WATER GOD TRAINING
Dante woke up early in the morning to a very quiet house. As he began to make his way to the bathroom, the floor boards creeked awfully. Any other person would find the harsh screams from the floor very annoying and would have them fixed, but Dante wasn't like most people. He didn't want to change anything in this house as it was the house of his now deceased victims. This held was the home to the few memories of his victims. As Dante entered the bathroom, he took a good look in the mirror. Staring at his short spiky hair, that sat wildly on top of his head, he played with the decision to straighten it or not. Dante then looked down into his own eyes. The eyes that were supposed to be the most prize possession of his father's bloodline. Yet he didn't possess the power within them. To Dante, his eyes were filled with pain, but to any other person they would appear cold and heartless. Dante then commenced bathing and finally got dressed in his chosen wear. Finally about to leave this lonely home, he stopped by the dining table and picked up his forearm weapon braces, placing them over his arms and under his sleeves so that they were hidden well but still could function the way they were meant.
The reason Dante woke up early today was because he had to meet the middle man for his mission assignment. Dante walked down the streets of Ame with an authoritative swag. He hated being in this village, as it seemed to be a tightly nit village. There were little to no inner conflicts and everyone always seemed to get along. He looked over to his left and saw a middle aged woman preparing to open up her shop. She was struggling to carry her items, yet Dante did not bother to assist her. She struggled to the best of her ability making it into her shop. Dante then continued his trip to the meeting place. As he made his way through the front door of a mansion like building, Dante took note of the many ninja running up and down the halls, they seemed to be in a rush to run errands for the important man. Dante was never in a rush to do things, it wasn't that he didn't like doing things for the man or that he didn't respect him, it was just that he had his own pace of doing things.
Dante entered the spacious office of the man and walked over to his desk. The man seemed to frantically searching for something in the midst of all his papers. "You wanted to see me?" Dante asked in a somewhat bored tone. The man gave a quick glance at Dante and responded, "Ah yes, I have a mission for you. I know how you dislike being in charge of boring missions, so Im sending you out on an intel mission in the land of the valleys. You are to go and search in the grasslands and perhaps even in the grass village for any trails of this ninja." He then picked up a picture from off his desk and gave it to Dante. Dante observed the picture, it was of a young adult woman. Dante took note of the girls key features, her deep brown hair, hazel eyes, and the several piercings she had. The girl was beautiful but the facial expression in the picture was that of a dark witch, she seemed so dark. "Do know that this mission is of S-rank, this ninja is very dangerous. She's wanted for the murder of a noble family. Reports say she was alone but we believe she was with others. She's very skilled with ninjutsu, able to use at least three elements, according to the last report, fire, wind, and lightning." Dante wasn't too surprised by this information, she looked like she would be a great threat. "Okay, so Im too look for intel on her whereabouts but why is this A-ranked if only a simple intel mission?" The man gave Dante a very serious look, "You're not going to the grasslands and village because we have a hunch, in actuality we know she's in that area, we just haven't pinpointed her hideout. The last ninja we sent had yet to return. Therefore confrontation is very likely." Dante did not ask any further questions, he was kinda excited about this mission. The man entrusted this s-rank mission to him, alone, as a sp.jounin. This must have meant the man had high regards of Dante, maybe he was about to promote him to something higher.
Dante then prepared his necessary items for the mission and took his leave from the village. Leaving the gates, he instantly began running into the thin forest down the moutain. The Land of Valleys was 2 countries away from where he was, so he didn't want to waste any time. Dante launched himself from the ground and into the branches of the trees, jumping was a lot quicker for him. With each foot landing, Dante's speed increased greatly, everything beside him moved as a blur. Dante finally got out of the forest area and entered the dusty volcano fields. There, he had to continue on the ground as there were fewer trees in this area. Once out of there, he would renter thicker forestry yet again, heading towards the outskirts of the Land of Volcanoes. It was approaching night, so he would then stop somewhere in the forest to set up camp.
