Time to Meditate

Arisu stopped on her way back to the village, and took a seat. It was quite peaceful, and she enjoyed getting closer to the world. The village was a little bit cramped unfortunately, what with it being a metropolis. She didn't really like that it was more modern, since she had grown up in a more traditional environment. As someone who was going to be the goddess of this world, she wanted to get closer to nature for a little bit, before she got back to the village.

-

As Arisu sat down and meditated, she maintained her pose for quite a while, focusing on her chakra and letting it build up and pulse through her. During that time, she felt a shift inside her as the meditation finally unlocked her Rinnegan path. Standing up, Arisu opened her eyes, moving to a puddle and looking down into the reflection. Sure enough, the Rinnegan was activated. She experimented with turning it on and off, before leaving it off for a while. she still didn't want anyone to really know about her Otsutsuki origin.

While she was out and training, Arisu decided that she would focus on perhaps some jutsu training. It took a good portion of her day to do so, but given her insane levels of chakra reserves, she wasn't even really tired at the end of it.

After a while, Arisu began to work on some more advanced techniques. After all, what good was a shinobi if they didn't have a wide assortment of jutsu and skills to fall back on? The stronger the jutsu at someone's disposal, the stronger the shinobi would be, and thus, the harder to kill. Non elemental ninjutsu was Arisu's specific talent, and thus probably should be her main focus.

Most people would probably focus on the Shadow Clone technique, but Arisu would have time to learn that one later. She instead focused on something a bit more useful to her than that one. See, the Shadow Clone technique was a good one, but splitting the user's chakra pool had some drawbacks. Once Arisu had some bodies to use, she had a similar technique as well, but without that clone popping issue.

However, buffing herself was a big issue. Arisu wasn't a physical fighter, and wasn't exceptionally tanky. So it made sense to her that she should learn the Assimilate All Creation Technique. With her Black Receiver Rods, she could take on its durability and properties to become much harder to injure, as well as be able to spawn more or her Rods, which could then be used to take someone down. Beyond that, she had some chains which had some powerful properties as well, so perhaps she could use that as well somehow.

So she began to focus on that training. Placing her hand on a tree, Arisu focused on her chakra, and resonated it with the feeling of the bark. It took a few seconds, but she felt herself begin to change. Arisu's arm began to turn into wood, and soon the rest of her had as well. Releasing the jutsu, Arisu's body shifted back to normal. That would certainly be useful.

-Learning Assimilation All Creation Technique

With that out of the way, the next thing Arisu needed to do was learn how to weaponize her body a little bit more. After all, she wasn't a physical fighter, so she needed some way to fight people who were physical. She'd heard of a technique that allowed the user to weaponize their hair, something that was pretty interesting. Especially given that her ancestor, Kaguya Otsutsuki, had been able to do the exact same thing, so she felt like she should emulate the goddess herself.

Arisu began to practice the hand seals for the Lion's Mane technique, working on getting the combination correctly. It wasn't a difficult one, only three hand seals. Tiger, Monkey, and Bird. After a little bit, Arisu began to pump her chakra into the technique, so she wasn't just using the hand seals. While learning jutsu came to her quite quickly, it was always figuring out how much chakra she needed to put in for it to still be effective that gave her the most problem. She had massive reserves of chakra, but that tended to lead her to dump more chakra in than she needed to, so Arisu liked to practice to mitigate the amount she had to spend to the barest minimum.

-Lion's Mane Learned

Next up on the chain of techniques was obviously Needle Cloak. Since Arisu could use her hair offensively, she needed to also learn to use it defensively as well, so that she could actually withstand attacks. The interesting thing about this technique was that it created a powerful defense of just the hair alone, while still allowing for a counter attack. Increased strength and defensive techniques meant Arisu didn't have to dedicate her training to her own physical prowess or defense, which let her focus more and more on the important things.

Arisu formed the Boar seal, and her hair grew around her, covering her body. She used the Lion's Mane to beat down on the hair with some of her other hair limbs, just to see how it handled physical damage, and to her surprise, the cloak didn't even budge slightly. She sent a hair whip at the tree, just to compare, and it took a large chunk out of the trunk, which meant it had quite a deal of power behind it. That would serve her purposes quite well.

Retracting the Needle Cloak, Arisu's hair shifted back to its normal state. She only had one more thing to learn currently, and that was how to project the hair out like needles. It shouldn't really be that difficult, especially considering she had a technique that already converted her Black Receiver Rods into needles, and had techniques to launch items as weapons as well, so it just made sense to her that it wouldn't be that difficult for her to replicate it as a hair technique that utilized her own hair as a weapon.

The real trick would be seeing if she could combine it with something else later on, like the Assimilate All Creation technique. Would her hair take on the properties of the material as well? Because then, perhaps, she could use her techniques to artificially enhance her attacks and defenses even further. But first, she needed to finish learning the Needle Hell technique. It wasn't a particularly difficult technique. Forming the Ox seal, Arisu hardened her hair, and focused more on the individual hairs, sending them a signal to launch at the tree.

