A bright sliver of orange light broke the horizon over Konohagakure, the first flock of geese broke out of a distant treeline and flew in triangular unison to the west. Thin clouds dusted the morning sky and created a citrus canvas far above the village hidden in the leaves. The call of a singular early morning cockerel radiated out from one of the inner regions of the concealed settlement, arguably creating an idyllic scene that would bring even the most unartistic being to tears. All was still at this early hour of the morning, the slight chill that lingered in the air, creating a briskness favourable to those seeking to enjoy the beauty of the fire country scenery. On occasion a group of leaves would be blown from their branch perches and down onto the dusty pathways of Konoha. Barely anybody was out of their homes at this hour, only the odd athlete engaging in early exercise would venture through the village. Such a scene and such acquaintances was the regular morning routine for Deguchi Shinzo, Head Jounin of Konoha as he made his way towards one of the more forested areas on the outskirts of his home town.
Times such as this had become a favourite experience of the young shinobi who, in what seemed to be a past life, would never pay attention to such things. But with his new duties and rank came a new sense of freedom, a new bout of independence that was previously unknown to the boy. His eyes scanned the sky, marvelling at the early morning flight of several birds as they took to the sky. Freedom, something that was always a topic of interest for the lad. Thoughts soon wandered to the past, the clashes of not only metal but also ideology filled Shinzo’s mind, the sacrifices made for the freedom that he now enjoyed was astounding; in truth it was a subject that was almost always being explored in his head. His mind’s eye could only imagine what such large scale conflict could look like as it happened, his regular eyes could old gaze upon the headstones of the many heroes whom had given their lives for the protection of Konoha. A ripple of gratitude reverberated throughout his body as Shinzo looked down to the ground toward his own feet. The times of those who had already made the ultimate sacrifice was over, now it fell to him. He was in a position to make a difference now, not only for his family but for all those living here in his home. His resolve held strong as he held a tear back, thinking of what could happen to all those he cared about if he were unable to protect them. He had made promises to grow stronger, now was the time to fulfil those promises.
The trees before him grew ever closer with every step that the young shinobi took, their lively green leaves swayed in unison with the currents of the wind. His walk took him beyond the treeline, deeper into the woods toward his regular training site. With any luck Ren, Kenshin’s medical toad, would already be waiting there for him as she did every morning during this stage of his training. As a child Shinzo had thought that if he were to reach the rank of chuunin then training would cease, but that idea was so wrongly founded it was almost humorous upon reflection. As Shinzo made his way into the clearing he spotted the toad and simply greeted her with a warm smile followed by a low bow to which she nodded in acknowledgement. There was little for the pair to talk about, conversation was something that Shinzo only saw as an obstacle for his intense training and the pair had run out of pointers in the last week or so. Instead the normal routine had become one of silence as training began. Ren was to watch Shinzo in his attempts to open the gates while Shinzo’s only focus was to master control of his chakra flow to and from the eight specific locations in his chakra network.
Training never began slowly, in a flash Shinzo had deposited his gear at one end of the clearing and readied himself in the centre of the grass covered area. His feet were, as usual, shoulder width apart with both knees slightly bent ready to absorb the sudden shockwaves of opening the chakra gates. A breath of fresh morning air was drawn into the lungs of the boy as he raised his arms up across his chest up to head height. Bandaged hands began to curl up as if ready to tear through an extremely strong material. Shinzo’s now muscular frame rippled as he began to focus both his chakra and reality warping energy toward the first gate. Whereas before he had no control over the sudden flow of energy, this time his practice had made him ready. He could feel the first gate within his head, he searched for the doorway to unlock this first pool of power and within seconds he had found it.
