Kemurigakure's training grounds weren't especially pretty. Then again, few things were there. Just a relatively open rocky field, with almost no grass or other plant life. Larger stones stood around the sides, marking off the ends of this particular field and shielding those outside from collateral damage. Vox knew that was less of a concern for them. He had always been the precise type, and the Jinsei boy's dossier suggested that he wasn't too fond of collateral damage either.

Vox stopped for a moment to admire the view as they entered the field. It wasn't much of a view, but that gave him an excuse to stop and put out his cigarette. He dropped the stub, rubbing it out with his foot. He'd tried fighting while smoking before, it hadn't usually gone well. It tended to be a choking hazard, and what's worse it was a burning choking hazard. All around it was a bad experience. Once he was sure it was put out, Vox strolled to the center of the field. "Well, here we are." he turned to Kenji, his usual poker face back in place. "Let's see what you can do." He took an unarmed fighting stance, sizing up his opponent.

Kenji took in his surroundings as they entered the training grounds, the main field was mostly a flat rocky surface with a few scattered rocks and boulders, around the outside of the field were some much larger stones that marked the edges and helped to prevent collateral damage. Quietly Kenji noted how Kemurigakure's training grounds were quite similar to the ones that were in Raiugakure, figuring this was due mostly to the similar rocky landscapes that they both were founded in, the only real difference being that Raiugakure didn't have a thin black chakra sensing fog lofting about. Out of the corner of his eye Kenji noticed Vox putting out his cigarette, it was never a habit Kenji approved of due to the amount of health risks, but since it was up to the person whether they wanted to risk it or not he never went out against it.

Kenji continued to follow Vox as he moved towards the center of the field, staying roughly fifteen feet behind him for a fair starting distance when they stopped. He had no idea what to expect, did he specialize in ninjutsu? Taijutsu? He carried weapons so there had to be some sort of weaponry expertise, then again he may be a master of all arts. While Kenji was mulling over Vox's abilities in his head something else popped up, the order Vox gave back in the Keukage tower, primarily the "white eyes" portion. He wondered if Vox was talking about the Byakugan, the Hyuuga Clan's dojutsu kekkei genkai. Well, here we are." Putting this thought aside Kenji returned his focus to Vox as he turned around with an emotionless battle hardened poker face. "Let's see what you can do." Kenji took a deep breath as he watched Vox shift into an unarmed stance, taijutsu master was definitely an option now, letting out his gathered breath in a mind clearing exhale Kenji took on a rather calm poker face as well. Taking his blade by the hilt with his left hand Kenji pulled upwards and over his head, pulling its cloth sheath over his head and tossing it to the side with his right hand in the process. Unsheathing the blade revealed a second grip between the cross-guard and the blade itself, making the already uncommonly large claymore even more odd looking. "I hope you don't mind but Jinsei are raised to treat their weapons as an extension of their own body, without it I would feel as if I'm fighting arm-less." Kenji spoke in a more serious tone, resting the tip of his blade on the ground as he did so.

Grabbing the primary hilt with his right hand Kenji took on a typical large weapons stance with the blade held to the right and his legs spread to keep balance, he knew there was no way to surprise Vox with any sort of stealth attack, so instead Kenji's tactic was to make it appear that the size of Denji Karitoriki hampered his speed and overall mobility, and then surprise him with a quick and precise attack. After all, you should never reveal all of your cards at once. Kenji kicked himself forward and to the right slightly at a speed that would be expected from a Genin, stopping roughly five feet from Vox's left side before sweeping his blade at his mid section, with Kenji's arm length added in there would be a little over two feet of edge coming towards Vox's left back, while still keeping Kenji at a fair distance.

Vox carefully watched Kenji's movements as he prepared for battle. His movements were a lot slower and clumsier than his dossier had lead Vox to believe. Is he faking me out, or just tired? he wondered, examining stance. According to the records, he had moved much more easily with that sword in the past. It shouldn't be throwing off his balance like that. Probably faking. He's been full of energy so far, no reason to instantly wear out when he draws his weapon. Especially with that whole extension of the body thing, that's not looking like much of an extension right now. The corner of the man's mouth showed a hint of a smile. Perhaps his dossiers were a better-kept secret than he thought. "I once knew a man with a philosophy like that. The sword is an extension of the body, the body of the mind, and the mind of the soul." Vox said, maneuvering slowly. "He was referring to a smaller sword of course." He still didn't like the sword, but supposedly the kid could use it well. And after this, he might be more aware of the weaknesses of such a weapon.

