Starring:
Date: October 1, 2011
Summary:
Tosai gives some small insight into the tricks behind an E Ranked technique. At the same time, Ryo shows himself to be a bit more advanced in using jutsu than Tosai thought.
"Ryo's Lessons: The Replacement Technique "
Windmills [Konohagakure]
-._.._.._.._.._.._.._.._.._.._.._.._.._.._.._.—._.-
Found here are several windmills made out of a dark wood expanding into the distance. Each windmill sways at its one pace, the windmills within this area appear beautiful but children tend to not be allowed to wander here due to the danger of the blades that can suddenly turn faster. A small river stream snakes its way through the area before finally entering a hill section further in the distance. There are no trees or birds seen here, simply the windmills and short green grass.
-._.._.._.._.._.._.._.._.._.._.._.._.._.._.._.—._.-
Morning brought with it war along the outskirts of the village gates. However, within the confines of Konohagakure no Sato, it seemed as though life had not changes all that much. Sure, there was a village wide curfew. Also, the influx of travel from those who passed through for trade, as well as the citizens themselves, had been severely cut down almost to none. However, life could not be stopped for the civilians who made their livings everyday. The markets were still open, and so were the schools. The immediately recognizable changes about the village seemed to lie in the ratio of ninja to villagers. More personal were seen in the streets. Tosai was amongst the faces who could be seen often. His look was that of a hard stare, his manner just as stoic. He walked about, seeming to conduct himself as politely and cheerful as usual. However, his concern was somewhere else.
Even now, his travels throughout the city would be notable, eventually leading him to the windmills at the end of Jougen. At the most quiet area of the city, his guarded appearance seemed to drop with a deep sigh. His face scrunched, before he came to seat on a nearby fence. There he simply leaned, looking out into the hills and short grass in the distance. There, he remained quiet, thinking.
Standing a good distance from the windmills was Ryo. He was practicing some form of Ninjutsu. His hand signs were going pretty fast for a student. "Clone Jutsu!" the boy yelled out as a clone appeared. "This one is so easy, why cant I get that one?" the boy asked himself allowed. How he had missed Tosai was beyond his own knowledge. As he turned around, he would see the very large man.
"Sorry Sensei… when did you get here?" Ryo asks before starting some other hand signs. This time he would yell, "Replacement Jutsu!"… with a poof Ryo would remain… "Gahhh…"
Having been in his own thoughts, Tosai wouldn't know anyone was around until the sound of a Jutsu’s use entered the air. The poof of smoke revealed another copy of Ryo, perfect in all its likeness to the real thing. Tosai smiled, before hearing the complaint, chuckling after. He felt a sense of nostalgia. When Ryo finally turned to greet him, he'd wave and reply, "Only a moment ago, Ryo-kun.", before standing from his place on the fence. Once the boy had been greeted, Tosai watched the kid try again, looking to his practice. As the boy tried, Tosai approached holding up a hand and smiling. "I think may have a little time to help you out. Thankfully you are only doing a handful of things wrong." Tosai patted the boy on the shoulder, and stood in front of him.
"Three things you may want to remember about as you use this technique: Surroundings, Timing, and Speed." As Tosai said this, he looked about, searching for something. Upon success, he'd have in each hand a large block of wood, about Ryo's size and weight, and a /large/ boulder about his own. "Replacement Technique often uses an object of your own size and weight to take an attack and distract the opponent. This leaves you to be somewhere else, and able to work unseen. This happens two ways. One, it provide something which can assume your likeness, hence why finding an object about your size is helpful. Two, it delays your opponents next move by changing there focus. But in order for these to work you have to work them in steps. Unlike the Clone Technique, its not about just the hand seals, or what you can remember about yourself."
Ryo felt no shame in failing with Tosai watching. It was the guy's job at the academy to help the students learn. As the man approached, the boy would stop his practice and listen to the words of the sensei. With a nod the boy would repeat what he was told. "An object of near size and weight. Work the technique in steps…" The boy would then nod and prepare again. His eyes looked at the piece of wood. He assumed this was form himself. "The first step is finding the object right? So the wood would be for me?"
"Yes sir. This often requires being definitely mindful of your surroundings. Most cases, an object needs to be used for the substitution. Those what the first seals in the technique are for: retrieval." As Tosai said this, the seals for Ram and Boar, were demonstrated. Tosai would then say, "Having a good idea of what is around, can be fundamental. You may want to keep that in mind because where ever you are retrieving your replacing object from, is where your next strategy begins."
