Starring:
Date: Unknown (log received May 25, 2015)
Summary:
None given.
"The Whole World's Going to the Dogs"
Unknown location
Kaido has asked for Atsuro to meet him here at the training grounds. It was time he got serious and started to branch out into stronger, better techniques and so, with consulation with Bandit and Bolt, who sit beside him waiting patiently for the Clan Elder to arrive, a conversation can be heard.
Bolt yips to Kaido in the Inuzuka language (as he hasn't quite mastered speaking human yet), ~So what are you gonna learn from Elder-sama?" Kaido glances down at his newest nin-ken and says, "Well Bolt, I need a way to be a little more versatile than I am, and he has the knowledge I need to teach me the ancient art of shadow cloning." Bandit yawns and rests his head on his paws and says to Bolt, "Listen up pup… if Kaido learns this, we'll learn it as well, which would make us six times as strong as we are now. Not to mention I'm sure the Old Man has more to teach us than just straight making shadow clones." Kaido raises an eyebrow at Bandit and says, "Old Man?" Bandit glances up at Kaido and says, "Yeah… Old Man, Atsuro, he's the Clan Elder right?" Kaido just shakes his head.
Kaido looks back towards the entrance to the training ground and hopes that Bandit won't embarrass him all that much this time. He really wants to learn this technique.
A voice sounds dramatically from up in a tree near the edge of the training field. "Despite what you may have heard," says Atsuro, "The title of 'elder' has almost nothing to do with age." He jumps down from the tree, landing in a crouch. Taizen lands beside him. "Also, I'm only twenty-five." Atsuro stands up straight and brushes off the front of his clothes as he walks over to the other group. Taizen woofs a hello, then Atsuro gives them a wave. "I actually only heard, like, the last three seconds of that conversation. That's what you were talking about, right? These age-weary ears of mine…"
He shakes his head. "So, anyway. You wanna learn Shadow Clone, eh?" He looks from Bolt, to Bandit, to Kaido. "Well, I can teach you. But you should know that it's one of the hardest moves you can learn. And it's one of the most dangerous to the user too. When you make a Shadow Clone, it takes half of your chakra with it. When you make two, two thirds of your chakra goes with the clone. And so on." He waves a hand, "I don't wanna keep doing the math, but basically it can use up your chakra really quick, and that can kill you."
Bandit simply glances up and says, "Yo Old Man…" yeah, good luck convincing Bandit to not use that nickname for Atsuro. Kaido simply winces as Atsuro appears and lightly kicks Bandit in the ribs to shut up for once. Bolt simply yips a hello back to Taizan and bounds over to the bigger dog, seeing if he might be interested in a game of some sort, training not being too interesting for him after all.
Kaido listens to what Atsuro has to say and then says, "That's why I've been working on my chakra reserves, truthfully, I just want to learn this so that it's something I can have in reserve to help confuse and give me more options tactically and strategically. From all I've heard, each clone will have all my skills and can work independently of me… which with my abilities as a trap-nin would seriously give even super strong nins problems handling even with the limitation on chakra. It helps that few of my techniques require chakra too. Besides, I'm thinking of learning or developing some abilities that'll help me drain chakra from people so that it's not as much of a factor."
"Hello, young dog," Atsuro replies to Bandit. As for Bolt, Taizen woofs a soft hello to him, wagging his tail as the smaller dog approaches, apparently interested enouh in playing. Atsuro looks back to Kaido and nods. "Good," he says, "Because you're going to be using a /lot/ of chakra while you learn this move. Not only does it burn through chakra, it requires a lot of practice. Probably the longest I've ever taken to learn a move." He pauses for a moment, bringing up a hand to rub his own chin. "One more thing before we get started. You said you don't have a lot of chakra-using techniques? But you have a good background in ninjutsu? Being at at least C-rank ninjutsu would really help here. And if you know some advanced clone techniques, that would help a lot too."
Bolt yips happily and tries to engage Taizen in a game of tail tag, where Bolt tries to hide among the tall grass, trees, etc. and then pounce Taizen to try and snag the bigger dog's tail. Bandit rolls his eyes at Atsuro and gets up to oversee Bolt and make sure he doesn't cause too many problems in his exuberance. Bandit also gives Bolt some advice on strategy, having faced Taizen before.