Vox stayed still when Kenji charged, watching for any tells he might have. The boy had been going slow, but he could see him prepare himself for a much faster attack. It was well-disguised, but he was a growing boy and getting a weapon of that size up to speed took some doing. He could mask it, but to a trained eye it showed. Right then, Vox showed a little of his trademark speed. He stepped in, getting past the blade before it could reach him. One arm came up to block Kenji's arms in mid-swing, while Vox moved to shoulder-check the boy with his other side. Now to see how he handled close quarters.

Vox's movements were quick, quick enough to assume he wasn't buying the slow start. Kenji could only watch as Vox stepped in, but he was prepared for a move like this. Just as Vox put his forearm against Kenji's to block his swing Kenji moved with the momentum of the blade, kicking himself forward in the opposite direction of his swing while using the block as an axis point. Kenji didn't completely evade the shoulder check in the process, but he did manage to move enough for it to only skim him. As Kenjis body flew in a slight arc he relocated his right hand, shifting it up to the secondary handle at the base of the blade in preparation for a counter attack. I guess I'll have to kick it up a notch. Infusing a small amount of chakra into the muscles of his upper body Kenji let loose an eye straining-ly fast sweep as soon as his feet hit the ground, which to a normal person it would simply appear as if his blade vanished for a moment. This attacks main function wasn't to injure Vox, Kenji didn't expect it to actually land, but to push him back so he could prepare a few hand seals.

Jutsu:

Vox smiled as the kid rolled with the attack. He was a bit impressed. The boy was fast, especially for someone with such a cumbersome weapon. He had managed to push off Vox's counter, dissipating most of the hit and getting some distance to use his sword again. "Not bad." Vox said. His mind was still hard at work, analyzing the boy's fighting style. He was good at maintaining distance, but did he have any options in close quarters? Vox decided to figure that out later. For now he would play to the kid's strengths, and see what he was capable of under ideal conditions.

Kenji's next move was fast, much faster than Vox could have expected. If he didn't have so much practice against other Gen-Augs, he might not have even seen it. The huge sword whipped out towards him, and Vox opened his coat. In a flash, an almost silver-looking sword had been drawn, and Vox braced to block. His sword swung in an arc, catching Kenji's blade and diverting it over his head. He took the element of surprise and made a kick at Kenji's gut, seeing how he would handle this attack.

Kenji couldn't help but let a faint smile through his poker face when Vox parried his attack with a blade. Gotcha. Although the coloration of Vox's blade coupled with the fact that it simply didn't break on contact lead Kenji to believe it was composed of an alloy, likely either titanium or tungsten. Neither of which were naturally magnetic like iron and steel, but making contact with Denji Karitoriki would change that, for a short amount of time at least. Nevertheless Kenji still had Vox's counter to deal with. After charging magnetic chakra into Denji Karitoriki Kenji then let go of the blade, hovering it in between Vox and himself as he preformed a quick Jiton hand seal, which is similar to a tiger seal but with the extended fingers only connected at the tips to form two loops. It was about this time that Vox's kick neared it's mark, which was what Kanji wanted, Vox's close proximity to Denji Karitoriki meant that any other object on his body was likely magnetized as well, not just the one blade.

Just as Vox's kick landed Kenji activated a magnetic pulsewave from his blade that specifically targeted metallic objects, without previous magnetization it wouldn't have much of an effect on non magnetic metals, but since at least the blade he guarded with was magnetized it would feel the full effect. This pulsewave would knock back any magnetized or naturally magnetic metal within range, the closer the proximity to Denji Karitoriki the more forceful the effect, and Vox was definitely close. Kenji slid back a few feet, taking the force of the kick with his gut, nothing he hadn't been through before. The real question was how Vox dealt with this surprise pulsewave, holding onto the blade would probably make him unstable since he only had one leg on the ground, not to mention other possible metallic objects. Kenji wasn't sure how Vox would react, so just to be safe he preformed two more hand signs, first a tiger then a dragon, feeling some slight strain as he prepared himself for a counter. Denji Karitoriki would still be hovering afterwards, slowly moving back towards it's master, and with any luck Vox would expect only one prepared jutsu instead of two.

Jutsu Used:

Jutsu Prepared For Use:

Vox could feel a tingling in the sword as soon as he made contact with Kenji's blade. He wasn't sure what was going on, but it seemed like the kid had some tricks up his sleeves. Sure enough, the ensuing blast almost pulled Vox off his feet. He reacted quickly, letting it fly out of his hands and lodge itself in the ground behind him. He had to pull his kicking leg back, setting it on the ground behind him to catch his balance. It put a few feet between him and his opponent, but got him on surer footing.

