Lessons That Only A Mother Could Teach [Solo]

Although it wasn't something that Shiroe had ever really admitted to those around him, the young Sashigame had been raised on stories of his father and the many exploits that he had accomplished back when he had been alive. Supposedly a member of an elite group of Shinobi known as the ANBU, Shiroe's father had been quite the individual. It was thanks to these stories of his father that Shiroe had aspired to grow up to be just like him. Obtaining the rank of ANBU wasn't an easy task though, according to his mother, and as such he was going to need to train himself quite hard. For the time being, he may be nothing more than an academy student but with enough time and effort, he would graduate from the academy and become a genin. Only then would his true journey begin.

Whilst he may not need to go out of the way and learn about any other jutsu outside of the required three, which he had already learned, being prepared for anything was something that had been imbedded in him. That is why young Shiroe had chosen to make his way on over to one of the only people that he could rely on to teach him. His mother. If he could gain her assistance in training in the ways of a Shinobi than perhaps someday he could succeed in being like his father.

As he had broached the subject of training with his mother, she would agree that focusing on training was important. There had been several scrolls that had detailed non-elemental ninjutsu and various other basic techniques, but Shiroe had already gone out of his way to read them. What he had truly needed was practice. If he could put these matters into practice than he could most assuredly overcome any difficulties when it came to understanding how they had worked. The only question at the moment was which techniques was he going to try and pick up on first.

Post Word Count: 335 | Total Word Count: 335 | Chakra: 150/150 | Stamina: 50/50 wrote:

Once Shiroe's mother had gone on to agree to training him in the ways of a shinobi, to the best of her ability, the two of them would head out towards one of the several training fields that had encompassed the lands of Konohagakure. Normally it would have taken a bit of time to find one that wasn't being actively utilized by a team of genin but the duo had chosen to go about their practice in the dead of night, thus ensuring that they would have a secure place to practice. "Right! So we are going to be starting with the Tree Climbing Technique. I know that you have been doing your reading when it comes to this technique but have you actually been putting any practice in?"

Shiroe couldn't help but avert his gaze from his mother as her question had begun to probe away at him. Practicing in and of itself wasn't something that he had done all that often. He had been a naturally gifted student when it had come to these kinds of things and tended to excel in learning. At most, he really only ever had to read something once or twice before he could fully comprehend it. That wasn't the safest way of training though and that was exactly why he had asked his mother for her assistance in this matter. Rather than lie to the person that he trust the most though, after several moments of silence would pass, Shiroe would begin to idly scratch the back of his head and speak up. "N-not yet, mother... I haven't managed to take the time to do this yet but that is why we are here now! And um... I did try it a bit while speaking with another student about it. Her name i-"

Before Shiroe could speak more about the girl that his mother had certainly already known about, his mother would raise up a single hand to silence him. Naturally, he would follow the directions that had been given to him by his mother. There was no reason for him to go out of his way to upset her this early on. "No need to say anything further on the matter. Instead, show me what it is that you have attempted." She was right of course. There was no need for the additional comments when he could simply show her the fruits of his labor. Even if that labor did happen to simply be a bit of reading on the subject and a mere attempt at it while subtly flirting with someone.

'Right.. So from my understanding, the Tree Climbing Technique is a training method that allows for one to not only enhance their chakra control but to allow for someone to stick to a surface with the soles of their feet. The concept of the technique is almost similar to that of magnetics, so to speak. With that in mind, the task is relatively simple. I just need to focus on applying a fixed amount of chakra to the bottom of my feet, much like with the Water Walking Technique that I had been explaining to Mika. The only major difference is that the surface tension of the tree shall remain consistent and that is why it must be a fixed amount.. Right, well let's go ahead and give this a go, I suppose. Can't let mother down.'

Hoping to successfully navigate his way through this technique, Shiroe would begin to apply a fixed amount of chakra to the bottoms of his feet. This was a rather tricky subject for him, given the vast amounts of chakra that his body had naturally produced. Emitting too little chakra here would cause him to lose his footing and fall off of the surface of the tree. Too much chakra and he would end up being pushed away from the tree and even damaging it. 'Well, here I go.'

Producing what he had believed to be the appropriate amount of charka from the bottom of his feet, Shiroe would attempt to walk his way up a nearby tree. He had considered running up a tree to build up momentum but that would have defeated the purpose of the training. That being said, he would successfully be capable of getting about a fourth of the way up the tree. By that time that he had reached that point, his chakra would inadvertently flare up and he would be thrown from the tree. If it hadn't been for the fact that he had enhanced reflexes and speed, Shiroe undoubtedly would have hurt himself here. While it was possible that his mother would have stepped in and attempted to catch him, it was unlikely. She would have wanted him to learn his lesson after all.

