Cultivation (Ayame)

Valen loved competition.

The thrill of trying to be better than an opponent or obstacle. The effort placed in trying to win against whoever or whatever one was against be it an individual, or even father time itself. The blood pounding adrenaline that coursed through his veins as he fought to win always seemed to bring him to a whole new euphoria. It was especially true for combat, particularly combat that could and would involve the death of one of the combatants. Of course that sort wasn’t really available here at the Heavenly Emporium. Of course accidents could happen, but so far none had. Still, despite the lack of deadly combat the chance to spar with individuals was always welcome for the diminutive Valen. Who enjoyed every chance he could get his hands on to get stronger.

The training field he was at differed from the sparring arena he had fought Oda in before. This was an honest to goodness field with trees and everything. Individuals trained specific jutsu by themselves but some sparred against one another in contests of ability and determination. Valen had already won three such competitions that morning and he was taking a short break before finding another opponent. At the moment he was wiping down his weapon as he watched another spar take place not far away. A puddle of water, maybe a meter or two in diameter at best, was nearby the combatants and they fought using taijutsu. Valen kept track of them which told him they were not particularly fast as he had yet to train his perceptive capabilities to where he wanted them. Still, it was something to watch while he caught his breath and he took a drink from a water bottle as he watched. His festival kimono was off, hanging off a nearby tree with the Kirigakure symbol showing to any who saw, showing his allegiance quite obviously.

A thin sheen of sweat was already on him from the mornings fighting and it had yet to evaporate as he hydrated. Old brands covered his back, leaving no space for more, and they were clearly visible in the day light provided one had a proper angle to see them. Each one was a different brand from a captain of some kind who had owned him earlier in his life. Each one had a diagonal line through it to mark it as an old brand. On the inside of his wrist was one more brand, the first one he had obtained after his back had been filled up. It too had a mark through it to show it as old. Courtesy of Sayuri, who marked it out after reminding him that if the owner of that brand returned he would have a claim on Valen. She had done that, before marking him herself with a vicious fanged bite upon his neck. A bite that had clearly scarred and was clearly visible from the front. It sat near the base of the neck, upon the shoulder and there were two vicious puncture marks, proof of his own ownership to Sayuri. Of course to her he was simply another one of her subjects. However in his own mind she was his master now, as would be the next person who marked out her mark and gave him one of their own. At least until someone got it into his head how stupid of a concept that entire mind set was anyway.

Without the kimono his top was bare but he had black shinobi pants and boots on to preserve modesty he didn’t really give one rat's ass about regardless. Still, he was representing Kirigakure here so he needed to have something on. Blinking to himself he would refocus on the spar. The taijutsu fight had progressed and both individuals were exhausted. Fighting was tiring work, even a few seconds of it could leave the untrained absolutely drained of energy. However it seemed like it was coming to a close. One of the individuals was pressing the fight, attacking from the outside and using a longer reach to pound their smaller opponent. It was one such blow that took Valen by surprise. The punch knocked the smaller individual off balance and they fell into the puddle. Or at least what looked like a puddle. Because the poor individual fell in completely. That would cause Valen to blink in mild surprise as the man disappeared beneath the surface of what had to be the most unassuming pool of water he had ever fucking seen.

It took a moment but someone would fish the individual out and Valen would down the last of his current water bottle, he had more at the base of the tree where his kimono hung, and moved over to prepare for another bout. He did not know who his opponent was but it seemed most of the individuals who were here were leaving. That gave the entire field to himself and whoever might want to fight and if no one remained he would simply wait, doing stretches for a while as he waited for someone to show up. The field itself was wide and spacious, giving them a total of 100m of space for the spar. Someone had closed up their strange pool of water that seemed entirely too deep for its own good with an earth release jutsu so it was no longer an issue now. With that said and done, Valen would simply roll his neck after stretching, letting small pops be heard and then waited, sheathed katana at his side and hand upon the hilt as he enjoyed the light breeze that blew through the clearing.

[1]

Ayame found herself here because it seemed the best to work on training up her skills a little bit, and perhaps work on learning how to use some more jutsu. Ayame had been told about certain jutsu, what they did, and how to use them. It was, however, her responsibility to figure them out on her own time. Unfortunately, she was without a sensei currently. It may be easier for her if she had someone to teach her, and to provide training personally, but that wasn't really the case at the moment.

Wearing a pair of black pants, black sandals, and a white sleeveless tank top emblazoned with the Senju Clan symbol, and her Konoha headband wrapped around her left bicep.