Now his focus grew even stronger, determination ever present upon his face as the energy within him pushed on the inner gate. The grass at his feet began to be pushed outwards by the aura slowly forming around the Seikon and with an almighty shout he began to unlock the gates. “First gate: gate of opening! Open!” A sudden burst of energy surged through the boy’s body, his physical form flickered in response while Shinzo worked tirelessly to maintain both his chakra flow as well as the control over his reality warping energies. Chakra swirled around the teen as he focused his chakra on the next gate in the system. With another shout be pushed the gate open. “Second gate: gate of healing! Open!” Another burst of energy emanated from the boy’s body while a wave of internal refreshment washed over him, though this did not last long as the stress on his body became more apparent with every passing second. His teeth gritted together as the wave of chakra in his body descended down from his brain toward his spinal chord. There sat another gate. The pain was rapidly increasing but there was still more to do endure in order to master his ability to open the chakra gates one at a time. “Third gate: gate of life! Open!” Shinzo’s skin began to turn a deep read as the blood within his body dramatically increased in pressure.
The trial of endurance was to only continue as Shinzo further pushed himself to open each further gate. His focused energy made his way down, through the fourth gate, then into his abdomen to open the fifth gate. By now Shinzo could feel the stress upon his muscles and bones, this was the drawback of unlocking these limits on the chakra system. He had to push on, enduring the stresses on his body. “Sixth gate: gate of view! Open!” The pain was immense at this moment in time, this was the point that Shinzo had failed at in his previous training session with Ren. He could see that the toad was ready to spring into action but now would not be the time to give in. A vortex of steam spiralled violently around Shinzo’s body as his continual focus and endurance kept pushing him forward. The end was in sight now, only one more gate remained that he could safely open without the risk of death.
Shinzo drew in one final breath; his eyes were now firmly closed as his body aimed to cope with the extreme stresses now unleashed from within. His insides felt like nothing more than an immense churning pain that was simultaneously giving him extreme levels of energy and tearing his body apart. With the most intense shout yet, almost unintelligible due to the grunts and groans that Shinzo couldn’t help but release to deal with the pain, he proclaimed. “Seventh gate: gate of wonder! Open!” One final ripple of energy shot out from the Head Jounin as he unleashed the power of the seventh gate. His body was now under extreme stress and almost as soon as he opened the seventh gate, Shinzo closed each of them. His aura of evaporated sweat and chakra gradually dissipated, and the colour of his skin returned to normal.
The boy collapsed down onto his knees, pain rushing through his body thanks to the internal damage. His eyes flicked over to Ren and with a small smile he spoke once again. “I think I’m done for today Ren. That’s the best yet.”
WC: 1448
[Topic entered and left]
Times such as this had become a favourite experience of the young shinobi who, in what seemed to be a past life, would never pay attention to such things. But with his new duties and rank came a new sense of freedom, a new bout of independence that was previously unknown to the boy. His eyes scanned the sky, marvelling at the early morning flight of several birds as they took to the sky. Freedom, something that was always a topic of interest for the lad. Thoughts soon wandered to the past, the clashes of not only metal but also ideology filled Shinzo’s mind, the sacrifices made for the freedom that he now enjoyed was astounding; in truth it was a subject that was almost always being explored in his head. His mind’s eye could only imagine what such large scale conflict could look like as it happened, his regular eyes could old gaze upon the headstones of the many heroes whom had given their lives for the protection of Konoha. A ripple of gratitude reverberated throughout his body as Shinzo looked down to the ground toward his own feet. The times of those who had already made the ultimate sacrifice was over, now it fell to him. He was in a position to make a difference now, not only for his family but for all those living here in his home. His resolve held strong as he held a tear back, thinking of what could happen to all those he cared about if he were unable to protect them. He had made promises to grow stronger, now was the time to fulfil those promises.
