A skirmish in a faraway land

Taichi had visited every single nook and cranny of the village it felt like, but there was one place that he was trying to avoid. He walked through the city square, seeing all of the same shops and talking to the same people when finally he decided that he was going to visit that very place, the training grounds. He didn't want to see fighting, this time in his life he was so unsure of where he was, and he knew that battling a random person would only mess his mindset up even more. Knowing this, he knew that he wanted to get back into the fight, he wanted to continue to work toward his worthy death and his place in Valhalla, but to do that, he needed to train.

He walked onto the training grounds and he saw only a handful of shinobi training closer to the village, but that wasn't what Taichi wanted to be near. He instead continued to walk farther away from the village, continuing toward the farthest reaches of the walls surrounding the grounds. As he continued to get farther from the village, the sounds of the shinobi training lessened and he found himself a beautiful spot, a round training spot with trees lining the north side of the spot and the rest of the circle had nothing but the village walls surrounding it. The circle was 100 meters in diameter and it was a total clearing, only grass littered the ground throughout. 

Taichi stood towards the trees, being ten meters away from them, breathing in the smell of the leaves and feeling the warm breeze blow in from the grounds beyond the walls. He would begin training his chakra control as he would channel his chakra into his eyes, activating the eyes that he had recently been gifted, the purple eyes that he had seen in the mirror a few nights ago after a hard night of drinking. He still wasn't sure what to do with them or what they even did, but hopefully he was going to find someone in the village who had a little more knowledge than he did. He stood still, not moving a muscle, meditating and praying for guidance and knowledge of the gift that he had been given. He also prayed for a chance to improve his abilities and increase his worthiness to the gods above.

AP: -10 for Rinnegan

Kita found himself sitting at the training ground, tapping at his shoulder as he examined the training grounds that stood before him. He had come to the training grounds in hope of learning a thing or two before the next round of the exams, but it didn't seem like that would be happening here. Gazing over the training grounds, there were a small number of shinobi who were training nearby. Normally the boy wouldn't care about such a thing, being more than happy to train with other shinobi to hone his skills, this time it was a bit different. Training in the open gave his opponents a chance to see his skills and develop countermeasures against it, which would lessen his chances of winning in the chuunin exams.

"Well if I can't practice here... Maybe there's a place further out?"

It was worth a shot. Better to look and be wrong rather than willingly give up an advantage in the exams. Kita half debated examining some of the shinobi who were training in an attempt to see if they were practicing for the upcoming exams, and maybe scope out the competition. However, he shrugged that off after a moment. Anyone who's competent would be practicing behind closed doors, and those who were practicing openly likely wouldn't be much competition anywho. Nothing to be concerned with.

He ventured out further and further from the center of the ground, hoping to find somewhere that would be an applicable place to practice without venturing out of the designated training area. The sounds of clashing weapons and roaring jutsu began to fade as Kita left those practicing behind, and he arrived at what he thought would be a perfect training ground. Smiling, Kita began to make his way onto the clear and surprisingly empty field, more than pleased that he had managed to find a spot secluded from other aspiring Chuunin. Then, Kita saw something that made him do a double take. Ten meters away from a treeline located to the north of the field was someone already there. The boy supposed that it made sense, musing that other shinobi likely would've taken advantage of an empty spot. He likened it to a busy road, where if free space existed, something would likely come to occupy it. This did raise a particular concern for the boy. If this other person was a Genin, did he really want to be training near them? It was certainly better than a crowd of people watching over him, but what if they reported Kita's skills back to their group? He would lose his advantage in the exams. Kita sighed and began walking over to the sitting figure. He would have to suck it up if he wanted to get training done he supposed. This was the quietest spot that Kita would be finding in the next few hours he reckoned, so he might as well ask if the grounds were free to use.

The man would see approaching him a rather short boy, only around 5 feet and 5 inches tall. He was young as well, being roughly 14 years of age. Atop his head sat short black hair, and upon his face rested high cheekbones and stormy gray eyes. He was dressed in a plain gray kimono with the underclothes of the standard Kirigakure armor underneath. Wrapped around his waist was his headband, denoting his village as the village hidden in the mist, while also doubling as a toolbelt. To his left hip sat a katana resting in its scabbard, and on his right hip sat a weapons pouch. The boy gave a light smile and gave a soft one handed wave to the meditating man, not noticing the purple eyes that he currently displayed.