Dante awoke in the middle of the night because he heard a sound. It seemed like someone was lurking nearby. Dante rose to his fee quickly and performed a few hand seals for his genjutsu, False Surroundings. He then hid his camps presence with an image of clear trees and other plant life, like nothing was ever there. Dante stood behind a tree looking to see who it was sneaking around. He saw no one, but his instincts told him someone was definitely there. Suddenly, coming from his left was a rogue ninja, charging at him with two kunai in their hands. Once they were in close enough range, they swung the right kunai at Dante's face. Dante then grabbed the man's arm and in the same motion sent a kick to his chest. The man caught off guard by this counter and stumbled a bit. Dante was now on the offensive, and he leaped toward the man, and coming from under hit the man again in his chest with his elbow. Following that Dante pivoted off his right foot, and performed the Leaf Whirlwind, hitting the man's left side, sending him down to the ground rolling. The ninja's eyes were filled with shock, he definitely wasn't expecting Dante to be so fast and fluid. The man was then scrambling backwards on the ground as Dante slowly walked his way. Dante performed the seal of the tiger as the man's eyes met his, executing a genjutsu. The man would then begin to see his worst fear and scream out loudly. Dante stepped on the man's chest hard and held him down, also releasing his genjutsu. Dante's eyes were cold, the man knew there was no mercy to come for him. Dante removed the man's kunai from his shaking hand and placed it at his throat. With one last breath, the man closed his eyes, and Dante pushed the kunai down, killing him. Dante then searched the man's body, taking his weapons, and to find out who had sent him. The man had no headband on him, nor any notes or orders. All that was on him was a picture of Dante, from a year ago, with the word target on the back. Dante inferred that this was a man sent by a village Dante belonged to in his past, since he is wanted by them, but there was no sure way to tell.
The next morning, Dante set out again for the Land of Valleys. He still had a long ways to go as he was just now leaving the Land of Volcanoes. He would have to cross through the small country to reach the Land of Valleys. As he jumped through the remainder of the forest, Dante saw a small group of people gathered. The were all standing and looking at something. Dante kept jumping through the trees because he didn't want to waste time. He was able to see a glimpse of what they were looking at as he passed by. It seemed to be some kind of body, paralyzed in some kind of twisted state. Dante saw this as the result of a harsh genjutsu and kept moving since the person wasn't dead but just paralyzed. He was finally out of the forest and now on the ground, nearing the borders of the small country. Once he passed the border, Dante would stop at a small town. He decided he would begin his intel here rather than just the land of valleys. He walked the streets of this quiet town looking for any ninja that might could help him. He saw none, just a few small shops and their keepers, along with many children running around. This town seemed unprotected, Dante was uneasy about this because there could've been numerous criminals taking house here.
Dante then began walking up to the shopkeepers and questioning them. He held up the picture to one lady that owned a jewelry shop asking if she had seen the girl. "Hmmm well, I think I have seen her. I remember doing those same piercings in her right ear. She was such a sweet girl. But that was about three months ago." Dante thanked the lady and continued on to the next shop. So the girl had been in this town and only three months ago, that would make most of the other reports accurate. But what was with the lady saying she was "sweet", she was wanted for killing a noble family. Something wasn't right about all of this. At the next shop was a man selling fish. Dante showed him the picture as well. "Well I have seen her, she was the one that rid this village of that tyrannical family. She was probably the best thing to have ever happened to this village, if it wasn't for her we'd all probably be homeless and hungry." Dante thanked the man for his information. So it would seem that the family this girl killed was all for the sake of this village. Yet her appearance showed evil intentions. Nothing was making sense. It was approaching night and Dante decided to stay at an inn in the town.
