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A Silent Dragon in the Killing Grounds [Private]
NuclearTreerat
Age : 49 Posts : 1036
Subject: A Silent Dragon in the Killing Grounds [Private] Mon 13 Aug 2012, 5:00 am
Given it's name of Ame no Kuni, a visitor might assume that it rained constantly in the country. While they would be partially right since it did rain every other day somewhere within the country, some parts received substantially less than others. One of those places was in a spur of mountains that started in Bird Country and continued along the border between Rain and Wind before ending as hills in River Country. Up high enough, the dry air of Wind Country that infiltrated resulted in a slightly drier climate and a landscape that was more conifer forest than rainforest. On the slope of a valley hidden among the towering pines a solitary camp could be found in a small clearing.
For one Hinamori Toshiro, this camp had been his new home for a week already. In that week he and Tonbi had pushed themselves to their uttermost limits every day and many nights before crawling (some times literally) back to for a few bites to eat and a few hours sleep before waking up to a cold breakfast and repeating the process. While he had gotten faster and stronger as well as substantially increasing his reserves of chakra, Toshiro still felt that he had hit a block in his progress. To be exact, despite having learned the "Silent Dragon" technique as described in the scroll he couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to it. The best he had been able to describe it to Tonbi had been as if he was had learned shadow of the technique - he could see the shape and general outline but the actual technique itself remained just out of his sight.
Determined to grasp the true nature of the technique, the pair had gone over the scroll looking any hidden tricks and tried everything short of true life-and-death combat. All for nothing as Toshiro could still feel the block in place. That block, and in particular the final way to get past it, was the subject the two were currently arguing - having long ago exhausted any new arguments for either side. "I still say this is crazy Toshiro. You read what it says - one in ten made it out and not all of them were sane when they did. There has to be another way." Giving his summoner a glare with one eye that said Tonbi wasn't budging, the pheasant scarfed down another mouthful of rice as he listened to Toshiro's familiar response. "Tonbi, we've been over this before. There is no other way. We dissected that scroll for hidden meanings, invisible ink, and encoded seals and we've tried everything we could to force it short of a fight to the death. The only way I am going to get this technique down like I think it is mean to be is a situation where it is do or die. That tower is the best chance of that happening. Watching the pheasant give him before opening his beak to start yet another argument, Toshiro decided to play his final card. "Tonbi, put a sock in it. I need to do this and you know damn well why. Now are you going do what I ask or do I have to send you back home the hard way?" Seeing that his summon was balancing a kunai in his hand and knowing that Toshiro was serious, the weapons-loving pheasant sighed dramatically before acquiescing. "Fine. But you had better write a good-bye letter to Kimiko-sama before you go in there or I'll blow that place up myself even if you‘re inside it."
NuclearTreerat
Age : 49 Posts : 1036
Subject: Re: A Silent Dragon in the Killing Grounds [Private] Mon 13 Aug 2012, 5:01 am
It was somewhat fitting that the day Toshiro would enter the old training “grounds” would be a gray day. A completely overcast sky and with a cold mist that made it impossible to get comfortable unless one was in a solid building with a source of heat. Toshiro had neither, standing just outside the entrance to his destination. Since he expected a fight he was wearing his full battle-kit. Winter camouflage and a shirt in an identical pattern with the ends taped close to the shin and forearm respectively. Over that was the harness and belt that held every weapon he had brought with him except for the two loaded scrolls at his hips. Taking a look around he whispered it’s fitting name as the weak mid-morning light revealed bleached bones and the rusty remains of weapons scattered about. "The Killing Grounds indeed."
