A Boy's Dream to be a Ninja

Shojin found himself at one of the training areas for Konohagakure Ninja, ready to practice some of the academy jutsu.  He'd hoped someone would show up that could either help him, or at the very least, keep him company while he worked on the jutsu assigned to him for homework.  The very first jutsu he'd choose to focus on for today's training would, of course, be Transformation Technique.  It was a very basic technique meant to give a Ninja the ability to take on the appearance of another human in order to don disguises and/or hide in plain sight.  

Shojin took a moment, brand new as he was at performing jutsu.  This, in fact, would be the very first and only jutsu he knew how to use.  His instructors had essentially taught him how to mold chakra and then sent him on his way to figure out.  He stood, clasping his hands together in a shape vaguely resembling the tiger hand seal, and he focused.  He molded chakra to the outside of his body, and attempting to command it to form into the shape that he wanted.  A puff of smoke later, and a few seconds waiting for it to clear revealed that he was terrible at this.

Shojin would shake himself mentally, and try again.  This time, he would stare at another girl his age, doing her own training.  He absently thought about how she was rather pretty, and when performing the Transformation Technique, after the smoke cleared, it was obvious he was looking - because he looked just like the girl he'd been staring at.  And he had no clue how to release the technique.


277/250 Words to learn Transformation Technique (E-Rank)

The Blind Kid with a Sword

Yemon had a headache.  He was trying to meditate and was being constantly bombarded with sound.  Were all ninja skills this loud? Yemon was somewhere else as he heard another ninja poof sound that went with, he was pretty sure everything they did.  The young samurai was here to improve diplomatic relations, which was basically as he had found it, pawned off cause no one liked the blind kid.  He was actually fine with this and his attire had remained the same since he had arrived with a sword, a bass, and three changes of clothes.  He wore the usual samurai Hakama, an undershirt, and a skirt.  His hair moved in the wind, there seemed to be a peace to it.

At home, wind and the sounds that accompanied it were always dangerous.  After all, most of it was frozen and snow covered.  Braving such sounds was dangerous, and Yemon was not nearly dim enough to try and do anything like that, especially when most of his early years he had spent taking exact counts of the number of steps it took to approach certain places.    Yemon stopped thinking about the past when he heard another ninja attempt some other magical nonsense that sounded like poof and he stood up after he made a loud clicking sound with his tongue against his lips.

It was a rhythm, used to tell Yemon what was around him.  A few others, he could not make them out, ninja of some indeterminate age or gender training. Yemon was only in the area because when he had got there, early, as he was waiting for his new team, he had started to meditate.  If he had known it was a training ground he would probably have avoided it.

He stood up and tapped his cane, taking his sword in his other hand.  He made his way towards the sounds of practice and came out of the tree-line lazily.  Sword in one hand and cane tapping the ground in front of him in the other.   He moved towards one of the ninja practicing and tapped his cane gently on the ground near the young man.  Yemon's eyes were unfocused as he bowed politely.

"If you do not mind the question, shinobi, is there a reason you are all so loud?"  Yemon asked, being genuinely curious.

395

Kosuke had woken up quite early on this particular day, with his goal being to get some training done on the techniques assigned as homework from the academy. They had been split up amongst the class, with some being tasked with the Body Replacement Technique, some being given the Transformation Technique, and the last group, his, being given the Clone Technique. All three techniques were necessary to pass the Ninjutsu portion of the Academy Graduation exam which came in three parts, a written exam, taijutsu and weaponry and finally, a display of basic ninjutsu skills. He intended to learn to use all of the basic ninjutsu skills and then focus on his taijutsu while he studied for the written exam. He was in his final year after all, so he would need to put in the effort. He had already started working on the Body Replacement technique before the homework had been assigned. He was something of an overachiever in that regard he supposed. But, it didn’t really matter all that much, as he made his way to the training grounds. He would practice going through the sequence of hand seals that would eventually become second nature to seasoned ninja, Tiger, Boar, Ox, Dog then Snake.

