Flash back to the Future [Training]

Age : 33 Posts : 308

"Mountain Lord Kougenmaru"

That what the sign said. He supposed as he bent over in fatigue that perhaps he was a bit out of shape from all of the complacency. After all, just walking up the mountain side to get here had him tired out and while he wasn't exactly the most fit shinobi in existence he didn't think that what would equate to an afternoon hike would put him in this bad of shape. The truth of the matter was, he had been with the mafia as a guard for quite some time, though the situations they had to deal with were hardly that of shinobi caliber. He wasn’t at all weak, but ever since he had left Konoha he hadn’t been challenged nor was he motivated to continue to cultivate his abilities. He was set, for as long as the life of underground crime continue to be a flourishing business. Sure there were a few tough strokes along the way, but when the going got tough, he would just run away. That was more or less company policy; to stay alive and don’t cause too much trouble. If there was anything he was good at, it was running away.

The life of vice was also one that was very pampering. Good food, money, women, and an endless amount of ways to waste all of the above. He had abstained from drugs or smoking or anything like that, but it would be naïve to think that he didn’t take part in a drink or two… or nine. He didn’t physically look out of shape, but the point was, on the standards of the shinobi that he would potentially be having to deal with more personally, he would have to be in tip top shape. He was after all, being sent to Kumogakure, on a ‘special’ business trip, which would be unlike any opportunity the Kuromatsu had had in the past. To best prepare him for this little venture though, he was being sent here, the dojo of the famous “Mountain Lord Kougenmaru”. This was apparently an old monk who was famous for his massive size. He was a giant among men, and unnaturally powerful, though much past his prime, from what his father described. In any case, if there was anyone that was capable of wiping him back into shape, it was this man. Genryu was more than skeptic.

Upon arriving and getting himself together, he would knock on the giant door of the wooden gate surrounding the compound. The door mysteriously opened on its own and he wandered in nonchalantly. “Yooo! Lord Koga-maru. Mountain guy! Anyone home?” He said in his own obnoxious and not amused tone, almost as though he didn’t seem to care, or couldn’t be bothered with it, “Is this a bad time? I could always come back!?” He said, now assuming he was speaking with no one.
The compound itself was a single large open area, concreted over seemingly. A rock garden. A giant gong and at it’s center a single standing building, though it was quite large, like a temple or something. It was something straight out of a monk monastery and that wasn’t his scene. He hated old people and only assumed that all monks were old. Though before he was too far into the compound itself, the ground began to tremble. The gate of the door that was behind slowly slid closed on its own before shutting with a loud metal clang. It was almost as though an earthquake. Genryu struggled to keep his balance, though in more of a comical teeter dance as though he were drunk as opposed to seriously having a hard time standing. From the monastery type building a loud roar echoed forcing Genryu to shut his hands over his ears and cringe as though someone were screaming in his ears.

Before he knew it, a massive, hulking, overbearing figure was hovering over him, and Genryu, stood in his shadow. The ground had stopped trembling and all that could be heard was the sound of breathing, as though an animal loomed over him. He slowly lowered his hands from his ears and looked upward. Standing at 6’, he was only at the knee caps of the creature. It was a massive bearded man. His skin a shade of dark brown with a redish tint as though the bark of an oak wood tree. He was in a robe like cloak, though the hood was down exposing his grey beard and wild grey hair that covered most of his face except for his eyes nose and mouth. He looked down at Genryu as he looked up.

“So uhh.. –gulp- you must be that mountain dude huh?” He said. Almost incapable of showing fear, it would almost always translate into comedic value; an attempt to make things less serious by laughing it off with lack of seriousness. Luckily this was one situation in which his breaking the ice would work in his favor. The massive man threw his head back and let out a loud laugh,

“AHH YOUR FATHER SENT WORD OF YOUR ARRIVAL HERE! I WAS JUST STEPPING OUT OF THE BATH, YOU’RE GENRYU RIGHT?!” he said. The man’s voice was so deep and percussive that it seemed as though he were always yelling, or if his voice was stuck on the all caps button or something. “COME ON BOY, FOLLOW ME! HE GAVE ME ALL THE DETAILS IN THE LETTER! I ALREADY SET UP THE PLACE THAT YOU’LL BE SLEEPIN!” He said, again, letting out another loud belting laugh. At this point, if Genryu wasn’t deaf, he was certainly pretending to be. While the rest of the details are like something out of a montage, it’s impossible to say everything that happened within the allotted word count without going over too much and over exerting myself, and thus Genryu’s overall effort.

