Enjin
Guru
Occupation[s] : Crafter of Chakra-infused items (weapons and items), fisherman
Post[s] : 2035
Joined : 2014-05-24
 | | Subject: Wisdom of the Rogue: Part 3 Training ( Katon X1, Nexus Stats X 4) plus reward dice Tue Jun 23 2015, 08:16 | |
| Wisdom of the Rogue: Part 3 Training ( Katon X1, Nexus Stats X 4)
The surprise visit of Asura's rogue ninja acquaintance Augus was indeed an unexpected surprise. It certainly wasn't completely pleasant either as the brute was a bit of an instigator as he certainly knew how to irritate Asura. But it was clearly by intent. In the secluded mountain falls and river, Asura and Augus were now locked into combat. Not lethal, but sparring as it was now a fight between the two. Asura had not drawn his own weapon, relying only on his primary strength and hand to hand skills. Augus was a curious one. He clearly was significantly stronger than Asura and he barely even moved about. He kept to a stationary position, his stature relaxed as he fended off Asura with his arms and hands.
He never touched his sword, clearly being a formidable weapon even just by glancing at the sheath.
"AAAAHHH!" Asura roared, jumping up into the air and entering a spinning kick! However, Augus continued to grin as he raised up his left arm and easily blocked the kick with it. It barely even moved as Asura struck.
To AUgus, it was a game and watching Asura fight against him was entertainment.
"Damnit!" Asura growled as he quickly landed and aimed to strike Augus into the chin with both fists. AUgus raised a hand and caught the first, but as the second fist came, he merely tilted his head back, the fist flying past his nose.
Augus chuckled. "Nice try, squirt!" he bellowed before he pivoted on his heels and twisted his body. The very motion caused Asura to be tugged forward. AUgus twisted him around in a full 180 degrees-- before he swung his arm forward and literally whipped the young ninja forward. SPLASH!! Asura landed right into the water... again. It cushioned his fall but it left him soaked again. Asura pulled himself out of the water, a frown on his face as he wiped the water out of his face and hair.
"That's IT! " he roared and charged once more. He put more speed into his motions now, moving in irregular patterns and striking at different angles. Though without the sword, Asura's movements had always been on feints, misdirection and quick attacks. However, Augus was built like a tank. Each attack Asura made, he blocked-- or simply moved out of his reach!
Despite grunts of rage and strong attacks Asura didn't have much effort to land a hit, however till once more Augus tried to block Asura's kick again. But this time Asura was prepared. With that, he spun in the block and delivered a kick right for Augus' head! It struck and it did in fact hit Augus, causing hi to take a step back.
"I did it!" Asura said, a sense of accomplishment in his voice as he realized he landed a solid hit.
However, As AUgus got back up, he rubbed his head and still grinned. "Oh, did you DO IT, aright," he said with a bit of sadistic glee. Suddenly, he was gone in a blur of speed. Asura looked shock but didn't have time to react as soon a view of the man's face obscured his own. "KYAAA!!" AUgus struck with an open palm into Asura's stomach-- and caused Augus to go flying!
The young man went flat on his back and went skidding all the way back to the water. Asura used his elbows to slow his dragging and soon got the ability to get back up quickly. He flipped up and landed on all fours again. A wild look was now on Asura's face, showing how angry he was.
"What's wrong? " Augus teased, crossing his arms. "Had enough?"
"Oh shut up!!" Asura shouted and drove forward! Rushing forward he prepared a thrust with his elbow, intending to tackle AUgus. As Augus was about to counter, Asura reached out and grabbed hold of his arm. Using the same trick, he rolled over and pulled AUgus with him, using the man's own strength against him! As Augus went up and over, Asura quickly rolled up and made a series of hand signs. He had enough of these games and intended to finish him off. "FIRE STYLE! FIREBALL JUTSU!!"
With a roar, he released a blast of fire from his mouth and it soared right for Augus, almost at point blank range! The fire lit up the shadows of the canyon as the flames licked at the river, steam quickly filling up the place.
Waving an arm about, Asura tried to clear the steam but he was certain he got Augus with it-- but it was not as intended it seemes. As the steam cleared, Augus was gone-- and behind Asura now was the shadow of the large man. Before Asura could turn and face him, he grabbed Asura by the neck and squeezed, giving him a short lack of air to show that he had struck a critical chance.
"HAhaha! Nice try, boy, but don't worry," he said and with that, let go of him with a shove. Asura fell down, and quickly scrambled to his feet. "I'll make a fighter out of you yet," He said with satisfaction as he took something from behind him.
A bottle of sake. He took a good swig of it, enjoying it and swallowing it down like a pro. It made Asura curious and frustrated to see that he was so lax and drank while right after fighting. He looked Augus over and noticed that the man had not a single singe on him. Some ash but nothing that showed that Augus had taken on damage.