As he finished going through the sequence for what felt like the thousandth time, he would finally send chakra through his system to activate the technique, ending with him actually replacing himself with a nearby pot with a large puff of white smoke. He then had to explain to the woman who owned the flower shop that he was practicing a jutsu for the academy and had accidentally broken her pot. He didn’t have any money, but luckily she felt some degree of pity for the street urchin and let him slide this time. He had no family, and thus no money. That is why he was working so hard at the academy, so he could graduate and get a stable job. It was as he came within a mile or so of the training grounds that he decided to actually do some work on his assigned technique, the clone technique. Running through the signs a few times, “Ram.. Snake… Tiger..” He would finally push his chakra into the technique to call forth a single clone that looked almost identical to him, outside of being discolored. This meant he didn’t put the right ratio of chakra into the technique and would need to rework it. Carefully performing the technique again, he would adjust the ratio of chakra he had put into it slightly to see what difference it made. 

It was just as he entered the training ground area that he was able to make a fully realistic clone, outside of it being incorporeal. It was upon getting a bit further into the training grounds that he came across someone from his class that he recognized and someone else that he didn’t recognize speaking to them. “Oh hey Shojin, are you working on Jurobei-sensei’s homework? Me too. Who is your friend?” He would ask as he took a closer inspection of the other male present. He wasn’t wearing the normal ninja clothing, so he wasn’t quite sure if he was a civilian or maybe some non-traditional ninja. He did take note of the blade he carried, as well as the stick he held. Was this person blind? It was hard to say for sure in a ninja village.

TWC: 574 [Claiming Clone technique, and body replacement technique]

Shojin was rather taken aback by the image that presented itself to him.  A boy somewhere around his own age was approaching him, sword in one hand, and a white cane in the other.  What's a blind guy doing carrying a sword... he could hurt someone thought Shojin.  When the boy made his way all the way to the young Academy Student in order to speak, Sho barely heard his question as he was focused on watching the blade, ready to intervene should someone wander their way into danger.  Sho spoke concernedly, entirely bypassing the kid's question.  "Hey man, yo, I don't mean to be insensitive, but you can't go walking around with an exposed sword if... well, you can't see what you're doing with it!"

Of course, Shojin had a lot to learn about this guy, as it was completely unknown to him that the young lad was as capable as any fully fledged ninja.  He smiled politely, as it completely slipped his mind that the kid couldn't see his smile.  Then, he made an attempt at the next jutsu he was attempting to learn;  Clone Technique.  This one was easier for him.  He performed the necessary hand seals and, immediately, as though second nature, two perfect clones of his image appeared next to him on either side.  He then realized his image was still that of the female's, and there were now four of her floating around the training area.  He pulled all the chakra he was channeling and immediately both of the previously cast techniques faded.

As the poof of smoke happened, releasing the transformation jutsu, Shojin would ask the young guy a question.  "Hey, I'm Shojin by the way.  What's your name?"  Immediately, however, before the other boy was able to respond, a third called out to Shojin.  When Kosuke asked about Shojin's friend, he called back, loudly.  "Well, I don't really know his name yet, that's what I'm asking!  Hey! Wanna work together on the jutsu? Check this out!" Attempting to show off a bit, Shojin would make an attempt at another jutsu he'd been required to learn;  the Body Replacement Technique.  Also known as the Substitution Jutsu, it was the ability to switch places with another object nearby while obscuring one's movements, drawing attacks to the object that was now in the caster's place.  

He'd perform the hand seals required quickly.  Ram! Snake! Tiger!  And yet another puff smoke later and Shojin was now standing beside the girl he'd originally checked out, in place of her target dummy, just in time to receive a solid kick to his own head.  Dazed, he looked around, realizing he was suddenly on the ground.  The girl squealed in terror as she realized she had suddenly kicked a human.  "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry I don't know how I thought you were a dummy!! Or! I mean! Not that you're a dummy I-mean-a-target-dummy-and-" Her words somehow sped up as she was talking and increased in speed enough for Shojin to no longer even be able to comprehend what she was saying. 

