Jutsu to be trained:

Toshu had noticed a problem lately. His elements were powerful, the strongest elemental ninjutsu in the Shirotori. But there was a slight problem. He was heavily overspecialized. Most of his offensive capability was with his doton jutsu, and Yuuki's use of lightning had reminded him how easily that was overcome. But with his elemental specialty, he was short on options.

Lucky for him, there were ways around it. He'd been studying up on non-elemental ninjutsu, hoping to find some way around it. And now, he was pretty sure he had a the trick for it. This jutsu had quite a bit of potential, he just needed to hone it a bit. There was another stroke of luck that he had the ultimate jutsu testing dummy for a partner. Kariya's immortality made him great as a sparring partner, no matter what you tested on him he would be perfectly fine. So Toshu waited by the lake, focusing his chakra for when his partner arrived.

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Toshu wouldn't have long to wait long, Kariya was only a few minutes behind him. The only thing that kept him from arriving alongside the giant was a desire to not ruin yet another pair of clothes, it's not like the Shirotori had a tailor with an endless supply of material. Hell, it was probably hard enough to find the amount of material needed to make clothing that fit Toshu, let alone an immortal with a rather nasty habit of self mutilation and general bodily harm. Wearing a set of old beat up and bloodstained clothes Kariya crossed the rocky field that surrounded their usual sparring grounds, the "Forever Lake", with his magic murder bag in tow.

It wasn't very hard to spot Toshu, it never is, the man was a walking fortress after all. Stopping about six feet to Toshu's left Kariya set his vintage medical bag on the ground and begin to do a few upper body stretches. "Sorry about the delay, I'm running low on presentable attire." He said in a casual tone, tilting his head slowly to the left and to the right causing a few audible pops as he looked out across the lake. "So what did you have in mind for today?" If things went as they usually did Kariya was in for some serious physical punishment, whether Toshu's jutsu was offensive or defensive.

Toshu stood, turning to bow to his partner. “Glad you could make it, Mr. Kariya. I've been working on a new jutsu, I believe it's ready for a combat test. It's a hair manipulation jutsu, turning my hair into striking limbs, as strong as steel. Follow me, if you would.” The giant turned towards the lake, walking out across the surface of the water. He wanted to have a lot of open space for this, more than the coast could offer. Just in case this went awry, he didn't want to damage the home of the Shirotori. He didn't expect anything to happen, but life as a shinobi had taught him it was better to err on the side of caution.

At the center of the lake, he turned to face his partner. They were alike in a lot of ways. Like him, Kariya had a taste for the finer things in life. The one shared gap in their refined taste was clothing. Toshu's attire was always simple, and Kariya's was downright ratty. It made sense, they were the Shirotori's damage sinks. Between Kariya's immortality and Toshu's iron skin, they tended to go through a lot of clothes.

Toshu made a seal, focusing his chakra. Instead of channeling it into an element, he went for a pure shape transformation. The chakra flowed through his head and into his beard. In an instant the hair lengthened and hardened, coiling into long tendrils that were shaped like bestial mouths at the ends. The hair lashed out, trying to attack Kariya. “Ranjishigami no Jutsu!”

[Words this post: 261, total so far 424/800]

Kariya turned to Toshu and returned the bow. It wasn't something that he'd do for just anyone, as of right now there were only a hand full of people he respected enough to bow to, and most of them were elders of his cult. "Glad you could make it, Mr. Kariya. I've been working on a new jutsu, I believe it's ready for a combat test. It's a hair manipulation jutsu, turning my hair into striking limbs, as strong as steel. Follow me, if you would." "Hair manipulation jutsu? I don't believe I've ever heard of such a technique." Kariya replied curiously as he bent down over his bag, it was new to him, then again most of Toshu's work was developed by the man himself.

If his hair was going to be as strong as steel then Kariya would need a cutting utensil to combat it and push the technique to it's limits, however the only weapon he had that was actually designed with some cutting in mind also had a seventy pound weigh attached to the other end of a chain. It seemed a little excessive to use Gozu & Mezu on a hair manipulation technique, but there was really no good option, he'd have to remember to expand his arsenal a little down the line. At least a dagger or short-sword, something else with an edge. Pulling a black and red kusarigama out of his bag Kariya followed Toshu out across the surface of the water, utilizing its flesh weapon seal to wrap the chain diagonally around his chest over the right shoulder and under the left arm, locking the spiked meteor hammer in place on his back below his left shoulder blade.