His room was quite nice and spacious. He then removed all his gear and went into the bathing area. Entering the steamy warm water, Dante closed his eyes and tilted his head back to relax. He thought about all the things the people had said about the girl. He couldn't figure out if she was really a bad person. After his bath, Dante returned to his room and got in bed. As he began to drift off into a dream, he would awake to a loud thump in the room. He got up quickly reaching for the kunai on the bedside table, that he had taken from the man before. "Who's there? It's best you reveal yourself, it may change my mind of killing you for trespassing into this room." Dante then heard the laugh from a familiar voice, a woman's voice. The lights flicked on, revealing the lady shop keeper from before. Dante was a bit surprised, why would she be in his room at this time of night. "That was funny young man. BUT I doubt you could kill me, you're not fast enough." With those words, the lady's body changed form, revealing her to be the girl in the picture. The one he was supposed to be getting information on. Dante was now on high alert, he was ready for anything this girl would throw at him. "Oh ease up kid, Im not gonna hurt you....really." With those words the girl began to form seals, but with only one hand. Dante saw this and was confused, how could she do that? He then began to quickly form seals himself but it was too late. The girl was faster and had already executed what seemed to be a genjutsu. The entire room began to melt away and flow inward toward Dante, sticking to his body like an adhesive. He couldn't move anywhere. Dante looked at the girl, she had a grin on her face, as she walked over to him. She removed the kunai from his hand, and playfully dragged the point from his lip all the way down stopping a little below his belly button. Dante shivered a bit as he was ticklish. These kind of girls were the worst kind to have as an enemy, they were the ones with the sickest of minds. "See I told you you weren't fast enough. Now what shall I do with you? Kill you? Castrate you? Leave you wanting for more?" Her words were soft yet sharp. She was definitely one of the worst kind of enemies. Do what you want, Im already caught in your trap. However, I would like to know something. How are you able to perform seals with one hand?" Dante was eager to know, as it was a useful skill that he commended her for having. The girl looked at him with a somewhat excited look. "Hmm...well this is a bit odd. Usually people beg for their lives in this kind of predicament yet you want to know how I performed hand seals. Hahaha, you are definitely an odd one and strong as well. Much more fun than the others. How about this, I'll give you a hint on how to do it. Then when you learn it, search for me again. If you're faster than me, then I'll go wherever you need me to but if not......I shall kill you. Fair?" Her last words were very cold compared to her playful tone used before. Dante pondered upon the proposed deal, right now he had no other choice. If he said no she probably would kill him now, yet she's giving him two wonderful things. A chance to live and a chance to learn a new skill. "Well only an idiot would deny this proposal, so yes I say it is fair." The girl smiled at his words. "How wise you are. Ok then, here's your hint. It's all about chakra control and how you direct it. Instead of parting the river, you let it flow in its natural direction. That's all I shall say. Now, I shall see you soon again, I don't think this will be too hard to grasp for a ninja as strong as you." With those words, she dropped the kunai into the floor at Dante's feet and disappeared, causing the room to return to normal. Dante thought about her words for a long time that night.
The next morning Dante got up early, he wanted to go and train based on what the girl from last night had said. He payed the inn keeper for allowing him to stay and left the building. He looked toward the jewelry shop where he first encountered the girl disguised at an older woman. She wasn't there but the man that owned the fish shop was. How could actually believe what that man had said the day before, he could be someone else as well. Dante then walked out of the town still heading toward the Land of the Wind. He stopped by a river along the outskirts of the small country. He was gonna begin his training here. The river had a calm and slow flow, so it wouldn't be hard to stand upon its surface. Dante channeled his chakra down to the soles of his feet, allowing him to stand on the river's surface. Then he recalled the girl's words from before. It's all about chakra control and how you direct it. Instead of parting the river, you let it flow in its natural direction. Dante closed his eyes and began performing seals with both of his hands, he was gonna try and feel out which hand his chakra flowed more into. With the final seal, Dante released a gust of wind down the river, causing the water to splash up violently along it's path. Opening his eyes, Dante was a bit frustrated, he couldn't really feel the direction his chakra flowed more, left or right, he didn't know. He decided to try again but with a stronger jutsu. Closing his eyes once more, Dante began performing seals with both hands and tried to fill out which direction his chakra flowed more. With the large amount of chakra he was molding for this next jutsu he should be able to figure it out. With each seal, Dante began to feel a push toward his right. At the final seal, he opened his eyes and released a powerful tornado wind down the river. He had succeeded in finding his natural chakra flow, but he now had something else to worry about. The tornado began to draw in the water from the river, becoming more of a hurricane and growing in strength. If this continued to move, it could cause much damage to nearby towns. Dante made a few hand seals and aimed his palms toward the hurricane. The air around the vortex would heat, drawing out the water into a mist. As he did this, the hurricane would have lost all of its power.