"Hello! Would you mind if I got some last minute practice in here before the Chuunin Exams? The main sections of the training ground have a lot of people, and I don't really want to share my skills before the final tests..."

Word Count - 670

Taichi would continue his prayers, when he would hear footsteps beginning to approach his location. "As usual, if one shall ask, they shall receive." Taichi would continue to to pray until the figure would get close enough to speak. Taichi would rise to his feet and turn to face the approaching individual. His long white hair reaching his lower back, he wore his blue battle vest with his black cargo shorts reaching just below his knees, to where it would cinch to tighten its grip on his legs. Taichi would turn to find the approaching footsteps belonged to that of a child, standing about 8 inches shorter than Taichi himself, but having a similar build to him. Taichi's enhanced eyes would deactivate before he would turn, knowing that he would have to continue his chakra control training at another time. 

"Of course you can use this piece of land for your training. But how about we have a spar, if you are going into a competition that is centered on battle, you should get all of the practice you can get before going into the real battle with your opposing participants." Taichi would walk towards the center of the circle, being 20 meters away from the center, 30 meters away from the tree lined edge of the circle. "I would love to spar with you. If you believe you are up to the challenge, of course." Taichi would think as he spoke, think about this possible avenue for his life to go. Maybe he could be teacher to those in the new generation, maybe he could actually make something of his life, and not just continue down the same downward spiral that his life had been going down since the destruction of Suna, since he had first become a rogue ninja in the first place, before becoming a bandit from the land of wind. 

If this child would accept his challenge, then Taichi would activate his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, readying himself for the battle to come. But if the child would decline the challenge, then Taichi would continue with the conversation that would come, either would be pleasing to Taichi, and the choice would rest solely on the child's shoulders. Taichi knew his own ground rules for this fight, he was going to do everything he could to not kill this child, but he was going to first assess the child's abilities, address whatever weakness the child may have, and give him an in-depth lesson about just what he could do to improve his chance in the Chuunin exams. But only time would tell what the child's response would be.

Stats:

The man offered Kita a spar. Kita debated the merits of doing so, engaging with the man in a friendly contest of strength. Something about him made Kita certain that he wasn't participating in the exams, something about the way he was carrying himself, so there was no risk of exposing his skills to the competition. Kita wondered just how much strength this man possessed, just how powerful he really was. He was clearly confident in his knowledge that he could assist the boy in assessing his weaknesses, so he must know at least a bit. Why not? Maybe this fight could finally be the trigger which activates the bloodline that Stein had been so kind as to implant in his body. Who knows?

"Sure, I would be happy to spar with you! It couldn't hurt to learn a thing or two from someone who knows more than me."

The boy gave the man a grin, and began to draw his chakra bonding katana from its sheath. It was a friendly spar, so there was no need to use something quite so violent. The boy proceeded to walk to the treeline as the man got into his own starting position. Kita jammed the blade into the earth near the roots of a tree, ensuring that it stayed firmly in place. Satisfied, he drew the sheath from its place within his belt, holding it aloft. It wouldn't be cutting anything, but it certainly wouldn't be anything you'd want to be struck by. Kita nodded to himself as he held the sheath, and turned back to face the man. He walked back into position approximately 10 meters from the tree line, 40 meters from the center of the circle, roughly 20 meters from the man. Kita shifted his stance to keep his legs far apart, right leg in front of the left, ensuring he could not be so easily tripped. He held the sheath at its base with both hands, holding it away from his body around level with his sternum, aiming it above the mans head. Kita took a deep inhale, then exhale. A slight smile crept across his face, and he adjusted his fingers so that he held the sheath more comfortably in his hand.

"I'm ready when you are! Don't go easy on me, or you'll regret it. I'm a lot stronger than I look!"