Immediately, as if firing a barrage of senbon, her hair launched tons of hair at the tree, which bit into it, volleying through it and tearing out massive chunks as they slammed into it at massive speeds and with significant force as well. Arisu smiled. She was pretty well ready for fights, but she wasn't quite done with her training just yet either. There was still more the girl had to learn before she was truly unbeatable.

-Learning Needle Hell and Needle Cloak

Appearance CP:

From the main road an ox-drawn wagon moved steadily along the dirt path. The back of the wagon was filled with crates and barrels of various goods. Garnishing the pile of cargo were two Kunoichi, one very easily taking on the appearance of a Chuunin or Jounin while the second appearing as a young girl just fresh out of the academy. Hana stayed vigilant of her surroundings during the journey. She was more worried about the coach and Chigetsu over her own safety. Highwaymen and low-ranking ronin were the least of her concern. While they passed through the dense jungle Hana caught the distinctive sound of chipping bark. It was rapid as if a continuous volley of projectile were striking a tree. "Wait, hold up." Hana said placing her hand on the coach's shoulder. The man would pull back on the reins bringing the oxen to a halt in their tracks.

"Stay with the coach, Chigetsu. I'll be back in a moment." Hana had a much better peace of mind with keeping Chigetsu with the coach than taking her along. Although the girl was fairly inexperienced she did have a blade and a duty to fulfill as a Genin. Hana suspected it to be a minor disturbance. Perhaps it was a school of squirrels racing up a tree? It was in her Jounin instinct to always investigate suspicious activity, though, as a school of squirrel can easily be a squad of enemy ninja moving undetected about the perimeter of the city. Hopping off the stationary wagon she'd pacing casually towards the sidelines of the road peering out into the jungle.

From her brief observation, somewhere ten meters or so out from the main road she spotted silky white locks and pale skin. Hana's natural cautiousness was wiped away by the sight as she blindly entered the jungle to get a closer inspection. A Kaguya? Out here? Using her hands to brush away low hanging branches she found herself in the small clearing Arisu utilized for training. Hana stood just in the corner of Arisu's point of view with hands on her hips, brows furrowed at the little Otsutuki girl.

It had been a few weeks since Arisu left Kirigakure to fulfill some sort of mission with Ann Yuki, somewhat an acquaintance to Hana to say the least. Regardless, it seemed like Arisu was gone for months after Hana hadn't heard back from her proposed get-together she tried establishing a while back. And of all places she found Arisu camping out a few kilometers from Kirigakure's gates in some sort of nature retreat. Needless to say, Hana was unhappy. "So, uh, whatcha got going on here? Doing a bit of training in the middle of nowhere is always nice. Especially when you were only permitted to leave due to a mission contract."

Snuggled among the cargo that had been loaded into the ox-drawn wagon was Chigetsu, the aforementioned young girl that appeared fresh out of the academy. Only their upper-half would be visible from outside the wagon, especially their bubblegum-pink hair. Tied into a long braid that reached down to their ankles, black bows would adorn their hair in several places, and this ornate styling and flashy color that perhaps made it obvious that they hadn’t truly experienced any of the horrors of shinobi life yet. Together with a zipped-up lilac hooded jacket, just their visible upper half would be almost offensively colorful. Chigetsus had already sort of zoned out at this point of the ride though, eyes half dazed and only supporting themselves by leaning against the crates as a support. Something about taking a ride through the serenity of the countryside was especially relaxing. Part of it was surely that they had tried them self out from carrying all those crates, but this nature had a certain calmness to it that Chigetsu was beginning to appreciate.

They would be roused from their near slumber state the moment that Hana spoke. It would take a split second to return to focus, but as they did Chigetsu would instinctively clutch at the handle of the ninjato that was strapped to the baldric they were wearing. Immediately thoughts of danger would swirl around in their mind, especially given what Hana had said on the trip here. A bit tense now, Chigetsu would watch Hana’s every movements as she hopped off the wagon, biting a bit at their lip in nervousness.“Is there something dangerous?” They would call out in a half-whimper as Hana left, shrinking down a bit so only their eyes would only peek over the wagon’s edge.

With their eyes kept focused on Hana’s back, Chigetsu would watch the ensuring encounter from the safety of the wagon, likely in silence. Having no idea what was going on, they didn’t have much room to interject.

Arisu noticed the approaching Kaguya, ending her training for the moment. As she turned to face her, she noticed that it was Hana, one of the Kaguya that she knew, but didn't know super well. "Ann and I left separately. I was returning to Kirigakure, but I took a stop to train and meditate. The village is a little removed from nature with it being a metropolis, so I can't properly feel connected with nature there. However, I was more or less done anyhow, so I was going to return soon.""

