Forging the Future

"Hmm. Nue, do you think choosing him is the right choice?"

Diana was currently sitting on a wooden bench she had made through wood release looking over the recent shinobi who had been granted the rank of Genin. Some Suna-nin, some Iwa-nin, and a few stragglers from Fang and Birds that hadn't been swept up in their new Kiri ownership. Diana had wanted to go straight to Kiri to find out why this had happened, but with everything else going on alongside her previous departure she was swamped back down in paperwork, keeping her from doing what she felt was important.

Never enough time, never enough hands. Even Fission & Mass Wood Clone weren't enough to take care of the work she needed to do. Mass Shadow Clone probably wouldn't be enough if and when she learned that technique either. As such she had put out a (currently pending) order where any Iwa shinobi could learn some of the easier Iwagakure Exclusive Techniques, and while the news had yet to break about there were some genin who weren't specialized in what Iwa had to offer; in this case one Tōru Nakaba. She had heard about his imprisonment and how he was trying to do better, but she still wanted to see just what the Genin was capable of and his thoughts on everything that had happened.

Setting the papers down as she got up, she'd begin some stretches as she prepared for his arrival. While she wasn't one for working out, given her age alongside her position she kind of had to do so; drawbacks of the job one might say. At least thanks to the Dragon Blade she had been able to grasp more of the fundamentals that assisted in her warm-up routine now.

---

185/185 CP
Negative Sensory Passive Active

A summons from the Tsuchikage? This was assuredly not something Nakaba had earned. Had a noise complaint been filed? Too mundane for Kage work. Possibly some additional terms of probation now that he was officially an Iwa genin. That seemed reasonable. The world was both hellishly hectic right now, but also kind of slow paced. Some major states had fallen and been subsumed by others, and frankly Nakaba didn't understand the ramifications. For now, his presence was requested, so he need to get his day started before he lost too much time. Like music playing in another room, his thoughts were quite divorced from his body as he suited up for the day. He'd leave his apartment in that neon orange jumpsuit that had become ingrained in his identity.

The gears hadn't begun turning smoothly yet for the genin. The dim sunlight of the dawn hadn't soaked into his skin yet to wake his body up. Running past his fellow early risers Nakaba began his laps around the district. Sweat pooled in his clothes and hair streaming slowly down his face as the Sun's rays began to creep from the tops of walls onto the streets themselves. He would finish a lap and check his watch, he looked obviously disappointed that his pace was worse than he expected and wouldn't have enough time for another lap. Acceptance quickly replaced that look though.

Catching his breath he would actually notice Diana's seat before he saw her. He almost looked disgusted. At the very least he looked confused. Seeing the Tsuchikage a little earlier than he anticipated, he'd fix his face and give an appropriately deep bow. His thoughts from this morning would finally catch up to him. "Lady Tsuchikage." Lifting his head Nakaba would continue, "Genin Nakaba, Tōru reporting in or duty."

As she finished up a sun salutation stretch, she'd notice the sound of footsteps approaching, followed up by a male voice she didn't know of yet; though that mystery was quickly brushed away as they introduced themselves. Seeing as he bowed, she'd give a small bow back as she addressed him. "Relax Nakaba, the kage hat is not on my head, so you can relax the formalities while we are here unless it is important."

Shifting her stance to a more relaxed position, she'd continue. "Anyways, I called you here for a few reasons, but the main one is that I personally wanted to see what kind of shinobi you wish to be." Pulling out a scroll she'd unseal it, the smoke dissipating to reveal seven puppets; the same seven puppets that she had received from Cerise Hyuuga those many years ago when things looked brighter for the both of them. Although Diana had gotten rusty in her use with these puppets, she knew she could easily pick them up again in a matter of moments with her wealth of knowledge now. As she began to look over each one for damages & mechanics, she'd continue to speak.

"I read up on your file earlier and saw you are a practitioner of kugutsu and taijutsu, two skills that compliment each other quite well. While I am no expert, I am fairly confident I can give you  a jumpstart in both areas of study." Finishing up with Aiko, she'd carefully set the puppet down and looked to Nakaba. "Choose one of the Karakuri, study it, and learn it. Once you do that training will begin."

---

185/185 CP

X-Class Autolearning Puppets (Can't recall if I ever properly did so, so doing it again to be safe)
➤Faithful Karakuri
➤Loyal Karakuri
➤Deceitful Karakuri
➤Loving Karakuri
➤Uptight Karakuri
➤Mocking Karakuri
➤Aiko

Lady Kage bowed back to him. A wave of relief washed over Nakaba manifesting as a small smile that crept over his face. "That makes sense." Nakaba's posture and demeanor would shift since it seems he wasn't here as a subordinate. 'What kind of shinobi.' This was a hard question that he'd file away for context later. As Diana relaxed, so too would Nakaba, and as she began inspecting the Karakuri, the genin would look over her with incredible scrutiny. How did she move the Karakuri? How did she treat them? Were they foreign to her? He would attempt to hide his gaze with a slight, warm smile.