Sure the spikes of the meteor hammer were digging into his skin, but that was literally nothing on Kariya's pain scale. Hell, having his chest plate ripped open would barely slow him down. He was literally the perfect training dummy, not that he would allow just any person to use him as so, only those he truly respected as a fellow reaper. Standing about fifteen feet away from Toshu Kariya patiently waited for his giant of a partner to begin, holding the kama of Gozu & Mezu in his right hand. Cocking an eyebrow out of curiosity Kariya stood firm as Toshu's beard roared into life, well technically it couldn't roar, but the bestial mouths his hair formed certainly looked like they would be able to."Ranjishigami no Jutsu!" Kariya held out his left arm, the forearm parallel to his chest, allowing the first tendril to clamp down on it. It pierced the skin, but not deeply, and in an instant it was given a trim.

Moving to right a little Kariya dodged the second tendril, cutting off what he could reach as the third one wrapped around his waist, which in turn was cut short of any follow up attack. However the last one clamped down on his right hand, wrapping around the handle of the kama and his forearm in the process, preventing Kariya from using his kama to sheer it off or shifting the kama to his left hand. "Seems like this could be quite a useful technique..." Kariya paused for a moment while he dealt with the tendril that was wrapped around his arm, gripping the coil of hair with his left hand and using brute strength to rip it off of his arm. It didn't quite feel as strong as steel, at least in a tensile test. "... although it could use a little more tensile strength." Kariya commented in a polite tone, it was purely constructive criticism, and patiently waited for another attack.

Toshu was surprised that his partner could cut through the tendrils with such ease. Even more so when he ripped one with his bare hands. He supposed he hadn't put enough chakra into the jutsu. Far too little, if it was tearing like that. The giant focused again, channeling more chakra into his beard. The hair grew stronger, and the severed portions started to grow back at a frightening pace. Within seconds, the fanged mouths were back, and a fifth and sixth tendril joined the fray.

“A good point, Mr. Kariya. Thank you.” He had a good rapport with the reaper. They understood each other. Toshu was an artist, and that side of him carried over into his ninjutsu as well. And for any good artist, honest, constructive criticism was essential. He needed to know where he was going wrong if he was ever going to improve. Kariya's object examples of his criticism were proving to be quite a help as well, showing just how much he still needed to improve the jutsu.

He tried dividing the attack this time. Two tendrils lashed out straight ahead, aiming to grab and tangle Kariya. Meanwhile, the others attacked in more of a pincer motion. Two swung in from each side, aiming so slam him from both sides. If they connected, they would then tangle around him and start crushing. If not, the tendrils could disengage from each other and give chase on their own.

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Kariya prepared himself for a more vigorous attack as Toshu regrew the severed tendrils along with a few new ones, lowering himself into a more mobile stance as he awaited his partners next move. "A good point, Mr. Kariya. Thank you." He nodded slightly, partially to serve as a "no problem" or a "your welcome, and partially to indicate that he was ready for Toshu to continue his assault. Kariya knew that as an artist Toshu appreciated constructive criticism, and given his death defying powers he could provide far more insight than anyone else.

Toshu's attack seemed more calculated this time as well, attacking from the front and both flanks. Kariya leapt backwards a little as the middle two came within melee range, swinging his kama in an attempt to sever one of the heads in the process. However his attack mostly pushed the head of the tendril to the side, only cutting a few strands of hair. He was going to have to swing a little harder if he wanted to avoid being tangled up, so easily at least. Putting far more force into it Kariya swung the kama of Gozu & Mezu at the two tendrils closing in on his right in an upwards arc, severing the lower one and cutting half way through the upper one.

Using the momentum of his swing Kariya pulled the half severed tendril over his head, juping through the opening this provided in order to avoid the rest of the tendrils as they colided. However the one swinging in from the lower left simply bypassed the collision and continued on it's path, latching onto Kariya's ankle and wrapping around his leg. He attempted to pull his kama down to sever the tendril, but the partially severed head had completely engulfed the head of his weapon and was working it's way down the handle. Kariya was fairly surprised at how effective this technique was. Sure he could probably break free if he used enough of his strength, but this sparring session wasn't to test his capabilities, it was to test Toshu's new technique.

