra capacity. A combination of exhausting physical activity, borderline abusive expenditure of chakra, and strict meditation that should - in theory - expand the jounin's reserves to a level usually only reached by the jinchuriki of "minor" bijuu.

The first requirement had been the easiest to meet. For the several weeks Toshiro had spent almost every spare moment he had in some sort of physical exercise. If he wasn't running laps around the village carrying sacks filled with whatever was heavy the jounin would be hefting weights or otherwise engaged in some sort of body-punishing workout that lasted for hours. When he was sure of being on track for that [prtopm of his training, Toshiro had given it a new twist - doing those very same exercises before, after, and while expending a steadily increasing amount of chakra through jutsu of rising intensity and complexity. Examples were such things as; doing crunches while hanging upside down from a tree, running laps on one of the large lakes around Konoha, and finally running an obstacle course - while wearing a pack filled with over a hundred pounds of sand and blasting targets with his strongest jutsu. The whole purpose of that grueling regime? To reach the point he was at now. The sheer physical work had massively increased the "physical energy" component of his chakra to the extent of almost unbalancing it, and the continuous expenditures did not directly expand his reserves, they instead made those reserves malleable enough to expand further in the first place. According to the monks - probably the on all things related to shaping ones chakra itself - with creating that malleability Toshiro would have needed years more work to reach his intended goal.

Now it was time for the final phase of the monks regime - meditation. However it was meditation on a level that far exceeded anything Toshiro had contemplated before. In many aspects what the monks had laid out wasn't far from the process the host of a tailed beast would use to establish contact at will with their prisoner, including the risks. Which was why for the past four hours Toshiro had been in the same position doing the same routine of breath in, hold it while blanking the mind, then exhale. Supposedly by perfecting the drill the jounin would be able to reach and maintain a level of focus that would mitigate most of those risks. That perfection was - mercifully - reach on his latest try and with that Toshiro took the mental plunge as he felt himself drawn into his own mind. Not so much seeing as feeling, for the first time in this particular situation the jounin took note of the various representations of thoughts as they went past. Eventually (time having no meaning when you have no reference) he reached the same location as before and "looked" around Same area of water out to the limits of his vision? Check. Same white misty barrier near the limits of his vision? Check. Nothing else .as far as his mental eyes could see? Check again - definitely the place he had intended to arrive. 'So why does it feel as if something is watching me?' That was a new twist that Toshiro hadn't expected. That sense that something was hovering just beyond the edge of his perception but every time he "looked" around for it, it would go away then come back. After several futile attempts to find the source of that sensation the jounin opted to simply ignore it for now. As long as whatever it was kept out of his way Toshiro would put dealing with it off until later.

Instead he got down to the reason for this whole session in the first place. Without questioning how he didn't sink in or get wet, Toshiro sat tailor-fashion on top of the water and clapped his hands together. Why he felt that was necessary the jounin couldn't say aside from that it felt right. Just like he repeated the breathing drill one more time before focusing on once more pushing back the "walls" that represented the limits of his "self-awareness". That being the case the water should (and did) represent his chakra and that was what Toshiro focused on. As the jounin's mental brow furrowed in concentration the semi-chaotic fluid began to take on a form of order. Instead of swirling about and forming random peaks where two opposite currents met the mass began to rotate clockwise. Sluggishly at first but slowly gaining speed as Toshiro's expression grew more focused that mass of liquid began to move not as a chaotic mass but a unified force. Gradually, over what felt like hours filled with work as grueling as that spent in any forge, the mass of water came fully under Toshiro's control as it raced in ever-quickening circles. Now came the hard part; using that motion to stretch the walls. Exercising the utmost concentration and care - keeping in mid the monks warnings about what would happen if he lost control at this point - the jounin willed that vortex to flatten while spreading outwards. At first it seemed as if he was making no progress at all, the outer boundary remaining solid despite his best efforts. Fighting down the frustration he felt, Toshiro did his best to follow the advice of the enlightened experts and remain focused on his task. Slowly, agonizingly slowly, progress came as the jounin put increasing amounts of mental effort into increasing the disk's rotation. Every step of the way the walls seemed to resist with greater effort yet each tiny gain the next seemed to come just a bit faster than the one before. Eventually a tipping point was reached as the walls merely gave ground before the onrushing tempest filled in the space.