Bold words for someone who hadn't engaged in combat more than a handful of times. Yet Kita had been feeling quite confident lately, so he felt no particular guilt or irony in what he had said. Kita was too far away to make out the fact that he was using a dojutsu, but something about his stance told Kita that he was ready. Kita inhaled and exhaled once again, letting his body relax. He began to use his skill in the Silent Killing art from Kirigakure to mask all sound from his body, and the vibrations that he gave off. As he was now, he was completely and utterly silent. His smile slipped into a grin, and he shifted his position once more, shifting the sheath's position by bringing his sheath to his left side and twisting his torso to the left, letting the sheath and his chest point parallel towards the enemy. His legs adjusted to account for this new position, remaining slightly bent for maximum stability. The kid clearly wasn't entirely new to this.

If the man hadn't done anything in the time Kita had spend preparing himself, the boy would begin to run forward, keeping his sheath at the same position. He made sure not to go at his maximum speed just yet, letting himself begin to dash at a nice and brisk 50 speed. A frontal assault wasn't the best decision sure, but for now he was simply testing his opponent's own capabilities. With luck, he could lull the enemy into a false sense of security. For now, Kita would simply attempt to close the gap between the two shinobi before attempting anything fancy. If the opponent did anything strange during Kita's process of preparing himself or while he was rushing, he would of course alter his course based on what he thought would be best to do to avoid damage.

Word Count - 711

Total Word Count - 1381

Taichi would smile as he watched his new opponent begin to shift his stance 20 meters away from Taichi himself. There were few feelings better than that stillness that one goes through when a fight begins, very seldom can you match the feeling especially when you are first starting out. Taichi still remembers the spars that he would have in Suna prior to its destruction. He would be trying to avoid going home, not wanting to deal with the abuse and pain that would come with his being home. Taichi would spend hours, even spend the night in the training ground, always trying to better himself, wanting to become stronger, become something that he could be proud of, maybe even something that his mother would have been proud of too. 

The opponent shifted his position once more and he would begin running towards Taichi, which he of course knew was only a front for a more intense attack to come. This wasn't the first individual that he had ever seen with a sword, he remembered Hiroaki for a moment as he saw his opponent begin to run forward. Hiroaki loved his sword, and fighting with it was the only thing he ever talked about, that and blacksmithing. Taichi also noted the sword that he had left in the root of the tree on the side of their arena, marking that in his mind to keep control of the battlefield the two individuals were sharing. As the individual would get ten meters away, Taichi would activate Loki's mist, forcing a mist to extend from his own body at full speed to the surrounding area to its full range of 20 meters. 

Should the sword wielder be caught within the mist, then his surroundings would be erased and replaced with nothing but utter darkness. Taichi would use this as a chance to close the gap without being noticed or able to be seen or heard. He would keep himself 10 meters away from the sword wielder, and he would watch as the shinobi would be fighting off the two monsters that would immediately form from behind the sword wielder. Both with swords in their hands, and both would be aiming for the opponent's vital spots. Taichi was not going to kill this child, but he did want to see just what it was that this child was capable of and whether or not he would be able to handle himself in a hardpoint. 

Taichi would merge with the ground whether or not the opponent would get caught within the mist, just to ensure that his body would be much harder to strike with any physical attack, and using his enhanced vision, and possibly with the help of Loki's mist, Taichi would know exactly where his opponent was, and what he was doing within his mist, allowing him total domination of his opponent, at least for the moment. From within the Earth, Taichi would keep himself a safe distance away from his opponent, but still keeping him close enough for the mist to render his opponent's senses useless with just his head poking out of the ground.

If his opponent would not be caught within the mist, then Taichi would merge with the ground completely, just so he could play some head games with his opponent, and see just how he would react to such a situation. Either way Taichi would be sure to analyze his opponent deeply, wanting to understand just how exactly his opponent worked and what he was capable of in a combat situation.

Used:

EMS - 10
Loki's Mist - 100
Mayfly - 100

As Kita began his reckless charge, the man seemed perfectly content to simply sit there for the moment, seemingly content to let the boy do the approaching. Was he planning something? Kita couldn't see any form of hand seals, so he must be confident in his ability to avoid the attack. What was his game? Maybe he thought he was fast enough to dodge and run away from the boy's strikes? Not completely surprising, it's not as if Kita was revealing his true capabilities. Maybe he had another jutsu up his sleeve? If he did, why didn't he make hand signs for it? Maybe it was some combination between the two? Guess there was nothing to do but attempt to play his game.

