A skirmish in a faraway land

Taichi's plan worked flawlessly, but was it truly his own plan? The new techniques that he had been given access to were certainly powerful, but they seemed to be able to be controlled. The giant wall of pure chakra wrapped around his opponent and it would guide him downwards to the ground before shrinking around him, constricting his movements. When Taichi walked up to the ball of pure destructive chakra he asked if he was there. Thankfully for both of the individuals, the opponent was still alive inside the prison that Taichi had created for him. He had a brief sight of relief before he released the chakra flowing through his eyes, cutting off all of the techniques that he had currently in the works. 



When his techniques had all but vanished, except for the destroyed mess that was once his dome of wood structure, he was able to see the opponent once more. He wasn't seeing red, and the pain in the head had since gone away thankfully. He saw the individual that was stuck within the prison before. He reached out his hand, as a gesture to formally meet the individual. He was hopeful that there was no hard feelings to what had just happened, but he wanted to smooth things over by complimenting the former opponent. As he reached out his hand, he spoke with a slight joy to his voice, "You, my friend were quick on your feet. I congratulate you and commend your skill as a shinobi, you have a great future ahead of you. Tell me, what village has the pleasure of calling you their own?" Taichi would keep his Sage Mode activated, mainly because he just felt so exhilarated in this state and he hadn't had the chance to trigger this affect in a long time.

He would wait for the response of his former opponent, hoping that he would be able to catch the shinobi's name so he could think of another thing to call him other than his opponent.

WC:  338

The black tomb surrounding the boy faded away, allowing him to stand on solid ground once again. He stood in the ruins of Taichi's once impressive jutsu, bits of wooden splinters scattered and blasted about the once barren field. Whatever that jutsu was, it was destructive. The boy put his sheath back into place at his side. After all, he didn't particularly need it right now. The fight was over, for better or for worse.

His opponent extended his hand, which Kita took with some small reluctance. Seeming a bad sport was the last thing that he wanted to do, but he couldn't deny that the lost stung a bit. The boy would simply have to swallow his pride for now. There would be other fights, other days, but today was enough. The boy gave a small smile, and nodded in response to his opponent's praise.

"My name is Kita Hajime, and I come from Kirigakure. I stopped in this village to participate in the Chuunin Exams."

He scratched at his neck with his other hand, his grin turning a bit more sheepish in nature.

"You weren't too bad either. I've never seen jutsu as strong as yours! You managed to beat my Spiraling Water Dragon, without even using a supplementary jutsu! I don't think I could've beaten that, even if I had enhanced my attack's power."

Though there was one jutsu that outshone even that one, one that had caught the boy's curiosity. The one that had ended the fight. He hadn't even seen the handseals that the man had used to activate it. All that Kita had seen was the final moments before his clones were obliterated. Though proper manners were still in order.

"Oh! I almost forgot to ask! What's your name?"

Word Count - 295

Total Word Count - 6275

Taichi knew that the loss must have stung him at least a bit based on the barely noticeable reluctance to shake his hand. The child fought with such confidence, the idea of a loss was likely new to this individual, which was fair. Fortunately for Taichi he never grew that level of arrogance, for he had lost too much in his life to be able to gather it. He always knew that death was something so near to his own position, he always tried to fight like it was so, and hopefully he was able to teach that to child. 

"Kita Hajime, eh? Well it was great to fight with you. You showed quite a great deal of confidence in your fight, you must be doing quite well in the chuunin exams I would imagine. I'm a wielder of the water chakra myself, and that Spiraling dragon technique that you performed was quite the feat to do on your own, even if you did have to use shadow clones to make it a reality. I was able to fend it off without a supplementary jutsu, but just write that up as luck, or experience, I often mix the two up in all honesty. You even gave me the chance to use my Sage mode, something I hadn't had the chance to use in quite some time. For that, I thank you."

Kita then asked for Taichi's name, which he gave with no issue as his old fear of his clan's name had long since been abandoned, feeling like a pointless concern anymore. "My name is Taichi, Taichi Uchiha at your service." That is when something the child had said caught his attention, he was surprised he hadn't noticed it before. "You said you were from the land of Kirigakure, correct?" Taichi thought for a moment as he looked up into the sky, staring at a cloud that passing overhead. He wanted to be sure that he wasn't being rude to the child with the comment that he had about the village that had destroyed his own home years ago, but he was very curious just how honest the village in the islands was about their own history, on top of that, he was curious if he even knew the true history of it all. 

