Simulations behind Bars (Personal Training)

[Imaya Kuza]

Katsu may have been a thuggish sort, always getting into fights and whatnot, but he understood strength. Strength of body, strength of mind, strength of spirit. Sitting in this jail cell was a combat of spirit, its bars and interior attempting to oppress his morale. But, in truth, this pressure and oppression strengthened his resolve even moreso. He was always a small sort, but it only made his victories that much greater, that much more worth it.

After taking some time to think alone, he quickly realized he wasn’t getting out on his own. Instead of just sit here doing nothing, he figured it was time to do something productive. In his mind, he imagined an enemy. Big, fast, powerful. He can’t overpower it, outrun it, or anything. How does he beat an enemy that’s just clearly, unquestionably, superior?

At first, he figured a preemptive strike would be necessary. Move first, and he can even out the speed difference. But after the first move, he’d be at a disadvantage again. Instead… he had to finish it quickly. Aim for the neck, finish it with the first strike. 0.1 second, Katsu began moving. 0.4, he’d drawn his blade, and the enemy had began to react. 0.5, Katsu was swinging, and the enemy recognized the intent and leaned back. 0.75 seconds, Katsu’s blade stopped, the enemy using a kick to stop the sword at its hilt. Now prepared, the enemy took a stance, and went on to pummel Katsu into the dirt.

Okay, why didn’t that work? Well, the delay in attack to reaction certainly helped Katsu land a hit, but reflexes aren’t so easy. He could hit, but not land as clean a strike as he’d have liked. Taking a moment, Katsu considered the situation, then played it out again.

(WC: 303)

 

[Imaya Kuza]

Straightforward and direct didn’t work, so what else? Indirect? In his mind, Katsu unsheathed his blade and backed up, creating distance as he moved side to side, and when the enemy made their move, he’d flank them, thrusting his sword at their gut, hoping to spill them open. But, instead, the enemy twisted and turned faster than Katsu could pull back. It was all he could do to just lessen the first blow with a counter-elbow, but that alone couldn’t prevent the onslaught of following strikes.

Again, a loss. That’s alright. It might take ten tries, twenty tries, a hundred tries, a thousand tries, and maybe more. But eventually he’ll get it. This was all for the sake of victory, that glorious victory. Battle was life-or-death, honor or shame. If he wasn’t doing everything he possibly could to win, playing through as many situations as he could, improving his mind as much as his body, then he wasn’t taking a fight seriously and deserves to lose. No, he would never underestimate an opponent… but neither would he back down.

He drew his sword once more, an early, quick strike once more. He’ll lose the initiative before he finishes the strike, but then it’s just a matter of extending that grace period. Raising his sword as he approached, Katsu slashed downward quickly, his enemy bringing up his hands to block a direct blow to the head, but… the attack never connected. By stepping back quickly at the last minute, Katsu avoided hitting anything with his blade, but now that his sword was low and the enemy’s limbs were high, Katsu brought the blade up into a thrust, made to slice through the opponent’s chin and up their skull.

 

[Imaya Kuza]

Katsu’s blade struck nothing but air, his enemy evaporating into mist, reforming a few feet away after a moment. Ahaha… He just couldn’t make this easy for himself, could he? But, of course, he was right again. There was no way he could know that his opponent couldn’t transform into vapor, so when that did end up happening he would be entirely screwed. And so he was, as his opponent brought the hurt on him, so much so that Katsu could almost actually feel it.

He needed a new approach if he was going to take this on. A way to hit an intangible enemy, though all he knew was how to swing a sword… okay, how about this? Katsu drew his sword and charged preemptively, as he had before. He swung down as a feint, and with both hands brought the sword up, charging it at the same time with his chakra, his earth nature turning it black. And yet, again, he missed. It wasn’t that the enemy vapored this time, which seems to be a last minute sort of deal, but rather that he was too slow, the sword having become heavier once it was channeled with earth chakra, delaying the strike. How… difficult. He’d need to find another way to make up for lost time, and knew the margin of success would be thin, so much so that he’d only barely scrape by with a victory by the time this was all done. But a victory is a victory, and scraping by means hard-earned.