It didn't take long before the rest of the tendrils wrapped around Kariya's body and began to crush inwards, and once they covered most of his body he began to stress test it once more, attempting to break free with raw muscle power. He could feel a few strands of hair snapping as he tried to bring his arms out to the side, but any leeway was quickly replaced with more hair. "I'd say the tensile strength is adequate, fairly good compression as well..." Kariya spoke in a profession tone, his voice barely hampered by the constricting tendrils around his chest and neck, after all when you can talk with your head cut off lungs aren't really a necessity. "... Should be able to hold the average Jounin if you can get a good grip on them, just need to keep their arms separated and their hands locked."

Toshu smiled, releasing Kariya and pulling the tendrils back a bit. He poured more chakra into the technique, strengthening them further. “Mr. Kariya, you know me. Would I ever settle for adequate?” he asked his partner. More hair grew over the tendrils, adding another half to their size before constricting to the same size they had been before. Holding a jounin was good, but it was far below the reputation this jutsu had. In the Time of Legends, it had been used to restrain summon beasts. He would have to up the ante. “Or fairly good, for that matter. This should provide a good challenge for that instrument of yours. Let us begin the third round.”

Without waiting for a response, Toshu lashed out again. This time, they weren't working in pairs. The six fanned out in a half-circle, coming at him from all angles above the water. Unless he wanted to risk jumping between them, there was nowhere to go but forward, backward, or down. Toshu slowed the downward-striking tendrils slightly, not wanting them to hit first and knock Kariya underwater. This way, the side ones could hold him while the ones from above punched.

[Words this post: 196, total so far: 863/800, training complete]

Kariya landed on his feet as Toshu release him and withdrew the tendrils, stretching his shoulders and back a little to work out the feeling of being constricted. "Mr. Kariya, you know me. Would I ever settle for adequate?" "Good point." He replied with a faint grin, Toshu never was satisfied with anything short of perfection in his work, thus the life of an artist. Everything leading up to this was simply the refining process, the real test was about to begin. Kariya prepared himself by first picking out the meteor hammer that was partially embedded in his lower left back and then unraveling the chain with Gozu & Mezu's flesh weapon seal, hanging the meteor hammer down to just a few inches above the water with his left hand while he held the kama in his right hand.

"Or fairly good, for that matter. This should provide a good challenge for that instrument of yours. Let us begin the third round." It was a fanned out attack this time, only three directions to move from his current position, at least without attempting to squeeze through the gaps between the tendrils like a moron. Kariya stood there, waiting for the right moment as the tendrils closed in around him, and just before the two sweeping in from the sides got to him he dove forward and under the water, spinning forcefully to the right and swinging the meteor hammer to the side as he did.

Holding the kama in a fashion that the eye on the side of the head was peering up from his position under the water Kariya combined both the chain extension and flesh weapon seal into his swing aiming to wrap the meteor hammer around at least a few tendrils, if not all, roughly half way between where he was previously standing and where Toshu was currently standing, in an attempt to bind them together. If successful he would then throw the kama to the rocky bottom of the lake, which was roughly twenty feet deep at their current location, aiming to anchor himself and the tendrils to to the floor. Then retract the chain in order to pull the tendrils and himself down further in order to pull Toshu off balance. However if he wasn't able to do this in time Kariya would be in a position to be taken for quite the ride if his partner decided to go fishing with the chain of Gozu & Mezu.

As was often the case, Kariya was fast. The immortal ducked under the water, swinging out his meteor hammer to tangle the attacking beard. Toshu pulled back, and the chain went taut. His comrade was anchoring himself. The giant braced himself as a tug of the chain nearly pulled him off balance. Kariya was more than fast, he was strong too. Unfortunately for the Jashinist, Toshu was stronger. He may very well have been the strongest of the Shirotori, in terms of sheer brute force. Only Lord Zaku had been able to beat him in that department. He started to pull back against the chain, trying to dislodge it.

While this tug of war went on, Toshu directed more chakra into his beard. The tendrils grew longer, coiling around the chain. Kariya had made a mistake. He'd gotten the chain and the hair tangled up. Might have looked like a good idea, but now his weapon was connected to this jutsu. If he wanted to escape it, he would need to leave Gozu and Mezu behind for now. The tendrils grew ever closer to Kariya, hoping to grab ahold of him.

While his plan didn't quite go off without a hitch the primary directive was still in effect, and that was binding Toshu's beard. However, Kariya knew that with Toshu's immense strength he wouldn't be able to keep him anchored very long, what he didn't expect was the surprising rate that the hair grew over and down the chain of Gozu & Mezu. He would have to act fast, and luckily speed was one thing he surpassed his partner in. Using the chain Kariya pulled himself down to the kama that was lodged in the rocky lake bed, and then kicked off of it with a fair amount of force. Launching himself towards the waters surface and anchoring the kama further into the stone so it would take Toshu a little longer to dislodge it.