Sure enough, the kid was already preparing another trick. Vox didn't recognize that pattern of hand signs, but something was definitely up. He let the sword alone for now, deciding to close the distance between them. He darted in, staying low and listening for any sound from the blade. He was almost in a crouch when he attacked, aiming to plow into Kenji with his shoulder and lift him off his feet. Not too hard, just enough for a simple takedown. Vox was taking great care not to hurt the kid, making sure he wouldn't land on his head.

Jutsu used:

Kenji watched Vox carefully, deciding to keep Denji Karitoriki suspended between them for now, not as a defense but more of a bait. Not exactly as anticipated but Vox did move in for a close range attack, ducking under Denji Karitoriki and launching himself towards Kenji. He figured Vox would move around and attempt to flank, but a charge is a charge. Instead of moving his blade to defend, or even simply moving out of the way with a quick Body Flicker Technique, Kenji braced himself for the blow. "Oof..." Kenji let out a slight grunt as he exhaled with the blow in order to minimize the risk of getting the wind knocked out of him, allowing Vox to sweep him off his feet. As his feet left the ground Kenji placed his right palm on Vox's back over the spinal column between his shoulder blades and let loose a dialed back version of Raisehou. The normal version can pierce through lesser earthen defenses, so a point blank one to the back probably wouldn't be good for the health, instead Kenji dialed back it's piercing effectivness and simply gave it a more 'shocking' property, that coupled with his hand placement was sure to light things up a bit.

Jutsu Used:

Uh-oh. Vox tried to break away, but there just wasn't time. The genin's sparking hand came down on his spine, jolting through his whole nervous system. He fought it, but his body tensed up anyway. The light grab that was supposed to knock Kenji to the ground became almost crushing as Vox's arms wrapped around his waist. The man's body stiffened, causing him to land hard, slamming Kenji down on his back and ramming his own head into the ground. He recovered almost immediately after impact, jumping to his feet.

"Shit, kid, are you alright?" he said, standing up. He knelt next to the boy, seriously hoping he hadn't broken his new student's back. Luckily, the boy seemed to be mostly all right. He'd have plenty of bruises and might have a stiff back for a few days, but he hadn't been hit too hard. Vox breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay, first lesson: Never jolt someone who has you in a grab. It might seem like a smart idea, but it never is." He stood again, offering a hand to help the boy up. "Don't scare me like that, kid. I thought I'd snapped you."

As the electricity passed through Vox's body Kenji could feel his muscled tense up, primarily the ones wrapped around his gut and spine, maybe he should of reminded himself that the physical strength of a man worthy of the Kage position was far more than the usual Chuunin or Genin he had done this to before. He could feel his spine pop in a few places, which in itself wan't all that bad, it was the continued force that put some stress on his muscles, he was definitely going to feel this in the morning. "Oof!" Kenji let out another grunt as he hit the ground, and in the background one could see Denji Karitoriki falling to the ground behind the two as he lost control, it hurt but as far as he could tell everything was still in working order.

"Shit, kid, are you alright?" Kenji simply remained on the ground for a few moments, not really wanting to move after that impact and involuntary bear-hug. "Yeah, I'm fine, a little sore, but fine." Kenji spoke with a slight laugh. "Okay, first lesson: Never jolt someone who has you in a grab. It might seem like a smart idea, but it never is." Kenji took Vox's offer to help him up, brushing himself off after he rose to his feet. "Don't scare me like that, kid. I thought I'd snapped you ." "Heh, yeah, usually my targets for that are a little smaller, that and usually it's more of a piercing attack against hostiles. Should have seen it coming when I switched it to an electrocuting tactic." As he spoke Kenji stretched a little, noting a few muscle pains in his mid back. Now that they were taking a breather Kenji's previous thought about the Hyuuga clan returned to him. "On an unrelated note I've been doing some thinking, when you said "...pull any that could be prone to white eyes." back at tower, did those eyes have no pupils?

Vox nodded as Kenji explained the jutsu, going to retrieve his sword. With a sharp tug he dislodged it from the ground, wiping it off and sheathing it. The jutsu sounded familiar. He was impressed that Kenji had been able to adapt it on the fly like that. The kid showed a lot of promise. "You should keep developing that, might be able to make it into a completely new jutsu." With his weapons secured, he went back over to Kenji. "You all right, or should we call a medic?" It had been a while since he'd accidentally hurt someone like that. It was frightening how fragile humans were, he always felt like he was handling glass.

