A dive into western philosophical thought [Cole]

Honestly, as long as he showed his face at the front desk, he was pretty much guaranteed his own training field. His reputation preceded him, though whether it was as 'that kid from research who makes bombs' or 'the kid who lives in the mizukage estate' was unclear- and it wasn't like they'd tell him if he asked.

He also wasn't sure if leaving clean training fields when he was done made the staff more nervous than completely wrecking the place. Today, though, he just wanted some time by himself- they didn't need to know he wasn't technically training at the moment. As long as he was out of their hair, they shouldn't mind too badly. There were definitely enough rooms to go around, after all.

Goro arrived at his destination- an out of the way hall usually reserved for guests. It didn't have as many features as the native fields, but a lot of labor definitely went into making it appear presentable. He fiddled with some knobs and levers against the wall, letting the room morph into an idyllic field and forgetting to close the door behind him. Artificial grass rubbed at his ankles realistically enough he almost caught himself attempting a genjutsu release. As he neared the center of the field, he flopped onto his back and looked blankly skywards.

The clouds weren't real, nor were those birds native to Kirigakure. White wings and black beaks- they were Wharf Terns, and they mostly lived on islands further west. The storm barrier had prevented their migration eastwards, and as such, they couldn't be found in the military capital anymore. Terns were noisy and ubiquitous, and he found himself missing them nonetheless. Ugh.

Absentmindedly, he drew a line down the skin of his arm with his other hand. Chakra flared beneath the pads of his fingers, digging gently into the sealing arrays he'd placed a couple of hours earlier. It was nothing spectacular- some sheaves of loose paper, various pens he'd filched from one of the main buildings, a couple of pillows, and a clipboard.

He uncapped a pen with his teeth, grabbing it with a free hand and squirming on his back until he found a comfortable position. The nib hovered a few centimeters above the blank paper.

What was he supposed to do with this?

...

Did he need to know, even?

Goro Tanaka lowered the pen to the paper and began to draw.

[WC: 405]
[Total WC: 405]

Someone was coming closer.

Goro didn't recognize him, which might've been an issue, as he had a general feel for most of the people who walked in and out of the doors. As such, he craned his neck over the clipboard and was staring straight at the door, even a few moments before he'd actually arrived.

He asked for a brief conversation about the sensory style of jutsu. Was it obvious Goro was a sensor, or was he just walking up to everyone in hopes that they'd have answers for him? He tilted his head to the side, letting a few white curls bob in front of his eyes.

"I might be able to give you a thing or two," he acquiesced. It was a much less enthusiastic response than something he'd give to someone he recognized. Goro squinted at the man as he approached, introducing himself as a Yuki. He'd never met one before, but he could see it, sorta; there was a 'nip' to the stranger's chakra that he best associated with morning frost... or some shit. He didn't see frost in Kiri too often, though. Maybe a different analogy would be better.

"Tell me about yourself," he spoke up after a moment. The dig for information was blatant. He had no idea who the stranger was, and he'd barged into a training ground while he was clearly doing something.

Just because someone wasn't having an intense workout or whatever didn't mean they weren't working on something. Some jutsu were hard to discern. That said, he absolutely wasn't working on anything important, but he'd eat an eggshell before admitting it to someone he knew nothing about.

Should he not answer, he'd dig deeper into his pillow nest, not taking his eyes off Cole.

[WC: 295]
[Total WC: 700]

Goro would nod as he made to sit down, listening attentively and politely to everything the Yuki said.

"Shinobi are inherently selfish," he responded after a few moments, drawing a thin line across the sheet. "Secrets are closely guarded in the hopes that you don't give weapons to your enemies." another line. "Anything written down can be stolen. The closest I can think of to a legitimate... Library, as you've said, would either be in Hoshigakure, Kumogakure, or in a few scattered Ninshu sects. The former two are obviously, uh..." a pause. "Not entirely open to the public. But that wasn't my point, so- maybe don't pay attention to that part."

He began to fill in bits and pieces of the makeshift drawing- it was difficult to tell what it was supposed to be at this stage.

"I do think information as you've said should be open," he confessed after a moment, "but I'm not sure how possible that is in the current political climate. As such, I can help you with some things- but the more elaborate your requests, the less I'll be able to share."

A pause. The pen hovered a few centimeters above the page. "That, and there's not a lot of universally accepted methodology for the sensory school of techniques." he scratched his ear, unknowingly getting a few globules of dark ink on his cheek. "Since, you know-" he gestured wildly with his hands as if they'd explain what he had trouble doing so. "how can you compare experiences to another person on such a fundamental level? When I look down, I see green grass- but how do I know that we're seeing the same green? It could be your blue, or yellow, or any number of things. I can show you a couple of general exercises, maybe, but the bulk of the work- trial and error alike- is going to ultimately have to come from you, since no two people sense the same way."

The drawing began to take shape- it seemed to resemble a massive fold of cloth, though it was hard to tell if it was a curtain or a sail. "I know leaf-based practices are pretty popular further west- sticking 'em to your fingers and whatnot. Maybe try recalling a similar sensation- bringing your chakra to the forefront of your brain without actually casting any techniques." he acquiesced, looking to Cole briefly.

[WC: 400]
[Total WC: 1,100]

Cole could not argue with the man that most shinobi were secretive to the extreme. Most would never give out information freely, and Cole was no exception to the rule, either. However, instead of saying anything, he would simply nod gently in agreement. However, Cole did make a mental note that both Hoshi and Kumo both had libraries with secret jutsu among other knowledge hidden within them. He would have to make a trip to both of these village at some point.

There was a moment of silence as the two sat, before the man said that he agreed with Cole that the basics at least should be open to the public. Cole always thought that it would make learning and gaining power much faster, increasing the power growth of a village. If you were able to gain knowledge without having to go to another person to learn. After all, he didn't want any jutsu ranked A rank or above to even be considered public knowledge. Hell, he didn't think that there were too many B rank jutsu that should be public knowledge.

Cole listened as the man went on to explain the difficulty in teaching sensory style jutsu's. Since there really wasn't a standardized teaching method. It all made sense to Cole as he sat there taking the man's advice and channeling chakra into the frontal part of his brain. He could almost sense something, but he knew that he would need more practice. It was a good start though, giving him somewhere to start. “Thanks, I think I almost got something there, not too bad for a first try. I'll have to practice some more before I can get to the point of not needing to focus.” Cole would say, looking at the man.

“Tell me is there any ninjutsu that you feel is so basic, and required by everyone that it should be known by everyone” Cole would ask the man as he leaned back into his chair.

WC-332 TWC-961