There is a nod of the head as Ryo looks over the size of the wood. He would then turn around and scan the area for other things nearly his size. "Ok, Ram and Boar for retrieval. Location is key. You mean I am going to switch with the wood's location?!? Wouldn’t that be like a teleportation jutsu?" It seemed to sink in… the first reason he was failing at the jutsu.
Shaking his head, Tosai would say, "Nope… only a distraction technique. What I meant is that most cases, where ever that object came from, can be a great point of attack. You see, the Replacement Technique does not literally make you switch places with the object you use. It only helps you to retrieve a shield without your opponent knowing. This is done at a speed so fast, that the opponent often has a hard time seeing where the real you went. Now, while you can retrieves objects, skilled users of this technique have been able to replace themselves with other people. It makes for a cruel joke if used wrong, however, it can happen. This is why you should always beware of your surroundings." Tosai would pause for a moment once he had given out the last hint. He was telling an Uchiha how to use a ninja technique. He sigh at the thought of this coming back to haunt him.
Shaking his head, the Jounin would start at another topic. "The next important part of this technique, is Timing. This part is important for once reason. The attacker has to believe that they have hit there target. The right timing lets the object be hit instead of you. It also make the attack's success believable by your opponent, along with this." Tosai would then demonstrate the hand seals Ox, and Dog. When using the demonstration this time, he adds Chakra to the jutsu, causing the rock nearby to be covered in smoke. From the smoke would be revealed a copy of Tosai, who would simply just stand there, unmoving, but looking very realistic. "When you switch with your object, you are switching in yourself. Go ahead, and try changing that log over there into you."
Ryo would stand there a moment thinking over the information he had just been given. "Ox and dog… ok." The boy then gives the two hand signs before adding chakra to the jutsu. The wood appears similar to him, not perfect, but similar. "Kind of like this?", the boy asks even though the lack of perfection was obvious.
Tosai waited for a moment before he would then look to the copy. It wasn't half bad, though Tosai had his doubts on whether a perfect copy was needed. The Replacement Technique was just that quick in its use. "Looks good for a first try. You'll have time to work on it I am sure. But this won't be important as you next lesson. This may the one you will have the most trouble in and have to train for, even with that Uchiha speed you might have inherited." Tosai looked to the boy saying, "The seal for 'Snake' is one which brings all of this into cohesion. However, the seal's use, is pretty much one made with a quick drawn. You pretty much are bringing the object to you while you are running to hide."
Ryo nodded his head, then closed his eyes. "Ok, so I am multi tasking at the last moment. The snake sign is the one where I begin to actually move." The boy would take a deep breath before building his chakra. He was preparing to put these steps together. "Step 1. Retrieval. Ram followed by boar. Step 2. Copy. Ox followed by dog. Step 3. The switch. Snake." His eyes open as he looks towards Tosai for approval.
GAME: Save complete.
Nodding Tosai would say, "Yup… You are essentially getting out of range of your disguise shield as quick as possible, and running to a hiding position or, evading your enemy, depending on the purpose." Tosai smiled as he then listened to the steps. Ryo had excellent memory. Tosai nodded before saying, "However, there is a catch to all this. Being fast enough to make these steps in succession is what makes the technique hard. You have to not only remember to be aware of your surroundings enough to pull a object out of nowhere, but, also have to disguise that object and get it to you. Once it has been brought about to take the attack, you have to then move out of sight as quickly as you can, without being noticed. This takes practice and routing all the more. Sure, you can chain the seals, but, can you remember to do all those other things? Using your eyes for locating the object? Mold chakra to make the disguise? Get out of the way and retrieve the object to defend?"
Ryo was about to find out. He would take a few steps back and begin to build his chakra. He would make the signs. He made them look easy for a student. Then as the he finally made the snake sign, the boy would apply his chakra. As the smoke cleared, the piece of wood would end up in the correct spot. It even looked kind of like Ryo. The boy himself was no where to be found. That is until he walked out of from behind the rock. As he looked past the rock to Tosai, he would say, "I sure am glad I can practice this a few times before actual battle application. That’s a lot to remember under pressure."
For a first try, that wasn't bad at all. The transition between everything, was so perfect, that Tosai could hardly make out where the boy had begun sealing. In fact, the only thing Tosai recognized clearly, was that Ryo never moved. The Akimichi tried his best to keep an unabashed look. However, when the boy did appear, the child got a nice pat on the back. "I suggest you keep the practice up, and some how, work in hiding… Otherwise, the jutsu isn't complete." From there, Tosai would leave, seeing as how Ryo technically was considered a /really/ quick learner.
Ryo would smile as he was patted on the back. The kid felt good to be praised by the teacher. He would heed that advice. There was definitely a use for this jutsu, but that would take some time before the boy was comfortable enough to consider using it.