For Kaido's part, he nods, "Yeah, I'm a B-rank Ninjutsuist at this point, it's just my ninjutsu have more to do with traps and poisons mixed with some elemental skills as well. I'm better at support and crowd control than I am at straight damage racing or tanking."
Atsuro just gives Bandit a pleasant smile. "'Old Man' wasn't that clever either," he says cheerfully before he focuses on Kaido again. Taizen, for his part, does his best to give Bolt a good game, carefully pacing himself to keep his tail juuuust out of reach. "Okay," says Atsuro, "You should be able to pull it off then. I assume you at least know the basic E-rank clone technique? If you know higher-ranking ones, that makes it even easier, but I can teach you even if you don't know any of them, for whatever reason. It's just a lot harder."
Bandit and particularily Bolt is using this as an exercise in coordination and for Bolt to think more tactically and strategically so that in a year or two he'll be on par with Bandit. Bandit continues to give the pup advice as Taizen keeping the game interesting by making it hard for the pup to catch his tail.
Kaido says, "Well, I don't use the E-rank much, if at all but I have the basic gist of it. Basically, instead of making just an image of myself, I'm going to be making a complete copy… right?"
Atsuro nods. "Exactly," he says, "The theory itself isn't so hard. You take a more basic clone technique and add enough chakra to make a near-perfect copy. Of course, the problemand the thing that you'll need to practice the mostis figuring out exactly how much chakra you need to use. Too little and you don't have a proper clone. Too much and you're wasting it. And you're using plenty of chakra even when you're /not/ wasting any." He gestures to an empty space nearby. "And of course, the amounts vary from person to person. So you can see the problem. The best way I know to train it is to start by usin fairly low amounts of chakra, then building up each time. You're going to have to use it a /lot/ so the less you spend per attempt, the better. Starting high and coming down would just wear you out."
Kaido nods and says, "Yeah, makes sense, although I usually try to practice the basics first, then build out from there." He practices his seals for the moment, for the E-rank version, trying to be able to do it without thinking and says, "So is there a different set of seals I need to learn? Once I can do the seals properly without thinking, adding chakra to make the technique work would be a lot easier and I won't waste as much."
"Any way of training that makes sense to you will work," Atsuro says with a shrug, "My advice basically boils down to 'err on the side of less chakra.' Because when you're using chakra like you will with this technique, you need to save every bit of it you can. Otherwise you're gonna be working on it for a loooong while." He suddenly freezes as Kaido asks about the seal. "Oh yeah," he says, "There's a different seal. Good thing you reminded me of that. Aren't I a great teacher?" He holds up his hands and makes the unique seal for the technique. "Pretty simply, fortunately."
Kaido chuckles at Atsuro and says, "Good for me that I tend to use as little chakra as possible… but I take your meaning." He watches Atsuro make the seal and then copies it carefully, doing it slowly and making sure it's correct and then starts to practice it over and over again as he says, "So I make the seal, then start adding chakra? What should I expect when I do?"
Since it seems that Kaido'd preparing to actually try the jutsu out, Atsuro takes a step back and continues to watch him. "The problem is, though, that you've got to keep increasing it until you reach the threshold. It's not as easy as it sounds. Once you make the seal, it's a lot like making any other clone—you form the chakra in your image. In this case, though, you gotta form it using way more chakra and it needs to be more solid. Remember, you're almost making a perfect copy of yourself."
Kenta pauses along the forest path to tilt his head, so that his right ear's pointed towards the clearing down one branch of the upcoming intersection. The young medic-nin could swear that he heard a very familiar voice talking. He also catches some familiar words spoken in that familiar voice, but he could be wrong, since the words were nearly inaudible from distance. Nevertheless, this peaks Kenta's curiosity enough that he changes his trajectory. The young medic-nin jogs down that fork of the road until he's able to see around the bend into the clearing itself. Several familiar faces to match those familiar voices. Kenta hesitates at the edge of the clearing as he decides whether he should make his presence known or not… assuming sharp noses didn't already pick him up. It's so hard to hide from the Inuzuka.