All that was left for the young Sashigame to do now was to attempt the technique once more. Focusing on the flow of his chakra so as to ensure that another flare up hadn't occurred, Shiroe would successfully navigate his way up to the top of the tree with little to no effort this time around. He truly was a once in a generation kind of genius. So much so that his own mother had begun to smile at him as he had begun to walk back down the tree and towards the ground. "Good. Now we can move onto the next technique."

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"For this next bit, we are going to focus on the Water Walking Technique. As you well know, the Water Walking Technique is essentially the more advanced bit of training when compared to the Tree Climbing Technique. Given that you are capable of handling yourself when it comes to the prior training method though, I am sure that you will be able to pull it off. After all, you wouldn't wan to let down your little girlfriend, now would you?" His mother had spoken in a rather teasing tone as she had gone on to mention Mika. It was strange to him that she had known about Mika, despite the fact that she had just cut him off before he could tell her about his newfound friend. Still, this was his mother that he was talking about. There was no real point in being surprised when it came to the things that they could find out when it had come to her son.

"R-right.. The Water Walking Technique. As you said, it is a more advanced version of the Tree Climbing Technique and one that has to constantly be adjusted when it comes to the surface tension of the water. Rather than trying to magnetize my feet to the surface though, I am trying to apply a repellant force. That way I can ensure that I don't fall into the water." Having agreed with Shiroe's approximation of what the jutsu had consisted of, his mother would begin to nod once more. "Correct. However, there is something that you have left out. In addition to utilizing this technique to repel the water so that you can stand upon it, one can focus the technique on their hands and use it to essentially climb their way out of water. This use can ensure that you don't find yourself struggling to swim upward in the event of being dragged down. Never forget this."

Taking his mothers words to heart, Shiroe would nod in response. The duo would than head on over towards a lake that had been distanced about half a mile away. This mass of water had often been used in the training of this particular technique and as such, it was a good place for the pair to have chosen for this situation. Once there, Shiroe would attempt to do the exact opposite of what he had been doing earlier on with the Tree Climbing Technique. Rather than magnetize his feet with his chakra, he would exert a repellant force. This was something that he had attempted to explain to Mika in the past so it honestly hadn't been that difficult for him to do. All that was really left for him to do was give it a go on the water.

For the first couple of feet that Shiroe had been walking along the surface of the water, there hadn't really been any major troubles. His chakra had been maintaining a relative sense of balance, despite the constant adjustments to the surface of the water, and things had seemed to be working out for the most part. It was only after he had gotten to about the halfway point of the mass of water that his chakra would flair up yet again, causing him to collapse into the water. He wasn't sure as to the reason behind why his chakra had continued to act in such a way but this wasn't the time for thinking on that particular matter.

As embarrassing as it was to admit, Shiroe had never been taught how to swim. Once he had found himself flailing about in the water, he had immediately begun to panic. How was he supposed to get out of this situation if he couldn't swim?! Was he going to drown? Would his mother step in to save him or would she expect him to get himself out of the situation? There were too many possibilities and none of them had been good. It is in this haze of worry that Shiroe would remember what his mother had just taught him about this particular technique., If he were to apply the repellant force to his hands than he could pull himself from out of the water. Several moments would begin to pass as he had tried to find the proper amount of chakra to output but eventually he would drag himself to the surface of the water and would flop on over to his back. He had been emitting a constant amount of chakra out of instinct to keep himself afloat and damnit, it was downright horrifying.

"It's good to see that you were listening to what I had told you. If you were to drown down there than what would we have done?" His mothers words may have sounded cruel but these were just the kinds of things that she had said to him while training. The life of a shinobi was a dangerous one and she had wanted to get that through his head before he had completed the academy. Even if it was to drive a wedge between the two of them, she was going to ensure that he had learned what he needed.

[Post Word Count: 865 | Total Word Count: 2,102 | Chakra: 150/150 | Stamina: 50/50]

As Shiroe lie on his back, floating atop of the water while utilizing the Water Walking Technique, his mother would reach down and offer him a hand. "Come now. Let's get you back to land for the time being. Moving forward though, any time we train after this will be done atop of the water. Be sure to keep up with your training." The very thought of possibly drowning again had admittedly horrified him and it was the kind of experience that he did not want to repeat. Once his mother had given him the opportunity to remove himself from the mass of water, he would immediately book it back to dry land. His mother would get there before even he could though, which felt like a lot considering how fast Shiroe was capable of moving at the moment. Just how fast was she?

"You may be wondering how it is that I have managed to get back to land before you have. Even with your speed being as quick as it is, there are particular techniques that can serve to enhance your speed. I'm honestly surprised that you hadn't known about this. Although Shiroe had been capable of keeping up with his mother if he had really put his mind to it, he had still been a tad intrigued by whatever it was that this technique had been. "This technique is known only as the Body Flicker Technique. If utilized properly, it allows for one to move short to long distances at an almost untraceable speed. Well, untraceable for an academy student anyways. To one such as yourself though, it would likely seem to be nothing more than teleportation however." Rather than tell his mother that he had been capable of keeping up with her movements, Shiroe would simply nod along.