She sat, reading a book which had the descriptions of some basic Suiton and Doton jutsu, as well as some normal elementless jutsu, and what hand seals activated what. Occasionally, she'd glance up to watch some spars, but was more or less zoning out. This whole training thing wasn't necessarily her scene, she didn't really like to hurt people, but she knew that it was necessary.

It was in the midst of her trying to memorize hand seals that she glanced up again and saw the back of a short man, whose entire back was scarred up with different brands, all of which she could see had a slash through them. She let out an audible gasp as she saw them and immediately stood up, walking towards him to examine them further. She'd never seen such a thing, although she knew some people liked to mark themselves up and do tattoos and stuff like that.

"Oh wow, you look so interesting!"

Valen was standing, waiting for an opponent, enjoying the cool breeze moving through the area as the day slowly wore on. He would not be waiting for long however as a voice would draw his attention to someone behind him. Turning his head a bit so that one of his eyes caught sight of whoever it was he would see an attractive white haired girl who seemed of an age with him. She was a few inches taller than him, which was not particularly difficult to do given his imposing height of five foot one inches. Still that never mattered to him much and there wasn’t really anything he could do about it now. Her eyes were darkly coloured and he met them with his own red eyes as he contemplated her words. He looked….interesting?

She must be talking about the scars on his back, that would probably be the most interesting thing about his appearance besides the fact that he was short and that was not the type of thing that someone just came up and commented on it would seem. Turning all of the way toward her, giving her a view of the front fang marks, he would tilt his head to the side. “I do? I don’t really think there’s anything interesting about me. If you mean my back they’re just the remnants of previous owners.” He would say, alluding to a life of slavery. He did not seem to be put out by that fact or anything. To him his life had been normal, it had been all he had ever known after all and so there was no real way for him to recognize that anything ‘wrong’ had happened to him at any point in his life.

Looking down at her hand he would see a book and slowly he would manage to read the title. Something about water and earth ninjutsu basics. Nodding to himself he would speak to her once more, his red eyed gaze moving up to meet her brown orbs once more. “You’re..researching? Is that the word?” He would ask, his expression turning thoughtful for a moment. He was not the most educated of individuals and it meant that he oftentimes had difficulty with words that were either hard to describe or had more than three syllables. Still he would move along without delay. It was polite to introduce one self to a new individual right? “I’m Valen Minamoto, genin of Kirigakure. You’re pretty, and appear interested in learning jutsu. Would you like to fight?” He would ask, he knew it was polite to compliment someone too, although he did not really know how to do it yet. At the moment he was just trying different things and seeing what worked. He also knew it was important to be honest so he had been that. However anyone could tell that his social skills were quite a bit..lacking in many departments.

[2]

"Owners?"

The concept of a person owning another person was pretty foreign to Ayame, who hadn't encountered anything of the sort before. She'd heard of slavery of course, but it wasn't the first thing that she went to when she met a person, as it just wasn't something she'd thought about very much.

Lifting up her notebook when he asked about research, Ayame nodded in affirmation.

"Yeah, research. Trying to learn how to do some low end Doton and Suiton jutsu, and some other basic type jutsu. I wasn't necessarily the best student before all that war stuff."

Ayame blushed slightly when Valen introduced herself, embarrassed that she just now realized that she'd just kind of come up and started talking to him without bothering to introduce herself at all. Valen on the other hand, was the pinnacle of polite, a master of etiquette. Mentally kicking herself, Ayame responded in kind.

"Nice to meet you Valen. I'm Ayame Senju, genin of Konohagakure. Pretty forward of you, but I don't mind, I like a guy who knows what he wants and goes for it. I will warn you; I'm a pretty face, but I'm not nearly as good at fighting. Any restrictions on abilities or anything like that?"

Her question would catch him by surprise to a degree and his eyes would widen slightly at the thought. Did they not know of slaves where she was from? What an odd thing. Of course he did not know that he was the odd one as the vast majority of the world did not have slavery any longer and people were free to do as they pleased the world over. He himself had been born to it. His answer to the question would take him a moment before he could voice the words but he would get there. "Yes, owners. I'm a slaveborn. I was enslaved for the first fifteen years of my life before Kirigakure shinobi came and killed my former master. That was three years ago. Now I'm a shinobi of Kirigakure and I have a new master." He would say, turning to face the woman to show the front of his form and pointing toward the vicious fang marks in his neck and shoulder. "See? When I have a new master the new one marks out the old ones mark on me and marks me themselves. Then I answer to them before all others." He would say. From his perspective, that was indeed how that had occurred all of his life, of course his previous master had either sold him or was dead from a raid all of those times but to him there had been no correlation and he had never realized the things were connected. To him, anyone who marked out the previous mark and made a mark of their own on his body was his master. Of course such an act had to be deliberate. However it was still a vastly stupid way to do things. Not that he knew that, this had been his life all his life after all.