From the outside the sight didn't seem like it would live up to that ominous name unless one was a rat or roach. A plain square tower of stone maybe fifteen meters on a side and six or seven stories tall with the upper half in abject ruin, it wouldn't have been of particular note in any country. After all, towers of that size in various states of ruin were a common hold-over from the innumerable wars that had shaped the known world. In truth the tower was "ruined" because it had been built that way. Mostly to convince passers-by looking for shelter for the night or bandits seeking a place to loot to find somewhere else. If a person was still nosy the inside would convince them that this wasn't the place to be - it looked like a violent skirmish had happened here generations ago complete with skeletal remains still in their armor. All to disguise it’s true purpose. Put simply, the entire tower had been built by his clan centuries before as the ultimate secret training ground for it's shinobi. A training ground that, if the scant information he had found in the sealed scrolls was correct, would test his prowess in, well, everything.
Weapon both mundane and exotic, ninjutsu of all sorts, genjutsu, sealing - literally every skill a shinobi might need would be put to the test. And if he didn't have that skill... well that was one of the tests. Being able to improvise and adapt ones plans to overcome a situation where didn't have the perfect tools at hand. Unlike other training grounds however, this one had an extra element - true danger. Everything inside this place was intended to kill or maim and if the scroll was to believed once you started it the only way to survive was to move forward. It was, in keeping with it's name, the ultimate expression of "do or die, there is no try". Taken together, it wasn't surprising that not more than one out of ten who entered were seen again. It's results though were undeniable - every one of those survivors had gone on to become legends. Sho the Wraith, Takeshi of Ten Swords, Rei the Wave Mistress - each a legend in his clan whose name alone evoked images of the impossible being made real on a daily basis. Had they lived in Toshiro's time they and maybe a dozen others, would have easily been S or even SS-ranked shinobi. For Toshiro, this tower would represent one of two things - breaking past the block is limits, or his death. Either way he would no longer have to worry about getting around whatever was keeping from growing stronger. He had already taken precautions in case the worst happened. One being a letter telling Kimiko everything including that hos fondest wish before passing was that he could hold her one last time and asking her to move on with her life. Susu had not been happy when Toshiro had secured that letter to his back, warbling what Toshiro was sure were his equivalent of curses never uttered in remotely polite company.
With a silent prayer to the kami to take care of his dearest people if the worst should happen, Toshiro took his first step into the room. Once his eyes adjusted to the even further reduced light, the genin gingerly picked his way over the various remains (including human) until he was facing the doorway at the other side of the room. Then he ran up the stairs, running along the wall to avoid a blade aimed at knee-height along the ceiling to avoid a spike that shot from the floor before launching himself into a forward roll that carried him through the doorway ahead of the spiked portcullis that slammed down. From that point on it would be only do, or die for Toshiro - there was no going back.
CP & Kit Remaining: 59 & full kit
Spoiler:
Name: Kinobori no Waza Act of Tree Climbing Rank: D Type: N/A Range: N/A Element: N/A Description: This technique allows the user to balance themselves on trees and vertical walls by focusing a constant and steady stream of chakra to the user’s feet. Gravity can easy be defined if this technique is mastered, allowing people to even stand upside down. If too much chakra is exerted the user will be pushed away; bark breaking and causing the user to then fall. If not enough chakra is exerted the user will lose their footing and fall. Chakra Cost: 1 (1 per post)
NuclearTreerat
Age : 49 Posts : 1036
Subject: Re: A Silent Dragon in the Killing Grounds [Private] Mon 13 Aug 2012, 5:09 am
[First Floor] Running along the wall at break-neck speed, Toshiro had every sense alert. After dodging the traps in the stairwell and entering the real test, he had already discovered the first surprise. While on the outside the tower was only fifteen meters in length and width, on the inside it was much larger. He had been running for nearly a minute and so far he only had to dodge a few basic kunai traps. That lack of serious opposition had the genin on edge - there was no one this place had it's name on those pathetic traps. It was that expectation of trouble that allowed him to dodge the first serious resistance. As he put his foot on the wall the entire ten foot by ten foot section of wall he had been running along suddenly rocketed towards the middle of the corridor to meet a identical slab coming from the opposite wall at the same time that the floor dropped away to reveal a spiked pit. At that speed anyone caught between the two slabs would be reduced to a thin smear. Putting on a burst of speed, the Hinamori genin accelerated in the direction the slab moved until he near the edge. With several meters left to go and only fractions of a second before he was pan caked, Toshiro jumped off his slab and towards the other one while cutting the chakra to his feet. As soon as his feet touched the other slab he jumped again - in the process converting slabs own momentum to his use as we shot out of gap between the blocks of stone just before the closed. The first serious challenge had been passed.