"In order to utilize this technique, once must make the tiger hand seal and use their charka to temporarily vitalize the body. With that body being vitalized, one is capable of moving at extreme speeds. Be sure to remember that the amount of chakra that one requires for this technique depends entirely on the overall distance and elevation between the user and the intended destination. Now, go ahead and give it a try."

In truth, this technique was something that he likely wasn't going to need to utilize all that often. He had already been capable of moving at speeds that only Chuunin tended to move at. Figuring that he might as well learn all that he can though, Shiroe would begin to make use of what his mother had taught him. Slowly but surely he would begin to channel his chakra throughout each of the chakra pathways in his body. Once that had been accomplished, he could feel a vibrant energy bringing life into his body. In this moment, it had felt as though he could move faster than he ever had. Hoping to make use of this newfound energy, Shiroe would bolt off in behind his mother, moving at a speed that even she had to consider somewhat impressive. Thankfully his chakra hadn't flared up in this moment. It seemed to be doing that quite a bit as of late but when it came to fluttering about, it tended not to. It was certainly a strange occurrence. "I suppose that this one comes rather naturally to me. Hopefully it comes in use in the future."

Even with how easily this particular task had come to him, the young Sashigame had known that he hadn't quite mastered the technique yet. While he had taken the opportunity to dash in a straight line horizontally, he hadn't quite managed to succeed in doing as much vertically or even diagonally as of yet. This training wouldn't be done until he could do that much at the very least. He hadn't even needed his mother to point this much out for him. It is for that reason that Shiroe would immediately launch himself back into the training of this technique. Time and time again, over the course of the next ten minutes, Shiroe would energize his body via the appropriate molding of his chakra and would send himself in every which direction. North, South, East, West, Northeast, Southwest, etcetera.

Even with this training dragging on for some time though, Shiroe's mother had refused to allow for him to stop. She wanted to ensure that he could disappear in an instant if he had ever needed to do so. While it wasn't quite the same as hiding in plain sight, being capable of traversing large distances in little to no time was a feat that many a shinobi would need to utilize. It was the only way that they were ever going to survive out in the field after all. Each and every one of these techniques would find its way to being proven useful at some point in the future.

[Post Word Count: 819 | Total Word Count: 2,921 | Chakra: 150/150 | Stamina: 50/50]

If it wasn't for the fact that it had already been so late at night, Shiroe and his mother would likely have encountered a few other shinobi by this point. They had been here for what had felt like hours and yet it hadn't really been all that much time. Thankfully Shiroe had been quite the expert when it came to learning new things. Most of the Sashigame had apparently been that way. Not that he would really ever know, considering the fact that he had never managed to meet anyone within his family outside of his mother.

"You've been doing quite well thus far, Shiroe. Your father would have been quite proud of you if he were still here..." As she had spoken, a few trace amounts of melancholy could be detected within her words. It was obvious that she had missed her husband but there was nothing that she could do for him any longer. Nothing more than ensure that their child had the strength to survive in this world. "You know, we have certainly been at this for quite awhile, now haven't we? What would you say to making things a bit more fun, huh?"

Well this was new. Shiroe's mother had never really offered to make his training any fun before. Her sternness when it had come to training was actually one of the core personality traits that Shiroe had ever actually seen her exhibit! 'What kind of hellish training could she possibly be considering at the moment? Anything that she is willing to consider fun... I can't even imagine it.' Almost as though she had read his mind, Shiroe's mother would begin to offer the young Sashigame a sly smile. 'I knew it. Something is definitely off here.'

Closing the distance between the two of them, Shiroe's mother continue to allow for that sly smile to be plastered all over her features. Whatever she had planned was likely to scar the poor boy, if it was anything like the thoughts that he had been considering. Once the distance had been fully closed between the two of them though, his mother would simply bop him lightly on the nose with the tip of her index finger. "We are going to have ourselves a little game of hide and go seek. To start with, I'll attempt to hide and you'll attempt to seek. No using that little sensory ability of yours though. No, instead you must use these." She would than hold up a couple of scrolls before disappearing in a puff of smoke. The smoke would eventually clear of course and left in its wake would remain the scrolls that his mother had just been holding.

"I... can't say that I saw this coming." Taking a moment to completely understand what had just happened, Shiroe would lightly scratch at the back of his head whilst picking up the two scrolls. The outside of them had read Chakra Sensing Technique and Chakra Suppression Technique. "Ah...  I see what is happening now. She is trying to see if I can master these techniques whilst searching and hiding from her. I suppose that she is going to be using this suppression technique to remain hidden away. This should prove to be... interesting."