At her confirmation of researching new techniques he would nod his head in acknowledgement. He was in the academy during the war himself and while he had never been the smartest individual he had been quite talented in physical combat. Particular involving a blade of any kind. When she blushed he would note it, she was prettier when she did that. With her white hair it made her look like a blooming flower. Still, she would respond, introducing herself as Ayame Senju and mention that he was awfully forward but that she didn't mind it. Blinking his red eyes at her he would open his mouth to ask her how he was being 'forward' as opposed to 'backward' and contemplating turning around for her benefit. Was it some kind of social thing he did not know about? Still she would continue speaking instead, warning him that while she was pretty, she was not particularly good at fighting then ask if there were any kind of...restrictions? What did that mean?

Tilting his head at her again he would begin to speak. "I don't know what 'forward' means in this context. I'm facing forward, should I turn around? Also, what does 'restrictions' mean? Given you seemed to be saying yes to a fight, I can only assume it means you're asking if there should be any limits? If so, lets refrain from trying to kill the other. Otherwise test any jutsu you wish. I'll try practicing some of my own as well if you don't mind. However the last time I was in some kind of competition my opponent made a 'bet' with me. Is this normal? The bet was that if I won I would get a kiss. I didn't win, but I did tell her that if she won she would get one too. Which she seemed to enjoy hearing. Is such an exchange of kisses for wins or losses a thing? Do you wish to do that as well?" He would ask, his head would be tilted to the side in genuine curiosity and he would look at the woman confused. His red eyes looking into her brown ones and not looking away. He was told it was polite to make eye contact when not fighting but to avoid doing so in combat as you were better off watching their shoulders or torso so you could see the bodies movements. Still, they weren't fighting yet and so he would continue to hold her gaze.

[3]

"Slavery is wrong. Also pretty sure it's illegal, at least where I'm from. Who's your current master? I'll get them to release you."

Ayame crossed her arms in front of her defiantly. There weren't many times that Ayame would be willing to hurt another person to accomplish a goal, but this was certainly one of the few times that it might be necessary. It at least verified that she was getting stronger for a reason. If she could free someone from slavery, that was certainly a goal worth working towards.

She examined his current 'mark' and her mouth opened up slightly in surprise. She hadn't thought that was related to anything else. After knowing what the marks were, Ayame's initial interest in him had shifted. She'd thought it was cool at first, but now she was repulsed by them.

Still, she didn't want to linger on that topic too much, and there wasn't really anything she could do about the situation right now. When Valen began to break down what she'd said before, Ayame giggled nervously. Smart types like him who could break down a conversation and reverse engineer it on the spot like that, analyzing every bit of it, they were way above her. Intelligence had never been one of her strong suits. Really, nothing was, beyond her natural gifts granted by her Kekkai Genkai.

"When I said forward, it's because you say what you think. I mean, calling me pretty out the gate, asking for a fight. You say what you think and know what you want. It's a real good quality honestly. But yeah, no killing is a good restriction. I don't mind you using anything new or testing stuff out, that's what spars are for really. And that's a terrible bet!"

Ayame laughed at the concept of the bet as it had been presented.

"If you win, I kiss you, if I win, you kiss me? The end state of either fight is a mutual kiss. How about.... if I win, you buy me dinner. If you win, I'll buy you dinner?"

"Illegal? That means it's against the law right?" He would ask, his red eyes curious. He had heard the term during his time on pirate ships when the authorities would catch up to the pirates and comment on their 'illegal activities'. They almost always died though, you had to be wily and clever and have a certain kind of viciousness to survive as a pirate. Still, her question of whom his current master was confused him. She wanted him release? Did that mean she wanted him for herself after all? "You don't need the name of my master to claim me if you wish. Just mark out her mark and put one of your own. It doesn't matter what the mark is as long as it's permanent and deliberately placed." He would say, motioning toward the fang marks again to emphasize the current owners mark.

"Why is slavery wrong anyway? I've been one all my life so I would not know any better." He would ask, and elaborate as well, and it was true too. If all he had known was enslavement, how could he know why it was wrong in the first place? He didn't think he had a bad life, mainly because he simply didn't have anything else to compare it to really. He was alive wasn't her? That was better than nothing. Still, when he told her of the story behind his scars she would seem surprised and when she giggled nervously at him as he spoke he would decide that maybe he should stay from the topic of his scars. She seemed to enjoy other avenues of conversation.