There was so much that he probably didn't know about the very destruction of his home. Him and his family were never much for politics, and the destruction came to the village so quickly, he wasn't even sure what was going on at the time. He was sure this child wouldn't know much, but if it was a way for him to get even the slightest amount of information, then it would be worth the conversation with the child that he had just fought. 


"I have never been to the island, but I have heard plenty about it. That was the very village that destroyed my home back in the day. I gotta say I held quite the grudge against that village for a long time. But in time I finally learned that if it wasn't for that destruction of Sunagakure, then I wouldn't have become the shinobi that I am today. Tell me, how exactly do they teach the history of that brutal village?" Taichi was sure this was quite the forward conversation, but when you have flirted with death as many times as Taichi, he didn't care much for etiquette these days.

Sage mode. It was a strange word in Kita's mind, and one that felt distantly familiar. He could swear that he had heard something similar in the old novel he had read based on some old historical figure. Dim lights flickered within himself as he remembered where it had come from.

"Sage mode... That's the jutsu that that one guy from Konohagakure used before the eruption, something Uzumaki. It's supposed to make you a lot stronger, right? That explains why your jutsu got so much more powerful all of a sudden."

It also sounded similar for another reason... a darker reason in Kita's mind, though he couldn't place it exactly. A brief flash of Yumeko appeared in the boy's head, causing him to shudder. That was how. Kita remembered reading up on her clan, and how it had access to a certain form of natural sage mode. It was hard to believe that was the DNA that he had implanted inside himself. Though now that he thought of it...

Kita absentmindedly brought his hand to his stomach, right above where his surgery was performed. His body felt hot and strange, something he hadn't noticed to this point. He felt energized as well, almost as though it was constantly welling up inside himself, striving to burst. He guessed that this fight had gotten him a bit more worked up than he had originally thought.

Of course, the thought was instantly wiped from his mind when his opponent asked what he knew about his village's history. Kita blinked, slowly pondering the question. The village could be violent sure, but that was just the way of shinobi villages. His brow furrowed in confusion before he opened his mouth to speak, and his words were chosen both carefully and slowly.

"I wasn't someone who paid much attention in school, but what I do know is that we had a Mizukage by the name of Xyxer Gyojin. Then one day, he went missing, and a council formed to take his place. That wasn't going so well, so Aloide Terumi took over. The man's a genius. He singlehandedly made us the greatest village to exist since the eruption. Other than that though, I'm not sure."

Kita paused, waiting to see what the man said. He probably wouldn't like that little comment about being the greatest village, but what was done was done. It was too late to bite his tongue now.

Word Count - 405

Total Word Count - 6680

The boy had brought up a name that he hadn't heard of, that of a member from the Uzumaki clan. He hadn't heard of any specific member from that clan, but he had heard of the Uzumaki clan. He didn't know Sage mode had anything to do with the Uzumaki clan, but he was not very educated on his history of the world, so he figured that there had to been at least one member from that clan tap into the power that is the natural energy that filled the world. 

"Yes. Sage mode is a boost of sorts that propels one forward in their Vigor and their speed, at least that's what it does for me. It allows the user to gather energy from the natural realm of the world and it enhances many things about oneself. I rarely use it, but I just felt like stretching those legs for the first time in a while."

Taichi listened to the boy speak on the brief history of his village, calling it the greatest village since the eruption. His original thought was one of humor, he thought it was quite funny to think that his own village was the greatest in their recent history, after the eruption. But then his next thought was a little more serious. He thought of the destruction of Suna, and he realized that he had become so detached from the village system as a whole, that he didn't care about what the child thought, and as far as he knew, he was probably right.

For a moment he thought, thought about the land of Kiri, and how curious he was to actually see the village hidden among the islands. Maybe one day he would get the chance to see that place, the village that destroyed his home village, maybe he would actually then understand just why they did it. He then responded to the boy's brief description of what he knew of his village, "The greatest village since the eruption, eh? That's pretty impressive. Must be quite the place to earn such a reputation, even from it's own subjects. Tell me then, what is your favorite part about your village?"

Taichi realized that they were both just standing around speaking, he pushed his hands against the ground between them and formed two wooden chairs that they would be able sit upon. The chairs faced each other so all they had to do was simply lean backwards and sit down. He would gesture to the child to sit down in the chair, reassuring him that there was nothing to fear as this was no trick. He understood that their spar was over and now it was just time for the two shinobi to simply chat about their lives, trying to learn as much as they could from each other. 

WC:473

Nature energy. That was a concept that Kita understood. He was partially tempted to ask how he could unlock such a thing, but quickly realized that there was no inherent need. Once that liver began working its magic, Kita wouldn't need any advice on how to accomplish the jutsu. It would practically be second nature to him. Or at least he hoped, assuming that it worked correctly. It was quite a while since the transplant, and Kita was beginning to fear that his liver was defective. Thankfully he had acquired an arm as well, though he loathed to use it. It wouldn't be symmetrical to say the least.