To make a long story short, Genryu’s father and the “Mountain Lord” were good friends in business and did a lot of work with one another back before he was known as the Mountain Lord by the locals. He was called the Giant before then, simply because he was about 18 feet tall, something that some considered being a physical impossibility. And as a result, he also had a giant’s strength. They attempted to tame his super strength by training him among monks, who were non-violent. It quite obvious how that turned out, as he came to be feared as one of the strongest individuals in his home country and was feared by many as a demon. That being said, he himself wasn’t a bad guy, just clumsy.

With alittle bit of back story out of the way, Genryu trained under this old guy for quite some time. It was nothing knew to him that he would be trained under someone and stay with them, as he had done this for the majority of his life. The old man still wasn't a push over, and it was crazy to think that he was past his prime and once upon a time was much stronger then he was now. At first what the old man had him doing seemed foolish and pointless, like busy work. He had to tend to a garden of rocks, washing stones and walls, fixing shingles, etc., He was curious if he was ever actually doing work or if he was nothing more than slave labor to the giant old man, though it seemed silly at first, he insisted that he continue. It seemed as though he had gone through a month of doing nothing but house work for the man, before Genryu just about up and left. Of course the massive man that was suppose to be helping him stopped him from leaving, insisting that he stay.

It seemed something of a discipline training style, or something, that he just had to be patient and something magical would happen. If there was anything that was his strong suit, it was being patient, but only when a deal was involved. Otherwise he was pretty hot headed, and it seemed as though the mountain man was drawing out this deal for some reason or another. It had been six weeks, and still they hadn't trained a single day. Out of the blue, he told Genryu to be prepared, for the next day they would in fact be training. Apathetic, he wasn't exactly happy with the idea of training after seemingly being so lazy all this time. As the next day came, the sleepy Genryu met the massive mountain guy outside to do what was supposed to be training. It was then that the mountain man explained.

At such high altitudes as the peak of the mountain where the mountain shrine was, the air was extremely thin. The position of the shrine was so that the gravity was also seemingly heavier. The busy work that he had done was the first step of the training, getting him acclimated for the training itself. Repeated actions and sometimes seemingly busy work was slowly working his muscles, making him work, and increasing his stamina and endurance. He was acclimated to the conditions, and now could begin his training. It seemed silly to Genryu, but only that he was already frustrated. While it made sense, his personality couldn't bring him to show that he agreed with the old man. The old man instructed him into the shrine, into the basement, where a secret chamber existed. This was where he could endure the next stage of his training. While he wasn't exactly sure what would happen next, the old man would form a number of hand signs and all of a sudden, it would seem as though his body would weight a ton.

He would collapse under his own weight, hardly able to talk or breathe. The old man would explain that this was what it was like for gravity to be 10x what it was normal, and because of the special jutsu in the specific fuuinjutsu of the room, it could be used for training of just that form. It only effected individuals with chakra, and so the objects in the room would be unhindered. Food, water, and everything else he would need would be in the room. It would be up to him to decide whether he lived or died. With that, the old man just left! He was stuck down in the basement of the mountain shrine, being crushed under the weight of the room itself. He had to use chakra just to move, and had a limited amount of time to get food and water before his chakra gave out and he collapsed once again to the floor...

As time went on he could extend the time in which he was on is feet, though his body was constantly sore. His bones ached, his muscles throbbed, and when he wasn't trying not to die, he was laying on the ground or on the bed. He couldn't muster the energy to really do anything else, and just had plenty of time to think and bitch to himself... It was literally a month until he could move around without chakra, and two months until he could move about more or less freely. By the end of the third month in solitude, the massive old man finally came down stairs. Genryu, stir crazy, bored to death and now increasingly more powerful, was ready for some more exciting training...