Kariya would emerge from the water a few feet behind the giant of a man with enough velocity to carry him up to his head, where Kariya would then attempt to strike the back of Toshu's neck just below the hairline with the tip of his fingers and then kick off of his back with enough force to push the giant forward a little while sending Kariya about twenty feet back to regain some distance. The goal of this wasn't to disable Toshu, since sadly he didn't have the immortality Kariya did, but only point out a weak spot. So if his strike was successful it would only be a light one, forceful enough to feel but not forceful enough to do damage. During this process Gozu & Mezu would have just dislodged, whether or not Kariya was successful.

Toshu was surprised at the splash behind him. He tried to turn, but with his beard tangled he was stuck. The giant stumbled forward as his partner hit him on the back of the head. A solid hit, maybe enough to knock out a lesser ninja. But Toshu was the Immovable Object, it only staggered him momentarily. The weapon that held him was knocked free, and he turned to face his partner.

The beard tendrils rose from the water, looking a bit bedraggled. They passed Gozu and Mezu back to Kariya. Once his partner had a grip on the weapon, Toshu ended the jutsu. The hairs extricated themselves from the chain, shrinking back to his normal beard. He walked over to his comrade, offering a handshake. "It seems you've found a gap in my defenses, Mr. Kariya." It was a firm handshake, Kariya was one of the few people who could deal with a strong shake from Toshu. "Unfortunately, the rest of my head doesn't have enough hair to sustain this jutsu. I'm afraid I'm limited to the beard."

As Kariya landed on the waters surface he readied himself for the chance Toshu wasn't satisfied with their testing yet, but he relaxed his stance as his partner returned Gozu & Mezu to his possession with his waterlogged tendrils and deactivated the jutsu. With a faint grin Kariya holstered his weapon, this time locking both the kama and the meteor hammer to his back with the flesh weapon seal manipulation, another successful spar under their belts. Meeting Toshu half way he accepted the handshake, matching his partners grip despite the considerable size difference. "It seems you've found a gap in my defenses, Mr. Kariya."

"Not an easy task, I assure you." Kariya joked in a professional tone. It wasn't often that he managed sneak through the "Immovable Object's" defenses, but he was called the "Unstoppable Force" for more than just his immortality. "Unfortunately, the rest of my head doesn't have enough hair to sustain this jutsu. I'm afraid I'm limited to the beard." "Hmm..." He thought to himself for a moment after breaking off the handshake, there were a few ideas floating around in his head that Toshu may be able to utilize. "... What if you were to wrap a tendril around your neck, or even use them all to cover your body? Although that defense would most likely pale in comparison to some of your other techniques, but it would provide an additional layer of cushioning against more forceful attacks."

Toshu thought for a moment. "Actually, there's another jutsu not too different from what you described. The Needle Jizo, if I recall correctly. Wraps the hair around the body, hardens it like the Lion's Mane, and forms a barbed exterior." He searched his memory, trying to think if he'd seen something that could lead him to learn it, or adapt it if needed. These techniques from the Time of Legends could be hard to track down, but nearly all of them were still out there, and it was well worth it to learn them. "I should research it, maybe it can be adapted for beards. It lacks the reach of this jutsu, but it is an excellent defense, and lord knows I don't have enough of those already."

Toshu allowed himself a laugh as they made their way back towards the shore. He collected defensive jutsu like most people collected stamps, and now he was thinking of adding yet another to his arsenal. He wondered how many he could layer together? "Maybe I really will become immovable."

"Actually, there's another jutsu not too different from what you described. The Needle Jizo, if I recall correctly. Wraps the hair around the body, hardens it like the Lion's Mane, and forms a barbed exterior." "Oh?" Kariya replied with a professional curiosity, somewhat surprised that Toshu didn't attempt to learn this 'Needle Jizo' first given it's defensive properties. After all, the man took pride in being a walking tank. "I should research it, maybe it can be adapted for beards. It lacks the reach of this jutsu, but it is an excellent defense, and lord knows I don't have enough of those already."

"Too many defensive techniques for the 'Immovable Object'? I don't think I'll live to see the day." Joining Toshu in a laugh Kariya followed his partner back to shore, his hair just starting to dry. At least now his training clothes weren't quite so blood soaked, that is, until the next time they sparred. "Maybe I really will become immovable."

[End Thread]

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