Words: 504, claiming Body Replacement and Clone Technique

Yemon heard another poof and clicked his tongue again.  All the transforming was confusing his senses, like being bombarded by people that could not tell what they were.  It was really odd, probably because samurai did nothing like that at all.  He clicked his tongue again as he listened to the other dudes move. He listened to Sho and the comment about his inability to use a sword and looked blankly, in some other direction than at Sho just to point out how blind he was.  "Yep, very dangerous, I could totally hurt myself, or someone else.  Though, I am rather inclined to believe that is, in-fact the point of a bladed weapon."

Yemon said, before making the clicking sound again.  There were now four random people around him after another sound of poof.  "Oh god they're multiplying!" Yemon pointed out.  "How does that even work?"  He said as he tried to prod one of the new arrivals with his cane.  Missing once or twice for effect.    They vanished, and the facade of the transformation as well, though Yemon could barely tell that part.  People were more or less vague blots prior to him actually touching them, or hearing them in rain.

"Yemon, my name is Yemon." He said, once again in the wrong direction.  The ninja then vanished, another sound and a piece of something was off to Yemon's side where the young man had been.  Yemon reached for his sheathed sword but thought better of it before touching the object with his cane.  It was wood it sounded like.  He heard the man's voice from a bit away after.  "What the-?"  Yemon stated and turned to walk towards the newcomer's voice and the squeaking young lady.

Yemon shifted, and appeared next to the young man in a single "step" he offered a hand.  "Might I suggest not getting beat into the ground."

---

314 = 709 Shunpo

Kosuke watched as Shojin displayed not only the kawarimi but also the clone technique. It would seem that the two of them would be rivals for top of the class if this continued. Though, he didn’t mind the prospect of having a rival, and he knew Shojin to be a talented up and coming ninja. So, if there was a person he would like as his rival, Shojin certainly fit the bill. Though he didn’t have time to stop and admire the guy, he needed to focus on mastering the final technique he would need to learn. Dog, boar, ram! With a puff of smoke, he would transform into an identical copy of the blind kid that had the sword. The guy seemed to be either really weird or skilled seeing as most people with such a handicap wouldn’t be able to be much of a ninja. But the way this guy talked… he didn’t seem like any ninja or academy student Kosuke had met thus far. As he watched Shojin absolutely make a fool of himself by replacing himself with a training dummy in the middle of getting a beat down. This obviously didn’t go his way as he was then kicked in the head, left on the ground and dazed by a rather guilty looking kunoichi.

Kosuke would approach, still in his disguise to stand next to the blind swordsman, “Hi! My name is Kosuke, it’s good to meet you. I’m willing to bet you are pretty skilled with that blade you carry around, right? Would you mind giving a demonstration? I have always been interested to learn more about kenjutsu.” He would release the transformation as he moved to help Shojin up from his kick to the face. Looking to the girl he would chuckle slightly, “Oh you have it right, he is definitely a dummy.” He would then look at Shojin, “Shojin, this sword guy might show us some moves! Watch closely, maybe you’ll learn not to be a weirdo.” He would finish that sentence with a lighthearted laugh at his friend’s expense. He then turned once more to look at the blind swordsman, interest and excitement written across his face as he awaited an answer or a demonstration of skill, whichever came first.

TWC: 951 Claiming Transformation technique

"I... uh... it's fine!"  Said Shojin to the panicking Kunoichi.  He offered her a reassuring smile that really only manifested as a painful grimace.  "Sorry for abducting your dummy..."  Said Shojin sheepishly, also making no move to help her retrieve it.  He accepted the hands of his old friend and the one he was hoping would become one, and rose to his feet.  He was going to mutter "thanks", but instead, a realization hit him and what came out instead was "Wait wait wait, Yemon, how did you do that if you're blind?!  Are you just faking it for..." He paused a moment for dramatic effect.  "Tactical advantage??  That's genius! Because your enemies will think you're blind and then you can catch them off guard with an ultimate Body Flicker one shot combo!!"  Shojin smiled broadly, proud of the conclusion he'd come to.  