[WC: 257]

 

[Imaya Kuza]

Katsu’s first choice was to perhaps wait until the last possible moment to channel the earth chakra through his sword, but that was a lost cause, there was no way to get the timing right in a random scenario without trying it over and over again. Here, it might work, but a habit that works only in training is a worthless habit. Instead, he considered the following: was there any way for him to speed up? Was there any way to slow the enemy?

The first idea he experimented with was propelling his sword with the earth chakra, but… obviously, that would fail with stones hitting his hands. Alternatively, he thought kicking the hit might work, putting his whole weight into the thrust rather than lose leverage through his hands. It would be fancy, but the tell would be too much and the enemy would be able to tell it was coming such that the power and speed on the thrust was nil.

So it came down to slowing the opponent down without slowing down himself. Blitz, slash feint down, true thrust up, and at the same time… Katsu would stretch out his leg and trip the guy up? No, threw them both off balance, with less benefit to Katsu than the enemy. But he couldn’t trip the guy while… oh. Katsu was so focused on a physical strike fight that he forgot both he and his opponent were already using ninjutsu to gain advantage. With this new, wider perspective, Katsu formulated a new strategy which examined all the possible routes of the battle.

[WC: 264]

 

[Imaya Kuza]

Katsu got the blitz once more, and once more the overhead slash, and once more a feint. Repetition over again until the movements were seared into his mind, a brand of thought as he examined the various information he gathered against his enemy. In real combat, he wouldn’t have the leisure to learn it as he went, dying again and again. He had to figure out the best possible first move in any given scenario, leaving the fewest openings to escape or counterattack.

This time, he figured that he should tighten the gaps a little between his movements. As he swung down and missed in the feint, instead of hold back the sword to bring an upward thrust outright, Katsu struck the ground, pouring his earthen chakra through it and into the ground itself. Quickly, beneath the enemy, the ground shifted and swallowed their feet in a grip of dirt and stone. At the same time, three pikes of rock burst forth around them, aimed at the enemy’s legs and arms. As the enemy would deal with those pikes, Katsu lifted his blade from the ground, still hardened and powerful from earth chakra flowing through it, and thrust it at the foe’s chest, to crush right through his heart.

Katsu landed a blow to his overwhelming imaginary opponent, but not the one he wanted. Blocking his sword with a fist, the enemy found difficulty balancing his stance in his precarious situation with the earth ninjutsu. Without missing a single beat, Katsu let go of his main sword, knowing he’d likely not get it back from the enemy’s grip, and instead chose to draw a second blade with which he’d finish his enemy.

[WC: 282]

 

[Imaya Kuza]

With his alternative blade drawn, Katsu chose to get closer than he’d previously preferred, but stayed on the side of the fist that currently had his previous blade impaling it. This would, in turn, make it difficult for his enemy to turn to strike him with any significant success, using his abandoned blade now as an obstacle, his weapon until the end. Holding the new sword upside-down, Katsu placed it with ease against the enemy’s side where the space between ribs should be, and slammed against the pummel with his other hand’s palm, driving the weapon through the opponent’s heart completely.

Jumping away in this development, Katsu assumed a defensive stance, hoping that this combined injuries he’d piled on would slow the opponent enough that he might evade the oncoming onslaught as well as wait out the bleeding to do the fatal damage. However, Katsu’s simulated battle was cut short by some loud clanging in the halls. Riku or Kira causing a ruckus, no doubt.

