Timeless Lessons Handed Down [Tutor]

[Samsara Saito]

Dango seemed to be the food of the hour -- or at least for Saito it would be, as he directed himself down the Red Oak District to Azumi's shop. He'd heard of the amazing shops of Ichiraku Ramen and Azumi's Dangos, but hadn't been to either yet and so he couldn't reasonably contribute to the debate of which was better. Today was the Dango day, tomorrow would be Ramen -- and THEN he'd be able to tell people what he thought.

Stepping into Azumi's, the boy orders a plate of dango as he takes a seat. Waiting for the food to come, an old voice catches his attention, calling to him from across the shop to his left. "Hey... hey, are you Tatsuo-chan's student? From Kumogakure?" The old, shrunken geezer smiled at the young cloudie warmly. "I hope you're enjoying Konoha! Happy holidays, young man!"

"Yes, hello! Tatsuo-sensei is my teacher, I'm Samsara Saito! Thank you, I am loving Konoha so far. Happy holidays! How do you know Tatsuo-sensei?"

"Why, cute little Tatsuo-chan? I knew him when he was your age, even smaller! He sped around here like a little hellion, talking about getting stronger and being a ninja... and now he's a strong ninja who's training his own protege... how the wheel turns..." the old man smiled wistfully, reflecting on life in a way that Saito could not even begin to fathom at so few years. Saito felt happy inside, seeing that Tatsuo had touched so many lives positively and created so many happy memories. It made the young Kumo even more certain of his choice to follow the leafie back to his village. He smiled at the old man. "Yeah he's REALLY strong! And I'm gonna be just as strong, if not stronger! I can't wait to fight him as an equal one day!"

"Hah, that day will be a far ways off, young man! But keep trying!" the old man laughed, the sound a bit of a cackle, as he grins at Saito. "Has he taught you the Rasengan yet?"

A pause. "...the what?" the young boy asks, looking at the older man with a serious expression. The old man takes no note and laughs again. "The Rasengan! Boy, if he hasn't taught you the Rasengan yet, can you really call yourself his student? It's one of the most powerful jutsu there is, and your teacher has mastered it. Teaching it to other kids too, so I hear!" the troublemaking old man continued with a grin on his face, bored with his day and keen on stirring up a little trouble for one of his favorite grown-up leaf kid ninja. Nor did he fail; the minute Saito had heard that other kids learned the Rasengan from his sensei, his mind locked into single-focus mode. Quickly thanking the old man (who laughed about his little gag for the rest of the day), Saito left money for the uneaten Dangos he'd ordered and sped home.

"SHINRIN-SENSEI!!!!!!" the boy called out from the front door, kicking off his shoes before racing into the apartment looking for Tatsuo. "Please teach me the Rasengan! I heard it's one of your best jutsu! I'm ready, sensei! Train me!"


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[Tatsuo]

For the past hour or so, Tatsuo had been staring at the ceiling, counting the numbers of dots on the tiles. He really was bored and Saito was no where to be found.. "One thousand three hundred fifty two.. One thousand three hundred fifty thr--" and before he knew it, Saito came crashing in, like he usually did! Springing to his feet, before Saito could even request to be trained, Tatsuo jumped to his feet. "Alright kid, what are we going to do today? Want to learn how to throw a kunai so high you can't see it? Or how about I show you how to gather natural energy like me! Or maybe we can go over some unarmed tai, we haven'-- the Rasengan?" he said furrowing his brows. "You wanna learn that?" With a shrug he said, "I guess yeah it is one of my best jutsu. Sure let's go."

Their backyard had already been converted into a makeshift training zone. Stakes of wood put up to use for target practice, a few trees littered with Kunai and Shuriken. The fence was high enough to keep neighbors out of their business too, so it was a great place to go over techniques and stuff without scaring the locals. "Well uh.. I don't.." he rubbed his chin looking around. "I don't think I have any balloons.." he rubbed the back of his neck in thought. "I mean.. what do you know about the Rasengan? It's a pretty great technique, that's for sure but why do you want to learn it?" Tatsuo thought back to the time he learned the Rasengan, he learned it in a bit of a.. unique way, however he was aware of the traditional training method. He was pretty sure Saito wouldn't be able to learn it like he did, so he would have to figure out the exact details of how you normally learn it.