At Kenji's question, he quirked an eyebrow. This kid had done his homework. Research and intel were things that Vox valued highly. If he kept this up, he was setting himself up for a command somewhere down the line. "As a matter of fact, yes." he said, kneeling next to the boy. "I know what you're thinking, and I'm thinking it too. But that clan's rare, and the ones that are still around are pretty influential. We'll have to be sure before we make any accusations. If we go off half-cocked, Donzokogakure will pitch a fit. It ain't the best part of the job, but we have to take diplomacy into account. Especially now." As much as it annoyed him, he was in a precarious position now. New kage, a foreigner, and with all the chaos going on he was walking on eggshells.

"As a matter of fact, yes." Just as Kenji suspected, this meant that it was definitely a Hyuuga that Vox had encountered. "I know what you're thinking, and I'm thinking it too. But that clan's rare, and the ones that are still around are pretty influential. We'll have to be sure before we make any accusations. If we go off half-cocked, Donzokogakure will pitch a fit. It ain't the best part of the job, but we have to take diplomacy into account. Especially now." Kenji could tell Vox was agitated by the situation as he spoke, there was no way around it, the last thing the new Kage needed was to inspire an attack from a powerful clan, let alone a Village.

Kenji mulled over the situation in his head for a few moments, moving to retrieve Denji Karitoriki in the process, blowing the dust off of it as he picked it up, which oddly enough only stuck to the edge on one side of the blade. "This is definitely a delicate situation, but it may be a good idea to send notice to the head of the Hyuuga in Donzo. Nothing accusatory, but something stating that there's a possible Missing-Nin or corrupt shinobi among their ranks that might have acquired the eyes of a Hyuuga. There's no reason to imply that it was an actual Hyuuga, at least until there's proof." Kenji thought on the subject for a few more moments as he moved to retrieve his sheath, which was a little dirty but no worse for wear. Sheathing his blade and swinging it back over his shoulders, which ended up in very mild lower back pain, Kenji turned back to his superior. "I'd say if you do decide to send notice to Donzokogakure, offer to send a shinobi or two in order to aid them in whatever way necessary, that should help with keeping the peace." Kenji spoke in a casual tone, almost as if he was simply talking to himself and not a Kage, which he partially was. To some this sort of political wisdom coming from a 15 year old would be quite unexpected, but it was common place for Kenji, he always enjoyed studying up on anything that could help him in the future, politics and diplomacy included.

Vox nodded. This kid was sharp, he had a promising future ahead of him. Might even make a good leader someday. He seemed to be studying up on politics, probably necessary for someone in his position. Moving to a new village with tensions high, the boy needed to be as diplomatic as possible. "That's not a bad idea. I'll check the dossiers, see if we can get anything more concrete before we send them out. We want this as prepared and professional as possible. And if we can confirm who it is, that'd be even better." He paced, thinking it over.

After a moment, he came to a decision. "I could use an extra pair of eyes. Mind helping me check the files? Lower classification, of course, but you'd have access to some of the missing-nin profiles. We can start as soon as we get back." Vox grinned. This kid had a lot of potential, and he seemed an all right sort. All of the checks on him had been in order, and it might be time to start giving him more responsibility. He had passed the chuunin exam, after all. He'd earned this.

"That's not a bad idea. I'll check the dossiers, see if we can get anything more concrete before we send them out. We want this as prepared and professional as possible. And if we can confirm who it is, that's be even better." A smile appeared on Kenji's face as the new Keukage acknowledged his idea, in truth Kenji never thought he would be pitching an idea to a Kage, maybe a Jounin, but not a Kage. "I could use an extra pair of eyes. Mind helping me check the files? Lower classification, of course, but you'd have access to some of the missing-nin profiles. We can start as soon as we get back." "Sounds great Sir..." Vox's grin was contagious, Kenji could use some R&R after that last hit, and thumbing through files doing some research counted as down time to him. Then it dawned on him, 'Sir' wasn't really a proper title anymore, he was talking to the new Kage after all. "...Or should I say Keukage-Sama."

Vox was a bit taken aback at being called by his title, though he hid it well. He still wasn't used to hearing that directed at him. It was still a bit of a shock, and he suspected it would be for a while yet. Having leadership dropped in your lap wasn't something you adjusted to overnight. "Either way works." he said, maintaining his composure. "They both get the same point across."

He gestured for Kenji to follow him, starting to head back towards the kage tower. "Come on, we better get started. There's some serious work to be done." With that, they were off.

[Exeunt]