311 = 1092 Words
Claimed Tree Walking

He then turned to Kosuke, and back to Yemon.  "Yeah yeah, show us something!  I like swords a lot, I'm pretty good with them! A lot better than with Ninjutsu, anyway."  His broad smile remained on his face in an almost terrifying manner.  The young and aspiring Ninja then moved over to a nearby tree, where he'd make an attempt to climb it, in order to better view the demonstration he was hoping Yemon would give.  On his way over, he focused chakra in his feet, in an attempt to do something he'd once seen one of his instructors at the academy do in order to get a better view of all of the trainees.  This chakra focused in his foot, Shojin stepped onto a tree.  Entirely upright, he then continued to walk up it, slipping here and there, but eventually getting the hang of it.  He managed to stand upside-down on a branch to view the other two individuals. He wondered if Kosuke could do that...

Yemon did not even blink his unfocused eyes, but he made a face that pretty much screamed that he was definitely blind. He rolled his shoulders and clicked his tongue again. "I am definitely blind." He stated. "I have never seen, well, anything." Yemon stated as he wondered what the heck an ultimate body flicker one shot combo was. Sounded, interesting, if nothing else ninja seemed to name stuff way better names than, steps and slashes. At least they had that going for them.

"Hearing your voice makes it relatively easy to determine where you are, and I can hear pretty darn well. Try wearing a blindfold for a week or so, supposedly it makes it helps you to focus on the amount of sound you can actually hear. I have just been doing it since, you know, birth. Plus, I live in snow and rain, which helps for acoustic control and echolocation." Yemon pointed out before frowning as his senses were confused.

"Are, are you upside down?" He asked, clearly not ready for anything like that. "How in the-?" Yemon asked blankly, trying to sort that one out. The other young man was not hanging from the tree. This, completely baffled him. He tapped his cane and walked over to where Shojin was upside down and tapped at the tree with his can before reaching out to tap Shojin on the side, lightly. "Oh my god, that's awesome!"

Yemon then tapped his cane on the ground and clicked his tongue. He gently placed the cane on the ground and the stood up and rolled his shoulders before placing one knee forward and looking at the tree. He gripped the hilt of his katana and relaxed, he waited patiently for all the tension to leave his body, it took a few seconds, and he made no sounds except his slowing breathing. "Draw." He stated in a very straightforward voice

Every muscle in his body tensed up at once, his front foot forcing its power down as he made an entirely reflexive motion from years and years of practice, he was also a little older than the other two anyway, and in a symphonically swift motion, he struck. His hands almost seemed to choreograph the entire action as he simply drew the blade into a single strike. He ended with the blade above his head, and having taken a simple step forward.

There was a single leaf, now split into two that twirled, split down the stem as it gently floated to the ground. He shifted out of a ready stance and sheathed the blade before clicking his tongue again and reaching to pick up his cane. "I don't do many things well, and the blindness is a hinderance at times, but I can swing a stick."

466

Kosuke watched amazed as Roku not only was able to formulate sentences after what could only have been a concussion causing kick, but also at the way he walked up the side of a tree as he did so. The amazement continued as the blind kid was able to not only see where Roku was to talk to him but also he was able to cut a leaf clean in half obviously without having seen it. He was just surrounded by impressive, amazing individuals. This made him feel quite inferior in their presence as they both showed off amazing skills. Not one to be outdone, Kosuke would take off towards the same tree that Shojin was standing on, using his running start to get a decent height on his initial attempt at climbing. He didn’t quite make it to Shojin before he collapsed, falling back down and landing on his back with a thud, knocking the breath out of him. Letting out a cough as he climbed back to his feet, he would brush himself off and start again, he wasn’t going to give up until he got it as good as Shojin. Though, that didn’t mean he had forgotten about the amazing things he had just seen.