Arisu spoke in an matter of fact style of speech, almost monotone at this level. There was no reason to lie, so she just told the truth. However, apart from Ann and Tsubaki, the people who knew she was an Otsutsuki were rather limited, so she couldn't exactly tell the truth about her training also having been somewhat secret. Then again, Tsubaki had left the village quite a while ago, and Hana was a Kaguya herself, so there wasn't a super important reason to keep that a secret.

"Besides, I was working on a secret thing, most of the village isn't privy to the truth about me." Arisu said, staring at Hana for a moment, activating her Rinnegan for a brief period of time, enough to establish recognition of a Doujutsu being active, before she shut it off. "I recently unlocked my Rinnegan, so I wanted to test it out in secret. Although, at this point, I don't particularly care anymore. Otsutsuki shouldn't have to hide. It's unbecoming."

Arisu approached Hana. "If you're travelling back to Kirigakure, can I accompany you?"

Arisu explained her reasoning so matter-of-factly that Hana found it hard rebut. She agreed that Kirigakure's recent growth was a double-edged sword. Hana enjoyed the luxuries a modern society offered. Reliable internet connection, cheaper cost of living, more burger options and the whole nine yards. But she had fond memories of her younger days in Kirigakure when it was just a standard village. The skies were clearer at night giving her a better view of the stars and it was significantly less crowded. Nature was abundant. Hana was pulled out of her fond memories when Arisu told her about a 'secret thing' she had been working on out in the middle of nowhere.

Hana knew little about Arisu. She was quiet for sure. And not the shy girl kind of quiet, neither. She was the kind of quiet where Hana felt she had to keep a fairly close eye on and to not provoke intentionally lest the Kaguya Clan were to suffer mass causalities in the school or movie theater. So when Arisu told Hana about a secret she figured it was something serious that she kept hidden for her own safety and not some attempt at humoring her. Hana's posture relaxed from being confrontational as her face lit up in curiosity. What did she have to show?

Arisu stared at Hana and in a moment her eyes changed to an incredibly unique doujutsu. Hana was taken back at the revelation. She had no idea what it was, but it looked super cool with how the purple and black spiraled. Her first question was to ask if her vision changed, but she decided it was best to keep the interview for another time. Arisu explained what the doujutsu was, being the Rinnegan which was connected to the Otsutsuki. "Huh....alright."

It was such an incredible ability to witness. It outranked the Uchiha's Sharingan tenfold and gave her a new perception over the quiet Otsutsuki girl. Hana's attention was restored back to the girl as Arisu approached her. The way she presented herself to Hana was something she found irresistible. She acted too cool for school, but looked adorable. Hana bent her knees to lower herself down to the girl's level grabbing the side of her face with both hands squeezing her cheeks firmly and pulling them out to the side. They were as squishy and elastic as she dreamed of. She wanted to squeeze them harder but was mindful that Arisu was a living being and any more pressure might actually bruise her face. "Of course you can!" Letting go her cheeks would snap back into place and blood flow would return naturally.

"I have a cart waiting on the main road. We shouldn't keep them waiting any longer." Hana guided Arisu back up to the main road if she followed to the wagon waiting on the road. She noticed Chigetsu was using the wagon for cover, a wise decision but unnecessary. "No need to worry. Just a straggler. Let's get ready to roll." Once both Hana and Arisu were loaded onto the cart the coach would prod the oxen again getting them to move back on their way to Kirigakure.

[Exit]

Just a straggler? Chigetsu wasn’t entirely sure what that was supposed to mean… Were there just sometimes shinobi who wandered around outside the village? He didn’t want to ask any questions, but clearly there was something he was missing here. There was a lot to this whole ninja thing that he didn’t understand yet. Slowly he would relax back to where he had been seated in the wagon, and the clench that he had made over the ninjato would be released. Still, that there was someone now accompanying them both back to the village was… Rather than asking, Chigetsu would just let the question go unanswered. It probably wasn’t important that he knew, the lowly Genin that he was, and asking anything would probably just make him sound stupid. He would stare a little bit at the new girl that was apparently coming along though, unable to help but be curious. It wasn’t often that he got to meet forest people, and so there were a few questions he wanted to ask, but without the confidence to make conversation with a chilly looking stranger he would remain silent. Instead he would huddle into his little corner of the wagon, silently keeping to himself for the rest of the ride.

[Exit]

Hana reached out her hands to Arisu's face, and the Otsutsuki blinked, quite unsure of what Hana was doing. As she grabbed Arisu's cheeks, Arisu's visible eye activated the Rinnegan, in an almost defensive manner. "Don't touch my face." 'What the hell is wrong with this woman?' The Otsutsuki's hands moved up to Hana's wrists, to pull them away from her face.

However, they would continue on after that stupid little sequence of actions, and Arisu would get on the cart, and sit mostly silently while they returned to Kirigakure.

She looked over at the other person, the pink haired, assumedly girl. Giving a slight raise of her hand as a form of 'hello', Arisu let her arm drop once again, and stared out over the edge of the cart, content to just watch the change of scenery as they moved along.

-exit