Taichi created a few chairs for the two of them to rest in, which Kita gratefully accepted. He had acknowledged his defeat, and he wasn't about to make any surprise moves in some desperate scramble to reclaim his honor. He doubted that his opponent would be attacking either. As Kita began to sit down into the chair, he continued the conversation with a careless air about himself, seemingly forgetting the loss that he had just experienced.

"Well, the weather is great if you're a cold weather type person. Makes it great for water based jutsu as well. They also provide state of the art training facilities for their shinobi as well. Best of all, there's a lot of new businesses popping up in Kirigakure almost all the time, so there's a lot to try out."

Kita didn't mention that he himself was also running a business in Kirigakure. Although now that he thought of it, an advertising campaign might not be the worst idea for drumming up some profits. Those were thoughts for later however.

"I recommend spending some time there if you're ever in the area and can get permission from Aloide."

Kita scratched at the back of his head.

"How about you? You said that your old village got destroyed, so where have you been living in the meantime?"

Part of the boy felt as though he should apologize on behalf of his village, though the other half knew that would be foolish. What was done was done, and all that was left was to trust that his leaders had done the correct thing. Kita waited quietly, waiting for the man's response.

Word Count - 382

Total Word Count - 7062

The two shinobi would finally reach a relaxed state as the two were sitting down the chairs that Taichi had made for them. The boy seemed to change his perspective a little, going from a more serious tone to a more laxed and calm tone. He spoke about the weather in Kiri, something that was truly interesting to him because he actually was a 'cold weather kind of guy'. He always preferred the cold to the heat, which was ironic due to the fact that he always seemed to find himself in the hottest of places, except for the land of Snow. 


"The place does sound nice. I love the cold weather myself. The best place I have ever been on this world has been the land of Snow. I actually ended up meditating there for a few months in one stint under the ground, it was good for straightening my life out. I may just have to visit there, should I get that permission from the Kage of course. Businesses you say? That is always a good sign that the economy of a village is thriving. I am happy to hear that for Kiri."

The boy then asked about Taichi's living conditions, and that was something Taichi wasn't too sure how to answer. "I have been basically living on the borders since it happened. I tried to return to my home, but it turned out to have been changed into nothing more than a bandit wonderland. So I left once more and have been wandering the borders ever since. I ended up here because I heard that the Chuunin Exams were going on and that was a good enough reason to get by the guards. Basically I was just looking for a safe place to hang my hat for a while until I got thrown back to the borders and had to fend for myself again. It's kind of nice having a nice wall surrounding the area and police to actually keep the peace around you." 

He thought of a question that he wanted to ask this shionbi, a question about his combat. "So tell me friend. What kind of shionbi do you see yourself as? What style of combat do you see yourself excelling in? From what I saw you have a clear vision in your mind, but I want to know what you think you are."


WC: 399

Kita listened as the man told his life story, drinking in his words as he spoke. It was rather interesting to hear the stories he had to share, and the places he'd been. It brought Kita back to his original reasons for being a shinobi, to explore the world and have fun adventures. The Chuunin Exams would just be a slight stepping stone on that journey, a mere portent of the escapades to come. If one day he could hope to accomplish as much as this man before him, maybe that would satisfy that itch that Kita possessed for all these years. Though perhaps not the bit about getting his village destroyed. Kita doubted that anyone would want that.

His next question however, was one that Kita had to think about. What sort of shinobi was he? For a moment, the answer was easy, and Kita was about to speak up. Yet something stopped him. What kind of shinobi was he? He fancied himself a swordsman, but how often did he actually use his weapon for combat? He had a penchant for Fuinjutsu as well, but it hardly ever came up. When it really came down to it, Kita was a Ninjutsu user. He was good sure, a lot better than some, but there were others who excelled at their craft far more than Kita did. Then it struck him.

"I... don't really know. I have a natural talent for weapon usage sure, but I don't really use them as often as I should. Which is strange, considering just how much effort I've put into mastering it. I mean... I had to work hard to get the strength that I have, but despite focusing on all of these areas in training, in actual practice I seem to fall back on Ninjutsu. I don't know... I could see myself as a close range fighter I think. I could use my weapon more often to keep my enemy on their toes at close range, and use long range Ninjutsu to attack from afar."

The boy paused, pondering what he said. He was even more lost than he had thought.

"You've been around the world. You must've seen someone with similar problems, haven't you? What do you think?"