Listening to her explain 'forward' was strange, he didn't know that word had a double meaning too. Why was speaking so hard? Calling her pretty and asking for a fight was forward? Did that mean continuing on that line of thought was a good thing? She seemed to like it and said so herself that it was a good quality. She would agree with his no killing rule, and didn't mind him training new moves either. However she would laugh openly at his question regarding the 'bet' and say it was a terrible one.

However her example confused him. In her argument the end state of the fight either way was that they kiss so the bet was moot. However in her example the end state of the bet meant they ate dinner together regardless. Of course Valen, who didn't attach any form of attachment or desire to money, didn't know the point was that one of them had to lose money for it to matter. However he began to consider something he had read not long ago. Since he had learned to read he had been practicing as much as he had time to do and while he was still slow, he was getting better.

Still, the book had been something given to him on the streets of Kirigakure in the market. It was called '101 tips on how to get the girl you want.' Whatever that meant. In it the author had explained that being open and honest were good things. Although he hadn't used the word 'forward' as Ayame had. Still, he had also explained that utilizing those qualities effectively could get one a 'date' at which point anything could happen. A date was supposed to be some kind of romantic outing where both parties ate, played, or did something together to try to further a possible relationship. Dates were quite common but that each outing was not necessarily a date and making a get together a date was a 'step in the right direction' toward creating a good, healthy relationship. Valen of course wanted good, healthy relationships. Of course he didn't know that the point of a 'date' was for it to be a romantic one, but that's because he hadn't finished the book yet.

So with this thought in mind he would remember the fact that 'not every outing was a date and that making one a date was a good step.' And try another line on the 'bet' angle. "So the dinner idea seems alright, but I still don't understand how that's very different. The mutual ending is dinner regardless but I have an idea. How about if I win it's a 'date' and if you win we're just 'hanging out as friends'." Which was the other possibility the book had described. He didn't know why it didn't have a nice and simple word like 'date' but apparently when one wasn't on a date one was 'hanging out as friends'. "Either way I pay, the money doesn't matter." He would say simply, shrugging and probably giving her the clue of why he didn't seem to think the dinner idea made sense. But still, to him, this way seemed 'perfect'. Unless she didn't want to go on a date with him of course, but she seemed to enjoy talking to him so far with the giggling and laughing. So why not?

[4]

"I mean, yeah? Illegal. Not legal. Criminal."

For the first time in the conversation, Ayame tilted her head in visible confusion. Why would he even have to ask what illegal meant? That was a fairly common word. Even if some laws weren't as well known, everyone knew at least what illegal meant. Maybe she'd misjudged him a little, and he wasn't that smart?

"Slavery is wrong because freedom is a basic human right. Slavery takes away that freedom and suppresses it. I mean, you just said you've been a slave your whole life, and here you are, without even basic knowledge on some pretty simple concepts. It's just wrong to suppress people like that. You deserve to make your own choices without letting anyone just boss you around because they have been the most recent one to intentionally mark you. To do something because you want to, to say no to things if you don't want to. Even if you agree with everything a master told you, and had no issues with the orders, you should still have a choice in it."

She shook her head.

"I couldn't mark you. I could never be your master, even if only to just release you. Owning a slave is illegal, and if I became your master, I'd be committing a crime. You can't just commit a crime to undo a crime. And since it's not allowed, there's no real enforcing of you having a master, so I don't need to do anything. You're just not a slave. I wanted the name of your 'owner' so I could give them a piece of my mind."

At the newly proposed wager, Ayame blushed again. He wanted to have a date? Money didn't seem to be an issue to him, so maybe he just didn't care about who paid in the end, which made her think that his win condition was for there to be a date, something he did care about, and didn't expect that she would want one, hence hers being a just as friends thing.

"See? That's what I was saying! You're free to go for what you want, and I'm guessing right now, that's a date? Honestly, that's fine, win or lose. We don't really need a bet really, but let's just go with that for now."

Her words, along with her tilted head of confusion, an instinctive motion that he himself did actually and so was able to recognize it immediately, brought a grimace to his face. "I'm sorry, as I've said for all but the last three years of my life I've been enslaved to one pirate captain or another. The first time my feet actually touched land was three years ago when I arrived in Kirigakure for the first time. I've only got a few years of learning so there are a great many words I just do not know. Please forgive my stupidity if I have to ask questions to understand." He would say, for the first time since their conversation started his eyes turned somewhat discouraged. His difficulty understanding people at times was his biggest insecurity, his only real insecurity actually. Yet it hit him hard when it did. He did not want to be difficult but at times he had to stop conversations multiple times to ask what something meant and it seemed to got on a lot of peoples nerves.