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[Samsara Saito]

Tatsuo looked just as excited to see Saito as Saito felt to see Tatsuo, both of them teemed full of energy and didn't want to be bored so they naturally hung out together and trained. When Tatsuo asked him a bunch of questions about what he wanted to learn, Saito had said Rasengan because that's what the old man put in his mind, but... What is natural energy? the boy wondered. Was that what made Tatsuo grow grass and flowers out of his butt? "...the Rasengan? You wanna learn that? I guess yeah it is one of my best jutsu. Sure let's go." Saito almost asked about natural energy anyway but... thought it'd be better to save that for another time. Rasengan training today!

Balloons? the boy thought as Tatsuo mentioned them, the two having moved outside to the backyard, before the leaf Chuunin asked what Saito even knew about the Rasengan? Uhhh...

"It's a pretty great technique, that's for sure but why do you want to learn it?" Uhhh...

No answer came right away, and the communication of Saito's need to learn the Rasengan stayed locked behind his excited expression without any accompanying words for a bit. Frowning, he looked down as he considered, sorting out why he wants to learn it so badly... I didn't even think about that... I only wanted to learn it because that old man said... and having figured it out, that's what the young cloudie told his teacher, having finally reached the translation point between his emotions and his words. "This old guy at the Dango shop said you know the Rasengan and that it's one of the most powerful techniques there is and that if you didn't teach me then I can't call myself your student and that you taught other kids in the village the Rasengan and I don't want to fall behind!!!" he said, all in an excited rush.

Sorry, old guy! But he asked... Had to sell you out... the young boy thought with a grimace as he looked up at Tatsuo, wondering about the response he'd receive.


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[Tatsuo]

Tatsuo rubbed his chin, staying quiet as Saito gave his explanation, but like always he couldn't keep a serious look for long. Saito's answers always managed to crack him up and before both of them knew it he was chuckling and shaking his head. "Alright, alright. Sure i'll teach you. You're my student no matter what I teach you, but we're going to have to go to the supermarket and buy some balloons. I didn't really expect to teach it to you so soon, so I didn't have any on hand. I'm ready to go if you are." he said looking down at his clothes, while relaxed it wasn't anything he'd be ashamed of going out in public with.

Heading to the door he awaited Saito to get ready and if he needed anything else, otherwise they would head to the store and quickly purchase the balloons and a few rubber balls for good measure. As always if Saito asked him what they were for he'd give him an explanation without giving up too much information, he did want him to learn a few things himself but he wasn't overly enigmatic. "They're the easiest way to teach the Rasengan, considering it's all about rotation and chakra control ya' know? Your chakra control is pretty good, especially for your age, so I don't think it'll take you too long to get a hand of." he would say as they waited in line at the super market.

Grabbing a few candy bars from the counter and slipping them into his basket he gave a cheeky grin to Saito before making there way to the cashier and paying. Once they returned home he would fill up a few of the balloons with water. "Alright kid, you're going to want to pop the balloon with just using your chakra, the best way to do it is to make it spin, you won't be able to do it any other way and it might take longer than you think." As usual when Saito would hit a snag in training, Tatsuo would take a seat and focus controlling natural energy. Butt-grass and flowers following as usual. Keeping a careful eye on Saito he would give a tip here or there but unless he got truly lost, he wouldn't step in and let the student figure it out himself.

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[Samsara Saito]

Saito snacked on one of the candy bars as he curiously considered the water balloon currently in his hand. He had no idea what the jutsu was even supposed to look like or do specifically but the idea of a water balloon being a part of the training didn't seem exactly right. The older ninja sat down and began to do his thing, growing grass and flowers where his butt hit the ground, as the boy stood there.

I guess he's serious with this training, the young cloudie thought to himself with something of a skeptical look at Tatsuo. Eyes back on the balloon, he considered what his sensei said about how to pop the balloon. You pop it using chakra, by making it spin... The took a seat on the ground in front of his sensei and looked at the balloon. Nothing happened for a long time as the boy just sat, studying the problem and how to come at it. How do you make the balloon rotate enough to pop it using your chakra? How do balloons usually pop? Because of too much surface tension at any particular point... but how does that occur through the balloon's rotation? There has to be some sort of... tension caused by the rotation, which, when violent enough to cause too much tension...