“Wow Yemon! I’ve never seen anyone be able to cut something so precisely and without even seeing it! You must have done a lot of training to get to that level!” He would then look to Shojin as he slowly began to climb the side of the tree, he was starting to understand the level of chakra he needed to put in to be able to stick to the tree. “Since when did you master such an advanced technique, Shojin?!” He was somewhat amazed at the other student’s skills, he wondered if Yemon had any similar abilities. “Yemon, I notice that I don’t recognize you from the academy. You are obviously skilled, are you not in training to become a ninja?” He was curious, if the guy was so strong, why wouldn’t he be in training to become a ninja. It was the goal of almost every kid their age who could use chakra to any extent, or in his case, it was the only option he had to get off the streets and to get a stable income. He would be able to make a name for himself and eventually become a rich and famous ninja in his own right.

TWC: 1,355

The young Kagemori positively beamed with pride at the compliments he received from the other two men.  He had never tried the Tree Walking Technique before now, and hadn't planned on it today.  That in mind, the fact that he had essentially figured the technique out on the spot with no instruction in it was a great point of pride, and made absolutely no sense to him.  Seconds later, Shojin's mouth was agape at what he witnessed Yemon, a blind man, do.  "No way!  Well... I'm sorry, I must seem like kind of an ass..." His tone was abashed, ashamed of possibly having offended this truly talented individual.  Shojin was surely talented with a sword... at least for his age and general ninja skill level.  But Yemon was clearly more advanced in it.  "Yaknow Yemon, I actually make swords.  I spend just as much time doing that as I do actually training, and I'm probably better at making them than using them." He said, with both a bit of pride and resentment at the same time, for how much he was forced to work.  

He was, however, distracted from his question as he looked down, his up, just in time to see Kosuke fall to his back.  Of course, Shojin leapt to catch him, but being inexperienced in the technique, he also fell, and ended up right next to Kosuke.  He had, however, kept his wits about him and landed on his feet.  "Wow! Like a cat!  But uh... I guess... right now is when I learned the technique?  I'm not sure, I kinda just went for it.  I guess I still need more practice, though. I'm kinda pooped though... I guess doing all those jutsu will do that to someone.  What do you guys plan on doing after this?"

300 = 1392 words

Yemon shrugged. It was honestly repetition.  He clicked his tongue again to see where the other two had moved following Kosuke trying to do tree stuff.  As for cutting a leaf, it was easy, luckily they did not see that the leaf had started on a branch, so, it was no moving target.  Without rain, or focus on an enemy, that was a little harder for Yemon for obvious reasons.  He shifted and tapped his cane back on the ground.

"Not a ninja, exchange student. From the frozen wastes, I am supposed to be diplomatic, whatever that means." Yemon responded to Kosuke, though he was facing a different direction.  It was relatively obvious that Yemon used his blindness more as a trick than a hinderance.  Yemon did not display anything else and let the other two show off.  He was not entirely sure what he would have shown off anyway.  "So, is defying gravity like a normal thing for you two or like occasional?"

Yemon thought about the final question and realized that until he got an assigned team, he was probably going to... "Meditating, practicing my Draw, or playing music until I get assigned a team and work, I am kind of boring.  I can't really think of what else I would do anyway."

Yemon responded.

---

217 1392

Kosuke would slowly climb to his feet, brushing himself off and would look back to Shojin and Yemon. “Well, for someone who isn’t a ninja you have some serious skills! And I’m just learning the technique, but defying gravity is something that is fairly common for shinobi I suppose.” He would finish with a bit of a chuckle at himself. Taking another step out onto the tree trunk, Kosuke looked back to Shojin, “I didn’t know you made swords! That’s awesome! I wish I had some kind of special skill or talent that would set me apart from everyone like you two do! It’s amazing what you both are capable of!” It was true that he had minimal skills as a ninja compared to most others in his class to be honest. This meant that he was usually at the bottom of things outside of actual classroom work. His goal however was to become a powerful ninja, so to do that he would have to keep failing, learning from said failure and then improving himself based on what he learned. He kept pushing himself harder as he slowly took one step after the other on the tree’s thick trunk. Before he knew it, he was actually back standing horizontally on the tree trunk.

