The Beginning

"All right class, and that concludes today's lesson. Please make sure you practice the jutsu we went over today, as that will be crucial if you want to become a genin....which I hope you all do."

The instructor concluded class and as she did, all of the younger students rushed out of room. They all had their sights set on completing their professor's orders and practicing the two new jutsu, which were the focus of today's class. Isako also desired to practice the jutsu. Not so he could just learn them, but so that he didn't have to embarrass himself any longer in a class full of students five to seven years younger than him.

He stood up from his undersized desk, let out a sigh and proceeded to exit the room. As he walked, his mind became engulfed in thought. He thought only of what he could recall of the first jutsu learned today: the Transformation Technique.

"The Transformation Technique. Three hand seals..." his mind begun. "The dog..." he continued as his hands begun to make the three hand seals as he recalled them. His hands now mimicked the dog seal, left hand being pointed straight out and forming a 30 degree angle with the right side of his body horizontally. His right hand was positioned so that it was forming a fist, underneath his left, and was angled nearly 45 degrees from the direction his left was pointed. While forming this hand sign, he felt the chakra flow begin to manifest from his body into his hands. Nevertheless he continued to walked and continued to reflect. 

"The boar..." His hands were now transitioning symmetrically, almost as if they were moving as one. Each his left and right inverted so that his wrists faced the sky. As they inverted, one by one he semi tucked his fingers from pinkey to thumb while also making each contact the same finger on the other hand. As his fingers began to connect, his chakra spiked and he began to lose focus. "Agh......remember, control.." he thought to himself as he exhaled the breath that he had been holding in sense forming the dog. As he exhaled, his muscles loosened and his body relaxed. That chakra that began to escape his focus now reverted back into his hands. 


"And finally, the ram!" This time, Isako stopped walking. At this point he was at the threshold of the academy's entrance door. As his hands began forming the final seal, Isako's mind began to picture the image he wanted to transform into. "A simple door mat..." he thought while focusing his chakra from his hands, which were now positioned in the ram seal, to the rest of his body. With that refocusing of his chakra, he was finally at the stage to emit the chakra from his body. To do so, he tensed all of his muscles up then expelled chakra from all tenketsu points on his body.

A thin cloud of smoke appeared, and as soon as it subsided there Isako was, resting on the floor as a door mat. 

"Wow that's it!" he thought before being trampled by several young shinobi entering the academy for their classes. Quickly, he released the jutsu then reverted to his body. Brushing himself off, he muttered a faint, "Just walk all over me, why don't you..."


"Well, I've got to work on the clone technique now. But before I begin, let me go someplace more quiet."


The level of commotion just outside the ninja academy was at an all time high. Many of Isako's classmates were practicing their jutsus that they learned today. Some successful, most weren't. Isako scoffed at them, they were so focused on completing the jutsu that they weren't considerate of the steps leading up to the jutsu. But not Isako, instead he walked a distance from the academy until the voices of the other students were no longer in range. Sitting upon a bench, Isako crossed his legs and closed his eyes. He began to focus on the flow of chakra throughout his body. He begun at this head and felt it all the way down to his toes. The chakra flow throughout his body was wild and not contained, almost as if something else was poisoning his chakra. Almost like another source of energy, however Isako did not focus on this. Instead, he looked towards the completion of his training. 

Beginning with breathing, he wanted to control his thoughts by calming himself and blocking out everything except for the hand seals for the clone technique. "The ram, snake, then tiger....I've gotta make sure I keep my chakra under control while I perform those seals, that will be the tough part." But he was up to the task. If Isako would become the strong shinobi he desired to be, then he would have to overcome much more complicated feats. And so he begun.

The ram, it was the freshest in his mind as it was the finale for the transformation jutsu. So Isako was prepared; he quickly positioned his hands to be flat against each other with his palms meeting at the center of his torso. His left hand then slid up so that his left hand was atop his right; this was followed by tucking his right ring and pinkey fingers in while placing his respective left hand's fingers on the other. Now just his index and middle fingers were vertical. This sign was simple to him, however it still took some getting his fingers used to feeling of this position. With time Isako would be able to sign faster, but it would take plenty of practice. 

Transitioning from the ram into the snake was extremely easy for Isako. He slid his left hand back down to meet his right while simultaneously interlocking his fingers, ensuring that his left thumb was on the outside while his right was on the inside. Finally the tiger, which also was a simple transition from the snake. He unlocked his pointer and middle fingers and allowed them to point straight up again. At the same time, he positioned both thumbs so that they were each pointing vertically as well. However forming the seals was the easy part. As Isako almost naturally performed these hand seals, the entire time he was concentrating the bulk of his energy on his chakra. His eyes were still closed and his mind was still stretching out throughout his body to sense his chakra flow. Suddenly it felt as if it was being extended to his left. It felt as if a part of his soul was being taken and dragged out of his body to be projected next to him. It took some time, but Isako could feel the process. As anxious as he was to see the results, he kept his eyes closed until it no longer felt as if his soul was being separated. Once he thought the process was done, he opened his left eye and peered at the space next to him. What he would see was a physical projection of himself mirroring his image. The projection's hands were forming the tiger seal while sitting on the same bench he was. 