Kaido pauses to consider what Atsuro was saying and says, "Huh… so focus chakra to make my clone more solid… ok… let's do this…" He's been practicing the seals necessary all through the explainations and now can do it without thinking or focusing on them and says, "Probably going to fail several times, but each attempt will teach me something… just…" He stops as he senses Kenta arrive and says, "Hey Kenta, how's it going?" before he focuses back on what he's doing.
Atsuro's about to speak again, but suddenly pauses and sniffs the air a couple of times. Then he looks right over to where Kenta is. "Oh," he says, "Hey, Kenta. Don't be shy. You need something?" He waves for Kenta to come on over, then turns back to Kaido. And immediately takes a step backwards as he sees that the other man might be about to actually try the clone technique. "If you only need several times to do it," he says, "You're a ninjutsu prodigy."
Kenta bows when he's addressed. "Konichiwa, everyone. I didn't want to interrupt. I was just passing by on my way to my own training." But since he did get addressed and no one's trying to chase him away, the emboldened medic-nin steps deeper into the clearing. "I still don't want to interrupt, but I was a bit curious what the two of you are practicing right now. It looks familiar… Oh! That hand seal. Atsuro-senpai, you're teaching the Shadow Clone jutsu to Kaido?"
Kaido concentrates, and it takes a moment, but a clone begins to form beside Kaido beginning with his outline. As Kaido continues to slowly and carefully pour chakra into it, the form slowly begins to take Kaido's shape and begin to slowly start to look like him. He keeps going until he's given a tenth of his chakra to it and carefully opens his eyes and turns to look at the result. He says, "Huh… not bad for my first try if I don't say so myself… It looks like me at least…"
"Konichiwa yourself," Atsuro tells Kenta cheerfully. Taizen pauses in playing with the other nin-dogs for a moment to say, "Hello, Kenta. How are you today?" Then he heads back into the doggie fray. "That's exactly what I'm doing," Atsuro says, "Come to think of it, didn't you want to learn Shadow Clone once upon a time? It's not too late!" He then looks back to Kaido, just in time to see the brand new clone being formed. "Not bad," he says, "I've seen worse. Of course, with a Shadow Clone, the thing is less what it looks like, and more what it can do. Part of your practice will have to include testing out the clones."
Kenta flushes with sudden embarrassment. "I still want to perfect the Shadow Clone technique, but I've been too busy studying other subjects in the past few months. I haven't gotten very far…" The young man hesitates, especially when he sees that Kaido's already getting some good results on the first try. But then, he decides to show them his current progress anyway… which isn't much more than the last time he trained with Atsuro so long ago. Kenta sucks in a deep breath and makes the special hand seal associated with the Shadow Clone technique. Puff! A second Kenta stands next to him, but this Kenta is half the size of the already petite genuine Kenta and this Kenta also only look partially solid. Light goes through semi-translucent flesh and mars the mini clone's faint shadow.
Kaido releases the chakra and the clone and nods to Atsuro and says, "Like I said, I like to practice the basics first until I can do it without having to concentrate and then I build from there… it's how I've always done things." With that, he concentrates again and makes the hand seal and releases another tenth of his chakra to make another clone.
There's a slight pause as Atsuro glances at the ghostly mini-Kenta. "I'm not gonna sugar-coat it. That could have been better. But considering that you haven't been able to keep up with your practice, it could have been a lot worse too. Besides, you might remember that I ended up taking a break of sorts while I was learning it. And let's face it, you have a lot more of an excuse than me." He turns back to Kaido and nods. "Whatever you think is best. The big problem is all the chakra you've got to spend on it. So if you can manage that, all the other details are fine."
Kenta lets his hand seal lapse. The mini Kenta next to him bows at all the Inuzuka in attendance before it puffs away in a small cloud of smoke. The regular sized Kenta that remains scuffs a foot against the ground. "Ummm… There's just always so much more to do and train that I rarely get the chance to come back to Shadow Clone training. It's the same with wind jutsu." He turns to regard Kaido. "But you're very lucky to have Atsuro-senpai train you. He's one of the best sensei that anyone can ask for. He trained so many prominent people. You'll manage to perfect your jutsu in no time."