Frowning at her explanation of how slavery was wrong he would consider what she said. His eyes would turn thoughtful and narrow as he considered the words before speaking. "You referred to it as a 'basic human right'? Are there more of these 'rights?' Everyone has them? If it involves something I have to sign then I can be fairly certain I never did. However something does confuse me. You say I should be able to do something because I want to, that no one has the right to take that choice? Is that not what Kage do every day with shinobi under their command?" He would ask, his expression confused, but curious. A hungry light in his eyes for more knowledge so that he could learn and be more useful for the village. When he told her that she could in fact mark him if she wanted him she would shake her head, declining the idea before starting that she simply could not do that.

This would cause him to tilt his head in curiosity again. "Cannot commit a crime to undo a crime? How is the system regarding 'crime and punishment' different? Do we not capture people and hold them for years, or kill them, for crimes they commit? For that matter, what if an individual has the power to back up their desire to own slaves like myself? The ability to kill them for not obeying their orders for example. Would that not still make one a slave, even if you're just being one to survive?" He would ask his hand lightly tapping the hilt of his sword in thought. Honestly these kinds of subjects and twisting alleyways of logic and philosophy were his weakest area. Especially since he had probably never heard the word 'philosophy' in his damn life. Still, he was clearly not doing well in understanding what she was saying if he was having to ask so many questions.

At his proposal for a date if he won however she would blush again. The swordsman again finding it very appealing and he thought of what he could do to bring that blush to her features again. At her words however his eyes would widen. He had given her an example of her point? His decision to try to get a date with her and acting on it had been what she was trying to point out. As she spoke his lips would purse in thought. It wasn't exactly the same, she wasn't his master for one, she didn't have any right to order him regardless. However his ears would perk up at the words 'that's fine, win or lose.' Did that mean she was fine with going on a date with him regardless? He had not considered that avenue of thought and he felt his own cheeks heat up slightly in an extremely rare blush of his own. In his own mind, Sayuri enjoyed him because he could find creative ways to cause her pain and he enjoyed it when she caused him pain, and he was convenient. However he had never once considered that someone might be willing to go on a date with him for him.

Opening his mouth once or twice before it finally kicked in and words came out he would speak. "Fine then, no bet, and either way, we'll go on a date later. If you're still willing that is, and if we can both move.." He would say, the last six words as an after thought. Still, the phrase would be said with a grin that had a definite boyish cast to it. He didn't grin often and he'd never actually given someone a fully bloomed smile, however he couldn't help but feel like doing it now at the idea of the attractive girl he was going to spar actually wanting to go on a date with him. Without having to be roped into it. With that said he would move back to ten meters or so. He was obviously a close quarters combat fighter and he wanted to ensure he was as fair as possible in the spar. If she chose to make more distance before they started he wouldn't complain or try to stop her or even move. His hand would be on the hilt of his sword and with a steely rasp the blade would be bared to the world, fire licking upon it's edge as it came out of the sheathe and engulfing the steel fully in it's heat. He would fall into a kendo stance, his feet, shoulders, legs, everything about it, perfect, and his hungry red eyes would look toward her. "Are you ready?" He would ask politely, the tone just as voracious as his eyes seemed. Oh how he loved to fight and compete. Should she agree, he would close the distance at his best possible speed before swinging his weapon at her at a downward diagonal angle from her left shoulder to her right hip as fast and as hard as he could. It would be evident however that the weapon itself he was swinging, was being swung backwards, the blade facing away from the girl in order to avoid injuring her overly so. After all, cuts and slashes were hard to heal. As he moved and swung he would be ready to move if he was threatened although how would have to be decided then.

[5]

Stuff:

"No, you're not stupid. Asking questions is quite smart. Dumb people don't ask questions. Yeah, there's a lot of human rights. I mean, we've all got rights to be alive, that's why killing people is illegal. Rights to freedom, that's why slavery is illegal. As for working for Kage, I mean, we're part of the military, so whoever is Kage is just the person in charge of the Military. It's different than slavery, we don't have to obey every single thing without question. Just kinda military matters. Plus, we get paid."

Ayame sighed. There was a lot to explain when it came to that. She could definitely understand how that could sound similar.

"I don't know, I'm not super smart. I'm probably not the best person to have this talk with, there are people that are way better than talking. When enforcing crimes, we can get some leeway on stuff. And even then, it's questionable and sometimes needs to be looked into. We have specific rules I think. And if someone's strong enough to keep slaves, that doesn't mean they aren't still committing a crime, that just means it takes more resources to end that crime."