He would bend down inspecting each of the Karakuri. A spider and three dojutsu users. It wasn't narcissism that he felt in this work. He would linger on the last one a little longer. Maybe it was just this one. There was no doubt that each of these were well made, but this last one was made to be adjusted differently almost as if the superficial pieces were made as an interchangeable facade. He would linger on the human-like Karakuri with the pair of sharingan. "Correct me if I'm wrong," Nakaba pausing for a moment, would turn to Diana checking in for consent and then continuing. "Diana? This one is based in the Uchiha dojutsu, and was intended to be used with weapons in the environment, yeah? This Karakuri is perfect." With twitching fingers imagining manipulating gears and limbs, Nakaba placed his index finger on the Mocking Karakuri, giving it life.

"I can't imagine my file was an interesting read, but thank you for this opportunity." The puppet would open and close its hands just like the genin visualized. It did occur to him that maybe he should have waited before animating it, but he wanted to test its craftsmenship. He felt that it was remarkable, but not entirely out of his own league.

CP: 102/110 [Nakaba has to pay extra]
Crd: C to C+ [C++ effectively for Kugutsu]

Techs Used:

Learning:

She was quite glad that Nakaba took the initiative to look at the puppets while she inspected them alongside bring inquirious about the puppets that she owned. She still remembered the day she received that latter and was gifted the puppets. "It is based on an Uchiha clan member with a three-tomoe sharingan, yes; though I am not completely sure which one it was based on." She had her suspicions, but she had no real reason to reveal that it was very likely based on Ex-Kage Nyguyen Uchiha. In fact the only reason she had an inkling that it was based on him was due to Loving & Faithful Karakuris' design being based on their creator. "And yes it's is able to use items not built into it; as such they make for good conduits to practice and teach taijutsu and various weapon techniques when one's natural body is not able to properly do so."

Preforming the shadow clone technique, the clone would unsheathe the dragon blade from Diana Prime's holster and used her other hand to animate Loving, Faithful, Uptight, and Aiko. The three puppets based on 'proper' Hyuuga would take center while Aiko would remain within a meter to the right of the Clone. "Now then, it is time to begin training."

"For the first two techniques I will be starting you off with the two fundamentals a taijutsu-kugutsu user should know; Razor Threads and Martial Puppetry. While they are simple techniques, the former will allow you to use your chakra strings as actual weapons in combat in case you lose your puppets or need additional reach for taijutsu; the latter on the other hand will allow you to efficiently apply physical techniques you've learned to the puppets themselves. Demonstrating these are a bit tough, but simple enough to understand."

To demonstrate, the clone would make a Nue Chakra arm appear from her back as she thinned the chakra in her threads. She'd then sweep the arm through the threads and the arm's chakra would split apart to demonstrate it's cutting power. Once the arm faded away, Diana would have Loving & Faithful fight one another in a mock battle for a dozen seconds before backing off. then Loving would take up the Hard-Soft Fighting Style and Faithful take up the Strong Fist Style before fighting one another once again, this time their movements faster and more impactful. "As you can see, the chakra threads act like razor wire, and the trick is to both put chakra into the threads to solidify them while also thinning them. As for Martial Puppetry, the trick is knowing how to push a puppet's mechanisms to the limit."

She'd reset her puppet's positions to before they fought as Diana Prime continued "Once you have those two techniques down, I want you to try and learn the Hard Style: Boulder Smash technique using Mocking as a medium instead of your own body." This time it was Uptight Karakuri that moved, and it would move to kick Faithful, stopping at the very last moment so as not to break her own puppets before resetting them back to normal. "If you need me to demonstrate the techniques again, just ask."

---

185/185 CP
Split CP
Prime - 92.5/185 CP
Clone - 92.5/185 CP
Puppet technique; -1 CP
91.5/185 CP

Teaching Nakaba Razor Threads, Martial Puppetry, and Hard Style: Boulder Smash (Open Custom)

X-Class Autolearn Martial Puppetry (Seriously how did I miss this)

There was little say on Nakaba's impression of the Tsuchikage, as the Tsuchikage she was as impressive as expected, but there was also enough patience in her voice. As his instructor he was surpised already. He had expected some bias or hesitation, but the woman was true to her words. It really felt like she just came here to give Nakaba a jumpstart. Whether it was power distributed for the good of the village or to lay the path for the future either way Nakaba saw someone building something good.