With this done now, Dante would then move onto the next step in his training. Forcing the direction of his chakra to one hand and molding it. This part would take a considerable amount of time. Dante decided he was gonna train using only his water techniques beginning at the lowest class. Dante then tried to send his chakra to his right and performed a seal. The chakra flowed into the hand of the seal and began molding, it was successful but it wasn't as effective. Dante was able to execute the a mist formation but in a much weaker form. The mist was merely a small fog. Dante was unable to mold the chakra completely. This was very frustrating considering that the could be performed without a seal. This proved how difficult doing seals with one hand could be. Dante wasn't one to give up easily. He tried again and again and again until he was able to finally perform a decent mist. The mist wasn't as great as he was used to making but once he got the hang of performing these seals, it would be just as good as it used to be. Dante was now ready to move up to his next ranked water release, the Violent Water Wave Technique. Performing this would be a lot trickier, as he would have to reverse the direction of the chakra after it was molded and sent it from his mouth. Dante then began directing the chakra down to his right hand, as he perfomed the seals necessary for this next technique. Once the seal completed and the chakra was believed molded, he redirected it's flow up through his chest and toward his mouth, where he shot out a weak spray of water. The problem was once again the molding of the chakra, though better than his first attempts, the amount of chakra molded required a bit more time with one hand. He continued to try this technique with one hand until he was finally able to produce a strong stream of water, but like his mist technique, it wasn't as strong as it usually was. It was now becoming late in the evening, so Dante decided to end his training until the next day. He then set up camp in an area near the river side, he had caught a few fish for him to eat, and then slept.
Dante got up early again the next morning. He was very eager to continue on with his training. He was now moving up another rank to his strongest water technique. He was beginning to get the hang of performing one handed seals. The girls advice from two days ago was very helpful, but he would still have to keep practicing until he could perform seals with either hand and not just his right. This next technique was a very powerful one and would require much use of the river he was training near. Dante, standing on the river, began to channel the chakra to his right hand and perform the necessary hand seals. With each hand seal the chakra was molded, it would take a great amount to use this skill. With the final seal, the river began to rise up and form a small raging dragon. Dante wasn't surprised as this happened with his other techniques. Dante then made a few more hand seal, and drain the water used from the dragon, creating another mist in the area. Dante would then move on with his training. Dante, like the many times before, continued to keep trying at this technique followed up with him draining the water. Dante was finally able to perform the techniques at an acceptable battle level using his right hand for seals. Now he would have to work on using his left hand for seals. Dante practiced all afternoon. He had succeeded in being able to perform seals with either of his hands and also was able to bring the jutsu beyond the level he was at before. He could perform water releases with ease and they would also be much powerful compared to his wind releases. Not only was he able to perform seals using either one of his hands, his speed when using two hands was doubled. He could perform the seals for the Water Fang Bullet Technique in half the time than usually needed and it's power would be no weaker. Dante was very proud of his accomplishment and now had only one thing left to do. Find the girl and fight her. Dante set up camp once more by the river, for the next day he would be traveling to the Land of Wind. He had a strong feeling she would be there now.
Like always, Dante awoke the next morning early. He removed all the camping items from the area and set out for the Land of Vallyes. As he walked away from the river country, he looked up at the sky. It was so clear, no clouds, just the rising sun. Once he approached the borders of the Land of Valleys, he would then begin running. The grassy land began to thicken into as he walked. The tempature was also rising. Dante did not like the heat, he liked it windy and cold which was different considering he was from the land of Volcanoes. Dante had a hard time running through the tall grass of the grasslands. If only there were some trees he cold jump across but that was not so. Dante put on his hood as small bits of grass began to blow into his eyes. The further he traveled in the grasslands, the windier it became. Looking ahead at his best ability, Dante would see something that would make this journey even more difficult. There seemed to be a giant tornado heading his way. There was no where for him to go for shelter. Dante would have to somehow avoid being hit by this storm. Dante then performed several seals using his right hand only. With the final seal, he shot a strong blast of wind toward the raging tornado. The blast of wind would collide with the tornado causing them both to push at each other but not move in either direction. The force from his jutsu and the power of the tornado would then cancel each other out, causing them both to disperse. With that done, Dante continued his long journey through the grasslands.