Seeing as he was going to be the first person to have to seek in this little improv game of hide and go seek, Shiroe had chosen to stick with just one of the scrolls for the time being. While slipping the Chakra Suppression Technique scroll in his back pocket, he would begin to review the scroll that had contained the sensing technique. Thankfully he had already understand what it meant to be a Sensor Type Shinobi and how to utilize its abilities on his own, even without utilizing this particular technique. In fact, he could already passively act as a sensor, without needing to resort to this. Still, this scroll might hold some insights that he had not quite known as of yet.

Upon opening the scroll and reading it over several times, Shiroe would come to a basic understanding of the scrolls contents. From what he could tell, the Chakra Sensing Technique would allow for a sensory type shinobi to mold chakra into a form that would best fit that of a sensor type. As opposed to simply sensing chakra within a limited range surrounding ones self, with this technique a sensory type could enhance the distance in which they could actively search for any particular form of chakra. With enough training, one would even be able to distinguish between the chakra of different creatures and people in and of themselves. They could even go as far as to seek out those that may be hiding with the Chakra Suppression Technique! This was certainly going to be useful here, considering the fact that his mother had likely been hiding while utilizing the suppression technique herself.

Let's see... So this is the kind of technique that can be utilized in several different ways. This method may be the basic sensory method but I have definitely heard tale of different clans being capable of sensing things in different ways. Perhaps, once I have become more proficient in the ways of a Sensory Type, I'll be capable of finding my own unique method to enhance the range of my sensory technique. For now though, I should really just focus on doing what the scroll recommends.'

Borrowing what he had instinctively known as a Sensor Type and from what he had known from the scroll that his mom had left him, Shiroe would begin to get to work. He would start by actively kneading the chakra that had been flowing throughout his chakra network. The feeling had been one that he had grown rather used to as of late as he would begin to knead and mold the chakra into that of "sensory mode" chakra. The greatest difference between what he was doing now and what he had done in the instinctively was the amount of focus required for him to actually perform this technique. At the moment he had been incapable of doing much else aside from dedicating his full attention to this technique. Suddenly the surrounding area within his minds eye would begin to glow a bright blue! It was a strangely miniscule amount of chakra that had been heading his way but it had been coming in fast and he knew that he was going to have to move out of the way of the incoming chakra if he had wished to remain unharmed. Thanks to his enhanced instincts and speed, Shiroe would leap from out of his current position just in time for a kunai that had been enhanced with chakra to land perfectly where he had just been standing.

His concentration having broken, Shiroe would begin to look around for his mother. It was clearly her that had thrown such a dangerous item at him. To test if he had actually been focusing on the task, no doubt. "H-hey! Watch where you are throwing those things!" Although he couldn't see it, his mother had been smiling at him from amongst the trees at the moment. Her suppression technique had temporarily come to an end but he hadn't even noticed it at first. It wasn't until the same thing had occurred several times over that Shiroe would begin to pick up on the fact that her chakra frequency would appear within his range just before the kunai would begin to come his way. After about four hours of this intensive training, Shiroe would begin to instinctively pick up on what had been happening around him. Whenever his mother had unleashed even the tiniest amount of mana, Shiroe would begin to move, stepping around the kunai that had been thrown his way. Eventually he would manage to close the distance between his mother and himself, thus "capturing" her for this exceedingly long round of hide and go seek.

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Having "captured" his mother in this game of hide and seek, the roles between parent and child were about to be switched. It was now going to be time for his mother to seek him as he had attempted to hide from her rather perceptive eyes. These techniques honestly might have been a bit much for an academy student to even have to go out of their way to learn but it was safer to learn everything that he could now than to be sorry about something horrible happening in the future. If Shiroe hadn't been the prodigy that he currently was, it was highly unlikely that his mother would ever dare to put him through this hellish training. Than again, if she had still decided to put him through all of this training despite him not having been some kind of prodigy, she likely would have spent the rest of her life protecting him from the shadows. This was all for his sake after all.

"Well, now that you have managed to successfully find me, it is going to be your turn to try and hide. I shall give you a bit of time to read over that other scroll before we continue but try not to take too long. We've been here for most of the night after all and I need to get my beauty sleep before the sun comes up? Am I understood?" Naturally Shiroe would just nod along with what his mother had been saying. He had been growing rather tired from this entire ordeal. Especially after everything that had just happened with the Chakra Sensory Technique. The faster that he could wrap things up here, the faster that he could manage to get back to sleep.

The young Sashigame would immediately throw himself into the contents of the scroll that he had previously been keeping in his back pocket. His mother was going off to give him some time to read and attempt to hide so he had been hoping to make the best use of all of the time that he was going to have here. Thankfully this scroll had managed to be rather detailed. It was a bit different from actively having to seek someone out. If it was simply sensing someone than he was sure that he could do it with little to no trouble at this point. Things were different here though...