The trees before him grew ever closer with every step that the young shinobi took, their lively green leaves swayed in unison with the currents of the wind. His walk took him beyond the treeline, deeper into the woods toward his regular training site. With any luck Ren, Kenshin’s medical toad, would already be waiting there for him as she did every morning during this stage of his training. As a child Shinzo had thought that if he were to reach the rank of chuunin then training would cease, but that idea was so wrongly founded it was almost humorous upon reflection. As Shinzo made his way into the clearing he spotted the toad and simply greeted her with a warm smile followed by a low bow to which she nodded in acknowledgement. There was little for the pair to talk about, conversation was something that Shinzo only saw as an obstacle for his intense training and the pair had run out of pointers in the last week or so. Instead the normal routine had become one of silence as training began. Ren was to watch Shinzo in his attempts to open the gates while Shinzo’s only focus was to master control of his chakra flow to and from the eight specific locations in his chakra network.
Training never began slowly, in a flash Shinzo had deposited his gear at one end of the clearing and readied himself in the centre of the grass covered area. His feet were, as usual, shoulder width apart with both knees slightly bent ready to absorb the sudden shockwaves of opening the chakra gates. A breath of fresh morning air was drawn into the lungs of the boy as he raised his arms up across his chest up to head height. Bandaged hands began to curl up as if ready to tear through an extremely strong material. Shinzo’s now muscular frame rippled as he began to focus both his chakra and reality warping energy toward the first gate. Whereas before he had no control over the sudden flow of energy, this time his practice had made him ready. He could feel the first gate within his head, he searched for the doorway to unlock this first pool of power and within seconds he had found it.
Now his focus grew even stronger, determination ever present upon his face as the energy within him pushed on the inner gate. The grass at his feet began to be pushed outwards by the aura slowly forming around the Seikon and with an almighty shout he began to unlock the gates. “First gate: gate of opening! Open!” A sudden burst of energy surged through the boy’s body, his physical form flickered in response while Shinzo worked tirelessly to maintain both his chakra flow as well as the control over his reality warping energies. Chakra swirled around the teen as he focused his chakra on the next gate in the system. With another shout be pushed the gate open. “Second gate: gate of healing! Open!” Another burst of energy emanated from the boy’s body while a wave of internal refreshment washed over him, though this did not last long as the stress on his body became more apparent with every passing second. His teeth gritted together as the wave of chakra in his body descended down from his brain toward his spinal chord. There sat another gate. The pain was rapidly increasing but there was still more to do endure in order to master his ability to open the chakra gates one at a time. “Third gate: gate of life! Open!” Shinzo’s skin began to turn a deep read as the blood within his body dramatically increased in pressure.
The trial of endurance was to only continue as Shinzo further pushed himself to open each further gate. His focused energy made his way down, through the fourth gate, then into his abdomen to open the fifth gate. By now Shinzo could feel the stress upon his muscles and bones, this was the drawback of unlocking these limits on the chakra system. He had to push on, enduring the stresses on his body. “Sixth gate: gate of view! Open!” The pain was immense at this moment in time, this was the point that Shinzo had failed at in his previous training session with Ren. He could see that the toad was ready to spring into action but now would not be the time to give in. A vortex of steam spiralled violently around Shinzo’s body as his continual focus and endurance kept pushing him forward. The end was in sight now, only one more gate remained that he could safely open without the risk of death.
Shinzo drew in one final breath; his eyes were now firmly closed as his body aimed to cope with the extreme stresses now unleashed from within. His insides felt like nothing more than an immense churning pain that was simultaneously giving him extreme levels of energy and tearing his body apart. With the most intense shout yet, almost unintelligible due to the grunts and groans that Shinzo couldn’t help but release to deal with the pain, he proclaimed. “Seventh gate: gate of wonder! Open!” One final ripple of energy shot out from the Head Jounin as he unleashed the power of the seventh gate. His body was now under extreme stress and almost as soon as he opened the seventh gate, Shinzo closed each of them. His aura of evaporated sweat and chakra gradually dissipated, and the colour of his skin returned to normal.
The boy collapsed down onto his knees, pain rushing through his body thanks to the internal damage. His eyes flicked over to Ren and with a small smile he spoke once again. “I think I’m done for today Ren. That’s the best yet.”
WC: 1448
[Topic entered and left]