It was at 10 meters that the man activated his jutsu, sending forth a wave of mist from his body. Yet the mist wasn't the thing that rattled the young boy. What was scariest was the fact that he sent it forth without any form of hand seals. No time to question it. Maybe it wasn't a jutsu, but maybe some form of item that he had on his person? Either or, Kita had little to no time to react. It was moving fast, at approximately 100 Speed. Slower than the boy himself, but he wasn't quite ready to reveal that fact just yet. Kita took the most cursory glance he could around the ground for some object, anything that would be use in this situation. Nothing but barren ground. It didn't seem particularly harmful to Kita, noting that the earth and grass underneath it seemed completely unaffected by the technique. Yet it didn't seem to obscure the man from vision, meaning that it wasn't for disguising his presence. It suddenly clicked it the boy's head, and he began to give a cheeky smile once again. Breaking his silent killing skill for just a moment, Kita spoke loud enough for the man to hear.

"Sorry, but tricks like that don't work on me!"

His thought process was simple. If it didn't affect the plants, then it must not be something that would hurt you directly if you touched it. Since it wasn't made to obscure vision, it must cause an effect if you inhale it. Kita would continue forth his charge, meeting the mist straight on around the 7 meter mark (rounding for crisp numbers and minimal calculations). Of course, Kita's assumptions were off by a large margin. As he raced forward into the approaching mist his surroundings immediately turned black, placing him into a world of darkness. A deep chill began to fill Kita's bones, as well as the sense that something here was incredibly wrong. His head whipped around, trying to locate his opponent, only to find in his peripheral vision that two large, hideous monsters had formed behind him. Twisted grins revealed rows of needle like teeth that extended almost to their malformed ears, and they stared at him with one bloodshot eye in the center of their heads each. They both stood taller than most men, being 6'5 at least, towering over the young lad. Huge rippling muscles bulged from underneath their jaundiced skin, and their tattooed arms held rusted blades that aimed for the boy. One aimed to stab his heart, the other to lop his head off.

Kita's eyes would widen, and he would dart forward to avoid their attacks, taking sure to use just enough speed to evade without giving away his maximum limit (Up to 150 Speed, depending on how fast the creatures are attacking). With his blade still held in its position by his chest, Kita twisted his wrists to bring it into a new position optimal for a horizontal slash. He flipped the sheath to fact the opposite direction and spun around in a clockwise direction, slashing with the sheath to the right as he did at a speed of 90. A sound of deafening dog barking begins to fill the air as an invisible wave of force two meters wide, half a meter in height, and half a meter in depth, devoid of chakra, emits from the tip of the sheath and flies towards the monsters at an impact force of 97.5 and a speed of 90 (Temple Style: Bark). Whatever Kita sees would be up to his opponent now...

Word Count - 721

Total Word Count - 2102

Jutsu Used:

As the mist protruded from Taichi's eye, he relished in the lack of requirement of hand seals for his opening assault. The smoke and mirror routine was of course nothing more than a front, a means for Taichi to see just what this individual could do, but there was an ease in his opponent's gait as he ran directly into Taichi's mist. "You really think that is going to do? To hold back during a match with me?" Taichi thought to himself as his two burly illusions began slicing and attacking at full speed. Taichi watched in amazement from his low vantage point, watching his body move with such fluidity, but still Taichi knew for someone to be moving with such confidence that there was something being hidden. 

After a few more slices, Taichi decided to speak to his opponent. Thanks to his mist, he was able to make his voice come from wherever he wanted, so he would be able to keep his position a secret, for now. "If you think holding back is going to get yourself through this match, then you must think again. I see the confidence you are having, the fluidity in your motions. You told me to not hold back with you, and unfortunately I did hold back with you. I want to see just how well you handle yourself." Taichi then began his second phase of his assault, and this time he was going to use a higher amount of force. 