From what he could gather from the contents of the scroll, the Chakra Suppression Technique had been a rather passive ability that would allow for its user to suppress their chakra to the point that it is virtually undetectable, unless up against that of a rather skilled sensor type. If compared to that of a sensor less skilled than you are though, you could even hide from sensor types with no trouble! It was quite impossible for someone to track down chakra that had been completely snuffed out, after all. The only downside that he could really see from this technique was the fact that the user of this technique would have to suppress their chakra so deeply that they would find themselves unable to sense others. Obviously this would be rather problematic for one such as him, seeing as how being a sensor type had become one of the things that made him who he was. If he couldn't sense those around him than how could he remain effectively on his guard? It was one hell of a trade off if he was being honest. There was also the fact that once the suppressor had activated a jutsu of some sort, that their chakra would immediately reveal their location, as seen with the incident with his mother.

'This.. is going to be a bit more difficult for me to handle than the Chakra Sensor Technique. I'm not sure that I am all that comfortable with it but.. I can see how there are benefits from utilizing this jutsu. I guess that I am just going to have to test it all out and see how things go from there.' There were several other added benefits that Shiroe could actually see from this technique. One of these benefits had consisted of the fact that this technique would work wonders for infiltrating an enemy's ranks. While they might not be able to really use any jutsu while suppressing their chakra, they could cross enemy lines without anyone ever knowing that they had done as much if they were able to become that skilled in it. There had also been the fact that having such a technique in his arsenal might allow for him to have a higher chance of joining the ANBU in the future. That was something that he was going to need to worry about in the future of course but for the time being, all that he had wanted to do was train and work towards that goal.

Having gone over the contents of the scroll time and time again, Shiroe had begun to stash the scroll away within a small pouch at the back of his hip. It is around this time that his mother would begin to call out from several kilometers away. Strangely enough, her timing in this matter had been rather impeccable. It was almost as though she had been watching him this entire time, waiting to see when he had wrapped things up. The very thought had sent chills down his spine. She was startlingly good at keeping an eye on him. 'Well.. I really shouldn't disappoint here.'

In order for him to activate this suppression technique, Shiroe was going to need to knead and mold his chakra once more. Rather than allowing for it to flow outwardly from his torso though, he had begun to push it all deep down. It had almost felt as though he was shoving the chakra into a place that he hadn't quite understood. As though he had been filling a void or empty chamber of some kind. The feeling had been rather odd overall and he hadn't quite understood what it had meant... That didn't prevent him from continuing this attempt though. With every ounce of energy that he could must in this moment, Shiroe would mold and knead his chakra until it had seemingly dispersed. He knew that it was going to be like this but having reached a point in which he couldn't sense the chakra that had surrounded him... It had left him entirely uncomfortable. Far more than the feeling that he had gotten when it had come to his mother always having an eye on him. Was this.. vulnerability? Unlikely but perhaps that is what it was like when you didn't have someone always watching over your shoulder to ensure that you were okay. One might even consider this a kind of freedom if it wasn't temporary.

Although he wasn't quite sure how long he could hold it, Shiroe would attempt to dwell within some bushes as he had continued to suppress his chakra to the best of his ability. It wasn't a simple feat for him considering how large his chakra pool had been but he continued to give it his all, no matter the struggles. Every now and then, he could swear that his chakra was beginning to seep back out but that wasn't quite what had been actually happening. Yet another instance of his chakra acting strangely as of late... He really should go and see some kind of medic. Or better yet, he should work to become a medic so that others don't have to learn more about him than is necessary. Truly the way of a future ANBU member.

Only about ten minutes would go by as Shiroe had remained hidden within the shrubbery of the training area. He was certain that his mother wasn't going to find him and had honestly begun to feel as though he might be growing more comfortable with the idea of remaining free from the prying eyes of the Sashigame matron. Once he had begun to feel that comfortability though, something would tug at the collar of his shirt and he would go tumbling on backwards. What had remained where he had just been standing had, unsurprisingly, been the sight of his mother. She had a slick smile plastered upon her face, much like before, and would then begin to speak. "Found you."

[Post Word Count: 1,405 | Total Word Count: 5,658 | Chakra: 150/150 | Stamina: 50/50]

Having been the one to have placed him on his bottom, Shiroe's mother would bend down and extend a hand out to him. She had managed to catch him in far less time than it had taken him to catch her.. She was truly a fearsome woman. With how skilled she had been, it had honestly been rather strange how she had simply lived at home and only focused on taking care of her beloved son. She had been capable of so much as a shinobi that Shiroe honestly couldn't help but think that he was preventing the world from having become a better place.. If his mother was willing to go out and return to the ways of a Shinobi, she could have ensured that the Hidden Leaf had thrived far more than it ever had before.