Katsu sighed and ended his fantasy there. Now, he reviewed. What did he do wrong in the previous iterations? Firstly, he was too direct with his attacks when he should’ve spent the time and energy to create the openings necessary. When against many opponents, it might not always be helped to rush into apparent openings, but in a one on one he should try to measure the enemy more before striking, and make sure every attack has the highest chance he can give it to hit. Weaken and ensnare the enemy, trick and trap him. Then, when their limbs are all preoccupied elsewhere, land the decisive blow which turns the battle fully in his favor.

[WC: 280]

 

[Imaya Kuza]

Today, Katsu was sitting about thinking. Just thinking. How could he improve his fighting style? For the most part, he figured the ability to land hits was what he needed at the moment. He could hit with some reliability, but if he truly wanted to expand his style, he’d need more than just physical prowess to try to overwhelm his opponents. There were bigger and faster guys out there, he was bound to lose in one way or the other eventually. At this point, an idea began to form.
Katsu surrounded his hands in his Yin Chakra, noticing how it rippled with every slight movement. He straightened his fingers, tensing them such that they became stiff as if their bones had locked together, such to imitate a sword. With a swing, his sword hand was difficult for even him to grasp, its length and trajectory a blurry image, like a heat mirage.
In his cell, Katsu experimented with different versions of this effect, combining his genjutsu with ninjutsu, his taijutsu to open up genjutsu, and so on and so forth. The main techniques he came up with were thus: Using genjutsu to hide his weapon, allowing it to strike with more reliability; creating clones as if second-nature, a powerful defense that requires less dodging; using a combination of both to disarm and interrupt his opponent’s own moves, a merge of offense and defense.

[WC: 233]

 

[Imaya Kuza]

Often these nights would Katsu dream apart from his body, training his blade and mind even in his rest. This wasn’t like the self-inflicted genjutsu before, it was a sort of ethereal form which he didn’t quite understand. Seeing his body now, however, it was as if it hadn’t truly ever been a part of him, but rather a tool to move his mind around.

In this strange state of illusion, Katsu took the chance to meditate, collecting his focus which, he learned, could be projected outward in a quick manner so to inflict a genjutsu with such little delay that it was almost instantaneously. He couldn’t do it too rapidly, but it overall became an indispensable asset in combat, able to distract and disable the enemy as needed without letting up on his physical pressure.

With practice, Katsu found, he could gain a better feel for his Yin chakra, bending his imagination into reality, or at least this strange dream reality. Multiplication, erasure, fire, feathers (that last one, though Katsu will never admit it, was oddly fun).

When he woke up, Katsu found his body strangely… changed. Not in any sort of physical sense, however, he could feel some strange lag. His body moved, but it felt disconnected from his nerves, like some sort of phantom of himself following his true self. Difficult to describe, but with effort he found he could move this other self of his separately like different limbs. Strike the mind and the body, Katsu thought. “Well… this is certainly strange.”

[WC: 258]

 

[Imaya Kuza]

As Katsu practiced his new illusionary swordplay, appropriately dubbed ‘Mindblade’, he began to realize the potential options in a fight. With a quick thought, he had erased the visuals on his sword, and entrapped his dummy target in invisible chakra wires, their entangling with notable in how well it constrained motion without being too obvious, though lacked the durability to fully immobilize a foe. All the same, it meant that he could more easily strike the enemy where it counted without them realizing the disadvantage they have been put at, which is an even greater boon than a more powerful, yet blatant, advantage. Without knowing what is holding them back, the enemy will find themselves unknowing how to correct their tactics, lending themselves to defeat in their ignorance.

In the same vein, Katsu found it may also make sense to bait the enemy into anti-productive behaviors. For instance, at the moment he can only create a few lasting projectiles from his blade, able to strike the nerves and yin of his foes. In particular, he found this quite useful to preemptively cancel enemies’ actions, but after he strikes it, it’s quite often that the foe will get used to the initial damage and fight at a handicap. Yet, alternatively, if the foe removes the blades on their own, Katsu can properly reuse these mental projectiles to once again disrupt the yin system, feeding into a vicious cycle of restraint.