Asura had had enough, literally. He had spent so much energy and chakra in his attack. He just couldn't deal significant damage to this man and thus his attacks had no real force behind it. "So what was the point of this?" Asura asked, "Get a kick out of fighting a kid not as strong as you?"
Augus finished drinking his sake as he sat down again, his breath heaving a bit from the excitement of before. "Hey, you're strong. Don't put yourself down. You just can be stronger. Besides, sparring alone is training on its own. You got a ways to go but you have promise all right." Augus said as he rested there. "Besides, I wanted to see how you fight. Not too bad. You use Katon well too."
Getting over the moment of rage and anger, Asura calmed down. It just seemed the guy was testing him, not so different from how he had done before. Infuriating, but a point of any mentor would a pupil. And evaluated him, he did. Augus got a good grasp of the power inside Asura. While he didn't know about his clan, or seem to at least, he could sense the power of his chakra still dormant inside him. Augus wanted to see that power unleashed, unhinged and released without any restraint. He was a man of freedom, and boarders and restrictions meant little for him. If there was one thing he could teach this young shinobi, was how to reach beyond his limitations.
"So what now then?" Asura asked the older man, clearly wanting to know what was the point of all this. One thing Asura liked Roku above Augus was how straight forward and wise Roku was. This guy was just plain crazy to Asura, being unpredictable and blunt. This guy just liked to have mind games with Asura. "Just what do you think you can teach me that I can't learn on my own or from my master, Roku?"
Augus stroked his chin, toying with his beard for a moment before he knew just what he could teach Asura. "Heh... I won't speak badly of your master, but I have power the likes of which he would of never seen, nor would anyone in Iwa. Did you not wonder why you couldn't land solid hits on me?" he asked. "You were strong, but why do you think I have not even suffered a scratch?"
Asura finally took the time to think it over, but he could only draw up a blank. He had no reason. There was no ninjutsu or any real excess of chakra to detect. His Taijutsu was simple but his whole body was as firm as stone. "I don't have a clue..." Asura admitted.
Once again, Augus laughed again. "There is an art unique to my homeland. A method of empowering the user with a new form of chakra, through discipline and your own power," the man said. "Your chakra can take new shape and quality, and enhanse your powers further. "
This interested Asura without a doubt, still he had his doubts. "I don't know if I can trust you," Asura said plainly crossing his arms against his chest defensively to uphold his words.
A sigh escaped Augus as he willed himself to get up. "I told you kid, if I wanted the worst for you, you would be dead. I am actually curious about you and want to see you grow strong. You wanna stay a stupid genin for the rest of your young life. YOu and I both know you are capable of far greater." Augus said as he raised a finger. "Whether or not you wanna trust me, I promise you the power I can help you gain will make you unimaginably stronger."
There was still a bit of distrust in this man, something that gave Asura a chill. But still, a shinobi never was afraid. He couldn't afford to let fear stop him.
"DOn't worry, I promise I won't bite. HAhaha!" he laughed, taking Asura's hesitance with amusement.
"Oh shut up. I'll listen to you," Asura said. With that, he watched as Augus grinned. Getting up, he walked to the end of the canyon, telling Asura to follow.
***
"Mantra?" Asura asked sitting across from Augus as the two were in a new place. It was now sunset as the both sat at the peak of one of the mountaintops, overlooking the other peaks and sunset. The top of the mountain was just large enough to sit two people with enough room between them. BOth Asura and Augus were seated opposite one another cross legged, as if practicing meditation but that clearly was not the case. "What the heck is that? I never heard of it." Asura replied, a frown on his face.
Augus was not surprised. It came from his homeland-- a unique form of jutsu that only his country knew up till now.
"Mantra-- is a special form of chakra that is nurtured and evolved into a new form, based upon the emotions of its wielder." Augus explained in a calm tone, but still a bit boastful. "Chakra that has become enhanced by your embracing and understanding one's inner qualities."
A confused look crossed Asura's face as he tried to understand this. He never heard of chakra being driven by emotions or any kind of mindful state. "I don't get it... and how the hell would this relate to my training anyway?"
"Just shut up and listen," Augus growled a moment and Augus did so, but not before he crossed his arms and waited impatiently. " Mantra is fueled by the emotions of their wielder, and each person tends to lean towards a certain type. There are eight types of Mantra, which is said to govern human life in this world."
Raising his hand, one by one, he named each type and raising a finger for each one, as if talking to a child. "Sloth, Violence, Lust, Greed, Vanity, Melancholy, Pride, and Wrath." he named each one off slowly. "Among the teachings of the west, these are pre-exposed qualities that govern human nature and how Mantra is governed."