It was after that point was passed that Toshiro felt his focus began to falter due to fatigue and knew he needed to back out. With the same care shown reaching this point, the jounin let his focus slowly widen until he was once more aware of the world outside. When he was fully conscious of everything - including how cramped his legs felt - the Leaf-nin began one last exercise, one learned by all potential shinobi when they first learn about chakra. Fingers forming the ram seal Toshiro gathered as much chakra as he could as he carefully got a feel for what if any gains his recent effort had yielded. The results were... pleasing. While the gains weren't quite as big as the first time, now Toshiro would append the term "elastic" to how his chakra felt - much like how a balloon filling with air will try to occupy whatever space is available. Training... successful.

Age : 48 Posts : 1036

Quote :: Name: [Tier III] Ferocious Strength
Rank: A
Type: Physical
Prerequisites: Character must have the “Immense Strength” Special Characteristic.
Training: A 1600 word training post is required to gain this special characteristic.
Restrictions: The Character must have either Taijutsu or Weaponry as one of their specialties.
Description: By now, the shinobi has trained more than vigorously in strength; spending several long years in this incredibly tasking feat. Very few have ever passed this point, and for good reasons. With thrice the physical strength of ninja equal in rank, those with this talent in strength have been known the shatter rocks with a mere punch, and destroy walls without even expending a drop of chakra. The strength is so great, weaponry users can cut iron and steel in half with enough focus; and most are able to lift upwards of five times more than they weigh.

Strength. Originally it was a simple term referring to the power ones muscles could exert but now it had so many meanings. Strength of conviction, strength of arms, strength of character - all were frequently used terms. For the past few weeks however one of Konoha's upper echelon shinobi had focused on the traditional meaning. While the raw force he wielded had been more than adequate to date, one Hinamori Toshiro couldn't shake the nagging feeling that all too soon he would need every edge he could lay his hands on. Maybe it was how aggressive the other villages had become lately, or the rumors of shadowy groups with unknown goals moving about but certainly not good one. And with his fiancé certain to take up the mantle of Hokage in the near future the jounin had no doubt he would soon be put in the eye of the maelstrom that was building. To prepare for that maelstrom the jounin had increased intensity of his own training regime well beyond what had been the norm before. Which might explain why he was currently "pumping iron" as the saying went. "Ninety-one... ninety-two... ninety- three." Even if he would have pointed out that - aside from the steel in the bar - there was very little iron in what he was "pumping." When you're aiming to lift several times your own weight iron - while heavy - is far from the best material. No, right then most of the four-hundred odd pounds Toshiro was lifting was made of lead dust pressed into solid disks. So if it had been anyone but his eldest sister who was spotting they would have been in for a rude surprise on trying to catch the bar that looked far lighter than it was. "Ninety-five... ninety-six... ninety-seven." Of course just lifting weights wasn't enough to meet the jounin's goal. No amount of raw strength would be useful if ones bones and tendons couldn't handle the force of impact. Hence the barrel standing by a tree near the clearing that served as a temporary gym. Old the technique might be but repeatedly slamming the hands, feet, knees, and elbows into an unyielding surface - resulting microscopic fractures that would be filled in by bone cells - was as sure-fire way to get the striking areas of the body ready to withstand the force of impact. Toshiro just wished the sibling currently counting off the repetitions hadn't thought a good revenge prank had been to get the sand searing hot. Having ones hands wrapped from finger tips to wrists in bandages to cover the second degree burns didn't exactly make the current task easier. Even if Rangiku had apologized for not realizing the sand was that hot while fixing most of the damage.