For the longest time the boy didn't move, but then all of a sudden the balloon started moving. The balloon itself started spinning around clockwise, gaining speed as the moments passed. And then, after a moment, the balloon suddenly changed direction, spinning counterclockwise and causing all of the water inside to crash against itself as it adjusted to the new direction, causing the balloon to expand momentarily with an audible *BLORP!* The boy took that for a good sign and kept winding the balloon up with his chakra, causing it to spin rapidly before changing directions several times, the water inside all jumbled up and swirling around crazily and unpredictably. The balloon *BLORPED* and *BLURPED* over and over again, the balloon's thin rubber holding out until the very last second, and then...

*POP!*

Roughly 90 minutes into the practice, the boy's hand dripped water from a popped, defeated balloon in its palm. He wasn't sure what that had to do with learning the Rasengan, but Tatsuo said it was important and the boy trusted his master implicitly. "Okay! What next, sensei?" the child asked excitedly.



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[Tatsuo]

Tatsuo wanted to be surprised at how fast he popped the balloon, but he expected nothing less. Saito had always been an incredibly quick learner, a good trait to have in a shinobi. Rubbing the back of his neck he tried to remember what the next part of Rasengan training was. As water splashed across the yard Tatsuo stopped gathering his energy and leaned back looking over and letting out a yawn, rubbing his face. "Guess we can get started with the next part." Lifting himself up he walked over to their small collection of balloons and stuff and picked up a rubber ball. Giving it a squeeze he tossed it over to Saito and grinned, "Alright kid, same thing! Gotta make it pop, it'll be a bit harder this time though. No water to help you! But i'm sure you can do it, in the meantime i'll get started on lunch." he said heading inside, opening a window to keep an eye on his training as Tatsuo began preparing something for them to eat.

"What to cook.. what to cook?" Tatsuo mumbled to himself as he looked in their very barren fridge and freezer. A chicken, some veggies-- was that cat food? "We don't even have a cat.." Tatsuo shook his head and looked into the cabinet and found some rice. "Guess we're doing rice and chicken." Taking both out he started cooking up some veggies and putting the chicken into bake. The water would need to be steamed too. All the while he would take an occasional peak outside to see how Saito was doing.

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[Samsara Saito]

Saito caught the small rubber ball, the object significantly harder than the balloon and this time not filled with water. He really wished he knew what this jutsu was supposed to be when it was finished, but he also kinda liked the adventure of it... not knowing is part of the fun sometimes. It's supposed to be this amazing jutsu, so the big reveal at the end to understand why will be pretty cool! The 9-year old looked at the ball in his hand and then looked back at Tatsuo, who had started his retreat inside to prepare food. The lush thicket of grass and flowers grown up from where he'd been sitting always made Saito laugh -- and made him wonder about natural energy once again. Tatsuo's jutsu was Saito's favorite by far, he secretly studied in the library (one place that Tatsuo would never find out any of Saito's secret training) to figure out how to do it... he'd have to look up natural energy along with his teacher's wood jutsu to discern what relationship there might be.

Daydreaming! The boy catches himself with a grin and shakes his head clear of distractions, refocusing his attention on the hard ball in his hand. A quick attempt to utilize his chakra and the spinning of that ball in many fast directions produced little to no real effect on the surface of this new training tool, though this did not surprise Saito at all. The challenge here was to make the ball explode without any tools or tricks, just the concentration of one's own chakra, Saito determined after staring at the ball for about 5 minutes. The basics would be the same, but he'd need to do more...

Several hours later, after any innumerable amount of attempts, the boy looks exhausted, barely on his feet, hands trembling. He'd come to discover that he needed to add more chakra to the ball while doing much the same thing as he did when there was water inside... Bumping up against itself and filling the space. To channel so much chakra through his hands... through his chakra network... hurt. He had already mastered adding chakra to jutsu to expand their effects, however, reaching such jutsu into higher ranks and doing more damage. To do that required adding chakra through the pain, thereby building endurance -- and chakra level. So when his latest attempt ended in a single large, burst hole in the ball that deflated it in his hands, he KNEW what to do from there.