Dwelling on these kinds of things honestly wasn't proper of him to be doing though, and as such, Shiroe had chosen to return his focus back to the training that had been taking place. Grasping hold of his mothers hand, Shiroe would find himself pulled upward until he had been standing on his feet. "That was a good attempt Shiroe. I am proud of how far you have managed to come in the short amount of time that we have been training out here. If you keep this up, you'll be at the top of your class undoubtedly. That is enough of the fun and games for the time being though. Now it's time to take things to the next level. Just... Please don't hate me for what comes next."

Shiroe honestly wasn't quite sure how to react to what his mother had just said to him. Was the next bit of training truly something that would ever cause him to hate her? Of course not! There was nothing in this world that could cause Shiroe to hate his mother. Not after all that she had given up to ensure that he had become a reputable shinobi. She was the reason that he had been alive and he was going to make it up to her someday.

Having said all that she had needed to say, Shiroe's mother would begin to meld into the shrubbery surrounding the training area. Unlike everything that had been said to him before, Shiroe hadn't been left with really any information on what this next task was going to be. There must have been a reason behind this but Shiroe honestly couldn't pinpoint what that reason might have been. "I'm... really not sure what it is that I am supposed to be doing out here. Am I supposed to be tracking her down? Well.. she did say not to use my sensor type abilities earlier so I guess that I'll just have to look around for information.. Hopefully this whole thing works out."

Meandering about the training area, Shiroe would attempt to locate any sort of information that his mother might have left for him. He couldn't quite imagine his mother leaving him without any information on purpose so there must have been scrolls located somewhere that would guide him in this next bit of training. As he had aimlessly wandered the training field, a circle of leaves would begin to circle around the young Sashigame and would even go as far as to envelop the child before simply falling away. Not having been prepared for whatever strange attack this must have been, Shiroe had attempted to dive out of the way of the leaves before they could harm him. How hadn't he seen them coming? Was this the new technique that his mother had been planning on showing him?

There were far too many variables for Shiroe to process at the moment. His mind had been rather hyperactive and various possibilities of what might be happening would begin to flood his brain. Too much time had been passing without really anything happening. The whole thing had felt.. strange. Not being able to really do much else but search at the moment, Shiroe would continue to work his way throughout the training grounds. That is until he had come across an entirely unsavory sight. One that had caused his heart to stop beating for but a brief moment. Over half a mile away, the sight of his mothers lifeless body had been tossed along the ground. Blood had been pooling from a gash in her chest and it had begun to feel as though this gash had been placed upon Shiroe's own chest. The immense heartbreak that had been felt had immediately caused tears to well up within his eyes. No time would pass before the Sashigame had broken into a full sprint to his mothers corpse. The distance between the two had been closed almost instantaneously. Just as he was about to reach down and grab his mothers lifeless body though, a hand would grab a hold of his shoulder and chakra would begin to flow into him. This event would disrupt whatever cruel genjutsu had been cast on him and would render the body that had lied before him to disappear.

"W-what is happening..?!" Shiroe's voice would carry throughout the training field as his mother would swing him around and pull him into a hug. "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry, my sweet boy... but this is something that you must come to face now, before anyone has the chance to do this to you in the future... A lesson that must be learned before you set out." Having realized what had been happening, Shiroe would shove his mother away. He didn't wish to be embraced by someone that would show him something so downright horrible. Not now. "This... is what is known as genjutsu. This specific genjutsu goes by the name of Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique." It was most certainly a hellish illusion.. That much was certain.

Knowing that she had no right to speak with her son at the moment, Shiroe's mother would toss three scrolls in his direction. Rather than allow for them to hit the ground, Shiroe would swipe them from out of the air whilst maintaining a firm, disgusted gaze on his mother. "Focus on learning these three techniques. I shall act as your test dummy. Once you've completed the two genjutsu techniques, teach yourself how to break a genjutsu that you are trapped in. That is all that I have to say to you at the moment."

Although she had been the one to enact such an action on him, Shiroe had felt as though he was the one being punished for being upset. It wasn't fair to him.. but there was nothing that he could do about it. He understood the reasoning behind why she had gone so far but refused to allow for such a thing to continue to happen. For now he would simply focus on the scrolls. Otherwise he would begin to ruminate over the matter. If that were to happen, he knows that he would lose his cool.

Demonic Illusions... These were what were considered genjutsus. If these were the kinds of things that were always forced upon others for the sake of combatting an enemy village or potential threat, Shiroe could understand why so many people had chosen to undertake special training in this particular matter. For him though.. It had felt wrong, almost. Could he really ever force this kind of thing on another person? For the sake of the village, he could see himself using such a thing... Did that make him a bad person? Honestly, he wasn't sure. That was fine though. Whether he would make use of the technique or not wasn't important. Knowing about its existence and how to go about using it though? That was the key to success. If he had known about something, he could prevent it from being done to those of the village.