After hours of walking in the warm grasslands, Dante had an epiphany. Why was he walking when he could run. Feeling like a complete idiot, Dante bit his right thumb to draw a bit of blood, and summoned Denkou. Denkou looked at Dante with annoyance. He was tired of being summoned so often. "Yeah I know big guy. Im sorry for bothering you so often. I'll make it up to you sometime." Dante smiled as he said this, he had much love for Denkou and his other tigers. They were his closest companions in a long time. Dante climbed onto Denkou's back and took off running. The wind whipped along their bodies as they ran. Looking around Dante saw how large the grasslands actually were. He also saw how much further he would have to walk if he did not realize he could run. The Grass Village was about 7 more miles from where he took off but now that he was flying he was only 3 miles away. Still looking far beyond, Dante spotted someone in a black hooded outfit. Dante had a strong hunch of who it was, so he had Denkou jump high and land right in front of the person. Dante quickly jumped down from Denkou's back and faced the person. The hood concealed their face well. "I know it's you, so why hide." Dante said with a serious look on his face. Oh young ninja, do you think you're fast enough now?" Said the person as the wind pushed the hood off of them, revealing it to be the girl from the inn. She had a satisfied look on her face. "Tell me, how fast have you become?" With those words she had began performing a few seals with one of her hands. Dante had quickly took note and he himself performed a hand seal as well. Meeting her gaze, Dante executed a genjutsu, the Hell Viewing Technique. The girl then stopped forming her hand seals and would then face her worse nightmare. She began to stumble backwards pulling at her hair from the roots. Dante wasted no time, seeing as she was affected, he performed another set of seals with one of his hands, and executed the violent water wave. Shooting a large stream of water from his mouth, he knocked the girl back a few feet and began flooding the area a bit. The girl was released from the genjutsu and found herself stuck somewhat. Dante then began to question her. "Tell me something, why did you kill that family?" The girl gave him an annoyed look but it quickly changed to something more sad. "That family...was my family. They were a power hungry people and wanted to tear a part the lives of others, just to have control. I didn't want to be a part of that nor did I want them to put those people through all of the pain. So, I did what I knew would keep them from hurting anyone again. But by killing them, I myself felt guilty. So I took on this persona and hoped that one day, someone would deliver justice upon me." Dante looked at the girl, she was so pained. He could relate to her reason for killing her family but had no idea how hard it was on her. He did not wish to take the life of this girl, nor did he want to turn her in. He just wanted her to start anew. "You have committed a very serious crime. Though I can understand why, but it's still punishable. However, you were doing it in order to save the lives of many, and it was a major sacrifice of morality. I know what Im about say is contradictory considering what my job and my own past, but you can't keep killing people like this. You have move on." The girl looked at him with shocked eyes. "I never killed anyone after my family, I just simply placed them under a heavy genjutsu. I never wanted to kill anyone after, just make people believe I did." With those words, Dante now understood. He remembered how she had used a genjutsu on him at the inn, she wasn't going to kill him then. He also remembered the body from the forest, it was just someone under a strong genjutsu. "Tell me, what did you do to the volcano ninja that came after you?" She looked at him calmly. "They're all scattered throughout the volcano's forest. All under a paralyzing genjutsu." Dante was relieved to hear this, this lessened the girl of many of the charges against her. "I need for you to release that genjutsu....and then I want you to go and find somewhere to stay. Never return to these parts of land and try to start a new life of your own." Dante looked at her with a very authoritative look. "Okay....I will do as you say. Hopefully the gods above will forgive all I have done and allow me to do so." Dante then pulled her from the sticky swamp, allowing her to release the genjutsu. Afterwards, they said their goodbyes to each other and went their separate ways.
Dante ran all the way back to the meeting place on Denkou, who wasn't very happy. He reported to the man that the girl was not a criminal and that someone else had killed her family framing her. He then added that all of their ninja were not killed but placed under a genjutsu by the girl and returned to the leaf's forest. The man seemed satisfied with this report, his only concern was what had happened to their own ninja force. Now that he knew they were okay, he had no other interest in the whereabouts of the girl. He then congratulated Dante on his good work. Dante returned to his quiet, lonely home. He took a long hot bath and the relaxed on his bed. He stared at the ceiling, feeling very accomplished. He had become so much stronger after this mission and had gained a new ability. He then closed his eyes to drift off into sleep.
[5083/5000]
COMPLETED
Sat Jul 23, 2011 1:51 pm by 
