[Uzumaki Atagi]

Limitless vision and measured resources

Another day of clear skies and warm rays in the Land of Fields, just about perfect for any sort of outdoor activity. The one he and his compatriots were slated to half oversee and half perform today? Construction. There had been a lot of that going on in Nohara no Kuni as of late, in particular. More new leadership meant more new projects, as it did anywhere, one’d suppose; those who have power are eager to use it and impress the society they now had so much responsibility to attend to. In this case, two societies, because this was a joint project, Cloud and Grass combining in a brilliant green and gold for the greater enrichment of both; not to mention the boons of diplomacy.

For the pair from Kusagakure, their part of the bargain was easy. Go to Hirata, the local tourist hotspot of their home country, meet the builders there, and head to the outskirts of town to await the crew from Kumogakure, led by their representative and unofficial envoy. In this case, it happened to be someone Atagi knew quite well, a great doctor and a better friend. Shosuke Yamamoto. The grin etched at his features, ever present, was touched by just a little more mirth than usual at the prospect of getting to see him again, especially after a promotion, of all things. Well, that and the fact that he got to work alongside Yusei again– he was always the type to make fast friends, and for his part at least, he felt a certain kinship there, as though they’d known each other for many years even if he’d only recently become aware of the Chunin’s presence.

Shosuke’s end of the deal did seem a little rough, though. While the kusa-nin only had to stay in their country, their Kumo counterpart had to trek through something like 6 distinct borders to get here. That, he supposed, was all the more reason to have a highly developed trading post for wary cloud traders and merchants to rest their laurels or land at.

After finding out that the other Kusa-nin was a fan of literature, he had been regaling him with the ‘why you should read’ on his series of choice; Twelve Hands. Atagi speaks animatedly, always with his hands and often with the body, too.

”Anyway, my point is, sure it gets billed as this ‘girl’s romance’ novel, but it’s still worth a read. Is the whole ‘time travel after death’ plot a bit cliche? Sure, maybe. Is the fact that there’s twelve men who all have sexual and emotional tension with the Saintess...and each other, sometimes...obviously pandering to a particular demographic? There’s no arguing that. But there’s parts to like, it’s got surprisingly compelling characters in particular, and the men make for good role models for young boys, too.” A pause, as he touches his chin, considering something. Maybe he ought to send a book or two back to Uzushiogakure, for his younger brother, who ought to have just been entering his teens. Despite Atagi’s love for tales of heroism in particular, the youngest of the men in his household had more affinity for books in general, as he recalled.

Hirata was in sight, now, as the two trekked down the dirt road, Atagi in full gear, sode and weights and all. Dedicated only begun to scratch at his surface, evidently. A hand’s raised to the brow, looking for the usual signs of a project– cordoned off areas, people milling around in a particular spot, or maybe a big banner with the respective insignia of each country on them.

(juryoku yusei | Yamamoto Shosuke)

aeron at thq

[juryoku yusei]

While the two of them set off, Yusei seemed changed by his travels between his last time in Kusagakure and his return. He wore his navy-blue jumpsuit and tabi, sure, but Yusei topped his outfit with black robes, with cut and sewn panels. His demeanor was even more mysterious and navel-gazing. In other words, dear reader: the Uchiha dickriding was off the charts.

The two drew closer to the job site. The breeze played with Yusei’s thick, messy hair. He glanced off to the side, thinking about that other name. Would Shosuke remember his "make me tap” refrain? Meet him with a sideways glance? His name next to the bill gave him a brief pause. This’d help his village in some way, which would smooth things over well enough.

Yusei was brought back down to earth by Atagi talking to him, which he desperately needed. He had his usual pep in his step, talking animatedly about a book. Yusei’s eyes lit up, as he got a chance to connect with him about it. He still had that morning voice, but this was fine. "I can't speak to the role model part, but... Being surrounded by suitors and getting to pick your favorite is… how dating works, and romance reflects that with its idealized versions of types of people you interact with."

"And, the sexual tension between men is for women too. I can’t count how many times a girl I knew watched my sparring in the fields a little too closely." He wasn't sure how much of his genin career Atagi was around for, or if he was being far too personal here. He'd tell him, right?

Eventually, the two of them made it to the job site. With the two nations’ flags flying high, the designated space had ample lumber and fired brick, as well as a binding agent for the brick. Windows and roofing tiles were already pre-cut, with glass panes set aside. As much as the three of them could do, construction workers could pick up the rest.

"He’ll be here soon. I just know it."

Yamamoto Shosuke Uzumaki Atagi , 292

And I'm so sedated that I sleep through the night

[Yamamoto Shosuke]

The Land of Fields... all in all it was a beautiful place, one with plenty of natural resources and things that other less plentiful locations would always need. It was a place that was almost synonymous with verdancy, with a plethora of fruits and fineries that naturally made it one of the world's greatest economic powerhouses despite its relatively small size. It was only natural, therefore, that their allies would want to make use of this wealth and to foster a good trade relationship.

Hirata Village, being near the border and therefore easy to reach without fear of reprisal, was a natural location for this development. It was a little small for somewhere which would no doubt become so important in maintaining these trade relationships, but that was only for now. Once this mission was over, it should be far more impressive to look at.

Unfortunately, it was a little hard for Sho to appreciate that natural beauty after everything that had happened. Not only was he less able to appreciate it because of the after-effects of the ritual, but being directed off course to deal with an emergency near Takigakure... It had added nearly an additional day to his travel times, something that the convoy had managed to warn Kusagakure about only recently. If things had gone less successfully, they might have risked a diplomatic incident by failing to deliver the representatives properly.

---

To those standing in the building site, the first sign that anything was about to change was the appearance of a cloud of dust on the edge of the horizon. It was clear that something, something big at that, was moving in their direction. If they were to look any closer, they would see that whilst there were plenty of people carrying cargo impressed with the symbol of Kumogakure and the Land of Lightning in general, a lot of the people in the train were dressed in strange, foreign uniforms.

These men were dressed head-to-toe in robes that covered every inch of their body. Even their heads were hidden beneath cloth hoods that showed only a thin strip of their eye-line, a uniform that seemed somewhere between medical protective gear and military uniforms. They could not be quite said to be marching towards the village, but they were definitely heading in that direction.

Walking amongst them was a single man dressed in more typical Kumo gear. A white flak jacket, his arm wrapped in cloth bound to a hitai-ate, bearing the symbol of the village to which they professed loyalty, and a pair of deep, thick-rimmed black glasses. They were clearly a shinobi, though what the rest of their companions were was far harder to guess.

Either way, soon enough the train would find itself rocking up in front of the village, putting down their crates of supplies and tools, and standing to attention. They looked disciplined, well-drilled, taking this joy as seriously as they might any other deployment. The only one who appeared to be showing anything less than extreme formality was the Shinobi who walked to the head of the train and headed into the village properly, heading directly to the building site.

How they would be greeted considering everything... well, it was hard to tell.

542 words | Uzumaki Atagi juryoku yusei

SPOILER: Click to show

C-Rank Mission: 3/15
Jutsus Used: None

[Uzumaki Atagi]

Limitless vision and measured resources

If indeed Atagi had seen much of Yusei at all during his time as a genin, it wasn’t readily apparent. It would be difficult to blame the white-topped chunin for not knowing that Atagi was his senior when it came to age, if only barely– cases where shinobi promoted extremely rapidly weren’t exactly uncommon, and at the very least the Uzumaki thought 6 years was far too long to go while remaining a genin. Of course, part of that was circumstance, but the vast majority of it was his own fault. ”I s’pose that much is true, mn. I wonder why that is?” He makes a mental note to pick Sho’s brain about why women might like that sort of thing, figuring that if anyone could divine the heads and hearts of people, it’d be a med-nin.

The fact that the materials are all laid out isn’t too surprising; already, there’s a small contingent of construction workers already there, though they appeared to have been killing time until the Kumogakure workers arrived; it was always best to measure three times and cut once, after all, so consulting with the respective leads of each project to make sure each side could visualize what the end product would look like was paramount. The last thing anyone would want is a discrepancy in each side’s plans leading to some sort of dispute or altercation.

Ever the ebullient emissary, Atagi’s the first to step forward to greet the foreign party, ticking two fingers off the temple in a salute-turned-wave, beaming bright. Even if he was the odd man out, the lone genin in their shinobi trio, taking point and trying to lead by example was as natural as breathing; it helps that he doesn’t have to act like the could-nin was an old friend, because Sho and Atagi actually were tight, or at least they were. It’d been a while since their last meeting, but later was better than never, and they had promised to meet again.

”Sho!” It was probably terribly impolite to their compatriots that he’d dropped the honorific, but he was of the opinion that ought to show just how close their peoples should and would be. ”It’s been too long, yeah? Lookit you, a whole new getup– the shades are a nice touch. I hear you’re moving on up in the world, as evidenced by you leading this party practically by your lonesome, yeah? That’s amazing, as expected of you.” Sauntering on over, he reaches out to shake with one hand while the other gestures over to Yusei, who ought to have been close by, or behind. ”He’s a chunin as well, yeah? I’ll let ‘im introduce himself, though, since it’d be rude otherwise.” Obviously, he had no knowledge of the different folken that Yusei’d met and interacted with on his brief jaunt out of Nohara no Kuni, and certainly not that he and Shosuke’d already met.

(juryoku yusei | Yamamoto Shosuke)

aeron at thq

[juryoku yusei]

Yusei managed to slip something past Atagi, and couldn't help but smirk. He said that line about girls watching him spar because tension between men is for women too, and never elaborated. How much of that was his fault? And while shinobi often led full careers and lives before they even turned seventeen, they were both late bloomers. "I don't know how far three men can get in discussing how women think, Atagi-san. Aren't you single?"

There's an audible beat. A well-timed silence. "...Is Shosuke single, for that matter?" And again, Yusei refused to elaborate or explain his motives with regards to that comment. The two of them continued their trot through the foothills of Kusagakure, sun hanging above them. Ideal conditions for Yusei's kekkei genkai, but he didn't seem concerned with how others would fare. The breeze played with the tall grasses, whistling a note the two could hear if they didn't focus on anything in particular.

When the two of them approached the job site, their wait was admittedly less than quiet. Yusei spent a majority of his time as a genin using his clan's jutsu for construction work. One of several men in sturdy if drab workwear sent from Kusagakure met him with the bar classic "here comes trouble!" refrain. A calloused hand clapped his back. The crew's crane had arrived. In either case, chatter was sparse. There was still the matter of the other team showing up, and the two foremen coming to consensus on the blueprint for the building.

Their team was met by Kumogakure's envoy. Their men and women had on robes that kept the sun off, with little visor cutouts. They were lead by a young man in a white flak jacket, sunglasses on. Atagi's eyes lit up, and he was quick to greet Shosuke. Yusei's hands stayed in the pockets of his bulky black robe for the time being. He was a little nervous, having gotten on his bad side, even if for a minute.

When Atagi gestured to Yusei and waved him over, he blinked, eyes half-lidded. He walked right up, and held his hand out, trying to ask for a handshake without asking. To look a little more put together than he had the last time they'd met. A little grin crept up on his face, and he cleared his throat.

"It's been a while, Shosuke-san. How have you been, as of late?"

Yamamoto Shosuke Uzumaki Atagi , 418

And I'm so sedated that I sleep through the night

[Yamamoto Shosuke]

How long had it been since the two had last seen each other? They had walked away from one another during the last Chuunin Exams, and they hadn't really seen each other since. Though, he did remember that Atagi had sent him a letter. A letter he'd asked his mother to reply to due to his inability to read or write currently. He wondered just what she had put in the end...

Regardless, Sho walked into the village and as he did so he was sincerely glad that he hadn't brought any of his subordinates with him as the rather curt, informal greeting could genuinely have damaged their relationship with him. Yamamoto weren't the most formal people in the world, but this showed a certain level of casual disrespect to his office that most people wouldn't have tolerated.

More than anything, though, Atagi would be able to see it in his body language, the way that he almost seemed to flinch when the man mentioned his sunglasses. Most people he met at least had the delicacy not to come out and say anything about it, save for that fucking guy Uemon and now apparently Atagi. What was worse was that Atagi knew that he was blind and still called it out anyway. It seemed the Uzumaki hadn't learned any social graces in the year they spent apart.

What's more, Atagi could see it. The momentary delay in him going to shake the other's hand, the clear hesitation in it. There was something buried under the surface there that they weren't talking about. Still, nonetheless, the handshake was eventually returned, with an admittedly uncertain grip.

"Atagi, I'm glad to see- meet you again." Sho corrected himself, clearing his throat a little awkward. "Though, when on official assignments like this, you're supposed to show a little respect to superior officers, ya know? And not, ya know, immediately call out their disabilities that YOU ALREADY KNOW ABOUT?"

Kusa and Kumo were old allies, there was rarely any major tension in their relationship, but that was because they treated each other with an air of mutual respect. This greeting felt like it had lacked any of that respect just because they were friends off-duty. Maybe Sho was being a stickler for the rules but honestly it had genuinely annoyed him.

Turning to the other man in the room, Sho immediately recognized him. Compared to Atagi, the two had met far more recently when Kusa had sent over a small squad of people to Kumo for... whatever reason. Honestly, Sho still had yet to hear an explanation for that one, though he supposed it didn't really matter in the end. He was unsurprised that the boy was sticking around Atagi, the way that his emotions had soared when Sho had made the comparison between the two...

Well, let's just say it seemed like Yusei might have had more of a crush on Atagi than Sho had had.

Slipping his hand out of Atagi's grip, he turned and gave Yusei a shake as well. This one was far more firm and brisk, far less halting in its movement There was no baggage here, at least.

"Yusei, right? I'm sorry, I've never been the best with names unless I meet people multiple times. But thanks for asking, things have been-"

There was a momentary contortion on his face, a look that spoke volumes about just how difficult things had actually been since they last spoke. Especially given that mission with the Uchiha girl..

"- fine. They've been fine. And you?"

Pausing for just a moment, he gestured back to the train of people.

"I hope this doesn't come off as being overly militarized for a trade mission, but I brought members of my clan. They're engineers and doctors, and I figured both would be pretty useful for a trading post like this. If Kusa is okay with it, they're willing to be deployed here for the long haul, or at least until someone comes to relieve them of their station."

672 words | Uzumaki Atagi juryoku yusei

SPOILER: Click to show

C-Rank Mission: 6/15
Jutsus Used: None

[Uzumaki Atagi]

Limitless vision and measured resources

That was a decided blind spot of his, all-told. Despite Shosuke’s feelings about Atagi that should’ve been obvious to anyone with a lick of intuition, he’d totally missed those, too– perhaps it was more likely he simply lacked the imagination for it, since upon first meeting the doctor he’d said something to the effect of ‘you must be popular with girls’.

At the duo of questions, Atagi couldn’t help but turn to face Yusei properly even as they marched on, walking sideways or backward if he had to in order to get the desired effect. ”Why would you say that, yeah? I’m almost insulted!” Then a gasp of mock surprise, obviously exaggerated for effect, fingers touching at his lip. Of course, he knew that Yusei likely didn’t mean anything by it, but friskiness was his nature. ”Despite my admirers worldwide-” That was a clear exaggeration. ”I’ve got a beloved. A cutie-cakes? A girlfriend? A partner? Future wi..nn.” he cycles through a few titles, unsure of which the other person in question would agree with the most. In a proper story, wherever she was she’d probably suddenly sneeze. There’s a look to his eyes that’s downright dreamy, the sort taken on by the smitten and the obsessed everywhere, smile softening without his thinking or doing. ”Koume-ko. She’s amazing, frankly, but- you haven’t seen her around? I suppose her career’s been sort of tenuous, but…” Well, he leaves the rest of that conversation for another day. They’ve got work to do, after all, and there was a decent chance Yusei would meet the person he’d fallen for all on his own, anyway. In regards to Shosuke’s ‘taken or not taken’ status, Atagi only gives a wry grin that all but said ‘you’re free to ask’.

---

Back in the present moment and not ten minutes ago, the three men are having a series of awkward introductions. Atagi with his (somewhat intentional) social faux-pas, that weird tension between them– and he could’ve been imagining it, but it also looked like Yusei’s expression didn’t have the usual sleepiness about it, when he’s greeting Shosuke. Also, the Juryoku appeared quite popular with some of the workers, causing a stir. Though the Uzumaki didn’t get it at first, the realization hits him soon enough that the chunin’d been on so many of these assignments it might’ve seemed like some sort of punishment to anyone who looked over his file. Atagi holds up a hand in front of his face in the almost universal sign for ‘my bad’, nonetheless all smiles. ”My apologies, Yamamoto-sensei. Or should it be Sho-hakase?”The crimson-haired genin rarely exercised the centers of the brain used for politeness, so he wasn’t sure. The little stutter in the handshake and that bit of extra reservedness doesn’t go unnoticed…in truth, they’ve got a lot to discuss. There was the matter of the letter his mother’d sent, with its obvious…embellishments to what Sho himself had dictated, Atagi was sure. Even aside from that, checking where each other’s heads were at and ”And double apologies, about the…glasses thing. I didn’t mean anything by it, really! If anything, I’ve got nothing but praise to lavish on you for your current state of being.” Part of him wanted to throw in a mischievous ‘could probably effortlessly beat my ass now, yeah?’ but it wasn’t the right time or place even if it was appropriate in front of all their subordinates, which it obviously wouldn’t have been. Even though he’s always standing up straight, Atagi puts his chest out a little more and raises his chin a smidge, carrying himself in a more dignified fashion, as was likely expected.

”That ought to be fine. Many shuriken make for a quicker death, yeah?” Perhaps that was supposed to be some variant of the classic ‘many hands’ aphorism. ”As for being here for the long haul, I’ll have to check in with Ichi-san on that one, but he’d probably like it. The post’ll need amenities that’re amenable to people from both villages, and who better to help decide that than getting it straight from the source?” A double thumbs up is given. The two foremen, in their respective colours, appear to be comparing plans and discussing how best to execute. One of them apparently says something amusing, if the gruff laughter that follows is any indication.

Then, they could get started.

Atagi’s own job was easy enough to discern just by looking at him. Aside from protection, as their kind always served, even med-nin like Shosuke, the sanguine shinobi was going to be helping with a lot of the manual labour. He didn’t have super strength or anything, nor some rare muscle disease that made his arms and legs denser, or any of that…but he’s go an infectious go-getting can-do spirit, and he’ll absolutely be the last to leave the project site.

(juryoku yusei | Yamamoto Shosuke)

aeron at thq

[juryoku yusei]

Yusei snickered when he said that. That he had a girlfriend and the ladies loved him, but he had to fight em all off to stay loyal. He continued his trot, walking sideways to face him. He knew he meant well, and was sure he'd get along with Koume. Fact of the matter was, he still had to make him laugh here. "Sure. And she lives in Konoha. And your desk is littered with letters saying 'come over'."

He was trying really hard not to say anything weirdly personal to level the playing field. Like how he just wanted Ichi-senpai to notice him. "Mm. There are people in my family with on-again off-again careers. I gotcha. I bet Lady Konah finally put her feet up and rested on what she built here. And... my brother's... still out there but not as active as he was."

Infront of the whole world, he and his brother had a shouting match like they were little boys again, and Yusei smashed his leg. He recovered, but that's a very diplomatic way of putting it. When Atagi responded to his remark about Shosuke, Yusei caught on. A wink and a nod sort of deal.

The two foremen exchanged words, slowly drawing up the blueprint together. While materiel was precut, the specifics like the angle of the roofing and supports had to be debated. All the while their respective crews of men watched. All the while, the three shinobi went about their business.

Atagi pointing out Shosuke's blindness took him by surprise. Yusei wanted to laugh but... Was he blind? That never occurred to him. And... he knew a thing or two about keeping a secret. In either case, Shosuke's greeting gave him pause. "They've been... good enough. I'm sure you were concerned seeing me out in the wild by myself. I felt like a country bumpkin working with those Konoha types... they told me to go see the world."

As if that explained challenging a stranger to a fight. Certainly explained the new robes, the new way he carried himself. He still had those dark rings around his eyes, but this was the healthiest and most animated he'd ever been. Much like Shosuke, he also dealt with an aloof, mysterious Uchiha, but this experience inspired him. Frankly, he was unaware of any detachment sent, any travel outside the context of the chunin exams.

"I've been home for a while now, and... it finally feels like I'm back."

Then, Shosuke gestured to the group of men in tow. Those white-robed figures who tagged along. While there were quite a few of them, Yusei shrugged, as if to say 'no problem'. "We've seen for ourselves the bandits on the trails. Some of them even have shinobi training. a large detachment was necessary. As for Lord Ichi... I think it'd serve us all well to talk to him again. It's probably been a while for you. As for me... I'm bored. I want him to stick me on another public works program."

Now to address their task, Yusei started opening his robe, letting the shoulders fall to his elbows. He folded it neatly, and let his typical navy-blue jumpsuit out. He set his robe down off to the side, pointing a thumb at his chest, and his other hand at the sun. The dark fabrics and their proximity to his skin led a healthy glow to slowly grace his face. His body felt warm to the touch, like he was running a fever.

"I can keep up those jutsu you've all seen all day long, in these conditions. And between the two parties involved, all the hands on deck... It's a day's work. No more than that."

Yamamoto Shosuke Uzumaki Atagi , 634

And I'm so sedated that I sleep through the night

[Yamamoto Shosuke]

-Hakase? -Sensei? What a weird selection of honorifics. Sure, it was no doubt accurate that Shosuke was an academic, but it wasn't like he was serving as their teacher here. Well, he had taught them both something before, but they had taught him things as well - it was a routine trade of information.

"-San or -Sama would work just fine, Atagi. If you must be so specific, I guess -taichou could work? But really, just not mentioning my disabilities would be appreciated."

There was something about the way that Atagi was acting that Shosuke just did not understand. Lavishing on praises for his condition? He realized how that sounded so soon after his previous comment, right? Did he not understand that he was just piling things on? Or was he deliberately acting like this, trying to force it to be awkward as possible for some as of yet unascertained reason.

Perhaps it was his way of getting back some of the equal power lost between the two of them when Shosuke had been chosen for a promotion and Atagi had not.

Shosuke dearly hoped that was not the answer. Despite calling out Atagi's lack of manners, he did still deeply hope for the two to remain friends.

Turning back to Yusei, Sho simply forced a pleasant, placid smile. He was never sure how to interact with this guy. Sure, they may be able to work in a smoother team than he and Atagi were, at least until they worked out whatever the underlying cause of Atagi's social awkwardness was, but as for friends... well, Atagi was far closer to what Sho would consider a friend.

This guy's emotions seemed almost... numbed? Concealed somehow? He had barely reacted even when Shosuke had knocked him clean out back in Kumo. There was something disconcerting about that.

"Oh, I wouldn't say concerned. Merely a little worried about you wandering around another village unattended. But it's nothing I didn't get over the last time we saw each other. Speaking of, did you remember to follow through with those medical tests that I asked you to get? You got knocked out cold for a couple of solid minutes there, that's not good for your health."

As Yusei briefly touched on the nature of Lord Ichi, Shosuke had to conceal some of his genuine excitement to meet the man. Someone who could become a lord of a village as a Chuunin? No, more than that, someone else who had Wood Release without being tied to the Senju? You better believe that he wanted to meet that guy and pick his brains. Perhaps he knew more about their shared abilities.

Regardless, as Yusei made it clear they were to get to business, Sho began walking into Hirata Village properly. Assuming the other two would keep in tow as they moved, Sho listened to Yusei as he described the job at hand. As he finished, a small, roguish smile spread across Sho's face as he turned to the two of them.

"Lads, be honest - Do you really think Lady Kizumi sent me as their representative because of my sterling personality? If they just wanted me to sit and talk as everyone else did the work, they would have sent someone who's actually nice to be around."

There was a minor pause as Sho's hands began to knit together, forming through several handsigns before calling out a warning to evacuate the immediate area. A couple of the builders did, and as they did he finished the handsigns. At first, it seemed much the same as when he had fought the pair before - the emergence of vines, albeit these were far more like wicker and hardwood than the green vines they had both had their asses beaten by.

However, mere seconds after the vines' generation, they plunged back into the earth, growing and swelling until a series of buildings emerged from the very soil itself. Each one was of a different design, some clearly designed to facilitate trade whilst others were built to host people, almost like an inn or a hotel. What would have taken construction crews days if not weeks was instead filled in in about ten seconds. Thirteen if you counted the warning.

Turning back to the two, that grin not having left his face, the pair could easily see the level of exertion that that technique had had upon his body. He had just used an almost ungodly amount of chakra, and his face was drenched with sweat. Even still, there was an undeniable sense of pride that he was actually able to show off for once.

"Now, are either of you two going to help us unload our equipment, or are we going to have to do it ourselves?"

745 words | Uzumaki Atagi juryoku yusei

SPOILER: Click to show

C-Rank Mission: 9/15


Jutsus Used
NAME: Mokuton: Renchūka no Jutsu [Wood Release: Serial Pillar Houses Technique]*
RANK: A
CHAKRA USAGE: Very High
CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu/Kekkei Genkai
ELEMENT: Mokuton [Wood Release]
HANDSEALS: 7
DECRIPTION: This technique is a larger scaled version of the Wood Release: Four-Pillar House Technique where, instead of creating a single house, the user creates multiple houses at once after forming the 'dog,' 'ram,' and 'snake' seals. Because of the sheer volume of structures created with this technique, it appears to exhaust the user rather quickly as it requires a great deal of chakra. A row of up to eight houses may be created in a single use.

[Uzumaki Atagi]

Limitless vision and measured resources

What was Lady Kanoh (or perhaps it’d be better to have said ‘former lady’) up to? Retiring seemed unlike someone so committed to their work. Maybe she was in Kumo? There were rumors about the frequency of her visits there to the Raikage being for more than strictly diplomacy, but he wasn’t the type of person to put much energy or attention on such affairs enough to have thought about the gossip for more than a smattering of seconds. A mental note’s made to inquire about her to Ichi, anyway, if only to satisfy his own curiosity.

One of these days, he’d have to sit down with Yusei (well, more likely a joint-run turned meeting of the minds) to really pick his brain. The guy was an enigma if there ever was one, and there was much to be curious about– family, the exams that were so often a highlight (or nightmare) of young shinobi’s lives, the whys and hows of his existence.

Another mental note added to the messily kept journal of Atagi’s brain. The Juryouku disrobes, looking a little more ‘like himself’, if more excited than usual. ”It’s true– so much of the country being wide open makes hit and runs n’ smash and grabs surprisingly easy. Sometimes I wonder how we’d fare in a war proper, with such decidedly unfavorably terrain.” Well. He had some idea of what was in the works, on that front. "Aye, we’ve got enough men here to take on an army, yeah? It’ll be more of a problem keeping everyone fed than actually building the post, bahaha.” At Shosuke’s somewhat offhand mention about knocking the other Kusa-nin out, a single brow quirks, and he opens his mouth to say something…but shelves it to ask about later.

The time for talk was just about over, after all. The three of them proceed– Hirata was a tourist hotspot, especially for visitors and passers-by from Hi no Kuni (though it was more popular in the summer than in the autumn), so there were plenty of people around to witness their detachment. Gambling dens, hotels, and restaurants were nearly more common than places to live. It only made sense, then, that it was one of the best spots for this joint trading post.

Shosuke’s call-out draws what little of Atagi’s attention wasn’t already on the cloud-nin, aside from a brief flit of the eyes to verify nobody was standing in the space immediately before them. ”Ooo.” There’s a noise of awe as the doctor works through those seals, and then– those vines, like the ones he’d gotten entangled in during their spar a year ago. But not exactly like them, no, because instead of just hanging around there they sink back into the dirt. There’s a whole lot of rumbling, and then…voila! Buildings. Houses, it looked like; from nothing. The Uzumaki’s jaw practically drops. ”What the…” Frankly, he’d never seen anything like it, and wouldn’t have guessed such a specific jutsu existed. Mokuton seemed more and more useful every time Atagi witnessed it, and perhaps that went some of the way to explaining why the Senju were as revered as they were.

”Holy hat! That’s amazing, Shosuke-san! When’d you learn that?” It was enough to excite him, really. Honestly, between Yusei’s ability to make everything light work (literally) and Shosuke’s ability to generate buildings from thin air, it was something of a wonder he’d been attached to this assignment at all. Maybe it was his winning personality and propensity for charming people, as (obviously) evidenced by him and Sho’s interactions thus far.

Of course, he instantly picks up on how exhausting the technique looks, and rolls a shoulder, jogging on over after snapping off a small salute. If Yusei’s not otherwise indisposed, he briefly links up with him to make it even easier for him to carry a comically large amount of the equipment that they were slated to move, ever eager to be of as much use as he could manage. After that comes his assistance with moving around stacks of brick and precut glass, though all-told the crews from Kumo and Kusa take the lion’s share of even that.

(juryoku yusei | Yamamoto Shosuke)

aeron at thq

SPOILER: Click to show

C-Rank: 10/15

[juryoku yusei]

Yusei qualified with "I bet". He had no clue what, frankly, any notable member of his family was up to. He had something to live up to, sure. And that black outfit... Tani had one of their eyes for ages. He felt like he owed something to Konoha too. Perish the thought.

He'd been evasive about almost everything. That look on Yusei's face and the way he held back was its own story to tell, too. But, Yusei would give up and spill if anyone asked him about it directly. He felt like he'd said too much, outside of that context. "...I'll tell you more later." He might not.

Watching the two interact was kind of funny to him. While he'd already noted that Shosuke was more the formal type, Atagi repeatedly trying and failing to meet him halfway really surprised him. If these two had a working relationship too... Just imagining it put a real smile on his face.

He shook his head at Atagi's comments to Shosuke. War breaking out? He got close to saying something too revealing. Yusei winced. "Didn't Ichi-sama have plans for an occasion like that? I'm... unclear on the specifics, but I saw something on the bulletin board. In either case--" There's an audible beat. "We'll worry about it when it's more real and less of a... hypothetical."

Upon Shosuke's placid smile, Yusei did the same. A grin that didn't reach the skin of his eyes. In either case, he let his guard down a little and smirked. "I followed up, sure. It dawned on me that I couldn't just walk it off this time. I appreciate your concern."

Shosuke had the two of them walk with him for a bit, only to stun them both. Shosuke really outdid himself. Those vines from before shot up, before all at once, they became wooden beams. He'd constructed a row of buildings in seconds. But as he looked sweaty and exhausted, Yusei winced. He met him with that same concerned look he met Takato with the last time they'd met. "...Shosuke-san? --We'll handle the rest. I owe you one."

In either case, now it was his turn. "Not just you two, but... The construction crew have all seen this a million times too." He walked over to what looked like a massive pallet of roofing tile. With all the buildings pretty much built, he had to focus on little things to keep them stable. Yusei put together two handsigns, Dog -> Hare. A tile ontop had the weight of a feather, and the sum of the hundreds there was far less than before.

"...Atagi-san. If the tile in the middle of the stack falls off, it's gonna crush my feet, maybe smash all the tiles. Could you take the other side of the wooden pallet underneath?"

He gestured for him to come over, though it was something the two of them wouldn't have too much trouble lifting. It was that balance he was concerned about. If he'd simply hauled it over one shoulder himself, there's no way his target wouldn't fall far afield, turning him into a red smear on the grass.

Yusei squatted, trying to get his center of gravity as close to the middle of the stack as he could. He dug his fingers between the grass and the pallet, and lifted it up. His biceps swelled, and he seemed much more animated than before.

Yamamoto Shosuke Uzumaki Atagi , 679

And I'm so sedated that I sleep through the night

SPOILER: Click to show

NAME: Sukunai jūryoku [Less Gravity]
RANK: C
CHAKRA USAGE: Low, Low (Drain)
CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu
ELEMENT: N/A
HANDSEALS: 2 - Dog, Hare
DESCRIPTION:

A gravitational field is thrown outward of the user. Each field that is made can surround one object or person. Light weight objects will float while heavily ones, people, will feel lightened. This can increase their speed, but punching power will be affected if it isn’t properly compensated for. The item has to stay within the range of fifty feet (15 meters) of the user or the jutsu will dissipate.

[Yamamoto Shosuke]

Damn, if Shosuke could have bottled and pickled that reaction from Atagi, he would have. In that one moment, the disbelief, the recognition of the power being shown off, it all immediately felt worthwhile. To be recognized for his abilities, especially by someone he cared about? Well, it made the fact that he was actively drenched with sweat so much sweeter.

Of course, the only problem with this technique was its high chakra cost. It would have been almost prohibitively expensive for a Senju, but for an outsider? This was the sort of indulgence that he could only really get away with once a month, if that. And he had already been having to recover from the fight in the laboratories with Kazui the other day... well, it felt like he was running on fumes at this point.

"You would not believe me if I told you." Sho said, maintaining that smug expression across his face.

Shosuke could mention that he had been having to reverse engineer Senju techniques for a while now due to lacking an official teacher, but he got the feeling that would make the technique less impressive. It was like a stage magician explaining their techniques, no matter how impressive the original showing was revealing the science behind it would always make it seem at least slightly more mundane.

However, at the mention from Yusei that he owed him one, Sho turned to him, raising an eyebrow in confusion at his comment. Did he owe him one from the technique he had just used, or was this somehow referring to their last meaning? If he was trying to thank him or pay him back for the ad-hoc medical treatment that he'd had to put together after knocking him out, he really didn't need to be. After all, it was a doctor's job to treat others, and even if he was no longer in the hospital that didn't change anything about his priorities.

Even so, as the other two moved to begin unpacking and moving stuff in, Sho took a seat nearby, gesturing a Yamamoto clan member over. The other man brought a small bottle of water with him, handing it to Sho as he took a seat. The other man's hands began to glow, transferring some chakra back to Sho in order to recover from the exertion he had just gone under. It was the same treatment he'd been receiving since meeting back up with the caravan after the mission, ensuring that he would be in fit condition for this work.

"So - How long are you two sticking around? I'm heading to Kusa proper in a few days, your Lord Ichi has asked me out on a date~" Sho joked, though there was a certain truth to what had been said; he had indeed been invited by Ichi to talk, almost certainly regarding their shared quirk of Mokuton. It would be nice to have an escort to the Hidden Grass, though he doubted he would be so lucky.

457 words | Uzumaki Atagi juryoku yusei

SPOILER: Click to show

C-Rank Mission: 12/15
Jutsus Used: None

[Uzumaki Atagi]

Limitless vision and measured resources

Frankly, the praise was well deserved. The jutsu was not only impressive in scope, effectiveness, and complicatedness, but it saved both the shinobi and their charges a lot of work. It wasn’t the first time he’d been impressed, and certainly not the first time he was impressed by Sho in particular, and yet it took a while for Atagi to get over just how amazing it was. Well. Get over was perhaps the wrong phrasing. Recover from being awed by how powerful Shosuke seemed in that single moment. Any shinobi could kill someone; many in a dozen and a half ways. Few would put the time, effort, and dedication into learning such an obviously complex jutsu that had virtually no combat usability.

Of course, he can’t and doesn’t spend all day being impressed. He and Yusei have to pull their own weight at least. With any luck, a little more on top of that. So they get to it. Atagi assists Yusei in hefting up the pallet, first and foremost, squatting down in similar fashion, the calloused fingers and gnarled knuckles of a man who was always putting his own body through the ringer readily apparent. They slink inbetween the wood and the dirt, and he hefts, lifting mostly with his legs, core tightening and arms flexing.

While he’s expecting the gravity slinger to have done something to lighten the load (literally) it’s actually more than he’d initially thought, and between the two physiques of two young men who tended to favour honing their bodies to proverbial fine points, Atagi very nearly causes the tower of tiles to topple anyway, despite the best efforts of his senior. Still, thanks to a confluence of circumstance and a hasty correction made to balancing out how much each of them is taking on, it’s saved. He leans to one side of the tower of tile to peer at his associate to flash him what he hopes is a reassuring smile, and they cart it over to wherever it is that it needs to actually go.

As they work, carting stacks of goods here and untying bundles for sorting there, the Uzumaki gets into the rhythm of working, though he’s as sanguine as ever, chattering and generally trying to keep the mood light; not that it was strictly necessary, as what was typically backbreaking labour for the rest of the men there had been reduced down to less than half of what it ‘would’ have between the three of shinobi. Maybe even less than a fifth.

”I can’t speak for Yusei-san, but my schedule’s pretty tight ‘till we’re slated to travel to Azakaya, yeah? I’d love to reconnect with you proper, though, soon as possible.” Though he didn’t exactly seem down about it, Atagi certainly wasn’t happy that he could only see Shosuke for business, at least at this juncture. ”But Ichi-dono is as good as anyone to treat you right while we’re here, so I’ll at least have that solace.”

For the rest of the day, Atagi assists with each and every task that he has the ability and resources to do, which is nearly all of them. Anyone could take part, but he had to be apart of the work for it to really mean anything, personally speaking.

(juryoku yusei | Yamamoto Shosuke)

aeron at thq

[juryoku yusei]

The two of them knelt and lifted. Arms stiff, lifting with their legs and backs. Yusei's jumpsuit scrunched up, letting a little fabric loose around his chest as it grabbed his back.

Atagi's near-miss had him flinch, but a quick adjustment held the payload of tiles aloft. Anything more drastic than that could've smashed both of their feet. In either case, the reassuring smile is met with a blink. In either case, his hijutsu mostly existed to facilitate moments like this, like lifting the pallet in the first place.

The two of them climbing and roofing had more the difficulty and overall vibe of kids playing with blocks. Nothing was as physically taxing as it appeared to be, the tiles they stapled to Shosuke's houses were nearly weightless. Even the usual gunshot-loud bangs of the hammers instead fell like the dull thud of a ball being kicked. To the sanguine came the melancholic, the attempts at joking and riffing from the otherwise placid-faced man.

You would not believe me if I told you led him to think. His general knowledge of ninjutsu was limited. Not restricted by any stretch of the imagination, but a good 80% of his deal was shape transformation, making airtight "bubbles" of chakra. But for Shosuke to have this amount of chakra and ability to use this obscure element was insane to him.

Yusei's usual stare, like he was trying to pry into your eyes, softened as he slowly wore himself out. Eventually, it turned sensitive and doe-eyed. He took to the task of roofing with a real zeal, only stopping and sliding down a ladder when he heard the other men talking.

"...You still have your detachment of men, right? You can just say you wanna go for a walk with us, you know."

His gaze shifted between the two. He was aimless, and could actually be spoken for. Normally a workhorse, he'd banked missions in rapid succession for money, then stretched it out in the clan compound. He had nothing but time.

"I'll linger here for a bit. If they needed us right away... don't they have some carrier pigeon summoning jutsu?"

Yamamoto Shosuke Uzumaki Atagi , 467

And I'm so sedated that I sleep through the night

SPOILER: Click to show

NAME: Sukunai jūryoku [Less Gravity]
RANK: C
CHAKRA USAGE: Low, Low (Drain)
CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu
ELEMENT: N/A
HANDSEALS: 2 - Dog, Hare
DESCRIPTION:

A gravitational field is thrown outward of the user. Each field that is made can surround one object or person. Light weight objects will float while heavily ones, people, will feel lightened. This can increase their speed, but punching power will be affected if it isn’t properly compensated for. The item has to stay within the range of fifty feet (15 meters) of the user or the jutsu will dissipate.

[Yamamoto Shosuke]

Nodding along to the man's comment, Sho put on a brave face and agreed, trying to make it sound like it was just as casual as one could want. Still, if he was being honest, he had to admit that he was nervous about the prospect of meeting with the Lord of Kusagakure.

The simple fact of the matter was that Ichi was like him, at least in terms of abilities. For years, Shosuke had had his doubts about his clanless Mokuton - There was a chance that it was just a random genetic offshoot, something that he had indeed been blessed with by a random chance of genetics. However, as much as he didn't like to think about it, there was an equal (if not greater) chance that it was because of his missing father, he might actually be a Senju after all.

From what he heard, the parentage of Ichi was far less dubious and thus the Lord's unique abilities were indeed something that he had simply developed himself. Or, in other words, Ichi was what Shosuke wanted to be - a genetic anomaly, not just some Senju bastard. As long as the question remained in the air, Sho almost seemed to see himself in a superstate - He was at once a Senju bastard and an anomaly. In meeting with Ichi, in finding an answer to that question, it was going to be one or the other.

One way or another, reality would assert itself, and reality was a famously cruel mistress.

Either way, Shosuke's face tried and failed to mask these deeper, more concerned thoughts, something that he was nowhere near as good at as Yusei. What he wouldn't give in moments like this to be able to borrow that guy's poker-face, but it seemed they were only half paying attention to him at this point.

"Actually," Sho said, gesturing over to where the train of shinobi were already beginning to disembark and dissolve their carriage train, pulling apart packages and making sure that everything was getting settled. ", I was just in charge of getting them here - Now that we're here, they're given leeway to act as they will. Chuunin and Princehood only gets you so far, after all.

But as for that walk... Yeah, I'll take you up on that."

The smile was fake, but perhaps by the end of the day it would be real. One could but hope, right?

[END THREAD]

403 words | @closed

SPOILER: Click to show

Jutsus Used: None