But when the time for the spar prep came to, Ayame nodded, going through some of her jutsu preparation for the spar. Flipping through the hand seals, Ayame created a wood transformation that looked exactly like her, but it was technically an armor made of Senju wood. A few more hand seals and her right arm turned into a wooden stake using the great forest technique, so she could adjust the range of her attacks and have a stronger weapon and arm for blocking. A final jutsu for preparation and Ayame's left hand grew into a Triskele shaped shield.

"Ready."

His flaming sword would be problematic to your average person, but with her armor and regeneration ability, she was only going to have to deal with some pain, but should be fine enough to heal up as long as he didn't attack too harshly. His speed was within her easy range to see, but his striking speed was insane. She couldn't move fast enough to block and took a direct strike against her body, the armor taking the brunt of the flame damage. His strike was a blur, and she could see more than she could react to as it was. Still, without the effort to fully strike with the slash, the burn was superficially on her armor rather than reaching her.

She was knocked backwards by the strength of the strike though, skidding on her back slightly. Flipping with the momentum of the slide, Ayame held her shield in front of her, pointing her right arm towards Valen, and 10 blunted branches launched forward at B rank speed in a straight line towards Valen. Redirecting it was slower, but a straight line growth was much faster.

---
Wood Release are 1 tier lower, not fully counting because it's a spar.

Name: Wood Release: Transformation
Rank: D
Power: D
Activation Cost: 3
Upkeep Cost: 1
Range: Self
Speed: D
Element: Mokuton
Skill: Ninjutsu
Classification: Group Exclusive (Senju)
Requirements: N/A
Parent Technique: Transformation Technique
Hand Seals: Bird → Dog → Snake
Description: The user creates the necessary hand seals, then word emerges and covers their entire body with a puff of smoke or chakra, covering up the transformation. Once the technique is done the transformation is complete. It acts more like a costume than a transformation, and the user is able to take it off and leave it behind if necessary. The user is able to adjust their voice while using this technique.

This works as the Transformation Technique does, but the user of wood adds a bit of extra protection to the user. While wearing the 'disguise' the user is treated as if they are surrounded by a thin layer of armor made out of Senju Wood. Traditional wooden armor may also be created through this technique. Armor created from this technique has a quality of D and a durability of B.

Name: Wood Release: Great Forest Technique
Rank: C
Power: C
Activation Cost: 5
Upkeep Cost: 3
Range: 50 Meters
Speed: B
Element: Mokuton
Skill: Ninjutsu
Classification: Group Exclusive (Senju)
Requirements: N/A
Parent Technique: N/A
Hand Seals: Tiger → Horse → Tiger → Snake
Description: A technique that changes one's own arm into big trees. Using chakra, the tissues are transformed into trees at the cellular level. Then, by activating the trees, stimulating them to grow rapidly, they lengthen at high speed and fork into many branches. It is possible to capture the enemy with these branches and at the same time, if one changes the ends into sharp stakes, turn them into countless, sharp, spear-like piercing weapons. These branches are considered to have B-Tier durability and quality, but operate at the user's Coordination and Strength.

An alternate version of this technique may be used where the wood grows out from the ground within a twenty meter radius of the user of this technique rather than the user's own cells. It otherwise operates exactly the same.
Weaknesses: N/A

Name: Wood Release: Hand Tool Manipulation
Rank: D
Power: D
Activation Cost: 3
Upkeep Cost: N/A
Range: Self
Speed: D
Element: Mokuton
Skill: Ninjutsu
Classification: Group Exclusive (Senju)
Requirements: N/A
Parent Technique: N/A
Hand Seals: N/A
Description: Using Wood Release, the user manipulates their hand into a tool, such as a key or a shield. Any sort of basic tool can be made, including most of what is available in the shinobi marketplace. All tools made will have D-Tier quality and be made out of Senju Wood, giving them B-Tier durability.
Weaknesses: N/A

Valen would give Ayame a funny look when she told him asking questions was smart. Wasn't the point of asking questions that you didn't know something? Which would therefore make you stupid? Also wasn't the kage thing a little off? "Wait, aren't Kage the village leaders? Therefore they make the law and how it gets followed don't they? Doesn't that mean they lead in more than just military?" He would ask, his head tilted in confusion. Still slavery being considered illegal everywhere was strange to him. It had seemed everywhere as he grew up. Although he has grown up on a various ships and had never been allowed on land. Still, he wondered if Sayuri was aware? He did not want her to get into trouble over their agreement. In the end though, Ayame would inform him that she honestly wasn't the best person to talk to about this and he would nod his head in understanding. Although the part about the strong still not being allowed to do what they wished was strange. Was that not how the world worked? In the end though, this would be a conversation for either later, or with someone else. For now, they had a spar to get to.

When he asked if she was ready she would go through some seals. He would wait patiently, she hadn't said ready yet and as she performed them a few things would happen. First a poof of smoke would engulf her and when it dispersed she would...still be her. This would cause him to look her in confusion for a moment as she continued. Had the technique not worked? The seals she was doing now were different ones. Which told him whatever she had intended had indeed been successful since she did not seem to be perturbed. He would have to be aware of surprises it would seem. The next set would turn her arm into a what seemed to be a wooden stake. That would cause his eyes to rise in surprise, wood? He had never heard of jutsu that manipulated wood before. Yet here it was right before him. He narrowed his eyes as her other hand grew a shield and he would nod as she said ready. When he struck, his blow landing upon her shoulder his eyes would widen briefly in surprise as the skin and textile he thought he was hitting was simply burned a bit. His strike force would knock her back and she would flip with the momentum of the strike after skidding. The skid and flip back would put her a total of ten meters from him and when she stopped she would extend her wooden stake of an arm and ten blunted branches would spring forth.

Now while Valen was not following her and pressing the attack as she skidded and flipped. He was not going to be caught flat footed. When he saw the minute damage his basic fire from his blade had done to her arm he decided to turn the temperature up a bit. When he did the fire coating his weapon would become a brighter, more intense flame and the tip of the weapon would actually extend a meter further out. Although the excess 'blade' was purely concentrated fire. Which meant it had no actually physical mass and could not successfully block something that could withstand the heat. Taking a different stance when the stakes began to come for him he would click his tongue in annoyance at the ten targets advancing at high speed. The stakes were effectively touching one another as they advanced as one unit but he could see the separation of them as individual threats. If he tried to get cute and clever they would simple 'branch' out, pun intended, and come at him from different angles. Meh, Valen didn't usually like the 'clever' and 'cute' approach anyway. So he would wait as long as he could before shifting his stance and body to the side and cutting straight down. Due the elongated reached of the weapon he should theoretically be able to cut through every stake. He wasn't using the back end of the katana for this, there was no point with the fire as hot as it was. It would cut and burn with more ferocity than his sharpened edge could actually maintain at the moment. Should his attempt to cut through the wood technique be successful he would begin to move toward the white haired woman, his weapon angled to cut through the wood as he ran in order to ensure it wasn't used as an attack against him. He could imagine such an element being good at capturing targets.

[6]

Stuff:

There really wasn't a whole lot she could do against him. Her current best technique was cut through with greater speed and strength than she could do much against. The Katon on his sword was proving to be too much, and Ayame was cursing herself for not practicing Suiton. It would be perfect for putting out the flames, but she didn't have much in the way of time to think, as he was currently charging towards her, cutting a swathe down the extended wood towards her.

It was that action that gave her an idea. During the fight with Buri, she'd become acutely aware that her shield wasn't just for defense. The man had been faster than her (not faster than Valen certainly, but still) and she had to fight defensively and dirty in order to hit him.

Valen's sword was trapped going down the straight line of the wood on her arm, effectively removing it as a threat for the moment, and she hurled her shield at his neck, hoping to land a blow on him as he ran towards her, using the speed he was moving towards her against him. It wasn't the most elegant solution she ever had, but there wasn't a whole lot else that she had in her arsenal. Not anything that would stop him for any actual length of time, nor could she really do much else while the shield was in her hand.

While the shield was flying towards him, she began forming one handed seals, although it was still pretty difficult for her to do. The shield was useless against that, but if she made both of her arms into the extending wood, perhaps she stood somewhat of a chance.

She began to backpedal while she worked on the 4 hand seals to do another cast of the Great Forest Technique, while she tried to maintain any sort of distance from the fast advancing Valen. He couldn't cut through two things at once, right?

===

As Valen moved down the extended tree branch limb that the girl had grown, his fiery blade cutting into the limb and separating the wood. Flames licked the flammable material and his pale haired opponent reacted in a way he honestly didn't expect. By throwing her shield at him. Particularly, straight at neck level. Blinking at the tactic the swordsman simply swung his weapon forward, forcing it out of the wood appendage Ayame had sent at him and swung it toward the shield. Between the force of his blow, the weapon itself and the fire said weapon was engulfed in the shield would be knocked violently aside. As he swung he would see she was trying to gain distance while performing one handed seals at a slow pace. He stopped his motions, skidding a bit due to not quite having enough coordination at that moment to catch and redistribute all of his momentum, but still finishing before she had finished the second seal. He would begin to back up himself, his red eyes narrowing in speculation as he wondered what she was doing. The seals looked like the same ones she had made before and if they were than she would about to remove the option to use either hand from herself and that was something that Valen himself had certain reservations on.

Flaming sword in hand he would survey the area from about thirty yards from the girl, his head tilted to one side as he considered what she was doing. Idly he would note something about midway between them and decide that he was going to do something a tad bit cute and stupid. However he wanted to have a good impression on Ayame for the sake of their date later. Should she complete the seal and form the second set of branch appendages with her other hand he would begin to move forward, closing the distance between them to get to that midway point where he would drop down slightly to grab something that would have been out of the girls line of sight before due to her own wooden stakes for arms. With the object nestled carefully in hand and out of sight now, he would begin to move, intent upon keeping the appendages away from him with his flaming sword via cutting through them and avoiding them if he could for as long as he could. He would slowly make his way toward her although his progress would be slow as he was spending more time moving in side directions than toward her. As he moved he would call out a question. "So wood ninjutsu huh? Does that mean you really like nature? Like flowers and animals and stuff?" He would ask, his tone curious as he worked to learn more about the girl.

-

[7]

-3 for above style
-5 for Wreathed in Fire
86 Remaining.

Ayame could tell that she was pretty much hopelessly outmatched in terms of skill here. There wasn't too much of a point trying to push herself to a victory so she stopped worrying about making hand seals and held up a hand in surrender.

"I yield, I yield!"

Her arm shifted back into a normal human arm, and the wood armor around her seemed to reabsorb back into her as well, leaving her as normal as they come, minus the fact that she could regenerate wounds. Still, that aspect of her abilities had not really been unveiled at the current point in time, so as normal as they come.

She sat down roughly on the ground, shaking the hand that had been forming hand seals by itself. One handed seals always cramped up her fingers something fierce, it was why she was so garbage at them. That and a lack of practice, but she'd get there at some point, probably.

"Uh, nature and stuff? Yeah, I love that sort of stuff! That's not why I can do wood ninjutsu though, it's just a rare clan ability. Not many of the Senju can do it, but the Senju are the only ones that can. I just also happen to really like cute things, and I think most animals and flowers and plants and stuff are super cute. Completely unrelated. I know some real stick-in-the-mud clan members who can't stand nature, but they're allowed to be wrong."

She didn't know that there were other ways of attaining Wood Release, but how could she? To her, it was a Senju only thing.

After his question came out her own voice would call out, crying out the signal that their spar was at an abrupt end. Valen slowed down, carefully moderating his speed so that he stopped right before her but the fire on his sword extinguished before the second call of 'I yield' left the white haired girls lips. He would sheathe his weapon and as she sat down upon the ground he would do so as well. As she shook out a hand, presumably because of a cramp he would hold his own hand out. "May I?" He would ask, nodding toward her cramped hand. If she accepted he would channel fire chakra into it at a very low level, enough to warm the muscles and therefore relax them so that the cramp would dissipate. With that done he would lift up his other hand and place the flower he picked up as he moved close to the ground within hers. If she had not allowed him to take her hand before, he would simply offer the flower out to her, with a small smile.

It wasn't overly pretty or anything, but it was a flower nonetheless, and not even damaged. He had cupped it carefully within his hand as he moved after picking it up to keep it safe and he presented it to her now. It was on the small side and shaped like a cup or a tall, narrow bowl. It was yellow in colour and if he was correct, was called a 'tulip'. The flower had probably been there from before when the area had been cleared out for the training area or something and a lone seed had persevered. Either way, should everything go accordingly the flower would be in her hand now. "So cute things, animals, flowers, and plants. Any kind of food you prefer?" He would ask idly, a small smile on his features at all the information he had gained. He was getting a few ideas for their date later already. Once that was asked he would give her ample time to answer before nodding and continuing on. "Well, provided you're still interested, we have a date later and I need a shower and such." He would begin, remembering what the book had said about preparing for a date. "Shall we meet at the entrance to the main festival grounds at seven?" He would ask, an eyebrow raised at her in curiosity. It was about two o'clock now, so that would make it five hours from now.

Once he had the place and time settled, even if she changed the location and time rather than going with his question he would nod his head in agreement before standing. He would offer her a hand to help her up and do so if she took it but if not he would shrug and give her a nod of farewell. "Until later then Ayame-san. I look forward to seeing you later." He would say before turning and leaving, heading back to his hotel room in order to clean up. He had a few more errands to run today before meeting her and he needed to get going now.

[8]

Exit