Kaido looks at Kenta as his own clone is no where near as good as his first and he pants a bit, it's very hard and uses up a lot of chakra as Atsuro said. He manages to say, "It's mostly practice… it's why I keep telling people to continually practice the basics… everything stems from chakra sensing, control and shaping… everything else is a variation or elaboration on that." He takes a moment to center himself once more and then tries once more, trying to get the basic form down properly and make it stable before he uses more chakra than he is right now.
Aww, mini-Kenta. He'd be cute, if the transparency didn't make him creepy. "I understand," says Atsuro, "And I know you have a lot of stuff to work on as it is. Don't apologize for it. You have things you need to get done, and you're making professional decisions to priotize them. That's all." Then he grins a little. "I think you might be overselling me a bit though." He looks back to Kaido, noticing the beginning signs of exhaustion. "Careful there," he says, "You can see why I recommend taking it slow, though, eh? Takes a lot out of you when you keep doing it."
"I do intend to get back to practicing the Shadow Clone technique after I finish my studies in other areas," Kenta admits to Atsuro. He watches Kaido attempt to make another clone. "Ummm… Learning the Shadow Clone jutsu can be pretty dangerous. Your chakra splits evenly among your clones. Whatever chakra's left often returns, at least partially, after a clone dissipates, but that also depends on control. I read of medical cases where people overtax themselves and entered a comatose state or worse after losing too much chakra that way."
Kaido's third attempt is pretty shaky and when he releases the chakra once again and the close disappears, he sags and says, "Yeah… that's it for me today… no sense in doing anymore until my chakra levels return." He moves to take a seat and says, "Man that's hard… but I think once I get the basic technique down, it won't be quite as bad, I can tell I'm trying to force it too much and my chakra isn't flowing equally to my clone."
"I know," Atsuro tells Kenta, "But in the meantime, you have other things to do. You don't need to explain yourself or anything. You're the best judge of what you need to be learning right now." He nods. "And you're right. You have to be careful when you're learning this move. You need to be even more careful when you're using it in a real combat situation, of course." He looks back to Kaido. "Case in point. Well, you didn't go into a coma, but you saw how taxing the move can be. And it definitely is. You can see that day-long training sessions just don't work for this move. That's part of why it takes so long to learn."
Kenta slings off his backpack and takes out a water bottle, which he attempts to hand to Kaido. "This won't restore your chakra, but it helps to keep hydrated. Your body's using up resources when you train. Ummm… there's some herbs and minerals added to the water that'll help replace some of what you lose. It might taste a little strange to you, but it's better for you than plain water when you're training like this." The young man purses his lips for a second in thought. "Your reserves shouldn't be -terrible- right now, but I might also be able to help stimulate your chakra network to produce a bit more chakra if you need it."
Kaido reaches up to take it and says, "I got better stuff at home… you forget I'm a poisoner and I grow my own plants at home, but thanks anyways." He takes a pull from the bottle and says, "Yeah, my reserves aren't down horribly, but I don't like pushing myself too hard, I've seen too many Genin going until they're in a coma or half-dead because they don't know their limits, and try to do all they can within those limits instead of pushing past them all the time." He rolls his eyes, obviously refering to the idiot duo of Zori and Kyuketsuki.
"What's that?" says Atsuro, "Stimulating chakra networks? I've never heard of that." He looks at Kenta curiously, "I was about to say that my job here is done and maybe I should get going, but that sounds kinda interesting…" Then he looks over to Kaido. "Oh," he says, "Is that a no? Well, that's a little disappointing, but on the other hand, I suppose I should be glad that the person I tought this tough, chakra-sucking technique to isn't going to risk things too much." He shrugs. "Okay then. Well, I guess that's my cue."
Kenta nods at Atsuro. "I can reach into people with my medical chakra to induce their bodies to produce chakra a little more efficiently and clear out any blockages in their networks. It's a pretty common ability that medic-nin have. I'm actually not as good at it compared to others." The young man scuffs his foot on the ground. He glances back the way that he arrived. "I should actually head off too to do my own training. I don't want anyone near me when I do this, since it involves hitting things with extremely dangerous poisons. It'll be bad to hit someone else by mistake."