As a genjutsu specialist the sharingan held a place regaled in envy within the genin's heart. A three-tomoe sharigan puppet could be an interesting mix up in a fight. "I like to tinker and build things, but it's nice knowing that I won't have to build a new puppet from scratch each time that I want to have its functions adapt to my needs. I'd rather spend my time working on entirely new projects. It's also a good shape. Again thank you. I was having trouble thinking up a design for my first puppet. This has put me months ahead of schedule." He looked off to the side to avoid eye contact as he tried to show his gratitude.

The shadow clone that formed slightly surprised Nakaba, but seeing how casually the Tsuchikage performed it, he was inclined to pretend that it must be normal. If this one is based off of an Uchiha then those four being Hyuuga is a safe bet. As she began to explain, Nakaba's multitasking brain would begin to visualize the razor-like properties he needed to imbue in his chakra threads. Though he was a kugutsu user he wasn't the best by a large margin. The wire needed an edge, no that wasn't quite right either.

His train of thought was entirely disrupted as he watched the chakra arms form honestly the biggest jumpstart he was getting was probably simply exposure he held his composure with the Dragon Blade as the clone pulled it out. That was simply a work of art. He held his composure when the clone formed that he could understand conceptually. When Diana formed the chakra arms it was probably then that Diana could since some mixture of admiration, awe, and fear. It lasted only for a moment as the genin reaffirmed in his own head that he was safe, and that there was no point in over thinking it.

The genin shook his head, now that his question was answered and the Karakuri's name was stated, obviously disappointed in himself. "Yeah that tracks. A 'Mocking' Karakuri. 'Copy' Wheel. I completely missed the pun." Locking in his focus the genin would do as instructed.

Razor threads. As far as Nakaba was aware using chakra strings as a weapon was a completely novel idea. He'd never heard of a ninja using shape manipulation on chakra this way. Watching the clone perform the technique he would dangle a thread out of his right index finger, and he would flick his finger at the ground attempting to slice into the dirt. A soft thud against stone showed the technique was ineffective. He would spend a minute re-evaluating his biases. He didn't necessarily have to do it the exact same way yet as someone leagues better than him in chakra manipulation. making a few more strings he followed the instructions again. Nakaba strengthened the strings, thinned them, and then he imagined slight serrated edges. Grabbing the strings like a whip he would lash at the ground a distance away. This time scratching the stone underfoot. In his book that was a success.

Martial Puppetry was a little more intuitive for him. Imagining the push and pull on the puppet's head, limbs, and torso, he moved MK into the Hard-Soft Style stance. He would mirror the karakuri going into a soft stance facing it with his left hand down, manipulating strings. It was going to be incredibly useful to be able to practice Kata like this. It took him a moment to get used to having the puppet face him, and he would start with very basics: moving the head, spinning the sharingan, and making hand seals. Satisfied he'd have the Uchiha rush him.

Nakaba started with a more basic Kata. Nakaba could already feel it burning through his Chakra reserves to push the puppet like this. He didn't quite comprehend the statement when she'd said it. Nakaba picked up Martial puppetry almost immediately as the puppet sprinted towards him, compelled by the strings in his left hand, Nakaba would keep his right hand between them. The puppet would stop in a long narrow stance, weaving to the left, as it delivered its first two strikes with Soft Style: Nervous Breakdown [Str C | Crd B++]. A punch to the neck and sternum.

Nakaba responded with his half of the Kata using consecutive usages of Soft-Style Preemptive Break[Crd B++|Prc C]. He would move his right hand forward, almost cutting through the air, and swat away both hands. The Karakuri's left hand would be tapped by the back of his hand, and the right handed jab that came after would be slapped with an open palm, both strikes sending the blows off course. When the third strike came Nakaba would repeat the technique, but this time instead of knocking the hand away he would use a little more finesse. He rotated his hand as he pushed the things wrist grabbing and locking onto it before dropping out of using a straight kick to knock the puppet up off of the ground and back.

The blow, the opener of Soft Style: Will Breaker[Str D+ | Crd B+], would land on the bottom of the Karakuri's jaw, but wasn't quite as effective as Nakaba'd hoped. Mmm. A weapon would've been nice here. Nakaba would feel himself warming up as his body started to get into the rhythm of this Kata and he would leap so that he would be moving forward as the puppet was moving backwards maintaining distance. His right leg would come crashing down delivering the powerful cross-punch of this technique [Str D++] as he sent the Karakuri downwards to the ground.

He had it recover easily and effortlessly. Not a gear out of place, truly fine craftsmanship as the wooden figure recovered it would roll backwards and then catch itself posed and ready to rush forward again spinning in the air  landing on a Nakaba perilously redirecting the blow with the back of his hand again. It was easy to see that his timing was a bit off blocking such an unexpectedly heavy move. He'd not been on this side of that kick before. He ended up pushing himself back more than the puppet.