After hearing this Asura caught on to it-- some of them referring to what was known as the 7 deadly sins. The names were different for some and there were eight, not seven. "Hey! Wait a second!" Asura barked, "This 'Mantra' or whatever it is, is driven by a person's sins? What kind of crap is this?"
Augus gave Asura a grumpy look as the young ninja continued to fume a bit. "The ninja code deliberately states against those drives as it blinds and weakens a shiobi's resolve. They are vises to a ninja. And now you are telling me these are assets?! THat's some serious backwards thinking you--"
WHAM!! The young red-head was silenced as Augus had brought a fist down on his head. Not too hard to really injure, but strong enough that left Asura's head ringing a bit. "Ow! That hurt old man!" Asura shouted back.
"Show some respect to your elders, boy!" Augus said firmly, wishing to continue his explanation. "That is a half-truth, you got there. ANd I will explain why." WIth that, Augus sat back down in a more relaxed means as the sunset died the sky red. "As you said, these are vices to human nature. Pride blinds a person, sorrow hinders a person's resolve, sloth gives way to laziness and so forth. Yes... as shinobi, one is told to resist and ignore these urges."
Asura understood that much and it was a relief to hear that Augus knew it too. However, it was then that Augus grinned his wicked wide smile. It was like his teeth were too big for his mouth the way he did that. "But where I am from, one has learned to take these drives and weaknesses, and turn it into power." he said.
A silent gasp escaped Asura at the sound of that. This was a strange reversal as those ninja creeds were all concrete and very few variations of them that changed. But different lands, different arts. It seemed they embraced and learned from the sins of man. Augus nodded, seeing that Asura was starting to get the picture. "Listen kid, I won't deny anything in excess is a bad thing. I'm not saying otherwise. What I am telling you is, you can either reject it or understand it. Understand your own vices, and transform them into your strength." he said as he gave an example. "Take Greed for example. The desire and want for everything in life that meets your fancy. Money, status, women-- all of this is a drive that makes one move ahead in life. You will find no man without a goal or aspiration of some kind. Now, you can be consumed by it, or you can use that drive-- that desire-- to spur on your own fighting potential. "
Augus gripped his fist tight, emphasizing his strength. "That is what Mantra is."
Asura took this with interest and looked the older man over. "So... I guess you are, what? Greed? Or Lust since you can't help peek at the women's bath" Asura jabbed at Augus.
Despite the little joke, Augus chuckled a bit." Very funny-- but yes I AM GREED. My desire had strengthened my body, even when we were fighting. And trust me, if I really wanted-- I could of turned you into a bloody pulp " he said, once again being intimidating but still teaching as he gestured with a hand. "However, one can naturally use more than one type of mantra, considering if one trains in it. "
It was all interesting. It was a style of chakra manipulation he had never considered since up till now, Chakra had to be drawn up and controlled by intense focus. However, Asura felt a bit unease about it. It sounded too good to be true. "I don't know... it sounds too easy. Making your chakra more powerful by embracing negative creeds?" he said.
At that point, Augus had reached to Asura and grabbed hold of his cheeks! He tugged and pulled, as if trying to aggro a child. Asura gasped and tried to shout but couldn't as his mouth was clearly interrupted by his hands. "Look, kid! There is no point in following the same training as every other sap in your village!" Augus said, messing with him further. " So far, you only been focusing on training that allowed you to maintaining and releasing a set amount of chakra, so you wouldn't use it up and exhaust yourself completely. But you have a lot of stamina. You should use your power instead of using cheap tricks, right?"
After that, Augus let go of Asura's cheeks which cause his face to recoil a bit in anger and pain. "Ow! Damn it old man! What the hell you trying to do?!" he fumed.
Making the young boy angry ignited a spark of amusement in Augus, perhaps a part of a sadistic nature. "Well I don't think it's hard to tell what kind of Mantra YOU'RE affiliated with." he said with a bit of sarcasm. "Still, Asura... if you can develop your chakra and empower it, a whole new world of jutsu will be available to you."
Rubbing his face, Asura calmed down and listened. "So how do we start? " he asked.
With a hum of agreement, Augus reached behind his back into his pack. Out of sight he retrieved a crystal ball. The crystal sphere shifted, as if a mist moved around inside. It was like smoke quarts, as it was hard to through it. "This sphere is a crystal that reflects and reveals one's inner emotions and feelings. Based on the color and shapes inside, it can reveal which 'sin' your most predisposed to." he said as he held the crystal. "Just hold it for a minute and see what happens."
Asura felt as if he was being misled, but still... he was curious to continue. Reaching out, he held out his hand for Augus. Augus lifted his large hand and tipped the crystal into his hand. Asura held it, it feeling slightly heavy but he continued to hold it perfectly balanced in his palm.