He meditated calmly, centered his focus... and then built up the chakra in the ball. Nothing happened at first, but then the ball itself started to glow a fierce, bright white as the intensity of the violent, dense chakra began to shine even though the hard surface. He kept concentrating, even beyond what he needed to pump other jutsu, even beyond anything he'd ever focused before, even beyond the pain... further and further, until... "Release it... all at... once....... NOW!"

*KA-BOOM!*

The resultant explosion threw Saito flying backward toward the tree, his body slamming into it with a hard *THUD* before falling to the ground. A startled "OOF!" escaped from the boy as he hit, but when he fell to the ground he landed on his knees. Panting, then sitting up on his knees, he looks down at his hands and sees the chakra burn marks. He smiles brightly, even as he pants.

"SHINRIN-SENSEI!!!!!"


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[Tatsuo]

Tatsuo noticed as Saito was sent flying backwards, quickly slamming his hands into the ground below him a few bushes grew out to lessen the intensity of his blow even if just a little bit. Rushing outside with a huge grin on his face, he looked to the exploded ball and said "Looks like you got that part down too, kid." he said extending his arm to help him up. "How about we go eat then we'll start the next portion of the training?" Tatsuo said leading him back into the apartment, at the table was a selection of roasted veggies and a huge bird over a plate of rice. Wiping his brows he grabbed two plates and handed one to Saito, "You know when you get this jutsu down, we can go get some ramen. My treat." And with that Tatsuo began to devour the food, ensuring he got some before Saito made it disappear.

After eating plenty he laid back placing a hand on his now full stomach, letting out a large burp and bringing his hand up. "Ah excuse me." He looked to Saito, "So you ready for part three or do you wan to get some sleep?" Tatsuo said looking down at this kid's arm. He learned this jutsu once as well so he knew just how painful those chakra burns could get. Even if he learned it a bit differently than all this, he could only assume it was even worse on Saito who lacked the same natural healing ability that Tatsuo did. Letting out a huff and standing up he walked over to Saito, taking in a deep focused breath he placed a hand on his shoulder and provided him with natural energy. Just a burst, but enough to slowly heal his wounds down at a cellular level. A technique Tatsuo had been working on, the effect wouldn't be immediate but within the hour Saito would feel washes of relief until the pain was almost gone.

"Alright, let's get to the next part kid." he said heading outside, the sun had just began to go down but they still had a little bit of training time left. Maybe not enough to learn the Rasengan but who knows, he got this far already. Grabbing another balloon, however empty he handed it to Saito. "For this one, you need to rotate it as fast as possible within the balloon without moving, or popping it, this is by far the hardest part of the technique. However once you've learned to control it it'll be one of the strongest things in your arsenal." he said with a quick grin. Going to pat him on the head he made his way back to a spot under the tree and faked collecting natural energy. He really just wanted to take a nap after all that food.

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[Samsara Saito]

The boy ate as much as Tatsuo expected, their mentorship a comfortable one with patterns established and considerations for each other naturally adapted. Saito did chores around the house and kept things spotless, fixed the lunches for when one or the both of them went on mission, and kept his room neat. Time spent at the apartment mainly consisted of training, eating, and chores, the young boy rarely lazed about unless he was exhausted. The mountain of food he needed in compensation must've certainly seemed like a small price to pay to the older Leaf ninja -- but the child could definitely pack it all away. Especially during or after training. The knife and fork trembling in his hands, they proved to be rather useless for actually eating anything... and so Saito ate with his face, using his hands either as basic grips on the plate or maintaining a hamfisted hold on a large piece of chicken. "You know I gotta go back and train, sensei, I'm already so close to getting the technique down! I bet the next step will take no time at all! And then I can sleep! Right?"

Tatsuo's healing jutsu felt like a warm summer's day, where the grass between one's toes transferred its photosynthetic warmth through one point and into the whole body. The child recognized the feel of the Leaf ninja's technique, happy for the older boy's use of it than for what it actually did for him -- though within the hour the boy thanked Tatsuo happily, his pain almost entirely gone and his energy bubbling forth once more. Heading back outside, the boy... received yet another balloon. Empty this time. "For this one, you need to rotate it as fast as possible within the balloon without moving, or popping it, this is by far the hardest part of the technique. However once you've learned to control it it'll be one of the strongest things in your arsenal."