1936/1200words

Strength

Spoiler:

Age : 33 Posts : 308

That being said, the old lord of the mountain was a rather blunt man, and didn't have anything in mind that was too terribly exciting. Because much of the time in a box was spent doing absolutely nothing, or just being crushed in general, Genryu would have plenty of time to simply think. It was almost maddening at first, to be alone with ones self for that period of time, but it was something that worked both ways. Originally he wasn't patient with others when he didn't get his way, and after a three month time out in what might as well have been a one ton jail, his temperament had seemingly mellowed out a bit. Being in the box that was the basement of the shrine toughened him up in more ways that one, it not only made his body stronger, but mind as well. By becoming physically stronger without increasing his body mass (getting bulky that is) he also increased how sturdy his body was. After all, muscle is tough fiber, but the joints and soft tissue that, under the pressure of increased gravity were pressed, injured and forced to rebuild, would grow increasingly tough as a result. These two would prepare him for the third phase of the training.

At first it seemed like a miracle, to go from such a hostile environment to the fresh air that was the outside. That, and the gravity that seemed to be lifted from him made him feel light as a feather. What he could before only accomplish by exerting chakra he could now pull off with relative ease. It was a high like euphoria; something as though the freedom of an individual that just discovered that they could fly. Though, the old mountain guru was quick to call him out on it.

"Enjoy it while you can! The worst part of your training is just around the corner, when you are ready, follow me outside."

The mountain man would take Genryu back upstairs into the light of the outside. He would smile upon him and then give a simple command. The two of them would fight! Nothing more. Genryu was alittle hesitant, but wouldn't ever back down from a fight. He had also noticed how strong the man was even in his elder ages. It wasn't like taking a blow from him was going to be friendly. In fact, from what he had demonstrated not too far outside of his own memory, the fist of the man could level a boulder without much trying. The old mountain dude insisted that neither of them use jutsu or weapons and that it be with taijutsu alone that they would fight one another. Genryu agreed, after all how could he not considering that this was his training after all. The two squared up and it wasn't long until the battle began.

What was interesting is that the man, with all of his strength, seemed to be holding back. He was still slow enough to be dodged and he could weave his way through attacks rather easily. The man would punch walls, the floor, anything and not crack a thing. While this would normally seem realistic, the giant man could easily plow through the mountain side it seemed, if he were to try, so what was keeping him from doing just that now? If he was that strong, then he could will his body to move faster, and deliver a blow on Genryu with ease, or was he just too old for such a feat now? While it was curious it wasn't anything that he was going to complain about or call him out on. For now their battle had just started.

Endurance

Spoiler:

619/600words

Age : 33 Posts : 308

He curiously proceeded, though soon discovered that for as much has his opponent couldn't hit him, he too could score a single blow on the old mountain man. This was something of particular interest because of just how large the man was. It was almost as if he was a giant target, and for Genryu to be unable to even scratch him with a blow was odd. It wasn't that he was a master dodger or anything, he would just only fight him by his terms. By the time he was ready to retaliate, he was already outside of range. Hours had passed, as they fought a stalemate of a battle. Genryu was worn out from the constant fighting, but was forced to continue for the sake of his training and his hard headed nature, when suddenly, his opponent came to a stop.

"That's a good warm up." He said, "ready for the real thing?"

Genryu was shocked. The old man wasn't even breathing hard! What sort of monster was he in his youth that he would produce such a lively old man! He would rest for only thirty minutes before the 'main event' started. And it was the shortest fight of his life. Before the knew it, the old man had delivered his fist firmly into the chest of Genryu in some sweeping uppercut motion. The dudes hand was as big as his rib cage, and this sent Genryu flying into the air above the shrine, rag dolling for a moment as he was at least 30meters in the air before dropping to the ground and landing with a disappointing thud.

"Stand." he said.