According to the scroll that his mother had given him on this particular demonic illusion, the hand seals that had been utilized were snake and rat. Once those seals had been made and after one had molded their chakra into "genjutsu form", the target of this technique would find themselves subjected to visions of their greatest fear, regardless of whether or not they are aware that they are afraid of it. This "fear" can be something that the target is actually scared of or merely the one image that they want to see the least. For Shiroe for example, those visions had pertained to his mother. What would his mother possibly see?

Not quite hoping to hurt his mother but to at least get through this demonic training, Shiroe would begin to do just that. He would form the appropriate hand seals and would begin to knead and mold his chakra into the appropriate ways whilst looking directly into his mothers eyes. Once the jutsu had been cast, his mother would subtly shift. It was clear that the jutsu had been cast in the appropriate way, at least according to the scroll that he had just had, but his mother hadn't reacted in even the slightest aside from subtly shifting her body. Thinking that he had performed the jutsu incorrectly, Shiroe would read over the scroll once again and ensure that he had been doing it properly. Seeing that he was correct in the technique, Shiroe would cast the jutsu yet again, and yet again there would be no more of a response than a subtle movement. What exactly had he been doing wrong here?

[Post Word Count: 1,601 | Total Word Count: 7,259 | Chakra: 150/150 | Stamina: 50/50]

Unable to determine what he was possibly doing wrong, Shiroe would begin to grow rather annoyed. He knew that he was doing everything the way that it was supposed to be done but just hadn't been managing to complete the tasks that had been set against him. Rather than further stress himself out by adding attempt after attempt after attempt, Shiroe would instead stow away the scroll that he had been reading and rereading and would place it away within his back pocket. 'Feh.. If I can't figure out that damned genjutsu than I'll just have to give another one a try.'

The scroll that he had pulled from his pouch had been the Mist Servant Technique. From what he could tell, this was going to be yet another genjutsu technique. Surprisingly though, this technique didn't seem to have the words Demonic Illusion attached to them. Perhaps not all genjutsu techniques had been hellbent on destroying the minds of those that they were used against? A soft shrug would be offered in response to no one in particular as he had begun to read over the contents of this particular scroll.

According to the contents of the scroll, this genjutsu was one that could affect an entire area as opposed to a singular target. With the Mist Servant Technique, one could create eerie black illusions, which appear one by one from trees and rocks. These shadowy illusions would then begin to corner the enemy. The movements of these illusory individuals are somehow slow, but when attacked they multiply, and in this way they appear like ghosts inhabiting the mist. A rather apt name for a technique such as this. Apparently one could even go as far as to throw weaponry from behind these illusions, whilst matching the movement of the illusory beings, to convince opponents that they had been real individuals. Overall the technique had seemed to be quite useful when centered on a singular individual but using it on a group hadn't been out of the realm of possibility.

Seeing as this had been the kind of technique that one likely couldn't blow off like it was nothing, Shiroe would get up from the ground and begin to make his way into the shrubbery of the training area. Once there he would cast the jutsu and watch as these wibbly wobbly illusory beings had begun to meander on over towards his mother. It... admittedly wasn't his best work. While the shadowy beings themselves had indeed been formed, their outward appearance was a dead give away as to their true nature. That wasn't going to stop Shiroe from completing his task though. Whenever it was that he had had the chance, Shiroe would cast this particular jutsu and watch as more and more of these shadowy individuals had been created. With each practice run of utilizing this jutsu, the figures would gain what had appeared to be a more corporeal form. Thankfully Shiroe had a massive chakra pool to work with. Otherwise he would have found himself quite drained of his chakra awhile ago.

No matter how many of these individuals had meandered towards his mother as time had gone on, she had refused to move from her spot. It was almost as though these beings hadn't phased her at all. Sure she had known about the technique from the get go and had been the real reason as to why these shadowy creatures were here in the first place, but it was almost as though she hadn't even seen them after the initial use of the jutsu. Why did things continue to go like this for him? Even he could see the individuals so why weren't they doing anything here?!

Starting to slightly lose his composure, Shiroe would pick up various sticks from the ground. He hadn't purchased any ninja tools as of yet so this was the best that he could really do at the moment. With subtlety, Shiroe stalk throughout the shrubbery and hurl several sticks in the direction of his mother. He was sure that he had timed it perfectly with one of the individuals but somehow his mother had managed to catch these sticks! Out of all of the objects that had been getting thrown her way at the moment, she had only attempted to take any sort of action against the sticks that Shiroe himself had thrown. Was she cheating by using a sensory ability or had Shiroe just been horrendous at this particular set of ninjutsu? For a prodigy, he was beginning to feel entirely inadequate.