All this, accompanied by Katsu’s swordplay, allows for a much more skillful victory over his enemies, though not so overwhelming himself. And yet, he finds, while he may not overwhelm his enemies, he will at the least be quite capable of avoiding being overwhelmed by his enemies, which is just as valuable.

[WC: 291]

 

[Imaya Kuza]

Katsu decided that, for this day, he would improve his ability to quickly utilize the chakra needles from his sword, Hanabira. It was a light blade, but strong enough for him to swing it full-force and not have it snap like a twig. With a little mental magic, he could manipulate Yin chakra through it, creating thin constructs such as needles and wires. The wires, he found, were useful in a conical area, tangling whoever it caught. The needles, however, required a bit more precision. He could easily launch them in a wide area as well, but he found that perhaps the best way to use it was in conjunction with his normal swordsmanship, throwing them at the enemy between slashes so to ruin their pace. A ruined pace meant an opening, and an opening meant victory, or such was his thinking.

Placing a number of targets around his wooden practice dummy, Katsu began his usual training with slashes and thrusts, but now between certain intervals he would create and launch a thin senbon from his sword at the targets around, meant to indicate limbs or other such factors. He did… poorly, as would be expected. How could you expect to easily slash and throw at the same time, especially in the heat of battle, and expect it to work out? Still, the theory of it engaged him. How could he make it better? If it was holding his enemy down, then the wires would do fine, but his accuracy was still shite.

[WC: 253]

 

[Imaya Kuza]

Katsu had thought so before, but… the body truly is restricting, isn’t it? One can only reach as far as their arms’ length, and move only as fast as muscles allowed. Compared to the mind, which had no upper limit that Katsu could perceive, it was his body which held him back.

‘Then how about getting rid of it?’ The thought plagued his thoughts, not on whether he should do so or not, but whether he could. He’d been long since training with methods of Yamanaka techniques his father had left him, and one such technique, The Name of the Rose, had a similar ability to transform the body into living Yin chakra, akin to a Jinchuuriki. However that wasn’t quite what he wanted, as the body of chakra was still a restriction to his actions.

As he went through the scrolls in the library, Katsu came across the Cursed Seal technique… of course, it didn’t describe how to perform it, but it was simple enough to figure out with the details provided. In essence, it would gather Natural Energy and provide the form desired to the User. Depending on how it was performed, of course, the resulting form would be different.

Katsu took out a pen and paper. Man, the crew would be making fun of him a whole bunch if they saw him actually doing work or studying… All the same, Katsu began to draft and experiment with the design of the Cursed Seals, meaning to adapt it to one of his own imagination.


[WC: 253]

 

[Imaya Kuza]

Katsu drew the design, a simple and large diamond with no real distinctions which would be printed on Katsu’s nape. It would have a smaller diamond inside of it, and lines connecting their points. This pattern was designed to gather natural energy in a particular fashion, and fuse it primarily with Yin chakra over Yang. This is… difficult, as senjutsu is typically done with a mixture of yang, yin, and natural energy together, creating the unique senjutsu. However, for Katsu’s purposes, yang was only a restraint that he was longing to overcome.

Katsu tested his design, of course. Flowing his yin chakra through the mark, a purple-ish aura glowed, a complete negation of his uniquely yellow chakra from his Yamanaka lineage. This was expected, provided the nature of the mark. As it activated, it seemed to protrude from the mark itself until the light crystallize into a solid gem and, within it, a psychic power could be sensed. It was not loud, but it ran deep instead, such that it commanded authority with it, power.

The crystal did nothing more, unfortunately, like a body with no will it stayed still much like a corpse would. But Katsu yearned now, more than ever before, to have this power be a part of him, to forge this mark into his flesh so that he might experience the truest and most absolute freedom of the mind which this limited physical plane could offer him.

With little effort, the seal was deactivated and the crystal dispersed into the air as if nothing had existed there in the first place.

[WC: 265]