Looking to Shojin and Yemon, he would speak again, “I wasn’t really planning for anything after this, just training until it got dark and then heading to find food or go to sleep.” He left out the part that had him scrounging for food from the garbage or sleeping under a tree or on a park bench. He wasn’t proud of the way he currently lived, but that is what drove him to work so hard to improve his state of living. He would shake those thoughts from his head though, no need to worry about that stuff now in the presence of friends. “So what kind of place is the north then, Yemon?” He was interested to learn about the place that the other kid came from, as Kosuke had never left the village before. It was then that he realized he was standing upside down on the tree branch looking down at the other two, meaning he had done so without even paying attention to the chakra he was using at his feet, it was just instinct.

TWC: 1,747

"I always defy gravity, that's kinda my thing if I'm honest," said Shojin, snickering. He was having a great time with these guys, as it was wonderful to have some company outside the men and women in the clan and his clients. "I do make swords, yeah. They actually can go for a lot sometimes. We just sold one that I worked really hard on for a few weeks so my mom is cooking a really big dinner. Instead of going to find food somewhere, Kosuke, you can come! And Yemon too, if you decide you're hungry. I don't really know how much more I can train without hurting myself... I'm out of chakra. You could tell us more about your homeland there, if you like."

It was awkward for Shojin to talk too much about his profession. His parents would argue he was more of an artisan than a ninja, and there was a chance they were right. But he would never admit that. It wasn't that he hated blacksmithing, he just hated all of the expectations that came along with it, as well as all that was required of him on the business side of things. If he could just work in the shop when he wanted, he'd probably spend a few hours a day in there still, but he'd definitely reallocate some of that time to training and to making friends. Truthfully, that was why he extended his invitation to the two boys - he wasn't afforded a lot of opportunity to make friends. It wasn't like they were a particularly high class family; just the opposite, in fact. They were nearly dirt poor, as were almost all Kagemori. The presence of the clan's Kekkei Genkai in Shojin was supposed to bring them back to some former glory that he honestly wanted no part of.

307 = 1699 words

"Mine are broken. Quite a bit actually. Not like I can see them. I can forge bad ones but most weapons I use are one shots." Yemon stated, he clicked his tongue again just as a breeze hit his face and the vibration did some weird nonsense. He thought about being called amazing but that made little sense because of how limited his actions actually were.

"The north is cold and snow covered most of the year, all of it if you go far enough into the mountains. Other than that it's fine. A little more quiet than here but it is home. We definitely do not have people defying gravity and using magical stuff. "The hell is chakra?" Yemon asked. When samurai ran out of energy they just swung swords more. Though the truth was that was something Yemon did. He was not sure about eating someone else's cooking. He wasn't a resident or citizen. Though being impolite was probably bad as well. "Sure. That counts as diplomatic right?" Yemon asked retorically as he clicked his tongue again.

Kosuke would listen as Shojin expressed his interest in learning more about the northern areas such as the Land of Iron. As well as his description of the money he made from selling that interesting sword. To think about making such money from one item was astounding, but kosuke knew that when one had talent, they could make money for a lot of things. Though, with the offer of going to eat there, Kosuke had to admit that it was an enticing offer, though he would probably decline. Not because he wasn’t interested in hanging out more or seeing more of his new friends, but because he was too proud to admit that he was indeed quite hungry and that he had probably never had some of the foods they would be having. So, he would make up an excuse as he normally did when he was in a situation that he didn’t care to be in. “Well, I’d love to come, but I promised to help this old lady with her grocery shopping this afternoon so I’ll have to rain check.” With that, he would bid them both adieu and would make his way out of the training ground and to the market district to pick up the cheapest ramen they had and to then eat it in the alleyway he had been staying in. He did look forwards to seeing his friends again though.

TWC:1,983
[EXIT]

[Forgot this existed, but it's been abandoned by now; exit]