[Second Floor] After dodging several more traps, none as dangerously simple as the combination of the colliding walls and a spiked pit floor, Toshiro had reached the end of the first floor where another staircase awaited him. Finding it free of traps traps (at least that he noticed) if dilapidated, he had raced up it, coming to a stop at a plain door. A less patient individual would have barraged through the door but Toshiro knew better than that. After all, a door could hold a countless variety of traps. From explosive notes connected by tripwires to poisoned spikes that would impale whoever rushed through the door, to a simple pit lined with spikes - all were possibilities. Not willing to have an avoidable encounter with any of the above, the genin went through several hand seals and with a quite "Konoha Bushing" created an expendable clone to open the door. Gesturing for the clone to open the door, Toshiro ducked back behind the edge of the spiral staircase - a good precaution since as soon as the clone touched the handle of the door there was a resounding explosion and he could tell that his clone was gone. When the ringing in his ears subsided, Toshiro poked his head around the corner to see just what was waiting. Through the smoldering remains of the door he could see the dark sharp of several pits along the floor and hear the repetitive "shink" of numerous mechanisms. A closer look made his curse as he saw that while the pits were simply spiked, the walls and ceilings had banks of retractable spears that extended and retracted rapidly in a random pattern. Facing yet another over-engineered impediment Toshiro could only say one thing. "This is going to be a long day..."
[Third Floor] Looking over his shoulder at the pool behind of acid and the finally-still corpse in it, Toshiro could only qualify his last words. This wasn't a long day - it was a long pain in the ass day. Bad enough what had looked like one room of pits and wall spears had actually been several such rooms end to end with each one separated by a "touch me and I blow up" door. Oh no, that wasn't nearly enough misery in his life. Instead he had gotten through that with several minor stab wounds and come to this floor only to find that that instead of mechanical traps, the door at the other end had some of sort seal on it. A seal that when touched, dropped the whole damn floor to reveal a giant pit filled not with spears but a giant leech-like thing. And not just any leech - this blood-sucker not only secreted acid from it's skin and lived in a pool of it, the thing spat it! In the end Toshiro had gotten an explosive pouch inside the things mouth where it blew up and while it was distracted with one heck of a stomach ache set off three explosive tags he had placed on the ceiling that brought that area of the roof down on it. The fight hadn't been one-sided though - while he had managed to avoid most of the acid his left forearm hurt like a son of a bitch thanks to a near-miss and the only reason he wasn't in worse shape was thanks to the light armor he wore taking the brunt of another at the expense of being reduced to a pile of slime. It was only when the leech finally stopped thrashing that Toshiro had heard the click of the door unlocking and opening. Giving what he dubbed the "worst case of acid reflux ever" another glare and a silent vow to find the designer of this place so he would urinate on his grave, Toshiro walked through the door on to the next level of this exercise in torture.