While he was dodging the attacks from the illusions, Taichi would perform the hand seals for Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave with his right hand. Then a giant wave of water would explode from Taichi's position, but his newfound opponent would not see it coming. He would only hear the water coming, which Taichi would have his illusion amplify the sound and make the sound come from every direction, spreading out 30 meters with a power of 65. Making the decision of which way to dodge a mere guess with no evidence to base it on. The two sword wielding illusions would continue their barrage of attacks to keep his attention off of the sounds of the rushing water.

Should the wave hit Kita, then he would be swallowed by the power of the water, causing him to lose all footing and roll along with the water. Taichi would quickly capitalize on this situation by immediately performing the hand seals for Suffocation by Water Technique. The moment the water would connect the two shinobi which Taichi thought was quite likely due to the inescapable situation his opponent was in, his opponent would see a bubble consume his head and he would feel the his airways begin to constrict and he would suffer from oxygen deprivation and he would begin to believe that he was drowning. 

Should his plan come to fruition, then Taichi would allow his mist to release so he could speak to his opponent face to face. Should the opponent find a way to get out of the barrage of attacks, then Taichi would react accordingly, staying partially merged with the ground so he could escape any situation should the need arise. 

Jutsu used:
Loki's Mist upkeep: -50
Mayfly Upkeep: -50
Wave: -30
Suffocation by water: -40

Kita gritted his teeth as he heard his opponent's message through the blackness that surrounded him. He felt a chill run up his spine as he realized exactly how foolish he was. If this man was holding back, just how much strength was he hiding? Clearly he had some impressive abilities at his disposal, considering how he could conjure these creatures out of his mist. Now that Kita was thinking more on it, what exactly were the properties of this mist? The moment he touched it, it triggered some change, some shift in the world around himself, but Kita couldn't think of any sort of jutsu that would allow someone to alter reality in such a way. Unless...

Kita didn't get a chance to think more on that. The creatures barreled through his attack like it was nothing, rendering the wave of force utterly useless. They were clearly intent on continuing their assault on the boy, ready and willing to tear through him like tissue paper. Yet perhaps more concerning was the sound of rushing water that began to fill the area. It was something faint, something that Kita wouldn't have even noticed if not for the fact that he himself was so quiet and focused on the battle at hand. Creatures encroaching, water rushing... something was wrong, and Kita could only guess that his opponent was setting up multiple attacks from multiple directions. Still, his opponent did have a point about not holding back. If Kita didn't know which direction the attack was coming from, he would just have to attack in every direction at once. Kita began to bring his sheath holding hand back towards his body just a few moments after hearing the water begin to rush and seeing the monsters approach, tucking the sheath into his left armpit before turning the motion into the start of a few hand seals. Kita dropped his Silent Killing just long enough to yell out what he wanted to say, completing his signs and activating his jutsu just as he finished his words.

"Alright then! I'll show you just how strong I am when I'm not holding back!"

Of course, his feat wasn't easily pulled off. Kita had to backpedal away from those monstrous beasts as he performed his hand seals if he didn't want to be slashed to ribbons. Then there was the water to deal with. The boy didn't know it, but he was backing up right towards the encroaching water which was only 9 meters away, assuming he had jumped back 1 meter to avoid the creature's first attacks and his opponent hadn't moved. As he was speaking, he was moving backwards at his top speed without resorting to reflexes at 120. The creatures were fast, but at 100 speed they weren't able to land strikes close enough for Kita to make any sort of sophisticated dodges. Kita travelled back 5 meters as he weaved his signs like a madman. With the water jutsu being cast and activated before he had even started moving, and moving at 65 Speed, that left only a distance of 1 meter between the two, with the jutsu having travelled 2.7 meters in the time it took Kita to move 5, and rounding up for the boy's slowed reaction speed.

The end result was impressive. Kita had used not just one, but two jutsu as he dodged, evaded, and spoke. The first wasn't very impressive, causing no visible effect just yet. Its effects however quickly became clear once the boy's second jutsu emerged. With him having weaved 8 hand signs, he had used both the A-Rank Ninjutsu Amplifier and the B-Rank Gigavolt, using the first to amplify his second jutsu to an unreasonable degree. What was normally a 75 power and speed jutsu swelled to 105 Power and 95 Speed. It surged out from the boy's body as an angry swirling yellow mass, clearly thrumming with excess power. The air around it crackled, and it would collide and blast back anything that would be caught in its wake, destroying and dissipating any jutsu whose power didn't exceed its own.