Shocked, Isako released his hands from holding the seal and lost focus on his chakra. "Wh-whoa, I really did it!" he exclaimed while jumping up from his seat. As his focus dissipated so did his clone, but those were the last of his worries. Isako was on his first steps of becoming the shinobi he wanted to be.

Breathing heavily and working up a sweat, at this point Isako was tired. He had been using a large part of his chakra which he never previously done. He had no prior training in being a shinobi, but that's what the purpose of the academy was. In the short time he had been in it, he learned the basics of chakra control, the different types of jutsu specialties, and the names of several basic jutsu. Additionally, he learned what element resonated with him: earth. However, Isako was at his limits. Taking some time to catch his breath, he sat back down on his bench. As he sat, he saw his instructor passing him by. 

"Isako! I saw you performed the clone technique, seems like you're well on your way to learning the ropes," he said he with a laugh.

"Oh, uh thanks...I've been practicing." Isako let out rather timidly.

"Your affinity is earth right? Mine is too, maybe I can show you something."


Isako's eyes lit up upon hearing these words. He knew there was more he could learn, but he knew he was at his limits. Despite this, he sucked it up and nodded. "Yes please, I'd like nothing more!"

His instructor laughed and took a second to think to himself before responding. "Alright well pay attention, because I'm short on time and can only show you this once."

Isako nodded once more. 

Quickly, his instructor centered his body then formed a tiger seal with just one hand. "Earth Release: Rock Cane!" he exclaimed. Just as he did, a rod shaped piece of earth sprung from the ground up into his hand. "The secret is, extend your chakra to the earth you're standing on. Imagine your chakra is as sturdy and unbreakable as the rock you stand on....." he said while twirling the rod. "Anyway, I must be off. Try that jutsu out though and let me know how it goes!" And just like that his instructor walked away, whistling and spinning the rod.

Isako, whose eyes were dissecting every movement performed by his instructor took a minute to reflect on what he just witnessed. "Extend my chakra beneath me...? Well how do I do that?"


Taking some time to think, he began to come to a hypothesis. "Well, when I performed the clone transformation jutsu, I could feel my chakra physically emitting from my body. Maybe when he says extend my chakra below me, he means like that. Maybe he's saying to project my chakra flow downward to meet the earth beneath me. Then, I should be able to extend my chakra network into the earth and perform jutsu incorporating it!"


Isako felt confident in his thought process. Confident enough to reflect on the second half of his instructor's directions. "So after I extend my chakra, I have to imagine it's similar to the properties of the earth huh? I guess that means in order to fully incorporate the earth into jutsu my chakra nature has to resonate with the earth, other it would just be element less jutsu. Hmm....so sturdy and tough...let's try it."


Now with his breath fully caught, Isako stood up with his feet planted firmly on the earth beneath him. He centered his body like he saw his instructor had down, with his feet pointing forward about shoulder length apart, standing tall. Closing his eyes once more, he sensed his chakra network flowing throughout his body. While evenly distributing chakra throughout his body, he sent a portion of it into the ground beneath him. To do so, he focused his reserves to send chakra to his feet and expel into the ground. As he did this, he felt as if he was standing on top of his own chakra. It felt incredible, yet he hand to remain focused. Next he began focusing on the form itself. As it was, his chakra felt gentle. To harden it, he focused on thoughts that hardened him to this day: the thought of losing his mother, the self dependency he was forced to developed, the lack of compassion from his father. With all these thoughts fueling his chakra, he could visualize his chakra nature toughening up and flowing in a very strict and organized manner. It was time to try it. 

While maintaining this combination of visualizing and extending his chakra, Isako lifted his right hand from his side and formed the tiger seal with it. As he did so, he could feel a stronger connection with himself and the earth beneath him. "Earth Release: Rock Cane!" he exclaimed slightly less confidently than his instructor had. However as he did so, he felt an immediate response from the earth to the right of him. It felt as if his chakra had created a chain between himself and the earth. Opening his eyes, he saw a meter length piece of rock jump from out of the ground straight for him. Surprised, he extended his right hand towards it and snatched the rod of earth right out of air. He was ecstatic, so much so that he held it above his head and let out a proud "I'm the best!"


Quickly realizing where he was, he dropped the cane and immediately quieted down. "I'm the best...." he confidently whispered to himself. Again, this was the first time he really utilized his chakra network, so naturally he felt exhausted. He plopped down from his feet and fell right on his read. Laying his head back he looked up at the sky. Finally, Isako was feeling capable with himself. From this point on, he vowed to himself that he would learn more Earth Style jutsu. But before he could do that, he would need to ace the genin exams. And just like any other tasks he faced, Isako was completely ready to undertake it. 

(Exit.)

[WC: 2,233. Claiming Transformation Technique, Clone Technique , and Earth Release: Rock Cane. Additionally claiming the 11 stat points from the 2200 word count.]

Approved