[Fourth Floor] Looking at the solitary obstacle in his way, Toshiro had to admit that for this floor the designer had gone all-out. Instead of the usual traps or mutated critters, there was a ten foot high and thirty foot mechanical duplicate of a dragon guarding the only way out of the room whose only other occupants were a few fallen and broken pillars. Toshiro had spent the last five minutes since he had stepped into the room in a staring match with the creature. Well, it would be more accurate to say he his part of that had actually been admiring the workmanship of the mechanical monstrosity across from him. Even his grandfathers prized puppet "Draco" didn't look nearly as beautiful. A part of the genin actually balked at damaging such a magnificent piece of craftsmanship. That hesitation had ended when the automaton, apparently gotten tired of being admired, loosed a jet of flames at Toshiro. Instinctively using the water encampment wall to counter the flames, it was only after the jutsu ended that he realized that this was not going to be an easy fight. After mechanical dragon and flesh-and-blood ninja had stopped their respective jets, the dragon began to inhale the steam. Wondering just what the infernal contraption was planning, it was only when the dragon emitted a piercing whistle that he had understood just how much troubled he was in. Adrenaline lending speed to his fingers as they formed the tiger seal, Toshiro just activated the replacement technique as a jet of steam shot out of the creatures mouth at the genin. Instead of hitting it's intended victim, a piece of a fallen column took the brunt of the attack as the genin watched the attacks effects. Now normally steam could only get as high than the boiling point of water the excess heat would just cause more water to evaporate. Apparently the dragons designer had known that and included a pressure-chamber in it's design. Because while normal steam would just hurt like the dickens, steam heated under pressure in the absence of water could get much hotter. In this case hot enough to slightly melt rock and easily hot enough to flash-boil one genin. Seeing this fact first hand, said genin just groaned and wondered what Kami had it in for him.
[Fifth Floor] Now sporting a multitude of small stab wounds, a throbbing acid burn on his left arm, and looking like a lobster that had been boiled before escaping the pot, Toshiro was swearing up a storm while promising to do far worse than take a leak on the grave of the sadist that designed this place. He intended to find that grave and defile it and their corpse in every way imaginable to ensure that they spent the rest of their afterlife as a chew toy for the hounds of the underworld or worse. This tower was supposed to be a test of his skills a ninja, not some demented exercise in how much pain can one person take! It had taken him nearly an hour before he had gotten past that mutated mechanical steam-cleaner, but not without a hefty cost. He had expended nearly all his kunai and sebon along with every shuriken he had only to learn that even assisted by a Gale-palm that thrown and projectile weapons simply bounced off the damnable things metallic hide. After that Toshiro had tried getting in close to find some chink in it's shell where he could stab it. That particular idea had resulted in his getting an instant-suna treatment when the dragon revealed a multitude of vents that almost instantly created a cloud of super-heated steam around itself.
In the end he had fallen back on a trick so old it was pathetic - tying an explosive tag to one end of his bow, using his right sleeve and a kunai to create a very crude representation of a hand, and sticking the dummy behind some rubble with just the end showing. Thankfully the steam-cleaner turned man-eater apparently lacked a real brain because it literally swallowed the bait - pouncing on the entire thing to snap it up. Briefly mourning the valiant sacrifice of a trusted companion, Toshiro had detonated the tag and the resulting explosion had blown the things head and several feet of the body apart. Once that had happened the door had opened and Toshiro had once more ascended the stairs to his current location. That being the door to the next level of the tower. A door that was facing the wrong way if the unusually thick beam preventing it from being opened from the other side was any indication. Not in the mood after that last fight, and because of not considering that maybe it was meant to keep something in not out, the genin slapped his last tag to the door, walked back around the corner and set off the tag. He hadn't even waited for the dust to settle before walking back around the corner and through the smoke while yelling "All right whatever you are, come out. Thanks to this hell-hole I am in a foul mood so let's just skip the smack talk and get to the part where I use you for stress relief!" Yes it was... un-ninja-like but Toshiro wasn't exactly in a calm ninja-like mood. He was tired, sore from head to toe, angry, and just wanted to get this over so he could finish this waste of time and go back to his real training.
Because of that he almost missed the whisper-quite staccato of quick steps coming from his right. Almost isn't completely though and he had time to draw his sword and catch the incoming attack on it while glaring into the eyes of the attacker. Teal eyes that held manically gleam set in a lightly tanned face with a mop of unruly white hair. What was said next would give the genin many a nightmare for the rest of his life - not so much because of what was said but the voice that said them. "Funny you say that. Because I'm looking to play a bit after all these years... Shiro-chan. Shall we dance?" With that Toshiro's mirror-image thrust it's blade so similar to his own but longer and with the edge cruelly serrated upwards in an attempt to send the point into Toshiro's eye. An attempt the genin dodged by breaking the lock and leaping backwards to get some room before setting himself for the fight. He had been unsettled that this thing wore his own face and talked in his own voice but with cruel twist, to say nothing of it's knowing the loathed "pet name" his now-estranged sisters used for him. Despite that Toshiro wasn't about to show fear or back down. Now the true test would begin and he would beat an explanation out of this thing if he had to.