Oddly enough, Genryu did a quick mental diagnostic. It might have hurt but he wasn't badly hurt himself. Hell, he got hit with what was basically a human canon ball to his chest and managed to stand up and dust himself off! Was he that much stronger just from hitting in a weighted down cage? Of course Genryu was no kinesiologist. In truth, the body had to be broken down and beaten before it could heal itself back stronger. No matter what the condition or what one was doing, even the tiniest amount of pressure over what one is normally used to stimulate the process of decay and growth. By being in a chamber of increased gravity, the pressure on his body was enormous. It would have eventually killed him, if it weren't for chakra, as the rate in which joints and bone decay is faster than that in which the grow in an environment of extreme stress. At the end it was only his will and patience that allow him to come out of that basement alive. Genryu wasn't informed that he was risking his life, but if there was anything he had a skill for, it was surviving.

The two combatant continue to go at it. It was good to have some actual training in a high paced environment, as the street thugs that he was used to punishing were more like moving targets then actual fighters. The old dude would say nothing, and seemed very focused as though he himself was into the fight. It was also note-worthy of how formal his fighting style was. Genryu was rugged and informal. He moved and attacked in the best way he could see fit in any particular situation, but a real martial artist had already adapted to his rag tag style of fist throwing. So Genryu did the only thing that he could. He studied as he fought, attempting to adapt to his opponents movements, and his style. Either way, Genryu continued to get tossed like a rag doll about the shrine. He did his best to study his opponents movements but it really didn't matter; every time he throw an attack that he couldn't dodge, it was near impossible to block and he would get massacred no matter the out come. Every time an opening appeared, it would somehow slip out of his grasp. Each adaptation that was made was followed by a seemingly impossible action that brought him just inches from connecting with his target.

For an hour, Genryu was flung about, until he was actually, legitimately beaten. The mountain man didn't even come to his aid, simply walked back inside of shrine while Genryu lay there. Genryu felt that his body, bones, muscles and joints were bruised. Any movement was fatiguing and when nerves were triggered sharp pains would paralyze him like a terrible cramp. He wasn't bleeding as much as he though he would, after taking such an ass kicking, but thought that perhaps all the internal wounds would more than make up for that deficit. Eventually, he gave up, or rather, became content with the idea of just laying there. Whether it was from fatigue or from wound, eventually he would pass out in the courtyard of the mountain shrine.

The next day, or what he assumed to be the next day, as when he woke it was sunny outside, he would sit up. The many wounds and bruises he had sustained the day before seemed to already be gone. Boy, was he a quick healer! And as he looked up, there was the old mountain man! Standing before him. As Genryu stood, the man attacked once again. And once again he was beaten to a pulp. It was a cycle of repeated beatings. Wake, Pulp, Sleep. Every time he would wake up feeling fresh, only to know that he was soon going to get beat up no matter what he could do about it. It was like hell. This man's training wasn't training at all! It was some sadistic torture method. A month of cleaning and busy work, months of solitude and being crushed, and a month just getting his ass beat. What had he gotten into? And there was no escape at this point. He could wake up and attempt to run away, but the old man would be there to catch him and toss him back into the ring.

...he didn't know how many times he had been beaten senseless before he woke up and noticed that the old man wasn't there looming over him for another round of ass kickings. Genryu stood, alittle sore, and walked about looking for him. What was the catch? The old man was sitting in the shrine, making soup.

"AHH! Genryu how are you, you must be hungry, come eat!" He said. Silently, Genryu went and set next to the man.

"So no fighting today?"

"Why no, you're training for now is complete."

"W-what?"

"You've had enough solitude, you've had enough violence! You will return to the world with a resolve of strength and a calm mind. Your body is tough now. No normal man could be physically abused repeatedly and not be rocked to his core but you were able to heal over night it seems and return to the battle. You are strong, you are tough. You must grow as a shinobi before you can continue to get stronger still, but for now you are free. The training has been intensive. This shrine is my world where I control the physics via fuuinjutsu. I bet you thought it curious why I was impossible to hit! Bwahohohoho. When you are done with your soup you may leave. It's been half a year and your squishy human body has been hardened by my fire into that of a shinobi."

Genryu pondered... After the soup, he promptly gathered what few things he had and left. He wasn't one for goodbyes, but he had intentions of returning. This was one old man that he WOULD eventually be able to hit. Not only hit, but defeat. Even if he could bend reality...

Endurance

Spoiler:

1299/1200 words.