"Ninety-eight." At least her little prank-gone-wrong had happened after the first half of today's workout had been done. Toshiro was used to pain thanks to his families sometimes - okay most of the time - insane concept of "training" and the inevitable times too close in a fight meant getting your arm getting cut up instead of cut off. That didn't mean he liked the idea of pounding training posts with his hands swollen, red, and damn tender. Especially not when the "posts" happened to still have their rather jagged bark on along with the leaves, roots - actually pretty much everything. As he drew a breath that felt as if it would sear his protesting lung Toshiro once again was glad he had changed up his routine today and pounded on some cherry trees before the hand-toughening exercises. Otherwise he might not be able to glance at the tree on the opposite side of the clearing and see the damage he could wreak. Damage that included large patches where blows had torn away the bark and more than a few chunks missing from the tree itself where power blows had gouged out sections of the wood itself. Yes, seeing the results of his effort was well worth the pain - even the dirty looks that had been sent his way from the gardener (who happened to be a half-blooded Senju) that had needed to undo the damage to the innocent softwood. The real proof of his gains however was out of Toshiro's sight as he completely the ninety-ninth repetition of this set. Out of sight but not out of mind however as he could still feel where a tiny splinter of stone was lodged under the skin of one knuckle as a reminder. It had only been three weeks ago that Toshiro had started learning how to quickly direct excess chakra to the muscles involved in a blow to magnify the force far beyond what should be humanly possible. While the progress for first few days would be described as "tentative" at best (and that probably being generous) now the jounin could use that extra force as if it was second nature. The proof of that lay behind his sister. While he hadn't reduced it to dust and shards, one of the more conspicuous boulders in the clearing was missing a rather noticeable section courtesy of a well-aimed elbow strike. All in all it was a huge gain already but Toshiro hadn't been satisfied enough to stop.

So it really shouldn't have been surprising that aside from his grey sweat pants cut off just above the knee and a tee-shirt that would need a serious bleaching to return to its original white color, Toshiro's other apparel for the day consisted of wrist and leg wraps. Wraps to which were attached what looked to be the finger-sized metal lames that made up the armor worn by the richest of samurai. A closer examination would show that instead of being lacquered the metal plates had instead been stained in a very specific pattern - one that turned each small piece of metal into a hefty training weight. Weights that Toshiro had been wearing since the start of this training regime and the improvement between then and now as obvious. At first - even with his already prodigious strength - the jounin who was known as one of the village's fastest could barely move fast enough to keep up with academy students. After weeks of training and adjusting to the increased weight he could now move at almost his normal speed, and the jounin was itching to see just how much raw damage he could do without the weights weighing him down. Even if only to redeem his pride as a member of the male gender. He wasn't sure how it happened or even if he had promised what it was said he had promised, but so far the only real use Toshiro had gotten out of his new-found physical strength had been in being a pack-mule for an outing where his mother and sister's dragged Kimiko shopping. If he remembered right, no small feet following an earnest attempt to wipe the incident from his memory, he and Kimiko had been supposed to find furniture and other items for their new home. True they had done just that, along with a number of items that would be needed to get the long-empty former abode of the Manaru family truly ready for habitation. Yet somehow by the end of the day Toshiro had found himself carrying a stack of bags filled with clothes and other articles of female apparel newly acquired by the quintet (Kimiko, all three of his sisters, and his mother). Not exactly what a proud male shinobi would consider a proper form of strength training. Even if it had been useful in learning to control that raw power so he didn't damage any of the parcels.

"One hundred." With a final heave Toshiro pushed the bar upwards and despite his arms feeling like rubber managed to get the steel into the notches cut into upright logs that served to hold the weight when not in use. Ignoring as best he could the ache of muscles protesting the abuse he had put them through the jounin sat up then stood, making sure to stretch and keep moving. At the same time her brother was warding off what would be a rather painful cramp, Rangiku gestured at what the pair had concluded would be the best true test - outside of life-and-death combat - of their efforts. "Think you're ready for it Shiro-chan?" It being the sort of training posts that the former taijutsu mistress had used when she still had the user of both legs. A bit over six feet sticking out of the ground and four feet square, the major difference between this post and others its ilk lay in the visible steel reinforcement. Too tired to speak at the moment Toshiro simply nodded his head and began making his way from the weight bench to stand before the post. Ignoring just how sore he felt the jounin assumed a basic stance with legs widely spaced before launching his assault on the offensive post. A right straight followed by a left cross to the same spot took a divot out of the pole while a knee lower down bent it slightly despite the reinforcing bars. The elbow up higher - where the face would be on a person of that height - did a fair job of fixing that bend even if it was by bending the other half the post the opposite direction. Still it wasn't the sort of effect Toshiro wanted so he shifted to a sideways stance from which he launched a text-book roundhouse kick. The result of that blow finally brought a satisfied smirk to the jounin’s face as the upper portion of the post was severed from the rest - even ripped the wood off the nails that held it to the reinforcing steel bands.
”About time.”

Age : 48 Posts : 1036

Quote :: Name: Advanced Stealth
Rank: C
Type: Physical
Physical Requirements: N/A
Training Requirements: A 600 word training post is required to gain this special characteristic.
Restriction: -
Description: A skill gained by ninja who have begun to specialize in the art of stealth. The ninja becomes very light and quick on their feet. Their movements no longer create sound and they now gain a natural skill for hiding and camouflage.