The boy smirked as it began to activate. A bit overkill perhaps, but it sent the message that he was ready to fight without holding back. Of course, there was no way of telling whether this jutsu would dispel the mist around himself enough to escape this hellscape. Only time would tell if it would free him...

Word Count - 774

Total Word Count - 2876

Jutsu Used:

Taichi was near to the ground and he watched as the ninja seemed to pick up in speed, significantly at that. "I knew he was holding back. Now the question is, by just how much?" The platinum haired shinobi felt himself grin as he began to see the full ability of the young shinobi. He dodged the illusions' attacks with ease, and he was able to keep himself under control even when the noise of the incoming attacks began to surround him. These were feats that were uncommon among many ninjas, for many would have folded under pressure. But this calmness only gets one so far, now he had to get himself through the next barrage of attacks. Suddenly, before the water was able to get to the child, Taichi saw the child's hands begin to flail insanely quickly before a large jolt of electricity pushed all of the water that was rushing towards him backwards, keeping himself away from it's clutches, "Another impressive show of feat, but that electric charge doesn't last forever." Taichi thought to himself as he saw the electric charge weaken and ultimately dissipate. 

Taichi allowed his exploding wave that had surrounded his opponent during his push back collide upon itself, closing in once again on his opponent. The wave would not be as loud as before, as the wave had already exploded and was now just flat and reaching it's maximum range. The water would surround his opponent and close in on him still at full speed. His opponent, however, would hear nothing different. The sound of the exploding wave would continue as before, causing confusion to his opponent. The illusions would also be unaffected by the electric charge as they were only illusions, but Taichi would cause the illusions look to be killed by the electric charge, as not to grant his opponent the thought that they were merely illusions. He would then have another illusion come down from above him. The illusion would be that of Taichi himself, coming down upon him with a kunai knife in hand. 

The fake Taichi would come down as if leaping down from a tree that would be unable to be seen by his opponent, while the real Taichi would still be watching from 25 meters away, seeing just what his opponent would do in the next situation. For now that his electric charge had dissipated, the water would begin creeping in on his opponent, and while his opponent would not be able to see the water, nor hear any difference. He would be able to see a truly realistic vision of Taichi dropping down upon him. Another thing that his opponent didn't know was that Taichi had performed the necessary hand seals required to perform Water Release - Rain Shark [V7]. He would slam his palm down after quickly coming up from the ground to cover just his waist down at this point so he had access to his hands and arms. 

After the thrusting down of his palm, five sharks made up of his water chakra would thrust upwards from the ground and descend down upon his opponent. Each of these sharks would be four meters long and two meters wide. Should any of these sharks make an impact with his opponent, he would not die, but he would no longer be able to battle. Should the water creeping up towards him from the exploding wave come into contact with him, he would be put under his Suffocation by Water genjutsu. Taichi was unsure how this individual would get out of this next barrage of attacks, but he was beginning to get excited at the idea of him doing so. Taichi would continue to keep his distance, being ready to react to any type of attack that would be thrown his way, keeping his Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan activated, watching his opponent for any sudden movements, keeping him within the mist.

Used: 

Rain Sharks -45 AP
EMS upkeep -10
Mayfly upkeep -50
Suffocation by water -paid on last post, haven't used yet
Wave upkeep -20
Loki's Mist upkeep -50 AP

It was a success! Though just barely. It wasn't as though Kita knew just how close he came to being washed away and suffocated in that moment in time before he cast his jutsu, though his jutsu granted him some small reprieve from the onslaught of techniques going on outside his barrier. Based on the sound around himself and the sight of the dead creatures, it looked like he was successful in his endeavors. 15 Meters, that was the limit of the technique. Kita had to think quickly if he wanted to survive the next wave of attacks. He had time to utter only a single sentence as he though through his potential options.

"He's a hell of a lot stronger than I thought!"