Name: Kinobori no Waza Act of Tree Climbing Rank: D Type: N/A Range: N/A Element: N/A Description: This technique allows the user to balance themselves on trees and vertical walls by focusing a constant and steady stream of chakra to the user’s feet. Gravity can easy be defined if this technique is mastered, allowing people to even stand upside down. If too much chakra is exerted the user will be pushed away; bark breaking and causing the user to then fall. If not enough chakra is exerted the user will lose their footing and fall. Chakra Cost: 1 (1 per post)
Name: Explosive Tag: Activate x3 Rank: E Type: Fuuinjutsu Range: N/A Element: N/A Description: This technique allows the user to activate an explosive tag they have planted somewhere. Preferably they should be within close to mid range and visible to the user. You cannot activate another persons explosive tags unless your chakra has been channeled into them beforehand. Chakra Cost: 1 (per 3 explosive notes)
Name: Kawarimi no Jutsu Body Replacement Technique Rank: E Type: Ninjutsu Range: 10 meters Element: N/A Description: After performing a tiger seal, this technique allows the user to alter places in a speedy manner with another nearby object. This is done mere seconds before an attack lands, thus making the attacker believe his or her attack was a success. Whatever object was used to alter places will receive the brunt of the enemy’s attack instead. The object that the user switches with must be preset somewhere else in the thread, meaning that the object must have received specific mention previously in the thread. Chakra Cost: 2
Name: Konoha Bushin (Leaf Clone) X3 Rank: D Type: Ninjutsu Range: N/A Element: N/A Description: An early version of the Kage Bushin, the Konoha Bushin is similar in being a solid clone with effectively unlimited range. However it is much weaker than other solid clones; unable to do meaningful damage or use ninjutsu and dispersing if slapped or poked hard. They also lack the shadow clones ability to send their experiences to the original on being dispersed - the user will sense which clone was dispersed as well as the distance and direction from themselves (and through that the rough location) when it was dispersed but nothing about how, or what it experienced after being made until it dispersed. This limits them to roles such as "grunt labor" for non-combat tasks, expendable "mine detectors" or for other tasks (such as being a decoy) where knowing exactly what happened isn't critical. When dispersed the clone dissipates into smoke and a handful of leaves plus whatever equipment they were carrying (but not copied) at the time. Chakra Cost 3
Name: Reppushou - Gale Wind Palm Rank: C Type: Ninjutsu Range: Close (0m - 5m), Mid (5m - 10m), Far (10+) Element: Fuuton (Wind) Description: Fuuton Reppushou is a Ninjutsu technique utilizing the Wind Element. After forming the needed hand seals, the user will send a strong gust of wind towards his/her target. When acting in conjunction with another thrown weapon, the wind can increase its power and deadliness. Chakra Cost: 5
Name: Suijinheki - Water Encampment Wall Rank: B Type: Ninjutsu Range: Close (0m - 5m) Element: Suiton (Water) Description: Suiton Suijinheki is a Ninjutsu technique utilizing the Water Element. The ninja will first do a string of hand seals and then proceed to blow out a jet of water from their mouth to act as a water barrier from incoming attack. Chakra Cost: 12 (4 per post)
NuclearTreerat
Age : 49 Posts : 1036
Subject: Re: A Silent Dragon in the Killing Grounds [Private] Tue 14 Aug 2012, 1:47 am
Facing off against his doppelganger as it circled the room around him, Toshiro tried to take in as much as he could without taking his eyes off his adversary. The room was moderately sized - maybe fifteen to twenty feet wide and up to thirty feet long with the ceiling a good twenty feet above him. For it's size it was lacking in much of anything resembling signs of occupation - in one corner was a table with what might be a few books and a chair and a few steps away from that was a block of something that looked like stone which looked large enough for a human to lie down on that and was about it. The floor under Toshiro's bare feet felt like stone and as he moved to keep the "him" with the crazed grin was slightly dusty. So far nothing that told him anything of real use against his opponent and the creatures appearance was also similarly useless. It (Toshiro refused to call it him) wore and exact copy of his own camouflage pants and grey shirt along with black gloves and weapons harness. The only difference between the two was that the co-walker's ninjato was a good half-foot longer in the blade, which was serrated along the edge for the first third of the blade. That combined with the insane grin that never left it's face were the only hints he had - whatever it was, a rational argument with it wasn't going to do him any good. Force of arms and wits would be the deciding factor in this fight.
When it came a fight between swordsmen there tends to be two camps of thought - attack first and take the initiative or wait and force the enemy to make the first move and with it the first mistake. For ninja it tended to be the first since they would strike with advantage gained by stealth or jutsu to get under the enemies guard then try to overwhelm them before they strike a return blow. Samurai typically fell into the later due to their training emphasizing face-to-face combat and striking a single killing blow. Toshiro had a slightly... different mindset. Put bluntly, like the other active-duty ninja of his clan Toshiro was trained to win - at any cost. Usually that mindset worked to his advantage but in this situation it was working against him. If the thing across from him was in truth some sort of twisted clone as it's knowledge of that hated nickname implied, it would be just as capable of fighting dirty. That meant that any mistake no matter how small would be pounced on and leave him in a world of hurt. 'Defense it is then.'
With that thought Toshiro set himself to wait for his reflections attack. He didn't have to wait long as his reflection rushed at him with the blade held parallel to the ground. Anticipating the side-to-side slash before it began, Toshiro ducked under that strike and brought his shorter blade up in a vertical strike intended to cripple if not completely remove the co-walkers left arm. Of course "Evil Toshiro's" blade was there to slow the strike enough to buy time to move the limb out of the attacks path. The "formalities" out of the way the two began a deadly dance of strike, parry, and counter-strike where a split-seconds distraction or hesitation meant that instead of scrapping sparks from your blade their steel would scrap your bones. While both scored several minor wounds, it would be "Evil Toshiro" who gained the advantage. Already tired from his efforts to reach this point and with the various small wounds hampering his movement, Toshiro was just a fraction of a second too slow to get a proper guard up against a two-hand downwards cut. Without the time to properly deflect the powerful blow, Toshiro had no option but to outright block it with his own blade. When the distinctive crackling of uncontrolled electricity reached his ears as the two blades collided, Toshiro realized that he had just made a big mistake. Then he felt a searing pain in his right shoulder as his foes blade cut through his own before being thrust into the genin's shoulder and emerging out the other side. Between the pain of the wound and the twitching of muscles being shocked Toshiro gasping in shock was a given. So was his collapsing to the ground as the muscles that held him upright no longer obeyed. Fighting to get control over his limbs back, the genin's eye met the point of the sword hovering over his nose. Following that length of steel, which a small part of his mind pointed out showed signs of improper maintenance, Toshiro's gaze locked with an identical set of teal eyes. While his own held a determination to not fall to this... mockery, the others still held a twisted joy that made Toshiro sick.
"Looks like you lose Shiro-chan. I would drag this out some more but the faster I get rid of you the quicker I can pay dear Kimi-chan a visit. I bet she's turned into a real beauty - maybe I'll make her scream your name while I have fun with her." Wanting to enjoy his "originals" despair "Evil Toshiro" hesitated just a second before starting it's downward cut, intending to split the genin in twain. Flushed with the joy of victory and imaging the twisted fun it would have in the coming years the creature missed a very important event. That event being that when the doppelganger had threatened Kimiko, it caused the very thing the genin had come to the tower seeking to happen. Fueled by a tempest of rage that would not be denied, the block that Toshiro had been unable to get around shattered. What came out of that gap was a surge of pure determination. No longer was Toshiro fighting to survive or improve himself. Now he was fighting to annihilate the thing that dared to threaten his more precious person.
Blocking out the searing pain in his right shoulder, Toshiro rolled just enough that the downward cut missed by fractions of a hair while launching a kick straight at the one thing he could reach from the ground - the knee. Now as anyone who has been kicked in the knee by a horse can testify, the knee can only bend the wrong way so much. When it reaches that point one of two things happen: the person falls over so that the pressure is relieved or the joint separates - the later being excruciatingly painful. With it's sword blade buried into the stone floor and with the oh-so-effective chain that had prevented the genin from disarming "Toshiro" needing several minutes to remove, the former wasn't an option. Thus the later came into effect with predictable results - "Toshiro" howled in pain and collapsed as it's left leg gave way. That was just the break Toshiro needed as he continued his roll to gain distance. When in the process of that roll his hand brushed against something on the floor that felt like a hilt, training and instinct took over. Fingers wrapping around the leather he twisted and somehow, even with his doppelganger howling in pain and spewing curses, Toshiro could hear a sound he had learned to love even before he could walk - the whisper-quite hiss of a perfectly oiled steel blade sliding out of it's scabbard. As he came to his feet to see "Toshiro" getting on back on it's own with the damaged leg slowly reforming, the genin used that time for two actions. One was running focusing what chakra he had left into preparing for his last-ditch attack and the other was taking stock of what he held in his hands.
Name: Musei Doragon (Silent Dragon) Rank: C-A Type: Ninjutsu Range: Close (0m - 5m) Element: N/A Description: At the end of their current post the user starts to gather and concentrate their chakra within their body which can only be expended on the users next post or later. If at any point before activating the technique the user takes any action (even dodging) the jutsu ends and the process must be started again. When completed the user can make a single weapon or unarmed strike that can only be dodged, blocked with a C-rank or higher weapon (D-rank and lower ones will be shattered), and defensive barriers of higher rank than the jutsu (one barrier can be destroyed per "charging" post). Use of the jutsu is very draining, and a one-post "rest" period must separate each use or the user's next try result in their being rendered helpless from their muscles seizing up. Requires Improve Speed I (C-rank), II (B-rank), or III (A-rank). Chakra Cost 5/10/ 15 CP plus 5 CP per "charging" post. Successive uses in the same thread double the cost each time.
NuclearTreerat
Age : 49 Posts : 1036
Subject: Re: A Silent Dragon in the Killing Grounds [Private] Tue 14 Aug 2012, 6:34 am
In the breather his vicious attack had brought, Toshiro had managed to find a few precious seconds to examine the object fate or luck had put into his hands. Fitting so well into his grip that he would have sworn it as purpose-made was a katana with some rather obvious differences from normal type. The point was easily two or three times the normal length and the blade was also less curved - maybe half a fingers width in displacement total. He couldn't see the hilt but from long practice he could tell it wasn't the usual cowhide - it was too smooth yet secure. That could only mean it was sharkskin - something that was hideously expensive and even more difficult to cure and work with. It was also the absolutely best material possible for wrapping around a sword hilt because, if they weren't damaged in the tanning process, the tiny hooked scales made losing one's grip all but impossible no matter how much blood or sweat coated the hands and hilt. Wearing a grin that would have fit perfectly on the face of a wolf that had cornered a fat deer after days without eating, Toshiro locked his gaze onto the creature's face.
It was those eyes that would terrify the shape-changer more than anything. Before they had been human and full of emotion that changed with the flow the fight. Now the pupils were slit like that of some predatory reptile and filled with a single emotion. Fury. Looking into those stormy depths, the creature realized that it had made a massive mistake in saying what it did. There was no weakness or doubt in those eyes - only the primal desire to annihilate the insect that dared to stand it his path. For the creature that was the start of a seed of fear. It had lost it's initial advantage and while it might be able to heal the flesh around the break, bone and ligament was an entirely different matter. The knee was repaired enough to support weight but not enough to take even a light blow. On the other side, Toshiro was riding a battle-high of adrenaline. His opponent was clearly favoring the leg he had struck, and the little signs it was giving were screaming fear. Even with his dominant arm screaming agony and ever movement sending fresh blood to soak his shoulder, Toshiro was confident that now he would win.
The deciding moment came when the creatures building fear and doubt became too much. Like most sadists, bullies, and others whose sense of their own worth was far removed from reality, the creature could not admit that anyone was superior to it. Fearing someone though was the same admitting that they were your superior. To bury that fear, and thus the doubts, such people were frequently very brash to convince themselves that they were not afraid. True to type, when the fear it was feeling of Toshiro reached the breaking point it charged with a wordless scream - intent on destroying the thing that was making feel afraid and thus inferior. Toshiro waited just fractions of a second, letting the creature commit to it's course before revealing his own. With a barely-audible whisper, the genin spoke the name of the one technique that the creature had learned from experience to fear - "Silent Dragon" before shooting forward to make a powerful diagonal slash. Boldness shattered, the creature realized it's mistake - at it's current velocity and distance it would be unable to change direction, especially with it's weak leg, in time to avoid the attack. Desperation made it raise it's blade and surge lightning chakra through it but in the end it was a futile gesture. Forged far better than any weapon Toshiro had ever used and backed with a mind-blowing amount of force, the katana didn't even slow down for the poorly-maintained blade which shattered on impact. With barely any force lost, the blade continued it's path - cutting completely through the creatures left shoulder and ribcage (including nicking the heart) before passing out of the body just above the right hip in a shallower slice.
Its expression rapidly changing from desperation to shocked disbelief as it felt a surge of pain like none it had ever felt before, the creature collapsed onto it's knees then toppled backwards as its body suddenly no longer had the strength to remain standing and the momentum of Toshiro's strike took over. As it hit the ground, it's image wavered as it could no longer focuses sufficiently to maintain its advanced henge. Revealed was a grey-skinned, long-limbed humanoid whose nearly triangular head held two over-large slanted white eyes, slits for nostrils, and almost non-existent lips around a mouth that opened to show jagged yellow teeth. Girded in nothing but a loin cloth the creature made a pitiful site as it looked into the eyes of it's killer. Some might have spared it out of pity or some other emotion. It's threat against Kimiko had eliminated any shred of mercy from Toshiro's soul for it. Eyes as cold as the deepest water in the sea, Toshiro's blade lashed out one last time. Aimed true the blow split the creatures head from crown to pate, adding to the growing puddle of blackish blood a pile of brains. Giving the blade one final flick to clean it off, Toshiro carefully slid it through the same loop that held the scabbard for his now ruined ninjato. Weapon taken care of, Toshiro knelt and used a kunai to slice the left leg of his pans before the shin into bandages that he used to make a crude pressure bandage for his shoulder. Then he began the process of figuring out just how to get out of this place.
Name: Musei Doragon (Silent Dragon) Rank: C-A Type: Ninjutsu Range: Close (0m - 5m) Element: N/A Description: At the end of their current post the user starts to gather and concentrate their chakra within their body which can only be expended on the users next post or later. If at any point before activating the technique the user takes any action (even dodging) the jutsu ends and the process must be started again. When completed the user can make a single weapon or unarmed strike that can only be dodged, blocked with a C-rank or higher weapon (D-rank and lower ones will be shattered), and defensive barriers of higher rank than the jutsu (one barrier can be destroyed per "charging" post). Use of the jutsu is very draining, and a one-post "rest" period must separate each use or the user's next try result in their being rendered helpless from their muscles seizing up. Requires Improve Speed I (C-rank), II (B-rank), or III (A-rank). Chakra Cost 5/10/ 20 CP plus 5 CP per "charging" post. Successive uses in the same thread double the cost each time.
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Subject: Re: A Silent Dragon in the Killing Grounds [Private]