Why does that make it so difficult? the 9-year old cloudie asked himself as he began his practice, checking out the huge number of empty balloons Tatsuo bought in comparison to the other two tools of the test. It didn't take long to understand, however... because Step 3 was downright impossible. To concentrate that dense and controlled a flow of chakra and keep it inside the balloon? Saito slowly realized that he had no real idea how to do this part of the jutsu, and didn't really know what to do to figure it out either. He dropped trembling hands, at a loss, and looked to Tatsuo to offer a hint or help... but the older ninja had fallen asleep while sitting there, the food likely having taken its toll.

"What would Shinrin-sensei say in a time like this?" Saito asked himself aloud, looking from Tatsuo's sleeping form to his trembling hands.

"He would probably say... that this was something I needed to figure out for myself and just keep running at until something gives..." he murmured to himself, reasonably satisfied with what he thought his teacher would say.

Saito grins, then stands up straight and pounds one fist in the other again. "Alright! Let's keep trying until something gives! And if not today, then tomorrow!" the aching boy chimes, lighting up the area with his positive energy.

Whenever Tatsuo wakes up and it gets really late, Saito would politely refuse Tatsuo's requests that they stop for the evening. "No thanks, Shinrin-sensei! I think I've almost got it, I'm gonna keep practicing!" he says, voice sounding ragged and exhausted but he does not look ready to quit, not by a long shot. The sound of the boy popping balloon after balloon all night -- and over the next few nights, as the boy's tenacity would see him working at all hours he hadn't passed out or otherwise needed to eat -- would hopefully not bother anyone too much. Over the next week or so, he did take the occasional forced break and do chores or hang out with the Academy kids... but his work to achieve the Rasengan was relentless and took priority over all else. The boy had even set up a tent and a small fire pit for himself in the backyard training grounds. Night after night he would sleep out there, popping balloons while believing in his master that the whole exercise would be worth it.

A full two weeks later, Saito's perseverance bore its first real fruits. He could maintain the balloon in its perfectly round shape without bursting it, and still compress that dense ball of chakra inside of its own externally spinning container of chakra. He had completed the third step after what had been a far more brutal and developmental experience than he could've expected when that old man sent him running to Tatsuo that day.

Showing his master the balloon filled with his Rasengan, the balloon itself seemed surrounded with a halo of light from the spinning chakra within its core. "Okay, sensei! I did it! So what's next?" If the technique was complete and as powerful as people said, certainly it could do something other than be a neat party trick with balls and balloons.

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[Tatsuo]

Tatsuo didn't exactly like the idea of the tent and fire in the backyard but when Saito was determined to do something there wasn't a huge point in arguing especially if it didn't matter all that much. The next past few weeks seemed to fly by, Tatsuo would go on missions or do other stuff around the village while Saito basically became a hermit, training to learn this powerful technique day in and day out. While Tatsuo wished he'd get out a little but more he couldn't help but be impressed with the tenacity the boy showed, no matter the pain or the struggle he seemed to go through he wasn't giving up any time soon. Which definitely was a trait of a true blazing spirit.

One of the days Saito rushed over to him, claiming that he finally mastered the balloon trick. With a smirk Tatsuo watched as he did indeed master it, "Well.. I suppose it's time to show you what the jutsu can do then, huh?" he said forming a quick seal. A wooden stake rose from the ground, obviously a target. "Well... it can do this." he said, in one quick fluid motion Tatsuo took a stance, his feet shoulder length apart as he cocked his arm back pushing his hand into the wooden stake. The fierce rotation and intensity of the chakra shattered the wooden stake almost instantly, however Saito might've noticed something a bit different about Tatsuo's Rasengan. Instead of the normal blue that ones chakra had, it had a more goldish hue to it. A side effect of using natural energy instead of chakra, but it's not like Tatsuo could tell you any better.

"It's a pretty useful technique, able to be changed depending the fight you're in. Its always been one of my go tos. I was going to wait til you developed a bit more as a shinobi to teach you, but.. seemed like you were ready for it all along. You really are progressing quick, soon here you might not even need me as a sensei." he said with a chuckle, going to pat Saito on the head. "At least let me teach you a few more things before you get too strong!"

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