He ran through his options in his head, weighing each decision against each other to decide the best course of action. Yet each time he ran into a road block that he couldn't think around. He was trapped in the dark with no way of finding or sensing his opponent. They were fast enough to launch an attack from every direction at once, and they possessed the power to conjure horrible monsters to attack him. This level of power was... unreal. Unheard of outside of myth and legend. Nobody was capable of actually bending reality in this way, how could you even counter something like this? Unless... he wasn't altering reality at all. The world itself is difficult to change, especially to the degree that his opponent was demonstrating here. If it was just altering the boy's senses, that would make a lot more sense as to how he was able to accomplish the feats he was. Yes... that must be it! The boy gave one single cheeky grin into the darkness, confident that it must be the answer.

"This jutsu was really strong! I really thought this was real for a good while there! I think I've figured it out though."

Kita wasn't entirely sure he heard him through the jutsu, but there was time to worry about that later. That was the last of the distance he had. Now Kita just had to hope that he was right. The Gigavolt faded from existence, leaving the boy without defenses in the black once again. Above him materialized his opponent, who appeared to be standing on something for the briefest of moments before jumping off of whatever it was to assault the boy. Yet another reason to believe that this may be an illusion in Kita's mind. If that was his real opponent, he would've just given away his position for a sneak attack, as well as opened himself up for a potential counteroffensive. Not to mention the fact that there was nothing where they were standing in the field to jump off of like that, the treeline was simply too far away. No, this had to be setting up for something else as well, some diversion from an assault. Kita took a deep breath and activated his Genjutsu Release.

The image of Taichi faded away from his vision, and the world became clear once again. The boy no longer stood in darkness, but stood in the field that he had left behind. A cursory glance about himself revealed that the mist was still very much present upon the field, yet within the space around the boy existed a small dome, approximately 15 meters in radius where the mist did not exist. It took only a moment for the boy to realize that it was his Gigavolt which had carved and disintegrated a hole within his jutsu, having been a higher power than the mist. Yet he didn't have time to rest easy. Surrounding himself was the remnants of his opponent's water style jutsu, the sound of water that he was hearing.. Though it was far from being any sort of threat on its own anymore. Since the wave worked by expanding outwards, it would flow away from the boy, rather than towards him. Even if his did let the jutsu collapse in in itself, it would simply fade into the grass or continue onward with its forward momentum. Plus, with Gigavolt's unique ability to dissipate jutsu which has power less than its own, it would allow for a nice and dry space 15 meters in radius around himself. Nice and comfortable breathing room, nowhere near enough for the jutsu to be a threat anytime soon.

Of course, now Kita could see his target... It was rather disturbing seeing him phased through the floor like he was,  giving Kita some degree of concern before chalking it up to being some strange earth style jutsu. He was also farther away than Kita had expected him to be, but he supposed that he had just moved while Kita was stumbling about in the dark. Besides, there was no time to rest now. His opponent had just slammed his hands down to use his Rain Shark jutsu after Gigavolt had faded, and a point of water 15 meters away began to rise up into the air at 70 Speed and Power (Using default opponent scaling, as opponent never specified the power and speed of their technique). It still had quite a ways to go, 30 meters up into the air before it even changed shape into becoming a shark, and then 30 more meters after that to come back down, as well as the 15 meters it had to travel in distance to get to the boy... Even being generous, it had a long way to go before it was ANY kind of threat. Kita turned to his opponent with a grin, excited to finally get an opportunity to attack. With the one hand that wasn't on his sheath, Kita reached into his tool pouch and withdrew a single shuriken. He half debated not even using it, as it seemed potentially deadly, but one singular shuriken couldn't hurt. Kita launched it at his opponent at 115 Speed and 75 Impact Force, with the ability to travel up to 57.5 Meters in distance. Painful if it hit him, but Kita had faith that he could dodge it. After all, he had 25 meters to work with before it risked hitting him. Plus, his Shark Rain had only gone up about 5 meters in the time since Gigavolt ended and Kita threw his Shuriken. They had a LOT of time before that plan was coming into effect...

Word Count - 1076

Total Word Count - 3952

Jutsu Used:

Items Used: