[Hyūga Honnō]

The duty as a Genin Team leader… was long. Tedious. Demanding… but pleasant. Adventurous. Colorful… but tragic.

For one day, his chicken – the aspiring defense and soldiers of the Hidden Leaf, who dedicated their lives to duty, and who rebelled against the norms of the past, continuously pushing the era forward and into a new phase for the shinobi world – would become fledglings… and just as quickly, if not quicker, would they grow out their wings and be ready to fly off the nest that they were nurtured in. Hon wondered if his old sensei felt like this when he graduated at the Chūnin Exams… this sadness. Akin to a sort of abandonment, even though calling it that was uncalled for and rude. It was to be expected, and it was good for the youngsters to grow up. But…

His old sensei did the right thing, introducing Hon to this occupation as a Genin Leader. Once a ghost of his own self, void of life underneath the pale flesh, Hon’s very posture put people off even as he merely walked across the street. The Ghost of the Leaf… it sounded like an insult back then. Pale as a ghost, invisible to the naked eye, and utterly lifeless.

But with little Itsuki under his wing, Hon looked like a true guardian. Someone who inspired others and taught them many things… a real leader. Not an invisible ghost, but a guardian spirit. People ought to start calling him the Guardian Spirit of the Leaf instead, but… such epithets rarely changed. Word of mouth, wandering tales, buzz and gossip, whatever was collectively decided would stick for all eternity.

But Itsuki had yet to officially initiate his promotion – his age was one of the reasons why it was taking so long. He had been a Genin for almost a year now, but… he graduated from the Chūnin Exams way too early, in some opinions. Despite Hon’s input that Itsuki had to be promoted due to his exemplary performance, judgement skills, clairvoyance and killer instinct. And most importantly… reliability.

But alas, against Hon’s own expectations, Itsuki requested more training from him. Hon didn’t really know what else he could teach the lad… maybe the Shadow Clone Technique? It was such a versatile Ninjutsu, and many Chūnin had mastered it before. Alas, again, Hon awaited Itsuki’s arrival in the midst of falling, red leaves – playing a somber tone on his dragon flute to give ambience to the autumn weather and the blood-red floor. The ancient temple grounds surrounding the outskirts of the village, among which one of them used to be his home, held centuries of history to them… and they were worn. Many were ruined. But they stood proudly to welcome those with curious eyes to awe upon them.

[Yamanaka Itsuki]

Yamanaka Itsuki

Itsuki arrived at the training ground with the customary drinks, having long since learned Hon-sensei's preferences for such things and what had once been an attempt to score extra brownie points from the Jounin was now just... tradition really. It was weird to think that he had been almost the exclusive student of the Hyuga for as long as he had, but the team hadn't exactly worked out as well as it could have, and so he had found himself the sole focus of his instructor quite a lot.

It was different than with Shigure-sensei, or Toshizou-sama, or even Tomomi-san, but it had been something, that was for sure.

He'd... put a lot of effort into forming a good relationship with his sensei, seen the way the man had been when they first met, classic reactions to trauma and suffering according to his clan's texts, and he'd spent the last near-year surreptitiously trying to help Hon-sensei to a state of better mental health in reciprocation for the man's continued help in strengthing the young teen.

He would mark it as being relatively successful truth be told.

He hadn't expected to be brought to this part of the village, and even standing there with the two drinks he looked at the abandoned shrines of the temple and his fingers itched, a frown on his features. How long had they been like this? How had they not known about this place? He was going to have to get Mi-chi around, they were going to need to fix this dang temple up asap. It was unthinkable to leave it like this!

Word Count: 268
Tags: Hyūga Honnō
Training Count: 1/8

[Hyūga Honnō]

Ah, there he was. While Hon’s still, frozen face rarely changed in the presence of others, it did so for a select few people… and Itsuki might’ve been the only person outside of his clan whose arrival made him crack a smile. Mostly ‘cause the brat always showed up with a couple strong, dark drinks, much to Hon’s joy who gladly took a cup in gratitude. "Nice to see you again, Itsuki,” he greeted before taking a sip of his invigorating coffee-filled coffee drink, "…” Turning his head around to glare at the abandoned shrine gave him an idea about what Itsuki was looking slightly cringed by. But it was peaceful.

Still… Hon was yet uncertain about what Itsuki could learn from him. Maybe the lad had desired to get better at Taijutsu – Itsuki’s discretion and alignment towards Genjutsu and ranged Ninjutsu did make it difficult to deal with opponents who were fast enough to get up close. "I take it that… they haven’t processed your promotion yet, hmh? It’s a shame,” he expressed while stretching out… which he did by swinging his left around all the way around his neck, fully looping twice over that throat. Letting go, he’d repeat so with the other arm, and then he’d try the same with his legs.

"I’ll help you out with what I can. Although, our skillsets differ fundamentally, Itsuki… I realized that after a while,” he continued with an almost sad tone, "I fail to see what more I can help you with. You fled the nest so early.”

[Yamanaka Itsuki]

Yamanaka Itsuki

Hon-sensei might not have been the most expressive man, but to Itsuki the emotions of other people were basically an open book, so the small smile was in fact a massive indicator to the young man that he was doing something right. He could also feel the fact that the man was feeling rather melancholy about the ending of their teacher/student relationship, not that Itsuki saw it that way.

He was just being upgraded from emotional support Genin to emotional support Chuunin!

After all, someone needed to be Hon-sensei's therapist still, and Itsuki had spent nearly a year working on that. He wasn't about to quit now just because of a promotion. Taking a sip of his own drink (a hot chocolate), the Yamanaka shrugged slightly.

"They can't really hold back much longer, I've been bugging a lot of people to get it pushed through and I think I'm nearly there," he admitted between sips, stretching himself out as well with easy motions that displayed his core flexibility. "I'm not going anywhere though Hon-sensei, even if I become a Chuunin, I still expect you to teach me stuff, ne? For now though, I've been working on single handed seals, and I wanted your help getting some combat experience using them. Well, them and the weapon I am waiting on as well."

He gestured to the large training Gunbai on his back to emphasise his meaning, a rope at the end connecting it to his body.

Word Count: 245
Tags: Hyūga Honnō
Training Count: 2/8

[Hyūga Honnō]

Good to know. Hon was feeling impatient himself, wanting to see his Genin promote and reap the benefits of his reputation in the village. He was a reliable, skilled shinobi, and more people should recognize that – regardless of his damn age.

And regardless of his rank, Itsuki still wished to train under the Ghost. Hon felt bashful, so he took another sip of his coffee and listened to Itsuki’s idea – apparently, he’d been working on one-handed seals! Raising a brow, Hon glanced the large, wooden construct on his back – a flat, staffed fan… a gunbai. A war fan of a large variant, and it appeared that Itsuki desired to master its usage.

And many skilled weaponists knew how to weave handseals while swinging their weapons at the same time. That put two and two together for the Jōnin, which prompted Hon to put down his backpack and still his already emptied cup inside of one of its pockets. Shaking his hands a couple times, stretching his neck… wait, his joints were loose, he couldn’t crack it anymore. Damn.

Shaking that awkward thought off, he gazed towards Itsuki again. If he wanted to practice one-handed seals and fighting with that weapon, then strike. "Understood. Whenever you’re ready,” Hon declared, pointing both palms forward to brace for combat.

A group of magpies were beginning to swarm in the nearby area, some catching glimpses of the two shinobi down in the red carpets of leaves. A few of these magpies decided to stick around and watch for now, before they’d join the others on their migration.

[Yamanaka Itsuki]

Yamanaka Itsuki

Putting his own still half full drink down, Itsuki pulled the Gunbai from his back and gave it a few test swings, having been practicing with the weapon for months now in secret in preparation for the commissioned piece he had managed to get ordered that was nearing completion. Tensing his muscles in preparation for the fight, the young Yamanaka began by giving out a warbling whistle even as his left hand flew through a series of signs.

It wouldn't be hard for Hon-sensei to escape the genjutsu of Kousou, especially since he was familiar with Itsuki's regular use of the rather irritating little trick by this point. It was one of the Yamanaka's tried and true tactics after all. But it was done to give him even a slight edge as he spat out a barrage of orbs of wind firing Fūton: Shinkūgyoku at his sensei as quickly as he could to try and catch the Jounin even a little off guard.

The moment he had finished the Fūton jutsu, Itsuki leapt forward with Shunpo covering the distance between himself and Hon-sensei in a split second. It would have been nearly instantaneous for lower ranked shinobi, but Hon would also be familiar with this technique too, and be able to track his student far better than those closer to Itsuki's own level. Still, the young Yamanaka would 'appear' to Hon's rear, trying to take advantage of the Byakugan's sole blind spot as he swung his gunbai out at the man, hoping to at least catch him somewhat.

Word Count: 258
Tags: Hyūga Honnō
Training Count: 3/8
Jutsu Use:

SPOILER: Click to show

NAME: Kousou [Fighting Confused]

RANK: D

CHAKRA USAGE: To Use: Very Low | To Maintain: Very Low

CLASSIFICATION: Genjutsu

ELEMENT: -

HANDSEALS: 0

TRIGGER: Auditory

DESCRIPTION:

After a shrill whistle, the user will cast a Genjutsu over their opponent. After they hear the whistle, it will seem as if the world around them begins to spin. Everything turning upside down, making them almost unable to move without falling over. Leaving the opponent extremely disorientated.

NAME: Fūton: Shinkūgyoku [Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere]

RANK: B

CHAKRA USAGE: Medium

CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu

ELEMENT: Fūton

DESCRIPTION:

The caster of this technique takes a deep breath, using the hand seals to knead Fūton chakras in their gut. At the formation of Dog, the chakra becomes highly compressed and tightly woven. Once they are expelled, they take the form of spheres the size of golf balls. These spheres have a very formidable piercing capacity, being able to pierce through objects better than bullets. Having incredible speed, these spheres are also released over an extensive range, making avoiding them nigh impossible.

NAME: Subakage-ryū: Shunpo [New Shadow Style: Flash Steps]
RANK: D
CHAKRA USAGE: Low-High
CLASSIFICATION: Taijutsu
ELEMENT: N/A
HANDSEALS: N/A
REQUIREMENT: Subakage-ryū: Hohō [New Shadow Style: Step Method]
DESCRIPTION:

Within the Step Method's branching techniques, the Flash Steps is the most refined for pure velocity and acceleration in one, linear direction. From the point of origin until the shinobi stops, they are able to move at an incredible pace, practically vanishing from sight. However, this is an incredibly taxing method of movement, and if used to move too far it can stress the body. It cannot reach the speed granted by Body Flicker, but it is not quite as devastating on the user. Traveling beyond fifteen meters with one step will cause great stress to the body. It still has a high chakra cost, but the muscle strain will immobilize the shinobi for one round as their body recovers. It is possible to utilize multiple flash steps back to back, but cost must be paid individually.

1-5m (Low)

6-10m (Medium)

11-15m (High)

[Hyūga Honnō]

Now, this was quite interesting.

Hon was familiar with Itsuki’s usage of audial-based Genjutsu, and thus the whistle did warn him that such a technique was being employed. The world began to spin and topple over, until everything went upside down – and with a clap, Hon formed a single handseal and quickly dispersed the Genjutsu! But Itsuki had grabbed the faint opening to release a barrage of wind orbs towards Hon’s direction, while the Jōnin’s face grew long, pulsating veins reaching towards his whitening eyes.

You’ve gotten faster than before.

His dislocated joints gave his body extraordinary flexibility, which aided him in evading the flying orbs by bouncing his form from side to side, looking ghastly and inhuman for a few moments. His body twisted and jolted in impossible directions, and Itsuki knew well of the strange properties of Hon’s extremely malleable limbs and joints, all granted via the secret technique… Soft Body Modification.

A secret technique that Hon had gotten very used to employ.

A larger barrage of wind orbs were flying his way, so Hon jacked both arms back, stretched his fingers, and launched both palms straight forward with a chakra-induced gale force smacking into the remaining orbs flying towards his position. A heavy Vacuum Wall Palm, a powerful technique with quite some defensive properties led from its name… but Itsuki had already moved forward.

Itsuki had a habit of aiming for an opponent’s blind spots. Hon wasn’t going to smear his Gentle Fist by letting his student overtake him like that, so the moment Itsuki went out of his Byakugan’s field of view, Hon knew exactly where he was.

Employing the Soft Body Physique of his, he bent his back, looking like he snapped himself in half, just to face Itsuki as if he was playing limbo. This allowed Hon to grab the gunbai with both hands, commenting for a moment: "If you go out of my field of vision, I’ll always know exactly where you are.”

SPOILER: Click to show

NAME: Nan Kaizou [Soft Physique Modification]
RANK: B
CHAKRA USAGE: Very Low
CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu [General] / Hijutsu
ELEMENT: N/A
DESCRIPTION:
Originally developed for spying activities, this technique can be done after some surgery and actual body modification. The user dislocates their joints then controls their softened body with chakra, allowing them to stretch and twist any part of their body at any angle, elongating and even coiling around their opponent. This can also be used to make the user's body more malleable and snakelike. People particularly skilled with the technique can utilize it for movement as well, being able to slither along the ground or wrap around a tree much like a snake.



NAME: Eight Trigrams Vacuum Wall Palm [Eight Trigrams Vacuum Wall Palm]
RANK: B
CHAKRA USAGE: Medium
CLASSIFICATION: Taijutsu
ELEMENT: -
HANDSEALS: 0
DESCRIPTION:
A doubled version of it’s parent technique. It can be used by two Gentle Fist users into one collaboration attack or by a single skilled user who can use both hands in a single strike. This jutsu sends an extremely powerful wave of chakra with great force.

[Yamanaka Itsuki]

Yamanaka Itsuki

Once upon a time watching his sensei contort in such a way would regularly startle Itsuki, but by now he had become accustom to the unnatural movements the older shinobi could make. Instead, he was in the process of forming the seals for Kekkai: Yari with his left hand while he continued to press his gunbai as hard as he could against the Jounin with his right.

"You might know where I am, but you can't see what I'm doing while I'm there..." he replied as the barrier spear shot out towards Hon-sensei, hoping to catch him at least a little off guard considering the seals had been started as soon as the Yamanaka had gotten into position.

Itsuki had seen how this went long enough to know that it probably wasn't going to do what he hoped, but still.

"...I just need to get fast enough" he finished, leaping back to reassess the situation and figure out how he was going to proceed. He didn't really have many jutsu that required handseals in his arsenal, mostly because he preferred that lovely element of surprise, but that meant using this training opportunity to its fullest would be harder. There was always Shinranshin... but he didn't much like using his clan techniques on his allies, it felt rather wrong.

Word Count: 219
Tags: Hyūga Honnō
Training Count: 4/8
Jutsu Use:

SPOILER: Click to show

NAME: Kekkai: Yari (Barrier: Spear)

RANK: D

CHAKRA USAGE: Very Low

CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu

ELEMENT: --

DESCRIPTION:

After performing the necessary hand seals, the user focuses their chakra into the points of their index and middle fingers. Using this focused chakra, the user creates a small pyramid barrier that is on inch wide, one inch thick and one inch in depth. Using their fingers to aim the technique, they can extend the barrier in one direction approximately 8 feet in length to impale opponents in front of them. The barrier created by this technique has the same strength as glass, but has enough force to pierce through the human body before breaking. However, objects of higher density will certainly stop it, including certain thicknesses of wood, iron or steel. Once the barrier has shattered, the technique will fade away and cause no further damage to those impaled by the technique.

[Hyūga Honnō]

Hmh… this was a big change. Itsuki’s muscle mass was greater than before, albeit the boy might not have noticed it himself. Despite his focus on Ninjutsu and long-range techniques, he had still gathered quite some gains from his experiences in the field. However, it wasn’t going to be enough to shake Hon’s grasp off. He was intent on shaking the gunbai off Itsuki’s hand right then and there-

But he didn’t get that chance, fortunately. The little magpie summoned a glass-like edge towards him, akin to a pyramid-shaped spear made of condensed chakra, aiming right for the sensei’s torso while Hon was bending back and in an awkward position to move around. A surprise, to be sure- he admitted, knowing that Itsuki must’ve weaved the handseals while in his blind spot, which led to the barrier spear penetrating Hon’s flak jacket and shirt, breaking off against his chest.

Itsuki immediately leapt back, while Hon straightened back up again, his back turned towards his protégé without any further words. The spear had penetrated skin… but Hon looked completely alright. Turning around with a faint smile, Hon finally understood how his old sensei felt when the young Hyūga graduated. "… Nice hit, Itsuki,” he congratulated the young boy, a faint dot of blood visible on the white shirt underneath his flak jacket, "Had that chakra spear been sharper, you wouldn’t have an opponent in front of you anymore. But don't worry - I won't die that easily.”

Taking a more defensive stance, it looked as if Hon was finally aware of the potential danger that Itsuki proposed to him. He wasn’t just a small, impatient prodigy anymore – Itsuki had grown into a deadly shinobi, one who would certainly reach supreme realms.

[Yamanaka Itsuki]

Yamanaka Itsuki

For a moment Itsuki was stunned, he had hit his sensei? Surely not... it must have been a free shot, an attempt to encourage him to continue by rewarding his clever move, not a legitimate hit. Sure, he was nearly a chuunin, but he didn't think for a moment that meant he was able to match Hon-sensei in combat.

He refused to believe it.

Still, he was here for training, and so training he must continue. Running towards the Jounin, Itsuki did something else he imagined that the man might not expect, launching the Gunbai from his right hand even as his left darted through more seals, this time preparing the Affairs after One's Death genjustu. Sure, it wouldn't actually work on Hon-sensei who could see through the genjustsu he was certain, but it was good practice nonetheless. 

Once the gunbai had reached the end of the throw, the small Yamanaka would grasp the rope that attached it to his body, tugging back to try and return it to his hand. Perhaps he was trying to learn too much too fast, but in all honesty, he had practically mastered the one handed seals, this was just established to field test them.

Word Count: 201
Tags: Hyūga Honnō
Training Count: 5/8
Jutsu Use:

SPOILER: Click to show

NAME: Kouji [Affairs After One's Death]

RANK: D

CHAKRA USAGE: To Use: Very Low | To Maintain: Very Low

CLASSIFICATION: Genjutsu

ELEMENT: -

HANDSEALS: 3

TRIGGER: Visual

DESCRIPTION:

After three hand-seals, the user will cast a Genjutsu over their opponent. When the opponent attacks, it will seem as if their attack lands, landing a mortal or fatal blow upon the user, when in fact the user is moving around unhindered, leaving their opponent open for attack.

[Hyūga Honnō]

Itsuki advanced him once more, surprising him with throwing his gunbai at the Jōnin, for a brief moment making Hon think that he had spiked it with an Explosive Seal or two. But that wasn’t the case – Hon’s Byakugan noticed what could have some more work used on it – a rope that, on second thought, didn’t require a Byakugan to notice. Itsuki would’ve been better off using Ninja Wire, or an adhesive variant of such, for a rope instead… that way, people would have a harder time predicting his actions.

Got to be some state-of-the-art Ninja Wire, though…

Normal Ninja Wire was tough, but it had the chance of being cut off at all times. Maybe Itsuki could aim for something sturdier… but thoughts for another time.

Hon stopped the gunbai with a free hand, attempting to hold onto it until Itsuki pulled it back with his rope. Following the momentum of the gunbai being pulled back, Hon once more made use of his high movement speed to close the distance, noticing something peculiar once more – Itsuki’s chakra was… separating from him?

No… that wasn’t the case. Hon knew what this was! His field of vision told him that Itsuki was open for a palm strike right to his center… but Itsuki’s chakra that was running through his real body was moving away from that position. Humoring the youngster, Hon still advanced towards the illusory Itsuki, palm striking him right at the center, which would usually knock the air out of an opponent.

But immediately after, Hon flicked his free hand to the side where he spread Makibishi over the floor, still having his eyes on the illusory version of Itsuki, who appeared to have taken fatal damage from his palm strikes. Itsuki was wary of his sensei from the jump, so he’d likely catch on quickly and find a way to avoid prickling his feet with steel thorns.

Tool Used:

SPOILER: Click to show

NAME: Makibishi
CLASSIFICATION: Supplementary
DESCRIPTION:
Makibishi are small, sharp objects that are mainly used to inhibit someone from walking in a certain direction or area, since they would injure the ninja's feet if they tried to walk over them. They range from one inch to two inches tall. Alone, a single makibishi cannot do much, but when they are scattered around in an area in large numbers they can be deadly.

[Yamanaka Itsuki]

Yamanaka Itsuki

The small Yamanaka knew that his sensei wasn't fooled by his genjutsu, but he appreciated the older shinobi going along with it to let him get a better feel for how such things would work.  The real question was what to do next as he pulled away from Hon-sensei to try something else, he was running out of jutsu to test the one handed seals with, and honestly nothing he had tried had given him any particular trouble thus far, he had sorta gotten a good grip on it he felt.

Which meant what? Just practice, repetition, make it down to muscle memory to the point that he could fluidly do jutsu with one hand or two without any impact on the strength of his techniques.

Well, he could do this...

Flipping first through a single Handseal knowing that Hon-sensei would be able to see it, Itsuki attempted to capture the older male in False Barrier, the genjutsu not being a visual technique meant that it was less of an obvious one for a Hyuga like his sensei, though he supposed it was entirely possible that Hon-sensei could see there was no chakra barrier preventing him from moving, which would then make it easy to see that it was caused by Itsuki's chakra in his brain. And that was assuming the man couldn't see his own brain! 

Regardless! If Hon-sensei stayed trapped long enough, another one handed seal had a jet of chakra shoot out at the man, trying to trap him with Shinranshin no Jutsu. Because he now had something he could use it for that wasn't too bad. Should his clan technique succeed, Hon-sensei would find himself bending down to pick up the dropped Makibishi while Itsuki watched on.

Littering was bad Hon-sensei!

Word Count: 295
Tags: Hyūga Honnō
Training Count: 6/8
Jutsu Use:

SPOILER: Click to show

NAME: Nise Baria [False Barrier]
RANK: C
CHAKRA USAGE: To Use: Low | To Maintain: Low
CLASSIFICATION: Genjutsu
ELEMENT: -
HANDSEALS: 1
TRIGGER: Visual
DESCRIPTION:
Quite the simple, but very effective technique. Upon seeing the user render a handseal the technique will be triggered. Once it has begun the target(s) will find themselves trapped in an invisible box. If there are multiple targets close together this will become one large box segmented into smaller ones. If it is one target or multiple targets a fair bit apart from each other it will appear as smaller boxes. From within this box, the target(s) will be capable of tracing the walls with their hands. No matter how much force they utilize they will feel as if they are unable to break through the walls. Even when trying to utilize jutsu the user will see the jutsu deflecting off of the walls (and potentially injuring themselves in the illusion with it.) while it reality it would pass through unhindered.


NAME: Shinranshin no Jutsu [Mind Body Disturbance Technique]
RANK: B
CHAKRA USAGE: Medium
CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu
ELEMENT: --
DESCRIPTION:
A ninjutsu where one sends their chakra into the subject's nervous system, thus gaining complete control of the target's body. The enemies this technique is cast upon are completely under the user's control, as their bodies become disconnected from their will. The difference between this and the Mind Body Switch Technique is that the caster doesn't project their consciousness into the enemies' bodies. Situations of numerical superiority for the adversary are precisely where this technique, which freely manipulates human beings, will display its efficiency, by getting the enemies to turn on one another. Control can be exerted even from long distances.

[Hyūga Honnō]

Instead of advancing as Hon anticipated, Itsuki weaved through a single ‘half’ handseal instead. A long-range technique, perhaps, which meant that Hon had to be on the move again. However, to his surprise, he was caught in a box – a sort of barrier that appeared out of nowhere, which Hon thought at first to have been a visual Genjutsu. The wall’s not made of chakra, he deduced from the visual scan from his Byakugan, aiming to sidestep out of the box he was caught in, only to actually feel the wall stop him in his tracks!

Because of that, Itsuki’s Mind-Body Disturbance Technique landed on its target, since Hon hadn’t utilized the One-Blow Body Technique to swat the beam of chakra away in time. Hon saw Itsuki’s chakra take form of Itsuki himself, an auric avatar of the young boy seize Hon’s muscles and force him to… pick up the Makibishi he spread earlier?

"…” Despite his stone face, he was sort of mortified at the mischief that this lad was capable of, "Why are you making me dooooo thiiiiiiiiiiis…?” It was long, heinous, and embarrassing, but he actually picked up every single Makibishi that he threw out, which ranged to 21 pieces. They were stored back into his holster on his tailbone before he closed his eyes.

…

Good luck moving his disjointed body around, Itsuki. Hon had dislocated every joint in his body at the same time, leaving it up to the young shinobi to figure out how the Soft Physique Modification Technique worked. If he failed to do anything, Hon would literally collapse like a brick statue, his disjointed limbs falling on top of each other until he looked like a bag of skin carrying a collection of bones (to some degree).

SPOILER: Click to show

NAME: Nan Kaizou [Soft Physique Modification]
RANK: B
CHAKRA USAGE: Very Low
CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu [General] / Hijutsu
ELEMENT: N/A
DESCRIPTION:
Originally developed for spying activities, this technique can be done after some surgery and actual body modification. The user dislocates their joints then controls their softened body with chakra, allowing them to stretch and twist any part of their body at any angle, elongating and even coiling around their opponent. This can also be used to make the user's body more malleable and snakelike. People particularly skilled with the technique can utilize it for movement as well, being able to slither along the ground or wrap around a tree much like a snake.

[Yamanaka Itsuki]

Yamanaka Itsuki

Itsuki was equal parts surprised that he managed to hit his sensei with the technique and that it worked completely too. Somehow he had expected the Jounin to just... avoid or overcome it. That said, he supposed it wasn't really a jutsu he used in training because it felt like something that shouldn't be practiced on allies, so perhaps Hon-sensei just didn't have much experience defending against such an ability?

"Ano.. because it was the nicest thing I could think of making you do?" he replied sheepishly to the older Shinobi's question, a little uncertain at what seemed to be genuine distress from the Jounin. He was about to say more when Hon-sensei just... collapsed into a puddle of flesh, the Yamanaka startled enough that he let go of his jutsu and stared in surprise. That was... super disturbing, even moreso than what the man usually could do with his weird joints and stuff, Itsuki couldn't say he'd ever seen him turn into a mound of flesh.

"Senseeeei! You're being weird! Stop it!" he declared with a pout, any thoughts of continuing to fight ruined by the sheer oddity that he was faced with. Sure, he could have tried to continue to try and make the man move around, but he'd already been knocked out of maintaining the technique and now was just a little too weirded out to keep going.

Which was probably Hon-sensei's goal, if he thought about it.

Word Count: 241
Tags: Hyūga Honnō
Training Count: 7/8
Jutsu Use:

SPOILER: Click to show

[Hyūga Honnō]

His limbs returning to his control at long last, brought forth by a rather unorthodox method of startling your opponent by appearing to turn into a puddle of skin and whatever he had inside of the skin. Then again, being unorthodox and weird… that had sort of become Hon’s gimmick at this point, hadn’t it? If anything, it also served as another lesson to poor, startled Itsuki – combat never followed a standard out in the field, as dystopian as that would sound, and always expect the unexpected! Shinobi from all corners of the world had spent centuries cooking up the most outlandish methods of executing their missions, whether it be by escaping, killing, infiltrating or manipulating enemies.

Become a shinobi who wouldn’t be startled by any of the world’s wildcards, Itsuki.

"Sorry, sorry…” Hon dryly apologized, recollecting his bones and readjusting his joints with his chakra. It caused his joints to pop here and there, a normal occurrence, but it wasn’t a pleasant sound at all. After finally standing up on his feet again, he rolled his neck and pointed at Itsuki’s gunbai, stating: "While still a prototype, it’s a strange choice of weaponry for you…” While this was stated to have been a mere prototype, the last time Hon had seen a gunbai was… on the Uchiha clan’s symbol. A fan feeding fires. Itsuki couldn’t possibly have been inspired by the Uchiha in the generation of his gunbai, or maybe Hon had misjudged his sense of style…

…

…

"… Did a certain Uchiha inspire you?”