Though he was off balance the finger on his left hand never stopped, and MK maintained distance with a single step almost out pacing its user. It leapt forward with a magnificent spinning back kick as it imitated the technique from before -albeit a little sloppily- Hard Style: Boulder Smash [Str B | Speed A], and Nakaba flinched. Clinching his teeth and preparing to misgauge the distance, Nakaba's control stopped the puppet 2 feet away from a blow to his head as he misunderstood the speed and it almost seemed to teleport past him from his perspective. Probably here too, Nakaba's fear is sensible though he tries to keep it off of his expression. He'd gotten a little carried away.

He would turn the puppet away from him and have it perform the spinning kick slowly a few more times. He hadn't anticipated an increase in its speed. Playing the memory back in his head and then crouching down to the puppet's knee, he would watch the rotation of the puppet's knee and ankle. After a few seconds it would click and he would back up satisfied. "Diana, I think that I understand the foundations, at least, of these techniques." He would stand and shift himself and the puppet back to face her.

CP: 102/110 -> 78/110

Stat Changes:

Jutsu Used:

Learning: 1 D-Rank ([Diana]Martial Puppetry), 5 C-Ranks ([AOC]Hard Style: Rock Smash, [AOC]Soft Style: Nervous Breakdown, [AOC]Soft Style: Preemptive Break, [AOC]Soft Style: Will Breaker, [Diana]Razor Threads), 1 B-Rank ([Diana/AOC]Hard Style: Boulder Smash) for 1050 words


[EXP- Break Point]

"I am glad to hear that I could help." She genuinely was glad, as finding people who were both shinobi but also enjoyed tinkering was hard to find. In addition she didn't even realize there was a pun in the naming convention, she had just assumed their creator game the puppet said name due to their dislike of the Clan's Dojutsu.

Watching Nakaba preform the jutsu she wished for him to learn, she was glad to see that he picked up on it well. A lot of shinobi struggled with this sort of fighting style, though that was mostly due to them not understanding the fundamentals of Puppetry, which was a shame. Even if one disregarded their origins in Suna, the ability to make such small threads were extremely useful, especially when sharpened as they acted like a weapon one could spawn at will.

She'd then watch as Nakaba sparred against himself; a rather clever way to practice techniques without a partner if one couldn't preform the Shadow Clone Technique and one she needed to remember. He was quite good with taijutsu alongside his puppetry, but it was clear to her that neither were truly his specialty; she was just shoring up weak spots in what his true calling likely was: genjutsu.

As he finished his sparing with her, now his puppet, she'd head a ring in her ear and answered her linkpearl. "Yes, what is is? Right now..? Fine, I'll be there soon." She'd quickly form a frown as she talked to the person on the other end, then turned to Nakaba with a sigh.

"You did well. Unfortunately I've been informed that I am needed as Tsuchikage elsewhere, so I will have to cut this sort. You have my permission to hold onto Mocking until you have your own puppets that you can fight with, and in addition I will also provide you with these:" She'd preform the Korikane Crystal Generation and Senju Wood Generation five times each in front of her. "Consider this an investment and an apology for my inability to train you further for now." She'd seal up her remaining puppets and dissipate her clone as she prepared to go deal with this incident. "And Nakaba, I believe you will turn out to be a fine shinobi. Your care of Mocking alone confirms that to me, and I look forward to seeing what you make of both yourself and those materials.


{Exit}

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92.5/185 CP
91.5/185 CP
Korikane Crystal Generation; -5 CP (Affinity)
Senju Wood Generation; -15 CP
76.5/185 CP
Clone end; Merge CP
169/185 CP

Diana is leaving Nakaba with x5 units of Senju Wood, x5 units of Korikane Crystal, & Mocking Karakuri

Custom Techs used:

He responded to his Kage with a deep bow. Her faith in him, and her investment, while likely not much to her meant the world to him. They were a springboard that he would grow and bloom from. With a solemn tone he'd reply, "Thank you Lady Tsuchikage. I seek to grow and grow evermore." He would accept her gifts humbly and maintain his bow as she left. Over the course of the next few minutes Nakaba would calmly pack away his belongings and make his way away from the training ground and to an empty alley way near the clan districts.

Slyly he'd check and make sure no one was nearby, and then his facade would wash away. "HELL YEAH!" Nakaba would quietly pace back and forth after his muffled shout with a series of consecutive fist pumps followed by a little victory dance. I definitely made a good first impression. Hell yeah. Mocking would stand and begin to do a funky dance with him as Nakaba celebrated, completely overjoyed. Collecting himself before he left the alleyway, Nakaba would return to the street with his normal tepid expression and make his way back home where he'd be celebrating with sweets and meat.

Claiming x5 units of Senju Wood, x5 units of Korikane Crystal, & Mocking Karakuri
[Exit]