A few minutes past and Asura didn't see or feel anything. He was growing a bit impatient; wanting to know what was going to happen. Just like that, something began to change... the shade of the orb became a bright red color, as if the inside had become on fire. Shadows of demon-like shapes flashed in the red glow, appearing like raging beasts from hell.
"Whaaaa!?" Asura gasped and jumped in surprise, tossing the crystal up into the air. The crystal soared a distance above their heads and began to come down-- only to be caught with ease by Augus as he smirked.
"I knew it. You're mantra is Wrath," he said with a term of endearment. He turned to Asura, a look that seemed almost like pride. He knew there was a potential of mantra in the young shinobi. "Wrath is extremely potent chakra potential, as it gives your abilities more of an edge in combat. It is closely intertwine with Katon nature, and can grant greatly enhance your physical abilities. A great asset to you, since you tend to favor Taijutsu."
Asura still blinked a bit at the orb, which had now returned to its smoky quality, as if the vision of wrath had never occurred. "So... alright I got a hot temper. I feel I am talking to master Roku involving this topic," he said, sharing what Roku would often say about Asura's rash actions at times. "How do we make it an asset instead of a burden?"
Augus grinned and looked Asura into the eye. "This type of Mantra, can make you an unbeatable juggernaut. An instrument of pure destruction. However, in order to truly use this power, you must understand it. In short, you need to understand-- the source of your anger." he said.
This was a confusing topic to Asura. He was easy to get riled up and anger quickly. As he thought on this, Augus leaned closer to him, his hands on his knees. "Let's keep it simple. What are you mad about right now? " he asked.
"You mean besides a certain old coot who mopped the floor with me twice?" Asura replied sarcastically.
Augus flashed that wicked grin again. "Keep going, punk. But that can't be the only reason. What makes you really angry you lost to me? You're weak? You just aren't good enough?" he egged on. Anger was a rare mantra but it was easy to 'fan the flames of it' , Augus knew. It involved pushing the right buttons. Something he had no doubt he would enjoy on Asura.
Asura's brow furrowed as now the sunlight was gone and day gave way to night. "No. I know I am good," Asura replied, having a sense of pride in what he could do. "That's not--"
"Then you're just a weak worm." Augus interjected, not giving him a chance to reply back.
Asura shot a look to him. "Shut up!! " he replied.
"Meh. I probably am wasting my time" Augus replied again, " I knew you were just some privlaged spoiled--"
That did it for Asura as his eyes widened with fury. "I SAID SHUT UP!!!" he roared and didn't hold any feeling back! In an instant, Asura raised a fist and threw it right into Augus' face! There was a loud 'wack' sound as Asura actually made contact with the man's chin and face. The solid sound of the hit made it clear just how strong the attack was.
Augus' head was leaned back a bit. The fist was in contact with his chin and had moved his head slightly. AUgus still had that dumb smile on his face, as if the punch felt good to him. "Not bad... I actually felt something that time," he said, his tone now honestly pleased. "That's good. Don't mind your temper, boy. Your anger is going to be your greatest weapon. And it starts when you realize it can make you strong."
Asura hesitated for a moment, shocked by his own action. Normally, Master Roku taught him to keep a steady head and temper , in the terms of ninja combat. However, Augus' method was almost reverse, wanting to unhinge that control. He was not sure if it was a good or bad thing in the end, just like the entire Mantra method of using the banes of a ninja's creed as a tool itself.
"How do you feel?" Augus asked, reaching up to gently push Asura's fist away from his face.
Asura took a moment and looked at his fist. His limb trembled a little, but he was not scared. He felt the surge of an energy in his limb. He had always restrained himself, in his anger and his strength when fighting and training as per request of his master. But there was something about finally letting someone have it, without any care or concern. He surprised himself. "It ... well it felt good, no offense punching you in the face." he replied.
Augus didn't even give the punch a thought. "Bear in mind, emotions are no different than any ninja tool. Use it right, and it shall be a powerful asset to your growth as a shinobi." he replied.
With a breath to calm his own rapidly beating heart, Asura lowered his fist. It was strange but after feeling the sensation of letting his anger go like that, he actually believed what this man said. It really did make him feel stronger.
As now night took the mountain side and the stars became visible, Augus rose up from his seating position and stretched his back out. "Well, I think we should call it a day. We will pick it up in the days to follow," he said and reached a hand down to Asura to help him up. "You got potential kid. I know I said that before, but now I have no doubt about it. I'll make a real man out of you yet," he boasted.
Hearing Augus' words, Asura still turned a scoff to the man. He liked the sound of his own voice it seemed. Still, he was grateful. This man had some things to teach him after all. Reaching up, Asura took his hand as he pulled him up.
And so whether this man would either be a wise teacher, or someone leading him down a dark path... was something that would be revealed down the long road of the shinobi's future.
(4088 words)
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