For the past few weeks his training had been focused on the sort of abilities that would be of use in open combat. And while he was certain he would need those abilities in the future there was another area he knew would be of immense use all too soon. Stealth. Not the sort of stealth where you moved slowly and careful to minimize noise and hid in areas that lent themselves to hiding. That was the stuff one should know how to do by the time you got your first forehead protector if not before the would-be ninja was allowed to handle a real kunai. No, the type of stealth Toshiro was thinking about involved being able to run full-tilt across a field without making a sound and vanishing in plain sight. That was why he was up at the unholy hour of three in the morning in a middle of a field instead of getting a full nights in bed rest alongside his fiancé. All because the very best training for learning to move with absolute silence that he knew of was before him. In the same field where he had learned the jutsu which served him well enough for silence until now. Only this time instead of simply making an unholy racket when tripped, the various traps strewn about the field had a real bite to them.

Steadying his nerves with a deep breath Toshiro started his journey across the field with a single step. Keeping in mind the words of the assassin - his own father - who had imparted the idea for the technique he was now attempting. 'Keep the motions to a minimum, step again as soon as your foot touches the ground, put the minimum weight into each step, and above all move quick.' Called "shunpo" the concept sounded simple but actually putting into practice was something else. This was maybe the fiftieth time tonight the jounin had attempted this and while he had made progress he had yet to actually make it across the field without triggering a single trap. As soon as he felt the ball of bare his foot touch the ground Toshiro's other foot left the ground. For a precarious instant the only thing keeping the jounin upright was momentum and his own sense of balance before that foot also lightly pushed down on a spot of grass and the process was repeated again and then again until he was simply a blur across the field. Then he stepped on the first of the traps and felt his heart try to climb up his throat and his body freeze up. For a moment it seemed that he had failed yet again as the board gave just a fraction of a hair then he remembered another piece of advice form his parent. 'Never stop or slow. Even if you think you've hit a trap keep moving. If you keep moving you'll minimize the time the trap has to react to your weight. If you stop then you will set it off.' Before the echo of those mental words faded Toshiro was moving again with all the speed he could muster. And in a turn of good luck it wasn't accompanied by the tell-tale snap of the noisemaker in the trap going off. Confidence bolstered the jounin kept moving towards the other side of the field - stepping over dimly seen tripwires or pushing lightly of tree trunks to briefly take to the air before returning to the ground and his lightning-quick trip. Closer and closer the edge of the woods came and Toshiro fought harder to keep his focus on anything but that finish line as he stepped on another trap but transferred so little pressure before taking his next step that it failed to trigger. Even when his footing changed from the grass of the field to the fallen leaves that marked success the jounin kept his celebration to a maniacal grin and not the mad cackle that threatened to burst forth. Instead he walked deeper into the woods and appeared to melt into the shadows under the trees that gave the village its name.

Watching from the concealment of one of the leafier trees, a dog-masked ANBU found himself grateful that the jounin hadn't had that level of stealth earlier. Otherwise the number of times Inu had found his head unwittingly used as a springboard would have been far higher and who knows how many other incidents would have been worse. Even if none could compare to the time he had been sent by the Hokage to collect one Katsumi Kimiko to report on a mission gone wrong. Of course no mention had been made that the kunochi had been seriously wounded so the masked ninja had made a major mistake - trying to remove a seriously injured Katsumi from the presence of her overprotective boyfriend. A mistake that had gotten Inu kneed in the family jewels hard enough it had taken hours before his voice dropped from a falsetto and days before he could walk normally without the aid of painkillers. Just as the dog-masked ninja was about to promise himself a night at his favorite watering hole for having been within a half-mile of Toshiro without being stepped on or skewered by stray kunai an all-too familiar sound came from ruight behind him. "Hi Inu-san" As any academy student knows shock plus ninja reflexes equals a girly scream and a longgg jump. In this case a long jump that ended in the only water for hundreds of meters around which just happened shallow enough that when "Inu-san" righted himself his mask was no longer white but black from the... pungent mud it had landed in. Ignoring the bane of his existence who waved good by before heading home for the morning, the member of the vilages "elite" broke the "ANBU do not show emotions" code and yelled to the laughing heavens "Why! Why does he hate me so!"