Word Count - 375

Total Word Count - 7437

The question that the platinum haired Uchiha asked was a question that would cause a shinobi, especially a budding shinobi to truly think about themselves and what their skills were and how they used them. He knew that he had personally changed his fighting style several times, but he always ended up relying on his ninjutsu in most cases. He knew how to fight fist to fist, but that was no way to fight another shinobi as they generally used Ninjutsu themselves, but it was a good way to fight in the tavern. The child seemed to be taking his question seriously, as he pondered on his answer for a few moments.

After a few moments the child spoke on his very own confusion about what kind of shinobi he was, and what his fighting style was. The ending result was something that Taichi had not thought of for this shinobi, "A Swordsman?" Taichi said with a slight hint of surprise. "I'm sorry I just didn't take you for a samurai in the slightest, but I guess we really didn't that close in combat, which is usually my goal." The Uchiha shrugged as he began looking over his former opponent's load out. 

"I have never really gotten that close to my opponents, my hat goes off to those who want to get that close to their opponent. Have I run into someone having the same problem? To tell you the truth, I have had these issues myself. I have changed my fighting style several times, changing my specialties several times over, trying to figure out just what it was that I wanted to be. I struggled finding my center, but that was until I had a fight with another shinobi, one that used to be far stronger than I ever thought of being. 


He pushed me to go the extra mile, to truly push myself and find my center of power. That was when I realized that my Ninjutsu was my path, it was what I found myself being the strongest in, so I pushed myself to get better and better in it, trying to get myself to be the best in this utilization. I had found myself lacking in determination and drive. Actually this was only the second spar I've had since I truly found my sense of having even a desire to live, let alone become a better shinobi."

Taichi leaned back in the chair he was sitting on, remembering the times that he had spent dwelling on his life, being miserable and drinking his days away. It wasn't even long ago, just a few days truly. He scratched his arm as he spoke, feeling uncomfortable with the very fact that he was such a bum for a while, just giving up on life. "Hell I even spent several months underground, among the roots of the trees in the land of Snow. Trying to understand my life and get it straightened out. This is not something we can do easily, but it usually takes a lot of work and meditation to understand just what you are as a shinobi, your 'ninja way' as it were."

WC:527

Kita remained quiet for a time, pondering his words. He had to find his 'ninja way?' How long would it be until he found that? He almost had to wonder if it would be worth it in the end, if the journey to the top was as rewarding as his parents had made it out to be. After all, how many people had died trying to reach that level? How high were the stacks of bodies that Kita had to climb over in his scramble for power? He didn't know. Though he did know this. He wasn't just getting stronger for himself. He had to get stronger for his village as well, for his parents, and for those who he had the privilege of calling his friends.

"I guess you're right. There are probably tons of other people who had to find their path. I guess it's just a matter of finding what's right for me, you know?"

Kita scratched the back of his palm, lost in thought.

"You had to find your will to live again? I can't quite imagine why you would ever lose it in the first place. I think that you've got it figured out, you know? I mean, the whole reason that I really wanted to become a shinobi in the first place was because I wanted to live an exciting life like the one you have now. Traveling from one country to another, meeting exciting new people, getting to really experience the world, you know? I mean don't get me wrong, I wanted to serve my country and my village as well too, but there's only so much you can do on a little Island in the ocean. It's just that... I don't know. I guess that the only way I can really do that is by proving to my Mizukage that I'm strong enough to serve the village abroad. It's what makes strength like the one you've acquired so enviable I think, and what makes it so hard to wait for."

The boy paused after that, remaining silent for a moment as he thought on what he said. By this point, he was just talking into space. He wondered if anyone other than himself could even piece what he'd said into a coherent thought. Kita looked up at the sky above, gauging that it was late enough that his team was probably wondering where he was. Kita gave a long sigh before standing up from his chair, giving a slight bow to his once opponent.

"It was nice to meet you, but I should go ahead and get going. Sorry to leave so abruptly, but if I don't get back so soon, my team will wonder where I've gone."

Kita began to walk through the field, picking up the shuriken he'd lost, and began to walk back to fetch the katana he'd set aside. Yet before he did, he turned back to Taichi and gave a wave.

"It was a pleasure to meet you Taichi. I hope that we can meet again some day. Maybe next time, I'll win our spar!"

With that, the boy went off to retrieve his katana, and return to his comrades. He would spend his night thinking about this encounter he had been witness to, wondering and pondering over what kind of shinobi, what kind of man he would become. If he would accomplish his goals, or be left in the dust. Only time would tell he supposed, and that was something he had lots of.

Word Count - 588

Total Word Count - 8025

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