After about twenty minutes of the same thing happening over and over, Shiroe would give up and release the jutsu that had been cast. There was absolutely no way that she had managed to brush off these jutsu as if they were nothing. It didn't make sense for Shiroe to be affected by the ninjutsu and not his mother. What had she been hiding?! Sensing that Shiroe had been heading back her way, his mother would simply quirk an eyebrow at the young lad. "Are you done than? I figured that you would have a bit more in you. You haven't even started to figure out why these techniques haven't been working on me, now have you?"

[Post Word Count: 885 | Total Word Count: 8,144 | Chakra: 150/150 | Stamina: 50/50]

From the way that his mother had reacted to his reappearance, Shiroe had known that something was up. Even if he couldn't figure it out, he was beginning to grow quite annoyed with this entire ordeal. Clearly genjutsu just wasn't the type of ninjutsu that he had been all that great at. Why else would he be struggling with getting the dang things to work? "You should really take a look at that third scroll that I had given you. If you had done as much when I had first given them to you, you wouldn't be having this issue right now." The third scroll. That was something that he hadn't even considered looking at until he had managed to overcome the first two trials. If it truly had something to do with why his mother had been able to brazenly brush off the effects of the genjutsu that he had been casting than he was going to hate himself for not thinking to look at it sooner.

Whilst shaking his head in a rather exhausted manner, Shiroe would reach into his back pocket and remove the third scroll that had been given to him. The name of the scroll had been Genjutsu Kai. This wasn't something that he had known much about and it would likely have been simpler for him to come to an understanding of things if he were to open the scroll up and read its contents. He honestly should have done as much earlier but it had been so late at night as it was. His mind was practically mush at this point. Hell, the sun had already been on the verge of coming up by this point in time! Had she really considered him to be at his peak efficiency when they had been training all night? Well, he was the one who had asked for it so this was really his own fault.

Taking a moment to finally glance at the contents of the final scroll, Shiroe would begin to feel an immense weight added onto his shoulders. With this scroll.. He could have wrapped things up so much sooner. The very thought had made him want to throw up. Genjutsu Kai is a technique which allows the user to avoid the effects of a genjutsu or demonic illusion. After forming the required hand seals, the user would be able to break through the illusion! The key factor within this technique though is that it is entirely dependent on how much chakra one is willing to expend to overcome the illusion. So to speak, with this technique, one is essentially forcing the genjutsu to come to an end by overpowering it in its entirety. This technique is also capable of being utilized not only by the practitioner but is capable of affecting others as well!

The fact that this technique was by far the least harmful option for combatting genjutsu also goes to show just how useful it is. It is much simpler to utilize a technique like this when you have plentiful chakra than it would be to have to deal with the ramifications of stabbing yourself to break out of one. With enough training in this technique, it would likely even be possible to apply a sudden surge of chakra into an affected individual, rather than having to do it in other ways. If he is correct, this is the technique that his mother had used to pull him out of the demonic illusion from earlier.

Having taken note of the fact that her son had completed his reading, Shiroe's mother would begin to speak up once more. "This is why you should always look at the things that are given to you beforehand, rather than taking your time. Imagine what would have happened if someone were to use another demonic illusion on you before you had the time to learn this technique?" Shiroe had been just about ready to lash out at his mother as she would begin to channel her chakra once more. Before the words could escape from his lips, Shiroe would watch as his mother had begun to disappear in a swirl of leaves. With that, she had disappeared.

Although he had already known what it was that was going to happen, Shiroe hadn't been able to act fast enough. Just as he had been about ready to string together the needed hand seals, various images would flash through his head of his mother in more and more dire situations. Each one of these visions had caused him to grow overwhelmed and within the next minute, his breathing had become ragged. The Sashigame's heart had begun to beat so fast that he had felt as though he was going to feint and yet he hadn't had the strength to string these hand seals together. If this wasn't stopped, his heart might even stop.

With such strong emotions beginning to consume the young Sashigame, something deep within him had begun to lash out. It had felt as though this was its opportunity to break free and thus the illusions in his mind had begun to grow far worse than they should have ever been. Things that he could never have imagined would begin to flood his mind as tears broke free from his eyes, streaming down his cheeks with more force than ever before. It was almost as though they were consuming him and leaving him as nothing more than a husk. Before they could fully overwhelm him though, a seal that had been long ago placed upon his back would force Shiroe to shout out in pain. The backlash of chakra had washed over Shiroe long enough for him to bring his hands together to form the seals that were required for the jutsu. With a horrendous shout of pain, Shiroe would force every ounce of chakra out of him as he possibly could and successfully cast the jutsu that he had been attempting to complete for what felt like forever. With nothing more inside of him at the moment... He would collapse.

[Post Word Count: 1,017 | Total Word Count: 9,161 | Chakra: 150/150 | Stamina: 50/50]

[EXIT]